"Wow! This place a dump!" I really couldn't help saying after seeing the state of the military base.
The front gate was torn to shreds, most of the buildings were collapsed, and the tall concrete walls looked to have suffered from a massive siege with many sections breached.
Now the base was claimed by mother nature, as plants had started to grow all over the walls and buildings.
I walked through the front gate and walked down the long concrete runways towards the main structure. Passing by collapsed hangers and broken aircraft sitting on the side of the runway.
The sight was serial, just a few days ago I was watching the news and how much the government was boasting about how top of the line this base was. And now... it was laid to ruin and abandoned.
I kept a tight grip on my rifle, I don't know what caused this destruction, but I don't want to risk being caught off guard in the event whatever it was is still here.
And just as everywhere else I have passed through, not a single body in sight.
I'm starting to think that coming here was a waste of time...
Entering the main building, I switched to my sidearm as my rifle was too large to be effective indoors, the barrel would be constantly hitting the walls.
Honestly, I'm thankful for this night vision since all the lights are out. Wait, would there be any working computers?
Setting aside those concerns, I continued walking through the halls, inspecting every room.
Reaching the top floor, there was nothing to note so far, except for a room with wooden double doors.
Obviously, this room has importance, or else why would they have such fancy doors?
Slowly, I push the doors open, checking all sides of the room. My assumption was correct, it seems this room belonged to some high-ranking officer. Certificates and medals hung on the walls, a fancy display case with model aircraft and wine inside, and a large desk in the right corner of the room with a computer on it.
Holstering my pistol, I walked over to the desk and began searching the drawers.
Papers, pens, stamps... Oh! A revolver!
Taking out the gun I started to examine it. This thing was definitely expensive. It looked silver with very elegant engraving all over from the grip to the end of the barrel.
I opened the cylinder to see if there were any bullets in it. There were none, but still a nice find. I tossed it into my bag and turned my attention to the computer.
Clicking the power button.
Nothing.
Unplugging it and plugging it back in.
Nothing.
Well shit, what do I do now?
Does this place have a generator? It should, it's a military base, how could it not have backup generators.
Back to exploring the base!
This was quite fun! Going into places I shouldn't be allowed in, how could I resist!
I looked for a map of the base and found one that points to a backup generator underground. There is also an armory shown on here, so I might as well check that out before I leave, but power comes first.
Continuing to walk through the halls, descending down a few staircases, I arrived at a rusted reinforced door. I tried the normal approach and used the handle.
SNAP
Well shit... again.
I tossed the broken handle over my shoulder. It seems the traditional way wasn't going to work. I'll have to open the door with brute force! And what better a battering ram, then myself!
I backed up, putting some distance between me and the door. Then I started running! Using the full force of my body, I slammed right into the door!
BANG
The door collapsed inward, brining me down with it.
"ARRGH! It hurts!" I rolled around on the floor, holding my body tightly. I thought I was super strong, so why does it hurt so much?!
After a few minutes of crying to myself, vowing to never do such a thing ever again. I gazed at my surroundings. Pipes, wiring, all sorts of mechanical nonsense that my beautifully smooth brain wouldn't understand. This is no doubt the generator room!
Quickly getting back on my feet, I walked over to a console covered in switches and levers. I looked over for a good minute, observing it entirely.
"Hmm, I see." I reached my hand out and flip down the ON switch. The generator roared to life in an almost painful roar. The lights in the room and on the console flickered on and off before finally stabilizing and remaining on.
"UMU! I love automation!"
I stuck around for a little longer, monitoring the valves like I understood what I was looking at. Once I was confident the lights wouldn't go off, I left and went straight back to the important person's room.
All the lights throughout the base were on, or at least most of them. Some were broken and some seemed to not be connected to the power lines. I entered the room once more and took a seat at the desk slowly, making sure the chair didn't break from sudden pressure.
I clicked the power button to the computer and watched it boot up from a black screen with a white logo on it.
[Welcome: General Greyfield]
"Hehe... didn't even bother to put a password huh."
The computer loaded surprisingly fast considering how long this place has been abandoned. Though after looking at the desktop, my excitement quickly died down. Most of the files had strange names, corrupted icons, or just refused to open entirely.
Well, that figures. I'm just happy that the computer can even turn on, and that I don't have to rub oils on it and chant some strange prayer with candles around it to make it work again.
I started going through every folder I could find, hoping there would be something useful. Maybe a report explaining what happened to the world.
Instead, I got a whole lot of errors.
After a few minutes of searching, I did manage to find some files that weren't completely destroyed. Most of them were inventory records, listing what equipment and supplies the base had stored.
A lot of weapons, ammunition, food supplies, medical equipment, blah blah blah. basically everything you would expect from a military base.
Nothing that answered my questions though.
There were also some battle reports, but most of them were heavily corrupted. Entire sections were missing, and a lot of the information was covered by what looked like redacted sections.
I clicked on one of the few readable reports.
Enemy designation: Rapture
Threat classification: Mechanical hostile entity
I stared at the screen for a moment.
"Rapture?"
That's a weird name for a robot enemy. Did the Vatican name them? I heard they were nutjob scientists so I guess it would be in line for them to name a killer robot a rapture.
I continued reading, but there wasn't much else. Most of the important details were either missing or completely unreadable.
So, the world was destroyed by machines called Raptures.
It seems humanity had fallen for one of the most overused story tropes, AI rebellion!
"I came all this way, only to just find out the enemy's name. Woe is me! How could humanity fall for such nonsense when we have made countless movies and books on it! It's so simple, don't give robots sapience and don't treat them like shit!"
Great progress.
After giving up on the computer, I decided it was time to check out the armory.
The computer had shown a terrifying number of defenses like automated turrets inside the armory. If the base had this much security, there had to be something good inside, right?
Finding the armory wasn't difficult thanks to the map I found earlier. The difficult part was the giant reinforced door blocking the way.
Seriously, how many layers of metal does one door need? Or maybe its two doors....
I walked up to the terminal beside it and pressed a few buttons.
The screen lit up.
IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED
I should have expected something like this. No way in hell they would just let anyone walk into a military armory. But inspecting this thing closer, how do I even verify my identity? Do I just press my hand here and say open sesame?
ACCESS GRANTED
"Eh?"
With a loud hiss, the armory door began to unlock, countless mechanisms within the door moving until it finally started to swing open slowly.
"Well, I'm not complaining."