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September 27, 2006

9.27.06

In honor of our internet service being down...AGAIN... please write something today regarding being completely cut off from civilization.

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Jim: The Descent

“This is for your little graffiti project in the coatroom,” said the orderly holding me down. The other man handled the injection and the universe spun away to darkness.

I awoke in an isolation room. No furniture, floor and walls thickly padded, a feeding slot on the door. Just like in the movies.

There were no medications with my greasy breakfast or with my flavorless lunch. By dinnertime the voices were back. Hateful, bile-soaked voices ripping through my skull.

More meals passed with no human contact. Only the shrieking voices.

Days became weeks.

I could no longer remember my name.

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Michele: Montana

Alone. The way he liked it. It was just a little space deep in the woods but it was all he needed.

No people. No phone. No tv. No distractions as he got down to the business of what he came here for.

He heard the occasional noise outside and got paranoid a couple of times, but it turned out to be animals.

No one knew he was here. They would know later. But not yet.

Things to be done first.

A cold wind blew in the broken window.

He pulled up his sweatshirt hood and began composing his note.

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David: Impromptu Vacation

The businessman dragged himself out of the ocean. Miraculously, he had survived the crash. Incredibly, he had washed up on land. He pulled out his cellphone: ruined.

“I guess three was too much to ask for.”

The island was smallish, with a beach and a palm forest. The sky was blue. The sun was warm. The surf swept soothingly in and out.

“Could be worse.” He removed his shoes and tie. “Search and rescue will be along. I’ll just relax until then.”

Someone stepped from the tree line.

“Hello?”

The stranger stared. Finally, he said, “Yew got a purty mouth.”

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Ted: The Geek of Wrath

The virus worked perfectly. The fires in the cities quickly spread to the suburbs, then to the countryside as the remaining few fled in terror. Radio and television stations were off the air, cable networks and satellite communications were dead. Phones didn't even get dial tones anymore.

Harvey was finally alone. His decades of secretive work, clandestine meetings, self-education and sacrifice had finally paid off. He was the last human being on planet Earth.

He contemplated his blissful solitude while looking over his garden. Plants never needed to be impressed, never judged, and never laughed at you behind your back.

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Stacy: The Researcher

Even with Jupiter’s great bulk out of the way, FTL radio had been hissing static for a week now. When he finally got up enough interest to turn the 15 meter scope towards Earth, he was unsurprised to find the planet shrouded in white, no hint of it's typical blue-green visible. The stations at the LaGrange points were completely dark, no shuttle traffic between them and Luna. Mount Olympus’ relay beacon was likewise silent.

Shrugging to himself, he turned the FTL radio receiver off, pointed the scope back out past the Kuiper belt, and continued his study of Asteroid 134340.

Read more from Stacy's ..

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