💾 Archived View for midnight.pub › replies › 2616 captured on 2023-01-29 at 06:09:50. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2022-01-08)
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Yes, I'm in! Ignoring the glitches for now I open a new tab in the browser and go to the pubs official forum, midnight.pub, and make a post describing my situation. If it works then surely rescue will come within minutes.
But if it doesn't I'll need to hatch another plan. I think the LED devices are either smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, and they probably automatically contact the fire department when they go off, but I'll consider my other options before taking any actions in this regard (starting the sprinklers, if there are any, could potentially cause more damage than removing the grills from a single window).
The ladder to the cellar is also very interesting, there could easily be power tools down there. Is the laptop mostly charged by now? If yes, I'd like to take it down there to see if the display is bright enough for me to see anything (ideally a light switch).
You seek among the available Wi-Fi networks, and find the pub's free Wi-Fi.
As the browser connects to midnight.pub you perceive a weird vibration around you, and a light ghostly shine flashes briefly on the entrance, propagating radially across the room. The shine highlighting in its passage the silhouettes of human beings, who walk around, interact silently, sit on the booths and have drinks at the bar. They disappear immediately after the wave passed.
As you post your message, you perceive a similar shine on the bulletin board near the entrance, and you notice the appearance of another paper posted.
(You're now allowed, if you wish, to post on midnight.pub in real life. You can ask advices to the other patrons, but I guess it's fair if only the forum owner can set you free.)
While waiting for an answer, you disconnect the laptop: the battery did not charge beyond 95.6%, but it will be definitely enough. The power manager reports it will work for a couple of hours. You use it as a flashlight, climbing down the ladder, until you reach the floor of the cellar.
In the dim light of the screen, you see that the room is rectangular, narrow and long. The ladder is leaning towards a wall which is covered with shelves full of bottles. The opposite wall is covered with something bulky.
At the other end of the room you see a closed door. You grope around to reach it, and try to open it, but it is locked (of course!). Next to it you see a light switch, so you turn on the light. Now you can close the laptop lid and look around.
You have now a better view of the room: the shelves are in fact carrying the most different bottles: wines, soft drinks, syrups, and various ingredients for cocktails. The bulky objects are crates, half of them are full of empty bottles ready to be returned for money, the other half are full of various kinds of soda.
Beyond the crates, you see a large and shiny machine, shaped like a big cube, supported by four shiny legs. The machine is connected to a socket on the wall, but it is otherwise turned off.
On the nearby wall you see a window: it has no bars and it is large enough for a person to pass. On the other side of it, however, you see what it looks to be a sewer for rain water.