Prologue

Welcome back to the story. Well, it's been quite a ride, kids and skids. We almost lost ourselves in the bowels of a hospital, saw a city make and unmake itself, heard the plight of a man in dire straits, and just maybe brought a little light into the world, if we were lucky.

If you haven't been following along, you really ought to read these in the order "Straight Line", "Trespassing the Future", "First Sight", and "Trespassing".

This here's the end.

IV

I was getting tired as I stepped off the bus.

If you're wondering why I was stepping off a bus when I just said I could walk, go back to "First Sight" and look for the white!

It had been a long day. The walk from Dal to home is no picnic, and I'd had quite the adventure. Truth be, I was looking forward to lying down a bit and kicking back with a good book. This task happened almost by accident.

I was stepping off the bus, glad to have managed to get a ride without fare, thinking of the hamburgers that awaited me at home, when I saw this.



It's the new bus depot the city is putting in. So goes the story that bus drivers were complaining that, while stopped to take their breaks at the bus depot, they had nowhere to go to the bathroom. Never mind that the bus depot is right next to the biggest sports and recreation center in the entire city. Never mind that it would be cheaper to throw up some Port-a-Johns and call it a day. The city decided to throw thousands of dollars behind building a shiny new facility, all for want of a crapper.

I was starting to walk my usual route home, when I noticed something odd. Up till now, the entire area had been cordoned off, due to construction (natch). But, mysteriously, the cordons were down. Gates were open. Not a security guard in sight.

I was tired. I wanted to pack it in. But it was a place that wouldn't be the same in ten years, and this was an unprecedented chance to get some choice shots of the zone.

I figured I'd hop in, snap a few, scoot out, and call it a day. It's practically on the way home anyway.



So I crossed the threshold of dust and gravel, went up some steps that were sadly disconnected from anything meaningful, busted out the ol' camera, and started taking some shots.

It's actually quite nice. Futuristic, in a retro-ish kind of way. The sort of thing someone from the eighties might think people in 2012 would build. I'll be glad to see it done.



I wasn't in much of a mood to stay, really. Inasmuch as I was concerned, I'd already done three tasks. It had been a good day. But the photo op was there and, well, I'm always paranoid that my proofs aren't quite enough, so I like to collect as much as I can.



I snapped that last shot and then turned to go home.

Then I saw this.

Whoops.

Without even intending to, I'd trespassed into a spot I really shouldn't have, and in doing so, accidentally completed task number four. I debated uploading it, since it's little more than an accidental afterthought, but I think it provides a nice coda. In attempting to Trespass the Future, I'd unintentionally Trespassed the present.

There's no waxing poetic here, no musings on the nature of the city and the City. Just me, nervously chuckling to myself as I frantically scan the surrounding area for beat cops, before tossing the camera back in the Satch and beating a hasty retreat back to the lodge.

Well, gang, it's here that the story draws to a close. I wandered up through my woods to hearth and home, dinner and a nice sit-down with a tall glass of ice water. It had been something of a day, and I was exhausted.

But I'll never forget today, and I'll never forget the reason it all happened. Let this be a testament to the power of SF0, the power that the game has to take Everyday Life and turn it into something magnificent. That as soon as you learn to see the City, you start seeing tales around every corner, tales of hope, tales of fear, tales of darkness and light, tales of grand heroes and vile hardships. Take pride, fellow Players, in knowing that you are part of a grand engine that allows you- and others- to make the world a more fascinating place.

I stepped through my door today and an adventure happened. All I had to do was start walking.

I encourage you all to do the same.