SF0 / frozenhaddock / Dimensional Leakage

20 + 135 points

Dimensional Leakage by Tøm, Poisøn Lake, Sombrero Guy, Lincøln, zer0gee, Peter Garnett

March 29th, 2009 4:24 PM

INSTRUCTIONS: Obtain a plaque from the past, future, or an alternate dimension that commemorates the historical significance of a public place or object (statue, park bench etc.). Install and observe.

Sombrero Guy

When I saw this task, I thought it would be good if a few players in different locations worked together and put up locally significant events with a common theme. Anything that follows is the result of this idea.

The theme chosen was the upcoming robot apocalypse, first used by Lincoln.

I wrote a short commemorative piece about a character I made up, making a few references to Isaac Asimov, whose books contain quite a bit about robots. Apart from the obvious first name, Mayor Branno was a character in his Foundation series, and a reference to selenium being seen as a source of danger to robots is found in one of his first robot stories.

After a little waterproofing work, I set out to my chosen location. Boscombe pier has boards on it explaining some of the history of the area, so it was the perfect place for me to leave my plaque.

I observed for a little while and saw a couple of people mutter about it. I wasn't close enough to hear what they said. A few more people noticed the plaque, and I saw some definite smiles.

Lincoln

This is one of many plaques in and around Los Angeles denoting special landmarks and places of interest in the Battle of Los Angeles and LAØ's role in the Great War. It commemorates the first meeting of the Free Human Resistance.

The Free Human Resistance met on the top of this bridge many times in the years leading up to the great Battle of Los Angeles that heralded the fall of the robot empire.

This landmark shows a little known back story of the Free Human Resistance and their beginnings. Most stories you hear revolve around Senator Lincoln's heroics in the Battle of Los Angeles, but this is where it all began.

zer0gee

As any Future Historian can tell you, the real beginning of the Chicago portion of the Great War began on March 15th, 2021 - the date of the Roomba Revolution. In the affluent neighborhood of Roscoe Village, a series of seemingly accidental mishaps (one might recall the incident with the Bennetto toddler's fingers as "ground zero") involving the small robotic vacuums grew into a mass uprising throughout the city. Roombas themselves could only do minimal damage, of course, but as the sentient virus spread from machine to machine, other robotic devices took inspiration from this David-vs-Goliath battle to embark upon coups of their own, which turned out to be much more devastating. Eventually, as we know, this led to all-out war.

Peter Garnett

As soon as I found out that the theme for this collaboration was the Robot Uprising, I pretty much knew what to do: document its beginning. After all, I live in Silicon Valley - the epicenter of technological breakthroughs nationwide. I mean, I work two blocks from Intel HQ!

Hey, Intel. That'll do.

So the plaque basically talks about the nonfictional history of Intel, followed by the future points of history which lead to the Robot Uprising occuring. One quick trip to the print shop later, and this RTF becomes a physical, laminated sheet of paper, ready for mounting at my destination.

Just one thing, though... how will I mount it? I don't want to cause any actual property damage &c... Hey, what about that putty stuff that you put under vases to keep them from tipping over in an earthquake?

Luckily the local Walgreens had some of the stuff, so with that taken care of, all I needed to do was to rough up the lamination a little so it actually looks like it's been sitting outside a while instead of being posted today.

I then high-tailed it to Intel HQ, which despite working so close to it I had never actually visited before. Turns out there's already a very nice courtyard area in front of the building - ideal for putting up commemorations, really.

I picked my spot - an RPG-height wall in front of the courtyard which mainly seems built for showing signs and encouraging people to enter from the side - and in a moment, the plaque was mounted.

Satisfied with my work, I then left the scene, taking one last shot of the complete tableau as I went.

My heart goes out to all the pencil-neck nerds who bore the first assault of the robot hordes. May they rest in peace.

Poison Lake
An invitation to shenanigans if ever I saw one:

Check the images for my full write-up.

GYØ Tom

Belton wasn't much of a human stronghold...

But at least we can remember those that fell whilst defending humanity.

- smaller

Tom: The Fall of Station Road North

Fell to the robot hordes, 21st January 2051.

Tom: Construction.

Tom: Lamp post, all plaque'd up.

Tom: PlaqueShot 2

Tom: Job done!

There was a couple sat in their car about 4 metres away from me as I took this. I looked weird.

Sombrero Guy

The text, commemorating a great hero of his time...

Sombrero Guy

These strips of plastic should do a good job of waterproofing it, and also stiffen the plaque.

Sombrero Guy

The finished plaque. Working with sticky back plastic can be dangerous...

Sombrero Guy

Boscombe pier, the location for my plaque

Sombrero Guy

Placing the plaque...

Sombrero Guy

I tried to put it in its correct chronological place

Sombrero Guy

It is now on display for anyone who wishes to read it. I did see a few people look at it, and their reactions were quite amusing. I saw a couple muttering to each other, and a few other people smile a bit. I'm not sure whether this was good or bad.

Peter Garnett

The Santa Clara plaque, in digital form for your viewing pleasure. Note that it will only look right if you have a font called "Elephant".

Peter Garnett

First cut of the plaque, shiny and new from the lamination machine.

Peter Garnett

The secret ingredient. This is how we stick it to the Man without the Man getting sticky.

Peter Garnett

A laminated plaque is likely to get some wear and tear after a while, no? So let's rough it up a little.

Peter Garnett

There, much better.

Peter Garnett

The auspicious location: Intel Corporate Headquarters, complete with scenic courtyard.

Peter Garnett

The plaque again, mounted on the mini-wall at the front of the courtyard.

Peter Garnett

Here's a picture from farther back, so you can see the area. Also note that this "wall" really is that short - I was holding the camera at eye level for this picture. I could probably jump over this if I wanted!

Peter Garnett

One last shot on the way out.

Lincoln

This spot marks the first meeting of the Free Human Resistance on June 24, 2048. This group led by Senator Lincoln was instrumental in quelling the robot uprising and eventually defeating the invading robot hordes.

Lincoln

The plaque in place.

Lincoln

This is the spot the Free Human Resistance met for the first time as a real structured group with a plan of action. The Resistance would come back and meet here on a semi-regular basis. It is believed that this spot was chosen because of the fact that unlike Los Angeles proper, this bridge and dam were unharmed and mostly overlooked by the sentry patrols. We also have heard rumors that Senator Lincoln liked the spot because of the untouched nature that could be seen on all sides. He said he thought it was nice to hear birds chirping. It was a good reminder of what they were fighting for.

Lincoln

In this shot you can see the plaque on the right and if you look closely you can see the transformer room that the Resistance used as a weapons bunker. The resistance learned early on not to have any meetings or gatherings in buildings. Instead choosing to meet out in the open on the top of this dam where threats could be seen from miles away and escape was assured from nearly any direction.

Lincoln

View from the top of the dam looking down from the spot where the plaque was placed.

Lincoln

The view from the top of the dam looking down into the creek on the output side.

Lincoln

A shot of the input side of the dam.

PoisonLake

This is a door in the science building on my campus. It opens to a courtyard type area with some friendly trees. There's nothing particularly remarkable about it, except for its sign.

PoisonLake - an invitation

I pass this sign at least twice a week & it tempts me. I had plans to give the room some kind of indicator & this task provided an opportunity to act.

PoisonLake

This is my plaque (gee, that was an obvious statement). I painted the background color, stenciled most of the text & stamped on the name of the Robot General with a kneaded eraser. The stamping turned out pretty messy & I would have painted over it, but instead I melted into a puddle of laziness.

PoisonLake

After I placed the plaque, some people walked by & I pretended to be interested in this tree.

PoisonLake

I attached the plaque with foam mounting squares. They're supposed to hold up to 5 pounds, so hopefully it stays.

PoisonLake

A close-up of the plaque in place. The Text reads, "On this site in the year 2051, the Robot General Omega Backslash gave a 12 hour binary speech. As the General spoke, the enemy uploaded a devastating virus that wiped the drives of thousands." Because robots mourn those who must be reformatted'/|?.

zer0gee