One of the many things to arise to prominence in recent years is data, and the idea if a thing can be tracked and evaluated, it should be. Never mind the invasive nature of such an idea, it is the data that matters! Not pithy ideals like privacy and security. At least, this is what the collectors of such data would have you believe.
We here at the Calamity take a much more pragmatic approach: we want to collect data on our internal processes to better improve attractions development. The Calamity will be built, but to do so efficiently means to collect and evaluate information on how we operate and how much of what we do can be automated.
Some things will never be automated. Every single fucking word you read in any Calamity publication is hand-written. Every single fucking one. But for everything else? Backups, version control, content catalogs and libraries management … this can all be tracked, evaluated, and automated to some degree, which is what our internal focus is at the moment with the software and plugins we’re developing. We want to automate the boring shit, so we can focus on the fun shit: writing devastatingly terrible stories for your amusement.
Let’s get into it →
There’s more infrastructure development happening, as usual, as of late. It’s the same update but a different week: A Vampire’s Vengeance, House, and Bus Driver are all moving full steam ahead, while the other writing projects receive minor updates here and there as the project management development progresses. There is a whole system being built to support Calamity construction, and it remains our expectation that the completion of this system will bring unprecedented progress across the various attractions we have been building. As usual, more to come! Keep your eyes on this space for more updates.
Last week, we met Ceres, with Isabelle and Edgar surprised by her sudden appearance. This week, we see how that begins to shake out:
With lunch over and his wife on her way back to work, Solomon decides to make another dream dive. What lies in store for him this time?
This week, we bring you a story that is not quite horror, per se, yet still curious nonetheless. Come drift on the high seas with our fellow Charteris as he wonders if he is, indeed, going mad.
on sale now
A patron falls prey to the whimsical magic of a touring artist. Currently available only on Apple Books.
When we last rode with the bus driver, they had arrived the Trading Outpost, which was formerly the Calico Ghost Town prior to the epidemic. The bus driver and passengers met Manuel, who would be their host for their stay. He led them in to the main restaurant and hotel, which the bus driver would soon discover was caked with infected viscera. You can catch up with Part XX here. Now, how does their visit go? Will they actually have an opportunity to rest? Or will an infected incursion break the quiet before the night’s over? Let’s find out →
Manuel barked a laugh in response to the bus drivers exclamation. He addressed the comment as they approached the doorways at the end, turning left into the only open door: "The acid neutralizes whatever it is that makes people sick." Nonchalant. Casual. Like they were discussing the weather. "We have a system on how to deal with infected up close, so no one turns into one of them. It's not perfect—plenty of people have fallen to rise again, and we gotta take them out too—but it works most of the time."
The bus driver followed behind Manuel into a large, empty room. Everyone from the bus was milling about, unsure where to go or what to do. There was a stair set directly in front of the doorway leading to a downstairs area; Manuel led the way down, waving to the others to follow. At the base of the stair was a modest dining area with a bar to one side. A few tables were taken up by residents, who stood to welcome the travelers.
"Most of our buildings are like this, holdovers from when we had no place to go but underground for survival." Manuel turned away from the bus driver for a moment and invited everyone to take a seat wherever they liked, encouraging them to get comfortable.
"We don't have much in the way of hospitality," he said, apologetically, "but we do have some food to share and plenty of booze."
"Always plenty of booze," said one of residents. The others laughed, as did some of the passengers.
Manuel walked behind the bar and invited the bus driver to take a seat on the other side of it. The wall behind the bar was bare; Manuel reached beneath the bar and produced two whiskey tumblers, placing them both on the counter before him. He then withdrew a plain glass bottle with amber liquid from below the counter, pulled the cork, and poured a shot in each.
"You're not scheduled to leave until the morning, correct?" Manuel raised an eyebrow in the bus driver's direction, who confirmed this detail.
"Excellent!" Manuel slid a glass across to the bus driver and lifted the other. He took a deep inhale over the liquid. He said, "Helps to ease it down the gullet," topped off with a wink, then slammed the drink back, slammed the glass down, shook his head, and let out a loud roar. "Wow, that never gets better!"
The bus driver eyed the liquid with some suspicion. He brought the glass to just under his nose and took a test whiff. The drink's intensity brought water to his eyes, causing him to pull the glass away as he launched into a coughing fit.
Some of the residents burst out laughing while the passengers looked on in curiosity. Manuel reached over the bar and clapped the bus driver on the shoulder.
"You can't pussy-foot this shit," he said. "You just gotta pound it."
"That's what she said," said one of the residents. Raucous laughter exploded throughout the dining area.
The bus driver finished coughing and looked at Manuel with some suspicion, who chuckled.
"You don't have to drink it," said Manuel. "But after your ride here, I imagined you might be grateful for it." He poured himself another, drinking it down as soon as he released the bottle. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and addressed the bus driver once again. "There's plenty of this shit, sure, but there's more for the rest of us if you don't want any." He dropped the bus driver another wink.
"Fuck it," said the bus driver. He raised the glass to his nose, inhaled deeply in much the same way as Manuel, though he had to fight the urge to cough again, then poured the liquid into his mouth, swallowing it as quickly as he could manage, which was not damn near quick enough. This was met with cheers and applause from the residents. With watery eyes and a burning throat, the bus driver stood, turned, and bowed, to more applause.
"We got booze for the night and painkillers for the morning," said Manuel. "Let's enjoy ourselves!"
If you can survive the drink, you can survive the infected, right? Probably. We venture to guess that drink does more than just put water in your eyes and hair on your gooch, but you’ll have to come back to find out what other uses the drink gets put to. And how about our passengers? Only one way to find out!
This edition was filled with all kinds of fun content, was it not? From Ceres and her engagement with humans in A Vampire’s Vengeance, to Solomon’s sudden fall into dreamspace in House, and then again with Manuel’s invitation to the bus driver and passengers to party, this edition runs the gamut of excitement, curiosity, and merriment. I hope you enjoyed perusing this edition at least as much as, if not more than, I enjoyed putting it together. It remains my greatest pleasure to share these stories with you.
As usual, we here at the Calamity are quite besides ourselves to hear from you! Do you have thoughts about the Backstage Pass or any of our features? Please, share them with us! You can reply to this email, comment on this post on the web, or use any of the buttons below.
We look forward to seeing you Backstage next week!
Cordially,
Mad Alex
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