The morning began at 5:25 with a loud explosion. Power in the command room flickered but did not go out. Smoke poured from what I assume to be a transformer on the power pylons to the west. I'm going to guess one of the smaller pteradons (or perhaps just a bird or a rat) crawled into it for warmth? Or perhaps it was just another inevitable malfunction due to cut corners. While the command room's power remained on, several other sections of the building lost power, including the key-card locks.
I debated for some time what my course of action should be here. On the one hand, this power interruption was just another sign that my remaining time here in the control center is limited. Perhaps this was the sign that I needed to leave today. On the other hand, doors being unlocked was an immediate threat, and based on what I read on the terminals, I was at least somewhat confident that if I could return to the external breakers I could restore power.
In the end, I decided to venture again to the breakers. I know I need to leave the control center before its collapse inevitably dooms me, but I want to be as prepared as I can before I make that journey. I know the odds are against me, and I want to give myself every advantage before I take that ultimate risk. Remembering my previous brush with raptors by the breakers, I decided to prepare a contingency plan for this excursion. I returned to the breakroom and filled a couple of plastic bags I found with the most pungent scraps of rotting food I could find in the fridge: what appeared to be a lasagna and maybe a roast chicken at one point. I also now have a walking stick or spear I have fashioned from a L-shaped aluminum beam I salvaged and added some cloth grips to. I don't know if I would be able to effectively weild this against a raptor in close quarters, but it does give me a small sense of confidence, perhaps a false one.
Power was down around the back entrance leading to the breakers and pylons. Realizing the door could just be opened and closed with a simple lever handle made me extremely anxious. I shimmed the door latch, just in case, and made my way cautiosly out onto the fenced path again. I looked quite the sight: wearing a dirty mask over my mouth, carrying a bag of rotten meat and a spear, creeping as quickly but quietly as I could. As before, I made it to the breakers without issue. I found the two breakers that appeared to have been popped by the transformer. Before resetting these, I turned off several breakers I had deemed worth killing off permanently. I am trying to perserve the control center's power as long as I can, but it is a tough choice to lose some of the cameras I've been using to monitor the island. I used my walking stick to help with the large breaker levers, making this quicker than before. I reset the control center breakers and headed out, probably taking 10 minute in total.
As I left the gravel and and entered the fenced path back to the control center, I immediately came face to face with a lone raptor behind the outer fence to my left, clearly waiting for me. Even separated by the fences, this is as close as I have been to them. It screamed and flared its feathers at me, and I screamed back and brandished my spear as best I could. This moment lasted barely a few seconds, but it felt different. Something my dad taught me about mountain lions and bears years ago: you don't have to look like you can win in order to scare off a predator. You just have to look like you're not worth the trouble. For a split second, it felt like the raptor actually had to calculate if I was trouble. I did not linger in this feeling. I flung the bag of rotten food over the fences, fortunately just barely clearing them. The raptor was clearly taken aback. It hesitated and glanced at the bag of rotten meat and I bolted. The raptors are stubborn and persistent, but also extremely cautious, like cats. I pulled my shim back inside as I fled, and I could see it poking its snout gingerly into the bag of rot. I remembered that the door still wasn't locking, though, and I quickly made my way back to my nest in the command room.
Dinos don't know that this is what monkeys are famous for: throwing shit. Maybe I will teach them.
Back in the command room, I found the raptor had climbed the fences and was inspecting the door. I panicked and began trying to reset the locks, without even checking if I had actually been able to restore power. In my rush, I accidentally triggered a full lockdown of the building. All doors locked, sirens went off, red lights, everything. The lockdown lasted for a mandatory hour before I could shut it off, which seems counter-productive, and frankly, unsafe. It's ironic that this is the first time I'd seen a lockdown. Could a lockdown have prevented this, or even just saved a few lives? Or would've the lockdown just prevented anyone from escaping at all? Was there one that day that I somehow missed and it didn't help? I don't think so, but if there wasn't... why not? I wish I knew more about what happened that day, not that it would help or matter.
After the excitement of the early afternoon, I spent the evening going over footage from that day. I tell myself it's preparing myself, understanding the dinos better, understanding the island. But I'm not sure what answers I can find. I can't see how or where this disaster started in this tape, just fragments of escalating chaos and violence. I think I just need to see it. I think I need these scenes to wash over me. I think witnessing them is the least I can do. I think I deserve to watch it.
One scene that sticks with me, for reasons I don't totally understand, is the last helicopter taking off. Three people rushing to get on it, I don't recognize them. It's grainy, and I didn't know everyone at the park. Not a lot of socialization with the custodians. One of them wears a park services uniform, the other two are in plain clothes. They take off in a hurry, the helicopter leaves the frame. 2 minutes later, the helicopter crashes into a storage facility on a different camera feed, destroying it. There's no video of what causes the crash. I think they died instantly, which is a blessing.
The radio remains useless. I need to get out of here.