Humanity's Peacekeepers

Prof. Ryieszenski [ 1 : ОДИН ]

— ACT 1 // АКТ 1 —

- Jack // Джек -

My new pal was over by the gate in front of an algae-filled fountain, staring and looking around. I continued to scan through the letters. They all mentioned similar things. We were meant to symbolize the countries of Russia and America, as they signed a treaty to disallow nuclear weapons under all circumstances. Many people also came over to give messages due to an asteroid collision which apparently already happened.

They mentioned silly abstract thoughts and guesses that simply weren't true and never happened at all. They thought that we would lead the way to the "afterlife", or something. Mrs. Meikel, the fine mistress that apparently created me and Igor had done a fantastic job with all the details on us, don't get me wrong, but over a nuclear peace treaty? It's all a bit unnecessary.

"I guess that's just what human nature is," I said with a sigh. "Naively cutting each other off with ideologies and boundaries that shouldn't've been made in the first place."

I glanced over at the plaques on the 3-foot-high pedestal where we once stood. "...And celebrating when they overcome them, I suppose."

After who knows how many messages, I took out one final light blue paper. This one was different from the rest, because it was actually printed, and stuck to the bottom of the box with an impermanent adhesive.

— - — - — - — - —

Dear Igor and Jack, Humanity's Peacekeepers,

My name is Prof. Owen Richie Ryieszenski (rih-ZEN-skee), I am responsible for giving you intelligence and conscience. I am certain that you have many questions, but hopefully all of them will be answered on this little journey.

In case you two do not know your identities, the Siberian Husky dog with blue-purple eyes — Igor — represents the Russian half of the Nuclear Treaty of 2067; the Alaskan Malamute dog with amber eyes — Jack — personifies the American half of said treaty.

If all goes according to plan, you two should have awoken at exactly one hundred years after the impact, on 2238/10/09 04:23:32 PM EST/UTC(-5:00).

You two are placed in front of the United Nations Secretariat Building, part of the UN Headquarters in New York City, NY, USA.

If you two do feel curious about the whole situation and wish to understand more about humanity, our goals, visions, and downfall, then that means two things. One, my carcass would be overjoyed to find that I've successfully imitated human curiosity, haha! And two, more importantly, that you will have to enter the 4th level below ground — floor B4a — of the UN Secretariat Building, which can only be accessed via a hidden passage.

You will have to enter the main entrance, flick a hidden switch behind the framed UN flag on the wall behind the counter, answer one of the randomly-generated questions using the keypad, and locate the hatch.

If that fails, then take the adjacent stairwell.

Faithfully,
Prof. O. R. Ryieszenski

— - — - — - — - —

"Hmm." This was certainly an important message. Unfortunately since Mrs. Meikel didn't give us pockets (because dogs don't need pockets, apparently), I placed the paper around my neck, secured by the bandana.

I placed the other papers back in their little home and closed the lid, then walked over to Igor, still investigating the place.

"Howdy, fellow Peacekeeper!" I nudged at Igor, still fixated onto the vine-ridden gate to outside. "What didya find?"

"...Vines? Haven't found anything otherwise, really."

"Well, I have," I said, and handed him the azure paper.