Other Worlds Than These: City 17

[It's time for another Monthly Musing -- the monthly community blog theme that provides readers with a chance to get their articles and discussions printed on the frontpage. -- CTZ]  

I found myself on a rail car nearly deserted except for two downcast strangers. I had no idea where I’d been, how I’d gotten there or at the moment where I was going, but somehow knew this was all supposed to make sense to me. The feeling was more strange than deja-vu. I shivered trying to think what might have happened before now, the only suggestions were of a lingering memory felt so alien and strange that I purged the thought and pressed on. Looking through the windows I could see that we were approaching a station with other trains already docked. I moved closer to the men both wearing identical blue jumpsuits, neither looking too happy about where we were going. One of the men said something to me as I approached the exit, but it was completely swallowed up by my other senses as I stepped out those doors and beheld my destination. City 17. This is the recollection of a gamer’s first experiences with the Half-Life universe upon first playing Half-Life 2.

A bright flash blinded me as a nearby hovering camera clicked a picture of my face without my consent. I already felt like I was rudely greeted, however the cheerful face of an elderly man tried to convince me otherwise with his brightly recorded speech continuously played over a giant flat TV panel that would be impossible to miss for any new citizens coming into the city. Doctor Breen, he called himself, appearing on behalf of the ‘benefactors‘. As ominous as you can possibly get. I could tell he was trying his best to ease people’s minds, but the way he said it was ‘safer’ only made me feel worse about what I’d find here.