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"The word from the Mount" Horrifying Accident Claims Hundred of Lives! Infamous "Freak Alley" Collapses! |
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| WROCLAW
SECTOR, OLYMPUS, LUNA - At least 300 lives were lost at 04:20
LST today when the roof of the notorious pirate warren called
Freak Alley collapsed. Most of the squatters who lived in Freak
Alley, located in Wroclaw Sector directly beneath Beaulac Clinic,
were either crushed or severely injured in the accident. The collapse apparently came without warning. "We detected no seismic activity, nothing of the sort that would precipitate a cave - in in that area." said Dr. Raine Bourke of Lunar Selenological Survey. Survivors said that they were awakened by a sound "like thunder on an Earthside recording" shortly before the collapse occurred. Several witnesses also reported seeing explosions or bright lights across the burrow's roof just before the ceiling collapsed. As yet, investigators refuse to comment on the claim's reliability. Thousands upon thousands of tons of rock showered down upon the huddled inhabitants of the burrow, burying hundreds alive and crushing dozens more to death. A few survivors by the mouth of the warren escaped when the roof came crashing down, but most of the burrow's inhabitants were killed. Fortunately for the surrounding subsectors and the nearby clinic, the subsidence did not |
cause fissures
on the Lunar surface and the region's vacuum seal did not breach. "It
was a near thing, though, " said one resident. "I swear I could
see all the way up to the stars." Authorities postulate that the collapse was caused by a sudden power surge that overloaded the pirate warren's makeshift supply cables. "There is reason to believe," said Yeltsigngrad Deputy Police Commissioner Yegveny Kafelnikov, "that the [Freak Alley inhabitants'] jury rigged systems surged suddenly, in such a fashion that the resultant catastrophic failure caused structural damage to the entire burrow." Not everyone agrees with this report. "I seen Aberrants before, and this looked like Aberrant work!" claimed Mark Csolgosz, the self proclaimed "Mayor of Freak Alley." Authorities dismissed Csologosz's claims as hysteria. "It is natural to see Aberrants lurking in every shadow, but we are certain that there was no Aberrant involvement in this incident," said Kafelnikov. Freak Alley was one of the oldest and best known of the so named "pirate burrows," subsector complexes abandoned by the rich and colonized by those unable or unwilling to pay for authorized housing. Formerly a Class E residential burrow, Freak Alley was abandoned seven years ago. However, in the interim, |
before
yesterday's collapses, a thriving underground community had grown
up in the darkness where the wealthy once dwelt. In fact, some
of the more adventuresome travel agencies in Olympus claim that
Freak Alley is an "essential" stop for brave or curious
tourist. Freak Alley had its dark side as well. Police records mention a half - dozen missing persons complaints registered by denizens of the burrow. These may have related to recent disappearances in other Olympus sectors, notably the Downside sections of Yutu Yinchon and Lejanas, although Lunar authorities have made no significant headway in the matter. [See "Disappearance Baffle Authorities," 1.16.20.] The area also has a sinister reputation as a lair for Aberrant sympathizers, although sweeps by Lunar authorities have not turned up any in the subsector. Yeltsingrad Mayor Leon Illitch summed up the feelings of many citizens when he said, "Obviously, these pirate burrows are unsafe - something must be done about them." Heroic Docs Save Dozens The lone bright spot in the disaster was the rapid response of the nearby Beaulac Clinic, under the personal supervision of Clinic Director Dr. Jerzy Grabowski, who coordinated medical aid operations on site. In a further gesture of goodwill, Grabowski offered free medical care to all of the Alley's residents, even those who were not harmed in the cave in. |
