The Great Devastation

Report: The Great Devastation

Camera system: Division Onyx - Team 47

Alternative source: Personal Journal entry of Jamie Eve

“So you’re telling me, your new boss is pushing you to come out of your shell to get you to work more out of your element. Could it just be that they see something in your skills that they like?” So I sit here getting the basic lecture, from my latest therapist. Someone who my new boss Rick suggested I made sure to go to, in ways to better deal with my anxiety disorder. I think Rick, and my mom, are working as a devious team, to get me to greater humiliate myself publicly. I just sit here and drown him out as best I can. I shrug my shoulders as an act of saying, I don't know without actually saying it. In a way to carry on my silent protest of disdain for the mess, I sit in. "Have you been trying the breathing exercises we discussed last week?"

No, you stupid idiot, they don’t work, when I panic I can’t breathe I just want to puke. “Yeah!” I reply with the simplest of answers is to just lie and wait out the clock for him to run out of questions, and just give up on the hopeless cause that is me.

“Well, have you had to do anything you weren’t comfortable with? Taking part in something, since our last visit.” The doctor asks

Yes, it's called my daily life. You try living in a space where you're in constant contact with a closet nerd that thinks he’s a street thug. The poster boy of all thirty-year-old male virgins there are in the world. A boss which keeps forcing one too unwillingly to face their fears, to better your work in a group environment that you just want out of. And the only female contact you have outside of the personalities on television, being the bearer of gloom and doom. She won’t open up and makes me wonder when she will snap, and kill us all with a grizzly smile on her face. “Rick had me deliver a report to other graphic artists in the complex the other day. To make sure we have a universal look, throughout the part of the game we are working on.”

"Good, how did it go?" I watch as the doctor fanes interest in my life.

“I got sick on the lunch they provided me, and could feel the cold stares of everyone judging my skills, and reason for being there before them.” I grunt in frustration and begin to form what my therapist has dubbed my defensive ball position.

“How could you tell? Did someone say something to you?” He nods and takes a sip of his drink.

“No, I just could tell by the way they all looked at me.” Just lay off okay, they were judging me with their eyes I could see it, their constant staring. It was driving me mad, get off the subject.

“How did they look at you? How did you know they were judging you and not just processing the information you were giving?” I get lost watching him click at his pen.

“I just know, it’s like a sixth sense. I could feel their disgust in me.” I begin to grit my teeth and feel the same feeling towards this therapist that I have for my mother’s lectures to me.

“I think you’re paranoid. Perhaps we should look at some medication to calm your nerves. But first I want to know, how do you sleep and eat each day?” Where did this guy go to say this crap? Why does my sleeping and eating matter, towards my anxiety?

“I really don’t understand? I sleep in a bed, and I eat food, is that what you want to know?" I reply as I hold myself back from snapping at him.

"No, I mean how long do you sleep? Is it restful? What kinds of foods do you eat? Each of these can affect the body in a way that enhances Anxiety Disorder, more so in a case like yours where you suffer the severe effects of it.” I look at the therapist peering at me over the edge rim of his glasses, which I swear he simply wears to make me feel like I am being berated by him and his stare.

"Well, I guess I could sleep better. I mean I get about 6 hours, but with trying to deal with all the pressure of the game, I don’t sleep that often, and I guess I get a meal in each day.” I give in as I am running on about three hours of bed rest and have a nagging urge to get back to the game, where I intend to secretly design the city simpleton after this man.

"Okay, I have a good idea what to prescribe for you, I would like you to try this, and then next week we will see how you do." The doctor sits forth from his desk writing on a notepad, looks like I have meds to go buy. Tearing the note he hands it to me. “Now read it back to me.”

I look at the note, and I am in shock it’s not medication at all. “8 to 9 hours' sleep, 3 meals a day, and regular exercise? Are you kidding me! How is this to help my nerves?"

“Studies show people with Anxiety Disorder, which have a regular amount of sleep, food and exercise will cut down on the stress in their lives and let them handle it better.” I watch the doctor peer over his glasses as he addresses me.

“But I can’t, my work is.” I try to work my way free of adding on to my already heavy caseload

“Stressing you out, given you’re under their eye at all times. But from what you told me in the past they have active places for the staff to go and release the stress physically. I suggest you start doing a workout regiment, preferably one that is heavy on cardio activity. It will, in turn, build a need for both food and rest. This will help calm your body from the stress of your daily work, and the environment you live in. I want to try this before I get you on prescription medication, as tests have shown medicines tend to affect the creative mind in bad ways. So I should think to avoid them as much as possible for you until we have tried everything." He shows a smug smile as he finishes saying I know better than you about your life.

“And if I don’t follow your advice?” I reply with full intent to not do as he asks

"Then I don't think I can help you. Only you can take part in this, and get yourself to feel better. I can’t lead you to do it nor can anyone else. So let’s try this, and I will see you next week okay?” He sighs and makes a note of my words.

I say nothing just nod in reluctant agreement. While I rise from my seat and walk out the door and make my way to the subway system back to the grind. My mind focused on the issue of trying to follow the advice of, that know it all, pisses me off. I find my movements to be made with great haste as rage fills my head. I knew my mom and Rick were behind this whole scam, looks like the doctor is also behind all this. Exercise, yeah right that will clear my head and make me not suffer every time, no don't let me just shut myself up in a calm and quiet room. No, I have to exercise. Eat and sleep. “WHAT A JOKE!” I quickly take note I just pronounced that out loud and look to see if anyone is staring, but instead, I look and find the streets quiet and vacant. Okay given this is just a suburb of Northern Virginia, but it's 11:35 on a Tuesday. What is today some kind of national Holiday? I quickly pull out my DAS from its purse confinement and take note mom has called me 15 times today. What the heck? Even for her, that's a bit overkill. Anyway, I don't want to talk to her. My mind will just have me try to work out my frustrations and try to work her reactions through the space of wireless signals of my imagination. I'm so glad I didn't go for the video projection model that my mom wanted me to buy. Just another useless gimmick I will try to avoid, only having it activate in my purse without wanting it to and it will drain both my battery and minutes in no time.

I turn to the daily calendar, and as I thought no holiday. So what could be going on?

I make my way down to the subway line to ride back and still no people. This in all 5 years of my living in DC is the first time I ever saw something like this, even at the latest hours of operation the subway has stragglers. I watch as the train pulls in and finally I see people getting off, but only a few. It looks like a train full of people. It makes me puzzled and I recheck the time wondering if for some reason I seem to be here at rush hour. 11:43. No, it's not me what the heck is going on. I get on and take a seat looking back at the people getting off the train. I swear I see many of them in tears and even a few running off, some people are hugging each other. Never in all my years have I seen this massive group of sorrow and human kindness with strangers. Seriously, what is going on here? Was the city attacked again, like the missile strike twenty years ago? Given then DC only had a handful of casualties but still. With the Lincoln Monument still being rebuilt, it's odd seeing something like this in my lifetime. The doors close and I know soon I will be home, yet little of what I can think of can prepare me for the coming events.

As I finally leave the subway station in Crystal City I start to walk to the Onyx Towers, as the crew has come to call them. I witness many of the staff that has gone out to grab lunch rushing back in. When suddenly my DAS beeps notifying me of an incoming message, it is not my mom this time. No, this time, it's work calling for a mandatory staff meeting in the built-in theater on the first floor. As I stand puzzled at the message, when I get a push on my shoulder, I go about turning to look and see Moses. “Hey girl, get a move on something big is going down.”

"What is it, do you know?” I ask turning my DAS on standby and following his lead

“You mean you didn’t hear the news, where have you been?" I try to match his pace which isn't hard as he still has his hands full with what looks like lunch for the other guys in our group.

“Therapy, no outside influences allowed. That means no electronics.” I say shaking the small black box in my hand.

“All I know is that something happened in San Francisco, and now the whole company is flipping out because they can’t reach the offices there.” Moses shouts back carrying the box collection of food.

Did something happen at San Fran? Black Clover houses one of 7 of its main branches in San Francisco's Financial District and has offices throughout the city, and other parts of the west coast. Worse yet while 11 kingdoms creator lives and works in Kyoto Japan, the main game's operations are handled by the gaming branch in San Francisco. Meaning if something happened to them then the project could be affected in a bad way. We head in followed by a bunch of other people and make our way to the theater, the people at the door ignore Moses's collection of food and we seek to join the rest of our team. I toss the DAS in my bag in a habit and ignore my mom from calling me a 16th time.

Moments after we take our seats and Moses hands off the food to the rest of the group, Gavin quickly pulls the tab to release the boxes heat generation and waits the designated ten seconds then tears into the freshly heated food as if he hadn’t eaten a thing for days. I turn to see Rick take his lunch and just place it to the side of his feet. His concentration set to his DAS, sending text message after text message. I wonder who he is trying to reach. Melissa just sits there with her food in her lap, only drinking some from a bottle of water she had with her. Slowly always keeping her eyes locked on the scene in front of her.

"What happened, what is all this about?" I ask the group as the clearly labeled outsider in all this. Yet my question goes ignored by the group, Rick looks at me and his face is filled with sadness. I look around and see people acting much the same way as my group, some that have food with them from their lunch breaks, and others move quickly putting food away. So many people are choosing to go hungry. What could turn people to not eat? Some of the people on their DAS’s, talking or texting other people they know, one thing remains, all carry a solemn look on their faces some in tears. A few people are in hysterical cries of sadness. But those are quickly escorted out by others I can only guess to comfort them in some way.

A man in slick business attire walks onto the stage. I soon note him to be Frank Williams, the lawyer I had to interview for the job months earlier.

“I think we will just let anyone who hasn’t gotten in yet to fill in the seats as they can. Go ahead and start the feed guys, but mute it for a sec.” He gazes up at what I can only guess is the staff operating the projection system and speakers, as the screen goes blue and then suddenly the News channels burst into view. Then I see the words that broke so many hearts, words I knew what had caused the empty streets, random hugs and tears I saw on my journey here, words that would cause my mom to worry enough to have called me so often. As the News reports show the message 9.5 earthquake hits downtown San Francisco, all communication was lost. "Ladies and gentlemen we at Black Clover Gaming have brought you here today to ask you all stand with us as we get the info. Currently, our offices in Nevada are trying to reach both the offices in L.A. and San Francisco and in a few minutes we will receive a reaction shot, we are told by the team of the scene from a drone. New York, however, wanted to assure you all that no matter what happens that this project will go on. They will just have to assess what needs to be done to proceed on the project at hand.” The words of Mr. Williams is broken as the face of Gail Jeirade, Black Clover Gaming’s official spokeswoman, appears on one of a dozen blocks and then expanded to fill the largest space. She starts talking and the staff quickly cut in on her. “… The tragedy that occurred this morning just at the start of the day in San Francisco breaks the hearts of this company, and all of our other Divisions are taking the full effort to aid the authorities in helping the victims of this horrible event. As Black Clover Industry employees I ask that each do what you can to comfort yourselves and those that you may have known involved. The current actions of K11 will continue and survivors of the incident will be housed in temporary locations, and work on their end will be distributed to other locations to help keep us on schedule.” I grit my teeth at the words. How can they try to act like things go on as normal, we don't even know who or what is left in San Francisco. I watch as she turns to face someone talking off-camera. " What's that? … We have the feed from the drone, good it will come out anyway, might as well show the staff. Ladies and Gentlemen I apologize for the following disturbing footage, coming up but I’m told our drones have arrived and are sending back the first images. These images we will now be sharing with you.”

The picture switches to a new view that starts out fuzzy, but as it clears all that is seen is a gray flat land with smoke rising. The room is filled with gasps in horror, as the vision of the twisted red metal of the Golden Gate Bridge’s remains lay in crumbled ruins barely sticking out of the bay. Soon it's understood the gray hill mass is what remains of the very place that housed our offices in town. The city was crushed under itself in a mass of steel, glass, and concrete. The once Golden City is nothing more than a city of grey death.

Dust and ash of former buildings and lives fill the air, the sky around the once sunny city now dark as the heaven’s themselves, and hold a solace watch over the dead that lay below. Even the hardest souls of people in the staff couldn't help but take note that few if any would survive such devastation. A fact further proven as the drone moves in closer and scenes of dead bodies on the street can be seen. A few people are moving around between ruined buildings and cars looking around at the destruction of their once-proud home. The speakers are silent along with the reactions of the people in the room.

The images carry on for the next few minutes silent, even the newscasters that make it their living to report on death and destruction in every way, just stand in total silence. In one moment the video shows what looks to be a small girl screaming, she is trying to squeeze out from a car that has been crushed by some rubble, tears clearing through the blood as she cries for help. Worse yet as the image focuses on her, the image of blood and a limb of an adult can be seen under the crushed section of the car. Another scene of a man coated in dust dragging a body of a young woman who goes unmoving, save for the shallow gasps of air she makes. Though he is able to move he continues to cough a combination of dust, grime, and blood, forming a red mist from his exhaled breath. A scene passes what one can assume is a fire department with the half-buried fire truck comes into view. Three firefighters stand then looking about. Two look to be arguing over where to head off to. While the remaining one just drops to his knees sobbing. As the drone moves into the dense financial district, where more survivors are found, but they are wandering about looking for a way to go, all of them coated in grayish brown dust as blood coats the front of whatever they had worn that day and trickles down from their ears. I watch as one woman looks up at the drone flying above and mouths some words that I can only make out is, God help us.

I turn from the screen when a noise hits my ears. I can hear the constant wheezing of Gavin strongly near me, growing louder and louder. I turn only to look around and see he is calm and fixed on the screen, and worse yet he goes on eating his lunch unbothered by the scene displayed before him. Yet the wheezing is continuing, my hands feel a cold sweat about them as I place my hand on my chest, and note the location of the wheezing to me coming from my own panicked body. The wheezing causes my chest to vibrate slightly, and I struggle greater to gain the next breath. The feeling of nausea begins to hit me and I excuse myself from my seat, staggering as I hastily walk. With the footsteps of Melissa following behind me, in the path of my tears. I make it to the public restrooms and find an open stall. With the sounds inside I can tell I’m not the only one affected by the footage in this way. Between my coughing of what little I had in my system, a faint knock is on the stall.

“Just a minute.” I cry back, only to note I never actually shut the stall and see a cold stare of Melissa looking back at me. Her stare makes my nerves hit my stomach even stronger as I feel a sense of disappointment in her face.

“Are you okay Hun? Did you know anyone that would cause you to be this upset?” She says with the portrayal of concern.

I wipe my mouth and sit on the cold floor to look back at her. “No, I guess not but…”

“But nothing, you can’t have stopped this from happening, and you can’t get yourself upset over things you have no control over. Hell, for years they have predicted this but even still, no one could stop it. Its God's plan at work." Melissa shakes her head and looks me over sternly.

"God's plans to let all those people die? It's to make those people we saw suffer? How can you say that? Don't you care, that countless lives are lost?" She walks up grabs and my shirt, for a woman almost half my size to be able to lift me was a shock, to begin with. But more so was the sting of the slap she placed on my face.

“Grow up child, People live and die. We can’t control that. Don’t ever waste your tears on things you can’t help do anything about. Save them for people you care for in this world." I look at Melissa's face shows hurt and I can tell the concern is possibly a bit more genuine than I first thought.

“You’re heartless!” I scream at her trying to break her hold on my shirt. I hear a small rip, surely some part of it tore away in my effort to break free but despite having several inches, and maybe a few pounds on this woman I fail to break free.

“Go ahead, call me that, but if you want to cry for something you can’t control then you’re just a God’s damn fool. Now do you want to feel sorry for people you never met, or do you want to do something to help them?" Her cold eyes stare me down.

I turn in shock at her. “Help them, but they.”

"Like I said it's God's plan, to help, it just takes these moments for some of us to remember that fact. Now there are survivors, you saw them on the feed they showed. They will need help and I’m sure as anything the kindness of this nation, and even this company will offer ways for us to help those in need. But tears of strangers will not reach them or help them. Only actions and kind deeds of those strangers will reach them.” Her eyes warm a bit and grow glossy and I can’t help but wonder just who this woman is.

I wipe my tears and begin to calm down a bit, while I knew much about the other three people on the team much of Melissa left me puzzled. The one time I tried to talk to her she told me to be quiet and not pry, but as I saw a tear form in what I saw was a cold strong face of the woman, I began to figure that she was talking to me through the experience of having lived through such problems. She wipes the forming tear from her face. "A good man once taught me what real tears were for."

She was quiet for some time as I just stood and looked at her. “A few months before landing the job here, my husband died trying to save some victims of a hostage situation. The damn fool had to play hero and got killed trying to free a bunch of possible kidnapped kids, from a drug cartel on the border. He didn't know that the kids were already dead, nor did he know that the trailer they were housed was wired to explode when the police arrive." I think back after hearing her story to a new report of an explosion in Texas back around my graduation. The explosion claimed the lives of three police officers, and it was found to be a trap set up by drug lords to bring fear to the people in the surrounding area. Talk shows called it a spark of things to come if greater action isn't taken soon. The government reacted by doubling the number of officers at the border to try and stop future actions like this. And now I stood face to face with the widow of one of those fallen officers. "Comfort won't ever come to you in this Hun. We have to live on and move on in our lives.” Melissa loosens her grip on my shirt and begins to help me by grabbing a piece of toilet paper for me to wipe my nose on.

“But you could have stopped him, you could have done something to keep your husband alive.” I proclaim as my tears lighten for a moment.

“No, sweetie, nothing would have stopped him from doing the right thing. He joined the force to help people, and he died doing just that.” She moves to lean against the wall of the stall as she releases an uneasy grin across her face.

"But you said no one lived!" I state.

"Yeah, in the explosion everyone died. But if he hadn't … If they had chosen to not take part in that mission, then the border wouldn't be as enforced and more innocent lives would be lost to more drug violence. God help me I do miss him. Every morning I wake to find I lay alone in my bed. He will never again lay there next to my side to where I can hold him tight. But nothing I could have done would have stopped him from doing what was in his mind as the right thing to do. And I don't think I would have, given the chance. He taught me what tears are for, he taught me to wear my heart on my sleeve, but to guard it with my fist when someone or something threatens it. While I never will find him in my arms I have him in my heart and he taught me to always share that heart, by lending a hand in helping people.” She wipes her face again and turns to face me with a warm smile. “So, we will get our stuff together and you and I will go forth and see what we can do to help these survivors out. Okay!” Reaching an arm out I take it and smile back.

"Okay." The two of us walk to return and see some have started to leave the room as well, a few head to the bathrooms but more head-on towards the elevators or doors to return home. As we walk in I see Rick is still busy texting on his DAS, while Gavin and Moses seem to be talking. The screen has turned to a collection of newscasts, with a global feed on in the middle coming through the speakers. The Lawyer Frank Williams, is sitting next to Rick trying to talk to him while he remains distracted from his texts.

“Your efforts are in vain. You won’t reach anyone.” Mr. Williams tells Rick. He goes on texting and I question who he is trying to reach. Though I haven’t met them I know Rick’s family is here in DC. But Rick is one of the most experienced members of our branch with Black Clover, so could he be trying to reach people he knew? “Given if anyone is alive then you still can’t get through to them, any cell towers or lines will be busy at best if not cut completely.”

"I know! I'm trying to reach the offices in New York and Tokyo." Rick Replied to a shocked group looking on. "San Francisco held much of the systems records and data, along with that we need to see what we can do to help the staff in San Francisco by relocating them to new locations. My team has empty spaces I can offer, I’m trying to see …” His words are halted as Melissa walks up and cups her hand over his DAS.

“Not now Rick, the wounds are too fresh, while I understand you want to continue to live life as normal for all here and there. Let’s find a better way to help out, but now I think you should be calling someone else.” I look on as Melissa shows a warm and calm glow on her face, as Rick’s face curls under and I swear I saw a tear shed from his face. He quickly got up and walked from the group, and began to dial a number.

We look on to see his response to who he calls. And in moments we get a response. “Hi honey, how are you and Lily holding up.” His work in all that went on today distracted him from his family. I begin to feel guilty myself and think back to the fact I have my own DAS with countless messages from mom. She thought first of me, but I ignored her till now. Rick is the same. He worried more about the job than his own family. We lost sight of our greatest treasures in the face of the great disaster. Mr. Williams turns and looks at the rest of my team.

"Keep strong but stay with your team leader. He lost many friends and former coworkers today. I too have lost friends today, but I assure you we will not let this setback our task here. Now if you excuse me, I have my family and friends to get in touch with." He pats Melissa on the shoulder in a way to say, good job, and we hang around as a group to be with Rick. It wouldn't be till late afternoon till we could get him upstairs and, in a few hours, the face of a stress-worn woman and a small girl who didn't quite understand what things were going on appeared on our floor. The girl was more interested in riding the elevator than as to why her father was so distraught over the day, yet she was happy to be in the strong grasp of her father’s arms. Taking the moment as a clue I finally called home and checked in with Mom. The call was one of the longest we ever had where neither of us yelled at each other for something. All we did was talk about the day, our lives, and what the other meant to us. For the first time, I can think I never so wanted to be closer to home to be at her side. As the sun began to set, Rick finally would leave with his wife and daughter. It would be a few weeks before the staff saw him again, he needed time, and we all knew it so it didn’t matter we just worked to move on.

As the days passed, I would come to help Melissa at taking part in charity events, which the company sets up. In all the destruction, word would come of more survivors found each day for two weeks, but the devastating numbers would overwhelm the public, as over five million people were found or feared dead. The greatest loss of life in a single day ever recorded. The nation would be in mourning for weeks. Black Clover, found that indeed the staff of their San Fran Offices was hit hard, in a staff of forty thousand, only a mere two thousand were ever found alive. Worse yet the powerful force of the company and K11 were a total loss. Even the division president, that spent so much of his own time on 11 Kingdoms, lost his life in the destruction. It was heartbreaking to find his teenage son was the only survivor of his family.

But in all the darkness there was, light. The company decided as stated before to carry on with the project and transfer the power that the San Francisco branch had into three areas. The west coast tower will be placed in downtown Vegas to be safe from any further Earthquakes, the Division would be rebuilt on the ruins of San Francisco. With a sizeable donation and effort, apart from the company towards a rebuilding effort and the last part would be the rest of the surviving staff would work in new locations dispersed all along the West Coast. To prevent further disruptions, they followed through with this plan making what many in the staff jokingly called, watchtowers. Small offices that housed more computers and servers across the world than staff. The idea was to watch over the precious data of the game. Should it ever end up in another disaster like the one on that dark day.

The effort brought forth in a planning meeting, I’m told about a collection of ally Kingdoms, each of the Towers staff would join with two other towers to act together and work in a way that we each had connections. Our allies became the Sapphire team of the west coast, and the Gold team of East Asia. As the time came for the two-month anniversary of the Great Day of Destruction, we could begin to see the beginning of a new day. A day I haven't quite gotten a hold of yet, as my new morning routine of joining Melissa for a morning run was taking a toll on my body. All I wanted to do is go back to sleep. I tried to convince her we needed to save the workout for the evening, but she insisted that getting up to greet the sun each morning was a great idea. I wasn't ever a keen one for coffee but I was starting to see its benefits. For now, I instead settle for a light bagel breakfast and juice before leaping into the game to work. I wasn't ready to admit it but the prescription the doc gave me was indeed working, and little by little I was taking a greater effort to speak up around people at work. I even helped lead a blood drive for victims in July, just as people started to return to normal lives.

The only thing that changed was Rick. He decided to make it important to not spend all day at the office and made sure to head out regularly to have dinner and read a bedtime story to his daughter each night. While at work he was far quieter and distant from us, gone was his playful friendly attitude now it was strictly business for him. The few times he ever was working late had him return to the office at late night hours, and hold long meetings with staff in other parts of the world, mainly the Tokyo and Kyoto branches in hopes to recover lost data from San Francisco. The work he did brought back some of the info thought to be lost, but much of it was too damaged or was declared a total loss.

While others in the game caught up to new deadlines our group lagged, and soon a visitor would shake our core even greater and test me to limits I never would have thought of.

Report data: End

Accessing Linked Files

Global News Now – News report - Alan Dersticks

Wake of a Great Disaster

A nation is still in mourning, as the greatest loss of life has occurred. Still today many are missing from the ruins of the once-great city by the bay. Over ½ of the city's population was lost in a sheer matter of seconds from when the strongest quake ever recorded hit. The center of the quake located, on the San Andres Fault line, right at the coastline of the cities western side. For the last century, the citizens of San Francisco have known a large earthquake had been coming, it was just a matter of when. And when the 9.5 earthquake hit on the morning of June 7th leaving every known structure in the city as a pile of crumbled dust, glass, and scrap metal. It is quite unknown how any survivors hope to go on with what pieces of their lives remain.

Billions of dollars in aid are coming in, to help survivors be relocated to a safe location but families are torn apart, and some are completely lost forever. The world looks on at survivors such as young Martin Thick, the sole survivor of his family this fourteen-year-old boy’s father who once stood as the head of the Black Clover West Coast offices. The boy only survived by the luck of having a gym class final, scheduled outside when the quake hit. He said he watched on as the school collapsed and he and his classmates found themselves thrown to the ground under the sheer force of the movements of the ground. The roar of the collapse of each building was so loud it was deafening the survivors in a way it would take weeks to recover from. Yet they knew that each of them were the lucky ones, It took a full force of the National Guard and Military three days to even reach the area where Martin and his few remaining classmates were. But the group didn't need to hear or even see news reports to understand the losses that they soon would face in their own lives.

I could look to where downtown was supposed to be. In the past, I barely could make out the tower of my father’s office building. By the next morning as smoke and dust cleared, I couldn’t see it. Not the building. Not the skyline. Not even in the city. It was just gone. - Claimed the fourteen-year-old Martin Thick

Martin’s story is much like many of the other survivors. While many were found or made their way out of the rubble, they were in. The truth hurt them as they looked on and saw this alien landscape from what they once called home.

But despite the great loss of life, aid has come in not only in funds and personnel but in other ways. With offers of relocations for families and rebuilding efforts already in discussion with the city, state governments, and outside sources like, Black Clover Industries which has promised to take on a massive campaign to triple its construction workforce worldwide. Along with the help in rebuilding the fallen city help moves towards building a new San Francisco on the ruins of the old. Even now while clean-up continues, waves of volunteers and skilled servicemen and women are being brought forth to aid in the reconstruction effort. As for young Martin, he plans to stay behind in the ruins and help in the rebuild.

I want to rebuild my father’s vision of not just his office but his city as well. His vision of the world should be carried on, and I will do what I can to prove that by carrying on his work.

Black Clover agrees with the young man and is offering him not only a home but aid in projects he sees needed to help rebuild the company's base in San Francisco. So while the sun sets on the ruined cityscape, many including this reporter look forward towards the dawn of the next days, weeks, and years on the new city, which both Martin and all others helping out will build.

Black Clover Gaming, Losses and Damages – CEO Report

The following is the listing of damages and losses for the Western US Branch of Black Clover Gaming:

Damages to San Francisco Branch …………. Complete Loss

Number of Staff before Earthquake ………... 38,947

Number of Staff reported Alive after ………. 1,727

Number of Games the staff was working on …... 8

Projects Staff was working on now declared a loss:

Division: 11 Kingdoms Sales

Division: 11 Kingdoms Tower Support Staff

Division: 11 Kingdoms Promotional and Advertising

Division: Black Clover Gaming Marketing and Sales General

System: 11 Kingdoms Central Servers

System: 11 Kingdoms West Coast Server

System: Neuro-link system 5.5 pro [NLP5]

System: Neuro-link system 2.0 Home [NLX2]

Game: Blood Pool Continued Production

Game: Blood Pool: Copycat Crimes – Pre Production

Game: Blue Eagle Racing – Pre Launch Production

Game: Hammer Storm 4 Re-launch Production

Game: New Revolution – Pre Launch Production

Game: The GridIron III – Pre Launch Production

Game: 11 Kingdoms

Game: Stress out!!! – Post-production

Not listed above in the loss reports is the total loss of the Division, is the Directors Offices run by Charles Newton Thick.

Total Estimated Cost to Company: $3,743,000,000

Current Restoration and Relocation plans have the remaining staff of Western branch work in the following Branches

Los Angelis

11 Kingdoms West Coast Development Staff (Blue) First Division

11 Kingdoms (Blue) New Servers

Las Vegas

11 Kingdoms West Coast Development Staff (Blue) Second Division

11 Kingdom West Coast Blue Tower

Chicago

Blood Pool – continued production

Blood Pool: Copycat Crimes – pre-production

Hammer Storm 4 – Re-launch

New York

11 Kingdoms Promotional Advertising

11 Kingdoms Production leaders

Black Clover Gaming Marketing and Sales General

Seattle

Neuro-link system 5.5 pro

Neuro-link system 2.0 home

Uncommitted

11 Kingdoms – Central Servers Location

11 Kingdoms – Central World “Pangia” Development

New Revolution

The GridIron III

Blue Eagle Racing

Pre-quake Estimate of Launch Date for 11 Kingdoms

1 Year 8 months

Current Estimate of Launch Date for 11 Kingdoms

2 years 6 months

Currently, suggest creating small tower locations in, set areas and cities through the designated areas to avoid future delays on 11 Kingdoms.

Black Clover – Press Release – Loss of Friends and Allies

We stand on the dust and rubble of the destruction that had struck this city so severely. With a great hole in our own company’s family. The lives of friends and loved ones stand as a great loss to this company and this world. The pain we feel here is the pain of loss. We can move on in this world, we can live on with our lives. But this pain will always remain with us. Our loved ones are gone from this world, but not from our hearts. We of Black Clover wish to take note of this, we still stand but we will not forget.

As this company commits aid and support in the rebuilding of this city, and our offices here, on the walls to our new offices we will mark the entrance with the names of the lives of the staff and their families lost on that tragic day. We will see to it that the surviving members and families have their needs met, and future protected and cared for. Our lives will each stand with an emptiness that these people have left us, but in their honor, we will carry on their work, life will move on.

Thank you and good day

Report end

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