You hand in your consumer survey after taking very little time to do it. The paper is dragged into an abyss. You stand there waiting for a response.

"Thank you. =)"

====================

You're on the ground now, and in the darkness you can see shapes now defined. With a quick jolt, you sit up, staring at these new figures.

It's other notails sleeping and a tree that hangs above you.

You just woke up from your dream.

But it didn't feel like a typical dream, it felt, strange and unlike any other you've dealt with. Thinking it might be the anomaly that caused this you crawl over to E-4 and shake them.

"E-4! =3"
"Uggggh, E-2732, it is the dead of the night. What could you possibly want right now, of all times? We better be about to get mauled. <:)"

E-4's annoyed tone told you to explain the situation quickly.

"I had a dream! =3"
"E-2732.....leave me to sleep. <:)"
"But that's not all! =3"
"Then don't sign off like you finished your statement E-2732. <:)"
"Oh, ok. Well, I think the anomaly was trying to get information from me by making me do a "consumer survey." =3"

E-4 groans at this and then lays back down. A few other notails who have been awoken by this conversation also grumble in anger.

"That's a perfectly normal dream to have E-2732. Now back to sleep. <:)"
"How is that normal? It was so vivid. =3"

E-4 rolls on their side to get a better look at you and then in a puzzled tone askes you

"You have never filled out a consumer survey before? <:)"
"No. Why are you acting like it's normal? =3"
"Because it is normal you idiot! +w+"

A notail who was awakened by your questions angrily shouts out, waking up even more of the group. You're starting to think you woke up from one dream only to end up in another.

"It's actually quite common E-2732, the fact that you haven't had one before is weirder than the dream itself. Most people have them at least once or twice a year. I had the first survey I could remember at five years old, but people say that they can happen as early as three. <:)"
"But, why does it happen? =3"
"It's just genetic disposition. A few people never get it, and some have it all the time. It's just in your genes E-2732. <:)"
"That's weird and not normal. =3"
"E-2732....some people get fistlung. An illness where you grow a hand in your lung and then die. It's just genetics who is going to die from fist lung and who isn't. I think growing a fist in your lung is far more unrealistic- well, unbelievable than surveys in your dream. <:)"
"Oh. That's disappointing. I had a good question I was going to ask too. =3"
"Kill my god! Stop asking questions on your surveys if you're sleeping anywhere near me! I end up having to look at them! +w+"

You stare at E-49133438, the notail who was annoyed about being woken up before and called you an idiot. You point in her direction.

"That doesn't sound normal. =3"
"It's normal E-2732, I swear. She has chronic surveys, that's why she's so angry. <:)"
"................What? =3"
"It's a condition where if anyone has a survey near you and asks a question, they have a survey dream with just your question on it. <:)"
"That's....not normal. =3"
"It's a rare condition that E-491....."

E-4 seems to squint while looking at her, trying to see what the rest of her numbers are, but it's far too dark to make them out.

"-that she has. It's not normal, you're right, but it's just genes, as I said before. See, the survey is just an effect of sleeping near other notails. You have a much lower chance of it happening. It's basically like this. Notails think of random things as they sleep. Normally when you are asleep you sometimes transmit "garbage signals," but you rarely pick up these signals yourself cause your antennas aren't taking in anything. It's a little like sleep talking really.

So when you get these surveys in your mind, it's like your antennas forgot to shut down for the day, and they stay active, picking up signals nearby, which are usually garbage signals. When you do these surveys you transmit it to basically everyone around you, and those who aren't able to disallow messages like her, get them. To put it in simple terms your antennas are just overly active sometimes and gives you a strange survey dream. If you know someone around you has the same condition as her, it's only polite to refuse the survey. <:)"
"I don't think any of what you said is real. I'm still dreaming. =3"

E-4 shrugs and rolls over so they could express their disinterest in your disbelief.

"Ok E-2732. Enjoy the rest of your dream I suppose. <:)"

You sit there trying to figure out a way to prove it's a dream when E-49133438 starts speaking to you.

"I can't wait till I get out of the woods. +w+"
"Oh, me too, dream person. It has to be better outside of here. =3"
"Out there I heard you get drug rations. I'm going to use it on stuff that makes sure I have a nice sleep at night. I asked the S-class here if I could have something to help me and he just laughed and said: "Well someone has to check all those surveys." in this stupid tone and told me having those dreams wasn't a big deal and to get over it."

She says mocking the dry humor voice of an S-class.

"But when I'm out, I'll never have to deal with this ever again. +w+"
"Ok sure, dream person. =3"

You write her off as nothing but a figment of your dreams and lay there thinking of a way to wake up.......


============


You do wake up, but only after you fall asleep. You told E-4 about your dream last night, but E-4 confirms to you that not only was this not a dream, but it was insulting to brush off E-49133438 as just a "dream person."

You spend the next few weeks avoiding eye contact with E-49133438 out of embarrassment. After thinking about it, you were being irrational. You've had more complex and stranger dreams than a survey before.

You guess you weren't thinking and felt a little weirded out.

You do wonder who was thinking about that one question about sectors and planets though.

.............That question was weird.

It seems E-4 is finally ready to take on the temple once more. You journey in with them and others, this time a bigger group.

"Ok, this time we'll be avoiding the inner ring, don't cross any of the inner ring lines without discussing it. We don't want any more deaths. Now, are there any questions? <:)"
"Can we drink the-"
"You cannot drink the pesticide. Do you want what happened to E-2732 to happen to you? <:)"
"E-2732 got cool horns and became second in command. :O"

You can physically feel people considering drinking pesticide.

"E-2732 also now has minor brain damage. <:)"

The thoughts stop.

"Any other questions? <:)"

No one seems to have any other questions and start grabbing their bags to head out on their given task. E-4 approaches you.

"Well E-2732, I'm going to be heading up as high as I possibly can. Will you be coming with me, or do you have your own plans? <:)"

"I'll come with you. I don't have anything I want to do. =3"
"Very well. Let us go. <:)"

You follow E-4 and their personal group up the tower with enough supplies for all of you for a week.

They're all ecstatic over the artwork and cravings in the tower, but you find yourself becoming bored within hours. The only thing of interest to you is the statues with their arms to the sky, holding baskets of meat, though lacking in heads and with clear indications of damage to their backsides. You find them rather funny.

The week pasts, nothing has happened. You and a few others bring up two weeks of supplies this time. E-4 cannot stop babbling about all the incredible objects up here. You typically tune them out and nod until they leave to show someone else.

Another week pasts and you decide to hone in on a single room in the tower. The most boring one. Even the others gave it but a glance and then turned away from it. It was the central most room on the highest floor. Its defining feature is its emptiness, containing only a single generic statue and a skeleton.

You sat in this room to avoid the others when you weren't feeling up to work, or socializing, knowing that they would never check in here. Over time your [curiosity] and [obseventness] made you aware of the tiny details of the room.

Something was wrong with this room.

You bring E-4 and the others to the area the next day.

"E-2732, this is just...the empty room, why did you decide to bring us all here? <:)"
"The skeleton is heading towards the wall. =3"

There are mumblings from the group. You got them thinking now, but this is only the start.

"Well, there appear to be many murder victims in this temple E-2732. This one may have just ran into a dead end and died before it could turn around. <:)"
"That is possible, but how about this? What room is below this one? =3"

E-4 and the others attempt to recall the rooms, but you proudly answer before they could.

"There is no room. If you go down one floor and map it out, there is no room and the floor after that? Also missing a room. The next few floors as well. Every room under this one does not exist. =3"
"What do you think this means, E-2732? <:)"
"I think this means we need to have a closer look. =3"

They get right to it. Checking every corner of the room, touching and inspecting every inch of wall, especially the one the skeleton was heading towards before death.

One of them finds a loose stone in the wall, and after much effort, pulls it out. They described it as an oddity, a force pulled back at the rock, trying to take it back in. You all stare at the thin hole in the wall, wondering what it could be its importance. Some start to suggest that maybe it was just a random loose rock, you, on the other hand, realize it's the perfect width for something in your bag.

You take out a knife and approach the hole.

"E-2732.....<:)"
"Knives can solve anything. =3"
"E-2732, please do not stab th-"

You stab the hole.

You felt a force draw in the knife as you did. You stand back to view what you have created.

"It looks like a....lever, huh, doesn't it?...wait....I think I know what this might be.... <:)"
"Mmmhmm, I had a feeling too. =3"

You grab the knife and pull it downwards.

The doors slam shut, trapping everyone inside. The cranking of some ancient machinery springs to life.

The elevator descends.

You hold it downward for a few seconds, then let it go. It keeps moving for just a small bit of time before stopping as suddenly as it started and opening up.

E-4 checks outside the doors.

"We moved two floors down. There was a wall here before. Is this an elevator of some kind? <:)"
"Seems to be. =3"

E-4 steps back in, their next words excited.

"This might be it! I mean, why else would they hide an elevator? There has to be a good reason for it to be hidden, correct? <:)"
"I think we're about to find out what their reasoning was. =3"

You hold down the lever fashioned out of one of your knives.

The elevator descends.

It goes lower and lower.

Too low.

It heads
lower
than any floor
that has been mapped before.

And then even
lower
than that.

It stops with a sudden jolt, and doors fling open.

Air that hasn't been breathed in many years fills your lungs.

A whole world stands before you in ruins.

Unlike the rest of the temple, there are no emotions in this place. No cravings of joy, or statues offering pleasantries. It is sterile, and only a cold floor and white walls great its residents.

Everyone is forced to walk past the hoard of skeletons outside the elevator door. They had been waiting countless lifetimes for it to finally come. Like above, all had their skulls torn off. Claw, burn, and other unrecognizable marks adorn their remains and the lobby like area they resided in.

Four signs hang from above. One of green, one of yellow, one of orange, and the final of red. Each with a different symbol upon them, yet no one able to figure out their meaning from a glance.

E-4 puts a hand on their chest, mumbling something about how they have finally found it, before turning to everyone and speaking louder this time.

"Alright everyone, make sure to keep together, ok? If I had to take a guess, I would say the green zone has to be the safest so we'll head down that way. <:)"

Papers litter the path you walk. All of them brittle and easily crumbled into bits with enough pressure applied. E-4 is carefully collecting those that are on the floor and tells the others not to touch those pinned to the walls in front of the doors. Those hung by the walls are usually a stack of papers, the first one displaying an image.

Some of an object, like a cup, others of entities which you have never seen before, some twisted in disturbing shapes and figures. A window, sometimes shattered, looks into every room. Nearly all of them are damaged, with dry blood, scratches, bones, or just walls missing between rooms.

One of the group walks forward, bored with the broken rooms, when they come to a stop in front of one.

"Hey, this room is fine! Nothing in it though.... IuI"
"Really? =3"

You walk up to the window.

But it's not empty for you.

A foxish creature, much like the one you saw on top of the tower is inside. It is doll-like in appearance, with ball joints holding its limbs together. You assumed it was a toy, but it suddenly turns its head in an unnatural motion towards you, trembling.

It grabs its tail and starts to violently sweep off all of the dirt and grime off of it, humming what feels like a disjointed tune as it does. Time to time it looks upon you and twists its head around before returning to its brushing.

The person next to you seems puzzled.

"It's not empty. =3"
"Yes it is, but there's this weird sound coming from the room. It only just started. IuI"
"The humming? =3"
"Yeah, it's a sort of hum! IuI"
"That's coming from the creature inside! =3"

E-4 walks over, hearing but not picking up on the subject of the commotion.

"Oh! You two have found a room that's still filled! It's some sort of animated puppet! <:)"
"Is there something wrong with my eyes? I don't see it! IuI"

The others gather around the window, and you except the others to see the grooming creature within, but they too do not. Only you and E-4 can see it.

While you all discuss what could be a reason for this oddity, someone's tailmic hums down the hall, attracted by everyone gathered up. It hums a delightful little tune as it approaches the window.

The puppet stops its grooming as he tailmic approaches. It's fur puffs up, and its ears point straight up, alert and tense. It has stopped humming.

The tailmic presses its head on the window and taps its legs in delight on it to hear the sound.

The creature's face seems to detach from its head, flipping open like a book to reveal a mouth filled with teeth. It screeches and flails across the room as if being tossed like a toy by a child to simulate aggression in a game of pretend.

The rest of you jump back, either due to seeing this action or being surprised by sudden screaming coming from a room perceived as empty.

The tailmic is unphased and does not reel back, too amused by the sound made by tapping glass.

"That is definitely an anomaly. <:)"