Chat
10-31-2016, 05:45 AM
I was at a tropical beach, by myself, but I was not on vacation, I was attending a meeting or a seminar.
I was seated with a group of people in a large meeting room, with cushioned theater type seats. Ceiling-to-floor windows were on either side of the room. The weather was typical tropical: warm, pleasant and sunny. We were wearing tropical clothes and in some cases swimsuits with coverups even while attending the meeting. I suspect most of my fellow attendees were thinking more about going swimming as we gazed out the windows at the beach, the waves, and the swimmers.
Then I can't recall what happened first, the water retreating far out to the sea, drowning many, or the shaking of the earth. Many scrambled out of their seats looking for safety. I started to head for one of the pillars supporting the ceiling, and contemplated trying to head outside. All the while I kept an eye on the ocean water, which for now, was still retreated far out to the sea. I remember the water looked like a stationary wall. The water was tall and churning, but staying in place and not yet heading back to the shore. I could see many were dead. In the room I was in, so far, everyone was safe, but panicked. Some buildings were crumbling but our conference room and pillared ceiling was holding up. At some point the water did come rushing back, but those of us in the room remained safe. I recall feeling very wet and bedraggled so maybe some water entered the room, but the building held.
Then a few days seemed to have passed. Those of us in the conference seemed to have formed a tribe, helping each other out. Some man entered the building with a long spear. I recall thinking he was a robot (zombie?), emotionless and with a single minded objective. He kept poking his spear into one of the overhead canister lights, and we became alarmed as we did not want a hole in the ceiling exposing us to the elements. Before we were able to stop him, he had made a hole, and a silver glistening viscuous matter slowly flowed out.
Throughout the days, we continued to experience earthquakes, and some would run outside and others would head for the pillars in the room. We were very disheveled, dirty and smelly. One morning I decided I just had to change my underwear, as I had found a clean pair in my bag. I went to an area of the room with a small partition and changed. At this point, I didn't really care who saw me, propriety was long gone, and frankly no one seemed to care.
During the day we often left the room but as night fell we returned. One of the men I had worked with at IBM 20 years ago was there, and he helped people down the steps as they came in the room at dusk. There was no power and the room was dark; we did not want anyone falling. I also recall there was one dead female in one of the chairs, and surprisingly, we had left her there. So clearly we were all stressed and not thinking very clearly.
I was seated with a group of people in a large meeting room, with cushioned theater type seats. Ceiling-to-floor windows were on either side of the room. The weather was typical tropical: warm, pleasant and sunny. We were wearing tropical clothes and in some cases swimsuits with coverups even while attending the meeting. I suspect most of my fellow attendees were thinking more about going swimming as we gazed out the windows at the beach, the waves, and the swimmers.
Then I can't recall what happened first, the water retreating far out to the sea, drowning many, or the shaking of the earth. Many scrambled out of their seats looking for safety. I started to head for one of the pillars supporting the ceiling, and contemplated trying to head outside. All the while I kept an eye on the ocean water, which for now, was still retreated far out to the sea. I remember the water looked like a stationary wall. The water was tall and churning, but staying in place and not yet heading back to the shore. I could see many were dead. In the room I was in, so far, everyone was safe, but panicked. Some buildings were crumbling but our conference room and pillared ceiling was holding up. At some point the water did come rushing back, but those of us in the room remained safe. I recall feeling very wet and bedraggled so maybe some water entered the room, but the building held.
Then a few days seemed to have passed. Those of us in the conference seemed to have formed a tribe, helping each other out. Some man entered the building with a long spear. I recall thinking he was a robot (zombie?), emotionless and with a single minded objective. He kept poking his spear into one of the overhead canister lights, and we became alarmed as we did not want a hole in the ceiling exposing us to the elements. Before we were able to stop him, he had made a hole, and a silver glistening viscuous matter slowly flowed out.
Throughout the days, we continued to experience earthquakes, and some would run outside and others would head for the pillars in the room. We were very disheveled, dirty and smelly. One morning I decided I just had to change my underwear, as I had found a clean pair in my bag. I went to an area of the room with a small partition and changed. At this point, I didn't really care who saw me, propriety was long gone, and frankly no one seemed to care.
During the day we often left the room but as night fell we returned. One of the men I had worked with at IBM 20 years ago was there, and he helped people down the steps as they came in the room at dusk. There was no power and the room was dark; we did not want anyone falling. I also recall there was one dead female in one of the chairs, and surprisingly, we had left her there. So clearly we were all stressed and not thinking very clearly.