Another message from Asteron, the boards were abuzz. Across the globe, adherents to the new life cycle speculated and drooled. This one was more cryptic than the last, comprising as it did of a single GIF of Elmo from Sesame Street DJing a party. It was run through spectral analysis, multiple AI algorithms, young priests and old priests but to date nobody had decoded it.
Darren wondered if perhaps the message was the GIF itself. Maybe Asteron just wanted everyone to party and be happy, like Elmo. But how would that end the Institute’s schemes and reverse the Time Damage? He wasn’t smart enough to figure it out. He pinged the ring pull on his can of lager. It resonated at precisely 432hz.
All of a sudden, a shockwave of nausea and angry bees engulfed his one-bedroom apartment. He was immediately surrounded by Muppets of all shapes and colours, and they were all dancing. Strobe lights pummelled his skull. In the hazy distance of his kitchenette, Elmo was spinning the wheels of steel.
Darren pinged the ring pull again, another 432hz note and the apartment returned to its regulation damp gloom. He glanced at his computer monitor, a smiling spider with the words “CONGRATULATIONS” beneath it flashed in bleary monochrome.