Finally at my ticket price I hit [[OK|get ticket]].
How much extra do they make per year from this?\n\n[[Minus 5¢|5c5]]
Could you not just pick your destination on the screen?\n\n[[Minus 5¢|5c4]]
Would a number pad be so tough?\n\n[[Minus 5¢|5c3]]
[[Minus 5¢|5c2]]
The train pulls up at the stop, people exit and people board. I get a death glare from a guy with a teardrop tattoo and quickly look away, terrified of provoking him. I stare at the ground as the train continues to the next stop.\n\n[[-16TH STREET MISSION-|mission]]
The train arrives at my stop and I unboard. I walk up the stairs as the elevator, like the others I have seen, is out of order.\n\nI arive at the top and am faced with another gate. I search my pocket for the ticket I received and insert it into the machine. Everything checks out and I am allowed to exit this sub-terranian maze.\n\n[[END|end]]
As I sit down I notice that the slight smell of piss I have smelled since leaving fresh air behind is strongest in here. The seats are soft and [[porous|porus]] so I perch on the edge to minimize contact.\n\n[[-CIVIC CENTER-|civic]]
I take one last breath of outside air and begin walking down the stairs of the San Francisco subway system, steping past a sleeping homeless man on the way.\n\nI reach the bottom and look around. I see a [[ticket machine|machine]] in the distance.
"Hey!" a homeless person grunts.\n\n"Can you spare some change?"\n\nThey know I do have change and I fear the harassment that may ensue if I do not hand over the quarter. Better one of the many down here who appear to need it than the fat cats who will never use this city wide system they have set up.\n\n[[Hand over the coin|god bless]]
This story was based off of my journey on the BART system when I was at GDC.\n\nCheck out some of my other games <html><a href = 'http://www.netgrindgames.com'>here</a></html>\n\nYou can also follow me on twitter <html><a href = 'http://www.twitter.com/netgrind'>here</a></html>\n\nThanks a bunch for playing!
All of the walls appear to be coated in layers of grime. I'm scared to find out what substances have built up to achieve these colours. What happened to the cleaning staff? There is too much dust for this to be built up from anything less than a week. Were they fired to cut costs? Perhaps they quit due to poor working conditions.\n\nYou arrive at the [[gate|gate]].
I walk up to the machine, observing a price chart that appears to be designed to confuse. The system charging you for how far you wish to go despite the trains running regardless of your choice.\n\n[[Insert 2 $1 bills|bills]]
Soulless eyes everywhere watching my evey move. stairing through a time stained grey plastic avitar. Judging me, looking for an excuse to sound the alarm and have me taken away.\n\n[[back|gate]]
An array of little holes poke through the wall. A cold monotone voice booms out warnings and information on the train's status.\n\n[[back|downstairs]]
The cold metal gate snatched the ticket out of my hand the moment it touched the slot. Adding my information to the records, matching my ticket to the person it has been tracking since the moment it first detected me on the [[cameras|camera]].\n\nThe blocade in front slides open giving me a moment to pass before quickly slamming shut again.\n\nI walk [[downstairs|downstairs]].
I am terrified of guns. You rarely see them, except on law enforcement back home. If you see one elsewhere it is a great cause of concern. I have a mild panic attack thinking how many of the people down hear could take at least 6 other peoples' lives if they desired.\n\n[[think of something else|downstairs]]
I try despratly to figure out a way that these seats could be deeply cleaned if some drunk pisses or vomits on them. With the apparant lack of cleaning staff, does it even matter?\n\n[[back|seat]]
The machine spits out a ticket and a 25 cent coin drops out below. I pull the ticket the rest of the way out of the machine and collect the quarter.\n\n[["Hey!"|homeless]]
A light slowly gets brighter from one end of the tunnel. Following it is a big metal box featuring harsh angles and windows that you can only partially see through due to the layers of dirt that have accumulated. \n\nThe train comes to a stop and the doors open, vomiting out a small crowd of people. I wait in line and follow behind the person in front of me.\n\nI see an empty seat and [[sit down|seat]].
BART
A red led sign is mounted on the ceiling. Police warnings scroll by instructing the citizens to be prepared for being attacked and to have their weapons ready at any moment. I wonder how many of these people down here are carrying [[guns|guns]].\n\n[[back|downstairs]]
I walk downstairs to wait with the other [[passengers|passengers]]\nI see an [[led sign|sign]] and a [[speaker|speaker]].\n\nIs that the [[train|train]] I hear?
All the people down here look depressed and tired, many are sitting on the grimey ground.\n\n[[back|downstairs]]
"God bless." the person says.\n\nWhat god would let someones life end up like this, I do not know.\n\nI walk forward to the [[gate|gate]].\n\nWhile walking, I begin to notice the [[grime|grime]].
<html>\n<a href = 'http://www.netgrindgames.com'>Cale Bradbury</a><br/>\n<a href = 'http://www.twitter.com/netgrind'>@netgrind</a></html>
I attempt to insert the money, trying my best to unfold the pressed down corners of this filth stained cotton. After a few tries, the machine recognizes it as valid currency. The program and route cost seem to be designed to overcharge the hurried or confused.\n\n[[Minus 5¢|5c1]]