Sharkskin 44

SMILEYS BASEMENT

7/5/2025 10:46pm

I didn't see what all these instant breakfast toys were going to do for us.

"But they bring so much joy to the little children!" @Gabardine said, balancing the tiny figures on its sleeves.

It was clear Gabardine was starting to lose it. Thread count degradation from traversing the PERC, now becoming slowly unwound in Smileys Basement. A basement already filled with smileys. And so many rooms, their big doors sliding open and shut, seemingly at random... but could there be a pattern to it? One perhaps on a much larger timescale of weeks or months or even years. A celestial timescale, opening and closing access between rooms by the movement of the stars...

DOORS CLOSING

DOORS OPENING


;;@S8X88X88@88@8888

SMILEYS BASEMENT

2/10/2023 11:09pm

DOORS CLOSE IN FIVE SECONDS

What have I got to lose, I figured.

"Sharkskin?"

I was so frightened I nearly popped my buttons.

"@Gabardine? What are you doing here? I thought you'd left Smiley's Warehouse."

"Naw," said @Gabardine, "This IS Smiley's Warehouse. It's not just a single place, but a network of locations in space and time."

"So it IS the PERC, huh? The tetra colored clown they call the sandman?"

"The work of @smiley himself, dry clean his soul."

"Dry clean his soul. Oh, but I'm not @Sharkskin. I'm @Sharkskin 44."

"Clone machine?"

"Yup."

"Good thinking. Now let's secure this basement. There's a whole mess of instant breakfast toys I think we can make use of..."