Yellow Alert
The NORAD launch control center goes on Yellow Alert. Charlie and Jenna hope that it will turn out to be a false alarm (in reality, such false alarms are often triggered by meteor showers or bird migrations).
- VOICE
- (as if, or actually, through a loudspeaker)
- Yellow alert !
- Yellow alert !
(Charlie immediately takes his place. Jenna reluctantly moves to her monitor)
- JENNA
- I'm tired of this!
- VOICE
- Take your positions, please.
- CHARLIE
- This is what we are paid for.
- VOICE
- Take your positions, please.
- Yellow alert.
(Their attention is fully focused on their monitors as they scan incoming information)
- JENNA
- It's another electronic hallucination.
- A false alarm.
- CHARLIE
- Bird migration.
- A meteor shower at the North Pole.
- VOICE
- Orange alert !
- Orange alert !
- JENNA
- I hate this.
- It makes me nervous.
- VOICE
- Stand by.
- CHARLIE
- Relax. No one has verified the sighting.
- VOICE
- Stand by.
- JENNA
- We're staying on orange much too long.
- CHARLIE
- Relax.
- VOICE
- All clear.
- At ease.
- All clear.
- JENNA
- I told you it would never happen.
- We should have laid bets.
- I would clean up.
- CHARLIE
- Twenty years ago, I could have taken it so lightly too.
- JENNA
- Look, Charlie, it's not going to happen.
- Kissinger said so.
Playback Tips: The sound files are in mono format. I am using Sound Machine as a "Helper Application" to play these au format files back on the Macintosh. I have noticed on my system (which is optimized for stereo playback) that unless the volume of the empty channel is disabled or turned all the way down, the empty channel will add hiss to the channel with the sound. If you experience hiss during playback, you should try to disable playback of the empty channel. If you are listening through external amplification as I am, this may merely require panning your balance control all the way to one side.
Graphics, text, sounds, etc. Copyright © Christopher Yavelow 1987 and 1994