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Either LPix fixed itself just this instant, or I somehow forced the pictures to load anyway.  When I first checked the thread, they were dead, then when I refreshed after reading the comments, they popped in.
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Jun 16, 2017 04:46
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Reiterating a question - can you kite Sholai and rogues into each other, and will they
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Jun 16, 2017 10:26
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Xander77 posted:Reiterating a question - can you kite Sholai and rogues into each other, and will they Sadly they won't fight.
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Jun 16, 2017 14:06
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The Haunting of the Holding Cells  Game Text posted:Shaper researchers have extremely high storage needs. When they are trying to shape a new sort of creature or modify an old one, it takes time to see whether their efforts were successful.  After you take out the drayks that swarmed you upon entering, you find a dead outsider. The unlucky mage has suffered the indignity of even their bones being gnawed by the rogues.   You locate some nests and even an oddly warded hitching post. You don't know enough to interpret the wards, but you guess that the post must have served as a holding cell. It wasn't very effective.  Or was it? Too bad you can't drag the rogues here.    Bones crunch underfoot with each step. The drayks don't let up, but even their hunger doesn't shield them from your vlish terror squad.  Game Text posted:This protective rune was glowing fiercely and putting out an awful lot of heat, sufficient for keeping any creations from wandering into here. You pick up some thorns and pods here in anticipation that they will shortly prove quite helpful.   The next ambush is the fiercest yet. You resort to your reaper baton as you direct your creations in battle against mixed forces of ur-glaahks and drayks. Talow consistently terrorizes the drayks, which helps keep your foes' numbers down low enough that you're able to win the upper hand.  Those who don't rout are summarily killed.  Some drayks have somehow survived being penned. They are, of course, utterly mad.  This locked door rebuffs you.  In the furthest access hallway, you find a surviving essence pool that's protected by a thorn barrier. Something doesn't smell right.  Game Text posted:This poor servant mind has been killed. Several javelins stick out of the body. It doesn't look like it happened long ago. It looks like Sholai work. Game Text posted:The case contains several ceramic jars, each sealed with wax. Someone recently decided, in a fit of vandalism, to smash most of them. One remains intact. You take it. You wonder if Trajkov knows how many servant minds his people have killed. Game Text posted:There is a control panel here. Unsurprisingly, it is still intact and basically functional. Shapers designed these things to last a long time. The switch labeled "Control Loose Rogues" breaks off in your hand. The "Pool Access" switch causes a grinding noise back the way you came. "High Security" clicks. "Records" clicks. "Heat Modulation" causes a humming noise. "Gate Pylon" clicks. "Cell Gates" goes click, click, click, click. You hope you've shut some pests in. Nearby is a case that contains a bunch of decaying records, some old quill pens, and a key. You leave the trash and take the key.  This is a shade, an insubstantial sub-life form made by a Shaper to gather information or explore dangerous areas. They are held together more by magic than biological processes, and they are very difficult to make. This shade says, "You are a Shaper. I can speak with you. I am a shade. I was made by Danette. I was made to give information about this complex to explorers." To explorers? "What do you want to tell me?" "Danette knew that, whether or not Sucia Island was unBarred, someone would eventually return to interact with the Geneforge. The Geneforge was operational when Danette left and was expected to remain so for many years." "What should I know about the Geneforge?" "It should not be destroyed. It is an incredible invention. Its power must be carefully controlled, but its power guarantees that Shapers will ever hold dominion over the lesser people of this world." The shade recites its lines tonelessly, but each word is full of the sense of the one who programmed it into the shade's memory. "How could I use the Geneforge?" you ask. It can't be as simple as wearing the gloves and running your hands over a pool. "You should not, without the explicit permission of the Shaper council. The power you get will be overpowering. You must be carefully controlled." If the Council had wanted to carefully control you, they would have sent someone to help you. They would've sent someone to help Goettsch. "I have that permission. How can I use it?" "All you have to do is touch the surface. But you must have the specially made gloves. They will act as a conduit for the modifications the raw power of the pool will make in you. Without the gloves, the changes the Geneforge makes will have a random element. You may find yourself without needed internal organs." Could it truly be that simple? "Where can I find a pair of these gloves?" "I am sorry. I am basically a recording of Danette's instructions. I cannot provide analysis of events which have taken place since my creation." Fair enough. "What would the Geneforge do to someone who used it?" "It would rewrite their genes. They would become a new, glorious sort of life." "How could I destroy the Geneforge?" "You should not. It is the greatest invention of the Shaper people. Its power and promise must not be cast away." It is a great accomplishment, but not, you think, the greatest. It is the most dangerous thing your people have made; you can't imagine anything worse -- it has exposed the weakness, the fault in your entire society... and now outsiders have found it. "The Shaper council ordered it destroyed." "In that case, you could deactivate it with the matching control rod. There was one such rod left on Sucia Island." "Where is it?" But the shade merely repeats its apology. "Where might I find out where it is?" "Records of the disposition of all major items left on Sucia Island after the Barring were left in Kazg." "Are those records still there?" You hope it's the control rod you already have, but what if it's not? Again, the shade apologizes. "Why was this island Barred?" "Our skill at Shaping had grown to the point where any person could, in an instant, gain incredible power. We could rewrite the very instructions of life, remaking people to give them incredible powers of magic. "Danette said that this made the Shaper council afraid. They felt that this power could never truly be controlled. They were so paranoid that they even thought outsiders could steal our powers." "And didn't they?" But the shade only apologizes. You ask, "What happened to the Shapers?" And again, an apology. "Who was Danette?" "Danette was one of the three Shapers in charge of this island. She was the director of research. Corata was in charge of supplies, power, and equipment. Defniel operated the school and took care of other administrative duties. "Danette wishes it to be known that she was the true genius and author of Sucia Island's greatness." The shade repeats the long-dead Shaper's bragging without any inflection at all. The shade won't know anything about the Sholai, so you don't even ask. There's a doorway near the shade. You open it and then flinch back.  Game Text posted:These passages contain heating elements, which warm the air above them and thus, indirectly, the rest of the complex. You'll have to backtrack. Those switches probably opened some locked chambers, anyway.     Why must there be molten segments of floor barring your way? Why did this seem like a good security measure?  Game Text posted:This is a dead Sholai. He was murdered, with a dagger by the look of it, and the body was dumped here. There's nothing of value on the corpse. Maybe he was a rebel.  Though the records are useless, the canister is not. It improves your battle magic, which will probably be a great help to you in the near future.  Past another locked door, you find a huge lab notebook. Game Text posted:These extremely obscure and technical notes describe the large amount of work that had gone into creating a new, stronger variety of glaahk. The results invariably included the creature going rogue immediately.  The experimental glaahk lunges for Geokinesis as soon as it wanders too close to the connecting hall. The glaahk, weakened by age and hunger, doesn't survive meeting you.  Just not a very good reward, period. At this point, vendor trash is useless.  This, however, is pretty friggin' great. The shield you find among the dross left by Sholai interlopers is fantastically enchanted. You swap it for your reflective shield and revel in the sudden boost of your magical powers.  The circle and post that the glaahk was once bound by probably could have used some more wards.  You kill another rogue and then check out a pair of chained up books. Game Text posted:These lab notebooks were thick with observations. Creations put into this block of cells were constantly watched and evaluated. Shapers carefully looked for signs of the results of their experiments. You gingerly close the tattered covers and swallow your distaste.  The cells are all open. Many contain nothing but the remains of whatever experiments were kept there.  Game Text posted:A blast of heat hits you when you step into this narrow tunnel. It's a hot, dry, access shaft. Small shafts run through the walls and ceiling, delivering warm, fresh air to the rest of the complex. You find a number of pylons tucked away back here. Unfortunately, the control panel must not have worked, because they still attack you. Or maybe you only managed to activate the defenses... And the spore control doesn't help either.  Game Text posted:This servile has been here for many, many years. The heat and dryness of these tunnels has completely desiccated him.  This control panel doesn't help either.  You wish you knew where you went wrong with these things.  Finally, you find a door to get out of the maintenance access.  It leads back to the heating elements, of course. But some of them are cool enough to walk safely on, and that allows you to reach switches that seem to shut off even more heating elements.  You take this path alone, unwilling to risk your creations on more of these damned hotspots. For your trouble, you find a locked door leading north. Your key unlocks the door control lever, and you find yourself looking into Trajkov's little domain. I wish the Vats had been omitted and replaced with just this area! It’s a good one with more relevant information. Maybe they could have been combined instead. Next time: Unknown Unknowns The people have spoken.
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Jun 16, 2017 15:47
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You Asked For This Trajkov waits by the Geneforge manual. He acknowledges your arrival with a small nod, as if he already knows what you've decided. You hope not. "I have read the book. You need to wear the special gloves and run your fingers across the surface of the Geneforge carefully." "Excellent. That verifies what Goettsch told me earlier. That was a test. I see now that you might, possibly, be trusted." He breathes deeply and almost relaxes, if only for a moment, before straightening his back even more stiffly than before. "This is what I need from you. This is truly what is required. The book describes the gloves I need to use the Geneforge. Goettsch stole them from me and fled to the wastes at the northwest corner of the island. Go there. Find Goettsch. Kill him. Recover the gloves. And it will be a victory, for you, for me, and for justice." There is no need to murder Goettsch just to provide some gloves. You came prepared. "I have some questions first. Tell me about your soldiers here." Trajkov sighs. "I have been very alone. I have had to struggle mightily to steer my course. Some of us were small minded. They refused to see the horrible crimes of your people, longing instead for mere trade and contact with you. They fought to leave this island alone. Others want only power. They use all of the canisters they can, without concern for justice or other goals. They are useful to me, in their ways, though I feel we must find a way to make more canisters soon. "What will happen if you don't get more canisters?" You think you already know the answer, but knowing Trajkov's thoughts may help you rest more easily at night. "I fear that my warriors and mages are... well, I should not use the word addicted. It is not an addiction of the body, like for alcohol or tobacco. They will not fall ill if they get no more canisters. No, it is an addiction of the mind. It is the desire of power for more power. That is what my people have. And, if they stop getting more power, I am concerned about how they will react." The Sholai are no different from Danette and Corata and the other Shapers who contributed to the Geneforge. "Can you give me assistance? Supplies? Canisters?" "Everything we have, we need. My people will demand all of the canisters and powerful equipment for themselves. You have the whole rest of the island to draw from," Trajkov says. "I would like to help you, but politics intervene. I cannot." Trajkov's grip over his Sholai is fragile. It's only a matter of time, you think, before someone else unseats him and gains both the gloves and the Geneforge. "I have a damaged pair of shaping gloves here." He clearly recognizes them as the gloves from his quarters. He frowns, but doesn't comment on your theft. "Yes. Goettsch found those, but he told me that they are damaged beyond repair." That's true. You can see at a glance that any repairs you could make to them would only be cosmetic. "That's not true. I am able to repair them and make them as good as new." He is clearly dubious, but you are extremely convincing. He nods. "Well, if that is possible, repair them immediately. I wish to use the Geneforge without delay." The Geneforge is much more of a temptation than the elimination of an enemy. It makes sense, in a way; if the gloves are available, then Trajkov can use the Geneforge and possibly make himself more powerful than even his own subordinates -- that level of power is probably required to keep the canister-addicted Sholai in check. Goettsch's presence and his armies of rogues keep the others occupied, so killing him before using the Geneforge isn't just an unnecessary delay, but a real strategic error. "All right," you say, as though his permission is meaningful. "Come back as soon as you are ready. I grow impatient." You use the workbench in the northwestern room, mindful of all the bodies you must step over. You start to try to repair the gloves. They are incredibly complicated, full of machinery and connections. Your considerable skill is sufficient to make them look new. The gloves gleam in your hands as you return to Trajkov. "The gloves are repaired. However, the presence of your creations will interfere with the Geneforge." Trajkov's eyes widen when he sees the gloves. Greed prevents him from thinking too hard about your request. "Oh, yes. Of course. Instability. Fine." He waves his hand. His creations obediently file out of the chamber. "Now, give me the gloves!" You've barely extended them when he eagerly grabs them from you. "At last! After all of the waiting, the gloves are mine. I can use the Geneforge at last!" Trajkov starts walking to the east without delay. "Come with me. Come watch my moment of triumph." His moment? He leaves you behind. Your smile, hidden by the shadow of your cowl, is seen only by his back.  Game Text posted:You see before you the result of all of the labors, the ingenuity, the genius of Sucia Island. It is the great accomplishment of the Shapers here. It is the Geneforge. Game Text posted:As you watch, Trajkov dons the gloves and kneels. Slowly, carefully, reverently, he touches his fingertips to the Geneforge. The greatest accomplishment of your people begins to work your magic on him.  It's a horrible way to die. You can smell his suffering; it's cloying and greasy and you feel that you will never wash it away. But this is the end that you chose for him, knowing well his greed and insecurity. You would have felt the same temptation in his shoes. He trusted you because he wanted to believe that he could take control of the Geneforge without having to dirty his hands any further. The Taker amulet no longer lies so heavy around your neck. The charm has turned dark and dull. Perhaps the serviles managed to enchant it. That's a chilling thought. With Trajkov dead, leaving the island may prove difficult. No matter. You know where the boat is. You have more pressing considerations right now.  Game Text posted:You stare into the swirling goo of the Geneforge. The energy of the power spirals keeps the organic material alive and in constant motion. It bubbles, hisses, and steams, waiting for you to act. Next time: The Fate of the Geneforge  Vote! Today's vote has two questions, so be sure to answer both. You've got until sometime tomorrow -- that is, at least 24 hours, maybe more. 1. With the Geneforge, do we: A. Lightly touch the surface; B. Plunge our hands in; C. Destroy it; D. Leave it. 2. Regarding Shaper Goettsch, do we: A. Report Trajkov's death; B. Murder Goettsch; C. Abandon him.
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Jun 16, 2017 17:56
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At the end, with all we have learned of the Canisters, and what it did to Trajkov (ironic that he talks of how foolish the others are to want more power while he grasps mightily at any chance for it himself), we can still turn away from this path. Destroy it, C And leaving a mad shaper who believes he is king of all things to rule the island seems a poor idea. B, defeat Goettsch This island was barred for a reason.
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Jun 16, 2017 18:21
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Destroy the Geneforge and abandon Goettsch. Let him fight it out with the Sholai in Trajkov's absence. Without his stabilizing presence, the Sholai would take over the island, realize there was nothing more to be done, and leave. As it is they're "bottled up" for the moment and ready for the Shapers to move in and deal with them all.
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Jun 16, 2017 18:28
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AB REAL ULTIMATE POWER and KILL GOETTSCH.
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Jun 16, 2017 18:37
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PurpleXVI posted:AB This. We worked hard for this and going back to Shaper society will get us killed. Take it all for ourselves and build a new society on this island. It's ours now, whether everyone else here acknowledges it or not.
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Jun 16, 2017 18:43
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:Today's vote has two questions, so be sure to answer both. You've got until sometime tomorrow -- that is, at least 24 hours, maybe more. Lightly touch the surface and Murder Goettsch. A B
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Jun 16, 2017 18:52
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AB. I wish there was an option to destroy the Geneforge after using it.
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Jun 16, 2017 20:29
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Goettsch still has rank on us. The first rule of avoiding recriminations for your actions is: be the only witness. Kill Goettsch, whatever else we do.
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Jun 16, 2017 20:54
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AB, I'd say.
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Jun 16, 2017 20:56
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C and B. We've seen what the Geneforge has ended up causing simply by existing. We can't just leave it be, and using it seems like a majorly bad plan. Goettsch can't be allowed to roam free either, and we've been pretty diligent about closing loose ends.
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Jun 16, 2017 20:59
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Night10194 posted:At the end, with all we have learned of the Canisters, and what it did to Trajkov (ironic that he talks of how foolish the others are to want more power while he grasps mightily at any chance for it himself), we can still turn away from this path. Destroy it, C Absolutely this. Not only is the Geneforge entirely too tempting to leave behind, Goettsch has clearly fallen prey to the same malaise as the worst of the Sholai. Destroying him is vital, as he knows entirely too much and could use his knowledge to escape when he realizes the Geneforge is gone. The other Sholai I don't think are so skilled, and thus can be left for the other Shapers to deal with should they so choose.
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Jun 16, 2017 21:29
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Thought - the Geneforge has never been tested. How do we know that that it even works? That's it's not just a boondoggle? D B and wipe out the Sholai. No loose ends. Keep the gloves. Study the Geneforge and reevaluate using them in ten years or so - the Geneforge isn't going anywhere and neither are you. Also hire some Serviles to carve you a sweet skull mountain.
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Jun 16, 2017 21:34
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As you say, the thread has spoken. It will be fascinating to see what the path not traveled looks like, but for now Solution seems to have committed herself to the pursuit of power - else she'd not have asked about additional canisters this late in her stay on the island. If power she wants, she shall have a surfeit. 1- A - use the Geneforge as intended. We've already seen the consequences of not doing so, and we can likely infer it works due to it containing the same material as the canisters. 2 - B - Goettsch is mad. Were we to use the Geneforge and leave him here, we do not know that he would be unable to recreate those gloves. Time to mop up our last loose end.
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Jun 16, 2017 22:07
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CB. It won't even come close to cleaning up the mess this island has become, but it'll be a start.
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Jun 16, 2017 22:24
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Dirk the Average posted:This. We worked hard for this and going back to Shaper society will get us killed. Take it all for ourselves and build a new society on this island. It's ours now, whether everyone else here acknowledges it or not. I would say more that the island belongs to its people. We are thrust into the unwelcome position of its custodian; the people and maybe not even the land itself are likely to survive Shaper recriminations once they find out what happened here, and not even any Power from the ancient tales knows what would happen if the chemical stews here hit the open ocean - but from what it has done moving through sand and stone, we can guess, and only tremble. We know the Shapers are coming. We know we are already under the Geneforge's sway. Has it affected our humanity? Yes, but less than we feared, and I'd like to think our understanding of things, the lessons that the Shapers think can only be taught by indoctrination and rectification, has been bolstered by the finest open-air object lesson their world has ever known. The Shapers may have had several generations to learn from what they did here, but it's as likely that they learned nothing, or worse that this place has become to their own heterodoxies a lost treasure ripe for the taking; we know they've wanted nothing to do with this place for most of that time, and they may not have even known what they sent their man into. What happens if they find out what they did leave here, and their most sociopathic elements see no need to follow their own traditions, or the lessons of the past here, or indeed anything that might constrain them? As for Goettsch, he is beyond any help that we can provide and we know exactly what kind of help the Shaper state would provide him (and it's likely that he knew that going in). In an embrace of his fate, he may even send up the flag bringing the Shapers down on us prematurely. That cannot be allowed to happen. And maybe the Shaper ideology is the problem, if the same mistakes happen again and again. Not that it is necessarily fundamentally flawed, but that it is merely incomplete, and that the Shapers themselves can no longer see through what's there to understand what isn't, that perhaps what they have built and their unwillingness to confront what they've allowed to collapse blinds them to what is missing. This place must be contained. That cannot be done without its power. And no one understands that as we have come to. The Shapers are right that it takes time to understand a place. Time we will have, to learn how to pass its lessons on to others, maybe even the people that have arisen here. But for now, as unready as we are, and as unwilling as we are supposed to be, here is where we make our stand. AB
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Jun 16, 2017 23:00
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BB no spoilers pls. moar power = moar gudder, moar obstacles = moar badder.
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Jun 16, 2017 23:13
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PurpleXVI posted:AB Definitely this one. What's the point in having access to unlimited power unless you abuse it until it destroys you?
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Jun 16, 2017 23:26
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PurpleXVI posted:AB
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Jun 16, 2017 23:56
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CB. Both are too dangerous to continue to exist
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Jun 17, 2017 00:43
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CB. We should probably not give up what little of her humanity hasn't been eroded away by the canisters. If this stuff is the concentrated essence of that, then it can only detach her further from being a decent person.
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Jun 17, 2017 01:01
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C and B.
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Jun 17, 2017 01:05
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AA- We've been changed to the point and seen enough that no matter what we do the Council will try to kill us. We will need Goettsch to help us fight them off, as crazy as he is. Better to try and get him on our side than kill him.
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Jun 17, 2017 01:08
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CB. Let's do the sane option.
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Jun 17, 2017 02:14
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PurpleXVI posted:AB
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Jun 17, 2017 02:14
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AB.
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Jun 17, 2017 02:16
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A definitely, totally, not at all 100% accurate tally: The Geneforge: Lightly touch it: 12 votes Jam Solution's hands in: 1 vote Destroy it: 10 votes Leave it: 1 vote Goettsch: Report Trajkov's demise: 1 vote Murder him: 23 votes Strand him: 1 vote Real ultimate murder has a tenuous lead over no genes, no masters, but again, this count was a quick one and there could be hanging chads.
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Jun 17, 2017 02:22
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I'd say CC. The Geneforge is clearly too dangerous for anyone to use, and once it's gone, Goettsch shouldn't be much of a danger to anyone anymore.
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Jun 17, 2017 03:23
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C C. With the Geneforge destroyed, Goetscch is no longer a threat. The Sholai already tried to use it once. It's not safe to leave the island with them able to not repeat their mistake.
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Jun 17, 2017 04:20
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AB. If we don't do it now, some other jerk will eventually re-create it.
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Jun 17, 2017 04:29
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CB Solution can still pull back from the brink of madness. She has already seen what this kind of power lust does.
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Jun 17, 2017 04:36
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CB. Let's clean up this mess.
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Jun 17, 2017 04:44
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CC. This place has ruined enough lives, get rid of the Geneforge and let Goettsch go.
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Jun 17, 2017 05:01
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CC Solution is already capable of fighting entire shaped forces by herself. Do we even need to risk the Geneforge at this point? How much stronger can we even get? Killing another Shaper might be a bit too hard to explain to the others, everything else we can probably reason out of as being necessary for the mission but this last thing might be a bit too blatant when we're in front of the Shaper council. Let's just run for it and leave the Shapers to deal with the problem.
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Jun 17, 2017 05:39
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AB
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Jun 17, 2017 05:54
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CB
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Jun 17, 2017 06:11
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| # ? May 10, 2024 00:18 |
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AB
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Jun 17, 2017 06:48
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