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We have quite the new list of interrogation topics. Let's start with Handy Joe.  Your ambition shames me, cowboy! Dozens of players enter every day! I could start listing their nicks, but that'd take... All right, I get it. Narrow it down to premium players who started playing in the last four days. Now you're talking! Narrowing down...and voila, here's our result! Two players: "Video James" and "Outlaw"! I dare say the former is you.Looks like the Outlaw is either relatively new, or playing on a fairly new account.  Thanks to the sheriff, we can now access the saloon regardless of level. There's not much to interact with here other than the bartender, though. Welcome to the High Rock saloon! Can I get you anything? [I remembered what Bob Zappa from T&P had told me. I had a chance to contact him through the bartender. I just needed to say the password.] "Mycorrhiza".The bartender's eyes flashed green. I heard a familiar 'beep' and the face of my old friend appeared before my eyes.  Hey, pal. I'm in a meeting, can't talk right now. I'll sense you when I'm done. This could take a while. Sure thing, later. [I wondered if he remembered what he promised me.]Well, we'll just have to wait for now. Let's see if we can get anything else out of the bartender. -Ask about rumors Tell me about the local rumors. I'm sorry, but I can only serve drinks. I'm an automatic character, not a player. Please don't look so surprised. A player hired me to fill in for them as a Bartender, their town profession. This paid service lets you keep a role, despite being absent. If you're interested in other paid services, please visit the game's website. Now then - can I get you anything?-Order a drink Pour me a drink, would you? You need a premium account in order to buy drinks here. Premium my rear end! I want a drink, you digital prick! I'm sorry, those are the rules.Apparently not.  Up on the roof, we find Birdman still watching the complete absence of birds. Could you tell me anything about the residents of High Rock, Professor? I'm asking about other players, not the birds. Other players? They don't seem to be interested in birdies. What can I say? They're weirdos. Have you heard anything about a player named 'The Outlaw'? What? Lawe's parotia? There's one in the game? Uh, I don't know, but that person- Oh. A person. For a moment I thought you were asking about a beautiful bird-of-paradise. I'm not interested in players. Not at all.In retrospect, not sure what I was expecting there.  We get a new target for his binoculars, though. [Her female outlaw skin looked like a premium item. It was the player Sheriff Billy was after. She was hiding in the Guild House.]Looks like we've got ourselves a solid lead, but we still need to get in there.  On our way down, we get a call from Bob. All right, I managed to get out of that meeting, but I'm on the way to the next one. Tell me what this is all about.-Ask for help with the investigation -Ask for the maximum level -Ask for gold coins I'm conducting an investigation on Harvest Time. I need intel on a certain player. Damnit, this kind of data is usually restricted. I can't help you myself, but I'll ask some friends. Who is this about? Ask about the sheriff, the Outlaw, and Lea-Anne. They're from the High Rock region. Any information would help. Every detail matters here. Sure, I'll ask around. I'll sense you as soon as I find anything. Later! While we're waiting for that, let's go back to the Orange folk and cash in our sidequests. Awesome, thank you!He went back to work. Hey, is that all? Yeah, thanks. We'll be fine now. Unless someone gets disconnected again. Am I going to get a reward from the help? What do you want? A medal carved from a potato? You helped us, and we're grateful.We keep having to chase him down every couple of sentences in this conversation because he immediately returns to work, by the way. Listen, I didn't really have to help you, but I did anyway. I try to help all 'Orange Folk', even those who don't expect me to. Any information could help.Beauford lowered his voice. Not all of us wanted a gamedec snooping around here. Not everyone chipped in. Like me, for example. It's harder for us since one of the girls...sort of...abandoned us. Ran away. Said it was her dream to see some other locations in the game. I don't know. Maybe she did it just to...to spite us. Go now, please! I don't want any more trouble.That's the absolute last thing we can get out of him, but I think we have another lead on The Outlaw now.  Let's see if we can get more out of Guy. You said you wanted some information for the trouble, right? Or did you change your mind?-Accept the coins -Ask for the weapon -Ask for help in the investigation I'm trying to solve your problem, and I'm collecting intel on the person that might be behind all this. Acke spoke to the Sheriff about Kamelia. She's one of us. Stopped farming, made a new character called 'The Outlaw', and moved elsewhere. I don't get why she did it. It's pretty cool on the farm.-Ask about Guy's secret I did what you asked me to. Tell me your secret. Heh, good one! But no, I have to keep it a secret. Is that secret a cheat? A speed boost? Well, you are a pro gamedec, aren't you? Yeah, that's the secret. Everyone in the org uses it. But I'm the most successful. Here's an actual secret for you then: Betty, the fence, took over special items supply from someone else. Just say 'Show me your wares', but don't tell her I told you that.We already knew that, but the help is appreciated anyway.  Hi, I'm still in a meeting, but I went to the bathroom and I'm sensing you from a stall. Cool, huh? You didn't have to tell me that. Anyway, got anything? Well, a friend from customer service dug up some data about these players. I didn't get a proper look at it yet myself, I'll just read it out to you. "Hi Bob, I looked into this Sheriff guy. Suspicious stuff, it seems he's using some kind of cheat. A speed boost or timer manipulator. The sheriff's account is registered to a man called Mr. Lebski, and Lea-Anne's real name is Nanette Ducett. Now listen to this - that guy is a manager in her organization, the Nanette Foundation. I checked their in-game profiles and there's not a single interaction between them. As if they didn't know they both play. Curious, huh?" "My guy from Hacks gained access to the VPress cloud and found a record featuring Mr. Lebski and Nanette. Transcript enclosed. You owe me big time." I owe him, that is. Not you. Anyway, I have to go back to the meeting. Is this any good? What about The Outlaw? Oh, right, almost forgot. It's a new, anonymous account, so we don't have a lot of data on that. If they're not registered within the first week, they get automatically deleted. Thanks, Bob. I owe you one. I'm sure this information will help me. Take care. I'm glad I could return the favor. Take care and good luck!Well, that was an enlightening conversation. We'll keep questioning as many people as we can before we make up our minds, though.  A brief transcript of the conversation between the Sheriff and Nanette is included. Not going to post the whole thing, but a brief summary of the highlights: - The Sheriff pressures Nanette into accepting his takeover of the 'Nanette's Gardens' program in Harvest Time - Nanette isn't fully convinced, but her other charitable endeavors demand her attention - The members of the Nanette's Garden program are explicitly stated to be children - The Sheriff is very insistent on not meeting in person, eventually claiming to be disfigured and ashamed of his appearance  The remaining Orange Folk don't have a lot to say, but Acke does. I understand that you're chasing an outlaw, and you'd like to question my people. That's problematic. You're taking up too much of their time. I don't know if the Sheriff mentioned this, but the Outlaw is Kamelia's new character. She should be working here, on the farm. Well, good luck, and good day to you. Let's try the market now, see if anyone here knows anything. -Ask about the sheriff What do you think about the sheriff, Betty? What everyone in High Rock does. He's a solid and helpful player. I suppose you don't have an opinion yet? You're still new around here.-Express doubt -Don't respond -Admit the sheriff is alright [It was better not to share my thoughts with her. She seemed to like to gossip.]Betty laughed. That's fair, keep your thoughts to yourself, sweetheart. I'm curious though!-Ask about the outlaw I'm looking for information about the Outlaw. I heard that player was here recently. Oh, that new character. Levelled up real quick and holed themselves up somewhere. I'm afraid they might be another fraud. "Another" fraud? Do you think the Outlaw is working with someone? Is there some kind of gang here? Hard to say. We had some trouble with this guy, Black Rook. He peddled illegal items and swindled people. The admins banned him at the sheriff's request. [Funny that she could talk so casually about it, when she was the one who took over his business. I decided not to comment on it.] Hold on sweetheart...She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. You asked about that player...I know that Black Rook and The Outlaw were doing shady business together. But you didn't hear that from me.-Ask about what she does in realium Could you tell me about what you do in realium? Sure, it's not a secret. I work for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I organize new holidays. Are you saying that you're at work right now? You're on a couch somewhere in the ministry? That's right, sweetheart. We've got a lot of free time here. Currently, we're working on Neighbor's Day. Neighbor's Day sounds interesting. We're talking realium, not some in-game event, right? Yes! Realium needs holidays and events just as much as games do! This event is supposed to counteract the most common cause of depression in Free Europe - loneliness. People will go out ot parking lots and squares carrying treats, then the hosts will initiate conversation with simple icebreakers.-Criticize the idea -Praise the initiative That's a really good idea. I'd like to get to know my neighbors myself. Really? I think it's idiotic myself, but the officers like the idea and I can play Harvest Time while they waste their time with it.We can talk to Fruity Hilda as well, but being fairly new, she has nothing to say on the topic.  Looks like Hank is back. Also, you can see Mia and Maya are still walking around on their own secret mission. I'm new here. Mind if we talk? Oh, lord. If you have questions about the game, talk to Handy Joe by the entrance. If you're interested in other topics, we can chat.-Ask about his profession You're a gravedigger, not a farmer? How did you get that role in the game? My farm is frozen right now. I need to work a Town Profession for a year to unlock the Town Resident achievement. The gravedigger gig happened to be available. The work is peaceful, it's basically world-building. And no one dies since they removed PVP. When it gets boring, I pop out to realium to buy baby stuff. I can even sleep in-game, but my folks grumble about it. Runny nose, you know. The Town Resident achievement takes some dedication! You have to be in Harvest Time for that long? For a year? If I'm not in-game, players can report my absence. Then the scripts check it and decide if I can continue in this role. Last month, my activity droppe da little because of the divorce. I was moving in with my folks. I got reported and lost the role. Sheriff Billy voiced for me. He's the reason I kept my progress. He's one great man, believe me.-Express doubts about the sheriff -Speak favorably of the sheriff -Change the subject I've heard so many kind words about this gentleman in town. It makes me suspicious. It's intuition, you see. A feeling that behind the facade, there's a monster. That's the lot of good citizens. It's hard to believe they could simply be decent. Folks are always looking for ulterior motives. It's sad. Before we can continue the conversation, we're interrupted. [There were two tools I could use - Intermirror could pierce through the cloak, while Painping launched a painful jamming impulse.]-Use Intermirror -Use Painping   [After a while the shape disappeared. I knew that if I caught this ghost, I'd be able to examine it more closely, maybe even talk to it.] Sorry Hank, thought I saw something... You did look like you'd just seen a ghost! Hah!-Ask about the residents Can you tell me something about the residents of High Rock? No one dies, so I rarely get to speak to them. Besides, I don't like to gossip. I prefer to look at the sky. It's so beautiful. You stand here for days on end. You must see things others miss. Like players who aren't here just to play the game. Just a minute ago, my old friend was pestering me for some stuff and got nothing. I haven't seen her in-game for months and now she shows up as Lea-Anne - I think it was Lea-Anne - and just starts convincing me to - Oh, never mind.-[Infotainer] Encourage him to finish -[Sleeves] Threaten him to finish -Change the subject You know what? I interview a lot of people on camera. I've noticed they don't do well with secrets. A secret eats away at you from the inside, like a worm. It's best to get it out. It makes you feel better. Finish your story. She was looking for whales. Ones with real money. She wanted to find someone to bankroll her business. In realium. She was asking about cheap bank loans. But I'm not Elektrobank staff in here, I'm a gravedigger. And I won't talk about work. I'm on leave. To be honest, she looked desperate.-Ask who he is in realium What do you do in the real world? In realium? I work in Elektrobank. I mean, I'm living with my parents now. I'm on their old couch as we speak. I'm pregnant, so I'm on leave. Congratulations on the pregnancy, Hank. I didn't know you had a uterus. Well, I am a man and I don't have a uterus! I mean Cynthia, my beloved, doesn't consider me manly enough, which is why we got a divorce...I gave her the apartment and she transferred the pregnancy to me. What do you mean by that exactly? Man, dinosaurs walk among us. I am not organically pregnant. My boy is in an exuter. An external uterus. At the White Cloud clinic. He feels my actual movements, hears me like he would in a real uterus. He can sense light if I'm in the sun. It recently got an upgrade - now my little bud can feel virtual movements in sensory worlds! He sees light, hears sounds, all of it! So I'm lounging in Harvest Time, enjoying nature and the fresh air. It's good for the baby!Well, that last bit was interesting. Doesn't really help us with the case, though.  Horsegirl has nothing new to say, so it's down to Rusty Ed, who we need to talk to in order to get into the Guild House anyway.  -Ask to be admitted into the guild Could you admit me to your guild? Lea-Anne said you could sign me up. Yes, I can, if you listen to three of my stories. Hehehe. That's the rule of Rusty Ed's guild!We're not going to be able to weasel our way out of this one, are we. Let's just hope he stays awake this time. -Ask for the old game systems story Have there been any other systems here?The old man closed his eyes and smiled. It used to be a game with ambitions. It was all about portraying something genuine. Physical labor, soil, dirt. Things you don't get in realium. You took your spade, you know, and there were roots in the ground that you had to dig through. There were snails now and then. You grabbed them and either threm them onto your neighbor's field or you killed them. I hate snails.-[Infotainer] Ask about dealing with snails Snails, that sounds media-worthy! Can you tell me more about them? My viewers crave stories about oddities in old games! Ed grinned. I cut the ones I caught in half and placed them around my garden. Other snails came to feed on them. Then I put them in a jar and covered them with salt. They turned to jelly. Jars sold for 100 coins each! Hah, that sure is one way of doing things! Thanks, Ed! So working on a farm was hard, all right. People said they had muscle aches after going back to realium! That was neurotransmission at work! You visualized your garden, then got lost in the work. Digging up dirt, sweating, and then seeing the end product of months of work! It was therapeutic! Then, "upon player request", the devs started making it easier. They removed fatigue, sped up plant growth, got rid of adverse weather. Then they introduced premium accounts, subscriptions, microtransactions, and all that was left of the game was the box. Thanks for the story, Ed.-Ask about the legendary artifact All right. It was about a decade ago. An event was announced that would last all year. A year! It was said that one of the lootboxes would contain a legend of Harvest Time - The Artifact Jewel. I can still remember it. It was a house in the game! House of Happiness! It was covered in flowers! It boosted the joy neurotransmitters of whoever was in it!-[Scalpel] Chime in saying it's dangerous That sort of software can cause an addiction. Did they warn anyone about that? I don't know much about it. But let me tell you one thing - a lot more was allowed in games back then compared to today. So there was this player, Ted Godiva, who sold his apartment, everything he had, to improve his chances. He spent a lot of money on boosts. That's how he got that treasure. The house is still hovering somewhere in the game. In Elysium. He settled here, in Harvest Time. He became a zoenet. He only had enough money to keep his brain alive for a few months...but even while he was dying, he kept smiling. Thank you for the story, Ed. Okay. Now that you've listened to my story, I can answer your questions.-Ask to be admitted into the guild Can you admit me to your guild? Sure. You listened to my stories and I can see you're not a member of any other guild. Just a minute... There! Welcome to Rusty Ed's Guild, make sure to read the terms and conditions. It's just one sentence - "Be nice"! Yeehaw! You are now a member of Rusty Ed's Guild! Thus you get access to the Guild House, where you will find tons of attractions! The Guild House is available from level 15, so get on your farm and level up! Don't worry about the levels. My guild runs on principles from 20 years ago, when there was no such limitation. The house is open to anyone. -Ask about Sheriff Billy Tell me something about the local sheriff. Do you know that Billy guy? He's been nagging me lately, asking me to admit him to the guild. Him and those two loyal cowboys of his. You know, that cowboy Acke and Mad Dog. Although the latter doesn't come here often. But I refuse every time they ask. I don't trust them. But keep that to yourself.Hmm. The Sheriff is working directly with Acke. And didn't he say the guild was off-limits to him due to a game limitation? -Ask about Lea-Anne Ed, what can you tell me about Lea-Anne? I got the impression you knew her. I do, from way back. But I can't tell you because it's not polite to gossip. At all. Fine. I won't push you. Thank you, my friend. Nanette - I mean, Lea Anne, is a new character in the game. She's back after a hiatus. I think she wants to start over. You see, she's a sort of public figure in realium, so she values privacy in sensory worlds.-Ask about the Outlaw Do you know anything about a player called 'The Outlaw'? Do I know anything? I can't tell you that. But are they a member of your guild? The Outlaw is a member of Rusty Ed's Guild. Just like dozens of other players that asked nicely enough. Including you, my friend. Why don't you just have it out with them like civilized players? I don't know who they are and I don't really care. And now, I'd like to take a nap.Ed yawned and snored. [As I was leaving, Ed flinched suddenly, as if he'd felt a prickling sensation. I felt a chill. Just as I expected, my invisible stalker reappeared. I had two more apps I could use to examine this activity, but both were illegal.]-Hunt for the ghost -Give up on the hunt [I could trace the player by performing either a Safety Scan or putting on Gamedec Goggles. The scan was more reliable but risked drawing admin attention. The Goggles were safer, but limited to my field of view.]-Put on Gamedec Goggles -Perform a Safety Scan [It was time for this little birdie to show itself. The goggles pointed me toward the ghost, but I only had a short time. I had to hurry.] We get a locator that points us towards our invisible stalker. We don't have to follow it far. [I had the enemy in the bag - I just had to restrain them. The Freeze app I had in my deck was the best tool for the task.]-Scan the enemy -Restrain the enemy  [There was something familiar about the software. It took me a moment, but I finally recognized it - they were gamedec apps! I was up for a duel.] [My enemy didn't wait for an invitation, and quickly launched the first attack. Web. It was a massive thing. I launched Helmet, which provided me with immediate defense and weakened the attack.] [It seemed my enemy had access to a standard collection of apps, but so did I. I opened a window with offensive and defensive programs. Apps had different speeds and methods of operation. Successful attacks gave you an advantage, while a good defense helped you keep it.] I'm not going to provide a blow-by blow play, but the 'duel' is fairly straightforward. You pick an attack, which the enemy may or may not choose the right defense against, though switching up methods of attack makes them more likely to succeed.  Then the enemy attacks you, and you have to choose a defense. Successful attacks swing the bar to the left, failed defense swings the bar to the right, and perfectly blocked attacks (on either side) don't affect the bar at all. The more traits a chosen defense shares with an attack, the better the defense, with a 1-1 matchup being a perfect block. Sometimes the enemy will use an attack which doesn't show up on your list or tell you its traits, so all you can do is guess and hope you come out on top. After a few rounds of this...  Let's talk.-Have her reveal herself Show yourself! I want to know who I'm talking to. This silhouette is all I can reveal for now. My avatar is somewhere else. I've been following you for a while using a slightly modified Guardian Angel app.-Ask why she's following you Why are you following me? Why, out of sheer detective curiosity. A gamedec in a game like this? It was worth listening to some of your conversations. I know, it's unethical and undignified, pardon me. It's no excuse, but you wouldn't have answered my questions if I had asked them directly.-Ask what she wants What do you want from me? All I want is a friendly chat, one gamedec to another. Sorry for all this sneaking around. Will you accept my apology?-Refuse -Say nothing -Agree Fine. We're cool. Really? Great! Gotta say, I didn't expect that. As a thank-you, allow me to...maybe I'll share some information with you. It might help you with your investigation. Um...but I don't mean to force my solution on you too early. After all, I could be wrong, right? Finish your investigation, and let's meet to discuss our findings. Preferably somewhere private. For example...-"In my bedroom" -"In the saloon" -"In the graveyard" The graveyard? That's right. After you've completed the investigation and finished up your business, meet me where tombstones grow, as a poet would say. Do you remember the way? You need to jump into the well or off the saloon roof. Both methods are fine. I'll see you there. Good luck!The mysterious gamedec vanished into thin air. A moment later, I received a text file in a private message. I scanned and opened it. "Dear friend, I learned a lot from our battle today. As a thank you, please accept the enclosed information. I overheard the sheriff say something about a 'speed boost'. I'm impressed by what you've managed to accomplish and find out so far. I have a lot to learn from you!"Well, one invisible stalker is out of our hair for the moment. Incidentally, it is theoretically possible to win the duel, but it requires the enemy to screw up basically every defense. Still, we acquitted ourselves pretty well for our first hacker duel! Also our last one. This system never shows up again in the game.  On our way to the Guild House, we pass by these two women having a loud and very expository conversation. Do you honestly think it was here? In this graveyard? The ledge it grew on collapsed, that's why there's no trace of it. The Cosmic Tree. Axis Mundi. The Tree of Good and Evil. The Tree of Knowing. This symbol is present in every culture. The Vikings, Australian Tribes, Christian and Slavic myths...it's everywhere. According to these beliefs, there's a spot where time stops along the tree's axis, around it's trunk. It allows you to connect with the past and the future. For the Australian Arrente people, the cosmic axis was a pillar. It transformed unknown space into the 'world', an organized reality.-Interrupt their conversation I'm sorry, could I - One of the women looked at me haughtily, sized me up, and made some gestures in the game's menu. I noticed a message in front of my eyes. "Players Jira and Wala added you to their ignore lists. Have fun playing!"  We get a much longer log of their conversation in our Codex. Most of it is empty theorizing, but the conversation does end on an ominous note: the Tree of Knowing has appeared in many different games, regardless of engine, software or code. What could a skilled hacker do with a Net-wide vulnerability like that?  Anyway, moving on. Now that we can enter the Guild House, we can report to Lea-Anne.  Before we do, though, there's someone else we have to talk to. [Upon seeing me, the girl tossed her book away and made a few hesitant steps towards the exit. She was frightened.] [I stopped. I didn't want to exacerbate the situation. She gave me an appraising look.] The Sheriff sent you, right?-[Sensory Celebrity] Convince her that he did not What? Of course not! He wanted something from me, so I nodded along to get him off my back. What an obnoxious man!The girl's face relaxed. That's good. But I'm still not talking to you.-Say that you want to help Trust me, I'm here to help you. No, I don't believe you.-[Scalpel] Gain her trust Be smart and trust me. I'm a doctor. I help people every day and I want to help you too. A doctor? The last time I saw a doctor, he was cutting my umbilical cord!The girl laughed, but it seemed like I had convinced her to listen to me. Now I had to get her to trust me. -Convince her by being open -Convince her by being subtle Listen. You know that you're no match for the sheriff alone, right?The girl nodded in agreement. -Express concern for her health I can see that you're confused and you're far from being in peak health. Sitting here doing nothing will only make things worse for you. I think you're right.The girl lowered her head. She looked like a dog that used to be beaten, but decided to trust their new owner anyway. -Have her tell you about herself Can you tell me something about yourself? Not much to tell. Although, I did recently give my supervisors the slip. I'm just sorry I didn't get to see that rear end in a top hat Acke's face! My dream is to visit all in-game locations. There's a snag - I can't leave without a ticket for the Midnight Express. It arrives this evening. -Ask about the sheriff Tell me, what do you know about the sheriff? He's a oval office, for one. He has a pair of goons, too. Acke, usually watching us at the farm, and Mad Dog, usually watching the sheriff's rear end. -Ask who she's working with Who are you working with? Actually, no one! I'm alone, all alone! Really, you don't have any partners? I don't, I swear! All right, I'll see you around. Take care. Time to report to at least one of our taskmasters. -Ask about the outlaw Have you heard anything about a player called 'The Outlaw'? That girl upstairs? I don't know her, I think she's new. She's strange. She just sits there and reads books. Have you seen her talk to anyone? Besides you, no. Nobody came to see her.-Report what you discovered about the sheriff About the sheriff...-Lie: He's an Out-ranger -[Infotainer] Lie: he's an infotainer -Lie: He's a doctor -He works for a foundation He works for the Nanette Foundation under the pseudonym Mr. Lebski. He runs Nanette's Gardens, an activation program for poor kids.The woman's eyes and mouth went wide. For a good while, she seemed to have trouble catching her breath. But how?! I'm Nanette! I'm the head of the Foundation! I had no idea that Mr. Lebski was the sheriff. He never said a word!-Inquire about Mr. Lebski Tell me everything you know about Mr. Lebski. I've never seen him in person. We met in the game. He offered to help me with Nanette's Gardens and we struck a deal through Viper. The program was a burden on our budget. Mr. Lebski came up with the idea to auction items from lootboxes that spawn when you grow pumpkins. I actually can't say a bad word about him. He made the Gardens self-sufficient. The kids from the program have decent equipment, supplements, supervisors...although I have to say that I'm not sure about anything anymore. Thank you for your help. Do you have any other questions? If not, I'll be going back to the foundation.-Ask what she does in the game Tell me the truth. What do you really do in Harvest Time? Nothing wrong. I'm looking for a sponsor that could support my foundation. I need money. You see, I'm running a children's cancer hospital. About the Sheriff, well, he seemed rich. That's why he caught my attention.-Ask if she knows anything about the Orange Folk What do you know about the Orange Folk? Nothing except the fact that they work on public farms and everyone thinks they're weirdos. But how is that connected to the case? Oh...if Mr. Lebski is the Sheriff, then these people might be my kids from Nanette's Gardens! Oh my god!Wait. You knew that the kids were involved in a program that sold lootboxes for cash. You knew about the Orange Folk, and it's fairly self-evident that they're being forced to farm lootboxes. You never once stopped to think about how those two things were connected? Thank you for your help. I have to go back to the foundation now. Goodbye.She immediately logs out.    Well, we've talked to just about everyone, and I think it's pretty safe to call it now.  Filling up those three deductions leads to a fourth one, for deducing the ultimate culprit. We could ask around a bit more, but I think it's pretty safe to call it. Now the question is, what can we do about that? I guess we'll find out next update.
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Sep 29, 2022 16:28
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This better lead to a showdown FILL YOUR HAND YOU SONNOVA BITCH
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Sep 29, 2022 17:07
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Inadequately posted:
 And so the missed potential makes itself known.
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Sep 29, 2022 20:17
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Now that we've made up our minds on who we're gunning for, it's time to pay a visit to our invisible stalker. Not the most ideal of backup, but any port in a storm, I suppose. Oh, and we also unlock a new occupation. Cheater is a fairly big time-saver for a lot of things down the line. Since it's in the 'Aggression' tree rather than the 'Programmer' one, I assume Video James has had the tools to accomplish said tasks all along, and unlocking Cheater is just working up the cojones to actually use them.  [This was my third visit to the graveyard. I hoped the information the mysterious gamedec had for me would be worth it.] Video James is apparently getting tired of this routine. I suppose I would be too if killing yourself was the only way to get to a particular location.  We don't have to travel very far before we find our apparition. Welcome, Gamedec. Hi. Do I need to perform a ritual or exorcism to make you reveal yourself? Right. Let me exit Guardian Angel mode...Wait, how do I do that...I think it's here... ...okay, I call bullshit on that. It's been, what, a few days at most since the Fredo incident? Ken's an idiot! There's no way he got good enough at amateur detectivery to match an experienced gamedec in a hacking duel. On the other hand, Video James seemed convinced in his own internal monologue that Timmy could probably do his job fairly easily, so maybe this whole 'gamedec' thing just isn't as hard as I was previously led to believe. Right, we've met. I remember you were chasing some crooks.-Ask what he's doing in Harvest Time What are you doing here anyway? Following the cheaters? Yes and no. Remember those chicks in T&P? Knight's Code members. I took notice because they were talking about the Tree of Knowing. They're here now and they're asking about it. It's important. I've met the local sheriff too and I'm sure he cheats. And I hate cheaters. So I laid low, hidden, and started snooping around. Then you showed up, so I thought we might join forces.-Ask about the Tree You mentioned the Tree of Knowing and said it was 'important'. Why? Do you know something about it? Chief, when the trolls took me down during the game, I caught a glimpse of the Tree. Like the very air had been breached. I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence. I don't know what that poo poo was but it must be connected to what they did to me. I overheard those girls say it's appeared in many places.-Move on to your case You said you had some information concerning my case. Yes. I think there's something fishy going on. The Orange Folk use a cheat that helps them get lootboxes.-Listen -Suggest illegal boosts -Explain that it's a speed boost Yes, it's some sort of speed boost. Yes, but you know, chief, that could be any kind of hack - small-time or heavy artillery. The sheriff, that Billy guy, uses a similar cheat to win duels.-Concur with his theory -Ask if he's got proof -Disagree with Ken's hypothesis It makes sense. Sadly, I don't have any substantial evidence. I'd like to get some. I think the Sheriff controls the work done by the Orange Folk somehow. That Acke guy and Mad Dog are involved in it. It's some kind of slavery, chief.-Agree with Ken -Deny What you're saying makes sense.I guess this conversation is for anyone particularly slow on the uptake, but I sure wish we could actually put forth any of the information we gathered instead of nodding at Ken and going 'yup, tell me about it.' I saw that you closed a deal with Billy and now you're obliged to do the job for him. But...maybe it's a good idea to get him in realium? Find out who he really is? This unlocks a snap deduction, though I'm not really sure why. You'd have to be actively attempting to screw up to go for the Outlaw here. Yes, we need to get him. Awe-loving-some. I've got The Investigator. That program tracks people down in realium, you just need to- Get in physical contact with the avatar of the person you're looking for and hold them for a while I know, I've tried. There's a problem. What's the problem? It's like there's a thin layer of digital air between your hand and another avatar! Maybe that's why it's easier to cheat with a speed boost here? I've searched the code and it seems that barrier caused the birds to vanish. I mean, they're there, but can't be seen! It's that layer of 'air'! I think it's a safeguard against that app. Whether it was done on player request or of their own accord, you can't just 'touch' anyone here! So you can't run the Investigator by just 'touching' someone. I thought it over and I've got an idea...-Listen to Ken's suggestion -Suggest a solution We're clearly not in the pilot seat anymore, so what the hell. Do tell. Can you hook up The Investigator to a bullet and then shoot someone? The bullet would get inside the avatar and stay there long enough... You're thinking like a gamedec, Ken. That's exactly what I was thinking. Sure am glad we didn't bother farming up those 5000 coins. I took a bullet from the gun's cylinder, opened the Investigator window, and linked the program to the bullet and my avatar. Done. drat, chief, watching you work sure is something! Now you need to challenge the sheriff to a Sunset Duel. And shoot that douche. It's getting dark, we should go. I'll assist you as an invisible protective spirit. You can thank me later. I assume I have no say in this? You'll follow me whether I want it or not. I'm involved as hell in this. I want to know how it ends. Maybe I can learn something, maybe I can help.-Have him keep his distance -Have him stay close Oh well, as long as he's committed to being the sidekick he can stick around. I might need an invisible helping hand. Stay close. Great, lead the way, chief.As we leave the graveyard, we're immediately accosted.  Well, that's not good. Let's not waste any time with hows or whys and get right into it.   Yes, 'it's just a game', but most players take this world seriously! It's a home, a place of respite, meditation and honest work! and this person committed fraud! Lots of fraud! The truth about him will soon see the light of day. We are ever closer to the truth! Mad Dog, Acke - you know what to do with him! We have to do something, chief! Stanley's your client, isn't he?-Stop the lynching -Watch the lynching -Have Ken log Stanley out -Challenge the Sheriff to a duel I challenge you to a duel! That's how you say it, right?  [The presence of the Orange Folk gave me comfort. I'm sure all my predecessors had fired the first shot. That's why they lost.]Uh, I'm pretty sure they lost because the exact opposite thing happened. I guess it's supposed to be a statement about restraint and not losing your cool, but that's a terrible way to word it. -[Sensory Celebrity] Gain the crowd's sympathy This is fun, right?I received no reply. The sheriff showed his teeth in a mocking smile, and for a moment, lost his concentration. He restrained himself and focused on me again. -Restrain your movements [The sheriff was said to be the best gunman in High Rock. I couldn't make any unnecessary movements.] [The sheriff slowly lifted the edge of his coat to reveal a holstered revolver. I was breathing calmly. Everything was under control.]-Make eye contact with Ken [I needed the element of surprise. I nodded ever so slightly in Ken's direction.] Looking me straight in the eye, the Sheriff slowly shifted his weight to his other leg. This shot could decide the success of the entire plan. I started feeling nervous. -[Cheater] Examine the Sheriff's movements [Son of a gun. That was an old trick. He had shifted his body's weight for one purpose - he meant to fire a concealed weapon! He wouldn't be able to get the jump on me. All I had to do was wait for him to make his move.]Like a cat bored of toying with its victim, he moved his hand closer to the holster. The stress intensified. I felt how hard my heart was beating. -Watch the Sheriff's shadow [I focused on my opponent's shadow. It mimicked his silhouette, revealing elements not visible from my angle. I didn't notice anything special.] [The sheriff moved his hand near his mouth as if he was about to cough. Instead, he reached for the revolver hidden underneath his armpit. Exactly what I'd been waiting for.] [I fired a shot! The sheriff looked at the wound and logged out momentarily. I was hoping that the Investigator managed to get a read on his location.] Mr. Gamedec, that was amazing! You gave him a proper rear end-whooping! Thank you for saving my li- my dignity. I nodded and winked at Ken. It was a team effort. Actually, since you've beaten the sheriff, shouldn't you - Yeehaw, partner! Congratulations! You've triumphed in a Sunset Duel! According to the rules, you can now assume the mantle of sheriff in the town of High Rock!-Refuse -Accept Great! I'll become the sheriff! The special sheriff skin will be available to collect within three days of your account being verified! Along with the new role, you will receive the Legendary Horn of Plenty Premium Pack!-Accept the Legendary Set -Give the set to the Orange Folk I don't need it. Maybe you guys will find it useful? Wow! Thanks! that's really something! I'll see you on the farm, Sheriff! Yeehaw! Don't let it all go to your head now, Sheriff! All right, let's see if the Investigator attached to the bullet did its job. [I looked at the report. The progress bar stopped at one hundred percent. There was an address below it.] It's one of the mushrooms. Living quarters for the builders of Warsaw City! It's below the Low City level! What a trip! He's probably getting up from the couch now! If he gets up, he'll bolt! We gotta go! Want me to pick you up? I'll be fine. I'll meet you there. As you wish, partner! I'll see you there.Ken logs out. Mr Gamedec, I still wish to talk about...something important. Sure, what's on your mind?The boy froze. He was standing motionless and staring vacantly into the distance. The Orange Folk started disappearing one by one. Kid?! No! Leave me alone! Leave... [All members of the Orange Folk had left the game. It was time to do the same. I had to visit the sheriff in his lair.] [...the volatile smell of fumes from machines clearing old Warsaw...All were trying to penetrate the veil of oblivion to bring back my childhood.] [I couldn't afford a pneumobile and aurocars didn't travel there, so I had to take an aurotaxi. Ken was there waiting for me, standing at a mushroom's closed door. Over a century ago, polis builders had lived there.] Nice to finally meet you in person, eh, chief? I was going to go in alone, but then I saw you get out of the cab. This is the moment, right, chief? We'll get the bad guys and kick their asses! I knew being a gamedec would be more thrilling than Goodabads! gently caress, I feel like a real detective! But you're the one with experience, chief. Lead the way. We go in with guns blazing, right?-Teach him caution -Go in 'guns blazing' Not 'with guns blazing', Ken. We don't know what's inside or how strong the door is. If it's reinforced, all we will do is aler- You're right. Cautiously. With guns blazing. I go in, you cover me!Before I could answer he threw himself against the door. He was strong. He hit it with so much force he smashed the lock to pieces. Get him! The other guy bit the tip of his tongue. He was in the mood for a brawl. An electric knuckle-duster flashed on his clenched fist. Look, Doug, it's that gamedec from Harvest Time I told you about. Kid was right, they did track him down. The gently caress you want?-Calm them down -Let Ken answer Gentlemen, calm down. We only want the kids and the sheriff. You still have all your teeth and unbroken noses, so let's keep it that way. You're free to leave. First, you charge in here breaking down the door, and now it's all loving 'calm down'? Every action has a reaction!Ken winked at me. He was ready to attack. -Keep everyone from fighting -Attack together with Ken Enough talk.-Kill your opponent -Stun your opponent Upper option looking real tempting, but we should probably be a good role model for Ken.  Ken rushes forward and slams his opponent into the ground, while Video James takes a more measured approach and hits Acke with a stunner. [I had to make sure they wouldn't hurt any more children, but I didn't want to kill anyone.] Don't you dare get up, rear end in a top hat!Both of them were unconscious, but Ken had a fire in his eyes. Wait, the sheriff! Chief, you see the sheriff anywhere? I've never seen anything like that! Only games have those wham-bam animations...they had no chance, and they're strong and scary! But they were scared of you...-Interrupt -Keep listening You have to go upstairs! Oh, I'm Stanley, by the way. I mean Tom. I forgot to tell you. I was afraid, but you did fine. You can handle Kid too. You showed them! We knew that you must be good with all those likes under your profile and that you'd find us...-Interrupt -Keep listening I heard his jaw crunch when he got hit! And yesterday, we had no dinner, and they laughed. Well, who's laughing now? Because the investigation had to lead you here, I knew it...-Interrupt -Keep listening Wait, I want to...He wouldn't listen. He was too excited. And I knew I didn't have to say anything cause you'd figure it all out. I mean, you can tell who's bad and good here. They were dirty and hunched over like any villain in a game. If someone looks like that, you know they're bad. I knew you'd figure it out...-Yell at him -Keep listening Aw, we can't interrupt if the choice is going to be phrased like that. That was epic, like the raid event. But it only comes once a year in Harvest Time cause it's too epic to have it more often. And then there are wild horses stampeding to hid the raid. People say wild horses are an omen. But they neigh and stomp. And an omen wouldn't neigh, right? Everyone knows omens don't neigh...Ken lost it. Stanley! What? Where's the sheriff? Oh, upstairs. I think he tried to run away from you. Chief, let's be quick, shall we?Before we do that, let's talk to some of the other children first.  -Ask who she is Who are you, by the way? My name's Kamelia. In the game, I was known as the Outlaw. It's...it's good that we managed to work things out. You've managed to get here. I feel silly for not entirely believing in you.-Ask where the other children are It's awfully empty here. No one's using the couches, or the beds for that matter. Where are the other children? Kid told everyone to log out. He was livid, so most of them hid and are waiting for it to pass. They'll come out when they're no longer afraid.-Ask where the Sheriff is Where's Sheriff Billy? We call him Kid. He's in the office upstairs. I saw him deleting some stuff from his computer. That means he hasn't escaped. Perfect. We'll enter his office. Guns blazing.-Ask about her escape in Harvest Time In Harvest Time you were the only person who stood up to the Sheriff. You tried to run. That took guts. Respect. I was terrified...but I so wanted to see what was in Harvest Time outside our town. They show off these amazing things in each update, and when Kid wouldn't let us...Will I be allowed to see all of Harvest Time now? Of course. You'll be able to sight-see to your heart's content, and you won't have to hide anymore. She smiled. I have to take care of some things now. Please be careful with Kid - the Sheriff. Don't trust him.  [My hand stuck to the lid. I looked inside. Inside were cheap vitamins and supplements. They were all of questionable origin. Was this the only sustenance these children could expect?] [As far as I could tell, there was more virtualia pharmacology than actual food. I left the crates alone.] [No one was using them at that moment. The sheriff had enough time to wake up all the children. Everything was connected with shared wiring. There was probably a single computer overseeing it all.] I guess this is confirmation that Video James does, in fact, use his regular, real-world body as an avatar in every game he visits. I suppose he is a celebrity, so it makes sense to keep up his brand. Silly Sally? Were you the one using that letter and digit code? drat right it's me! It's cool you came. But be careful, outsiders are hosed here. It's dangerous.-Ask about the danger Dangerous? No one comes here cause they want to, like, ever. They have to be brought in by Doug or Acke. One time, a guy in an anti-g harness wandered in here. Doug kicked his rear end so hard he looked like a bad hexel. You've probably dealt with them already, but Kid is upstairs. And I reckon Acke and Doug have nothing on him.-Ask about the sheriff Where's the sheriff? Yo, he's upstairs. I told you. Do adults have, like, zero skill points in listening?-Ask how she's feeling You seemed out of sorts while you were playing. How are you feeling? Once I logged out, I basically fell on my rear end, I was so out of it. But that's, like, normal. Happens to everyone. It's cool now. Alright, enough faffing about. Time to end this. Ken stopped me when I was about to open the door. Chief...I know I may look like a total pro. But I've never caught anyone. In realium, I mean. Nor interrogated anyone. Any tips before we go in? First of all, The Investigator led us here, but we don't know who's behind all this. Let's get the guy who acts as the Sheriff in the game, interrogate him, and find out what's going on.-[Cheater] Tell Ken to watch the sheriff -[Vox Populi] Tell him about manipulation techniques -Tell him to guard the door You need to make him want to confess to what he did. Provoke or push him until he says something he shouldn't. That's very smart, chief. I'll try. I'll leave the talking to you. I will listen and learn. Hands up, motherfucker! Prepare for justice!He realized that was too much. Sorry, chief. I got carried away. [Low City][The Undercity was over a hundred meters below. He couldn't have jumped out of a mushroom window and survived. Unless it was suicide...] It's just some kid. It's good that you're here. I'll go check on your friends.He began to head for the exit. Stop bullshitting. I know you're the sheriff.A proud smile spread across his face. But I almost convinced you, right? I can even get one over a gamedec.-Ask if he feels remorse These kids are suffering. Doesn't your conscience bother you? Why? It all works, after all! And it's making money! More than a good-for-nothing gamedec. Anyone would do the same in my place if they could. Anyone. And the kids can't do it. They need someone to decide things for them. He's proud of it! Of course. Everything was going great until the punks called a gamedec.-Say what you've discovered during the investigation The kids called us because they were miserable. And didn't they tell you they want to play more? Cause usually they do. They have it better in Harvest Time than they would on the streets. We all just want to make some money and escape poverty.-Mention the kids' symptoms The kids complained about strange symptoms - pain, confusion, weakness...do you think it's acceptable? Take a look inside the boxes! They're filled with supplements and all sorts of medicine! They wouldn't be able to work if they were sick! You little poo poo. You're taking advantage of those kids, and you can't even call for a doctor? What, are you gonna pay for that? The foundation doesn't check on us or help us. No earnings, no doctor. That's why we discipline them. But of course, these loving idiots took part of the money and hired a gamedec.-Ask about speed boosts You made the kids use a speed boost cheat. We all use it sometimes. Why do you think nobody can beat the sheriff in a duel? Anyway, the kids slack off, then use the cheat on themselves and their plants to catch up and make money. Well...we all gotta make a living.Ken's face turned red. What did you say? On themselves?! But that...that can accelerate the aging process! Chief, that can cause Adelheim's syndrome! Accelerated aging! The organism works at full power, and it gets worn out. That's messed up! What's the alternative? Starving in Low City? Better to get old a little faster but actually get to live! To survive! Don't you get it?-[Scalpel] Remind him of the destructive effects of the syndrome Adelheim's syndrome can have irreversible effects in children. Growth disorders, endocrine gland disorders...it could be disastrous for them. They can experience lifelong chronic pain. They'll get old much faster, which means they'll live shorter lives. Do you understand? At least they'll be happier. They'll actually have something that's theirs. We don't force anyone to work for us. Low City does.We can also push him about the stimulant and cheat abuse, but I think it's clear what his response is going to be on those. -Ask about the whole operation I see that you believe everything's working perfectly here. How exactly does this thing work? Using slave labor? What, are you going to take all these kids home and take care of them? You and your kind little heart didn't give a gently caress until someone paid you. And they paid you because they're making money. Instead of doing drugs and roaming the walkways without supervision, they're here together, learning how to make money. I'm proud of that.-Mention that kids run away At least one kid felt so bad that she tried to run away. That's right, slave master! If they're so happy, why are they running and hiding? Where are those kiddos, anyway? Use your brain, idiot. The kids can leave anytime they want. The door's open. You'd notice if you had used the handle. And what are they going to do? It's a mushroom. In order to get out, they would have to go down to the Undercity, walk through the ruins to the nearest tower and climb to Low City using a ladder. It's drat dangero- Please, all they need to do is ask. I'll get a cab, and off they go. Yeah, they run away, but only in Harvest Time. They don't want to leave here, they want to stay and keep playing. As long as they're here, they need to follow the rules. If I let them slack, they won't learn discipline, and the program won't profit.We can keep pushing him on the patrolling armed guards, etc, but I think you get the idea on how those conversations are gonna go. Chief, he's not showing any remorse! I feel it in my gut that he's not gonna learn unless we graciously beat the gently caress out of him. This isn't how we wre supposed to serve justice.-Sense the head of the foundation [I took out my walktel, opened a command window, and dialed Nanette's number.] Let's see what the head of this operation has to say about this... Hello there, gamedec. Is this the moment you'd like me to return the favor?-Question her Listen, Nanette. I'm in the mushroom right now. It's one of those hundred-year old structures abandoned by the builders of the polis... I know what mushrooms are. Have you found anything interesting in there? Yeah. The headquarters of Nanette's Gardens. It's a dump. A stinky, creepy slum. What? But how? I rented this nice place...At this point, the 'continue' button breaks on the version I'm recording with, so I can't advance this conversation. I can't be bothered to boot up the Switch version, but it goes pretty much how you'd expect: Nanette goes 'I've been taken for a ride, I'm such a fool, etc.' while the Gamedec tells her to do better. -Decide what to do We've heard what the kid had to say. What do you think, Ken? I'm not sure, chief. We learned in Harvest Time that it's the sheriff who's responsible for the kids' problems. And the sheriff is this punk right here. He's not even trying to hide it. We need to separate the kids from him. Regardless of whatever the gently caress you think, you don't have a choice. If you call the police, these kids will end up in juvie or on walkways. I would say the latter. You're going to leave them alone? In Low City? They'll be much worse off than here.Kid smiled cheekily. Unless, of course, you want to take them in and raise them? No? Well, fine. I know how to take care of them. -Call the police -Let Kid continue taking care of them -Let the Nanette Foundation take care of it Call the foundation. I'm sure Nanette will take care of the children. If she gives them her attention, that is. Right. They'll be taken care of. I was starting to feel like a hero, but then I realized that I don't know anything about kids. Good call. I'll sense them and take care of everything.Ken opened a private window and chose a number. His lips started to move, but I couldn't hear anything. Meanwhile, Kid headed for the exit. Where do you think you're going, punk? You're the one responsible for this whole mess. So what? I'm a minor. You wouldn't do anything to a minor, would you? How about we gently caress him up anyway, chief? Introduce him to the holy, punishing hand of justice? I'm itching to beat the crap out of him.-Trap him in a 'speed boost' -Let him run away -[Sleeves] Shoot the kid -Turn him into the police That Sleeves option is looking real tempting, but we should probably be a good role model while our sidekick's here. Nevertheless, maybe we can indulge in a little bit of karmic justice. Kid, you like using speed boosts and don't give a gently caress that they accelerate aging, right? You won't mind experiencing it yourself, then. We'll trap you in a cheat like that, and the kids will decide when to turn it off. Please, no! They're clueless! It'll kill me! Don't worry, punk. You wanted to be an adult? This will help! If someone takes pity on you and gets you out, you can run a real business, not a shithole like this! Say, I don't know...an old folk's home? Video James and Ken proceed to force Kid into the couch (no matter how much the actual animation here looks like he’s walking into it of his own volition). Eh, he'll probably be fine. Nanette's people will probably break him out once they get here anyway.  As we leave the room, we're surrounded by a gaggle of hopeful kids. Sir...what will happen to us now? Who's going to take care of us now? You won't leave us alone, will you? Nanette will take care of you. Remember her?The kids started talking over one another. Cries of joy mingled with words of astonishment. But can we stay together? Here?! Can we see other games? And not get logged out anymore? What if they separate us and ban us from playing? Kid always told us what to do! Who will tell us now?-[Vox Populi] Convince them it'll be great -Reassure them it'll be alright -Bring the kids to order The fate of all mistreated, degraded and oppressed has always been dear to me. Trust me. You will be a lot better now. You can play together. You'll have more time, and you won't get disconnected anymore. Are you sure? I'm sure. Above all, you will feel better. You'll live in a nice place, play more safely, and have more fun. The boy's face brightened. That's so cool! Thank you, gamedec! Very cool indeed. We did quite well. We should wait for somebody to take over here, and then we need to talk. Let's celebrate our success, analyze our mistakes, and discuss what to do next. War meeting at your place, chief, 8 o'clock sharp! Ken, meet Bliss. She's my majordomo. She's cool, chief! Hi there, translucent! Ken Zhou, a Goodabads player and one of the few players in the world who can play for 15 seconds at the 19th level of pain. He's been the most efficient attacker for the last two seasons. She knows everything about me! Intellectual personality? Great choice, chief!-Offer a drink -Cut to the chase  -Offer whiskey -Offer tea -Offer beer Whiskey? Yeah...we need to rinse our neurons after what happened in that mushroom under Low City. But let's focus on our next investigation. Did you notice I said "our", chief?I don't have much choice in the matter, do I. Did you notice those two trippy girls in T&P? The ones that were chatting people up? They seemed strange, so I talked to them. It turned out they were recruiting people into a clan in a different game. Wait, it gets better. This clan believes in some crazy-rear end stuff. They're also obsessed with the number 314. I think they're a cult. So, you see...He looked at me as though he was waiting for questions. -Find out more about the clan What do you know about this clan? They’re called the Hon Clan. Apparently “Hon” means “book”. It’s in their emblem – a book in front of a tree. They play MMOs, keep talking about meditation, ‘observations’, stuff like that. Even more than about fighting and territories. That said, chief, when they fight, they fight for real. They know how to play. But as soon as those girls realized I had money, they told me I was special and that my spiritual path leads to the clan. Suspicious, huh?I mean, I agree, but that’s not exactly a mystery that needs solving. -Ask why it piqued his interest Why did you take an interest in them? During that game…you know, the one I rage quit, those loving trolls weren’t the only thing I saw in that space rip. There was also a tree. I mean, what the gently caress was that, right? But when I heard that the clan worships a ‘Tree of Knowing’, I figured it might help me understand. I did some research, and it turns out their Tree of Knowing looks exactly like the one I saw. That’s my lead, chief! The lead to finding the fuckers that ruined my career!-Ask about the Tree of Knowing What is the Tree of Knowing? Well, I’m not sure yet, but I’m really interested in finding out. You see, this goddamn Tree is what somebody used to destroy my career. They’re never specific about the Tree. It’s some kind of artifact. Apparently, it only appears once in a while. It’s a big deal for them. They say the Tree gives them truth and inspiration and sends some signal things…kinda seems like they get high a lot. Suspicious, huh?-Ask about the number 314 What’s the deal with them and the number 314? I feel like I’ve heard something about it before. At first I thought it was a reference to the number pi, but there’s more to it, chief. I gotta say, it…gives me the creeps. You know, it’s like…whenever I see this number or even hear about it…something happens. Don’t loving laugh at me… I’m not. Don’t dismiss it. You’re feeling something – that’s a fact. It might be your emotions, but it might be something else too. Worth investigating, right? That’s what I thought! Cause, y’know, chief, I kind of believe there might be something mystical going on here. It’s like, when I see ‘314’, it feels like a sign that was put there especially for me. Like I’m special. Strange, isn’t it? What if the clan knows that I’m interested in them, and they reprogrammed my walktel and lenses? Worth investigating!-Ask if anyone hired him for the investigation Has someone actually hired you for this investigation? Um…not really. I’m working on my own… You do know that gamedecs get hired, discuss their remuneration with the client, and only then begin their investigation, right? This one’s an exception. Well, the second exception – the first was Harvest Time. I hired myself to find out who killed…my career. Someone’s got to find the culprit! Are you in, chief?-Refuse -Agree to help him All right. This might be too difficult for you to handle on your own. Awesome! We’ll be like a Goodabads team but in realium! And in all the other games in the world! Now, enough about this clan, Ken.-Talk about Ken’s esports career What’s it like to be an esports player? As in, a Goodabads player? Well, you need to be a bit of a masochist. When the pain is at 10, it’s like being operated on without anesthesia. At 15, some players start tripping when the endorphins kick in. I can go as far as 19. It’s hard to describe. Heaven? Hell? Both at once? They say Peter ‘Crash’ Kytes can go up to 20 thanks to meditation and some other wizardry. Me, I like to feel everything. It…turns me on.This is not how I expected ‘what’s it like in esports’ to go. You’re insane, Ken. Takes one to know one!-Discuss the latest case You’ve done your first detective case. You should be proud of yourself, Ken. Chief, it was amazing. I feel like the king of the world. I think we should always work together. [Before I could cut in, Ken rushed onwards.] That’s why we’re a team. Together we’re even more awesome than we are separate.-Talk about your work Listen, I see this whole gamedec thing really interests you. Would you like to hear more about the job? Sure, chief. I’m all ears. Well, it has no benefits, really. No pension, no vacation, no sick leave. When there’s work, you make money. When there isn’t…you starve. Sounds wonderful! That’s because you’re young. But sure, have a go at it. Just remember what I told you, because- What seems wonderful at first might turn out to be a completely different kind of wonder. But it’s better to try and find out, I guess. Yeah, something like that. Let’s have a drink. Alright, I get what you’re hinting at. -Offer to let him crash You can stay for the night, Ken. That would be cool! New career, new life! I’m ready for a new level of awesomeness and new experiences! I’m telling you, chief, this might be the first time we’re celebrating a finished case, but there are many more to come! I just know it! Just like I knew, and I mean, really knew, chief, that tonight I’d end up…-“…on this comfy sofa” -“…in bed together with you” -“…emptying the servobot of alcohol” Ken once again finished talking before I could cut in. …on this comfy sofa, emptying the servobot of alcohol!The scene fades to black. Well, that’s our second case dealt with. All things considered, probably an improvement over the first case both writing and accomplishment-wise. There’s no denying that we were on the right side of things this time, and we can walk away from a case with the satisfaction of a job well done. It’ll probably be the last time that happens. It’s all downhill from here, folks.
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Oct 3, 2022 17:25
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If Video James is the Sheriff, does that make Ken the Deputy? Regardless, it was a promising start. Time to see how this train eventually wrecks.
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Oct 3, 2022 19:58
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I like Ken. Onwards to trainwreck city!
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Oct 4, 2022 19:33
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I honestly disliked how that case resolved, unfortunately. The drama it keeps trying to inject in is falling flat to me due to lack of establishing the rules of what’s even happening. Like I don’t believe that we’re ever in danger due to things moving strictly at the speed of plot. The conversations to the end were also kind of annoying me. Unfortunately if it’s all downhill from here, I understand why you say the game isn’t very good. Pity, I still say the aesthetic is really good.
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Oct 4, 2022 20:51
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 Ken wanted to meet and talk about his case. We hadn't discussed the time and place, though.-Sense Ken [No answer. I wondered if Bliss knew anything.]  Outrage at the Nanette Foundation. The founder of the organization, Nanette D., is suspected of forcing children into slave labor. This has been Warsaw City News, your source for up-to-date domestic and international news all day long. [I got a text from Ken.] Hi! No idea why you turned off your walktel. What are you, a stegosaurus? Let's meet at Yeti's Coming tonight. It's low. Really low. The roof of the Undercity. I'll be waiting for you. I came across something interesting, but no point talking about it now since you're not here. See ya. [I didn't know what he meant by saying that my walktel was off. He could've just sensed me, but sent a text instead. It was strange.] Well, no sense waiting around, might as well get to it. And yes, Video James does in fact use that 'Do the doors protect me from the world...or the world from ME?" line every time he leaves his apartment.  Our path appears to be blocked by some kind of murder investigation.  But it is, Corn. The boy was shot by a beacon. With all due respect, sir, these beacons don't make mistakes. Well, this one did. If that's true, do you realize what kind of position this puts us in? Cornelia. This man, this...Ken Zhou was his name? Yes, Ken Zhou. He's dead. Nothing will change that. I understand, Captain. What you need to understand is that closing the case this way will reflect badly on our organization. That's neither your business nor responsibility, Sergeant Delia!The man was interrupted by a voice from his communicator.  Captain, there's a doctor here. His name is Pax and he wants to- What, we don't need that dipshit here. Sergeant Delia, we'll return to this later. I'm coming, Rama. Well, that's quite a bit to take in. First off, Ken's dead.  Guess we'll never know what he wanted to talk to us about.Secondly, the Captain of the investigative team sure seems to be eager to close this case, even against the recommendations of his own team. I don't think 'he's dead, nothing we do matters here, pack it up' is standard investigative procedure. Thirdly, as you can see, we're at the tier of the game where a lot more options locked behind high-end occupations start showing up. This is the case where how you approach things can really vary depending on what you've unlocked, since it's not going to be as easy to farm up the stats for an occupation you're missing. -Ask about Ken You mentioned a name - Ken Zhou. Did you know the deceased? Yes. I'm very sorry. We're investigating the circumstances of his death. If you're a family member, we'll keep you posted.-Express determination -Express sadness -Show no emotion Ken Zhou was my...co-worker. He accompanied me in my last couple of cases. I have to find out what happened to him! I cannot disclose any information to third parties. I'm sorry.-Say that you're a gamedec I'm a gamedec. What do I care...She paused and looked at me for a while. [Past choices] Hey, you're the one who got this kid out. Who was he, the son of some BWI big shot? I've heard good things about you. You can come in.If you pick any of the occupation-based options to threaten or manipulate her into letting you in, she reluctantly complies, but refuses to talk to you after that. Up ahead, we find three people involved in a conversation.   I'm inspecting the MCC beacon. So you need to move your hands like this. Will you remember, Mack? Yeah. It's similar to opening a window. And? How is the inspection going? The beacon's broken. "The beacon looked like a random hook-up after sixteen hours in bed...useless." Is that good, Martin? I could try a different approach with this junk... Leave that to the scriptwriter, my dear. But you're killing it! I'm sorry, but I...I can't... Again with this flying, therapeutic poo poo... Better than your holomovies, rear end in a top hat! All right, let's go, Mack. We'll come back when it calms down.The two of them stroll off.  Down below, we find another group clustered around the corpse.  Fantastic. The last thing I need... Pax, you son of a bitch! Get the f- Get out of here! Calm down, sir. I need to do a scan... Why not decapitate him while you're at it?! You're good at that, aren't you?! Mr. Basilides...it was a long time ago, a stupid mistake. I'll just wait for the medibot to finish the scan and then I'm gone. Scan a corpse? Why the gently caress would you do that?! It's standard procedure. Yeah? Where were your procedures when you were diagnosing Michal, you piece of poo poo?! Where were your medibots then?!The captain proceeds to start punching the medibot. Leave the machine alone, man! You know how much it's worth?! (punching the medibot between every word) I. Don't. loving. Care!After that, everyone just awkwardly strolls off. I suppose I would too if I had to witness that. Now that everyone’s settled into place, let's go through them one at a time, starting with Delia.  -Ask about her name Your name is 'Cornelia Delia'? Quite peculiar. What's it to you, pal? I didn't choose my name. Or my surname. It's from the Rejuvenation Era. I guess it's fine, but I hate 'Cornelia'. It was my grandma's name. Anyway, I don't want to talk about it.-Ask about her unit You flew here with an entire unit. Is there anything I should know about it? I wouldn't call us a 'unit' yet. We still need to work some things out, and I'm not sure we ever will. So far it's a group of mavericks. The drone operator is a spoiled kid in an unbelievably expensive genskin, Captain Basilides struggles with his own demons, and then there's Tankred...-Ask about the Captain's demons What did you mean when you said that 'the captain struggles with his own demons'? Let's keep this between you and me, but...he's been acting really weird. Work used to be the most important thing for him, but now...it's just a hunch, but it seems as though he's struggling between his duty and emotions...no, not exactly that. He seems conflicted between service and family. But I may be wrong - I'm not a telepath. Either way, something's eating him and it's sad.-Inquire about the drone operator's genskin The drone operator is using an expensive genskin? Can Out-Rangers even use those? They can. It's actually safer that way. And yes, it's terribly expensive. I've never seen one like this before. I'll send you an article.We can't actually see the article because our Codex bugs out whenever we try to view it. It doesn't really matter, though. -Ask about Ken's death Ken Zhou's death - what's your hypothesis? Why, did you hear the story the Captain is trying to shove down our throats? That beacon bullshit? Why do you think it's bullshit? Because it doesn't really add up. And even if - I can't stress this enough - EVEN if it did, it would be damned harmful to us. What exactly doesn't add up about it? Well, for one, the beacon's logs are empty! And, of course, the report doesn't even mention this. Okay, what do you think happened? He was shot - that's certain. But not by a beacon. A human did this. The beacon in question is up here. -Check gun registry [I opened up the window that monitored gun functions and started looking through the data. The last shot was registered the week before, aimed at a rat climbing up a nearby tower. The rodent was hit, fell off the wall, and did not return. The beacon's gun hadn't fired once since then.]-Check technical specifications [Long range scanners, high quality cameras and microphones, quantum 'noses' capable of differentiating four trillion smells...and a plasma gun with adjustable power and caliber. In a nutshell, a must-have in every household.]You know, even if it's almost certainly not going to be the solution in this case, there has to be a better solution for pest control than automated plasma guns. -Remove battery [These are very user-friendly devices. I studied the manual engraved on the armor, pressed some sensors, waited for the panel to move aside, and watched as the battery slid into my hands.] [The beacon began an emergency system shutdown. I watched it turn itself off and I walked away.]I'm not sure if that did anything besides mess with the investigation, but can't hurt to try everything. Incidentally, Tankred would yell at us if she was in control, but right now bird is in charge and bird doesn't give a gently caress about anything.  On to Dr. Pax. The cigarette fell to the ground. gently caress!He glared at the soaking wet tobacco as if deliberating whether it was worth picking up. He shrugged and pulled out another cigarette. gently caress all of this.He only noticed me once he lit up and inhaled deeply. He sent me a quizzical glance. -Ask for help in the investigation I have a few questions and I wanted - Pax raised his hand. He took a pack of real-nicotine cigarettes out of his pocket. From another, he recovered a lighter engraved with Asclepius's cane. He lit up lazily, and took the smoke in, tasting it. I'm burning to help. Sadly, my fire is being doused by a certain problem - there's a hideous toad roaming around here, interrupting my work.-[Low City] Show contempt for the out-rangers] Toads, huh? Only thing I remember from their Low City patrols is the contempt they showed to the inhabitants. They pretended to care about us, but only thought of us as 'city dwellers'. Screw them.Pax looked at me with a mix of amusement and pity. He wanted to say something, but a coughing fit interrupted him. Once he had it under control, he took a drag on his cigarette as if nothing had happened. -Ask how he's feeling To tell the truth, you don't look too well. Are you all right?He smiled crudely and inhaled more smoke. I feel excellent for a guy who will soon rendezvous with the reaper. Are you... are you dying? Not at the moment...I'll fire up the engines in about three months, then I'll fly away. Too bad Gaia isn't the destination. He looked at the medibot and exhaled smoke, barely stopping himself from coughing. At least if the diagnosis is correct.He coughed, but kept the smoke in his mouth. The cigarette paper started soaking with red. He grabbed the wet bud and looked at it with disgust. He tossed it into the abyss below us and lit up another. It probably is. So...what's wrong with you? Stem cell cancer. No cure. Believe me - I'm a doctor. Nothing is impossible nowadays. You just need enough money and- A BLB is the only thing that could help me. Can't afford it. Too many debts, and I'm tired. No more of this.-Ask about his conflict with the captain Seems like you and the captain go way back... Yeah. What happened between you two? What's your story?He took a puff and exhaled through the nose. He ruined my career. It started over a year ago. I worked in the Warsaw City Central Hospital. I had a respectable position, second degree specialization. We got a call to the ABB - a bite or a sting. I went there with a team. Landed right by the barrier. An Out-Ranger unit led by Basilides was scrambling. The victim was a civilian - the captain's partner, Michal Sosnowski.He took a long drag, staring into the distance. When he finally exhaled, a pale blue cloud enveloped him. Something bit him on the neck. He went into shock - his airways were closing up. We call it 'firing up the engines'. For your trip to the other side, I mean. The Out-Rangers kept shouting it was a type of gadly, Hypoderma bovis toxica. Typically, all you need in such cases are serum, an anti-shock kit, and water... But something was off. A gadfly's bite leaves a swollen lump with two red patches around it. And there was a lump, but not a lot of redness. And I saw that lump start to blacken. As if necrosis had already started. I'd only ever seen wolf spider bites progress that fast. What puzzled me was that there was only one bite mark, and spiders leave two. I knew I'd have to cut off his head if it'd been a wolf spider, otherwise he'd die. Spiders sometimes lose their pedipalps fending off wasps or other damned things. I concluded it must have been a wolf spider cripple, and made my choice. Pedipalps? What are those? It's the part the son-of-a-bitch stabs its victims with to inject its digestive juices and other poo poo. Each spider has two. He took in a puff and spoke in a whisper. I loaded this Michal guy into the ambulance and he literally lost his head before the captain's eyes. He survived, but Basilides sued me. I checked later and found that Sosnowski has pheromone injections done, to protect against insects...but not against arachnids. The bite mark was destroyed by decapitation, and the blood from his head machine-washed, so there were no solid leads in the investigation. Eventually the court ruled there wasn't enough evidence, so it went cold. But the stench remained. I was let go, and since I wag my tongue a bit too much, I couldn't find any decent jobs elsewhere. So you see, that is 'our story'.He looked at the cigarette butt smoldering between his fingers and tossed it away. I saved his boyfriend. Was it right? I don't know.-Ask about Low City What's it like working at the bottom of the polis? It may sound dramatic, but I'd say...like with a knife to the throat. Shootouts happen here, so I need to patch up gang war victims. There are still lots of valuables down there to fight over. Maybe this man got caught in the crossfire...He sighed, exhaling a cloud of smoke. -Offer assistance I could help you with this 'toad' problem.His shifty eyes looked up at me. Really? Would you do something to make the captain leave? Provoke him to hit you or something? Or find something to discredit him? ...I'll try. Thank you.We haven't committed to anything, but no harm agreeing first. -Ask for access to the medibot I'd like to use your medibot.He squinted and asked without taking the cigarette out of his mouth. And what do you need it for?-Say you're conducting an investigation -[Sleeves] Threaten I'm conducting an investigation. I could use this equipment. And I could use some peace and quiet. I've got a problem with a toad here. Besides, it's 'against protocol'.He laughed. Something gurgled in his throat as he spoke the last word. If we threaten him, he finds it absurd that we could do anything that could scare a terminally ill man and refuses anyway.  Let's see if we can do anything with it anyway.  Short answer is no. We don't really have any idea how to start, and if we mess up, Video James immediately gives up on account of a lack of computing power. If we try again, we get this line: [In order to hack the medibot, I needed access to the city network. Basic Systems Admin credentials would have been nice too.] Moving on, let's talk to the film crew. He kept looking around impatiently, as if looking for something...beautiful? Ugly? Sensational? Inspirational? That, I didn't know. Yes, I'm that famous director. No, I don't have a role for you, though visually you'd fit right in. Only important stuff, please. I'm busy.-Make small talk about art and weather Darkness, rain, the ruins of Warsaw below us...Great setting for a holomovie, right? drat right. Don't have to change anything, really. But it's always been that way. The story. The story matters more than the scenery. Effects, animation, make-up - it's so easy to get that stuff done that the drat AIs could handle it. We have a shortage of stories that don't tickle some vain instinct, but move you to the core. Dialogues. Characters. That's what I'm after.-Ask about the Captain [I decided to try placating him first.] Show business, huh? They say it's a bitch of an industry. He looked at me as if to say 'Tell me about it.' Making a holomovie must be tough, huh? The producer always wants to get their way, competition biting at your heels... They push some 'young talent' on you, some exec's failure of a son...Man, you have to have nerves of steel or connections. Advertising is a better business. If you don't know how to swim with the sharks, you'd better keep out of the water. Yeah, connections are a must. Since we've gotten to know one another, could you help me? There's a shark here - the captain. Got anything on him? Of course! I mean, I did film the guy beating up a medibot. The question is, though, why should I give it to you?-Say Medibots save lives -[Vox Populi] Say you're also a filmmaker -Say the medibot's AI is human-like I'm in the industry, too. I like bringing the truth to the people, regardless of consequences. You might tarnish your name with this recording - I won't care. I remember one time when that thing saved one of my actors...You're right, here's the video.-Ask how long they've been here Have you been here long? Well, a while. Still, should've come sooner - they say some guy fell from the sky. That's what I heard, at least. It's why we're here, actually. Guy falls from the sky, Rangers arrive, Mack and I receive word and come too.-Ask about the Out-Ranger in the mobrium That big green mobrium and the Out-Ranger inside it...Can you tell me something about her? Tankred? Fascinating story, could make for a great holomovie. We're getting ready to film a feature on her. That's why we're here. Problem is, she has therapeutic programs that activate upon feeling strong emotions. Then she becomes hard to talk to. Looked like she was posing for a microcamera. I couldn't see the device, so I couldn't say for sure. Her mechanical face expressed seductive contemplation as she arched and curved her figure. -Ask if she's a robot I don't mean to offend you, but I honestly don't know if I'm talking to a robot or a woman using a mobrium, so could you- Excuse me?! I am human! My brain is sitting in the belly of this beautiful mobrium. But I understand your...confusion. This one's a pershell. They're made to order. It captures my real features. Cool, right?-Ask who she is Who are you, anyway? You don't know me? How embarrassing. Mack Boar, actress and first model to pose in a mobrium. I thought my fame was...Ugh, never mind. I'm getting ready for a role. We'll be reenacting the story of Tankred, one of the greens. I hope I do well.-Ask about the Out-rangers What do you think about the Out-rangers? Interesting question. Until now I thought they were just nature-loving simpletons that hated technology. But get this, the famous troublemaker, Rama Matan of Sydneyland, is one of them! That guy knows how to party! See for yourself! We get a bit of backstory on Matan. He's a spoiled rich kid who's doing a stint in the Out-Rangers as penance for causing a humiliating incident at one of his family's fancy parties. -Ask about Ken's death I'm here because of...that guy's death. Did you see...Do you know anything? No. Martin told me something cool was happening in Low City and that I could do research for my role, so we came. Poor guy was already dead.Well, we didn't get a lot out of those two, but we have some dirt on the Captain in case we need it.  On to the guy investigating Ken's body.  What is it?-Ask about the beacons How do the beacons work, in general? They scan their surroundings looking for new plant and animal species. If a beast comes close, they shoot. These here have a special task. If anything tries to fly or crawl up to the lowest inhabited walkway, beacons have to shoot it down while adhering to all safety measures. People live here. There are two dangerous species around these parts - the toxic fruit bat, a seriously big bastard, and the rattus mordax venenatus rat. The rats got clever and don't try climbing up anymore. The bats are dumber and charge sometimes, so the beacons shoot one down, occasionally. They fire plasma. That's why there isn't much blood. Blood is no good, trust me. It attracts a shitload of trouble outside the ABB, and honestly, it ruins the view here. So, you get it.-Ask about beacon reliability Maybe the beacon misfired. Does that happen? No. They are advanced artificial intelligence, way smarter than humans. A person could make a mistake, but a beacon? No chance. Believe me. I designed them myself.-Ask about reistic systems Do you know anything about reistic systems? They're like the matrix. You know, they surround us - just kidding. Seriously, though, it's complicated and I'm afraid I'll mix it up. Lots of encrypting protocols. I'm not going to teach you to hack. Take this address. It's all written down, but you didn't get it from me.We get a little bit of information on how to hack beacons, but we still need more to successfully hack. -Ask about Ken's death The man lying dead here, Ken Zhou. How do you think he died? I know what it looks like. Bat wings, the Undercity below us...The captain was here first...And took the anti-G harness off him. That's what he claims, at least- I didn't see it. But trust me, it's not the beacon that killed him. It must have been a weird...very weird accident, incident - I don't know, I can't make anything of it. This death must be a damned misunderstanding. And the sight is just...inhuman. It's disgraceful that he's still here on the wet walkway like a bag of human bones.-Ask about anti-G harness Ken had an anti-G harness on? Where is it? They say the Captain took it off and secured it, but I didn't see that happen. It's probably in Beowulf.-Ask about Tankred Can you tell me something about the girl in the large mobrium? Tankred Brut? Ah, the infamous Tankred. She rescued some Rangers on one of the patrols behind the ABB. She paid an awful price, but now she's a legend. She was only put into the mobrium recently. She shouldn't be on duty yet, but firstly, they're making a holomovie about her, and secondly, she wanted to be. She has therapeutic programs installed that sort of...take over communication if she becomes too stressed or relaxed. Supposedly it's to hasten her recovery.-Ask about the body Is there a way I could convince you to let me examine the body? Did you hit your head or something? It's a corpse and I'm an officer on duty. Ever heard of regulations? Want me to face disciplinary action?-Offer a favor -[Vox Populi] Appeal to his empathy -Let it go I saw the way you were looking at the body. A terrible sight, isn't it? See, I knew this man. Imagine how I must be feeling. I need to see what's...left of him....All right. I'll look the other way for a moment.He handed me a pair of super-thin nanogloves. Put these on. You don't want your DNA and fingerprints all over the body. [The guy's face, as if carved from plastic, was pressed against the wet pavement like a strange, silent object. The gaze of his open eyes was angled unnaturally. Nobody's face should lie on the ground like that. The face of a corpse - maybe. Because that's no longer a person.]-Inspect the head [The sideways-facing eyes had lost any expression or gleam. They resembled those of a poorly-designed enpec. The face, pulled taut by the sidewalk, looked to be smiling crudely.]-Check in his mouth [I had an inexplicable hunch, parted his lips, and put two fingers in his mouth. A stiff tongue. Dry saliva. I shuddered. There was nothing else there.]-Search him [I rummaged through his pockets. He had no personal items on him - not even a walktel.]-Check his chest [Scalpel] [There was what looked like a small gunshot exit wound. I pressed on his chest in a few spots, then tapped. Weird. It sounded hollow inside. The sound near the wound should have been flat due to extravasation.]-Check limbs [His arms and legs were splayed awkwardly. It was like he had been doing some weird mid-air stunts before hitting the ground.] [Gently, I lifted his hand. I was stunned. The skin on the inside of his palm was clean. Not even a scratch or a bruise, everything in perfect condition. I checked his other hand - same thing. His skin should have been torn if he fell and froze in this position.] [I rolled up his sleeves. For a moment, I thought I saw something like wounds from...a lightning bolt? That didn't make any sense.]-Flip the body [I grabbed Ken by the shoulders and started to gently turn him over. He was heavy and oddly resistant. One of the holographic wings disappeared into the pavement. His head bobbed and was about to collide with the pavement. I noticed something flashing immediately behind it.] [It lasted a fraction of a second. A semi-transparent sign popped up right above Ken's head from the pavement.] ["Zhou_Arrow_Drknss". "Level: 14." "HP: 0"]-Inspect his back [There was a bloody hole in his coat. And his back too, it seemed.] [I slid my hand under Ken's chest again, feeling the cracks in the pavement under the exit wound. I pulled out a metal object, tore it from the pavement and took a closer look. It was a bullet. Small caliber...and antique. Titanium core. Probably fired from an aged rusty Rex-type rifle. There were lots of them in Low City.] [Not much blood underneath him. Just a few stains that looked like splatter. Suspiciously little, considering it went straight through him.]-Inspect the wings [Translucent bat wings protruded from Ken's clothing. I wondered if it was AR or a hologram. I turned off my glasses, but I could still see them - a holo. To create such an animation, Ken had to have an ilgen, an illusion generator, with him. I couldn't see it anywhere, so I turned to the Out-Ranger.] Do you see these wings? Take a guess, sir. That's why I keep fiddling with him. I can't find the ilgen that generates them. Did he swallow it?Well, that's all we can get out of the body for the moment. Quite a lot of interesting inconsistencies, but we'll get to that later. For now, we can fairly safely rule out the 'beacon' theory - pretty much nothing we've seen that would be consistent with a plasma blast.
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Oct 12, 2022 20:07
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 On to the drone operator. Buddy, you have no idea what kind of shithole I'm in right now...He was talking to someone on the line. His accent was strange. I'm a gamedec. I'd like to ask you-He didn't even grace me with a glance. Instead, he wagged his finger at me not to interrupt. And what's up with Martinez? Well, well...you guys are making bank! Sure, I wanna hang out, but you know how it is. I told you.I'll spare you the rest of his interminable phone conversation and skip to the part where he deigns to acknowledge our presence. Well, I'm all ears. What do you want?This time, he was definitely addressing me. -Ask who he is I know nothing about you. Tell me something. We typically say "What's your story?" Well, it's funny, sad and a bit messed up, but I think that's normal at this age. "At this age"? You don't look old. If I still looked old after the money I've spent, I'd actually be a bit loving pissed. Okay then, I have a rather forward question: How old are you? Ugh! If you don't mind, I'll just smoothly evade that question. What do you actually want?-Ask about Ken's death That man...Ken Zhou...He jumped and shifted his gaze away from the screen I couldn't see. Ken Zhou?! Hold up, buddy! You're telling me we're at the crime scene of Ken loving Zhou?! Sorry, pal, but I literally loved that guy!-Mention his lack of professionalism -Have him define 'loved -Ask about their relationship -Let it go "Literally loved"? Were you guys somehow...involved? Come on! I never even met the guy! But he really was the man! Tough as nails! Too bad. He had a future ahead of him.-Ask for access to the drone I need your drone. "I need"? Typical bullshit. It's all about you, nobody else matters. That's why you're all stuck in this swamp, preoccupied with your pathetic existence. You don't ever stop to think about other people, to ask what someone, who - I might add - is better than you, might need. But no worries, I don't blame you, I'm not judging you. Some people are just born better, others worse. What did you want, exactly? All right. What do you need? A mud bath...A drink, made with comet ice, not the poo poo you people call water...A butler - at least one. But that's nothing. What I really miss is the beauty, the harmony. And here...He looked around and sighed. You get it, unless you've gotten used to life here. You should see Sydneyland sometime - then you'd witness true beauty. ...-Bluff and tell him you'll get him kicked out of the Out-Rangers -Ask politely You have two options: authorize me, or kiss the Out-Rangers goodbye. You don't want Lady Matan to find out how you conduct yourself, do you? Stop messing around, buddy. You ain't got nothing on me. None of you natives can even touch me.-[Sleeves] Threaten to kill his grandma -[Infotainer] Say you'll post it publicly -Mention genskin price Maybe, but I've got followers. A few likes here, a few shares there, and eventually, one of Lady Matan's servants will tell her what they say online, and- Okay, calm down. I'll get you authorized. We now control the drone. We can use it to download data from the cameras scattered around the area. I poked around a bit to see if there was anything else I could do with it, but if there was I didn't see it.  In any case, we scan all the cameras to put together a recording of the original fall.  Ken falls on the ground, wings spread wide. He writhes in pain for a bit, before lying still. Then a mysterious figure walks up to him, shoots him through the chest once with a bullet, and walks off.  Only one person left to talk to. -Show concern Hard day? You know it, pal. I command a bunch of rejects, I've got a film crew here, and then there's also this fucker, Pax. He looked at me as if he had suddenly woken up. Wait a second, who let you in here?-Refer to the regulations -Say nothing I'm a gamedec and I have a right to be here. If you have any doubts, check them against the regulations. Who doesn't love losing control of the situation? A wonderful feeling.-Ask about Ken's death How did Ken die? However terrible it may sound, it seems that an MCC beacon mistook him for some kind of bat and fired at him.-Ask whether he's sabotaging the investigation I'm sorry, Captain, but shouldn't the Out-Rangers try to divert suspicion away from the beacon? What are you implying, son? I think that you're deliberately taking this case in a strange direction. That's a serious accusation. You shouldn't make those without strong proof, and I assume you don't have any, do you? Someone's blackmailing you. That's the only rational explanation.He gave me a harsh look and opened his mouth to say something, but then he stopped, grunted and rubbed his eyes, as if deflated. Oh, by all mutations, I'm so tired... Who's doing it? Why do they want to blame the Out-rangers? Leave it, son. I'm not telling you anything.-Ask about his conflict with Pax You and this doctor seem to hate each other.The man snorted, clenched his fist, and the metal parts of his glove creaked. You think so? Where did you get this from?-Say nothing -Mention their argument -[Infotainer] Mention your sources I heard your argument. Pax and I have a history, and it's not one with a happy ending. I'd rather he left.-Ask about their history What happened? It was a little over a year ago. Our unit was on patrol duty behind the ABB. My husband Michal was with us. There weren't many dangerous species in that area. Well, except for insects - they're everywhere. Michal...He looked down and grunted, then swallowed and straightened up. A gadfly bit his neck. Hypoderma bovis toxica. It got really swollen, so we quickly evacuated. Then, an ambulance arrived, and Pax was in it. He was arrogant and confident. The fool said that it wasn't a gadfly, but a Brazilian wandering spider that lost its loving pedipalp. Despite our protests, Pax ordered decapitation 'to save Michal's life'. He...lost his body because of that moron. Now he's an involuntary zoenet. Keeping his head alive costs a fortune, and we can't afford to regenerate his whole body. It's too expensive. With one decision unsupported by any evidence, this prick turned our life into a nightmare. So...that's our 'history', my friend. No happy ending for me. And since I - we don't see a way out...Well, never mind.-Offer assistance Maybe I could help. You? And how would you do that?-[Scalpel] Say you can come to an understanding with Pax -[Glazier] Mention your technical skills -[Sleeves] Suggest threatening him to leave -Say you're a gamedec I used to dabble in medicine. I think I could find common ground with your 'problem' Interesting...but no, you can't help me.He looked to the side, away from me. By the way, on a completely unrelated note, there's a medibot hanging around. It pisses me off. I would be over the moon if it finally broke down. Huh, no idea why I just said that.I'd rather not get involved in this whole mess any more than I have to, but just offering gets us enough into his good books for him to open up to us. He doesn't really have any new information for us, though. If we lacked drone access or access to the body we could convince him to let us give it a shot, but we've already got all that settled.  Now that we've spoken to everyone, let's poke around a bit. We find an old key lying around on the ground, and an old medibot battery in one of the trash cans.  Speaking of which, back to the doctor. I've obtained some material that will solve your problem. Great! I owe you one, gamedec. Now can I use your medibot? I should ask what you need it for...but truth be told, I don't give a poo poo. There. You're authorized. With that, we gain control of the medibot. It's a little low on power, though.  Before we do anything with it, we charge it up with the MCC beacon battery we removed earlier. Now, we can conduct a proper medical examination on Ken's corpse. -Conduct brain scan [I selected the brain scan option. The medibot turned on something akin to a floodlight casting a faint light and began the procedure.] [I looked at the data. Before he died, Ken had strongly stimulated visual interpretive fields and a distinctive pattern of bridge activity. Only one state could produce this result: Devitalization. Looks like Ken died...while playing.]-Perform bone scan [The device beeped and activated the scanners. Ken's skeleton began to appear in one of the windows. He looked normal. No visible fractures or cracks.]-Take a brain sample [I gave the command. A thin, metallic tentacle slid out of the medibot's arm and up Ken's nose. I heard the quiet, high-pitched whine of a surgical drill. The medibot's tentacle slid out of the dead man's nose, sprayed the tip with disinfectant foam, and tucked it inside the apparatus.] [I looked at the brain sample analysis. The device displayed a long list of complicated messages. At the end was a summary with a particularly odd sentence. "The neurons in the analyzed sampled exhibit symptoms of brain cells subjected to devitalization."]-Conduct blood test [I selected the 'blood test' option from the panel. One of the medibot's arms approached Ken's neck and pricked a vein. I heard the sound of pistons working. The display said the blood had congealed, but it had been drawn and was being analyzed.] [I looked at the analysis readouts. There were no signs of psychoactive substances, be they plex or chemical.]Not much more we can do with the medibot now, so we send it back.  As we make our next circuit around the scene, we check out the Outranger transport, where we find a trophy case inside. -Reach into the trophy case [On the pilot seat I found a familiar box made of steel. A trophy case. Every kid knows what they look like. The window was slightly lowered, so I managed to reach into the cabin and feel the box with my hand. It was closed...with a latch.]-Break the lock -Unlock it [No easier way to open a lock than having the right key. I unlocked it and looked inside. Inside was an anti-G harness. It seemed fne, but when I tried to turn it on, it didn't work. I wondered why.]Hmm, we'll make a note on that for later.  This graffit contains encoded messages that, after repeatedly analysing them, lets us learn enough about Municipal Reistic Systems to re-attempt hacking all the devices that we couldn't earlier. There's no real need for that, though. We shut down the beacon, and already gained legitimate access to the medibot and the drone, so there's no need to hack them.  An advertising drone is floating around the bridge. I am owned by AdvertPolEx. I cannot give subsystem access to unauthorized persons. [Infotainer]...I see that you have a large media audience base. I could enter into an advertising contract with you.-Inquire about the terms of the contract Could you show me the contents of the contract? It's a standard contract, but its exact contents cannot be disclosed to the public. The rules are quite simple. The contractor has twenty-four hours to fulfill the contract. Should the contractor fail to advertise the product specified in the contract to at least four other users, the contractor will be charged with a contractual penalty.-Agree to the contract Okay. Let's sign a contract. Wonderful! The current campaign is for the Brutal99 low-caffeine drink! Do you confirm that you want to take part? Yes. That's great! I grant you access to my resources! Onward together toward advertising success! Now that we have access to this drone, we can alter Tankred's emotional state. First off, let's bombard her with negative emotion to get her back to normal.  Now that Tankred's in her normal state of mind, we can have a conversation with her. -Ask about Ken How do you think Ken died? I don't know, but it wasn't the beacon. The cat may know something. It's got access to a part of my psyche from which I'm currently separated.-Ask for access to the beacon I'd like to take a look at that beacon. Is that okay? MCC beacons are serious gear. Scanners, weapons, AI...you have to be authorized to tinker with them.Nothing else we can discuss with her for now. We go over to the drone again and bombard her with even more negative feedback.  This unlocks her third persona, the cat.  Hello there. My, what wonderful weather we're having. We haven't been introduced yet, have we? I'm Behemoth. And you are?-Ask about Ken's death I was told you know something about Ken's death. Is that right? My friend, you come here for favors without even a drop of booze, or any respect for the rule of 'quid pro quo'. How rude. Nevertheless, I think you're a reasonable person. Someone who could help Tankred - with my assistance. For that, we need the function key from her mobrium. If you were to...stumble upon it and bring it back, I would be grateful. I mean, Tankred would. Of course. Where can I find it? Is it in one of her compartments or something? I'm not sure. You see, I don't have access to that part of her mind. I only know she doesn't have it on her. Must have lost it or something.He licked his paw and looked at me, turning his head. His pupils dilated. In that moment, he reminded me of a small, helpless kitten.  We poke around for a bit for it. The only one that has something to say about it is Vera. -Lie and say Tankred lost it Well, isn't it obvious? I'm after it because she lost it and asked me to help. She's busy with the film crew. She's been out of it lately. Not good. Probably why she gave me the spare. Here, take it and tell her not to lose any more stuff. Back to the cat. -Insert the function key into the port [I inserted the key. The indicators lit up and the cat observed approvingly.] Thank you, kind sir. This will surely help - Tankred will be thrilled with the world I made for her. Oh, right. About that poor fool...He came here, flew around. But he was also in another world. Get it, reistic human? Ken died in-game. Hmm. Maybe we should have asked more questions about what exactly the cat needed that function key for. "Bow to your master, organic filth!" No, no, that doesn't sound right. What about...'You're a cancer! And I am the cure!' Hmm, that's a bit too pompous...The cat noticed me leaning over him and cut off his sentence mid-way, coughing theatrically. Ahem. Sorry, dear friend, it appears to be some kind of digital hairball. Can I speak to Tankred? Oh, I'm afraid that's not possible. Tankred just woke up from her coma and is reuniting with her family. It's quite the touching moment. You see, it turned out that the awful accident in which she lost her body was just a bad dream. Now she can begin a new life. We shouldn't stand in the way of that. Absolutely not.Well then. Probably best not to think too hard about what exactly we just did there.  In any case, we've gathered enough evidence to progress on the case. The 'malfunctioning beacon' explanation is clearly nonsense and while we don't know exactly why the Captain is so intent on pushing it, we can still safely dismiss it.   The 'accident' and 'gunshot' ones are a little harder to dismiss. We witnessed a fall followed by a gunshot on the camera, but it's hard to tell which, if any, was the actual cause of death from that, and a whole lot that doesn't seem to add up even in spite of all that. Still, I'm dismissing them so we can focus on Hypothesis 4...  ...on the one hand, it sounds crazy. On the other hand, we have the word of a talking cat, and if we can’t trust a talking cat, who can we trust?  Filling in all those deductions unlocks a fifth one. We still have a chance to back out, but we're committing to Game Theory here.  As we complete that thought, a new face runs up to us.  Oh, here you are! I've been looking all over for you. Sorry it took so long. Excuse me, where are my manners? Senior specialist, John Naaba, I'm the insurer of the deceased.Hmm. Well, I'm sure you have your reasons for giving an entirely different name from your name tag right there. A fenced-off crime scene is a small area. Where were you that you couldn't find me? Did you know that if we look at our bodies’ molecules, questions like 'where' or 'when' begin to lose their meaning? Interesting, isn't it? Either way, I'm sure you've already found your answers. They may be incomplete, but... Oh, we should probably check Ken's psychoscan, don't you think? It so happens that I have it right here. It was the first thing I did when I got here. I want to give it to you - let's call it a reward. Just sign the so-called "paperwork" and you can go home, OK? [I nodded, and Naaba displayed a window with documents in front of me. I 'stamped' my IN.] Fantastic! Here's your scan - there you go. You can go home now. Same way you got here. Working with you was a true pleasure. Did you find what you were looking for? Perfect, perfect, now be on your way.-Mention that he seems nervous -Return to the apartment Why are you so jumpy? I'm not jumpy, I just want to fly home. As do you, isn't that right? Go on, quickly now.-Observe [I wonder what his deal is.] So what? Are you leaving?-Mention the conversation with Naaba We're still talking, thought I'm being rushed.She looked straight through Naaba and sent me a glance that showed disgust and concern. People do say that gamedecs have many work-related disorders. But hey, no judgement. We all have our struggles.-Inquire [I opened my mouth to speak, but something suddenly tugged at my arm, my legs buckled, the world spun, and I felt a rush of heat in my shoulder.] A mysterious hooded figure emerges from the door of the building, shoots us in the shoulder, and quickly rushes back in. The scene fades to black as we collapse.  [My shoulder was numb and swollen. Someone had applied gel dressing to the spot where my sleeve was ripped.]Man, I sure hope the answer wasn't actually 'he was shot' after all this, it would be embarrassing to have to go back on Game Theory. On the other hand, whatever hit us clearly wasn't lethal. I hope. -Ask what happened What happened? Did you see anything? Not really. It's a gunshot wound. I treated it, but didn't see the shooter. Venon saw somebody run into the bar, but they were far away, so he didn't get a good look. We should've guarded the loving entrance.-Ask about Naaba John Naaba. We were talking when it happened. He might have seen something. Where is he? Sorry, who? The victim's insurance agent. Real uptight. He was hanging around here, remember? You must be in shock after getting shot. There wasn't anyone like that here. I'd remember a stranger hanging around the crime scene.-Search the bar for the shooter I'm going in there to look for the shooter. Just be careful. It may look like a scratch, but the shockwave of a subsonic bullet is no joke. Your deltoid muscle is really swollen. We now have the option to go into the bar. Well, it's certainly been a busy day. We had to deal with Ken's death, spoke to an apparent ghost, and got shot in the shoulder. Life's full of ups and downs. Next time: Brutal99 brings you more hard-hitting Internet Detective action here on the mean streets of Low City. All Brutal Energy, half the caffeine. It's Brutal-licious (tm)! Inadequately fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Oct 13, 2022 |
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Oct 12, 2022 20:08
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Quite a few interesting people involved in this case, what did you get yourself into Ken? Also I love that VJ gets all dramatic every single time he leaves the apartment. I should start doing that.
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Oct 12, 2022 20:52
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Inadequately posted:
I can't believe the President from Perfect Dark is an Out-Ranger. RIP Ken: sidekick for roughly the total of 1 case's work. This case feels really rushed so far. I can understand the narrative concept of such a shocking case being introduced like this to replicate the disorienting nature, but it feels like we just kinda bounced around rapidly and never got a lot of establishment. Particularly so on setting details. By popular demand posted:Also I love that VJ gets all dramatic every single time he leaves the apartment. I should start doing that. VJ is a giant nerd and it's great
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Oct 12, 2022 21:09
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I think this case is too early, and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if another case was planned for before this one before getting cut. Ken's death is too sudden, the character arc hasn't had any time to mature before they killed him.
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Oct 12, 2022 21:39
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Yeah this is frustrating. I kinda liked Ken- he was an idiot but he was genuinely trying his best.
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Oct 12, 2022 23:59
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Odd Wilson posted:
On the one hand, that's probably at least partially on me. A lot of this game, particularly specific terms, is explained in the Codex, and I'm skipping most of that barring anything plot-relevant because I don't feel like typing that all out. On the other hand, the game could still do a better job of weaving that into the main narrative, and the Codex isn't that great either - the insistence on in-universe explanations means that most of the time you'll have to scroll through vapid talk show hosts talking about the weather or bloviating ad copy about how Scrontonkulus Entertainment is the Couch For You And Me before you get to the actual explanation of e.g. 'what is a genskin'. The game is also based on an existing novel/collection of short stories, so I'm not sure how familiar the target audience is expected to be with the source material. I don't know if it's a particularly popular series in Poland. (Spoilers for upcoming case/s)There's a third, in-universe reason for why the setting is so half-baked, but I'm not sure how much intentionality should be ascribed to that. Up until that point, we're clearly meant to see the setting as a living, breathing, functional world. Inadequately fucked around with this message at 09:56 on Oct 13, 2022 |
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Oct 13, 2022 02:55
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Inadequately posted:A lot of this game, particularly specific terms, is explained in the Codex, and I'm skipping most of that barring anything plot-relevant because I don't feel like typing that all out. Yeah, fair enough, especially if you'd have to transcribe it and it's all buried in in-world explanations. Makes you wonder why Video James couldn't just pull up the future version of Merriam-Webster on his phone or something.
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Oct 13, 2022 04:34
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So we couldn't have just avoided Ken on our first case?
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Oct 15, 2022 23:55
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I’ll give it a try when I have the time. It should be theoretically possible, though I have the feeling we’d be railroaded into interacting with him by Case 2 at the very least regardless.
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Oct 16, 2022 11:49
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Been a busy period at work recently, so I haven’t really had the time or energy to do a lot of transcribing, but I finally managed to put an update together. This case is pretty long, so I’ll probably split it up into shorter sections than usual so I don’t tire myself out with each update. Last update, someone shot us in the shoulder and dashed into the bar, so we're going to investigate that. The bar is called 'Yet's Coming', which you might recall we heard about from Scarlett earlier in the game.  As we walk inside, we're immediately accosted by two people. -Pay and tip him [Sleeve] Oh, dude! A tip? That hardly ever happens! Oh, by the way, you have a rip on the shoulder... [Out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone observing my moment of generosity. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell who it was.] I'm in a hurry and I need help. Someone just ran in here wearing a jacket with a red hood. Where did they go? What did they look like? [Sleeve] Ran in, you say? I didn't see anyone. Ken Zhou died on the walkway in front of the bar and... [Sleeve] KEN ZHOU?! No way! And he's dead? You're kidding, right? The guy's amazing! They were going to add holopics of him to cereal packs. drat it...-Say that you knew him -Encourage him to say more -Get back to the investigation We...worked together. He actually told me about that cereal. HE spoke to some investors, they were thinking about other products too. [Sleeve] I always thought he'd do good in toothpaste ads. 'Cause, you know, he smiled a lot? And if you pushed him too hard, he'd burst like a tube. [Troll] Your hero cut himself off from the sleeves as soon as he became famous. He only came back when he found himself out of luck. [Sleeve] But he did get to the top! One of our own! So believe me when I tell you, friend, that all sleeves loved him. All of them. [Troll] Yeah, especially Ramona. Loved him loud and clear. I'm sure he felt very precious when she came down on him yesterday. Good one.The man on the left froze and his glasses flashed with light. [Troll] Oh gently caress, it's on the news. He's dead. And the loving toads say we can't leave the bar now. Goddamnit. The other man looked at me impatiently. [Sleeve] What are you still standing here for? I told you I didn't see anyone come in.-Insist I saw someone enter right before I did. You guard the door and collect entry fees. You must have seen... [Troll] That somebody didn't just enter. They stormed in... [Sleeve] Shut. Your. Mouth. We didn't see anyone. You're not one of us, get it? Nobody's going to tell you anything. Everybody can see everything around here. If you drink, get high, and talk like us - we'll know. If you treat us like poo poo or it turns out you're a loving virtualia-loving troll from Tick - we'll know that too.  We're introduced to the main gimmick of this area. If we're going to get any information on the person who just shot us, or access to them, we're going to have to ingratiate ourselves with one of the two major factions that regularly patronize this bar, the sleeves or the trolls. Incidentally, if you thought we met a lot of notable new faces last update, strap in because we’re about to be introduced to a whole lot more. For fun times, guess how many of them will factor into the conclusion of this case.  As we head in, we spot a familiar face. [The man at the table was KillThemAll. He was snoring. When I nudged him, he just mumbled something and went back to snoring.] Welcome back!The voice was coming from a speaker in the table. The hologram looked exactly like his skin in Twisted & Perverted. You're...a hologram? While you still get to have a body - a very attractive one at that. But what are you doing here? I didn't want KillThemAll to be alone. There were three of us, but only two remain - Panisantor had a stroke. Kill's not taking it well. I knew if he wasn't playing, he'd be at Yet's. Here, the sleeves treat him as one of their own.-Ask about Panisantor So what happened to Panisantor? We thought it was funny when his granddaughter would yell that his heart couldn't take gaming that intense. She was right. Yesterday, he went in-game with a young e-sports player and had a stroke. He's still in the hospital - won't be playing for a while. drat. Do you know who he played with? I broke into his medical records but there was no mention of it. I thought Kill would tell me more, but you see how it is.In my first playthrough, I never completed the sidequest for Ramon in T&P, so Panisantor never logged out there, and if I recall correctly was flat-out dead by the time of this scene. I was wondering if completing that quest would result in him turning up here, but it looks like still nope - though he seems to be alive in this timeline, at least. -Ask about Panisantor's granddaughter You mentioned Panisantor's granddaughter. She might know more about what happened. It's nice of you to care. I was hoping to find her here - she often hangs around with the sleeves. But she's nowhere to be found. If you see her, tell her to come by. I'll send you the surveillance footage so you know what she looks like - there.-Ask about KillThemAll I wanted to talk to KillThemAll but I couldn't wake him. He's always been like this. Unnaturally fast and smart, and then half-asleep from exhaustion. It gets worse as he ages. I remember when he realized he couldn't last a whole match anymore. It was sad to see...I think the shock broke him. I'll wait till he comes to. That's all I can do. It'll take a few hours but I want someone to be there when he wakes up. Do you have an idea how to wake our sleeping beauty? I'd like to talk to him. Before he gave up his life as a pro, he tested stimulants on himself. They kind of worked, but not for long enough to continue his career. But you probably don't have anything like that. What if you give him something to jog his memory of the good old days? He and Panisantor used to play a lot of Happy Hunting Grounds...but you didn't hear that from me.We don't get a full codex entry for Happy Hunting Grounds, but it is mentioned on occasion in other articles. It's a game where all sensory gates are removed - any damage you take, you take in real life. As such, it's actually illegal to access, unlike Twisted & Perverted, which despite its nature is nonetheless still legal. -Ask about the hologram I thought holograms in bars were for displaying games and such. Wouldn't it be easier to sense KillThemAll? As usual, the walktel didn't wake him, so I found him via the cameras and projected myself inches from his face, but he didn't even flinch. Breaking in was easy. These holograms are an aged system from the now-gone strip club. They used to play animations of strippers on these tables. At first I went to the wrong table. I scared a guy so badly he spat all over himself! It was hilarious. Want me to hop to another table and show you?We don't have any use for that now, but it's an option for later. Hold off for now. I'll take a look around and let you know. No problem, handsome. Well, I need to talk to people. I'm off. Hey cutie. We were meant to get a drink, remember?-Not now -Flirt back Eh, why not, might as well socialize. It's our mission here anyway. Of course. Though in your case, it's going to be a virtual drink, right? Yes it will. Just like yours. I won't let you leave this table, else you'll wander off again.-Say you'll imagine a drink People used to play games of imagination - roleplaying. I'll play with you and imagine a sizeable glass in front of me. God, it's so nice to be in the company of an intelligent boy!We spent some time gazing into each other's eyes. It felt like a blissful eternity. [I blinked as if I were waking up from a dream. I remembered why I was there. I shook myself and looked at him apologetically. He understood. I stood, bowed and walked away. I'm sure he didn't take his eyes off me until the smoke enveloped me.]We'll be back to wake up KillThemAll later.  A whole lot of spontaneous conversations break out as we move through the bar. Some are actually interesting, but if I stopped to document all of them we'd be here all day. Most of them are arguments between sleeves and trolls, through which we learn the following: - the sleeves and the trolls don't like each other much - the trolls generally stay upstairs, but they've been getting bolder and taking up more space in the bar recently - the sleeves consider Ken to be one of their own who made it big, the trolls mostly consider him an egoistic douchebag - the sleeves are sad and angry about Ken's death, the trolls are celebrating - a bunch of them are theorizing that Ken killed himself because he was depressed  Anyway, here's the poster in question. [A broken frame revealed the insides of the poster. I knew that system. They stopped using it, because any teenager could modify it.]-Copy it to save as a keepsake of Ken [There were plenty of pictures of Ken online, but it felt nice to have one more. I quietly copied the contents of the ad chip. One of the sleeves was finishing his beer nearby. He gave me a thumbs up.]As you might have guessed, pro-Ken actions earn us Sleeves cred. Now that we've picked a side, we might as well keep going with it.  There's a few non-Ken posters scattered around. We can upload the saved picture of Ken from earlier in their place, which gets the approval of the sleeves.  Okay, I'm transcribing this one because it's pretty fun.  Make up your mind, shithead. Are you ordering or what? I've got other loving customers waiting. Away with you, corporate agent! You bastard! Hands on the table, goddamnit! Want a beer or what?! I see right through you, leech! I won't let you poison me! People! Send help! The humanbot wants to kidnap me! I mean poison! Poison me! I'll show you, fucker... Rick! Whoops. Aye aye, admiral. Sorry, shithead. Please accept my sincere condolences. I mean...apologies.  This is Rick. Rick is the best character in the game. Are you the one that's making GBS threads all over the toilet? Admit it, shithead. Welcome to Yeti's Coming - the best joint in the Gasp tower. Who are you, creature? I'm not carrying any weapons. My name is Video James. I'm a gamedec.His red eyes dimmed for a moment. He must've been searching the web. You really bloody are! What would you like, kind sir? A beer? Maybe something stronger?-Ask who he is Who are you, anyway? Judging by your physique, bartending wasn't your first job, was it? God forbid! I'm a combat robot! Unit YT-loving-C, at your service! The admiral named me Rick, so that's what I want you to call me. I had my balls - I mean battle modules - ripped off and replaced with dispensers two years ago. Gotta say all these shitheads piss me off. So what do you do here, soldier? Tend the bar? Admiral Yet ordered me to pour drinks, but that's only my cover. My real job is surveillance and the admiral's protection. He's not aware. It's a secret mission. I love the admiral. How about you? Do you love him? You must love him, everyone does. I, for example, completely adore him.-Ask about the admiral What can you tell me about your commander?The robot's speakers played sounds of shooting mixed with human voices. -ick, is that you?! Rick?! Where did...Watch out, fire from the right! The admiral will always make it, because I'll always save him. He's safe with me. The merry fairies assigned me to some other loving commander once, but I came back to the admiral. Yet forever.-Ask who ran into the bar I'm looking for someone who ran into the bar a moment ago. Our client's wishes are our command. Let me check our footage...There you are, fucker...Incident no. 203 playing... "Despite their mutations, the mating rituals of toxic bats remained unchanged. The male, living alone for most of the year..." Treason! It's the second time this month! Unauthorized access! You don't do that to Rick! Wait till I get you, shithead!-Order a beer My throat is dry. Why don't you pour me a glass of local brew. The tower beer! Best brew north of Villanou! Coming right up!He pulled a glass out of his body and pourd the beer with his other arm, spilling it on me, the floor, and one other guy in the process. There ya go! By the way, the admiral says only thugs and pricks don't tip. Oh, and shitheads too. Get back to your duties, soldier. Stay alert.I wish I could spend this entire update chatting with Rick, but unfortunately he has a job and so do we, so it's time to move on. By the way, we have the option to 'Fix him' as a Cracker, but why? He's perfect as it is.  Anyway, let's talk to the other guy. I'm not from a corporation. I'm a gamedec. A convenient story for a sssspy! But I keep constant watch over my surroundings! I know you've been assssssking about me. I won't power your AI with my brain! I have a hef and disruption software on my walktel! You can't sssnatch my brain, corporate sssscum!-Say you've come for his brain -Snap him back to reality Well spotted. I'm here to steal your psyche. I have a gravitational hand in my pocket. Tell me what you know, or I'll make use of it! I won't let a corporation scare me! And you...you wouldn't dare do that in public! [I needed to find something to help him think straight, or force him to cooperate.]We'll get back to him later, time for more schmoozing.  [She looked like a troll but had a kind smile and a soft voice. She exuded an aura of honesty.] A gamedec. Are you with Tick's people? Sometimes. But mostly I'm the "HR Lady". The warm image of a corporate AI. People don't like to think a program dictates their careers. Now why don't you do me a favor and spike my employee's drink? Amphetamines would be best, but any drug will do. It's that gloomy guy at the bar - Marten Aidan.Her warm, practiced smile never left her face. What do you want to do this for? And why? Why? I'm bored. Because I can. What for? To fill the void. Someone will troll Marten, it's inevitable. Better me than someone else. See, at work I'm a nanny. I listen to complaints, but the AI makes the decisions, because it sees more and analyzes more quickly, though without understanding. So, I utilize my people skills after hours. It's like a hobby to broaden my horizons. I experiment, observe... And you believe this would help him? No idea. Like I said, I'm expanding my horizons. HE's been like this since BWI's system recommended total sobriety. Goddamn 'here and now'. No brainfix, no entertainment virtualia...so he just sits there. You can't even talk to him.-Ask who ran into the bar That's very...concerning, but I'm here for a different reason. I'm looking for someone who ran into the bar a moment ago. And you think I'll just tell you because I'm kind and helpful? How cute. Typically I get paid to talk to people.-Ask where to find stimulants Where do I get the speed? If you want me to spike his drink, give me the means to do so. Oh, no. Your profession requires you to be independent and improvise. Get it yourself. In this locale, that should be easy. Although...you could also play him some music from his childhood. It'll remind him of his youth, and I'll dig around in his problems.-Ask about her employee The AI must have had good reason to recommend sobriety and realium to your subordinate, don't you think? Yep. He's supposedly addicted to plexes and virtualia. It's the kind of disorder we're about to start normalizing. Like we did with obesity. I don't know if that's true. It's what the machine said. I think jumping into the imaginary is sometimes therapeutic, and the 'here and now' is overrated... Anyway, I mostly want to see how a depressed person reacts to stimulants.She won't give us any more new information until we give her what she wants.  This is the depressed guy in question. We can question him, but he responds to all our questions with silence.  Below him is a slowly-brewing fight. [Troll] Is there a problem? [Sleeves] There is. The downstairs of the bar belongs to us. They charge at each other and tussle for a bit, while the troll drops some taunts about Ken's death. [Troll]You’re a nobody, junkie!-Stop it I pushed myself between the fighters. Calm down! [Sleeves] What is it, you virtua-louse? Can't handle me on your own? You found yourself a bodyguard? [Troll] I could gently caress you up so bad you wouldn't be able to stand up, bitch. And this one here came to protect the weak. That means you, bastard.-Side with sleeves -Side with trolls -Stay neutral I don't think he's weak. I just don't want anyone to get hurt. That includes you. [Troll] And that's why you're siding with this drunk. Maybe they'll buy this bullshit, but not me. You're not the first sleeve that tried to screw me over.-Threaten -Calm them down -[Vox Populi] Address the crowd This bar is your spot, right? Do you want it to be yours alone? Or do you want the greens to come here?! There's a body on the walkway in front of the bar, still warm. Go back to drinking, trolling or whatever it is that you do here. One corpse is enough for today.The fight and onlookers disperse, and taking sides with the sleeves earns us some sleeves cred.  Down below, we see a DJ playing music for the bar. Did you see- I only see music, unless some rear end in a top hat comes over and annoys me. You aren't even dancing. All right - what kind of music do you like?-Music that stimulates the imagination -Music that calms the soul -Music disrupts thinking Music that stimulates the imagination, that is remarkable...He frowned and pretended he didn't hear that. You're a patron at this bar, meaning you can request a song. Just one! I wouldn't be able to stand any more...from an amateur like you. And just so you know, when you're talking to an artist performing their piece, the right response is, "I like your music!"We can request a song for Marten or for KillThemAll, but we'll hold off on that for now.  Above the DJ is a card sharp working his trade, surrounded by a crowd of jeering trolls. By the way, is it just me, or is this guy just a slight variation on Ken’s model?  Get lost, troll. Don't insult us, Slick. We don't know that guy. He's dressed like a musker and has time to bug me...at work. The clothes don't match you guys, but the attitude does. Friend, if you don't want me to treat you like a troll, prove you're not one and get rid of these bums. [I had to kick the trolls out to talk to him, or I needed a stronger argument.]We'll need to redirect the trolls if we want to talk to Slick. We'll be back for him later.  In this quieter corner of the bar, we find some people indulging in distinctly non-alcoholic pleasures. Do you know Ken Zhou? ...Weeeeelllll... Have you noticed anything suspicious or unusual recently? ...Aaaaallll the tiiiiiime, dude... Did you see a person with a red hood running into the bar? ...Weeeeelllll... Moving on. I'm from Low City. I've seen it all, even warts. But yeah, seeing a young-ish woman not hide her wrinkles is surprising. Sometimes I approach girls and imply we're the same age. The looks on their faces - priceless! Anyway, let's get to it. What do you want, and how much?-Ask about Ken Ken Zhou. Did you know him? Pretty somber guy. Didn't drink or use, but had recently started hanging around the bar. He wasn't a troll and never bought from me. So, no. But let's get to the point. While you're here, you should buy something. I can get you to any state of consciousness. Let me guess - forgetfulness and trust? Most of all, I need information. What, are you afraid of drugs?-Say you like all kinds of fun, drugs included -Drugs in moderation -Drugs are bad Don't mind if I do. I don't usually refuse a good time. Most sleeves share your opinion. Can't blame 'em. If I was stuck in realium all the time at the bottom of the polis, I'd go crazy. Anyway, the locals don't talk about drugs that way, and they don't ask for info. You're a spy, right? I'm a gamedec. Gamedec's a very convenient cover-up. It lets you ask questions without raising suspicion. I was joking about selling - I only possess drugs for personal use. Here, a token of our friendship - a stimulant that should help in your investigation. It also stabilizes your mood and gives a bit of cheerful motivation. Have a nice day, officer.She forced a pill into my hand and turned to another client. We don't get any more info from her, but hey, free drugs!  That's everyone we can interact with here, but we do find this strange machine tucked away in the corner. [The fine print warned that the plexes offered were safe as long as the machine underwent regular maintenance. This box looked to have been battered and hacked multiple times, and certainly not serviced. Although, I could have been wrong.]Probably safer to leave it alone for now.  One last person left to talk to - well, the last person who'll talk to us without additional prompting, at least for now. Do you drink...tea?I can't figure out if that's supposed to be an insult or not. [How did he know my favourite type of poison?] Do I have it written across my forehead? Bartender's intuition. What'll it be? For real this time. I'm here for information. I'd like to- I don't deal in information. I have something to quench your thirst, gamepills, and there are couches upstairs. You want it? We have it.-Ask about the bar Can you tell me more about Yeti's Coming? Have you never seen a bar before? We've got booze. Maybe not top-shelf stuff, but the sleeves drink loads and they're still alive, so it can't be that bad. If you like being online, I have couches and gamepills. I installed them for the trolls, but our guys use them too, sometimes. Who are "our guys"? I should have said "locals". "The sleeve people," or sleeves. The salt of Low City. Fixed sleeves, tough guys...didn't you notice them? Still the same bunch. A little drunker than the rest, but also more resourceful in life. What about the trolls? If they prefer virtualia, why do they come to the bar? If you used exploits, cheated in games, and trolled in gneeral, would you want that to be traced to your address or to a public place? They're obnoxious, but they usually stay upstairs. They pay for anonymity. Business is booming. Who else visits this place, other than those two groups? Regulars. Residents of the surrounding towers, meaning those who can't afford the clubs above.-[Vox Populi] Encourage him to say more -Express understanding and change the subject I want to find out why Ken Zhou died. He deserves that much. I need every bit of information, even the things that may seem irrelevant. Hmm. There are the clanspeople, too. They're with the Hon Clan from Knight's Code. Lots of rich people in that organization. Our guys hope they'll be able to make connections and get out of here. Do you doubt that? It's a free country - you can dream all you want. But doing it through clan connections? I can't see that happening.-Ask about Ken Did you know Ken Zhou? Everybody did. He learned how to play here as a kid cause he didn't have a couch at home. He was nice to everyone but destroyed them in-game.The 'game', as you'll recall, is Goodabads, which revolves less around skill and more about inhuman levels of pain tolerance. I'm not sure if tanking higher pain thresholds really counts as 'destroying' people. No wonder he offed himself. He'd been different ever since he returned. Quiet, serious. Hardly talked to anybody except that weirdo Panisantor. [Troll] He was annoying - kept pissing everyone off - so eventually, someone got him. That's that. He couldn't control himself. He'd yell at Tick and the trolls. You could tell he wasn't doing well.-Ask about Rick, the robot There's a combat robot behind the bar. Granted, he's not armed, but he seems...defective. He's delusional, thinks he's on a battlefield. If he wasn't defective, I wouldn't have been able to...take him from the unit. He's just...junk. A souvenir. You served? PMF. Know what that is? Private Military Force. "Crystal Dust". I did it for the money. I was young and stupid. Took me some time to understand that it's the same everywhere. Corporations. Money. Fighting on different levels, but always fighting. Either you accept that or find refuge in binge drinking or playing. I accepted it and came back. I get rich off cowards who can't do the same.-Deny - alcohol isn't always bad -Deny - you like virtualia -Agree I work in virtualia. In sensory worlds, people sometimes just live. They make money. These realities aren't worse than realium.Yet rolled his eyes. Sure. You'll fit right in here.-Ask if Rick is dangerous A confused combat robot around a bunch of drunk people...Aren't you scared he's going to hurt someone? Robots are reliable. Even the defective ones. People are more insidious.He looked at the torn fabric over my wound. Even if he had a gun, Rick would never shoot an unarmed civilian.-Ask who ran into the bar Someone just ran into the bar. Did you see them? Of course. Let me just rat on one of my regulars. Wanna know how I evade taxes too? You evade taxes? I started doing that the same day you began to enjoy loving goats. Now you know the date. Ask me more. [I didn't know where the stereotype that bartenders are easy to talk to came from.] That's all the pieces in play. We’ll put most of them together next update, but we’ll leave off with one final conversation. Do you want to scare someone by switching tables? Ha! I could do that again and come back here before the bar's systems would detect any motion. Who do you want to prank?-Point at the people playing cards -Point at Regular Joe There's a masked man sitting across the bar. It looks like he's hiding from someone.Child-like joy appeared on the old man's face. Hell yeah! I'll pop up and yell "Got you now, fucker!" [He vanished before I was able to respond.] Back to Regular Joe. You're with Way Dao, the company that wants to take over BWI's technologies, aren't you? Don't hurt me! I'll tell you everything! If I end up hurting BWI at the same time, that's even better! I know BWI has a secret project codenamed "Pygmalionus." It's a system - a game, I mean - that - We shouldn't be talking openly! It's not safe! Oh, I know! Instead of BWI, I'll say 'whale'. The gamers will be 'guppies.'. We'll call the whale's game a...'frying pan'. The Hon Clan will be 'sausage', because it seems good but is awful on the inside. Ken Zhou will be 'shish kabob', because he tried to pierce through the intrigue.-Ask about the connection between the clan and BWI -Ask what the sausage has to do with the whale -Ask what the frying pan has to do with the whale Do you think the sausage is connected to the whale? Of course! The sausage's HQ is in Knight's Code. Knights Code is a game - frying pan, I mean - made by the whale! The sausage is secretly controlled by the whale and recruits guppies to the frying pan en masse! The game, or frying pan, is written so that the AI uses the guppies' brains. More guppies means a stronger AI. That way, the whale will dominate the market! The sausage will stop at nothing. It says outright that the guppies are to serve a higher consciousness. We have to stop them!-Ask who entered the bar A person ran into the bar not long ago. I think they were the murderer hired by the whale. Did you see who it was? I knew it was dangerous here! All I noticed among the crowd was lewd clothing and red hair. The whale doesn't even use camouflage anymore. You say you've been watching the situation at the bar? Have you noticed anything suspicious? Everything's suspicious here! The trolls always used to stay upstairs, but now they're all over the bar, like rats fleeing a sinking ship. They're running away from an infected virtualium. They know! Trolls and sleeves fight over living space while Yet and Cam call the shots! These commanders have a deal! I saw one of their secretive talks. They're conspiring to exploit everyone! They must be in the sausage!-Talk about Ken Did I tell you the...-frying pan killed the sausage -whale killed the shish kabob -shish kabob killed the guppy ...the whale murdered the shish kabob? Do you know why? What was he up to recently? I knew it! The sausage was cautious and respectful around the shish kabob. They were scared! we'll be next...he hung around the bar all the time. He was definitely tracking the sausage's recruiters. He learned too much and they offed him.-Snap him back to reality -Fuel his paranoia You are so right, friend. He discovered the corporation's secrets, so they offed him. He used the MCC beacon because they control all devices in the city. You're right, you're so right...he talked to the old guys, and one of them had a stroke. Coincidence? I think not! Ramona eavesdropped on the old man and got rid of both of them! Her, or some other corporate tool. It's all connected!-Ask about BWI Can you tell me more about...-the sausage in the frying pan -the shish kabob in the sausage -the whale outside the frying pan ...the whale outside the frying pan? I don't know much. I started suspecting the whale after it took over the sausage. You know, the sausage had already been active here. The whale poured lots of gold into the sausage, so we gotta watch it. The whale does everything via the sausage. It's a convenient cover-up. No sleeve would ever trust a corporation, yet they work for them like it's nothing. At least one recruiter always hangs around the bar. Even now! [I needed to take a break from all this madness for a while.] Before you leave...Before I escaped from High City and hid here, BWI broke into my apartment and downloaded the data from the whole system. How do I know? Every device was reset to factory settings. If you see something like that, run! It's been fun, handsome! I'll be with KillThemAll if you want to talk some more!Well, that was…enlightening. Not that we can trust much of the ravings of a paranoid conspiracy theorist. We’ll probably have to do more cross-referencing around the bar before we can take even a single word of that at face value, next update.
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Oct 26, 2022 18:29
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Every device was reset to factory setting huh. This is not concerning at all.
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Oct 27, 2022 09:26
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I'm sure the ramblings of this deranged mind will have absolutely no truth in them.
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Oct 27, 2022 09:48
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 Back to schmoozing. In order to talk to Slick, we have to get rid of the trolls heckling him. We're busy with this chap at the moment. Wait for your turn, chief. Get out of here, guys. Go find someone else to troll. But mister, watching Slick BLUFF AT CARDS is soooo cool. I'm telling you, he's good. Look how gullible they are. Idiots. Can't you find better things to do? Yeah? And what do you think that should be, chief?-Suggest the virtualium -Suggest stimulants Well, playing games! Didn't you come here to go online? I like you! You think like a troll! Good! But games aren't fun for us anymore. Not since that darned e-sports nutcase started giving us a hard time. Poor little us. Ken is dead... But the bad taste remains. So there you have it. We can't play with Tick, we refuse to dance to that crap so all we have left is...Slick. A perfect trolling target.-Ask about Tick Can't you go back to playing with Tick? Herman keeps grumbling about that guy that got under his skin. He's upstairs sulking, and we're sick of it. We'll wait till he calms down.-[Vox Populi] Suggest a better trolling target Do me a favor and leave Slick alone. There's plenty of people in the bar. Why don't you go and get on somebody else's nerves. Hard to find a better target than Slick. Who do you have in mind?-Suggest Regular Joe -Suggest KillThemAll We've gotten what we need out of Joe, so we might as well throw him to the wolves. Sucks to be him, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. There's a man behind the bar who thinks that evil corporations are plotting against him. Sounds good! Those are always fun! Let's go!The trolls walk away, leaving us free to talk to Slick. This gets us a few troll points, tilting the meter to the left. We'll make up for it later. I dealt with your problem, buddy. Slick actually gets a whole codex entry to himself. His gimmick is that he always lies about any topic that involves himself, but otherwise tells the truth to the best of his ability. It's not a particularly good gimmick. -Ask about the hooded person Someone shot me in the street, then ran inside the bar. They wore a jacket with a red hood. Did you see them? Hmm...she just bumped into me on her way in - Cam Grozny. It's funny, I think a piece of an MCC beacon fell from under her coat.-Believe it -Don't believe it Stop spinning tales and tell me. All right, I can't see the entrance from here, and I'm mostly focused on the game anyway. Though I did hear people fighting and cursing somewhere on the stairs, as if someone bumped into somebody running upstairs.-Ask about Ken Did you know Ken Zhou? Everyone here knew him. He is...was...a local god. They truly believed he'd make it. Do you know how many sleeves bet he would win that last game?-Believe it -Don't believe it And they were let down. Do you think anyone would want revenge for that? Are you asking if someone...killed him? Ramona was angry at him, but you don't kill hope. Especially when it's so rare. Low City is like a black hole. It sucks you in. Hardly anyone escapes its gravity. That's why everyone comes to the bar to drink or play. Ken was the exception. He...almost made it out.Probably not the best time to bring up the fact that Video James did, in fact, make it out, if our fancy Mid City apartment is any indication. Also dang, how much does being an Internet Detective pay if a mid-tier gamedec makes more money than one of the top esports stars of the time? -Ask about Ramona Why was Ramona angry with Ken? Ramona is with the Hon Clan. She...meditates more and more, or whatever it is they do. She kept urging me to join, but I didn't want to. Ken ridiculed her once for it. I had to separate them because they started fighting.-Believe it -Don't believe it I don't buy it. Tell me what really made Ramona mad. Ugh. Ramona really is in that clan, but she often complains that they're a bunch of idiots. She believes those truths of theirs, but she's irritated by the 'secrets and prohibitions'. She's always been straightforward. When she got mad that her grandpa was playing with Ken, she went off so hard the whole bar could hear My table was shaking from her voice. [I left him alone with the table and the cards.]We could ask about the possibility of Ken's suicide, but we know for a fact it wasn't that, so why waste any time on that path?  Anyway, speaking of the old men, might as well try out this free drug we got on KTA. He seems like he'd appreciate it. -Spike his beer with a stimulant [I dissolved a stimulant in his beer and shoved the straw under his nose. Then I poked him.]The man drank the beer half-asleep! After a moment, he opened his eyes, yawned, and smacked his lips. I noticed that some sleeves nearby were listening in.  Came to learn from the legend? There's already been one young man here before you. An e-sports pro, a bit more handsome than yourself...-Ask about 'the young man before you' The young man before me? Ken knew about our successful past. He even knew I was once the sheriff of Harvest Time...Did I tell you about that game?-Direct the conversation to the investigation -Let him vent I don't think you did. When I ended my career, cause my brain was...getting tired too easily, they thought 'the old man came to work his field' and stuff, but wham-bam - I became the sheriff within an hour. After a week they were too scared to duel me. I'm really exceptionally quick, you know, but...I get tired easily, goddamnit. Nowadays kids play games whether they have things to do or not. Even Ramona plays a lot lately and I doubt she knows why.-Say that you played Harvest Time I visited Harvest Time a while ago, actually. High Rock, to be specific. I think it has a different sheriff... High Rock? My last asylum...My attention span is too short for other games, but gun dueling doesn't take much time...Did I tell you already? Down there, I was still the man. Call it a "legend's" rest home, but I was respected. I cared for that town and put punks in their place. Then this guy took it from me. He wasn't even that good. He just realized I get weak fast and challenged me when I was barely standing up. I know that he beat me when I was half-asleep, but still...something inside me died that day. Something snapped. A player, that's all I've ever been my whole life. I hunted, I played matches, and I was good at it. I don't know how to be anything else now...-Admit you don't know -Say he has to accept that -Suggest the virtualium I don't know what else you could do, sorry. But you're a legend and nothing is going to change that. It's something, isn't it? We could pop into Paradise Beach and whistle at some babes, what do you say?-Ask about Ramona You mentioned Ramona. She... She's Panisantor's granddaughter, but we all raised her together, so she's kinda mine too. I taught her how to sneak up on gulls, you know?-Focus on the investigation -Let him speak freely You taught her to hunt gulls? In Happy Hunting Grounds? Gulls, my dear, are folks that don't know what they want. Virtual castaways. Grazers. Easy prey. Got it? She never liked beating around the bush and could spot a gull from a mile away...or lure one. We staged a 'draft for a deputy sheriff' in Harvest Time once. I logged out so that it seemed like I didn't know anything about it and the girl robbed five applicants! And they thanked her afterward! Now she's gone somewhere...She's probably in the hospital with her grandpa.-Ask about the hooded person Someone ran into the bar not too long ago. Did you see who it was or where they went? I don't recall anything like that happening, though I might have missed it. I'm sort of embarrassed to admit I might've dozed off a little. This wouldn't have happened in Harvest Time. I shoot faster than that...runaway cowboy. You should play with me sometime. I'll show you true reflux...I mean reflex...goddamnit. [When I got up from the table, the man was already falling asleep.]It wasn't really that helpful to the investigation, but we got a big chunk of sleeves points for being nice to KillThemAll and listening to his long, rambling anecdotes without cutting him off. Anyway, we used our one free drug on KTA, so we'll have to snap Marten out of his funk some other way. We request a song from the DJ, then head over to Marten. [The man was staring blankly into space. Tears were running down his cheek.] Oh well, he's not the one we wanted to talk to anyway. -Ask about Marten Your employee...he's crying. Terrible childhood. I almost felt sorry for him when I read his files. I can finally talk to him without the AI being there. He was supposed to face reality sober, so let him face it. Thank you, gamedec.-Ask about Ken Did you know Ken Zhou? Determined, volatile, terrible planning skills. He'd make a great nurse or kindergarten teacher. After training. He's the reason why Tick and I are here and not in virtualia. Did you see most of the trolls sitting in realium? He'd been over it lately, and now...it's unfortunate. Although 'the problem is gone', I don't know if Tick will get his entourage back.I'm not really sure on the timeline of things here. The trolls make it sound like Ken has been harassing them for a long time, but Ken only really started his crusade against them around the time of his first case, and that can't have been that long ago. Plus, he's been busy with investigating the Hon Clan and trying to become an amateur gamedec. It's possible that he was just unintentionally alienating them during his training to be a top e-sports star, and never actually noticed it because he was too full of himself to even care. I wouldn't put it past him. -Ask about Tick's stance towards Ken How did Tick react to Ken? He was mad, of course, but truthfully he was elated to have someone pay so much attention to him. Didn't you notice what a narcissist he is? I think Tick is lonely. He thought he and Ken had a bond of some sort. Once Ken started hanging out with the old man, Herman got jealous. I'd send Tick to therapy, but he'd have to go through some detox first. Flush all the plexes, breathe some fresh air...-Ask who ran into the bar Someone ran into the bar not too long ago. Did you see who it was? I was focusing on analyzing Marten, but let me think. I heard the door shut, and someone threatened to beat the poo poo out of the person running in for pushing through. The sleeves need stress management classes. Anyway, your target is male. Things haven't changed in Low City over the years. People don't start fights with women here. [There was nothing more I needed from her.] We're still a few points short of filling up the meter either way, but there's repeatable actions we can take to gain rep for either side. Dancing with this crowd gets us a few troll points every time we do it. Damned if I know why – perhaps we just dance in a particularly trollful way?  Ordering drinks (and getting sprayed with booze by Rick in the process) gets the approval of the sleeves, probably for being a good sport about Rick.  Once the Sleeves meter is full, we head over to a nearby crowd of Sleeves, who are mostly standing around talking about how awesome we are. You're really giving these trolls hell. Big ups, man. Did you really know Ken? I did. That's why I'm trying to find out how he died. I need information. Can you help me? Hold up. How can we be sure we can trust you? Trolls don't like you, but that doesn't make you one of us. Quit loving around. He's all right. You can see it in his eyes. You want to check his IN or what? It's fine. Chill. Everything will come out in the field test. You want us to treat you like one of our own? Wait till somebody comes in and collect the fee. I'm not stupid. I know you've been watching me. Haven't I already proved that I'm cool? My grandma is cool too, dude, but I wouldn't tell her anything important, cause she'd just blurt it all out to her besties. It's called initiation, my friend. We all go through it. You need to learn about the mores...and we want to see you cross a line.-Agree -Refuse Fine. How do I do it? Are you dumb? You saw Quitter in action. When you came in, he approached you and collected the money. Now you do that to somebody else. We do just that, hanging around the entrance until someone walks in. -Ask for the amount you were asked to pay You need to pay to come inside the bar.I asked for the same fee I was asked to pay. Dude! I've never paid that much in Low City! No way!gently caress, we got totally ripped off earlier, didn't we. -Let it go -[Vox Populi] Convince him -[Low City] You're a local, you know the rules -Insist We're in the lowest layer of the polis. The whole community should help the owner carry the burden of keeping the bar afloat. Ever heard of public space? We all use it, and the bar is no different. Do yourself and others a favor. Maybe thanks to you, the bar won't go bankrupt. Well-loving-said! I'll pay! Hell, I'll add something extra!I opened the transfer window. The man clicked the amount box, entered a figure double that of what I asked for, then confirmed the payment. Welcome to Yeti's Coming.Looks like we have a secondary revenue stream in case this whole 'internet detective' thing doesn't work out.  Back to the sleeves. What do you want to know?-Ask about Ken Do you happen to know what Ken was up to? Before he died, that is. He didn't come here to socialize. He stayed upstairs, so he was probably using the couches. Those contraptions aren't exactly safe. When you lay down on one, you can check which game the previous user was playing. Ken used to play here quite often. He must've been spying on someone, otherwise he wouldn't use this junk. -Ask about Ramona What can you tell me about Ramona? She claims she's still a sleeve, but she's been hanging around with these weirdos for some time. The Hon Clan. It got her grandpa worried and he started spying on her. Online, I mean. When it got out, she yelled at him to stop entering the same games she does. Boy, can she go on a rant. It was quite a performance. She always says what's on her mind, but takes it well when others do that too. She doesn't like sugar-coating or beating around the bush.-Ask who ran into the bar Someone ran into the bar not too long ago. Did you see him? Or her? Sure. Hard not to notice Tick. It's better to have an eye on him. You never know what that guy's gonna do. He ran upstairs. Good. Let him stay where he belongs and keep away from our part of the bar. It reeks of trolls here anyway. Thanks, guys. I need to get back to my investigation now. Here's to you! As we head away from that conversation, someone gets up from their seat and heads over to us. Do you want to know the truth? About what happened? Sure. Only about that? If you pick the fragments that suit you, you won't find the truth. You need to open yourself up to the whole of it.Boy, do I not like the way that was phrased. -Ask about Ken Right now I want to figure out what's been going on with Ken Zhou lately. Can you tell me anything about that? He was very stubborn about getting to the truth. I heard he got very far. Meaning what? This information is available to the clan members. Join us and accept the truth. It will show you Ken's path.-Ask about THE TRUTH All right. What is this truth I need to open myself up to? It is hidden, though visible to those who can see. What's important is the path, the attention to here and now to recognize the signs and ciphers of existence. The truth is hidden, but you're 'the one that sees'? Umm...not yet. What matters is that we're all equal in getting to the truth. Have you never seen things that are hard to explain? People who possess knowledge they don't have a right to possess? Errors not predicted by the system? Our leader says that everyone comes across signs. You just need to be able to notice them.-Respond rationally -Respond ironically -Admit he may be right So you're saying that 'everyone's equal', but you still have a leader? Very logical. Our leader is there to explain everything better and the upper circle consists of people who saw more than the rest. But we all learn from each other. You came here seeking knowledge. You pay attention to details. We do the same. Join us and let us help you.-Ask who ran into the bar Right now, I want to find out who ran into the bar. It wasn't that long ago. I can't see the door from behind the counter, and I haven't noticed any new faces in the club. But it's not an accident that a stranger led you exactly to me. It's a sign and your first step to the truth. Will you dare to go further?You know what, gently caress it, why not. We'll probably need to investigate them from the inside eventually anyway, and an invitation will look better than approaching out of the blue. -Join the Hon Clan You know what? You convinced me. I want to join you. That's a wise decision. You won't regret it. Now give me access to your walktel and we'll discuss the signs you noticed at a joint meeting. You want access to all of my data? The whole feed? Visual and sound? This way we'll be able to find the signs you have missed. The most effective way of learning is based on our own experiences.-Give him access -Refuse -[Vox Populi] Convince him that he doesn't need your data Our silver tongue is getting us out of a lot of jams today. I have a knack for persuasion. Take me in without the data, and I'll bring lots of acolytes to your clan. You'll have all the signs you want. I can't give you access to my walktel. It has the data of my fans. If I betray their trust, nothing good will come of it, you know? Hmm...fine. Provided that you say we recruited them together. I'll send you a message with the time and place of our meeting soon. [The moment I turned around, he started looking for more recruits.] Anyway, now that we've spoken to everyone, it's time for deductions. This one's easy - Ken already told us what he was up to.  This one...the sleeves told us it was Tick, and a couple of people have confirmed he's upstairs, so probably safe to go with that. Doesn't really jive with Regular Joe's testimony, but that guy doesn't have the best grip on reality.  This one...it really could go either way. Ramona probably has the stronger motive (especially since I find it hard to believe Ken could have threatened Tick in any way), but since Tick appears to be the end of the road for now we might as well stick with him.  Completing all three leads to a fourth deduction. We don't really have a lot of information to go on here, but out of the three options presented, we know it wasn't suicide or an accident. (That last one is kind of debatable given our current hypothesis, but someone did shoot him through the heart with clear intent to kill him.)  Now that that's settled, we need to get upstairs. If we were a Cracker we could force our way past the energy barrier, but as it is we'll have to negotiate with Yet. We could have attempted it earlier, but it would fail - the couches are for 'regulars only' and we don't count as one until we've ingratiated ourselves with the trolls or sleeves. That's a very...special area. People are in-game, their bodies on couches, unsupervised. Their belongings are by the couches, too. I'm not going to bother anyone. I'm a gamedec. I'm conducting an investigation and I have to get in there. I want to talk to someone. A gamedec, huh? OK, I'll let you up there if you do me a small favor. It'll prove to the patrons you're trustworthy. Get rid of Cam Grozny. Don't hurt her, just remove her from the premises. Why do you want her gone? She sells drugs and gets half my customers high off them. Not enough? Lately, she's been pushing everything, apparently even some nasty fake L-Pill. She's a treacherous she-troll. She competes with Herman, I mean Tick, for leadership among the trolls. If you remove her, Tick will surely be happy. ...And nobody, or almost nobody, will be mad at me, because you'll be the one that did it.-Agree -Refuse I'll do it. She usually hangs around the toilets. Fitting place for a scumbag.We don't really have a choice - Yet won't give us any alternative ways to get upstairs.  Is this a joke? He and I have a deal. He gives us anonymous couches, and I get the sleeves what Yet legally can't. I didn't say a word when he installed the brainfix years ago. And he wants to kick me out? Fine. If it's a war he wants, he'll loving get it. I don't know what he promised you, but I'll match his offer if you destroy the brainfix. Hmm...And you can get me upstairs? I've done business with Yet long enough to install workarounds in his system. Destroy the brainfix, and I'll get you into hell if you want.Beating up an inanimate machine with no way to fight back does sound a lot easier than our currently assigned task. It's not like we'll have to negotiate with Yet any further after this point.  -[Glazier] Cause a short circuit [I found the service panel and unscrewed the masking plate. The power connectors were easy to find. With a few quick crossed wires, the machine shuddered, whined, and went dead.]Given how poorly maintained it was, people probably won't figure out it was us. Hell, they probably won't even notice till after we're long gone.  You can thank me by granting me access upstairs. Of course. I'll grant you access as soon as you tell me who you're gonna troll, you secret agent. That wasn't our deal. Our deal was that I let you upstairs, not that I wouldn't ask questions. Even so, Yet changes the terms more than I do. So, who is it? [Deduction] I want to speak with Tick. Let's just say I have a couple of things to settle with him. Herman, huh? Fine. People do various things up there, not only play. They're often distracted - you know how gamers are. I'll cut off his access to the bar's systems, one by one. He won't have a clue. That'll let you talk to him freely. The gates will let you in now. Good luck! As we head up the stairs, a surge of electricity rushes out from the leftmost couch, frying the poor bugger inside. Well, that's not good. Something tells me that wasn't a coincidence.  Tick giggled with satisfaction as the shower of sparks faded. He moved his hand as if he were using a private window. He was clearly...unstable. It seemed wise to keep him from getting frustrated. I needed to keep his attention until the Out-Rangers arrived.  We have a very small window to affect his mood. If he gets too annoyed with us at any point, he'll just run off. -Accuse him of shooting at you You just tried to shoot me. I'm not bowing unless it's to put you in handcuffs.  Excuse me?! People beg for the chance to join me, you know? But you? Snooping around Ken's case, accusing me! Bow to the king, shitbag!-Refuse -Nod -Tell him to kiss your rear end [I nodded towards him.] You could have tried harder, but that's fine, I guess.He moved his hand, ready to issue another command to his malicious software, but he focused on me instead. Congratulations, maggot, you've got my attention. What's so important that you dare to ruin my royal magnum opus?-Talk about Tick My investigation has led me to you. I want to speak with you. Tell me something I don't know. Everyone wants to speak with Tick!As he talked to me, he kept one hand raised, ready to issue a command in an invisible window. I'm always doing something cool! You're saying that Ken is losing interest in me?! Oh well, that's his loss! The trolls don't want to play with me? They can see how couches burn, then! You're killing people. It's not my fault they don't have any safeguards. These helmets constantly cause discharges, suits get overheated and tear their muscles...it looks loving awesome, doesn't it?-Say that's crazy -Say that's cruel -Say that's phenomenal You're right. It's all very spectacular. Everyone admires you now. You got what you wanted. You don't need to kill anyone else.The man smiled proudly. I don't need to do anything. But I'm the king because I always go through with my ideas, even the most daring ones. I'm glad that you appreciate how epic this all is!His gestures intensified. At least he stopped paying atention to the invisible window. I don't think you understand me... I do. The real reason you're doing this is that...-Say Ken spoiled his fun -Say Ken lost interest in him -Say the trolls stopped playing You're angry at Ken. He used to follow you around all the time, but then he lost interest in you. I was hoping he'd come back...He made a nervous gesture and tapped something in an invisible window. Shut up and behold!He froze, waiting for something to happen...but nothing did. Someone logged me out of the system, drat it! Never mind! I'll reconnect in a second! Nobody can stop the king! I knew he'd come back. I fascinated him. He actually tried to troll the king of trolls, can you believe that? He was copying me! I tried to sneak up on him yesterday, but he immediately saw me. That's how sensitive he was to my presence! And he still called me king! Though he wasn't really making any sense. You say that you knew him. Do you even know what he was doing?!-Say he's been spying on the Hon Clan -Say he was just sitting at the bar -Say he's been trolling Tick's group -Say he joined the Hon Clan He was spying on the Hon Clan in Knight's Code. He didn't trust them, but he said 'they could be right'. Unbelievable! He'd rather think about loving 'reincarnation' than play with me!Tick nervously declined a call with a hand gesture. Never mind. None of it makes sense! Enough chit-chat! Pay attention. This. Is. Going. To. Be. Epic!He quickly waved and tapped an invisible window.  Tick was smiling triumphantly. I love the smell of burning flesh in the morning! Nobody can ignore the king! Or give him orders! Why did he have to die? I don't get it. It's so stupid.-Accuse Ramona of killing Ken -Accuse him of killing Ken -Say that Ken's death was an accident What do you mean you don't get it? You're the one that killed him! That's bullshit! He was already dead when I arrived! I shot a corpse - it made no difference. The little man said it had to be done. "The little man"? A funny little person in a red hat, dressed like a clown. I trusted him. I don't know why. I don't know, really! Now everyone's gonna think I...Hey, you're here too, even though I grazed your shoulder. It was supposed to scare you off. Like hell it did...He saw something displayed by his lenses and shuddered. He's sensing me again. I'll answer once I know how to troll him for that lie. Ugh, why am I even talking to you?! I'm the king! Common folk don't get a say here!Two people started contorting and convulsing. Their helmets must have been hacked. The King does what he wants! Don't loving forget that! Do you even know how Ken died? [Deduction] You shot him down? Wrong, moron. I fired at him, but I didn't shoot him down! But you can't die from getting shot in a game! All games have safeguards! How is it possible that he...died there? You don't get it. Snot-nosed suckers like you can't comprehend my genius. But they can watch! Hands up! Move a loving finger and you're toast, bastard!Tick looked at me vacantly. Someone played a trick on Tick...They put me in an impossible situation...but the king never gives up! You'll be next, gamedec!The bodies on the couches were convulsing and grunting.   A squadron of Out-Rangers rush up from both sides of the stairs, and shoot Tick in the back of his head. One of the Out-Rangers fired, and a red splotch appeared on Tick's forehead. His eyes were still open, but they looked frozen. The man's body slumped to the floor in a hideous manner, as if it were a faulty machine. What a loving mess...and now we have to secure everything. Why don't you head back home? We'll be in touch. Don't talk to the press. We can poke around in this upstairs area for a bit more, but there's nothing of note left to interact with up here. So, this section was actually significantly different from my first playthrough, in a way I was actually pretty surprised by. In my first playthrough, all the clues that pointed to Tick instead pointed to Ramona, and she was the one waiting upstairs for me. The interaction plays out in a fairly similar manner, with Ramona blowing up the couches while warning us not to get close, though she's in a blind panic rather than Tick's drunken nihilistic ego trip. The main points are fairly similar - she was convinced to kill Ken by the Hon Clan because he was getting too close, but he was already dead when she shot him, though she doesn't expect anyone to believe that, and she only shot us to warn us away from the investigation. If you successfully stall her for long enough, when cornered by the Out-rangers she hops into a couch and electrifies it to fry herself rather than surrender, instead of getting shot. I'm not sure what the actual turning point is - I tried reloading a pre-deduction save and picking Ramona-centric answers, but it was still Tick waiting upstairs. My guess is depends on whether you save Panisantor in the first quest or not, since it's a major point of contention in her confrontation. It makes logical sense - with Panisantor outright dead in that timeline, Ramona would be even more dependent on the Hon Clan, leaving her more open to manipulation and exploitation. Frankly, I think that timeline makes far more sense than the one we got - Tick's motivations are half-baked and Ramona feels like she has a more personal stake in the matter. In any case, regardless of who we just confronted, a whole lot of people died for basically no reason and we're no closer to the true mystery of Ken's death than we were before. Really, everyone would have been much better off if we'd just ignored this whole detour. We're down to our last lead, and it's a sketchy program given to us by a ghost. Let's hope it ends up better than...whatever the hell that just was.
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Oct 28, 2022 18:29
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This was more of a case of chasing a single lead in "who the gently caress shot me and did they shoot Ken" and getting the answer of "yes, but after he was already dead because reasons." And of those reasons, Ramona's is definitely more relevant than Tick establishing a backstory with Ken just to die and make it pretty much nil anyways. If this was setup for some later stuff, it'd be fine I guess, but unfortunately it seems like it's all pretty cut and dry here. The characters who die will die anyways, we walked out with more connections exhausted than gained, and we got jack all for it. I mean, it makes plenty of sense to investigate this over the sketchy program, someone presumably shot Video James to stop his investigation, but one can only wish it was more satisfying or that it really accomplished anything. At least there was Rick. Left 4 Bread fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Oct 28, 2022 |
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Oct 28, 2022 19:20
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It's the future and clanners are still the worst. It's smart of the developers to create more than one possible instigator for the situation, that is not something I see often.
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Oct 28, 2022 19:54
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Last time, a whole lot of people died and while we can't really say it was our fault, it probably wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been there either. Still, nothing to do but to move forward. [A sudden feeling of relief took over me, only to give way to a feeling of deep, bitter loss. My relationship with Ken had been...heating up.]-Admit that you'll miss Ken -Admit you feel bad -Accept that life is unpredictable [Our relationship was brief but intense. Everything happened so fast. I couldn't wrap my head around it. I still wanted to sense him.]I get the sudden shock of someone close to you dying, but I feel like Video James is reading a lot more into that relationship than is probably warranted. In retrospect, it's probably a good thing that relationship got cut off before things got really awkward between them. [I couldn't leave it that way. I had a psychoscan. I just needed to generate a V-Ghost and question it.] Quick aside, but we finally build up enough points to unlock 'Cracker'. It's probably the second most useful occupation for getting around any technological limitations, aside from Cheater.  While we’re at it, here's our current occupation tree. We've gotten a fair bit of use out of Vox Populi and the Infotainer branch in general so far, followed closely by Cheater and the Glazier branch in general. There haven't been as many Scalpel-related options we've been missing out on, except for several opportunities for Brainfixer in the last couple of sections. Green points seem hard to get, though, even in my last playthrough where I tried to focus on that branch, and it's compounded by being a fairly limited skillset in application.  Anyway, time to talk to Ken's unquiet shade. -Take a closer look at Ken's image [I looked at the translucent face hovering in the air. It was the face he himself remembered or imagined. Better-looking than in reality. The system used to perform the scan must have been very basic. The face had few details and looked like it was carved with a very thick chisel.]-Make Bliss get information for you [That V-Ghost was a husk of a man. I didn't want to talk to him. Perhaps Bliss could automatically extract information.] Bliss, find out what Ken did in Low City and what he learned in the course of his investigation. All cultures have their rituals of parting with the dead. There's a reason for that. I think you should talk to him. It's a relatively poor scan. Indexing its memories would destroy it. Do you want me to do that and give you a recap? How poor is it? Scanning human psyches requires advanced tools that record memory traces along with the intensity of each memory and links between them. In this case, the scan was made by a device designed for other purposes. The V-Ghost is defective. This psyche was scanned with a simple machine. Very simple. It almost looks as if someone intentionally overlooked some of the memories. Rich kids make better scans using obicoins. Someone must have been in a hurry or wanted to hide something.-Talk to the V-Ghost ...You're right. I'll talk to him. I waved my hands over his eyes to start an interaction. Ken nodded slowly.  Video James... Ken. Good to see you again.He looked around. We returned to your place. Good. It's safe here. I can't remember how I got here...never mind. I think the Hon Clan saw through me. If I'm here, they'll probably keep an eye on you too.-Ask about his investigation You sensed me yesterday. You wanted to meet me at Yet's Coming. Why? Yesterday? I feel like it was a couple of hours ago. Time flies when you're investigating. I wanted to examine the Hon Clan's stronghold and thought I might need some protection. I trust you, Chief. I was afraid they'd see through me. But apparently, I'm smarter than them. Next time we'll get in there together and find out everything.-Ask about the Hon Clan Why the Hon Clan Stronghold? What's so important in there? You know how my career was ruined by a tree in the glitch, right? So, it usually pops up in the Hon Clan's stronghold. Coincidence? It's a drat cryptic clan. Rumor has it their leader can "foresee the future". I'd say it's drat easy to "foresee" something you cause yourself. That son of a gun changes the course of history. He ruins people's lives to get rich. They call him Lord Enlightened or The Prophet. That jerk ruined my career, so I'm going to find out how he did it, get evidence, and reveal everything.-Ask how the clan is cryptic -Ask how the clan ruined his career -Ask how the clan changes the course of history You said the clan leader changed the course of history. Can you tell me what you mean exactly? They made a fortune betting on my game. I've heard there were also some 'unexplained' things in realium that the clan leader could foresee. I guess they hack obicoins and glasses to create illusions and earn money. They say 'something bad will happen' and then make it happen. Commercial Scan. Software: Basic version. Memory Record recursion: Level 1. Data depth limit reached. [I had a pitifully basic version of a psychoscan. That would probably make things harder for me. The record would only include the most recent and intense memories. All the rest went down the drain.]-Ask about the Tree You said the Tree ruined your career? What do the trolls have to do with that? Haven't I said it before? I saw them and the Tree. I was paralyzed during the match. No one else was affected by the glitch. Only me. Now I think the trolls showed up a fraction of a second later, like vultures at a crime scene. It's the one who controls the Tree that matters. It's probably not the trolls.-Ask what he was afraid of You called for help. Why did you think something could happen to you? I asked anonymous questions online about the Hon Clan and started getting invitations to their recruitment process. When I was at your place, someone reset Ralf, my majordomo. Probably to cover up the traces of a break-in. It might have all been a coincidence, but I think they noticed me. I didn't want to wait. That would give them more time to prepare.-Ask what he did after recording the message. I didn't hear you sensing, so you left a message. Can you remember what you did after that? Of course. Why wouldn't I remember? You didn't accept the call. I entered Yeti's Coming on my own, and from there, I entered the game. What happened next? I chose the handle 'Arrow of Darkness'. I searched the location, sniffed around, and found out that they sometimes go inside that Tree. The one that ruined my game. They go inside it! They say it's the 'sacred Tree of Knowing'. I waited, left my stuff in the chest, and entered that Tree of theirs. Commercial Scan. Software: Basic version. Memory Record recursion: Level 1. Data depth limit reached.-Tell him he's dead Ken...you're a V-Ghost. A psychoscan of the real Ken Zhou. Ken is dead - he was killed in Low City. That's impossible! But...is that why I'm here as a hologram? Commercial Scan. Software: Basic version. Memory Record recursion: Level 1. Data depth limit reached. Video James...I was counting on you. Had we gone there together, I'd probably still be alive. Why didn't you help me?Jeez, way to guilt trip us, Ken. I guess I'd probably be pretty pissed about it too if I was murdered. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ken.I did my best to avoid looking him in the eye. I was convinced you'd listen to my message and come running. At least I wouldn't have had to die alone. I remember...the touch of a cold walkway on my cheek. A man...shouldn't lie like that, with his face against the ground. Forgive me.He said nothing. Bliss, place him in a safe virtualium. Done.  Only one place left to go.  Welcome to Knight's Code! A land where warring samurai clans clash against each other to determine the fate of the world! Where wondrous creatures fill the skies, and magic, friendship and camaraderie abound! We'll be experiencing approximately none of that during our time here.  It is, at the very least, very pretty to look at.  We stand among the best clans of Knight's Code...But our clan is more than that! It is the answer you've been searching for! Victory takes seed in a warrior's mind! Prove that you can win. Take part in the recruitment. Seek out our disciples. Show them that you care about winning! Recruitment starts now. Good luck! What business brings you here, warrior?-Ask how to join the clan -Say you've been recruited by the clan -Ask to be granted entrance into the Stronghold We've technically already been recruited by that guy in the bar, so if we pick that second option, they'll happily let us through. But for the sake of content, let's go through the 'regular' initiation process. What do I need to do to take part in the Hon Clan's recruitment? I am glad you asked. Seek out our disciples, the alchemist and the sage, and complete the tasks they give you. In exchange for your commitment, you will be rewarded with a Poteto Gomuin, a sigil that proves your service to the clan. Only those who bring me two Gomuins and pay the clan event fee can enter the Stronghold, where your true trial period begins. Looks like we're not the only prospective recruits. [Ogien Walki] Then what do you want to do? Start leveling up a new character from scratch? It will take you weeks!He noticed me listening. [Upyours314] Hail, stranger. What do you make of the challenges that the recruits of the Hon Clan must contend with? [Ogien] Forgive my friend, his ornate style is meant to mask his handle that's just...wrong. How are the alchemy and true knowledge quests going?We can ask them for advice on them here, but said quests aren't especially difficult to figure out. -Ask if they need help I've seen much harsher recruitment rules before. Need help? [Ogien] Thank you for offering, but we're already done and have the Gomuins to prove our service to the clan. Now, all we need to do is organize our knowledge so that we're able to correctly answer questions about the Tree of Knowing and the clan.-Ask about the Hon Clan I don't know much about the Hon Clan. [Upyours314] Indeed, members of this eminent clan guard their secrets well. [Ogien] Especially given that they were still virtually unknown a few months ago. Now they're powerful, climbing the ranks like mad, and recruiting.-Ask about the Tree of Knowing Can you share your knowledge of the Tree of Knowing with me? [Upyours314] A mysterious and frightening phenomenon. It is spoken of only in legends, with facts in short supply. We've scoured the realm for them. [Ogien] Well, it is meant to be a reward for the clan's best members, but I hope never to receive it. You must've heard tales of sages who had the honor of communing with the Tree...but do you know anyone who went inside it and then returned? It must get harder, because after all this, there's still the trial period at the Stronghold. And the actual clan members are all badasses. I'm just waiting for my friends, and then we're going in.-Ask what she knows about the clan Why do you want to join this clan? It's one of the best organizations in the game, and they're climbing the ranks the fastest. Sounds good to me. I'm trying to max out my stats and optimize my playing. Although, there are these weird rumors going around about some 'signs' and some 'Tree of Knowing', but it's probably some method of training. They don't talk about it outside so that no one gets ahead of them.-Ask how she got the Gomuins How did you get the Gomuins? There are two masters at opposing ends of the map. Each of them gives you a quest, and the reward for completing it is a token. Simple. Two masters, two tokens. How did you get a third one? Buddy, you get that we're supposed to compete, right? We're not so friendly that I'd reveal all my secrets to you. Plus, my future organization has no place for bumpkins who can't work out stuff on their own.-Point out she's not role-playing The people I've met here make it a point to stay in character. You're talking about Knight's Code as if it's in a game... Everyone here is nuts for role-playing. A game is a game. And I can do some pretending if it helps me become the best in the clan.Boy, do I wish I could select this option. Oh well, it's really not that hard to get in on our own merits.  You may have noticed a cat in some of the previous screenshots. We can interact with it. -[Cheater] Take control of the cat's skin [I turned on the deck and found the app for taking control of skins. I launched the app after placing the creature in its range. Before I became the animal, the program told me that it would be switching my motility to quadrupedal and warned me of possible dizziness...] [...which I did experience, and then saw the world through the eyes of a frog. I mean, cat. What was in my mouth? I mean, stuck in my teeth?! Hummingbird feathers. I spat them out.] We're a cat now!  If we try to sneak into the clan in cat form, this happens: [Upyours314] Do you think that if I draw my sword slowly, it won't run away? Don't give me that look - you know the game's recipes. Bagging a cat will count as meat for raids. We must be of service to the clan. [Ogien] You're right. We must be of service, and there don't seem to be any mystical signs around. Plus, it's free XP.They drew their weapons. -Run [I dashed for the bushes. When I lost sight of them, I returned to my skin. I could defend myself as a human.]I'll show off the cat method of getting in later as a bonus. For now, let's get back to earning our way in.  On our way over to meet the master on the left, we stop to admire a tree. I don't know if it's the tree, but it is a pretty nice tree nonetheless.  Recruit nineteen, hmm... Come again? ... [Maybe it was just my imagination? I'd never heard of talking trees in Knight Code.]-Encourage -Provoke -Ask if it is the Tree of Knowing Are you the Tree of Knowing?The tree giggled. I am a disciple of the clan. You'd know if you saw the Tree of Knowing. It is huge and beautiful, like any other. It is literally one-of-a-kind. There isn't a single graphic asset like it in Knight's Code or any other world. We looked. But I shouldn't be talking to you. Mistress Umbra will be here soon, and she'll see that I didn't learn anything.-Ask why he is a tree How did you become a tree? ...I did something I shouldn't have. I meant no harm to anyone. I only bent the rules slightly. But now I see the error of my ways. Mistress Umbra agreed not to banish me from the clan. Instead, she locked me in a tree, allowing me to reflect on my actions.-Ask about Mistress Umbra You spoke of Umbra... Mistress Umbra. If she heard you omit her title when uttering her name, she'd lock you in an item, too! And she'd be right to do so! You should always address clan members with their titles, which they earned through displays of commitment and wisdom. Inside the Stronghold and outside of it, in the realm of Knight's Code and all others, we always address one another with respect. "Mistress" Umbra proceeds to walk up to us. Yes, Mistress Umbra. Because he provoked me, you see...I mean, I let myself be provoked. The fault is mine. How am I to help you see the truth if you do not wish to help yourself? I'm sorry. I want to learn the truth. I wish to be worthy of entering the Tree. Please help me, Mistress. I will give you one more chance. And you, recruit, should be helping others improve, not making it more difficult. -Apologize -Say you know each other -Criticize the practice of turning people into items You trapped him inside a tree. It's a rather cruel punishment for breaking the rules. Disciple Moth is free to leave and return to his avatar at any moment, but he knows that the clan's rules help him improve and observe more. The clan teaches one to see the truth, and learning it would be impossible if good and bad actions carried the same consequences. If you're here to learn, go back to recruitment. If not, leave. As Clan Mistress of the Guard, I'll know if you keep breaking the rules.Umbra leaves, and the tree refuses to respond to any further attempts at conversation. Well. The Clan can trap the minds of people in inanimate objects and apparently uses this ability with great relish. That's not concerning at all!  We can also stop to admire this stream. There's no trapped water sprite genuflecting on the flow of life or anything. It's just a stream.  Anyway, on to the first task. -Ask about the mystical place You said this place is mystical? Friend! This is the only location in the world with multiple recorded appearances of the Tree of Knowing! It appears here regularly! And it has already been seen in all kinds of games - beautiful and mundane, luxurious and simple! Some say that it only appears somewhere for a moment and never returns to the same place! So, you see? It's a mystical place!-Be of service to the clan What can I do to aid the Hon Clan's efforts? I make healing potions for the clan, and I need ingredients. Bring me five ginseng roots.I was going to make some snarky comment, but all things considered, this is probably a decent selection filter. Anyone smart enough to go 'I'm not doing a pointless fetch quest, gently caress off' is not someone you want as an underling in your cult.  Anyway, ginseng roots aren't hard to find, the're scattered all over the map. Here are five ginseng roots. Splendid! Here's a Poteto Gomuin, the official sign of service to the clan. Every clan disciple will honor it.She handed me an octagonal coin made of steel. It was heavy and cool to the touch. It had a symbol of a lush tree embossed on it. Do you know why you were given such a simple, repetitive task?Unfortunately, my theory from earlier isn't among the possible options. -Say that the clan requires sacrifice -Say it's a typical RPG quest -Say you don't know Clan members must contribute resources to the treasury, and devoting time to simple tasks teaches humility. Indeed. Each clan must keep its treasury full. Without recruit's labor, our coffers would be empty, and that would weaken the Stronghold. The Hon Clan requires more sacrifices than other clans. We teach full commitment. It is necessary to achieve happiness in life. Those afraid to commit forget who they are. They're unhappy - merely consumers. One has to learn to stay in the moment and commit.Incidentally, if we pick 'it's a typical RPG quest', she pretends to act confused about the concept of an RPG while Video James fruitlessly tries to explain the concept of an 'MMO', before finally warning him to stay in character and falling silent.  On to the next task. The other guy is waiting at the other end of the map, where we first spawned in. You're happy? The Hon Clan helps people find the best path in life. I am happy when I can help someone in that endeavor. You are taking part in recruitment. Do you wish to carry out a task for the clan? What can I do for the clan? Only the best can join us. Only you can decide who you are. If you want to grow, you must work and excel in commitment and vigilance. Only those who see what others cannot may join our ranks. They seek the truth instead of averting their eyes from it. Go, observe - seek signs, phenomena difficult to explain. They may guide you to the truth. I will ask you what you make of them when you return. How will I know what I'm seeing is a sign? You are looking for things that have no right to occur. Things that people try not to notice. They manifest rarely, but there are more of them near the Tree. They're not glitches, or at least not only glitches. They're signs. What are they signs of, exactly? If we knew, they wouldn't be difficult to notice or understand. To some, they appear to be memories or a message from something...or someone other than ourselves. Others say they're a sign of collective consciousness, using thoughts to pierce the very nature of things. We seek the ultimate answers. We bring together those who can see them. We teach them how to search for truth, for searching is the way.I must admit, this is a significantly more culty task than the latter.  We don't have to waste too much time with this one, since there's not all that much to interact with. The answer is this stream we looked at earlier. After contemplating it a bit, this shows up. [A strange face distorted by whirlpools was looking up at me from the stream. The face was a mask of burden and suffering. Its eyes looked towards the glade near the stream. He shut his eyes as if meaning to...fall asleep? Connect to a network? Then the swirling stream dissolved the image.] We go back and hand in our homework. It's a sign! Other memebers of the clan have made similar reports. Can you describe him? I've never seen him myself. He was a swarthy man around my age. He looked different than me, yet I still felt a strong bond with him. Yes, others have said the same. Bond? Bond? Maybe I should tie myself to a stone near the stream? We were told not to read signs literally. He pointed at the place of the Tree's sightings. This is great news! We'll see it again soon, I'm sure. Take this sigil. You have served the clan.That's two for two, we can cash them in now.  Well done!He accepted the steel coins. The clan values action, as well as the intent behind it. Are you somewhat familiar with our philosophy?Before we progress any further, we'll have to make at least one of the following deductions.  "What is the Hon Clan" is at the very least a simple enough question to answer. I don't know if they'll like that answer, though.  I don't know if 'mystical phenomenon' is the right word, but it's the closest thing we're offered. There's clearly more going on than a simple in-game error in Knight's Code, and I don't think the clan has good enough control over it to actively make use of it. -Talk about clan rules -Talk about the Tree of Knowing I understand that the Tree of Knowing is the symbol of the clan's philosophy. What do you think this tree is? [Deduction] The Tree seems to be...a mystical phenomenon. I didn't manage to discover what it is, but I would like to learn more. None of us truly know what it is. Facing our own ignorance and imperfection is crucial for clan members. It's good you began to explore this mystery. Hon Clan Warriors seek the truth. Welcome! Enter the Stronghold! Your trial period begins now. As we head up the bridge, an enpec guide appears to give us a tour. If they're not available, I'll always be there. Come on, I'll show you around! The Stronghold is full of resources waiting for recruits. Bring all collected iron, crystals or timber here, to the Forge Mistress. She puts them in warehouses, the small structures to the south. For every set of resources, the Forge Mistress will give you a Gomuin. Warehouses are part of the Forge. In the Forge, you can craft items using collected resources. Use them for the clan's benefit! Recipes for forging items will pop up before your eyes on different occasions. Any you discover will be found in a book lying on the pedestal by the Forge. This is where Mistress Eternal Cocoon works. She's the clan's main Shield. Most games call them 'tanks', but we don't use that word. I'm sure she'll have some tasks for you. By completing them, you do the clan a service. Across the bridge is Master Rock Borer. He deals with the Tree of Knowing's signals. You can also see the bell measuring our time there. Up here, there's a Vault with precious spoils and items. Every disciple can store their belongings there and not worry about their safety. The vault is tended to by Master Goldwielder. I'm sure he'll have some tasks for you as well.You may be sensing a theme here, and it’s not one I like. I'm only showing you the most important things. Is there anything that interests you further?-Cautiously ask about Ken -Ask about those who have entered the Tree of Knowing -Ask about the clan's opponents My friend talked me into entering this game. He was a member of Hon, but I don't see him anywhere. There are notes about all clan members in Lord's house, but we protect privacy. You can't go in there. Try asking around. All right, let's go to the main square now. See that man with a halo over his head? That's Lord Enlightened. He's just left his house. Next to him is Mistress Umbra, his right hand. Now, quiet. Lord is about to speak.  You can see it through your commitment. The clan can help you with that. We are living in a sea of possibilities. But without an important goal, possibilities are nothing, and nothing will satisfy you. The Demiurge in the Tree of Knowing shows the way to enlightenment. The Tree is His tool and our chance for enlightenment. Join the Demiurge's army. It's our duty to protect the Tree from those who want to use it for their own interests. As members of the Hon Clan, you pledge to self-improve and protect the Tree until the end of the world. Repeat the vows.-Mutter something -Repeat with the others [I didn't want to chant that I was a blunt weapon that needed to be forged. Nor some crap about the world ending. I tried to mutter in time with the others, but as vaguely as possible.] Congrats, recruits. You may begin your trial period in the clan. Prove your trustworthiness, and you may stay for good. Life in the Stronghold is divided into cycles. Each cycle numbers ten bells. In each cycle, you need to produce at least one Poteto Gomuin. After ten bells, the cycle ends, and you must return here to hand your Poteto Gomuin to Tributary. Then another cycle begins. The trial period lasts seven cycles. Earn your Poteto Gomuin, contribute to the clan, and after ten bells, return here. Good luck.We'll be getting into what exactly that entails next update. Sure hope you haven't had your fill of pointless fetch quests.  As a bonus, let's try the cat path. This time, we make a deduction about the Tree of Knowledge before heading in.  [They were looking for mystical signs. I decided to give them one. I used my paw to draw the number 314 in the sand. It happened to be part of my would-be killer's handle.] [Ogien] 314! Did you see that? It's a mystical number. It's a sign, right? [Upyours314] Cats definitely shouldn't be able to write. Especially mysterious numbers. I think we should report this to Beetle. They run off, leaving us free to sneak into the compound. We walk pass the guards with no comment, but as we step on the bridge...  [I couldn't move or say anything. He was blocking my skin.] People's urge to break the rules is interesting. It doesn't make sense. Why enter a game if you don't want to play it? You put so much effort into it...Why force the door if it's easier to use the handle? I won't throw you out. The Hon Clan needs people with that kind of commitment. Keep playing, but behave as befits a recruit.He then forcibly transforms us back into a human, the tour guide walks up to meet us, and the segment after that plays out as usual. Next update - Exploring the Stronghold! Solving mysteries! Running pointless errands! Actually, mostly just that last one.
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Nov 1, 2022 11:10
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Jester! I will see you broken before me!
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Nov 1, 2022 11:42
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Well, the cat result is a pretty direct show of where this is going, somehow. Of course, the developers decided to make the Hon Clan as evil as possible it seems. What kind of monsters would give out multiple pointless fetch quests!?
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Nov 1, 2022 15:46
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I assure you, I was intensely disappointed the cat path did not result in an entire alternate branch of the stronghold infiltration where you spend the entire time doing Tactical Catspionage Action. Would have definitely been more interesting than what we got.
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Nov 2, 2022 02:38
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Someone make a feline espionage tactical action game TIA. You can call it Felix Cattus, Agent of M.E.O.W. (Mercenary Espionage Operations Worldwide) or something even dorkier.
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Nov 2, 2022 08:19
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Game's free on Epic right now: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/gamedec
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Jan 13, 2023 21:20
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