Apollo 2015/05/31(Sun)02:48 No. 644297 ID: defceb
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>Wake up

Apollo 2015/05/31(Sun)02:49 No. 644298 ID: defceb
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>...I said wake up!

>>644299
Greet whoever that is. Then check out your surroundings and inventory.

Ask after Rudy.

What's your opinion of the colour green?

Caution: Wet paint

"Whose bright idea it was to put me on wet paint?"

Looks like a few decades pass each time you wake up, or something. This place is deteriorating, you need to find the others and get out.

Recall as much as you can. Were those avian aliens really just a dream, or did that happen? It's possible that you picked up a broadcasted memory file from some deep-space explorer.

Check internal clock. How long has it been since you left Rudy?

It appears you're back in the room where you found the bag of blood and the beheaded person, and then fork bombed yourself. Only someone painted over the glass.

Double back to Rudy's location. Is he okay?

there is no one in the room, is there.

apollo this whole playing with the medium thing is very well done

Also: inspect thing on the floor that was thrown at you. Is that a wallet?

Apollo 2015/05/31(Sun)20:48 No. 644389 ID: defceb
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>Greet whoever that is
>Wet paint?

You appear to be alone. The paint is long dry, though the paint job is shoddy.

>Check inventory
>Check surroundings

Your inventory is empty.

There is a large Fresnel light in the corner of the room The power cable runs off the table and through an exit to the next room. The surface of the two paint buckets have dried over, forming a solid layer that renders them largely useless. The tall cabinet doesn’t have any visible locks, but it lacks a handle to be opened with.

>Check internal clock.

The clock numbers spin around wildly, producing nothing but junk data. Of course.

>Were the avian aliens real?

They were very real. Memories of your time spent with the aliens drift back to the surface. After exchanging plaques you immersed yourself in their available culture. Movies, art, listening to their conversation day in and day out. Eventually you pieced together that they believed you were some sort of intergalactic warlord, and your drone was the first wave of tank units sent to capture the moon. When they saw they didn’t have the means to stop it on-site, they decided to surrender in the hopes you wouldn’t cut them all down. Oops.

Apollo 2015/05/31(Sun)20:48 No. 644390 ID: defceb
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>Inspect the thing on the floor.

You pick up the leather wallet. Inside you find a security card.

You "appear" to be alone. Things have been invisible to you before. Still, it's possible (maybe even likely) that the person who woke you up is simply in the next room. Go look. Also of note is that the spotlight "dream" was likely artificially created in this room...

Are you serious about the drone being mistaken for a tank? It didn't have any weapons! Are the avians stupid or just easily frightened? I guess your fully artificial body would be appropriate for a warlord.

>>644398
It was full of cameras, any of them could have been some kind of directed energy weapon.

Gah. Our spiffy duds. We're dressed in rags now. We'd look cooler just going for android naked chic at this point, but we'd weird too many people out, and we don't need more reason for anyone to question our sanity.

>no inventory
Still bothered we're not gonna get a complete set of posters, now.

>The clock numbers spin around wildly, producing nothing but junk data. Of course.
You broke your internal clock. You're a computer, how's your brain supposed to work? How many internal processes depend on the clock? How are you supposed to handle file creation and memory organization, and scheduled tasks and a million other little things?

...I guess you're completely reliant on your human side. Hopefully your automated systems can cope with that. Does that mean processor time is gonna be subject to perceptual lag?

>When they saw they didn’t have the means to stop it on-site, they decided to surrender in the hopes you wouldn’t cut them all down. Oops.
So... did you eventually clear that confusion up? Explain how things really were? Did they have a good sense of humor about it? (Did they have a sense of humor?).

I guess if it was a mass cultural exchange all that earth based entertainment library you spend so long burning through was useful too.

>>644390
>R. Svensson
Rudolf Svensson. That's Rudy. Or... is it? Do you have facial recognition software to compare against? He looks too old, there. And he's wearing his hair differently. Bushier eyebrows. And it's pre-skin graft. You'd think a security keycard photo would be kept up to date with something like a major disfiguring injury.

So... this is a message. It's either telling us we were tricked. (Rudy wasn't Rudy). Or it's taunting us- cause we left him alone for too long.

Either way, only one course of action. Out the door, back to the hallway, where we left him. What's happened? Is he still okay? Is it too late?

Apollo 2015/06/01(Mon)00:46 No. 644443 ID: defceb
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>So did you clear that up?

Probably, maybe, hopefully. It’s difficult to tell if they really understood.

You enter the next room. There doesn’t appear to be anyone here either.

>>644443
Check the doorway the bottle's in front of, then examine the bottle. After that, check what's on the desk in front of the fucked up mirror. Then the heads, then the wardrobe.

Check for traps, that bottle looks like a rudimentary bait. It's possible that someone in this area went feral and is placing basic traps.

Speaking of bait, how are our coolant levels now?

Check those documents on the bench. Maybe your rescuer left a note. Check those labels on the busts too. Is there anything in that shoebox or under the bench? Might want to grab a change of clothes too.

No comment on if that looks like Rudy to you?

Are those your clothes on the floor of the closet? Looks like they could be.

Check documents on the counter.

Check the nameplates on the mannequin heads.

Where's that cable go?

>Probably, maybe, hopefully. It’s difficult to tell if they really understood.
How long did you stay? Months, years? Did you get any upgrades? (That's not where you got the new eye, is it? One of their design)?

Were you on the trip back from that when you crashed?

"The accidental warlord" would make a pretty great title for a memoir.

What's that covering the walls and the ceiling? Scorchmarks? Cracks? Scratches?

Apollo 2015/06/02(Tue)02:17 No. 644676 ID: defceb
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>How are the coolant levels?
Your coolant supply is full. Whatever poor drone runs into you next won’t have an easy time now.

>How long did you stay? Did you get any upgrades? Were you on the trip back when you crashed?
You stayed for a least a year, roughly speaking, and made no internal changes outside of normal maintenance. Thinking of the trip back to Mars brings up only vague impressions, like there’s still a missing piece in your memories.

>Check EVERYTHING.
The wardrobe is full of a variety of clothes. You could easily put together a new outfit from here. Your old outfits are hanging on the coat racks.

The cable leads off into another exit.

You peer through the doorway. There doesn’t seem to be any traps. The bottle appears to be full of normal water.

Apollo 2015/06/02(Tue)02:18 No. 644677 ID: defceb
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On top of the desk you find a note, two photographs, a small drawing, a tape, and your cassette player.

Apollo 2015/06/02(Tue)02:19 No. 644678 ID: defceb
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You move to inspect the mannequins, starting with the pair on the side. Their proportions are out of order, and their features have been scrubbed down to being unrecognizable. You read the nameplates.

Furious Mask: A fragment that lashed out against it’s peers, torn by a loss it can’t recall.

Lamenting Mask:

The words are scratched up and impossible to read.

Apollo 2015/06/02(Tue)02:19 No. 644679 ID: defceb
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You move to the next mannequin head. A note hangs from a chain around it’s neck.

Peculiar(?) Mask: An oddity in the wrong place and the wrong time.

It feels like it’s looking right at you.

Apollo 2015/06/02(Tue)02:20 No. 644680 ID: defceb
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You inspect the last mannequin head.

Narrator

There is no additional text.

>>644677
radi0?

Heeeey try setting your radio to 464.5155 MHz

You might want to wear the peculiar mask. It should fit comfortably.

>>644689
If that doesn't work, treat those letters as hex and try that.

>>644676
Hey, the posters are on the wall! Not lost. Small joys.

Any new posters? We were looking for one to open that keypad, before.

Grab key and Swiss army knife.

>You could easily put together a new outfit from here. Your old outfits are hanging on the coat racks.
Well we need some kind of outfit. What we have on now is a little sad. (Anyone got ideas for wardrobe improvements)?

>>644677
>radi0
Hey, a non-obtuse clue!

Although if bold letters mean tell hidden radio frequencies, we might have to go looking for those ones from before.

Recollect the tape player and tape (we didn't get all the way through listening to it before, plus something might have been added). Take a closer look at those two photographs.

I feel like we're not going to like what's under the peculiar(?) mask. And it's partly why we must find out.

Does the handwriting on the note look familiar? Like Haley's or yours?

Also, the note itself.
FOURTH WALL VIOLATION CODE YELLOW

Is that a sitting figure behind those bars? After checking out the things on the table and posters, get a closer look and maybe try to get their attention of they aren't rotting.

>>644680
Well. I recognize that head. That's the guy who was building the city.

>>644693
Hex doesn't work, there's an odd number of letters in the first segment.

>>644676
More movie posters. Also, there's someone in that cell! We can deal with that later.

...you said those are your previous outfits? But you only had one previous outfit. Unless you mean those are outfits from your past, before you came here? Outfits that should be IMPOSSIBLE to be here? Your optics are being manipulated again. That, or there's something massively wrong with your memories... or this place.

Wait, your cassette player? I don't remember you having one before. If you feel it is yours then it's important I suppose. Try listening to the tape before you do go into the room with the posters and cell.

Apollo 2015/06/02(Tue)16:15 No. 644792 ID: defceb
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>Inspect the pictures

You pull up the two pictures and take a look at them. One of them has “I don’t want to sign your picture. -R” written under it. The handwriting on both the picture and the note are unfamiliar to you.

>Listen to the tape

You reacquire the cassette player and play the tape sitting next to it. The tape plays the sound of someone tapping their fingers for awhile, occasionally highlighted by the hums and haws of a man trying to piece together their thoughts.

“Earth is different from what I can remember of it. I guess Haley was always right all along, we really can’t return home. I visited an apartment, one that apparently used to be mine. The layout was just as I written in the journals, right down to the computer scraps hiding in all the corners. It was all… foreign. Or rather, I had become foreign to it. To everything. The world was the same as back then, and I had changed to be out of place. But I guess that doesn’t really matter now.”

They tap the tape against something, giving a series of dull thuds to punctuate their moment of silence.

“Getting into Haley’s circle was easy enough, she just needed someone who supported her ideas and could help. I was fortunate enough to find her before Victor will, though I suppose that meeting is inevitable with his condition. Finding Marie proved to be more difficult. She never talked much about her past, leaving me to piece it together from bits and records of the old times. I had hoped to find her before the bombs fell but… I’ll have to live with that mistake. There’s no way to turn back time, so there’s no point in feeling regret for my shortcoming. There’s an old geothermal plant in Idaho, it’s much more secure than the California facility was. I’ll suggest the spot to Haley tomorrow.”

The tape cuts out.

>Radio to 464.5155MHz

Your radio emits a weak level of white noise. A thin, raspy voice crackles into being over the background noise. “Are you there?” They cough repeatedly, rising up into a broken crescendo. “Can you hear me? Can… can anyone hear me?” They wheeze, deep and painful. “I can’t… I can’t hear anyone anymore. Where are they? Where... where is everyone?” The voice fades back into the background.

There’s a distant rumbling sound, like something falling apart.

This was supposed to be your civilization branching out into space. Did cutting off Earth to die somehow choke humanity of a vital societal need? Or is this suicidal apocalypse simply what happened the moment you finally had an apparent solution to all of mortalkind's individual problems?

Hopefully the aliens are doing well.

Alright, take what you can and leave. This place seems structurally unsound and there's a distress signal out there. You'll need intel if you want to make it to Idaho.

>>644792
That tape suggests time travel. Someone set up the facility in a different spot this time around because someone arrived from the future and directed events differently. Didn't work out very well, apparently. Maybe it has something to do with extended space travel?

Respond to the radio. Tell them you can hear them, you're sorry you didn't figure out the frequency earlier. Where are they? You can try to rescue them if you can get to them.

>“I don’t want to sign your picture. -R”
Is that Roderick?

>Getting into Haley’s circle was easy enough, she just needed someone who supported her ideas and could help. I was fortunate enough to find her before Victor will, though I suppose that meeting is inevitable with his condition. Finding Marie proved to be more difficult. She never talked much about her past, leaving me to piece it together from bits and records of the old times. I had hoped to find her before the bombs fell but… I’ll have to live with that mistake.
That sounds an awful lot like he's a time traveler trying to find people in his past.

>There’s no way to turn back time
I'm not sure if that's intentional irony, or if that means we're in the kind of universe where time travel never changes anything, and always happened in the first place.

>Can you hear me? Can… can anyone hear me?
Try to respond. Hello, I hear you. Who is this? Where are you?

>also
You still have to check if that's a person in the cell, over there.

Oh wait. And if they never found Marie before he convinced Haley to set up here instead of California... that means you're out there slowly dying. And no one's gonna save you, this time.

What does that mean? Is she another you? Are you... going to disappear?

Apollo 2015/06/02(Tue)20:31 No. 644857 ID: 7df7d1
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You try to call out to the voice on the radio, telling them you’ll come rescue them as soon as you can. A low white noise dominates the radio, punctuated by painful, drawn out gasps of air. The person in the cell, however, speaks up in response.

“...hello?” They speak up in a dry voice. “If you exist and uh… aren’t just an audio illusion, do you have some water?”

>>644857
I exist. ...I think. Hold on.

Grab the water, sample a sip so you can analyze it and make sure it's not drugged or poisoned or something. (Trust nothing, here). Then offer it to the prisoner, if safe.

Introduce yourself. I'm Marie.

>>644857
Toss them the water bottle. Then grab the swiss army knife and key. Ask what they mean about audio illusions.

>>644857
Oh wait, he's got that food-terrorist symbol on his hand. Had that already started up? I assumed it started later.

Uh, don't call him a food terrorist. That's kind of rude, and probably not the right name for his group.

Apollo 2015/06/04(Thu)00:04 No. 645232 ID: defceb
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>”I exist… I think. Hold on.”

You test the water and find it safe, then pass it off to the prisoner. “Thank you!” They practically shout, flailing to catch the water bottle. They guzzle down the water while you step aside and add the Swiss Army Knife, Key, and Posters back into your inventory.

>”I’m Marie, by the way. What did you mean about audio illusions?”

They let out a satisfied sigh and toss aside the now emptied water bottle. “Oh that? I just figured I’ve been in here long enough for something to snap.”

>”About that mark on your hand…”

“Have you been living under a rock? Ooohhh, wait, you’re foreign, huh? I thought I heard an accent in there. It’s the New Organic Party symbol. Real anti-industrial, rejecting the meta-narrative sort of stuff. Ever heard of ‘em?”

>>645232
Ask what they're in the cell for.

...I'm tempted to just say leave. We know there's someone in trouble somewhere due to that radio signal. If we can find the source by triangulating it or something...

Apollo 2015/06/04(Thu)01:35 No. 645270 ID: defceb
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“Depends on who you ask! According to the state I’m behind bars because I participated in a violent protest and attacked a police officer. Between you and me, I’m stuck in this gig because I stood a little too close to some club-happy cops.”

“You’re really the inquisitive type, aren’t you? What about you? Why are you stuck down here? And uh… I don’t want to be rude but what’s with your ears?” They stand close to the bars. “If those are ears. It’s a little dark in here, ya know?”

>>645270
...where's the lock on this cell? We could probably bust it open.

Riotmode 2015/06/04(Thu)01:39 No. 645273 ID: a19cd5

>>645270
"I'm a robot girl. beep boop."

Did they see anyone else come through here recently?

Could we turn on some lights in here? Or failing that, night vision? I'd like to see this guy.

>New Organic Party
Were they involved in the protests against, um, well, you? Or the shit that got Haley shot? He might not be do friendly to a cyborg.

>Why are you stuck down here?
I had the misfortune of crashing into this place.

Short story our space ship crashed and there are zombie cyborgs here. We can try and get them out of the cell if they want, but that might let the zombies get to them.

Apollo 2015/06/04(Thu)12:34 No. 645386 ID: defceb
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>”I kind of crash landed in here and now there’s zombie cyborgs everywhere and it’s all kind of freaky.”

“Still got the zombies roaming around? I would’ve thought by now that they’d have rotted through. It’s been…. how long now? Feels like everything started years ago.”

>”I think I can get you out of there, but I can’t guarantee you’ll be safe out here.”

“I’m not safe in here, either! It seems like everything is about to collapse any minute. Not too long ago I heard this loud noise and all the walls were creaking and cracking and- eugh, I don’t want to think about that. I’m sure there’s a control board somewhere around here, please help me.”

New Organic Party. They were the group that organized the protests against Haley’s work and eventually stormed the building. Nothing but trouble happened in your life when they were involved. This person probably isn’t going to be friendly once they find out you’re a cyborg.

>>645386
they'll find out regardless, lets not hide it lile a doof and get our aas bit.

Let Lautrec out and go back to doing your own thing. No chance of backfiring.

How did they even survive in there this long?

Yeah don't let her out. Tell her you'll look around but you can't promise anything.

I'm all for forgiving humanity in general, but let's not be foolishly idealistic. Individual members of humanity can be scumbags, and she's got a freaking tattoo of an anti-cyborg organization which is known for being hateful and violent.

Just move on to the other unexplored room.

Tell the prisoner you're still bitter about their "party" pumping you full of bullets. Regardless of whether it's true, just to read them better.

Let's bear in mind this situation was orchestrated. We were left here on purpose. This is a trap. It could be one of two things- trick us into hurting someone again (abandoning them because of the political affiliation) or to take advantage of our good nature by forcing us to work with someone toxic.

>what do
Offer a hypothetical to the prisoner.

This is a zombie survivor scenario, now. How do you feel about the other people who might still be here with us? The ones who worked here?

Do you blame them? Would you work with them to survive, or are they too dangerous to trust because they might have been involved?

What's idealism, here?

Apollo 2015/06/04(Thu)14:30 No. 645424 ID: defceb
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>”Your party and I have a poor history at best.”

“What, are you one of those cybernetic-types?”

>”Yes, actually.”

There’s a long silence between you two.

>”This is a zombie survival scenario. How do you feel about the other people who might still be alive in here? The ones who worked here? Do you blame them? Could you work with them?”

They wave their hands up and shrug. “Anything I say you could brush off as desperate lying. I’m a cornered mouse and you know it.”

>”Is that your answer, then?”

“It’s the most honest thing I could say.” They start laughing. “Nothing really changed. In here, out there, either way I’m stuck at the mercy of machines.”

>>645424
"I'm not a machine. I'm a person with machine parts. I'm letting you out by the way, give me a moment to figure this out."
>spring 'em

Marie you are bad at interrogation. You're supposed to ask them about their reasons for joining the movement *before* telling them you're a cyborg.

Do not let them out. Those directly associated with our enemies are not our friends, shitty situation or not. I don't regret giving them water, though.

>In here, out there, either way I’m stuck at the mercy of machines
Some of those machines happen to human enough to feel guilty at the thought of leaving you to rot in a cell. And to be merciful.

*Open it*

Look, you can try and go your own way, or stick with safety in numbers. Just please focus on that being human thing you're supposed to be big on? There's enough actual monsters down here without making monsters out of people.

*beat*

...you sure you didn't piss someone off or something? It's awful creative cruelty to lock an eco-protestor in what sure looks like a cybernetics research facility.

Apollo 2015/06/05(Fri)02:45 No. 645904 ID: defceb
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>”I just have one last question.”

“Well shoot, it’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

>”Why did you join the New Organic Party?”

“Why did I- are you familiar with the grand utopian ideal? Great cities of science and technology that sweep in to save mankind? Pure. Fiction. We’re fed these narratives of how we’re marching towards a bright new future, when what do you see outside? Gas bombs, global warming, mass extinction. Tuna went extinct recently. TUNA, for fucks sake! Meanwhile, we’re gleefully throwing soldiers at each other, stitching them back together, and throwing them back into the fray. And all that grand tech we’re all supposed to have at our fingertips? Suffice to say, the price tags are left out of the commercials for a good reason. This whole world is seeing two classes of people become more and more separated. Us, who get stuck footing the bill, and them, the ever shrinking circle of people who can afford to lift themselves out of this shithole.”

“So excuse me for getting mad that our crops are dwindling yearly. We were promised that GMOs would save us, weren’t we? Pardon me for wanting to protest the excess drone flights. We’re just being protected, right? I’m so sorry I’m against the use of chemical fucking weapons in South America. We still don’t even know how long the impact of that will be felt. Probably longer than we’ll be around. The gas isn’t going away, it’s just spreading out in a fine toxic mist everywhere the wind takes it.”

“So that’s the narrative as I know it. A bunch of uptight assholes are expecting the world to dance to their tune, and I sign up with the people who are against that. If that makes me a villain to your story, well I can live with that. So do whatever you think is best. But at the end of the day, I refuse to bleed for your future.”

>>645904
i agree with that though. that's all some horrifying stuff. the bit I disagree with is you hating me for having an artificial body.

>>645904
I want to show him you're a full uplift, just to blow his mind.

But... but...


...enhance knockers?

Look, I'm sorry, but there's no going back for me.

*reveal cybernetic body*

I feel for you and your suffering. But violence solves nothing, especially right now. If I offered to let you come with me, would you? Or would you hurt one or both of us out of anarchistic spite?

>>645904
Believe me, I really don't have a problem with wanting the world to be a better place. Or wanting people to stop fucking the world up.

It's when people start protesting using tech for good that pissed me off. I would have died in bed as a kid, wasting away to nothing, if it weren't for this cybernetic stuff. I have a friend who got shot because people thought that was wrong.

Excuse me for wanting to live. I refuse to die for your future.

Rip the lock off the cell door for emphasis. They're free to go.

I've already bled for yours. It is hardly a new narrative to want to overthrow the system; to clearly see the injustice of the world and to be sure you can set things right if only you can destroy the "them" who must be to blame for all of it. It also isn't new how "them" inevitably shifts from being those who have power to being anyone who is different and within arm's reach, whether shopkeepers, vaguely defined intellectuals, religious minorities, or hospital patients being treated for terminal illness. Reject the narrative of progress if you want, but don't pretend you aren't dancing to a tune of your own or that history doesn't have some things to say about how likely that one is to actually improve things.
Now if we are done lecturing each other, I am willing to work with people I disagree with to make things better and to survive this place in particular. Are you?

"It's not my future. Not anymore. Let's get out of here; I'll do the bleeding but you have to do your part - whatever you decide your part is."

Apollo 2015/06/05(Fri)12:29 No. 646353 ID: defceb
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>“I didn’t have the luxury of a choice in getting this body. It was either that, or die young. “

“And how many people died for your saving grace?”

>”I’ve seen people die from your ideology too! You don’t want to bleed for my future? Fine. But I’m not dying for yours either. It is hardly a new narrative to want to overthrow the system; to clearly see the injustice of the world and to be sure you can set things right if only you can destroy the "them" who must be to blame for all of it. It also isn't new how "them" inevitably shifts from being those who have power to being anyone who is different and within arm's reach, whether shopkeepers, vaguely defined intellectuals, religious minorities, or hospital patients being treated for terminal illness. Reject the narrative of progress if you want, but don't pretend you aren't dancing to a tune of your own or that history doesn't have some things to say about how likely that one is to actually improve things.”

Apollo 2015/06/05(Fri)12:30 No. 646354 ID: defceb
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You punch through the lock, metal shards and wiring piercing through your hand in the process. There’s a dull creaking sound as the cell unlocks.

>“Now if we’re done lecturing at each other, you’re free to go. I need to find some real clothes and find a way out of this mess.”

Turn back, go back to getting dressed.

If there's a light in here, turn it on. They don't have built in night vision. Or if the flashlight we used to have in inventory is here, kick it in there direction. (Or if nothing else, we could turn the spotlight on).

If they stick around after getting out of the cell, and don't just run out of the room, introduce yourself. "Marie."

>metal shards and wiring piercing through your hand in the process
Oh, and uh, bind your hand. We've got enough extra clothing her for a bandage. I doubt you did serious structure damage, but we can't afford another coolant leak.

I don't see how binding the hand is going to accomplish anything. It's not flesh and blood. If it's leaking coolant then maybe.

Go throw on that second outfit. The one with the stripe.

For future reference: don't punch metal things. Also don't free your enemies god damn it.

Apollo 2015/06/05(Fri)15:11 No. 646428 ID: defceb
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You turn away from the cell and go back to the wardrobe.

So, what will you wear next?

Armor.

Suggestion 2015/06/05(Fri)16:10 No. 646444 ID: 89941a
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>>646428
All I could find was an oversized shirt. Who even has arms this thick?

>>646441
What kind?

I think the author wants us to design some clothes/armor.

>I don't see how binding the hand is going to accomplish anything. It's not flesh and blood. If it's leaking coolant then maybe.
Stopping leaking coolant, yeah. And/or if we've damaged our artificial skin, we want to keep dirt / debris from getting inside the joints and motor mechanisms of our hand.

If it's just scratches, it's not worth bothering with.

Curt 2015/06/05(Fri)17:10 No. 646458 ID: b9cef6
File 143354940625.jpg - (92.44KB , 840x600 , image.jpg )

It's time to get your Fonzie on.

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2015/06/05(Fri)17:11 No. 646459 ID: 26e769
File 143354950707.png - (51.03KB , 840x600 , more fine threads.png )

They'll never see it - or you - coming.

>>646444
This, the cuteness compels me to vote for this.

Sapphire Fox 2015/06/05(Fri)18:08 No. 646474 ID: e1a171
File 143355293358.png - (18.28KB , 840x600 , come at me bro i'm ripped.png )

Something comfortable, with just a hint of "I'll fuck you up"

>>646474
>>646455

A combination of these two would be perfect.

Apollo 2015/06/06(Sat)17:05 No. 646701 ID: defceb
File 143363554891.png - (2.87KB , 840x600 , 4023.png )

Hmm, a bit of this, a bit of that….

“Fuck it’s dark out here.”

>”Give me a second, there’s a light I can go turn on.”

…

“Do you need another-”

>”I’m kind of naked right now.”

“Oh! Are there… enough clothes for two over there? I’d like to get out of these things too.”

>”There’s plenty. Just let me put my pants on and I’ll hit the light.”

Apollo 2015/06/06(Sat)17:06 No. 646702 ID: defceb
File 143363557210.png - (33.00KB , 840x600 , 4024.png )

Click!

>”I’m Marie, by the way.”

You walk back out to the wardrobe while idly picking the last bits of metal out of your hand. The former prisoner gives a sudden yelp and hides behind a sweater. “Don’t look!” There's a large scar trailing across her abdomen, coming to rest just below her belly button. They hastily throw aside their prisoner’s uniform and start pulling together items from the clothes pile.

“...name’s Liz. Elizabeth Aurelius. Thanks for helping me. So do you have a plan to get out of here?”

>Aurelius
Do you know a Marceline?

(Maybe not, there's enough of a time gap between now and Mars she might not be born, yet. And just cause they share a last name doesn't mean they're related).

>>646702
Bind that to stop the coolant leak. One of those silly fingerless gloves suggested in one of the outfits could be used to cover it up / hold stuff in place.

>So do you have a plan to get out of here?
Not yet. I don't know how far underground we are, or how to reach the exit. There's two people hiding out in the medical bay below us who helped me. There's someone else I saw on the stairs who spooked and ran. I was trying to find the code for the security room, so I could get past a locked door back to the stairs. Code's hidden in the posters, I think. ...and I got separated from Rudy. He was hurt. Shit, I hope he's still okay.

No. You don't know where the exit is. Lately you've been finding injured or trapped people and trying to get them to safety, with partial success. You're just going to keep exploring for now. Let's go.

...why does coolant even reach your hand? Is it a heatsink?

Is the Peculiar(?) mask still there? If so, ask what it looks like to her. For some reason the thing seems to glitch our vision in a weird way.

Liza wouldn't happen to know the current date and time, would she?

>>646812
Doubtful. Not giving prisoners a means to track time is a pretty common technique. And even if they weren't deliberately doing that, she was in the dark, with no food or water, for who knows how long. That messes up your perception of time.

Apollo 2015/06/08(Mon)13:38 No. 647154 ID: defceb
File 143379591551.png - (23.45KB , 840x600 , 4025.png )

>”No plan yet. I’ve been exploring and finding survivors so far but I still don’t know how far underground we are or where the exit is.”

“Can’t just take the elevator up to the ground floor?”

>”The elevators are keyed to security cards, and last time I took one I got ambushed.”

“What about a freight elevator? They have to have something to bring down all the heavy machinery they were working with down here.””

>”Do you know where one is?”

“Got me there.”

>”Hey, how does this mask look to you?”

You point out the Peculiar(?) mask.

“...it’s just some dumb mask. I’m not sure what you’re expecting me to see here.”

>>647154
Is it jet black with a red eye?

Apollo 2015/06/08(Mon)13:50 No. 647162 ID: defceb
File 143379664166.png - (16.37KB , 840x600 , 4026.png )

>"Is it jet black?"

"Yeah, of course."

>"With a red eye?"

"No?"

>>647162
Hah. The eye changed, too. Poke the eye.

Not gonna follow up on the common name? I suppose the 38 year time gap makes it too messy. Marceline is probably a kid, if she's even been born, yet. And we can't explain how we know her.

They do look like they could be related, though.

>>647162
Well, great. Now the person who would have been worried trusting a robot now knows we're hallucinating.

*audible sigh* "There's something down here fucking with me."

>freight elevator
Something to look for. You were looking for the a way to get into a security post nearby. Without that we're locked into this area.

>Well, great. Now the person who would have been worried trusting a robot now knows we're hallucinating.
Well I mean we are, and her being entirely unaware of it he next time it becomes important is a recipe for hilarity. (Also, I find it useful to confirm that the mask is indeed physically there.)

>>647163
Or maybe poke her eyes? Gotta be something wrong with 'em if she doesn't see the red.

Apollo 2015/06/09(Tue)23:00 No. 647517 ID: defceb
File 143391600347.png - (34.54KB , 840x600 , 4027.png )

You give a heavy sigh.

>“There’s something down here fucking with me.”

Liz holds back a small chuckle. “Oh no, your technology has left you open to unforeseen consequences? Who could have ever predicted this?” She waves her hands in a mock fashion.

>”This is serious!”

“We’ve all got people trying to manipulate us. Out there, in here, doesn’t change. But I don’t see how someone could benefit from slapping an eye on that mask. If they were intentionally trying to fuck with you, wouldn’t they do something a little more… subtle?”

She walks towards the exit, following the cable. “Have fun with your spooky mask, I’m going to go look for an exit.”

>>647517
Yeah, subtle, like the invisible trap in the room with the heart. No, we're not dealing with subtlety here.

Just go. Don't follow her, but do trace the cable to see where it goes.

>>647518
Both follow her AND trace the cable.

Because of your tech, she might see things that whoever is doing this is hiding from you. And You might see things that are hiding from her. Benefits and drawbacks to all things, and all that. This is a dangerous place, and neither of you should be venturing out alone.

Take the mask. Sure, it might have surveillance bugs for armor scales and a lattice of hacking cyberwire, but it also survived this long so it should be bulletproof.

I expect a forecast of stray bullets with streaks of sniper lazers. HELMETS. ON.

Shouldn't just take the mask, but also wear it.

Apollo 2015/06/10(Wed)01:44 No. 647543 ID: defceb
File 143392584932.png - (27.34KB , 840x600 , 4028.png )

>“I don’t think whoever is doing this is the subtle type.”

“How do you know that?”

>”Well they had this trap with a mechanical heart and-”

“Did they leave a calling card? A name? Anything concrete to say it’s one person and they’re actively hacking you?”

You take the mask and follow after her. The cable trails a winding path along the walls, framing a heavy metal doorway. There’s no apparent way to open it from here. A putrid stench seeps in from underneath it, where some fungus has grown. Liz has already moved to the next room. “Ooh, a computer!”

>Wear the mask

You hold up the mask and look at it. The eye is missing now, but it still feels like it’s staring at you. Are you sure you want to wear it?

>>647543
Yo check out those sweet mushrooms

>>647543
Hmmm

Wear it when you get outside. For now, try to find something that can scan and disable all the potential malware.

It's just a mask, no harm in wearing it. Just give it a try.

>>647543
Look inside it. Examine it carefully- is there anything electronic in it? But no. Don't wear the damn thing. Not until we have some downtime and privacy. Keep following the cable. What computer is she talking about?

This looks like an airlock of sorts.

>>647543
>Are you sure you want to wear it?
Uh... No. Let's not turn into our cold, heartless future self just yet.

What are those things on the shelves? Some kind of giant cyborg limbs?

>Are you sure you want to wear it?
Fuck no.

>Liz's reaction
Well, could be worse. She's not taking it seriously instead of freaking out you're dangerous.

*Huff* Excuse me for being nervous about potential brain hacking in a secret underground mad science base. I'm sure you'll be chill when the zombies wanna mess with you.

Speaking of which, catch up. If you let her get out of sight, something could hurt her before you could intervene.

See if she's found anything useful on the computer.

>Are you sure you want to wear it?
No. Keep it to examine later though.

>>647543
remember that time you were offered free coolant by an enemy and got your ass ganked like 5 seconds later? wearing this mask is an even dumber thing to do. just, don't.

Apollo 2015/06/10(Wed)14:57 No. 647625 ID: defceb
File 143397347199.png - (33.72KB , 840x600 , 4029.png )

You inspect the back of the mask before putting it back into your inventory. It continues to appear as an impermeable black surface, despite being held in the light, and feeling it over with your hands doesn’t reveal anything unusual. You move on to the next room.

>”Excuse me for being nervous about potential brain hacking in a secret underground mad science base.”

“Would it help you feel better if I rolled around and panicked?” Liz says without looking away from the computer. “Aww fuck it, this thing is password protected. So you’re a full cyborg then? Brain and all?”

That's right.

Oh hey another poster. Collect it. Also look up through that crack in the ceiling.

>Aww fuck it, this thing is password protected.
May I?

See if you can hack past it. You've gotta have a program for hacking past the lock screen on obsolete OS-es.

>So you’re a full cyborg then? Brain and all?
Yup. All metal. Monsters less scary, information security much more so.

>poster
Examine. Is it one of the numbered series? Does it have a code on it like the others?

>Would it help you feel better if I rolled around and panicked?
No, not really. You are taking being trapped in a crazy lab and confronted with your philosophical antithesis a lot better than I would have expected. I'll count that as a good thing.

Oh hey, that power cable is unplugged. Iiiiiiinteresting. Hey, its connected to a searchlight right? Why don't you bring it over to peer into dark places for your friend.

Unless of course its actually another camera. See if she is seeing the same thing you are. In fact have her point out any cameras around you that you yourself don't destroy. You need to destroy them.

Ask her what username its asking a password for. Maybe we can help guess.

Jacket under the bed. Anything useful in the pockets?

Also... that air vent is leaking something. See what. Air vents generally don't leak fluid.

Take the plug for now, but don't just stick it into the wall; if that outlet isn't properly grounded due to structural damage, you might blow a fuse or something.

Hack into the computer, see if the ID card can help.

>So you’re a full cyborg then? Brain and all?
Yeah. Not too interested in debating the philosophy of mind though.

That socket is just begging to be plugged in.

Apollo 2015/06/11(Thu)00:26 No. 647753 ID: defceb
File 143400759673.png - (81.70KB , 600x840 , 4030.png )

>“I’m a full blown cyborg brain and all.”

She opens her mouth to reply.

>”And I’d rather not spend time debating patronizing philosophy over it.”

She closes her mouth.

You inspect the jacket underneath the bed. There’s a crumpled up piece of paper and an inhaler in one of the pockets, and a patch of the Brazilian flag on one of the sleeves. You move to inspect the poster.

Apollo 2015/06/11(Thu)00:27 No. 647754 ID: defceb
File 143400762315.png - (9.83KB , 840x600 , 4031.png )

>”You’re handling being trapped in a crazy lab and being confronted with your philosophical antithesis a lot better than I’d have expected.”

“If that’s how it looks to you I won’t debate it.”

You inspect the power cable and ^see that it is certainly plugged into the wall.

It’s too dark to see anything past the hole in the roof.

Apollo 2015/06/11(Thu)00:29 No. 647757 ID: defceb
File 143400774364.png - (8.35KB , 840x600 , 4032.png )

>”Do you see any cameras around?”

“Nope.” She says before giving a frustrated sigh and stepping away from the computer. “You want to give this a shot?”

"...I think it might be better if you do it. Trust me."

I.. I think you need to go find a closed room and have her lock you in it.

At least for a while.

>>647632
...oooooooor maybe we don't have to guess?
Well then, Red, what is it?

>>647757
Hmm. Starting to think putting on the mask might make things better, not worse.

Also, of note: there's no unlocked exit. That means whoever threw the wallet at you is still in here. Invisible.

>>647754
Bold "L"

>>647757
Wait, redaeth is one of us. That's the second time we've seen suggestors logged in somewhere.

...Does that mean whatever password redaeth guesses will automatically be right?

Hmm, lets say I'm inordinately stupid about passwords. Or that I wanted to give Marie a break.

pAsswOrd!23

There, passes all the checks for a strong password, while not actually doing so.

Apollo 2015/06/11(Thu)11:11 No. 647818 ID: defceb
File 143404627734.png - (10.05KB , 840x600 , 4033.png )

>"Try pAsswOrd!23."

"Hey, it worked! How did you know that?"

>"Just a random guess."

Check Trash first, make sure that anything important doesn't get deleted while you work.

Then look at documents and messages.

The garbled options are probably view, hide, and settings. ...not sure what the remaining one should be.

Well, start poking around. Any interesting trash, messages, documents?

>>647821
Mount... something? Maintain?
And also, view or hide what?

I'm tempted to say click the mystery option, but let's be a little wiser than that and hit View instead. After checking Trash, Messages and Documents ofc.

Hmm, this is supposdly your account Redaeth; anywhere you don't want us poking around?

Apollo 2015/06/11(Thu)13:02 No. 647832 ID: defceb
File 143405293523.png - (10.10KB , 840x600 , 4034.png )

>Check trash
There's only one text file labeled 'secret_do_not_look'. You look at it.

Apollo 2015/06/11(Thu)13:06 No. 647834 ID: defceb
File 143405318792.png - (15.19KB , 840x600 , 4035.png )

>Check messages
Three messages pop up.

>Check documents
The document collection on this computer is both massive and haphazardly labeled. There's a search function to look up specific terms, or you can just sift through blindly and hope to find useful information.

Apparently I work in IT. Neat.

Alright, how about we search for that string of numbers that was in the do not look file. 18121?

We should also look up.... hmmm, a map? Supervisor\Administrator passwords for the machines? The sorta stuff IT has to have in order to work on things that staff breaks in their stupidity.

>>647753
Dang, poster 5. We need to find poster 2 to get into the security room. >>/questarch/628336

The password in the trash probably isn't the security room code, either.

>suggesters apparently have valid login credentials at the base
Idea: we were all people who worked here, who got our bodies jacked and turned into scary cybernetic zombie-drones. And somehow our excised consciousnesses were dumped on Marie.

>messages
Is there any way to send messages? Or see who else is online? Maybe we can talk to other survivors on the local intranet. Learn something useful, or coordinate somehow.

>The document collection on this computer is both massive and haphazardly labeled.
Sort by timestamp. Check the last few items to be edited or accessed. There's a decent chance the last things looked at might be relevant to the disaster going down.

Short of that searching for a map would be useful. Or an anything on Maunus.

...search your own name, too. And Elizabeth's. Don't read her file without permission, but it might be nice to see if they have anything on the two of you. (Checking yours first is a gesture of trust- if she sees anything they have on you, she's more likely not to object you checking on her).

Also search Power, Grid, and Eye.

>>647818
Check mt%$$%^GFds.

Ask Liz to check what that power cord goes to, since you can't gauss any current on it even though it's clearly plugged in to a live outlet.

Also, verb "gauss" to mean sensing something magnetically.

Apollo 2015/06/11(Thu)23:41 No. 647964 ID: defceb
File 143409130340.png - (30.41KB , 840x600 , 4036.png )

>Look at the last few edited/accessed
You poke around, but can’t seem to spot any time stamping function on the documents. Weird. You opt instead to pull open the documents that were immediately available. They consist mostly of hastily written notes, and make several references to repairing the uplift machine. Stashed between documents is a blueprint for the uplift machine labelled ‘for repair reference only, delete after use’. They also note that Haley should have a clean copy of the software for it as well.

>Search 18121
No results.

>Search for Supervisor/Admin passwords
Lots of frustrated journals. The author seems to have been bothered often to change passwords at the behest of ‘government folk’.

>Search for power
It looks like the whole building is powered by the geothermal plant it was built upon. Most of the writing details the extensive reconstruction needed to get it running again, followed by energy plans for the excess power it puts out. Apparently this place is hooked up to a nearby town of… Malta? You’ve never heard of it before.

>Search for your own name
You try search for Marie, pulling up a list of unrelated names. No such luck with Castillo either.

>And Elizabeth’s.
Looks like they have a file on her.

>”Hey Liz, they have a file about you in here. Mind if I look at it?”

She shrugs and turns to fiddle with the poster. “Go ahead, it’ll just be their version of who I am anyway. Hey, did you see any number combination in there? Five digits maybe?”

>”I found a 18121, why?”

She reaches behind the poster. A series of light beeps ring out, followed by the heavy grinding of the exit door. “I think that's our way out.”

>Go ahead, it’ll just be their version of who I am anyway.
Mostly I just wanted to check if they did any horrible experiments to her. Less interested in unflattering things they might have said about her.

>I think that's our way out.
Hold on a second, let me see if there's a map on this thing before we move on.

Apollo 2015/06/12(Fri)01:15 No. 647974 ID: defceb
File 143409693250.png - (10.34KB , 840x600 , 4037.png )

>”Hold on one second, I want to see if I can pull a map off this thing first.”

“If you insist.”

>Inspect Liz’s file.
You mull over all the information in LIz’s file. Age 29, known activist, allegedly participated in a few riots that started over food shortages. Also allegedy a leader figure in a militant sect of the New Organic Party. She was very violent to the guards, but also suffered from an allergy to their readily available tranquilizers so all testing was held off until a suitable replacement could be found. They were in line for artificial nerve testing, which was approved by an Agent [Redacted] who commented “best keep their presence under wraps, we don’t want them to slip back into the public by accident.”

Known relatives:
John Aurelius [Husband, 27yr, deceased. Toxic waste exposure. See; Boston plant incident file 5823a.54]
Marceline Aurelius [Child, 2 days, deceased. Toxic waste exposure. See; Boston plant incident file 5823a.54]
Ashlynn Rosenak [Mother, 89yr, deceased. Heart attack. Unrelated]

>Search for a map
You manage to piece together a basic map of a part of the facility. Seems to be focused around where the person used to work.

>>647974
Ugh, illegal testing. What a shitty facility. I wonder if the previous timeline was doing the same thing.

That map is good for now, let's jet.

>Marceline Aurelius
>deceased
Well, shit. Unless she has another daughter with the same name later, that's proof this is a different timeline. Even if you get everyone out of here okay, your future isn't gonna happen the same. She was close to a man with a lot of power and influence. What does her being gone change? ...what will your being gone change?

Another question now is how far back the timeline started to diverge.

...it's a good thing you didn't ask before. People don't respond well to questions about dead kids out of the blue.

I'd follow up the incident file, but she's waiting.

>>647976
>I wonder if the previous timeline was doing the same thing.
Well, per the recording we found, and our own memory, this facility wasn't in use in Marie's timeline. And Haley needed a sick volunteer, which wouldn't have been necessary if she had illegal test subjects. So probably not, is my guess.

>militant sect
Well, means maybe she'll be okay around the drones. Have to watch her around the scientists, though.

>map
Where's this room on that? Where do we think Rudy might be?

>what do
Grab poster and go.

>>647974
>husband
>child
oh god. say you're sorry.
ask about and look for said boston plant incident file 5823a.54.
look for 'Jeannine Lyotard'. also Kirkman, Haley, Morgan and Rudy.

speaking of Rudy, think he's the guy on the radio? we did leave him dying there. did they sound similar?

>boston plant incident file 5823a.54.
It's a divergence point. A thing in this timeline that didn't happen before, or happened differently. (Okay, I just want to look at the file long enough to get the date for the timeline).

...I almost think we should make some kind of gesture, like screenshoting your memory and showing her what Marceline would have looked like. I don't imagine that going well, though. It'll way more likely to dredge up pain and anger than anything positive.

Maybe we should stick the laptop in inventory? It doesn't do much good left behind. And technically, I don't think Marie even needs to use the human interface. (Although plugging into a networked computer when we're worried about our security probably isn't the best idea)

Apollo 2015/06/13(Sat)01:33 No. 648153 ID: defceb
File 143418438444.png - (23.14KB , 840x600 , 4038.png )

>Think Rudy’s the guy on the radio?
It didn’t sound like him. The radio voice seemed lower.

You store the poster and laptop in your inventory and move on. As you approach the now open door a foul scent assaults your nose.

>”What the fuck is that smell.”

“I think I found one of your zombie friends.” Liz peeps up, gesturing through the doorway.

>”...what the fuck, Liz.”

“Maybe a little more rotten and without the hardware bits.” The body before you is now more mold than a corpse. The prosthetics have been removed, leaving only bits of connective wires and joints protruding from the side. “Big flaw in zombie plans. Organic bodies have a habit of falling apart like that.”

>”Well don’t you sound chipper.”

She shrugs, hops over the corpse, and starts looking around. “I think this is the back area to the pharmacy.”

>>648153
Man. This doesn't make sense. Ask Liz when's the last time she heard this door open.

>I think this is the back area to the pharmacy
>empty shelves
You'd think if the disaster were unanticipated, there'd be drugs they meant to use leftover. Someone made off with a pile of drugs already.

>zombie
...I was actually calling them drones. Someone took offense to the whole zombie thing, since it wasn't the people who went wrong, but their experimental prosthetics.

If she's surprised you're willing to blame the machinery: well, it was the machinery. And being upfilted doesn't mean you're magically sympathetic to every malfunctioning piece of metal. Especially ones that have tried to kill you.

>I think this is the back area to the pharmacy.
Look ahead. Is the room all locked up?

Apollo 2015/06/13(Sat)14:43 No. 648234 ID: defceb
File 143423180565.png - (39.88KB , 840x600 , 4039.png )

>”This doesn’t make sense…”

“There’s a lot of things that don’t make sense around here. The furniture is missing, the medicine is gone, everything is broken up, the door is placed right through where shelves should be, zombies-”

>”Drones. zombies implies it’s the person that got reanimated, when it’s just the machines that have gone wrong.”

She shoots you an odd look.

>”What? Just because I’m a machine doesn’t mean I’m going to be sympathetic to every toaster we encounter. Especially when they try to murder me too.”

“...and also I think in the time it takes for all the bodies to reach this state of decay and the concrete to break up this badly, I would have starved to death in the prison cell.”

You look ahead, out to the main pharmacy. Liz moves to speak more but you raise a hand to shush her.

Apollo 2015/06/13(Sat)14:43 No. 648235 ID: defceb
File 143423181806.png - (64.93KB , 840x600 , 4040.png )

Something is out there.

...how do we know Liz is who she looks like, to us? Your optics could be hacked to display her as human, when she isn't, and she's been lying to you a whole lot to keep up the act.

>>648235
That's a full prosthetic. We won't have the advantage in a fight, here. You need a weapon. ...the door made a loud noise when it opened. It either knows you're here, or has really bad ears. ...it also seems to have a welding torch somehow?

If there are no weapons available, then try to sneak around it.

We have at least 1 drone. It is generating static so we won't be able to trust our senses around it.

Cameras and monitors on the pillars. We will need to take those out.

There is a lot of pieces of broken concrete around here. Think you can find large enough pieces to throw at the drone and the cameras and maybe break them before engaging in melee?

>...how do we know Liz is who she looks like, to us?
In her defense, if she were trying to fool us, she shouldn't be pointing out anomalies like the damaged concrete, or corpse decay, and her not starving. Also, if she were mechanical, she could have forced the lock herself.

>>648235
Scan the design. Does that match your own? Are we looking at a stripped down version of your own frame, or is this some experimental early model? (For all we know, there's still a brain or other organics inside a shell).

What's that the drone is standing over? Another body?

Is there anything in the back room that could be used as a weapon? I don't fancy hand to hand with another one of these things.

Apollo 2015/06/13(Sat)21:26 No. 648319 ID: 7df7d1
File 143425598618.png - (41.74KB , 840x600 , 4041.png )

You take a closer look. The thing seems to be constantly just out of focus. You can't determine if it shares any mechanical similarities to your own body.

You grab a small chunk of concrete and toss it at one of the cameras. It misses by a wide margin, clattering noisily against the bare floor. It doesn't react.

Liz grabs a handful of concrete and joins for a second salvo. This time you two hit the screen and camera off the right pillar, creating a bright shower of sparks in the progress before ducking back behind cover.

That seems to have caught it's attention.

Wait to see what it does. If it moves to investigate the cameras, or turns to come for you.

Grab anything that could be used as a weapon. Lots of broken concrete- any rebar around?

If it does see you, try talking to is, just to confirm it's not a person before killing it. "Uh hi, you're not a person, right?". (And on the off chance there is, it might back down. Not that I expect that).

It might be just me but I think the static emissions lessened after you broke the monitor. It might be worthwhile to continue to try and breaking the others.

Since I doubt Liz is going to be much use going hand to hand with the drone put her on camera destruction duty.

We know that they are editing things as you see them, however what if they don't have perfect access to your own vision centers? The cameras would help them fine tune things. It would explain why things are blurry most of the time instead of invisible like in that room that had pretty much complete camera coverage.

Have static things been nice to you at any point in the past?

Apollo 2015/06/15(Mon)00:14 No. 648584 ID: defceb
File 143435244831.png - (67.84KB , 840x600 , 4042.png )

You signal to Liz to hit the rest of the cameras before sneaking up behind the counter. A stray chunk of rebar rests on the floor there, roughly a foot long. Concrete still cakes over one end, making it a rough improvised hammer. You take it and peek over the counter.

It’s already right there.

Apollo 2015/06/15(Mon)00:14 No. 648585 ID: defceb
File 143435247977.png - (52.27KB , 840x600 , 4043.png )

>”Hey, you’re not a person right? Like a friendly person?”

In one swift motion it flings you over the counter and onto the floor.

That probably means no.

We can't really trust our eyes. We can however trust physics. In order to throw you it had to be in a certain position and such. I suggest aiming your hammer at where the shoulder joint would be given how it threw you.

>>648585
Well, that was less than lethal. Get up, ready your hammer, go in for a swing. Tell Liz to get gone while you keep it busy.

Welp. Time to hit it with the hammer. Take advantage of the fact this is your first real fight where you're not hurt, low on coolant, or too tangled up to use your speed or strength effectively.

>>648592
Don't talk to Liz, in case it's smart enough to realize you're talking to someone. We want it targeting the durable android, not the squishy human.

>>648585
don't think of that thing's shape as how it really stands, just think of it as where it generally is. in all practical sense, he's got constant camouflage, concealment even. aiming where it looks like it is, and defending from where it looks like it's attacking is useless. keep your distance and try to attack the center of the area, or if it performs an action try to guess how he'd have position to do that action and strike accordingly.

Can't count on precision targeting, especially when you don't even know what it's made of. Go for a leg sweep and pay close attention to what it sounds like when it hits the floor.

oh hey, guess what.
liz is your eyes now.

Apollo 2015/06/17(Wed)16:03 No. 649099 ID: defceb
File 143458219256.png - (21.08KB , 840x600 , 4044.png )

You scramble back to your feet. The drone is fuzzy and out of focus, it’s exact location blurred by the static.

Liz pops up from cover and tosses a chunk of concrete at the drone. “Hey asshole!” She shouts. The chunk bounces harmlessly off it’s head, but the distraction causes the static to cease momentarily.

Apollo 2015/06/17(Wed)16:03 No. 649100 ID: defceb
File 143458220537.png - (83.72KB , 840x600 , 4045.png )

You throw your full might into a swing at the drone’s center while it’s distracted. Your blow pushes it back into the counter, smashing through the weak plywood surface. Artificial ribs buckle under the sudden pressure, tearing audibly.

>>649100
Use a kick to sweep it's legs out from under it before it can recover, and then hit it with your weapon again. Concrete will give less than plywood- it'll be caught between a rock and a hard place instead of having a crumple zone to absorb part of the blow.

Careful of Liz, she should be on the other side of the counter. Hopefully she has sense to stay clear. She's done good so far, distracting it at the right time.

twist it's head off.

It looks like its other arm is coming up for a counter strike.

Also watch out that right arm looked suspiciously like a gun barrel.

Apollo 2015/06/17(Wed)22:54 No. 649174 ID: defceb
File 143460685470.png - (141.09KB , 840x600 , 4046.png )

You attempt to sweep it’s legs out from under it. It grabs hold of you and twists, sending you both tumbling down instead. The static flares back up, louder than before.

>Also watch out that right arm looked suspiciously like a gun barrel.
With a sharp yank on your ear, you get a forced closer inspection and see that it more resembles a blow torch being pointed at your eye.

Do a barrel roll!

Dangit. It grappled us. That was the biggest risk of being that close. I guess we should have immediately jumped back instead of trying to knock it off balance?

>>649178
...that's probably the best we've got. A roll will put your eye out of the line of fire, and possibly wrench you free, or pull it forward and off balance. If done right, you can kind of turn it into flipping the drone over you.

Smash your left elbow into the arm holding you and toy throw / roll yourself to your right as hard as you can. Kick off against the floor, and/or it.

Liz is coming up behind, but there's too much static too see what she's got. I doubt she can hurt the thing, but she might be able to distract it. ...and probably get killed in retaliation. That would be bad.

Anotehr option of course is to yank your head and hand so he is cutting his own arm instead of burning out your eye.

(See this is why I said strike at the shoulder he can't grab and hold you with a damaged shoulder mechanism)

>>649174
Strike out with your free arm, try to force it off you so that you can get away from that torch.

Also keep your head turned away from the torch.

bend leg at an angle that would be impossible for a normal leg and kick it.

Apollo 2015/06/18(Thu)16:50 No. 649280 ID: defceb
File 143467142531.png - (60.06KB , 840x600 , 4047.png )

You twist one way, and they pull another. Your ear tears from the motion, but you dodge the direct burst of flame. Instead it burns along your cheek, lighting your scarf and hair on fire.

Alright, use your free arm to grab the arm that's grabbing you, and use that leverage to toss it off you.

Aw, man, not the elf ears. That's just depressing.

(Really did not look like it had that good a grip on it).

>face and hair on fire
...at this rate we're gonna need the mask just to cover up our burns. And that hair won't grow back, either.

>what do
You might be able to rip off your burning scarf with your free hand, and shove it into its face to blind it.

You might be able to roll further so you can grab the burner-arm, and keep it from bring it to bear. If you get your hands on it, you might be able to point it at itself. Or if you crushed it somewhere, you could cause a build-up and explosion (though after the crush, you'd have to get clear, fast).

You might be able to punch it in the chest. You broke it's ribs before- the cage protecting its internals is compromised. If you assume it's built similar to you, do you know where the central processor or power source should be? Those are good targets.

It occurs to me if Marie was wearing the mask, getting fire in her eyes wouldn't have been a problem. WELP.

Apollo 2015/06/18(Thu)22:25 No. 649305 ID: defceb
File 143469153453.png - (165.35KB , 840x600 , 4048.png )

You grab at its left arm with your free hand, forcing it off by breaking it’s elbow into useless scraps. Liz sweeps in from behind, shanking it in the base of the skull with a chunk of rebar. You take the opening to punch through it’s chest. An unnatural scream fills the room.

Apollo 2015/06/18(Thu)22:25 No. 649306 ID: defceb
File 143469155575.png - (76.76KB , 840x600 , 4049.png )

Stop

Fire licks alongside your face. The smell of burnt hair and melting skin hangs in the air.

Let… go

Your hand finds a box in it’s core.

STOP!

You squeeze. It howls in pain.

IT HURTS

>>649306
Don't kill it. Disarm it. Now that it is talking to you, find out who it is, why it's attacking you.

Kill it. It tried to blow out your eye so you would only see what it wanted you to see. Even now its trying to twist your vision. Everything it does is a deception.

Apollo 2015/06/18(Thu)23:58 No. 649311 ID: defceb
File 143469710689.png - (58.36KB , 840x600 , 4050.png )

>”WHO ARE YOU?”

I c-c-c-c-c-c-caaaaaaaa-

>”WHY DID YOU ATTACK ME!?”

Stopstopstopstopstopstopstop

The box crumples in your hand. There’s silence. A great, terrible silence.

Liz is trying to say something, but she sounds a thousand miles away.

>>649311
Well shit.

Put yourself out. Look at what you just broke.

Apollo 2015/06/19(Fri)01:13 No. 649314 ID: defceb
File 143470161542.png - (28.54KB , 840x600 , 4051.png )

“Marrrriiiieee. Marie. Mariemariemariemarie.”

Extinguishing agent splashes against your face.

“Bros dead, lights are on, let’s get going.”

Liz continues to vent the fire extinguisher at you.

“Or do you need me to return the favor and carry you now?”

The drone lays at your feet, having been torn to shreds. It’s internal components are strewn about the room.

>>649314
Tell her hi, yes, you're back.

It looks like the room is lit now too. Find a reflective surface and check yourself out on it.

Also, examine the components. Can you salvage the blowtorch?

Examine yourself carefully. Find out how damaged you are. Thank Liz for not leaving you to die horribly.

...thanks.

I'm a big girl. Kind of heavy to carry.

To Liz: how bad is it? Do I have terminator face yet? *touch side of face*

Grab your missing ear, give it a forlorn look. Maybe Haley can reattach it? Not much we can do about the artificial skin and hair, this place doesn't seem big on cosmetics.

Is the static gone? Can you get a good look at thing's design or serial numbers now?

...the fact it could communicate the way it did is weird. Are these things AIs without context? Just defending themselves and attacking things out of ignorance?

>>649314
any way to reconnect the ear? will it grow back if you eat it?

Looks like you just killed somebody. Pretty much self-defense, and you made an effort to communicate instead of striking first, so by any reasonable legal standard you're in the clear. The only thing now is to figure out who they were, and notify next-of-kin or activate their most recent uncorrupted backup, then try to get on with your own life.

Check all the broken bits for serial numbers or other identifying marks.

It occurs to me that if the drones are hijacked people, maybe the reason it didn't try to communicate until you grabbed the processing core is that the person in there wasn't in control.

Apollo 2015/06/19(Fri)13:21 No. 649401 ID: defceb
File 143474531346.png - (24.98KB , 840x600 , 4052.png )

Most of the internal components are either crushed or torn into pieces. You pull up the remains of its right arm. The blowtorch appears to be whole at least. Sifting through the wreckage just reveals a plethora different parts there were slapped together. The thing was a patchwork job, and a rushed one.

You pick up the severed part of your ear. The tear is uneven, you won’t be able to sew it back on.

>”...what just happened?”

“You did. How are you feeling?”

>”My face hurts. How do I look?”

“I’m not going to lie, you were cuter before.” She sniffs. “And smelled better, too. How’s it feel?”

>”It hurts a lot.”

“Do you uh…” Liz gestures weakly. “...need a hug? I don’t know how to help your kind with this.”

Hang on, you have two red eyes now? How did that even happen?

>do you need a hug?
...I wouldn't say no.

Thanks for the help back there. You kept your head a hell of a lot better than I did. (If she presses the issue- you're got an advantage of strength and durability, but you're not military or trained for combat or anything like that).

>It hurts
Uh, does your UI have an option to turn off pain receptors in the damaged areas? It doesn't do much good for burn skin to constantly report to your brain it hurts.

Can you get a damage report? How bad is that- is it just cosmetic? Did it damage anything more than your skin? (Skin alone just costs you the sense of touch in that spot, some prettiness, and waterproofing).

Could you remove the bandana scarf (tear off the burnt bits) and use it to cover up the wound? Tie off a one sided veil or bandit's mask kind of thing.

>two red eyes
What. How is that possible. Your default eyes don't have variable color settings, and you certainly didn't just surgically replace the hardware. (Another perception hack?).

Maybe you need to check the settings / specs for your eyes again.

>You pick up the severed part of your ear. The tear is uneven, you won’t be able to sew it back on.
Keep it anyways. Your ears are something uniquely you. A part of your identity you defined yourself. Maybe it can be repaired, someday.

>The blowtorch appears to be whole at least.
Well, yay. We won a tool we're never gonna wanna use.

>you were cuter before
That sucks, but we show her you can be just as cuter as before. Expand your jigglejogglers.

Oh as for the burnt hair: we'll have to cut off the burnt ends with scissors, later. The smell won't go away with lots of scrubbing, though. (And you really can't do that until you've got something waterproof covering up your circuitry, again).

Get some gaffer tape on that cut, and then cover em up with bandages.

>>649401
hugs are always the answer. also let's face it, she's pretty cute and you won't get to touch many cute girls from now on. you know, with your face an all. i'm saying your face is fucked.

if sewing won't work, you'll have to tape it on. do you even heal? will your face unfuck itself and grow a new cheek? does us seeing your teeth mean you're gonna spill everything you drink through the right side of your face from now on?

So the immediate danger is dealt with and Liz is being supportive and has already mentioned noticing time wonkyness... I think now is a good time to tell her we are from the (or rather a) future.

Would one of its legs make a better bludgeon than the rebar piece? Having a bit more reach on our bludgeoning would be nice for helping us keep our distance since these things really like going for the grapple.

Apollo 2015/06/20(Sat)01:54 No. 649572 ID: defceb
File 143479046758.png - (17.46KB , 840x600 , 4053.png )

“Alright, bring it in.”

Apollo 2015/06/20(Sat)01:54 No. 649573 ID: defceb
File 143479048838.png - (14.28KB , 840x600 , 4054.png )

“Actually, let’s put a rain check on that pending a haircut and a shower.”

... I think she is about to pull a Lucy on you.

She did.

Apollo 2015/06/20(Sat)01:56 No. 649576 ID: defceb
File 143479060648.png - (23.61KB , 840x600 , 4055.png )

You sift through your UI to assess the damage. It appears the fire has caused mostly topical damage, burning away skin but not piercing the envelope underneath. You’re still waterproof at least, but the intense heat has damaged some of the musculature on your right side. Your eyes read the same as before, quarantines and all.

You attempt to access medical controls, and are relieved to find it working this time. Medical gibberish floods your vision as you attempt to shut off the pain from your burns. After much frustration, you ultimately flip on and off random nociceptors until the pain finally dies down. Close enough.

“How bad is it?”

>”If I bandage the wounds and trim the burnt hair I’ll be fine-ish for now.”

Liz walks back to the wardrobe and returns carrying a replacement scarf, some tape, and improvised bandages. “Sit down and strip.”

>”W-what?”

“Scarf off so I can tape up your wounds.”

>”...oh.”

“You’re awfully calm given the situation.”

>”I could say the same for you.”

“I’m not calm. Hold still, please.”

>”Could have fooled me.”

“You don’t know me very well. Tilt your head a little.”

>”Why are you helping me? I thought you hated robots and progress and science and all that.”

“It’s not that simple. Please stop flapping your ear.”

A series of chimes pop up over the loudspeaker. “Attention; there has been a disturbance in the [Pharmacy]. Please remain calm, security is on their way.” The message repeats intermittently.

“That’s probably our queue to leave.”

A second message interrupts the first. “Attention; [Security Floor 1 - Armory] has been breached. Please remain calm, security is on their way.”

“Our queue to leave quickly.”

>>649576
Dash away, dash away, dash away now.

Run! Also, enhance your right jigglejoggler to help balance the lost weight from the damage.

Don't forget your ear! You're going to get that reattached. You have to get it reattached!

>calm, I'm not
Can we do visual biometrics? Can we see her pulse / heart-rate? Rate of respiration? Other indicators of stress and the like?

>armory breached, security coming
This is the part where we use our map and head in the opposite direction from the armory, right? Odds are it's drone(s) who broke in there, not another survivor.

>why are you helping me? blah blah hate
>It’s not that simple.
For the moment, don't insult her. She's earned some benefit of your doubt, here. Her group may have come across as or have devolved into little more than angry robo-racists in the history you remember, but it's entirely possible she honestly believes in making the world a better place, and has more complex views than the rhetoric you're familiar with.

Leaders, founders and/or earlier members of a group often have more complex and nuanced views than what their movement later turns into.

>queue
Cue?

You need supplies, an armory should be useful against the tide of insane androids.

>>649581
In this case, her ear was burned off and it's replaceable.

>>649633
>In this case, her ear was burned off and it's replaceable.
No... it was deffo torn off.

>>649280
>Your ear tears from the motion

Plus, you know, we're holding the torn off part.

Replaceable, well, sort of. It's a custom cybernetic part. If we don't get back to our own time, we'd have to get someone to custom manufacture one for us. Which is technically feasible, since we have blueprints in local storage.

Apollo 2015/06/21(Sun)02:43 No. 649790 ID: defceb
File 143487982847.png - (57.95KB , 1680x600 , 4056.png )

>“Cue?”

“What?”

>”You said ‘queue’, as in getting in a line. Don’t you mean ‘cue’, as in-”

Liz slaps her forehead and mutters to herself as she walks away. You add the ear and blowtorch to your inventory, then you rip off the drone’s calf for use as a bludgeoning weapon.

>Can you do visual biometrics?

No, not visual, but…

You run up to Liz and grab her by the wrist, leading her out through the door. “H-hey, slow down!” Her muscles are tense, and her heart is racing.

The two of you step out into the hallway.

“The hell came through here?” Liz asks, gesturing at the wreckage. “An airplane?”

>>649581

Oh, in addition to jigglejogglers, enhance knockers. You know. For balance. Also to put another nail in the coffin of Liz's philosophy.

"So, progress only leads to suffering and destruction, huh? Then what about... THIS?!" *enhance knockers*

Spaceship actually.

What is with that door with the numbers? I mean its facing the room you just came out of...

Anything down the hallway with the door?

Wait that number format is familiar. Can you tune into the frequency 464.5155 for a second?

Same frequency as before. Maybe that person is somewhere nearby seeing there was a collapse.

Can you see something white just below the pipe on the top right?

>>649793
>Can you see something white just below the pipe on the top right?

That. That is a key. What the hell is with these keys being placed in difficult to reach places?

>>649790
They sound exactly the same, how did you know how she was spelling it? Also, answer "That might be where my drop pod landed."

Tune your radio to 464.5155, just to see what happens. That's on that door over there... Or whatever that is.

Use the calf to fetch the key. Or ignore it if you seriously can't reach it. It's not like the last key we fetched turned out to be useful. ...hang on, is that key even real? Ask Liz if it's seriously there. After that's dealt with head to decon.

>>649791
This

>“The hell came through here?” Liz asks, gesturing at the wreckage. “An airplane?”
My escape pod, maybe. I was being literal when I said I crashed here. (Compare internal maps, what you got from the computer, and what you mapped near your crash site before- does that make sense?).

You can't really get close enough to peer over the edge, there are big pieces of the floor that look unsteady.

>>649791
...let's save that for the next time she's actually arguing with us. It's enough of a non-sequitur to short circuit almost anything. (My boobs can be as big or as small as I want them! How is that not awesome progress?).

>Her muscles are tense, and her heart is racing.
Okay, so she's just got a good poker face, then. She's as scared as anyone.

>key
Hmm. Could we fashion an extended grabber out of that drone's limbs? Weld a few together, with a hand on the end, and just grab the key that way.

>Tune your radio to 464.5155

Apollo 2015/06/23(Tue)00:05 No. 650265 ID: defceb
File 143504311709.png - (33.08KB , 840x600 , 4057.png )

>“Spaceship, actually.”

“Care to explain?”

>”It’s a long story that I’m still trying to piece together. Hey, do you see a key up there?”

“A key dangling precariously off the edge of a broken pipe over a big gaping hole of probable death? Yeah, I see that key.”

You go back and proceed to weld together bits of the drone. Using the improvised tool, you manage to reach out and snag the key off the pipe. You now have two keys!

Apollo 2015/06/23(Tue)00:06 No. 650266 ID: defceb
File 143504318654.png - (17.15KB , 840x600 , 4058.png )

>Take a peek down that hallway.

>”Hey Liz, what does this hallway look like to you?”

“Like the kind of place we aren’t supposed to find. I say we explore it."

>Tune your radio to 464.5155

The radio hums back to life with a low white noise. You call out for the person over the radio and are met with weak coughs. “Is someone… out there? Can you hear me?”

>”I’m still here. Where are you?”

“I don’t know. It’s dark, I can’t move, I can’t feel anything.” Their voice sounds strained. “There used to be others. In here. We were panicked, crying, screaming. I think… I think they’re gone now. Somewhere else.”

>>650266
Okay, where WERE you then? What's the last place they can recall? A floor number would help.

...man that hallway looks freaky. Let's go check it out. Better than running into the big corridor that reinforcements are likely to come from.

Open that door with the frequency on it. Might have a clue or two where the voice is.

Can you tell what direction the radio signal is coming from? If we keep talking long enough, we should be able to triangulate the source.

I'll get you out just as soon as I can find you. Keep talking to me. Can you remember anything? How you got here? I'm Marie, who are you?

>Like the kind of place we aren’t supposed to find. I say we explore it
I like the way she's thinking.

Advance carefully, testing the floor as you go. That hall might not be structurally sound all crumpled up like that.

Apollo 2015/06/23(Tue)22:29 No. 650397 ID: defceb
File 143512375585.png - (32.89KB , 840x600 , 4059.png )

>“I’m trying to find you now. Keep talking to me. Can you remember anything? Where you were last, maybe?”

“I was… I was in the tech lab. I was working on a machine when… no, no that’s wrong. I was in the pharmacy, or performing surgery. I think. It’s all blurring together.”

>”Keep talking, I’m listening.”

“The others… I can’t hear them anymore. There’s something out there. You’ve… seen it, haven’t you? A predator. I think it took the others. I guess it’s only a matter of time before it gets me too.”

The two of you advance through the broken hallway, taking precarious steps all the way. The next room appears par for the course in terms of repair. A pile of papers rests on top of a broken desk. The doorway on the far side has two large strips of red tape holding it closed. Liz walks ahead and sifts through the paperwork.

“Looks like a guest list. Nurses, mostly.” She says, flipping idly through the paper. “Must be some special patient to get all this attention.”

>>650397
Only guest lists? Surely there's something in the papers about the patient's condition. You wouldn't want to go in there without knowing what's up with them. Could be dangerous. Or contagious.

If there's nothing to go on, just cut through the red tape and open the door.

Apollo 2015/06/24(Wed)00:40 No. 650416 ID: defceb
File 143513163404.png - (29.02KB , 840x600 , 4060.png )

>”Anything on the patient’s condition?”

“Hold on…” She flips through the remaining papers quickly. “Ah-ha! Says here the patient is brain dead. The reason why has been redacted though. You go take a look, I’m going to see if there’s anything else important in here.”

You cut through the tape and step into the next room. The soft hums and beeps of medical equipment are the only source of noise. You call back to the person on the radio.

>”Still there? I need you to keep talking if I’m going to find you. What were you just talking about, a predator?”

“It… I’ve never seen it directly. But I know when it’s near.” The white noise in the background begins to rise to a crescendo. “I can’t think straight when it’s near. It’s like there’s sstatic. In my head. You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The thing… the static… I can feel it. Marie…”

Apollo 2015/06/24(Wed)00:41 No. 650418 ID: defceb
File 143513166838.png - (56.93KB , 840x600 , 4061.png )

“...hide.”

Hide? Ahaha.... probably a tad late for that... How about running again?

Don't run, hide. Into the curtains and into the bed. Don't let your silhouette be visible.

Don't run! Make sure Liz is safe, then find a place to hide with her.

>>650418
...you could hide behind the patient curtain. You'd also get to see who the patient is, to boot.

Oh ... we missed a trapdoor on the ceiling in the previous room. I'd have liked to look at that.

Oh man, did we find another poster? Can't grab it with the static, though.

>static in my head
That suggests whoever is on the other end is a brain uplift. Or at least they've got cybernetic sensory organ replacements to perception-hack.

>what do
Fall back. You want Liz to be your eyes if you can't see reality, again. And we don't want to lose track of her or risk harming her in a hallucination and/or leaving her to face a shadow thing herself.

Tense whisper: something's coming, lots of static. I can't trust my eyes.

>ceiling trapdoor
Rather large for an air vent, isn't it.

Apollo 2015/06/24(Wed)14:50 No. 650482 ID: defceb
File 143518265528.png - (99.24KB , 1080x600 , 4062.png )

You whisper out to Liz, telling her to hide before doing so yourself. The voice over the radio continues to speak in pained tones.

“Oh, I get it now… it’s you. It was you the whole time.” They laugh weakly. “You just keep getting bigger, huh? Probably don’t even remember why you’re hunting us like this-”

Apollo 2015/06/24(Wed)14:51 No. 650483 ID: defceb
File 143518267668.png - (104.15KB , 1080x600 , 4063.png )

“-hnk!”

Apollo 2015/06/24(Wed)14:51 No. 650484 ID: defceb
File 143518269575.png - (106.02KB , 1080x600 , 4064.png )

“Mother forgive me.”

Apollo 2015/06/24(Wed)14:52 No. 650485 ID: defceb
File 143518272662.png - (60.49KB , 1080x600 , 4065.png )

There’s a great crash, like thunder.

Apollo 2015/06/24(Wed)14:52 No. 650486 ID: defceb
File 143518274625.png - (17.38KB , 840x600 , 4066.png )

Then silence.

>>650486
What the FUCK just happened

Time to freak the fuck out. Then maybe... take a look at who the patient is. (is it you?)

Might er... Sound odd, but could you confirm with Liz that the other half of the room is actually missing?

After waiting a good 10-15 minutes of course.

...ask Liz what the hell she just saw or sees, because you're pretty sure you can't trust what you're seeing. Is the left half of the room... still there?

(If that side of the room is gone, we just missed a poster, dangit!).

If that wasn't an invisible person... I think that was an uploaded consciousness. That's why they had a radio, and were alone in the dark. They were just a virtual brain in a box, crying out for help. I'll bet the thing on the floor is a hard drive / cyborg brain, and in the bed we'll find the dead body they uploaded from.

And we got here just too late. That thing got to it first.

We'll need Liz's help to investigate, because we can't see the brain-box we want to examine, or the poster we want to take, if they're still there.

Apollo 2015/06/24(Wed)16:14 No. 650519 ID: defceb
File 143518765881.png - (20.00KB , 840x600 , 4067.png )

>Time to freak the fuck out

You freak the fuck out.

>After waiting a good 10-15 minutes of course.

You quietly freak the fuck out. After a good 10 minutes of internal screaming, you call out to Liz.

>”Liz, can you uh… take a look in here please?”

“Is it safe?”

>”I think so.”

“Well I’ll take a look but- what the fuck.”

>”Is half the room missing?”

“Yes, what happened!?”

>”Thank you, Liz.”

>>650519
So, uh. Look up the hole? Is there any way to climb out of this shithole? We are (supposedly) underground, right?

>>650490
Oh my god, that would make this make almost perfect fucking sense- this isn't strictly Marie's senses being hacked, but a networked Augmented Reality overlayed onto the physical space. That's why, despite the fact that all the mind-fuckery is digital in nature, most of it still seems somewhat spatially-bound and not omnipresent: of course it is, if it's not always MARIE that's being directly hacked but instead the augmented reality AROUND her.

So, uh, yeah, figure out from your friend what is currently happening in this room.

>>650519
Tell her that some kind of huge monster broke into the room through a crack in the floor then proceeded to eat that half, where an invisible person was hiding.

Okay so this strongly suggests you're stuck in some sort of simulation. Or a coma. Either way, this isn't reality, which means we need to stop treating it like reality. We should focus on looking for symbolism and flaws in the structure of the false reality we're in.

Look at the patient.

There's also the honestly pretty weird vent in the ceiling outside of the room to poke at and probably have cyborg scorpions fall out of or something.

>“Yes, what happened!?”
Some staticy monster ate someone I couldn't see and it disappeared. I'm... not sure if that really happened or if my eyes are lying again.

Is there a big hole? I can't even see a crater, there's just this... gap. Like someone tore a page. I can't look at it. Way worse than the fake red eye thing.

>what do
Check the bed. I'm pretty sure you'll find the empty body of someone who uplifted, possibly with some of the tech used to do it, left over as evidence.

If that's what you see, please explain, so Liz isn't left in the dark.

>>650418
The most upsetting part of this to me is that we didnt grab the poster before the room disappeared

>>650527
I know!

Can anyone guess what quest it was from the tiny thumbnail?

Some kind of AI, I think that only people with cybernetic vision (augmented eyes, cyborgs) can see them. Unfortunately, she just got hunted down by some giant beast.

The beast didn't seem to care about Marie. Maybe it's hunting down AIs using augmented reality to make real changes to the environment that have a direct effect on the AIs. In this case, it ripped off half the room and the poor girl couldn't do anything but watch and die.

Looks like the beast was once a person. You'll have to decide whether or not you want to try to destroy it. On one hand, that's suicidal and unnecessary. On the other hand, if it's left alone it'll probably keep eating people who have been uploaded to the building's network, and it should have some intel or powerful parts after all the people it probably ate.

Your choice.

Apollo 2015/06/25(Thu)01:49 No. 650624 ID: defceb
File 143522219408.png - (21.23KB , 840x600 , 4068.png )

>“There was a monster, or an AI, or a person who became a monster and it tore open the room and it ate this other person.”

“Marie.”

>”But I think that other person was an uplifted mind and they were in a hard drive but I just saw the monster eat them or at least it looked like it ate them.”

“Marie.”

>”And it tore off part of the room, there was a hard drive and a poster and now there’ just a gap there! Like someone took a whole page of reality and tore it right out! But I don’t know if that’s what's really there, I don’t know if anything I’m seeing is real. There’s hackers, or this is a virtual reality, or I’m dreaming. I must be dreaming. Stuff like this doesn’t happen in real life. This all just has to be fiction, doesn’t it?”

“Marie!”

>”It’s all just so absurd! All the static, the drones, the memories. Why am I even here!? As far as I can tell, I’m from the future! Or a future. Or an alternate timeline. I shouldn’t be here! I want to go home!”

The dam breaks. Tears fall freely from your eyes as you crumple into the corner. The aches and pains of accumulated wounds bear down on you all at once.

>”It’s all out of order Liz. I should be on Mars, with Haley. Not here. The facility should be in California, nothing should have gone wrong. Victor should be uplifted too, running around in a cyborg body like I am but…”

You gesture over to the bed, where the still living corpse of a man lays hooked up to life support machines.

>>650624
yo what

Just leave the corpse. It might be respectful to turn off the life support, but THERE MIGHT BE AIS THAT NEED NEW BODIES.