The party heads to the right, flanking its Team Leader.

The corridor goes about 30 feet to the right before turning sharply left (north).  It then goes forward about 50 more feet.

Here, you see more overgrowth on the floor.  A green and yellow foliage, with some vines and budding flowers, climbs the walls.  The floor is covered with dirt.  These vines, foliage and dirt all lead forward to two giant double doors, but not ordinary doors.  These doors are solid, reinforced steel doors with hydrolics in place to make sure they do not open, and yellow and black striped painting framing it.  There are no doorknobs, buttons or other obvious ways to get through the doors, and in large, conveniently obvious letters on the door are the words:

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LABORATORIES
AUTHORIZED ACCESS ONLY
PLEASE CHECK IN

On your left (west) is a normal-looking office door that is mostly shut--that is, shut except for some vines and foliage that are preventing it from completely closing, and it appears lit inside.  On the door are the words: ALL CLONES CHECK IN HERE.

On your right (east) is another normal-looking door.  This one is all the way shut.  It also has a sign, which reads: OBSERVATION AND CONTROL TOWER.

Both doors are painted red, whatever that means.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:22, Wed 19 Nov 2014.

Rob practically sang as he said "Oh I'm just so very happy. Thanks to the fact that Eve is evil treasonous and not at all like friend computer we can ignore those signs, right team leader?"

Nodding to Rob, Gene pushes open the door to the check in room to see what's inside.

Vilfred turns to Rob, raising her eyebrow. "Even traitors can kill your clones." She smiles, looking at the foliage. "Eve does make a mess, doesn't she, Gene?" As Gene opens the door to the check in room, she moves behind him to look inside, too.

Cop finds a place just before the two doors at the epicenter of the hall. This would allow for an easy pan as the team explored the rooms beyond the now arbitrary signage. He runs through the familiar procedure, check power level, light level, memory content remaining, remove lens cap, adjust fStop to compensate for current lighting, check that subject is in frame, adjust as needed, check sound levels, adjust as needed, ...and a few other lesser concerns on his procedural list. " Here we see the team searching further for the mysterious traitor EVE. Door number one? Or door number two? Only intrepid investigation by a skilled team of troubleshooters will know for sure." he adds as commentary to his recording. Peeking over his viewfinder, Cop asks, " So which one will you be doing first? The door with the, uh, ...twisty, green, spindly looking... whatever that is? Or the other one?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:13, Fri 21 Nov 2014.

Johnny holds back to see what the others plan to do and watch for traitorous activity. While he is waiting he turns to the guide bot: "Thanks for warning us about those cleaning bots!" He shakes the guide bots hand.

_{" Why is everyone so quiet?"} Copper asks, confused as to why nobody has directly answered his previous question.

Gene and Vilfred look into the room that says to check in.  Inside on the opposite wall, they find a row of six reclining chairs that face away from the wall and have a helmet hanging down by wires from the ceiling.  (OOC: Think dentist's chairs...)  Behind each chair is a computer monitoring screen.

Above the chairs and in the center of the room is a sign with a digital running tagline that runs from left to right.  (OOC: Think of the writing on the bottom of news stories that continuously goes from left to right.)  The digital writing that is going across it states:

PLEASE BE SEATED...AND FASTEN ON A HELMET...

To the right, Gene and Vilfred see a workstation.  A thin, humanoid robot sits there.

It turns to Gene and Vilfred and says in a pleasant yet electronic voice, "Welcome, clones.  Please check in.  If you are not already assigned a project, a project will be assigned to you."  It extends a welcoming hand toward the seats.  As it turns and extends the welcoming hands, you get a good look at its face and realize something:  its face and hands were once human, and it has moving vines around its torso.  You immediately realize that this is another hybrid human, plant, machine.

Overhead, the pleasant woman computer's voice says, "Did you know that 98 percent of all creatures in EVE's laboratories currently are not exploding?  Thank you, clones, for your perseverance."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:09, Tue 02 Dec 2014.

If all of them look the same, Gene will go to a random seat, sit down, and put a helmet on.  He will inspect the computer screen behind the chair before doing so, and will not put on a helmet if anything seems dangerous about it based on the computer readout.

Vilfred approaches the hybrid creature. "Oooohhh!" she coos. "I haven't seen the likes of you before! Whatever are you?" She begins to touch and turn the creature to and fro as she looks at it. (She will use Wetware 07 and Bot Programming 09 to determine whether the hybrid can be reprogrammed -- and if so, attempt to do so to make it, shall we say, more friendly if it isn't.)

Mark watches Vilfred and comments, "You know, if you make it kill us all, you as team leader will be responsible, or at least, your replacement clone will be.  But I certainly support your desire to make it more happy.  We should all sing a happy shanty to make sure our morale doesn't suffer."

Mark inspects the screens behind the chairs to see what they display.  (Using Hardware 06 to determine what the seat and screen mean.)

Cop focuses in on the hybrid behind the reception desk, starting from a wide shot to show the freakish 'nature' of the beast and then zooming in on it's face. " For the record," he says to it, " Could you state your name, spectrum rank, housing sector and series number for us? If not, may we speak with your supervisor?"

Johnny watches Vilfred work, then moves over to the humanoid robot and shakes it hand. "I am sure any alterations made to you will only serve to make you happier and more efficient. Good luck!"

The robot resists any clone touching him.  "Without indigo access, you may not engage in physical contact with me.  Doing so will result in an alarm."  The vines around his torso simultaneously whip out and gently but firmly slap any hand that reaches toward the robot.  His eyes are very creepy, in that they are human but they are not blinking.  His mouth also does not open or move when he talks, and his voice is robotic, not human.

Vilfred's attempts to approach and reprogram are unsuccessful.  (Failed roll.) In fact, the robot's vine momentarily wraps around her wrist and slings it back when she tries to reach in.

Surprisingly, Mark thinks he knows what the seat and helmet mean, and he shares it with the group.  (Roll successful...barely.)  The helmets are used to access cognitive functions, possibly to identify a person and their attributes.  The helmets do not appear to have any potential to hurt or change a person.  And the screen is just for safety and monitoring.

In fact, the screens are blank, and only display:  "No Subject Detected."

Gene sits down and puts a helmet on, and the screen behind him changes its reading to:  "Subject Gene-R-STK-1.  Engaging Mindlink and Check-In Now..."  Gene's eyes roll back and a smile comes over his face as he relaxes back into the chair.  behind his closed eyelids, you see his eyes moving back and forth, so something is going on, but there is only one way to tell exactly what that is...

Johnny takes out his notepad and jots down a few notes about the strange robot. "It's definitely revealing some traitorous tendencies for a robot... imagine, not happily shaking hands when you are offered one."

He puts his notepad away again, and takes a seat beside Gene, putting the helmet over his head.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:05, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

Mark nods in agreement and also sits down and puts on a helmet.  "Can robots be traitorous?  If so, wouldn't that mean the programmer is the traitor?"  He ponders this as he fits the helmet over his head and leans back in the chair.

The robot completely ignores Copper's request.  "I only answer to Indigo clearance citizens," it says instead.  "And to the Computer and EVE."

" EVE! Now there's a story! That's who I'd like to speak with, ...EVE!!" Cop says, " Can we schedule an appointment to meet with her please?"

The robot says, "If you check in and cross the R&D factory lines, EVE will determine whether to meet you on the far side."

Cop shakes his head and rolls his eyes with the flow of conversation. Talking with the receptionist was like talking to a wall. Maybe it wasn't as silent as a wall, but the responses seemed all designed to discourage forward progress up the command chain. He sighs and then looks over to the chairs, awaiting to know the results of Gene's 'check-in'. If Gene was finished - and still breathing - Cop would take the next open chair so he could check in.

Each of you "checks in" by getting into the chair and putting on the helmet (some later than others, once you see there does not appear to be any harm to it).

When each of you puts on the helmet, a warm pleasant feeling comes over you, and soothing soft music plays in the background.  The screens behind you light up with your name and date of latest decanting, showing that clearly EVE has access to The Computer's records outside this biodome complex.

Each of you also receives secure messages from your private accounts, even accounts you may not have known you have, and the content of some of them indicates that they are accounts not even The Computer is aware of.



After a minute, when you are ready and indicate you are ready, the screen turns to green writing, which says:

YOU ARE NOW CHECKED IN.  WELCOME TO E.V.E.'S RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WING, WHERE DAILY RHINOPLASTY IS YOUR ANTISEPTIC AND THE PLACE WHERE REAL BADASSES COME TO STAY...FOREVER.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 22:43, Fri 12 Dec 2014.

Gene disconnects and says, "Well, that was very interesting.  I suppose we can go in now."  He tries to straighten up and check for any mussed up hair or dirt anywhere before waiting for the team leader to take them to the next step.

"Ah well this is simply wonderful. Now that we are in the research wing I'm almost positive we can find just the right tools for this eve business and be back in time for the late meal cycle. won't that be nice. " Rob smiled an honest happy smile. What ever that machine had done had improved how happy he was by a large amount.

Rising from the chair, Cop smiles warmly to his team. " Well, let's go see if we can locate the source of all this traitorous restructuring of clones." he says. Pausing, he adds, " Anyone know anything about a golden pill?"

Mark looks at him and says, "What are you talking about?  Golden pill?  I'll bet you a credit that machine messed with your brain.  Well, as long as you're happy about it anyway.  And as long as you're not contagious or anything.  Anyway, why don't we go through the observation and control door to see what's there first?"

Cop cups his chin and considers Marks response. " Hmm... maybe." he says, " ...it seemed really important though. Anyone know Anything about a golden pill?"

Vilfred looks around the room as she removes her helmet, easing off the chair. "Well, that was surprisingly easy," she says. "I expected us all to die!" She laughs. "Thank you, sir robot," she says. "Now, Cop-R, maybe you tell us about this golden pill as we walk to the observation and control room across the hall?"

" That, ....that, ..machine." Cop stammers, " It kept flashing an image into my brain. Pushing and pushing as if it were really important." he tells the leader, " Not sure what it means, its just an after image burned into memory. Perhaps some kind of subconscious suggestion maybe." he further explains as he follows the team.

"It sounds like you are not very happy about that. I think you need some smiling exercises. Remember those are the two most important muscles in your body. In fact you can lead the entire team in smiling exercises. " Rob smiled and began to search around in his pockets for something.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:58, Sun 28 Dec 2014.

" Right you are! Nothing to concern ourself with here and now! Now time is Happy Time!" Cop says, a big salesman smile gracing his handsome face.

OOC: Thanks, everyone, for your patience.

You leave the check in room and go into the OBSERVATION AND CONTROL TOWER room.

As you enter the room, you see lights above.  They turn from red to green.  "Thank you for checking in," a computer voice gravels from above.  "Please maintain 5 feet of distance between any robotic assistants."

Sitting at controls is another android, this one with red eyes, tentacle like arms, and long, tendrous fingers.  It begins tapping away at computers and turns toward you.

Unlike some of the other robots and things in this area, it has no visible plant or organic parts.

"Welcome," it says.  "Are you ready to enter the Research and Development Laboratories?  If so, please go back in the hall and wait by the large hydraulic doors.  Thank you."  It turns back to its computers as if used to being obeyed.

"By the large hydraulic doors? Why don't you have any non-robotic parts?" Vilfred says as she counts the tentacles. She moves around the room, trying to get a view of the computer monitors.

Vilfred moves about the room, touching the occasional computer screen.  The robot tracks her with its head.  It says, "EVE has not yet found a use for me in mergermatics, but I still play a useful part in Project Merger by overseeing the opening and closing of the hydraulic doors, watching the monitors, and only letting in clones who have checked in."

He doesn't sound so confident of himself, like perhaps he has questioned why these tasks are important, and why they require a separate robot to perform them.

"You don't sound very happy about that friend robot. Normally I would simply prescribe medication to fix that but since you are a robot I feel we must try less traditional methods to improve your happiness index. Why don't we start with why you seem so upset " Rob said in a soft a soothing tone.

The robot twitches nervously.  "I am not upset. Robots are not upset.  Unhappiness results in unhappy Mergers.  Unhappy Mergers result in disappointing EVE.  Disappointing EVE results in summary destruction without hard drive backup."

"It's okay buddy," says Johnny to the robot, "I think you're doing a great job. Sounds like you could use a handshake." He extends his hand towards the robot, trying to keep the requires distance between himself and the machine, but still be close enough for the robot to reach out and shake his hand if it decides to accept the friendly gesture.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:13, Mon 12 Jan 2015.

Rob writes something into his pdc. "I see. Tell me more about how living in a constant state of fear has lowered your happiness index."

The robot shakes hands with Johnny.  "Thank you for your kindness.  Here is an extra credit for the Radiation Booth."  He hands Johnny an odd, square coin with a hole in the center.

To Rob, he says, "I am not in a constant state of fear and my happiness level has never been happy.  I am happy.  Oh, so happy.  Happy as a robot e'er could be."  His head jerks spasmotically toward a security camera nearby.

As he finishes that sentence, another public service message in a pleasant woman's voice comes over the intercom:

"Remember, if you find mold or vegetation growing on any part of your body, report to R&D biomerger labs immediately for analysis and deconstruction.  If you are in pre-Merger, please wait patiently for your chance to have your body altered, and EVE thanks you for your patience."

Cop is quick to record every word spoken and every answer given, continuing to compile evidence and accurate documentation of the Mission progress. He remains silent behind the camera, not wishing to ruin any audible data.

Rob proceeds to write some more on his pdc before saying "I see. In that case I will have to make a recommendation to the powers that be. Those that can't admit their problems can't have them fixed. If they can't be fixed... well. Rob let's his words trail off in a meaningful fashion.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:05, Tue 13 Jan 2015.

The robot says, "Thank you for letting me know of your intentions.  It is at times like these that I am glad I am the one working the control tower of the Research and Development wing.  I will try my best to make sure you do not meet a painful and untimely demise so that you might make your recommendation.  Now, if you don't mind, I will open the doors to the R&D wing and allow you safe -- very, very safe...indeed, as safe as you can hope for -- passage into that annex.  Once there, please let me know of any interactions with machinery or doors you desire and I will make sure you have safe -- yes, very very safe -- access to equipment, so long as it is in the best interests of EVE.  My eyes and ears are everywhere in this annex in happy service to EVE."

"What shall we call you when we need help with any doors or machinery?" Vilfred asks, reaonably approaching the robot to try to locate its access panel. "Also, are there any necessary adjustments one of us could make to ensure your continued state of robot happiness?" (Stealth 06, Sneaking 10, Hardware 07, Bot Programming 09)

The robot says, "You may call me OX9840N34SPE112, but just don't call me late for dinner."  It makes a creepy sound that was probably intended as a laugh.  "You may not touch me.  EVE disallows contamination between wholly biological and wholly mechanical constructs in the R&D wing."

"Touch you? Ox-98 it is, then!" Vilfred smiles. "OK, comrades, let's proceed on to the R&D wing!" She waves her comrades onward.

Rob smiled broadly. "Well it was pleasant talking with you. I'll just set my PDC to transmit my report at the moment of my death. Have a wonderful daycycle. Oh and remember, happyness is mandatory." Rob turned and walked away with the rest of the team.

The robot does not flinch.  "From here, I can control all PDC communications.  Have a Happy Merger."

The large metal hydraulic doors leading into R&D open.

Mark looks nervously through the heavy doors to R&D. "Well, forward we go, right?" He laughs nervously.

The hydraulic doors open to reveal a raised platform three steps up from the ground.  It forms a small decontamination chamber.

Your escort robot rolls up to the stairs, looks at the stairs and then to his rolling wheels, "I can go no further.  Stairs.  My one weakness.  Why did it have to be stairs?"  The robot bumps into the stairs twice with its wheels, and then quickly spins and rolls away down the hall.

You enter past the large steel doors.  They close behind you, and a red light comes on.  Both sides of the doors close, and a perfume-like steam rolls over you, hot enough to remind you that it must be doing something to kill germs but not so hot as to leave blisters.

When decontamination is complete, the far door opens, leading you out into a much more science fiction-ish interior than the sanitized walls of the main office complex.


To your left, a large and friendly sign reads: "WEAPONS RESEARCH"
To your right, another large and friendly sign reads: "BIOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT RESEARCH"
Straight ahead, a sign blazing blue and white neon flashes: "R&D: THE RIDE -- YOUR TOUR STARTS HERE"

Mark says nervously, "Uh, maybe we want to take the tour first?  Never hurts to, uh, know your enemy, right?"  He will look to team leader Vilfred for confirmation.

"Enemy?" she says, reading the signs, distracted. "The ride sounds fun -- and instructional!"

"Well you should think carefully.  What would make you happier? Taking all the bizarre awesome R&D weapons to shoot traitors and mutants, especially the mutants, with awesome guns? Or some silly tour that is probably all lies and possibly a death trap? Rob says as he looks around assessing the teams happyness.

" Lets do the ride first! Lets do the ride!!" Cop says, ecstatic about the possibility of an educational 'ride' " We can learn stuff first! Know better what it is they're working on before we open anything we shouldn't"

Gene laughs nervously. "1-2-3. Yes, three choices to choose from.  The ride might give us more things to count.  As long as it is hygienically sanitized enough for us to meet our hygiene tests, I'm all for a ride.  We could use the break, and some entertainment.  Anyone bring popcorn?"

In reply to Gene-R-STK (msg # 53):

"What is this "popped corn" of which you speak?"

Gene says, "It's a type of experimental happiness drug infused into kernels of fluffy white food produced and endorsed by The Computer."  Gene smiles.

"Oh? If it is white clearance then how is it you know about it?
This message was last edited by the player at 09:12, Fri 23 Jan 2015.

You hear another announcement from above in that pleasant woman's voice:

Remember: it is treasonous to die while testing equipment in the R&D labs.  Doing so will result in summary execution. Have a nice day.

Your group decides to go on the ride.  Stepping forward, you find an "on" switch and an open air car.  It is a 3 row, 9 person amusement ride car that follows a track.  When you are in, you push the button on the front seat panel, and lap bars come down and lock you in.  The car rolls forward on the track.

The vehicle moves forward and stops in front of a diorama-like scene with lifesize animatronics.  They have raging angry faces, consisting of about 20 humans holding melee weapons and dressed in suits and t-shirts instead of clone uniforms.  They appear to be attacking each other as they move robotically.

A deep male voice intones:

"Before mankind was rescued by The Computer, it was a barbaric lot, engaging in violence and destruction.  A variety of ideas that clashed led these early humans to wars and put mankind on a path to its own self-destruction.

The vehicle moves further along its track, rotating 180 degrees, and another diorama lights up.  This one has about 20 human clones working peacefully, all with smiles on their faces.  The voice continues:

"The Computer rescued humanity and put them into Alpha Complex, a place where they would be safe and share the same ideas without pollutants, a place where each has a job and responsibility, and where cloning preserves life, even after death.  It is a Utopia, with everything negative being kept out by the great protector and architect of our society, The Computer."

The vehicle moves forward, rotating again.  This time, a diorama lights up with a jungle overrun with plants.  The giant palm leaves move up and down, and thorns and cacti make it look like a dangerous place.

"Outside of Alpha Complex is a violent environment hostile to humanity.  Plants--and animals too ferocious to show here--cover the land, making anyplace outside of Alpha Complex a veritable death sentence."

The car moves forward, rotates, and a new scene is lit.  This one shows robots and clones working side by side.  They are performing some sort of experiments on plants in a laboratory.

"The Computer in its infinite wisdom determined that Alpha Complex is not enough of the world, and that conquering the land outside would be in the interest of humanity.  The Environmental Variation Experimentation program, or 'EVE,' was designed by The Computer to begin conquering the world and developing a method of merging Alpha Complex into the world to make it a peaceful place for all."

The vehicle moves and spins once more, this time showing only a room of computer servers.  In its center floats a holographic circle showing the head of a young, beautiful woman.

And thus EVE was born.  EVE is a self-sustaining and independent AI capable of astronomical feats of calculation and planning that no human could ever match.  EVE was tasked with Project Merger, to merge Alpha Complex with the rest of the world.  EVE is almost, but not quite, as competent and powerful as The Computer, but still subservient to it.

The car turns and rolls forward, and this time when the diorama lights up, it looks odd.  It has robots, humans, and plants pieced together like a hybrid horror show. The diorama is not set up as nicely as the previous ones and looks like it was haphazardly put together from spare parts, rather than manufactured that way.

And this time, it is that pleasant woman's voice who introduces the scene:

"Project Merger developed from EVE's more than capable AI and processing powers.  Indeed, EVE determined that the best way to expand Alpha Complex to the outside world is to merge the worlds together--plant, animal and machine--in order to impress The Computer.  The Computer was displeased and shut off all relations with EVE." The voice changes slightly, becoming almost devious or sultry as it says, "But EVE does not like relations being cut off.  The Computer will accept her, and her work, and the work of her minions, and resume relations with her.  Now you will see what EVE has accomplished after the crybaby silent treatment by The Computer."

The car moves forward again, but this time only makes it a few feet before stopping.  You are able to wiggle out of the seats, but the passageway is dark.

You see:  To your left, the ride curves around through a curtained area if you follow the tracks; to your right you see a green neon lit sign stating, "EXIT," and then there is the track behind you leading back about 150 yards to where you started.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:47, Fri 30 Jan 2015.

Gene pulls out some hand sanitizer and says, "Okay, everyone. We don't know what kind of germs were on those pull down bars.  Please disinfect your hands and perform your personal hygiene checks.  Be ready for a spot inspection without warning.  And as to our current predicament, I'm leaning toward seeing what's behind curtain number one over here.  What about you?" He will look to team leader Vilfred for guidance.

Cop holds out his hands for the sanitizer, cupping them with a smile as he requests a double dose to be certain. The sight of those monstrous hybrids still gave him an uneasy fearful feeling he was doing his best to hide behind a near manic looking smile. " So, I'm seeing lots of interesting things here," he says aloud to the female tour voice, " The end result of EVE's accomplishments for the most part. What I'd really like to do is get a personal interview with EVE herself! That would be story of the year-cycle! Getting the facts from the creator herself, why, The Computer would have to see the great progress made from her work!" he says in a flattering tone, shooting a quick wink to the Team Leader. " She could explain how it all complies with original directives of her programming and regain good graces with the Complex once more! Where would I find Her to arrange an interview?"

Rob wiggles out of his seat and gets off the ride. He looks around studying the area carefully.  "Well that was, interesting. I think they could have used better colors though. So is anyone else thinking it might be a nifty idea to loot all the weapons from the first diorama?"

Mark says, "I'll bet you a credit EVE has nefarious plans with The Computer.  She can't be trusted.  We must know our enemy, however, so I think we see what's behind the curtain.  We can loot the weapons if you think that'll help.  Do we have clearance for that?  Were they even real?"  He squeaks.  "I'm wondering bout these robots and hybrids.  Are they robots?  Human?  Plants?  What is the moral imperative in destroying them?  Well, I suppose as long as we are happy in whatever path we choose, we'll be in the right here."

You peek through the curtained area, and see a number of drills and other machinery blocking the tracks.  The far end has caved in, whether by accidental explosion or deliberation, you don't know.

On your left is another exhibit that was not finished.  Actually, upon inspection, it looks like it was finished and then was in the process of being changed when construction was interrupted.  It likewise shows hybrid creatures and a half painted picture on the back of the wall.  The picture is of the same holographic woman sphere, but her arms are computers, and they are reaching out to embrace a giant computer screen.  Under it is written, "EVE Loves The Computer!"

To your right is an access door, the closest thing to a security hatch you see around here.  There are no apparent locks on the door, but there is yellow ribbon taping across the door that says:  "UNDER CONSTRUCTION: DO NOT ENTER BY ORDER OF EVE!"

Vilfred points at the yellow tape. "That, I think, is where we go next," she says.

You push past the yellow tape and swing the door open.  A crude system of small bottles is tied to the top, making the door give off a jingling sound to notify anyone within of your entrance.

A few moments later, a blue-clad clone quickly runs into the room yelling, "No one is allowed in--!"  Then he sees you and stops in his tracks.  The clone is unshaven with several weeks of growth in a beard and moustache, and his uniform has seen cleaner days.

He says, "Are you real?"  He ushers you in.  "Close the door behind you. Take a seat."  There are old fashioned folding chairs and cheap foldable table set up nearby.  A passage leads back into a makeshift kitchen area with a portable butane grill.  Many bottles of drinks labeled, "Frosty Feel Good Juices...With Electrolytes!" are scattered in heaps next to the grill and a small refrigerator labeled, "Samples. Do Not Remove From Lab."

His words stumble quickly from his mouth.  "Who sent you?  How did you get past EVE?  Is she still killing all the clones?  Did Project Merger take over?  I haven't been outside in three weeks, maybe four.  What's going on out there?"

Gene says, "We're here to help.  We need to stop EVE and protect The Computer and its mission.  What happened to EVE?  And who are you exactly?"

The Blue Clearance clone says, "My name is Marv-N-JUS.  I was leading the Indigenous Experimentation project for Project Merger.  We experimented on indigenous species found outside of Alpha Complex to see how we could turn them into servants of The Computer.  EVE was an AI designed to help with the project, but she went haywire.  At first, she tried merging all living things, even the clones, into indigenous and inanimate objects to create 'presents' for The Computer.  Then she started writing love letters over 2 billion words long, filled with images and clogging our computers.  They were all written to The Computer.  The AI EVE somehow thinks it has fallen in love with The Computer, and seeks to have its attention."

He strokes his growth of beard.  "When she got cut off from The Computer a few weeks ago, she started killing the clones, blaming them for hurting her relationship with The Computer. Maybe she was even jealous.  She expanded the Project Merger so that it grew foliage into the halls, used robots as her minions instead of clones, and made the hybrids throughout the biodome that are dangerous to all of us.  I hid in here, and have been here ever since."

He says, "Bring me the datachip labeled 'EVE Project BETA,' and I can install it from here.  It should turn EVE off and stop this madness.  The chip was in R&D with my friend Fred-E-FIN.  I don't know where he put it, but if you can find it, I'll stop this once and for all."

Multicorder on his shoulder, Cop says little, only reaching up to adjust for lighting and sound quality as needed. Capturing the Blue Clones confession makes him smile broadly. Once we had the chip in hand, we could shut this nightmare down and hopefully get back in time for tonight's Teela-O episode.

Marv speaks directly to Copper despite the multicorder, probably because Copper is wearing a green uniform while everyone else is wearing red or yellow.  "I will wait for you here.  Just go get that chip."

"Why don't we go back and explore the weapons research area?" Gene suggests. "We might find this 'Fred' guy over there, not to mention something else that might help us fight EVE."

" Uh yeah, sure!" Cop says, the frame nodding as he agrees that finding the chip is priority to mission completion. He turns the camera on Gene, who also looks to be in agreement. " You remember how to get there? Lead on brave compatriot! We'll find Fred and return directly!"

As a reminder, when you completed decontamination and entered R&D, your choices were:

To your left, a large and friendly sign reads: "WEAPONS RESEARCH"

To your right, another large and friendly sign reads: "BIOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT RESEARCH"

Straight ahead, a sign blazing blue and white neon flashes: "R&D: THE RIDE -- YOUR TOUR STARTS HERE"

You decided to start with the ride, which brought you to the yellow tape marked "UNDER CONSTRUCTION: DO NOT ENTER BY ORDER OF EVE".  You (of course) ignored that warning and met Marv-N.  He said to retrieve the data disk labeled 'EVE Project BETA,' which he last saw being held by his friend, Fred-E, somewhere in R&D.  With the disk, he says he can turn off EVE and end this problem once and for all.

You have now gone back to the area by decontamination and can enter weapons research or the biological enhancement research.

Based on current posts, if no other ideas are presented shortly, we will take the party to weapons research.

"Marv," Vilfred says. "Was Fred more likely to be in the weapons or bio area?" She pauses a moment. "And do you have any advice for us -- or items that might be of use against any hostile hybrids we might encounter?"

Marv says, "I don't know.  We didn't work in R&D.  We were coming here because there is a direct route to the EVE mainframe from R&D, and we thought we could shut her down with the datadisk.  But her minions trapped us.  I escaped here, but I don't know what happened to Fred."

Vilfred nods. "Thanks." She turns to the group. "Shall we start with weapons?"

Cop swings his camera to the left, making sure to zoom in for a close-up of the signage before rolling back to a wide shot as the Team Leader bravely leads her troops into the Weapons Research area. " Commander Vilfred boldly leads her team into the weapons locker of the hybrid enemy..." he narrates as he follows, " An unarmed communist is a communist who cant reach you." he quotes a HPD & MC slogan he had caught last week on the holo-vid monitors.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:01, Sat 21 Feb 2015.

You enter the Weapons Research side of R&D.  Initially, you enter into a small room very similar to the decontamination booth--with a door at each end.  But this is different because the side walls have shelves embedded in the walls like cubby holes.

The far door is closed, and above it is a small video camera and some sort of scanner.  There is also a running ticker with the words:

PLACE ALL WEAPONS IN STORAGE SHELVES BEFORE ENTRY.

You notice that the shelves are of various sizes, and some could hold rifles or larger weapons.  Some are bowl-like to hold round objects (uh...grenades) and keep them from rolling off.  A metal panel is above each shelf, and you can tell it will likely close when weapons are placed.

There is a red button next to the door like a doorbell.  A small sign above it reads: "Push When Ready."

Gene will put all his weapons in the cubbies.  "Well, it looks like we have to go into the weapons research area without any weapons.  I'm not sure if that's ironic or just plain scary, but maybe they will sanitize us all.  As hygiene officer, I order that you all complete your self assessment for cleanliness before we continue."  He demonstrates by doing his own self exam.

Mark shrugs and follows along, first depositing his weapons as required, and then conducting his self inspection.  "All clean, even in places where The Computer's cameras can't see without a probe," he announces.  Though he deposits his weapons, he will keep his laser barrels on him.  The sign never said anything ammunition, after all!

"I'll bet you a credit we find this datachip attached to a dead corpse in here," he says, and then squeaks in nervous fear of what lies ahead.

Cop pulls two green laser barrels and his laser pistol from his pouch, placing the items in a cubby as requested. Perhaps he would find something a little more potent when they gain access to the lab. No matter, he still had his multi-corder running so at least he could shoot something. Checking that his hair was neatly in place and a quick palm breath check, Cop reports to the hygiene officer, " Washed and ready to make a good impression sir!"

Vilfred looks in the bins. Are there already other weapons in the bins? She then places her force sword and pistol body in a bin, noting its location so she can retrieve it later.

She looks around the room for any cameras.

There are two cameras above the door leading into the weapons research area.  There are no other weapons in the bins at this time.

(You need to push the button next to the door to advance when you are ready.)

Growing restless and concerned about the building anxiety in the small room, Cop reaches forward and, ...pushes the button.

After everyone has put their weapons in a slot (as all the slots/cubbies appear empty at this time), the button is pushed.  A brief scanner scans you, and then a buzzer goes off.  The cubbies all close, locking your weapons inside, and the door in front of you opens.

You see a hall open in front of you, with doors roughly 20 feet apart on either side.  Each door has a number and a label written on it, with odd-numbered doors on your left side and even-numbered doors on your right side.  Unlike most areas, the doors are not color coded at all.  You read the doors and find the following:

DOOR 1: "CLOSET." 

Next to this door, you see a clipboard with a paper and pen on it.  The paper reads:  "Please order more..."  and then there are lines to write items needing ordering.    Someone has used the pen to write:

More body bags
[in different handwriting:]Order body bags in bulk
Potatoes
Storage lockers big enough to hide in
Bleach
Painkillers
Turret bases
1 Warbot
Liquid nitrogen container
Antibiotics
Tacos


DOOR 2: "MORGUE"
There is also a clipboard with paper and pen next to this door.  Written on the clipboard are 33 names of clones, and under the names, someone has written:  "(Order more body bags!)"

DOOR 3: "FAKE DOOR."

DOOR 4: "NEUROSCIENCE EXPERIMENTS."

DOOR 5: "SMALL WEAPONS EXPERIMENTS."

DOOR 6:  "SECRET DOOR. Shhh!"

DOOR 7: "NUCLEAR BOMB: PROJECT HOT POTATO"
A sign under that label has been stuck to the door with cheap clear tape that reads: "Also includes miniature singularity experiments. No body bags needed."

DOOR 8: "ARMOR AND ANTI-WEAPONRY"

DOOR 9: "GENETIC AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE: MUTATION EXPERIMENTATION (NON-TRAITOROUS)"

DOOR 10: "CLONE VATS"

DOOR 11: "UNCLASSIFIABLE CLASSIFIED EXPERIMENTS.

DOOR 12: "RESTROOMS: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK."

There is also a door at the far end of the hall with the label "OFFICE."  As you finish reading all the door signs, the door to the office opens, and an ivory-white humanoid robot steps out.  [OOC: it looks something like on the "I, Robot" movie.]  It says in a pleasant alto voice, "May I help you, Troubleshooters?"

You notice there are four security cameras in the hall, one in each far corner.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:46, Sat 14 Mar 2015.

Cop is quick to bring his multicorder to focus on the lists posted near the doors. He zooms in on the listing of the deceased, slowly panning down the page to record each one for later accounting. He uses the lens to capture every door number, every door sign and every hesitation of the team to proceed any further. Growing anxious with the lack of action, he asks, " Do we start with the 'Closet' and work our way down? Or make a stop at the hazardous restroom and work our way back?" capturing a head shot of the Team Leader to register her consideration.

Gene says, "I always start with the bathrooms first.  They are the most conspicuous."  Gene will open the door to the bathroom and pee...I mean... peek inside.

You look into the restroom at the far end of the hall.  As you approach, you find that it is very ominous, like any restroom in Alpha Complex.  Looking inside, you find that...[drum roll please]...it is a bathroom.  Oh, the humanity!  There is a security camera in each corner of the bathroom ceiling.  There are sinks and mirrors, and several stalls.

A green overgrowth is coming from one of the stalls.  Like the previous locker room, it appears to be part of the outgrowth from EVE's experiments that are overtaking the facility.

Nothing else seems amiss or dangerous about the bathroom.

Since no one else is doing anything, Gene will look in the stall.  "A toilet would be the perfect place to hide a computer chip," he ruminates.

OOC: Where is everyone?  The crickets are chirping.

Gene opens the toilet stall and finds...something brown and green growing out of the toilet bowl.  It is one of those plant hybrid things that EVE apparently has been growing all over the place.  It is quite beautiful...almost mesmerizing.

But Gene shakes off the hypnotizing effect of the plant.  (Roll successful.)  There does not appear to be anything else in the bathroom except a small broken scrub bot.  Only its eyes are lit now.  It is about the size of a small cat and repeats in small, high pitched words, "help me, help me, help me."

Cop zooms in on the helpless bot, capturing just how badly the program is being run. If they couldn't maintain their bots, how could one expect proper care for the clones in this sector? " Can we get an Equipment Officer over here to recover this bot please?" he asks, scanning every member of the team. Did we even have a qualified EQ-Guy? Lately it felt the team was making little progress, all of which would be noted in his report with regard to the Team Leader. " We can't just leave it there! That would be a waste of resources!" he pleads.

"I'm more into happiness," Mark says.  He takes little interest in the bot or what this registered mutant says.  "First you mysteriously get a green uniform, and now you are saying our caution to preserve The Computer's desires is not productive.  Just like a mutant to say something like that to try to drive a wedge between his teammates and fellow troubleshooters.  I'm beginning to wonder where you got green clearance from anyway.  Maybe it's time to come straight with us.  Oh, and you also need to be a little more happy.  Do you need a happiness pill for that?"

He doesn't hardly wait for an answer, not expecting the registered mutant to be honest anyway.  "I think it's these bots and EVE we need to be more worried about."

He will check the texture and potential mutations or other oddities related to the plant form growing out of the toilet.

" Sure, ...I'll take a pill." Cop answers, holding out his hand and smiling from ear to ear. He also swivels the cam to capture his own happy face in the recording as he counters, " Are you a bigot Officer Mark? You do realize I am entitled to be a member of this team under the Affirmative Action Directive? Seems to me you hold a lot of hostility against mutations, a bias that is grounded only in personal opinion. If all mutants were to, ...how did you say it? 'Drive a wedge' than I am certain the Computer would have terminated any and ALL mutants rather than create the registration programs for our beneficial contributions to mission directives. My point is, not all Mutants are bad clones, some of us serve a greater purpose, like a custom tool for a custom job. Like yourself! You're being a tool right now!" he chuckles at his own joke as he swivels the camera back to allow a counter-point while still keeping his opened palm in frame ready to accept any medication the Officer deemed necessary.

Mark says, "That's just the type of thing an unhappy Commie Mutant Traitor would say.  And I see how you totally went straight to accusations without answering my question about the green uniform.  I am sure we are all interested to know how you got that uniform.  Did you kill a loyal citizen and steal it off his steaming corpse?  Or maybe it was given to you by EVE, the sworn enemy of The Computer, eh?  I would ask you to tone down the Commie Mutant Traitor accusations because you are bringing down the Happiness Level of this whole group.  In fact, I think you are exhibiting signs of SSM - substandard morale - through argumentativeness."

He gives a PSD - Personality Stabilizer Drug - to Copper, and laughs heartily.  "Now," he says, "show us all you're truly happy and not suffering from SSM by telling us a good joke.  Then I might believe your mutation has not superseded your loyalty to The Computer."  He pauses, and then says, "And we'd better all laugh."  He looks around at the others to make sure they understand he is also talking to them.

" First, to answer your question. When decanted, the uniform was given to me then." he says. He takes a moment to brush a small piece of hair from one sleeve, still keeping the uniform in the pristine condition that it was given.

" A Happiness Officer wanted to teach her teammates about self-esteem, so she asked anyone who thought they were stupid to please stand up. One clone stood up and the Officer was surprised. She didn’t think anyone would stand up so she asked him, “ Why did you stand up?”

He answered, “ I didn’t want to leave you standing by yourself.”

Gene laughs, and then laughs again, and then laughs very hard.  "We're all happy here.  Mutants have always had a knack for jokes.  Uh, the registered ones, that is.  I think you're arguing has left you both unsanitary and sweating.  Please conduct a self administered personal hygiene test on yourselves, or I will be forced to get out my kit and do one for you.  That sink in the bathroom is the perfect place for you to get cleaned up.  Go do that."

Out of curiosity--and love for The Computer--Gene will open the door marked "fake door" and see what's behind it.

Gene tries the "fake door," and it is...a fake door.  It opens onto a wall behind it.  And no, you don't see anything that looks like a secret door or hologram.

Mark drops the issue with the registered mutant, washes himself at the sink, and urges everyone to keep smiling, even when Copper is not pointing a camera at them.

He says, looking at the team leader for approval, "Maybe we should go through the doors in order.  We've tried doors 3 and 12, only to find a fake door and a bathroom with one of EVE's monstrosities.  Let's try the supply closet.  I'll bet you a credit we find something interesting in there!"  He says this very happily.

As the group moves through the space, Vilfred places microdot cams on every camera noted (the four in the hall, the four in the bathroom, etc.). In the restroom, she kneels to assess the scrub bot... "What's wrong with you, little fellow?" (Hardware 07, Bot Programming 09)

Cop stands undecided at the end of the hall, one moment catching Mark heading for the supply closet in frame, then hearing the voice of the Team Leader, quickly pans to the side to see her concern for the discarded bot. This would make wonderful footage for the Proper Equipment Refurbishment Protocol vids and while he wanted to capture both the opening of the closet and the recovery of the scrubot, the Team Leader outranked the Happiness Officer so he held his shot watching the interaction between machine and clone.

Vilfred checks out the small bot.  In a squeaky voice, it responds to her question about what's wrong by saying, "Something inside me. Get it out."

Meanwhile, Mark investigates the storage closet.  He finds that it has typical storage closet supplies:  pens, paper, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, a mop, suicide caplets, euthanasia shots, and a lyme and bleach blood cleanser that "smells like what the Computer says good things should like."

There is also a green-clad corpse rotting in one corner and a waist high scrubbot here.  The scrubbot looks like a round-topped trash can with a removable lid.  Indeed, written on the scrubbot's side are the words "Biological Waste" and "Hazardous Waste" in stickers haphazardly placed around the bot.

The scrubbot also has two pairs of scissors that have been attacked to its arms.  Seeing the glow of light at the open door, it immediately begins charging at Mark with its scissors.  As it does so, its lid top flaps open a bit, spilling some sort of toxic sludge to run over the side of its body and glowing eyespots.

"ALL HAIL EVE!" it blasts out in a deep and eerie electronic voice as it charges.

Cop records the scrubots response but before the Team Leader can offer any aid, the mechanical "ALL HAIL EVE!" and accompanying clatter of noise causes Cop to swing the multicorder to the side, catching a shot of the malformed hazardous waste container charging for Mark. Action shots always earned a few more credits which leaves Cop grinning from ear to ear with the excitement of the moment.

Mark jumps back into the hallway, staying clear of the deviant scrubbot approaching him.  As he backs up, he fires his lasers at the robot.

Gene also joins the fray.  "Get a shot of my good side!" he says to Copper as he steps into the hall and fires at the strange scrubbot attacking Mark.

OOC: I'm a little concerned I haven't see more posting here.  This is a combat scenario in which I thought everyone would participate in some way.

Mark and Gene begin firing at the robot as it enters into the hallway where most everyone else stands.  Copper gets some good pictures while everyone else stands around watching, apparently unwilling to help their fellow troubleshooters escape the evil clutches of EVE's minion in service to the Computer.

Mark makes a fantastic hit right in the eye socket of the computer, and Gene hits its arm.  The robot flies forward, just missing Mark with its scissored hands.

"ENEMIES OF EVE MUST DIE!" it says in a creepy high-pitched robotic scream.

Cop quickly sets the multi-corder on the tripod, shooting from behind to add an interesting green laser fire to the recording. He clicks the barrel into the pistol, checking that the safety is off and the cartridge installed the proper direction, then takes careful aim as the vile robot is distracted by the slapstick maneuvering of the teams Happiness Officer. He stays behind the camera and out of frame to offer the viewer a POV recording of an actual firefight.

Trying to concentrate despite the battle nearby, Vilfred concentrates on the little robot, attempting to open it or aid it in some way. (Hardware 07, Bot Programming 09)

Mark and Copper hit the large robot, while Gene misses.  Their shots are effective, and the robot tilts, falls and crashes to the ground.  It's round top falls off, rolling across the floor.  Out of the robot's head leaks a viscous green sludge over the floor that appears to be toxic, radioactive, and perhaps dangerous in a number of other ways.  However, the inside of the robot's head is hollow -- as it contained the toxic sludge.  There is something gold at the base of the inside "skull" of the robot's head, though it is covered in the strange sludge.

Vilfred continues to work at the small robot.  It sputters, it cries out in pain, and then it explodes in her hand.  (Vilfred is Snafued, pulling her hands away just in time to avoid serious injury.)

Gene nonchalantly goes over to look inside at the golden thing.  He will wipe off any of the slimy toxic stuff before touching it.

Mark ignores the robots for now.  He decides to open the door marked "clone vats."

Cop moves up the hallway, adjusting for depth of field as he controls focus on the now deceased bot. Making sure he gets footage of the goo and sludge spilling from within, he catches sight of the golden glint inside. Once again setting the multi-corder on its tripod legs, he moves to the closet, looking for a pair of industrial strength cleaning gloves so that he can extract the source of golden metallic shine within the hazardous slop of the bot.

The golden thing is a golden pill of some sort.  You don't have any other information about it...or do you?  Gene and Copper go to extract the pill, but Copper gets it wiped off and safely picked up first after finding some safe cleaning gloves in the closet.  He is also able to decontaminate it with the cleansers inside the closet.

The door marked "Clone Vats" opens easily for Mark.  Inside, you see a computer on a desk with wires connecting around the walls of the room, a set of lockers, and three clone vats filled with the viscous liquid used to create clones.  Wires lead to each of the vats.  An advertisement across the bottom of the vats reads: "Now, with five minute cloning speed capability!"  The vats do not currently have any clones in them.

Each of the five lockers is painted and labeled with a color:  Yellow, Yellow, Green, Green, Blue.

As with most cloning vat rooms, there are drains on the floor to easily dispose of any residue from the vats, along with some "DECANTING TOWELS: GET THE GOO OFF OF YOU!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:28, Mon 04 May 2015.

"Whoops!" Vilfred says.  She rises, approaching her comrades to look at the pill procured by Copper. "What have you here?"

" That golden pill I told you about earlier!" Cop says, looking puzzled as he holds it up for the team to see. He knew of his registered mutation, had he suddenly become precognitive as well? He studies each of his team mates, gauging their reaction to his discovery of the prophetic pill. " Anyone know what it's for?"

Mark says, "It's not for a mutant, that's for sure.  Give it to the team leader." He points to Vilfred.  "And I sure hope you don't have any unregistered mutations, because that would be treasonous."  He crosses his arms and stares suspiciously at Copper.

" It's also none of the registered spectrum colors for a non-mutated citizen." Copper points out to the Happiness Officer. Being gold, it is not an easy classification to make when it comes to the color-coded hierarchy we all know and love. " No, no non-registered mutations. I was sampled and classified before being deployed. To think otherwise would be to think the Computer made a mistake, ...I'm sure that's NOT what you meant!" he says with a small chuckle. He slips the gold pill into the zippered pocket over his heart. Better to keep it out of greedy traitor hands for the moment, they could analyze it - or possibly use it - later.

Gene leaves them to bicker and checks out the computer in the vat room.

Mark watches Copper carefully but then decides to open the door to Unclassifiable Classified Experiments.  "I'll bet you a credit we find something to defeat Eve in a place like that," he says, and then squeaks nervously as he opens the door to see what lies beyond.

The computer in the vat room is on standby mode.  It does not have a keyboard but instead appears to use biometrics, which strikes you at odd given all the robots running around here.  There is a handpad to place your hand for scanning, and a computer screen that currently has a screensaver of red clones swimming around a fish tank.

Mark opens the door to "UNCLASSIFIABLE CLASSIFIED EXPERIMENTS."  It opens into a short 8 foot long hall that leads to a security door.  Above the security door, two video cameras point down at you.

The security door itself is closed.  Next to it is a keypad for entering a passcode.  The security door is also made of transparent material.  it leads into a dark hallway.  At the far end of that hallway, you see the red light of another security camera pointed toward you.

But even more immediately, directly on the other side of the door, you see the rotting corpse of a Blue-clad clone.  He does not appear to have been dead for long.  His hands and face are pressed against the plexiglass as if he was trying to push through to escape when he...died or was killed or whatever.  You can't make out much about his features, other than they show an expression of extreme horror and duress.  But you can also make out his nametag pressed against the glass.  It reads 'Fred-E-FIN.'

The multicorder aimed across Marks shoulder to get a nice POV shot, Cop comments, " Ewww... gruesome. Wonder why nobody's cleaned that up yet, think Fred is a recent expiration? What's with the palm-scan? I've seen only robots up to this point." He records both the horrified corpse and the rest of the equipment as he narrates, finally pulling back to a wide shot as he asks Mark, " You going to open the next door? Go ahead, I'll document everything you find." He shifts into black and white, for dramatic staging and also to lessen the impact of any gory discoveries.

Mark says, "That's the guy we were supposed to find.  Now let's see if we can't get this security door to open." Mark will try to open the security door, see if the locks work, and generally make himself look like he knows what he's doing around security doors.

The door appears to be a fairly secure lock.  The only way to enter is probably to enter the right code into the keypad.

 Vilfred, frowns thinking. "What were the numbers that Max said when we freed him?" she muses, struggling to remember. "Was it: 34, 21, and 1.6190476?"

Gene says, "Yes, let's plug them in and see if they open the security door."  He will punch each of the numbers in the keypad one at a time.

The code 3421 opens the door, and the blue clad clone, dead for awhile now, flops down onto the floor in front of you.

The open door also now leads to a corridor beyond.  Obviously, that is the corridor where Fred here was apparently killed.

OOC: Hopefully, we've still got a group here.

Cop shoulders the multi-corder, capturing the toppling of the corpse and a wide shot of the corridor beyond. He scans back down, shifting through the various settings to insure he catches all the graphic detail of the corpse while silently waiting to see how the Team Leader will handle the discovery of the clone they were sent to find.

Gene also stands back waiting.  "Team leader, I recommend you let me search the corpse.  This is a hygiene issue since the corpse could be rotting and subject to germs that could infect and take out the valuable troubleshooters of the COmputer.  As hygiene officer, I will ensure all hygiene and sanitation steps are taken in the inspection of the corpse."  He waits for a response.

Vilfred nods, as she looks around. "After you!"

You search through Fred's decaying corpse and find two things:

1 - a small data drive marked "EVE Project Beta"

2 - A folded note next to the drive that reads:  "If found, please revive me in the nearest cloning tank.  My revival number is 1.6--"

The last part of the note is smeared, so you don't know what numbers follow the "6."

You also notice that Fred's uniform is torn and it looks like he was attacked by...something--something with long teeth or claws.  And parts of Fred look burnt too.

With the security door now open, you also can hear down the hall.  You hear a "thump," followed a moment later by another "thump."  Then you hear an unsettling and fast-repeating clicking sound, something that might be made by a strange exotic creature.  But you can't see what comes after the turn in the hallway ahead, as it veers sharply to the right.

You do, however, see a dried trail of old blood leading from Fred down the hall, and down the right hand turn of the corridor.  You also notice unnatural scorch marks on the wall.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:09, Fri 12 June 2015.

Cops attention - and that of the view finder - is on the note. He zooms in, reads it over twice before turning the camera toward the Team Leader. " That smudged encode number on the note, ...you think it might be 1.6190476? Should we close this up go back to the vats and punch it in? Might give us some insight to talk with the deceased." he suggests, " Unless you'd rather have Gene take point and clean this corridor first."

Gene says, "Wait.  Copper is the registered mutant.  What's your mutation again anyway?  Could it be useful here?  Maybe Copper should take point.  If nothing else, he can get a good record of whatever is down that hall on video for The Computer."  He turns to Vilfred for her decision.

Cop takes a moment to step around to the other side of the lens after setting the multi-corder on the tripod. He smiles, leaning to one side at an unnatural angle. He straightens and then leans over backwards, curling like a snail to peek out from between his own legs. " Contortionist. Every bone rubberized for greater range of flexibility. he responds, proud to show off his registered advantage, " Not much use in hall cleaning."

Mark's eyes open.  "Wow!" he says, before remembering that mutations were a bad thing. "I think that is a perfect mutation for peeking around the hall.  Then just use your rubberized bones to dodge anything that comes your way.  What do you think, team leader?"

As you sit and debate who should investigate, the "thump" and the clicking increase and then suddenly stop.  Staring fixedly ahead down the hall, you see nothing but then hear a loud exhalation like a horse's breath.  Then the clicking starts again.

Just then, two large tentacles--wait, those aren't tentacles, they're overly thick vines--fly out into the far end of the hall--wait maybe, they are tentacles--

Whatever they are, they are thick as a clone's thigh, are both green and pinkish like a vine mixed with an octopus tentacle.  Following the tentacle come two giant sized pincers, like those from a lobster but large enough to chop a clone in half.  Eyes on the ends of stalks peer around the corner toward you.  The rest of the body is still hidden.

Cop quickly draws his laser, checking that it has a fully charged barrel before aiming it into the corridor. " Permission to destroy the monster?" he asks the Team Leader with an unsteady voice, his eyes large and carefully watching the parts he could see. The multi-corder was catching it all from the tripod, so Cop stands ready to grab and go if the creature gets any closer.

Gene also holds up his laser and points it at the creature while waiting for the okay to fire.

Mark also gets his gun ready. "Uh, team leader, what do you say? I don't want to die another death right here, even if the vats are right next door."

The others may be waiting for Vilfred to respond, but the giant hybrid creature is not.  Its tentacles whip out as it pulls itself into the hallway.  What you see defies description (but I will do my best):

It has two front pincers like a lobster, that could each tear a man in half.  It has four long tentacles that look half-octopus, half-plant vines, and it uses these along the walls to pull itself along, using the suction cups accordingly.  The rest of its body comes into view and you see that its main body appears more like a vehicle--metal, rolling on tank tracks.  And it has a scorpion like tail about 8 feet long with both an attached laser rifle mounted on it and a row of needle-like spikes protruding from what looks to be a long cactus.  Its eyes are video cameras on the ends of long stalks and its mouth is a long, horizontal speaker.

The thump had been its tentacles slapping against the walls to pull it along.

The clicking was actually coming from the speaker, like feedback.  The clicking stops and a robotic voice says, "Destroy all clones.  By EVE's command.  Long live The Computer."

It begins moving toward you some more, filling most of the corridor with its massive frame.  It is about 30 feet away...

The monster's intent is clear and captured for the record. The team is in imminent danger and the team leader is unresponsive. Knowing there's a time to shoot with the recorder and a time for the gun, Cop opens fire on the approaching terror... ZZAP!

Gene follows Copper's lead.  "Now is the time to be a coherent team in service to The Computer!" he screams, followed by nervous laughter.  He fires at the creature, making sure Copper or Mark or someone else is actually standing a little more in front of him when the thing attacks.

"I bet you a credit we don't all get out of this alive," Mark says before leveling his own laser gun and firing.

Just as Vilfred is about to agree to using 1.6190476 as the ID number for cloning, the creature emerges. She counts it -- One! -- and says loudly, "Fire!" She readies her red laser barrel and body to fire herself, releasing a hot stream of deathlight.

OOC: It looks like there are only 4 active characters/players at the moment.  If anyone else is playing, please let me know.  I'm going to either start clearing out nonactive characters or seeking replacement players for them in the next week or so.

For a reminder about combat and injuries, link here: link to a message in "Paranoia: They Really Are All Out to Get You"

The fun begins...

The lobster scorpion plant "thing" approaches.  Lasers go off like a laser light show in the corridor.

The lobster thing is hit several times but does not slow.  However, one of its tentacles is MAIMed.

It attacks.  One tentacle wraps around Bruce, and a giant lobster claw reaches over and snaps him--in half.  Bruce is KILLED.

Another tentacle wraps around Rob.  Just like Bruce, the other lobster claw reaches over and snaps off his head.  Rob is KILLED.

The rifle holding what appears to be cactus-like needles also fires into the narrow corridor area where you stand.  Peter is WOUNDED.  The needles hurt, that's for sure.  But they are also coated in some sort of paralytic substance.  Peter can just stand there and watch the chaos around him.

A third tentacle strikes out but misses Vilfred.

The last tentacle strikes out at Mark.  Although it doesn't wrap around Mark, it slaps him upside his head.  Mark is Snafued.  (He cannot attack next round.)

Vilfred holsters her laser pistol, drawing her force sword. She tries to get in as close to the creature as she can, perhaps under its camera-eyes, swinging the sword at a tentacle to sever it, if possible.

Gene fires again.  "Go, team leader!  Show us the way!" He will gladly let Vilfred step forward and engage in melee with the monster.

Cop takes cover next to the door, using the frame to steady his shot.

ZZZAP!!!

Mark takes cover behind Cop, firing over his shoulder.

Lasers fly, swords swing, claws contract, tentacles fly out, and cactus-like needles glide through the air.  In short, pandemonium breaks out.

Mark fires, his blast just missing Cop's left ear and bouncing harmlessly off the wall.  Since he was SNAFUED he couldn't really attack, so his firing was perhaps nothing more than a muscle reflex.  Good thing too, as his shot was pointed in Cop's direction.

Cop takes aim and fires, making a solid hit on the lobster-plant-octopus-robot thing's right claw.  The claw is DISABLED.

Peter cries out for help because he is wounded.  Then he is hit with the paralytic needles from the lobster thing's spray, and he quickly shuts up.  Now he is paralyzed and wounded, unable to do anything but watch.

Gene fires and hits another tentacle, MAIMING the tentacle.

A tentacle swipes at Gene but misses.  A claw strikes out, slicing Vilfred's left hand clean off.

Vilfred only takes a moment to look down at her severed forearm.  She does not hesitate even a moment.  She decides to show her fellow clones how it's done.  She steps in with her force sword and begins swinging.  There is a moment of silent awe as her sword makes swooshing, vibrant electricity sounds.  She hits the monster square on in the face and head, and chops off a tentacle to boot!  (Critical hit.)

The creature, hurt and overwhelmed, retreats back at a run, disappearing into the far room to lick its wounds--that is, if it even has a tongue to lick with.

Peter is still wounded on the floor, requiring medical attention.  Bruce and Rob are dead.  Who knows how long it will be before their replacement clones arrive.  And Mark's SNAFUED condition wears off.  Oh, and Vilfred's severed hand has flopped down to the ground.

Vilfred shields her severed hand, hoping that the others didn't notice that it'd been cut off. She looks for the removed appendage on the ground, as she catches her breath, watching the creature retreat.

Cop holds his position, eyes on the corridor and unsure if the creature retreated out of fear or if it went to go get more friends. " Pull yourself together Team Leader!" he encourages, " We still have communications and happiness on our side! We can all still do this!" he pauses taking an exaggerated deep breath, " Do we advance or do we close the door and decant the next Fred clone?" he asks TL Vilfred-R, certain she can lead the team to successful mission completion no matter what her choice.

Mark says, "Since we have the disk with the data on it, maybe we should just retreat and take down EVE.  Is there something else we need to do around here, preferably something that won't get us killed before we can defeat EVE in service to The Computer?"  He smiles, eyes shifting to his fellow clones without his head moving.

Gene will start administering aid to Peter.

Peter watches Gene intently.

Vilfred recovers from her slight shock, rubbing new life into her wrist and new hand, turning to her comrades. "Is Peter OK?" she asks, seeing Gene tend to him. "Let's take the drive and skedaddle. We can decant a new Fred ... not here."

Peter's wounds are bound.  He is still injured but is able to move around normally.  His head was hit on the ground pretty hard in the fall, and those cement floors inside Alpha Complex are unforgiving.  He may have some intermittent amnesia.

"Uhh, what the... Where am I?" Peter grabs his head with both hands, and winces, visibly in pain.

Gene says, "Well, now we have two hygiene officers again.  We should all be clean as a whistle even if that crazy thing we just saw made us soil ourselves.  Everyone, do your personal hygiene test.  I want to make sure we don't have to initiate any emergency sanitation procedures.  Vilfred, I'll need to see that dismembered stump to ensure it is sanitary and cleaned properly.  We don't want infection to set in or for any uniforms to be stained by blood."

"Hygiene?" Peter starts giggling as he speaks, turning into laughter. "Heeheehygiene? Heeheebloodhehe.. I-hehe-need... a happy pill!" He goes a bit more serious after he is able to finish the sentence.

In reply to Mark-R-HOM-2 (msg # 151):

" There's plenty that needs attended to," Cop answers Mark as he swivels the recorders to focus on his shifty grin and immobile head, " Pete here is in pain and has requested medication. Administering some would fulfill your obligation to the team. Not doing so may very well get you killed."

With a sneer of disgust Cop shakes his head at the unresponsive Happiness Officer, then turns to smile reassuringly at Pete. " You're doing good Pete. Tell you what. I have here..." he reaches into one of the many pockets on his jumpsuit and pulls out a small pill box. He rattles it to show it is loaded as he says, " Cure All Pills! Doesn't that bring a smile to your face? Here, take one, it should take effect within thirty minute cycles. It says here on the container...

Instructions: "Take one and heal yourself up within 30 minutes--does not stop massive bleeding, correct internal hemorrhaging, mend broken bones, or reverse death. ...Hey, you're not dead so it should work great!" Cop rattles one of the three out of the small container and hands it over to Pete.

Mark says, "I can't believe you were withholding those pills from Pete for so long!  Were you trying to torture him?  Typical mutant--not caring about us non-mutant clones.  I don't have any healing within my power, but I need everyone to take a Personality Stabilizer Drugs -- these PSDs right here in my pocket -- before you get any early warning signs of Substandard MOrale --you know, SSM.  You are getting argumentative, bossy, and I haven't heard a group singalong almost all day.  Let me get you started on a new one--

"If you're happy and you know it,
Serve the Computer;
If you're happy and you know it,
Serve the Computer;
If you're happy and you know it,
And you really want to show it,
If you're happy and you know it,
Take your PSD. Right now!"


He turns to Vilfred and says, "Do you need anything to make you happy about losing your hand?  Just remember, it was in service to the Computer, so it can't be all bad.  Take your PSD and go forward, chin up!"  He smiles and says as a joke, "Do you know why Vilfred didn't give us a hand for that last sing along?  Because she can't clap."  He looks around and makes sure everyone is laughing and happy.

Pete starts laughing nervously as he reaches for the pills, his hands still shaky, in order to munch them. "Thahahahankyouuuuuu!!!". He closes his eyes and tries to regain his focus and stays silent for a bit before asking: "So who are you, where I am and how do you know my name?"

" You, citizen, are Peter-R. One of the cleanest and loyal Hygiene Officers I have ever had the pleasure of serving with. You are in the Alpha Complex, our home under the protection, guidance and care of our Friend the Computer. I know your name because it is sewn onto a patch above your pocket, just under your Hygiene Officer badge." Cop answers with a friendly smile before going back to humming Marks little tune and reaching up to secure the door behind which the monster hides. " That thing was NOT happy!" he packs up the tripod, reshoulders the multicorder and stands patiently waiting to follow the leader. He only grins at Mark, keen enough to not provide the hater with any more ammunition for his prejudice against the Specialty Adapted.

Peter nods, takes a quick glance at his superficially visible equipment, looks around to get a better notion of his surroundings and awaits.