NOW HIRING: Another LC-Inspired Monster Facility Management Quest

[FishFish]

white waking: Lisa: The Pointless OST - Dream Serene

You wake up from a deep and silent dream, already forgetting what you saw as you open your eyes. A blue light of a faraway computer faintly illuminates your surroundings. Far above you, the pipework twists and flows like arteries and veins winding through a body.

You take in a deep breath and feel your lungs being sque-e-e-e-e-e-e-ezed out by something like a gigantic hand reaching up into your chest. You shoot upright only to hack up nothing at all and the syringe falls from your hands and rolls into the depths of the room. "Your employment under P-Company has been secured as per our contract. Look at us. We're the machine that keeps the world going." You curl over in another coughing fit.

Cold eternity passes and the fever breaks. You stand up shakily, feeling the cramps and aches and popping joints of sleeping overnight on a hard, hard floor. Traces of confusion, deep resentment, joy? Whatever it was, you feel calm enough now and begin recognizing the silhouettes in this control room.

The soft light of the computer console reveals a cheapass folding chair, an sea of ink and paperwork, and the rest of your metal workstation. There are stacks and stacks of unattended alarm notifications, indicating a hasty abandonment of the facility you've been assigned too. The other stacks are filled with nothing but gibberish and nonsense symbols.

It's a big mess, really.

On the screen is a camera feed of people gathered around an open fire in the employee break room, alongside a smaller screen of gibberish at first glance, but the shapes and unfamiliar diagrams eventually coalesce into the internal view of a...

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... PRODUCTION Room. This is why you are here. Why we all are here.

You swallow and taste bitterness, unease, and a growing sense of purpose. Securing this derelict facility, acquiring funding, analyzing anomalies, extracting E-Energy, generating PRODUCT — these are your responsibilities among many others as the new manager. Time to get back to work.

Which layer is your facility within located right now?

>SURFACE. An impossible industrial landscape hidden in the desert sands. Being so close to A and F Companies imposes stricter oversight, but increases corporate assistance from your own P Company.

>URBAN. The City. Artificial lights, paved streets, the noise of traffic and people, people everywhere. You feel a familiar (un)ease, being so close to home - it's easy to call in friends and favors and also easy for a bad situation to get even worse.

>SUBURBAN. Miles of desolation, anachronistic megastructure, and unknown laboratories. Isolated and with an increased frequency of hostile incidents, but expeditions into the ruins can prove lucrative in a variety of ways.

>Write-in?

Spoiler

This is a "reboot" of my Quest from 4chan's /qst/ board. Another run in my crackpot setting with more refinements. Gotta get used to forum-posting.

 

[FishFish]

Spoiler: INVENTORY AND CATALOG LIST

Catalogs
- Catalog of the Major Powers
- DISCOUNT DAN'S CRAZY CORPORATE CATALOG

Objects
- A limitless(?) supply of buckets!!!
- A battered toolbox containing a screwdriver, a crowbar, a multitool, a flashlight, and a wrench.
- Ordinary cleaning supplies, such as mops, spray bottles, bleach, and so on.
- A stepladder.
- An expertly-tied and thankfully empty noose.
- 2x pairs of yellow insulated gloves! (WOW! WHAT A FUCKING FIND!)
- 1x pair of welding goggles.
- 1x pair of eclipse glasses.
- 1x rubber-coated pair of tongs.
- 1x filled welding torch.

Equipment
Employee A - Surgeon's Kit (???)
Employee B - A RED TIE (Threat+++)
Employee C - Flamethrower (???)
Employee D - A mundane lighter.
Employee E - Trinity Smith (???) loaded with 1x .45 Colt

Spoiler: EMPLOYEE DOSSIER

Employee A IMAGE
- Quick-Witted (Entertain+, Deprive+, COOL+, gains an additional Entertain+ or Deprive+ for the shift depending on morale)

Employee B
- Out-of-Towner (Foster+, Enable-, Entertain-, Mental- COOL-, Attack Avoidance- Threat+, Not from these parts, I take it?)

Employee C IMAGE
- Mechanical Proficiency (Enable+, Knowledge of engineering and mechanics).

Employee D
- "Triple-Digits"
- Glass Jaw
- A HEADACHE (Your skull feels like it's about to break apart... Something primal is shifting within you...)

Employee E
- Sleepyhead (Energy Collection-, Threat--)
- Vigilant (Enable+, COOL++, Knows when trouble's a-brewin...)

Employee F (Secretary) IMAGE
- ???

AGENT GUY (???)
- ???
- Who the hell is this guy???

Spoiler: ANOMALY AND ODDITY INFO

ATOM BOMB BABY (Floor 1 - Containment Cell A) IMAGE
Anomaly. A robot with many legs who can show you a good time.
- Entertainment seems to be a strong suit.
- Enable seems okay.
- Prefers the company of only a few employees. (Criteria not determined..?)

Hard Times (Floor 1 - Containment Cell B) IMAGE
Anomaly. Giant murder mech, thankfully slow and contained.
- Does not like many works.
- Deprive weakens the machine due to suppressing natural functions.
- Has a powered down state and a powered state.

The Timekeeper's Schedule (Floor 1 - Break Room) IMAGE
Anomaly. A simple blackened watch on a gold chain.
- ???

WALKING LIGHTNING (Floor 1 - Containment Cell C)
Oddity. Very bright. Much shock. Wow.
- It's bright, it needs protective equipment to handle, it's dangerous.

Spoiler: FACILITY UPGRADES AND EQUIPMENT

INSIGHT I - Gives hints towards PARADIGM manifesting conditions.
MOVING EYE PICTURE module. Allows you to project a holographic avatar of yourself anywhere in the facility as an active camera.
An ordinary television set...

SPECIAL THANKS
snail, UFRLammar, and Frank

 

[FishFish]

city1: Sonny 2 OST - Aftermath 1

In your mind's eye, you can see it in all its splendor...

First, there is the night, endless night.

Then there is the City, its lights blazing like torches in the darkness. Illumination by desires and fears. The skyline teeters and its rigid symmetries shifts like ephemeral smoke. The marvelous city under the earth is growing still, tracts of concrete and rails of steel stretching in every direction. Yes, this City was only a dream in the minds of men hundreds of years past, the great work to which every architect and engineer and every builder of human habitation in this country had had a hand in realizing it. Sublime... eternal...

Along the horizon, the grand silhouettes of ancient pillars rise immeasurably and infinitely tall.

You cough. Weird. Your insides still feel a little dazed due to the process of your employment. You were aware of the biggest risks of taking on the mantle as a facility supervisor, but firsthand experience screams out loud every minor ache and pain of being one.

Hey. Suffering builds character, you know. Suck it up, walk it off. ; )

You decide to further inspect the video feed of your... employees. (You actually being the big man in the high castle... The fact hasn't settled in. A layer of disconnect between you and the idealized form of a supervisor.) You sigh a really deep and disappointed sigh as you watch.

employees screwing around: Space Station 13 Music - Title1 (Flip-Flap)

There's a flaming human corpse in the middle of the break room. Yeah, okay. Okay. You tap your temple and scratch hard enough to make you wince. Let's just...

A fat guy in an ill-fitted suit fiddles with the valves on his flamethrower at one of the tables, while a woman wearing sunglasses indoors crouches close and stares intently at the flames. You don't like the half-devilish look splayed across her face. You don't like the look of this entire break room, come to think of it. There's trash everywhere and the pipes are overgrown and you count at least five stray-sized cockroaches nibbling on something in the corner where a fridge clearly used to be.

Someone moves just outside of the camera's view. You jolt back as a dude with black teashades shoves his face right up to the camera and with a sudden crackle-

[NO VIDEO] At least you still have audio. But you don't particularly like what you're hearing either...

"Shoot. There goes that. Shouldn't have-" Teashades sighs in defeat.

"You said you had it, Ed," a mature voice chides Teashades from the side. "These newer models have integrity systems that shock right back when someone tampers with them from the outside."

"Aleth-" ("Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. Fire. Heh, heh, heh." That must be the sunglasses girl chuckling in the background.) "-could lend a hand instead of just standing around looking mean."

"It's was your bright idea to muck around with the cameras." Aleth's voice walks off and returns after a moment, coughing lightly. "Not like there's a point until our boss says to. What's your deal with the CCTV anyway?"

"Insurance," Ed states plainly.

"Oh please, you won't see a single dime crawling out of management's coffers. Might as well tame a stray while you're at it." A pause. "I don't like liars."

Ed lets out an audible sigh. "Chardy!" He shouts across the room. "Over here!"

"Yes, Mister Sobchak." You hear shuffling and heavy footsteps.

Spirited bunch. You'll have the pleasure of dealing with them face-to-face later. Hopefully much later.

You start flipping through the rest of the cameras like late night TV. Here's what we have so far...

• You're in the Control Room at one end of the main corridor. From here, you can access the camera feeds, monitor the collection of energy and funding, and take a nap.
• Most of your minio-employees are located within the Break Room. It's in bad shape and Ed just deactivated the sole camera, but it's still here. It is located at the other end of the corridor.
• There's a Janitor Closet in left side of the main corridor. It's not open and there's no camera inside.
• As per P-Company regulations, there are two requisite containment cells on this floor complete with cycling airlock systems. Apart from the ominous black boxes in each cell, there's only a drain and a shower head to decorate the interior of each reinforced concrete box. Both of them are on the right side of the main hallway, opposite the janitor's closet.
• There are several elevators, two outside of your Control Room, another pair at the far end of the corridor by the employee break room, but you can't quite make out where they lead to...
• There's a spiral staircase next to the Control Room, but you don't know where it leads up or down, either...

The two monolithic cubes stand in the centers of their respective containment cells. Containment cubes. Rather mysterious blackbox technology, used to make more black boxes. The strange entities and objects which are called anomalies are presumably within these things.

You eye the big red button by your right hand, helpfully labeled with a cheerful note that reads, "START THE WORK DAY - PRESS ME! : D"

When we press the button, we will release the anomalies within the containment cubes. Are you ready? [Choose two anomalies.]
>"Before I met you baby, I didn't know what I was missing." (You can't help but let out a little whistle. Even with how fast the robot is twitching, you sense those are some really nice legs.)
>"And what is a united world if not flesh from all different types of people?" (You've never seen a cyborg quite this broken. If it were you down there, you would never stop screaming.)
>"Let's stop and watch the roses." (You're reasonably sure that that's what a giraffe is supposed to look like.)
>"All you're doing now, is playing with memories... Let me take you away." (You feel thirsty just looking at this sculpture. Hm, there's probably a water cooler around here somewhere...)
>Write-in? [Experimental option. Type in a >keyword and I'll mix them all into an anomaly at my discretion.]

Out of all the useless reports and notices on your desk, there's a post-it by the mouse which indicates there is another object within the facility which may benefit your goals, one way or another... [Choose one asset.]
>WALKING LIGHTNING oddity. Suddenly manifested over a public work building. Produces an incredible amount of power. (We really don't know how we acquired this without a single casualty.)
>KING'S FLESH sample. Hacked off from an M-Company by-product. Still demonstrates incredible vigor after severance. It gently holds onto your finger when provoked.
>HELLSHOCK security model. Currently in a state of incredible disrepair. Functions as an effective anti-biological cleaning unit. Being an R-Company machine, it does it for free.
>"KINGPIN" combat blend (x5). Experimental recipe created by a rogue Agent with the assistance of an unknown start-up pharmaceutical company. Removes biological and psychological limiters once consumed. Make each cigarette count.
>Write-in? (Tip: Have fun with this option.)

Finally, there seems to be a phone number stuck to the bottom of the computer monitor. Could be worth calling... or not.
>WING IT. You have a gigantic triple digit IQ - you can figure this out by yourself. It'll just be building a sandcastle, except this one's made out of body parts and other unfortunate organs. [START THE DAY!]
>DIAL IT. You'll need a refresher on how things work, now that you're the manager. (And shouldn't there be a secretary, personal assistant, or some other hapless individual to dump your responsibilities on? Or at least, explain this?) [BEGIN THE TUTORIAL?]

[MISC.]
>Write-in?

Spoiler

Finally got back home. Now we can get somewhere. Three main votes in this update, anomalies, asset, tutorial/explanation.

 

[FishFish]

You fumble around in the darkness, knocking over stacks of papers with amusement, and unearth a telephone keypad embedded into your console. After tapping out the number, you hear a series of clunking noises from the darkness far above. A telephone receiver swings down on a wire, dangling from the mouth of an open pipe. Neat. You put your ear up close and wait for a few seconds before...

Bill from Accounting: Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk OST - TALK TO ME!

Something huge is breathing wetly on the other end of the call. It sucks in a deep breath, far longer than a human should. You give an inquiring "Hello?" and wait for a response.

"Hello, hello, hello, human maggot. This is Bill from Accounting." The earnest voice of the 20-year old man on the phone has a strange warbling quality. (Just roll with it, man.) "Now how can I be of service to you?"

>I need a refresher on how things work as a new manager.
"Oh, oh, oh. How wonderful. I find myself in an excellent position to help once again." You hear a rather thick tome being rapidly shuffled through. "Would you like a complementary thin blood sent over - not that kind of refreshment? Information, yes, I see. Let us get down to business. If you haven't already, please start the work day using the assigned button, employee."

You lick your lips and push down on the shiny red button with a satisfying click. A wave of canned applause and cheers echoes from the intercom system. You resist the urge to clap along, while a series of wet slaps echoes through the receiver. "Oh, you're going to love this part."

WORKDAY START!
SHIFT 1, HOUR 1

The first containment cube unfolds and a robot with very shapely legs struts out as if on a fashion runway. It surveys its new surroundings, tensing up with an almost spider-like stillness. Waiting, watching, then taking very careful steps away from the cube, which has folded onto itself into the size of a manila folder. Even though the robot is a little larger than the average City slicker, you don't even hear its footsteps as it begins to promenade around the room with a growing confidence. For a split second, which you almost chalked up as a camera malfunction, its head spins so fast that it registers as a blur.

"Please return the containment cubes to us when it is most... acceptable to the entities potentially involved, supervisor."

ATOM BOMB BABY has been acquired.

The second containment cube unfolds, revealing the most singular piece of power armor you've laid eyes upon. It's firmly constructed out of a corroded standing locker, layered with the finest pieces of cardboard plate like tank armor, and stands at the height of two very bad and cool men. The room seems to grow smaller in comparison. Exposed servos, wires, and what appear to be nerve endings sprout outward at haphazard angles.

What the !@#%* is this!

Hard Times has been acquired.

"As a facility supervisor, your primary goal is to produce PRODUCT according to the Daily Quota. To accomplish this task, you merely have to extract and refine E-Energy using the PRODUCTION Room. All else is secondary! Upper Management will very severely-sorry, moderately punish your failure to handle this sole responsibility."

>How and where should I extract this E-Energy?
"E-Energy is automatically gathered throughout the facility, but your primary source of energetics will be from interacting with these intriguing and potentially, only slightly lethal entities which we call anomalies. Under ideal circumstances, employees which you own will be sent into the containment cells to interact with anomalies for maximum energy collection. Each work order which you assign will one hour to complete. It is good form to indicate specific actions or inactions in the work order, if needed."

"Here is a list of work orders created by a now unknown yet fondly remembered facility administrator. This list may be added to or edited as you please:
Foster. Employees attempt to fulfill physiological needs. Remember, we all are still very silly animals with very important needs.
Enable. Employees attempt to establish the favored living conditions for the anomaly. One of my distant colleagues described this as a "in-house maid service," I believe.
Entertain! Employees attempt to fulfill social needs of the anomaly. Other human beings make for great entertainment, no?
Deprive. Employees attempt to oppose the anomaly's natural desires and instincts. Communication is a give and take affair and more often than not, violence is an acceptable object of transaction for involved parties."

"Today's Daily Quota is 4 PRODUCT, necessitating the refinement of 12 E-Energy Packets. Now do you have any further inquiries?"

>Hey, what happened to this "Walking Lightning" Oddity on the records?
You hear a distant rumble of thunder from above (from below?) and feel the vibrations through the walls. The person? on the other end murmurs his assent. "I would suggest not opening your facility's windows for the time being. Your eyes will fry like delicious bird eggs in their sockets due to the sheer power being produced, you see. Nonetheless, the situation will be resolved by our friends at K Company after this first work hour."

>Gee, this sure is a lot of information to take in.
"In the process of understanding, don't hesitate to ask any questions which come to mind. We have great confidence in you and your abilities, supervisor."

>Goodbye, Bill.
"Buh-bye now. Later." click That went rather well. You're feeling a little better.

Just follow the instructions and nobody explodes... [Please determine your first anomaly work order(s).]
>Which employee(s) should be sent in? (Employees A-E are all available.)
>Which anomaly should be worked upon? (ATOM BOMB BABY and Hard Times are available.)
>What work type should be performed? (F.E.E.D or otherwise.)
>Write in.

You're not just going to spend the entire hour watching camera footage without doing anything else. Or will you? [Please suggest your miscellaneous actions.]
>Call Bill again for further information. (Ask!)
>Search the room for any important documents and doohickeys. (Scavenge!)
>Scream! (AAAAA!)
>Write in.

You check the break room camera. The video is still out. The audio is still untouched.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
"WHERE'S THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER?!"
"BON-"
"CHECK THE JANITOR'S CLOSET!"
You're reasonably sure everyone's doing just fine.

Spoiler

It's been five months and I don't have any excuse for that. My apology will be in updates, so let's >PROCEED.
Redid the earlier updates, because I have a bad tendency of getting overdramatic. Let's cool down, yes?
Feel free to add a little character to your actions, but we'll leave the important bits of manager generation for later.

 

[FishFish]

[X] Work Order: Aleth, ATOM BOMB BABY, Attachment (Entertain)
[X] Misc. Action: Scavenge around the room while screaming at the top of your lungs

Apparently, we have a Bongbong
Also you didn't give us the equivalent of an Aleph right off the bat right?

Click to shrink...

To be Frank, if I did give an ALEPH threat anomaly, you would immediately know. (You do not have an ALEPH anomaly.)

Let's be transparent together:
1. I start writing within one to two days or when there seems to be a consensus, but I won't close votes with a hard time notice. This allows more discussion and clarification votes to be made, as per the HELP WANTED! Quest.
2. I will typically select the most-voted-for plans and choices. For example, in the starting anomalies vote, ATOM BOMB BABY had four votes (first choice), Hard Times had three keywords as votes (second choice), and the sculpture and the giraffe each had one (losers).
3. The SV editor ate my initial work order drafts again. Don't worry, I'm back to notepad.
4. It's rather straightforward right now, so I think an update is in order later tonight. To reiterate, votes aren't closed.

 

[FishFish]

calm1: Terminal 00 OST - Heart/Yumenikkighetto

>A, ATOM BOMB BABY, Entertain. Talk to it and ask what it wants. Try to retrieve the manila folder-sized containment cube.

[AUDIO ONLY]
D: Heyyyyyy, don't just leave me here. It still huuuuurts...
A: Here. Bite on this paper and focus.
D: Alright? Mmm.
A: To repeat, the pain will go away with time and the burn medication I've applied will speed ups the process. Just be a little more patient, yeh?
D: Mmmhmm. Ahm whmm pmmt mms?
A: The paper is just to stop your yapping in the meantime.
D: MMM! Hey!
You hear the distinct beep of A's PDA receiving the work order you just sent.
A: Saved by the bell. Talk to you later.
D: Jerk.

Employee A exits the break room. She would have had the looks of an ambitious young woman in her late-20s 20 years ago. Shouldn't be rude. Her hair is tied back in a lab-safe ponytail and wears the black tie required of all P Company employees over a stained and singed labcoat and a ratty sweater.

The airlock cycles open and Employee A steps into the containment cell.
A: Hello yello?
The anomaly perks up and tilts its head as it studies the employee, but only for a moment.
Definitely not you.
ANOMALY: - retrieving dismissal message -
Its synthesized voice is in a low and soothing monotone.
A: Wait. Er, Law Two, wait up.
The anomaly fidgets as Employee A calls time-out.
A: How about we introduce ourselves before we wave our goodbyes?
A: I'm Doctor Aleth Zobel, presently an employee of P Company.
A: You are?
ANOMALY: Designation: -BETA3- by the Lonely Hearts Office.
There's a distinct crackle of a tape playing back.
ANOMALY: "We're only here to help the people of this City. zzt Nobody likes a lonely only~"
A: If you want to help, then you can answer a few questions.
ANOMALY: Proceed.
A: What is your manufacturer?
ANOMALY: - assessing trust -
ANOMALY: That information is classified as SENSITIVE.
ANOMALY: - Are you competition? -
The anomaly tenses and its joints whirl around lazily.
A: Can you tell me about your purpose then?
ANOMALY: This unit was created with the intent of companionship.
The robot twists its legs into a knot and bows its head.
ANOMALY: There's a certain yearning in people's hearts.
ANOMALY: Yes, a hole which needs to be filled with the relationships of other people.
ANOMALY: It was to this end that I was created.
ANOMALY: We will feel out the beating heart of the world with our caresses.
ANOMALY: For only a nominal fee per session.
A: Kueh keuh~ How much does each session cost?
The robot turns away suddenly.
ANOMALY: I'd rather not disclose this information until after the fact...
A: I seez.
A: What do you know about this place?
ANOMALY: - no matches -
ANOMALY: I don't know, I don't know~
ANOMALY: Some cops snatched me up before I knew what was going on...
A: One last thing, can you pass over that black folder on the floor?
[green]The anomaly puts a foot on the folder and slides it across the room with a single sweep of its legs.[/green]
The anomaly beeps.
ANOMALY: Please leave.
ANOMALY: - you are not paying anyway -
ANOMALY: - don't waste time -
Employee A holds up her hands.
A: I'm good, I'm gone.
The employee exits without further complication.
ANOMALY: - processing learning processing -
The anomaly paces aimlessly around its room.

The Work Order on ATOM BOMB BABY is complete.
Type: Entertain
Work Result: Bad
E-Energy Generated: +5/???
Anomaly Mood: Curious -> Irked
Employee Morale: Neutral
Employee Aspect Revealed:
Employee A - Quick-Witted (Entertain+, Deprive+, COOL+, gains an additional Entertain+ or Deprive+ for the shift depending on morale)
Work Notes - Employee A:
- Compliant, mumbles to itself constantly, expectant?
- You think you would see this model featured in the news or Popular Mechanics, given how new it looks, but the name "Lonely Hearts Office" doesn't remind me even a single bell.
- This thing is totally weird. There are zero external interfaces for refueling, voice synthesis, maintenance, etc. It can't be a perfectly closed system, can it?
- I'm curious on how this anomaly functions internally. Requesting an "Extraction" or "Dissection" type work to be conducted in the near future.
- (NOTE TO SELF: Come up with another cute acronym for additional work types.)

>E, Hard Times, Enable. Retrieve the manila folder-sized containment cube. Give it some charge?

[AUDIO ONLY]
C: I must apologize once again, Miss Rufure.
D: It's fine, it's fine. I guess.
D: Still kind of hurts.
beep
D: You too, Ed?
E: 'uppose so. See ya.

Employee E rubs the sleep out of his eyes as he steps out into the main corridor. His suit is messily worn, he's got an unshaven face, he's slouched over, and generally looks like a dude who stumbled into work from a night on the town. Unlike most other City slickers, he still has the touch of sunlight in his skin tone, but he's starting to look somewhat pale.

Employee E enters the containment cell.
E lets out a low whistle.
E: Jeez, you sure are one big lug. How's it been?
There's no response.
Employee E kneels down and closes his eyes, hanging his head a little.
E walks over and acquires the containment cube without further complication.
E inspects the stationary power armor, poking, prodding, feeling around.
This continues for quite some time.
He opens the main locker body for a further inspection.
The mildly enfleshed internal compartment contains a stripped down set of vehicle controls, a control panel, and a seat for one person.
E: Cool.
Employee E exits the containment cell.

The Work Order on Hard Times has been completed.
Type: Enable
Work Result: Neutral
E-Energy Generated: +2/???
Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Morale: Relaaaaaaaaaaxed, man.
Employee Aspect Revealed:
Employee E - Sleepyhead (Energy Collection-, Threat--)
Work Notes - Employee E:
- Nobody's home. Can't appreciate this nice, clean room if you don't have a brain.
- I heard it breathing. Saw the cardboard move as it does. Is it sleeping?
- There's a filler neck in the back for an internal blood tank made out of half a gallon jug for malk. If there's a battery, you'll need to start moving parts around. Some look really cheap, it's like a big, demented arts and crafts project.
- Send Chardy in for the next work, he's more of a machinist than I am.

>Search for any dossiers on our employees.
You sweep through your suddenly very large desk. You feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of paperwork and give up. All you find about the employees is this crummy little textfile stored in a small corner of the console. It reads as follows:

-Aleth Zobel. Age: "Write it down and you die." Merit: Former surgeon-researcher of FEVR Medical, chose an early retirement.
-[REDACTED]. Age: [REDACTED]. Note: "Who keeps asking about the ---s? Find his name and put it on the list." Merit: Highly motivated.
-Chardy Herandez. Age: 42. Note: Charged with multiple counts of first degree murder and arson, among others. Merit: Excellent but secret BBQ sauce recipe.
-Daisy Rufure. Age: 21. Merit: Can light cigarettes without her lighter.
-Edward Sobchak. Age: 32. Merit: Has no trouble going three days without sleep.

This seems... incredibly, vaguely useful? Hmmm.

There's also a single bullet in one of the empty drawers. You take it.

ACQUIRED:
- A single .45 Colt round

>Send B and C to the Janitor's Closet to report on what's in there.

The two employees walk out and one immediately grabs your interest. Employee B's long hair is a deep shade of blue, her black suit looks really snazzy and is very neatly pressed- what the FUCK is that RED TIE she's wearing? It's like a broad and flat blood worm sitting on her chest. Ugh! Yuck! Completely against P Company's dress code. Gross!

Employee C stands around awkwardly, giving furtive looks at the thing on her chest.
Employee B sighs in exasperation before flinging open the door.
An avalanche of old buckets spill out onto the floor.
Employee B sweeps her arm out, presenting the entire pile.
B: Bong bong.

ACQUIRED:
- A limitless(?) supply of buckets!!!
- A battered toolbox containing a screwdriver, a crowbar, a multitool, a flashlight, and a wrench.
- Ordinary cleaning supplies, such as mops, spray bottles, bleach, and so on.
- A stepladder.
- An expertly-tied and thankfully empty noose.
- A RED TIE (equipped by Employee B) (Threat+++).

It's just an ordinary tie...

>Send D to inspect the corridor elevator.
Employee D picks at her fresh bandages before shoving them back into her pockets as she makes her way to the spiral staircase. Those red-tinted sunglasses make her look older than she seems to be. Youngest employee here.

D: Hmmm.
Employee D knocks at your Control Room door before winding up and giving a little kick-
D: Awk!
You barely hear the impact from your end. Phew. Jerk.
D enters the Control Room stairwell.
D cranes her head upwards.
D: Guess the light show died down there...
D: Now...
D carefully descends into the darkness and out of the camera's view.
You only hear footsteps...
And a sudden bang of someone walking into something metallic.
D: ?!!
D: Okay, okay, that there is a door.
D: You're not my enemy today.
D: I don't hear much... Huh? Someone moving?
D: Yeah, screw this, I'm going back up.
Employee D extinguishes a flickering flame as she returns with a perturbed look.

You have the option to launch an expedition team into the 2nd floor of the facility.

HOUR 2, Shift 1
Quota: 0/4 PRODUCT generated
Collected E-Energy: 7 packets
Collected PRODUCT: 0 boxes

Anomaly Work Orders [1 Hour]
>ATOM BOMB BABY.
>Hard Times.

Facility Interactions and Miscellaneous Works [Variable]
>PRODUCTION Room. (You do not have enough E-Energy to complete the Quota.)
>Launch an expedition into the 2nd floor. (Who?)
>Make an announcement over the intercom. (What to say?)

>Write in.

"WALKING LIGHTING" secured. ETA: NEXT HOUR.
We're sticking our necks out for this guy and we don't even see a single dime out of it.
A favor's a favor.
Whatever.

Spoiler

I was reading that Billy Bat manga by the same author of 20th Century Boys and Monster and the time just flew by. I almost didn't eat dinner too.
A few thoughts:
1. Are darker or light colors better for the colored text?
2. I'll put up an abbreviated work log in the reserved first post later. Pastebin is my go-to, Google Docs I'd rather not touch. Are there any cool and good alternative sites?
3. How should >each voted action be separated? Can you see the arrows or too unnoticeable?

 

[FishFish]

>Work Order: Chardy, Hard Times, Deprive
[AUDIO ONLY]
You hear someone softly picking away at a melancholic and alluring melody.
bongguitar1: Dwarf Fortress - Dwarf Fortress Mode theme
E: Another loss...
C: I warned you, Mister Sobchak.
E: I'm not cleaned out just yet, old man.
Cards are shuffled.
A pause.
E: Go fish.
D: Can't you guys play anything but this?
A: It's a living, honey.
beep
C: Deprive work on the strange robot you mentioned.
C: I'll take the tools.
E: Hey, leave the flamethrower here while you're at it.
You hear equipment being adjusted and the sloshing of gasoline in its tanks.
D: You're just going to follow along?
C: Ed has... good intuition. And would you rather have me keep it?
Mild chuckling.
E: Take it easy.
C: Farewell, Mister Sobchak.
More shuffling.
D: You guys really should clean that dead guy up soon.

Employee C is still overweight as before - a middle-aged man with a brush style mustache, a receding hairline, and a constant look of vague bewilderment on his face. His suit is definitely two sizes smaller than it should be.

How else do you think murderers look like? A fun game would be counting how many you walk by in a single day. Hello, hello, hello ( ´ ∀ ` )ﾉ

Employee C enters the containment cell.
He scratches his head as he looks at the inert machine.
C: Hello?
There's no response.
Employee C takes out his wrench and screwdriver.
C takes his time prying open panels, adjusting bolts, examining endlessly...
C: Just what's the point? This one's curious.
Employee C hums to himself.
C takes a cautious smack at the most solid part of an arm...
SCAN THREAT DEFENSE ACTION-ACTION-ACT-
... the entire wretched frame of the mettle monster gives off sparks...
... and the arm slams forward, with crushing force!
The camera shakes for a moment.
The floor of concrete cell has a small crack at the site of impact.
Employee C has frozen up, but he quickly crosses himself then sprints out of the containment cell.
Standby. Standby. Standby.

The Work Order on Hard Times has has been completed.
Type: Deprive
Work Result: Neutral
E-Energy Generated: +4/???
Anomaly Mood: ??? (It's waiting...)
Employee Morale: Neutral -> Rattled.
Employee Aspect Revealed:
Employee C - Mechanical Proficiency (Enable+, Knowledge of engineering and mechanics).
Work Notes - Employee C:
- This fucking deathtrap was made by a schizophrenic. The parts vary in quality from literal garbage to things I've seen in R Company military contract combat models. There's an immense amount of pointless machine parts thrown in, but the Type II V8 blood engine should work just fine.
- It reminds me of exoskeletons used in construction and in combat. No weapon modules attached, but there could be more functions we don't know about.
- The fuel tanks are all filled to half capacity, but smell very very old.
- I loosened some of the joints and main bits as per the Deprivation, so it should be much less agile when it acts out like that.
- If we had the parts, we could definitely repair and improve the function of this machine.
- Naturally, this mech would go up in flames easily if you wanted to destroy it.

It's a badass autonomous power armor, so Foster would be charging and refueling rather than Enable... Is it drinking if you fill a machine with engine oil?

>Work Order: Edward, ATOM BOMB BABY, Enable
[AUDIO ONLY]
beep
B: Bong?
E: Hmm. Enable order on the other one.
B: Bong.
D: Whelp, see ya! Bye-bye-bye!
E: You were going to lose, kid.
A: Yeeeeeep. Total bust.
D: Tch. Just get outta here, Ed.

Employee E cracks his neck as he saunters down the halls. Another ordinary shift for him...

The airlock opens and Employee E jumps on through.
The anomaly, previous staring at the wall as its head spins and spins, turns to look.
ANOMALY: - generating lure -
ANOMALY: Hello handsome~
E: Well, hello there. You're a sight for sore eyes.
E chuckles.
ANOMALY: Well? What do you think?
ANOMALY: Are you..?
E: It's not like that.
E: I'm only here to clean up.
He lets a small tone of disappointment creep into the air.
ANOMALY: - negotiating prompt -
ANOMALY: I just want someone right here...
ANOMALY: That's all...
ANOMALY: But it's alright, take your time, we're all here for you.
E does a cursory sweep of the room, the anomaly following his every move.
However, he does not let the robot get entirely into his blind spot.
Playing hard to get are we?
E: Alright. That's all for now.
ANOMALY: Don't tell me you're leaving already...
E: That's just what the boss ordered.
ANOMALY: Well.
ANOMALY: If you're looking for a good time, you know where to find me~
E: I'll keep you in mind, sweet cheeks.
E shoots finger guns.
The anomaly waves some of its legs in a bizarre farewell as Employee E exits the containment cell.

The Work Order on ATOM BOMB BABY has been completed.
Type: Enable
Work Result: Good
E-Energy Generated: +7/???
Anomaly Mood: Irked -> Intrigued
Employee Morale: Relaxed -> Amused
Employee Aspect Revealed:
Employee E - Vigilant (Enable+, COOL++, Knows when trouble's a-brewin...)
Work Notes - Employee E:
- Moves awfully fast as Aleth said. Quiet too. It knows how to tail someone at the proper pace, real sneaky.
- If it's as light as it seems, then I'm not really sure how tough it is. Weird material.
- An Entertainment work wouldn't hurt...

>Get "REDACTED" a proper tie and move that Abominable thing somewhere that it can eventually be used for the only thing it knows, VIOLENCE
You log onto the intranet communications system and open the PDA messaging system. There are several files here, but they're all (mostly?) gibberish. Whatever. Maybe?

DM - Employee B
ERROR: Hello.
BB: Hello.
BB: Is this the Manager?
ERROR: Yes.
ERROR: In spite of this naming malfunction, I am still your manager.
BB: Haha.
ERROR: I want you to put that tie away.
BB: Why?
BB: This tie is my friend. It helps me relax.
ERROR: It goes against the dress code.
ERROR: Please do so at the earliest convenience.
BB: Whatever you say.

Keep an eye on this one.

There's something about her, it's hard to explain...

Ah whatever. It's easier to not ask the difficult questions in this blasted town.

>"This is a bucket" announcement.
"... and for a the low, low price of $2.49, you can get your VERY OWN bucket today!"
You really get into the sales pitch. If they could see you gesturing and smiling an almost certainly award winning smile, they would totally be eating out of your hands! Maybe you should look into advertising tryouts...

And judging from the resulting laughter, your audience is really amused.
Overall Employee Morale has increased Neutral -> Good.

Oh well. For the rest of the hour, you spend your time hucking pens into the ceiling and seeing if they stick. At least five, judging from how many fall back down. It's pretty fun.

>12 E-Energy packets collected.
The hanging phone starts to ring. You take the call with a "Yeah?" The wheezing of Bill comes through...

"Hello, hello, hello, human maggot. I see the energy levels in your facility have risen to an acceptable level. That is most excellent news. Now it is time for your life's fulfillment."

"Please select one employee to carry as many Emotive Energy packets as you desire into the PRODUCTION room. The current rate of PRODUCTION requires 3 packets of Emotive Energy for every 1 unit of PRODUCT, and in totality, the PRODUCTION cycle will complete its revolution in 6 hours."

"However, be informed that the Incident rate of the facility increases exponentially and without limit while both the PRODUCTION process and energy collectors are active. It is recommended to preserve company assets by ending the day, thus turning off the collectors. Or not. The shift will continue on until your desire for rest overcomes your willingness to continue. It is entirely up to your discretion, silly cow. We at P-Company are hiring the most capable and insightful employees, after all." snrk

"One last thing: look out below!"
click

Uh oh.
What did he mean by-
The entire facility rumbles...
The screen flickers as the power begins to cut out...
kercrash

>WALKING LIGHTNING has been recontained.
Guh!!!
...
You check on the cameras.
There's no damage to the facility...
Oh? There's new door in the main corridor with a little box in front of it. You don't have a visual on the inside, but there are flashes of pure white light coming from underneath the airlock...

ACQUIRED:
- WALKING LIGHTNING Oddity.
- 2x pairs of yellow insulated gloves! (WOW! WHAT A FUCKING FIND!)
- 1x pair of welding goggles.
- 1x pair of eclipse glasses.
- 1x rubber-coated pair of tongs.
- 1x filled welding torch.

HOUR 3, Shift 1
Quota: 0/4 PRODUCT generated
Collected E-Energy: 18 packets
Collected PRODUCT: 0 boxes

Anomaly and Oddity Work Orders [1 Hour]
>ATOM BOMB BABY.
>Hard Times.
>WALKING LIGHTNING Oddity.
>PRODUCTION Room. (Who will be sent in? How much E-Energy should be processed?)

Facility Interactions and Miscellaneous Works [Variable]
>PRODUCTION Room.
>Launch an expedition into the 2nd floor. (Who?)
>Make an announcement over the intercom. (What should you say?)
>Send a message through the PDA system? (Ditto.)
>Host an interview with an employee. (Who?)
>Write in.

Spoiler

Okay, there was only some MINOR devouring by the SV editor. We're keeping in stride, boys and girls...

 

[FishFish]

Employee Stats:
- Employees can reveal an existing aspect of themselves or may develop new aspects during the courses of their employment.
- Bonuses and maluses stack (Violence+ and Violence+ add to two Violence die, Enable- and Enable+ cancel).
- Threat is the measure of raw intimidation and presence, rather than a direct combat stat. It increases the likelihood of being targeted during an Incident and other messy situations. Employees and anomalies alike may react differently based on Threat.
- Morale is the measure of an employee's happiness and wellbeing. Happier employees have generally better results and energy collection. The average John Smith has around five morale stages: Really Bad, Bad, Neutral, Good, Very Good.

- John Smith has 5d6 VIOLENCE and 5d6 COOL, as well as no positive (+) or negative pips (-) in work results.
- VIOLENCE is in high supply and in equally high demand. Don't lose your head.
- COOL is the measure of mental fortitude, willpower, and uh, "coolness." Don't lose your cool.
- Physical and Mental Protection decrease damage taken by each respective stat. These are pretty good to have.

- Comatose, Dead, Incapacitated, etc. Employees are unable to work.
- "Smith" is the ultimate placeholder for unknown surnames and automatically given to people without a legal name.

Will add this to the eventual pastebin.

 

[FishFish]

Ok, so, to confirm: if we haul all the Energy packets to the Production room and end the shift, PRODUCT still gets made, right?

Click to shrink...

Yes. Can't stop the spinning wheels of progress.

 

[FishFish]

>PRODUCTION ROOM (Employee D. 12 E-Energy should be processed.)
[AUDIO ONLY]
D: Gee, it sure is boring around here...
D: Can we go out for BeetleBurgers or something? The room is boring...
beep
A solitary chuckle from E.
E: Sounds like later.
D: Seriously?
D: Ugh, fine. I'm working then.
D: Guess there really is a guy up there in the control room.
A: No kidding.
D: So how does this-
You hear the distant rumbling of pipework beneath your feet...
Several crisp plastic things tumble out into the break room.
D: Oh.
D: 12.
B: Booooong.
D: Well, I'm not sitting around and grinding my teeth with you losers. Peace, peace!
D exits the break room.
C: She is indebted with... $50 dollars.
A: Dumbass kid.

PRODUCTION A: Terminal 00 Radio - think

The camera feed switches again to the interior of that room...
I can't let you look there. Sorry.
... with the usual alarming black and red bars still covering the entire screen, twitching like nerves.

Employee D enters the PRODUCTION room, carrying several packets of E-Energy.
D: What the hell is with all this trash?
The airlock bolts itself shut behind her.
Removing biological matter clots...
Refreshing circulation pipes...
Checking leg status...
Shattering the ego...
Establishing neuronal connections...
Improving schematics towards probe survivability...
Analyzing decomposition rate...
Optimizing cognitive parameters...
Initialization... OK.

PRODUCTION begins.

The Work Order for PRODUCTION has been completed.
PRODUCT Count: +4 Boxes
Quota fulfilled! You may now end the workday.
Employee Aspects ALTERED:
Employee D - "Triple-Digits" and Glass Jaw -> A HEADACHE (Your skull feels like it's about to break apart... Something primal is shifting within you...)

The lackadaisical lady stumbles out of the PRODUCTION room and stares at the opposite wall in distant horror. Her albino white skin somehow looks even paler than usual. A trickle of blood runs from her nose, then the red waterfall starts staining her entire suit, and Employee D collapses in the middle of the hall.

You ping Employee A immediately. She sets out at a hurried clip.

A: Hoo boy. I leave you for a second and...
A: Huh.
A: ED! GET OVER HERE!

>Work Order: B, Entertain Hard Times. Perhaps a nice Bong Bong chat would help its mood.
[AUDIO ONLY]
beep
The guitar stops playing.
B: Bongbong, bong bongbong.
B: Bong.
C: Farewell Miss Smith.
B: Bong..?

Employee B is NOT wearing The Tie when she comes out of the break room.
Employee B passes by the commotion in the hallway. Employee A is looking for something in her doctor's bag while Employee E is stabilizing Employee D's head as she rests against the wall.
B: Bong, bong bong?
A: I'm stabilizing her. Go away.
E remains focused on the task.
D: Bleeeh.
B: Booooooooooooong...

Employee B enters the containment cell.
She gives a friendly wave towards the still machine.
B: Bong.
B: Bong bong bongbong?
B: Bong bong bong bong bong bongbongbongbong, bong?
B smiles at the anomaly.
B: Bong bongbong bong bong, bong bong bong bongbong..?
B: Bong bong bongbong bong, bong bong?
A sudden flash of vicious red emits from the vents in the locker body.
FOREIGN THREAT DETECTED.
The rusting hulk rears back for a heavy punch...
But misses as its own joints fail, as Employee B takes a quick step back.
The hulking wreck collapses to its knees with a terrible screech of metal.
Powering down - charging up -
The machine remains still.
Employee B runs out of the containment cell.
Employee B takes a moment to breathe in, breathe out...

The Work Order on Hard Times has been completed.
Type: Entertain
Work Result: Bad
E-Energy Generated: +3/???
DT-C Energy Generated: +1
Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Morale: Bong -> Bong.
Employee Aspect Revealed:
Employee B - Out-of-Towner (Foster+, Enable-, Entertain-, Mental- COOL-, Attack Avoidance- Threat+, Not from these parts, I take it?)
Work Notes - Employee B:
- That swing would have killed me in one fucking shot.
- I'm not dying on my first day on the job. I promised.
- This anomaly seems to react to certain triggers. Maybe "kill" was the phrase? Could be threatening behaviors in general.
- By the way, you guys are complete and total weirdos. (Hey.)

It seems there are two states: powered and unpowered. Maybe the work results change as well?
Also, be sure give Chardy a bonus or at least a high five later.

>Work Order: E, Entertain Atom Baby. Go ahead, since you asked nicely.

Employee D has her head buried in a police-grade silk handkerchief. Employee A keeps correcting her posture to lean forward.
beep
E: You ladies are going to be alright?
A: Go ahead, Ed. Stop fidgeting, you.
D gives a half-hearted thumbs up.

Employee E enters the containment cell.
ANOMALY: - accessing user database -
ANOMALY: Hello, Edward~
E: That's funny. I don't think I properly introduced myself.
E takes an exaggerated bow.
E: Edward Sobchak, at your service.
ANOMALY: - generating appeal -
The anomaly fidgets in place.
ANOMALY: Ohhhhh geez.
E: It's fine.
E: Wasn't there something you wanted to show me?
ANOMALY: Oh yes! Yes! Yes!
The anomaly taps its foot, a rapid rhythm being set...
It rears up on its back sets of legs...
And it begins to rushing around the room in a flurry of limbs and motion!
Dance! Spin! Make holes! Spin! Dance!
(You're getting nauseous from looking through the crappy camera quality, so you look away for a bit.)
The anomaly takes a spinning leap through the air and lands on Employee E's head, balancing perfectly on one leg.
It looks a little dented from the performance. Blood runs like tears from between its platings.
There's a small, genuine grin on Ed's face.
ANOMALY: Hey Ed?
E: Yes?
ANOMALY: Can you tell me about ***?
E looks really confused for a moment.
E: You mean, "fun," right?
E: This was pretty fun.
The anomaly quietly bleeds.
ANOMALY: Can you answer me this?
ANOMALY: Is this love?
ANOMALY: Is this love? Is this love? Is this love? Is this-
E: I don't think so...
E: But this was very, very impressive.
- only so much one can give before -
ANOMALY: - reciprocating response -
ANOMALY: I don't know either.
The anomaly hops off.
ANOMALY: I'm tired~
ANOMALY: Please come again~
Employee E stares at the robot as if expecting something.
It tilts its head in response.
Employee E shrugs, turns, and waves goodbye.
ANOMALY: Don't be a stranger~
Employee E exits the containment cell.
The anomaly folds onto itself, as if sleeping.
- entering repair mode -

The Work Order on ATOM BOMB BABY has been completed.
Type: Entertain
Work Result: Good
E-Energy Generated: +15/??? Overloading detected...
Anomaly Mood: Intrigued -> Content.
Employee Morale: Amused -> GOOD FEELING.
Employee Aspect Revealed: N/A
Employee State Altered:
Employee E - GOOD FEELING (Maximizes employee morale, ???, Duration: 1 hour)
Work Notes - Employee E:
- So much for that mysterious fee Aleth mentioned. Normally R Company robots are literally built to wring you out for your sweet, sweet lucre. Maybe that's why it's an anomaly, eh?
- It's impossibly light. If I hold my hand out, it could put its entire weight on it and not crush me. That's how it dances so well - not limited by gravity, you see.
- I like women with faces and arms just like everyone else, but I can take on the entire fucking world right about now. Something's just plain good about this feeling it gave me.

Definitely appreciates only certain types of company.

>End Shift.

CONTROL ROOM THEME: Lone Survivor OST - Home (Extended)

You look around for a button that says "END SHIFT." Dude. You locate the red button again and smack it with a meaty thwack.
A pleasant chime over the intercoms signals the end of the day. You feel satisfied with today's results, as bizarre as they may be. You sit back into your crummy folding chair and close your eyes, letting the cold light of the computer wash over you...

There's a knock at the airlock.

"Hey, Overseer! Hey, Manager! You kicking in there?" It's Ed. "I got the two containment cubes you wanted. Should I just leave it out here or?"

>Come on in, Edward.

You open the airlock door. The bum strides in at a relaxed pace, but seems to wake up a little bit at the sight of:
>A hard face in a cheap black suit enjoying some downtime. (You are a corporate Agent. Focuses: COMBAT and CORPORATE.)
>A white shirt, a black tie, and rugged good looks (in your opinion). (You're nobody in particular. Focuses: To Be Determined...)
>The strangely insectile sameface of a corporate meat puppet staring right back. (You are an M Company Drone. Focuses: CORPORATE and BIOLOGICAL.)
>The City-issued ensemble of armored full-body suit, gas mask, and tattered cloak. (You are a Health and Sanitation Technician. Focuses: COMBAT and TERROR.)
>No manager, no one behind the console, and there never has been. (Ahem. You are the facility assistant. Focuses: ANALYSIS and BIOLOGICAL.)
>Write in? (Have fun if you choose this one.)

>Are you a man or a woman?

Spoiler

IT'S CHARACTER CREATION TIME, BOYS AND GIRLS. YEEHAW. The parentheses are meant to indicate the general background themes. Further characterization options will be available later on.