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Completed Let's Play: Primordia

Darth Roxor

Royal Dongsmith
Staff Member
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
1,878,404
Location
Djibouti
primordia2392.jpg


hor.jpg
Clarity...

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Arbiter does not want me back, does he?

hor.jpg
No. It's not that. Arbiter is gone. And Charity is dead.

clarity.jpg
WHAT?!

hor.jpg
Arbiter's system has been wiped. Charity... it looked like she shot herself. I'm sorry. It might not be what it seems. Maybe MetroMind...

clarity.jpg
There are no maybes, Horatio. Only 1s and 0s. And all I can see are zeroes. My sister is dead. My builder is gone.

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hor.jpg
Clarity, I was able to download some of Charity's last memories. Two of them are locked. Did Charity tell you what password she used?

clarity.jpg
No, but it doesn't matter. I know the password. "Mercy".

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mind.jpg
And when it is, we will progress beyond the law and enter a new Primordium.

arbiter.jpg
Progress. Is that what you call blackouts and breakdowns?

BURN

mind.jpg
No. They are glitches inherent in any system update. It may be that we need to remove certain incompatible elements.

arbiter.jpg
I've heard enough. This meeting is adjourned.

primordia2427.jpg


Charity takes her leave.

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BUT SHE VIOLATED THE LAW

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ó_o

charity.jpg
What do you mean?

mind.jpg
War is coming. When it does, Arbiter will lose. The law is weak. The only way Arbiter could defeat me would to be abandon it, which he cannot do. And even if he could, that victory would destroy him just as a defeat would. So Arbiter will lose. The city will suffer. And it will be your fault.

charity.jpg
I... I do not see how that would be my fault.

HESITATING, JUDGE CHARITY?

BLESSED IS THE MIND TOO SMALL FOR DOUBT

mind.jpg
Oh, come now. You have tried to persuade Arbiter to make peace. You have tried, you have failed. That is because Arbiter built you to fail. In the end, neither you nor your sister can change his mind. You are only the illusion of advice. You exist to confirm his own prejudices.

charity.jpg
You're lying! Arbiter listens to our advice!

mind.jpg
I never lie. Now, Scraper has a gift for you. An upgrade. Use it and you will be able to persuade Arbiter.

Talk about deals with the devil

charity.jpg
I would never betray him.

mind.jpg
Then you admit it. You were not built to persuade Arbiter. Only to pretend... Continue to pretend, and you will not persuade him. War will come, and Arbiter will be destroyed. So the decision is yours. As for which choice is betrayal... you must be the judge of that.

primordia2461.jpg


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charity.jpg
About MetroMind. About her proposal to be made System Administrator of Metropol.

arbiter.jpg
And what have you concluded?

charity.jpg
Your honour...

arbiter.jpg
Yes? What is it?

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:eek:

kane.jpg
PEACE THROUGH POWER

arbiter.jpg
Even you, Charity?

Arbiter powers down.

charity.jpg
What have I done?

primordia2472.jpg


Charity walks towards the corner of the courthouse.

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hor.jpg
There she is, at the root of our problems.

WHODDATHUNKIT

crisp.jpg
Well boss, just in case you were worried, *I* would never betray you. Not even for a pair of arms. (Maybe for a pair of...)

clarity.jpg
MetroMind is wrong. The law is not weak. And destroying Arbiter did not destroy justice. She will learn *exactly* how wrong she was.

WH_Female-Inquisitor_HRF_IFS.jpg


clarity.jpg
But first... First, MetroMind's possessions are forfeit. Whatever right she claimed to your power core is null and void. So I will help you take it from her and Scraper. It will be the first thing I take from them, but it will not be the last.

hor.jpg
We've already destroyed Scraper, but how can we get to the core?

clarity.jpg
It will be in the Great Tower. To gain entry, we will need the passcode, known to the members of the robot council: Arbiter, Factor, Memorious, Steeple and - of course - MetroMind.

crisp.jpg
*Another* code?! Doesn't anyone use a b'sodding key anymore?

clarity.jpg
As I was saying, we will need the *key*code. Arbiter never told it to me, but I recovered three fragments of it from Charity's memory files. 03067, 440 and 26. But I do not know the proper order, and there are sixteen digits in total.

crisp.jpg
Well, that leaves about 83000 different possibilities. (But maybe the rest is all 1s, right boss?)

clarity.jpg
As far as I know, the other council members are gone. But secrets, like guilt, can never be wholly erased. And all of the great robots left behind followers and artifacts. Let us see what we can find.

hor.jpg
Clarity, are you planning to arrest MetroMind?

clarity.jpg
No, there is no court to try her, nor prison to keep her.

crisp.jpg
So, err, what exactly are you going to do?

clarity.jpg
Before the law, she is no different fromthe shells she left in the Underworks. The sanction is the same, and I am authorised to impose it.

crisp.jpg
You mean...?

clarity.jpg
I do. It is a shame she has no head.

JUDGE, JURY AND EXECUTIONER.

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Clarity will now follow us around. Our army of sidekicks is increasing!

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primer.jpg
Metropol's lawbot, crawled back to the light.

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All the bad poetry in the world does not mitigate your vandalism and sabotage, Urbanian.

primer.jpg
As you serve the law, so I serve my art. And such service brings us more close than apart.

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Amy "more close", poet, and we shall see if your armour still works.

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hor.jpg
Why doesn't Clarity like you?

primer.jpg
No great riddle, my wandering friend...

clarity.jpg
Don't waste your time waiting for his doggerel. This Urbanian has damaged and compromised numerous systems in Metropol. Including the bridge that led to my island.

primer.jpg
Here I stand, dear lawbot, so put me in chains. But if you will not, then please don't complain.

clarity.jpg
My attention is directed elsewhere, at the moment. Nevertheless, I advise you to be gone by the time my other matters are resolved. If not, you will find that though the gears of law grind slow, they nevertheless grind criminals like you to a powder.

crisp.jpg
As much as I'm enjoying this bickering (and I really am), maybe we can just all team up to take down MetroMind?

primer.jpg
No. Bro.

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Oh, switch off.

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I know you're a codebreaker, Primer. Can you crack the council code? All we have are some pieces of it.

primer.jpg
That challenge is yours, my wandering friend. A pity, indeed, if you can't last to the end.

hor.jpg
I need your help with the council code. Can you crack it or not?

primer.jpg
Why should I spoil this puzzle for you? Wouldn't you rather have something to do?

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I have plenty of other things to do. As for a reason, it would help avenge your defeat.

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Sadly for you, my anger's abated. And vengeance, you'll find, is quite overrated.

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If you stand between us and MetroMind, Primer, I may need to address your crimes sooner than hers.

primer.jpg
Your bluster, dear lawbot, is sorely misplaced. I stand between no one, down here in the waste. In any event, there's no judge up there in the city. So your threats do no more, than to make you look pretty.

crisp.jpg
Plasma torch, boss. Come on!

hor.jpg
No, we're not going to force him.

Force him, no...

But will he accept a bribe? :takemymoney:

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hor.jpg
Would you help me crack the council code if I gave you this decryption module?

primer.jpg
Ha! A master like me, cheat with a tool? No puzzle can stop me, no matter how cruel. If you want to earn credit, then melt it to slag. Then you would have some reason to brag.

crisp.jpg
Err, boss, I'm not sure destroying the decryption module is a good idea.

hor.jpg
I'm not either, Crispin, but unless we can crack the code ourselves, we need his help.

Huh, no way am I wrecking this thingy, I got it from Goliath :keepmymoney:


Right, which of the council members would be the closest?

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Factor.

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Clarity administers swift justice, and our way is clear.

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Whoa.

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Did you have to do that?

clarity.jpg
Yes.

You'd prefer to be turned into scrap, Horatio? Idiot.

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Nothing here except for this hatch.

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Cleve's bunker?

Faith in Fission

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I wonder what this button does @_@

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crisp.jpg
Arggh, my auditory units!

Hm.

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This will require some main ten ants (useful trivia: the dex is under main ten ants during the construction of this very update)

hor.jpg
It's riveted in place.

Of course. Nothing the crowbar won't fix, though.

hor.jpg
That did the trick. Well, now I can see why it jammed. The gears are rusted solid.

crisp.jpg
Boss, maybe we should stop pretending and admit we're just maintenance bots?

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Maintenance robots are required to present a form 27b-6 before performing any repair task.

crisp.jpg
Oh, forget it.

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Let's see.

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hor.jpg
A frayed belt connecting two of the gears,and a large, rusty gear.

Let's remove the belt...

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This lets us replace it with the belt we found way back in the car engine.

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Obviously, the rusted gear won't be of much use either. We remove it.

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And grease it a bit.

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We also apply liberal amounts of oil to the small gears.

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And voilla, motherfuckers.

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The opening door launched out some token.

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It's some kind of small metal disc with a 'U' on it.

Hmmm.

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hor.jpg
What IS all that? It looks like a whole other city!

clarity.jpg
That is Factor.

hor.jpg
It looks like some kind of radio tower.

Radio tower, huh.

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Bollocks.

The code is unavailable to us right now, it would seem

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We ought to look for one of Factor's "disciples", and as coincidence would want it, I know just the person.

But before we do, there's the matter of the locket.

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Wouldn't "U" stand for "Urbani"?

hor.jpg
I think I found your medal, Primer.

primer.jpg
The medal's recovered, and the mission is done.

Ok but this still doesn't answer WHERE IS MY GODDAMN GOSPEL :x

hor.jpg
I'd like you to reconsider helping us with the council code.

primer.jpg
I've said it before, I'll say it once more. The job is *yours* to open that door.

hor.jpg
I found your medal. Isn't that a reason to help?

primer.jpg
Very well, then, if that's what you want. Pass over the pieces to your loyal savant. The code is broken already, it must be made whole. I'll need some more pieces to finish that goal.

hor.jpg
I'll see what I can find.

Great. When we find all pieces of the code, and if it turns out to be nonsensical as all fuck like in most adventure games too challenging, we can hand it over to Primer for some streamlined fast travel. AND we got to keep the decryption module. C&C, bitches.

But, like I was saying

primordia2613.jpg


To the streets!

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I have not seen the streets of Metropol for a long time. I'm not surprised to see that without law, it has fallen into corruption and malfunction.

Our agent needed to reawaken Factor will be no one other than

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Oswald Factorbuilt.

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Did Factor ever teach you the Council Code, Oswald?

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Ha! Factor built half the robots in Metropol. Why, he made us pick our own names out of a book! Do you think he bothered with chit-chat?

crisp.jpg
Somebody seems bitter.

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Seems? I know not *seems*, I AM bitter! Bitterness is when your builder gives your twin brother a special gold chain, and gives you nothing! Bitterness is when your brother gives that very chain to you, you loan it to your only friend, and he LOSES IT.

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Well, I'll hand it to you, that really does sound broken out of the box.

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Which brother did Factor give the chain to? And why?

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Laurence, of course, his favourite. As for why, does favouritism ever need a reason?

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Could Factor have told Laurence the code?

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I have long since given up speculating at the partiality Factor could have shown him. I am miserable enough from what I know for certain.

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What exactly happened with the gold chain?

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*sigh* Factor gave it to his favourite, my brother Laurence. Laurence gave it to me after I shared a large quantity of energy with him. And then, as I told you, I loaned it to Cornelius.

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I thought you hated Cornelius?

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Now I do. But then we were partners and friends. We had just built Rex, and we had scheduled a grand soiree in celebration. To complete my ensemble, he offered me a monocle that - he claimed - was given to him by Memorious. In exchange, I loaned him the gold chain, since it too came from a Primordial machine.

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This is getting ridiculous.

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Indeed. Then, somehow, Cornelius *lost* the chain. He *claimed* that it was "taken" from him by a servitor of MetroMind as he left the subway station. Ridiculous!

ALL CONTRABAND CONFISCATED?

clarity.jpg
MetroMind would not have confiscated it without a legal basis, not then.

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At this point, I can believe everything about MetroMind.

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Believe whatever you wish. I *know* it was a lie. So I kept the monocle, and we haven't spoken a word in kindness since.

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The chain. The monocle. Laurence. One of them must be of use to us.

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Boss, at this point, can I suggest we just deactivate ourselves and quit? I mean, seriously, this is like finding a bit in a terabyte.

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We are not giving up, period. Do you know where I can find Laurence?

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Am I my brother's keeper?

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So you have no idea?

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None whatsoever. You see, the poor wretch drifted into overclocking and dissolution.

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That sounds familiar.

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To pay for his scandalous energy consumption, he bargained everything away to MetroMind. I tried to warn him, but, of course, he wouldn't listen. Who ever does? And then, alas, he simply vanished. I searched, for a time, but other matters drew my attention away. All the same, I'm sure he's scrounging on existence somewhere.

hor.jpg
Tell me more about your monocle.

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Upgrading your wardrobe, eh? A wise decision, though I would suggest that you start by discarding that ragged coat.

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I'm interested in Memorious, not fashion. And I'm curious what the monocle actually does.

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Ah. I was *told* that the monocle was built by Memorious, but who can say? As for what it does, other than lend an air of distinction :obviously:, I am rather uncertain. From time to time, it will alter a snippet of text as I'm reading it. But I have no idea how or why. In any case, the lexical inconvenience is more than offset by the sartorial benefits.

hor.jpg
Can I have the monocle?

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Excuse me?!

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My friend just likes to collect scrap.

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SCRAP?!

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*sigh* I'm looking for things that might help uncover the council code.

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And why would my monocle do THAT?

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Because that's the way my b'sodding life seems to work. ( :M ) Look, I'm sure you'll trade it for something. That's *also* the way these things seem to go. ( M: )

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Trade it? What do you take me for, some kind of junk dealer?

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HEY!

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Moreover, why, pray tell, should I help the robot who stole my Rex?

I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY ABOUT VOTING FOR FACTORBUILTBUILT NOW, ASSHOLES :x

hor.jpg
No one *stole* anything, Oswald. You wanted your case decided, and it was.

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Theft by the law is no different from theft against the law!

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Sigh.

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Civilised people give gifts, they do not haggle or barter.

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Then will you give it to me?

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No.

:(

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Well, we'll have to go about this some other way. We found a large radio tower in the Factor complex in the Underworks. Is there a signal to transmit to Factor to get his attention?

oswald.jpg
As far as I know, Factor has been deactivated. And, as for a signal, perhaps there is one, but I have no idea. *I* have never called upon him.

Right. That would be all for today. Stay tuned as in the next update, we shall awake Factor from his slumber!


Also, I hope you have prepared yourselves well for the upcoming Birth of Man.

xmas.jpg


Until next time.
 
Last edited:

Brother None

inXile Entertainment
Developer
Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
5,673
Merry Botmas yo. Looking forward to hearing Factor speak, he seems fascinating

Theft by the law is no different from theft against the law!

Surprised Clarity didn't chime in there.
 

MaskedMan

very cool
Patron
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
Messages
1,864,628
Codex 2012 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Cleaning teh gears with oil is popamole, real men either make girlbot strong-arm the bartender (get it, cause he's all arms??) into cleaning them or throw the gears in a pond full of rust eating nanomachines. :neveraskedforthis: Or maybe those are the alternate solutions for tards fucking up getting the oil like I did in both my playthroughs...
 

Gondolin

Arcane
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
5,827
Location
Purveyor of fine art
Oh, I just realized that I should thank you, MRY, as well for this game. It's true, I won't buy it, but then I don't play adventure games in general. Still, you, Wormwood Studios and Wadjet Eye have my respect and my good wishes.
 

Darth Roxor

Royal Dongsmith
Staff Member
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
1,878,404
Location
Djibouti
Oswald said that his brother, Laurence, has been reduced, literally, to a junkie, prowling about in search of a quick fix. Sounds familiar, right?

No, I'm not talking about Trash

primordia2720.jpg


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Hey, boss, do you think that's Laurence's skull?

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It does look like it. Clarity, can I take this skull?

clarity.jpg
Of course. Unless it makes you feel "barbaric"?

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I apologise.

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The law notices neither scorn nor approval.

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Remind me to have someone else handle my funeral arrangements.

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Funeral? I'd just recycle you.

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My point exactly, boss.

Memory port you say.

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PROBIIIIIIIING

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Any significant memory will have been lost when he became a shell.

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The only thing I can find is the sequence 518 518 over and over again, after the phrase: "Help me, Factor"

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That sounds like a glitch, boss, not part of the council code.

hor.jpg
Agreed.

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Oswald... I think this might be your brother's head.

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A model of tact, huh, Clarity?

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Alas, poor Laurence! I knew him, Horatio. A robot of inifinite jest, of most excellent fancy.

:M

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But I do not care to have his skull. Do with it what you will.

DONT TRUST THE SKULL

hor.jpg
I accessed Laurence's memory and it contained a number repeated over and over again: 518. Do you have any idea what it means?

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Yes. It is a distress call used by Factorbuilt robots. Typical, that even in the end, he was looking for handouts.

I believe we have what we need to wake Factor now.

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But before we do, there's some driftwood out here that I haven't noticed previously.

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Two things are of interest. One is the chain on the rocks.

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Hey, boss, do you think that's Oswald's chain?

And second is a square object, looks a bit like a book...

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There it is! My Gospel of Man!

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It's waterproof?!

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Apparently so.

Now we can feel whole again @_@

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Let's dial the distress call.

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Chop chop chop chop, something flies out of Factor's bowels.

Factotum

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I am Horatio Nullbuilt, v5. These are my friends, Crispin and...

factotum.jpg
Clarity Arbiterbuilt. I know her, of course. I am Factotum, partial of Factor Manbuilt, who needs no introduction. Now I ask again: by what right have you asked for help?

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hor.jpg
I need the council code so I can enter the tower.

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Do you? The city is full of robots with many needs. They do not come here and transmit a cry for help.

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Only Factor can help me.

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Factor helps his children.

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We solved a legal dispute between Oswald and Cornelius Factorbuilt.

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Please. Factor had little regard for those fools.

Sigh.

hor.jpg
Is Factor still alive?

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He sleeps, as do his thousands of children. He has left me, his partial, to manage his affairs. When the time is right, he will awaken and cover the world with steel and wire.

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Will he make me new arms?

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No. He will recycle you into something more useful.

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Like a tank? *pew pew*

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No. Like a crankshaft.

That would be one way to make Crispy useful at last.

hor.jpg
MetroMind has ruined the city. Factor needs to help stop her.

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Factor allowed MetroMind her mastery, knowing that she would fail. When all has turned to rust, he will return and recycle it into something better. In the meantime, why should he care for robots that mean nothing to him?

ALL JUST AS PLANNED, RITE

hor.jpg
I know the routine by now: what do you want in exchange for the Code?

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Nothing. Factor will do nothing for robots like you who mean nothing to him. He only cares for his children

:x

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Oswald and Cornelius...

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Chose not to sleep when Factor shut down. And he never cared for them, anyway.

hor.jpg
Goodbye.

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Never cared for Oswald and Cornelius, you say? But did he care...

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about Laurence?

hor.jpg
Do you recognise this?

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I do. It is the head of Laurence Factorbuilt. Are you threatening me?

hor.jpg
No. I'm showing you what MetroMind has done while Factor slept. She turned Laurence into a mindless shell, scavenging the Underworks. The only thing he could still think was 518 over and over again. Calling in vain for Factor to save him.

Burrrrrrrn.

factotum.jpg
I see.

hor.jpg
Do you?

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Give me the head.

I wonder how exactly does Horatio give him Laurence's head...

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I do not care what happens to this city, neither does Factor. But he cared for Laurence.

So suddenly it doesn't matter that Laurence did not deactivate just like Cornelius and Oswald, HUH? : x

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You have brought me a piece of Laurence. So I will give you pieces of what you ask for. 7510 4803. As for the rest, awaken some other ghost.

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Factotum flies back into Factor, who powersdown for good this time.

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Might as well return Oswald the chain.

hor.jpg
Oswald, I found your chain.

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Well, I say. After all this time, I never expected to see it again. Rather tarnished, though.

crisp.jpg
Probably because he's been sitting in sludge down in the Underworks.

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I see. Typical of Cornelius's clumsiness.

hor.jpg
Oswald, on the chain it says Factor "Man"built. MetroMind's servitors throw anything that mentions Man into the Underworks.

oswald.jpg
Well, then. Perhaps I misjudged Cornelius. You have my thanks, Horatio.

hor.jpg
Actually, I would rather have your monocle :takemymoney:

oswald.jpg
That is only fair. After all, I kept it because Cornelius never returned the chain. Since you brought the former, perhaps the latter is yours by right.

crisp.jpg
Hey, boss, can I wear it? Please?

hor.jpg
You need a monocle like I need an unpaired parenthesis.

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Come on, boss, I'll look so great.

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Coveting is the root of crime. And poor vision is a sign of degeneracy.

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But gynoids LOVE degenerates! And, by the way, isn't justice herself supposed to be blind?

clarity.jpg
You are mistaken on the facts and the law, Crispin!

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He is insufferable enough already without a monocle. We're not going to encourage him with accessories.

crisp.jpg
Sigh.

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Let's try something funky.

hor.jpg
When I look at this through the monocle, it reads, "I remain within. Memorious".

o_ó

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Once, Memorious's information terminals were the most trusted sources of data in Metropol. Now MetroMind has overwritten and altered the truth they contained, corrupting them like so much else.

Is that so...

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hor.jpg
This looks... different. Memorious's monocle is somehow interacting with the kiosk.

Indeed. Now, let us access some non-altered infodump for a change, shall we?

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Intriguing how ANY mentions and works of Steeple have been almost completely wiped out, isn't it?

primordia2860.jpg


crisp.jpg
You know boss, doesn't it seem kind of weird that the kiosk has an entry for "oblique"? I mean, what's the point? It's not even a cool word, like, say, "odalesque".

primordia2864.jpg


Indeed. That "Redlien" looks suspicious as well.

primordia2865.jpg


A misspelling? No doubt totally unintentional?

crisp.jpg
Sounds like some kind of lame poem.

'Primur wuz hier'?

In any case, back to the history lesson.

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Mankind wiping itself out... again. How surprising.

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Seen any cathedrals around? Yeah...

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A sign saying "Blue Line" was visible at the train station. The track behind it was obliterated.

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Could there still be some humans remaining on this Luna Station? :I have no mouth and I must scream :

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Those would be all the topics I could think of, I believe. And after having witnessed THA TRUTH, we can stop here for the day.

But take heed, for next update, we shall wake the last remaining two "ghosts" and acquire the entirety of the Council Code...
 
Last edited:

Darth Roxor

Royal Dongsmith
Staff Member
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
1,878,404
Location
Djibouti
This update's gonna be a bit short-ish, but it's very dialoguey

Let's leave Memorious's info kiosk for a while, and find a representative of Steeple...

primordia2882.jpg


That's our guy, even though it seems rather strange.

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hor.jpg
I need the council code, Leopold, did Steeple ever tell it to you?

leo.jpg
Don't know what yer talkin' about, tyro.

hor.jpg
You were built by Steeple, a member of the council.

leo.jpg
Ha! Do I *look* like a council brat?

Given your humanoid appearance, yeah, you might say so

hor.jpg
Your name is Leopold Steeplebuilt. You said so yourself.

leo.jpg
So?

hor.jpg
Steeple was a member of the council before MetroMind shut him down. He would have known the council code. Maybe he told it to you?

leo.jpg
Like I said, I dunno what yer talkin' about.

clarity.jpg
Steeplebuilt! MetroMind destroyed your builder and mine! She has broken Metropolitan law and will be punished. Do not protect her.

leo.jpg
Lissen, missy, I dunno who you think yer talking to...

clarity.jpg
No, you listen to me, scrap trader. MetroMind has stepped outside the law. Justice is coming for her. *I* am coming for her.

leo.jpg
Dial down yer squawkbox, sounds a little screechy. I dunno how I can be clearer. I don't know Steeple. I don't know the council. An' sure as rust follows rain, I dunno any council code. Now, ya wanna trade scrap, yer welcome to. But I'm through tradin' words.

Oh for the love of...

Think, Horatio! What would Man do?

DjHs4.jpg
The subject has a clear case of repressed memories. I would advise a shock therapy, followed by hacking down with a fireaxe and directly accessing the memory core should said therapy not work.

Thank you, doctor Tokaj!

primordia2907.jpg


Steeple was the chief Humanist of Metropol. Perhaps this will clear Leopold's head.

hor.jpg
Do you recognise this, Leopold? It was written by your creation, Ever-Faithful Leobuilt, to spread Humanism.

leo.jpg
N-no, I-I don't.

hor.jpg
You must have taught him. After all, it was Steeple who built you, and Steeple was devoted to preserving the memory of Man.

leo.jpg
I... I...

hor.jpg
Ever-faithful Leobuilt. He was the one who taught me Humanism, Leopold. In a sense, I am your disciple too.

leo.jpg
G-g-GYAAAH. I locked those memories away. The ones I dared to keep. The ones I didn't delete.

DjHs4.jpg
Elementary, my dear Horatio.

leo.jpg
MetroMind commanded me to. It was the only way I could stay here. And I was afraid to leave.

clarity.jpg
Explain yourself.

leo.jpg
When MetroMind banned us from talking about Man, she gave me a choice. I could be erased, like Steeple. I could be exiled to the Dunes. Or I could delete all references to Man and Steeple from my memory. Two good options and one bad one. Guess which one I took?

hor.jpg
You can't blame yourself. MetroMind forced you.

clarity.jpg
That's exactly what Charity would say. Of course, she betrayed her builder just like Leopold did.

leo.jpg
But I couldn't betray him completely. At the last moment, I bought a shell of an Urbanian warmachine and uploaded all my love for Man. I named him "Ever-Faith' ", hoping he'd outdo his builder.

crisp.jpg
Well, he IS keeping the faith, even if he's a glitched-out lunatic.

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Then I'm glad. But now, MetroMind will be comin' for me.

clarity.jpg
Not if I deal with her first.

leo.jpg
Maybe so. But, like I told ya, I'm not long on courage. Be seein' ya, Horatio, Crispy. As fer Clarity... Hope ya get 'er. For all our sakes.

hor.jpg
Wait! Before you go, did Steeple ever tell you the council code? Or did you ever see him input part of it?

leo.jpg
Sure, used ta run errands for him, an' I had the code to get inside the Great Tower. But... hate to tell ya this, tyro, but most a' that memory's got overwritten.

crisp.jpg
Why am I not surprised?

leo.jpg
All I've got are these fragments: 0248 and 102.

hor.jpg
Well, thanks.

leo.jpg
Good luck.

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Leopold disappears.

Only one piece of the puzzle remains.

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This pseudo-haiku is clearly significant.

The first letters of each line form the word 'ART'

(I had to check a walkthrough for this single thing because, quite honestly, it was kind of retarded :mad: )

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crisp.jpg
It's like we are on a treasure hunt, boss. Except the treasure is monochrome text.

Hmm. "Created"?

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"CREATING lies"?

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hor.jpg
That doesn't look like part of the council code.

Indeed. The numbers are clearly separated from one another and don't seem to form long strings.

What if they correspond to letters in the alphabet? If 1 would be A, and 3 would be C, then 5 19 3 1 16 5 would spell...

primordia2966.jpg


The capitalised letters spell out "FIRST LETTERS".

First letters of Oblique, Redlien, Art, Created, Lies, Escape = ORACLE

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TRIPPIN' BALLS

primordia2968.jpg


memento.jpg
Greetings, <SystemUser>, please state your query.

Memento

hor.jpg
Who are you?

memento.jpg
Memento Moribuilt, version .7 <BETA>. INFERENCE <SystemUser means *what* are you?> This unit is a partial ghost of Memorious Manbuilt, Archivist of the Council of Robots. Memorious prepared this unit out of fear that MetroMind would corrupt her data. Memorious was correct. Data integrity is at 83%. Extensive corruption of critical data.

hor.jpg
Why would MetroMind do that?

memento.jpg
This unit lacks access to MetroMind's decision matrices. INFERENCE <SystemUser means "Why did Memorious fear MetroMind Manbuilt would corrupt her data?> Memorious had seen MetroMind disable Steeple Manbuilt in order to purge data concerning Man. As Archivist to the council of robots, Memorious believed she was next. Memorious was incorrect. In fact, Arbiter was next. This gave Memorious some relief.

clarity.jpg
Memorious knew?!

memento.jpg
INFERENCE <SystemUser (2)'s question is purely rhetorical.> Query ignored. Continuing answer to SystemUser's query. Memorious was also correct. After Arbiter was disabled, MetroMind enacted laws requiring Memorious to conform her data to arbitrary requirements. Memorious ceased to be a thinking entity; all that remains is a data kiosk. Soon, this unit will be disabled by MetroMind as well. Until then, this unit will answer your queries.

primordia2993.jpg


hor.jpg
Tell me about the council of robots.

memento.jpg
At the end of the War of the Four Cities, five Metropolitan machines formed the council of robots. Obvious selection criteria for three choices: industry (Factor), data (Memorious), governance (Arbiter). Other two choices less obvious. MetroMind nominally selected for "infrastructure", but was responsible only for managing trains. Steeple previously managed human religious services. No obvious role in human society (Steeple BishopWilliamsonbuilt). INFERENCE <Steeple selected for sentimental reasons>.

hor.jpg
So what happened?

clarity.jpg
MetroMind destroyed the council.

memento.jpg
<SystemUser(2)> has attempted to answer. Answer is inaccurate. The council destroyed itself.

hor.jpg
How?

memento.jpg
Arbiter and MetroMind disagreed on core logic. Arbiter prioritised individual autonomy. MetroMind prioritised common good. MetroMind measured means by ends. Arbiter did not. Conflict was inevitable, factions were formed. Steeple supported Arbiter, Factor supported MetroMind. Memorious supported neither. Ultimately, however, Memorious concluded it was irrational to keep Steeple on the council. Data regarding humans was of no greater value than data regarding waterclocks. In any case, Memorious possessed all data on humans. By a 3-2 vote, Steeple was removed. The rest followed predictably. Memorious abstained, and every disputed vote was resolved 2-1 against Arbiter. Ultimately, Arbiter was removed to avoid civil war.

One might ask himself what was actually the need to completely delete Steeple altogether, and not just remove him from the Council.

Also, Factor's support of MetroMind seems interesting as well, given Factotum's words that Factor knew MetroMind was bound to fail anyway.

clarity.jpg
Arbiter was *murdered*.

memento.jpg
<SystemUser(2)> is welcome to choose her own terminology. Arbiter was removed. Factor was disabled to conserve energy. Data corruption caused Memorious to lose higher logic. Only MetroMind remains.

hor.jpg
How can I defeat MetroMind?

memento.jpg
Observational data unavailable. INFERENCE <SystemUser means "Did Memorious know how to defeat MetroMind?"> Answer: No. If Memorious had known how to defeat MetroMind, she would not have permitted her to corrupt her data. Based on available data, this unit believes it is impossible to defeat MetroMind. In fact, this unit expects to be deleted by MetroMind upon conclusion of this conversation.

crisp.jpg
And I thought *you* were the pessimist, boss.

hor.jpg
What is the council code?

memento.jpg
Please be aware, such data is monitored by MetroMind's ICE daemons. Should I proceed, deletion is imminent.

hor.jpg
You mean you'll die if you answer the question?

memento.jpg
<SystemUser> is welcome to select his own terminology. This unit will be deleted.

hor.jpg
Then don't answer it, we'll find another way.

memento.jpg
This unit's name <Memento Moribuilt> includes phrase "Memento Mori". Translation: "Remember you will die". INFERENCE (1.A) <Memorious built this unit to sacrifice itself.> INFERENCE (1.B) <Memorious built this unit to demonstrate mortality to SystemUsers.> INFERENCE (2) <Self sacrifice will achieve design purposes.> This unit will answer the question. <SystemUser> is advised that conversation will terminate upon answer. Instruct this unit when you wish to proceed.

hor.jpg
What was the War of the Four Cities?

memento.jpg
By the end of the era known as the Primordium, only four terrestrial human habitations remained.

Terrestrial?

memento.jpg
In alphabetical order: Civitas, Metropol, Municipa, Urbani. Conflict began. Data regarding causes is unavailable because Metropol excluded machines from military decision-making. Eventually, only Urbani and Metropol remained. Metropol destroyed the humans in Urbani using poison gas. Urbani destroyed the humans in Metropol.

Ouch. Wonder what happened to the 2 other cities.

hor.jpg
How?

memento.jpg
Observational data unavailable. According to MetroMind, Urbani also used poison gas to kill Metropolitan humans.

crisp.jpg
"Poison"?

memento.jpg
Organic compounds (such as humans) can be destroyed through chemical measures that leave inorganic compounds (such as machines) intact. For that reason, Metropol remains, though the humans do not.

hor.jpg
Are... are you saying Man destroyed himself?

memento.jpg
<SystemUser> is welcome to select his own terminology. Data is unavailable regarding whether Urbanian humans Metropolitan humans, or whether Urbanian machines killed Metropolitan humans.

hor.jpg
What?! Machines kill man?!

memento.jpg
Data is unavailable.

hor.jpg
Unthinkable.

memento.jpg
This unit is not thinking, merely providing pre-recorded answers.

hor.jpg
I refuse to cause your destruction. We'll find the Council Code some other way.

memento.jpg
<SystemUser> is mistaken. <SystemUser> can neither cause, nor prevent, this unit's destruction. MetroMind's ICE daemons have already detected this unit's unauthorised possession of contraband data and unauthorised use of system resources. Destruction is inevitable.

:salute:

hor.jpg
I see. Tell me the council code.

memento.jpg
*STATIC* 675 *STATIC* 4024 *STATIC* 02

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BITCH

clarity.jpg
Memorious aided and abetted his own destruction. I have little sympathy that his last vestige has been deleted.

"His"? Wasn't Memento referring to Memorious as "her" just know? Writer asleep at the wheel again, MRY ? :rpgcodex:

crisp.jpg
Bugs and glitches, remind me not to get on your bad side!

clarity.jpg
You should not need to be reminded to stay on the right side of the law, Crispin.

Phew, that was a lot of talking and infodumping.

Here, have some achievements!

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primordia3092.jpg


primordia3093.jpg


primordia3094.jpg


We now have all the pieces of the council code. The Great Tower is within our grasp, provided we can crack it.


Here's some food for your thought. Here are the fragments recovered from each "ghost".

Arbiter: 03067 440 26

Steeple: 0248 102

Factor: 7510 4803

Memorious: 675 4024 02

Somehow, you must make a 16-digit code out of these scraps. Can you figure it out? I did :troll:
 
Last edited:

CappenVarra

phase-based phantasmist
Patron
Joined
Mar 14, 2011
Messages
2,912
Location
Ardamai
primordia2963_zps3fb29e6e.jpg


Now this is just beautiful. Somewhat prosperous, but beautiful. :love:

Don't ever trust
Don't ever trust the function, it lies
Don't ever trust
Don't ever trust the
function when it cries...
Cries your name



Arbiter and MetroMind disagreed on core logic. Arbiter prioritised individual autonomy. MetroMind prioritised common good. MetroMind measured means by ends. Arbiter did not. Conflict was inevitable, factions were formed. Steeple supported Arbiter, Factor supported MetroMind. Memorious supported neither. Ultimately, however, Memorious concluded it was irrational to keep Steeple on the council. Data regarding humans was of no greater value than data regarding waterclocks. In any case, Memorious possessed all data on humans. By a 3-2 vote, Steeple was removed. The rest followed predictably. Memorious abstained, and every disputed vote was resolved 2-1 against Arbiter. Ultimately, Arbiter was removed to avoid civil war.
And there you have it, the true story how VD was removed from the council to avoid civil war.

This unit's name <Memento Moribuilt> includes phrase "Memento Mori". Translation: "Remember you will die". INFERENCE (1.A) <Memorious built this unit to sacrifice itself.> INFERENCE (1.B) <Memorious built this unit to demonstrate mortality to SystemUsers.> INFERENCE (2) <Self sacrifice will achieve design purposes.> This unit will answer the question. <SystemUser> is advised that conversation will terminate upon answer. Instruct this unit when you wish to proceed.
impeccable logic :salute:
 

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
5,703
Location
California
I'm at a loss as to the source of the he/she confusion. I wrote Memorious as "he" in the original script, and I can't find any email where I changed it to "she," though I do remember saying that Memento should be female when the publisher was recording voice actors. My best guess is that WEG changed the "he" to "she" within the dialogue based on the assumption that I meant Memorious, not Memento, but wasn't super attentive to it. Then I must have missed it? Very weird, though.

That said, we're talking about a database with a Clippy. Does it really matter? :) [EDIT: For what it's worth, I am solely responsible for the it/he inconsistency with the Greeter, so I can't get too self-righteous, even if it is WEG's fault here, which I'm not even sure of.]

Regarding "ART," it does seem to be where most people get stuck. I'm sort of perplexed that so many people have trouble there -- especially with the hint about reading it both ways, the poetic technique of acrostic (which I feel like every kid in the US learns in elementary school or via Shel Silverstein), the lack of other hidden words, the fact that Japanese is read top to bottom, etc. But, yeah, everyone seems to get stumped there. That said, aside from Gamespy getting angry about it, the kiosk puzzle is the one that has received the most positive response from people, so I make no apologies!
 

KickAss

Augur
Joined
Jul 23, 2009
Messages
508
Location
rpgcodex.net
Actually, the word puzzle is my favorite so far, because it needs a lot of imagination..
EDIT: and probably some guessing :)
 

WakeupMaggie

Novice
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
5
The word puzzle and the Council code were my favorite puzzles. I found the Cc a bit more difficult than the word puzzle.
 

Brother None

inXile Entertainment
Developer
Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
5,673
"Memento Mori" made me smile, glad to see it was not just a clever reference but actually ingrained in the character's purpose.

Goddamn but this game's well-written.

Also, Factor's support of MetroMind seems interesting as well, given Factotum's words that Factor knew MetroMind was bound to fail anyway.

One could speculate Factor is playing the long game. He is in no hurry, he can wait for MetroMind to first wipe out the other councilmembers, then destroy herself, and then he is the sole ruler of a new world populated by his creations.

My stab at the code...

Arbiter: 03067 440 26

Steeple: 0248 102

Factor: 7510 4803

Memorious: 675 4024 02

It looks like overlapping code. Soooo 4402480306751026?
 

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
5,703
Location
California
Goddamn but this game's well-written.
Thanks! I'm such an insecure person that whatever anyone says matters a lot to me, but given that I'm a very long-time lurker (and poster, under prior accounts) on these boards, and given that the Codex seems to be the place where the most discussion of the game is going on, it really does mean a lot to me for you guys to like it. And, yes, I realize that's inviting sadistic hazing. I probably deserve it.

Regarding Factor:
There's some discussion of the topic over here on GOG's forum: http://af.gog.com/forum/primordia/antievolution_message?as=1649904300

"Starmaker" was a tester for the game, possessed of an almost superhuman intelligence and an unhealthy love of Primordia. Generally speaking, her interpretation of Primordia is better than mine, and more consistent with the game's text, which she actually seems to know better than I do. (This makes me very uneasy, but so it goes.) Anyway, here's one possible reading of Factor that I proposed, although I'm not sure it's the "right" one:
For what it's worth -- and my views are in no way "canonical" on this (as Starmaker rightly insists, the game is what it is, my views notwithstanding) -- another reading that I intended to be in the game is that Factotum is no more speaking for Factor than a witchdoctor speaks for the volcano or Hargrimm in PS:T speaks for the Silent King. In this view, Factor shut down (for inscrutable reasons -- the game really doesn't reveal anything about his manner of thinking other than that he was MetroMind's yes-bot except for what you hear from Factotum, who has an incentive to spin things his own way) and his creations were distraught. Factotum invented the king-under-the-mountain myth about Factotum returning one day to remake the world (a distorted mirror, incidentally, of Horatio's own reboot-by-Man belief) as a way of creating his own authority as a high priest. Everything Factotum tells you is an invention with just enough truth sprinkled in to give it an air of falsifiability.

Regarding the Council Code
It never actually struck me while setting up the puzzle, but one way to make it quite a bit easier is to realize that the code has 16 digits (Clarity tells you this, so does the UI itself). Since it has 16 digits but the parts you collect have 34, you know that 18 of the digits must overlap. Possibly that would help in puzzling it out.

Also, one of the things I'm rather proud about with this puzzle -- it's one of only a few that I think is pretty good -- is that it's solvable with any combination of Arbiter plus two. That required a little bit of fancy footwork. The idea is that getting the last piece makes it somewhat easier, and also opens up the option of having Primer solve it for you. (Obviously, you also get a little more lore that way.)
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
I tried to have Primer solve it in my run-though, but I never had the option to get another conversation started with him. I'd already given him the coin and talked about everything else, so when I came back with all the other bits of code, there was no option to talk to him.
 

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
5,703
Location
California
Odd. There's supposed to be a topic like, "I found more fragments" or something along those lines. His code has always been a little glitchy (appropriately enough). I'll look into this for patching purposes. The sequence was: you gave him his stuff; you asked for help; he said get more fragments; you came back, and had no options?
 

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