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TL;DR... in space! Star Saga 1: Beyond The Boundary [CYOA/board game/RPG]
- Thread starter Crooked Bee
- Start date
1. No
2. Para-Para
2. Para-Para
Stygian Lurker
Liturgist
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Messages
- 577
1. Yes
2. Para-Para
2. Para-Para
MMXI
Arcane
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2011
- Messages
- 2,196
2815 - 307 = 3508. She made the star maps after she died?
1) Yes.
2) 377-B
Para-Para it is. Also, we now have a nice little Exploder to shoot aliens with. Sounds like fun!
Let's also visit the Family market before we take off, although it is of little use to us currently.
We aren't carrying anything the Family might want, but this is the kind of place we may want to return to later.
Time to take off and go GVOG.
Paragraph 570
Para-Para is quite the lonely piece of real estate. It's stuck out in the middle of nowhere, with an orbital radius so large that you can't tell which of the stars in its sky is its sun without a computer. A hapless little rock world, somehow orphaned by its mother sun, floating out where gas giants are formed, it was probably just cruising by when suddenly—zap—it was captured by the gravity well of some sneaky sun. It almost sounds like a fable—the blue giant star and the little feeble planet that couldn't—and the moral of the story is, "Never travel slower than escape velocity". Scanning confirms the obvious: cold, darkness, vacuum. To use Para-Para and lifeless in the same sentence would be truly redundant.
"So where's the installation?" you ask the computer.
"Sensors indicate it's here Boss, near the equator." A small red circle is superimposed on the viewscreen image of Para-Para. The ink-black featureless surface now has an invisible city highlighted by a red ring. It looks like a smooth black ball with a red circle on it.
"Maybe it'll be easier to see in the daylight," you mutter.
"This is the day side, boss," the computer responds, "we'll pass into the dark side in ten."
This is as good as it's going to get? Preferring to see where you're going, you instruct the computer to enhance the image, narrow the focus, and increase the contrast to maximum so that you can make out surface features. The planet's surface consists almost solely of black rock. It's difficult to distinguish anything even with the enhancement—what was total black now seems to be mottled black on darker black. Mountain ranges, extensive plains, twisting ravines, possible river beds, and wave-like erosion patterns all testify that Para-Para once had an atmosphere.
While you're wondering if Para-Para ever developed life of its own, the viewscreen suddenly blazes with light, turning a dazzling white. Shielding your eyes, you reach for the viewscreen controls and yell to the computer, "What was that?"
"The reflective property of the surface seems to have changed, Boss." A few corrections to the viewscreen controls provide you with a clearer image. The section of the planet you're looking at is covered with a fine grey dust, hence a more light-reflective surface and a whited-out viewscreen. Further investigation reveals that Para-Para is composed of two distinct halves: a black rock half, where the installation is located, and, on the other side, a lighter hemisphere covered in fine dust. The light side is dominated by eight overlapping continent-sized craters.
"Those must have been impressive impacts," you observe, "but what I can't figure out is why there's nothing like this on the other side. Computer, run a full scan, all bands."
"Working. High radiation levels present at the center of each crater, Boss. Judging from their dimensions, class, and radioactivity, they are blast craters, damage left by ninth-magnitude surface explosions."
Blasting craters... Well, it fits, you figure—all the people on one side, all the blasting on the other. They may not know what they're doing down there—after all, it keeps blowing up on them, right?—but at least they know that what they're doing is extremely dangerous. So it's safety first, Para-Para style. While you're curious, you call up all the information you have on Para-Para. None of it mentions planet-denting explosions.
Your ship's computer picks up landing instructions from the installation, and you bring your ship down without incident. There's not much to see: a few docks, two other freighters besides yours. There are a few buildings, windowless and airlocked against the vacuum, but they don't even look used. You've seen more construction at a one-man asteroid mine. A boarding tube snakes out and nuzzles the side of your ship. It seals and pressurizes, allowing you to disembark. You follow the tube and find yourself in an elevator, which politely welcomes you to Para-Para and offers you a seat.
Ten minutes and one mile later you arrive, deep underground, at what the elevator calls "...Alpha One. Have a pleasant day." The doors open on a city-sized plaza ringed with shops and offices. There are walkways radiating from the center and tier after tier of balconies, full of people going about their business or leisure. As an "offworld trader" you're obliged to report to an office bearing a large spiral-arm-shaped logo on its front windows. There you're assigned free lodging and an orange pass which allows you access to the elevator tubes which serve as Para-Para's transportation system.
This underground complex is immense. According to your complimentary map, there are four major sections: Alpha One—the one you're in, which is the residential and commercial complex; Logistics, which deals with offworld trade, as well as power and life-support systems; the Research Department, with whole areas on the map labeled as "laboratories" or "test facilities"; and the Lateral Liaison Area, where the administrative offices are located. Access to Research or Lateral Liaison requires a security clearance.
A few hours of looking around reveal the following possibilities for passing the time on Para-Para:
And so we've arrived. First thing I'm going to do on each planet we visit is hit the local market to see what's on offer.
Since we've got 2 Crystals, we can buy 0, 3 or 6 Fuel. Vote incoming.
I'm also going to attempt entering the Research Department to have a look around, because it won't get us anywhere anyway.
Well, that's that. Now for a small vote:
1. Do we buy 0, 3, or 6 Units of Fuel?
2. Do we explore Alpha One or attempt to enter the Lateral Liaison Area first? Both options lead to some interesting things, really.
Let's also visit the Family market before we take off, although it is of little use to us currently.
Paragraph 420
As you enter the Torrence Family compound, you are amazed at the wealth on display here. The outer gates alone are made of Phase steel, the hardest substance known to humanity. You don't even want to think about how many jewels are set into the walkway beneath your feet.
You approach a Family representative and explain that you are interested in doing some trading if the conditions are acceptable.
You make a good impression with your slightly arrogant tone of voice, and the woman you are addressing takes a minute to reappraise you. Then she offers to take you to the Family Trade building.
"Not just anyone waltzes in here, even if we are open," she tells you, using the lingo of the planet, "especially the newlies."
She shows you into the trade center and explains that the Torrence Family is interested in exchanging three units of their available commodities for any one unit of the following: Primordial Soup, Super Slip, Warp Core, Particle Catalyst, Phase Steel, Gradient Filter, or Synthetic Genius.
You are quite impressed at their comprehensive list of available commodities: Computers, Crystals, Culture, Fiber, Fluids, Food, Fuel, Iron, Medicine, Munitions, Radioactives, and Tools.
You may select this option again.
As you enter the Torrence Family compound, you are amazed at the wealth on display here. The outer gates alone are made of Phase steel, the hardest substance known to humanity. You don't even want to think about how many jewels are set into the walkway beneath your feet.
You approach a Family representative and explain that you are interested in doing some trading if the conditions are acceptable.
You make a good impression with your slightly arrogant tone of voice, and the woman you are addressing takes a minute to reappraise you. Then she offers to take you to the Family Trade building.
"Not just anyone waltzes in here, even if we are open," she tells you, using the lingo of the planet, "especially the newlies."
She shows you into the trade center and explains that the Torrence Family is interested in exchanging three units of their available commodities for any one unit of the following: Primordial Soup, Super Slip, Warp Core, Particle Catalyst, Phase Steel, Gradient Filter, or Synthetic Genius.
You are quite impressed at their comprehensive list of available commodities: Computers, Crystals, Culture, Fiber, Fluids, Food, Fuel, Iron, Medicine, Munitions, Radioactives, and Tools.
You may select this option again.
We aren't carrying anything the Family might want, but this is the kind of place we may want to return to later.
Time to take off and go GVOG.
Paragraph 570
Para-Para is quite the lonely piece of real estate. It's stuck out in the middle of nowhere, with an orbital radius so large that you can't tell which of the stars in its sky is its sun without a computer. A hapless little rock world, somehow orphaned by its mother sun, floating out where gas giants are formed, it was probably just cruising by when suddenly—zap—it was captured by the gravity well of some sneaky sun. It almost sounds like a fable—the blue giant star and the little feeble planet that couldn't—and the moral of the story is, "Never travel slower than escape velocity". Scanning confirms the obvious: cold, darkness, vacuum. To use Para-Para and lifeless in the same sentence would be truly redundant.
"So where's the installation?" you ask the computer.
"Sensors indicate it's here Boss, near the equator." A small red circle is superimposed on the viewscreen image of Para-Para. The ink-black featureless surface now has an invisible city highlighted by a red ring. It looks like a smooth black ball with a red circle on it.
"Maybe it'll be easier to see in the daylight," you mutter.
"This is the day side, boss," the computer responds, "we'll pass into the dark side in ten."
This is as good as it's going to get? Preferring to see where you're going, you instruct the computer to enhance the image, narrow the focus, and increase the contrast to maximum so that you can make out surface features. The planet's surface consists almost solely of black rock. It's difficult to distinguish anything even with the enhancement—what was total black now seems to be mottled black on darker black. Mountain ranges, extensive plains, twisting ravines, possible river beds, and wave-like erosion patterns all testify that Para-Para once had an atmosphere.
While you're wondering if Para-Para ever developed life of its own, the viewscreen suddenly blazes with light, turning a dazzling white. Shielding your eyes, you reach for the viewscreen controls and yell to the computer, "What was that?"
"The reflective property of the surface seems to have changed, Boss." A few corrections to the viewscreen controls provide you with a clearer image. The section of the planet you're looking at is covered with a fine grey dust, hence a more light-reflective surface and a whited-out viewscreen. Further investigation reveals that Para-Para is composed of two distinct halves: a black rock half, where the installation is located, and, on the other side, a lighter hemisphere covered in fine dust. The light side is dominated by eight overlapping continent-sized craters.
"Those must have been impressive impacts," you observe, "but what I can't figure out is why there's nothing like this on the other side. Computer, run a full scan, all bands."
"Working. High radiation levels present at the center of each crater, Boss. Judging from their dimensions, class, and radioactivity, they are blast craters, damage left by ninth-magnitude surface explosions."
Blasting craters... Well, it fits, you figure—all the people on one side, all the blasting on the other. They may not know what they're doing down there—after all, it keeps blowing up on them, right?—but at least they know that what they're doing is extremely dangerous. So it's safety first, Para-Para style. While you're curious, you call up all the information you have on Para-Para. None of it mentions planet-denting explosions.
Your ship's computer picks up landing instructions from the installation, and you bring your ship down without incident. There's not much to see: a few docks, two other freighters besides yours. There are a few buildings, windowless and airlocked against the vacuum, but they don't even look used. You've seen more construction at a one-man asteroid mine. A boarding tube snakes out and nuzzles the side of your ship. It seals and pressurizes, allowing you to disembark. You follow the tube and find yourself in an elevator, which politely welcomes you to Para-Para and offers you a seat.
Ten minutes and one mile later you arrive, deep underground, at what the elevator calls "...Alpha One. Have a pleasant day." The doors open on a city-sized plaza ringed with shops and offices. There are walkways radiating from the center and tier after tier of balconies, full of people going about their business or leisure. As an "offworld trader" you're obliged to report to an office bearing a large spiral-arm-shaped logo on its front windows. There you're assigned free lodging and an orange pass which allows you access to the elevator tubes which serve as Para-Para's transportation system.
This underground complex is immense. According to your complimentary map, there are four major sections: Alpha One—the one you're in, which is the residential and commercial complex; Logistics, which deals with offworld trade, as well as power and life-support systems; the Research Department, with whole areas on the map labeled as "laboratories" or "test facilities"; and the Lateral Liaison Area, where the administrative offices are located. Access to Research or Lateral Liaison requires a security clearance.
A few hours of looking around reveal the following possibilities for passing the time on Para-Para:
- GEEMMN (3 phases) Go to Logistics for negotiation of trade.
- WEGMEN (4 phases) Explore Alpha One, talking to people you meet on the public levels about life on Para-Para.
- CEUMON (3 phases) Attempt to enter the Research Department to have a look around.
- SEWMGN (4 phases) Attempt to enter the Lateral Liaison Area to have a look around
And so we've arrived. First thing I'm going to do on each planet we visit is hit the local market to see what's on offer.
Paragraph 807
Money. Para-Para reeks of it. Every gleaming ultra-modern surface sports an obvious, if invisible, price tag. And it reads "unimaginably expensive". This fabulous underground city, with its rhythmic crystal pillars and translucent walls, its reflective metal curves and high-tech accoutrements, is no mirrored fun house. It's the ultimate in high-tech and high art. You almost expect to pay an admission fee. It seems so ethereal, so fragile. You wonder how the Para-Parans manage to keep it from shattering when they're blowing away the other side of their planet.
At Logistics, you're met with polite efficiency. Employees here wear the familiar spiral arm logo of the Institute for Space Exploration.
Who would suspect that the ISE, known on the Nine Worlds as an organization that sponsors a few grant programs and scholarships, was administering a wealthy Ghost World planet?
Para-Para produces fuel, which they will trade as follows:
You may select this option again.
Money. Para-Para reeks of it. Every gleaming ultra-modern surface sports an obvious, if invisible, price tag. And it reads "unimaginably expensive". This fabulous underground city, with its rhythmic crystal pillars and translucent walls, its reflective metal curves and high-tech accoutrements, is no mirrored fun house. It's the ultimate in high-tech and high art. You almost expect to pay an admission fee. It seems so ethereal, so fragile. You wonder how the Para-Parans manage to keep it from shattering when they're blowing away the other side of their planet.
At Logistics, you're met with polite efficiency. Employees here wear the familiar spiral arm logo of the Institute for Space Exploration.
Institute for Space Exploration: An organization dedicated to the continued exploration of space. Based on the planet Para-Para, the I.S.E. was founded after the Boundary was established to encourage people to keep exploring the galaxy.
Who would suspect that the ISE, known on the Nine Worlds as an organization that sponsors a few grant programs and scholarships, was administering a wealthy Ghost World planet?
Para-Para produces fuel, which they will trade as follows:
- 1 Fuel for 1 Computers.
- 2 Fuel for 1 Munitions.
- 3 Fuel for 1 Crystals.
You may select this option again.
Since we've got 2 Crystals, we can buy 0, 3 or 6 Fuel. Vote incoming.
I'm also going to attempt entering the Research Department to have a look around, because it won't get us anywhere anyway.
Paragraph 243
Para-Para is divided into sections, each of which is a complex of connected bubbles. Each section cluster is connected to the others by a network of transportation tubes, through which individual shuttles carry passengers to and fro. The whole thing looks like a bunch of grapes.
Only Alpha One is freely accessible to the general public. All of the other areas are restricted to varying degrees and require a special security pass to enter legitimately. However, the Research Department of the Para-Para colony turns out to be very easy to penetrate. Since most of the colonists seem to be employed here, there is usually heavy traffic. Theoretically, a magnetic card is required to open any door into the section, but the time-honored trick of following someone else inside without allowing the door to close is extremely effective. By being somewhat discreet, wearing lab clothing that matches everyone elses's (available for purchase in the public zone), and wearing your ID tag so that it hangs with only the back side showing, you practically have free run of the place.
There is a lot going on that you can't make any sense of, for the work is highly technical. You overhear arguments about the best way to fabricate Warp Core, whether or not large quantities of Phase Steel could be used in certain ship designs, whether or not the derivations of Vortex Mechanics disprove the existence of Entropy Loops, and so on. It is clear that much of the research is aimed at improving the hyperdrive: there are teams working on ways to extend the efficiency of the Two Axis drive to its theoretical limit, while others are attempting to create a Three Axis drive. The Three Axis drive seems a major concern, and the subject of many failed experiments. The craters on the far side of Para-Para apparently represent the results of some of these experiments.
An organization called the Institute for Space Exploration is the source of funds for the Para-Para research program. The spiral-arm insignia you see here and there is the symbol of the ISE. Successful research programs completed on Para-Para in the past include the invention of the Jump Engine (the near-instantaneous drive used in unmanned cargo ships which human passengers unfortunately cannot survive) and a method for artificially generating a substance called Warp Core (though this method is not used due to the incredible amounts of power it requires).
Having learned what you can from your "tour" of the Research Department, you return to the public area.
Para-Para is divided into sections, each of which is a complex of connected bubbles. Each section cluster is connected to the others by a network of transportation tubes, through which individual shuttles carry passengers to and fro. The whole thing looks like a bunch of grapes.
Only Alpha One is freely accessible to the general public. All of the other areas are restricted to varying degrees and require a special security pass to enter legitimately. However, the Research Department of the Para-Para colony turns out to be very easy to penetrate. Since most of the colonists seem to be employed here, there is usually heavy traffic. Theoretically, a magnetic card is required to open any door into the section, but the time-honored trick of following someone else inside without allowing the door to close is extremely effective. By being somewhat discreet, wearing lab clothing that matches everyone elses's (available for purchase in the public zone), and wearing your ID tag so that it hangs with only the back side showing, you practically have free run of the place.
There is a lot going on that you can't make any sense of, for the work is highly technical. You overhear arguments about the best way to fabricate Warp Core, whether or not large quantities of Phase Steel could be used in certain ship designs, whether or not the derivations of Vortex Mechanics disprove the existence of Entropy Loops, and so on. It is clear that much of the research is aimed at improving the hyperdrive: there are teams working on ways to extend the efficiency of the Two Axis drive to its theoretical limit, while others are attempting to create a Three Axis drive. The Three Axis drive seems a major concern, and the subject of many failed experiments. The craters on the far side of Para-Para apparently represent the results of some of these experiments.
An organization called the Institute for Space Exploration is the source of funds for the Para-Para research program. The spiral-arm insignia you see here and there is the symbol of the ISE. Successful research programs completed on Para-Para in the past include the invention of the Jump Engine (the near-instantaneous drive used in unmanned cargo ships which human passengers unfortunately cannot survive) and a method for artificially generating a substance called Warp Core (though this method is not used due to the incredible amounts of power it requires).
Having learned what you can from your "tour" of the Research Department, you return to the public area.
Well, that's that. Now for a small vote:
1. Do we buy 0, 3, or 6 Units of Fuel?
2. Do we explore Alpha One or attempt to enter the Lateral Liaison Area first? Both options lead to some interesting things, really.
3 for 1 seems like a pretty sweet deal. I say we trade both of them for 6 units of fuel.
And let's explore Alpha One.
And let's explore Alpha One.
I say:
1. Buy 3 units of Fuel (keep 1 Crystal in case some of the next planets offers a 3:1 exchange rate for another commodity, or Crystal is needed for some advanced good).
2. Explore Alpha One first (and enter the Lateral Liaison Area later).
lightbane
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2008
- Messages
- 10,556
Jesus Christ... Bee, are you human? o_O
Because the amount of LPying, admining, interviewing is clearly superhuman. Will follow, but... just looking at this LP... wow.
EDIT: That reminds me - it's yet another proof you are a rogue AI, bent on destruction of Bethesda and Bioware. Admit it - Bioware fuckup with ME3 was your doing.
Close, she must be Black Cat's forgotten twin-sister, that died shortly after birth. Luckily, her mind was saved, then converted into data, becoming a sentient program called Mega... Oh wait, nevermind, that's Battle Network's plot M:
We trade 1 Crystal for 3 Fuel and decide to explore Alpha One.
Well, that sure was... something.
Note that neither our protagonist's sex nor Dr. Peterson's sex is given. The game sure is LBGT-friendly. Looks like Bioware still have things to learn.
So... do we spend more time with Dr. Peterson?
Paragraph 409
Para-Para is deceptive through and through. Not only does the uninhabitable surface disguise the fact that there's a thriving city below it, but the city itself disguises the fact that it's underground. Crystal support beams spiral from the floor to the ceiling, like fine webs of translucent cotton candy. Every surface is polished to reflect the light that seems to be coming from skylights in the roof. Although the complex is functional, it is undeniably beautiful—and obviously expensive.
Everything you've seen so far is so high-tech it looks like a futurist's dream come true. While you're leaning out over one of the balconies, wondering who might be footing the bill for all this stuff and trying to count how many levels there are, you hear someone behind you say "twelve".
"Someone" turns out to be one Dr. Peterson, a very attractive local resident. One thing leads to another and Dr. Peterson offers to take you on a tour of the complex. You accept, and spend the next hour viewing the facility.
The underground city is actually made of clusters of sections and divisions. Each section is separately enclosed and connected to the others by elevator tubes. The whole thing is enclosed in a giant single bubble, and the bubble is inside what is easily the largest cavern in the Ghost Worlds. There is an access tunnel leading to an observation dome on the asteroid's surface, which the locals call the "lookout".
While you're en route to the lookout, you happen upon a spectacular view of the entire complex, from the point where the bubble joins the cavern wall. It sparkles and shimmers like clusters of tiny soap bubbles blown inside one large one. You mention that it all looks very fragile, and wonder how it stands up to the blasting that goes on. Dr. Peterson just shrugs and tells you that the complex was built with every safety need in mind, and as far as the testing goes, well, like they say—if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
You learn the doctor is assigned to the research department, and specializes in drive engine design. So far their project has been tantalizing but not entirely successful. Although you try to lead the conversation towards who funds these projects and where the money comes from, your guide is preoccupied with pointing out areas of interest.
You're only half listening until you happen to notice something that really is interesting: a single bubble, a section, that literally sticks out from the rest. Attached by a single elevator tube instead of the usual dozen, the isolated bubble hangs from the rest of the cluster as if it were about to drop off. You point it out to Dr. Peterson, who tells you it's "really a part of Forward Liaison. Some big deal strategy department. The security is so tight, even God couldn't get in there without the right clearance." And the reason for all the secrecy?
"Beats me."
"The Lookout" turns out to be the name of a cozy bar, where the lights are low, the drinks aren't watered, and the music is inviting. The dome which serves as its walls and ceiling is so translucent that you tell Dr. Peterson you have the eerie feeling that you're dancing out in the void, with no planet beneath your feet, nothing between you and an intoxicating star-filled sky.
"Dancing in that cold killer void," your dancing partner answers. "I guess for you that's romantic. But for me... I'm too used to seeing space as a set of problems to be solved and overcome. That's my whole life. Inventing ways and means by which man can invade a hostile environment and not only survive it, but make it livable. I'm afraid that starry skies are beautiful things which I sensibly only want to see from behind thick protective shielding. But..." the doctor squeezes your hand, "I admire people like you. Those brave, adventurous types who boldly go where no man has gone before."
"I bet you say that to all the spacers," you laugh, and hold your newfound companion closer.
"Only the ones I like. Only when I mean it."
Spacefaring in a one-man ship is a lonely way to make a living. It's been a long time since you held someone in your arms, and it feels wonderful. You share laughs and conversation, and Dr. Peterson introduces you to the crowd of regulars at the bar. There's a warm camaraderie among this bunch of scientists and engineers. They make you feel instantly welcome and genuinely respected. From the ongoing conversations you gather that most of the people on Para-Para are from the Nine Worlds. They pay close attention to news of current events back home. And the heaviest betting at the bar is on the outcome of the Trylon Derby, held on Frontier, inside the boundary.
Insisting that you're a guest, the doctor rummages around in two labcoat pockets and lays their contents out on the bar. Among the clutter of pens, notebooks, ID's and passes is the sought-after credit card and two theater tickets. They're for a performance of "Sundown Road" next week at the Rivoli, a famous theater on Norstar.
"Those were hard to come by," the doctor says as you hand over the tickets. "All the critics say it's brilliant. The performances have been sold out for weeks. I look forward to seeing it. I like to really get out when I have some time off. Come on, let's dance some more."
You let yourself be led back out onto the dance floor, a little dazed. No one at the bar showed the slightest interest in the tickets or the fact that sometime in the near future, your charming companion was going to illegally cross the Boundary, see some show or other, and break the Boundary again to resume business here as usual.
"Hey spacer," you hear a whisper in your ear, "What did you do? Life off without a ship? You act as if your mind is a million miles away. Ground control to ship. Come in ship. If you'll come back, I can promise you happy landings." Warm lips gently kiss your neck.
"How happy?" you tease, kissing back.
"Very, very hap..."
The last word is cut short by a long kiss.
You now have an additional option:
Para-Para is deceptive through and through. Not only does the uninhabitable surface disguise the fact that there's a thriving city below it, but the city itself disguises the fact that it's underground. Crystal support beams spiral from the floor to the ceiling, like fine webs of translucent cotton candy. Every surface is polished to reflect the light that seems to be coming from skylights in the roof. Although the complex is functional, it is undeniably beautiful—and obviously expensive.
Everything you've seen so far is so high-tech it looks like a futurist's dream come true. While you're leaning out over one of the balconies, wondering who might be footing the bill for all this stuff and trying to count how many levels there are, you hear someone behind you say "twelve".
"Someone" turns out to be one Dr. Peterson, a very attractive local resident. One thing leads to another and Dr. Peterson offers to take you on a tour of the complex. You accept, and spend the next hour viewing the facility.
The underground city is actually made of clusters of sections and divisions. Each section is separately enclosed and connected to the others by elevator tubes. The whole thing is enclosed in a giant single bubble, and the bubble is inside what is easily the largest cavern in the Ghost Worlds. There is an access tunnel leading to an observation dome on the asteroid's surface, which the locals call the "lookout".
While you're en route to the lookout, you happen upon a spectacular view of the entire complex, from the point where the bubble joins the cavern wall. It sparkles and shimmers like clusters of tiny soap bubbles blown inside one large one. You mention that it all looks very fragile, and wonder how it stands up to the blasting that goes on. Dr. Peterson just shrugs and tells you that the complex was built with every safety need in mind, and as far as the testing goes, well, like they say—if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
You learn the doctor is assigned to the research department, and specializes in drive engine design. So far their project has been tantalizing but not entirely successful. Although you try to lead the conversation towards who funds these projects and where the money comes from, your guide is preoccupied with pointing out areas of interest.
You're only half listening until you happen to notice something that really is interesting: a single bubble, a section, that literally sticks out from the rest. Attached by a single elevator tube instead of the usual dozen, the isolated bubble hangs from the rest of the cluster as if it were about to drop off. You point it out to Dr. Peterson, who tells you it's "really a part of Forward Liaison. Some big deal strategy department. The security is so tight, even God couldn't get in there without the right clearance." And the reason for all the secrecy?
"Beats me."
"The Lookout" turns out to be the name of a cozy bar, where the lights are low, the drinks aren't watered, and the music is inviting. The dome which serves as its walls and ceiling is so translucent that you tell Dr. Peterson you have the eerie feeling that you're dancing out in the void, with no planet beneath your feet, nothing between you and an intoxicating star-filled sky.
"Dancing in that cold killer void," your dancing partner answers. "I guess for you that's romantic. But for me... I'm too used to seeing space as a set of problems to be solved and overcome. That's my whole life. Inventing ways and means by which man can invade a hostile environment and not only survive it, but make it livable. I'm afraid that starry skies are beautiful things which I sensibly only want to see from behind thick protective shielding. But..." the doctor squeezes your hand, "I admire people like you. Those brave, adventurous types who boldly go where no man has gone before."
"I bet you say that to all the spacers," you laugh, and hold your newfound companion closer.
"Only the ones I like. Only when I mean it."
Spacefaring in a one-man ship is a lonely way to make a living. It's been a long time since you held someone in your arms, and it feels wonderful. You share laughs and conversation, and Dr. Peterson introduces you to the crowd of regulars at the bar. There's a warm camaraderie among this bunch of scientists and engineers. They make you feel instantly welcome and genuinely respected. From the ongoing conversations you gather that most of the people on Para-Para are from the Nine Worlds. They pay close attention to news of current events back home. And the heaviest betting at the bar is on the outcome of the Trylon Derby, held on Frontier, inside the boundary.
Frontier: One of the Nine Human Worlds. Frontier was the last of the Nine Worlds settled prior to the Plague and the establishment of the Boundary. Even today much of Frontier is undeveloped, with a small population clustered in a few large cities.
Insisting that you're a guest, the doctor rummages around in two labcoat pockets and lays their contents out on the bar. Among the clutter of pens, notebooks, ID's and passes is the sought-after credit card and two theater tickets. They're for a performance of "Sundown Road" next week at the Rivoli, a famous theater on Norstar.
Norstar: One of the Nine Worlds. Norstar is a grimy, industrial world, headquarters of many large companies, including Intergalactic Alchemy Inc. (the chemicals and materials manufacturer), CHOMP (the computers and communications services firm), and S.T. Enterprises (the transportation engineering institution).
"Those were hard to come by," the doctor says as you hand over the tickets. "All the critics say it's brilliant. The performances have been sold out for weeks. I look forward to seeing it. I like to really get out when I have some time off. Come on, let's dance some more."
You let yourself be led back out onto the dance floor, a little dazed. No one at the bar showed the slightest interest in the tickets or the fact that sometime in the near future, your charming companion was going to illegally cross the Boundary, see some show or other, and break the Boundary again to resume business here as usual.
"Hey spacer," you hear a whisper in your ear, "What did you do? Life off without a ship? You act as if your mind is a million miles away. Ground control to ship. Come in ship. If you'll come back, I can promise you happy landings." Warm lips gently kiss your neck.
"How happy?" you tease, kissing back.
"Very, very hap..."
The last word is cut short by a long kiss.
You now have an additional option:
- GUEOMF (2 phases) Spend more time with Dr. Peterson.
Well, that sure was... something.
Note that neither our protagonist's sex nor Dr. Peterson's sex is given. The game sure is LBGT-friendly. Looks like Bioware still have things to learn.
So... do we spend more time with Dr. Peterson?
Mrowak
Arcane
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2008
- Messages
- 3,952
I sincerely hope Crooked Bee is using Abby Screenshot Reader or similar software for reading text from images.
Crooked Bee
Regarding the choice:
Spend more time with her...
It's clear now that nerdy game designers from late 1980s could more into writing romantic scenes than whole of Bioware staff combined.
And my bet my arse it will lead to some main-plot related stuff, as opposed to teenage angst. And I am certain this will backfire.
Erebus
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2008
- Messages
- 4,845
Well, at the very least, she should be able to tell us how to get back to the Nine Worlds safely.
Yup, charming companionship + further plot revelations + possible Boundary loophole + spectacular backfiring = this can only end well. Do it!
Alright, we're on it. Or in it. Whatever.
A trip across the Boundary? Isn't that illegal?
We still have time to think about Dr. Peterson's offer (I've no idea if it'd still be there if we left Para-Para, though), so let's check out the Lateral Liaison Area.
Disarming the door alarm? How would we do that??
Doors, beware!
Looks like buying the Exploder has paid off!
Voting time! We have two things to vote on.
First,
1. Do we break into Para-Para's most classified area? (Or is our Professor too much of a pussy to attempt that?)
and second choice,
2. Do we accompany Dr. Peterson on a trip inside the Boundary? (Provided we live to see another day.)
This is the last update for today so that MMXI can catch up.
Paragraph 431
When it's just the two of you, alone together in the doctor's apartment, you pass the time in a variety of ways, all of them memorable. While you're cuddled together on the couch, sadly agreeing with each other what a shame it is that all good things have to come to an end, "Doc" suddenly grins from ear to ear and suggests that this doesn't have to end so soon. "Why don't you come with me to see 'Sundown Road'?"
If you would like to do so, plot the following option:
When it's just the two of you, alone together in the doctor's apartment, you pass the time in a variety of ways, all of them memorable. While you're cuddled together on the couch, sadly agreeing with each other what a shame it is that all good things have to come to an end, "Doc" suddenly grins from ear to ear and suggests that this doesn't have to end so soon. "Why don't you come with me to see 'Sundown Road'?"
If you would like to do so, plot the following option:
- WUGOEF (7 phases) Accompany Dr. Peterson on a trip across the Boundary.
A trip across the Boundary? Isn't that illegal?
We still have time to think about Dr. Peterson's offer (I've no idea if it'd still be there if we left Para-Para, though), so let's check out the Lateral Liaison Area.
Paragraph 151
You approach the chrome doors that lead into the Lateral Liaison section of Para-Para's vast underground metropolis. There are no guards but you see that the door is equipped with an elaborate alarm system.
The entrance to this inner sanctum appears to have some constant electronic surveillance, and the door itself is made strictly with function, not form, in mind. Its smooth black surface is accented with tiny red points of light that move in geometric patterns. Frankly, the door looks like a computer, which means that you should be able to disrupt its functioning somehow.
Looking around, you can see that you seem to be here during the work force's "off hours", as there aren't many people around. This leads you to think you may have a chance at forcing your way inside the sector and learning potentially valuable information. You quickly take stock of your equipment and decide to attempt to disarm the door alarm.
You approach the chrome doors that lead into the Lateral Liaison section of Para-Para's vast underground metropolis. There are no guards but you see that the door is equipped with an elaborate alarm system.
The entrance to this inner sanctum appears to have some constant electronic surveillance, and the door itself is made strictly with function, not form, in mind. Its smooth black surface is accented with tiny red points of light that move in geometric patterns. Frankly, the door looks like a computer, which means that you should be able to disrupt its functioning somehow.
Looking around, you can see that you seem to be here during the work force's "off hours", as there aren't many people around. This leads you to think you may have a chance at forcing your way inside the sector and learning potentially valuable information. You quickly take stock of your equipment and decide to attempt to disarm the door alarm.
Disarming the door alarm? How would we do that??
Doors, beware!
Looks like buying the Exploder has paid off!
Paragraph 78
The plan works without a hitch and you soon find yourself inside the Lateral Liaison sector. No one is present to witness your daring exploit but you don't really feel the need for an audience. Instead, you wish you had some way of blending into your surroundings.
As you look around you, you notice that you're standing right in front of an "instant disguise facility", i.e. the foyer closet. A quick check through the pockets of two dozen lab coats and half a dozen jumpsuits nets you two wallets and one three-week-old uncashed paycheck.
You zero in on the black lab coat in which you found the paycheck. In its other pocket you find an ink-stained carrying case bulging with various IDs, medical cards, credit cards, library cards and a blue elevator shuttle pass. Since the visitor passes you've seen are orange, a blue pass might mean higher clearance. You take the case with all its contents and leave everything else the way it was.
Grabbing the black lab coat from the back of the closet, you head out to the elevator tubes. The chances are that anyone who forgets his paycheck in his lab coat pocket for three weeks and can't remember to transfer his ID badge from his lab coat to his overalls is someone who probably won't report the loss of his ID right away. The absent-minded professor will probably think that he's just left it some place or other and that it will turn up. At least that's what you're hoping as you make your way through the corridors of the Lateral Liaison Office.
Much of Lateral Liaison is devoted to internal business. Hiring personnel, processing paychecks, maintaining housing, docking facilities, the labs, the experimental stations—all the details you'd expect an administrative department to handle.
As you make your way around and encounter more and more people, you are very pleased to discover that they all assume you are someone who is supposed to be here. Apparently the coat and ID you selected are from someone of high enough rank that no one questions you. You begin to feel more at ease and soon find the courage (or sheer audacity) to actually question the people and gather more information.
In the financial department, you find an eager young clerk who is even willing to call up the general ledger on his terminal for you. You are forced to explain that you're on a tight schedule (ain't that the truth—how long will it be before the real VIP raises an alarm about his stolen credentials?) and can't take the time to examine the books now. The clerk isn't listening. He wants you to know that the year-end report has just been finalized and business is booming.
"Not bad for a research institute, is it?" he beams as he shows you a quick summary sheet of expenditures and revenue. According to the figures in front of you, Para-Para is realizing a good profit. But you're more interested in some of the line items than you are in the bottom line.
For instance, 25% of Para-Para's income comes from something referred to as the ISE endowment grant. The rest of the revenue comes from selling new technology to the Families. On the expenditure side, there's what you'd expect from a colony that wasn't self-sufficient. And there are a few entries that have you raising your eyebrows. Nearly 20% of Para-Para's overhead budget goes to "Transportation and Expedience".
The young clerk jumps in to answer your puzzled expression. "The Boundary," he winks, "can't live with it, can't live without it." You point to another entry that caught your eye which accounts for 10% of the budget and is labeled "Records Acquisition and Alien Artifact Recovery".
"Part of the research expenses for Forward Liaison," the clerk responds to your unasked question. "It's always difficult to project just how much will be spent on that in any given year. We earmark what we hope will be sufficient funds; of course, the Director would authorize any amount necessary to obtain something substantial. I don't work in that field, so I can't speak with any authority, but in my opinion the Records division does a good job of documenting space voyages.
"Of course buying some spacer's tall tales about the alien world he was marooned on may look like a waste of money, but you never know what part of a story might be true. Or which parts are significant and which parts are insignificant. After all, more was known about the galaxy during the age of the Great Expansion than we know now. If our ancestors could discover alien worlds, there's no reason to assume that present-day spacers can't. And besides, not all the voyages are undocumented. I hear that sometimes we're lucky enough to get ship logs and even alien items."
Well, you learn something new every day. You hadn't known that Para-Para was rich enough to compete with the big boys on the alien tech market. And this is the first you've ever heard that Para-Para is offering cash for deep spacers' memoirs.
The references to Forward Liaison are especially intriguing. Since you arrived in Lateral Liaison, there have been indications that the most important work on Para-Para is being carried out behind locked doors inside Forward Liaison. It's hard to imagine what might be more important than developing a tri-axis drive or manufacturing Warp Core. But you don't doubt that the Para-Parans consider it of prime importance. Your grandmother used to say, "Behind the strongest lock is the greatest treasure." By the look of things, the Para-Parans must have agreed with Granny.
You have all the information you can glean from this area, so you head down a well-lit corridor that looks intriguing. Ahead of you is a sight that makes you stop dead in your tracks.
The frosted doors at the end of the hall look innocuous enough. In fact you just assumed you would find a receptionist behind them. You reach out to pull the doors open and, in the nick of time, notice about a dozen human-sized red shapes, the sight of which makes your blood run cold.
Snatches of overheard conversations between offworld traders do an instant replay in your head: rumors about heavily armed security forces, exaggerated stories about a secret army of crack troops, a well-disciplined outfit with the latest in deadly weapons—and dressed in red flex armor.
For one of those eternal seconds, you wait for the security forces to come through the door. Your stomach has just learned how to dance better than your feet ever did. Through the glass doors you can make out the outline of soldiers wearing flex battle armor and helmets, carrying weapons. Some part of your brain is trying to decide what would be the worst possible thing that could happen to you if you were caught here in a restricted area with stolen identification. You tell yourself to cut it out.
You may now attempt to enter the Forward Liaison sector of the building.
The plan works without a hitch and you soon find yourself inside the Lateral Liaison sector. No one is present to witness your daring exploit but you don't really feel the need for an audience. Instead, you wish you had some way of blending into your surroundings.
As you look around you, you notice that you're standing right in front of an "instant disguise facility", i.e. the foyer closet. A quick check through the pockets of two dozen lab coats and half a dozen jumpsuits nets you two wallets and one three-week-old uncashed paycheck.
You zero in on the black lab coat in which you found the paycheck. In its other pocket you find an ink-stained carrying case bulging with various IDs, medical cards, credit cards, library cards and a blue elevator shuttle pass. Since the visitor passes you've seen are orange, a blue pass might mean higher clearance. You take the case with all its contents and leave everything else the way it was.
Grabbing the black lab coat from the back of the closet, you head out to the elevator tubes. The chances are that anyone who forgets his paycheck in his lab coat pocket for three weeks and can't remember to transfer his ID badge from his lab coat to his overalls is someone who probably won't report the loss of his ID right away. The absent-minded professor will probably think that he's just left it some place or other and that it will turn up. At least that's what you're hoping as you make your way through the corridors of the Lateral Liaison Office.
Much of Lateral Liaison is devoted to internal business. Hiring personnel, processing paychecks, maintaining housing, docking facilities, the labs, the experimental stations—all the details you'd expect an administrative department to handle.
As you make your way around and encounter more and more people, you are very pleased to discover that they all assume you are someone who is supposed to be here. Apparently the coat and ID you selected are from someone of high enough rank that no one questions you. You begin to feel more at ease and soon find the courage (or sheer audacity) to actually question the people and gather more information.
In the financial department, you find an eager young clerk who is even willing to call up the general ledger on his terminal for you. You are forced to explain that you're on a tight schedule (ain't that the truth—how long will it be before the real VIP raises an alarm about his stolen credentials?) and can't take the time to examine the books now. The clerk isn't listening. He wants you to know that the year-end report has just been finalized and business is booming.
"Not bad for a research institute, is it?" he beams as he shows you a quick summary sheet of expenditures and revenue. According to the figures in front of you, Para-Para is realizing a good profit. But you're more interested in some of the line items than you are in the bottom line.
For instance, 25% of Para-Para's income comes from something referred to as the ISE endowment grant. The rest of the revenue comes from selling new technology to the Families. On the expenditure side, there's what you'd expect from a colony that wasn't self-sufficient. And there are a few entries that have you raising your eyebrows. Nearly 20% of Para-Para's overhead budget goes to "Transportation and Expedience".
The young clerk jumps in to answer your puzzled expression. "The Boundary," he winks, "can't live with it, can't live without it." You point to another entry that caught your eye which accounts for 10% of the budget and is labeled "Records Acquisition and Alien Artifact Recovery".
"Part of the research expenses for Forward Liaison," the clerk responds to your unasked question. "It's always difficult to project just how much will be spent on that in any given year. We earmark what we hope will be sufficient funds; of course, the Director would authorize any amount necessary to obtain something substantial. I don't work in that field, so I can't speak with any authority, but in my opinion the Records division does a good job of documenting space voyages.
"Of course buying some spacer's tall tales about the alien world he was marooned on may look like a waste of money, but you never know what part of a story might be true. Or which parts are significant and which parts are insignificant. After all, more was known about the galaxy during the age of the Great Expansion than we know now. If our ancestors could discover alien worlds, there's no reason to assume that present-day spacers can't. And besides, not all the voyages are undocumented. I hear that sometimes we're lucky enough to get ship logs and even alien items."
Well, you learn something new every day. You hadn't known that Para-Para was rich enough to compete with the big boys on the alien tech market. And this is the first you've ever heard that Para-Para is offering cash for deep spacers' memoirs.
The references to Forward Liaison are especially intriguing. Since you arrived in Lateral Liaison, there have been indications that the most important work on Para-Para is being carried out behind locked doors inside Forward Liaison. It's hard to imagine what might be more important than developing a tri-axis drive or manufacturing Warp Core. But you don't doubt that the Para-Parans consider it of prime importance. Your grandmother used to say, "Behind the strongest lock is the greatest treasure." By the look of things, the Para-Parans must have agreed with Granny.
You have all the information you can glean from this area, so you head down a well-lit corridor that looks intriguing. Ahead of you is a sight that makes you stop dead in your tracks.
The frosted doors at the end of the hall look innocuous enough. In fact you just assumed you would find a receptionist behind them. You reach out to pull the doors open and, in the nick of time, notice about a dozen human-sized red shapes, the sight of which makes your blood run cold.
Snatches of overheard conversations between offworld traders do an instant replay in your head: rumors about heavily armed security forces, exaggerated stories about a secret army of crack troops, a well-disciplined outfit with the latest in deadly weapons—and dressed in red flex armor.
For one of those eternal seconds, you wait for the security forces to come through the door. Your stomach has just learned how to dance better than your feet ever did. Through the glass doors you can make out the outline of soldiers wearing flex battle armor and helmets, carrying weapons. Some part of your brain is trying to decide what would be the worst possible thing that could happen to you if you were caught here in a restricted area with stolen identification. You tell yourself to cut it out.
You may now attempt to enter the Forward Liaison sector of the building.
- CUUOOF (5 phases) Brazen your way into the planet's most classified area.
Voting time! We have two things to vote on.
First,
1. Do we break into Para-Para's most classified area? (Or is our Professor too much of a pussy to attempt that?)
and second choice,
2. Do we accompany Dr. Peterson on a trip inside the Boundary? (Provided we live to see another day.)
Current status
Name: Professor Lee Dambroke
Ship: The Black Abyss
Score: 325/5000
Turn: 12
Location: 107-G (Para-Para)
Cargo: 1 Fluids, 1 Crystals, 3 Fuel (5/10)
Weapons: Exploder (hand-to-hand, projectile)
Name: Professor Lee Dambroke
Ship: The Black Abyss
Score: 325/5000
Turn: 12
Location: 107-G (Para-Para)
Cargo: 1 Fluids, 1 Crystals, 3 Fuel (5/10)
Weapons: Exploder (hand-to-hand, projectile)
This is the last update for today so that MMXI can catch up.
Oops, I wanted you to vote on both choices, i.e., "1. Yes, 2. No." Sorry I didn't make it clear enough.
(Yes, it seems we can do both 1 and 2 if you want.)
(Yes, it seems we can do both 1 and 2 if you want.)
Are we sure our character is a xenobiologist? Because so far he's more like James Bond than any professor I ever met :D
I choose the "just browsing" option: 1. No 2. Yes.
I choose the "just browsing" option: 1. No 2. Yes.
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