Compliance Is Mandatory-An Exercise of Paranoia

[Copygoo]

>What's the Old Reckoning?

[Airedar]

It's not actually a thing. You must understand, everyone in this place is utterly insane, mainly from massive radiation overexposure, being cloned hundreds/thousands of times, and generally living in fear of a paranoid, crazed, semi-omnipotent demigod computer super construct that has everyone living a hair's breath away from brutally murdering each oth- ack!

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This unit has been identified as a communist mutant traitor and been silenced. Please ignore everything it said. A team will be along to purge/remove you shortly.

[Reecer6]

>Report to transbot station in a more hardboiled manner

[I-gor]

>What's the Old Reckoning?

The Old Reckoning? Nothing but the glorious past. Before the rise of The Computer and Alpha Complex, the people who lived on the land Alpha Complex currently occupies enjoyed exciting, exhilarating, enlightened lives. You've seen some of the Romantics cache of video footage of that great era, and it is clearly impressive. The people then must have had advanced technology-how else could they have been able to destroy planets, go where no man had dared go before, and develop cloning (though why they chose to clone that grumpy man with the strange facial hair is beyond you, though he must be important to be in so many vidshows)! The Romantics and you feel that there must be something the Old Reckoning people knew, something that they learned from "commuting to work" and living in "split level homes".

Maybe someday, you will find an artifact that will make it all clear, an artifact that will cause a revolution that will rival World War II of the Rings!

>Report to transbot station in a more hardboiled manner

[Phynicxs]

Wait did those lights just go out?

Turn lights back on/flashlight/matches/glowstick/lightsaber

[Copygoo]

>Have a pink glowstick.

[McBatman]

>See if you have any RELAXATION PILLS.

[Psiana]

Francis-R: Hate the dark (and stairs for good measure).

[I-gor]

>Have a pink glowstick.

You check your inventory. No, you don't appear to have any type of glowstick...you wouldn't be able to tell if it were pink if you did, but...aha! Your PDC!

Francis-R: Hate the dark (and stairs for good measure).

...It looks like your PDC isn't providing that much light. Wait, was that a skitter in the distance? You hate the dark, you can't tell what's going on and with those Computer-forsaken stairs right there you'd probably fall and break your spine oh vatslime what do you do now was that a laser shot behind you

Wait did those lights just go out?

Turn lights back on/flashlight/matches/glowstick/lightsaber

You decide to try talking to The Computer. Maybe The Computer (The Computer is your friend, Citizen) will be able to turn the lights back on.

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Francis-R: Friend Computer Friend Computer Friend Computer aaaaaaa-
The Computer: At your service, citizen!
Francis-R: Oh thank you so much Friend Computer the lights've gone out it's in the transbot station E4:E5:NF3:NC6-
The Computer: [beeping noises] Citizen, the lights are not out at transbot station E4:E5:NF3:NC6. You are in error. Please administer medication at this time.

>See if you have any RELAXATION PILLS.

As a matter of fact, you do have some Rolactin ("HappyLife") pills, but-


There's a scuffling noise in the background, and another laser shot. This time, it hits home. A sibilant hiss comes from the shadows-

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???: Smash The Computer. PURGE is your frie-
Francis-R: Wha-

[McBatman]

>Deploy the next clone. The previous one is a bit EXTRA CRISPY.

[I-gor]

>Deploy the next clone. The previous one is a bit EXTRA CRISPY.

Yeah, no kidding.

Your second clone arrives in a few minutes, as well as the second clones of a couple of other Troubleshooters who happened to be in the blast radius of the (you think) transbot collision. They introduce themselves as Sally-R-AVV and Hump-R-DNK, so they're a couple of members of your Troubleshooter team. Climbing down the stairs this second time, you spot another transbot wheeling into the place where the two others collided, and three Troubleshooters clustered by it. They might be the rest of your team.

What do you do?

[Psiana]

Francis-R: Introduce yourself to your team and get to work before anything else can happen to you.

[I-gor]

Francis-R: Introduce yourself to your team and get to work before anything else can happen to you.

You suppose you can, you've got about five minutes until the transbot leaves. Though, you're not sure about the 'anything else happening' part. You do hope you can hold on to your clones, though, you've only got six, and you've just used one.

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Francis-R: So...I suppose we're all here as part of the Troubleshooter mission?
[Slow nods from the rest of the group. Hump-R appears to be uninterested in the conversation and is fiddling with something in the transbot. The large bearded man stirs.]
???: I guess so. Name's Richard-R-JNL by the way. Anyone hear what this mission's about yet?
[A smaller man speaks up. He habitually holds his hand over his mouth as if he were to contain a laugh. His nametag reads 'Vold-R-MRT'.]
Vold-R: I 'spect that's what's the briefing's for, huh, vatbrain?
[Sally-R-AVV, the blond woman holding her wrist in her hand, mutters something about "bioweapons" and "guinea pigs". You didn't hear that, did you? You decide not to press the issue.]
Richard-R: That's true, but our mission alert says HCN sector. I heard there were a lotta IntSec raids over the last few days.
[Rumors are treason.]
[Vold-R's eyes glow a bit.]
Vold-R: Interesting.
[He fidgets. A silence falls for a few minutes. You find yourself staring absently at Richard-R, he looks kind of familiar. The stillness is only broken by the dark-haired woman next to you looking up suddenly, and a whispered, "It's time." Or at least you think you heard a whisper. The transbot's timer is down to about a minute, it's time to get on.]

You and the team enter the transbot.


Its doors close, and it slowly accelerates down the pathway into the transbot system, HCN Sector-bound. Estimated time of arrival, fifteen minutes it chimes. Till then, you're stuck in this transbot with the other five members of your Troubleshooter team.

What will you do?

[Psiana]

Francis-R: Subtly inquire about the earlier explosion in the transport station.

[Dimiitrus]

>Francis-R: View character sheet.

>Francis-R: Act like obi won for the other trouble shooters anybody who does not enjoy it is CLEARLY a commie mutant traitor.

[Doopliss]

>Francis-R: Try to recall if the dark-haired lady's lips actually moved when she whispered to you.

[I-gor]

Francis-R: Subtly inquire about the earlier explosion in the transport station.

>Francis-R: View character sheet.

>Francis-R: Act like obi won for the other trouble shooters anybody who does not enjoy it is CLEARLY a commie mutant traitor.

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As for acting like Obi-Wan, that's not a bad idea. Spreading the wisdom of Old Reckoning sages can never hurt, as long as you don't press it, you don't want IntSec paying you an unwelcome call.



You do your best to glean some information on the explosion that offed your first clone. It seems Sally-R and Vold-R are more interested in sleeping with an eye shut for the duration of the trip. The dark-haired lady stands and just looks levelly at everyone.

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Francis-R: I have a bad feeling about this.
Richard-R: About what, the mission?
[Treason point! Francis-R has received Treason Code SS/8.]
Francis-R: No, more like-
Hump-R: Surviving? Yeah, that could be tough.
Francis-R: Yeah. Explosions and all-who do you suppose is behind it?
Hump-R: You wanna know what I think? It's the Frankenstein Destroyers.

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Hump-R: They've been tryin' to get rid of our bots for ages now, this is probably more of the same. Goin' after our transbots to try showing how unreliable they are and all that vatslime.
[He grunts. He clearly has a low opinion of the Frankenstein Destroyers.]
[Everyone nods.]
Richard-R: Or PURGE. Or the Commies!
[Everyone nods again.]
Richard-R: IntSec oughtta get in there and mop them up, like a scrubot through vatslime.
[He smacks a hand into a fist. Everyone nods, more warily this time. You sigh.]
Francis-R: One had never seen such a hive of scum and villainy.
[Everyone nods, yet again.]

You're not sure how much impact your Obi-Wan Kenobi voice and lines had. With luck, though, they'll trust you enough so that you'll be able to spread more wisdom. Maybe.

>Francis-R: Try to recall if the dark-haired lady's lips actually moved when she whispered to you.

You know, you're not too sure. She might have, she might not have.

Why don't we ask her.


You are now Ann-R-XIA-1. You work for one of R&D's Bot Processing firms. You are an agent of the Psion secret society. Control gave you a mission for you to complete while on this Troubleshooter mission. Control mentioned that, having listened in on some Corpore Metal conversations, some mutant (who might be on your team) successfully controlled one of their members for a short amount of time (human or bot wasn't mentioned). A Machine Empath would be useful to Psion. Your mission is to find out if one exists in your group, and to recruit him (or her) if possible. Oh, and don't eat the food in HCN Sector. They're planning to experiment on people with anti-mutant drugs in the food.

Right now, you're not sure yet if you know if one of your team members is a Machine Empath. You're laying low and not taking chances of leaking information-who knows if there's an Anti-Mutant agent among you? Or an IntSec spy, for that matter?

What do you do?

[Doopliss]

>Can you read minds? If so, get on that.
>Pretend to sleep.

[Dimiitrus]

>Be the other girl

[McBatman]

>Ann: Be impacted by the words of wisdom by that Francis fellow.

[I-gor]

>Can you read minds? If so, get on that.
>Pretend to sleep.

Unfortunately, you do not possess the Telepathy power! You are a Matter Eater and Telekinetic, instead. You lean back and muse a bit on your team. No one is who they appear to be.

>Ann: Be impacted by the words of wisdom by that Francis fellow.

Of course, it is now that Control chooses to contact you. You're not telepathic; you do not contact Psion. Psion contacts you.

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Control: Greetings, Ann. Have you made contact with the possible Machine Empath on your team?
Ann-R: Not yet, Control. Have identified a possible candidate, a certain Francis-R-ION-2.
Ann-R: He's a couple of meters in front of me, request analysis.
[Control hums a bit as he uses his Telepathy power. It annoys you just a bit, but he quickly stops, his analysis done.]
Control: I've identified him. He's a Romantic. Views an Old Reckoning sage as a role model. Thinks highly of some kind of Force, again, some O. R. concept. Possibility of being a Machine Empath is low. Shadow him on your mission to make sure he is not an Internal Security spy. Over and out.
Ann-R: Understood.

>Be the other girl

Not right now, though she supposes she's flattered, or she would be, if this were that kind of comic. It's not, so your wish to view things through her eyes has gone unseen, especially since everyone else is busy staring at the door.



You've arrived at the transbot station. There seems to be some IntSec goons waiting outside.

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???-G: Open up! This is Internal Security!
[He slams the window with his truncheon.]
???-G: I mean it! Las' one out who don't move it's gonna get 'is 'ead shot off, 'ear? An' that's if yer lucky!
[Another slam of the truncheon. He seems to be quite intent on you all getting out of the transbot.]

What will you do?

[McBatman]

>Comply with the higher clearance and thereby superior Int-Sec guards. You don't want to use another clone already!

[I-gor]

>Comply with the higher clearance and thereby superior Int-Sec guards. You don't want to use another clone already!

You scramble for the exit! You don't notice the transbot suddenly moving until...


...it's too late. (You didn't notice anyone saying anything either, covertly or otherwise.)


When the transbot stops, about fifty meters from where it suddenly accelerated away of its own accord, the IntSec goons forcibly open the doors to see you all collapsed on the floor.

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???-G: ALL RIGHT! EVERYONE OUT! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST FOR ILLEGAL PARKING!
[There is something of an audible gulp from everyone. Being under arrest by Internal Security is no laughing matter, even for something seemingly as trivial as illegal parking.]

You are blindfolded. You are not bound or searched, but the laser barrels prodding your back are enough to keep you from trying something.

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???-G: KEEP MOVING! TURN LEFT HERE!
[Someone prods you with a laser barrel. You turn left.]
[There is the sound of a doorway opening.]
???-G: DON'T STOP! ... STOP, YOU'RE ABOUT TO HIT A SCRUBOT. GOOD. TURN RIGHT.
TURN LEFT. KEEP GOING. DON'T THINK ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT KEEPING GOING.
[Several prods follow. You think you hear someone from your group saying something about "treason" and "destroying Computer property", but you aren't sure who it is.]
[There is the sound of screaming. A buzzing sound comes from your left, accompanied by an odd squelching noise and something tearing. You try to ignore it.]
???-G: OH FOR LOVE OF THE COMPUTER, LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE...OR DON'T. COME ON, WE JUST HAD THIS FLOOR WAXED!
[It appears someone has puked on the floor. How unfortunate.]
[Electrical sparking noises come as you continue down the hall. A futile tapping against glass sounds, growing fainter. You cannot see anything. You hear a small object rolling around somewhere. The sound finishes with a faint "plop". There is the distinct odor of rotting Hot Fun.]
[As the GREEN goons push you further down corridors, the sounds of plopping and breaking and buzzing get fainter. As the goons stop, you are aware that the ambient hallway is completely silent.

The IntSec GREEN goons remove your blindfold. You see that Francis-R has been released into the room first. Entering, you see...a man in a BLUE-painted Cold Fun barrel?

His face dares you to ask questions.

[McBatman]

>Well. This is weird. Comply with their orders, still best not to incur their wrath.

[I-gor]

>Well. This is weird. Comply with their orders, still best not to incur their wrath.

Quite probably. There are a bunch of those IntSec GREEN goons, and the BLUE officer looks ready to blow a gasket. For some reason, he's wearing a BLUE-painted Cold Fun barrel and a black glove. He clears his throat.

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???-B: Welcome, Troubleshooters, to your mission briefing. I am Captain Warren-B of Internal Security. Any questions before we begin. No. All right.

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Warren-B: Here in HCN Sector, there have been...mysterious disappearances.
Warren-B: You can see our Administrative Complex has logged more entries than exits in the last few weeks.
Warren-B: You are charged with finding the cause of this discrepancy-if Commie Mutant Traitors are kidnapping loyal citizens, rescue them.
Warren-B: If they are escaping Outside...well...
Warren-B: You'll know what to do.
[Sinister grin.]
Warren-B: You are to complete this assignment with a maximum of courtesy to loyal citizens and a conscientious use of hygiene. You are to use your own judgment in dealing with traitors, unless they are proven with third-tier evidence, in which your judgment is judged to be faulty and summary execution is advised. Code 7s are ill-advised.
[He glares at Vold-R.]
Warren-B: In such scenarios, however, your Loyalty Officer will be provided with a field MemGo kit for convenient memory wiping purposes.
[He clears his throat again.]
Warren-B: Now, for your mandatory bonus duties.
[He takes out a list from his pocket.]
Warren-B: Francis-R-ION, Team Leader; Richard-R-JNL, Hygiene Officer; Sally-R-AVV, Equipment Guy; Vold-R-MRT, Communications and Recording Officer; Hump-R-DNK, Happiness Officer; Ann-R-XIA, Loyalty Officer.
Warren-B: You have one daycycle, six hours, and twelve minutes to complete this mission. Equipment will be provided after briefing. Outfitting will take place at PLC. Rumors of flesh-eating-bacteria in this sector are patently false and treasonous, especially rumors of flesh-eating-bacteria escaping an R&D lab and causing the deaths of several citizens. You will eliminate these rumors. Compliance is mandatory.
Warren-B: Are there...any questions?
[He has made that sound like a threat. Do you have any questions?]