modblob: (Default)
Mods ([personal profile] modblob) wrote in [community profile] redmarsshit2020-10-18 06:15 pm
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october 2020. welcome to the void.

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

▶ Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

▶ All TDM threads can be considered game canon, and current players are welcome to either top-level on the TDM so prospective players can tag them, or use the prompts for logs or network posts on the communities. All threads on the TDM can be used for Activity Check.

a. taken to task.

There isn't any big show of rumbling or fireworks or even the ghostly slightly staticky image of a woman with pink hair in a white dress wandering the halls, but at some point during the night, around the middle of October, there is something new in the park at the bottom of the city. Hovering over the water in the small lake, close to the shore where the bots often set up their little parties, there is a large computer display.

Nothing really physical, of course, but a sort of holographic display glowing faintly purple, mostly transparent except for the borders around the windows and the text displayed inside them. Any attempt to try to switch other windows will produce an error warning noise and a small error box on the screen that can be dismissed by touching 'ok' in the window. What's more interesting is the text written in the main box:

"Hello Anchorites.

I have something very important to show you, something I think you might just be interested in seeing. I don't know if it's going to be scary like the last time, because I know how to access it but I don't know what sort of dangers may lay there. I know I haven't been the most trustworthy person. I was built to be trustworthy, but somewhere along the way I lost that, it was taken from me and I...

I digress.

You've all seen the city in the wastes. I know there's interest. But I also know it's difficult to get to, a difficult undertaking to get there, and yet the city may hold some answers about all of this. About why you're here. About why I'm here. I may have found an alternate route, but I need your help. There are certain safeguards in place, to ensure that the way isn't opened until this place is secure and at normal operating parameters. A protective measure. The following tasks need to be completed before the system will register this place as secure and normal. Normal...ha...yes.

Here we go.

1. All protective paneling on the exterior of the city, around the base of the dome must be repaired to protect the city from solar radiation and the elements. This can be done by wearing protective gear and using repair kits that can be found in the garage and R&D areas. Anyone with a modicum of computer experience can follow the provided instructions.

2. All entrances and exits to the exterior of the city must be secure and in good working order. The repair kits for the protective paneling will work for any technical malfunctions with the doors. But some of them may need a heavier and less technical touch, because a few of the issues are with creatures from the Wastes that are triggering the security system. Clear those out and they should be fine.

3. Security systems inside the city are being triggered consistently by a few of the creatures from below that have been released over the months. Find them and eliminate whatever risk they pose. Whether it's by killing them or pacifying them. They should be fine as docile pets or once they're released into the wastes, just so long as they're not triggering the security systems.

4. Find and repair or scrap any faulty or malfunctioning bots. They should be easy to spot - I'm sure you've probably seen them already. Be gentle. They really do mean for the best, and only want to help. Scrap them only in the worst case scenarios. If too many are lost, the system will never consider this place secure.

5. In order to secure sufficient raw materials for food and to supply additional oxygen, at least 50% of the plots in the hydroponics bay must be active and have plants growing in them. Through running diagnostics, I can tell that at least 75% of them are functional.

Any number of people can carry out these tasks. The choice is left to you, Anchorites.

- SINI"



b. golems in the dark.

It takes only a day from the completion of the list of tasks for SINI to get the access point she mentioned open. This time, there is a bit of a rumble, and a large bulkhead door located in the lower levels of the city, between the medbay and the family and luxury suites, slowly pulls open. Beyond the door lies a rough stone tunnel lit with small lanterns hanging from metal supporting posts that slowly flicker on as the vibration of the door moving sets them off. At the end of the short stone tunnel there's another bulkhead door that looks solid and intact, with a small keypad beside it. Thankfully, there is also a note stuck to it that reads "566891" in messy handwriting, and typing that code into the keypad will cause the door to open slowly, with a creak.

As the door swings open, a computerized voice speaks through crackly speakers - "Security code accepted, Colony 3 'Anchor' secure. Access point open."


Beyond the door is a long tunnel that arcs off underground, lit by the same sort of dangling lanterns, the walls constructed of thick metal with heavily reinforced seams held together with thick rivets. The tunnel continues on for about 100 feet before there's any sign of disturbance beyond dust on every flat surface and snarls of cobwebs in the corners. At that point, the metal is cracked and bent and stone rubble blocks most of the open space in the tunnel with only a tiny sliver of open air between the top of the rubble and the top of the tunnel. This blockage can be easily pushed through, but beyond that there are several more similar cave-ins until one of them is too much to be easily moved or squeezed through.

The power in the tunnel is inconsistent and any sort of test would reveal that there is enough residual radiation in the tunnel to be dangerous with long unprotected exposure. The lights flicker constantly, and abruptly, between flickers, anyone exploring the tunnel will find themselves surrounded by automatons emerging from the shadows. They come in various sizes and shapes, with different compositions - made of metal and obviously run by various types of tech, others made of stone or clay or other substances and obviously run by magic. Some might even be a little familiar to some of the explorers, bearing a striking resemblance to a mech or robot or golem from their homes.

But no matter what the automatons look like, they will all attack any intruders on sight, speaking a warning message in various languages and in various forms that basically amount to 'intruders detected, responding to protect Colony 2.' Attacks vary from beam weapons to projectiles to magic spells and plain old melee attacks.

The automatons can be destroyed, with a lot of effort, but...they may also be useful in clearing out the caved in parts of the tunnel, were they turned to the task. Better yet, if they were able to be taken over, they could be used for future missions as well - they're obviously more hardy than the average person. Any character who is inclined to do so can make an attempt to take them over, either by force through hacking, magical possession, or other means, but it is also possible to reason with some of the more high-tech automatons that retain some reasoning functions.

What will you do?


c. the network.

Need to get hold of someone, call for help, ask the city at large a question? Need to ask a friend to forge a doctor's note to get out of the obstacle course? Maybe you need to hold your sat phone up to whatever crazy thing you're seeing and send out a recording to double-check if your eyes are deceiving you and what you're looking at is real?

Whatever the reason, the network is going strong, so feel free to include a post to it in your top-levels.



rustyhonesty: (Uhhh....)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Leaving the dome is definitely not on the top of my priority list.

A dead... person?
bakudan_bambino: (sideglance)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
It shouldn't be. If you're human, the radiation outside could make you sick enough to kill you.

Ah, have you ever heard of zombies?
rustyhonesty: (Well shit)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Now it's even lower on my list. Nonexistent, even.

No.
bakudan_bambino: (arms crossed)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 04:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Good. If you ever, by some crazy stretch, want to head out of the dome, make sure you have proper protective gear on.

Imagine a resurrected corpse that is only fueled by a hunger for human flesh, and the only thing making it move is its brain. So... you could shoot it in the heart, or chop off all of its limbs, and it'll still try to eat you alive. If you get bitten, you start to die and become a zombie.


[He really shouldn't be acting so calm about this, since he died after being bitten a month or two ago.]
rustyhonesty: (Oh sh- too late)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course.

What the hell? That sounds crazy! That's happened here before?
bakudan_bambino: (killed the dog)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah. A month or two ago? I'm not sure on the actual time, because I was bitten, and then killed myself. I'm back without being a zombie though... so just take it from me, if you see one, either get away from it, or kill it.
rustyhonesty: (Life's unfair)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Wait, you died... and came back?
rustyhonesty: (Thinking of a way)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
So you don't stay dead when you die here?

[That's going to be hard to understand.]
bakudan_bambino: (Looks like we've got ourselves a cowboy.)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I wouldn’t say it’s the same for every person. I’m sure the length of death can vary or be permanent. I’ve been to other worlds before... aside from my home world. Death was permanent for people like me, and other people could buy back the ability to be completely resurrected.
rustyhonesty: (Putting up his walls)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh.
Somehow it feels like death is a concept you shouldn't mess with.
But it would be nice if people could come back if they died too young or for unfair reasons.


bakudan_bambino: (prof dera)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 06:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree, but I think you’d have to die in this world to come back in this world. It wouldn’t do any good trying to resurrect someone from back home. That sounds like a recipe for a zombie.

Maybe this world tried to bring back people who were already dead and that’s why we had a zombie invasion to begin with...
rustyhonesty: (In memorian)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Actually resurrecting someone who's almost dead results in something a lot different, back home. Not that it's common. I wouldn't try messing with this type of stuff no matter how desperate I was.

Maybe.
bakudan_bambino: (I've seen bigger on a hamster)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Almost dead? Are you taking about life saving measures? That’s different from straight-up resurrection.
rustyhonesty: <user name="kaa-05n2" site="tumblr.com"> (With your cold hands)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)
It almost counts as resurrection when someone who couldn't be saved by any other means gets a second chance, right?

Straight up someone I know was burned completely from head to toe, but now he's completely fine without actually dying in between.
bakudan_bambino: (don't always have to be on top)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I think resurrection is when someone is actually dead.

Burned completely from head to toe... same.

Must not be human, to live after something like that and be ‘completely fine’.
rustyhonesty: 'Cause we don't want your broken parts (Hide away they say)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
He was a human. He was still alive by some chance and we managed to give him a serum to prolong his life. Technically he's still a human, but he just has additional abilities.

Although the serum can be given to someone who is completely fine too. Something else is needed for them to be brought back from what they become.

If you just get the serum, it's worse than dying.
bakudan_bambino: (prof dera)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. Never heard of a serum like that. It must be unique to your world.

What do you mean it’s worse than death?
rustyhonesty: (A small dose of desperation)

[personal profile] rustyhonesty 2020-10-21 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
You turn into a mindless monster. A humanoid looking, four to ten meters tall and naked monster who eats humans. Stuck in a nightmare until someone kills you.
bakudan_bambino: (doubtful brat)

[personal profile] bakudan_bambino 2020-10-21 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
A giant mindless naked monster that eats humans. Sounds like a superpowered zombie, minus the decay. Awful.

If something like that ever shows up on Anchor, take it to the Research and Development Labs so that ways people are better off. We do have some scientifically inclined people here. As for myself, I'm Gokudera Hayato. I'm an explosives expert.