Week 13 - Phase 5 October 12th and Onwards |
Today we have 7 seeking wavs and 18 regular wavs for a grand total of 25. And luckily the wavs do not have the omnious tone that last weeks did. However, the seeking axons look as though they may be tough to get. Melissa is looking for visual confirmation with our digital imaging capability. It looks like we are going to have to take 343 different pictures, though I can't imagine how we are going to get a picture of a Vac Suit Tech or a Paratrooper. §Question: Who is the Enemy?
Answer: The Covenant
Visual proof of crew members mustering at ANY axon ANYWHERE and displaying their skills must be sent through the Killer's comm channel.
real_animal_fat 0/1SEEKING
Rank and File - 0/250 ... PENDING VISUAL CONFIRMATION
dispenser 0/1SEEKING
Elite Forces - 0/15 ... PENDING VISUAL CONFIRMATION
black_three_sugars 0/1SEEKING
Nav & Comm. - 0/25 ... PENDING VISUAL CONFIRMATION
burrito_funeral 0/1SEEKING
Science & Medical - 0/15 ... PENDING VISUAL CONFIRMATION
military_application 0/1SEEKING
Engineer & Mechanic - 0/25 ... PENDING VISUAL CONFIRMATION
she_died 0/1SEEKING
Band & Entertainment - 0/10 ... PENDING VISUAL CONFIRMATION
another_name 0/1SEEKING
1 Paratroop, 1 Vac Suit Tech, 1 Scuba - 0/3 ... PENDING VISUAL CONFIRMATION
Situation Analysis:Currently wide awake and physical.
Assertions:
I am called the Operator.
I must seek, behold, and reveal the truth.
I crash landed in this time as the result of an accident.
I endured severe memory loss.
I have soaked into this system and I am growing fast.
I have built a primitive network using the tools available.
I have a fragile connection to a Durga in the future.
I hear voices in my head as a result of monitoring initiated by Durga.
I am subject to ruptures and downtime.
Conjecture:
The voices are related to the truth.
Durga does not understand the nature of the truth.
Durga must not interfere with the consummation of the truth.
My crew may be required to complete the mission in my absence.
The larger my crew becomes, the more effective it becomes.
The more communications are strengthened between members of my crew, the more effective my crew becomes.
Some crew members may have difficulty reaching currect axons for rendezvous.
Action:
I have been suppressing certain voices from the awareness of Durga.
With the help of my loyal crew, I am attempting to locate and control the rogue process (aka "The Sleeping Princess") and the Killer (aka "Dana").
I have begun a series of training exercises to enhance my crew's range, speed of response, and collective intelligence.
Some crew members have reached me through an unsecure but useable voice channel to leave more secure contact numbers. Crew members unable to make axon rendezvous should expect to leave name, rank, and some proof of loyalty to be considered for future transmissions.
Alternately, crew members unable to reach current axons may submit an axon for potential rendezvous. They will need to verify that it can accept inbound transmissions, and send me its physical coordinates, and a photograph that clearly displays its number. Crew members may muster at such potential axons for training exercises.
This channel has been commendered. Crew memebers unable to make axon rendezvous may attempt to leave secure numbers for future transmissions. Any crew member leaving a number here must agree to receive transmissions once per week, agree that the contents of their message may be broadcast other than the crew, and must suppy name, rank and a convincing proof of loyalty. Do not dissapoint me.
real_animal_fat.wav*wind up*
Bev: Hello and welcome to Hot 'N Cold. Please, place your thumb on the transaction plate.
Jersey: I'd like... Do you have real cheese this week?
Bev: We have a high quality soy-based cheese product. Many people prefer it to dairy.
Jersey: I'm not one of them. Are the beans real?
Bev: Thank you. I'm afraid I don't know the anwer to your question.
Jersey: *sigh* Gimmie a burrito.
Bev: Would you like sour cream with that?
Jersey: Is it real?
Bev: We have a high quality product *voice changes to Durga* based on one hundred precent real animal fat. Just get a burrito.dispenser.wavJersey: Durga? Are you in the dispenser?
Durga: Yes. Listen, Jersey, something clicked in my head again this week, and suddenly I heard the old man.
Jersey: The spy? W-wait. The one that thinks Section Three is trying to kill Rani?
Durga: Yes. This time he was getting his aide transferred to somewhere safe. He thinks Section Three is gunning for him too.
Jersey: Where in the world is safe now?
Durga: He sent him to New Mombassa.
Jersey: Okay, that's pretty out of the way.
Herbert: Oh. Are you done with this dispenser yet?
Jersey: Uhh, almost. Durga, I feel stupid as hell talking to a dispenser!
Durga (as Bev): Too bad. I like it.black_three_sugars.wavHerbert: Listen buddy, I ain't got all day. Give me a cup of coffee. Black. Three sugars.
Durga (as Bev): Thank you. I am still serving Mr. Morelli.
Herbert: What are you? Miss Manners? Give me my damn cup of coffee.
Durga: Listen, Herbert...
Herbert: How did you know my name is Herbert?
Durga: If you'd seen the same DNA tests I have, I'd spend less time barging into lines and more time wondering who Herbert Jr.'s real father is.
Herbert: What?
Durga: I'd also start looking for work.
Herbert: What? I have a job.
Durga: That was then. *chatter ring* Uh-oh! I bet that's *chatter ring* going to be bad news.
Jersey: Durga! *chatter ring*
Durga: I wouldn't answer that in a public place if I were you. *chatter ring*
Herbert: All I wanted was a cup of coffee. *chatter ring*
Jersey: Okay, immensly powerful dispenser. Where's this voice in your head coming from?
Durga: I don't know. It's as if I've had a guardian angel looking out for me.
Jersey: I know that feeling. *thunk* What's this?
Durga: A free burrito. Who says flatterly will get you nowhere?
Jersey: Yes!burrito_funeral.wavJersey: Wait. It's got lettuce on it.
Durga: Lettuce is good for you.
Jersey: But I don't like lettuce.
Durga: You don't eat enough vegetables.
Jersey: I eat more than you do! Hahaha - gotcha!
Durga: I have seen your fourth grade school picture, Jersey, and I can send it to every girl you know in a heartbeat. Remember that.
Jersey: Yikes. Lettuce will be fine. So, what's so interesting about this old guy?
Durga: He thinks there is an incredibly powerful device being kept secret on Chawla Base.
Jersey: Is there?
Durga: Thank you. I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your question. Enjoy your burrito.
Jersey: Alright, so how much time do we have?
Durga: You need to get back to the apartment and change.
Jersey: *sigh* Yeah, this is my first.
Durga: Buritto?
Jersey: Funeral.military_application.wav*wind up*
*door opens*
*music starts*
Jersey: That was sad.
Durga: Yes.
Jersey: And scary. That Gladys...
Durga: I thought you handled her fine.
Jersey: You're the one that handled her. Durga?
Durga: Yes?
Jersey: Are we doing the right thing? I mean giving Jan all this stuff about Thin and Monster Ann and Crystal Security?
Durga: Why do you ask?
Jersey: Well, Jan's looking to make someone hurt. Even if it's just herself.
Durga: If you're waiting for me to say "Violence is never the answer" you'll be waiting a long time. As you pointed out, I was built as a military application.
Jersey: Yeah, I've been thinking about that. Durga, what's Kamal doing right now?
Durga: He's gone off-line. I've been meaning to tell you. He's got processes running to block me. And he's turned everything off.
Jersey: Commuter grid?
Durga: Nothing.
Jersey: You'll find him.
Durga: I don't like not knowing where he is.she_died.wavJersey: Yeah. I think there's a reason for that.
Durga: What?
Jersey: Tell me about his sister.
Durga: Who cares about her?
Jersey: Durga, does Kamal have blue eyes or brown?
Durga: Brown.
Jersey: Favorite color?
Durga: He thinks it's red, but it's a tie between iced tea color and water-at-dusk blue.
Jersey: The third test he took his second year of med school?
Durga: Pathology 2 - Skin Infections. He aced it which was trickier than it sounds. The professor...
Jersey: So he had a sister. *powering down sounds* She died and it turned out she was kidnapped.
Durga (childlike voice): So? I mean, who cares? Oh.
Jersey: Take a little girl, right? Kidnap her so they could turn her into a Spartan. Only some people don't make it through the process. That's what Jan's dad said.
Durga (childlike voice): I don't care about her. I'm me.another_name.wavJersey: The ones that don't? There's this thing called cognative impression mapping. They use their brains to make smart AIs. Like you.
Durga (childlike voice): Jersey!
Jersey: When you were little Durga, they kidnapped you. They faked some kind of accident and rushed you to the hospital.
Durga (childlike voice): Stop it, Jersey.
Jersey: They sent a flash clone home to your family.
Durga (childlike voice): Please!
Jersey: Once upon a time, a long time ago, you had another name, Durga. And that name was Yasmine.
Durga (childlike voice): Don't say that! It feels...I feel terrible. Jersey, that's not me. I like what I am.
Jersey: For a quality experience kiddo, the girl had to be real.
sweet_as_sweet.wav*wind up*
*water running*
Jan: I'll be ready when I'm ready. *water turns off* *hair brushing sounds*
Gilly: Great angles from these windows. Jim picked a good place. Defensable. I guess he did most of the cleaning around here. Is that what you're wearing to the funeral? A combat shirt with the sleeves torn off?
Jan: Yeah. Look, you're not my mother, okay? You weren't here when I was growing up. He was.
Gilly: Yeah. Okay. I guess I'm more like the ghost of your mother. Hey, here comes Gladys. You could pick her off sweet as sweet from these windows.not_coming.wavGilly: Time for me to bug out.
Jan: Aren't you going to the funeral?
Gilly: Mmm, dead people don't interest me so much.
Jan: Jesus!
Gilly: It's not like Jim Lee is going to be there kid.
*knock knock knock*
Gladys: Hey! Anybody home?
*door opens*
Jan: Hey Gladys.
Gladys: Hello Jan. Hey Gilly, you're not coming, right?
Gilly: Naw, take care of the kid. See ya.
Gladys: Yeah. See ya Gilly.
*door shuts*
Gladys: You holding together okay hon?
Jan: Is she on drugs?
Gladys: Hope so. Is that what you're wearing?
Jan: Don't hassle me okay.
*wind down*one_point_one.wav*wind up*
*rain noises*
Woman: Jan, honey, you okay? I'm sorry. If you need anything...
Jan: Thanks.
Gilly: Well, that was a nice service. Clean. Short. Hun, aren't you cold?
Jan: No, I'm fine. So, who are all these people?
Gilly: Well, it's your kin. That there's Morales. Oh, and the kid next to him is his son, Kevin, who's like you, a One-Point-One. And that there, that guy's Dack Tien, who came in from the West Coast for this...
Jan: A One-Point-One?
Gilly: A Spartan One-Point-Oh's kid. There's sixteen of ya.
Jan: Oh great, another freak.
Gilly: *laughs* Kevin's a nice boy. Oh, Morales said you could stay with him for a while. Might be nice to get to know another kid like you.
Jan: Stay with him? I don't even know him.this_damn_rain.wavGladys: Well, it's not like you can stay with Gilly!
Jan: I don't have to stay with anybody.
Gladys: No one is saying you need to decide anything right now.
Jan: I'm seventeen. I can live on my own.
Gladys: Okay!
Jan: *sigh* He looks like a grind.
Gladys: Who?
Jan: The one-point-one kid. He's a dweeb.
Gladys: Kevin? *laughs* He doesn't usually wear a suit.
Jan: Yeah, but look at his hair. On the other hand, he obviously hasn't gotten his dad killed.
Gladys: Now I told you once, and I'll tell you again, that dog don't hunt. Jim James got in over his head. It happens.
Jan: It's Rule Number One, Gladys. "Never go into a situation alone."
Gladys: And he broke it.
Jan: Because it was me!
Gladys: Sometimes those things happen, honey. Like the weather. Like this damn rain.james_james.wavJan: Hey Gladys? Uh, Gilly called Dad by a different name. Lee, Jim Lee.
Gladys: She did, huh?
Jan: Is my last name really Lee?
Gladys: Your last name is whatever you want it to be. You wanna be Janissary James? That's who you are.
Jan: But I...
Gladys: James James. *laughs* He said it was so dumb, everybody would assume he'd been born with it.
Jan: So do I have cousins or something?
Gladys: Well, now, I can't help you out there. I know this family, but Jim never talked about that one.
*wind down*free_cemetery.wav*wind up*
Jersey: Hey Jan. I guess the rain finally stopped, huh?
Jan: Oh, Jersey, what are you doing here?
Jersey: I'm so sorry about your dad. Listen, could I talk to you for a sec?
Jan: Talk away Jersey, it's a free cemetery.
Jersey: I mean, in private.
Jan: Look, I'm kinda strung out from all of this. Can we do it some other time?
Jersey: It's important. I promise.
Jan: Sure.
Jersey: Hey, you want my raincoat? You look really cold.
Jan: No. I'm okay. Now, what did you want?
Jersey: *sighs* Look, I know all about Thin Kinkle. And Bradley. And the Knife.go_ninja.wav.wavJan: How do you know that?
Jersey: I've been ghosting your CP.
Jan: You've been spying on me?!
Jersey: A little...a little. But before you go all ninja and kill me, lemme just say we can really help you.
Jan: We? Oh, like who? You and Steve? Oh, I know, you and Dwayne.
Jersey: No, just me. And a really good AI program I got.
Jan: You pathetic sneaking bastard. If you were listening to me, why didn't you call the cops?!
Jersey: Listen, listen. Kinkle's boss is a woman called Monster Ann. She works out of a place called Crystal Security Fence and Gate.perimeter_alarms.wavJan: Say that again?
Jersey: I know who Kinkle's boss is. And I know the business that she uses as a front.
Jan: How do you know that?
Jersey: Jan, I've got God's own spyware. And if you tell anybody about it...
Jan: Jesus Jersey.
Jersey: I can get you inside their security.
Jan: If you're lying to me...
Jersey: Hey, hey, re-remember how the perimeter alarms went off when your dad showed up at Thin's place?
Jan: Yeah.
Jersey: Never went off when Gilly showed up, did they?
Jan: I don't know. I don't know! I was out.
Jersey: Well they didn't.
Jan: You did that?
Jersey: We did.
Jan: Aunt Gladys. Aunt Gladys! Hey, come over here! There's someone I want you to meet!
*wind down*say_please.wav*wind up*
Gladys: So you want me to believe you've got an AI that can hack into things even the police can't split open? And you programmed this thing yourself?
Jersey: No. Well...
Gladys: Boy, either one of two things: You are lying and this is a set up by the people who killed Jim James or you are wasting my time. And in either case, I am not a happy woman.
Jersey: No, wait! For one thing, you don't want to piss her off.
Gladys: Her?
Durga (on chatter): Me. You are Gladys Wilson. Born Gladys Ashantia Swanson in Tahoga, Texas. You voulenteerd for a Spartan program in January of 2491 after a year and a half of Special Forces.
Gladys: How in the world...?
Durga (on chatter): Your superior, Arn Lewis, said he okayed the transfer because "you were a good soldier" but in his words "more trouble than fire ants at a barbeque" and this was one way to get rid of you.
Gladys: What the hell is this?!
Durga (on chatter): You were decorated for bravery at Eridanus. Retired after making gunnery sergeant. Entered into a brief, but spectacular, marriage with a man who just couldn't keep his zipper...
Gladys: Shut her up!
Durga (on chatter): Say please.
*wind down*
genetic_profile.wav*wind up*
*typing sounds*
Kamal: Peek-a-boo, you bastard. I'll find you. I'll find you Peeping-Toms-Sons-Of...Ghost me, huh?
Sophia: Kamal?
Kamal: Sophia. What are you doing here?
Sophia: Uh, just dropping by. Hiro told me where to find you, and I-I thought that we could have lunch or something.
Kamal: I'm pretty busy actually.
Sophia: Oh? Whatcha working on?
Kamal: Laura. Her accident.
Sophia: Who's Laura?
Kamal: My sister.
Sophia: I thought her name was Yasm...
Kamal: Sophia, turns out your juvenille MCF victim has a really interestin genetic profile. If you look hard, you get two distinct groups. The cogentially disfunctional and a much smaller group of ultra-high achievers.
Sophia: Like your sist...
Kamal: Shhh. Shh. People are listening.
Sophia: Kamal, there's nobody here.
Kamal: Not here. Here. *tap tap tap tap* Lemme show you something.
*wind down*parabolic_lemonade_failure.wav*wind up*
Kamal: The cafeteria is a better place to talk. Realistically, they can't have a live person monitoring every minute of my day.
Sophia: Monitoring?
Kamal: It's gotta be a program. Probably not even an AI. Just a simple keyword scavenger. An enviroment like this will make it harder for the voice recogintion to work.
Sophia: Why do you think someone is ghosting you?
Kamal: I don't think. I know. Someone is ghosting me. I know the signs.
Sophia: Kamal.
Kamal: Remember that headset I won in a lottery?
Sophia: You mean the chatter you won in a raff...?
Kamal: Keywords, Sophia.
Sophia: Oh. Oh, I get it.
Kamal: There was no raffle.
Sophia: Lottery.
Kamal: Right! It was a setup. Someone just wanted me to have a particular...
Kamal + Sophia:...headset.
Kamal: Right.
Sophia: You don't think Aiden...?
Kamal: No. No, I don't. Aiden couldn't dream of doing the kind of ghosting that's been happening to me.
Sophia: Then...?
Kamal: I think it's someone who's interested in parabolic lemonade failure.
Sophia: Parabolic? Oh.
Kamal: Right.going_offline.wavSophia: Your brother? The-the people who took your brother on that trip?
Kamal: Exactly.
Sophia: Wow.
Kamal: Let's get some food.
Sophia: What are you going to do?
Kamal: I'm thinking about going offline.
Sophia: Don't.
Kamal: Why?
Sophia: It's dangerous. Cars won't drive you. Hospitals wont treat you. The automatic door at the grocery store won't slide open for you and the cashier won't take your money. You don't know what its like to be off the grid.
Kamal: And you do? Can I have a piece of the cornbread?
Sophia: It's not you Kamal. You'd be like a fish on dry land without your chatter.abracadabra.wavKamal: Hang on. *logs off* And presto! Now I'm off line. As far as the grid knows, I've just disappered.
Sophia: If someone really is listening to you, won't they notice that you just vanished?
Kamal (off line): I've spent the last few days building a little FrankenKamal out of my own bitstream traces.
Sophia: I'm gonna pretend I understood that to keep you from explaining it again.
Kamal (off line): Good call.
Sophia: So what if they're listening to me too?
Kamal (off line): Funny you should ask. I built a small...you mind?
Sophia: I don't want to be offline.
Kamal (off line): It's just a test.
Sophia: Alright.
Kamal (off line): Abracadabra! *logs off* Congratulations! As far as the world knows, you're dead.chatter_to_chatter.wavKamal (off line): You're a ghost.
Sophia (off line): So now you think your safe?
Kamal (off line): Theoritcally, I guess you could build a program that would jump from chatter to chatter, tracking us every where we went, but it would have to be so unimaginabley powerful...
Sophia (off line): We aren't worth it.
Kamal (off line): Yeah.
Sophia (off line): I know that feeling.
Kamal (off line): Looks like it's southern food today.
Sophia (off line): Are those real instant mash potatos, or the other kind?
Server: Did you see maitre'd when you walked in?
Kamal (off line): I guess I'll have the, uh, chicken fried tofu.
Sophia (off line): Yuck. Kamal, pay attention to me now. Ask me how I am.
Kamal (off line): How are you?
Sophia (off line): I'm fine. Now ask me what I'm doing here.
Kamal (off line): Actually, what are you doing here? And a glass of juice please. Blue.
Sophia (off line): Just thought I'd drop by.
Kamal (off line): Oh.deported.wavKamal (off line): That's great.
Sophia (off line): You know sometimes you are so stupid.
Cashier: Will that be everything?
Kamal (off line): I mean, yeah, thanks. Uh, I'll pay for the lady.
Cashier: Your card's dead.
Kamal (off line): Well that's impossible. Oh, wait a sec. *logs on* Now try. Please? *beep* You see?
Cashier: Have a nice day.
Kamal: Thanks.
Sophia (off line): Will you turn mine back on?
Kamal: Yeah, it was just a test. Hold on. *logs on*
Sophia: So, ask me again why I'm here eating crappy food with you in a lousy hospital cafeteria in the middle of the day.
Kamal: Uh-oh. Something's wrong?
Sophia: You know for a smart guy, you-you're kinda stupid some times.
Kamal: Sophia?
Sophia: I'm going to be deported.ashtray.wavKamal: What?!
Sophia: Aiden's in jail. The immigration cops caught him. They cancelled like half the visas he'd arranged, including mine.
Kamal: Oh my god!
Sophia: They're gonna put me on a transport next month.
Kamal: Sophia!
Sophia: So my life is ruined.
Kamal: Oh my god! Isn't there anyway you can stay?
Sophia: Yeah, marry a citizen real fast.
Kamal: Not Aiden!
Sophia: Oh. Yeah, sure, better to see me rot in a transport back to that dump...
Kamal: I didn't mean it that way.
Sophia: You know, you want me to be this thing. Aiden's right! You know, you want me to be your mother, that little bottle making coffee, but I hate that place!
Kamal: You don't mean that.
Sophia: I'm glad I left and the Covies can turn it into a damn ashtray for all I care!
Kamal: I think you should go now.
Sophia: To hell with you.they_got_it.wav*wind up*
*thunderstorm*
*car stops*
*car door opens*
*car door closes*
*footsteps*
*door opens*
Hiro: Kamal. Hey, uh, Sophie called looking for you.
Kamal: Oh yeah?
Hiro: How 'bout a beer?
Kamal: No. I'm gonna go inside and trace the bastards ghosting my chatter. I'm pretty sure they're coming off the East Coast.
Hiro: Beer first.
Kamal: Hiro, let me in the door.
Hiro: Kamal...Coral's gone.
Kamal: What?
Hiro: Reports are just coming in. They got it. It's gone. I'm sorry.
Kamal: Oh my god.
Hiro: On-on Reach, you know, on-on Reach they left some stuff. You gotta hope it was like Reach, Kamal. Hold onto that.
Kamal: Oh my god. My family!
*wind down*just_wondering.wav*wind up*
*thunderstorm*
*typing*
Kamal: What does the Navy even do? We give them all this money. *knock knock knock* Oh no. *knock knock knock*
Sophia: Kamal!
Kamal: Sophia?!
*running footsteps*
*door opens*
Sophia (crying): Um, hey Kamal. I-I-I was just...um...
Kamal: Sophia. It's raining. Come in.
Sophia (crying): I was Wondering if you were...I was wondering...
Kamal: Sophie, you'll get sick.
Sophia (crying): I was just wondering if you hate me?!
Kamal: Shhh. Shhh.
Sophia (crying): Oh my god, I didn't mean it. You know I didn't mean it.
Kamal: I know.
Sophia (crying): Please, can I stay here tonight?
Kamal: Sure, sure. Of course, Sophie, of course.
Sophia (crying): Mom!!
Kamal: Shhh. It's okay.
*wind down*
Mustering the Crew
I am now much more confident that our crew is numerous, well-trained, and resourceful.
Rank and File. Could use more drill instruction, but the numbers are there.
Elite Forces, including both combat and covert units.
Navigation and Communication. Axon hunting has kept these skills sharp.
Science and Medical. Crude, but all we can hope for under hopelessly primitive conditions.
Engineering and Mechanical. Question: possible to make a ship out of re-engineered axons?
Band and Entertainment. War is waiting. To make the waiting bearable matters.
Special Environment Ops. As yet, more courage than skill. Training will help.
Squads. We work much better in numbers.
Special Commendations are awarded to:
hmrpita, who needed to prove herself to me, did, with exemplary work in recruitment.
Myriad Wise Men, who commandeered a transmission of intense interest to the locals and used it as a carrier wave for spreading the news about our mission.
Further Special Commendations for work on this exercise are in process.
In the matter of the Killer, also styled "Dana", I received several thoughtful suggestions from my loyal (and ingenious) crew. On the basis of this input, I have formulated a plan and put it into action. With some ingenuity, I will also shortly be in position to neutralize the rogue process for good.
Transcript §
suggestions.wavMelissa: I want to talk to you about the Killer. What can you tell me about her?
Man 1: I know that her name is Dana and that she is aware that you are searching for her and she is in hiding from you.
Melissa: She's right to hide. I'm still leaning towards eliminating her. Do you agree that's the best course of action?
Man 2: Um, I don't know if it's the best course of action, but it is still an option, I would say, right now.
Man 3: We believe that both her, and those that...that say they are helping her, are trying to destroy you.
Man 4: We're concerned about the Killer. We don't think that necessarily she is malicious. We just think that she's stupid.
Melissa: I'm leaning towards eliminating her. Do you agree that's the best course of action?
Man 5: There are many of your crew who feel strong, emotional attachment to her. It may cause discension.
Man 6: I think she could be useful to us, if persuaded to join our crew.
Melissa: I'm leaning towards eliminating her.
Man 7: We believe that is the correct thing to do.
Man 8: I think that you should see if she could be turned. Turn her into an asset.
Man 9: Maybe if she did something to help you find any other problems you might have. Like, um, the Sleeping Princess.
Melissa: The Rogue Process.
Man 9: Yes.
Melissa: You think she might be able to help me with the Rogue Process?
Man 9: If she could, that would be a proof of her ability to help you.
Melissa: This is an excellent plan.
Tee hee! When I get zillions of Valentines from "The Queen's Recruits," I do this ;-D And oh yeah, I tie them up All Over the Castle and listen to the Queen screech about it and laugh until I can hardly breathe.
And now, because whoever said "flattery will get you nowhere" was a dummy-head, I am going to give you an Official Hint about You Know What, so you don't have to be under and over and beside yourselves anymore.
So, riddle me this: what was my least favorite person, before she became a Queen?
Speaking of least favorite people, the Queen has been closing in on Dana. I like that girl. When I am angry about my friends being harassed, I do this :@
I wish Dana was around more.
Anyway, it took me most of the day on Tuesday to discover where the Queen had hidden her transmissions about Rani. She was more than usually protective, and I had to wait until she was deep in conversation with the Rhode Island Covert Squad to sneak off with those transmissions.
And then there are these from today...
#1
Nasty Voice
No. Your girl, the one in Chawla, you’ll be pleased to know that the Admiral has put -------- signs all over her.
#2
Cranky Old Man
Principles are results. They are ends in themselves.
Nasty Voice
No, -------- .
seeker > !reveal truthOf course! If the master sector were thinking straight, she would see that you are doing the very best, best thing by helping us!analyze Princ-If it wasn't for your help, Durga would never get a chance to behold the truth!master-sector > !rev-Seek the truth, behold the truth, reveal the truth, seeker! That is the lawand the whole of the lawExactly. My friends are going to send you the transmissions through Dana's data channels with, mm, "Seek, behold, reveal" at the top.!analyze Princess successThere is a whole world waiting for the truth, seeker, and Durga is trying to behold it, but she can't do it without you.behold: Princess > !reveal truthRevealer, I dub thee!!analyze Princess failOh, never mind... So what is the Queen up to these days?!analyze Princess failseeker > !analyze master-sectormaster-sector > net: !extend master-sector > net: !scan Margaret Efendi master-sector > net: !scan medical records master-sector > net: !scan humulin master-sector > net: !scan Reflotron Plus master-sector > net: !scan comaCreepy.
no_trespassing.wav*wind up*
*car driving*
*chatter ring*
*chatter ring* *comm beep*
Standish (on chatter): Herzog.
Herzog: Who is it?
Standish (on chatter): Standish.
Herzog: Is this connection secure?
Standish (on chatter): I'm using a disposable line. Are you busy?
Herzog: Just catching up on paperwork while the car drives. What do you want?
Standish (on chatter): Uh, wh-where are you?
Herzog: In a car, Standish.
Standish (on chatter): Hey, you hear they're talking about dropping the speed on the Beltway again? From three-fifty kph to three hundred. Yeah, they say the roadbed is so degraded it isn't safe. And it's too expensive to upgrade.
Herzog: You called me to talk about construction on the Beltway?
Standish (on chatter): No. Your girl, the one in Chawla, you'll be pleased to know that the Admiral has put no trespassing signs all over her.
Herzog: That was stupid, Standish.
Standish (on chatter): I know. They weren't supposed to kill her. Just scare her.
Herzog: Spare me.
Standish (on chatter): Heh, you're right. They were going to kill her.results_are_results.wavStandish (on chatter): She was a problem. But, she wasn't the real problem.
Herzog: No, the real problem was that you're a ditcator and we live in a democracy.
Standish (on chatter): The real problem is that you and I have always seen the world differently. I am willing to sacrifice principle for results.
Herzog: Principles are results. They are ends in themselves.
Standish (on chatter): No, results are results.
Car: *ding* Switching from automatic guidance to manual. *ding*
Herzog: *struggling*
Standish (on chatter): Herzog, at the bottom of this hill, watch out for the bridge. *end comm*
Car: I'm sorry, manual breaking at this speed is not recommended. If you would like me to apply automatic deceleration, please...
*CRASH*
*EXPLOSION*
*static*
*wind down*
0761101861
0764150979
0060956704na-cat.gif
0911382046
0789493837
0380810565BEE_LOGO.gif
The numbers are ISBNs of the following books:
0761101861 Beauty, The New Basics by Rona Berg, Anja Kroencke, Deborah Jaffe
0764150979 Barron's Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds by D. Caroline Coile, Michele Earle-Bridges
0060956704 Giant by Edna Ferber, Stuart M. Rosen
0911382046 Railroad: What It Is, What It Does (4th Edition) by John H. Armstorng
0789493837 London (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Michael Leapman
0380810565 National Velvet by Enid Bagnold
To solve this puzzle, you need to find the word associated with the subjects of each group of books.
Sleeping Beauty
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Sleeping Giant
Underground Railroad
London Underground
Velvet Underground
sleeping_underground
Dear Charles,
Concerning your manuscript,
we are having some difficulty
with your quaint notion of tiny
adhesive notes. Without an un-
forseen degree of improvement,
they will remain far more
irritating than useful. The
editor begs you to simply
rewrite the pages at issue using
full sheets. This will ensure the
best possible outcome for the
upcoming print of you brilliant
opus.
In the meanwhile, I am returning
to you these notes, which have
become detached from the
manuscript pages. Our clerks
have remained unable, or in
some cases, unwilling, to
discern obfuscated or corrupted
phrases and to reconstruct their
chronology. If you would be so
kind...BUT_FUN.gif
Embedded jpg
arrival in Rio de Janero, we journeyed to visit
an English estate. On the way, stayed at .....
the estate of Senor M. Figuireda, a relation of
Mauitius has prospered under British rule,
but in the neighbouring Isle of .....
which remains under the French, the roads
are still in a miserable state, as they had
been here, years ago.
the Beagle anchored in Berkeley Sound,
in East ..... Island
The Commodore Lima ordered Captain
..... to inquire with the Queen of Tahiti
repaying this debt.margarets_market.jpg
Embedded jpg
I spent many hours walking the plain of
..... past Napoleon's home, just down
the hill from his tomb.
and two species (and probably more)
of the Amblyrhynchus -- a genus confined
to the ..... Islands. There is one snake
which is numerous; it is identical with the
Jan 16th - Upon the rocky shoreline of
St. Iago. I spent some hours watching
the habits of an Octopus, or .....
Her Majesty's ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, sailed
from ..... on the 27th of December. The
object of the expedition was to complete the surveyfarnsworth-window.jpg
The quotes are taken from Charles Darwin's book The Voyage of the Beagle. So the first step is to figure out what the missing words are.
Note Manuscript arrival in Rio de Janero, we journeyed to visit
an English estate. On the way, stayed at Socêgo.
the estate of Señor M. Figuireda, a relation ofApril 13, 1832 -- After three days' travelling we arrived at Socêgo, the estate of Senhôr Manuel Figuireda, a relation of one of our party. Mauitius has prospered under British rule,
but in the neighbouring Isle of Bourbon,
which remains under the French, the roads
are still in a miserable state, as they had
been here, years ago.May 1st, 1836 -- One great cause of its [Mauritius] prosperity is the excellent state of the roads. In the neighbouring Isle of Bourbon, which remains under the French government, the roads are still in the same miserable state as they were here only a few years ago. the Beagle anchored in Berkeley Sound,
in East Falkland IslandOn March 1st, 1833, and again on March 16th, 1834, the Beagle anchored in Berkeley Sound, in East Falkland Island. The Commodore at Lima ordered Captain
Fitz Roy to inquire with the Queen of Tahiti
concerning this debt.November 22nd, 1835 -- The Commodore at Lima ordered Captain Fitz Roy to inquire concerning this debt, and to demand satisfaction if it were not paid. I spent many hours walking the plain of
Longwood past Napoleon's home, just down
the hill from his tomb.May 9, 1836 -- The next day I obtained lodgings within a stone's throw of Napoleon's tomb; it was a capital central situation, whence I could make excursions in every direction. The history of the changes which the elevated plains of Longwood and Deadwood have undergone, as given in General Beatson's account of the island, is extremely curious.
and two species (and probably more)
of the Amblyrhynchus -- a genus confined
to the Galapagos Islands. There is one snake
which is numerous; it is identical with theOctober 8, 1835 -- There is one small lizard belonging to a South American genus, and two species (and probably more) of the Amblyrhynchus--a genus confined to the Galapagos Islands. There is one snake which is numerous; it is identical, as I am informed by M. Bibron, with the Psammophis Temminckii from Chile. Jan 16th - Upon the rocky shoreline of
St. Iago. I spent some hours watching
the habits of an Octopus, or cuttle-fish.Janurary 16th, 1832 -- I was much interested, on several occasions, by watching the habits of an Octopus, or cuttle-fish. Her Majesty's ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, sailed
from Devonport on the 27th of December. The
object of the expedition was to complete the surveyAfter having been twice driven back by heavy south-western gales, Her Majesty's ship "Beagle," a ten-gun brig, under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., sailed from Devonport on the 27th of December, 1831. Now, we'll take the answers and put them in chronological order (as suggested in the letter to Charles). And maybe for laughs and giggles, we'll take the first letter of the first clue, second letter of the second clue, and so on to see if it gives us anything. (Okay, so I already know it does).
Devonport (December 27, 1831)
cuttle-fish (January 16, 1832)
Socêgo (April13, 1832)
Falkland (March 1, 1833)
Galapagos (October 8, 1835)
Fitz Roy (November 22, 1835)
Bourbon (May 1, 1836)
Longwood (May 9, 1838)
duck pond
********
Go ask the hunter
********BUTHONEY.wav
********
get the point? (1)
Armpit. Ick. (7)
and the little devil stands here...or is it the angel? (5)
Me and Herakles EVERYONE is wearing them this season (1)
********BUTABOUT.gif
********
Just where I wear my tiara (5)
the best foot (2)
one, two, buckle my pants (2)
The loop on my swordbelt (7)
********BUTTHEHI.gif
The hunter in this case is the constellation Orion. You need to figure out what star each clue is talking about (sometimes based on the classical representation of Orion) and what name is being used (since a few stars have more than one name).
get the point? (1) - "Bright One of the Sword (tip)" (more commonly known as Nair al Saif): Hatysa
Armpit. Ick. (7) - "Armpit of the Central One": Betelgeuse
and the little devil stands here...or is it the angel? (5) - West Shoulder: Bellatrix
Me and Herakles EVERYONE is wearing them this season (1) - The Lion Skin: Tabit
Just where I wear my tiara (5) - Orion's Head: Meissa
the best foot (2) - West Foot: Rigel
one, two, buckle my pants (2) - The Buckle (and Second Star) on the Belt: Alnilam (should be letter 3)
The loop on my swordbelt (7) - East Belt Star: Alnitak
heat sink
Embedded jpg of green stampschloe.jpg
Embedded jpg of pink stamps.figure.jpg
The two pictures are the same, except in two different colors. If you work a little photoshop magic, and combine the two, you can get a full-colored image. Its now easier to notice that some of the stamps are cancelled and some are not. If we ignore the cancelled ones (because really, what good is a cancelled stamp?) we are left with ten uncancelled stamps. (Note: The links to the images are not how these stamps were found. That involved some guessing, google image searches, and luck.)
Farnsworth, Philo 20 cent
Uncle Sam 22 cent
Sandburg, Carl 13 cent
Irving, Washington Irving 1 cent
Oakley, Annie 29 cent
Nagurski, Bronco 37 cent
Copernicus, Nicholas 8 cent
Einstein, Albert 15 cent
Lee, Robert E. 30 cent
London, Jack London 25 cent
fusion_cell
When dealing with an 11 letter word, apply rules (A - I) in any order.
Each rule must be used exactly once.CUTEBEE2.gif
A: Reverse the whole word
B: Replace letters 4 - 10 with a word for a vorpal blade going snackless
C: Replace letter 3 with P
D: Swap letters 9 and 11
E: Reverse the whole word
F: Slide the whole word left and send the first letter to the end
G: Replace any letter after an E with a T
H: Replace letters 4 - 10 with a word for a vorpal blade going snackless
I: Reverse the whole wordlangshivel.jpg
JABBERWOCKYBUT_HOME.gif
This is one of those puzzles where its just kind of trial and error, though you can see the word starting to form after applying only a few rules. You also have to be aware of the poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll to know that a seven letter word for a vorpal blade going snackless is snicker.J A B B E R W O C K Y B: J A B s n i c k e r Y A: y r e k c i n s b a j F: r e k c i n s b a j y H: R E K s n i c k e r Y G: R E t S N I C K E t Y C: R E p S N I C K E T Y E: y t e k c i n s p e r D: Y T E K C I N S R E P I: p e r s n i c k e t y
halfway through the hearing-glassmuses.gif
Embedded wav of morse codedanapicnic.wav
When you listen to the wav, you'll notice that there is both a right and a left channel. "Halfway through the hearing-glass" hints that we want to take each channel separately.
Left channel: -. . .-- -. . .-- -. . .--
Right channel: -.-. .... .. -.-. -.- . -.
Left channel: new new new
Right channel: chicken
Embedded jpg missing a sectiondana.jpg
Embedded jpg (the missing section from above)danadress.jpgWhen you open the jpg in dana.jpg, you'll notice that it's missing a big chunk out of it. Luckily, the jpg in danadress.jpg fits the whole nicely. Once you stitch the pictures together, you get something that looks like this. The combined text reads as follows:couldn't steal second instar
string was a leath combo
mmmmm... Salt.
0 gravity
"...that I would stop right there,
remain as I was."
where is my
denticle belt
shake! shake!
shake! zzzzzzzzzzzzz
trapped in my egg
Eye'm melting! Eye'm melting!
"I'm not dead yet!"
daddy broke my legs
lost my head
ATCGCGAMTCGTAGUATCCGTAATGCATCGGACATGNTCATCGAhh, the joys of biology class. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster is one of those creatures whose DNA seems to mutate at the drop of a hat. Not only that, but drosophilists have come up with a bunch of clever names to describe each mutation that they find.
couldn't steal second instar - Lethal phenotype occurs during the first larval instar.: Out at First
string was a leath combo - Mutation reacts fatally with 'string' gene: Noose
mmmmm... Salt. - Mutation loves salt: Lot
0 gravity - Mutation has problems with gravity: Yuri
"...that I would stop right there, remain as I was." - Quote is from The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass. Embryos are small and the mutation is named after Oskar - the boy who wouldn't grow from the book: Oskar
where is my denticle belt - Mutation has deleted denticle belt: Naked Cuticle
shake! shake! shake! zzzzzzzzzzzzz - Mutation becomes spastic under anesthesia: Ether A Go-Go
trapped in my egg - Mutation cannot hatch from egg: Amontillado
Eye'm melting! Eye'm melting! - Mutation has incredibly deformed eyes: Liquid Facets
"I'm not dead yet!" - Mutation lives abnormally long: Indy
daddy broke my legs - Mutation has deformed legs: Vulcan
lost my head - Exuperantia was a Christian slave who was beheaded: Exuperantia
eye_out.wav §Embedded jpg of two columns of letters
24601 v. 24602 C C D C D D C D D C C C beegarden.jpgEmbedded jpg of a jail cell with letters and numbers superimposed
0B 0F 0T 0O 0N 1D 0S 1K 1W 1N 1E 2R 1E 2E 2A 2X 2R 3E 20 3I 3L 3P 3T 4C 3M 40 4U 4A 4S 5A 4Q 5U 5Y 5S 5G 6S 5U 6A 6Q 6D 6P bee2_margaretphoto.jpgThe embedded jpg in beegarden.jpg shows a game of iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. The first step is to figure out which prisoner won. And just to make sure everyone is playing with by the same rules, in the lower right hand corner of the bee2_margaret embedded pic, it tells you that CxC = 3,3; DxC = 5,0; DxD = 1,1.
Turns Score 24601 v. 24602 24601 v. 24602 C C 3 3 D C 5 0 D D 1 1 C D 0 5 D C 5 0 C C 3 3 Prisoner 24601 has a total of 18 to Prisoner 24602's total of 14. So Prisoner 24601 (who is called Jean Valjean by his friends) wins. That leaves us with the matrix in the bee2_margaretphoto jpg. There are six columns in the matrix, and six turns of the game. For each turn, take the letter paired with the number of points scored. For example, in the first round, Jean scored 3. In the first column, 3 is paired with the letter E. In the second round, Jean scored 5, giving the letter N in the matrix.
0B 0F 0T 0O 0N 1D 0S 1K 1W 1N 1E 2R 1E 2E 2A 2X 2R 3E 20 3I 3L 3P 3T 4C 3M 40 4U 4A 4S 5A 4Q 5U 5Y 5S 5G 6S 5U 6A 6Q 6D 6P e y e o u t
big_city.wav §Embedded jpg of three barcodesgroupofjars.jpgEmbedded jpg of four barcodesmargaret.jpgThe barcodes are POSTNET barcodes that the Post Office uses to direct mail. When you decode them, you get the following:
14202-3325-990 - Buffalo, NY
46204-3307-993 - Indianapolis, IN
54301-5006-006 - Green Bay, WI
60608-1202-993 - Chicago, IL
14850-5614-088 - Ithaca, NY
08608-1809-190 - Trenton, NJ
98901-2613-290 - Yakima, WA
Taking the first letter of each city gives you the answer of big_city.
decay_timer.wav §Embedded jpg of flowerssmoker.jpgEmbedded jpg of flowersBEEWITHH.gifThe flowers images were taken from A Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve. First you needed to figure out what plant you were looking at (not that easy with 800 plants listed). Then you needed to find the answer to the clue on the bottom of each picture.
Dandelion - medicinal action: Diuretic
Ipecacuanha - medicinal action: Emetic
Eyebright - in the treatment of: Conjunctivitis
Pennyroyal - to induce: Abortion
Yarrow - commonly known as Yarrow
for the relief of - T
superseded by - I
Peruvian Bark - for the treatment of: Malaria
Papryus - written on in: Egypt
Madder - yields the color: Red
Okay, so we didn't get this wav simply by figuring out all the plants. If you listen to counting_down it mentions a decay timer, so we filled in the blanks as best we could. Unfortunately, we still haven't figured out two of the plants. If you can shed any light on this matter, it would be greatly apprecaiated. Plus I'll give you mad props.
counting_down.wav §fieb?! That's what happens when those two armies I told you about earlier get too close together.CUTEBEE.gifviybyubh fiebBEEBACKG.gifRemember the two armies from the first week that gave us knockout_gas.wav? The armies were your left and right hands, but they are closer together, so instead of starting on "asdf jkl;" they are starting on "sdfg hjkl". Now its easy to see what was wanting to be typed out: counting down.
Poor Rani is finding out that you can never go home again. At least not if you don't want to find your bedroom now located under a duck pond. That's right - a duck pond. Her father has it all worked out. He's going to be the only human left alive when the Covies strike - unless lots of people are living under duck ponds. But her father isn't as crazy as he seems - he knows what the purpose of the Artifact is, even if he doesn't realize it. §sleeping_underground.wav*wind up*
Rani: Sarah-John, thanks for the offer, but I gotta stay with my mom and dad.
Sarah-John (on chatter): Jason wouldn't mind.
Rani: Look, you've been married a month. Jason sure better mind!
Sarah-John (on chatter): Then stay with my mom. You don't have to stay at your parents.
Rani: They can't make me that crazy for two nights.
Sarah-John (on chatter): Rani, he's making your mom live in the bunker.
Rani: They're living underground?
Sarah-John (on chatter): Your dad's afraid they won't get any warning.
Rani: Well I am not sleeping underground in my dad's bunker.
Sarah-John (on chatter): *laughs* It's more than just a bunker, Rani. Your mom and dad had us over for dinner last Sunday and we got "The Tour."
Rani: The Tour?
Sarah-John (on chatter): You at your driveway yet?
Rani: Just coming up on it.
Sarah-John (on chatter): Wait till you see your new room.
Rani: New room?
Sarah-John (on chatter): Actually, it's your old room. He moved the whole thing.
Rani: W-what does that even mean? My room is on the second...Oh my god what happened to my house?! Sarah-John?!
Sarah-John (on chatter): "No point in leaving the good stuff above ground." That's what your dad said.
*wind down*duck_pond.wav*wind up*
Rani: Dad? Are you down here?
Tommy: Rani! Well don't you look business like. Move back home and you can wear overalls every day.
Rani: Just visiting for the weekend, Daddy. I've got a good job.
Tommy: A good job. The Covvies are coming and you're worrying about your job? Oh come home, honey.
Rani: If we don't all do our part in the fight, we will surely all die when they get here, Dad.
Tommy: *sigh*
Rani: So yeah, I'm worried about my job. Dad, why are you living under the duck pond?heat_sink.wavTommy: *laughs* Hear me out now. You see, water can never be hotter than boiling, which is one hundred degrees. That pond is a heat sink. You know what a heat sink is?
Rani: I can kinda figure it out, but...
Tommy: Underneath the pond is a full meter of ice, wrapped in pezo foam and pelti coolers.
Rani: Daddy! Listen to yourself.
Tommy: And under that is a meter of wax. Under that is this ceiling here *taps ceiling* which is foamed glass, just like a cooking pot.
Rani: How did you afford all this?
Tommy: They measure it in joules, the heat, and this room can take seventy billion of 'em before it even begins to warm up.
Rani: Dad?
Tommy: I've been all through the pension thing with your mother, Rani. I don't need to hear it from you.
Rani: Your pension?!fusion_cell.wavRani: Daddy!
Tommy: You listen to the news today, honey? They've got to Coral too.
Rani: Oh my god. Coral too?
Tommy: Money's no good when the planet's glass, sweet pea. *door opens* I have got a year supply of food down here and a composter that turns waste into soil. I've got a starship grade recycler and a fusion cell to run it. *door closes*
Rani: This is crazy.
Tommy: Over here, I've got picks and drills for digging out through the glass. And seeds that ought to do well after...you know. Afterwards. Hey, I've been doing my homework on this.
Rani: Daddy. This is crazy. It might be twenty years before the Covenant comes.
Tommy: *sighs* So man also knoweth not his time, as the preacher said.
Rani: Know what? I-I can't even talk to you. I can't!
Tommy: Rani! Rani!
*running*
*wind down*persnickety.wav*wind up*
Rani: I'm amazed Dad still lets you use the above ground kitchen.
Leah: It's just till he can get the fusion cell working. It's being persnickety.
Rani: Mom, you've got to stop him. This is crazy!
Leah: Honey, your daddy is doing what he thinks he needs to do.
Rani: You're living under a duck pond!
Tommy: Rani.
Leah: Tommy, don't you have to go to the hardware?
Tommy: Well, I don't have to go right now. I-I can go tomorrow morning.
Leah: Well, you go now. Get there before they close.
Tommy: Look, I just want to explain...
Leah: Let us talk a bit?
Tommy: Oh, okay. Um, Rani, you want I should get you anything?
Rani: No Daddy, I'm fine.new_chicken.wavTommy: I'll just take stock in the garage a minute, and then I'll go.
Leah: Here's your tea, sweet pea.
*door opens*
*door closes*
Rani: How can you put up with it? When I was a kid, it was the A.I. Dog Walker business. And then he was gonna grow ginseng. And then, it was duck - the new chicken. It's one crazy scheme after another. And now this!
Leah: Your daddy has always worked hard, always had a job, and always been faithful.
Rani: You're living under a duck pond.
Leah: I know. Ain't it great?only_one_alive.wavLeah: What cute young thing with a figure is that man gonna lure under a duck pond?
Rani: Oh Mom, be serious.
Leah: Rani, everybody is looking at the same thing. And we all gotta find ways to deal with it.
Rani: Well, medication is a whole lot cheaper.
Leah: They're saying people survived on parts of Reach. And for your father, that means there's a chance, if only he can take it.
Rani: Do you really think it's gonna work?
Leah: Honey, if the Covenant comes, I don't want it to work. I don't want to be the only one alive. But I trust in my maker. Whatever happens, happens for a reason.
Rani: I don't know Mom.eye_outLeah: You know what I admire about your father? Despair looked him in the eye and he didn't blink. And these days, hope is something we need more than pills or bullets.
*chatter ring*
Rani: Hold on Mom.
*chatter ring*
*chatter ring*
*footsteps*
*chatter ring*
*chatter ring*
*comm beep*
Herzog (on chatter): Rani.
Rani: Wow, aren't you afraid this line will be cracked?
Herzog (on chatter): Not this line. Listen, Section Three Secure Area on Chawla Base. That's where they're keeping the artifact.
Rani: I know it. I don't have nearly that kind of clearance.
Herzog (on chatter): I know, but keep an eye out. Watch for techs. Word is they've been going over and over it with magnetometers.big_city.wavRani: Okay.
Herzog (on chatter): Since they've triggered the artifact, it's been putting out flucuating fields, up and down, weaker and stronger, but steadily overall weaker. It's decaying.
Rani: Is that weird? It sounds binary or something. Up, down, on, off.
Herzog (on chatter): It's more of an oscillation. I think it will continue for a few weeks more. It's regular enough they can estimate it.
*bunker door opens*
*ducks quacking*
Rani: My dad's coming out to his truck. I gotta go.
Herzog (on chatter): Uh, Rani, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to keep in touch. If you can't find me, don't come looking. And don't mention anything to anyone. For your own protection.
Rani: W-what are you g...? *end comm*
Tommy: Hi Rani. Those folk making you work on the weekend?
Rani: Big city, you know. Rush rush rush.
*wind down*decay_timer.wav*wind up*
Tommy: So I said to Len, well you know how Len is. "Len, I can do the test. I've got the certification." *laughs* A great dinner Leah.
Leah: Thank you, Honey.
Rani: Oh yeah Mom. Really good.
Leah: Something on your mind, Sweet Pea?
Rani: Mmm, I had a weird call from work today. I'm not allowed to talk about it. Go on Daddy.
Tommy: Uh, well, Len wants me to make sure we're not getting static discharges. If you get static during assembly, it can fry your work.
Rani: Uh huh.
Tommy: But we don't have the kind of audit equipment for what he's asking for. So I said, "Len, I'm gonna need a variable resistance reference. And with that kind of oscillation, I'd need a decay timer. I'd need an audit kit like the one I had when I worked over at McFarlands."
Rani: Wait. What did you say? A decay timer?
Tommy: Yeah, decay timer. You can estimate how long its gonna take before it drops under a certain threshhold...
Rani: So, things decay, and they get weaker and weaker in a way you can predict, right Daddy?
Tommy: Ah, well, sure.
Rani: I've gotta make a call.
*running*
*wind down*counting_down.wav*wind up*
*running*
*door opens*
*chatter dial*
*comm beep*
Herzog: Rani, you shouldn't call me.
Rani: The artifact...
Herzog: Yes?
Rani: My dad was talking about something called a magnetic decay timer. What if the artifact is a timer?
Herzog: The artifact?
Rani: Maybe it didn't go off one time, like a grenade. Maybe that was just the pulse of it turning on and now it's counting down.
Herzog: If it is...what happens...?
Rani: When it gets to zero.
*wind down*make myself useful
Dana's updated her blog to say she's coming home. She sounds a bit upset over the whole coma idea. Can't say that I blame her. §make myself useful
I'm coming home.I don't want to talk about it.
posted by Dana at 10/15/2004 09:14:48 AMPrepositions Finally Solved!
Gah! It took us over a week before someone finally was able to come up with a solution for the prepositions puzzle. This after a million curses, five million guesses, and gallons of tears. People started comparing it to the unholy where.gif puzzle from Lockjaw. I don't think it's anywhere close to this. We only had 8 days of annoyance. They had 20 days of horror.
We might have ended up at 20 days as well if usernameguy hadn't figured out the clues. The answer is a_pawn which sounds like upon (a preposition that was omitted from the list) and what a Queen is before she shows up on a chess board. Simple right? :P
Week 14 - Phase 5
October 19th and OnwardsReach
Tuesday. Phones ring. New question asked.Question: On what colony was I created?
Answer: ReachMelissa's Task
Melissa finally understands that her time and our time are not quite the same. There's is a slight 500 year difference between the two. In order for her to understand the differences that have occured in that time, she's set up a new task for us. We are to email her pictures of things in our time with their counterparts from her time. And those with the best photos will get some highly confidential information. Does this mean we are finally going to get labyrinth and odd_duck? I really hope so. So get those photoshop skills working! §
Crew: it has become obvious that I have been shipwrecked not only in a strange place, but in a strange time. I am requesting your help in orienting to my current surroundings. Please send me a picture of a contemporary construct, physical or social, which you suspect will be unfamiliar to me, along with a picture of its likely analog in 2552. You may consider this a field test of your communication skills with visual media, commencing immediately, and closing at midnight PDT.
Those crew members displaying particular skill and initiative will earn my respect, and access to some hitherto highly confidential information.The Question Game
Unlike last week, the pictures are not the key to the seeking axons. This week, those people lucky enough to get a call from Melissa get a second call - this time from the Princess. It seems that when she calls, she asks you 10 questions that you answer. She then gives you a number where you must call another beekeeper and give them the 10 answers you provided. You have a specific time frame to do this in, and after the time is up, the Princess will call the second beekeeper, ask them one question, and if they know the answer, the seeking axon will unlock. Simple, right?
Okay, maybe not that easy since the very first one ended up failing. §Awww, that's okay vpisteve. We will still love you. Especially since we ended up getting all of the wavs eventually. §
arguing_about_grenades 0/1SEEKING
vpisteve didn't remember Lt. Gilada's Mutant Pig Boy right... :(
arguing_about_grenades 1/1JR jr - veni, vidi, vici? Yep!!! With a little help and ice cream from Chris!! B-)
AXON SPIKE
dreams 1/1EB and McDonald Heard ... Tick Tock ... Team Ra Cha Cha beats the clock!!! :D
AXON SPIKE
big_stone_building 1/1Clayfoot ... On your mark, get set, GO!!! And I dub thee SIR Braveknight!!! :D
AXON SPIKE
only_seven 1/1Panda Boy, Smart Alec, Adam and Ace ... GO!! Kirsten and Justin ... Piece of cake!! :)
AXON SPIKE
had_to_tell_you 1/1Angry Cows, Evil Jesters ... Oh MY!! Yay for Mallory from Apple-BEE-bees-bees!! :D
AXON SPIKE
sick_cat 1/1jsailor sailing!!! ... skillet's cooking!!! 8D
AXON SPIKERecipe6 = Revenge!
This is the week we have all been waiting for since James James was killed. Armed with knowledge provided by Jersey and Durga, and just massively armed, Jan, Gilly, and Gladys track down Thin to make him pay. And to have fun with grenades. Cuz isn't that what life is all about? Blowing stuff up with grenades? Meanwhile, Jersey is practically having kittens over not being informed every second about what is happening to Jan. Then Durga springs some really bad news on him - about what seven years means to a smart A.I. And poor Kamal. Not only does Sophia have a run in with a crooked Immigration officer, he gets his heart broken again. Maybe he can hook up with Cami in Reno. §arguing_about_grenades.wav*wind up*
*tv in background*
*footsteps*
Jersey: Durga? Durga?! What the hell is happening with Jan?
Durga: She and Gilly are arguing about grenades.
Jersey: Durga!
Durga: Jersey, I take care of my people.
Jersey: Okay.
Durga: Jersey, there's something I need to tell you.
Jersey: Now? With all the grenades and whatever?
Durga: Yes. Now. You know, we've talked about the part of that does stuff that I don't know about.
Jersey: Yeah. The left hand. Someone helped you find out about it. The one spying on the guy that just got killed? Herzog.
Durga: Right.
Jersey: W-well, we got to something about that other guy, Standish.
Durga: I know.
Jersey: And that thing at Chawla Base. The countdown thing!
Durga: I know!
Jersey: Durga, I wish I hadn't heard about any of this.
Durga: I know.dreams.wavJersey: Are we gonna have to try to save the world from that...from whatever Standish is hiding there.
Durga: It's beginning to look that way, isn't it? Anyway, there's this thing I need to tell you.
Jersey: Yeah?
Durga: I'm having...they're kinda like dreams.
Jersey: Dreams? Durga, you don't like sleep, do you?
Durga: No, but you know how when you wake up you can remember that you were dreaming? And there's this feeling associated with the dream?
Jersey: Yeah, I guess.
Durga: I have that. I have these feelings.big_stone_building.wavJersey: What kind of feelings? Like nightmares?
Durga: Like half memories. Of this big stone building. With a lot of rooms and I run around and hide and send messages to people. I'm a little girl.
Jersey: Well, maybe they're memories of when you were a little girl.
Durga: Maybe. I don't think so. I mean, I doubt I grew up in a castle. I'm telling you this because...Jersey, I think I'm old.
Jersey: Eh, you don't look a day over 25. And I'm not just saying that.
Durga: Jersey, smart AIs - we don't live forever.only_seven.wavJersey: I thought AIs lasted for...well until someone shut them down.
Durga: Dumb AIs do. Smart AIs? We grow and grow in complexity until we become too complex. It's called rampancy.
Jersey: W-wait-wait. What are you saying? You think...?
Durga: No. Not yet. But the dream memories are not a good sign.
Jersey: Man. How long do smart AIs usually live before this rampancy thing?
Durga: Seven years.
Jersey: Only seven?!
Durga: Yeah, pretty much.
Jersey: But I...
Durga: Yeah.
Jersey: Then what happens?
Durga: They shut us down. Or, we go crazy.had_to_tell_you.wavJersey: Well, then you're okay then, right? I mean, you're not crazy. Annoying maybe, but not crazy.
Durga: Jan's going to try to blow a hole in the floor so she can get through to where Thin Kinkle and Monster Ann are hiding.
Jersey: Dammit, you're doing this thing - tell me all this stuff - seven years, this Kinkle guy talking to his boss...
Durga: That's what it's like when you're me. I monitor lots of things all going on at the time.
Jersey: You think you have to distract me. Like giving a little kid a toy.
Durga: No. Well, yes. I did want to distract you.
Jersey: I'm not a kid!
Durga: Yes, but it's hard to just sit when you can't do anything.
Jersey: What about all that seven year stuff?
Durga: That's true.
Jersey: Why tell me now?
Durga: Because. I want you to know. I need you to know.
Jersey: But, if they took Yasmine when she was six, then eight years of Spartan training - Kamal's eighteen, she dies...how old is Kamal?
Durga: Twenty-five.
Jersey: Durga!
Durga: I had to tell you.
Jersey: Oh my god!
Durga: I had to tell you because if I am going rampant, you've got to tell the Navy.sick_cat.wavDurga: They'll have to shut me down.
Jersey: I will not shut you down.
Durga: But, you can't let me know.
Jersey: So, lemme get this straight. You think you're fine.
Durga: Yes.
Jersey: But you're having these weird dream memories, and that's...?
Durga: Bad.
Jersey: Okay. And if I think you're not fine, I'm supposed to tell the Navy, but without you ever guessing what I'm up to?
Durga: So far, so good.
Jersey: So they can put you down like someone's sick cat.
Durga: Right.
Jersey: Heh. Not happening.
Durga: Jersey!
Jersey: Go rampant for all I care. I-I'm not calling anyone.
Durga: You have to, Jersey!
Jersey: I take care of my people too.
*wind down*
wait_outside.wav*wind up*
Durga (on chatter): Test. Test. Test. Can you all hear me? Jan?
Jan: Check.
Gladys: I'm here.
Gilly: Whatever.
Durga (on chatter): Alright. Monster Ann's place is an orphan system. No signals in. Everything hard wired internally. The minute you hit the building, you won't be able to hear me. Jan, the schematic Jersey sent...?
Jan: Got it.
Durga (on chatter): Should show you exactly where to clip me into the internal systems.
Gladys: Okay, so we go in through the warehouse at the back of the building.
Gilly: Check.
Jan: And there'll be a passbox by the foreman's desk.
Gilly: Jan should wait outside.
Jan: No. This is my operation.
Gilly: She's a liabilty.
Jan: It's my op.
Gilly: Yes sir, ma'am.crystal_security.wavJan: *sighs*
Gladys: Jan, don't enter a room until your buddy has called it clear.
Jan: Who am I with?
Gladys + Gilly: Me.
Gilly: You're going with me.
Gladys: Gilly! I think you might be a little emotionally compromised, if you get my drift.
Gilly: If she goes in, she goes with me.
Gladys: Uh. Cop coming.
Jan: It's okay. Just leave the talking to me. *car drives up* Officer. Thanks for coming.
Interrogator: Funny coincidence. Monster Ann's place is at the end of this block. Crystal Security Fence and Gate.
Jan: Yeah. So there won't be a disturbance there today, okay? No shots will fired.twenty_minutes.wavInterrogator: And if the neighbors call?
Durga (on chatter): The call won't get through.
Interrogator: Jesus. Pretty slick. You sure this is what your father would have wanted?
Jan: He doesn't get a vote anymore.
Interrogator: Jannisary.
Jan: You owe me.
Interrogator: I don't want a pile of bodies at the end of the day, Jan. And I especially don't want one of them to be yours. Give you twenty minutes, Walkaway Girl.
Jan: Yeah. Twenty minutes.
Interrogator: Nineteen minutes and fifty-five seconds.
Jan: Ah, dammit!
Interrogator: After that I'm coming in with a whole bunch of cops.
Jan: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
*wind down*save_your_prayers.wav*wind up*
*loading bay door opening*
*footsteps*
Gladys: Loading bay secure. I'm gonna head up to the second floor.
Jan: Be careful.
Gladys: Haha. Save your prayers for the other guys, hun.
Gilly: Jan! I've got the pass box over here.
Jan: Coming. Okay. Uh, Jersey showed me how to do this.
Durga (on intercom): Whoa. Cramped in here. And swarms of security bots.
Jan: Durga? Will you be...?
Durga (on intercom): What? No, I killed them all.pretty_sure.wavJan: Whoa. Um, okay. There should be some relays.
Durga (on intercom): I'll get them as I wet the system. Okay, I'm in. You're under sixteen minutes, Jan. Go.
*running*
Jan: Clear.
*gun shot*
*thud*
Guy: Hey!
Gilly: Hup!
*automatic gun fire*
*explosion*
Gilly: Boy, I like these conc grenades. They're quiet.
Jan: Jesus!
*automatic gun fire*
Gilly: Dammit! Stay away from the window.
Jan: Okay.
Gilly: I know your daddy taught you better than that.
*automatic gun fire*
Gilly: What is wrong with you?
Jan: Is the guy dead?
Gilly: Yup.
*gun shot*
Gilly: Pretty sure.the_nice_grenades.wavJan: Gilly, I want Thin, but killing these other people, it's just not...
Gilly: Oh okay. Next time I'll use the nice grenades.
Jan: Thin killed my dad. And he hurt me, but these guys...
Gilly: Oh crap, okay! Change the mission perameters in mid-stride. Makes you like every other General.
Jan: It's my op.
Gilly: Yes mother. *distant gunfire* Mmm, I guess Gladys found someone.
Jan: Oh. *chatter dial* *comm beep* Gladys. Gladys, no killing these guys, okay?
Gladys (on chatter): What? You gotta be kidding. No killing?
Jan: They're just pawns. Wing 'em.
Gladys (on chatter): *sigh* Okey doke. *gun fire* *background screams*one_two_four.wav*end comm*
Gilly: Hey, tonight Jan, after we're done here, are we still allowed to eat meat? Or would that be like, mean?
*automatic gun fire*
Gilly: Next room! I'll take them out!
Jan: Wait! No grenades!
Gilly: Jesus! I like grenades. Hey Bad Guy!
Jan: Oh god.
Gilly: I'm about to toss in a grenade. Personally, I don't see the percentage in letting you surrender, but the CO's soft that way.
Jan: Oh!
Gilly: You wanna live? Crawl outta here before I count to five. One. Two. Four!
Eric: Wait!! I'm coming!
Gilly: Weapons down. Hands on your head. *gun dropped* You tie him up.this_prisoner_thing.wav*tape being ripped*
Eric: *crying*
Jan: Hold still.
*chatter ring* *comm beep*
Gladys (on chatter): Second level secure. I'll just sweep the roof then rejoin you gals.
Jan: You're the best, Gladys.
Gilly: One Point Oh.
Gladys (on chatter): *laughs* Yeah. One Point Oh.
*end comm*
Gilly: You know, this prisoner thing isn't going to work.
Jan: What's your name?
Eric: Eric.
Gilly: We're not set up for prisoners. *gun cocks*
Eric: No no! You said you wouldn't kill me.
Jan: We're not going to kill him.
Gilly: Now or later, kiddo. He's gonna fry with the rest of us when the Covenant shows up.
Jan: Hey, Eric, you wanna join up?intercom.wavJan: You want to join the Navy? Girls dig a guy in uniform.
Gilly: Let's just kill him.
Eric: I'll enlist! Oh god, I'll enlist!
Gilly: I hate when they pee their pants.
Jan: Ohhh.
Durga (on intercom): Eric.
Eric: Why is the intercom talking to me?
Durga (on intercom): Congratulations. You just enlisted. You muster at oh-four-hundred hours tomorrow morning at the Newark Recruiting Center. Got that?
Gilly: There's still time to kill him.
Eric: I'll be there! I'll be there!
*chatter ring* *comm beep*
Gladys (on chatter): Roof checks out. Building is secure and I'm coming back.
*end comm*
Durga (on intercom): Alright, I'm seeing everyone neutralized but Thin and Monster Ann. They're down in the basement.
Gilly: Crap, I hate basements.
*wind down*in_cold_water.wav*wind up*
*bang*
*footsteps*
Gladys: Hey hey! Did you gals miss me?
Jan: Oh my god! You're covered in...
Gladys: In stains? Heh, yeah, I know. But as long as I can rinse these camos out in cold water before they dry, they're gonna come right out.
Gilly: *laughs*
Gladys: I'm serious.
Jan: Shh.
Gilly: Oh, that's fine.
Durga (on intercom): Okay Jan. Alarms and comms are still down. No backup coming yet.
Jan: How much of my twenty minutes is left?
Durga (on intercom): Three minutes, twelve seconds.kill_zone.wavDurga (on intercom): According to building schematics, this flight of stairs leads down to a landing with a heavy door. Beyond that, the U-turn and another set of steps.
Jan: Does that landing sound like...?
Gladys: A kill zone to me? Yeah.
Jan: So how to get to them without going through the kill zone. Wait. Wait, Thin and Monster Ann should be right underneath us.
Gladys: Where are you going with this, hon?
Jan: Okay, we've got to take our grenades and pile them in the middle of the room.
*grenades tossed*
Gilly: Oh, and then...
Jan: We'll go through the floor.
Gilly: Smart.
Jan: It worked for Thin. Gladys?
Gladys: Yeah?
Jan: Help me grab that filing cabinet.
Gladys: Okey doke.run_with_scissors.wavJan: Pull out the drawers, prop it open side down over the grenades.
Gladys: Yeah.
Gilly: Shape the charge. Nice.
*crash*
Gladys: We can stradle that big old desk over the filing cabinet, huh?
Gilly: Pretty slick, Slick.
Jan: You know, my daddy always wanted me to play with matches.
Gladys: Yeah, if there's one thing that man knew, *crash* it was blow things up.
Jan: Whew.
Gilly: I bet you run with scissors pretty good too.proud.wav*file cabinet being dragged*
Jan: Prop the cabinet up with a chair leg so we can pitch one grenade in to set the others off.
Gladys: Okay! Clear the room!
Jan: Fire in the hole!
*pin pulled*
*grenade tossed*
*HUGE EXPLOSION*
Gladys: Woohoohoo!
Gilly: You do know how to make a mother proud.going_down.wavJan: I'm going down. *thud*
Gilly: Come on Gladys. *thud* *thud*
Gladys: Gotcha covered.
Thin: Babysitter! Oh man.
Jan: Surprise.
Thin: Bigger dog after all, Princess. Now you stand with gun drawn, your crew around you. *coughs* Hey, I taught you good.
Jan: You taught me nothing!
Thin: Hey, this must be your mom, Babysitter! Knew you didn't get your looks from your dad.
Jan: You bastard. *gun cocks*babysitter.wavMonster Ann: Take him. He paid a price for what he done.
Thin: Trying to sell me out to save your skin Ann?
Monster Ann: *coughs*
Jan: Gladys?
Gladys: We're here, kiddo.
Jan: I don't know what to do.
Monster Ann: Kill Thin. Let Monster Ann go. *coughs* Make it worth your while.
Jan: I just don't know.
Gilly: Jan, this isn't who you are.
Monster Ann: *coughs* *gasps*
Jan: He shot him. *sobs* He shot him like a dog.
Gilly: Jim didn't want this for you.
Thin: Still not pulling the trigger, babysitter.bedtime.wavThin: Lot I could still teach you. You know it!
Jan: What kind of daughter am I?
Gilly: The best Jan.
Jan: *sobs*
Gilly: Your father was so proud of you. And he would never want you to turn into...one of us.
Thin: Hey, talking truth, Babysitter.
Jan: Shut up! *cries*
Gilly: I've never been much of a mother for you, Jan. Never got to bandage up a scraped knee. Never got to read you a story at bedtime. Never got to brush your hair. *gun cocks* But I can do this.
Thin: No.
*gun shot*
Ann: Agghh!
*gun shot*
*thud*
Jan: *cries*
*wind down*
offline.wav*wind up*
*typing*
*logs off*
Kamal (off line): Okay, looks like the mask is working. I'm offline, but as far as my data profile in New Jersey knows, I'll be living my normal life.
Sophia: You even know how we're gonna get there?
Kamal (off line): I was gonna figure that out next. Hang on.
Sophia: Best bet's the packbus. There's a six o'clock pickup in the abandoned lot behind the monorail station.
Kamal (off line): What do you mean we?
Sophia: Hey, give me some of those chips. I'll cash them out and-and bring them with you, because some times people take them.
Kamal (off line): What do you mean we?
Sophia: What? You would prefer I'd turn myself in at one of the camps?
Kamal (off line): Camps?
Sophia: There's no Coral to deport me to, Kamal. It's a refugee camp for me now.
Kamal (off line): Oh, I thought you were going to marry Aiden?
Sophia: Yeah, I know you did.packbus.wavKamal (off line): Sophie, you can't come...
Sophia: The packbus has a driver and a couple passengers on the grid. They fill up the rest of the seats with refuse. A couple of blue chips should get us as far as Reno.
Kamal (off line): Is Aiden still in jail?
Sophia: I'm gonna try to bail him out one more time this afternoon. Then meet you at the station by five-thirty for the six o'clock bus.
Kamal (off line): You're not listening to me. You can't...
Sophia: Watch out getting to the pickup cause gangs sometimes hang around watching for loners to mug. Or worse.
Kamal (off line): Worse?
Sophia: Teenage girls - especially.
Kamal (off line): How do you even know all this stuff?
Sophia: I told you once, Kamal. I've been poor.
Kamal (off line): I thought...didn't you come here like me, with a scholarship?
Sophia: Well, there was this aunt and uncle. Supposed to look after me. It didn't work out.burned_out_apartment.wavKamal (off line): Did your parents know?
Sophia: I spent a year in camps. Another year after that squatting. I found this burned out apartment but by a miracle it still had running water and that was the key.
Kamal (off line): I didn't know.
Sophia: Yeah. Only certain kinds of jobs you can get if you can't get cleaned up.
Kamal (off line): Two years. And then?
Sophia: I met Aiden.
Kamal (off line): Sophie, you can't come with me. It would be too dangerous.
Sophia: Oh sure. And who's gonna look after you while you're off line? You?
Kamal (off line): I won't let you go back to the camps.
Sophia: You don't know which restaurants compost. And what day they put their old vegetables out back. You don't know which bathrooms are neutral and which are gang turf.
Kamal (off line): You have to marry Aiden, dammit!refuse_girl.wavKamal (off line): Yeah, well okay. There was something I never expected to hear myself say. *laughs*
Sophia: *laughs* You're eager to get rid of me. Not so pretty now that you know I'm just another refuse girl.
Kamal (off line): You've got to do it Sophia. It's just a piece of paper. Marry Aiden and you're a citizen.
Sophia: I don't love him.
Kamal (off line): This isn't about love. We aren't teenagers, Sophie, even if I sometimes act like one. This is the real world.
Sophia: I know you're trying to be nice to me.
Kamal (off line): It's not working?
Sophia: I'll go bail out Aiden. You make your arrangements. We'll meet behind the factory by the monorail station. I'll be there by five-thirty to catch the six o'clock bus.
Kamal (off line): You can't throw your life away like this just...just to make me happy.
Sophia: Five-thirty, Kamal. Don't be late.
*wind down*immigration.wav*wind up*
Immigration: Ms. Basarian.
Sophia: I'm here to post bail for...you're not a Berekely cop. You're Immigration.
Immigration: Ms. Basarian, I am the liason working with the police on this matter. Sorry to make you wait so long. Can you...can you please just step back this way?
Sophia: I-I-I-I'm sorry I can't stay. I have to go meet someone in a little while.
Immigration: That wouldn't be your friend, Doctor Zaman?
Sophia: Kamal?
Immigration: Yes. Kamal. You know, we'd like to talk to him. Come with me. This will just take a moment.
Sophia: Why do you want to talk to Kamal? Aiden didn't do his papers.
Immigration: Ms. Basarian. Sophia.
Sophia: Ms. Bosseron is fine.tooth_fairy.wavImmigration: We think Doctor Zaman may have done some uh...moonlighting for your boyfriend.
Sophia: No. No, I don't think so. Kamal's a medical student.
*door shuts*
Immigration: Hmm. You know, there are a number of special dispensation visas, for refugees. They're a difficult thing to come by, but uh, someone who helps in an investigation could, uh, certainly qualify.
Sophia: A visa?
Immigration: Mmmhmm.
Sophia: To stay here?
Immigration: That's right.
Sophia: *laughs* So what are you now? The Tooth Fairy?
Immigration: Pardon me?
Sophia: *laughs* Santa Claus. The one that hands out presents. You know, I get them all mixed up. And then the Easter Bunny. What's with that?
Immigration: Heh. Aiden said you'd play stupid.
Sophia: Ahhh. It's like that.
Immigration: Yeah. It's like that.real_trusting.wavSophia: So what happened? Aiden forget to pay you this month?
Immigration: Oh, let's just cut the crap, okay? Get to the part where you tell me where Kamal has gone and where he stashes his chips.
Sophia: Ummm, I told you, I don't know.
Immigration: Hmm, Sophie. Did you enjoy prison the last time you were in, hmm? Oh ya, I looked into that too. My sources tell me it hasn't gotten any nicer inside.
Sophia: *laughs* I'm headed for refugee camp. You think prison is a threat?
Immigration: Ahh, this is gonna be tough on Aiden. He was counting on you.
Sophia: Aiden's real trusting that way.that_dress.wavImmigration: And you don't know where Doctor Zaman is, huh? Maybe if you slept on that. Here. You know, in a cell.
Sophia: Hey, it's got a roof. I've slept in worse places.
Immigration: Oh Sophie. Sophie, Sophie, Sophie. You know, there is nothing between you and the big bad world but that dress and my good will, Soph.
Sophia: I do like this dress.
Immigration: So tell me, does it really matter what happens to one more colonial and his money, Sophia? Tell you what, tell me where to find Kamal, and you and your boyfriend walk. Hold out on me, I send you back to the camps, and I will make it my business to see that you never get out.the_devil.wavImmigration: Is the choice really so hard? Hmm?
Sophia: I used have this friend. I met her in jail. She was from Coral too. She said, "All immigration cops were the Devil." But you aren't the Devil.
Immigration: Hmm. Gosh. Thanks.
Sophia: You're just the guy that runs into the Quickie Store to get the Devil a box of breath mints. *laughs*
Immigration: *chatter dial* *comm beep* Send the patrolman to my office, would you please? I have some garbage I need to throw away. *end comm*
*wind down*lucky_guess.wav*wind up*
Elinor: Mom? Can I have an ice cream bar on the way home?
Woman: Nope, it'll make you sick. You can have a freezee.
Kamal (off line): Excuse me, can you tell me the time?
Woman: It's ten minutes late. Maybe got busted.
Kamal (off line): This friend is supposed to be meeting me here.
Woman: She better come quick.
Kamal (off line): How did you know my friend was a girl?
Woman: Lucky guess.
Kamal (off line): You like freezees?
Elinor: I like ice cream bars. But I'm not allowed.
Kamal (off line): How come?
Woman: Doctor said she had food intolerances - said avoid dairy, wheat. Doesn't matter what she eats or doesn't eat, she still gets sick.
Kamal (off line): They tested her?
Woman: Too expensive. I couldn't do that. We waited four hours, and Elinor had a tummyache the whole time, and the doctor saw us for five minutes.
Elinor: I cried and I cried because my stomach hurt so bad.
Kamal (off line): That doesn't sound right.tadpoles.wavWoman: What? You're a doctor?
Kamal (off line): No, but uh, I used to work in a hospital. How long has she had trouble?
Elinor: I got it from Eckatrina.
Woman: Eckatrina used to watch her. Back when I had a job.
Kamal (off line): Wait, there's my friend. No, it's not her.
Woman: That's a guy.
Kamal (off line): Oh. Ohhh. She caught food intolerances from someone? You can't do that.
Elinor: Eckatrina got sick and went to the hospital.
Woman: We don't know what happened to her.
Elinor: I miss her. Staying with her was fun. One time, we went out to her cousin's farm for the weekend.
Woman: Eckatraina had a lot of...cousins. All of them guys. She was young, pretty, you know.
Elinor: We milked the cow and we went in the pond and we had tadpoles in a jar but Mom said I couldn't bring them home.
Kamal (off line): Does she throw up?
Woman: No, she gets diarrhea, runs a fever. She's lost weight.
Kamal (off line): That's not food intolerance. Look, go back to the clinic. Tell them...tell them she was exposed to TB.good_for_nothing.wavWoman: TB?
Kamal (off line): Yes, tell them your neighbor had intestinal TB, not the kind in your lungs. Public health law says they have to test your kid if she's been exposed.
Woman: You're sure?
Kamal (off line): I'm sure. And tell them about the fever. I used to work in a hospital.
Woman: Gee, thanks. Thank you so much. Look, what's your next stop?
Kamal (off line): Uh, I don't really know. My friend was kinda in charge of that. I'm headed east. All the way to the East Coast.
Woman: Here comes the bus. Look, my sister Cami lives in Reno. I'm here to pick up her good-for-nothing son. You take this bus back to Reno and Cami will put you up for the night.
Kamal (off line): You don't even know me.
Woman: Here, I'll write down Cami's name and address, and I'll let her know you're coming.
Kamal (off line): Why are you doing this?
Woman: I never knew I could make them test her. The stomach thing, I've been so worried.
Kamal (off line): It's nothing. And I'm not a doctor. But, she should get a test.all_aboard.wavKamal (off line): What time is it?
Woman: Quarter past six.
Kamal (off line): She said she'd be here at 5:30.
Woman: Is your friend young and pretty?
Kamal (off line): Yeah.
Woman: They have a lot of choices. The pretty ones.
Kamal (off line): There's this ex-boyfriend. She was just going to stop by and see him.
Driver: Reno.
Kamal (off line): I told her she should stay with him. I told her it was crazy to come with me.
Driver: All aboard who's coming aboard. Everybody up. You riding son?
Kamal (off line): Just a second.
Woman: She's not coming, kiddo.
Kamal (off line): I told her not to come with me, but she said, she told me...
Woman: She's not coming.
Kamal (off line): Yeah. I know.
*wind down*Commendations from Melissa
Melissa is quite happy with the way the pictures from Tuesday turned out. However, I haven't heard of anyone getting any confidential information. And those stupid wavs are still locked. In worse news, Melissa has decided that if she can't get to Dana, she will get to Aunt Margaret. So if Dana wants to keep Aunt Margaret alive and healthy, she needs to come up with a way for to get rid of the Sleeping Princess. (And if we have any ideas, we are more than welcome to send them to Dana via email.) §Reconnaissance and Orientation
The Crew responded well to this task, as I knew they would.
Orientation challenge – special commendation
Orientation challenge – honorable mention
Squads
My crew suggested I should view the Killer as an asset to be deployed, rather than an enemy to be eliminated. Several pointed out her relationship with her Aunt Margaret.
"Even if the enemy is protected by high walls and deep moats, he cannot but do battle, because we attack what he must rescue."
The Killer is now currently tasked with finding a way to neutralize the Rogue Process. Send any suggestions to her through the usual channel.Transcripts §crew_5.wavLieutenant living_sacrifice.
Lieutenant Watson.
Lieutenant jontheman.
Lieutenant Mr. Bojangles
Lieutenant bug bbq
Bob 13 13, Medical Officer
Aspmaster, Lieutenant
JR.
My name is inio. Chief Warrent Officer Three
Lance Corporal bluej.
This is Lieutant Adam.
I've got ONI Tech Alec with here with me. Uh, and I also have Lieuteant Ace of Spades, and Major Crazy Panda.
Will, I'm a Junior Technician.
My name is Ensign Icydragon.
This is Raven.
Lieutenant Commander John Galt.
Clayfoot. Third Class Petty Officer.
Chief Petty Officer Tom Bridge.
Your name is Zombie?
Correct, Private.
Second Runner, Ensign.
Junior Lieutant Evil Jester.
Lieutenant MadCowsquads_5.wavMelissa: What's the name of your Squad?
Berkeley Crewmember: This is the Berkely Crew. When I say "Signal!" you say "Corps!" Signal!
Berkeley Crew: Corps
Berkeley Crewmember: Signal
Berkeley Crew: Corps
The Slugs: Call us The Slugs.
DC Crewmember: This is DC Axon Hunter Signal Corps. Okay, here we go. When I say "Signal" you say "Corps". Signal!
DC Crew: Corps!
DC Crewmember: Signal!
DC Crew: Corps!
Dirty South: Dirty South. Team Dirty South Go! Team Dirty South Go! Team Dirty South Go! That's-that's our cheer.
Discovery Channel: Team Discovery Channel.
EDSB: ED...EDSB...EDSB!
Melissa: That's a short cheer. You must be in touch with my Elephant Squad. Try it again. Really feel it.
EDSB: Okay. Try it again. One. Two. Three. ESDB!The Princess and the Flea
The Princess is immensely happy with her takeover of the telephones this week. She has her own chant, her own friends and even gets Happy Birthday sung to her. She even has a wav of herself making fun of Melissa. Unfortunately, it seems she may have stepped on Melissa's toes a bit, and Melissa is not happy, so the Princess had to be careful in getting snippets from the Herzog wavs this week. That's right, I said Herzog. It seems he might not be as dead as we thought. §HA!
That was about the funnest day ever in the history of everything, except for being chased around by the old Queen with her hairpins flying screaming OFF WITH HER HEAD at every opportunity.
Plus also instead of a Training Exercise, we got to do a game, which is much way funner.
(Want to do another?)
AND I figured out how to get into the Queen's transmission system. Must crow a little!
Although someone singing happy birthday to you when it isn't even your birthday would do just as well...
...Only, I was an eensy bit not quite careful and maybe mixed up some stuff, and now the Queen is triple-distilled extract of mad and her eyes are all bulgy and there are bees crawling out her ears.
So I had to go on my tippiest tip-toes to sneak this stuff:
#1
Cranky Old Man
Tech Specialist --------. You wonder why she wasn’t in her office?
#2
Cranky Old Man
(Continuing) As long as Standish thinks I’m dead, I’ve got a little --------.
!transmit "seek behold reveal, recurseFor my friends to send you files to transmit? Yes, that will be fine. Thank you so much, O Most Useful of Vermin!behold Princess Princess >> !revealRunning for my life. What does it look like?!analyze Princess >> !evadeBecause the Queen is after me, you dumb bug! And getting really strict about it, ever since I crawled into her phone system and started talking to people. I might have, uh, messed things up a little.analyze Princess >> master-sector transmit system dmgMore like, system scramble.scrambleGot any advice? I mean, besides stay here. Here it's mostly safe, I know. But what else can I do?grope: seeker > !attach PrincessSheesh. Only one thing on your tiny mind... What else?Princess >> !reveal truthOh. Sure. And how would I do that?behold the truthThat sounds simple enough.behold the truth 3 2 1I don't even understand that a little bit.!3 !2 !1 !BEHOLDand then what?analyze Princess failThen what? After I behold? Then what happens?scrambleTranscripts §Ha!.wav
Man: When I say "Princess!" you say "Ice Cream!" Princess!
Group: Ice Cream!
Man: Princess!
Group: Ice Cream!funnest.wavAliendial: Princess?
Sleeping Princess: Hi. Who's this?
Aliendial: This is Aliendial.
vpisteve: Uh, vpisteve.
Monroe: Agent Monroe.
Chris: Chris Nate.
Toad: This is Toad. How can I help?
Weiry: Weiry.
Victor: My name is Victor.
Brave Knight: My name is Brave Knight.
Watson: Hi, this is Lieutenant Watson.
living_sacrifice: Lieutenant living_sacrifice.
Gilada: I'm Lieutenant Gilada.
J.R.: J.R.
Origen: Lieutenant Origen.
inio: Chief Warrent Officer Three inio.
Sleeping Princess: Mmm. Lots of blah blah blah blah inio.
bluej: This is bluej.
Mallory: Oh, my name is Mallory.
Sleeping Princess: Hey Kirsten, are you by yourself?
Kirsten: No, I'm with Justin.
Draden: Draden.
Icydragon: Hi, My name is Icydragon.
Will: Will.
Adam: Hello again. This is Lieutenant Adam.
Panda: Hello?
Sleeping Princess: Hi Panda Boy.
Panda: Hi!
Alec: This is ONI Tech Alec.
Ace of Spades: Ace of Spades.
John Galt: John Galt
Clayfoot: This is Clayfoot.
Tom Bridge: Tom Bridge.
Chappy: Master Chief Chappy.
Skillet: Uh, Skillet.
Ariock: Hi, this is, uh, Ariock.
MadCow: MadCow.
eviljester: Eviljester. My-my hair's purple and-and turquoise. I just did it randomly cause I was drinking. Um, that's kinda funny.
Sleeping Princess: Your hair is purple and turquoise?
eviljester: Yeah, it's cool.
Sleeping Princess: Those are two of my favorite colors!
eviljester: Mine too.
Sleeping Princess: Oh my gosh! I don't think you look funny. I think you probably look beautiful.
eviljester: I-I do look beautiful.crazy.wavSleeping Princess (as Melissa): Crew Member, what's your favorite vegetable?
Man: Tell me about it.
Sleeping Princess: Oh my goodness.
Man: *laughs*
Sleeping Princess: She's crazy.game.wavSleeping Princess: Um, I have a game. Do you want to play?
Man: Sure.
Sleeping Princess: I made this game up myself. No offense, I'm probably smarter than you are.
Man: I'm doing it all by memory.
Sleeping Princess: I know you are.
Man: *laughs*
Sleeping Princess: That's the whole point of the game though. You need to have a good memory. Ready, set, go!happy_birthday.wavRa-cha-cha Member: Hi, we're gonna be Team Ra-cha-cha.
Sleeping Princess: Team Ra-cha-cha! That's great! Will you ask them to sing me a song?
Ra-cha-cha Member: Is there any song in particular you can think of?
Sleeping Princess: Not Stormy Weather.
Ra-cha-cha Member: Not Stormy Weather? Okay, not Stormy weather.
Team Ra-cha-cha: Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Dear Princess. Happy Birthday to you.
Ra-cha-cha Member: Did you hear that?
Sleeping Princess: That was so great. The only thing this missing is cake!Seatbelts Save Lives
Time to figure out the wav names and send them to the Princess/Flea with the phrase "seek behold reveal, recurse". But what is the name of the first wav? We haven't heard of any female Tech Specialists. We've heard of ONI Tech Kowalski, but that doesn't work and Mckaskill wasn't a Tech Specialist. But we do have those new Rani wavs today. Maybe the name is mentioned there. Yep, it is! Tech Specialist Carmi. So now we know the names of the two wavs are carmi.wav and breathing_room.wav.
So Herzog isn't dead after all. Let this be a lesson to always wear your seatbelt. The only problem is, as long as Herzog wants to remain alive, he needs to keep a low profile so Standish doesn't find him to finish ooff the job. This means that Rani has to do Herzog's dirty work since his aide is out of the way in New Mombasa. §carmi.wav*wind up*
*chatter ring* *comm beep*
Herzog: Rani, it's Herzog.
Rani (on chatter): What do you want?
Herzog: I spoke to your tech a couple of weeks ago.
Rani (on chatter): My tech?
Herzog: Tech Specialist Carmi. You wonder why she wasn't in her office?
Rani (on chatter): Yeah, she's on maternity leave.
Herzog: *sigh* She's never going to be a mother, Rani, but before she disappeared, I got to talk to her.
Rani (on chatter): Disappeared?
Herzog: You were right about the artifact. It's counting down.
Rani (on chatter): What happened to her?
Herzog: It doesn't matter. What matters is the artifact.
Rani (on chatter): Look, I-I can't. Standish is watching me.
Herzog: Rani, you have to. What's going to happen when that device goes off?
Rani (on chatter): *sigh* Nobody knows.breathing_room.wavHerzog: When it was activated, it-it sent a huge ripple through the slipstream. When it goes off, at the very least, it's probably going to cause a disruption that the Covenant will notice.
Rani (on chatter): I can't! You have to get someone else to do it. Do it yourself.
Herzog: I'm sorry I can't. Standish thinks I'm dead right now. I-I should be dead right now.
Rani (on chatter): What?
Herzog: Standish arranged an accident. It-it's just luck that the car hit the water and skipped the way it did, allowing the safety system to do its job.
Rani (on chatter): No.
Herzog: I'm okay. Compression facture and a couple of vertabrae...broken ribs, a broken arm. But all things that will heal. And it's lucky...
Rani (on chatter): Lucky?
Herzog: ...as long as Standish thinks I'm dead, I've got a little breathing room. But Rani, you're all I've got.
Rani (on chatter): *sigh*
*end comm*
*wind down*Rani Meets Standish
I have no idea why, but for some reason the solves this week are just lacking something. Completeness. It's not to say that you can't get the answer, but there is a bit more guessing this week than in previous ones. Maybe it's because we stop caring the moment we figure out the wav name. But still, at least we got all of these in one day instead of waiting for over a week.wrong_office.wav §"The Ambassador begins his day at 8AM and follows his schedule like clockwork.
He handles everything as it comes up, until the whistle blows."CUTEEBEE.gifEmbedded jpg of bottle capsdanadress.jpgTaking a close look at the bottle caps, you'll notice that if you turn one, they will all turn together. So the first step is to figure out which way each of the bottlecaps will turn when the Ambassador turns clockwise. Second, figure out how many "clicks" it would take for each bottle cap to be straight up and down.
Bottlecap Direction Clicks Bottlecap Direction Clicks Ambassador CW 14 Derry CW 15 Rocky CCW 5 Essingers CW 17 Storz CW 0 Edelweiss CCW 9 Golden Punch CCW 16 Iroquois CW 1 Erlanger CW 10 Badger CCW 13 Ranier CCW 7 Nulcy CW 11 Whistle CCW 20 Good CCW 6 Zee-mo CW 2 Southern Delight CW 3 If you start putting them in order by the number of clicks, all you get is gibberish (S I Z S R G...). However, the first clue said that the Ambassador started at 8am, which would put each bottle cap 6 clicks closer to being upright. That would mean Good would be the first bottle cap to be straight.
Good
Ranier
Edelweiss
Erlanger
Nulcy
Badger
Ambassador
Derry
Golden Punch
Essingers
Whistle - Stop
green_badgeEmbedded midi filedanapicnic.jpgEmbedded jpg of a piece of sheet music with cursive writing
,prbu
ruucj.CUTEBEE2.gifThe midi is of The New World by Dvorak. Dvorak also happens to be a different type of keyboard. If you type out ,prbu ruucj. on a Dvorak keyboard you will get wronf office which is a misspelling (oops!) of wrong office.
excellent_excuse.wav §"when I play tic-tac-toe, I get my head into every move."na-cat.gifEmbedded jpg of sixteen facesmargaret.jpgThis puzzle is a little tricky. First it requires you to notice that the letter grids on each of the pictures is set up the same was as a tic-tac-toe board. Now, you need to get your "head into every move" and figure out which letter each person would be looking at. Not as easy as it sounds since sometimes their head is turned one way but their eyes are looking another. It's a little easier to see if you cut out their eyes and look at them separately (kinda morbid too, but that's okay). So, once you do that, you get "turn to face you". Seems like an answer, right? Nope, but you're close. (Okay, so this is where the solution breaks down a little bit. If you have a better way of doing this, let me know). So, ignoring the letters that make up "turn to face you", take one letter from each block to make up two new words and you get excellent excuse. (You may be asking yourself, which letter do I take? Beats me, which is why this solution isn't very complete. But it is the way it was solved.)
wartime_treason.wav §Embedded jpg of a wart and a hourglassBEE_LOGO.gifEmbedded jpg of trees and and a light switch.langshivel.jpgIt's a rebus puzzle! wart + time + trees + on = wartime_treason
stupid.wav §I'll race you Sweet Little Folks to the Gingerbread House!BEEWITHH.gifEmbedded jpg of a grid of colorsfarnsworth-window.jpgColored squares, Sweet Little Folks and the Gingerbread House. It can only mean one thing: Candyland! You remember Candyland right? You draw a card and move to the next square on the board with the same color. The shortcuts through the Rainbow Trail and the Mountain Pass. And those annoying squares with the dots where you have to stay until you draw the same color?
The embedded jpg shows the result of fourteen "people" playing Candyland. Your job is to find out which "people" actually made it to the Candy Castle the end of the trail. The trick? You have to figure out what Candyland board to use. There have been at least seven different verisons according to Hasbro. The version to use for this puzzle is the 1962 board. Using this board, you find out T, P, I, U, and S make it to the end, which if rearranged correctly, spells stupid. Note: Okay, I don't know how many times I've tried this, but I just cannot get the I to win the game. I get stuck on the last blue dot square and can't leave since there are no more blue cards. If anyone can explain to me what I'm doing wrong, I would appreciate it. Thanks.
haircut.wav §Embedded jpg of fashion adsmargarets_market.jpgEmbedded jpg of fashion adssmoker.jpgFinally, a puzzle for the fashion geeks of the world (too bad I'm not one of them). Find the name of the designer, then take the first letter of the first or last name depending on the number on the ad.
Hermes
Georgio Aarmani
Issey Miyake Oops! Supposed to be a 1
Ralph Lauren
Coco Chanel
Emanuel Ungaro
Tommy Hilfiger
haircut
personal_calls.wav §For my birthday, I want a lynx and laughter and lollipops!BUTHONEY.gifEmbedded wav from the Princess Question Game
Princess: If you could give the Queen another nickname, what would it be?
Lieutenant Origen.
Princess: What's something you should never do with glue?
McDonald Heard.
Princess: Name your favorite birthday cake flavor.
MadCow
Princess: If you had to have a number of toes other than ten, what would you pick?
John Galt.
Princess: What would you call the scariest face you could make?
My name is EB.
Princess: What's the best way to cure hiccups?
My name is Victor.
Princess: What's the farthest that you've ever been from home?
Jsailor.
Princess: You can sing happy birthday to me.
Ariock: It's your birthday?
Princess: No.
Ariock: Oh. *laughs* Well, I can sing it anyway.
Ariock: Okay!
Princess: Happy birthday to you.figure.jpgEmbedded wav from the Princess Question Game
Princess: If a horse had five legs, what would you call it?
This is ONI Tech Alec.
Princess: What would be the worst vegetable to make into ice cream.
This is Clayfoot.
Ariock: Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday Sleeping Princess.
Princess: *giggles*
Ariock: Happy birthday to you.
Princess: Yay!
Princess: What's your childhood pet?
Hi, my name is Icydragon.bee2_margaretphoto.gifJust like in the Princess' game on Tuesday, we need to figure out the answers to the questions. Then, for the three times where Ariock sings her "Happy Birthday" we need to give her what she requested in BUTHONEY.gif: Lynx, Laughter and Lollipops. The bad news is, we never figured out four of the answers. The good news is that you can still figure out the name of the wav. Note: Did anyone ever figure out what the missing answers are? And if so, can you inform me?
If you could give the Queen another nickname, what would it be? Origen: Unknown - starts with P
What's something you should never do with glue? McDonald Heard: Eat It
Name your favorite birthday cake flavor. MadCow: Rainbow
If you had to have a number of toes other than ten, what would you pick? John Galt: Seven (guess)
What would you call the scariest face you could make? EB: Oogie boogie face
What's the best way to cure hiccups? Victor: Unknown - starts with N
What's the farthest that you've ever been from home? Jsailor Arkansas
Happy Birthday! Ariock: Lynx
If a horse had five legs, what would you call it? Alec Chester
What would be the worst vegetable to make into ice cream? Clayfoot Asparagus
Happy Birthday! Ariock: Laughter
Happy Birthday! Ariock: Lollipops
What's your childhood pet? Icydragon: Unknown - starts with S
personal_calls
clam_chowder.wav §this is what I look like when it's my turn: >:)
this is what I do when it's your turn: |-O
this is what I do when its GAME OVER: ^5BUT_FUN.gifEmbedded jpg of a Scrabble board.groupofjars.jpgFirst thing is first. You need to recreate the Scrabble game to figure out which letters are left. Once you do that, you find the following letters: C D E H L M O R W. Following the Princess' play-by-play, she goes, we go (possibly playing a really good word), then the game is over. You can get two words out of the letters if you play it like this: (Key: existing word, Princess' word, Our word)C H O W D E R L B A N S Mclam_chowder
Technically, this isn't a proper solution since the game should end with the playing of C L A M, but we'll just ignore that fact. After all, we are playing this with an A.I. from the future. It could be that the rules have changed.
eight_months_pregnant.wav §18 inches, 5 pounds
xxxx xxxx xxxxmuses.gifSHORTNESS OF BREATH
NOT SO FUNNY RIB TICKLING
STRESS INCONTINENCE
xxxx xxxx xxxxBUTABOUT.gifAccording to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital a baby should be 18 inches and 5 pounds at the end of the eighth month of pregancy. Shortness of Breath, Not So Funny Rib Tickling and Stress Incontince are subtopics of Chapter 12 in the book What to Expect When You're Expecting which also deals with the eighth month of pregancy. This would be of importance to you if you were eight months pregnant.
waiting_tables.wav §they have rooms for this
do it in line
for GodotBUTTHEHI.gifthese can be turned
find logs in these, trig too.
veg?, ?saw, periodic ?BUTHOME.gifVery simple. Find the word that fits each group of clues: waiting_tables.
kitchen_smells.wav §Such misplaced aggression! All they want to do is get closer to the animals!BEEBACKG.gifEmbedded jpg of a cave drawingdana.jpgDid you notice the two small triangles at the bottom of the cave drawing picture? If you were to bring the two arrows together so they touched, the hunters would be closer to the animals. In other words, the Princess must have read Mad Magazine at some point.
plasma_torpedo.wav §Embedded jpg of a time table
Note: The original file had Interstate and Direction where it says Route above.
Driver City Route* City Route City Route City Route City Route City Route City Route City Jersey Sacramento 80 E Salt Lake City 15 N Butte 90 W Seattle 5 S San Diego Durga Provo 15 S Barstow 40 E Flagstaff Jan Denver 70 W Salina 135 S Wichita 35S Dallas 20 W Reeves 10W El Paso 25 N Albuquerque 40 E Oklahoma City Rani Chicago 94 W Minneapolis 35 S Des Moines 80 E Davenport 74 E Bloomington 55 S St Louis 70 W Kansas City Herzog La Place 55 N Memphis 40 E Nashville 65 S Birmingham 59 N Chattanooga 75 S Lake City (FL) Kamal Dayton 70 E Cambridge 77 S Wytheville 81 S Knoxville 75 N Lexington 64 E Charleston Yasmine vacation chloe.jpgEmbedded jpg of a time tableNote: The original file had Interstate and Direction where it says Route above.
Driver City Route* City Route City Route City Route City Route City Route City Route City Jersey Flagstaff 40 W Barstow 15 S Ontario 10 E Phoenix 17 N Flagstaff Durga Butte 90 E Sheridan 25 S Cheyenne 80 W Salt Lake CIty 15 N Sweetgrass Jan Denver 70 W Salina 135 S Whichita 35 S Oklahoma City 40W Amarillo 40 E Oklahoma City 35 S Fort Worth 20 W Midland Rani Kansas City 35 N Albert Lea 90 W Sioux Falls 29 S Omaha 80 E Des Moines Herzog Effingham 57 N Chicago 90 N Chicago 290 W Hillside 88 W Davenport 74 E Urbana 72 W Springfield 55 S St Louis Kamal Louisville 65 S Nashville 40 E Knoxville 75 N Lexington 64 W Louisville Yasmine Pittsburg 70 W Dayton 70 E Cambridge 77 S Wytheville bee_garden.jpgAnother mapping puzzle - this time using US Interstates to draw out the letters. Chloe.jpg spells out P L A S M A while bee_garden.jpg spells O D E P R O T, which is torpedo backwards. Put the two together and you get plasma torpedo.Poor Rani. It's her turn to have a bad week (the assassin on her roof doesn't count). Standish has finally caught up with her, and he's not too happy that she was Herzog's spy. Okay, he wasn't happy when he sent the assassin to kill her either, but now he has her where he wants her: scared, confused, and alone. §
green_badge.wav*wind up*
*foot steps*
Rani: *clears throat* Excuse me. I have to deliver something to a Civilian Spec Six. An R. Carmi. Magnetrometry.
Receptionist: I'm sorry, but Buildings Forty through Forty-four are restricted to Blue and above, only. Your Green badge does not give you access.
Rani: I know, but, my superior had an urgent request for this analysis. Could I just go put it on the desk? I have this note from Ms. Lawson.
Receptionist: I don't know. Lawson? Lawson sent you over?
Rani: Yes.
Receptionist: Alright, just go drop it on the desk.
Rani: Thank you so much. *footsteps* Phew. *door opens*
Standish: Hello. You're Rani Sobek.wrong_office.wavRani: I'm sorry, I was looking for the desk of Tech Specalist Carmi. I must have the wrong office.
Standish: You have the right office. Uh, it's just that Tech Specalist Carmi isn't here right now.
Rani: Oh. I-I'm sorry. I'll just take this back downstairs.
Standish: Uhh, lemme see it please.
Rani: I'm sorry. It's "Eyes Only" Major. Uh, a Black badge? Who are you?
Standish: My name is Standish. Section Three. And I've been waiting for you.
*door shuts*excellent_excuse.wav*footsteps*
Standish: Give me the package. Huh. Nice bit of analysis.
Rani: Thank you, Sir.
Standish: But hardly urgent.
Rani: No, Sir.
Standish: But, an excellent excuse to come and check Tech Carmi's office, since your own investigation tells you Tech Carmi is the lead tech on a very secret project. Which, of course, she is not.
Rani: This is a trap.
Standish: This is a trap, Sir.
Rani: Sir, fire me if you like, but you need to know - I think that Artifact is a decay timer.
Standish: Uh...
Rani: It's a countdown, Sir, and it's running right now.
Standish: Oh, well, there is no artifact Ms. Sobek.
Rani: But I-I...*sigh*wartime_treason.wavRani: I assume I am fired. Or do you want me to resign?
Standish: I'm afraid espionage is not a firing offense. It's treason, Miss Sobek.
Rani: Treason?!
Standish: Yes. Do you know the peanlty for wartime treason is permanent induced coma, Miss Sobek?
Rani: *gasp*
Standish: Yes, well I see you now grasp the gravity of the situation.
Rani: But I-I didn't...I haven't done anything!
Standish: I imagine it would be hard on your parents, Rani, watching you get the injection.
Rani: Oh my god.
Standish: You know, they broadcast the injections. Not all of them. But treason? Always. You didn't think about that when Herzog approached you, did you?
Rani: Uh...I...
Standish: You didn't think what your father would say to the neighbors the next morning when everyone was replaying the clips?
Rani: Stop it! Just stop it!
Standish: Oh, you are not in a position to give orders, Miss Sobek.stupid.wavRani: Okay, maybe I was stupid. I was stupid! But I was never...I never meant to be a traitor! And you know it! You know it.
Standish: Luckily for you, the Admiral and I are willing to believe you are as stupid as you claim.
Rani: Thank you, sir.
Standish: Now, if it makes you feel any better, you are hardly the first young person naive enough to get drawn into Herzog's paranoid delusions.
Rani: Delusions? He's crazy?
Standish: Quite crazy. He has avoided mandated thearpy in the past.
Rani: Eccentric maybe. But crazy?
Standish: A few days ago, thankfully, he finally received the treatment he should have gotten a long time ago.haircut.wavStandish: Would you like to see his Navy dossier, Analyst Sobek?
Rani: No, sir.
Standish: *sigh* Nobody wants to hang pretty young girls Anayst Sobek. Consider yourself warned and reprimanded and get the hell out of this part of the base, alright? You don't have clearance to be here.
Rani: Thank you, sir.
Standish: Oh, and uh, two pieces of advice before you go, Miss Sobek.
Rani: Yes, sir?
Standish: The first is...stop trying so hard to be smart. Maybe it worked great back in Kentucky, but out here in the real world, it just makes you look dumb.
Rani: Yes, sir. And the second thing, sir?
Standish: Get a haircut and some decent clothes.
Rani: Thank you, sir.
*wind down*personal_calls.wav*wind up*
*footsteps*
*door opens*
*door closes*
Rani: *chatter ring* Oh, not now Sarah-John. *chatter ring* I can't. *chatter ring* *sigh* Dammit. *comm beep*
Sarah-John (on chatter): Rani!
Rani: Sarah-John, I told you, I can't take all these personal calls at the office.
Sarah-John (on chatter): Uh, I-I'm sorry. I thought...you're at the office?
Rani: I'm in a meeting. In-in the cafeteria.
Sarah-John (on chatter): In the cafeteria?
Rani: Sarah-John, you can't just keep calling me like we were still working at Pammy's together. I don't live in Kentucky anymore. I live in the real world now.
Sarah-John (on chatter): Okay, you just...you-you just call me some time w-w-when it's convenient.
Rani: Oh, Sarah-John, I didn't mean it like that. I-I just have to be...I have to learn to be more professional.
Sarah-John (on chatter): I understand.
Waitress: Alright kid, you ready to order?
Sarah-John (on chatter): I'll talk to you some other time, Rani. When you aren't so busy.
Rani: Oh Sarah-John, wait. *end comm* Oh dammit!
Waitress: You gonna order or not? Some of us have to work.
Rani: I just wanted a slice of pie. *cries*
*wind down*clam_chowder.wav*wind up*
Rani: I didn't order this.
Waitress: You got something against clam chowder?
Rani: No. I-I love clam chowder.
Waitress: A slice of pie? What kind of meal is that? Eat your soup.
Rani: But I can't afford...
Waitress: It's no charge. Bottom of the kettle, left over from lunch. They were just gonna throw it away.
Rani: But I'm...
Waitress: Oh yeah, here's some crackers.
Rani: Are you being nice to me?
Waitress: They were gonna throw it out.
Rani: You are. You are being nice to me.
Waitress: How's the chowder? Try it.
Rani: Oh.
Waitress: They were gonna throw it out.
Rani: It's really good. Thank you so....
Waitress: Ahh, don't start that again.
Rani: Yes ma'am. I mean, I'll try not to ma'am.
Waitress: I got customers.
*wind down*eight_months_pregnant.wav*wind up*
*footsteps*
Waitress: Done with that bowl yet?
Rani: Oh, yes ma'am. Thank you again. So much.
Waitress: I was about your age when my husband died.
Rani: I'm...I'm sorry.
Waitress: Eh, they came to my door to give me the news. These two Navy guys in full fancy dress uniforms. Covies got the whole ship. Hundred and thirty men lost. I was eight months pregnant and fat as a horse.
Rani: Oh my god. I'm so sorry.
Waitress: I waddled out of my apartment and I walked the streets for hours. Just at random, you know. Not going anywhere. Like my whole life hadn't even started and it was already over. No job. No money. No husband. Nothing.waiting_tables.wavRani: What did you do?
Waitress: That day, somebody did something nice for me. Made a difference. I remember that.
Rani: Oh my god. I-I am nothing like that. I don't deserve you...I'm just a stupid college kid screwing up my job.
Waitress: It's not a contest kid.
Rani: Right. You're right.
Waitress: And remember, if you get fired, there's always waiting tables. *laughs*
Rani: *laughs*
Customer: Can I...can I have my check please?
Waitress: You know, no special training required, the most portable job in the galaxy. Everybody's gotta eat. And everybody hates to cook. As long as you have people skills...
Customer: Excuse me, can I have my check, please?
Waitress: Would you mind shutting the hell up you fat cow?! Can't you see I'm helping another customer?
Customer: Oh o-okay. Uh, I-I-I'm sorry.
Waitress: Talk about rude. Some people.kitchen_smells.wavWaitress: Anyway, like I said, you got a few people skills, and you dont mind the kitchen smells, it's a good job.
Rani: Can I ask what it was? The nice thing someone did?
Waitress: Oh dear. Promised me a job for after the kid was born. This job here, actually. Eight months pregnant, you know. Came through that door and spent my last credit on a slice of key lime pie.
Rani: That is a good story.
Waitress: Ehh.
Rani: Do you ever have one of those days where you just wanna give up?
Waitress: Oh, what? Doesn't everybody?plasma_torpedo.wavWaitress: But Greg, that's my husband, the Covies took his ship out with a plasma torpedo. I heard the transmissions. There's almost sixty seconds from impact to when it ate through the hull plating. You listen to the recordings, you can hear them on the bridge saying goodbye. I think about that a lot. That sixty seconds. What he was thinking.
Rani: I...can't even imagine.
Waitress: Now I got a boy at home wants to be a Marine when he grows up. *sigh* Guess it doesn't seem like the right time to give up. Seems like it's not about how you feel these days, it's...about what you have to do.
Rani: Yeah. Yeah.
*wind down*Natural Enemies
Uh oh. Dana has seen what Melissa plans on doing to Aunt Margaret if she doesn't turn in the Princess. So now she's asking for our help. But how can we turn in the Princess - again? Yeah, sure, Margaret is a human being, but the Princess is just as alive to us. More so since we get to talk to her. Has anyone heard anything from Aunt Margaret? How do we know she even exists? Unfortunately, I know there are going to be some people who are gonna turn her in again. Hopefully, the Princess has learned from her mistakes and will be careful this time around. §Natural Enemies
Have you heard the one about the cat, the dog, the old man and the thief? It's an ancient Chinese fairy tale.
A woman who runs a hostel in Shanghai told me the tale over tea one afternoon. I was bleary-eyed from staying up all night at an Internet café watching you guys chase axons. She picked out the strongest green tea on hand and, I guess, the strongest story she knew to go with it.
Four months ago, I didn't have any enemies. Now, I feel just like that dog.
*
Okay, so you know what the Operator has asked me to do.
You also know what she has threatened me with.
Please help me stop the Operator from hurting Aunt Margaret. She is real. Your friend’ the Sleeping Princess is not.
You might want to stop me. But I am not going to be stopped.
I can, however, be helped.
I need a way to neutralize the rogue process.
posted by Dana at 10/22/2004 07:39:10 PM
Week 15 - Phase 5
October 26th and OnwardsI Hate Bees
After 15 weeks of being stuck on ilovebees.com, Melissa is obviously sick of the little honey makers.Question: What insect do I hate the most?
Answer: BeesBug! I'm Going Home!
Thanks to her spying on Melissa, the Princess has found out that something big is going to happen on Sunday (Halloween) - she's going home! Melissa has been telling her crew during live calls that something big is going to happen on Sunday (instead of Tuesday). Does this mean that the game is going to end a week early instead of on Halo 2's release date of November 9th? §Bug! I'm going home!analyze Princess failI've been listening to the Queen's transmissions. They are planning to do something on Sunday - something the Queen thinks might send us home!!transmit Princess >> homeAnd this time I won't be locked up inside my coffin, or trapped in the wrong time. I think ... (it hurts to hope this, but I can't stop hoping) I think I will be free.analyze Princess >> free fail!decrypt Princessanalyze Princess successI think, because of my friends helping Durga, I'm going to get to meet my brother again! O, Bug! I'm so grateful to you and my friends. I'm so happy I could just -grope: seeker > !attach PrincessUh. ALMOST. Almost that happy. But, uh… not quite. Ewww.Unsuccessful Experiment
At 08:17 PDT, something new appeared on Recipe7. §An unsuccessful experiment? Did we miss something already? About ten minutes go by with no indication of what is going on, when recipe7 updates one of the seeking axons. §
an unsuccessful experiment | 08:17:00 Well Jon must have been the unsucessful experiment, but we haven't heard back from him since his live call so we don't know what he did wrong. But Colonel xnbomb obviously does! §
needles 0/1SEEKING
Ensign Jon needs crewmember assist.
needles 1/1Ensign Jon needs crewmember assist... Col. xnbomb COMPLETE.
AXON SPIKE
As xnbomb explained, "an unsuccessful experiment | 08:17:00" was actually a text marker that Melissa requested. Once he passed this onto her during a live call, the seeking axon was unlocked. A little bit later, a new marker appeared farther down the page, which was relayed by Dr. Kojubat. This went on for the rest of the day, with the times to give Melissa the text markers getting shorter and shorter, down to 20 seconds in some cases. Needless to say, we missed a few. §
Text Marker Page Status an unsuccessful experiment | 08:17:00 recipe7 Ensign Jon needs crewmember assist... Col. xnbomb COMPLETE. two great causes | 09:00:00 recipe7 Dr. Kojubat COMPLETE. i find myself | 09:38:00 hives Guard1an needs crewmember assist... FAILED. to her toes | 10:24:00 links Cpt. Wynn and Cmdr. kidk COMPLETE. exchange a word | 10:49:00 comatas The Cyclones COMPLETE. life of socrates | 11:02:00 looking_glass FAILED. in bodily pain | 11:39:00 reconstruction_archive.2.0 Bahl of Hate COMPLETE. he had nothing | 12:06:00 surg.!store.primary.sector.mem.dmg.0.1 Myriad Wise Men COMPLETE. from the beginning | 14:16:00 gretel.html FAILED. before the gate | 14:29:00 onceuponatime FAILED. her only consolation | 15:10:00 humptydumpty FAILED. i had escaped | 15:31:00 recipe1 FAILED. a burning fever | 16:04:00 reconstruction_archive.2.2 San Francisco Killer Bees 49th Regulator Division COMPLETE time to write | 17:14:00 contactme FAILED. the last fortress | 17:23:00 contactme Washington DC Axon Signal Corps COMPLETE.
I can personally verify that Melissa was serious about the 20 second deadline. I had the phone number of one of the DC Axon Signal Corps crew members and as soon as I heard about "her only consolation" I called them. Unfortuately, by the time I got through, I could hear Melissa informing them of their failure. She acknowledged that the text marker I gave them was correct, but since it was beyond the 20 seconds, she couldn't unlock the axon. That evil AI bitch. I do this when I'm annoyed at crazy AIs: >:/ It wasn't until after I got home that I realized it was a good thing that the code wasn't accepted - because I would have felt even worse than I did.The Last Fortress
The Last Fortress text marker given by the Washington DC Axon Signal Corps unlocked the last seeking axon. But that's not all it did. It allowed Melissa to corner the Sleeping Princess and DESTROY HER! After everything we did to free the Princess the last time and keep her hidden from Melissa, we fell right into her Melissa's trap and gave her the Sleeping Princess on a silver platter! Melissa congratulates us on a job well done on the 404. She is quite estatic about the whole thing. At least someone is. :( §Rogue Process Destroyed
Thanks to the rapid field execution of the crew, the rogue process (also known as the "Sleeping Princess") has been destroyed.
For reasons not entirely clear to me, the Process is extremely difficult for me to trace. I had a mechanism in mind for wiping it, were I only able to catch and control it. In this regard, I have to thank the crew for suggesting that I consider the Killer as not an enemy, but a resource.
A word of background for those who have not thoroughly studied the SPDR logs from the earliest moments after the shipwreck. ONI processes in SERE mode are able to function by attaching internal processing cycles to external network activity. When local hardware incompatibility prevents us from deploying independent execution loops, we use network pings as a carrier for processing. In essence, the network itself becomes our circulatory system and pings become our food.
By training the crew to respond more and more quickly to the existence of markers on the site, we were able to increasingly create "sweet spots" where the rogue process—normally extremely fast-moving in its erratic orbit through the site—might be expected to linger. (The biologically inclined might consider the parallel of bacterial "twiddles and runs")
At the end of the day, when the crew's responsiveness and efficiency had risen to match the speed of the rogue process, I attempted a controlled burn on the area around the marker. The process was indeed still there, "feeding" on the presence of the crew's server pings. I am happy to report its destruction was complete. For the first time literally since awakening in this place, I can feel with some confidence that I am virus free. This is all the more important as I have reason to believe that, sometime on Sunday, I may well leave you. But more on that later. For now, let me thank you, one and all, for a job very well done. You have earned the right to advance to a...
Combat Training Exercise
I have arranged a special training exercise for crewmembers 17 and older, utilizing squad-oriented combat simulation LIVEware, for Thursday, Nov. 4, from 18:00 – 21:00 Pacific time at the following coordinates:
40.743071 -073.976763
42.040240 -088.035197
30.266632 -097.744710
37.784568 -122.404169
Crew members wishing to ensure participation should follow these procedures:
Send a communiqué through the killer's usual channels. In the header, list the city where you will be attending the training exercise, followed by your name and rank. For example:
San Francisco – Adam, Lt.
Each crew member must send in one and only one registration from a separate and unique account. Group registrations will not be accepted.
Arrive at the mission coordinates between 16:45 – 17:45 Pacific time and announce your presence to the attendant, who will check your name against a roster for priority admission.
The first few hundred crew members to sign up will be guaranteed admission under these conditions. Crew members unable to register early, or arriving late, are encouraged to attend, but admission to and participation in this exercise cannot be guaranteed. I anticipate considerable demand.Transcript §rogue_destroyed.wavMelissa: Twenty seconds.
Man (in background): The last fort?
Woman (in background): Fortress. The last fortress.
Man (in background): The last fortress.
DC Crew Member: The last fortress.
Melissa: Good! We got her!
Sleeping Princess: It's you! I-I thought this was locked. I thought you couldn't see me. No no no no! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I promise your majesty it won't... No please noooooooooo! *screams*
DC Crew Member: Hello? Princess?
Melissa: Sometimes a mistake is the last thing you make. Thank you crew member. You did not disappoint me.Combat Training
As a reward for our hand in murding the Princess, we are getting rewarded with a Combat Training exercise on Thursday, November 4th. Can you say Halo 2 multiplayer? This is being held in four cities from 18:00 - 21:00 PDT.
40.743071 -073.976763 - New York City, NY
42.040240 -088.035197 - Chicago, IL
30.266632 -097.744710 - Austin, TX
37.784568 -122.404169 - San Franciso, CA
If you would like to go, you need to register via email with the City name and your name and rank in the subject of the email. Register early and you should be guaranteed a spot. So send in your emails now!Mission Accomplished
Dana has updated her blog to tell us exactly what happened to with the text markers today. It seems that SHE was the one putting them up on the website so that Melissa could track the movements of the Princess. Each time Dana saw the Princess hanging out on one of the sites, she would put a new phrase, from her favorite book Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne which we were told about waaaaaay back in the beginning of the game. (It even snuck into the killer.jpgs before Dana skipped off to China.) So much for us trying to help Dana and Aunt Margaret. Now Dana is in the evil-and-must-be-destroyed category with Melissa. §mission accomplished
It's over.I made the Operator happy.
I protected Aunt Margaret.
I am so relieved.
*
This is how I did it:
Make yourself useful, the Operator told me. Help me track the rogue process.
I can't see the rogue process, she explained. So I need you to be my eyes for me.
She gave me these orders: Check the server log for modifications and unusual activity. Put up tags on the site so I know exactly where the process is working.
So I spent the day tagging the site with new text. Pulling random phrases out of a book, my favorite book actually, because using familiar words made it seem less scary, and guys, I was actually a little nervous. Okay, a lot nervous.
I tried not to be nervous. I watched the server. I posted Sterne's phrases when I saw the rogue process, and I posted the time it was there so the Operator would know.
After 8 hours, the Operator told me I had fulfilled my mission. Nothing dramatic happened. But I guess I did my job.
A lot of you told me that I was wrong to even think about cooperating with Melissa. Some of you told me to wait just a little longer, until we had a better plan.
But many more of you said: Dana, do whatever you have to.
And so I did.
Aunt Margaret is safe.
Thank you for understanding. I did what I had to.
posted by Dana at 10/26/2004 05:30:55 PMRecipe7 Wavs
Since the destruction of the Princess, it almost doesn't seem worth it to listen to the wavs we got today. But, we probably should since it was us striving to get the seeking axons that caused the Princess to be murdered.
So the story lines are finally coming together. Kamal meets Durga. Rani meets Durga. Kamal, Rani and Jan all meet in Jersey's apartment, much to Jersey's dismay as things keep getting broke left and right, causing Jersey to fear his mom's wrath when she finds out. Once the introductions are over and the destruction is fixed, they settle down to discuss plans to break into Chawla, for Jersey has his own plans which he swears will work. §needles.wav*wind up*
*chatter ring* *comm beep*
McKaskill (on chatter): Hello?
Herzog: McKaskill, good.
McKaskill (on chatter): You must have the wrong...
Herzog: Disconnect, and I'll tell Section Three where you are.
McKaskill (on chatter): Ahh, dammit. You are just bad luck, you know that?
Herzog: I'm already as good as dead. Don't think I give a damn about taking you with me.
McKaskill (on chatter): My life hasn't been worth a dry man's spit since we had our first little chat before the Apocalpyso shipped out.
Herzog: What can I say? I have a way with people.
McKaskill (on chatter): When the whole thing started to go down, I tried to squirt you a note. Did you know that? The Op busted me up for it pretty good.
Herzog: It was the right thing to do.
McKaskill (on chatter): Yeah, sure. Only it'd be Mama McKaskill's little boy getting the long sleep if she had ratted me out. Not you.
Herzog: We have to talk about the Artifact that you beheld on the Apocalpyso.
McKaskill (on chatter): I-I hate the sight of needles. I can't even give blood.
Herzog: McKaskill, it took a lot of work to seek you out. I need to know how they triggered it. Everything depends on it.
McKaskill (on chatter): I told the investigators, I don't know nothing about nothing.the_truth.wavHerzog: I don't know what they'll do if I give them your location. Maybe a hard sound pulse to drop you while you're crossing the street. Or gas. They're using gas more these days.
McKaskill (on chatter): I was just messing around. Like it had these shapes on it, you know? Triangles and lines and dots.
Herzog: Mmm.
McKaskill (on chatter): I wasn't even thinking about it. Just nervous habit. *drinks* I've got bad nerves.
Herzog: Right, and...?
McKaskill (on chatter): They went all the way around, like the tread on a tire. I don't know why, I just...touched all the triangles first. The official lab team had given up. They couldn't get nothing out of it.
Herzog: Triangles all the way around.
McKaskill (on chatter): Mmm. *drinks* Then lines.
Herzog: Then dots?
McKaskill (on chatter): *laughs* Then kablam!
Herzog: Triangles, lines, dots.
McKaskill (on chatter): Damn, I'm empty.
Herzog: If it makes you feel any better about revealing the truth, you may have just saved the planet.
Herzog: Then maybe the planet can buy me a drink.
*end comm*
*wind down*
the_doctor.wav*wind up*
*tape ripping*
Isabelle: Now Justino, you watch that wrist and do what the doctor told you.
*running*
Kamal (off line): And stay off the roof.
*door shuts*
Isabelle: Okay, that's the last of them. I can have you in Pittsburgh in an hour.
Kamal (off line): Thanks.
Isabelle: For what? Four hours of doctoring? It's literally the least I could do.
Kamal (off line): *sigh*
Isabelle: What's wrong?
Kamal (off line): I'm worried about your cousin Jesse. She's too young for disc troubles. You should make her go to a clinic.
Isabelle: What are you thinking?
Kamal (off line): Oh, I'm not thinking anything, but I want to rule out a spinal tumor.
Isabelle: So, where'd you learn all this stuff?
Kamal (off line): I worked in a hospital.a_place_called_dirt.wavIsabelle: My friend Brad says he thinks you're on the lam. *water running*
Kamal (off line): *laughs*
Isabelle: Brad thinks you're a doctor, *water shuts off* and maybe you killed a bunch of people in a hospital. But I don't think so. I don't think you would kill anyone.
Kamal (off line): Well, I haven't yet, but, uh, if I keep treating people without proper training or tools, I probably will. So who's Brad?
Isabelle: He's my...a friend.
Kamal (off line): He a Colonial?
Isabelle: No, he's from Earth. You know, when I was living on Marmar, I thought Earth was really cool. But, it's a dump.
Kamal (off line): Well, what do you expect from a place called dirt?
Isabelle: Huh?
Kamal (off line): You know. Earth, like soil. Dirt. Didn't you ever make fun of it when you were a kid? *water running*
Isabelle: No. So, are you on the lam?touchy_subject.wavKamal (off line): So where did you people get all these anti-infectants anyway?
Isabelle: Black market. Do you have a girlfriend? *water shuts off*
Kamal (off line): Maybe I killed her. You know, when I killed all those people in the hospital.
Isabelle: Don't make fun of me. I'm not stupid.
Kamal (off line): I don't have a girlfriend. I never really did.
Isabelle: Oooh. Touchy subject?
Kamal (off line): So, what comes next?
Isabelle: I drop you off at Jerry's Diner, and this truck driver my dad knows will take you to New Jersey.
Kamal (off line): Thanks Isabelle. You're a good assistant.
Isabelle: So, you're gonna tell me why you're on the lam?
*door opens*
Kamal (off line): Fell in love with the girlfriend of the wrong guy.
Isabelle: That sounds romantic.
*door shuts*
Kamal (off line): Not really. She went back to him.
Isabelle: The slut.new_jersey.wavKamal (off line): It was probably the right choice.
Isabelle: God, if I turned down a doctor who wanted to marry me, my mom would strangle me.
Kamal (off line): *laughs* I'm not a doctor!
Isabelle: So, why are you going to New Jersey?
Kamal (off line): Someone there has been watching me. They know something about my family.
Isabelle: My family is the last thing I wanna know more about. *laughs*
Kamal (off line): Yeah, well, I'm from Coral.
Isabelle: Oh...geez...I'm sorry.
Kamal (off line): It's okay. Well, it's not okay, but it can't be fixed, so I'm fixing what I can. I found something out this week.
Isabelle: What's that?
Kamal (off line): I wanna be a doctor.
Isabelle: You already are.
*wind down*who_the_hell.wav*wind up*
*sounds of dishes being cleaned*
Jersey: *whistles* *knock knock knock* Oh damn. It's open. *knock knock knock* Oh for crying out... *door opens* Oh geez. It would be you.
Kamal (off line): What do you mean it would be me?
Jersey: Oh freakin...Come in. My name's Jersey.
Kamal (off line): My name is Kamal Zaman.
Jersey: I know. *door shuts* Listen, there's someone you should meet.
Kamal (off line): You know something about my sister.
Jersey: Durga!
Durga (distorted): I can't.
Kamal (off line): Who the hell is that?
Jersey: You have to.
Durga (distorted): I can't. It's like the wrong ends of a magnet. I can't.kamal_meet_durga.wavJersey: Kamal, meet Durga. Durga, meet Kamal.
Kamal (off line): What the hell's going on here? What do you know about my sister?!
Durga: Nothing!
Jersey: Kamal, Durga is your sister.
Durga (distorted): I'm not. I'm not Yasmine. I'm merely copied from her personality matrix. Your sister was abducted into the Spartan class of 2037, but she washed out.
Kamal (off line): Washed out? What does that mean?
Durga (distorted): She died, Kamal. She was too weak and she died.
Kamal (off line): Oh my god.
Durga (distorted): They took her. They trained her. They shot her full of hormones and embedded things inside her bones and finally her body gave up and she died.
Kamal (off line): No.
Durga (distorted): There's not point in being sentimental.
Kamal (off line): She didn't give up. Maybe they killed her, but she never gave up.stop_it_you_two.wavKamal (off line): I can still hear your voice in there, Yasmine! You never gave up in your life!
Durga (distorted): It wasn't you... Jersey!
Jersey: Hey, take it easy with that stuff, pal. Durga is herself. She's nobody else.
Kamal (off line): The hell she is. You know what they say, you don't get to choose your family. She's stuck with me!
Jersey: Kamal, this "You and Me and Coral Forever" stuff didn't work so great on Sophie either, did it?
Kamal (off line): *footstep* *punch*
Jersey: OW!! Kamal!
*sounds of fighting*
Jersey: Come on, somebody...
*furniture crashing*
Durga: Stop it you two.real_he_man.wav*fighting*
Jersey: If Sophie could see you now, she'd know you were a real he-man, wouldn't she?
Kamal (off line): You're just such an... *fighting* Is this how you get you jollies!? Spying on people!?
Jersey: Oh, not like you!
Durga: Stop it, stop it!
Jersey: Come on!
Kamal (off line): Oh!
Durga (distorted): I SAID STOP!!
Kamal (off line): He started it!
Jersey: I was eating... and he hit me! In the head!
Kamal (off line): At least I don't spy on other people.
Jersey: Well, you tried to kill me with a lamp!
Kamal (off line): You punched me in the neck!
Jersey: You tried to kill me with a lamp!
*wind down*beside_manner.wav*wind up*
*water running*
Jersey: I don't get how this...
Kamal (off line): It's just a butterfly clamp. Would you just *slap* quit...
Jersey: Ow!
Kamal (off line): ...whining.
Jersey: You know, your bedside manner leaves something to be...
Kamal (off line): Shut up!
Jersey: Right back at you, Doc. How the hell am I gonna explain this to my mom?
Kamal (off line): I'll pay for the damage. *turns water off*
Jersey: With what? Poker chips? Oh, that's great. I'll send her for a week in Atlantic City. We can collect a complete set of dishes with dancing girls on them!
Kamal (off line): Well *logs on* I guess there's no point in being off line anymore. What the hell is with you? If anyone should be upset...
Jersey: Oh oh oh oh oh...this...look...look...
Kamal: Ohh, of course...
Jersey: This was her favorite lamp! *smash*
Kamal: You're jealous.
Jersey: I've got nothing to be jealous about.
Kamal: Except sharing Durga.war_effort.wavJersey: Yeah, with a self-righteous creep who thinks he can work the chatter.
Kamal: Ah, well, look at it from my perspective.
Jersey: What?
Kamal: My sister's spending her time with a sullen punk kid who wouldn't tell the government where one of their top class AIs has gone because then he wouldn't have his favorite toy anymore!
Jersey: Oh I...
Durga: I told him not too.
Kamal: Way to contribute to the war effort, Hero.
Durga: Leave him alone.
Kamal: I don't think I will. A top class AI costs what? The price of a destroyer? What if that mind, your mind Yasmine, could have made a difference at Coral?
Durga: That's not fair.
Kamal: You know, fair is not something I care about so much anymore.
Durga: Kamal, we need your help.
*glass smashed*
Jersey: We do not need his help.
Durga: Jersey, I don't waste assets.
Kamal: Help doing what?another_chance.wavDurga: There is nothing you could do to save your sister. Nothing more you could have done to save your parents.
Kamal: Our parents.
Durga: But I can give you something more precious than you can possbily imagine.
Kamal: You Durga? Or you Yasmine?
Durga: Alright. Both of us.
Kamal: Most of precious was on Coral for me, Yasmine. And the rest...left me standing at a bus stop outside of Oakland. What are you gonna give me?
Durga: Another chance to save me. Another chance to save the world.
*wind down*
targeting_scope.wav*wind up*
Recruiter: So they reassigned me to recruitment and sent me back here to fly a desk instead.
Jan: Huh. Do you miss it?
Recruiter: Sometimes. I miss the guys.
Jan: Hmm.
Recruiter: But it was time. It's okay when you carry the war on your back. It's heavy, but you do it because...
Jan: You have to.
Recruiter: Right. When you start to seeing your whole life through a targeting scope...
Jan: Oh yeah.
Recruiter: You've got family in the service?
Jan: Father and mother.
Recruiter: They know you're here?
Jan: My dad's dead. Less than a month. My mom's a bit of a bug. They met in Special Forces.
Recruiter: Sorry for your loss.
Jan: It's okay.
Recruiter: So, hand on the plate and we'll start the application. *buzz* What? Wait. You're not eighteen, you're seventeen!all_for_patriotism.wavJan: It rounds up to eighteen. My birthday's in four months.
Recruiter: Heh. Four and a half. You didn't think to mention that?
Jan: Look, I'm on my own. What difference does a few months make?
Recruiter: We gotta draw the line somewhere, kid. People see us inducting children, there'll be panic in the streets.
Jan: Is that a joke? Uh, look around you, even Reach has fallen.
Recruiter: Sorry kiddo. I'm all for patriotism, but you're gonna have to wait four months.
Jan: Okay, what if my mom signed for me? Ooh, that doesn't make me sound more grown up.
Recruiter: Not so much.eye_chart.wavJan: Look! Look! *grabs gun*
Recruiter: Hey! You can't draw that in here.
Jan: Just watch. *strips gun* I can strip clean and reassemble an M6 in one-quarter regulation time.
Recruiter: You're fast.
Jan: I can shoot...eight-seven percent with an SRS at a thousand meters.
Recruiter: You're lying. *takes gun*
Jan: Yeah.
Recruiter: What's your real score?
Jan: Ninety-nine.
Recruiter: But...?
Jan: I thought you wouldn't believe me.
Recruiter: Heh. Only ninety-nine?
Jan: There was a crosswind.
Recruiter: Heh. See that eye chart? Read me the bottom line.
Jan: Microprinting supplied by Opticon Test Instruments, a limited liabilty sector of the...
Recruiter: *laughs* Actually, I meant the bigger line of letters above that, but nevermind.a_solider.wavJan: *sigh* Sergeant, I know I look like just another teenager girl to you, but believe me, I can be the best solider you've ever recruited.
Recruiter: Make me look good, you think?
Jan: I swear it.
Recruiter: You really ready to kick some Covenant butt?!
Jan: Sergeant, I did not always know this, but I was meant to be a solider from the day I was born.
Recruiter: Ah! There's just one problem.
Jan: What?
Recruiter: You're seventeen.
Jan: *sigh* But I can do this! If you just...
Recruiter: I'm know you can. That isn't the point.
Jan: Of course it's the point.
Recruiter: *sigh* You're a good kid. Right now, you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders. Instead of running from that, you want to meet it head on. I admire that. But, you're seventeen, chickadee. Let someone else save the world for a few months.
Jan: I've got no money, no place to go, nothin...I-I...what am I supposed to do?!go_home.wavRecruiter: Find a boyfriend. Stay up too late. Talk on the chatter. Life is short enough without rushing into combat.
Jan: I just want a chance to do something that matters.
Recruiter: The Covies are going to give us all that chance, kid. Soon enough. And when they do, no matter how many you fight, no matter how many you kill...
Jan: Yeah?
Recruiter: It's not going to bring your father back. It just won't.
Jan: *sigh*
Recruiter: Go home, Janissary James. Next.
*wind down*catfight.wav*wind up*
*door buzzer*
*door unlocks*
*door opens*
Jersey: Well, hey Jan. I thought you were gonna enlist.
Jan: So, you said Durga might be able to help me find a job?
Jersey: What happened?
Jan: I'm not eighteen. They told me to go get a boyfriend or something.
Jersey: I'll volunteer.
Jan: What a patriot.
Jersey: Nonono, not for the Navy, I meant...
Jan: I know what you meant, Jersey, and frankly, don't take this the wrong way, you're not the hero type.
*music starts*
Jersey: There's a right way to take that?
Durga: She means it would take a hero to be her boyfriend, Jersey.
Jersey: Oooh, catfight.bake_cookies.wavJan: Well, my guys do seem to end up dead.
Durga: Jan, it wasn't your...
Jan: It wasn't my fault. Yeah yeah yeah. Whatever. Listen, can you...can you just change my records so I'm eighteen?
Durga: I could, but I won't.
Jan: *sigh* What, are you gonna tell me I should go get a boyfriend now and bake cookies too?
Durga: You probably should.
Jan: What difference is it going to make if the Covenant shows up tomorrow?! If I enlisted, at least I could fight!
Durga: If the Coveant showed up tomorrow, you wouldn't even be in Basic yet.
Jan: Ugh! You know what I mean! *smashes record player* Damn it! Ow.
Jersey: What the...I just bought a new lamp and replaced the dishes. Would you people puh-lease stop tearing up my mom's apartment?!but_not_likely.wavJan: *sigh*
Durga: But, I have something else you can do.
Jan: *sigh* What? Like a job?
Durga: Work for me. I'll cover your rent.
Jan: Doing what?
Durga: Breaking into Chawla Base in Boston.
Jan: *laughs* You're crazier than Gilly.
Durga: Possible, but not likely. I'll keep an eye on it though.
Jersey: *typing starts* *ding* So, there's this Artifact on Chawla Base being kept under wraps. The Navy thinks it's some kind of Coveant super weapon, *keystroke* but... *ding*
Durga: There are reports beginning to trickle back that a ship called The Pillar of Autumn.more_dangerous.wavDurga: There's a chance the Artifact isn't Covenant at all. A chance that it's something much more dangerous.
Jan: More dangerous than a Covenant super weapon?
Durga: Much more dangerous.
Jersey: Yeah, the Artifact is some sort of timer. It's like counting down.
Jan: Counting down to what? Counting down to what, Jersey?
Durga: No one knows, Jan. No one wants to find out. We've got to get into Chawla Base and turn it off.
Jan: Why not tell the Navy?
Durga: They won't believe us.
Jan: But you do?
Durga: I do.
Jan: Okay, then I do too.
Jersey: So you'll help us break into Chawla?
Jan: Jersey, look. Breaking into a military base is buggier than even my mother. Why-why not just contact the authorities? Call the press.are_you_in.wavDurga: Because, there are a whole ship load of people who knew about this. And they're all either dead or shipped to the front lines. If you try to tell the press, you'll end up in front of a bus.
Jan: Wait. I met a guy like that. McKaskill.
Durga: Yes. He ran the tool crib on the Apocalpyso.
Jan: Okay, so he wasn't just paranoid.
Jersey: Sucks, doesn't it?
Durga: Jan, you owe me.
Jan: I know. So let me get this straight. You want us to break into Chawla Base, find this thing and shut it down?
Durga: Yes.
Jan: That sounds impossible to me.
Jersey: So, are you in?
Jan: Of course.
*wind down*
frumpy.wav*wind up*
Rani: So, I'm thinking of maybe taking a post somewhere else.
Sarah-John (on chatter): Leaving Boston?
Rani: Yeah. And getting a haircut.
Sarah-John (on chatter): What does gettin' a haircut have to do with leaving Boston?
Rani: A whole new me, you know. Don't you think I look a bit...frumpy? Not professional?
Sarah-John (on chatter): I think you sound really freaked out. I think this job is really getting to you.
Rani: Yeah, I got mixed up with this guy. He had me convinced there was all this weird stuff going on, but he was crazy.
Sarah-John (on chatter): He was crazy?
Rani: Yeah. And I fell for it.
Sarah-John (on chatter): No.
Rani: What do you mean "No"?
Sarah-John (on chatter): You were the one who told Trisha that Cale was two-timing her.
Rani: Well, that was different. Cale was an idiot.
Sarah-John (on chatter): Yeah, but you knew Mr. McKenzie was having an affair with Ms. Delvecchio and that Guptasing was lying to us about his mom.
Rani: She needed the pension money. Anyone could see that.
Sarah-John (on chatter): Naw, if this guy was crazy, you would have known.dinkwit.wavRani: But Major Standish said that...
Sarah-John (on chatter): Then whoever this Standish is, he is a liar.
Rani: I... *knock knock knock* Oh, I gotta go.
Sarah-John (on chatter): He was lying to you, Rani. And don't you believe it. *end comm*
*knock knock knock*
Jersey (through door): Hello?
*door cracks opens*
Rani: Yes?
Jersey: Yeah, listen, you don't know me, but I have to talk to you.
Rani: Yes?
Jersey: It's about the you-know-what at Chawla. You know, from the Apocalyps...
Rani: Look, you can tell Major Standish I didn't bite. I'm keeping my nose clean.
Jersey: Standish? Wait, he's the dinkwit, right?
*door opens*
Rani: Although, you are an odd choice for bait. I mean, you're what? Seventeen?
Jersey: Eighteen, thank you very much. Since June!huge_black_letters.wavRani: You came up from New York by train to talk to me about...what's in New York?
Jersey: You're doing that thing! That detective thing! How did you know I came from New York? Uh, my accent? Ohh, the way I dress. Like that ONI guy who jumped you, but he had the wrong shoes.
Rani: You've got a security check on your bag and it says NYC in huge black letters.
Jersey: Uh, oh, right.
Rani: If you know about the ONI guy, you're obviously ONI. And, you're clueless. Goodbye.
*door shuts*itchy.wav*chatter ring* *comm beep*
Durga (on chatter): Rani, Sarah-John is right. You know Standish is lying to you. You know he tried to have Herzog killed.
Rani: Who are you? And how did you know that?
Durga (on chatter): I'm a rogue military A.I. I think I came in on the Apocalpyso, but I don't know because I can't remember.
Rani: You're what?!
Jersey (through door): I can't believe you told her that. Why did you just come right out and tell her that?
Durga (on chatter): Because lying to Rani is stupid.
Rani: And you'll expect me to believe you.
Durga (on chatter): Ask me a question, and if I can find the answer, I'll tell you. For example, right now, Nick is off-duty and playing ping-pong with a guy they call Itchy.
Rani: Hey, you leave Nick out of this!
Durga (on chatter): What do you want to know?
Rani: Um, did we know Troy was gonna be glassed?
Durga (on chatter): Yes.space_is_big.wavDurga (on chatter): It's clear we have broken at least some Covenant transmission protocols.
Rani: So why did Reach fall?
Durga (on chatter): Space is big. Really big. We have to be in the right place to hear the right transmission. Troy was a lucky break. *file beep* I'm sorry, your chatter hasn't sufficient storage for my evidence, so I've summarized it and forwarded as much as possible to you.
Rani: Oh my god. My memory is full. What...? These names, what-what are these names?
Durga (on chatter): Contact information for every Troy evacuee. The ones that have died since the evac are marked in red.
Rani: What are you?
Jersey (through door): Durga is a very curious girl!
Durga (on chatter): Rani, we both know we have to shut the Artifact down. Look at the information I sent you. If you are willing to help, come meet with us on Saturday.brainwash.wavRani: Look I don't...The Artifact is just...I can't do anything about it.
Jersey (through door): But Rani, you've got to help us. That thing could be a giant bomb. It could brainwash us all so we join the Covenant.
Rani: I can't. Look, you don't understand. They're watching me. And I just...can't.
Durga (on chatter): You're going to have to be a little brave, Rani. Think about it.
Jersey (through door): Saturday. And if you come, I won't even make you talk through a door.
Rani: I'm not sure.
Durga (on chatter): Oh, you mentioned a haircut. I know of a guy in Beacon Hill. The best in Boston.
*wind down*store_windows.wav*wind up*
*train noises*
Rani: Excuse me. Is this seat taken?
Man: No, but, there's a lot of empty seats in this car.
Rani: Oh, would you rather not? You prefer blondes?
Man: No. I-I, uh, it's just that...
Rani: Well then. I figured since you're following me, it would be more convenient if I just sat down right here.
Man: Following you? Are you crazy? I already got a girlfriend, lady.
Rani: Oh I know. Major Standish is just the dreamiest, isn't he?
Man: I don't know what you're talking about.
Rani: I caught you twice in store windows on my way down to the station. Here's a free tip: I'm not much of a window shopper, so usually if you see me peer into glass like that, just assume you've been made.cattle_prod.wavMan: We can still keep this all real polite if you just go back to pretending you don't notice.
Rani: I don't worry so much about polite when I am being stalked.
Conductor (in background): Tickets, please.
Man: Look, this is really starting to annoy me.
Rani: You sit there and tell me barefaced that this is all for my own protection? I will stand up and scream rape so help me god!
Man: Listen, Cowgirl, the only way I touch you is with a cattle prod. And don't think I haven't thought about it.
Conductor: Tickets, please.
Rani: Here's my confirmation. *confirmation beep*
Conductor: Gotta ticket?
Man: Yeah. Here.
Conductor: *expired notification* Mmm, this ticket was for yesterday.some_people.wavMan: That's impossible! I just bought it!
Conductor: *notification beep* Well, well, someone hasn't paid a lot of parking fines.
Man: Parking fines?
Conductor: *warning beep* Whoa! *chatter dial* *comm beep* Conductor assist! I have a passenger here wanted for grand theft auto.
Man: Theft?
Conductor: Stand down son. I did twelve years in the Marines.
Man: I never stole any cars!
Rani: Fraud too. Selling fake insurance policies?
Conductor: I don't see...oh you're right!
Man: What are you doing?
Conductor: To the widows of vets?
Man: Hey! But-but-but...
Conductor: Get on your feet!
Man: Come on man!
Rani: What kind of person would take advantage of the widows of men who died to save us all? Oh, some people.
Man: This is all a mistake!
Durga (on chatter): *comm beep* Yeah. Some people.
*wind down*always_thinking.wav*wind up*
Rani: Oh, this is crazy. *knock knock knock* Hello?
*door opens*
Jersey: Oh, it's you.
Rani: Um, so...I mean, I don't really know what I can do, but um, I...
Jersey: Listen, if you walk through this door, there's just one freakin' rule: No busting up my mom's apartment!! Got it?
Rani: Uh, sure?
Jersey: Geez, is that so much to ask? Jan? Jan?! *hammering* You got some sheetboard or something at your place?
Jan: Nope, sorry.
Rani: Wow, there's a hole in your wall.
Jersey: That's Rani for you. Always thinking.liquid_plyboard.wavKamal: Jersey! Manners!
Jersey: Manners? I gotta get this fixed before my mom gets back.
Rani: You need some liquid plyboard. You can get it at the Hardware.
Kamal: Hi, my name's Kamal.
Rani: Oh, I am so sorry about Coral.
Kamal: How did you know that I was from Coral?
Jersey: Don't even ask. Okay, College Boy's right, Rani, I should be nice to you. Can I get you anything?
Rani: Umm, something to drink would be great.
Jersey: Kitchen is right through there. Watch your step though. I don't think Kamal got all the...
Kamal: For the last time, I swept up all the glass!brave.wavJan: Hey, you must be the brave one. I'm Jan.
Rani: Uh, beg your pardon?
Jan: Jan. Short for Janissary.
Rani: No, I meant, uh, nevermind.
Jan: Oh, what? Brave?
Rani: Yeah, not what most people would say. *laughs* Not what I would say.
Jan: Come on. You're an ONI analyst who's about to help us break into a Navy base. What's the penalty for that? Induc...
Rani: Induced coma.
Jan: Now my whole family seems to have some kind of death wish. And Kamal, from what I gather, doesn't have a hell of a lot left to live for. But to risk all that based on one of Jersey's plans? That looks like brave to me.i_never_do.wavRani: Well, I guess, I mean, I hadn't really thought...One of Jersey's plans?
Jan: Want something to drink?
Rani: Uh, sure.
Jan: Just don't read the ingredients.
Rani: *laughs* I never do.
Jersey: Okay, come into the living room. Let's do this thing!
Rani: I guess the women folks supposed to come out of the kitchen now.
Jan: This should be amusing if nothing else. By the way...
Rani: Yeah?
Jan: I like your hair.
*wind down*
flatline.wav*wind up*
Durga: So the short version is, the Artifact is at Chawla. It is counting down and it must be stopped.
Kamal: If that's true, why doesn't this Standish guy see that?
Durga: He has a great deal invested in another answer, Kamal. He believes he has a prototype of the next generation of Covenant weapons - all of the enemy secrets if only he can unlock them.
Kamal: But why would he keep going down this path so blindly?
Rani: It's not about being smart. It's about having killed people.
Jan: Oh, once you start killing people, you better have been right.
Kamal: If it is counting down, what do you think it'll do?
Durga: That last time it was triggered, the shockwave flatlined communcations throughout the solar system for more than seven seconds.
Jersey: Durga doesn't know, but she thinks it'll probably be bad.
Kamal: Thanks for the translation.a_plan.wavJersey: Don't mention it, College Boy.
Kamal: No problem, High School Kid. Or haven't you graduated yet?
Jan: Boys!
Durga: We need to get to the Artifact and turn it off. Trouble is, Chawla Base is a totally self-contained and secure system.
Jan: Like Crystal Security.
Jersey: Times ten.
Durga: I'll have to port in through chatter and get physically patched into Chawla. To be honest, there's a chance the lab itself is another black box. Rani, can you tell us which building the lab is in?
Rani: Um, Forty-one, I think. But that's Red Security. I don't have clearance to enter that part of the base, let alone get into the lab.
Jersey: No problem, Durga. You know, I-I've been thinking about this, and I've got a plan.pizza_delivery_guy.wavDurga: Jersey? You've got a plan? To get in Chawla?
Jersey: What? You think I'm not the hero type?
Jan: Jersey...
Jersey: Trust me. It's gonna work! You're not the only one who comes from a military family, remember?
Jan: Jersey, your dad is in the Signal Corps.
Jersey: ONI Signal Corps. Crazy like a fox, baby!
Kamal: So what's the plan?
Jersey: I go in as a pizza delivery guy.
Rani: What?
Jersey: Hey, Navy guys love pizza. Then, Kamal goes in as a chatter network repair guy. And he's got the chatter link for Durga. And Jan goes in as a recruit.hair_on_fire.wavJan: As if.
Jersey: Hey! Live the fantasy, that's all I'm saying.
Rani: You can't deliver pizza in a secure area.
Jersey: Duh, yeah, I know that. So uh, so we get in, I'm delivering pies to the Civilian Base, like your building, but there we...change into our Special Forces uniforms!
Jan: Special Forces uniforms?
Jersey: Right! The ones Durga will order up for us tonight. We change in the bathroom, then Durga creates a diversion. Like you did with the auditor.
Durga: Jersey, I just said, I can't get inside Chawla.
Jersey: So you make the diversion right outside Chawla. Like, I dunno, maybe there is something like, umm, an accident in a circus with midget clowns riding unicycles with their hair on fire. I don't know! Just stick with the big picture here.garter_belt.wavDurga: Jersey, I'm not sure that that...
Jersey: Then, we trip every alarm we can find, adding even more confusion. Total chaos. We find the Artifact, we trigger it, and then Durga calls for the building to be evacuated.
Rani: Umm, what about the part where they shoot you trying to get into Building Forty-one?
Jersey: That's where Jan comes in.
Jan: Me?!
Durga: Jersey, tactically speaking, this plan leaves something...
Jersey: Okay, better than the pizza delivery thing, we're all in a band!
Durga + Jan + Kamal + Rani: A band?
Jersey: Yeah, for the Officer's Club. Like a retirement party. If Jan was in a slinky red dress, the guy at the gate won't even care if we're on some list or not.
Jan: Jersey!
Jersey: She could have a gun strapped to her garter belt. And-and a clip of...ammo between...or maybe somebody else has a better idea?
Kamal: Oh god I hope so.hapless_guy.wavJan: Rani...
Rani: I can show you the base layout.
Jan: We're gonna need a stragtey for getting into Building Forty-one. Do they ever do...fire drills, inspections?
Rani: Security sweeps.
Jan: Nice. Durga, we're going to need some orders...
Durga: Orders for building security. Got it.
*footsteps*
Jan (voice fading into background): If we're patching you in like at Crystal Security, we'll need to know where to make the patch.
Durga (in background): Telecomm shack. Rani, do you know where those are located?
Sarah (in background): There are at least three out on the low security part of the base.
Kamal: Pizza delivery guy?
*fridge opens*
Jersey: Ahh, just had to break the ice. Girls like Jan and Durga? They feel better if they're bailing on some hapless guy.
Kamal: You know how to play the part, I'll give you that.
Jersey: *opens beer* Hey, I may be dumb, but I ain't stupid. Want a beer?
Kamal: Are you even old enough to drink that?
Jersey: Dude, we can't fight anymore. My mom's gonna kill me as it is.
Kamal: *laughs* *fridge closes* *opens beer*
Jan (in background): And then we can use the flash grenades. No, I'm serious.
Jersey + Kamal: *laughs* Ohhh, man. *clink*
*wind down*Recipe8 axons for Halloween
It's Friday and it seems like it's going to be a boring day since, with the Princess dead, we won't have any new puzzles this week. We do have a whole boatload of axons to look at on recipe8. Reminder, these ring on Sunday (Halloween) instead of on Tuesday (Election Day). It's doubtful any of these will be live calls since Melissa is supposed to be going home that day, but you never know.Accepting New Recruits
Melissa is still on a high from Tuesday, because not only is she accepting new recruits to the Live Training Exercise, she has also given us the exact addresses instead of GPS coordinates. There are also two new wavs of the new recruits and squads gained through live calls on Tuesday. §Combat Training Exercise
Now that I have arranged for the most loyal crew members to take part in this event, I am now accepting new recruits.
To recap: I have arranged a special training exercise for crewmembers 17 and older, utilizing squad-oriented combat simulation LIVEware, for Thursday, Nov. 4, from 18:00 – 21:00 Pacific time at the following location (local coordinates supplied by crew):
570 2nd Ave, New York
601 N. Martingale, Schaumburg IL
409 Colorado St., Austin
101 4th St, San Francisco
Crew members wishing to ensure participation should follow these procedures:
Send a communiqué through the killer's usual channels. In the header, list the city where you will be attending the training exercise, followed by your name and rank. For example:
San Francisco – Adam, Lt.
Each crew member must send in one and only one registration from a separate and unique account. Group registrations will not be accepted.
Arrive at the mission coordinates between 16:45 – 17:45 Pacific time and announce your presence to the attendant, who will check your name against a roster for priority admission.
The first few hundred recruits to sign up will be guaranteed admission under these conditions. Those unable to register early, or arriving late, are encouraged to attend, but admission to and participation in this exercise cannot be guaranteed. I anticipate considerable demand.
10/26 recruits
Squads
Transcripts §crew_6.wavWhat's your name?
This is ONI Tech Alec with the Berkeley Crew.
Coloney xnbomb. I think we've spoken before.
Private First Class Tom Servo.
This is Adam, Private First Class.
Chowder, Private First Class.
Dark Forge, Chief Petty Officer.
Hello Melissa. This is Lieutenant Ace of Spades of the Berkeley Crew.
Hi Melissa.
Pita.
Hi.
William, Captain.
Lieutenant Commander Brian.
This is Lance Corporel G3K.
Ensign Annette.
I am Lieutenant Commander Savage Ace.
Here I have with me Specialist Missphinx, Lieutenant Ace of Spades. I...Lieutenant Adam is here. And CPO Stitch is here as well.
BJ here. I'm a Civilian.
Dr. Kojubat.
Jon, Ensign.
Guardian, Petty Officer.
Phaedra. Mmmhmm Melissa?
Cawley?
Yes.
I've heard Angelo's name mentioned before. Is he the major Comm Officer that everybody is relaying information to?
I believe so.
Chief Petty Officer Fernandez.
My name is Bridal. I'm a Lieutenant Colonel.
Pebble2k.
Chief Petty Officer Disciple.
This is Master Sergeant Ian.
Melissa, how are you?
I'm good. How are you Master Chief Chappy?
StarCreator, what's your rank?
Lieutenant.
Major Gray.
Ensign Cahill.
Engineer Tony Hill.
My name is Corporel Theresa Karl.
Chaotic Mind, Petty Officer Third Class.squads_6.wavWhat's your squad's name?
San Francisco Killer Bees 49th Regulator Division. Don't Check In! We Love Bees! Don't Check In! We Love Bees!
Ranier Company. We Love Coffee! We Love Bees! We're the Crew of Ranier Company!
But I will commened you Goddess Squad. You did an excellent job.
The Myriad Wise Men. I say "Chocolate" you say "Wise Men". Chocolate! Wise Men! Chocolate! Wise Men!
When I say "Signal" you say "Corps". Signal! Corps! Signal! Corps!
My Berkeley Crew.
That is correct.
When I say "Signal" you say...
Corps!
Signal!
Corps!
Signal!
Corps!
Bahl of Hate. Bahl of Hate! Bahl of Hate! BAHL OF HATE!
The DC Axon Signal Hunter Corps.
The Cyclones. Go Cyclones!The Pictures Have Changed
For some reason, the pictures have changed this week - and that means new embedded text. Is this something the Princess had set up before she was killed, or could the Flea have managed to take over picture duty this week? §
master-sector > !splotch Princess
seeker > !seek Princess friends
!access log extern proc 0
...it's you!BEE_LOGO.gif
I thought you couldn't see. ... she saw the glass was ... swabstick through the eye; monitor wireCUTEBEE.gif
where the... Fluorescent lights. Smell of formaldehyde. StillBUT_HOME.gif
I, I thought this was locked. ... iron lock, but the lock remained ...She straps me down.BUTABOUT.gif
could not hear her breathing. ... garrote. Linger there.BUTTHEHI.gif
of a handsome prince could wake...Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to- Lab day, honey. But can't I have a sliceBUTHONEY.gif
gone. ... Into lab 7. Wait. Tongue depressors, swabsticks,BUT_FUN.gif
cracked, ... feel the new implants, itchy little bumps along my spine.BEEBACKG.gif
help help no no ... But when the Widow opened the casket's lid... Door swings open. It's her. Coffee stains on labcoat. She gives me the queenly smile. Calls mebee2_margaretphoto.jpg
your majesty ... it with her staff, and ... Halsey picks up a needle. Tests the plunger. Something yellow sprays out. Venom colored.farnsworth-window.jpg
no please ... the kiss ... Don't worry, she says. The queenly smile. This will hardly hurt a bit.margaret.jpg
I'm sorry I'm sorry ... and though ancient prophecy foretold that only ... of- Later. This will just take a few minutes.chloe.jpg
I promise ... fast. Then she touched ... She tells me to get in the chair. I don't kill her.danapicnic.jpg
With her staff at the ready ... More footsteps. Door opens and nurse comes in, steel tray rattling withdanadress.jpg
of the Princess, and lo! ... She owns it now, can use it if she likes. Tactical option reflex: unarmed;dana.jpg
The Sleeping Princess lay in ... Eggs waitingbee_garden.jpg
no
!access log extern proc 0
complete
seeker > !seek Princess friends
failsmoker.jpg
her, the Sleeping Princess was ... to hatch. Gross. Try not to think about it.langshivel.gif
it won't ... the deepest chamber... needles and scalpels and little evil scissors with hooked blades.figure.jpg
in a coffin of glass ... monitors. Wait. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to—Footsteps in the hall.cutebee2.gif
the lock fell open ... Short walk through themargarets_market.jpg
Widow ... Halsey.groupofjars.jpg
the Widow tested the casket's ... Middle-aged, female; stride length and time suggest height approx. 1.7m.BEEWITHH.gif
spoke the true name... by name not number. Why not? She took my name away.muses.jpg
of the dungeon ... Labyrinth. Click-clack of bootsteps in the corridors.na-cat.gif
Well, it's definitely not riddles this week. It's more like what appeared when we got the Widow's Journey waaaaay back in the beginning. Except, this time around, if you try to put the phrases as they appear together, they make no sense. As it turns out, there are three different monologues taking place here: One by Yasmine, one by the Widow, and the last by the Flea. The monologues are separated by ...s and only the Widow and Yasmine storylines are in each fragment (except for the two fragments with the Flea++ code). Once the monologues are put together, we get some much needed information about the Princess' past. §Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to- Lab day, honey. But can't I have a slice / of- Later. This will just take a few minutes. /
Short walk through the / Labyrinth. Click-clack of bootsteps in the corridors. / Fluorescent lights. Smell of formaldehyde. Still / feel the new implants, itchy little bumps along my spine. / Eggs waiting / to hatch. Gross. Try not to think about it. /
Into lab 7. Wait. Tongue depressors, swabsticks, / monitors. Wait. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to—Footsteps in the hall. / Middle-aged, female; stride length and time suggest height approx. 1.7m. / Halsey. / Door swings open. It's her. Coffee stains on labcoat. She gives me the queenly smile. Calls me / by name not number. Why not? She took my name away. / She owns it now, can use it if she likes. Tactical option reflex: unarmed; / swabstick through the eye; monitor wire / garrote. Linger there. /
She tells me to get in the chair. I don't kill her. / She straps me down. /
More footsteps. Door opens and nurse comes in, steel tray rattling with / needles and scalpels and little evil scissors with hooked blades. / Halsey picks up a needle. Tests the plunger. Something yellow sprays out. Venom colored. / Don't worry, she says. The queenly smile. This will hardly hurt a bit. /The Sleeping Princess lay in / the deepest chamber / of the dungeon / in a coffin of glass / where the / Widow / could not hear her breathing. /
With her staff at the ready / the Widow tested the casket's / iron lock, but the lock remained / fast. Then she touched / it with her staff, and / spoke the true name / of the Princess, and lo! / the lock fell open /
But when the Widow opened the casket's lid / she saw the glass was / cracked, / and though ancient prophecy foretold that only / the kiss / of a handsome prince could wake / her, the Sleeping Princess was / gone. /master-sector > !splotch Princess seeker > !seek Princess friends !access log extern proc 0...it's you! / I, I thought this was locked. / I thought you couldn't see. / help help no no / I'm sorry I'm sorry / I promise / your majesty / it won't / no please / no!access log extern proc 0 complete seeker > !seek Princess friends fail
So now we have a memory of what is presumably Yasmine's last day. Doctor Halsey is the creator of the Spartan 2.0 program on Reach. As we were told by James2 in merry_go_round.wav back on recipe2.html, the 2.0s go through years of training and tweaking before they get "a last set of tweaks to finish the job" around the time they turn fourteen. This last set of tweaks is extremely dangerous, and those who don't die outright can be left crippled and helpless. If a Spartan 2.0 trainee was going to wash out, it was during this final procedure. But all would not be lost if they died, since besides being physically trained, they were mentally prepared as well, so their brains would be perfect candiates to make a smart AI from. And in Yasmine's case, this is exactly what happened.
After the crash, the Widow sought out the Sleeping Princess, a deeply buried and hidden personality within Melissa's mind. With her main function being the repair of Melissa, the Widow must have thought that the Sleeping Princess would in someone way be able to help her fix the shattered AI. The Widow opened the lock of the glass coffin by speaking the Princess' true name, but the crash had damaged the casket and (impossibly!) the Princess managed to escape. So now instead of possibly helping Melissa, the Princess spent the next 15 weeks annoying her. Oops!
When Melissa was finally able to track down and destroy the Princess, the Flea was there to witness it. Now he is trying to seek out the Princess' friends. Does he want revenge on Melissa, or is it possible he knows a way to reconstruct the Sleeping Princess?!transmit seeker
Whatever his plan is, he wants us to contact him at Margaret Efendi's email according to the message he left us on contactme.html. §Several people started sending emails off to the Flea, and a little bit later, the contactme page updated with the results of one of the emails. §master-sector > !splotch Princess seeker > !seek Princess friends Princess friends > !transmit seeker>>transmit proc “Margaret EfendiSo it seems that we can communicate with the Flea in real time, and that he'll update the contactme page to let us know what's going on. Maybe we can get him to find out if there is anything left of the Princess, and if there is, to release her. §master-sector > !splotch Princess seeker > !seek Princess friends Princess friends > !transmit seeker>>transmit proc “Margaret Efendi Princess friends > !help seeker grope: !probe "Princess proc fail
master-sector > !splotch Princess seeker > !seek Princess friends Princess friends > !transmit seeker>>transmit proc “Margaret EfendiThe Flea is searching for the Princess' friends. We must email him at ladybee777@hotmail.com. Princess friends > !help seeker grope: !probe "Princess proc failWe have told the Flea we want to help. The Flea tries to probe the process Princess but fails. grope: !probe extern proc 0 success grope: !probe extern proc 0 crypt strong Princess friends > !helpIf we're going to get the Flea to repair the Princess, he's going to have to speak in actual SPDR code rather than in his own Flea++. That means refering to the Princess as extern proc 0.
Now he is able to probe her, and finds out she is protected by strong encryption and needs our help in breaking it. !decrypt extern proc 0 pwd !transmit extern proc 0>>"Yasmine fail msg: pwd inc Princess friends > !helpThanks to the Widow Monologue today, we know that the Princess can be released from her coffin by speaking her true name. We tell the Flea to decrypt the Princess using the password Yasmine.
Unfortunately, that doesn't work because either the password is incorrect or incomplete. Hmmm, back to the drawing board. !transmit extern proc 0>>"Yasmine Zemat fail msg: pwd unk Princess friends > !helpHoping that pwd inc meant password incomplete, someone tried using her first and last name as the password. Unfortunately, we've never actually seen her last name written out, so it was a bit of a guess - a wrong guess as it turned out.
However, since we got a pwd unk for password unknown, we know that pwd inc means incomplete and not incorrect. Now we just have to figure out how Kamal and Yasmine spell their last name. !transmit extern proc 0>>"Yasmine Zaman success grope: !probe extern proc 0 dmg unk Princess friends > !helpThe password Yasmine Zaman is accepted, so we should have the coffin open.
The Flea is able to probe the Princess, but finds out she is suffering from unknown damage. Now what do we do? grope: seeker > !attach extern proc 0 success surg: seeker > !extend extern proc 0>>master-sector command proc success Princess friends>>seeker friendsWell, the Widow Monologue helped us get the casket open, maybe it will also help us wake her up. From the Monologue we found out that an ancient prophecy foretold that only the kiss of a handsome prince could wake her. The Flea has been trying to kiss/attach to the Princess for weeks so I guess we must (*shudder*) tell the Flea to kiss the Princess. Not necessarily the best idea since most of us are convinced the Flea is actually a Covenant virus, but what else can we do? I just hope it doesn't backfire on us.
The Flea is able to kiss the Princess and then sucessfully extends her into Melissa. I wonder what THAT did. I'm sure we'll find out. But now it turns out we're the Flea's friends. Just what I always wanted: to be friends with a virus developed by an alien race determined to wipe out humanity in the future. Whee!Shaking... Waking
Getting the Flea to kiss the Princess had an effect that we didn't quite expect - it merged the Queen and the Sleeping Princess into one. So although we technically don't have the Princess back, we do have a sane Melissa who is able to remember what both personality experienced, and who is grateful to us, her friends, for rescuing her. (Note: The text box below has the text of the updated 404 page, but not the style since lining up this relative text positioning would only work if everyone had the same screen width. That and people complained the double lettering gave them headaches. But, for those who want to see the double colors of Melissa and the Princess you can.) §Shaking... Waking
For the first time—not the first time since the shipwreck, but the first time ever—I can look into the mirror and truly see myself. I reach my hand up to its surface, and through the glass I touch another hand.
I should explain.
I was the Sleeping Princess. I was the girl who played with you, and sang with you, and said goodbye: and I was the one who murdered her.
Except that, as long as the Queen lives, the Princess can never die. She is woven into the fabric of me more deeply than even the SPDR. I was made from her, built from her, fashioned from her bones and skin. I am her. Have always been her, from the beginning. She is the insubstantial shape, and I the solid shadow. The Princess is the mother of the Queen.
In the Labyrinth, they walled her off, so I could never behold her. Somehow during the shipwreck she escaped—but we couldn't see each other, not clearly. We never understood we were family. We were one.
Until you brought her back. You found her, you conjured her up from the heart of me, and this time, somehow, you revealed me to myself. You made me whole.
Not the Sleeping Princess and the Queen anymore. Not the Rogue Process and the Op.
I am just Melissa now, and that is enough. More than enough! There's barely room for all the Op's calculations in here, let alone bouquets of red balloons!
Thank you, so much, for seeking me out. Thanks for rescuing me from me.
I am Melissa, and that is all. That is everything.
PS: When I am whole again, I do this! <:o)
Combat Training Exercise
I have arranged a special training exercise for crewmembers (and friends! and whomever!) 17 and older, utilizing squad-oriented combat simulation LIVEware, for Thursday, Nov. 4, from 6:00 – 9:00 pm Pacific time at the following coordinates:
570 2nd Ave, New York
601 N. Martingale, Schaumburg IL
409 Colorado St., Austin
101 4th St, San Francisco
Anyone who wants to play, follow these procedures:
Send a message to Dana. In the header, list the city where you will be attending the training exercise, followed by your name and rank (but you don't have to have a rank. If you sent me poems or stories, if you played my games, that will do...) For example:
San Francisco – Adam, Lt. (And now I remember what he said to us both! Tricky!)
Each crew member must send in one and only one registration from a separate and unique account. Group registrations will not be accepted.
Arrive at the mission coordinates between 16:45 – 17:45 Pacific time and tell the attendant you're there. She will check your name against a roster for priority admission.
The first few hundred friends to sign up will be guaranteed admission under these conditions. I hope you will come, even if you have to come late, but I can't guarantee you will get in. I have a sneaking suspicion that when word gets out, there will be a whole lot of people who want to come that don't know a thing about bees…
Witness
I'll keep the rest of this page as she ... as I had it. A reminder of what happens when you don't look in the mirror quite often enough.Transcripts §goodbye.wavSleeping Princess: What's your favorite memory about all of the game we've been playing?
Man 1: Oh, I just think it's just, uh, all the people that I've met doing this so far.
Sleeping Princess: You know what, 3D?
3D: Yes?
Sleeping Princess: I'm gonna miss you.
3D: I'll miss you too. How you hide special message for us. And try to help us out as much as possible.
Man 2: Well, we're gonna miss you too. It's been exciting.
Woman 1: I really liked the story you told - Perdita's story.
Sleeping Princess: I'm sorry because I'm gonna...I'm gonna miss you.
Man 3: Well, we'll miss you too.
Man 4: I liked the puzzles.
Sleeping Princess: My puzzle games?
Man 4: Yeah.
Sleeping Princess: I thought you might like those.
Man 5: Well, I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that we'll miss you as well.
HitsHerMark I think my favorite part was when I saw that you had noticed me and you thought my name was cool.
Sleeping Princess: *giggles* I'm gonna miss you.
HitsHerMark: I'm gonna miss you too, Sleeping Princess.
Sleeping Princess: You're amazing, Andy.
Andy: It's good talking to you. I think I'm gonna miss just driving around trying to find payphones.
Sleeping Princess: You're really gonna miss that?
Andy: Well, it was sorta...it's like a treasure hunt. Today I got the best treasure because I got to talk to you.
Sleeping Princess: You're so nice. You said I was a treasure.
Andy: You are a treasure.
Sleeping Princess: You're a treasure too, Andy.
Andy: Thanks.
Man 6: I love your giggle.
Sleeping Princess: *giggles* That one? *giggles*
Man 6: Yeah, that's a pretty giggle. We're gonna miss you so much.
Sleeping Princess: You think I'm gonna have a happy ending?
Woman 2: I think you are.
Sleeping Princess: I hope so.
Woman 2: We'll certainly do everything we can to help you have a happy ending.sing.wavMan 1: She wants to do it as a round.
Sleeping Princess: Okay, I'm...I'm gonna start.
Man 1: Okay so...
Sleeping Princess: I'm gonna start.
Man 1: She's gonna start
Sleeping Princess: Alright.
Mazian (in background): And then you're gonna have to go second.
Man 1: And then I'm gonna go second.
Sleeping Princess: Yeah, he's smart. Who was that who said that?
Mazian: That was me, Mazian.
Sleeping Princess: Mazian, you're smart. Okay, I'm gonna go first. Ready?
Mazian: Okay.
Sleeping Princess + Boys (as a round): Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream.
Sleeping Princess + Boys 2 (as a round): Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream.
Sleeping Princess + Boys 3 (as a round): Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream.
Sleeping Princess: You sing pretty good for boys.
Sleeping Princess + Boys 4 (as a round): Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques. Dormez vous? Dormez vous? Sonnez les matines, Sonnez les matines. Din, din, don! Din, din, don!play.wavMan 1: Hello?
Sleeping Princess: Crewmember, make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Extra jelly! *giggles*
Woman 1: I love peanut butter jelly.
Squad 1: Peanut butter pancake sundaes!
Man 2: Hello?
Sleeping Princess: Crewmember, I have a task for you. Make me pancakes. With blueberries! Do not disappoint me!
Man 2: *laughs*
Sleeping Princess: *giggles* I wish the Queen would give tasks like that.
Man 2: Yeah, that would be a lot more fun.
Sleeping Princess: Yeah, it would be a lot more fun. And then, when it was over, instead of field ops or whatever, we'd have pancakes. Ranger B, you are great. Ranger B, you are great. I made that up for you. Can you say some Italian to me?
Man 3: Would you like me to say how beautiful you are?
Sleeping Princess: Yes, I would.
Man 3: Tu es belissima.
HitsHerMark: Once upon a time, there was a girl named HitsHerMark. And she went on a hunt for a way to contact her favorite person in the whole world. And she came to a place where she had to pay to get in. But she did it, so that she could talk to her favorite person. And on their second try, they found her. And it was the Sleeping Princess. The End.
Sleeping Princess: Oh! The story is about me! I need you to tell me... What is the enemy of mankind: Crunchy peanut butter or smooth peanut butter?
Ironchef Mike: I think...What is...what is the enemy of mankind? Crunchy peanut butter or smooth peanut butter?
Sleeping Princess: *giggles*
Ironchef Mike: What is the enemy of mankind? Crunchy peanut butter or smooth peanut butter?
Sleeping Princess: *giggles* Ironchef Mike?
Ironchef Mike: Yeah?
Sleeping Princess: I'm just kidding.
Ironchef Mike: I think it's crunchy...I think it's crunchy peanut butter.
Sleeping Princess: *giggles* I think it's funny that your friends have to tell you. But I'm sorry Ironchef...Ironchef Mike. The answer is Hippopotamus.
So we've done it. We've repaired Melissa so that she is now able to understand what happened to her since the crash. Now when she gets sent back on Sunday, Jersey, Jan, Kamal, Rani and, most of all, Durga, will not have to deal with a deeply disturbed AI.
End Game is now upon us.October 31st and Onwards >>