Your name is Vincent Cruz. You work in a shady government-backed facility in the middle of the New Mexico desert. You're not here of your own volition, but you've grown used to your new life. By all accounts, you are a complete and total nobody to the Powers That Be.Your job, frankly, sucks. You wake up, you spend hours upon hours studying fickle anomalies that could kill you at a moment's notice, you go to sleep, 30 GOTO 10. All so you can make money for the Abnormality Regulation Coalition (also known as ARC), the group who kidnapped you.On the bright side, at least, you've been doing good at your job so far. You've been recently promoted for your hard work and you've been steadily earning more and more money from your research. At least you're making more money in one day than you did in a week during your last job.It's cold comfort though. You can make all the money in the world but it doesn't change the fact you're stuck in the same ol' wringer. The same old rat race. Will you manage to make it out of here, you wonder, or will you die here? Left as nothing more than a rotten corpse in some random hallway in the facility.Who's to say? All you can really do is to keep moving forward. One step at a time. As for a recap of some notable things that happened recently?You had an awkward, if friendly, reunion with your younger brother. He has gotten REALLY invested in religion and hey, if that helps him, you're not going to stop him. You had another dream about the Heart. It's obsessed with you, but you still don't understand what it sees in you. Apparently it's also been pestering your brother and one of the corporate reps you work with, so who knows what its end game is?You got a new anomaly called HARD TIMES but you don't know much about it still. All you know so far is that it REALLY loves to work and, hey, at least that's something you share in common with it.You managed to resolve the situation Liz got herself involved with through some clever equipment usage and pure brute force. It feels nice to help people, you know? You even managed to help resolve a dispute she had with her friend Nicole.Lastly, you subjected yourself to an incredibly painful shift by accepting five sponsorships that are going to make your job a nightmare. It'll make you a lot of money, yes, and it'll earn you a lot of respect with corpos. So the pain will be worth it, won't it?That's your motto, Vince! You'll ENDURE at any cost! No matter how much your job sucks, no matter how much pain is inflicted on you, you'll keep moving. You are a flesh automaton and nothing, and you do mean NOTHING, will stop you from finishing your shift.It's your obligation as a worker, after all!ARCHIVE: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Low%20RungVINCENT SHEET/INVENTORY: https://rentry.co/VINCENTSHEETALLIES: https://rentry.co/COWORKERLISTANOMALY/SAMPLE NOTES: https://rentry.co/RESEARCHNOTES
One step at a time, Vincent. You just have to make it to the end of this shift in one piece. You should probably stick to basic, simple stuff that won't require too much effort on your end. At least for the start of your shift.Oh! Right, you have those weird M.A.D WORLD glasses. You can do a quick checkup on The Man and Colt with them! It'll give you some more data on what, exactly, the auras mean AND it should be relatively easy."Hey, can you two stand right there? By the computer?"The Man agrees. Colt gives you a weird look but as he's about to say something, he stops himself. He briefly shoots a glance at the spot where the Man is currently at."...Aight." Your patriotic friend shrugs his shoulders as he waits by the computer with the Man. "I dunno what kind of weirdo shit you're doing, spic. Tryin' to avoid workin'?""Where did that stereotype even come from?" You muse out loud as you rummage through your satchel. "Aren't we the ones 'taking all the jobs' or whatever the saying goes?""Just because you have a job doesn't mean you're good at it." Colt swiftly retorts. "Eh. You're one of the 'good' ones anyhow. I've heard the stories."The Man rolls his eyes at Colt's gibbering. He's grown used to it and he hopes you're not taking any offense to it. He then realizes, right, you wouldn't have hired him if you were offended. He swiftly apologizes."Eh, don't worry about it." You stand in front of your two coworkers before sliding the glasses on. All of the color in your lab (what little there was) is immediately suppressed in a haze of sepia and grey. You squint your eyes as you try to make out what kind of aura they might have.Colt's aura is...well, you can't really say you're shocked. It manifested as three stripes of color wrapped around his neck and his wrists, and wouldn't you know? The colors are red, white and blue. It's odd how it only manifests around his wrist and neck, but you're not sure what that could represent.Red and blue could apply; he does show a lot of rage, and he's probably loyal to his country at least. You don't know what white means but you've seen it in your brother. The only commonality between the two of them would be belief, maybe? Your brother's religious faith and Colt's patriotism could be a common connection? It's a stretch, but it's the only explanation you have that makes sense at the moment.The Man's aura is a chaotic, kaleidoscopic blend of colors ranging from the brightest hues of pink to the darkest shades of black. You can't even begin to list all of the colors in his aura. There's pinks, blues, reds, blacks, oranges, and some colors you don't think you've ever seen before.The best way you can describe it is it's a tapestry made out of random, stitched together fragments of other auras. It's not the aura a normal human should have but, well, this is the Man we're talking about.
The main 'standout' colors you can pick out amongst the abstract painting's worth of colors are black, grey, and purple. You're going to record that as the Man's 'actual' aura, just because his actual aura is too hard to record.You narrow your eyes as you take another look at the Man. You can vaguely make out his appearance, but you struggle to remember more than one or two specifics. He's on the older side, mid-30s at the youngest; you can say that with confidence. His skin is...pale, yes, as white as paper. You also think he might be five foot something, but beyond that, it's anyone's guess. The glasses are able to partially pierce through whatever memory-distorting effect he has, but it's not strong enough."Aight, what's the fuckin' point of this again?" Colt rapidly taps his foot on the ground, ready to do literally anything else. "Mind explainin' to the class?"The Man theorizes that those glasses let Vincent see what he otherwise couldn't.Colt nods along as if he actually registered what the Man said. "Hm. Maybe that's why, yeah. Ya can't see my dick or whatever with those, right? This ain't some weird homosexual shit?""What? I'm only into chicks." You carefully remove M.A.D WORLD. "I was checking your auras. It's something I always like to check. It helps me to understand people better.""Eh, I ain't so sure about you likin' chicks. I've seen you hangin' out with that Ash chick." He grunts like a disappointed day. "She's too tough for my likin'. Ain't got the curves a woman needs."The Man would say something, but he elects to stay silent, lest he be judged for his own taste in women."Ah, shut up." You mumble under your breath. At least you got some information out of this little experiment. You recap what their auras to the best of your ability, mostly because you're curious to see how they'd react.Colt puffs his chest out upon realizing what his aura looks like. "I have the soul of a RED-BLOODED AMERICAN! Of course I'd wear the colors of my country, even in the deepest parts of my soul! That's a sign I'm blessed by GOD!"The Man, on the other hand, is vaguely disturbed by your description of his aura. He knows a little bit about 'auras' and how they can manifest, but he has never heard about an aura that matched the description you gave him. He feels stable, so he's not sure why his aura is so unstable. Maybe it's a sign of his affliction? He can only theorize."Eh, it's pretty colors or whatnot by the end of the day. If ya feel fine, ya feel fine" Okay, now you actually have to wonder if he can properly see the Man. "Are you talking to...?""Ya, I'm talkin' to him." Colt shoots a look in the Man's direction. "Either he's real or I'm hallucinating, and I'm gonna go with the former. I ain't no fuckin' schizo like that Nicky chick."That's weird, you thought he could barely see the Man.
Now, he's acting like he can see him just as well as you can? Odd. Maybe wearing the same two artifacts day in, day out has given him something similar to your ANOMALY TOUCHED quirk. The Man breathes a sigh of relief. He'll be honest; he wasn't quite sure if Colt could actually see him or not. "'course I can. I don't know why the other freaks can't." Colt shrugs his shoulders. "At least the beaner can see ya too.""I've known about him since I first came here, to be frank. That's beside the point.""You remember those shotgun slugs I told you to make? I was wondering..." You rummage through your satchel for your two handy-dandy guns. "Do you know how to fix or tune up a gun?"Colt's eyes start to sparkle. You might as well have said he won the jackpot. "Hoo boy, of course I do. I have to fix this beaut when I have to beat someone over the head with it." He smacks the side of his rifle for emphasis. "Alright. Hand 'em over, and please, answer that god damn phone already." What phone- Oh. You were tuning it out until now but your landline is going on the fritz. It was dead quiet yesterday so you suppose the man on the phone has a deal for you.Luckily for him, you're actually willing to spend time on his nonsense. You hand over your guns to Colt so he can work on them, while you and the Man deal with the actual phone call. Colt eagerly begins his work on tuning up your guns for, you know, if you have to deal with an anomaly or that Harvester or whatever wants to kill you today!The Man leans against the table you rested the phone on. He asks what, exactly, he should expect from this call?"Ah, some dude calls me sometimes to ask me for 'time'. Considering the shift we're in? Maybe getting it over as quickly as possible is a good idea?"The Man concedes that it's a fair point. He gently reminds you that you shouldn't sell all your time, because he assumes you have some sponsorships you need to do on the clock. You have to admit he is right, otherwise you might've been tempted to dump all of your time into this phone.You pick up the receiver to see what the big deal is. The Man leans in to eavesdrop on the call. Your ears are assaulted by a wave of sharp electronic static as the phone struggles to connect the call. Calling....https://youtu.be/-HM8uXVXeHk - CONNECTED."Good evening, gentlemen! May I ask you what the clock's set to right now?" A voice with a familiar transatlantic accent crackles over the line. 'Mike' is his name, if you remember correctly, but who's to say that's his actual name?"9:21." You give him the proper 'code' phrase, since apparently you need to give that in order to make a deal with him."Excellent! Now, I only sense you at the phone, but my gut tells me someone else is listening in? I can't quite...sense their timeflow, though, unlike yours." The Man introduces himself, if only to be polite.
There's an awkward pause before 'Mike' continues to speak. "Ah, no matter. I can offer you a deal regardless of my inability to properly sense you. I assume you're willing to trust me a bit more compared to our initial interaction, Alex?"The Man tilts his head in confusion. You cover the receiver and you quickly explain it's to keep your identity safe. The Man nods along, finding it to be a reasonable way to stay safe.A lot of deal-based abnormalities, he claims, tend to be fickle when it comes to the spirit and letter of their arrangements. He gestures at you to continue the conversation."Mmh. Given my current situation, I actually want to sell my time.""Excellent! Now, we don't have a lot of time to transfer all of your time over to me, so I'll implore you to only accept one of my deals. For our own safety."The Man cautiously asks what 'Mike' exactly means by that."I don't intend on having a customer die on me because the phone he's standing next to explodes, you know?" 'Mike' states it like it's super obvious. The Man concedes but he's going to listen in to make sure 'Mike' isn't going to fuck you over."Free feel. I'm not going to hide my hand, my good sirs. Please, listen to my deals, and see which one you'd be willing to accept."AVAILABLE TIME TOKENS: 12MONEY: $2805It's time to sell some TIME, Vincent, because TIME is LITERALLY MONEY to this anomaly(?). Choose one (or no) deals.>PIERCE AND SCATTER (-2 TIME TOKENS. Your CHROME DEAGLE and DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN will gain an additional boost to their damage and accuracy, which stacks with Colt's handywork/upgrade.)>DIVINE MERCY (-2 TIME TOKENS. During this shift, you and your two coworkers will take slightly less damage from ALL sources, to make up for your harder skill checks.)>MACHINE SPIRIT. (-2 TIME TOKENS. You'll immediately unlock one of HARD TIMES' insight hints, and you'll obtain more samples from your two mechanical anomalies during this shift.)>FLESH AND BLOOD (-3 TIME TOKENS. You, Colt and the MAN slowly regenerate PHYSICAL HEALTH for the rest of the day.)>TIME FOR MONEY, MONEY FOR TIME. (+1 TIME TOKEN, your next two anomaly works will be guaranteed to cost 0 TIME TOKENS, -$455)>Don't accept any of the deals.>Try to propose a deal of your own. (Write in.)Anything you want to ask Mike while you're on the line? You can ask up to two questions.>Does he know anything about Harvesters? Just in case you have to deal with more aggressive Harvesters in the future.>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.>Does he have any advice on how you should handle your SPONSORSHIPS? You got a lot on your plate today.>Your cat, EL FELINO, is acting weird. Does he have any tips on how to deal with anomalous animals?>Write in.Welp, I'm two days late, but we're back! It's time for another 50-60 updates of Vincent suffering.
>>6364694>DIVINE MERCY (-2 TIME TOKENS. During this shift, you and your two coworkers will take slightly less damage from ALL sources, to make up for your harder skill checks.)>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.>Does he have any advice on how you should handle your SPONSORSHIPS? You got a lot on your plate today.
>>6364694>>PIERCE AND SCATTER (-2 TIME TOKENS. Your CHROME DEAGLE and DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN will gain an additional boost to their damage and accuracy, which stacks with Colt's handywork/upgrade.)Permanent boost as opposed to just this shift or just for the day healing. That said if we expect Mr Harvester to show up or if we end up adventuring perhaps healing for the day wouldnt be a bad idea.>Does he know anything about Harvesters? Just in case you have to deal with more aggressive Harvesters in the future.Inb4 we have to establish our own territory with the proper signage, by marking it. >Write in.The Anti-memetic Moths in ARC, how could we use them? What do they eat, why do they stay on the ceiling?I have an idea here. What if we could get the moths to hang out on top of Vicnent's door during the night? Would it erase Vincent's door and room from the Harvesters memory? Make it more or less invisible? Could we harvest moth dust samples? Etc.Welcome back Handler
>>6364694>DIVINE MERCY (-2 TIME TOKENS. During this shift, you and your two coworkers will take slightly less damage from ALL sources, to make up for your harder skill checks.)>Your cat, EL FELINO, is acting weird. Does he have any tips on how to deal with anomalous animals?>Does he know anything about Harvesters? Just in case you have to deal with more aggressive Harvesters in the future.
>>6364694>DIVINE MERCY (-2 TIME TOKENS. During this shift, you and your two coworkers will take slightly less damage from ALL sources, to make up for your harder skill checks.)It does go hand in hand flavorwise with the religious test theme of that one company whose sponsorship is ALSO making our skillchecks harder>Write-in:>The Anti-memetic Moths in ARC, how could we use them? What do they eat, why do they stay on the ceiling?>Does he know anything about Harvesters? Just in case you have to deal with more aggressive Harvesters in the future.
>>6364694>PIERCE AND SCATTER (-2 TIME TOKENS. Your CHROME DEAGLE and DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN will gain an additional boost to their damage and accuracy, which stacks with Colt's handywork/upgrade.)Make our guns shoot harder, magic man.>Does he know anything about Harvesters? Just in case you have to deal with more aggressive Harvesters in the future.>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.
>>6364694>>6364694>DIVINE MERCY (-2 TIME TOKENS. During this shift, you and your two coworkers will take slightly less damage from ALL sources, to make up for your harder skill checks.)Usually I'd be all for the permeant upgrade, but with us needing to harvest our own flesh and the upped difficulty checks, I'm gonna have to pass this time. Maybe we can ask for it next time round?>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.>Does he have any advice on how you should handle your SPONSORSHIPS? You got a lot on your plate today.
>>6364694>MACHINE SPIRIT. (-2 TIME TOKENS. You'll immediately unlock one of HARD TIMES' insight hints, and you'll obtain more samples from your two mechanical anomalies during this shift.)>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.>Does he have any advice on how you should handle your SPONSORSHIPS? You got a lot on your plate today.
>>6364694>>MACHINE SPIRIT. (-2 TIME TOKENS. You'll immediately unlock one of HARD TIMES' insight hints, and you'll obtain more samples from your two mechanical anomalies during this shift.)THE MACHINE SPIRIT WILLS IT 01001001 01100110 01010101 01010010 01100101 01100001 01100100 01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 01010101 01110010 01000111 01000001 01011001 >Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.>The Anti-memetic Moths in ARC, how could we use them? What do they eat, why do they stay on the ceiling?
>>6364694>FLESH AND BLOOD (-3 TIME TOKENS. You, Colt and the MAN slowly regenerate PHYSICAL HEALTH for the rest of the day.)>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.>Your cat, EL FELINO, is acting weird. Does he have any tips on how to deal with anomalous animals?
>>6364694>>MACHINE SPIRIT. (-2 TIME TOKENS. You'll immediately unlock one of HARD TIMES' insight hints, and you'll obtain more samples from your two mechanical anomalies during this shift.)>Does he know anything about Harvesters? Just in case you have to deal with more aggressive Harvesters in the future.
>>6364694>PIERCE AND SCATTER (-2 TIME TOKENS. Your CHROME DEAGLE and DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN will gain an additional boost to their damage and accuracy, which stacks with Colt's handywork/upgrade.)>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.Permanently making our combat better seems like the safest choice if we’re concerned about that harvester, and this might be one of the best ways to learn about auras.
>>6364694>PIERCE AND SCATTER (-2 TIME TOKENS. Your CHROME DEAGLE and DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN will gain an additional boost to their damage and accuracy, which stacks with Colt's handywork/upgrade.)>>Does he know anything about Harvesters? Just in case you have to deal with more aggressive Harvesters in the future.>>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.
>>6364694>DIVINE MERCY (-2 TIME TOKENS. During this shift, you and your two coworkers will take slightly less damage from ALL sources, to make up for your harder skill checks.)>The Anti-memetic Moths in ARC, how could we use them? What do they eat, why do they stay on the ceiling?>Your cat, EL FELINO, is acting weird. Does he have any tips on how to deal with anomalous animals?
>>6364694>DIVINE MERCY >The Anti-memetic Moths in ARC, how could we use them? What do they eat, why do they stay on the ceiling?>Your cat, EL FELINO, is acting weird. Does he have any tips on how to deal with anomalous animals?
>>6364694We're back, yay!>PIERCE AND SCATTER (-2 TIME TOKENS. Your CHROME DEAGLE and DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN will gain an additional boost to their damage and accuracy, which stacks with Colt's handywork/upgrade.)We'll have new ammunition soon and double upgrading both of our weapons seems to good to pass (although going by the other votes we probably end up passing it).>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.What could the patterns and the areas covered by the auras possibly mean?>The Anti-memetic Moths in ARC, how could we use them? What do they eat, why do they stay on the ceiling?Good write-in, let's ask that.
>>6364694>PIERCE AND SCATTER (-2 TIME TOKENS. Your CHROME DEAGLE and DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN will gain an additional boost to their damage and accuracy, which stacks with Colt's handywork/upgrade.)Permanent upgrades are good.>Ask him about what he knows about AURAS. You want to get the most out of your M.A.D WORLD glasses.>moths
>>6364694>PIERCE AND SCATTER (-2 TIME TOKENS. Your CHROME DEAGLE and DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN will gain an additional boost to their damage and accuracy, which stacks with Colt's handywork/upgrade.)>Your cat, EL FELINO, is acting weird. Does he have any tips on how to deal with anomalous animals?Write-in:>I’m surrounded by antimemetic moths that seem to know I can see them. What are they and how big of a problem is this?
17 votes in the first update this thread, waow. Thank you for the warm reception. WHAT DEAL?DIVINE: cKq, O8D, iJF, RwU, 6Tw, PX/PIERCE AND SCATTER: Lan, YGT, T6r, IYn, fAO, /UO, hdCMACHINE SPIRIT: qTJ, 8Ri, LhdFLESH AND BLOOD: sGeI'll blast your skulls apart. Every single one of you.It was a very close tie between DIVINE MERCY and PIERCE AND SCATTER, but it appears we're going with more powerful guns this time around. That's probably what Colt would've wanted you to pick, so bonus Colt points for that. (It is uncertain what you can spend Colt Points on.)WHAT QUESTIONAURA: cKq, YGT, RwU, qTJ, 8Ri, sGe, T6r, IYn, fAO, /UOSPONSOR: cKq, RwU, qTJFELINO: O8D, sGe, 6Tw, PX/, hdCHARVESTER: O8D, iJF, Lan, YGT, Lhd, IYnMOFFS: iJF, Lan, 8Ri, 6Tw, PX/, fAO, /UO, hdCA very clever write in indeed. I'll allow it and, hey, they are an oddity you don't really have any frame of reference for. You'll also ask about the auras since they could be a very useful way to determine who you can trust, if only you knew more about them, right?Writing.
You really wanted to ask for protection from whatever divine or anomalous force is going to be tormenting you this shift, but that'll only be for one agonizing shift. You need to think long-term about this.Colt's already working on your guns, so why not help him out a little? It's probably the best use of time you can get out of this particular arrangement. "So, I'll take the PIERCE AND SCATTER deal. There's a certain somebody I might need to fight later, and you know! Better safe than sorry!""Excell..." Mike tried to respond, but his voice was cut off by what sounds like wind? You can barely make out what he's trying to say over the roaring, seething winds. The Man calls out to his fellow mystery man. No response. The Man smacks his palm against the phone to try to get the phone to work again. Like magic, the roaring wind vanishes, allowing you to actually hear 'Mike' again."Please, excuse me!" Mike feverishly stammers out an apology. "Sorry, the wind out here is something else. Let's say the war hasn't been kind to my world. Now, is there anything else I need to do before I harvest your time?"You might as well make this quick; you doubt the connection's going to be stable enough for more than two questions. "First one is a bit of a weird one, actually. Do you know anything about antimemetic moths? What do they eat? Why do they stay on the ceiling?""Are they a problem I should worry about?"There's an awkward pause. "Moths...? You can see them?" 'Mike' almost doesn't believe you, but the Man can confirm that those moths do exist. He can see them too and he's also shocked Vincent knows about them as well.He'll add on what he knows after 'Mike' speaks."Well," Mike clears his throat. "They're a species of moth that feeds off ambient negative emotions from any sentient or sapient creature. They can detect all manners of stress hormones in a creature.""They aren't a threat, per se, but they're an ill omen if too many of them are hanging around an area. As for the ceiling? Well, it's the safest place to be once blood is spilled."The Man adds that they also congregate around places where dead bodies are, since it's not only negative emotions that they feed on, but carrion. Considering the vast majority of creatures here are human or human-adjacent, that means they hang around dead bodies.Not a particularly great sign, the Man comments. "Exactly." Mike hums as he tries to find what else he can say. "They're not particularly useful for your research, if you're thinking about samples, unless you capture them whole. If you crush and grind enough of them into a powder, you could create something that consumes or suppresses negative emotions.""I'd use them as a guide, myself, more than anything profitable."Damn. At least you got a better idea on what they, exactly, are. No wonder why they're hanging out in an ARC facility.
With all of the Harvesters and anomalies and whatnot, you wouldn't be shocked if corpses were made on an hourly basis down here. The only reason you're still standing is that you have a tough body."Alright. My second question is, do you know anything about AURAS? I know the colors mean something, but the patterns? The areas they cover? They have to mean something, don't they?"Mike breathes a sigh of relief at the topic being changed. "Auras are a manifestation of that person's...life experiences and strongest emotions. 'Soul' wouldn't be the best way to describe them, at least in the way you might think of one, but they're adjacent.""The way the pattern manifests can tell you a lot about a person, but I'll tell you what I know. Full-body auras with few or no patterns mean that the person is well-adjusted. They may have issues, but they're able to mask them or otherwise control them.""As for abnormal patterns? Spikes represent emotional distance or a sense of detachment from the world around them. Spirals represent something that consumes, or controls, the person's choices. If their face or neck is obscured, that means that they're hiding their true self or their true feelings through a mask, depending on the color, of course.""Brush streaks, lines, and dots aren't important. They're flavor, don't worry if you see them on a person's aura. The only other thing I can confidently say about them is that the more colors an aura has, the more...unstable the person is. One to two is great, three is okay, and four is worrying.""Five or more is a sign something is deeply, deeply flawed with that person. If you spot someone with too many colors? Either get them a therapist, or run."The Man begins to sweat bullets, considering that applies to his own aura. He briefly recounts his aura over the phone, using your description, asking if he should be worried.Mike tries to stay professional as the Man babbles. Once he finishes, 'Mike' calmly answers. "I would think that's more a symptom of your current condition. If a regular human had that aura, it'd be worrying, but you're closer to me than to the other two.""I will say what purple represents: power, wisdom, and restriction. Now, it's time for me to harvest your time."The line cuts out just like that. You and the Man share a look at each other, wondering what exactly he meant by that, but you soon realize that, oh, yeah, time really has passed. Colt is waving the two of you over."Hey! Are you two gonna stand there all day with a THUMB UP YOUR ASS??? I got your GUNS ready, Vince!""Bwuh? How long has it been?""I dunno! An hour or two?" Colt responds rather dismissively. "All I know is your fax machine's screamin'. Guess it's time for a new rule or somethin'."The Man has a vague awareness that his sense of time was altered or hampered in some way. He's going to check your computer's clock to see what's going on.
While he's doing that, you go to collect your guns from Colt. Colt has really outdone himself here, given the amount of grime and gunk covering his hands. He's done everything in his power to fix up your guns with the tools your lab had. He raises a sparkling, pristine deagle up to you. It's almost factory new with how little wear and tear there is on the gun.Your eyes dart down to your other gun, your shotgun, resting on the table he's working at. The rust and stains that were once on it are completely done, and as you pick it up, you can feel how much sturdier it is than it was when you found it.When you found it in a literal pile of trash, you could tell that it probably couldn't handle more than one or two shots before breaking apart. Now? If you bashed it against a rock, the rock would break way before the gun took any amount of damage."You gotta maintain your guns. If ya don't, they can jam on ya, or misfire, or your shots go wildly off target. Me? I know how to tune one up." Colt tightens the grip on the deagle he fixed. "You gotta treat them with love, Vince, like a woman who doesn't talk back to you.""Not like they can, ha!" Colt guffaws. "See, that's why guns are better. They never fail ya unless you fail them first."UPGRADES REVEALED!>PRISTINE CHROME DEAGLE! (A ROBUST pistol for a ROBUST MAN. Uses PISTOL AMMO. Adds +12 to ATTACK ROLLS. Once per roll, you may reroll a dice that had a natural roll of 25 or lower.)>PRISTINE DOUBLE BARRELED SHOTGUN (A powerful, expensive FIREARM down here in ARC. Uses SHOTGUN AMMO. Adds +17 to ATTACK ROLLS. Gunshot injuries made with it require far more time and effort to heal from.)YOU ALSO OBTAINED>BOOZEY SHOTGUN SLUGS (Counts as 1 SHOTGUN AMMO. This ammo does vastly less physical damage, but they'll instantly render most biological enemies a drunken mess.)Something tells you that this decision might've been the best one you could've made. "Thank you. Genuinely, thank you.""Ain't nothin'. I don't want ya to embarrass yourself by swingin' a knife around, ha!" Colt slams his fist on the table. "Just jestin', ya funny little wetback you.""Pft. I can still kill someone by swinging a knife around. Sometimes guns are simply better to use.""Exactly. That's why I helped ya out." Before your banter can go on any longer, the Man returns with a sheet of FAX PAPER and some information about what 'Mike' just did. An hour and a half vanished into thin air right after you finished your call with him.Which...doesn't make any sense, it only felt like a second has passed, but you guess he wasn't joking when he said he'd harvest your time. You pick up the sheet of fax paper to see what's written on it this time around.IDEAL ARC EMPLOYEE: You must spend two actions to study an ARTIFACT or an anomaly. Rule change in: 3 TIME TOKENS.Ah, you guess you can't avoid strenuous work forever. You love the facility you're working in. YOU LOVE THE FACILITY YOU'RE-
Choose at least two ANOMALY/ARTIFACT work orders and one NON ANOMALY/ARTIFACT work order, and any FREE TIME ACTIONS.TIME TOKENS: 10ANOMALY/ARTIFACT>Enter LOST SINCE 199X's containment cell. Alright, what is it freaking out about NOW? (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Enter HARD TIMES' containment cell. You only worked on it once so far. Get to know it better. (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Enter NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER's containment cell. Finally, it's time to harvest more wine! (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS.)>Experiment with ESTABLISHING SHOT! You already know what it does, but how far can you push it? (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 63, +6 to roll.)>Try to copy ACCUMULATED PAST with the EGG. Can it copy something that complex? (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 6?, +??? to roll)RESEARCH>Study the GREY PASTE. What, exactly, is this? Is it ACTUALLY edible or is something else up with it? (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 77, +8 to roll.)>Research a way to make a more 'convenient' healing item with your OBSCURA SYRAH. This might make the BIG BUCKS! (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 65, +8 to roll.)>Modify the BENODINE pills into a form you can actually safely use. (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 73, +4 to roll.)>You got an excess of STATIC POLLEN now. Try to combine them with some of your other samples. (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 62, +2 to roll.)>Check out the two weirds book you have: UNTITLED BOOK and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BEING AFRAID. What secrets do they hold? (-1d2 TIME TOKENS, ?????.)>Try to create some new varieties of CIGARETTE MOLD with the samples you got lying around. (-1 TIME TOKEN, consumes a random amount of samples you have, no skill check needed.)BUSY WORK>It's time to MOTH HUNT. Put on your M.A.D WORLD glasses and hunt down some moths to study! (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 70, +16 to roll.)>Try to make some weapons out of the anomalous samples you have. (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 67, +7 to roll. Colt's helping a lot here.)>Contact UPPER MANAGEMENT. Pitch a proposal involving your CIGARETTE MOLD. (-1 TIME TOKEN. DC 70, +16 to roll. Being in ARC'S good graces is making this pretty easy.)>Harvest some samples from your own body. Might as well start working on ExTINCTION CORP'S sponsorship. (-0 TIME TOKENS, still costs an action. Deals HEAVY damage to your PHYSICAL HEALTH. You'll gain some samples.)>Modify LOST SINCE 199X's and HARD TIMES' containment cells. Connect them together. Reinvent the steam turbine. (-3 TIME TOKENS, DC 67, +5 to roll. This would improve HARD TIMES' power output by a lot.)FREE ACTION>Pet the cat. It is now socially acceptable. (FREE ACTION, +1d2 TIME TOKENS. No penalty? Mew penalty.)>Chit-chat with your coworkers. Suffering is better with company. (FREE ACTION. You may write in specific questions to ask, if you want to know anything specific.)>Write in.
>>6365106>Enter LOST SINCE 199X's containment cell. Alright, what is it freaking out about NOW? (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Enter HARD TIMES' containment cell. You only worked on it once so far. Get to know it better. (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Try to make some weapons out of the anomalous samples you have. (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 67, +7 to roll. Colt's helping a lot here.)>Pet the cat. It is now socially acceptable. (FREE ACTION, +1d2 TIME TOKENS. No penalty? Mew penalty.)>Grab a beer for yourself and your helpersI get the feeling we should try to relax more often and maybe take a day off soon
>>6365106>Enter LOST SINCE 199X's containment cell. Alright, what is it freaking out about NOW? (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Experiment with ESTABLISHING SHOT! You already know what it does, but how far can you push it? (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 63, +6 to roll.)>Check out the two weirds book you have: UNTITLED BOOK and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BEING AFRAID. What secrets do they hold? (-1d2 TIME TOKENS, ?????.)>Pet the cat. It is now socially acceptable. (FREE ACTION, +1d2 TIME TOKENS. No penalty? Mew penalty.)
>>6365106>Enter LOST SINCE 199X's containment cell. Alright, what is it freaking out about NOW? (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Enter HARD TIMES' containment cell. You only worked on it once so far. Get to know it better. (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Research a way to make a more 'convenient' healing item with your OBSCURA SYRAH. This might make the BIG BUCKS! (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 65, +8 to roll.)>Chit-chat with your coworkers. Suffering is better with company. (FREE ACTION. You may write in specific questions to ask, if you want to know anything specific.)Talk to Colt and The Man at the same time. Get an idea of how much Colt can perceive him. Also give them beer.
>>6365106>Enter LOST SINCE 199X's containment cell. Alright, what is it freaking out about NOW? (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Enter HARD TIMES' containment cell. You only worked on it once so far. Get to know it better. (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Check out the two weirds book you have: UNTITLED BOOK and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BEING AFRAID. What secrets do they hold? (-1d2 TIME TOKENS, ?????.)>Pet the cat. It is now socially acceptable. (FREE ACTION, +1d2 TIME TOKENS. No penalty? Mew penalty.)
>>6365106>Enter LOST SINCE 199X's containment cell. Alright, what is it freaking out about NOW? (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Enter NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER's containment cell. Finally, it's time to harvest more wine! (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS.)>Try to create some new varieties of CIGARETTE MOLD with the samples you got lying around. (-1 TIME TOKEN, consumes a random amount of samples you have, no skill check needed.)>Chit-chat with your coworkers. Suffering is better with company. (FREE ACTION. [Ask what type of woman they like])
>>6365106ENTER 199XENTER HARD TIMESTWO WEIRD BOOKSCHITCHAT BACKING >>6365151 MINUS THE BEER(SAVE BEER FOR THE COOKOUT)>>6365267Save that for the cookout too, I say
>>6365106>Enter LOST SINCE 199X's containment cell. Alright, what is it freaking out about NOW? (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)Seems somewhat urgent.>Enter NOWHERE'S SOMMELIER's containment cell. Finally, it's time to harvest more wine! (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS.)LOST SINCE and HARD TIMES could potentially injure us, so it seems safer to only do one of those two. And we have to milk the wine cow anyway.>Try to make some weapons out of the anomalous samples you have. (-1 TIME TOKEN, DC 67, +7 to roll. Colt's helping a lot here.)Let's get this done while Colt is with us.>Chit-chat with your coworkers. Suffering is better with company. (FREE ACTION. You may write in specific questions to ask, if you want to know anything specific.)Ask Colt about how he got 'recruited' and about the anomalies he worked with. Ask both of they tried SPARKLING SUNSHINE and how one could improve it.
>>6365106>Enter LOST SINCE 199X's containment cell. Alright, what is it freaking out about NOW? (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Enter HARD TIMES' containment cell. You only worked on it once so far. Get to know it better. (-1d2-1 TIME TOKENS)>Try to create some new varieties of CIGARETTE MOLD with the samples you got lying around. (-1 TIME TOKEN, consumes a random amount of samples you have, no skill check needed.)>Harvest some samples from your own body. Might as well start working on ExTINCTION CORP'S sponsorship. (-0 TIME TOKENS, still costs an action. Deals HEAVY damage to your PHYSICAL HEALTH. You'll gain some samples.)>Pet the cat. It is now socially acceptable. (FREE ACTION, +1d2 TIME TOKENS. No penalty? Mew penalty.)>Chit-chat with your coworkers. Suffering is better with company. (FREE ACTION. You may write in specific questions to ask, if you want to know anything specific.)
>>6365106>Modify LOST SINCE 199X's and HARD TIMES' containment cells. Connect them together. Reinvent the steam turbine. (-3 TIME TOKENS, DC 67, +5 to roll. This would improve HARD TIMES' power output by a lot.)Steam engine my beloved we will get to you soon I swear it. I wonder if this counts as working on 199X and HARD TIMES in terms of the order?
>>6365449Doubt it since that is just one action
