Part 38: Junker HQ

TwoDice posted:

Benson?

...uh oh.

TwoDice gets it first. Benson is the answer.

EXIT TURBOCYCLE

No time to screw around with Mika. Well, there's always time for that - but still, we have work to do!

MOVE > ENGINEERING ROOM

Metal: Let's look for evidence. We have to proceed with the investigation with the utmost care at this point.
Gillian: Let's start the search with this room here.

LOOK > DESK TOP

Metal: There is something on the desk. There's a box of matches and a memo.

INVESTIGATE > MATCHES

Uh oh.

Gillian: What? Outer Heaven matches? Harry had Outer Heaven matches?!

LOOK > MATCHES

Gillian: But he had matches from Outer Heaven...
Metal: No. I can't believe that Harry could be a SNATCHER.
Gillian: Let's hang on to these matches.
Metal: That will not be necessary. They are identical to the ones we already have. I'm constantly recording everything that happens... It will be a burden on the investigation. Let's put them here.

INVESTIGATE > MEMO

Gillian: This "face to face" thing has got to be the key! We have to search in areas that this brings to mind.
Metal: It probably means either "Search for face to face," or "Watch out for face to face," or something like that.

LOOK > MEMO and Metal stores the memo as evidence.

Alright... let's go the Chief's Office.

MOVE > CHIEF'S OFFICE

Someone mentioned the vase from Queens Hospital reminding them of the picture.

LOOK > PICTURE

Metal: Wait a minute! Do you notice anything odd about this picture? Look! Doesn't it look like a face to you?
Gillian: A face? I don't get it.

INVESTIGATE > PICTURE

Gillian: If you reverse the background and the drawing, it's two faces! "Face ot face!" This must be the "Face to face" that Harry was referring to in his memo.
Metal: This picture was cleverly designed to take advantage of the human sense of sight.
Gillian: What's that supposed to mean? That you can see it easily if you're not human?
Metal: Let's search more carefully.

INVESTIGATE > PICTURE

Gillian: Check out the face to face part of it, will you?
Metal: There's a switch between the two faces! I'll push it.

LOOK > PHOTO

INVESTIGATE > PHOTO

Metal: Based on the condition of the inks, I would judge the photograph to be at least 50 years old.
Gillian: Metal, where was this picture taken?
Metal: All right, I will now search for data on this photo's location in the Alpha-One network. I've found it. This is a photograph of Red Square in Moscow, taken sometime before the Catastrophe.
Gillian: Red Square? What's a picture like that doing in the Chief's office? Store that in your video memory, will you?
Metal: I have now stored the photo's image in my memory.
Gillian: The Chief had this picture?
Metal: Or someone planted it there to set up the Chief!
Gillian: And there were those matches that Harry had, too... Which one is the SNATCHER?
Metal: It will depend on what evidence we can turn up. Both of them seem suspicious.
Gillian: Maybe it's somebody else entirely.
Metal: That's true. That patient chart with the "Benson" on it is quite suspect as well.

Gillian: Maybe it's a trap.
Metal: That can't be ruled out based on the evidence we've seen so far.

MOVE

Metal: Before that, let me put this photo of Red Square back where we found it.
Gillian: Yeah. We can't let anyone know that we've learned the secret of this picture.

FRONT

TALK > CONTENTS OF PATIENT RECORD

Gillian: I've broken the code that was on that patient record. It was the patient's name. In other words, I've uncovered a possible SNATCHER.
Mika: What? Who? Oh my god, it's not someone I know, is it?
Gillian: I don't know their full name. But the name Benson was written on the file. In other words, Benson Cunningham, the Chief, or... Our friendly engineer, Harry Benson.

ASK > ABOUT HARRY > HARRY'S WHEREABOUTS

Mika: Harry's out right now. He seemed to be going after the Chief when he left. Said he had to check on something.

ASK > ABOUT HARRY > HARRY'S CONDITION

Mika: He's been a little restless lately. He seemed to be investigating something.

ASK > ABOUT CHIEF > CHIEF'S WHEREABOUTS

Mika: The Chief is out right now. I don't know when he'll be back.

ASK > ABOUT CHIEF > CHIEF'S CONDITION

Mika: The Chief has been really busy lately.

ASK > MIKA'S OPINION

Gillian: Mika, what do you think?
Mika: It must be some kind of a mistake.

ASK > KYOTO SUMMIT

Gillian: The Kyoto Summit? What's that?
Mika: It's the annual summit of the leaders of the world's advanced countries. It will be taking place in old Kyoto this year.

ASK > KYOTO SUMMIT

Crap. Things have gotten bad. Let's go to the turbocycle...

Where things get worse.