Part 13: Flyer It Up

Update 12 - Flyer It Up



These hands will have to wait in the bar for the rest of the game.



Just lay off the beer long enough to finish the mission, Alvarez. I'll be watching you.

It looks like Max Bax is gone forever. Oh well. The only item Cisco comes with is an Assault Rifle, which uses 9mm ammo. It's an okay weapon.

Back at the Houston Matrix Rovers...



Goodbye Cisco.


You've just hired two of the best jury-rig artists in Manhattan.

Nice try, programmers.

Been a long time, Hakim. Managing to stay alive, I see.

Hakim comes with some various junk items, and also the Praxis 3000 we gave him.

It's 10:52 PM on Day 2, so the notional labs should be empty. We'll head back to TransTech.




There's one one person here, and he doesn't prevent us searching.



Morph Codes? We heard about those from Larry Owen and Timmy Goldfarb. We'll have to check out that MOZART well soon.

Plainclothes security. Just checkin' things out.
The place is creepy at night. Feel more at home when I'm decked in. Why don't you try one of those codes out yourself? Here, I'll put one right into your decking unit. Of course, it's useless without the Morph Spawner . We keep that under wraps in the Notional Labs WELL. You're from security, you know the code. Just deck in during your break and get it. Well, got to get back to work.


If we didn't have a functional decking unit, this would have played out a little different.

If you had a decking unit on you, I'd let you try one of the codes out for yourself. Maybe next time.

I'm not sure when you'd ever not have a decking unit.



Ths is a morph code. What we've heard about them makes them sound cool as fuck, but in practice all they do is raise useless stats.

After a search of the room, we find Conway's Essence, which will allow us to get into the Notional Lab's WELL, and another Dragon Soul Box. Let's go get that morph spawner.





After a search, two files are revealed. First, there's the Praxis Experimental Design.


This is another relic of the not-implemented wireless deck. One of my favorite things to do with old games like this is go look at what was posted in google groups back in the day. Everyone is baffled by these plans existing. We'll take them with us for shits and giggles.

There's also the Morph Spawner


Intelligence, courage, observation, and leadership are all useless stats. Let's go collect those other morph codes, anyway.



After yet another search...



There's a Courage Code, Observation Code, Leadership Code, and another Intelligence Code. I wonder why Timmy got fucked up by these - they seem fine. We can use these when we're not in cyberspace, so let's get out.



This isn't good. Our humanity is at 98% and now it's rapidly draining. We'd be fucked if we didn't get that virus innoculator from Penn Martinez. There still is a problem, however. We have to actually be in cyberspace, and have the infected morph codes layed out in c-space for us to use the virus innoculator. We'll do this back at the mozart well.



That sucked.



We took a humanity hit about the same size as biting a killing a human to sate our bloodlust. Speaking of bloodlust, we're back at 80%. Anyway, let me show you why these morph codes are useless. Stark's intelligece is at 16. Let's see what happens when we use the intelligence morph code.



Half the time trying to use a morph code will fail. It probably has to do with the hacking skill of the person using it. But when it does work...



...it's useless. Imagine sitting here for like two hours using all the morph codes however many times it would take to increase all those useless stats.



It's day 3, and we should do something about our bloodlust.



We've got two bottles left. Those morph codes are fucking useless, so let's bring that morph spawner to Lazlo.



Yes.
Thanks. We've all got to do what we can to squelch the power TransTech has over us. And you've done more than your share, Stark.


You've done a great thing, Stark. The Morph Spawner will be destroyed. TransTech's grip on us isn't quite as tight. At least for now.

Somehow I doubt that's true.



We've got a level four cloak to give to Sis Konfigg. That new york bank vault sounds interesting.



Yes.


Thanks, Stark. I really needed that cloak with all the dangerous work I've been doing lately. Turns out, the bank address code is surprisingly simple: NYVAULT. The TransTechnicals Bank of New York will be glad to see you, I'm sure. Remember, Stark. Don't get greedy. You can still get burned. The more often you dip from the well, the greater your chances you're gonna get caught. Good luck.

We could have come up with that by ourselves. HoloGraham said that he'd have something to say to us if we helped Sis Konfigg, so we should talk to him.



HoloGraham's portrait is just a flipped and modified version of Charley Flyer's.



On a better note, I'm very intrigued by this WELL.

Thanks a lot, man.
No problem. What are old friends for besides helping you rip off the company?

I have a strange feeling that Braque Picaro might know a little something about this vault.



The next stop in our never-ending quest to move items from one place to another, we'll stop back at the Electric Anarchy. No, we're not giving Chuck the list of Deirdre's associates. We're not doing that for reasons of game. Fractal Chaos has ten grand waiting for us, to start.



We already got that for free from Scream Wipe. Thanks a lot. Did the designers have memory problems? That would explain a lot.


I said I wasn't going to do this next thing.



But we have a spare. Why not.

Yes.
Thanks. You just cleansed your soul of a TransTech career's worth of transgressions.


Here's the wrath ray. God, I love this weapon. It's worn on the head. The electrodes channel what I call the abhorrneural waves directly into the laser. The madder you get, the harder you hit. When I really need power, I think about things like the pollution TransTech belches into my air, the nuclear waste they pump into my food, TransTech bank revoking my account card, their crooked cops, the pabulum the Star Chamber feeds us. I never run out of ammo.

This weapon is a piece of shit for reasons previously discussed. Let me say again, you can't just wear it. You have to get it surgically attached to your head. Anti matter's speech contradicts this, yes, but it's just another thing that doesn't make sense about BloodNet.


Lastly, we're giving a dragon soul box to free thought.



Yes.
Thanks. Here's the sleeping gas I told you about. It's strong enough to knock out a whole room for quite a while, but be smart about using it. It's only good for a few times. I'd use it only when I couldn't use something else.




While that's on the mind, we might as well do the next stage in that side quest for Coover of the Kafka Conspiracy.



We should have some leverage over these guys. If we tip the company to their location, they'll all be in the hoosegow.

We're never given that option, for obvious reasons. Why would the company listen to Stark? They want his shit-eating-grin stricken head on a plate.


Remember when virtual reality was a thing? Once I went to some deer hunting convention with my dad in the 90's and there was a virtual reality deer hunting game set up. That was the shit back then. Now nobody cares about virtual reality in the slightest.

We can talk to everyone, but most of them don't have much to say.






They'd just about have to.
I produce most of the sims and videos that the Icon Robbers make. Have you considered working for an underground? Many of Pandemic Studios' most celebrated stars began their careers appearing in unsanctioned sims. I'd love get a virtual sampling of your face.
Wouldn't be easy.
Ah, my eagerness betrays me. You must seek to bargain. I assure you, you will profit. Give it some thought.

Like a lot of other things, this is a dead end.


"Rigginbotham"?



Maybe you should get some insurance.




Uh, I'm not following you.
Editing. I'm trying to edit some footage. You know, I take the footage, and I cut out the crap and leave the good stuff, put the scenarios in some basic order that makes more sense than the unstructured mess that artsy Perkewizc dishes up, and then upload it all into the net. Stupid actors. I wuz waitin' for a cutter from Detroit supposed to assist me. Don't imagine any of you can handle an image editor?

I use paint for all my video editing, as well.

No. We're just, uh, actors. Yeah, just some starving actors willing to shoot undergrounds.
Well there ain't gonna be any shooting today, folks. I'm up to my sweaty collar in footage already.

That's it. Now, in order to use the gas bomb, we've got to equip the gas mask.



We only need to equip it on one of our party members to protect the entire party. Did you expect anything different with this game?



We then have to use the gas bomb with the party member who has the gas mask equipped, or BloodNet won't let us use it.




Everyone looks the same as they did before, but they're supposedly knocked out. However, as you can see, we're now not prevented from searching the place. We find:


This is required to complete the game, and it's the only one of its kind. Note that it has a self timer.

There are also two canisters of Holofilm. We need exactly two in order to complete the game.

There's a Generator Stabilizer, which is a component of a couple of useless items.

We also pick up a Virtual Viewer


it's a complete disappointment. I'll show why in the next update. There's a Refraction Unit lying on the table, which we could use to jury-rig a refraction shield if we were crazy. They're dime-a-dozen.

Finally, there's the fabled Multichannel Transmitter


Coover Tristan wants this. Now that that's done, we're heading back to Lazlo's to leech off his cyberspace access.



We're like neighbors stealing his wi-fi.




Finally, a unique looking well. We can't steal anything from here (yet), but the reason I came here was to get the last piece of Charley Flyer's mind: C.Flyer.intelgnce



That was a pain. How did those pieces get into those separate wells, anyway? Whatever, it's time to revive Charley Flyer.



These are all potential customers, Stark. These unlucky vegetables are going to make me rich.

Hakim is kind of an asshole.

Ellen was pretty down in the dumps, earlier.



But we can't make her happy just yet. Let's interact with Charley.



merge the five files into one and download them into this guy's vacant brain, and, well, huh, if I've done my job well, this . . . guy . . . should . . .



Am I missing a joke, here?

I don't believe this. It worked. Hakim, you dog, you did it.
I don't know what he did, but except for this headache and a sugar low I feel fine. How long was I out?
Your wife says you've been in a coma for eight months. You were cyberlost, but we managed to recollect your files. Hakim's the ace here. He's the one who recompiled the files and made you again. You sure you're O.K.?
I feel terrific. I mean not just physically but mentally. For a guy who's been in a coma, I feel sharp. Y'know, maybe that recompiler not only remade me, but tightened up the loose ends a little.
What happened? Soul box give out on you?
Shouldn't have. I mean, I was panning for gold in a Universal Computations stream I'd slipped into. I was submerged . . . deep, deep as it gets inside a constant flow of information, gigabytes of scientific research data, corporate finances, personal information on everyone in Manhattan: phone records, bank transactions, consumer purchases, an unending, beautiful swirl of facts. I stayed longer than I should have, but I've done that before and never been damaged.
So what was different about this time?
Something hit me. Something from the net. Something that lashed out at me from within the data stream.
What? What was it?
I don't know. Something . . . evil. Something ruthless and cold, cold as death. I know it's inaccurate to describe something in cyberspace that way, but . . . that's all I felt before I went disper. Just stone cold emptiness. Listen, if you're scoping this thing out, you gotta let me come with you. I have to know what it was. Besides, I owe you my life. Ice it, Ellen. I'll be fine. I'll be ready for trouble this time, and I won't be alone. What'll it be, Stark? Am I coming with you?



I'm torn about this. Charley should have been the best companion in the game.



But he's not very good at anything except decking. By now, we've seen almost everything there is to see in cyberspace, and Elvis's cyberskills are just as good.



His outfit isn't anything special, either. Just another recoloring of that standard outfit. He does have more dialogue than Garrick, though, and I do like him better.

Anyway, voting time. Do we welcome Charley into our group? If so, who does he replace?

Main Quests
Bring Chuck (Electric Anarchy) the TransTech list of Deirdre's associates
Incriminate Walter McCalaster for Bill Dougan, in order to help Mother Mary
Kill Abraham Van Helsing
Visit the Red Crosse Knights (175th Street)

Side Quests
Bring Coover Tristan (Kafka Conspiracy) the multi-channel transmitter
Cyril Thorpe (Cafe Voltaire) wants us to put something he calls "the possession" next to his physical form
Find more shit for Larisa Mayne (Plaza Hotel) to cure her madness
Bring Bertrand Foucault (Plaza Hotel) the blood-synthesizing nanotech
Find out what's up with the two pieces of the amulet we are in possession of
Bring Shock Maraud the Rimbus Database
Meet Emily Esaki at the Hellfire Club

Tit for Tat
Wyche Gibbons (Museum of Modern Art) will trade $4000 for the book, Mystics of Catal Huyuk, from the New York Public Library

We should go to these WELLs
MEDIUM is Cyril Thorpe's personal WELL
NYVAULT is the WELL of the New York Bank.