Part 21: Robot - Update # 2 - Meeting the crew

Robot Chapter, Part 2
In Which We Meet the Crew, and Immediately Regret It

---------------------------------



After Kato leaves the room, we finally get the ability to move and interact with the world around us. All that it took to reach this point was around two or three minutes of text screens and at least two more minutes of watching this guy pace back and forth and babble incomprehensibly.



In every character's room, there is a control panel that we can interact with to find personal logs or messages. They're usually not mandatory, but they give the characters some background.

So far as this one goes, it mostly just talks about Kato's first two attempts at making a robot before finally making one that works (that'd be us). Still, there's an interesting little snippet at the end.



: Tomorrow, the other five crew members awaken from cold sleep. I'd really like to get it working by then.

So the ship is a week away from reaching Earth, eh? Well, so long as we don't bring any large metal coffins on board, we should be fine.

There's nothing else to do in Kato's room, so all that we can do now is step outside.



Outside, we find Kato just staring at us in silence. The other doors in this side corridor are locked as of the moment, so the only option we have is to chat with him.



Whoa! Hey, slow down, buddy. We're going to need some time to get to know you first before you-



Oh. Come with you to the computer room. Okay, then.

: I have to register you as a member of the crew. Let's see now...Here we go!



: Please state your business.
: Good morning! I need to register a crew member.
: Understood. Crew registration. Classification...worker robot.





And so we finally reach our character registration screen. If this was Sunset's chapter, we'd probably be on our way to setting up traps by now.



: Mind, each of the crew's individual cabins have security locks. If you don't have the owner's permission, you won't be able to get in.

After we've had time to digest that weighty information, Kato gives us our first chance to get hopelessly lost.

: Alright then, Sphere. Now I want you to follow me on your own. I need to test out your AI. I'll be somewhere on this floor. Your job will be to come and find me.



But before we do that, let's chat with our new friend.

: Hello, I am this ship's mother computer. I know all about you. You are the first robot that Kato completed. I look forward to working with you.

Awwwww, he/she/it likes us!



Now then, if I were a babbling inventor without any imagination, where would I be hiding? The solution to this baffling puzzle is to go up through that large door and down a loooooooong hallway.



Seriously, if you're just going to be standing out in the open, then why bother making a game out of it?

: Beyond this door is the Cold Sleep room. During long trips through space, we use this place to go into cryogenic stasis. Don't suppose you'd have to, though...Well, please wake everyone up. Thanks!



In order to wake up the rest of the crew, we have to interact with the panel to the side of each pod. Why do we have to wake everyone up? Because Kato told us to, and he's too lazy to do it himself. We'll be seeing a whole lot more of this as time goes by. Makes you wonder whether the whole purpose of Kato's experiments was to create a robotic servant.



Once Sphere opens every single pod (presumably by hitting the buttons with its head), Kato runs in to steal most of the credit. The introductions begin in earnest immediately afterward.



First, we have Kirk, who is supposedly a skilled pilot and not that bad at mechanical work either. However, he never demonstrates the former, and when he tries the latter,  he dies. 

Also, he cheats at video games, and that's just unforgivable.



Second, we have Rachel, who is the ship's communications officer, and is also madly in love with Kirk. And...we don't learn much else about her, other than that Huey makes her skin crawl.



And you know what, she may have a point. Huey is the ship's cargo handler, which means that he gets paid to stack boxes. Though not presumably by hand, because he's a spineless weakling.



Rounding out the ensemble is Corporal Darth, a grumpy and rude military man who conveniently gets most of the good lines. However, he's technically not a part of the ship's crew, as he's just here to guard a specific piece of cargo, which we'll see more of in a later update.

: Just make sure that it stays out of the way. I'm heading to the break room.

Why a break room? Kato? Can you explain this one?

: Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!



: Come on! You're part of the crew too, so you're obligated to attend.

Well, when he puts it that way, how can we possibly refuse? Answer: we can't. So, join us next time as we wander from expository conversation to expository conversation in:

Part 3: I'm beginning to see why Xander didn't want to do this one.