Part 197: BCP 26 - The Silent Orchestra

X-394 is a big facility, full of mysterious creatures known as Abnormalities. Many of these Abnormalities can do very bad things if they're handled improperly, and it's vitally important that our agents know just what may happen if they're careless. What's a manager to do?



Episode 26: The Silent Orchestra

Music: trailer


Hi! I'm Paul! Just your everyday plucky employee of Lobotomy Cobotomy, here today to talk about The Silent Orchestra!



The Silent Orchestra is an ALEPH-level Abnormality, and one of the trickiest Abnormalities any Manager can be faced with.

There's no messing around when this thing's involved! We're in the big leagues now!

While its Qliphoth Counter is 2, there are two ways to lower it. The first is a Bad work result. The second is the opposite-a Good work result.

Music can stem from positive or negative emotions, after all! It's important that the conductor feels nothing at all.



Here we've arranged to have an agent perform two Good works with it, in order to demonstrate what transpires when it breaches.



In order to prevent complications with another Abnormality, we'll also be clearing-

Hey, waitasec! There's Talow again! Why does he keep showing up?

...Ahahah… U-um…



Don't you worry about that, Paul! I'm certain that there's a good reason, and we're clearing them all out anyways!

Oh. Alright then, Miss Hod! I'm sure it's nothing sinister at all!

Anyways, when The Silent Orchestra breaches, it begins with a curtain call.



What a consummate showman!

All Abnormalities are incredibly committed to playing their part. This much is simply to be expected!



When the curtain opens, the Manager's attention is automatically moved to The Silent Orchestra's location in the main room of its department. While The Silent Orchestra is playing, the curtain remains on the Manager's screen. This has several effects.

First of all, it obstructs the Manager's view-he can't see where his Meltdown level is, or the corners of the screen!

It also has the added effect of stopping the manager from speeding up or slowing down time. Pausing is still okay, but The Silent Orchestra insists on having its music played at the right pace.

He must want to make sure there's no weird remixing, right Miss Hod?

As the breach continues, a single figure comes out of the ground.



Once she has emerged, the first movement begins. During both the beginning phase and the first movement, The Silent Orchestra is immune to all damage aside Pale. It attacks via a ring of notes which will surround it. This ring will deal White damage to anyone within the same room as the Abnormality.



Hey! There's a second person coming out of the ground too, Miss Hod!

Good eye, Paul! Once the second member of the chorus joins, then The Silent Orchestra's song moves on once more.



In the second movement another ring is added on top of the first, and the White damage will begin applying in nearby rooms and hallways. During this phase, The Silent Orchestra is vulnerable only to Black damage. All other attack types are ineffectual.



Those sure are some big rings!

It's worth noting that the rings determine how much damage a target takes from The Silent Orchestra's song. The further out your ring is, the less effective its attack is.

Music can't hurt you if you're too far away to hear it, after all!



Movement three occurs when the third choirgirl is added, and during this phase The Silent Orchestra's vulnerability changes to White damage. In this phase, the damage of the attack is intensified and another ring is added on. In addition-

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!

Yes, Paul-a high-pitched beep occurs, as the Abnormality attempts to deal damage directly to the Manager themselves. This noise can make it very difficult to think, so please use caution and turn down your speaker volume before attempting to suppress The Silent Orchestra.

If not, you might hurt your hearing! It's really loud!



The final movement, movement four, occurs once the last choir member emerges. During this phase the attack will reach the entire department, and The Silent Orchestra becomes vulnerable to Red damage.

Oh-phew. The loud beeping noise stopped, Miss Hod!

That's not necessarily a good thing, Paul. Reaching this movement means that all of the energy we've gained towards the day's quota is removed.

Slippery enkephalin tanks, Miss Hod! That's a total reset!

It is indeed-but since the Meltdown Level doesn't reset this can mean a poorly timed Silent Orchestra breach can force our Manager into facing Dusk, or even Midnight Ordeals.

Jeepers! I'm sure glad I don't have to be on the lookout for things like that-I wouldn't want to face a powerful Ordeal.

This is the final chance the Manager has to suppress The Silent Orchestra, but there is one more part to its concert. A stage will rise from beneath the conductor and his choir, and when it is fully formed, the finale begins.



During the Finale the musical rings burst outward across the facility, and The Silent Orchestra is immune to all damage.

Yowzers! That probably deals a lot of damage!

It actually has a different ability, Paul. Instead of dealing damage directly, the Finale has a unique effect on any agent with 50% or less of their SP remaining.



Yowie wowie! You never told me that The Silent Orchestra had unlocked facemelter!

The agent or clerk's head will burst, unable to withstand the musical force unleashed by The Silent Orchestra. For this reason, it's important to keep the SP of any agent in the facility high while The Silent Orchestra is breaching.



And it ends with the curtains closing! Does that mean it's going to start again?

Not at all! Once its concert is finished, The Silent Orchestra returns to its containment cell. This does mean that avoidance is a valid strategy for handling its breaches-though it will cost all the energy acquired that day.

Wowsers, that's a hard choice. Good thing we don't have to make it, right?

That's right, Paul! Well, that's all the time we have today. Thanks for joining us! And remember…

Knowledge is just pain plus observation! Have a great day!


Music: Aspire


Good evening, future Managers. The Silent Orchestra is an Abnormality worthy of our full attention, as it is prone to breaching but its status as an ALEPH makes it worth dealing with regardless. Angela, show them the details.





The first thing which must be mentioned is its E.G.O Gift. While rare, it is the only means through which an agent can gain complete, perfect immunity to a damage type. It's simply a shame that the damage type is so pathetically useless. While it protects the agent when working with White Abnormalities, no suppressible threats deal in White damage. Further, the absorption it provides only heals the SP gauge. It could theoretically be useful if fighting a Black damage opponent and a White damage opponent simultaneously, but all it would serve to do in the end is ensure the agent with the monocle dies, rather than simply panics. It is not worth including in our calculations, as it is effectively irrelevant.

In exchange for this irrelevant ability, it gives the weakest of the ALEPH level E.G.O suits. Most of its defenses are on par with Smile or Mimicry, yes, and it almost succeeds as the White version of those suits-if not for the 1.5x Pale multiplier. This turns the suit into a liability when facing any opponent which deals Pale damage. These threats, of course, are not ones where such a liability can be afforded.

It is unfortunate, then, that the suit is garbage. The employees tell me they think it looks sharp-they even like the monocle. I could never truly agree… It reminds me of a very pushy old friend, one who I would rather not speak with. As for the weapon… it is incredibly powerful. The scythe attacks quickly, hits multiple times per attack, and is the third-highest among all the ALEPH gear we've ever extracted in terms of damage output… lagging behind Twilight, obviously, and... King of Greed? Is this right?

It is, Manager. My calculations are infallible.

Well, there you have it then. As for how to deal with it and get that equipment, I have a favorite trick. Allow me to share it with you. Prior to beginning work with The Silent Orchestra, arrange all Pale and Black weapon users into the main room that it will spawn into. It's always the main one of the department it's in, so this is an easy thing to do.

Once the second good work has taken place and the timer is counting down, select the entire army. Once this is done, wait for the curtains to close. Then comes the magic.

We can move our mouse over the center of the screen-and it will turn red. Right click when it does, and your agents will engage The Silent Orchestra before it has even begun its concert. So long as your Pale and Black damage weapons are up to snuff, it will make for an easy suppression.

Of course, you can also simply have all agents clear out of the department for each breach… but that's simply wasteful. We're an energy company, after all. Throwing out good energy is anathema to our purposes.

At least, I think it is… the pipes to the outside do not function, after all. I couldn't say what the energy is being collected for. Ah, but I shouldn't burden you with my own worries. For now, this old man shall cease his ramblings.

Next time's featured Abnormality…




New Guidelines

The Silent Orchestra

New Gear


Requirements: Level 5, Prudence 5


Requirements: Level 5, Prudence 5

New Story

The Silent Orchestra