Part 8: Exhibit A

Last time, we checked out all the stuff to do outside AMAKEN, including some neat new chips for our folder.



Inside is... a little less exciting.

Oh no... Cutscenes.


: (*looks north*) Over there is the Science Museum. (*looks south*) And this over here leads to the staff area. ...Hmm?


: You met him yesterday, didn't you, Geo? Heeeeeey!! Over here!!

Boreal, why are you so loud?


: This is my assistant, Mr. Tom Dubius. Hey, Tom. Are you OK? You look a little pale.
: U-Uh, yes...
: You look like you worked until real late last night. You've got to watch out for your health!
: Y-You don't need to worry about me.
: Oh? Alright. Let's continue then.

In this case, we can start to see Boreal as a little bit more than 'overbearing guy who means well'. He just looks at Tom for a second and immediately notices he's looking pale and more exhausted than usual, which... have you SEEN Tom's portrait? Dude's got eyebags under his eyebags.

Is that better or worse than Boreal's eyebrows on top of eyebrows portrait?




: So go on and have fun in the museum!
: Yay!
: Thank you so very much!
: I think you guys will enjoy a lot of what you see.

All joking aside, this is probably like walking into the candy shop for Geo. Dude loves space.


: I'll show you all my personal lab later, too. You'll get to see something no one has ever seen before! It's my latest project!

This seems like... kind of a weird thing to do? "Here small child, I knew your father and you have depression, so take a look at this science." But still, Boreal is trying.

Is... Is this Battle Network?


: (He's going to show them his latest project? My FlapPack is in that room too... Would he...?)

Hmm, this is probably fine. I'm sure the paranoid guy is just imagining things.



Anyway, we've been given free roam of AMAKEN for now, so let's proceed to totally ignore what Boreal told us to do and explore the Foyer first.



Hm, yes. I see. I wonder if that flag was anything in the Japanese versions of the game, or if this was always just a generic yellow flag.

It wasn't. Genericizing certain aspects for proper localization is something that Japanese media has gotten better with over the years.


...Shooting Star Cake to Meteorite Jewelry.

There's no way that jewelry is anything other than stainless steel if it's sitting out in a display case.

B-B-But is it steel from the rocket ship?


: ...Cake? We also have postcards and keychains!

Oh boy, kitschy souveniers.

Yo, get me all the keychains.


Putting 'em on my keyblade



No skipping ahead in the plot. Hit the flags like you're supposed to.


: Have a good time!


: ...and advanced technologies every day!! There's always a new discovery being made. I'm really happy to work in such an environment!

Quick question though: what is your job, red Navi.

Dude looks like a Power Ranger design. Holy hell.




These two machines have different flavor text. Weird?


Would you like to turn it on?
>YES NO
*whirr* *hum*
There's a wavehole near the ticket machine!

So yes, that's the real reason they have separate flavor text; one has a wavehole and one doesn't. I do like this part of the exploration, even if I wish the Wave world and the real world were integrated more tightly.






Well, that's all we can do here. Let's head inside!


Confirmed. You may enter.



And now we never have to worry about paying for a ticket ever again. The gate is permanently open to us. Hopefully this is something unique to Geo and not the museum's operating procedures, or they'll run out of money pretty soon.



Either way, the Museum is our next place full of things to explore. Time to start transcribing... (my poor keyboard, please forgive me for this)

Finally, I get to sit back and be lazy. Go, Yeti! Transcribe! Do it for the Internet!


"TVs, phones, GPS navigation etc... Waves play a vital role in our lives."

Waves, Internet, Navis, Robots, Reploids. Same MegaMan-y premise; same damn results.


"Waves can even travel into space... They circle around the Earth and are used to communicate with man-made satellites."


If it had fuel, it could really fly into space.

Neat. It's a good match for the one outside, that is a rocket but can't fly.


: And it's really good for society to give the general public a place to study like this. I think this lab should be our next field trip!

Thanks, Luna. Always thinking of the students.


...waves: a Transer, a cell phone, and a transceiver.


"In just a few years, the Space Colony will be a reality. People will live and work in space."

Unfortunately, we already know how that project ended. With several missing people, and a close encounter with alien life.

Work in space? Shit.

"I'm gonna be late. Space traffic's a bitch"
"Can I Work From Earth?"
"I didn't bring my lunch; is there a Space Food Court?"


"24 hours a day satellites like Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon fly around the Earth providing us with all kinds of information."


"Black holes have gravity fields that are so intense that not even EM or light waves can escape. This device generates black holes."
: Wow... It even attracts EM waves.
: That's scary.
: ...Hm, but? It says that this machine is broken. Aww... We don't get to see a black hole.

Okay hold up. I've been letting these go without much commentary because hey, it's a museum, what do you expect? But what is this. What is THIS? Create a black hole? If that thing actually worked, then it would destroy everything around it!

...Yep. Still suicidal stupidity in this timeline. Sigh. But hey, at least it sets up stuff in Starforce 3.


: ...but it's not working right now. We're not quite sure why either. Eheh heh heh.

It really doesn't make me feel comfortable that they're like "Oh a black hole machine that makes black holes is broken? Yeah we have no idea" because it makes BLACK HOLES.

Can this future's "Wily" try to make this work? I wouldn't even bat an eye.


"This is an ancient meteorite that once struck the Earth with a powerful force."

Note: NOT the one that destroyed the Tribes.


"This is the newest planetary probe. Made to land on a planet's surface, it collects data about that planet."




...Earth are being shown. They're truly beautiful.




: You think it's busted?

I'm glad it's busted, or we'd all die!


: There sure are a lot of constellations! Taurus, Gemini, Cancer... I can't remember all of them...

I'm sure it'll be unimportant.

Clearly.


: There's nothing else like it on the planet!



Can't go there yet, unfortunately.

...

That's everything to look at and talk to in the area, at least. So, what do we want to do?




Finally, the GOOD stuff! The encounters here are more or less the same as outside, though Wibbledees are now common enemies instead of just one subspace.





Going north immediately leads us to another exit point.



I haven't mentioned it because it hasn't been relevent yet, but you can pulse out of any warp point. Unlike in the Battle Network series, where Megaman.EXE had to return to Lan's PET, Geo is actually shifting around. So, we can get places we really shouldn't.



Don't worry about it, bud.



We can also head out the back to sneak out into the grounds.


One thing I can say is never look at the sun.

They're very insistent on telescope safety. Only total idiots would look at the sun like that.

Sorry I can't hear you OVER MY EYES COOKING.


On closer inspection, there's a wavehole here!

If we examine the second telescope, we open up a new wavehole to examine.



: ...THERE IN SPACE. ADVANCED BEINGS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHO KNOW HOW TO HARNESS THE SUN'S ENERGY... HEY, I'M A VISIONARY... *BEEP BEEP*

Nonsense. This Hertz is a conspiracy theorist. Put him down.



Fuck off, game.

Nothing excessively interesting in here, though.



Back on track, though, there's an HPMem10 hidden behind the third telescope. Any amount of HP is useful.



Heading south from the main Wave hole leads us to the rest of the wave road proper. There's an exit to the Foyer in the south, but let's explore the rest of the area first.


: ...TO BE LIKE ANGELS THROUGH THE POWER OF SCIENCE. BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS STUFF! *BEEP BEEP*

It's okay Mr. Hertz, you'll figure it out someday buddy.

Human arrogance.txt




Like the outside, this place is very twisty with plenty of side paths. Taking the right fork above the Mr. Hertz leads us to our first Weapon (not counting the BN Blaster).



It's just a slightly better weapon than the P. Armor, since I rarely use the rapid shot anyway. Who cares if it shoots slower?

Honestly, you shouldn't be using the buster much anyway. It's useful for certain effects we'll see later in the game, but the busting rank is more important.


: The silhouette of this silver marvel... So much human sweat and tears have gone into this collection of metal. Ah... It's amazing...



...There's a wavehole here. In this broken black hole generator. Even if there's something we can do, I refuse to fix it on principle. Though it's pretty weird how the wave road just ends abruptly like that.



Mr. Hertz? You okay there, buddy? (That's all it says, I'm not skipping anything.)

Brevity is the soul of wit. Thank you, Hertz.



Eh. Useless.

These blues... are not great. Losing the codes from Battle Network means that there are a lot less "equivalent filler" to hand out. I.e., giving out Hi-Cannon D, when the player has Hi-Cannon C. But it's clear that the hole (harr, harr, Yeti) created from that change means a lot of items are just...useless. 200Z called and wants its spot back.



More importantly, we have some Transers to check out.




Nothing special with Polly Reade, though her favorites are already white cards. Don't do this, since it makes the Favorite card pointless.

I hate you, little girl.



: Consider it an honor to be able to see inside my Transer!

Let's take a quick peek at Luna's message, shall we?


: ...no 6th grader is going to take it from me! To that end, I must get that "bad egg" to come to school.

Well, I guess that's her most important thought of the moment? Over, maybe, any of this science stuff?

Prideful, and knows what she wants. Though, I'm surprised she didn't mention her savior in her Transer. Was that later?



Bud's up next. Wonder if he's got anything interesting now that he's been possessed by a ghost of porkchops past?




Hey, check it out, TaurusFire is one of his favorite cards.

What is this timey-wimey bullshit.


: If I see him again, I'll make steak outta him!

Don't tell him that we've already made mincemeat out of TaurusFire EX.



: ...this country as an engineer.



Of course. Of course the guy named "McGrav" with black holes as his Favorite cards is working on the black hole machine. Ughhhhh.

Neat that you're getting a nice preview of cards to come later. That way, when you see the relevant virus, you go "oooooooohhhhh".




Sure thing, pal. (If I didn't look at the Message of someone, then that means they had a quest for us and I'll be showing those off later.)



Good news is, we're done with this part of AMAKEN, so let's explore the Foyer.



Generally, the early areas of the game have smaller wave roads. Case in point; Chapter 1 (TaurusFire) is two screens, and now AMAKEN is mostly done with just three wave roads. In fact, there's only one more wave road for us to visit in AMAKEN, and we won't get access for a little bit longer.


: Hmm? What am I doing? Well, you know that Navi that circles above the gift shop? It looks like so much fun that I'm copying him! *huff puff*

You do you, weird red Navi.





It's a little awkward to access, but this is the only place we can get to that ticket comp.


: I'VE GOT GROUP DISCOUNTS TOO! YOUNG MAN IN THE BLUE, HOW BOUT IT? UM... ARE YOU ALONE? ...WAIT, YOU'VE GOT SOMEONE ON YOUR ARM. YOU'RE GONNA NEED A TICKET FOR HIM TOO.

I'd get mad about the price gouging, but who could be angry at that face?

Me. Rip this fucker off for these tickets. Alternatively, just say that Omega-Xis is a disease. Thus, not a second person.



...Did we just steal the price of some kid's ticket?

YES! Commit crimes.txt Yeti! (Fuck off with your 300 Zenny game)




This part of the Wave Road is just as twisty as the other parts. The main part is this weird... fishbone-shaped structure? Basically it's a bunch of small paths that go nowhere, plus one place that does.




At the end of one of the ribs, we have a SubChip shop. Nothing useful in here, of course.




More importantly, we get a free SubCard up here. This is at the base of the ribs, if that one green panel is the 'head'.



At the other end of the tail, there's that truck guy that the red Navi was talking about.


: Welcome to the AMAKEN Gift Shop!
: Hey! You there, in the blue! You know you want to pick up some gifts!

Uh huh, sure. Whatever you say. I don't have the zenny to spend on knick-knacks.

Yeti says with almost 6,000 Zenny.



Moving along, one of the ribs goes around and leads...



...to an exit.



One we can't take. So, since there are some extra Transers in here, let's check those out.



: ...and look around!



The desk lady is Grace Fulle, and her favorite cards are weird raccoon things. Again, she has a quest, so no Message.





Swill Waters (ugh, he doesn't run very deep or quickly) has a bunch of exploding goops as his favorite cards.

Thread, torture Yeti with shit puns. Do it.



: Please make yourself at home!



These are some weird field cards under those other ones. My guess is his name is a reference to Leeroy Jenkins.

Leeroy Jenkins did come out in 2005. Even still, I wonder if there isn't a deeper pun to be had here. Hm. I will wrack my brain for an answer....and leave you all hanging.




After we talk to every person and check out all the exhibits, Geo points out that we've seen everything and it's time to hit the next flag. Up until this point, it's impossible to leave the building.


: Are you finished looking at everything? Alright then. Next, let's go to my personal lab! I can show you guys what I've been working on. My lab is upstairs, so take the elevator.
: You'll need this to get by the security gate.
Geo got: "StaffPas"!!

Alright, cool. Not sure why you're just handing this thing to a child, but sure. (We are never handing this back)

I'm more annoyed we are still dealing with 8 characters. Even though there's no need for ComputerVariable reference naming.





This gate will also stay open for the rest of the game.



Most importantly, we can just walk into the elevator to go to the upstairs. I'm glad they've finally figured out that pressing a button sucks.




I can all but guarantee nobody at an office would sit down and watch TV during a break. Plus, this thing's probably on mute with shitty subtitles and is never anything but the news.

But... future! Also, not true. Watched a sports game while on break on one of my jobs. Proof:






Some of this is probably classified. Geo, do you have a security clearance for this?



Always recycle!




These sound like generic soda flavors that have been rebranded. Wonder how much it cost AMAKEN to get those made?




Shut up dork, alcohol is much better.

This is a kids game, Yeti! Fucking watch your adult themes!



Hey Charley.



Anyway let's get in here.



I know we saw it yesterday, but damn, their workplace is messy. There's just a wrench and screwdriver lying on the ground.


: Feel free to look around.


: These aren't your everyday objects. Some things in here have yet to be announced!



Holy shit, look at that thing. Are... Are they building a rocket inside?!



More importantly, Tom is hiding out back here, eavesdropping.

: (M-My FlapPack has yet to be announced.)



Someone must have seen something neat... Or maybe Boreal just really wants to talk about his stuff.

: That's something that hasn't been announced yet, so I can't talk about it very loudly...
: *ba-dump* *ba-dump* *ba-dump*
: ...pack. I created it.

Huh. That's probably not good.


: Wh-What did he just say!? Did he just say "FlapPack"? H-He did, didn't he...?



Tom immediately runs out of the back door, rubbing his eyes. Sucks that Boreal betrayed him, like that.

Man, fuck you Boreal.



Oh, he was talking to Zack, who was staring at... something that's not the FlapPack. Great. You fucked it up again, Zack. You absolute useless piece of shit.



Now he's looking at the FlapPack. Sure wish Tom had stuck around long enough to hear this part of the conversation, huh?

: He calls it a FlapPack. I think it's close to completion. When I saw its wings flap, it pretty much convinced me! Ha ha ha ha!


: SpaceSim tour?
: Ha ha ha. You'll see. Let's get going. Reception desk is at the back of the museum.



You know we're exploring in here first thing, next time.

On Dragonball Z