Part 90: Episode LXXXVIII: Poor Financial Decisions

Episode LXXXVIII: Poor Financial Decisions



We’re getting there with sidequest mop up. The final concentration of optional content in Route B is mostly situated in the general area of Pascal’s Village.


Music: Amusement Park (Quiet)





Before we head there and see what’s crackin’ with those goofy machines, we do have a final lingering sidequest still present from Route A. The Half-wit Inventor quest persists through all routes because it involves dumping a sizable financial investment before completing and it would be kind of a dick move to reset the counter.



Back in Route A we only dropped a meager sum of a few grand into the Scientist Machine’s funding because we were rather strapped for cash early on. That is no longer the case as our current savings account has 222,984 G just waiting to be burned frivolously in the name of completionism.



20,000 G is the maximum we can invest at a time. We actually need to invest 80,000 total to advance to the next stage of this quest. So it’s a tad bit annoying we need to do it in 20,000 G installments instead of all at once.



Especially since 2B and 9S need to hang out for two solid days while the Scientist Machine tinkers in his shack laboratory. Every few intervals results in rewards for our investment in science. They are as follows:

• 5,000 G – Medium Recovery
  
• 10,000 G – Reset +1 Chip (10% chance of not actually dying when HP depleted/garbage), Meteorite (uncommon harvest point upgrade material)
  
• 20,000 G – Impact Bracer L (prevents staggering for 30 seconds), Speed Salve L
  
• 40,000 G – Choice Sachet (animals will now spawn at Access Points/frequently photobomb the cinematic when using fast travel)
  
• 60,000 G – Dented Plate, Crushed Nut (semi-rare crafting materials)
  
• 80,000 G – Meteorite Shard (rare crafting material), Charge Attack +3 (useless)
  

Once we’ve reached the 80,000+ G mark, the Half-wit Inventor quest reaches its next phase. Guess what it requires...?



That’s right! A huge dump of cash! 100,000 G is needed to complete this quest (making it 180,000 total flushed away.) This will blow through most of our savings... I dunno, man... Maybe not today. We still need to drop a fortune next time we reach Masamune in the Forest Zone and...



This was to be the foremost invention of our generation. I fear you may awaken one night with cold sweat upon your brow cursing your very name for your lack of investing foresight. Yes yes. A shame.



Well, hell... When you put it that way, I guess we could invest if it’s really going to be the invention of the generation. Plus, we have 18 Machine Cores tucked away for a rainy day and those sell for 22,500 G in Route C. So I guess we won’t be hurting that much for cash in the future. Fine. Have the 100,000 G. This better be worth it...



Then the time has come... Time for the foremost genius of his generation to perfect the greatest invention of the age!
<fist pumps and spins torso> Right then, off to work. I just know I can make this happen!



It’s going to be Halloween soon – the only good holiday. Should probably think of a dumb costume. I was grumpy dad Soldier-76 last year with my shitty Dorito gremlin D.Va daughter. My son was a mummy... That wasn’t part of theme. He just wanted to be a mummy. I dunno. Kids are weird. Anyway, you done yet dude...? Seven days of loitering in machine territory wouldn’t looking good on our performance review... if I believed anyone up in the Bunker actually cared about that sort of thing. I bet this two YoRHa drug addicts are still stoned out of their minds out in the desert oil slick and nobody has even noticed back at command.



...Or it was meant to be. Sadly, I have failed.
<points to sky> It was meant to be a launch tower for sending rockets to the very moon itself!



...Instead, it landed on Mars. It’s all so damnably frustrating. I am the world’s foremost genius, after all! Never before have I sipped the bitter brew of defeat! Still, all is not lost. I’ll gladly sell you some of the materials the rocket carried back from that red and desolate planet.



The Scientist Machine now becomes a shop which sells a very expensive, otherwise extremely rare upgrade material used in more than a few Level 4 augmentations. But most importantly: He sells an Alien Mask accessory!



Now 9S can finally live out his dreams of being a total dickhead to machines. Well, at least someone has their Halloween costume sorted out early.



In any case, that finally completes the Half-wit Inventor sidequest. We accidentally funded the machine lifeform space program and got a robot on Mars. Watch this be the jumping off point for NieR 3. As long as they don’t try fracking Hell while they are over there. NieR’s planet has already dealt with interdimensional beings and an alien invasion. It doesn’t need hell demons coming to rumble too.



It’s worth mentioning that Scientist Machine’s launch platform is a permanent addition to the world’s skybox and is large enough to be visible from several regions in the game. Here’s the view of it from in the Flooded City. It’s just there forever now. We probably shouldn’t let YoRHa command know we funded a machine lifeform rocket ship that had intentions of landing on the moon. That might be a light bit of treason, even if that machine wasn’t connected to the Network...


Music: Pascal (Vocal)



That’s one quest down. Let’s head into the Machine Village proper to continue our momentum. Pascal has another quest for us.



But first, we have to exhaust his dialog options. Turns out he has a bunch more topics to discuss beyond the dialog that led toward the Forest Kingdom. Let’s get a bit more of a feel for this village first.

> Ask about being pacifists.



Well, it’s a bit of a heady concept, but in the end, I suppose it’s because conflict has ceased to have meaning for us.
Care to explain?
We machines are weapons created for the purpose of waging war. However, this war simply goes on and on with no end in sight. We have come to realize that the cost of fighting for us as individuals far outweighs any benefits that victory might bring. I believe we will eventually live to see a day when androids and machine lifeforms are able to live together in peace.
Not likely.

> Ask about life in the village.



Well, as you know, we are machines. We do not require food or other typical sustenance, as our cores provide a near-infinite supply of energy. We do, however, deteriorate over time, which means we need to procure parts and initiate repairs. Still, it’s not like we break down all that often. To be completely honest, life in the village is rather slow.

> Ask about the shop.



Oh, we do. For us, simple materials take the role of currency. Each machine is equal, which means the traditional capitalistic acquisition systems of the past don’t work for us. Instead, our economy is focused on trading materials according to one’s need. It was a lesson we learned from mankind’s past history. Most fascinating, don’t you think? We’ve made it a point to teach our children about different economic systems. You should speak to them if the subject is of further interest.

So the machines just kinda chill out here and don’t need much beyond the occasional materials for maintenance. They think war is dumb. Also they’re socialists. That’s all fine and good... what about the sidequest, Pascal? You’ve got QUEST above your head and you’re not putting out. C’mon, man...



I’d like you to collect and bring back any information you find regarding the old world during your travels.
Really? Why?
I’m hoping to use whatever knowledge remains of the old world to make life better for those here in the village. I’ll be glad to share anything we find with you as well, of course. So would you be willing to assist us?
<Help him out.>
Thank you. Please show me anything of interest you find.



So begins the Data on the Old World quest. Pascal will now cough up rewards for any Old World Archives. This includes things like the flyer from the Amusement Park or that parking ticket with the game dev names. There’s actually a specific piece of data we need to obtain to finish this quest. But we’ll worry about that another time.



Ah! Thank you so much. I find this data from mankind to be ever so fascinating... I know it’s not much, but please take this as thanks.



Pascal just makes a copy of any data we’ve obtained. It doesn’t disappear from our archives or anything. But regardless, we’ll take that 10,000. We’re a bit strapped for cash again at the moment thanks to that whole space program funding business.



Anyway, that’s it for Pascal for now. But we’ve got other issues to resolve while we’re in town. It seems the Overprotective Mother and the Son Machine are having some family troubles again. Let’s see what the issue is this time...



I figured he’d be over that by now.
He tried so hard. I know he did! But fear has gotten the better of him and... Well, here we are. The lock is even stronger this time—without your aid, I’ll probably be standing here forever!
<Help the mother.>
Let me try hacking it open.
Get this door open and drag my good-for-nothing son out here this instant!



Welp. That shut-in kid is back at it again. We’ve got to give him some hard love to make him go out and meet people.



And by that I of course mean 9S needs to hack his door lock and blow up his door again. You know, the responsible resolution to dealing with a moody teen.





The maze constructed on the lock this time has a much tighter timer and is somewhat lengthier. Additionally, several rows of tall, thin blocks which take double-damage to destroy. Still, it’s not too big of a deal to manage.





Fuck your door, kid! Maybe your pinko commie society can pitch in to mend the property destruction, nerd.



You had me worried sick, young man! I can’t believe you did this AGAIN!
<cowers> I was scared. See, after I left the house, I... started to like this one girl. I thought I was gonna short-circuit whenever I looked at her! I never felt that before and it was... It was... It was SCARY!
There there. It’s all right. Next time, we’ll go see her together. All right?
<stands up> ‘Kay.
<turns to 9S> Thank you again. Truly. I don’t have much to give you, but I hope this makes up for some of your troubles. Oh, and feel free to come visit my child anytime you like. He seems... fond of you.



...Says the android wearing the hollowed out penis alien head of his sworn enemy race. Pot. Kettle. Black, 9S. You dingus...



Two severed machine legs, huh? Maybe give your kid those. Motivate him to get out of the house. I dunno... We’d better not be back here again to sort this out. We will be.



And that concludes our time for now in Pascal’s Village and brings our total sidequest completion to 75%. Tune in next time as we sort out some other machine problems and possibly, potentially... maybe commit some light treason. Again... As NieR: Automata’s sidequests continue to wind down.






Video: Episode 88 Highlight Reel





Pascal Concept Art – I like the sassy one with the weathervane accessory.