Part 39: Episode 3 Datalogs: Citation Needed

New Music: Plosive Attack (from Parasite Eve)

It’s that time again. A new episode of The 3rd Birthday has arrived. And with it comes a fresh info-dump shat all over the Datalogs section. Timelines have shifted. Profiles have updated. The works. Let’s soldier on through the newest line-up of wiki filling fodder!





We only went back a whole three days in the previous timeline. You’d think not all that much would change in such a time span. But we did defeat the Queen of Spanish Harlem’s Babel and take out another named character anomalous Twisted boss. And the Twisted, being pan-dimensional creatures, are also timey-whimey in a yet to be specified manner. So shaking up their ranks has sent ripples down the timeline. This time reaching back to 2012… somehow. In the interest of brevity, I’m only going to include altered or replaced events in the timeline. Also the one mission relevant to the chapter.





Jan. 7: Operation Red Fog

Case No. 1536D-205
Codename: Operation Red Fog

On January 7, 2012, a year after the first Twisted sighting, the Babel began twining its subterranean roots around Grand Central Station. The military carried out a daring assault with Captain Russo of the elite Delta Force heading up the advance team. The platoon was wiped out in just over an hour, as was the National Guard unit that had been fighting by their side.

Thelonious Cray, a former member of Russo's platoon who had just assumed his post at CTI and did not participate in the operation, has said that the Captain's final transmission mentioned an encounter with a little girl who had become a Twisted.



Aug. 19: Operation Violet Storm

Case No. 0516G-104
Codename: Operation Violet storm

The elite unit TDM was mobilized to eliminate the Twisted that had infiltrated the landmark Marianne Hotel in Manhattan, breaking through windows on the 53rd floor. The Twisted decimated TDM's ranks and killed 347 hotel guests before suddenly disappearing.

Contrary to government and military expectations, the much-lauded TDM unit was no more. Records on the new flying Twisted proved unrecoverable.

The elite unit TDM was mobilized to eliminate the Twisted that had infiltrated the landmark Marianne Hotel in Manhattan, breaking through windows on the 53rd floor. TDM used every ounce of its power to successfully rescue 154 hotel guests and capture the military's first living Twisted specimen(though CTI had already obtained one), which set the wheels of Twisted research into frantic motion.

All 14 TDM members who were killed in the mission were awarded the Purple Heart for giving their lives in service to the US military.





Feb. 9: Development of New Nuclear Weapon Okayed

Chief Perry of the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) requests a budget of $370 million, explaining that ''the design and development of a new nuclear weapon effective against Twisted is of the utmost urgency.'' The government grants Perry's request.



April 1: Prediction: US to be Wiped Out in Four Years

According to supercomputer calculations at the US Army Research Laboratory's large-scale shared resource center, the country's population is predicted to be wiped out by 2015, two four years away.

Sept. 4: Under-Construction Aircraft Carrier Demolished

On the afternoon of the 4th, Twisted emerged from the broadside elevator and steam turbine of the USS Arthur MacMillan, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier under construction at the Newport News shipyard on the Atlantic coast. US Navy crewmembers attempted to fight them off, but in the end, the Army demolished the supercarrier in an attempt to head off any further damage.



Sept. 4: Operation Golden Tsunami

Case No. 2077V-008
Codename: Operation Golden Tsunami

On the evening of the 4th, the Twisted that had emerged on the Atlantic destroyer USS Metcalf were seen to be increasing in droves. The US Navy mobilized all of its resources to intercept the intruders, but by the morning of the 5th, staggering casualties had forced what few sailors remained to retreat. After the incident, the US had no choice but to abandon its Atlantic line of defense and back down.

While residents along the Atlantic coast had been ordered to evacuate during the operation, by that point any lifesaving capabilities existed in name only. The death toll rose to 400 thousand.



Sept. 30: Pentagon Destroyed

In the early morning of the 30th, Twisted appeared inside the Pentagon, the US Department of Defense headquarters. A mass of Twisted filled one square mile of space, destroying the building that for 70 years had stood for safeguarding the freedom and peace of the American people. Approximately two thousand employees and military personnel were rescued, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.



October: NY State Casualties Top Three One Million

The Department of Defense disclosed on the 12th that the number of casualties in New York State since the Babel first appeared in December 2012 had surpassed three one million, or 15 five percent of the total population.

Case No. 4516N-339

Twisted appeared at an opera house on New York City's upper West Side in the middle of the night. The opera house was closed when the state was placed under martial law, so while there were no civilian casualties, 28 members of the SWAT team and eight FBI agents lost their lives.



Oct. 3: CTI Obtains Emily Jefferson's Diary

On October 3, a CTI employee discovered Emily Jefferson's diary. It contained references to a friend from Emily's days at the State University of New York, identified only by the nickname “Rib.”

Emily's father Christopher said, “Emily never cared much for music, and she was no Ginger fan. This Rib person must have dragged her to the concert.” However, the authorities had already identified all of the victims in the Sacrifice Incident, and there was no record of anyone fitting Rib's description. Further investigation will be needed to determine Rib's true identity.



November: Babels Emerge in Asia

Reuters reported that on the afternoon of the 17th, multiple Babels appeared in Japan, portions of the Korean archipelago, and throughout China, bringing the total number of Babel-infested countries to 24 - about an eighth of the world.



Dec. 1: UN Security Council Calls for Coalition Forces

French Prime Minister Annabella Larbeaud chaired a domestic summit at the end of November, during which the attendees pushed for the immediate formation of a contingent of UN Forces. The next day, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the creation of the first-ever militarized Coalition Forces tasked with driving out the Twisted.

The resolution states that the new unit would carry out operations in coordination with the US, British, and French governments, while supporting the US Army in close-range deployment operations across North America.



Dec. 9: US Survivors Seek Refuge in Ireland

Irish president Nora Townshend announced that she had accepted a request from the US government to take in American survivors as refugees, with approximately 300 thousand arriving in the first wave.



The Spanish Harlem Incident

Case No. 7882S-031
Codename: Operation Black Storm

An incident took place in the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of New York City on the afternoon of December 21, 2013. Seeing indications that the Babel that had sprouted beside the Spanish Harlem was in decline, the FBI mobilized the SWAT team to destroy it. However, the team was completely wiped out, and even the SWAT snipers that had been sent to rescue them were set upon by a mass of unknown twisted that had appeared in midair. The sniper team retreated, but not before suffering great losses.

CTI mobilized Agents Monsigny and Cray from the Overdive Investigation Unit. Agent Thelonious Cray died in action.

An incident took place in the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of New York City on the afternoon of December 21, 2013. Seeing indications that the Babel that had sprouted beside the Spanish Harlem was in decline, the FBI mobilized the SWAT team to destroy it. They collaborated with CTI Agent Gabrielle Monsigny to successfully drive off the mass of flying Twisted, while the ground troops were able to advance on the terrestrial Twisted and stem the tide of their fierce attacks.

Not long afterward, however, Agent Monsigny turned into a Twisted and was fatally shot by Agent Aya Brea.



Long Island Taken Over by Twisted

On December 23, 2013, Twisted appeared in Suffolk on Long Island, New York, increasing in number to a staggering two thousand strong in the space of ten minutes. These unwelcome guests threw the quiet upper-class community into sheer pandemonium.

Approximately 700 thousand residents were left missing, among them famous personalities such as Major League Baseball player Arthur Marlon, Hollywood actress Jean Mitchell, and popular RBS weatherman Christopher Burl. Makeshift memorials sprang up throughout Suffolk in the following weeks, including many bouquets sent from overseas.

TDI Note: The FBI Headquarters getting overrun and Hunter Owen eating it never gets added back to the timeline. But it presumably happened this date like it did on the first timeline.



Dec. 24: Present Day

Babel-stricken regions: 36 28 countries worldwide
Estimated number of Twisted: Approximately Nine 5.5 million.



That does it for the timeline updates. See. Things are getting better… sort of. I’m sure that will stay the course and there will be not some contrived catastrophe that sends everything spiraling to the brink in the third act.

Anyway, while the CTI Staff has not grown, several of the entries have gotten updates. As with the timeline, anything in italics will be new info from here on out.



----- Aya Brea -----

Half Japanese, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her unique genetic makeup has given her the physique of a woman in her 20s.

One Christmas Eve 2010, she was found outside St. Thomas Cathedral in Manhattan, suffering from amnesia. Judging from her bloodstained wedding gown, she had been found just before or just after her own wedding ceremony, although that hasn't been confirmed. She remember nothing of herself apart from her own name.

Soon after entering CTI custody, she exhibited a mysterious ability. After much analysis, this ability was dubbed ''Overdive.'' The Overdive device made Aya the only person capable of diving into a human's past consciousness. Her chief mission was to move back into time and alter the reality that had already happened, but if she were to go beyond the limits of her abilities, her consciousness would be lost in time, never to return. In short, death during an Overdive operation had a direct effect on the physical body left behind.

Many people in various government agencies - CTI head Hunter Owen included - think Aya's Overdive ability shares special characteristics with the Twisted that appear from distortions in time. Owen believes they have an obligation to keep a close eye on her.

Aya has testified to dispatching Agent Gabrielle Monsigny after the latter turned into a Twisted during the Spanish Harlem Incident. She has also attested to the existence of a younger sister, Eve Brea. Further investigations into the matter have come up empty-handed.



----- Thelonious Cray -----

It’s exactly the same, they just edited out the part where he fucking died!




----- Gabrielle Monsigny -----

Born in Baltimore, Maryland. Her grandfather had emigrated from Belgium; her father was a police officer, and her mother died when Gabrielle was an infant. She was a special agent in the CTI's Overdive Investigation Unit. With beautiful features, balanced proportions, and large, discerning eyes that speak to her profound insight, one glance from her would stop you dead in your tracks.

Gabrielle truly worked her way to the top, starting with the LAPD before being selected for the SWAT team. She acquired outstanding sharpshooter skills while part of a sniper team with a hostage rescue unit. She was also one of the few chosen by the FBI's Counterterrorism Division to join a special emergency squadron as part of the SWAT team.

Around this time, she fell in love with fellow team member Scott Gray. Upon learning he was a spy for an overseas agency, she secretly reported him to her superiors. Her karmic punishment, as she saw it, was knowing that her lover was later executed for espionage.

She first worked with Hyde on a CTD mission; she transferred to the CTI on his enthusiastic recommendation. Her sharpshooter techniques and HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) parachute skills were among the very best. Aya says that Gabrielle taught long-range combat to short-range fighter Cray.

Gabrielle suddenly turned into a Twisted during the Spanish Harlem Incident of December 21, 2013, fiercely turning on Aya before being destroyed herself. As mutant Twisted, both she and Emily Jefferson are now being investigated by the CTI's data analysis unit.



----- Hunter “Boss” Owen -----

They just added back in the part where he died like an idiot. Have fun with your huge RV and fly fishing in the Home For Infinite Losers, dipshit.



----- Erich Graf -----

56-year-old male, born in Bonn, Germany. Mathematician and nuclear strategist. He graduated from Princeton and began working at MIT, but his struggle with schizophrenia cost him his job. After several years of treatment, he accepted a position at the RAND Corporation think tank and has been studying military strategy ever since. Upon entering the CTI, he assumed the role of Hyde Bohr's “brain.”



We had a whole mess of new Twisted dropped on us last chapter. Hell if I could describe most of ‘em from memory. But here we are with some Datalog entries to attempt to jog the memory.



---- Stinker -----

“Ruthless Drone”

A Twisted that attacks its enemy in swarms surrounding a so-called Head Stinker. This “”queen bee” serves as the brain and heart of the swarm, both issuing commands and sustaining the life of its Stinker drones. When the Head Stinker is attacked, it uses its stealth capabilities to camouflage itself, disappearing into its surroundings.

Stinkers are venomous. When a single Stinker sprays its venom, it releases an aggression pheromone at the same time. Other Stinkers stimulated by this pheromone will spray their venom as a swarm. Coming into contact with this poison fog cause respiratory distress, paralysis, and incapacitation, similar to nerve gas.

Shoot the Head Stinker to bring down the swarm. Once in sniping position, use your scope's ability to determine its weak spots.

TDI Note: Their entire model is the only hitbox and they die in one hit. Are you even getting your Datalog tips wrong, The 3rd Birthday?



---- Bean -----

“Twisted Turret”

Uses a high-intensity bombardment attack, if approached head on, be prepared to face an unavoidable assault of concentrated firepower. Make use of obstacles to secure a possible line of defense, then go straight for the jugular. It chooses its ammunition to suit the firing distance, so work out the potential trajectory and evade accordingly. Beans also have a tremendous capability for regeneration. It takes a focused attack to whittle down their numbers.

When Beans are in attack mode, a shotgun is the weapon of choice. When defending, however, you must use a sniper rifle to zero in on their weak spot. Sniper rifle sweet spot: Center of the body while defending (with its shell closed)



---- Roller -----

“Mad Corkscrew”

Attempts to enter close range combat as soon as it appears. It narrows any wider gaps by twisting its body and using the recoil to propel itself forward like a spring. Its attack - surging forward while rotating - is frighteningly fierce. It moves with extreme speed and seems almost engineered for pouncing on enemies. The Roller's claws really come out when it takes damage, at which point it goes crazy with violent fury. In this state, it has both greatly increased damage-recovery capability and uncommon endurance. It will destroy cover-providing obstacles and frustrate any attempts at evasion.

Sniper rifle sweet spot: Tip of the “tail.”



---- Rover -----

“Arachnoid Deathtrap”

Works with and controls a type of Twisted known as Detectors, which float along looking for enemies and summon a Rover as soon as one is sighted. It uses a laser searchlight to trap and fire at enemies. If caught in this beam, your body will be frozen to the spot, rendering you temporarily incapacitated. Once it immobilizes its prey with its searchlight attacks, it uses its sharp skewer-like tentacles to impale its target. It's an astonishingly powerful move - and a fatal one.

The tenacious tracking of an endless onslaught of Detectors combined with the powerful offense and speed of the Rovers make for a truly pernicious paid. Approach with extreme caution. Destroying the enemy-hunting searchlight is the key to defeating Rovers. Unless and until a bullet from a sniper rifle shuts it down, the searchlight will keep moving in all manner of ways to track down intruders.

Sniper rifle sweet spot: Lower portion of the extremities, i.e., below the “knee.”



---- Queen -----

“Unknown”

The Babel's core was thought to contain the Big Orb. Instead, Aya found herself face to face with the Queen. The Babel's interior is a world where the future mingles within indeterminate time-space, the Queen uses descent attacks on humans, turning them into Twisted to obtain the nutrition necessary for the Babel to thrive. Since Aya is an uncertain being herself, she has no choice but to fight the Queen as a floating embodiment of consciousness.

If Aya can dodge the Queen's descent attack, consisting of psychic waves and countless Twisted entities, and manage to successfully Overdive into a human who's already been engulfed, she'll be able to fire at the Babel's core: the Queen.

Sniper rifle sweet spot: Inside the mouth.



---- Gabrielle Monsigny -----

Gabrielle has undergone a grotesque transformation, as though the Twisted sleeping deep within had suddenly awoken. Like Emily, another special case. With the wings of a fallen angel, it skillfully unleashes wind-harnessing attacks. It also releases an endless stream of Stinkers and directs them to attack, making for a highly strategic assault both on the ground and in the air.

Destroy it by making good of Humvees and Overdiving into SWAT members. This monster needs effective attacks that do significant damage.

TDI Note: I like that they give boss tips to datalog entries only unlocked after you’ve already beaten the boss. No, there’s no boss rush or generic common form Twisted Gabrielle. They’re just really banking on people replaying this garbage game.



Babels have gained one new entry. There’s like one further entry in this category the rest of the game. Again, I’m not sure why this just didn’t get filled under the general Notes tab.



---- Babel 3 -----

The orbs that can be seen throughout the Babels are believed to be circulatory organs. When an orb has been destroyed, the Babel will take the necessary cells from nearby organs and use them to rebuild the orb. During this process, the Babel's wall is temporarily unable to defend against intruders. In other words, destroying the orbs is a shortcut to the Babel interior.

Approaching via helicopter or fighter jet is a serious challenge. The Babel's outer wall is equipped with turret-like Spitters keeping intruders at bay.

TDI Note: So there you go. Hand waving why nobody ever just air drops Aya and disposable friends closer to objectives instead of 8 mega-blocks away.



The Key Persons tab has gained some new entries now that Eve and Madigan have been introduced. Exempting Emily Jefferson and Ginger the singer, this tab may as well just be the Old Parasite Eve Character Gulag.



---- Eve Brea -----

A girl Aya claims is her younger sister.

However, no one has been able to independently verify her existence. No record of her has been found.



---- Kyle Madigan -----

The man Aya claims to have encountered during the Spanish Harlem Incident. He was wearing the same ring as Aya and told her Eve was dead.

Although he gave his name as Kyle Madigan, there's no record of anyone by that name in any agency database.

TDI Note: We have absolutely no records of either of these two, except for a file mugshot.



Finally, we have a few new e-mail exchanges that Blank has left open in the public terminal. Let’s see if he’s chatting up any more international assassins or whatnot this go around.



Good to see Blank is making absolutely sure this is, in fact, some anime bullshit. Not Aya just losing her shit and having a mental breakdown because shooting your consciousness into the past is some sketchy business.



I can see the Forbes blog article headline now: Deceased One-Hit Wonder gives handouts to entitled millennials.



Dr. Denton, please just file away your findings to the Datalogs and stop sending e-mail notices every time you update the CTI Wiki. Some of us have real work to do, Jesus!



That’s a wrap for the latest in fluff pieces and wiki articles. Did we learn anything of value here… Umm… No. No, I don’t think we did. But tune in next time to adventures with Bobby Ellsworth in Grand Central Station. Hopefully he won’t be brutally murdered within minutes of coming into first contact with Aya Brea. But no promises!