The Let's Play Archive

Zero Time Dilemma

by DKII

Part 49: Radical-6 (1 of 2)

Part 49: Radical-6 (1 of 2)



Lots of action and a close vote but we're headed to the Biolab.



After lots of time with C-Team (nine straight updates!), we're going to hang out with Q-Team again.



Kind of funny-shaped but still a simple fragment.





Music: Portentousness 2nd Mix







Eric lets out a little scream.







Formaldehyde solution with...

A pig.

It's okay, Mira...



Are you scared of a dead pig, Eric?



Mira gives a disgusted sigh.





So there's a bunch of biological research here...



Geez, this place is really creepy...





Pandemic?



You can't see it, but Eric is literally shaking in his shoes right here.



It's like a sudden deadly virus outbreak.

Remember when people might not know what a pandemic was?



Is this where Radical-6 was born?





Like what?



Like maybe taking the ingredients and cooking all of us a nice meal...



Not shown: Eric suddenly leaning over and gagging.



Too early for dinner?

Is 6:10pm considered early for dinner? Seems kind of normal to me. Also, another 18:00 fragment. Wonder where this one fits in?



Four and a half hours...



No, not necessarily.

Time for yet another version of the same explanation.







No...

Suddenly, an electronic beep is heard.





[Slash the pig's stomach]...?

Whoa. For real?





Probably.

Mira's all cool with it, of course. Has Eric never dissected an animal in science class before?



Why do we have to do something like that?!





They could just wait out the timer, I guess. But who knows how many times they might have already tried that, only to wake up still stuck in this room and with no memory of any prior attempts?





Music: Biolab (Annihilation 2nd Mix)





Continuing the time-honored tradition of clicking random crap on the ceiling that never does anything.

We can see the pipes sticking out of the ceiling in this room.



They're the only source of light in here. They have to be bright or we can't see anything.



I looked around for a bit trying to figure out where to start, then noticed these random discolorations in the floor for the first time. Don't think I ever saw them my first time through.



You're right. It looks a little cleaner... It's as if something was moved from this spot.

What do you mean by "something"?



Anyway, let's take a look at the pig while we're here.

I still think this pig is the one... But the big question is, how do we get it out?

This is it! Time to prove I'm a man! Hyah! Owww, my hand... Wait, not even a crack?!

What the hell are you...



Whatever, let's look at the rest of this thing.

There are caster wheels on it, but...

Seems like it's locked in place. We'll need to unlock them if we want to move it.

Gee, I wonder if it's going to eventually move into those spots on the floor.



Random outlet behind the thing.

Ah! There's an outlet back here!

And that's it. Awful excited for some reason.



A few things to look at by this desk here. First, the chair.

The chair doesn't have arm rests. I don't like it.

I'm so ready to sink into my couch once we get out of here...



Let's check out the drawers.

This drawer doesn't want to open.

There's no spot for a key either, so maybe it's not supposed to?

Ugh, fine.



Zooming in on the desk, we have some strange machine.

I think this is an analyzer? But it doesn't look like the power's on.

I don't think a power cord's even connected.

Then I doubt we can turn it on as it is now.

Guess we'll be looking for a power cord.



The old computer here provides a second zoom-in.

There's nothing on the monitor.

Hey, do you think we could use this computer to do research?

I don't think so. Let's keep looking.

...Research on what?



Next up, another strange object.

This is a clean bench. It's for preventing contamination of samples while working.

What kind of contamination?

Substances like microorganisms, bacteria... Things that shouldn't get mixed in samples.

I see... You really know your stuff.

Anyway, the only thing of interest here is the two beakers of colored liquid.



Oh! Oh! Like mad scientists do, right?

Well, that's an old-fashioned reference...



Aojiru got its name from an old way of calling vegetables "green plant". It tastes super bad.

How...do you know stuff like that? Just who are you, really?

Good question, actually.



It's a popular color in nail salons.



Next up is this weird microwave-looking thing.



Guess we're not supposed to cook the liquid. Let me put it away.

It's a UV irradiator. It's used mostly for drying and strengthening adhesive materials.

So, not for toasting your skin to a beautiful tan then.



Well, nothing more to do there yet. Next, a bunch of glowing jars of some kind.



Maybe just to freak someone like you out?

Ha ha ha, if only Zero was a fun prankster.



There are four specimens here that aren't weirdly glowing white, and one empty spot.

Huh? Just this spot here doesn't have a specimen.

Either nothing was here in the first place, or what goes here was moved somewhere...

Did we see any other specimen cylinders in this room?

No, but I'll add it to the list of things to look out for in here. Let's also look at each of the specimens, from left to right.

It's a specimen of some kind of plant.

Maybe it's an experimental plant that can live in a polluted world.

Sounds like the setup for a man-eating flower from a B movie to moe.

Next:

This is a seahorse specimen.

What is a seahorse anyway? A kind of shrimp? Or starfish? ...Snake?

They're a type of fish. It's hard to tell, but they do have gills.

Looks more like a tiny swimming dragon to me. Moving on...

This is a butterfly specimen... Hey, that's weird. I can't move it.

It looks like this is the only one locked in place.

What could that mean?

What, indeed.... Next!

There's a penguin in there.

...It's so sad there in that specimen jar.

Really? It's dead, so it doesn't really matter.



Finally, let's get away from these specimen jars and do our customary examination of the exit door.



Pounding on it is not going to help it open. Stop wasting time.

We only have so much time and energy. Let's follow Zero's instructions for now.



Some kind of storage lockers in the corner?



What about those buttons there?

We may as well try them.

I'll get there. How about some of these other drawers?

Huh? I don't think this opens.

Heh. Looks like it's the grownup's turn now. Hnnnggg! H-Huh? It won't open.

Maybe it's broken? Let's keep looking around.



None of the drawers are functional. Let's look at the colored buttons instead.

Four buttons, each a different color. This might be...

You think if we got the combination right, this thing would open?

I think so too. Let's try it...



Guess random guessing won't work.

I have no clue how to do this! Am I not lucky enough?

It's really hard without any hint.

He's right. Leaving it to luck is inefficient.



Oh hey, another pig. This one is probably easier to slice open.



It'd be a lot easier if it is.

No harm in trying.

I guess we still don't have anything to cut with yet.



Some more fun stuff on another desk.

This looks like a researcher's note...

They must've been doing research on cells.

I know! It's telling us to look at the cells in the microscope!

'Research Notes (Biolab)' posted:

Careful examination of the green and pink liquids reveals two different cell structures.

Separating the liquids results in different colors.

One thing is clear after inspecting the separated liquids under the microscope: The cell structure is unique for each color.

So, separate the liquids, then shove them under the microscope. Simple enough.



This was the computer with the simple instructions for us.

Slash the pig's stomach, huh.

What could that mean in a place like this?



Let's see what this microscope is all about.

Hey, I wanna see too! Hey!

Would you just shut it. This is why kids are... Give me a sec...hm? I can't see anything.

How exactly are you going to see anything without the lens...

Guess we'll add microscope lens to the shopping list.



It fell out, and I barely touched it, I swear. Did I break it?

Maybe we can use it for something. Let's take it.



You're right. It's a heptagon. Can we use it with something?

Be on the lookout for something heptagon-shaped, I guess.



Another random machine.



I guess? You didn't really give me a chance to look at it first.

I think we can unscrew with this.



Yes! The cover's off!



We hold onto the cover, because why not?



Maybe that's just the pattern it has? Or someone drew on it...

I feel like there's some meaning to them.

Looked just like random vertical lines to me.



Hmm. Any ideas?

I might've seen it before, or not... Maybe I would've known before I lost my memories.

That didn't seem to stop you from knowing everything else in the room.



Lots of stuff on these shelves.

There sure are a lot of tools. I wonder what they're for?

I don't think anything here is useful...

Let's leave them, then. Who knows what would happen if we moved them.



Everything else here gives the same boring dialogue, except for this piece of paper.



"Set the dial to B to separate the liquid." This must be the manual for the centrifuge.

'Centrifuge Manual' posted:

This device is used to mix and separate liquids.

Place two test tubes with liquid into the machine. The centrifuge will mix them and output the mixture into one beaker.

Place on beaker with liquid into the machine. The centrifuge will separate the liquid into two test tubes.

Not sure that's really how it works, but whatever. Simplicity for game design's sake, I guess.



Got a sink-on-wheels over here.



We can try?

Nngg! ...It's not moving an inch. Damn, I think it's locked in place.



Oh, hey, there's a knife in the sink. That'll come in handy for slashing things open.

There's a sink on this thing.

Hey, look! I found this in there!

That knife looks pretty sharp... Maybe we can use it to cut open the pig's stomach?



Baloney-phobia?

Eric, you know saying big words doesn't make you look smarter, don't you?

N-No, Mira! Eric's shrinking into himself!

Belonephobia = fear of sharp objects, typically needles. I guess knives could trigger it, too?



You're right. You can't use it well like this. Oh, and no water's coming out.

We probably have to move the whole thing to the differently-colored spot on the opposite wall first. Somehow.



That's the whole room. Let's cut open this pig!

A-All right, I'm gonna do it. Ready...?



I'm not a big fan of the design of this room. A lot of obscure/obtuse things to interact with, without a lot of hints. And then there are multiple instances of dumping multiple items out simultaneously, instead of spreading them around. Even the dialogue isn't very funny or interesting. And you can already tell there's going to be some color-based puzzle that my color-blind self will hate.



From the pig, we get this random note about some crazy-deadly disease. Even worse than Radical-6. Seems like if it kills that fast it'd have a hard time spreading enough to really take hold, though.



There's also the microscope lens we've been looking for.

It's a microscope lens. We can use the microscope if we attach it.

But why was it inside the pig pillow?

No clue. Maybe because pigs eat anything?



And last, the power cord we've also been waiting on.

It's a power cord.

When it came out of the pillow it looked like intestines... So disgusting...

I wonder what this cord's for?

Probably plugging something in?



...

Random dialogue after getting all the items. That lack of response was vaguely disturbing. We get some more from clicking on it again:

Oh, something's inside. ...It still feels kind of cruel, even if it is just a pillow.

We got some useful things out of it, but I'm betting we still have to cut that other one.

Ugh... I hope you're wrong.



Well, we're already holding the power cord, so let's go plug it in somewhere. This random unpowered machine will do.

Oh! The power turned on!

But we can't use it yet. It looks like it's on standby mode right now.

The cover over there opened up. What could that be?



Despite where I clicked, he's actually talking about the slot on the lower left corner. I didn't realize that at the time.

Maybe it'll turn on if we stick something in?

Something thin and long...



So I made several attempts to shove in the centrifuge cover instead.

Are we holding anything that can fit in there?

That's what I was trying to do!



Yeah, turns out the knife has a second use here. One thing I do like about this room is some items are used in multiple ways.

Hey, it fits perfectly!

Yes! The analyzer's on! I can't believe using a knife for the lever actually worked.

Me neither! And if we take the knife out, we can still use it-- Oops.



So long, knife. Guess we'll have to find some other way to slash open the pig.

IDIOT! Look what you did... DAMMIT! How are we going to cut the pig open now?!

Maybe I'll make you use your teeth.

I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to pull so hard...

Auuughh, dammit, it's all over! Zero's gonna kill us all now!

What's done is done. The analyzer's still on, at least. We'll find another way.

This drama seems a bit much considering they're not really under any pressure to get out of this room. More like idle curiosity. So what's up with this analyzer, anyway?

This thing will analyze liquids, right?

Yup, it'll show results if you put three dishes of liquid in.

So let's do that and see what happens.

What an odd machine. What if I only want to analyze one liquid?



I've only got two liquids - the green and pink beakers - but I can use them multiple times here.

Let's put this liquid in first.

This'll be the second one.

And this liquid is the last one... Okay, let's start the process.



The door closes, and nothing happens. So I guess there's a specific set of liquids to put in. A fancy combination lock, if you will.



Meanwhile, we put the lens back on the microscope.



Let's see what the green liquid looks like.



...Not really getting a lot out of this one.



Is that the problem? Do we need to focus the lens or something? (The pink liquid looks exactly the same, by the way. Same dialogue and everything.)



We've got the instructions so we can use this machine now. Shove the beaker in...



Looks like they clearly separated.

And it magically turns into two test tubes! I guess those were just lying around somewhere for us. Does the machine magically transfer the liquid through the glass or something? This thing makes no sense.



Anyway, the pink liquid unsurprisingly has some red in it.

Kind of looks like...blood. I'm not so sure about this.



Of course, the other liquid is white. Pink = red + white, get it?

Do you really grow taller when you drink a lot of milk?

Uh, let's make sure no one tries to drink this accidentally, okay?



Guess what the green liquid is going to become?



I thought blue blood ran through veins when I was little.



...Are you serious?

If you guessed blue and yellow, congratulations, you learned the color wheel. Also that's really the best dialogue you could come up with for yellow?



There's a spot for one more.

You can put the test tubes back in to recombine them.

Now the second test tube... And let's mix them.

It looks like it's fully mixed.



You can mix the test tubes in different pairs than the originals to get different-colored beakers, too. Blue + white = ...just more blue? Couldn't even call it "light blue" or something? It does at least look a little lighter than the test tube did.

This reminds me of the ice cream shop I work at. I see this color a lot.

This white color sounds good if it's used for ice cream.



Yellow and white also makes more yellow.

It's a light yellow liquid. I'm afraid it'll smell bad.

Hey get that thing away from me!



Red and blue of course makes purple.

This color... This looks like it was extraced from a vegetable.

It doesn't look very healthy though...



And lastly, red and yellow make orange.

I wish this was a glass of orange juice.

I'd love to be eating breakfast right now.

So we've got four base colors and an additional six combination colors to play with here. For now we just need the separated test tubes though.



The reason the first set of liquids was "blurry" was because they weren't separated. Not sure that really make sense, but just go with it.



Can make out the red liquid a lot better when it's isolated like this.

The cells in the red liquid are in groups of three.

Hold on, I know a hint when I see one now.



Red = 3, get it?



There's yellow.

The yellow liquid cells are in groups of five.



The cells in the blue liquid attach together in twos.



All of the cells in the white liquid are by themselves.



My coloring scheme broke down on the last one. I'm not entirely sure if the "5" is drawn in yellow or green, but it works for me. Now, where did we see something with the colors red, blue, yellow, and white on it?



Maybe this locker panel?



Press each colored button the same number of times as it had cells under the microscope. If that explanation wasn't enough, here's the solution at double speed:



Yay! It's unlocked!

Good job. Pretty amazing for a kid your age.

Urg... I won't lose next time!



Nothing actually happens, but the locker opens if we click on it again.

Huh. Transparent specimens. I think we can fit all of these in the box.

Let's find out.



And we immediately get another puzzle. The third one of this variety that we've seen, I think. This one's not too bad since there's a corner to start with and the "X"s are clustered together. There are also no leftover spaces at the end, so it's easy to see what fits where once you get a few laid down. Here's the solution at 4x speed:



Capsules? What do we need these for? Are we supposed to take them?

I...don't really like capsule pills... They have to be cherry flavored.

Eric, you aren't still taking children's cough syrup...are you?

This room isn't making it any easier to like Eric.



Maybe if we mix them with something they'll give us a clue?

These are pills I wouldn't want to take.

You can kind of make out numbers from the remaining capsules in the packets. At first I thought these were related to the test tubes because I couldn't tell the colors apart. But some internet research told me that the lower right is green (1), the lower middle is pink (2), the lower left is blue (3), and the upper left is orange (5). And the upper right is blank for some reason. Same four numbers as before, but different colors.



At this point I got stuck for awhile because I forgot about one of our other items. Instead I thought maybe the capsules were a hint at what colors to put in here. (Maybe green, pink, and blue?) But you can't possess green and blue at the same time, or pink and orange for that matter.



Eventually I remembered we hadn't done anything with the weird microwave thing.



Somehow we're supposed to figure out that the centrifuge cover goes in there. This puzzle feels more like one you solve by clicking everything with everything.

The centrifuge cover? Huh, well we can try it at least.



The door opens and the cover goes in for a radiation dose. Won't that make the cover a bit radioactive itself?

Letters appeared on the cover.

Sure, why not.



New markings on the cover combine with the lines that were already there. Orange, blue, white. Each pointing to a dish that looks suspiciously like the sample dishes for the analyzer. Examining the cover again really spells it out for you.

Words showed up after it was hit by UV radiation...

And what are these circle things? Are they dishes?

Orange, blue, white...and dishes...



After a quick stop at the centrifuge to turn red and yellow back into orange, I throw the three liquids into the analyzer.



What the fuck?!

No matter how bad the situation is, solving a problem always cheers you up.

Huh? There's something in there.

We have to actually click on the thing to look at it and take it.



F-Fetus... A fetus...

What's wrong? Why are you turning your head away like that?



Aww, I always think too much about these kinds of things and then I get all sad...

Are you...crying?



Now that we've taken this...specimen, the computer is lit up.



Five symbols with five colors, all different. It could be a hint!

I had no idea what to do with this one at first because the colors didn't line up for me at all. But a second click told me more about them.



Fish, plant, insect, bird, and the human we just got. You're right, it's each category.

And I'm pretty sure they match the colors of those capsules we found too.



There, clue deciphered. I couldn't tell if the bug was supposed to be one of them, but then I remembered that it's in the fourth position and doesn't move so it probably doesn't match one of the colors, either.



I think so too. Okay, let's put it here.



But nothing's happening.

Maybe the positions are wrong?

Have to click again to actually access the puzzle..

Maybe there's a right order for these. Let's see if we can change them around.



From left to right, we want: bird, fish, human, bug, plant. The specimens don't look exactly like the symbols, but the dialogue from checking out each canister will tell you outright that the seahorse is a fish, for example. Rearranging the specimens is easy once you know the order, but here's the solution at double speed anyway:



Ah, now I see... That's how it goes. I'm glad you're here.

He he he... Oh, it's nothing.

I knew it too, of course! I noticed way before--hey! Don't ignore me!



The specimens slide back, revealing...something.

Some kind of machine came out...

A fingerprint authentication device...? Do we have to prove our identities now?

What if the exit opens if we do it? Let's just try it out.



Once again, we have to actually click on the thing to proceed.

OW! That hurt! What the?! I thought it just wanted a fingerprint?!

What...is this...?

Was this some sort of trap...?

Dammit, I'm bleeding. That hurt...

An electronic tone sounds here.

Huh? What's that sound?

Maybe that means we passed the authentication?





The other one hasn't lit up yet. Whatever, let's go check out the one that did.



Did anything change?

Well, let's see... This thing... It can move?!



As expected, it slides across the room to the differently-colored space on the floor. And now the sink is facing the right direction.



Look! Now the light on the equipment over there turned on!

The light doesn't actually turn on until after this line.

So that means that one can be moved too?



Whatever, let's move this one, too.

The green light here turned on. We have power.

Yes, and now we can move it. Here we...go.



Wh-What?! Now the light's red... Did I do something wrong?

W-Watch out! Get away from there!



Well, that's certainly one way to get the pig out.



Guess we should go fetch this thing.



Quit whining and move it. Didn't you want to prove you were a man?

You can do it, Eric!



It's pretty heavy, so I don't think we can.

So, we're now holding a big dead pig. And we still don't have something to slash it with.



Mira has a good idea on the second examination.



I thought maybe I could pick up the glass shards here and use them to cut the pig up, but no such luck.



Thanks to SOMEONE the knife's broken... I moved the thing, so I'm not touching it again!

Would you just chill, Eric. Let's just look for something to replace the knife.

I would've gotten stuck here again, but clicking on the pig again looking for extra dialogue saved me.

We need to cut the pig's stomach open, but...I broke the knife...

This machine has a drawer, maybe something's in it?



The same texture was on the other side of the sink and did nothing when clicked on before. I wouldn't have thought to click here again in a million years. Thanks Mira!

Huh? There's a drawer here.

This is a scalpel.

We can probably use it. Let's take it with us.



It's used mostly for dissections, right?

Ughhh, just the idea is making me sick.



Oh for crying out... Here, give me the scalpel. There's a trick to it.

W-Wow, so clean. Does your family own a farm, Mira?

Something like that. Now, let's see what's inside this thing.

Yeah, something like that...





What? What did we find?