New chat room entered at 9/5/2006 9:15:14 PM.
You are now in chat room “sotsw090506.”
Dragcrell (9:15:44 PM): well lest we have a "core" of players could be worse
Umbrafer (9:16:00 PM): We could have fewer players and more dead fish.
Thematrian1 (9:16:23 PM): I had a dead fish yesterday.
Thematrian1 (9:16:26 PM): All gone now, though.
Dragcrell (9:16:45 PM): hehehehe
MilesMk1 (9:16:58 PM): In light of this recent abseneeism I declare this a game of GURPS, and take over the GMing duties.
MilesMk1 (9:17:28 PM): I mean, it just follows logically, doesn't it?
Thematrian1 (9:17:53 PM): not as...such
MilesMk1 (9:17:59 PM): Deatils.
MilesMk1 (9:18:16 PM): As opposed to details, which...
MilesMk1 (9:18:19 PM): Uh.
Dragcrell (9:18:41 PM): i think you are out of luck sir
MilesMk1 (9:19:29 PM): I have to admit, I have thought occasionally of inflicting some sort of game on your people, but we do seem to be short of weeknights, and spare time.
MilesMk1 (9:19:34 PM): you people
Umbrafer (9:19:39 PM): When we last left our antiheroes, we were… listening to Essef rant about a brain in a jar?
Umbrafer (9:20:01 PM): Find me a spare evening and I'll gladly play in it. Spare evenings, however…
Thematrian1 (9:20:22 PM): (Yeah, my weeknights are packed at this point. Mind you, if the ridiculousness at work continues I may have to suspend this game, giving you a clear field. I wouldn't be able to play, though).
Dragcrell (9:20:34 PM): (I think one game haveing to suffer my form of insanity is more then enfue ;3 )
MilesMk1 (9:20:37 PM): (That'd be sad.)
Thematrian1 (9:20:37 PM): Essef had spoken with a brain in a jar, or a small child living in the matrix, or something.
MilesMk1 (9:21:23 PM): Did he figure out what floor the brat in a jar appeard to be on?
MilesMk1 (9:21:32 PM): I thought he did, but it's been a while.
Thematrian1 (9:22:13 PM): He asked it where its body is, and it indicated a place, yes.
Dragcrell (9:22:15 PM): yes he did one floor down from where we was nere a medical lab and large tubeing for water
Umbrafer (9:22:30 PM): From where we were, or from where he was?
MilesMk1 (9:22:43 PM): One floor down from where we were, in the basement? Which we?
Umbrafer (9:23:00 PM): (You were a fool, Joseph Curwen…)
Dragcrell (9:23:01 PM): From where S.C. and Blake was
MilesMk1 (9:23:07 PM): You sure?
Thematrian1 (9:23:13 PM): (Jon, would you please upload the log?)
Umbrafer (9:23:20 PM): I seem to remember hi… yeah, that would help.
Dragcrell (9:24:30 PM): well I know it was one floor from us
Umbrafer (9:24:48 PM): (Found it… curious)
MilesMk1 (9:24:57 PM): If that's the case, then on the plus side, it'd mean no walking up lots of stairs. On the other hand, there seem to be drones there that either hate techs or just kill everyone, and either way isn't great for Blake.
Umbrafer (9:24:57 PM): (It's already been cleaned. This one may already have been uploaded.
Umbrafer (9:24:59 PM): *)
Umbrafer (9:25:40 PM): (No, I guess not. One second.)
MilesMk1 (9:26:53 PM): Who, incidentally, is by now largely held together with athletic tape, based on the number of times he used it to make L wounds go away. And who has not nearly enough blood left in his painkiller stream.
MilesMk1 (9:27:23 PM): ...but do I hear a word of thanks?
Umbrafer (9:27:31 PM): Oh, complaining now, mr. I-still-have-a-working-liver? ;)
Dragcrell (9:28:35 PM): I could coment but I well not
MilesMk1 (9:29:00 PM): I consider it a major achievent on Blake's part that Alex only lost most of her liver in that incident. :)
Umbrafer (9:29:04 PM): http://www.sotsw.net/runs/SotSW%2008-15-2006.html
Umbrafer (9:29:11 PM): True enough.
Umbrafer (9:29:36 PM): If a certain fox had had more Unarmed Combat… ;)
Umbrafer (9:30:01 PM): Rest his soul. Or whatever they have.
Dragcrell (9:31:21 PM): mefft he WAS my first SS give me some room
Dragcrell (9:32:35 PM): tho I seam to be still pleged by the same nasty bit with explosives as Trick had
Dragcrell (9:34:03 PM): and no its not cool or fun to be blown UP >_<
Umbrafer (9:34:12 PM): Well, you'd know :)
Umbrafer (9:34:27 PM): I probably know part of it, but the rest just ends with static and a killer headache.
Dragcrell (9:34:30 PM): ya -_-; said to say
MilesMk1 (9:37:14 PM): Closest I came so far was 9 boxes.
Dragcrell (9:37:24 PM): no that was a sniper bullet to the head >_> S.C.'s had a much closer and personal experience with explosives
MilesMk1 (9:37:59 PM): The one time Blake had a grenade explode right at his feet, he soaked it completely, I think. Or got an L, maybe.
Dragcrell (9:38:10 PM): ok anyway so whats the plan?
Thematrian1 (9:38:33 PM): Well, here's the situation: the game, as it is, crucially depends on someone who's not here.
MilesMk1 (9:38:39 PM): Well, that log doesn't have Delioch in it, so I'm still not sure what he told us about the thing in a jar.
Umbrafer (9:38:46 PM): This sounds familiar.
Umbrafer (9:38:48 PM): He told us the session before.
Thematrian1 (9:38:49 PM): Yeah, we actually need the game before that.
Thematrian1 (9:39:07 PM): I found what I told him, but would you hunt up the log anyway
Thematrian1 (9:39:08 PM): ?
Umbrafer (9:39:13 PM): The link to the game before is at the start of that log :) http://www.sotsw.net/runs/SotSW%2008-01-2006.html
Thematrian1 (9:39:24 PM): hah
Thematrian1 (9:39:27 PM): but
Thematrian1 (9:39:30 PM): it's not up anymore
Chat room exited at 9/5/2006 9:40:03 PM.

New chat room entered at 9/5/2006 9:40:07 PM.
You are now in chat room “sotsw090506.”
Umbrafer (9:40:15 PM): That is strange.
Umbrafer (9:40:28 PM): Also, I need a better way to unbork my font than to leave and reenter a chatroom.
Umbrafer (9:40:30 PM): Ah well.
MilesMk1 (9:41:16 PM): "Place body part in the 13" x 30" bag, twist closed and fold over, seal."
MilesMk1 (9:42:03 PM): (The instructions for a shipping container we use followed me home from work.)
Umbrafer (9:42:18 PM): http://www.sotsw.net/runs/SotSW%2008-01-2006.html
Umbrafer (9:42:25 PM): :)
Dragcrell (9:42:30 PM): (oh medical or mortiry?)
Dragcrell (9:43:11 PM): (mmm or shoudl I say the Morge?)
MilesMk1 (9:43:16 PM): (Bio research, actually.)
Thematrian1 (9:43:20 PM): (thanks)
Thematrian1 (9:43:35 PM): (seems simple enough)
Dragcrell (9:43:39 PM): (mmm that as well but its rather close to medical)
MilesMk1 (9:43:50 PM): (Someone who ordered the shippers apparently believes in overkill.)
Dragcrell (9:44:11 PM): (lol)
Thematrian1 (9:44:32 PM): thought so. He reported that his mystery contact may be found on the 38th floor.
Thematrian1 (9:44:47 PM): where water pipes allegedly are
MilesMk1 (9:45:01 PM): (You put something in a bag, stick the bag in a metal can, put the lid on the can, put a plastic sealing ring over the lid, put the whole thing in another bag, put it in the styrofoam shipper, place that in a big bag, seal...
Dragcrell (9:45:08 PM): *nods* ah so my memory has its flaws *shurges* but giveing the amount of time that has passed
MilesMk1 (9:45:13 PM): put it in a cardboard box, close with tape.
MilesMk1 (9:45:18 PM): )
MilesMk1 (9:45:54 PM): Shit, I knew stairs figured prominently in my future.
Umbrafer (9:45:59 PM): Do you put the box inside another box?
MilesMk1 (9:46:29 PM): No, but there are some forms you need to fill out in tripicate, and you get to put various biohazard and chemical hazard stickers on it.
MilesMk1 (9:46:39 PM): triplicate
Dragcrell (9:46:51 PM): (cool stickers are always fun ^_^b)
Umbrafer (9:46:53 PM): Well, that's something.
Thematrian1 (9:47:03 PM): the place has lots of elevators
Umbrafer (9:47:11 PM): Not something fun, like putting a box inside another box is (I guess the hazard stickers are), but still.
Thematrian1 (9:47:11 PM): some are large enough to fit the van inside
MilesMk1 (9:47:20 PM): True, but I seem to recall they all only go down at the moment.
Thematrian1 (9:47:22 PM): well, by "some" I mean "one"
Umbrafer (9:47:28 PM): There's probably a diagonal-type vehicle elevator in here somewhere, even
Umbrafer (9:47:48 PM): It seems like the kind of place for one.
MilesMk1 (9:47:50 PM): At least that's what the tailed woman said.
MilesMk1 (9:48:17 PM): And to be honest, I'm somewhat reluctant to try to go up without knowing more about this kid in the matrix.
MilesMk1 (9:48:52 PM): Just because it's worked so far, walking into deadly situations and improvising isn't the way.
MilesMk1 (9:49:10 PM): Well, worked, minus a liver or two.
Dragcrell (9:49:28 PM): mmmm true you do appre to take the blunt of the dmg
MilesMk1 (9:50:14 PM): Which is fine, but I prefer to do that as a last resort, and preferably on my terms.
Umbrafer (9:50:35 PM): A liver, a whatever internal organs that insect got from you, and a whatever your pet ganger lost on his way away from clown-dude.
MilesMk1 (9:50:59 PM): Well, and all of Trickster.
Thematrian1 (9:51:09 PM): you guys are pretty lucky. I'm sure nothing too terrible would happen if you rushed in some more.
MilesMk1 (9:51:14 PM): But we're up two cops and a doctor.
MilesMk1 (9:51:25 PM): Pseudo-cops.
MilesMk1 (9:51:31 PM): But a real doctor.
MilesMk1 (9:51:43 PM): ...
Dragcrell (9:51:55 PM): Dragcrell rolled 6 6-sided dice: 2 6 5 4 2 6
Dragcrell (9:52:01 PM): Dragcrell rolled 2 6-sided dice: 6 2
Umbrafer (9:52:02 PM): Yeah, but none of them are here.
MilesMk1 (9:52:12 PM): See, I'm moved to trust you when you say that, which I think is proof that my cold medcations are working...
Dragcrell (9:52:16 PM): Dragcrell rolled 1 6-sided die: 5
CirclMastr has entered the chat room.

MilesMk1 (9:52:24 PM): Or at least, doing something.
Dragcrell (9:53:31 PM): Dragcrell rolled 6 6-sided dice: 4 2 5 3 2 6
Dragcrell (9:53:38 PM): Dragcrell rolled 1 6-sided die: 4
Thematrian1 (9:55:24 PM): hm. I will take questions about the Tower, given what you know so far.
MilesMk1 (9:55:26 PM): Hello, Dave.
CirclMastr (9:55:45 PM): (Ahoy. Where is everyone IC?)
Umbrafer (9:55:54 PM): (About where they were last time we met)
Dragcrell (9:56:19 PM): (Napping)
MilesMk1 (9:58:41 PM): (We're still sort of stuck, because Delioch's part is crucial, and Delioch ain't here.)
Umbrafer (9:58:57 PM): Well… how specific can Essef get about where BiJ is?
Thematrian1 (9:59:15 PM): entirely
Dragcrell (9:59:23 PM): (I think hes MIA -_- sadily)
Thematrian1 (9:59:38 PM): you've got a map of the 38th floor, and BiJ indicated a particular spot on that map
MilesMk1 (9:59:41 PM): (BTW... As I alluded to, I am sort of sick, and meds are making... me... sleepy... Which I'm compensating for with lots of chatter, but little substance.)
CirclMastr (9:59:49 PM): (I say we string him up and poke him until he gives in)
Dragcrell (10:00:30 PM): (only if we use sharp sticks to poke him with)
Umbrafer (10:00:35 PM): What does the map look like? How far from nearby elevators, stairwells, etc.?
Umbrafer (10:00:43 PM): Terrain?
MilesMk1 (10:00:48 PM): (I think you're closest to him geographically, Dave.)
MilesMk1 (10:01:16 PM): (He's also in that "Pacific" wilderness.)
Umbrafer (10:01:24 PM): (Yeah, he might even be less than a thousand miles away)
Umbrafer (10:01:54 PM): (Now now, there's a tiny band of almost-civilization at the far coast. Not like the wilderness between Worcester and… well, the far coast.)
MilesMk1 (10:01:56 PM): Also, what did the briefing we got say about security and defenses a)On the way there and b)In the area itself.
MilesMk1 (10:02:34 PM): (That's not an almost-civilization, it's just a dense concentration of barbarians.)
Thematrian1 (10:02:41 PM): 38 is divided into 12 wedge-shaped open offices. It's a standard variation on the drone theme: your workers spend most of their time jacked in anyway, so you might as well leave the whole area open to simplify fire issues and encou
Thematrian1 (10:02:46 PM): rage employees to spy on one another.
Thematrian1 (10:03:14 PM): The inner core takes up about a third of the Tower's radius, with interspersed offices and elevators
Thematrian1 (10:03:29 PM): Along the far edges you have more offices, more elevators, and the obligatory linked security station.
MilesMk1 (10:03:56 PM): Far edges of the inner core, or of the floor?
Thematrian1 (10:04:03 PM): far edges of the floor
Umbrafer (10:05:06 PM): Do you have an approximate figure for the diameter of the tower at this level?
Thematrian1 (10:07:27 PM): (One sec. I need to wield my yummy, delicious math)
MilesMk1 (10:07:28 PM): Also... If I were to try to take the stairs up there, how many (presumably) locked doors would it involve? (assuming a path meant to take me relatively close to the kid)
CirclMastr (10:08:09 PM): *kicks it in the van with the damn sperethi-mage and the kids*
Thematrian1 (10:08:15 PM): One set every five floors, plus one to get onto 38, plus whatever actually reaching the kid requires
MilesMk1 (10:09:21 PM): Ok, stairs clearly are not the answer.
MilesMk1 (10:10:12 PM): On the other hand, elevators don't seem to go up - if what we told is true - and I'm no hacker.
Umbrafer (10:10:15 PM): I'm not so sure about that.
Dragcrell (10:10:18 PM): (note S.C. is napping in the back uper cornor of the van)
MilesMk1 (10:10:20 PM): we were told
MilesMk1 (10:10:48 PM): Well, that was assuming the locks on those doors are the same as on the stairs to the basement.
MilesMk1 (10:11:05 PM): Which they might very well not be, since the basement had labs and high security.
Thematrian1 (10:11:17 PM): The Tower is about seventy meters on a side. Leaving some distance for miscellaneous defensive and offensive goodies in the walls, you get interior floor space of about four thousand square meters per floor, six meters per side, or
Thematrian1 (10:11:21 PM): ninety and change along either axis
Umbrafer (10:11:46 PM): *Nods*
Thematrian1 (10:11:57 PM): (Who fills a giant deathtrap with goodies and then only writes down the square footage per floor? I mean, who does that?)
Umbrafer (10:12:09 PM): (You? ;) )
Umbrafer (10:12:46 PM): Ok. And where in all this is the location Essef gave us?
Dragcrell (10:12:47 PM): (a rather deviuas mind)
Thematrian1 (10:14:16 PM): the bathrooms are all at the core or on the edge; the kid is in the plumbing behind a bathroom, 12 meters from the exact center of the building.
Umbrafer (10:14:52 PM): Interesting. Visible entrances/exits? What's on the floors immediately above and below in that space?
Thematrian1 (10:16:17 PM): Immediately below: more plumbing. Immediately above, the plumbing takes a detour to make room for a rigger security station
Umbrafer (10:16:30 PM): Where is Essef?
MilesMk1 (10:16:30 PM): Ah.
MilesMk1 (10:16:41 PM): In the sec station in the lobby, IIRC>
Umbrafer (10:16:51 PM): Also, does the RSS have a private bathroom attached?
Thematrian1 (10:17:32 PM): The plumbing attaches to the station itself.
Thematrian1 (10:17:46 PM): SF is in the lobby security station. Everyone who's still Inside is in the lobby, IIRC
Umbrafer (10:18:21 PM): Mmm, catheters.
Umbrafer (10:18:48 PM): For some reason I'd remembered Essef going off and doing his own thing. Fair enow, at least he's under control. What sort of access does Essef claim to have?
Thematrian1 (10:23:13 PM): He said everything that's in the log.
Umbrafer (10:23:30 PM): Ah. Fair enow.
Umbrafer (10:24:39 PM): Where's the person we let out of the basement?
Thematrian1 (10:25:41 PM): You didn't see her emerge. Then again, the place has four exits and you only have a vantage on three of them.
Thematrian1 (10:25:44 PM): (from the van, that is)
Umbrafer (10:25:56 PM): Mmk. Floating elven baby. Were there any visible entrances to BiJland?
Thematrian1 (10:26:11 PM): depends what you mean by that
CirclMastr (10:26:35 PM): Wait, what? There's a floating elven baby somewhere?
Umbrafer (10:27:17 PM): Doors, windows, places without a wall, floor, or ceiling?
Thematrian1 (10:27:37 PM): let me rephrase. BiJland == Floor 38? The pipes?
MilesMk1 (10:27:56 PM): (There's something controlling the building that, IIRC, looks like an elven baby in the Matrix.)
CirclMastr (10:28:01 PM): Oh
Thematrian1 (10:28:12 PM): (Yep. Floating elven baby)
Umbrafer (10:28:12 PM): BiJland being the room/space that the BiJ is in.
MilesMk1 (10:28:15 PM): (The thing Shadowfire was talking to.)
Thematrian1 (10:29:37 PM): Ah. Well, according to the map it's not a single space, but a collection of pipes with an access hatch for maintainence and repairs. Annoyingly, the accesses do not permit cross-level travel.
MilesMk1 (10:30:13 PM): Is the access hatch on 38, then?
Thematrian1 (10:30:20 PM): yes
Thematrian1 (10:30:43 PM): access is through a wall, not the (unisex) bathroom
Umbrafer (10:30:53 PM): Hm. Are other pipe-bundles like this? I guess they probably do most of their maintenance with crawlers inside the pipes…
MilesMk1 (10:31:04 PM): Though... Why do we actually want to gain acess to the BiaJ?
MilesMk1 (10:31:13 PM): To kill it?
Umbrafer (10:31:18 PM): If necessary, so we can… yeah, shoot it.
Umbrafer (10:31:20 PM): Or something.
Umbrafer (10:31:30 PM): Also because it seems unwise to leave an unattended BiJ.
MilesMk1 (10:31:51 PM): Well, it's in a small enclosed space and we have grenades. I don't think that part'll be a problem, if we can get to it.
Thematrian1 (10:31:55 PM): Alex: you check a few random other pipe bundles. They work identically.
MilesMk1 (10:32:26 PM): IPE grenade + small enough area = you'd better have naval armor...
Umbrafer (10:33:05 PM): Crawlers, I guess.
Umbrafer (10:33:08 PM): It's also a BiJ.
Umbrafer (10:33:19 PM): It could be a tough jar, but they aren't generally known for durability.
MilesMk1 (10:33:27 PM): Which is a good option to have, but I can't help think that, since a)We want to control the building and b)This thing seems to control the building, we need to figure out how to work with it or control it, if possible.
Umbrafer (10:33:32 PM): (Assuming certain things, of course)
Umbrafer (10:33:56 PM): (Potentially it could be in a Doberman body modified for extra armor, but I guess we'll find out.)
MilesMk1 (10:34:01 PM): Which means SF needs to talk it around. *sob* We're doomed.
Umbrafer (10:34:17 PM): Work with, control, or eliminate.
MilesMk1 (10:34:37 PM): (Didn't that one grenade I tossed into a hallway get up to a P of 50-something, before the walls went?)
Thematrian1 (10:34:42 PM): Does anyone presently in the lobby have thermographic vision?
MilesMk1 (10:34:46 PM): Yes.
Umbrafer (10:34:51 PM): Though worst-case scenario is that there is one or more backup BiJs. Well, worst-worst is that the Tower shuts down, but…
Umbrafer (10:34:59 PM): The Strato's in the lobby, and it has it.
Thematrian1 (10:35:00 PM): (No. The walls broke first)
Umbrafer (10:35:23 PM): (It got up there before we aligned barrier ratings with reality, IIRC)
MilesMk1 (10:35:26 PM): Worst-worst is the nuclear self-destruct activates.
Umbrafer (10:35:52 PM): Worst-worst-worst is the Bridge gets built and the Scourge begins.
Umbrafer (10:36:11 PM): And someone on the team gets picked by Chantrel's.
MilesMk1 (10:36:27 PM): I have no idea what any of that meant.
Thematrian1 (10:36:29 PM): worst-worst-worst-worst is a nuclear self-destruct that wipes out all the bugs and then triggers the Scourge
MilesMk1 (10:36:37 PM): *blissfully unaware*
MilesMk1 (10:37:03 PM): BTW, in case I wasn't clear, Blake has thermal.
Thematrian1 (10:37:33 PM): anyway, those of you with thermographic vision notice that one section of the floor toward the north exit, a circle maybe an inch wide, is noticably warmer than the rest of the floor
Thematrian1 (10:37:44 PM): and heating up
Umbrafer (10:38:21 PM): #The hell?# Checking what's under there on the map.
Dragcrell (10:39:55 PM): Dragcrell rolled 6 6-sided dice: 2 5 3 2 2 4
Thematrian1 (10:40:22 PM): Beneath it you have...HEPS Administration
Umbrafer (10:41:51 PM): HEPS?
Thematrian1 (10:42:04 PM): the acronym is not defined
Umbrafer (10:42:25 PM): HEPS… hm. And not a common acronym, I take it?
MilesMk1 (10:42:45 PM): #Something's heating a small spot on the floor from below, by the north exit. Everyone watch out.#
Dragcrell (10:42:53 PM): (High Energy Pulse System?)
MilesMk1 (10:42:59 PM): *takes cover, aims his rifle towards the spot*
Umbrafer (10:43:44 PM): Well, I'm going to see if there's anything interesting that's shallow enough for my sensors. Active sweep.
Umbrafer (10:43:47 PM): Umbrafer rolled 5 6-sided dice: 3 2 1 5 3
Umbrafer (10:43:55 PM): Mmm, bunnies.
Thematrian1 (10:44:00 PM): it heats up some more. The friction matting that covers the floor doesn't change color, but it begins to bubble and warp.
Thematrian1 (10:45:04 PM): Alex: you've got nothin'
Thematrian1 (10:46:01 PM): Finally a hole bursts open. A concentrated beam of coherent light bursts from the hole, then vanishes
Dragcrell (10:46:03 PM): *left leg twiches and lets out a soft merow then settels back down agian*
Umbrafer (10:46:47 PM): Hm. I thought as much.
Umbrafer (10:47:06 PM): Anything apparently special about that particular spot in the floor?
Thematrian1 (10:47:27 PM): there's a hole in it
Thematrian1 (10:47:47 PM): that makes it pretty much unique, unless you count a few bullet holes by the doorway you guys came in through
Umbrafer (10:48:17 PM): Fair enough.
Umbrafer (10:48:25 PM): #We could say hello.#
Thematrian1 (10:48:34 PM): a second spot on the floor, adjacent to the first, is heating
Umbrafer (10:48:57 PM): Thought so. How adjacent? Contiguous/millimeters apart, or a few cm?
Thematrian1 (10:49:03 PM): contiguous
MilesMk1 (10:49:14 PM): #You think? Well, they can hardly fire on us just yet...#
Dragcrell (10:50:08 PM): *snarles and her tail twiches franticly then goes still again*
Umbrafer (10:50:20 PM): #It looks like we'll be saying hi soon anyway…#
MilesMk1 (10:50:44 PM): *Walks over to the holes, keeping at least a couple of feet of distance.*
MilesMk1 (10:51:28 PM): How big is the hole?
Umbrafer (10:51:33 PM): *Keeps a close watch for any additional warm spots, especially near Blake*
Thematrian1 (10:51:36 PM): about thirty seconds later, the mystery laser-er has completed a second hole. It begins work on a third, forming a tight triangle with the first two
Thematrian1 (10:51:57 PM): Right now, two inches wide and an inch long, more or less
Thematrian1 (10:52:05 PM): well, a 2" by 1" ellipse
MilesMk1 (10:52:09 PM): Right...
MilesMk1 (10:52:24 PM): Do I have anything on me that'd be the equivalent of a quarter?
Umbrafer (10:52:56 PM): Gotta have /something/ to flip.
Thematrian1 (10:53:03 PM): A half-azzie is about the right size
Umbrafer (10:53:31 PM): Mmm, corpscrip :)
MilesMk1 (10:53:52 PM): Ok... I'll set it down on the floor a few inches away, then use my foot to make it slide into the hole.
MilesMk1 (10:54:44 PM): (Or I could fire down the hole, it's what they're doing... But they might take that the wrong way.)
Thematrian1 (10:55:00 PM): it slides into the hole. The new warm spot stops getting warmer. You're out half an Aztechnology dollar.
Umbrafer (10:55:30 PM): Man, that could buy an eighth of a litre of Aztecola, too!
MilesMk1 (10:55:52 PM): I loudly say "Hello down there."
Thematrian1 (10:56:09 PM): the warm spot starts heating again
MilesMk1 (10:56:16 PM): And listen for any kind of response. Also watch out for any new glowing spo...
MilesMk1 (10:56:23 PM): Mhmm.
Thematrian1 (10:56:26 PM): no audible response
Umbrafer (10:56:38 PM): At least it's the same spot, not underneath you :)
MilesMk1 (10:57:09 PM): #Could be automated... Or they can't hear, or they figure there's no point in talking unless they make a way out anyway.#
MilesMk1 (10:57:53 PM): #Though... Most people I know would stop and find a new spot, rather than risk someone dropping a grenade next, instead of change.#
Umbrafer (10:58:04 PM): #Doubt it's automated—what would be the point?#
Umbrafer (10:58:12 PM): #Most people we know are hardened criminals.#
MilesMk1 (10:58:48 PM): #Well, not automated. I meant a drone, or something. Maybe someone's sending one after us, and they don't care if we try dropping grenades on it.#
MilesMk1 (10:59:23 PM): #Though... If it is that kid, he might very well be a bit clueless about the real world. SF said he thinks everything is a game.#
Thematrian1 (11:00:12 PM): the third hole breaks through. Moments later, a pair of long, slender drone limbs appear over the edge.
Umbrafer (11:00:30 PM): Attempting to lock on.
Umbrafer (11:00:36 PM): Umbrafer rolled 5 6-sided dice: 1 4 4 4 1
MilesMk1 (11:00:39 PM): *gets the hell out of there*
Umbrafer (11:00:40 PM): *Weep*
Thematrian1 (11:00:46 PM): Blake runs
Thematrian1 (11:00:53 PM): Alex accomplishes nothing much.
Umbrafer (11:01:00 PM): Strato will retreat at its free Acceleration.
MilesMk1 (11:01:03 PM): *grabs some cover, aims his rifle at the drone*
Thematrian1 (11:01:08 PM): Is anyone else even in there? I guess SC and Todd are back in the van.
MilesMk1 (11:01:29 PM): *readies to shoot if anything hostile-looking is pointed at him*
Dragcrell (11:01:35 PM): *whole body shivers and lets out a soft growl*
Thematrian1 (11:02:16 PM): a spider hauls itself into view. It's built along similar lines as the Renraku spider that you're all so familiar with, but with a longer, narrower body. This one mounts a cutting laser that must take up three quarter of its inter
Thematrian1 (11:02:18 PM): nal volume
MilesMk1 (11:02:36 PM): Oh.
Thematrian1 (11:02:43 PM): Standing on six legs, it waves its remaining two at the fleeing shadowrunners
Umbrafer (11:03:17 PM): So to be clear: how coherent was the beam when it was hitting the ceiling when we saw it earlier?
MilesMk1 (11:03:24 PM): strategically retreating
Thematrian1 (11:04:17 PM): Alex: very much so, and it just cut through friction matting, even if slowly. This is one heck of a cutting laser.
Umbrafer (11:04:41 PM): So in addition to power, it also has the coherency to maintain /range/. That is unfortunate.
Umbrafer (11:05:00 PM): Hm.
Umbrafer (11:05:12 PM): Strato will take convenient cover.
MilesMk1 (11:05:14 PM): Did I get into cover yet?
Thematrian1 (11:05:28 PM): Blake, Alex: the closest cover is behind the receptionist's desk
MilesMk1 (11:06:04 PM): That's fine. I'll dive there, load a clip of AV, and then evaluate the situation / peek from behind cover.
Thematrian1 (11:06:20 PM): (Alex: keep in mind that the ceiling is less than three meters above the floor. It's great range for a tool, but compared to what you've heard whispers about for military lasers it's unastonishing)
Umbrafer (11:07:32 PM): (Right. Nevertheless, my initial impression when you described it as a cutting laser was something with a range measured in tens of inches. I do not necessarily feel safe at our current range with that impression corrected.)
Thematrian1 (11:07:58 PM): heh
Umbrafer (11:08:10 PM): (If it were military, I'd be worried about it burning through the desk before I could identify it doing so)
Umbrafer (11:08:22 PM): (Though this desk may be larger than I think it is
Umbrafer (11:08:26 PM): *)
Umbrafer (11:09:13 PM): So. Taking cover, observing the drone. How close to Toaster-sized is it?
Umbrafer (11:09:33 PM): Either way, AV rounds are probably overkill—it's only once we start getting bigger than that that serious armor becomes feasible.
Thematrian1 (11:09:57 PM): it is smaller than a breadbox, and very narrow: it just slid through a hole only slightly more than two inches around
Umbrafer (11:10:25 PM): Right.
Umbrafer (11:10:33 PM): Yeah, the hard part's going to be hitting it, not damaging it.
Thematrian1 (11:10:48 PM): its laser is off. It's waving its two front legs in your general direction
Dragcrell (11:11:07 PM): *lets out a long purr*
Umbrafer (11:11:15 PM): S9: *Wobbles in response*
MilesMk1 (11:11:31 PM): (Hey, we're yelling on the radio... You can wake up anytime you want. :))
Thematrian1 (11:12:05 PM): The spider points one long limb at the strato, then a second at Blake's peeking face.
MilesMk1 (11:12:26 PM): *carefully stands up, and uses one hand to make a "ok, what now" kind of gesture*
Thematrian1 (11:12:56 PM): the spider "shrugs" with its two front legs
Dragcrell (11:13:02 PM): (awww but you look like your haveing all kinds of fun on your own)
Thematrian1 (11:13:08 PM): (I don't know why this game keeps degenerating into charades, but it does)
MilesMk1 (11:13:45 PM): *makes a writing motion with his hand, then makes a gun with his fingers at points at a wall close to the spider*
Umbrafer (11:14:07 PM): S9: *Glances at Blake, then at the wall*
MilesMk1 (11:14:32 PM): #I was trying to tell it to use it as a writing surface.#
Thematrian1 (11:14:38 PM): it cocks its body (as close as it can come to cocking its head), then nods itself and skitters around to aim at the wall to your left
MilesMk1 (11:15:12 PM): "And say whether you get audio reception in that thing, so we can stop the pantomime, would you?"
Thematrian1 (11:15:43 PM): It nods itself again.
Umbrafer (11:15:49 PM): #I know. Must be a glitch.#
Thematrian1 (11:16:00 PM): Then it begins to write
MilesMk1 (11:16:10 PM): *repositions to be able to see the wall, but keeps gun ready - but not pointed at it*
MilesMk1 (11:16:32 PM): #Wait... What's a glitch?#
Thematrian1 (11:16:36 PM): In looping, elaporate cursive, it writes: Hi. It takes about ten seconds.
Umbrafer (11:17:19 PM): #Strato rotation got twitchy. Checking on it.#
MilesMk1 (11:17:33 PM): #Aw, great.#
MilesMk1 (11:18:24 PM): "Does that drone have a datajack that I could plug a radio into, or something? So you can broadcast, instead of doing this?"
Thematrian1 (11:18:29 PM): Below that: U?
Thematrian1 (11:18:38 PM): It pauses in writing that to shake itself.
MilesMk1 (11:19:42 PM): "Freelancers. Not trigger-happy, as you've seen."
Thematrian1 (11:20:19 PM): It nods itself. I Dan
MilesMk1 (11:20:30 PM): #You never did find out who or what messed with the climate control in the van, right? I someone messing with your network?#
MilesMk1 (11:20:56 PM): "Are you in one of the sub-basement labs? What floor?"
Thematrian1 (11:21:18 PM): 19
Thematrian1 (11:21:40 PM): stl ths
MilesMk1 (11:22:27 PM): "19 floors down?"
Umbrafer (11:22:30 PM): #Strato's damaged, that does things like this to rotorcraft sometimes. Van problem still worries me.#
Thematrian1 (11:22:50 PM): It shakes itself
MilesMk1 (11:22:52 PM): #What the hell's stl ths? Steal this? Still thus?#
Thematrian1 (11:23:28 PM): laboriously: stole
MilesMk1 (11:23:48 PM): "Stole this? This being the drone?"
Thematrian1 (11:23:49 PM): spdr
Thematrian1 (11:23:57 PM): It starts nodding itself as soon as you say that
MilesMk1 (11:24:22 PM): "You used to work here, or did you get in... after the quarantine hit?"
Thematrian1 (11:25:00 PM): ftr
MilesMk1 (11:25:22 PM): (BTW, would it be really stretching it to ask if Electronics includes knowing Morse Code? For, you know, emergency broadcasts and so on? ;))
MilesMk1 (11:25:46 PM): "Stuck on 19?"
Thematrian1 (11:26:07 PM): (In the 2050s? Electronics or relevant knowledge, TN 6)
Umbrafer (11:26:22 PM): (Hasn't Morse Code been replaced by ASCII yet? ;) )
Dragcrell (11:26:43 PM): *tail twiches and lets out a soft mrow*
MilesMk1 (11:26:53 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 5 6-sided dice: 2 2 2 3 1
MilesMk1 (11:26:55 PM): Nope.
Thematrian1 (11:27:08 PM): Todd: you're sharing living space with a giant sleeping cat. Alice is cautiously intruiged.
Umbrafer (11:27:09 PM): Umbrafer rolled 6 6-sided dice: 4 5 6 1 1 1
Umbrafer (11:27:13 PM): Umbrafer rolled 1 6-sided die: 1
Umbrafer (11:27:16 PM): Aw…
Umbrafer (11:27:17 PM): Almost.
Umbrafer (11:27:36 PM): Alex remembers a few letters, then gets a headache when she tries to remember the rest.
Thematrian1 (11:27:40 PM): Sorry, no. You both know of it, but don't know enough to use it.
MilesMk1 (11:28:08 PM): Ok... So, back to "Stuck on...", I guess.
Thematrian1 (11:28:37 PM): It nods itself
MilesMk1 (11:29:52 PM): "What's keeping you in? I'll list a few things, nod at the right ones. Elevator lockdown. Door lockdown. Drone or automated security. Human security. Bugs?" (with pauses between them, to give him time to nod)
Umbrafer (11:30:03 PM): It burns pretty quickly, but still, 19 floors…
MilesMk1 (11:30:17 PM): It also came from below.
Thematrian1 (11:30:27 PM): It nods. It doesn't nod. It doesn't nod. It nods. It nods.
MilesMk1 (11:30:39 PM): Must have used a maintenance shaft, air vent, elevator shaft...
MilesMk1 (11:31:10 PM): "Elevators don't work, human guards, and bugs?"
Thematrian1 (11:31:49 PM): vigorous nod, hesitant nod, vigorous nod
MilesMk1 (11:32:29 PM): "Maybe humans... You're not sure if there are humans? *pause* Or not sure if they're still around?"
MilesMk1 (11:32:55 PM): #Bugs penetrated the place... So much for planning to stay here, I think.#
Thematrian1 (11:32:59 PM): no reaction to any of those guesses
MilesMk1 (11:33:29 PM): "Not even close, eh?"
MilesMk1 (11:33:47 PM): "Seen any Ares security guards?"
Thematrian1 (11:33:48 PM): it makes that shrugging gesture again
MilesMk1 (11:34:08 PM): "All right..."
Umbrafer (11:34:13 PM): #Seen a better place?#
MilesMk1 (11:34:37 PM): "Do you have access to any of the building's systems? Or just this drone?"
Thematrian1 (11:35:00 PM): It nods hesitantly at the first.
MilesMk1 (11:35:01 PM): #How likely, do you figure, is that this is some kind of plant?#
MilesMk1 (11:35:54 PM): "Cameras? Defenses? Information? Other?"
Thematrian1 (11:36:03 PM): shake shake nod nod
MilesMk1 (11:36:27 PM): #Help me out here... Any other ideas for "other"?#
Umbrafer (11:36:50 PM): #The drone? Not very. I don't know how far down it really goes, but I can think of sixty ways to send us one without burning a hole through their atrium floor.#
Umbrafer (11:37:25 PM): #Doors?#
MilesMk1 (11:37:34 PM): "Maintenance? Climate control? Electrical? Doors?"
Chat room exited at 9/5/2006 11:39:34 PM.

New chat room entered at 9/5/2006 11:40:57 PM.
You are now in chat room “sotsw090506.”
Thematrian1 (11:41:23 PM): nod
MilesMk1 (11:42:59 PM): "So... Are you hoping we might be able to bail you out?"
Thematrian1 (11:43:23 PM): Hesitation, then a nod
Umbrafer (11:45:24 PM): Man, I need a projector.
Umbrafer (11:45:42 PM): Add that to the list of SR3R vehicle accessories, i guess…
MilesMk1 (11:45:45 PM): (you can tell me what you want to ask)
Umbrafer (11:46:03 PM): Not really. I want him to mark his location on a map, so you see the trouble :)
Umbrafer (11:46:53 PM): TPR could do it, but we don't have that on-hand…
MilesMk1 (11:46:59 PM): "We're probably going up, so if it's on the way, we might do it. But you understand the only way to make sure we do is if you have a way of helping us get through the security."
Thematrian1 (11:47:09 PM): nod
MilesMk1 (11:49:40 PM): "So, the question becomes, what can you deliver? It's probably best if you jot that down, as a starting point, because 20 questions will just take hours, at this rate."
Thematrian1 (11:50:11 PM): nod, then a pause
MilesMk1 (11:51:04 PM): "Please, don't exaggerate. We're not expecting miracles, so just keep it accurate."
Umbrafer (11:51:06 PM): (So we've confirmed that he's 19 floors /up/ rather than down?)
MilesMk1 (11:51:11 PM): Yeah.
Umbrafer (11:51:16 PM): (Gotcha.)
MilesMk1 (11:51:31 PM): (Well, I think we did, anyway. I asked if he was down, he said no, which leaves...)
Thematrian1 (11:52:04 PM): 19 = firfly lab
Thematrian1 (11:52:04 PM): xprmts
Umbrafer (11:52:15 PM): *Drool*
Dragcrell (11:52:31 PM): Dragcrell rolled 6 6-sided dice: 4 1 3 1 4 4
Umbrafer (11:52:51 PM): (If "firefly" isn't a code name for a laser drone, we could be in trouble.)
MilesMk1 (11:53:20 PM): (#Uh, Alex, why are you transducing sexual desire...#)
MilesMk1 (11:53:40 PM): (Dare I ask what else it could be, that'd land us in trouble?)
Umbrafer (11:53:46 PM): (Fireflies.)
Umbrafer (11:53:54 PM): (The invae kind.)
MilesMk1 (11:54:08 PM): (Ah.)
Vernjonal has entered the chat room.

MilesMk1 (11:54:37 PM): "What is firefly? Drones? Lasers?"
Thematrian1 (11:54:37 PM): 18 = saf. Mk hole.
Thematrian1 (11:54:51 PM): It chooses a new section of wall to answer your question
Thematrian1 (11:54:53 PM): bug
Umbrafer (11:55:03 PM): Sonofabitch.
Thematrian1 (11:56:21 PM): brng spdr
MilesMk1 (11:56:54 PM): #So, is he under the impression we want... to get access to some lab where they're doing experiments on these weird-ass bugs? Where's the money in that?#
MilesMk1 (11:57:30 PM): #If 18 is really safe, that's something... But I'm not sure anything he's giving us is worth coming to get him.#
Umbrafer (11:57:53 PM): #If Ares is behind this…#
MilesMk1 (11:57:58 PM): #Unless we hope he'll be of more help once he's sprung.#
Umbrafer (11:58:03 PM): #Well, we're going by him anyway, right?#
MilesMk1 (11:58:19 PM): #We'll need to pass through 18, sure.#
MilesMk1 (11:58:41 PM): #And the spider could be really hand for burning locks out, or something.#
Umbrafer (11:59:14 PM): #When have we gone wrong getting people in debt to us? Except that one time, and the other time, and maybe at the Garage, and then…#
MilesMk1 (11:59:33 PM): #If Ares is behind this... I suppose proof of that's worth money, but it's not the kind of thing that'd be easy to sell.#
Umbrafer (11:59:51 PM): #Personal comment. Forget I said it.#
MilesMk1 (12:00:05 AM): #What, the Ares thing, or the debt thing?#
Umbrafer (12:00:12 AM): #Ares thing.#
MilesMk1 (12:00:21 AM): #Ok...#
MilesMk1 (12:01:12 AM): #And, hey, Jeremy owing me got you medical care... I can't help it if your friends-of-a-friend want to jack us. *grins*#
MilesMk1 (12:01:28 AM): #Fucking Accident.#
Thematrian1 (12:01:47 AM): (He hasn't tried to jack you. You've just heard some allegations)
Umbrafer (12:02:05 AM): (We've probably forgotten that detail :) )
MilesMk1 (12:02:15 AM): (Well, yes. Which is why I said want, not try. ;))
Thematrian1 (12:02:45 AM): (heh)
Vernjonal has left the chat room.

Thematrian1 (12:02:55 AM): Final actions/comments?
Dragcrell (12:03:14 AM): (non here)
Umbrafer (12:03:20 AM): I vote we see what he has to offer, at least until such a time as we've got better ideas independent of him.
MilesMk1 (12:03:33 AM): "All right... We'll make an effort to stop by, so let us know which part of the floor you're on."
CirclMastr (12:03:34 AM): You all need to buy Nobilis, but that's not really related to SR.
MilesMk1 (12:03:42 AM): Nobilis?
CirclMastr (12:03:58 AM): RPG
CirclMastr (12:04:20 AM): Diceless (not freeform), excellent, publisher folding, etc.
MilesMk1 (12:04:22 AM): Game of Greater Powers?
CirclMastr (12:04:37 AM): Sovereign Powers, yeah
CirclMastr (12:05:02 AM): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1899749306/ref=s9_asin_image/002-9723541-4460815?n=283155
Dragcrell (12:07:32 AM): well I'm out see you all next week
Dragcrell has left the chat room.

Thematrian1 (12:07:50 AM): yeah, that's that. Good night everyone, with luck we'll have SF next time.
MilesMk1 (12:07:57 AM): Good night.
Umbrafer (12:08:01 AM): Indeed.
Umbrafer (12:08:05 AM): *Waves* Sleep well, all
MilesMk1 (12:08:09 AM): Looks like an interesting game, one that I'd never get a chance to play. :)
MilesMk1 (12:08:33 AM): ...which would make it a lot like some other games I bought anyway.
MilesMk1 (12:08:46 AM): (Talislanta? What was I thinking.)
MilesMk1 (12:09:11 AM): I'll give it a look. Maybe...
MilesMk1 (12:09:13 AM): Later.