ALEXANDER DIVISION DORM
JoeyC and Here sit in front of an old gaming console, uncomfortably fidgeting with the Neural Access Port adapter cables they just "liberated" from Lieutenant Blackburn.
"Joey, ya sure this is gonna work?" says Here. "How are you sure this old gaming system will run on our processors?"
"Don't worry about it, Here. I read one of the old manuals, they will be compatible - plus, I wrote some extra code that should make it even smoother. It'll run just like any other one of our sims." replies Joey. "C'mon, plug in, it'll be fun to go retro for a change. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Fine." (Here inserts adapter into the port at the base of her neck) "If we get in trouble, it's gonna be your fault Joey."
"Yeah, whatever. Blackburn'll never catch us. We got the antispyware program Wyatt wrote, remember?" (JoeyC plugs adapter into his neural access port, and clicks the power button on the console)
*Whirring of disc*
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A long, long, time ago, in a galaxy far far away...
*Star Wars Theme Song*
JoeyC: Woah this is actually working!
Here: Yeah, I'm impressed. But we haven't got much time, shut up and Let's Play! Let's go to the Death Star or something!
SELECT CHARACTER Joey selects Anakin Skywalker, and Here selects Obi-Wan Kenobi.
...Loading
...Loading The two Jedi arrive into the loading bay.
Joey: Why is everything so dark?
Here: Not sure, maybe a game glitch? Hmm… The game says there are supposed to be some stormtroopers in the level above us, let's go fight them! 5 minutes later, the pair enter the corridor where the stormtroopers were supposed to be.
Joey: Nobody's here.
Here: Still dark. Weird.
Joey: Wait. Nevermind - someone, rather, something... is here Joey bends down to examine a grisly old stormtrooper helmet
Joey: This place has been abandoned for years. No wonder we haven't seen anyone, this is a deserted version of the Death Star. Maybe just me, but for some reason those bodies in the corner looks like scioly.org users we know
Here: Nope, just you Joey. Man you are not making sen - get down!
Joey (ducks): OMG what the An egg shaped capsule shatters against the opposite wall. When Here steps closer to investigate, she notices a single word highlighted on the metal frame: ASSASSINATOR. She jumps back in fright when she notices a black liquid gurgling from the inside of the capsule.
Here: Hey Joey - time to go - this place gives me the heeby-jeebies. The black liquid bursts from the container, racing towards the carcasses in the corner. Swinging their light sabers around quickly, they stop in their tracks - among the pile of bodies they see the smiling face of a long dead dxu46 staring at them.
Here: What the is that liquid spreading over those bodies what the
Joey: Um I have a bad feeling about this - run! The liquid has covers all of what once used to be dxu46. The liquid pauses momentarily, as if to consider the Jedi before it. Then the carcass gives a violent jerk, as the liquid begins to take control of the cadaver. The reanimated dxu46 sits up. It yawns, showing rotting, yellow teeth. JoeyC and Here look at each other in confusion. Suddenly, the beast roars as it rushes towards the two unprepared Jedi. Both lightsabers are knocked out their hands immediately. Seemingly satisfied with the result, the beast turns around and begins to approach the pair slowly.
Beast/dxu46: You know I’ve waited a long time for this. To kill. To finally have the power. The time is over for words, for speech, for debate - because actions speak louder than words. And my first move will be to kill you, JoeyC.
JoeyC: Hey, what did I ever do to you! Also, we need to get out of here, Here. Something’s not right.
Here: Yeah, um, I agree, unplug via the game menu.
Beast/dxu46: Ah, don’t worry, I’ve disabled that function. Here narrows her eyes, grabbing at seemingly empty air. Behind the beast, her lightsaber begins to inch towards the back of the beast.
Beast/dxu46: You won’t be leaving anytime soon, but your time is - Suddenly, Here’s lightsaber appears through the blackened torso of the Beast. dxu46 slowly topples, as Here gives a final tug via the force. She pants as her blood covered lightsaber returns to her hand.
JoeyC: That… was pretty scary… Well, um, thanks for saving me… Can we leave now?
Here: Yeah, no kidding. Better tell the other officers about this.
Congratulations for correctly accusing and killing dxu46! You guys are murderers now, too!
The clues and their solutions will be posted below.
Game Start (Officer Entry Clue):
Trainees, welcome to the Spire. The Spire is home to the single most powerful signal transmitter in the solar system. This is the most powerful piece of technology ever built - actually, let me rephrase that - it will be the most powerful piece of technology ever built. See, it’s still in the Beta phase. The problem is, trainees, that we have painted a target on our backs. Every country, every terrorist organization, every hacker in the world wants control of our transmitter. Let’s not give those people the power to take control of our world. Easier said than done. We have ghosts in the system, hackers coming at us from every angle, and traitors in our midst. Based on the little data we’ve been able to collect, we have found two individuals to be responsible for almost all of the successful attacks against us so far. They are ghosts - we have not found any personal information. They are incredibly adept at hiding their digital footprints, but we are sure that they are amongst us.
Currently, we have no other information to share, except for a file transcript (shopping list) we attached below - apparently, our potent adversaries also enjoy bananas. We are looking for some sort of secret message, but we have been unable to find any so far. The first five people to post below will receive officer positions. Out of those five people, those who solve the clue shall receive an accusation.
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Shopping List
Two Dozen Eggs
Four Banana Cream Pies (yum!)
Seven Cookies
Two Milks (Garelick Farms please, they’re on sale)
Seven Bananas!
==============================================================================
Answer: OASIS
Explanation: Shopping List Code - take the number, count that number along the line per letter.
2 = O
4 = A
7 = S
2 = I
7 = S
Clue 1:
Target - Anomaly
Correctly Protected By - None
Written by MadCow2357
Welcome to training. With your newly fitted neural transmitters, you should be able to access the simulation by plugging into the Access Ports behind you. Make sure you check for malware though, the Russians managed to get into our systems yesterday. It’s rather strange, we cannot seem to find whose simulation is infected. Oh well. If you trainees are as good as coding and hacking as your resumes said you were, then a virus shouldn’t be too much to handle right? Plug in those cables; the monitor password is ACCESS. Let’s start that sim!
===BEGINNING OF SIMULATION===
You have arrived at Terminal 2. Proceed to exit the train (on the Right-hand side) please.
Suddenly, the doors open with a hiss. (2 Killers enter the compartment.)
“Everyone, hands up and drop all belongings to the floor. Get down on your knees. We don’t care who we kill, so we’d like a certain individual named Longivitis to step forward lest we blast out the brains of this pregnant mother.”
(Longivitis hesitates for a moment, and steps forward.) “I am Longivitis. And leave that mother alone. What will you have of me?”
“Documents, passwords, keys. We require certain items of intelligence for the operation we are currently conducting.” (Aims a handgun at another couching passenger.) “We can do this the easy way, and no one gets hurt, or we can do this messy way.”
Longivitis: (Nods head soundlessly, quickly searches through bag, and hands the assailants a smartphone which reads DATA under the ultraviolet floodlighting.)
===SIMULATION TERMINATED===
===REASON: SECURITYBREACH===
===ALL SYSTEMS ON LOCKDOWN FOR 48 HRS===
Explanation: AP is PA backwards, Anomaly means strange, and emphasized capital letters (mostly inside parentheses) read PARKLAND
Signature Change 1:
Quote: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
Hints for Clue 1:
peoijs ox bzs csxahad twhtwzk - key of oasis - beware of the capital letters
ipumvw tjg tsjepvlwkeu - key of access - inside the parentheses
Last edited by Assassinator on March 17th, 2019, 11:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Target - Things2do
Correctly Protected By - LittleMissNyan
Story written by MadCow2357, Transmission (Kill Clue) written by dxu46.
The officers hold a meeting in the Machiavelli Division Common Room. linzhiyan turns on the TV, which just so happens to be broadcasting NBC Nightly News live.
“And our main story tonight, breaking news which has left the nation in shock: a young female cadet was assassinated at the Pentagon Spire. Known to most as Anomaly, she was found paralyzed from the neck down, rolling her eyes strangely, and unresponsive after the end of a routine training session involving a virtual simulation. She was sent to a local hospital, where she passed away 5 hours later. A copy of the virus was found inside her neural processor, but inspections into the crippling virus did not reveal much about the hackers. However, they did find a chilling message hidden in the decrypted code:
===BEGIN TRANSMISSION===
ACT 1, SCENE 1
For reference, dialogue is in normal text. Thoughts and actions are in italics.
Zombie: I assume that the target has been exterminated?
Phantom: Yes, of course. How could I fail?
Zombie: *Thinks* We are still far from done, but we're on the path to victory now. A victory is long over due. So many of our predecessors failed. We will be the first to succeed.
Phantom: It’s almost too easy. We could probably tell them who we’re targeting, and we would still be able to make the kill. I have half a mind to just nuke them, forget the subtlety.
Zombie: Do not overestimate our position. The officers’ trust in our informant may not be as concrete as you believe. Having an informant in the officer's inner circle is useful, but also quite risky. Do not fail me, Phantom.
===END TRANSMISSION===
linzhiyan drops the TV remote. Longivitis remains completely still, mouth still open in shock. JoeyC begins pacing to and fro in agitation. LittleMissNyan swallows nervously, face pale, looking to the left and right in fear (guilt?). Only the MysteriousMapMan seems totally calm, almost at ease.
The room suddenly fills with static. The static crescendos and reaches a climax, dying down. When the officers try to open the transmission up again, the screen fills with text:
bigijbihy
48 hours.
Explanation: The italicized words are homophones for Things, Two (2), and Do. The cipher at the bottom is a Caesar cipher, which is alluded to by the play notation (Act _ Scene _). The Caesar shift is that of 20, which in mod 26 can equal 46, hence dxu46.
The "informant" is linzhiyan, as she was originally a co-conspirator.
