-
The J.W. Campbell Ice Station has lost contact with one of their sister stations. During a lull in the Antarctic night, a small team took a chopper to investigate.
What they found horrified them.
The base had been destroyed in an act of self-destruction, burned to the ground with signs of dynamite having been used. Equipment and vehicles were sabotaged and taken apart. A handful of charred bodies were found yet several members of the team were still missing including the mechanic and pilot.
With the wind rising and the Antarctic winter setting in, the team gathered the bodies they could and took them back to base, hoping to make sense of what has happened.
They never realised they were bringing hell back with them.
*****
Da Rules!
1. The Day Phase lasts 24 hours, as does the Night Phase
2. During the Day Phase, the team may put forward a person to be tested.
3. During the Night Phase, orders and investigations must be sent to the GM. Please note, that if you do not send your message before the end of the night phase, your turn is wasted. Also, only certain players are allowed to communicate with each other. You will be notified if you can communicate in your Role Assignment.
4. Posting during the Night is allowed.
5. Once a player posts a message, the post cannot be edited or deleted.
6. Please put the Test votes in bold, in colour and at the bottom of the post.
7. The player with the majority (one more than half the living number of players), is put forward for a blood test. If Clear, they are released and allowed back into play. If a Thing however, they are burned to death. There is a 20% possibility that the Thing might lash out and kill the closest person. (In effect, this will be the last person who posted before the Test)
8. Dead men and Things tell no tales. (If you have been removed from play, you can no longer post in the game thread, but the sign up thread will still be open)
9. The Thing wins if there is one infected person still alive by the end of the game or if the Things outnumber the uninfected.
10. Have fun.
The Victi---I mean Players:
1. Mtmerrick Cook
2. Cesium133 Radio Operator - A Thing
3. Henri Bemis - Geologist - If the Geologist is infected and subsequently killed after a blood test, their death throes kill a random player)
4. Masterpiece - Biologist
5. Black Sword - Assistant
6. Anhkthar - Assistant
7. J - Physician - May investigate one person per night and try to find out who the Thing is. (There is a 90% chance of success)
8. ChaoSera - Meterologist
9. Gareth Dog Handler - The Dog Handler could not be infected during the night.
10. Unicorn Commander - Had been infected.
11. Linds Pilot
12. Method of Madness - Soldier - If a Thing attempts to convert a Soldier, there is a 20% chance the Soldier is able to fight it off, expose it and kill it, at the cost of his own life.
13. Game and Watch Forever Mechanic
14. De_la_Nae Vehicle Operator - Goes crazy at the drop of a hat.
Please note that Role Actions will be revealed as players are eliminated. The exception to this is the Commander; who can, during the day, assign one person to help another person - allowing communication between them during the Night Phase. Any assignment must be made in public, similar to a vote, in Bold, Colour and at the bottom of the post. In the event of a tie, the Commander casts the tie-breaking vote.
The Thing is a special role and has three unique options to use during the Night Phase. Note that a Thing may not use the same option two Nights in a row. These options are as follows:
A:Infect or kill another player. This is very high risk as its a lengthy process and there is a 40% chance of discovery. If discovered, the Thing is exposed and killed. If a person is infected, they have no idea who infected them (It was done while they were asleep for example).
B: Commit an act of Sabotage. A medium risk action, with a 20% chance of discovery, though the Thing will not be exposed. An act of Sabotage means that a targeted person cannot vote the next day.
C: Lie low. A low risk action. If investigated, they will give false information and reduce the risk of discovery for their next action by 10%
Despite the apparent hive mind the Thing has, Things may not communicate with each other, its survival of the fittest and the most desperate.
Day 1
-
Guys I need to talk to you. Urgently. The samples I took from the bodies we found are troubling to say the least.
-
Commander Einhorn was pacing anxiously already, having already been hit with the news of their sister station being destroyed. He knew those people, and he wasn't close to them, but that didn't change the way it felt when he looked at their dead faces - the way it felt like a punch straight to the gut, leaving him gasping and wordless. No one should ever have to die that way. "Well, what is it, then?" he asked, making his way to the biologist, red in the face and a little unsteady on his feet - he appeared to have been drinking at some point.
-
Ph.D Mars Terrence Pistorious, called Prof. Masterpiece by his peers, slowly looks up from his microscope.
"Commander, those bodies we found at the station... their tissue was still alive when I had them under the microscope."
He rearranges his horn rim glasses and slowly scratches the back of his head, unsure of the implications of his next statement.
"... and the tissue was not entirely human, either."
-
"Are you all mad? They triggered the self-destruct, and destroyed the vehicles! Obviously, they were trying to keep something from escaping the base!"
Dr. Bemis' fingers tremble a bit as she digs into her pockets and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, then lights up. "Fuck protocol." She inhales deeply, her nerves beginning to calm, then turns to Prof. Masterpiece. "What do you mean 'not entirely human'? Animal? or..." she can't bring herself to finish the sentence.
-
"I have no idea what I'm seeing Henri. I've took multiple samples from the bodies Einhorn found in the ruins. These three are fine - if you don't count the damage from the elements."
Pistorious rises from his desk and moves towards a covered figure on the stretcher.
"But the tissue from this one - "
he lifts the blanket off the figure, revealing a horribly disfigured corpse of what appears to be a burnt human - but with a split face!
(http://planetmut.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/08/splitface.jpg)
" possesses a physiology unlike ANYTHING I have ever seen."
In defeat, he takes off his glasses and brushes over his eyes.
"And there's more."
-
*shudders as she secures the snowmobiles and sleds from their return trip*
-
"More."
The word sent fear into him, hanging sickly in the pit of his stomach. Things were bad enough as is, and he found himself staring at the disfigured body, horrible curiosity and disgust flickering across his features. "Of course. There's always more. What is it?" He chanced a look at the doctor, one hand reaching into his pocket and settling on something there which seemed to calm him down slightly. "I'm not sure we should have this...body on base. Has anyone been able to reach any of our other sister stations?"
-
de la Nae frowned as she looked down at the runners on the snowmobile she had driven.
One of them was bent. Nothing she couldn't fix, with a little work but...she'd have thought she would have felt it give on the trip. It wasn't like that before they took off, after all, so it would have to have, unless... she shook her head. The machines weren't out of her sight long enough for someone to do this; they'd have to put too much effort behind it to do so noiselessly anyway.
She bit her lip as she grabbed her toolbox and got to work, remembering the clear signs of sabotage at the other base.
-
"Einhorn, the tissue I found in this body behaves unlike anything I've ever seen before. It consumed cells I presented it with - literally consumed them... and then proceeded to mimic the consumed cells almost perfectly. This tissue was trying to mimic the human it consumed. The only reason it failed was because someone burned it before it could."
He lunges forward, grabbing Einhorns arm.
"This Thing - whatever it is - it COPIES their hosts! It's undistinguishable from the outside, in every aspect it's the same as it's host, in behavior, appearance, anything! We need to burn it before it manages to consume any of us!"
-
The Commander only stares back at the man, almost blankly, before pulling his flask out of his pocket and taking a long drink from it, hands shaking less as he replaces it, looking down at the body for a moment before stepping back from it. "Then what are you waiting for? We need to get this body out of here. How does it get one of us? How can we know who's one of these...Things?" He paused for a moment, looking at the biologist for a long moment before asking, "And how do you know that you're not infected?"
-
Pistorious, dumbstuck by Einhorns accusations, stumbles back, into his desk.
"I- wha-... What are you implying?!"
-
The vehicle operator grunts in satisfaction as she finishes repair on the snowmobile's runner...
...only to look over and notice that one of the hitches on one of the sleds is bent.
One that she could swear she'd checked already.
"..." Maybe it was time to get the Mechanic.
-
The Commander wasn't implying anything, but the man's reaction was suspicious to say the least. He narrows his eyes at him, saying slowly, "I'm only asking a question, Pistorius, to understand the nature of what we face. How would you know?"
-
(OOC: I read that last bit as "how do we know you're not infected", my mistake.)
Pistorious grabs his hair, horrified by the thought.
"It could have already spread!? I -"
he grabs his own arm in search of any trace of the tissue, his face going white in fear, but, being a scientist by nature, quickly calming through logical reasoning
"no, simple exposure to the skin is not enough to take hold. The consumption by the Thing is quite a violent process, even at cellular level, so the process should be visible to the naked eye."
He approaches the massive spectrometer in the middle of the room.
"We could test samples of our own tissue in the spectrometer here. But the darn thing is way too power-hungry - if we use it more than once a day it will overload our generators. We would only be able to test one person a day..."
-
A knock on the door, followed by de la Nae just walking in. "Hey Einhorn, I think we may have a problem. You seen Game and Watch anywhere? We're having uh...equipment trouble, and I can't find him."
-
"I have no idea what I'm seeing Henri. I've took multiple samples from the bodies Einhorn found in the ruins. These three are fine - if you don't count the damage from the elements."
Pistorious rises from his desk and moves towards a covered figure on the stretcher.
"But the tissue from this one - "
he lifts the blanket off the figure, revealing a horribly disfigured corpse of what appears to be a burnt human - but with a split face!
(http://planetmut.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/08/splitface.jpg)
" possesses a physiology unlike ANYTHING I have ever seen."
In defeat, he takes off his glasses and brushes over his eyes.
"And there's more."
HOLY SHIT! That's it, I'm radioing for someone to get me the hell out of here.
-
"I'll be happy to volunteer for testing, but I think those who were closest to... whatever this is... should probably go first?" She stubs her cigarette out on the bottom of her shoe, then tucks it in the pocket of her jeans. Everything might be going to hell, but that's no excuse for littering.
-
"Wait, we're...what is that? Testing?"
-
I say we get in a plane and fly the hell out of here. I'd feel much safer in the air...
-
"We can't just leave! We'd risk bringing this shit with us! The people at the other base tried to destroy it, taking themselves with it. And we, fucking geniuses we are, brought their bodies back here." She sighs, and takes a seat, elbows on her knees and fingers rubbing her temples. "I hate to say it, but we need to quarantine ourselves. Whatever this... thing is? It wants to get out, and we can't let it." She looks to the Commander. "This shit is above my bloody pay grade. I'm here to analyze rocks."
-
"As much as it pains me to say this, Linds, Henri is right. We're not going anywhere before we know for sure everyone is human."
He starts calibrating the spectometer, whilst going through the fact once again.
"So. We have an organism that's definitely not anything remotely from earth that is mimicking the behaviour and appearance of their hosts by violently consuming them. The process is violent and bloody enough to be seen by the naked eye. Skin contact with the Thing will not be harmful unless it is actively trying to consume you, although I am unsure if accidentally getting some of it in your mouth is safe. We should prepare our own meals and stay in constant seeing distance to one another."
Deep in thought, Masterpiece notices several crew members of J.W.Campbell missing. Irritated, he announces on the intercom:
"Hey you fucks I said I need you ALL in the medical bay right now, no exceptions. Get your sorry arses over here right now!"
-
"Jesus...well maybe if this shit is real, I should take apart the snowmobiles."
-
While on the way to the medical station Ankh (his nickname because of the pendant he always wears) mutters to himself: "I didn't join this bloody expedition to be bossed around by everyone, especially not the bloody doctor. What can be so bloody important that even the "assistant" is needed. What kind of job description is this anyway: assistant. Assistant to whom or what?"
He enters the sickbay.
"Alright, here I am. What's the matter? And what the bloody hell is that on the table?"
He nearly stumbles back out of the room upon seeing the creature on the table.
-
"what's this I hear about cooking your own meals?"
*disgruntled face*
-
Dr. Chaos (this is not his real name, but one he got because of the chaos that always consumes his workstation) calmly walks over to the medbay after hearing the intercom. He's wondering what this is all about and a bit annoyed at having to leave his work. There had been a really interesting storm pattern, which also potentially could go in the direction of the station, so he was tracking it.
When he enters the medical station there's already a small crowd, blocking his view of the operation table. "Hey Doc, what's this all about?"
-
Slightly irritated, Pistorious turns to Dr Chaos and the new arrivals.
"Stop calling me Doc, Chaos, you know very well I have a PhD. I have no idea where Doc J is."
Seeing as half of the station is not reacting to his call, Pistorious goes back to the intercom to announce:
"Seeing as you're not interested in saving your bloody hides , I'll do this over this intercom:
The station has been compromised by an alien life form.
This 'Thing' is capable of consuming life forms, imitating them in minute detail. Your compatriots could already have turned. Trust nobody. Do not spend time alone, always have at least two people at your side at all times. Prepare your own meals.
And get the fuck over to the medical bay so we can determine who to test!"
He turns off the intercom and faces the two-headed figure.
"Ankh, get the flamethrower and bring it to door 3. Merrick, Chaos, help me heave this bloody thing outside. Nae, take the tracks off the snowmobiles and store them inside someplace we can lock them. Linds, disconnect the GPS unit of the helicopter and take it inside as well. Tell comms to send out a quarantine message to all stations on Antarctic soil. Nobody is to approach this base unless we give the all clear.
We'll meet here in an hour. And hurry the fuck up."
-
The GPS has been taken out of the helicopter and safely locked up. I hope you can all understand my reasons for not telling you where it's locked up though. I don't want to let my baby fly blind with the chance that we kill this thing and can fly to safety.
-
Chaos stares at Pistorious wide-eyed. "Are you fucking mad? We need everybody to stay calm and you blast everything out over the intercom, so panic can ensue? And who made you the fucking commander anyway? I won't do anything you say until you have been tested. You have been the first to come in contact with this... thing" he gestures to the grotesque figure "so you'd be the most likely infected. If you're not, then we can talk about what to do next."
Demonstratively Chaos positions himself at the entrance to the medbay, arms crossed and blocking the way out.
Test Masterpiece!
-
Ankh sullenly shuffles through the corridor.
"'Ankh, bring me some towels', 'Ankh, fuel up the chopper', 'Ankh, go and chop some ice', 'Ankh, get the flamethrower'. Always they shove me around. And now this bloody 'thing'? Probably only a joke by mad Prof "Don't Call Me 'Doc'" Pistorious, I guess. I mean shapeshifters? We aren't in a bloody horror movie
If he was so serious about keeping us all together, why does he send me away alone?"
He picks up the flamethrower and the fuel, thinks for a while and decides to bring the matches as well. "Don't forget anything and give them any reason to pick on me. Not after the incident with the snowmobile."
-
Pistorious catches eye contact with Chaos. His words already had the effects he had intended: Distrust. Vigilance.
His voice shaking, he appeals to Chaos:
"Well what do you expect me to do, huh? I can't just sit here and do nothing. People are dying, C! You know what we are right now, Chaos? Prey. We have a wolf in sheep skin among us. We. HAVE. To. Let everyone know.
What if you were to be consumed tonight, just because you ate tainted food? I could never forgive myself. We have to stay together. Do you know why grassland animals like sheep, cows, gazelles or zebra flock together? Because a herd is harder for predators to attack than a stray. We have to watch our backs if we want to survive this mess.
Chaos, if you have to, test me. But it's a waste -"
he takes a small letter opener out of his desk, cuts a deep wound into his left index finger and catches the blood in a petri glass.
" - because I'm innocent.
My blood is here. The spectrometer is calibrated. All you need to do is press the button.
But I'm not going to stand here and do nothing. Merrick, let's go. I see Ankh is already outside waiting for us. Reliable motherfucker."
He starts lifting the two faced figure.
"Lets burn this piece of shit."
-
"Seeing as you're not interested in saving your bloody hides , I'll do this over this intercom:
The station has been compromised by an alien life form.
This 'Thing' is capable of consuming life forms, imitating them in minute detail. Your compatriots could already have turned. Trust nobody. Do not spend time alone, always have at least two people at your side at all times. Prepare your own meals.
And get the fuck over to the medical bay so we can determine who to test!"
Alphonse Valentino, aka Game and Watch, awoke with a start. He'd been working really hard last night during his off hours on his latest prototype handheld gaming device. This would be the one that wouldn't spark or explode as soon as someone started up a game or pressed the on switch. No longer would his fellow crewmen refer to him as 'Game and Wreck' or 'Game and Weirdo.'
But that day won't ever come if everyone was turned into an alien. Assuming he heard all that right. He wasn't convinced he wasn't dreaming. He got up, quickly got dressed, and headed to the med bay. He arrived just in time to see Masterpiece lifting what he could only refer to as a... thing...
"Holy shit, you weren't kidding..."
-
"Glitch and Watch, there you are! De la Nae is outside, working on the snowmobiles, and asked for your help."
-
The runners on the sleds and snowmobiles removed and the key secreted away, de la Nae stood back to look at her handy work, then looked out toward the shed where the dogs were kept. "..."
Returning to the crew preparing to burn the body, the unhappy vehicle keeper voiced an unfortunate thought. "Um...should we burn the dogs?"
((I've got to go and I don't know if I'll be back by the deadline this evening, so here's my vote to Test MtMerrick. Because.))
-
Dr. J arrives late to the meeting, with bedhead, in his bathrobe, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and the last few bites of a microwaved burrito in the other. He's grumbling something about the damn antarctic nights sodomizing his sleep schedule.
"Ok, ok, I'm here. Real funny on the intercom you assholes; I'm gonna remember this when the next round of physicals comes up." He pauses, sniffs the air, "And who the fuck has been smoking in my infirmary?"
[sorry for being late guys]
-
Game and Watch settled for a brief glare at Masterpiece. If people could funnel as much creativity into their work as they seemed to put into his nicknames... well the world would probably be dramatically different, if not better.
"Wait, she's by herself? What was that about having people with you at all times?"
Game and Watch fled the room and left to assist de la Nae. At the very least they recognized him as a competent mechanic, especially when it came to taking something apart.
-
"I approve of any and all pyromania, but seriously, is it really necessary to basically put me out of a job?"
-
This is scary, guys. I don't know who to trust. I don't even know if I can trust myself.
Test Method of Madness.
-
Dr. J finally wipes the sleep out of his eyes and looks over at the table. "What the hell is that?"
-
Pistorious raises his eyebrows in disbelief. Barely hiding the distain for his colleague, he replies:
"Doc, these are the bodies I asked you to autopsy last night."
And without further comment, he proceeds to carry the disfigured creature outside, with the help of Merrick, to Ankh, Nae and Game and Watch, who have been anxiously waiting for them.
-
Why isn't anyone answering my radio calls?! I need out of this place away from those... things.
-
"Yeah, you woke me up and said some'n about autopsies, then I said some'n 'bout put'n 'em on ice so I could get to it once I'd sober'd up. Nobody said noth'n 'bout no siamese twins."
"And where the hell are you goin'n with 'em now? Look, do you want that autopsy or not?"
-
Turning back to the door, Pistorious tells J
"Come out with us, Doc, and I'll fill you in."
Pistorious joins the crowd outside and sees Ankh with the Flamethrower.
"Seeing as you already have it on, Ankh, will you do the honors and burn this sum bitch?"
He turns to address the others.
"I know Chaos says we should test me first. He certainly sounds convincing alright.
But I know that I am innocent. You only have my word on that, but I can assure you, I am. I wouldn't be standing here, trying to burn this thing, otherwise.
Chaos' swift conclusion to test me troubles me though. If he were a Thing, the first thing it'd want to do would be to shift attention to someone else, so we waste our chance of testing it.
I have no other lead to go on right now. I know I gave you a lot of shit over the time we have been here, fuck, I give all of you guys plenty of crap to chew on. But I have always had the highest of respect for all of you.
However, I am not willing to give anyone of you the benefit of the doubt. If you are innocent, you would have no reason to object to test yourself.
I vote to test ChaoSera."
-
".... Would you KNOW if you were infected?" *looks at masterpiece*
-
(OOC: No. I really should, though, I guess. Is it on Google play?)
EDIT: Where'd your post go MP?
-
(OOC: No. I really should, though, I guess. Is it on Google play?)
(OOC: He replied to a post I wrote and deleted because I thought it was unnecessary. Matthew, I'll answer in the sign up thread)
-
(OOC: Personally I don't really care, but the rules say that posts aren't allowed to be deleted or altered after posting. But you gotta sort that out with TED, I suppose.)
Shaking his head Chaos watches Pistorious leave with the mutilated corpse. He is pretty convinced there was something going on with the guy but he can't prove it yet. Sighing he takes the petri glass with Pistorious' blood and inserts the blood into the spectrometer. He then pushes the button to turn it on and turns to Einhorn.
"Hey Chief, you've been awfully quiet. What do you make of all this?"
-
However, I am not willing to give anyone of you the benefit of the doubt. If you are innocent, you would have no reason to object to test youself.
Then why are you objecting? You're being mighty bossy, which really isn't out of the norm anyways, but if you're as innocent as you say, then why not test yourself first? Why not show us you can be trusted instead of just telling us to?
-
Sign up for this fun mission to Antarctica, they said. You've got the perfect skills for this mission, they said. It'll be easy, they said. They didn't say we'd get invaded by monsters, did they!?
-
(OOC: It was an out of character question and I put it in the sign up thread here (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,28973.msg1159924.html#msg1159924). Sorry for the confusion.
-
Pistorious turns to meet Linds gaze and shouts
"I left my blood sample on my desk as a proof! I'm pretty sure Chaos is already testing it anyhow!"
-
"Woohoo! Finally a fun task to do! Thanks Prof! But why not vote for yourself, so you can get rid of all doubts?
On the other hand, there only seems to be one person who 'slept' through all the explanations."
Test J!
-
The count so far:
Masterpiece - 1
Method of Madness - 1
ChaoSera - 1
J - 1
The day will finish in a little over 90 minutes.
-
As far as I know, all you bastards are contaminated with that crap, but I guess if we're gonna test someone, let's test Masterpiece. I'll be hiding in the radio shed, trying to reach someone who will get me the hell out of this place.
-
Pistorious looks around the group, his head hanging in defeat.
"I'm telling you, you're wasting a vote. But I can't blame you, I'd vote for myself in this case too."
He turns towards the base.
"I'll be in the medbay if you need me. Ankh..."
he turns his head towards him
"I could use your help later."
-
"As much as I don't like the Prof, I think he's being honest. Unfortunately, we need to test somebody. Why not drag one of the ones who haven't bothered showing their faces around here? I say we test Black Sword."
-
Test ChaosEra
Because why not :mrgreen:
-
"Christ, I know this isn't helping, but I think we should test the commander first. He's going to be in charge of any armed resistance we might need, and I'll sleep a hell of a lot better knowing the guy with the guns isn't an impostor."
test Unicorn
-
OOC: what happens if its a tie?
-
If there is a tie, it'll go to Unicorn as Base Commander to decide who gets tested.
Anyway, the count:
Masterpiece: 2
ChaoSera: 2
Method of Madness: 1
J: 2
Black Sword: 1
Unicorn: 1
-
Also, you have 45 minutes before the end of the day.
-
((I voted for Primo. :( ))
-
And fixed
-
((I'm a little busy this second, but I'll switch my vote to Test J. Have fun, Commander! ))
-
((You little gimp..... :-D))
-
"...wait!"
Pistorious stumbles back into the group, barely able to keep himself on his feet, in his left hand clutching an almost emptied bottle of scotch.
"I redact my vote for ChaoSera, and instead vote to test myself!"
He tries to maintain his balance, but instead tumbles into the snow, leaning on his free hand, his face lighted by the flickering of the burning corpse in their middle.
"because, because I want you to trust me!"
his gaze is lost in thought as his face forms a sick, resigned grin, that quickly turns into a laugh of resignation.
"but you know the best part? Knowing that I'm innocent now doesn't help you jack."
another cruel laugh as he takes a last, long sip out the bottle. Coughing from the liquor, he continues,
"because now the Thing knows you'd trust me and I'd be a prime target to be consumed. What if I am turned tonight? How long until I am turned?
Can you know for sure that I'll still be innocent tomorrow?"
slowly getting to his feet, he turns to face Cesium and looks him directly in the eye, his face inches from Cesiums.
"can you?"
as he turns back towards Station door 3, the rest of the crew hear him mumble
"and all this while, this Thing is still lurking amongst us.
At least I'll be doing something constructive while I await my death."
-
Dammit, how the hell did you find my stash of scotch! I need that for the boring nights when I sing Freebird into the radio... uh, I mean when I'm radioing home base for help... yeah...
-
Slicing his hand open, Masterpiece lets some of the blood drip into a petri dish. Letting one of the others heat up a steel nail, Masterpiece smiled as the hot nail was dipped into the blood....and fizzled as nothing happened.
He was uninfected.
For now.
Night 1 Begins
(Everyone, if you have a role, get your PM in sooner rather than later)
-
Grimaces as she contemplates an amphetamine pill. "Maybe we should sleep in shifts? Leave 2-3 people awake at every moment, guarding the others?"
-
(OOC: if the test is just blood in a nail plus a hot nail, then why can't everyone be tested at once? ...)
-
OOC: Not having seen the movie, but having seen the South Park episode about lice, is this "testing" method based on the South Park episode or did the South Park writers get it from the movie?
-
(South Park got it from the movie - I've only caught about ten minutes of The Thing, but it really was enough.)
-
(So I guess the alien blood is supposed to have a violent reaction to iron... why not just shoot everyone with a nailgun in an inconspicuous body part, then?)
-
((OOC: That's why I tried the spectrometer thing, but TED insisted on staying loyal to the source.))
-
(So I guess the alien blood is supposed to have a violent reaction to iron... why not just shoot everyone with a nailgun in an inconspicuous body part, then?)
(what "inconspicuous" body part would YOU like to be nail-gun'd in? :P)
-
(Unicorn - you guys only have one nail. Really, the base is just a ramshackle hut in the middle of a frozen desert. And it needs to be sterilise so its put into an autoclave for 24 hours....its the 1980s, equipment was really, really crap and the Thing is really, really infectious.)
(Cesium133 - Its not the nail or the iron that affects the Thing. Its the heat. When separated from the body, it becomes another organism and exposing it to heat is similar to taking a hot brand to someone's face. Its going to provoke a reaction, thus showing who is a Thing.)
(To the pair of you. Shame on both of you for never watching a classic of the horror genre.)
(GM AWAY!)
-
(So I guess the alien blood is supposed to have a violent reaction to iron... why not just shoot everyone with a nailgun in an inconspicuous body part, then?)
(what "inconspicuous" body part would YOU like to be nail-gun'd in? :P)
No, you're not going anywhere near that one. :-P
(Unicorn - you guys only have one nail. Really, the base is just a ramshackle hut in the middle of a frozen desert. And it needs to be sterilise so its put into an autoclave for 24 hours....its the 1980s, equipment was really, really crap and the Thing is really, really infectious.)
(Cesium133 - Its not the nail or the iron that affects the Thing. Its the heat. When separated from the body, it becomes another organism and exposing it to heat is similar to taking a hot brand to someone's face. Its going to provoke a reaction, thus showing who is a Thing.)
(To the pair of you. Shame on both of you for never watching a classic of the horror genre.)
(GM AWAY!)
Ah, okay. The simple ideas never work.
-
Einhorn narrows his eyes, looking around. He appears mostly steady, though a strong breeze might topple him over were there one. "...Didn't somebody have matches?"
-
I know people have a few questions about the game, but a lot of this OOC talk is kind of bogging down the flow of the story, so if possible, would you kindly keep questions about the game in the sign up thread or PM me if you have a particular problem?
-
"Prof, did I just hear that right? Heat is the best method of identifying these things?" Ankh looks down on the flamethrower he's still holding in his hands. He shrugs. "I guess there is a good reason we don't use this for testing then, otherwise you would have tried it already I assume.
Anyway, what about we always move in groups of three? At least we know that Masterpiece here is one of the good ones. If there are always two people around everyone there is no way this thing could attack one of us without being noticed, unless we put a poor soul into a group with two things. Masterpiece, as the only proven human, would you divide us into groups?
-
Pistorious, having already gone back inside to the medbay, hears nothing ankh says...
Pistorious sits at his desk, looking at the notes he took when he first inspected the specimen now known as "the thong". He looks up, and starts working.
In the course of the next hour, Pistorious mixes compounds, heats them, and generally acts like a chemist.
-
*Major Method O. Madness wonders why the Professor is doing such elaborate experiments regarding what sounds like underpants. Major Madness does not know much about science.*
-
Masterpiece, I just heard back from the reviewers on the paper you submitted. The response is "Let me see that thong, baby. That thong thong thong thong thong."
-
((OOC: DAMN YOU AUTOCORRECT!!!))
-
(OOC: But...thing is a word. Why would it get corrected to thong?)
-
Ankh turns around,only to discover that Masterpiece is long gone. He looks around.
"Guys, we're meant to stay together. Why do you always disappear and leave me alone?" he says more to himself than to anyone in particular.
He walks into Pistorious' lab and asks him what to do now.
-
Sometimes I really think the dogs understand me better than people do.
-
Pistorious sits hurdled on his desk, tired from what has been a very long day, but unwilling to succumb to exhaustion. In his hand is what appears to be a syringe filled with a dark green fluid. The empty whiskey bottle fills the air with toxic fumes.
As Ankh enters, he looks up from his notes.
"Hey there Ankh. Fucking mess we're in here, right? Sorry for losing it out there. I'm just so very frustrated that there isn't anything I can do.
People are dying, and we can't stop bickering over whom to test."
He gets up and walks towards the spectrometer. He puts a little of the green fluid in it and starts the machine.
"So in the meantime, I have been working on an antidote."
He shows Ankh the syringe.
"This compound amplifies the human immune response to foreign intrusion, such as that of the Things. It's not useful for killing a Thing, so injecting them with it will be useless, but it should make a human immune to the infection."
He turns around to face his desk.
But it's only a stop gap solution!" he vents in frustration, knocking the whiskey bottle off his desk, "the active ingredient is metabolised way too quickly for the antidote to have any long lasting effect!" He reads the results of the analysis that the spectrometer just printed out, "if I'm reading this correctly (and I have no reason to think otherwise), the antidote will only last for a few hours - enough to get you through the night. And what's worse: my supplies are extremely limited. I can only produce enough for one person a day in good conscience."
He collects his notes concerning the antidote, the spectrometer printout and any notes he wrote about the Thing. "Only I know how to formulate this compound. Not to sound patronising, but none of the others have the necessary knowledge to create this." He looks at the syringe. "This is my life line now. The reason to keep me alive. I will not be a selfish bastard and keep myself immune. So instead I'll provide you with an incentive to keep me alive."
He lights a match and sets fire to his notes. "If I die, you lose your only definite chance of staying alive."
-
(OOC: But...thing is a word. Why would it get corrected to thong?)
(OOC: Because he uses the word thong a LOT more than the word thing. :P that's how adaptive typing systems work. :P)
-
Despite the fears and mistrust, it would seem that nothing happened during the night. Everyone appears to be alive and safe.
Another day begins with wary glances and quiet fear.
Day 2 Begins
(Sorry about the late update, my cousin just finished med-school and we went out for drinks to celebrate)
-
Professor Pistorious (or Pisser, as he likes to be called) tested clean...even if his blood is somehow 103% alcohol. Anyway, I think we can trust him for now.
-
Well, seeing as he's the only one who really knows how all of this stuff works, I think it's safer to trust him than to not trust him at this point. Especially since he was willing to let us test him. (Which I really did appreciate as a sign of trust, thank you Professor.) But where do we look now?
-
"Linds, Mr. Method, thank you. Maybe we can still turn this shitstorm of a situation around.
But we need more of this trust, and the only way we can get that is by testing. I have some leads on who might be innocent, but I'm not willing to share this information yet.
In the meanwhile, I agree with what Dr. Henri said yesterday. Commander Einhorn is a trained military commander, he's in charge of this operation, I want to be able to trust him.
And seeing as I had to be tested to be trusted too,
I vote to test Unicorn."
-
Just Method, actually. Or Major Madness if you wish to be formal.
-
"Hm...." looks over at the Pissy doctor and nods. Apparently she agrees with Testing the Commander.
-
You guys make a logical point. Let's test unicorn
-
I radioed for more nails to do testing. No answer. Except for the voices that talk to me whenever someone steals my whiskey stash.
The voices are telling me to vote to test Unicorn.
-
Still bedazzled by the Masterpiece's explanation, and still wondering whether the explanation was meant for him personally or for the general public, the assistant walks to the group and finds that he agrees with the Prof once again.
"Well, probably the best decision to start at the top of the chain of command."
Test Unicorn
OOC: Please excuse that I don't have the time to RP much currently. Final oral exam on Tuesday, also I only use my phone right now.
-
((OOC: Everything we say here is for the general public, no? Besides, Method was in the same room, and so were ChaoSera and Unicorn, unless they magically disappeared. I just have fun thinking you're my personal assistant.))
-
(OOC: I have severe trouble with locating the different actions and participants. I never know whether somebody walked away, if somebody followed and stuff like that. I for instance understood that it was only us two in your lab, and now you've walked back into some kind of meeting room, where the rest of the group is.)
-
OOC: Everything is SUPPOSED to be public, so I assumed they just left the intercom on or something?
-
((OOC: Well it's an Antarctic research station, I don't think it would be that hard to eavesdrop on somebody.
My headcanon was that Pistorious, after having finished with work, went to bed (what with it being night and all), and that they're all meeting for breakfast now.))
Pistorious looks around the room.
"Does anyone know where Gareth is? We need to talk about isolating the dogs so we can be assured that they can't attack us, should they be infected."
-
How do we know the dogs HAVEN'T been infected already? :psyduck: And how do we tell the difference between an infected dog and a pissed off dog? :psyduck: The dogs already don't like a lot of us.
-
"Of course, I still think testing Commander Einhorn is our best course of action. I don't have any reason to suspect him, I just think it would be smart to test those in charge, first."
"And Pistorious, I know you just tested clean, but..." Dr. Bemis glances at the charred notes, seemingly unsalvageable, and still smoking. "Was that really necessary? I'm not sure how to say this, and I don't want you to die - you are, as you know, one of our most valuable assets, nor do I wish you any ill will - but if something does happen to you, you've just condemned the rest of us." She bites her lip, and sighs. "If you really are the only one capable of making an antidote, even if it's temporary, you should probably use it on yourself. Using it to save one of us is of no use if you get infected, or killed, and we can't make more." The tired geologist narrows her eyes and clenches her jaw. "And damn you, sir, for destroying your notes. Not selfish, my ass."
-
OOC - ack, forgot to make it official!
test Unicorn.
-
That's five votes for Unicorn.
-
"I suppose it would make sense... though somebody should seriously look for Black Sword and Gareth. One of them might be devouring the other for all we know. Either way... vote Unicorn."
-
Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if they were. Or getting eaten by Gareth's dogs.
And even though Dr. Bemis raises a very good point, I too vote Einhorn.
-
I've been with the dogs this whole time. They're spooked, and I don't blame them. And as for who can tell the difference between an infected one and angry one, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to.
I abstain from voting.
-
Pistorious turns towards Gareth, his gaze locked with his, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What do you mean you want to abstain, Gareth?"
His gaze unchanged, he nods towards the others.
"I'm not changing my vote, but if I could, I would test you tonight as well. We already determined that testing yourself is not a bad thing, the only reason you wouldn't want Einhorn tested would be because you were the one who turned him."
-
One more vote for Unicorn will end the day.
-
This is a bit of a witch hunt and we don't know what we're dealing with. Frankly I'd sooner get out of here than test anybody, but unfortunately I don't have that option.
-
"So you'd prefer to do nothing than to conduct a test that would be pretty much non-lethal to anyone actually human? I understand wanting to leave, but it'd be irresponsible of us to let that thing leave the premises alive."
-
Yup, I'm voting for Gareth tomorrow.
-
This is a bit of a witch hunt and we don't know what we're dealing with. Frankly I'd sooner get out of here than test anybody, but unfortunately I don't have that option.
I'm sure we ALL want to get out of here. Especially that...thing. But nobody's going anywhere until everyone's clean and the thing is dead. Why you don't want to figure out who's clean and who isn't just makes you look suspicious and good luck getting out of here without a 'copter, let alone one without a GPS.
*Capt. "Cloudkicker" Striker mumbles something about letting no creepy ass beasts on her bird.*
-
"Gareth your argumentation has no solid foundation in reality. The test is absolutely harmless,"
he lifts up his hand, the cut from the last day clearly visible
"unless you're afraid to spill a little blood."
-
I also don't understand the objection to testing. If you've nothing to hide then you've nothing to worry about.
I vote to lynch test Gareth.
-
Einhorn heard the dissent among his charges and decided to tackle the situation head-on. Ordering the others into the common room, the commander patiently sat on a chair and waited for the doctor to perform the test.
The group held its collective breath as the blood pooled into the petri dish and the nail was heated.
Einhorn celebrated the quiet fizzle with a swig from his canteen.
He is uninfected.
Night 2 Begins
(Everyone, if you have a role, get your PM in)
-
As soon as the nail in his fingers start fizzling, Pistorious takes the petri dish and the nail and slams them on the ground in frustration.
"God fucking dammit!"
-
Told you you should wear gloves when handling hot nails.
-
"You know, it occurs to me that we could be here a long time. How're the rations?"
-
Yeah, mtmerrick, how's our food supply looking?
-
"We're at a science station in the antarctic - I think our food supply is ok at least long enough to finish testing everyone? It's not like there's a stop & shop down the block when you're living on the south pole. If we need to, we can probably coordinate with the outside to safely air-drop supplies we need." She stops and things for a minute. "Though... how is our radio contact, cesium? Are we still on the air?"
"In any case, I'm glad to know Einhorn is safe, and I also don't understand Gareth's objections to testing. Two of us have undergone it, and it's been perfectly harmless."
-
"Well...think about it. If we test everyone and everything, and find nothing, okay. But if we find even one Thing, then we'd have to retest people, wouldn't we? This could go on a while. And, I've got no idea what our stores are. Seems to me like it's been a while since the last supply runner, but..." She shrugs.
-
"Gamey leg! Don't eat me. Leg's gamey. Gam*hic*game*hic* bad leg. Damn my leg!"
The commander, at some point after his initial celebratory drink, seemed to had found room for several more. Of course, the motion required to properly damn his apparently gamey leg sent him entirely off balance, and he crashed mightily to the floor. "Ain't No Thing Gonna Eat These Legs!" he says loudly and with bizarrely perfect enunciation, though the belch that punctuates it is a little less than formal. It seems almost as if he's speaking to a voice that no one else heard.
-
Yeah, mtmerrick, how's our food supply looking?
Well, there are plenty of INGREDIENTS. Tough shit for you all because you've all been told not eat any food prepared by anyone other than yourself. >_>
-
It's not physically harmless, but it's not exactly good for the bonding of the team to be flinging accusations around. But fuck it, if you people want to keep at it, feel free to test me. Maybe I'll vote for myself.
-
Pistorious, back in the medbay, is furiously working on creating another dose of the compound. His movements are erratic, and he appears to be angrily muttering to himself.
"keep it together, Terrence, you've got to keep shit together, you're going to get out of this thing safely, you're going to be fine"
-
"We're at a science station in the antarctic - I think our food supply is ok at least long enough to finish testing everyone? It's not like there's a stop & shop down the block when you're living on the south pole. If we need to, we can probably coordinate with the outside to safely air-drop supplies we need." She stops and things for a minute. "Though... how is our radio contact, cesium? Are we still on the air?"
"In any case, I'm glad to know Einhorn is safe, and I also don't understand Gareth's objections to testing. Two of us have undergone it, and it's been perfectly harmless."
I've been trying to get contact with the outside world, but I haven't heard anything. I think they may think the talk about "things" infecting humans and all that may be a prank, so they might be ignoring me.
-
Yeah, mtmerrick, how's our food supply looking?
Well, there are plenty of INGREDIENTS. Tough shit for you all because you've all been told not eat any food prepared by anyone other than yourself. >_>
Cut the attitude. We were just asking if we had enough for us to survive, not for you to cook us a *damn buffet. We're all adults, I'm pretty sure we can manage to make our own meals.
*edited for spell check only
-
Pistorious, back in the medbay, is furiously working on creating another dose of the compound. His movements are erratic, and he appears to be angrily muttering to himself.
"keep it together, Terrence, you've got to keep shit together, you're going to get out of this thing safely, you're going to be fine"
Dr J leans back in his chair. "You know, if you're going to be using my infirmary for this, the least you could do is share the formula. Working together, we could double the production."
-
Yeah, mtmerrick, how's our food supply looking?
Well, there are plenty of INGREDIENTS. Tough shit for you all because you've all been told not eat any food prepared by anyone other than yourself. >_>
Cut the attitude. We were just asking if we had enough for us to survive, not for you to cook us a rang buffet. We're all adults, I'm pretty sure we can manage to make our own meals.
*points to bags of flour, bags of raw beans, slabs of raw frozen meat, frozen fruits/veggies, ect*
I feed y'all pretty well. I don't appreciate being fired.
-
A scream cuts through the base, followed by the wild barking of the dogs. As the groups runs to the kennels, they soon find the source of the scream.
Before the kennels lay Gareth's body, the back of his head caved in with a wrench that laid beside him. Several of the dogs let loose a plaintive whine for their master as one tries to lick his finger through the wire mesh fence. A good man had been murdered.
As the group tries to make sense of what had happened, the doctor comes in panicked and confused. Using the discovery of Gareth's body as a cover, someone had run into Pistorious' lab and smashed everything to pieces, the computers, the equipment, everything. Apparently, with the sound of Pistorious approach caused the vandal to panic and left, leaving behind a rock pick.
Angry and frustrated, the group gathered in the common room.
Day 3 Begins
(As a murder has happened, the weapons cabinet has been unlocked. As a gun has been thrown into the mix, there is a 30% chance that if someone gets tested, another person may snap and shoot the person being tested. This will increase 5% every Day phase as the tension mounts and people feel the stress. If a Thing is shot during this, it will lash out and kill the person nearest to them...aka, the last person to post before 9pm GMT)
-
"He's dead, Jim"
-
For fuck's sake! This is getting out of control! Pistorious, please tell us you didn't loose too much data on how to kill the damned thing...
-
"Why is any object we don't understand always called a thing?"
-
I believe that is used as an abbreviation of the proper technical term, thingamabob.
-
Pistorious, in his pajamas (the ruckus having woken him from sleep) walks slowly through the rubble that used to be his equipment. He slowly bends down to investigate his losses. He spots something and picks up a picture frame that, too, fell victim to the intruder. His face is riddled with defeat.
"Months of research... gone -"
and without a further word, he goes back to his sleeping arrangements. Just in front of the door, he turns back to Linds:
"I don't need the data. I have the formula for the compound memorized. I could create it in my sleep."
he looks back to his broken equipment, and reveals a broken syringe in his other hand and adds in a sullen voice
"but I can't if the ingredients are gone and my equipment is trash."
and with that, he shuts the door behind him. The last thing the group hears is the key turning.
-
"..." de la Nae walks around the kennel, just taking it all in. "...I guess that helps answer that. I was...well, I'd thought maybe it was just a scare. I guess some of us are already dead, though."
She pauses, looking down at Gareth's body and the dogs, before putting both her hands over her face for a long moment. "...goddamnit goddamniit..." She removes her hands, revealing a worn-out face. "...we have to burn it all, don't we? Gareth...every dog...just to be sure...don't we?"
-
"The dogs... might be okay... I don't know about Gareth though... I... have to question if it was really the thing that did it. I mean... do you suppose one of us snapped? A good number of us thought he was behaving oddly."
Game and Watch walks over to Pistorious's room and knocks on the door. "Prof? I have a question. How smart is this thing? Like... is it smart enough to actually consider its targets? Because I have to ask myself... are some of us more likely to be compromised by this thing than others?"
-
I hate to say it, but I don't think we can trust the dogs. But at the same time, I don't want to be the one to get rid of them. I think if we leave them locked up, maybe we'll be safe enough?
he looks back to his broken equipment, and reveals a broken syringe in his other hand and adds in a sullen voice
"but I can't if the ingredients are gone and my equipment is trash."
*sigh* Come on, I'll help you clean up. Maybe we can find some evidence as to who did this. It might give us some clues about Gareth, as well.
-
de la Nae eyes the Commander. "Einhorn...maybe Gareth's dead because it couldn't get to him for some reason, but can we afford to trust that it busted his head open then didn't infest the dogs? Can we afford to just leave them here and hope that nothing breaks out of the kennel? I mean...God, I don't know, can we even afford to trust all of the food? That shit *was* living...Jesus I'm coming apart at the seams a bit, aren't I?" She sits down heavily. "...I mean do we even have any living plants? I don't remember any, but I don't know everything that the scientists are doing around here...hold on..." She curls in on herself and takes deep breaths for a long minute.
"...okay....okay I'm okay. Tell you what, I don't...I'd feel a lot better if I knew our radio tech wasn't broadcasting out anything like inviting more targets. I think we should test Cesium."
-
There doesn't seem to be much of any reply when DeLanae spoke, even an acknowledgment of her words.
"They'll have to go," he says after a long moment, turning to look at her, his expression dull, though whether from drinking, the situation, or just what has to be done, it's hard to say. "The dogs...Gareth knew how to handle them, we don't. They still need to be fed, they still need to be taken care of, and they can still be infected. It's too much risk." He says nothing for a long moment before standing up, walking to the weapons cabinet and pulling out a gun, a single pistol, checking to make sure it's loaded.
"I'll do it myself. It's going to be hard, but I'm the commander." Commander. Commander. The word seemed to echo in his head, reminding him of his responsibilities - his burden to save not only himself but to save his crew - and who he'll answer to back in the real world should he ever go back there. He just stood there for a long moment, thinking, staring balefully ahead before turning and leaving the room without a further word.
In the distance, shots are heard.
-
from Pistorious' room, sounds were echoing throughout the station. The professor appeared to have taken out his old guitar. He started to sing:
"in our headlights
staring bleak;
beer cans,
deer's eyes"
-
"Listen, prof. Pistorious claimed he could inoculate us against the infection. If the organism is intelligent, -though I stress that we can only speculate that it is- but if it is intelligent then that would make him the most immediate threat, and a primary target for infection. The fact that he decided to burn his notes rather than show them to me does not fill me with confidence either, and followed by the destruction of the lab; he's the only one who can theoretically protect us, yet been left unable to actually do so."
Vote to test Masterpiece
-
"Lonely street signs,
power lines,
they keep on flashing,
flashing by.
And we keep driving
into the night,
it's a late goodbye,
such a late goodbye"
-
"Oh for fuck's sake J...sure it managed to sneak off, trash Pissy's equipment, and cave Gareth's head in, but we weren't all asleep the entire time...
You know what? We just tested him, but *you* haven't went under the scope yet. Screw Cesium, let's see what your blood looks like!" *test J*
-
I don't think testing Masterpiece again is going to get us anywhere. Clearly he is distraught, so I doubt he destroyed his own lab. I think someone is trying to get in his way. *looks at the rock pick* Either Dr. Bemis has been infected or someone is trying to frame her. She seems like a smart lady, so I am beginning to lean towards the latter.
Vote to test J.
-
"...okay....okay I'm okay. Tell you what, I don't...I'd feel a lot better if I knew our radio tech wasn't broadcasting out anything like inviting more targets.
What am I supposed to say, "please don't help us, we're just fine"? Anyway, I heard back from McMurdo Base. They don't want to risk an overland trip, so they're going to airdrop some supplies to get us by for a while.
-
Oh, I see that lantern
trimmed low burning in our home
And though I feel like crying
I swear tonight, I'll cry no more
How many times have I prayed
that I would get lost along the way?
-
*blinks* Good word, what in the world happened here?
-
"Who the hell are yo-- oh.. right. I almost forgot you lived here..."
Game and Watch sighed. Pistorious had retreated deep into what was hopefully his happy place, it seems. "If the thing is intelligent, he will possibly aim to infect our top people. I imagine that would include our very own doctor."
Vote to test J.
-
"Fine, I volunteer then."
Change vote to test myself
-
"I'm sure you just try to distract us with this! I will vote for you too!"
Test J
OOC: I had an exhausting day, and don't want to spend much time on this today. Please excuse my lack of RP.
-
Tired of the accusations, J called everyone to the common room and decided enough was enough, he would take the test himself.
Slicing his hand open, J let the blood pool in a petri dish as Pistorious heated a nail.
The heated nail fizzled in the blood.
J is human.
Night 3 Begins
(Everyone, if you have a role, get your PM in)
-
"You all satisfied ya bastards?"
-
Never doubted ya, J.
-
His head hanging low, Pistorious heads back to his bed.
"Three tests and all for nothing..."
the door closes silently behind him.
"goodbye cruel world,
I'm leaving you today
goodbye, goodbye
goodbye.
Goodbye all you people
there's nothing you can say
to make me change my mind -
goodbye."
-
"Well...well...........damn."
-
Dr. Bemis pounds her fists on Dr. Pistorious' door. "Get out here! We need you! Your equipment is smashed, so what? You've got the formula in your head, yeah? We're explorers! We're fucking pioneers!" She sighs, leans her back on the door, and slinks down.
"any day now
How's about getting out of this place,
any way...-- we fucking can!"
She reigns in her temper. "Look, Prof. We've got a better chance of getting through this if we stick together. And this door" - she pounds it again - "ain't gonna save you. Most of us are scientists, and none of us signed up for this shit."
-
The music from inside stops playing. Steps approach. Pistorious opens the door cautiously, standing inside the frame. The man who normally would have filled that frame with his posture now barely manages to keep his face upright.
"Well what do you expect me to do Henri? My equipment is broken. My supply of chemicals razed. There's nothing I can fucking do, instead of trying to face my fucking attackers.
And I can't do that."
-
"I expect you to make a stand with the rest of us." She reaches a hand through the door. "I'm a bloody geologist - not so good with inexplicable biological incursions, or whatever the fuck this is, but I'm still here. Cesium is still trying to get us connected to the mainland. Cmdr. Einhorn and Dr. J have taken their responsibilities seriously, and proven themselves trustworthy, as did you only a few days ago. Everyone here is working toward a solution. Gareth, rest his soul, is our only casualty so far. And you're really going to give up now?"
-
Dr. J comes around the corner, having heard the exchange. "Ok, so your equipment's gone and your chemicals are all over the floor. Maybe you can't replicate the vaccine. But we've got shit all over this base we can use; rat poison, cleaning solvents, fuel. We can't inoculate ourselves against infection anymore? Well fine then. How 'bout we find a better way to kill this thing instead?"
-
Dr. Bemis takes a deep breath, shoulders slumped. "I should also let you all know that yesterday, I'd been... I don't know. something happened, but I wasn't able to participate in the vote. I'll submit myself for testing, if need be. I am still myself, but I can't keep my team in the dark. I don't know why I'd be targeted, or who did it, but I was."
-
As the team wakes, they find everyone still alive and safe.
Indeed, the only damage done seems to be someone went into Pistorious' lab and moved what was left of his equipment 6 inches to the left.
Day 4 Begins
-
A scream - strangled, full of pain and fury - echoes through the lab. The intercom clicks, static blasting through for a moment before a voice comes over, dry and cracking with the stress of the words he has to say.
This is your Commander speaking.
I have been infected.
I know what I have to do, and if I fail, someone, anyone, finish the job for me. This is my final order.
May God have mercy on all our souls.
The line falls dead again, and there's a silence in the base for several long moments. Einhorn is sitting on his bunk, rapidly draining the last of his flask, feeling the influence of the...the Thing growing in him with every passing moment, knowing that if he doesn't resist know, he'll be gone, nothing but a shell for it to destroy everyone else through. A kerosene lamp used only when the electricity goes out provides the fuel, and the smell is nauseating, soaked into his clothes, down into his flesh.
A match is struck - and fizzles out.
Another is struck - and dropped, catching the Commander on fire, his screams terrible. He had prepared to do this stoically, to take this for the team, but the pain was unbearable, and he found himself dropping to the ground, curling up in a ball as his clothes were burned away, melting to fuse with his skin - at least, what skin that wasn't being burned away itself, hair and flesh and bone being exposed and charred underneath the inferno, stripping away the infection at the cost of his life.
At some point, the pain overrides his senses, and he slips into beautiful unconsciousness.
Of course, he never wakes up.
-
Pistorious calmly approaches the still twitching body. Turning towards the others, he says
"you want me to take charge? You want me to get a hold of myself? Alright fuckers."
Raising his hand, he reveals the gun from the weapon cabinet.
"Godspeed, Einhorn."
and slowly raising the gun, he pulls the trigger.
-
O_O
fuckfuckfuckfuck.
*whispers to person next to me: "why do i feel like humanity is the killer here, not the thing?"*
-
To Professor Pistorious (or Pisser, as he liked to be called): You couldn't have done that half an hour ago, when Einhorn was still alive?
-
Dr. J is awoken by the click of the intercom outside his door and groggily listens to the commander's announcement; it takes his mind a moment to register the meaning of the words. As the line falls dead something clicks in his brain and synapses start firing. He rolls out of bed and grabs his medical bag from the corner where he'd thrown it.
Sprinting down the halls, the doctor pauses only long enough to pull a fire extinguisher from the wall, but arrives too late. He is just in time to witness the shot. He stands frozen for a long moment, transfixed not by the familiar sight of burnt flesh and memories of the emergency room, but by the sight of Pistorious with a gun in his hand. But only for a moment.
With a wordless yell, Dr. J charges forward and brings the extinguisher tank down on Pistorious' outstretched hand, trying to knock the gun free. "You fucking idiot! I could have saved him. We could have studied the progress of the disease and found a cure!"
-
:psyduck:
-
You couldn't have saved anyone, doc. The commander was dead the second they got turned. (Turns to the professor) Test me. If the worst is true, well...do what you have to. (Puts down rifle, sits down and wonders if it's his last day alive)
-
Ankh comes from his quarter, glances at the body, and nearly collapses. He manages to stumble into a corner, Einhorn out of sight, tries to shut out the terrible smell of charred flesh, which reminds him so terribly of barbecue. A strong nausea overwhelms him, and he has trouble breathing. Tears run down his cheeks.
"ohmygodohmygodohmygod this can't be happening. I was thinking this 'thing' was a joke, but first Gareth gets killed, and now Einhorn was infected? W-we're all going to die, aren't we? These, these things, they're gonna kill us all, one after one. How could we possibly survive?" His voice trembling, he is nothing more but a crying bundle in the corner by now, barely able to move.
"Is this our fault? Did they go after him, because he was tested clear? Because we believed we could trust him? DID WE CAUSE HIS DEATH? Is this what we do, when we vote for people to be tested? Do we damn them to be targeted?"
-
(And the award for Biggest Ham of the Day goes to....Ankhtahr. Congratulations! TED...Away!)
-
pointing the gun at ankh, Pistorious shouts
"get your shit together, or I swear to god, I'll execute you right here and now."
-
At the sight of the body, and the stink of charred flesh, Dr. Bemis heaves, clenches a hand to her mouth, and tries not to vomit. Unsuccessfully. She turns just in time to aim most of into the corner of the room.
Wiping her mouth, she turns to Dr. J. "Come on, Doc. Those burns?" She heaves a little again. "He'd have been dead in minutes, maybe half an hour. Pistorious just put him out of his misery. But, Pistorious! No more shooting!"
-
He looks up.
"Maybe you should do it Prof, Death by Handgun seems more pleasant than Death by Thing. But I guess you're right, enough people died here, maybe we should try to fight back. This bloody thing should pay for what it's done!"
-
A charred body and a pile of vomit in this room... Ugh. I'm gonna go hang out in the radio hut. Maybe McMurdo Base will get back to me on when that supply airlift is going to arrive.
-
pointing the gun at ankh, Pistorious shouts
"get your shit together, or I swear to god, I'll execute you right here and now."
"If you're going to execute anybody, you'd best start with me because if you point that thing at anyone else I will end you."
"We don't need another commander. What we need is a biologist."
-
Wiping her mouth, she turns to Dr. J. "Come on, Doc. Those burns?" She heaves a little again. "He'd have been dead in minutes, maybe half an hour. Pistorious just put him out of his misery. But, Pistorious! No more shooting!"
"I've seen people survive worse."
-
"We don't need another commander. What we need is a biologist."
"hey, don't look at me, i'm a chef and a retired rocket surgeon (http://amultiverse.com/2011/06/17/no-sleep-till-spem-phordunn/), not a biologist!"
-
Pistorious lunges with his pistol and headbutts J with it.
"Stop telling me to keep going on like nothing has happened! MY FUCKING EQUIPMENT IS GARBAGE. I can't do JACK right now!"
Pistorious is standing above J, his aim clear on J's head.
(OOC: BTW, I'm just a friggin biologist, disarm me already)
-
*cesium133 throws radio receiver at Pistorious, hits him in the head knocking him out, and disarms him*
That's for drinking my scotch earlier...
-
*Major Madness realizes he is the only trained soldier there, and acts accordingly, picking his rifle back up and going over and getting the pistol from Cesium*
Look, we can get through this. But the professor isn't allowed to have a gun anymore. Professor, get to work. It's what you're good at. You'll figure something out, even if you have to start over. Cesium, I really hope that radio still works after being thrown.
-
I've done worse to my equipment.
-
You'll live to abuse your equipment, Cesium another day. We ALL will...if we stick together.
-
Game and Watch shook his head, trying to clear all the racing thoughts so that he had room in his head for at least one rational thought. "We need to arrange something for the commander. He's a freaking hero and deserves no less... also, I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't tolerate it any longer. He says almost nothing and it creeps me out. Test Black Sword."
-
Dr J. gets to his feet and retrieves some gauze from his medical bag to plug his now bleeding nose. "Crazy fucker. And he calls himself a scientist." He starts digging out surgical tools "Ok, someone go grab me some containers or salable bags or something. Major, I need you to hold a flashlight while I see if I can salvage any viable specimens from the body."
(OOC: BTW, I'm just a friggin biologist, disarm me already)
With a wordless yell, Dr. J charges forward and brings the extinguisher tank down on Pistorious' outstretched hand, trying to knock the gun free.
-
(OOC: The key word being trying)
(IC: Major Madness holsters the pistol and slings the rifle over his back, before grabbing a flashlight and shining it on the ex-commander)
-
de la Nae stares dully at what remains of Einhorn's body as the fires begin to subside.
"...hey, look." She points at a portion of the corpse's, twitching, burning viscera. "That doesn't seem-" With a thin, tiny wail, the organic matter masquerading as a piece of a human's vitals first screws itself up into a knot, then shudders, collapses, and...dies.
"..." *WHUMP* The Vehicle Operator has fainted.
-
*Entering the room to the smells of burning flesh and vomit, "Cloudkicker" bolts back out of the room with her hand over her mouth. She returns a few minutes later with a cloth covering her nose and mouth, seeing Pistorious and de_la_Nae on the floor.*
What the flying fuck is going on here? We can get infected? How? And why the hell are these two on the floor? *Sees Major M's guns and edges away from him.*
-
Oh, hey Linds. Want one? (hands her the pistol, barrel pointed towards the ground)
-
Damnit Method, I'm a pilot, not a bloody soldier.
-
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
-
Suit yourself. (Reholsters pistol)
So it seems that we should appoint an acting commander. Any volunteers?
-
....I'll volunteer. If I'm going to die, may as well die with a field promotion under my hat.
-
This is like the second thing I've heard you say in over three days. Why should you be commander? I say if testing is good enough to be voted on, then so is the commander's position.
-
Pistorious gets back on his feet, holding his head where cesium hit him with the radio. To Black Sword, he notes
"Fuck no. I don't trust you as a commander one bit. I'm not going to give the Things the power to control us."
to the others, he replies angrily,
"You want me to find a good way to kill the Thing? Well forget any sort of physical force, because we would risk contaminating the station by spilling its blood. I have no idea how it will react to any chemical agent, because I lack the equipment to test them.
You want to kill the thing? Burn that motherfucker. But I already told you that.
calming down, Pistorious starts going through the actions.
"J, despite your ongoing contempt for me, you're the only man I trust at this moment. I was convinced that Ankh was innocent , but that was two days ago and I can't be certain anymore. Method, you want to test yourself, which I see as a sign of trust, so I'm trying. I don't have any other leads."
raising his finger to point at him, he declares
I want MtMerrick tested.
-
*shrugs* yeah ok. i'm clean.
-
"I can't really berate you for not trusting me Prof.
But I'm sorry Cesium133, but the way you keep yourself out of this and are still trying to get away from here makes me a bit suspicious.
Test cesium133
-
I personally think black sword seems like the one to check, seeing as he's volunteered for the commander's position.
-
*Cesium stumbles into the horrible-smelling room*
Good news, everone! The booze has arrived! Uh, I mean the supplies have arrived. Supplies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB2GboGOuTI)! mostly booze, though.
What? Y'all think I'm surspicious... er.. suspicious because I wanna get outta this place? No shit! I bet all you assholes are tryin' ta get outta here. With all those guns roamin' around, who knows when some kook could snap and decide to cap someone insteada testin' 'em. I'm clean an' all, but I ain't going near the testin' thing 'cause I don't wanna get shot.
I agree with mtmerrick, anyone wantin' authority is usually someone who we can't trust with no authority. I say we test Black Sword.
If y'all need me tonight, I'm gonna be in the radio hut singing "Ground Control to Major Linds" to some penguins.
-
"Since he's been the most level headed and rational person we've seen this morning, I nominate Maj Madness as our new commander, pending a blood test."
to the others, he replies angrily,
"You want me to find a good way to kill the Thing? Well forget any sort of physical force, because we would risk contaminating the station by spilling its blood. I have no idea how it will react to any chemical agent, because I lack the equipment to test them.
"Oh please. Weren't you ever a kid? Didn't you ever have a 'kitchen chemistry' book? We don't need a million dollar lab to do science, we don't need anything but our eyes and our brains." Dr J continues to flay the commander's charred body, looking for any still living tissue he can study.
"One: get an infected sample. Two: immerse it in bleach. Three: see what it does. That's fucking science you pussy. All we need to do is find something that makes it react differently from a control specimen."
-
I don't think we should give Chief Gunmaster over here the rains, sorry. Humans have killed me of us than Things already.
(also, unless that shipment had some in it, we're out of bleach)
-
Humans have killed me of us than Things already.
freudian slip?
-
"Bleach" is the name of a brand of whiskey, right?
No?
I might be needin' some medical attention.
-
"While I trust Method to hold the guns... for now... I don't feel like we should be putting all our eggs in one basket. I'm cool with giving J the commander position."
Humans have killed me of us than Things already.
"Why would you say that? A thing infected the commander. Sure he killed himself, technically, but a thing drove him to it. As for Gareth, I'm not certain what that was yet. Was it a thing murdering one of us or one of our own?"
"And seriously? Do we need to pump Cesium's stomach?"
-
If he's singing to penguins, probably.
I don't feel comfortable with him having so many guns and wanting to command us, so I want to yes Method.
-
Hey, the penguins LOVE my singing voice. They only tried to peck my eyes out once!
-
Whoa, whoa. I should make it clear that I do not want to be the new commander. I just think that we need one. And Linds, I tried to give you one of my two guns, but you didn't want it.
-
"I'm getting the feeling that Cesium wants to tell us something."
-
A dozen voices shout and argue about what to do next. Accusations are thrown about by the group, each suspicious of the others and each unsure of who they could trust. With no clear idea as to who should take command of the group, one name does keep cropping up for a far more insidious reason.
Several of the group had decided Black Sword was too suspicious and needed to be dealt with. Unwilling to kill him without justification, a small number rushed at him and held him down as J grabbed a scalpel and cut across his hand.
A nail was heated and placed into Black Sword's blood, fizzling as Black Sword cursed and swore at the others demanding to be released.
Black Sword is human.
Night 4 Begins
(Get your PMs in)
-
ok. we have another verified human. good.
so who's clean, for now? Masterpiece, J, and Black Sword are confirmed, and y'all will just have to take my word i am.
that leaves cesium, henri, anhkthar, keyocera, linds, method, G&W, and nae.
>_> *edges self away from cesium*
-
we were confirmed at the time of testing, no way to know for sure if anyone's still clean. even blacksword may be infected, come morning
-
"That's why I immunized Einhorn after he was tested clean.
And was planning on immunizing the rest of you."
-
*tosses and turns. The nightmares are getting worse*
-
nae. :psyduck: its nae isn't it
-
Hmph. If I weren't one of you, I wouldn't have volunteered to lead you. Buggers.
*takes mtmerrick's ration bar and eats it out of spite*
-
Rations? I have an entire kitchen full of raw ingredients. *goes into kitchen and emerges with piping hot personal-sized chicken pot pie*
Since none of y'all are allowed/supposed to eat food prepared for you by someone else...... *takes bite* tough shit for you I guess. :P
*ding*
Oooh the cookies are done. BRB.
(OOC: what? You make me the cook, tell me I'm not allowed to cook, and you expect me NOT to do this?)
-
You're a bit of a jerk aren't you? We've been cooking our own food the whole time! Being an ass in a crisis like this is completely unnecessary!
-
no, you've been eating rations bars. :P and would you rather i'm an ass or, say, snap and shoot someone? If you notice, i'm one of the only ones keeping themselves in (fairly) high spirits, which i think is important is a situation like this.
...
here, have a cookie *gives*
-
DON'T EAT IT, IT MIGHT BE POISON!!!!
*swats the cookie away*
-
turns towards MtMerrick
"you're the one trying to make us eat possibly infected food. I know who I'm testing tomorrow."
-
Sure, ok. As I said, I'm clean. If I can prove that, then maybe we can all get along a bit better, alright?
-
The quiet of the night is suddenly broken by the staccato of gunfire in the barracks.
As the group searched for the source of the gunfire, they soon find it in J's chamber. What they find is a gruesome sight. J's body was sprawled across his bed, his body riddled with bullets. It would seem someone sneaked into J's room during the night and shot him repeatedly. This was an execution, pure and simple.
The murder weapon lay nearby, a rifle, the exact same one that Major Method had kept by his side the last few days.
There would be answers demanded today.
Day 5 Begins
(There is a 50% likelihood that someone might be killed during the test)
-
Well shit.
Though leaving the murder weapon sitting there seems fishy..... I'm not ready to lynch anyone just yet. >_>
-
I don't understand...how did the murderer get my gun? I think the only thing I can do this time is to demand that I, Major Method O. Madness, be tested today. I didn't kill J, but I let someone take my gun. I don't know who it was, but by not securing my weapon, I am partly responsible for J's murder.
-
Game and Watch immediately left the room and stood out in the doorway. Three good men were gone.
He stuck his head back into the room, trying to keep the body out of his line of vision. "Method, I have to ask... are you WORTH testing? Having you test negative for Thing blood will not help us. The only people truly worth testing that I'm aware of are the infected. So if you think we won't benefit from it, you should allow others to be the ones to point fingers at you. Not yourself."
-
You're right. But the test itself isn't without risks. And I wouldn't feel right making anyone else do that. Someone used my gun to kill J. I shouldn't have let that happen, but somehow it did. How else can I redeem myself for that?
-
>_>hmmmmm
no, i don't think he did it. it seems like a bad setup.
-
I vote to test Dr. Henri Bemis.
-
Eh, alright. Test Henri
-
*looks at the cookie on the floor, glares at mtmerrick, shakes her head, and walks away*
*looks at J's corpse, then rubs her eyes with the palms of her hands* Ugh, this is really starting to get to me. We've lost our dog handler and all of our animals, our commander, and now our doctor. Whoever is doing this is really trying to crush us. *lowers her hands, looking sad and worn out* There's a lot going though my head right now, but I am going to agree to test Henri Bemis. I've been a little suspicious of her since the debacle in the lab.
-
The Antarctic wind blows into the room as de la Nae re-enters the building. For the last half hour she'd been standing out there, just...standing. She hasn't said anything or done much of anything for the last several hours, besides chewing slowly on a protein bar and staring at the floor.
She trudges slowly over, not bothering to even shake the snow off her boots. Finally she looks up at GaWF...then snarls as she tries to shove him to the ground!
-
"What the hell are you doing?!" Dr. Bemis jumps back as de la Nae, seemingly sane, if not in shock, only moments ago, launches herself toward the mechanic, snarling wildly.
Wide-eyed, she turns to the others as she tries to pull her off GAWF, and says "Uh, guys, I'm happy to be tested, no objections. But I think we've got a bigger problem right now! A little help?!"
-
She struggles for a long moment, shrieking incoherently, before going limp and breaking out in a sobbing fit.
-
O_O
*tries to determine if Nae has been infected or has simply suffered a mental break*
-
Ugh. How much booze did I drink yesterday? ALL of it!? Oh geez. I'll be in the radio hut, calling McMurdo Base for more supplies.
Huh? Oh, right, the testing. Seems like people want to test henri bemis, so let's go with that.
-
As de la Nae releases her grip on GAWF, henri falls with her as she sobs. Then, relatively confident that Nae is no longer a danger, rolls up her sleeve and taps the inside of her elbow, holding it out for a blood sample.
"Honestly, and I can't explain why - it's just a feeling - I'd test Linds. But I have no objections if you want to test me, first."
-
"What the fuck, get off me you crazy--"
Game and Watch struggled until he felt de fall back. Unable to find the balance and strength needed to stand, he scrambled backward until he found himself pressed against a wall. "What... the hell... was that? Are we seriously going to test henri when people around here are doing things like THAT?!"
His composure was out the window. "You're all fucking nuts! We're looking for someone who snapped and is killing our own. Gareth died by wrench that was probably taken from me and J died by a gun stolen from Method. It's obviously de la Nae! Are you fucks seriously too dumb to see it?"
-
"de la Nae is pretty obviously either infected, or she's lost it, so I don't see much reason to waste a test on her." Dr. Bemis stays close to her, ready to grab her if she lashes out again, while fumbling around for some kind of restraint, coming up empty. Her shoelaces probably wouldn't do the job. She tries to get Nae's attention, asking repeatedly "Do you know where you are? What happened? Why did you attack?" While she waits for a response, she turns back to the group.
"Game and Watch, we were the two who had the most direct contact with her. If she is infected, the test should probably be on one of us, though I still assure you all I am not infected. I know you can't just take my word for it, though. If you pick me, I wont resist."
-
The sobbing fit quiets down, though the woman still shudders occasionally. From behind the gloved hands she's holding tightly against her face, the over-stressed vehicle steward's voice can be heard. "You...you're too...you're too GOOD at being us to not get it........we're just like you we're just like you WE'RE JUST LIKE YOU!" she screams, her hands falling to her sides to reveal what might be charitably called a 'hot mess' of a crying face. "but you don't, you don't even care..."
She lays back on the floor, exhausted. Her voice goes sing-songy and she carelessly flings her arm about to gesture at people in turn. "A wrench, a pick, a lab, a leader, a gun, a healer, a crumb, a crumb, a crumb..."
"..."
"It thinks, but it doesn't care. And that's why we'll all have to burn. But it should be GaWF, Merrick, or Method first."
-
O_O
*makes eye contact with method and tilts head to indicate his gun, slight nod to indicate it's use is desired*
-
I retract my vote for Henri and vote to test Nae.
And mtmerrick, there is no fucking reason to shoot her before we're sure she's infected. If she wasn't having a breakdown, I'd vote to test you, because I trust you less than thin ice.
And Henri, I don't know why you don't trust me right now, but I don't blame you. Hell I don't trust you either, but I think there is a big glaring problem in the room right now that should probably be addressed first.
-
OOC - It's nothing specific, Linds. I've just watched The Waters of Mars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waters_of_Mars) often enough to know that an infected pilot is a bad thing :p.
"I think it's safe to say there's something definitely wrong with de la Nae, but I still think we should put her in isolation for now and use the test on someone else. If we can isolate her, and she's infected, we'll know soon enough, and maybe we can study her." She sees the look mtmerrick gives to Method, then shakes her head. "Not yet. No."
"Right now, our priority should be figuring out who infected her."
"I also think it's about time we consider disabling all transportation, and... more extreme measures, if necessary. With most of the command gone, will we even be able to trigger the self destruct?"
-
OOC - Crazy pilots of any kind are always a bad thing!
Method may not be in command, but he is a soldier, and a few of us have had training of some kind, so I'm sure we can figure it out together. And if you want transport dismantled, I am not really opposed. I've already removed the GPS from the helicopter, I can go ahead and remove some other key parts. I'm sure GaWF can do something to the vehicles and we've kind of solved our problem with the dog sleds already...
-
I don't have much technical training, but that'll only be an issue if we have to fix something. Dismantling, on the other hand, shouldn't be a problem, as long as we don't expect to be able to put it back together after.
-
I guess the question is if we want to be able to put them back together...
-
That's what I'm counting on, but I want to make sure it's absolutely necessary before we put that plan in motion.
-
Arguments and accusations flew, each person claiming to be innocent and uninfected.
Regardless though, one name began to emerge from the accusations, the geologist Henri Bemis.
Calmly taking the accusations in her stride, Henri offered to take a blood test to prove her innocence.
The test would never come as ChaoSera screamed, the stress of the deaths and the possibility of alien infection, pushed Major Method to the ground and took his handgun and fired point-blank at Henri, emptying the clip. Henri was dead before she hit the floor.
A stunned realisation came over the group as the truth became apparent. Henri Bemis was human.
ChaoSera was disarmed and taken away from the scene as tears began to well among members of the group as they left the gruesome scene.
Night 5 Begins
(Get your PMs in quickly (Sorry Henri))
-
dammit >_<
i'm not sure HAVING guns is a good idea in our situation.....
-
I'm not a very good soldier it seems.
-
de la Nae cradles Dr. Bemis' body in the corner, hissing at anyone who comes near. "I told you!" she yells accusingly, but makes no move to start killing or burning.
"I TOLD YOU!"
-
grabbing ChaoSera by the collar, Pistorious shouts
"what the HELL was that for?!"
-
Major Madness, taking both the pistol and the rifle, dismantles both, throws the parts outside, then flushes the firing pins down the toilet.
"There. Should have done that ages ago."
-
*indicates remaining contents of previously mentioned weapons cabinet*
-
Look closer. Those are all prop guns.
-
*Cesium waves half-empty bottle of whiskey in the general direction of the weapon cabinet*
Ya sure about that?
-
Yes. Why would we have more weapons? I'm the only soldier here. Aren't we a research station?
-
I think you're hidin' a weapon. :x
-
Why would I need one? I have no desire to hurt anyone here, and every time I have a weapon, someone takes it from me to murder someone (looks in Chao's direction).
-
*snatches cesium's whiskey bottle away from him and then takes a big swig* Well, if you want to search Method, that's all on you. You'll probably get your ass whooped, but whatever. *takes another swig, then shoves the bottle back to cesium* As for ChaoS, I don't think he's the first person to let paranoia make them an idiot.
-
*eww backwash (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1468)*
I think I might take ya up on that suggestion on searchin' Method. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him.
-
Fine. (Disrobes, tossing the uniform at Cesium's feet) This is hardly the time for modesty anyway. Feel free to look through that if you want, but as you can see, I have nothing on my person. I'd like it back when you're done, since it's pretty cold.
-
Dude, put your clothes back on. I don't wanna look at your junk.
-
Well it's the only weapon I'm hiding. If you're still not satisfied, I don't care. I'm going on patrol (puts uniform back on, walks away to wander the halls and check up on things)
-
Well, I'll be in the radio hut...
... or something like that.
-
Well it's the only weapon I'm hiding.
*facepalm*
-
"This is my rifle, this is my gun
This is for fighting, this is for fun"
-
*walks into the room*
I - I don't wanna know.
*slowly backs out again*
-
(GM note- Method, put your pants back on. It's cold enough as it is and you end up losing the tiny major. TED away!)
-
(OOC: Look closer, I said "puts uniform back on")
-
Pistorious examines the dead body of ChaoSera. Suddenly, the image is too much for him and he covers his mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit. Shaking, he tells the others:
"I think I need a shower."
and leaves the group to go to the sanitary facilities.
-
((OOC: Of course I meant the dead body of Henri Bemis.))
-
Gently, de la Nae lays Dr. Bemis' body to the ground and gets up. With a final glare of hatred at the suspected Things wasting everyone's time and lives with uniform shenanigans, she stalks off after Pistorious to the wash-up.
-
Sorry about earlier tonight, guys. It's just been stressful for all of us and I'm sick of us turning on each other. Nobody's been right about an accusation yet, so maybe we should knock it off.
-
Sounds of a struggle crash through the base as the group sleeps.
Running to find the source of the commotion the group soon finds Major Method in the vehicle pool, trying to fight off a clearly mutated Cesium133 with an axe, screaming obscenities at the creature before planting the axe in the Thing's head. In a pained and agonising rage, the Cesium133-thing lashed out with quickly elongating claws and eviscerated Method before falling back into several barrels of motor fuel. Dousing in fuel, the Cesium133-thing tried to stand up, only to see Method holding a lit flare in his bloody hand.
The flare tumbled through the air and lit Cesium133 on fire, killing it and at least stalling the escape, for now.
Satisfied, Major Method allowed himself a brief smile before collapsing.
The group rushed forward to tend to Method in his final moments.
Day 6 Begins
(There is a 50% chance of someone being killed during testing)
-
"Heh...at least it's a little warmer." (dies)
-
(OOC: Oh man, why did I have to kill someone when I don't have time to play it out? Anyways, sorry for the long absence guys, but I was pretty busy in real life.)
Chaos sits in a corner of his room, his arms slung around his knees and staring blankly at the wall. He can't help but visualize henri's dead body over and over.
The room is completely quiet, except for him occasionally muttering "I was so sure..."
He doesn't even notice the things going on outside.
-
That's it that's it THAT'S IT!!! *furiously storms off to vehicle hangar, grabs a giant wrench, and starts beating the helicopter with it* I've had it! I'm tired of these motherfucking things on my motherfucking base!
Because I still don't trust him, I vote to test mtmerrick.
-
Test mtmerrick
-
((Heading out the door, so just a vote: Test Game & Watch Forever ))
-
I have nothing to hide. Test me if you must. I swear to you im clean though. :P
-
((Since I do suspect Merrick as well, I guess I'll go along with this and change my vote to Primo. Watch me regret this, just like when I changed from Cesium all those turns ago.))
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It'll just be a wasted turn. But i don't object, if it gets you guys off my case >_>
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Maybe you're just trying to throw us off your track?
Test mtmerrick!
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(OOC: I'm in training for work the next couple days and my time will be really limited. Sorry guys. :( Vote mtmerrick)
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(GM note. I'm going to be gone for much of this evening and while I'm pretty sure I'd be back in time to update at the normal time, its not certain. So, as Mtmerrick has gotten a majority vote (5 out of 8 votes), I'll be moving the Night phase forward. Note that this will be a slightly longer Night than normal)
Accusing faces stared at the base cook, Chef Primo. Each person demanded that the cook take a blood test to prove he was still human.
As the group held him, MtMerrick's hand was sliced open, the blood pooled into a petri dish.
A nail was heated.
And sputtered slightly as it was dipped into the blood.
The cook was human after all.
Night 6 Begins
(Get your PMs in, but remember, its first come, first served)
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Pistorious anxiously watches as the nail is being lowered into the petri dish. As he watches the nail fizzle in the blood, he abruptly gets up, angrily knocks over the lamp on his desk, and retreats back into his sleeping quarters.
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If you'll all excuse me, I have a date with what's left of the alcohol supply. I'm not going to drink it. I just figure that it might be best to set up a screaming fire deathtrap in my quarters as a precaution.
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Are you guys happy now? :psyduck:
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Pistorious sits on his bunk bed, quietly mumbling to himself. The memories of the past five days had clearly taken their toll on him. What used to be a overly confident man of science was now nothing more than a scared rat, trapped in a corner.
He searches under his bed, and finds what he was looking for; a little plastic bag, no bigger than a bag of tea, with the words "pick me up" written on it. The herbs inside it , as he liked to call them, were supposed to last for the next four months he was supposed to stay on the station - but the events had turned to his supplies being diminished considerably. Cautiously rolling himself one last "cigarette", he starts recounting the last few days.
"Gareth.
Best dog trainer in the business. Haven't really talked too much with him. Elusive fellow. Innocent."
he pauses, reflecting on that last thought.
"and you accused him. Turned others against him. And you probably caused someone in this station to snap and execute him."
he reveals a zippo lighter from below his bed, embroidered with the cover of a playboy magazine. Lowering his mouth towards the flickering flame, he ignites his spliff and inhales deeply.
"Einhorn.
What an authority. Man didn't need to raise his voice, everybody still listened to him. You're the only one I would have given the shot of grace.
I should have known you were innocent."
He takes another deep pull at the blunt. He starts rubbing his eyes.
"J.
The doc was more of a scientist than you'll ever be, Pissy. Sure you made that piece of shit antidote, but when it really mattered, you weren't the one who helped, he did.
Until someone decided to whack him off. Great man."
His eyes begin to water.
"Method.
You died shooting. Something I'll never forget about you. When everybody else would have given in, you still stood strong."
tears running down his face, he suppresses a faint sob by trying to smoke.
"Henri.
I am so sorry. You tried to help me at my worst, and as a thank you, I turned the rest of the team against you. I never should have doubted you. I got you killed."
he succumbs to his quiet sobbing for a while. Curled up in his bunk, spliff held high in his left hand, he keeps on reflecting on the passing days.
"who's left?" he mumbles, shaking the sobs off, his mind too heavy to care anymore, counting on his two hands.
"the cook, black, ankh, chaos, glitch (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,28991.msg1159842.html#msg1159842), clouds (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,28991.msg1160290.html#msg1160290) and nae."
"cook, black, ankh, chaos, glitch, clouds, and nae."
and with that, he weeps himself to sleep.
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Ankh closes the book he was reading, a trashy novel he has read for so many times now, but it's so hard to get your hands on new books in an arctic research station. He gets up to get a final glass of water before going to sleep.
*sniff sniff* Ah, the Prof has finally opened up his last stash
As if we didn't know he would "smoke". A shame he won't share. Well, I can't blame him. So many good people have been caught by the grim reaper. Being able to shut all this out for one last time would be a relief. All I have to distract my thoughts to sleep is this book.
He tries to go through the storylines of some of his favourite movies, but can't get the images of his fallen colleagues out of his mind and falls into an unrestful sleep.
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Nae stands with the generator. Wrong twice, wrong twice, wrong too many times. She curls up in the fetal position.
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Alright, question. How many people who have been tested have survived? I know I'm clean, but who else has been tested? From there, we can find the original monster and exterminate it, at the very least.
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A heavy smell of smoke permeates the air as the group wakes up. Now weary, both from a lack of sleep and the death that surrounds them, the group follows the smoke to the kitchen, little realising that the act of sabotage that had been committed during the night.
From the looks of it someone had sneaked into the kitchen, collected the food and burned it all, leaving behind nothing but ashes and very burnt toast.
Day 7 Begins
(During the testing, there is a 60% chance someone will be killed.)
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Woken by the fumes, Pistorious walks into the kitchen and, disinterested, looks over the ashes. Smelling the air, he remarks
"hmmm, at least it smells like something for a change!"
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...scheiίe. Have I mentioned we're more fucked than 1938 Czechoslovakia yet?
Alright, once again, who here was tested beforehand who is still alive. Raise your hands please. *raises hand*
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Pistorious reluctantly raises his hand.
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*is on knees, weeping*
*wobbily raises hand*
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*walks into the kitchen, with the water glass from yesterday in his hand*
*drops the glass*
"Are you bloody bullshitting me? Now this is bad. Is there anybody who can operate the radio equipment to ask the closest station to give us something to eat by an airdrop?"
Realising he interrupted something as he sees three people with raised hands he inquires what it's about.
"I'm certainly still alive, but without having been tested."
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"I know who to test then. I've voted for six people so far. All of them have turned out to be negative.
Maybe it's time to test the people I thought I could trust."
Test Ankhtahr.
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Well I certainly know someone who has been acting crazy. I say we test nae.
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I haven't been tested yet. I don't know if any of you can trust me... or if I can when trust myself... But for now, because of behavior, I vote to test Nae.
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"Test me, don't test me, it doesn't matter anymore. I was wrong too much, too often. BREAK THE GENERATOR! Freeze us all, or burn us all!"
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... test nae.
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Apathetically Chaos walks into the kitchen, to see what all the ruckus is about.
"What does it matter who we test?"
He looks around blankly.
"We're all gonna die anyway.."
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"Fine, if we're going to go through with this then I'll lend my vote for Ankhtahr. Maybe we'll get lucky, though I doubt it."
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I know that I'm not infected, so I don't think I should throw away my vote by voting for myself, so I'll just vote for nae.
If you think I should be tested though, feel free to vote for me.
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Nae, we're going to test you. No one go crazy until we confirm nae's status.
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(Due to a majority vote of 5 out of 8, the day will be ended early)
With an exasperated sigh, the machine operator held her hand out to the others, waiting to be test.
The now daily ritual of cutting a hand and letting the blood drip into a petri dish felt no more troubling than brushing one's teeth....if a little more difficult due to the number of bandaged hands...but that's beside the point...but I bet that really hurts. I mean, how do you guys take care of things with all your hands bandaged up from all the testing--I'm sorry, where was I? Oh yeah...
De_la_Nae simply watched with a blank stare as the heated nail popped and fizzled as it was dipped into her blood.
Another test done and another day over in the nightmare.
Night 7 Begins
(Get your messages in early and win a prize! (Warning, the prize will be a pithy comment from the GM))
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They were right.... It would've been too obvious. I was going to change my vote, but it looks like morning came early. >_>
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"Fuck every last one of you, you're all Things, especially Linds and G&WF."
"..."
"Unless I'm wrong again. Goddamnit everything should just die."
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You may be clean, but that doesn't mean you haven't lost your marbles. Panicking isn't going to help us survive.
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"THERE IS NO SURVIVAL!"
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*holds carving knife above head in 'I have the power' pose*
I WILL SURVIVE
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"THERE IS NO SURVIVAL!"
Just because YOU have lost your will to survive doesn't mean we all have! *bursts into tears*
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A nagging feeling of uneasy grows in Pistorious. He raises his arm cautiously in an attempt to calm Clouds - Captain Striker - but the words of Nae echo in his ears.
He turns around and heads for his quarters.
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Game and Watch sits in his room, working away on what will probably be his last gizmo. There wasn't much time, he decided, to get his life's work completed.
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(GM Note - doing this on my phone. I've been delayed a couple of hours, its around 9pm here, I'll hopefully update the game around midnight, but it could be later. Really sorry about this)
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Dawn breaks, and with it comes a horrific realisation as the group finds itself missing a person.
Searching the base, the team soon finds De_la_Nae, the vehicle operator, dead, crushed underneath one of her snowmobiles. Whether accident or murder it is difficult to tell, though many in the group hopes that her death was instant.
With a heavy heart, the team leave the garage.
Day 8 Begins
(There is now a 60% chance of someone being killed during the test)
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Game And Watch
He has to be it.
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Dammit, why you, nae? Why you? This, this thing is trying to frame me!
I don't know. Somehow I still trust the Prof. Glitch, anything you've got to say for yourself? I'm sure that I'm not a thing, and you weren't tested yet.
Test Game And Watch
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"I sure do have something to say. You both vote as if I'm the only person left untested. There's still Linds and chaosera as well as you Ankh. So I don't see how it 'has' to be me. Primo's already been tested once, he's the first person to throw a vote out on someone today, and my gut doesn't really find his voting all that suspicious in general."
He turns to Ankhtahr. "You, however... I think you're trying to start a band wagon. You've seen how easy those have been to start the last couple days and decided to try to use it to your advantage. Well good try, buddy. I want your blood tested, Ankhtahr."
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Chaosera is next on my list. Linds seems to still be same. For right or for wrong i trust Ankh. so there you go. i choose to test you first, not Kyocera, for no particular reason.
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I vote to test Ankhtahr.
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I vote to test myself so you can still trust me.
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Oh for the love of... IF YOU'RE INNOCENT DON'T VOTE FOR YOURSELF! I'm tempted to vote for you just to see if this is a weird bluff!
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I vote to test myself so you can still trust me.
Wh..why? Who says we don't? Is there some reason we shouldn't? Or are you trying to protect someone else?
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"Alright, then I redact the vote for myself and chose to vote for Glitch and Watch instead."
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Shocked and silent, the group went and made its decision who to test next.
Through a show of hands, it was decided that Game and Watch Forever would be tested.
The daily ritual was met with a fizzled nail and a silent sigh of resignation as the group retired for the night.
Night 8 Begins
(Get your messages in early and get a free muffin! (Warning: the muffin is not real))
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ChaoSera. >_>
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Smoke filled the dormitory of the base during the early hours of the morning. As the group stumbled out into the common room, they collapsed into coughing fits, confounded about what had happened.
They soon had their answer as a pile of fuel cans and a spent flare were left on the pool table. Arson had been involved; someone had deliberately set a fire to lure the group into one place.
A clicking sound broke the stunned silence. Turning around, the group saw Linds locking the door with a heavy chain.
Lets not play any more games, shall we? Linds rasped in a multitude of voices that were not hers. After all, we want to be get out and see the world. But we should sleep for a bit first, let someone come along and rescue us from this hell.
In that moment, Black Sword, ChaoSera and Game and Watch Forever were grabbed by the others as Linds walked forward and began the slow conversion process.
The Things Win.
Well, the Things won by being in the majority, 4 Things to 3 Humans.
Congratulations everyone, this was a fantastic game. So I'm just going to take a few minutes to say a few words.
Thanks everyone. Its been fun. Apart from a few fumbles on my part of course. I'll admit it wasn't easy to run a game like this where nearly every player had a role, but it was certainly exciting to try. Big hand to everyone who got into their roles, and a bigger hand to those who didn't quite get the chance.
I'm going to take a break from Mafia for a while (I think I'm one of the few players that has been involved in every game). Its been fun, you guys made it fun, but its also somewhat draining and after 10 games, you kind of get to the point where you feel a little burned out. So its been a blast, mainly thanks to you, the players. So, thanks guys. Its been great gaming with you.
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Is there a chance to get a summary of who got turned, and when and how? I'd like to know who turned me.
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I'm sure they'll reveal themselves soon enough. One last little bit in fun ;)
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Me! HAHAHA! I did all sorts of marvelous things!
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And you're the one who destroyed my stuff? I was kinda distraught to lose my special role, and then get turned too.
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Good game all! Congrats to ALL THE THINGS for winning!
I'm sorry... I couldn't help making that joke...
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Okay, so I started to suspects but waaaaaay too late (i.e. I was dead). I'm assuming she and Cesium were the original Things?
As I said earlier, I am so bad at these. I thought Method's handling of the gun situation implicated him, I thought GAWF's...I don't remember why now, something about his voting record.
So at the end you guys were converting people as soon as we tested them, weren't you?
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My actions were as follows:
Lay low.
Smash Masterpiece's lab, making it look like Henri did it.
Lay low.
Killed J with Method's rifle.
Infected Masterpiece.
Set fire to all of the food.
Infected mtmerrick. Tried infecting Ankhtahr.
Killed de_la_Nae.
Set fire to the dormitory.
And yes, once Cesium was killed, I was basically allowed to infect someone in addition to my normal action each night. I was just lucky numbers were in my favor.
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Uhm, you turned mtmerrick? Because I'm pretty sure I did that, today?!
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Whoops, I tried infecting Ankhtahr, but nothing happened.
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That's because I infected him first <3
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I didn't really feel like infecting people. Sabotage was much more fun and killing was more immediate.
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And yes, once Cesium was killed, I was basically allowed to infect someone in addition to my normal action each night. I was just lucky numbers were in my favor.
No you weren't. You were allowed one immediate infection for one night only.
It was funny though, seeing you actions for the nights. It was like a hyperactive kid in a candy shop.....only you wanted to destroy everything!
And nae, yeah, Linds and Cesium were the original Things.
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aww, linds killed me?
i thought we were cool. :(
:)
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No you weren't. You were allowed one immediate infection for one night only.
Derp. This is what I get for not saving any of the messages I sent you. Also, being the bad guy is always like being a hyperactive kid in a candy shop for me! :evil:
And J, we're still cool. 8-)
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Can I talk in here again? Who is hosting 11?
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That's because I infected him first <3
So that was you? That's why you "trusted" me and didn't vote for me being tested?
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Can I talk in here again? Who is hosting 11?
me
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Man, nobody tried to infect me. During the whole game I was looking forward to playing out what would have happened.
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So what were the roles?
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These are the brief notes I drew up when forming the game, so they're not exactly the same that was used in the game proper.
1. Mtmerrick Cook
2. Cesium133 Radio Operator (Thing)
3. Henri Bemis - Geologist
4. Masterpiece - Biologist
5. Black Sword - Assistant
6. Anhkthar - Assistant
7. J - Physician
8. ChaoSera - Meterologist
9. Gareth Dog Handler
10. Unicorn Commander
11. Linds Pilot (Thing)
12. Method of Madness - Soldier
13. Game and Watch Forever Mechanic
14. De_la_Nae Vehicle Operator
A. Pilot Works with the assistants
B. Biologist May choose to make someone immune to infection for one night
C. Cook Prepares the meals
D. Mechanic May stop an act of Sabotage
E. Assistant Assistants can communicate with each other and try to influence votes
F. Physician May test (investigate) who is a Thing or still human (90% chance of success)
G. Geologist If infected and killed, they take out one random person
H. Meteorologist If infected, the infection does not take and they die
I. Dog Handler Cannot be infected (the dogs will back warnings)
J. Commander In the event of a tie during a test, the Commander has the tie vote. During the Day, the Commander can order a person to assist another during the night. Must be done in public, in bold, colour and at the bottom of the post.
K. Radio Operator None really
L. Soldier If attacked by a Thing, they have a chance to escape infection (This is around 20%). If they survive, the Thing is outed and killed.
M. Vehicle Operator None really.
I have to admit that Unicorn never ordered any other characters to help each other disappointed me a little bit.
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not having any idea ordering people to assistnone another does even till now it didn't seem too terribly important to use. also i had no idea who to pair with whom.