Empty Stage 2011

Image

empty-stage.jpg

Encounter Conditions

Halloween 2011, once the stage is built

Initial Text

You come to the stage that everyone's set up for the Emerald Gift. It seems strangely barren without anyone on it, especially with the massive speakers flanking it, although the cavernous area beneath the stage seems a little more lively with the forest of supports and its wirey undergrowth.

If they get this done in time, it'll be a damned impressive stage. It's a big if but, then again, they managed it last year.

Note: Probably very similar to Empty Stage 2010.

Summary of Choices

  1. Check the supports -
    1. Exploit their weakness
    2. Steal a support
    3. Try at repair
    4. Use a steel length
    5. Leave them be
  2. Crawl Underneath - With Emerald Gift active and an electrical kit equipped, get the below options
    1. Pull some cables -
    2. Examine the cabling -
    3. Add thick cabling - Only with thick cabling in inventory
    4. Add writhing cabling - Only with a writhing cable in inventory
    5. Crawl for your life -
  3. Examine the speakers -
    1. Dismantle one
    2. Smash one
    3. Study them
    4. Add some gel - After finding some missing gel, and with reactive gel in inventory
    5. Replace a coil - After finding a blown coil, and with a magnetic coil in inventory
    6. Swap out a processor - After finding a bad processor, and with a gold processor in inventory
  4. Jack in some tunes - Only after studying the speakers
  5. Leave it -

Choice Text and Results

Check the supports

You check the supports. Even the ones near the edge seem shaky at best.

Well, that's probably what happens when you have a bunch of volunteers and art students try their hand at constrution.

Exploit their weakness

Steal a support

You pull and tug on one of the supports, eventually finding it comes loose if you twist it just right. Hey, free support!

You found: polysteel support

Try at repair

You find a particularly shaky section and add another support. It's definitely looking better.

You've earned 6 XP in Perception

Use a steel length

You find a particularly shaky section and prop it up with your steel length. It actually fits pretty well, even if it looks weird, and the section is way less wobbly.

You've earned 4 XP in Perception

You've earned 4 XP in Strength

Leave them be

Yeah, looks like they should be able to stand on it. Who cares if they have speakers?

See Walk Away

Crawl Underneath

(Normally)

Calling the space under the stage a "cable tangle" is unfair. The endless network of cables are twisted around, into, and through each other in some sort of non-Euclidean dance.

It might just be the product of too many minds that know too little trying to manage a complex task… but it seems somehow too ordered for that, like it has a strange beauty you can't quite understand.

Well, until you understand it, you're probably not going to be able to make any changes. You're not even sure you could figure out where to break it right now.

You've earned 2 XP in Perception

You've earned 2 XP in Will

(With Emerald Gift:)

Calling the space under the stage a "cable tangle" is unfair. The endless network of cables are twisted around, into, and through each other in some sort of non-Euclidean dance.

It's beautiful… terrifying, but beautiful. Now you just need the right tools to cut it open and see how the inside ticks.

You've earned 3 XP in Perception

You've earned 3 XP in Will

(With Emerald Gift and an electrical kit equipped:)

You carefully follow the cables beneath the stage.

It's rather comfortable down here, with the endlessly knotted wires spreading out beneath the stage, glistening in the rare streamers of light.

And that omnipresent hum in the background… more like the bass line in an old chant than the grating sound of an electrical generator.

Pull some cables

You tear a cable from the mass. It sparks limply in protest.

You found: thick cabling

Examine the cabling

You examine the cabling, considering how it's so clearly the Emerald Gift's songs made manifest as a pattern of electrical components and how very little sense that makes.

You've gained 20 energy of Emerald Gift.

You've earned 5 XP in Perception

You've earned 5 XP in Will

Add thick cabling

You twine some more cabling into the mix, just where it should go.

You've earned 4 XP in Will

Add writhing cabling

You let the cabling writhe its way where it should go, setting off a wave of ripples among the other cables.

You've earned 6 XP in Will

Crawl for your life

Examine the speakers

Speakers.jpg


You check over the speaker stacks. They're huge, just one could probably blow out your apartment's windows, but they also look… well, refurbished. They're definitely not new and the wear is showing on them.

Dismantle one

You approach the speakers and start cutting the side of one open, only to be interrupted in moments by a swarm of security guards. Holy hell, they're touchy!

(Fight 4 Dock Security)

Smash one

Study them

You find where the students put the test console. It has a pretty self-explanatory set of knobs and dials, along with a basic input jack.

Running through the tests, you find one of the speakers is missing its reactive gel. You make a mental note of… wait, what?

You've learned better than to trust your memory on most stuff, but you're pretty sure reactive gel is strictly military grade. Who uses military grade materials in their speakers? And then uses polysteel for the cases?

That's just weird.

Or

You find where the students put the test console. It has a pretty self-explanatory set of knobs and dials, along with a basic input jack.

Running through the tests, you find one of the speakers has a blown magnetic coil. You make a mental note of that in case you're near that speaker later.

Or

You find where the students put the test console. It has a pretty self-explanatory set of knobs and dials, along with a basic input jack.

Running through the tests, you find one of the speakers has a bad processor. Oh, man, it's probably one of the old ones with the gold connectors too. What a pain.

You make a mental note of it for later in case you happen to be near that speaker with a good processor.

Add some gel

You open up the speaker you remember having a gel shortage. Huh, sure enough, there's a little cavity with a bit of reactive gel residue in the bottom.

The idea of figuring out the acoustics of that… with the pressure waves making it solidify… and then… wow.

You stop thinking about that before your brain boils and pour in the replacement reactive gel.

Replace a coil

You open the speaker you remember having the blown coil. Wow, yeah, it's charred black and everything.

It's weird, these are usually pretty sturdy, but the old one crumbles in your hands like sand.

Swap out a processor

You find the speaker that reported the processor problems and open it up. Well, normally it'd be an easter egg hunt to find the broken component, but in this case you just follow the smoke stains.

You hope the old processor catching on fire was a freak accident and not some design flaw. And, either way, hopefully folks find out before the party.

Jack in some tunes

(With no music playing:)

You connect your comm to the titanic sound system, but there's not really anything to play. You suppose you could alway pipe your comm's ring tone so loud that people in the Happy Hour could hear it.

Then again maybe that's not the best idea.

(With any Midgard Player generated music playing, before fixes:)

You connect your Midgard Player to the titanic sound system and treat everyone to your generated tunes. Hmmmm… it isn't picking up any connection. There must be a break in the wiring.

(With any Midgard Player generated music playing, after fixing the wiring:)

You connect your Midgard Player to the titanic sound system and treat everyone to your generated tunes.

A few hipsters on the floor enjoy it, but nobody else seems to really be moved by the music.

(With other music playing, before fixes:)

You connect your comm to the titanic sound system and expose your musical tastes to the world. Hmmmm… it isn't picking up any connection. There must be a break in the wiring.

(With other music playing, after fixing the wiring:)

You connect your comm to the titanic sound system and expose your musical tastes to the world.

(And, with 571 or Brain Staples playing)
You pipe some serious music over the speakers. Yaaaaah!

Sadly, nobody else seems to appreciate real music here.

(Or, with Dance Music playing)
Nobody seems to share your tastes. Philistines.

(Or, with Emerald Gift or Hunt for the Gift playing)
You pipe some awesome Halloween music over the speakers.

The hipsters pause for a moment, entranced by Emerald Gift, then return to their tasks with renewed vigor.

As you listen along, you feel a strange sense of foreboding as the stage thrums with energy.

(Or, with Spooky Music playing)
You pipe some awesome Halloween music over the speakers.

The hipsters pause for a moment then return to their tasks with renewed vigor.

(Or, with Halloween Lament playing)
You decide now would be a great time for some sad music. You know, just to give everyone perspective.

The students stop to listen. You can see 6 hipsters give up and leave the floor. Well, that should make it easier to keep things under control.

(Or, with Extreme Bass XIII Player installed)
Nobody seems to share your tastes. Philistines.

Leave it

Yeah, looks like they should be able to stand on it. Who cares if they have speakers?

See Walk Away

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