1.10 Shipwreck diplomacy and “civilization” at last
This contraption doesn’t seem too bright, you might as well attempt to lie to it. Hopefully it will believe that you are a technician wanting to test it. “Do you honestly take me a for a fool? You do not speak the language of the masters. Please kill me and end this foolishness.” – the ship’s intelligence replies. Well clearly the machine didn’t realize that you wanted to test its linguistic skills first. After all if it does not recognize voice command it is useless. “You do not bear the mark of the masters, your genetic makeup shows no sign of alteration.” The machine mentions some useful details accidentally, while disagreeing with your claims. It appears that the titans did build this ship. Unless there is another group in the multiverse, that tinkers with the human genetic code as much.
Did it consider that you may be an unaltered agent created to evade the enemy? “An unaltered agent? I posses no knowledge of those. Stop this charade and kill me.” Of course it does not, it has been over twenty years since it crashed has it not? The enemy forced us to use “inferior” agents, even the various indigenous people of the multiverse noticed our unnatural eyes. You stumbled upon the weak distress signal it sent while on a scouting mission. Furthermore if you were not an agent, where did you get this? You pull out the mind probe device and show it to the machine. Although you are not exactly sure if or where it has its visual sensors.
“You are unaltered, yet you posses the neural probe and you know of the multiverse. You cannot be the enemy, you have not defiled your mind with machinery. You do not look like one of the masters, but you could also serve “the grand design” as the masters do. What you say is logical. I am unsure, over twenty years have passed, much may have changed. Tell me this, from where do the masters come from?” Just when it was going so well it starts asking the hard questions. Better end this and go away, you have no intention of “killing” it after all. Goodbye loyal servant of “the grand design”, you have passed your test. The masters will reclaim it soon, it just needs to be patient does it not? “Yes I will wait for the masters, my life will be meaningful again.”
Thank the gods for gullible suicidal automatons, maybe the long isolation or the crash damaged its cognitive systems or something. It didn’t tell you much, and you didn’t get any fuel from the reactor due to your hasty retreat. But at least it confirmed what you suspected. The titans are its masters, servants of “the grand design” whatever that means.
Still who could be their enemy? And what do they want? Hopefully there aren’t many of either of them in the nearby parallels. This ship, would have no doubt been recovered a lot quicker, if their base of operations was closer. Maybe the interference is limiting their trans-parallel transit capability as well? At any rate, the mere fact that you know of the shipwreck, may allow you to live like a king. Or it may save your life one day.
You walk out of the Glennsdale National Park and into the farmlands, or rather the empty fields that were once farmlands. It takes you a few hours but finally you are in the middle of them. It is time to get out of here. The barrier between this universe and another shatter as the rift begins to open. Hopefully the fields on the other side, are as secluded from the nearest roads and buildings, as they were here and in similar parallels. It is 2 p.m. after all, not exactly the best time to transit to or from more crowded places.
“Transit complete! Stabilization field disengaged, welcome to
αδ-45 riftwalker. Fuel reserves at 51%.” - the RGM informs you. Well it would be a good idea, to search for a water source you can drain of precious deuterium and tritium. But first you need to take a look around. The surroundings are indeed farmland as expected. No background radiation and you can see what appears to be New Port City in the distance, it looks a bit different but familiar. Time to grab a bus, hopefully they will accept the few dollars you still have left. If not then you better hitchhike to the city.
After an hour you reach the bus stop. You wait a few minutes until the bus arrives, you approach the driver and try to pay for the fare. “Look man, I only accept new dollars. You had until the end of 2010 to replace old dollars with new dollars. You didn’t bother to do what the good Governor General ordered? Your problem not mine.” Well it looks like you are hitchhiking then. Hopefully somebody will pick you up.
While walking down the road you encounter a man trying to change a tire in his car. Curious you ask what is the problem. “It’s just a flat, unfortunately I left the damn tools in the garage. Now I have to improvise.” Tools he says? You quickly open your suitcase and find the necessary adaptable tool. “Woah nice tool! Did you import it?” After a brief moment the spare tire is mounted in place. “Damn thanks! Need a ride to the city? You shouldn’t be walking with that leg of yours, visiting a clinic might be good. ”. Naturally you accept the offer.
The drive is short, you do not learn much of this parallel during it, the driver introduces himself as Emanuel. He bores you with nonsense talk of working in sales, he even gives you his business card. “You seem like a technically-inclined person, we could make you a technician at our company. There is a shortage of skilled labor since the war ended 7 years ago. So be sure to call if you need work.”
He dropped you off in the city center, it looks familiar, however some buildings were destroyed in the war it seems. According to city center map you found, the library and museum are present exactly where they were in
αδ-37. Curiously the ghetto is literary labeled as “the Ghetto”, instead of “Southside Estates” or “Blue Hill” like it was in
αδ-37. Text on the map states that “the Ghetto”, is off-limits to citizens without permits, also there appear to be walls and 2 gates around it. Good to hear somebody in the multiverse did something about those savages living there. Furthermore the former Goliath Media Corp tower, the only surviving Goliath tower, now houses the Governor General’s administration. Which includes the “New American Police” HQ whatever that is.
Posters you notice around the center give you a hint of what has happened. “The General Government of the occupied American territories builds a new future for America. One free of the hideous influence of the lesser races. A new mighty America, an Aryan America built with help from the Führer himself!” – one proclaims. “The Reich liberated you from your oppressors, the true Americans will no longer be subjugated. Enlist in the New American Police to help maintain purity of thought and purity of race!” – another one states. “I speak the Führer’s language, do you? Learn German today!” – a different one, showing a tall blond blue-eyed man pointing his finger at you, says.
It looks like Germany conquered America, or to be more precise the Third Reich did. You heard of it when you were living in Berlin back in αδ-62. It is a regime built on some racial purity ideology, one that is highly militaristic. It looks like a good place to do business for a change.
Now that you are in a civilized chimera-free city you will…
A)…visit the library and read newspapers or browse the internet if possible. Better to learn what exactly happened here rather than guess based on a bunch of posters.
B)…try to find a doctor. Preferably one that won’t charge money to make a proper cast for that leg of yours. Hopefully there is a charity or something around here, or the hospital requires no insurance.
C)…walk to the Governor General’s office and offer him, or one of his assistants, a presentation. It might work or it may spectacularly backfire.
D)…send the Governor General a holo-teaser in a package. Hopefully the postal service work reliably.
E)…try to earn some “new dollars” in back alleys using the good old “stun and run” theft technique. Minus the running of course, gods damn that titan.
F)…try to contact Emanuel Cortez about that job. Odds are you will be here a while, might as well acquire a dwelling and a source of income so you won’t starve to death before you get a deal.
G)…look for a job elsewhere. Hopefully there is a newspaper, job agency or bulletin board around somewhere.
H)…deploy the filtering unit in a pool of water. Fuel for one more transit might be useful.
I)…transit to a different parallel. Nazis? Not exactly the kind of people you want to deal with.
Pick up to two of the actions listed above. You cannot vote for both C and D as they are contradictory, however you are free to vote for whatever other combination you wish.
Vote now.
The holo-teaser projector in option D) has a built in text-based communication module. It will allow Heracles to arrange a proper meeting if the other party is interested.
Option H) will deploy the filtering unit it at whichever location will be safe.
Option I) will only succeed if over 50% of people vote for it. The destination will be picked after the next update should that happen. It will prevent Heracles from doing anything else.
