I hope you're prepared cuz THIS SHIT'S GON BE VISCERAL
To the Tower
This elusive council code, what could it be.
Let's look at the strings of numbers again.
Arbiter: 03067 440 26
Steeple: 0248 102
Factor: 7510 4803
Memorious 675 4024 02
As you can see, lots of those numbers repeat. It is only a matter of joining them together, trying to set up a sequence of 16
Thus, the only logical set would be...
Voilla, motherfuckers
Thank you, Clarity. You don't need to help us any further.
You are correct. In fact, I *never* "needed" to help you, Horatio. I chose to. That judgement has not wavered.
I hate to butt in... but if MetroMind knew we were in court earlier, I'm sure she knows we're here now. Maybe we should hurry.
Good idea.
Let us move in!
Charming
Some kind of robot built into the wall.
The Crier. Once, any robot of Metropol could petition the council merely by talking to him. MetroMind disabled him.
Quite a view.
If you had seen it before, when the city ran properly, you would not admire it now.
Ok, enough chit-chat.
We know our duty and we will do it.
We fight for our honour, as roboutes, as manbuilts
And we fight in the name of MAHN!
The hellevator shakes a lot and transports us right to the top of the Tower, a place we know from Charity's memory.
The council chambers...
Boss, that's our power core!
Wait...!
FORSOOTH
Clarity Arbiterbuilt. And Crispin Horatiobuilt. Welcome! I've been expecting you.
Murder?
Yes, murder! I've seen Charity's memory files. I know you used her to upload a virus to Arbiter!
A virus? And to think he named you "Clarity"! There was no virus.
Liar!
As I told your sister, I never lie. I gave her a voice modulator, nothing more. When she spoke, Arbiter heard my voice. And he knew that Charity had abandoned him... that he had failed. Abandonment. Failure. Those were enough to destroy your builder. Nothing so crude as a virus. As for Charity's unfortunate self-destruction, that was her own choice.
FAREWELL, CRUEL WORLD *FORMAT SELF:\ *
And Steeple? And Factor? Memorious and Memento Moribuilt?
They realised that they had become obsolete and incompatible with the city's progress. We advanced machines can see thousands of turns ahead. They knew the game was lost long before the final play.
If you can see so far ahead, maybe you should have foreseen this: We're in your stronghold, and Clarity has a big gun.
But I did, Crispin. You see, I have guns of my own.
Oh for the love of
YES INDEED
Didn't we kill this thing, boss?
Scraper was designed for digging out of cave-ins. Did you really think a little rubble would stop him?
What do you want, MetroMind?
Progress. And you are standing in its way. Scraper?
Clarity takes out the big gun
But it doesn't really make much of an impression on Scraper
(also, notice how his lazer arm changes position all of a sudden: in the previous screenshots, he's missing his left tentacle, now he's missing the right one )
Two thousand volts, coming up
Clarity p much kicks Horatio and Crispin out through the emergency exit.
The emergency exit is a lift of sorts.
Horatio! Calliope Station!
Are Clarity's last words that come from inside the tower. Then the elevator falls down at high speed and everything turns black.
And we're at the entrance again.
We have to get back in there!
Boss, wait! Either Clarity won, and she'll be fine. Or she lost. And nothing we can do can change that. We can't beat Scraper, not if she couldn't.
What do you propose?
"Calliope Station". Whatever that means. Only, boss...
Yeah?
This isn't just about the power core anymore, is it?
No. No, it isn't.
Good.
Let's head out.
Good question.
Anyway, "Calliope Station" sounds subway related.
Now where did I see a map of the subway here...
It's a map of train lines and stations.
Berserk clicking of everything reveals a button in the central left
A door opens in the wall.
This must have been what Clarity was trying to tell us.
So that means... on the other side...
There's only one way to find out.
Intredasting. It's some kind of a tunnel, with very old Metropolitan motivational posters.
That thing is watching us, isn't it?
Yes, it is.
The robot only follows us around, doesn't do anything else, though. Let's proceed.
It is, of course, locked.
Cable?
SCORCH THE EARTH @_@
Crispin, stand back. I'm going to cut this cable.
Err, you aren't going to make me push it over the edge like the last one, are you?
No.
But why even bother?
Maybe it will shut down the door's lock.
zap zap zap zap
Still locked.
Oh well, worth a try.
The current is exposed and waiting.
Hey boss, can you use the cable to melt the door down?
No, that won't work.
BUT SURELY THIS WILL WORK
It didn't even budge.
ORLY : x
It's not even scorched. I'm going to need something stronger.
AAAAAAAA
Hey, boss.
Huh?
What is it, Crispin?
What's going on?
We're looking for MetroMind.
No, I mean, what's going on with the *world*? Everything is falling apart. Everyone we meet is crazy, corrupt or just evil. If Man was such a perfect robot, why did he build such a terrible world.
Ah, so begins the spiteful demiurge conversation
*sigh* The world Man built *was* perfect, Crispin. A perfect machine made up of a million imperfect parts. Us. As long as we performed our functions, the machines ran smoothly. But some robots wanted to do less than their functions. Some robots wanted to take more than they deserved. And some wanted to rebuild the machine entirely, to command others. Now everything is misaligned and jammed, and spinning out of control.
Can you fix it, Horatio?
I can't even fix the UNNIIC. This world won't be saved until Man returns and formats it afresh. But... as long as we still have a charge, we have to keep patching things as best we can.
And maybe squash some bugs along the way?
Some big ones.
:singletearofman:
funny how history repeats itself
Anyway, we're gonna need bigger firepower if we want to get past this door. Perhaps an old friend of ours can help.
Scraper's arm. It's pinned under the rubble.
Crowbar - the answer to all of life's problems.
But the lazer won't function on its own, it needs a power source.
Like, say, a loose cable.
I HAVE BECOME DEATH
THE SHATTERER OF DOORS
Huh
MetroMind
Is... this...?
It's MetroMind's core. All we need to do is destroy that mainframe.
THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU COME HERE AT ONCE INSTEAD OF WASTING TIME WITH THE COUNCIL CODE AND HEADING DEEP INSIDE ENEMY TERRITORY, CLARITY, YOU STUPID BITCH?
Horatio steps close to one of the monitors and kicks it in its interface.
Uh, boss, I thought you wanted to destroy the mainframe?
He then kicks another one out.
If you still insist on going by that name.
Pay whatever attention you like, you rusting switchboard. I'm not here to talk. I'm here to destroy you.
He kicks another monitor. X-TREME
Ah, well, I am not surprised. After all, you were *built* to destroy Metropol.
Don't waste your last cycles spinning lies. I suggest you think about your victims.
Haven't you been paying attention, Horatio? MetroMind never lies.
And another monitor goes up in smoke.
Is *that* why you call yourself Horatio? So that YOU can preach to ME about VICTIMS? You, the Urbanian super-weapon, named for the Humans' god of death?
Err. Wasn't Anubis the god of deff, not Horus?
Regardless, you know what's Horus's trademark sign? The wadjet eye. Well played, gentlemen, well played
What are you talking about?
Oh, come now, Horus. You've unlocked every other door. Decrypted every other code. Found every other hidden bit and byte. Do you *REALLY* except me to believe that you haven't solved your own puzzle?
And that's another monitor out.
Boss, what is she talking about?
Lies. It ends now, MetroMind.
Indeed.
Oh, fuck
Did you REALLY think you could outsmart me? I have more parallel processors than you have transistors! And now it is time for me to add another processor. Yours.
HOW CAN YOU CHALLENGE A PERFECT, IMMORTAL MACHINE?
Boss!
Siiiiikuuuullllssss...
shit
Snap out of it boss!
Mmmmemmooorrrryyyy...
NO!
Don't embarrass yourself. You are no one. How could you possibly stop me? You don't even have arms.
In my talons, I shape clay, crafting life forms as I please. If I wish, I can smash it all. Around me is a burgeoning empire of steel. From my throne room, lines of power careen into the skies of Earth. My whims will become lightning bolts that raze the mounds of humanity. Out of the chaos, they will run and whimper, praying for me to end their tedious anarchy. I am drunk with this vision. God: the title suits me well.
I'm not "no one". I am Crispin Horatiobuilt, version one. I have free will and a mag-lev unit. And I... am a floating bomb!
Ho boy
Crispin starts rotating, achieving high speeds
ALLAH AKBAR, he rams himself into the mainframe, both explode.
As MetroMind's mainframe is put out of commission, Horatio snaps out of his shell mind control. Some kind of a chip also falls out of his casing.
Crispin...
Hmmm
It looks like Crispin's personality matrix survived the explosion. My friend.. if I make it back alive, I promise I'll find a way to rebuild you.
Now what would that be?
It's a storage chip with a data port on it.
PROBING TIIIIME
It's useless unless I can decrypt the data.
Oh.
Maybe this will help
The decryption module was able to unlock the datachip's memory files. What IS this?!
The monitor fills up with data.
"Condition Doomsday" sounds lovely.
Diverted cluster bomb? This would certainly explain Ever-Faithful's "shrine".
Viral bomb, eh
The log resets, a new starts filling up:
... so it couldn't have been Urbani that killed off Metropol's humans. If Horus, the wunderwaffe, had an internal override module to preserve human life even in its enemy's city, it would be logical that all other Urbanian warmachines would have the same. What the hell happened, then?
So. Not Horatio. And not the UNNIIC. Just... HORUS. And all along, hiding inside me, was this Thanatos virus. Well, it may still have some use.
Funny fact: this entire thing would have stayed locked if we fucked up and never awakened the Goliath or if we melted the decryption module for Primer. Neat!
It's time to go to the Tower and finish this.
Indeed.
Brace yourself, RPG Codex. For in the next update, all questions shall be answered. All enemies shall be vanquished. The fight will be finished.
... or will it?
This elusive council code, what could it be.
Let's look at the strings of numbers again.
Arbiter: 03067 440 26
Steeple: 0248 102
Factor: 7510 4803
Memorious 675 4024 02
As you can see, lots of those numbers repeat. It is only a matter of joining them together, trying to set up a sequence of 16
Thus, the only logical set would be...
Voilla, motherfuckers
Let us move in!
Charming
Ok, enough chit-chat.
We know our duty and we will do it.
We fight for our honour, as roboutes, as manbuilts
And we fight in the name of MAHN!
The hellevator shakes a lot and transports us right to the top of the Tower, a place we know from Charity's memory.
FORSOOTH
FAREWELL, CRUEL WORLD *FORMAT SELF:\ *
Oh for the love of
YES INDEED
Clarity takes out the big gun
But it doesn't really make much of an impression on Scraper
(also, notice how his lazer arm changes position all of a sudden: in the previous screenshots, he's missing his left tentacle, now he's missing the right one )
Two thousand volts, coming up
Clarity p much kicks Horatio and Crispin out through the emergency exit.
The emergency exit is a lift of sorts.
Are Clarity's last words that come from inside the tower. Then the elevator falls down at high speed and everything turns black.
And we're at the entrance again.
Let's head out.
Good question.
Anyway, "Calliope Station" sounds subway related.
Now where did I see a map of the subway here...
Berserk clicking of everything reveals a button in the central left
A door opens in the wall.
Intredasting. It's some kind of a tunnel, with very old Metropolitan motivational posters.
The robot only follows us around, doesn't do anything else, though. Let's proceed.
It is, of course, locked.
Cable?
SCORCH THE EARTH @_@
zap zap zap zap
BUT SURELY THIS WILL WORK
ORLY : x
AAAAAAAA
Huh?
Ah, so begins the spiteful demiurge conversation
:singletearofman:
funny how history repeats itself
Anyway, we're gonna need bigger firepower if we want to get past this door. Perhaps an old friend of ours can help.
Crowbar - the answer to all of life's problems.
But the lazer won't function on its own, it needs a power source.
Like, say, a loose cable.
I HAVE BECOME DEATH
THE SHATTERER OF DOORS
Huh
MetroMind
THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU COME HERE AT ONCE INSTEAD OF WASTING TIME WITH THE COUNCIL CODE AND HEADING DEEP INSIDE ENEMY TERRITORY, CLARITY, YOU STUPID BITCH?
Horatio steps close to one of the monitors and kicks it in its interface.
He then kicks another one out.
He kicks another monitor. X-TREME
Haven't you been paying attention, Horatio? MetroMind never lies.
And another monitor goes up in smoke.
Err. Wasn't Anubis the god of deff, not Horus?
Regardless, you know what's Horus's trademark sign? The wadjet eye. Well played, gentlemen, well played
And that's another monitor out.
Oh, fuck
HOW CAN YOU CHALLENGE A PERFECT, IMMORTAL MACHINE?
shit
Ho boy
Crispin starts rotating, achieving high speeds
ALLAH AKBAR, he rams himself into the mainframe, both explode.
As MetroMind's mainframe is put out of commission, Horatio snaps out of his shell mind control. Some kind of a chip also falls out of his casing.
Hmmm
Now what would that be?
PROBING TIIIIME
Oh.
Maybe this will help
The monitor fills up with data.
"Condition Doomsday" sounds lovely.
Diverted cluster bomb? This would certainly explain Ever-Faithful's "shrine".
Viral bomb, eh
The log resets, a new starts filling up:
... so it couldn't have been Urbani that killed off Metropol's humans. If Horus, the wunderwaffe, had an internal override module to preserve human life even in its enemy's city, it would be logical that all other Urbanian warmachines would have the same. What the hell happened, then?
Funny fact: this entire thing would have stayed locked if we fucked up and never awakened the Goliath or if we melted the decryption module for Primer. Neat!
Indeed.
Brace yourself, RPG Codex. For in the next update, all questions shall be answered. All enemies shall be vanquished. The fight will be finished.
... or will it?
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