"You are the lone voice of reason" gamemode

[alexpkeaton]

 

Backstory: The Cyberiad has encountered a strange anomaly that has created a massive powersink in the station, localized in the holodeck. The lazer tag simulator that was running has had the entire station's power run into it. In the resulting power surge, the holodeck landscape expanded over the entire footprint of the station, creating a holocopy of everything and everyone. The safeties have been burned into the off position. The real station is crippled. Unpowered and dying, the station needs the power that is pouring into the holodeck. An engineering ERT is currently beng assembled at CentComm, but communication is spotty and no one has a clue where to start to fix this problem. But that isn't your or the most pressing concern. Massive energy spikes are pouring from the holodeck and wreaking havoc on the physical station. And the AI, who until now has been the only one able to enter the holodeck, has linked the spikes to the fact that whenever a holocrewmember or holographic object leaves the station, disappears entirely. The working theory is that the power is released in an uncontrolled manner whenever a hologram leaves the hologrid. While the program can be reset, the power is finite and is causing real destruction. Worse, while the holograms are remarkably well copied and act much like their real counterparts, every time the program is reset, some damage akin to clone damage occurs in the holograms. In fact, when the AI has attempted to comunicate with the holograms to stay calm and not to leave the station, incredulous cries of MALF AI! TRAITORS! LINGS! WIZARD! occur. And that's just the beginning. Crazed sec officers are seen brutally harrassing the crew. Imprisoning them for odd and wrong motivations, wild conspiracies, or worse still, sadistic pleasure. This is so foreign to what you know at Nanotrasen. And the holographic deaths caused by the rampant hysteria also causes wild energy spikes from the holodeck on the real Cyberiad. Something must be done. The AI, running on limited power, has calculated that only one more reset of the program be attempted, and has found a way to insert a single real crewmember into the program, however, radiation damage will occur over time. No one not expendable should be sent, of course. You can receive medical attention in the holographic medbay, but will they dissect you as some foreign abomination, especially when they discover that a copy of you exists?

 

You are the station's psychologist. Rarely needed in a new age of medical advancement and competence in all areas and job functions, you have reduced your life to a sad existence of drinking at your uselessness. And yet, your lost art is the one needed most now. You have been ordered to enter the holoprogram on its last reset. The station's AI will be ported into your PDA, and will be able to open doors but not much else.

 

The Chief Engineer has suggested that while the energy spikes are both unpredictable and uncontrollable, a controlled energy spike would be able to be fed back into the station's batteries, allowing the singularity to be reset and the energy output then controlled. The alternative is that the singularity will grow to the point where it will destroy the station. Your mission: You must prevent, at any cost, any of the moving parts of the station (namely, the holographic copies of the Cyberiad crew) from leaving the station proper (including other z-levels), to prevent any call of the emergency shuttle, and ultimately, to assemble on the holodeck at 14:00 hours precisely, at least 30 holocharacters when a controlled shutdown will occur. The AI won't be able to help much. He will be ported into a pAI on you capable of opening doors and providing moral support. Do not, at any costs, allow the pAI to be captured, destroyed, or subverted. Perhaps you could get the AI transfered into a more useful, mobile version. Only a robotics department counterpart could help with that. You can also receive medical attention in the holographic medbay, but will they dissect you as some foreign abomination, especially when they discover that a copy of you exists? Oh, did I forget to remind you of that? And this crazed station has a fitting, malfunctioning AI to match it.

 

It's time to save your crewmates. It's time to put your lessons to work. You are the unlikely hero.

 

YOU ARE THE LONE VOICE OF REASON.

 

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Objective ideas for others...

A copy of the psychologist has the objective to kill the real one.

AI has malf objectives.

Certain crewmembers have "There can only be one" or "Escape alone-hijack"

 

Incredibly destructive events. Anything that would normally force a shuttle call. The greentext goal is to get the station to 14:00 and crew to a specifc section, holodeck or cargo bay, maybe two alternate locations.

 

What do you think? Is it feasible? Of course the real Cyberiad wouldn't be seen. It would be a normal shift with a psychologist or psychology team with the greentext objectives as stated above. As an alternative to asembling in a location perhaps get to 14:15 without boarding the shuttle. Anyone, including psychologist, travelling to a different z-level or EVA means instant death (or perhaps infection with incurable virus thatwill result in death in 10 minutes or so to prevent meta realization of the connection).

 

[Spacemanspark]

 

I really like this idea.

You've put quite some effort into it.

 

[alexpkeaton]

It's been over a month and I hope it's okay to give this a bump. It's a lot of backstory but it may make a fun event via adminbus.

[Tauka Usanake]

 

I remember reading this when it was first posted. I can only imagine myself being "Huh..."

 

I have no idea what to think of this or how it could be feasibility coded. Can someone spitball this with ideas on how it would be coded? You know, if you aren't busy selling your soul to please the BYOND gods working really hard at making this game awesome