Weishaupt Scholars
by Michael C. Martin (2007)
Genres: Collegiate

Take on the roles of Hal, Benj, and Janet -- the three newest members of the shadowy conspiratorial group known only as the Weishaupt Foundation. Vie against rival conspiracies and your own baffling superiors to reach the Awful Truth.

action: %
action: You examine the cabinets
response: They're mostly ordinary looking file cabinets, though they have various runes and alchemical symbols painted on them.
action: You examine the runes
response: Tsk. This is regular Modern English, just written down in the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Sloppy, and it doesn't say much for how authentic the rest of this stuff is.

You hear footsteps somewhere above you. Someone must be working late.
action: You read the runes
response: Tsk. This is regular Modern English, just written down in the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Sloppy, and it doesn't say much for how authentic the rest of this stuff is.

One of the cultists appears to be stirring. Janet hops over and gently kicks him in the head with her steel-toed boot.
action: You search the cabinets
response: You can't see inside, since the cabinets are closed.

One of the cultists appears to be stirring. Janet hops over and gently kicks him in the head with her steel-toed boot.
action: You open the cabinets
response: You open the cabinets, revealing some files.

Somewhere, papers rustle in the air conditioning.
action: You examine files
response: Oy. These files are all written in modern English, just written down using the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. The membership file you were looking for is easy enough to find, though.

You hear soft chanting in the distance.
action: You read the membership file
response: Names and basic contact info for the alchemical cult that's been stealing material from the local chemistry labs, no doubt for some heinous scheme or other. That part wasn't really in the mission description.

You hear soft chanting in the distance.
action: You listen to the chanting
response: Soft chanting wafts in from above. It's from far enough away that you don't have to worry. Probably. In any event, they don't seem to be coming in to challenge you -- you suspect they haven't even worked out that you're here.

I didn't understand that sentence.
action: About yourself
response: You won't be starring in any spy movies anytime soon, except maybe as Smug Bureaucrat #3. Still, you're living proof that athleticism isn't everything in this field.

One of the cultists appears to be stirring. Janet hops over and gently kicks him in the head with her steel-toed boot.
action: You check your inventory
response: You are carrying:
a pager

Somewhere, papers rustle in the air conditioning.
action: You take the file
response: Taken.

You look at Janet. She nods and gestures at the door. You run for it. You'll have to drop this off with your secret masters, and then you can deal with the things that are truly important...

It's not palatial, but it's pretty big for a student apartment; that's why he tends to host the game nights on weekends. Of course, the game night has pretty much wound up by now, so there's mostly just the remnants of the night's Risk game and snack fragments left.

You can see Isaac and Bian here.

You're now wrapping up your wild tale of why you couldn't make the game night. "... and so, after a harrowing journey, I finally managed to make it here. It took a little longer than I'd expected, because I had to ensure I wasn't being traced. I wouldn't want to bring any secret wars here. Of course I would never skip out on you guys without explanation, but I was obviously incommunicado."

They seem unimpressed.

Bian manages an "I'm touched by your concern" before Isaac starts speaking. "Really, I don't mind if you can't make a session, but if you have to cancel, it would be kind of nice if you called first. You don't have to pull some story out of one of Bian's RPGs."

Bian eyes Isaac for a moment. "Hey, don't blame me for this. He was like this even when we were in high school together. It's his fault I started fringewatching to begin with."

You shrug. "Clearly, the heavy responsibilities are all mine. Need any help cleaning up?"

"Be my guest."

Bian snickers. "He's just trying to get an excuse to raid your fridge."

[1] Resignedly accept accusation
[2] Proclaim innocence
action: 2
response: You attempt your best look of wide-eyed innocence. It's actually kind of hard through glasses as thick as yours. "I am shocked -- shocked -- that you would make such an insinuation."

Bian lifts an eyebrow and smirks. "Insinuation? You wound me. That was a direct statement."

You bow deeply in reply. "As you wish."
action: You look at Bian
response: You and Bian have been friends since high school, and you've known each other quite a bit longer than that.

Her family immigrated here from Vietnam under less than ideal circumstances, and you suspect it's really only due to her intelligence (and the fellowships that brought) that she's able to afford going here.

Bian shoulders her backpack and straightens out her dress.
action: You clean up
response: You separate the game pieces into separate piles. It'll take some more work to clean it up.

Bian waves and heads out the door. "See you next week, Isaac. Catch you later, Hal."

Isaac waits around for you to finish picking up the remnants of the game like you promised.
action: You clean up
response: You pack the game away in its box and pick it up to hand to Isaac. As you pick up the box, you notice a square of plastic beneath it. Some kind of keycard?
action: You examine the plastic
response: It's a keycard to the Psychology building. It must be Bian's.

Isaac tilts his head at the square of plastic on the table.
action: You take the plastic
response: Taken.

"Hey, Bian left her keycard here."

"Hm. She'll be needing that. And you'll be seeing her again before I do; I suppose you should take it with you."

"You're probably right. Hopefully I'll be able to make next week. See you then." You clear out.





Active Agent: Benj

Hal's status: OK
Benj's status: OK
Janet's status: OK

You have to admit, it's a more interesting way than most to work your way through college. But you swear, ever since you took the Weishaupt Foundation up on their offer, you've become visible to every single wacko this side of Neptune. And if you didn't know better, you'd think the Universe itself was in on the gag.

Take today, for instance. The religious fanatics worshipping some god named Bob (What was it Hal had called them? "The Subgenie" or something...) have been getting more prevalent for weeks. But when they decide to take a more, ahem, active approach to recruitment, who's the first person they target?

You.

And your pager went off just as class ended, so you're going to have to dodge cultists all the way to the train.

Well, at least life is never boring...

Most of Knuth Hall's second floor is taken up by the lecture hall in room 203. The rest of the floor is mostly taken up by little lounges (accessible to the east and west). Across from the main lecture hall is a staircase leading up and down.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
your keycard
a pager
action: You examine the pager
response: This is the pager the Weishaupt Foundation gave to you when you signed on. It lets them summon you without using any probably tapped phone lines. God only knows what else it does.
action: You examine the keycard
response: Your keycard is a nondescript rectangle of green plastic, about the size of a credit card but twice as thick. It's got a tiny transmitter in it that unlocks the doors to floors you're cleared to enter. Yours unlocks the basement computer lab in Knuth Hall.
action: Go downwards
response: Lobby, Ground Floor
Knuth Hall's ground floor mostly has TA offices and student services. The front and back doors are to the east and west, respectively, while the building administration's offices are to the south. A staircase provides access to the classrooms and lounges on the second floor and to the basement labs.
action: Go downward
response: This staircase leads from the basement to the roof. Access to relevant floors is provided by the keycards each CS student carries.

The door to the undergraduate labs lies to the east.
action: Go east
response: (first opening the lab door)
You stand so that your keycard is adjacent to the scanner, but instead of unlocking the door, it just beeps angrily. That's odd. Someone must have disabled your keycard.
action: You kick the door
response: Extreme violence is really more Janet's forte.
action: Go west
response: The west end of Knuth has a nondescript door that leads out into the parking lot on the edge of campus. The lobby itself lies back to the east.
action: You go to the west
response: You push the door open and start working your way towards the tram station. You hear an annoying buzzing sound in the back of your mind. Normally you'd shake this off, especially given your bigger problems at the moment -- the cultists seem to have noticed you. In fact, there's a good half dozen or so closing in on you right now.

Throwing stealth to the wind, you break into a run -- or try to. Something in the back of your mind is refusing to let you move. Your vision dims as they approach, no doubt to "help" you...





Active Agent: Janet

Hal's status: OK
Benj's status: CAPTURED
Janet's status: OK

It may be silly and melodramatic, but it is pretty cool. Anyone can take the bus to this stop. Anyone can walk into this office building. But when they do so, not just anyone finds herself in a room capable of monitoring and controlling a thousand secret operations around the world.

You aren't just anyone.

Neither are Hal and Benj.

Where is Benj, anyway?

This is a dead-end hallway somewhere in the depths of the Weishaupt Foundation building. "You will receive further instructions once you arrive," according to the receptionist, but Benj is nowhere to be found.

Hal stands around, tapping his foot impatiently while you pace. The hall ends at three adjacent doors in the north wall.
action: You ask Hal about Benj
response: "Any idea where Benj is?"

Hal shrugs. "No clue."
action: About yourself
response: You're in somewhat better shape, and a lot stronger, than you were a year or so ago before your initation, but you're still basically the same old Janet.
action: You examine hal
response: He's pretty out of shape, even if you use normal standards instead of yours. Then again, he's had a bit of a paunch for as long as you've known him, and he wears glasses so thick you can barely see his eyes for the distortion, so you imagine your Unknown Benefactors didn't recruit him for his skills as a field agent.

He's bright - no denying that - but you still don't really know why they'd be interested in him personally.
action: Kiss hal
response: You try to avoid romantic entanglements with coworkers. Besides, he's not really your type.
action: You examine the doors
response: The hall dead-ends at these doors. Each door has one of your names embossed on it in neat type.
action: You look at what you're carrying with you
response: You are carrying:
a pager
action: You open the door
response: You should probably wait for instructions first. They aren't long in coming; the north doors swing open and you hear the PA system intone, "Scholars unit 17E, report individually through the doors before you."

You and Hal exchange a brief glance, shrug, and proceed through your doors.

Hopefully they'll see fit to tell you what's going on with Benj, too.

This room is almost a hall; it's maybe ten feet wide and 30 feet long, and the doors are very nearly diagonally opposite one another. The exit door stands open in the north wall.

It's so aggressively unremarkable that it makes you suspicious. If rooms had eyes, this one's would be shifty.
action: You look at the door
response: Which do you mean, the hallway door or the white door?
action: White
response: This door leads south, back to the foyer. You need to go north.
action: You look at the hallway door
response: The hallway door to your north leads to the briefing room, which is where you're supposed to be going. It stands invitingly open.
action: You jump
response: You jump on the spot, fruitlessly.
action: You go north
response: You take a couple of steps towards the north door, then catch something out of the corner of your eye. You leap backwards just as one of the ceiling tiles comes crashing to the floor right were you were standing.
action: Dance
response: You prefer sparring to dance.
action: You examine the ceiling
response: An ordinary rectangle of acoustic tile, perhaps six square feet or so.
action: You get tile
response: Not only is it useless, it's unwieldy.
action: Up
response: You don't have a lot of room to move here, but the tight space won't slow you down much, either.

The crawlspace extends to the east, and there's a hole at the south end of the room where you came in.
action: Go east
response: The crawlspace continues east to west here. Cables extend in pairs from the tiles beneath you and lead off to the west.
action: You examine the cables
response: Cables lead out of the ceiling off to the east and west.
action: You take the cables
response: They are firmly attached.
action: You jump
response: You jump on the spot, fruitlessly.
action: Go east
response: The crawlspace ends here, and extends out only to the west. Cables extend from some panels and lead off to the west.

Some kind of device squats here, with wires spreading out from it all over this crawlspace.
action: You look at the device
response: It's a largish black box. About fifty cables come from it, burying themselves in the ceiling below. Two of those cables appear to connect to the gap off to the west you came in from.

The gadgetry is currently switched on.
action: You turn off the device
response: You switch the gadgetry off.
action: You take the device
response: That's fixed in place.
action: You examine the device
response: It's a largish black box. About fifty cables come from it, burying themselves in the ceiling below. Two of those cables appear to connect to the gap off to the west you came in from.

The gadgetry is currently switched off.
action: You verify
response: The game file has verified as intact.
action: Go west
response: The crawlspace continues east to west here. Cables extend in pairs from the tiles beneath you and lead off to the west.
action: You go to the west
response: You don't have a lot of room to move here, but the tight space won't slow you down much, either.

The crawlspace extends to the east, and there's a hole at the south end of the room where you came in.
action: Go downward
response: This room is almost a hall; it's maybe ten feet wide and 30 feet long, and the doors are very nearly diagonally opposite one another.

It's so aggressively unremarkable that it makes you suspicious. If rooms had eyes, this one's would be shifty.

The ceiling tile lies on the floor, underneath the gap it left when it fell.
action: Disable
response: parse error, expecting `NUM'
action: Go north
response: With the trap machinery off, the room is much safer to cross now.

Not completely safe, though. They left a tripwire about two-thirds of the way down the hall as a trap for the unwary. Easy enough to dodge, especially since you've got all the time in the world to do so. You breeze through the door at the end into the briefing room.

This room is nondescript, but not as aggressively so as the gauntlet you just ran. You see a few chairs gathered around a projector.

Hal is somehow already here, waiting for you.

Your briefing officer, known only to you by his codename "Saint," stands behind the lectern.

Saint pockets a PDA of some kind as you come in. "Well handled. Of course, your teammate didn't wait for you, or it would have been nicer still."

[1] Defend teammate
[2] Dismiss praise as inappropriate
action: 1
response: "Presumably, in a real mission, we'd actually be able to communicate."

Saint shrugs. "Well, yes. In any event, there's something we need you to look into." He gestures to the chairs by the lectern. "Have a seat."
action: You take the seat
response: You sit down.

Saint nods at you. "All right, let's begin."

Hal interrupts. "Shouldn't we wait for Benj to show up?"

"That would rather defeat the point -- one of the reasons you're here is that we've lost contact with him, and think a rival group has captured him. He'd been investigating the students that were nominally part of a SubGenius cult. You may have noticed them on campus lately." Yes, they're rather hard to miss, even from a distance. "We think they're the pawns or subjects of one of our rivals, but we don't know which ones. We're also not clear on what they're actually doing. Your task is twofold: first, you need to rescue him, and second, find out what they're up to and who they're working for."

He turns to Hal. "Any questions from you?"

Hal nods. "Where exactly are we going and how are we getting there?"

"We're working on figuring out exactly where he is, collecting the data that we can get from his pager. We should have that ready in about fifteen or twenty minutes. Anything else?"

"Just why you're only asking me specifically for questions."

"Because, unlike Janet, you're going to be spending those fifteen minutes elsewhere." He turns to look at you. "You may have noticed that Hal had no difficulty walking through the trapped hallways. This wasn't because you switched the machinery off, either; he was already out here by the time you turned it off. This could indicate one of a number of things, and so we intend to narrow down just what that is." He gestures. "Hal, if you would be so good as to follow these gentlemen?" Hal heads off, flanked by three men in dark suits.

Saint watches them go, then turns back to you. "Any questions?"
action: You ask Saint about Hal
response: "What exactly are you testing Hal for, here?"

"He might have actual clairvoyance, or just a danger sense even more finely honed than yours. Or, it might be something in between. He'll be taking some standard Rhine tests, and a couple of variant ones."
action: You ask Saint about yourself
response: "We're all still just interns. Can you really trust us with something like this?"

"It's a simple infiltrate-and-rescue against other college students. They may have unusual capabilities, but it's not like any of you are mundane either."
action: You ask Saint about Benj
response: "What's happening to Benj?"

"It's hard to tell. His captors taking some symbology from the old gag religion, the Church of the SubGenius, but they're too well-organized and doctrinally uniform to be the real thing. So all we can really see is that they have some very effective indoctrination technique. We need to get him out fast."
action: You ask Saint about Church
response: "What can you tell us about the opposition here?"

"Not a lot. They're taking some symbology from the old gag religion, the Church of the SubGenius, but they're too well-organized and doctrinally uniform to be the real thing. So all we can really see is that they have some very effective indoctrination technique. It's extremely important, then, that we get Benjamin out as soon as possible. In fact, it may already be too late."
action: You ask Saint about the mission
response: That topic's been well-covered already.
action: You examine Saint
response: "Saint" is clearly of East Asian extraction, and you'd guess him to be in his late 30s. His general build implies that he's something of a desk jockey now, but he'd still be more formidable in combat than Hal.

As you understand it, he takes the handle "Saint" to indicate that he's your liason to Higher Powers.
action: You ask Saint about the pager
response: "We're not going to be carrying our pagers on this mission, are we? It seems like a risk."

"No, you won't. Of course, Benj had his when he was captured, so it's a little late for that."
action: You look at what you're carrying with you
response: You are carrying:
a pager
action: Kiss saint
response: Pointless.
action: Kiss saint
response: Pointless.

Hal returns to the briefing room and wordlessly hands a card of some kind to Saint.

Saint glances at the card and pockets it. "All right. We're ready to go. We've located Benjamin -- or, at least, his pager. He's in Skinner Hall, on the first floor. All you have to do is find your way in and get him out."

Hal smiles and pulls a keycard of some kind out of his pocket. "Skinner Hall, you say? That works out rather nicely."

The game is afoot.

Well, here you are. The Foundation tracked Benj to this building, and now you two are going to have to get him out of there. You don't know what kind of opposition there will be, but you've got your stealth and your superior fighting technique to see you through.

Skinner Hall, the campus psychology building, towers over you to the north. You always did get the feeling that the architects wanted the students to feel like rats; tonight, that seems more appropriate than usual.

Hal mills about, trying and failing to look inconspicuous.
action: You ask Hal about the briefing
response: "What was that card you showed Saint at the briefing?"

"It's our ticket into here." He pulls the card out of his pocket and and opens the door in one smooth motion.

"Not bad at all. How'd you hack the card?"

"I didn't. A friend of mine forgot it on Sunday and I haven't seen her to return it yet."

"Fair enough. Let's go." You head in, and follow Hal's lead to a laboratory. The key works there, too.

This room is dimly lit, and it's hard to see much. There seem to be a number of powered-down computer workstations, and a couple of printers or xerox machines or something. Light is coming in from the room to the west. The door you came in is to the south.

Hal is quietly flipping through some documents by the printers.
action: You ask Hal about the card
response: "Where did you find that keycard?"

"A friend of mine forgot it on Sunday and I haven't seen her to return it yet."
action: You ask Hal about the documents
response: "What are you looking at there?"

"Just capturing now; reading later. Looks like status reports on indoctrination experiments, though."
action: You ask Hal about Benj
response: "Do you think Benj is OK?"

"I won't know until I figure out what the SubGenii are up to."
action: You look west
response: Someone's working at a computer in the next room. They aren't watching the door, though, so it should be safe to sneak through.
action: You examine west
response: You see nothing unexpected in that direction.

Hal drops the papers he was looking at, making a noticable noise. Just then, the lights blink on, and a young Asian woman is standing in the doorway.

"What's going on here? HOLD STILL." You freeze up entirely at her voice -- it seems to be talking directly to your nervous system. This can't be good.

Hal, on the other hand, seems mostly unaffected, except with surprise. He picks up the papers he dropped, and then says, "...Bian?"

The woman -- Bian, it seems -- looks puzzled as well. "...Hal?"

"No time, gotta go, bye..." ... you didn't actually know Hal could run that fast.

Bian's confusion doesn't last long. She turns back to you. "Maybe you can help me out. Why don't we have a nice little chat. I'm sure we have a lot to talk about." She hands you a tape recorder. You take it, and nod cheerfully. She seems nice enough, after all...





Active Agent: Hal

Hal's status: OK
Benj's status: COMPROMISED
Janet's status: COMPROMISED
Bian's status: RIVAL

Oh, man. This should have been a completely routine mission. Follow the other guys in, swipe some documents, then get out. That part was fine, and you made it out with a nice set of psychology research documents and internal memoranda from the "League of de Molay."

That's the only good news, though. Not only does the League seem to have an actually functioning mind control system, complete with some kind of sonic will-sapping device, a key figure in the research is your old high school friend Bian Tran!

The documents are in Saint's safekeeping now. They'll be analyzing the bits that can't be made public and trying to decide whether to co-opt, bury, or expose the psychology program.

That bit's their problem. Your problem is now to figure out where you stand with your old friend.

This must be why superheroes keep their identities hidden behind ridiculous costumes.

The sofas are comfortable, and the tables can hold three large pizzas each. This room was really intended more for students to slack off in during off hours than for conducting conspiratorial after-action reports. But it will do. Anyone wandering past will just thing you two are talking politics or something.

Bian smiles weakly as you approach. "Hi, Hal. Have a seat." You join her at the table.
action: You ask Bian about the de molay
response: "What can you tell me about this League of de Molay?"

Bian lifts an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about." "Oh well."
action: You ask Bian about Janet
response: "What have you done to Benj and Janet?"

"Oh, they're basically intact. Possibly a bit confused about their chain of command, though. And you won't have to worry about Janet lurking outside your door or anything."
action: Kiss bian
response: That wouldn't have any relevant effects in the current situation.

Bian looks at you evenly. "I know you read the papers you took from my psych lab."

[1] Confirm
[2] Deny
action: 1
response: "Well, yes. I still can't believe the Psych department let you run experiments like that in public."

"It's legitimate research. All the subjects signed consent forms and waivers. Even your Benj and Janet."

"Really."

"Absolutely."
action: You ask Bian about the cult
response: "OK, this is a stupid question, but I have to ask. Why the SubGenius?"

"It makes indoctrination easy to track. The research group can easily ensure it's not duplicating effort."

"That sounds ominous. What exactly are you trying to spread here?"

"That's the other reason. The doctrine we're using is basically harmless."
action: Bye
response: (to Bian)
You can't think of anything to say on that topic.

"Both Benj and Janet were pretty cooperative when I interviewed them. Janet's still kind of under the belief that she works for the Foundation, but she has some unusual ideas about your chain of command now."

"Given how easy it is for you to find me, why bother with them at all?"

Her look softens for a moment. "All told, I'd just as soon leave you out of it."

You frown inwardly -- she's hiding something from you.

[1] Press for details
[2] Let it pass
action: 1
response: You let that frown become external. "That's not the whole story."

"No, it's not. And it touches on matters I either don't want to talk about, or that I can't figure out at all. If it becomes relevant, we'll talk about it. It's not now. Moving on..."
action: You ask Bian about the research group
response: "What exactly are you guys doing in that lab, anyway?"

Bian lifts an eyebrow. "Didn't you even glance at the papers? We're doing systematic research into indoctrination techniques and how to resist them. We're using devotion to the Church of the SubGenius as a test case."

[1] Practicality objection
[2] Morality objection
[3] No objection
action: 1
response: "And you can publish this stuff?"

"Oh, sure. Lots of journals will take articles on the topic."
action: You ask Bian about the research group
response: That topic's been well-covered already.
action: You ask Bian about yourself
response: No need to ask; you know more about that topic than she does.
action: You ask Bian about the mind control sex
response: That topic's been well-covered already.
action: You ask Bian about the open access science journals
response: "What kind of journals publish results on practical mind control?"

"Psych journals, of course. This kind of thing has been a major issue in social science for decades."
action: Look around
response: Student Lounge (on the sofa)
The sofas are comfortable, and the tables can hold three large pizzas each. This room was really intended more for students to slack off in during off hours than for conducting conspiratorial after-action reports. But it will do. Anyone wandering past will just thing you two are talking politics or something.

Bian continues. "You also managed to get away with a bunch of reports and records."
action: Yes
response: That was a rhetorical question.

"Most of that stuff is harmless, in that it's academic papers and results that were at some point intended for publication, but the other stuff..."

[1] Object to harmlessness of papers
[2] Object to harmfulness of other stuff
action: 2
response: "Wait wait wait. You can't think they'd want to publish the existence of your side? The last thing any of our benefactors would want is for journalists to be poking around about just what kind of influence is behind the funding of college students these days."

"Why wouldn't they want to expose a rival?"

"It would make them more plausible. We can't have that."

"Hmm. I hope you're right."
action: You get up
response: You're in the middle of a conversation.

Bian straightens up a little. "Actually, at this point, I'm quite a bit more worried about you than me."

"Me? How so?"

"Well, as near as I can tell, your cell got broken. Is the Foundation going to want to keep you on?"

[1] Yes, because you've got a contract
[2] Yes, because you didn't fail
action: 1
response: "Sure. I've got a contract, and since it's got to be public, it doesn't have any clauses that hint at the nature of my employers. My grades are all still fine."

"That's a relief." She means it, too; it's written all over her face.
action: You kiss her
response: That wouldn't have any relevant effects in the current situation.

Bian says, "I think we've pretty much covered the ground we need to. Good luck out there, Hal. Until next time."





Active Agent: Janet

Hal's status: OK
Benj's status: COMPROMISED
Janet's status: COMPROMISED
Bian's status: RIVAL

It's been two months since you and your cell stumbled across Bian's psychology experiments. On the other hand, maybe it wasn't so coincidental after all; once you found them, your superiors reassigned you and Benj to help the project out, under Bian's direction.

That's been fairly easy work, actually; simple enough that you haven't had to check in at the Foundation in person since.

Things might be heating up again soon, though. Bian asked for a secret escort back from some meeting tonight. Something must be up.

You're loitering outside the student union auditorium. While this normally wouldn't be the best way to be inconspicuous, there are enough people milling around that one more bored student enjoying the night air will fit in fine.

You stretch, looking over a woman in a blue coat to get a decent view of the doors. Bian should be coming out soon.

Ah, yes, there she is, right behind a woman in a blue blouse. You casually put away the book you were pretending to read, and stand up. That's when you notice that she's chatting with Hal. Well, well. This could be more interesting than you thought.

As they get into the crowd and start walking down the street, you place yourself about 10 feet behind them, ducking past a man in yellow shorts.

"I don't know," Hal says. You lose your quarry momentarily as they turn a corner. Once you catch up, you locate them a bit in front of a man in blue pants. "I can't see why they thought it was a good idea to turn Guardian Application Trist?n into a full-length anime."

You lose your quarry momentarily as they turn a corner. Once you catch up, you locate them a bit in front of a woman in a beige skirt. Bian shrugs. "If someone hired the studio to do it, there'd be no reason not to. Besides, I don't think it was that bad."
action: You examine the woman
response: Which do you mean, the woman in the blue blouse, the woman in the blue coat or the woman in the beige skirt?
action: Punch hal
response: Bian seems to be on good terms with him, so no. Some niggling detail is gnawing at you, also, but you can't quite put your finger on it.

Hal turns to Bian. "So, are your friends around?"

Intent on your pursuit, you almost trip over a man with a grey hat. Mumbling an apology, you continue on. "I think I've got things covered. Besides, you're here."

You slip past a woman in a yellow dress, struggling to keep an eye on Bian. Hal doesn't sound convinced. "Don't give me that." He ducks around a woman in a black skirt and a man with a red backpack. "I don't think I've got the shape for a bodyguard. Unless there's something else on your mind?"

You are caught in a momentary crush, and a woman in a beige skirt elbows her way past you. Bian shrugs. "I don't have anything specific to point at - just the general feeling I'm being watched all the time."
action: About yourself
response: You're in somewhat better shape, and a lot stronger, than you were a year or so ago before your initation, but you're still basically the same old Janet.

Hal doesn't seem convinced. "Why is this odd?"

You slip into the gutter briefly to get past a man in a grey coat. "I already know who my masters have watching me. Your side will obviously just ask you, but there have been some very odd hints that I haven't quite been able to interpret."

Intent on your pursuit, you almost trip over a woman with a beige hat. Mumbling an apology, you continue on. "That reminds me. How have you been weathering the aftermath of that mess two months ago?"

They stop for a moment, as a man with a blue backpack asks them something about a bus stop. Hal says, "One block that way, sir." He thanks him and heads in that direction. "Well, I don't have to worry about where my tuition is coming from next quarter."

"So you're still on with them."

"I can't confirm that."

You cross a street at this point, along with a woman in a beige skirt. "I suppose that's as good an answer as I can hope f...LOOKOUTTHATTRUCK'SNOTGOINGTOSTOP!"

The two of them, and a man in a black shirt, come to a sudden halt as a good-sized truck speeds through the intersection. Bian pulls out a cell phone. "Right. That's one red-light runner that's getting reported." She pauses, suddenly noticing something. "... How did you notice that, Hal? You were looking at me, not the road."

Hal shrugs. "I probably cued on the engine sound or something."
action: You take the beige skirt
response: You don't have time.

The conversation gets a little harder to follow here, as you are stuck behind a man in a yellow coat with no polite way out. "So um, Hal. Did Isaac corner you before you left tonight?"

"Heh, yeah. 'You stick together all the time, you're always watching each other, snipe casually whenever we're around... did you really think we wouldn't notice you're a couple?'"

You slip into the gutter briefly to get past a woman in a beige skirt. "What did you tell him?"

"I kind of dodged the question." A man with a grey hat with a cell phone almost -- but not completely -- drowns them out. "I made a point to not attack the underlying premise, though."

They stop for a moment, as a man in blue pants asks them something about a bus stop. Hal says, "One block that way, sir." He thanks him and heads in that direction. Bian nods. "Great minds think alike. We should keep up the embarrassed silence bit. It serves our purposes, and it implies that they were right. We win both ways." You duck past a man with a grey backpack. "We got really lucky that they hit on a theory that's consistent but false."

Hal slows down a little. "Hm. One thing still bothers me, though..."
action: You wait for a while
response: Time passes.

"What's on your mind, Hal?"

You breeze past a woman in a red shirt. "Tell me you didn't do anything to Lawrence when denying it."

You duck past a woman in a beige skirt. "OK. 'I didn't do anything to Lawrence.' Happy?"

"No!" That's the angriest you've heard him so far. "I read the papers you guys had written. I know what you can do."

You gingerly step over a panhandling woman in a black skirt. "You know full well I don't use it on neutral parties, and we both already agreed that he is one. LET THE MATTER DROP."

You suddenly find yourself contemplating whether you'd rather have pizza or ramen for dinner tonight, and shake your head to restore your focus. You notice a man in a beige coat and a woman in blue shorts, nearby, also apparently dazed by the force of Bian's command.

Hal, however, is unfazed. "Wow. Intonation just so, posture, word choice... even your eyebrows are calculated to put your demands right into the hindbrain. Those psych studies you did are really impressive, though I suppose some of that was your benefactors. Too bad it doesn't work if you can see the wires."
action: You wake
response: You already have.

Hal and Bian walk in silence for a while. Bian then suddenly says, "You're a P.S.I. sensitive, aren't you." Intent on your pursuit, you almost trip over a woman with a beige backpack. Mumbling an apology, you continue on. "... and you just blanched. Don't even try to deny it."

A woman in a grey dress tries to hand you a pamphlet of some sort. You reject her with a gesture, then continue. "I'll have you know that my bosses checked, and they said I had no ESP capabilities of any kind."

They shift to single file for a bit, long enough to let a man in yellow pants pass. "Not what I meant. If they checked you with Zener cards, they'd show you doing well when you can see the card backs, but only chance when you couldn't."

Hal remains silent. You weave past a woman in a beige skirt, trying to keep them in sight.

Bian breaks the silence. You are caught in a momentary crush, and a man in black shorts elbows his way past you. "Pre-Sapient Interpretation. You're pulling more subtle info out of your vision and sound than usual. That's how you found the truck. That's how you can beat the Voice. And it's almost certainly why they sent you to keep an eye on me."
action: You wait for a while
response: Time passes.

As they reach the next intersection, Hal and Bian are stopped by a man with a yellow backpack. "Hi there!"

Hal pauses. "Um, yes?"

The man with the yellow backpack presses a large pamphlet into Hal's hand. "Before we continue, please take this book."

"... this book is full of nothing but As, Ts, Cs, and Gs. What is this, some kind of DNA sequence?"

"Human Genome project. I'm open source!"

"Um... thanks." They move hurriedly on. You can't help but notice that Hal kept the book, though. That could be ominous.

You ensure that this nut is involved giving his spiel to a woman in green pants and a woman in grey pants before slipping past. You don't want to lose Bian.

Once the man with the yellow backpack is out of earshot, Bian says, "That may be the most profoundly idiotic campaign I've ever seen."

A woman in a beige skirt catches your eye as you continue. Hal nods. "I have to wonder who's funding this."

A man in a yellow shirt catches your eye as you continue. Hal suddenly stops. "We turn right at the next corner."

"What?"

"Hurry. No time."

"... right." They both speed up. You make an effort to stay inconspicuous while following along, but it's getting harder at this speed.
action: You ask Hal about the genome
response: You can't think of anything to say on that topic.

Something's spooked Hal, and Bian seems to be playing along. As they shift through the crowd, you begin to walk faster, leaving a wave of annoyed people in a wake.

You're not the only one. Another wake follows behind a woman in a beige skirt, well ahead of you. She is clearly closing in on Bian and Hal, and it doesn't look like you're going to be able to reach the woman in the beige skirt before she reaches Bian.

So much for subtlety. "Bian!" you shout. "Behind you! The woman in the beige skirt!"

Said woman in a beige skirt pulls several small objects out of her pocket as you shout, and throws one at you and one at Bian and her companion. There isn't really enough room to dodge. You hear a "pop" noise near your feet and smoke begins to pour out. It's strong stuff, whatever it is; you begin to cough and hack, and your eyes water. The rest of the bystanders seem affected as well. You have trouble moving.

The next thing you remember clearly is your arm on fire with pain, as paramedics hand you a tube to breathe out of. You don't seem to have been moved, but Bian is nowhere to be seen.





Active Agent: Benj

Hal's status: OK
Benj's status: COMPROMISED
Janet's status: NEUTRALIZED
Bian's status: CAPTURED

What a month.

First Psych department zombies kidnap you, and then it turns out this is some kind of project led by Bian, and you and Janet are working under her now. Not that this is a bad thing, mind; these days you're mostly doing memory tests and the like, though you have had a bit more trouble thinking straight lately. Bian's probably one of the best people you've worked for or with, though.

She's also been kind of edgy this past week, and she didn't show up to your regular meeting today.

You were starting to get a little curious about where she was when the lab phone rang. When you picked it up, you heard a voice you didn't recognize.

"Bian's in trouble. Report to room 203 of Knuth Hall at 6 PM tonight. Wait for the Saints."

Well, that's one way to motivate you to show up.

203 Knuth (in a front row seat)
There does seem to be a certain similarity to these briefings after a time. You suppose it was too much to hope for that secret societies would get to have fancy multimedia projectors for their field presentations. Of course, had they done that, they wouldn't really be staying secret for long.
I beg your pardon?
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

As you try to get comfortable in your seat, you hear the doors open again. It's your old boss, as well as your old teammate Hal. He didn't transfer with the rest of you. Your old boss gives you an unreadable look, and stays back by the door, checking his watch.

Hal takes a seat a few away from yours as the doors open again, revealing two more people; Janet, and a man you don't recognize. You'd guess him to be the man who placed the phone call.

Your old boss takes a seat a row behind you as the other man takes the stage and begins to speak.

"Taking a back seat, Ling?"

He sounds annoyed. "You've already pulled most of my cell here on your own, Chatarras. Mr. Moore and I seem to just be along for the ride."

The man at the podium -- Agent Chatarras, apparently -- smirks. "I'm sure that would be news to them. As my esteemed counterpart, Agent Ling of the Foundation, noted, this is indeed primarily a situation for the League of de Molay, but the rest of you are going to be in the blast radius if this goes south."

"In short, we have become a victim of our own success. The studies surrounding our uncontrolled grailkin have borne greater fruit than we could have ever expected, and as a result the project is undeniably compromised. The Priory of Sion, an old and mutual rival, has noticed this and already taken action. We need to stop them before their reports can filter up to their superiors. Fortunately, their locals are reasonably well concentrated, and our research has already been able to develop an effective countermeasure. However, they've captured Bian, and we need her to use it. You will need to find her and give her the materials she needs to cover her tracks."

He looks across the gathered agents. "Any questions?"

[1] Total bafflement
[2] Vague comprehension
action: About yourself
response: [I need some kind of reaction from you to continue the scene. Enter a number, or say REPEAT to reacquaint yourself with your options.]
action: 1
response: "Er, yes. Could we have that from the top, in English?"

Chatarras looks at you. "Bian Tran, the woman you've been working for, is actually one of our agents." Wait, what? Chatarras continues as if this is of no importance whatsoever. "She's also got a very rare psychological ability that, until we found her, was the exclusive province of the Priory of Sion, an old rival of both the League and the Foundation. They've managed to capture her, and we need to get her out and use her talent to wipe out the evidence they've collected. I've left a fair amount of context out here, but I'll happily clarify anything you want details on. Ask about anything you'd like."
action: You say dun dun dun
response: Whom do you want to say that to?
action: You ask Chatarras about Bian
response: "So, is Bian the only trainee you have here?"

"We've been trying to keep her under wraps, so the idea was to keep her in a mundane environment."
action: You ask Chatarras about yourself
response: "I'm not really a badass secret agent. Why trust Bian's safety to me?"

"We hear you're good at infiltration; both defeating security and not being noticed."

"The SubGenii seem to have noticed me."

"Actually, that's just that the Psychology Department doesn't like the CS Department."
action: You ask Chatarras about the grailkin
response: "What exactly are the 'grailkin' you mentioned?"

Chatarras pauses. "The short answer is that they're people with Bian's talent for command. Do you really want the long answer?"

Hal answers before you can. "Yes. I have a sinking suspicion about it, but I'd like to be proven wrong."

"The name itself comes from an old claim that the pre-Charlemagne kings of France were direct descendants of Jesus Christ..."

Janet interrupts. "Wait, wait. I've seen this movie."

Hal sighs. "Yeah, this is what I was afraid of."

Chatarras scowls. "The relevant part here is that the bloodline carries a talent for command. Until Bian, every member of the bloodline has been associated solely with the Priory of Sion, either voluntarily or by force. When anti-nobility sentiment swept France during the Revolution, the Priory fled with the grailkin to the colonies in French Indochina. Bian's family escaped their notice and control during the Vietnam war and came to America as refugees. That's where we found them."
action: You ask Chatarras about Jesus
response: "Are the grailkin actually descendants of Jesus?"

Hal glares at you. "Oh, for Christ's sake, Benj."

Chatarras shrugs. "We've never particularly cared. The talent is real now, after all."

You lift an eyebrow. "What about that line of kings?"

"The Priory's old enough that they could actually notice who had it then. It's pretty likely that at least some of them had the talent."
action: You ask Chatarras about Priory of Sion
response: "This is the first I've heard of the Priory being an actual organization. What are we up against?"

"They're rather more... traditional than either of our groups. That makes them a bit more dangerous, but it also means they have trouble keeping information flowing properly. That's what's giving us our window to strike."
action: You ask Chatarras about Hal
response: "What's Hal going to be doing?"

"He's been helping work out where Bian could be."
action: You ask Chatarras about Saint
response: "How do you know Saint?"

"I am Saint."

"Er." You look at Saint.

Saint shakes his head. "The name 'Saint' is a job title. We're the students' liaison to Higher Powers. So we cross paths occasionally, typically when our charges get in one another's way. Except you four were better than most at hiding it."
action: You ask Chatarras about the higher Powers
response: "Can you tell me more about this talent of Bian's?"

"It's hereditary. It's supposed to make one the perfect leader. The Priory of Sion has been trying for centuries to restore the bloodline with the Voice of Command to the throne that was taken from it. In our investigations--"

He is cut off as Janet explodes. "Our ancient rivals are trying to put a nineteen-year old Vietnamese-American girl onto the nonexistent throne of France?"

Chatarras looks at her with quiet amusement. "How much stranger is that than half the stuff you've been shutting down on this campus?"

"Point. But still. You'd think they'd have been shut down ages ago."

"In any event, with the research we've been doing with Bian, it seems that this talent involves the ability to give short commands that will nearly always be obeyed. With more subtle applications, one can implant false memories or instill specific belief systems. We're still working out the applications, as well as how easily they can be mechanically duplicated or neutralized."
action: You ask Chatarras about Janet
response: "Is Janet part of this?"

"Not with her broken arm. She's been helping Hal and me with the intelligence analysis."
action: You examine janet
response: Janet's tied her red hair back today, which is unusual, but she still looks as sharp as ever even taking the cast on her right arm into account. You must admit, you've always sort of considered Janet to be invincible, and it's disconcerting at some level to see evidence that this isn't true. Nevertheless, you're glad she transferred with you to Bian's project, and it's nice to see her.
action: You ask Janet about the arm
response: You should probably keep your questions to the cell leaders.
action: Wait
response: "Let's get started."

Saint interrupts. "Actually, I'd like some more specific orders first."

Chatarras nods. "You,  Benjamin and I will each search one Priory facility in the area. Hal, you've done your part already in helping find these places, so you're done. We'll contact you later. Everyone else, go to Skinner Hall to get your kits for Bian. If you find her, she will be able to make the memory scramblers. Place the scramblers in their Public Address systems; there should be a switchboard somewhere, and you'll probably want to doctor the receptionists' systems as well."

Hal stands up. "Good luck."

This is it. You haven't gotten a much clearer idea about where Bian is other than "this building, maybe" but that will have to do. The rest of the recon -- and the rescue -- falls on you and your allies. This building looks pretty much like any other office building -- a fact of some credit to the Priory, given how most of your foes have been lately. The main entrance is to the north; an alleyway sneaks around the building to the northwest.

[The gloves are off now. This would be a good time to save the game.]
action: Blah
response: Ok.
action: Go northwest
response: It's not that filthy, as alleys go; there are some newspapers scattered about, stirred by breezes from the exit to the southeast, but that's about it.

The stairs of a fire escape weave their way up the side of the building.
action: You examine the newspapers
response: Scattered pages of old newspapers rustle gently in the breeze.
action: Up
response: This is the top of the fire escape, one story up. A door to the east leads into the building itself.
action: You examine the door
response: Just a heavy white door, designed to keep fire on one side of it but let people through.
action: You check your inventory
response: You are carrying:
a scrambler kit
some lockpicks
action: You look at the lockpicks
response: Your lockpicks are small, thin, flexible strips of metal. You've had a fair amount of practice with them, courtesy the Weishaupt Foundation, and you can defeat most mechanical locks as long as you have them.
action: You unlock door
response: What do you want to unlock the door with?
action: Kiss door
response: You can only do that to something animate.
action: You look at the escape
response: Which do you mean, the fire escape staircase or the door?
action: You look at the staircase
response: Sturdy steel stairs and railings. It could easily let you evacuate a hundred people quickly and safely.
action: You enter
response: (first opening the door)
There's no handle on this side.
action: You examine the scrambler
response: This is a small sealed packet that you are to give to Bian if you find her. It will let her build the memory scramblers that are your true mission.
action: You look around
response: This is the top of the fire escape, one story up. A door to the east leads into the building itself.
action: Go downward
response: It's not that filthy, as alleys go; there are some newspapers scattered about, stirred by breezes from the exit to the southeast, but that's about it.

The stairs of a fire escape weave their way up the side of the building.
action: You go southeast
response: This building looks pretty much like any other office building -- a fact of some credit to the Priory, given how most of your foes have been lately. The main entrance is to the north; an alleyway sneaks around the building to the northwest.
action: Go north
response: (first opening the front door)
It seems to be locked.
action: You unlock the door with the lockpicks
response: You fiddle with your lockpicks and manage to defeat the lock on the front door.
action: Go north
response: (first opening the front door)
Entrance
From the front, this looks like it could be the office of any medium-sized company. The receptionist's desk forms a north "wall" of sorts here, making the main entrance less of a foyer and more of a hallway that turns sharply to the east.
action: You examine the desk
response: This is an undistinguished but perfectly servicable reception desk, made of the finest imitation lumber. The phones Past it, to the north, is the place the receptionist sits. You could probably climb over it to get past it.
action: You climb the desk
response: You clamber over the receptionist's desk to enter the employee area.

A flimsy partition makes it a little harder to see the back office to the north. A desk forms a wall of sorts to the south, but the main entrance is still quite visible past it. The building's staircase lies to the west.
action: Go west
response: A small spiral staircase leads up from here to the upper story. The main offices lie to the east.
action: You ascend
response: This narrow hall gives you decent cover from anyone else on the floor. It opens into a cubicle farm to the east and leads down to the main offices. Past the cubicle farm, a good distance to the east, you can make out a corridor that turns north.

You hear footsteps from the far corridor.
action: You listen
response: You hear nothing unexpected.

You hear footsteps from the far corridor.
action: You go east
response: You duck into a cubicle to hide from the patrol.

This looks disappointingly like an ordinary corporate workspace. Cubicles line the walls, and a well-defined hallway made out of cubicle walls leads north and east. An actual hallway leads to the west a short distance, leading to a stairway.

You hear footsteps from the far corridor.
action: Go north
response: You duck out from your hiding space and into another cubicle to stay hidden from the patrol.

The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. A proper wall is to your west, but you can move north, east, or south freely.

You hear footsteps from the far corridor.
action: Go north
response: You duck out from your hiding space and into another cubicle to stay hidden from the patrol.

The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. You're in the northwest corner now, and so can move east or south. The fire exit is to the west.

You can hear the guard walking in the northeast of the cubicle farm. You shrink further into a cubicle to hide.
action: Sing
response: This isn't a karaoke bar.

The guard arrives from the east.

The guard walks by you, oblivious.
action: You examine guard
response: He is an unsmiling, large man in a grey suit.

The guard goes south.

You can hear the guard walking in the west of the cubicle farm. You shrink further into a cubicle to hide.
action: You go east
response: You leave the cover of the cube, but the cubicle farm doesn't give you enough cover to move undetected. The guard sees you from the west of the cubicle farm.

You hear a shout from the west of the cubicle farm, and turn to see the guard pulling something out of his vest. You try to dive out of the way, but too late; you feel a sting in your shoulder and start feeling very sleepy.

As you fight to keep your eyes open, you hope that's just a sleeping drug...
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking in the west of the cubicle farm. You shrink further into a cubicle to hide.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking in the southwest of the cubicle farm. You shrink further into a cubicle to hide.
action: You wait a while
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking in the southeast of the cubicle farm. You shrink further into a cubicle to hide.
action: Go east
response: You leave the cover of the cube, but the cubicle farm doesn't give you enough cover to move undetected. The guard sees you from the southeast of the cubicle farm.

You hear a shout from the southeast of the cubicle farm, and turn to see the guard pulling something out of his vest. You try to dive out of the way, but too late; you feel a sting in your shoulder and start feeling very sleepy.

As you fight to keep your eyes open, you hope that's just a sleeping drug...
action: You wait
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking out of the cubicle farm towards the eastern corridor.
action: You go east
response: You duck out from your hiding space and into another cubicle to stay hidden from the patrol.

The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. You're in the northeast corner now; the room continues to the west and south, and a corridor leads off to the east.

You can hear the guard walking in the south corner of the corridor.
action: Go south
response: You duck out from your hiding space and into another cubicle to stay hidden from the patrol.

The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. A proper wall is to your east, but you can move north, west, or south freely.

You can hear the guard walking in the middle of the corridor.
action: Go east
response: You duck out from your hiding space.

This short hall connects the cubicle farm to the west to the hallway to the east.

You can hear the guard walking in the middle of the corridor.
action: Go east
response: You're walking down a narrow corridor that leads west to the main cubicle farm and south to various supporting rooms.

You can hear the guard walking in the middle of the corridor.
action: You go south
response: You're walking down a north-south corridor with a door marked "maintenance" to the west.

A guard patrols the upper floor, and is nearby.

The guard goes north.

There's nowhere to hide in this corridor. The guard sees you easily.

You hear a shout from the north corner of the corridor, and turn to see the guard pulling something out of his vest. You try to dive out of the way, but too late; you feel a sting in your shoulder and start feeling very sleepy.

As you fight to keep your eyes open, you hope that's just a sleeping drug...
action: Go west
response: This short hall connects the cubicle farm to the west to the hallway to the east.

There's nowhere to hide in this corridor. The guard sees you easily.

You hear a shout from the north corner of the corridor, and turn to see the guard pulling something out of his vest. You try to dive out of the way, but too late; you feel a sting in your shoulder and start feeling very sleepy.

As you fight to keep your eyes open, you hope that's just a sleeping drug...
action: Look around
response: This short hall connects the cubicle farm to the west to the hallway to the east.

You can hear the guard walking in the middle of the corridor.
action: You go west
response: You duck into a cubicle to hide from the patrol.

The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. You're in the northeast corner now; the room continues to the west and south, and a corridor leads off to the east.

You can hear the guard walking in the north corner of the corridor.
action: You wait for a while
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking out of the eastern corridor towards the cubicle farm.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

The guard arrives from the east.

The guard walks by you, oblivious.
action: You wait
response: Time passes.

The guard goes west.

You can hear the guard walking in the northwest of the cubicle farm. You shrink further into a cubicle to hide.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking in the west of the cubicle farm. You shrink further into a cubicle to hide.
action: You go south
response: You duck out from your hiding space and into another cubicle to stay hidden from the patrol.

The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. A proper wall is to your east, but you can move north, west, or south freely.

You can hear the guard walking in the south corner of the corridor.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking in the middle of the corridor.
action: Go east
response: You can't go that way.

You can hear the guard walking in the north corner of the corridor.
action: Go south
response: You duck out from your hiding space and into another cubicle to stay hidden from the patrol.

The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. You're in the southeast corner now; the room continues to the west and north, and a corridor leads off to the east.

You can hear the guard walking out of the eastern corridor towards the cubicle farm.
action: You go east
response: You duck out from your hiding space.

This short hall connects the cubicle farm to the west to the hallway to the east.

You can hear the guard walking in the northeast of the cubicle farm.
action: Go east
response: You're walking down a narrow corridor that leads west to the main cubicle farm and north to various supporting rooms.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: You go north
response: You're walking down a north-south corridor with a unisex restroom door to the west.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: Go west
response: This is a small unisex restroom, and looks much as you would expect; commode, sink, various stern warnings about hygiene.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: Flush toilet
response: You don't want to make unnecessary noise here.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: You sit
response: No need.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: You wait
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking out of the cubicle farm towards the eastern corridor.
action: You take the crap
response: You don't need to, and even if you did, now is not the time or place.

You can hear the guard walking in the south corner of the corridor.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking in the north corner of the corridor.
action: You wait for a while
response: Time passes.

You can hear the guard walking out of the eastern corridor towards the cubicle farm.
action: You go east
response: You're walking down a north-south corridor with a unisex restroom door to the west.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: You go north
response: You're walking down a north-south corridor with a door marked "maintenance" to the west.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: Go west
response: (first opening the door)
It seems to be locked.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: You pick lock
response: You fiddle with your lockpicks and manage to defeat the lock on the door.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.
action: You go west
response: (first opening the door)
Electrical Maintenance
This is about the size of a supply closet, but the walls are full of switchboards and powerboxes, not cleaning supplies. The public address system is almost certainly routed through here.

You hear footsteps from the cubicle farm.

Bian watches you walk in. "Heh. I figured they'd send somebody. I didn't expect it to be you."

You take a small bow. "At your service."

"Cut that out. You'll make them think this 'grailkin' thing is real."

You hand Bian the package Chatarras gave you. "We've got some work to do before we go. Here."

Bian takes the package from you, opens it, and flips through a paper. She then smiles grimly. "OK. You can't be around when I do this. Step outside for a moment, please."
action: Go east
response: As you head out, Bian suddenly says "WAIT."

Time passes.

You turn to look at Bian, and she has an odd look on her face. "I have a better idea. You wait in here for a few minutes. I'll be right back." She slips out.
action: You look at the switchboard
response: You can really only vaguely guess what this stuff does, though you can at least distinguish stuff that talks to phones from stuff that talks to high voltage. You went into Computer Science so that you wouldn't have to deal with messy physical objects like these.
action: Look around
response: This is about the size of a supply closet, but the walls are full of switchboards and powerboxes, not cleaning supplies. The public address system is almost certainly routed through here.

Bian opens the door again. "All right. That guard won't be bothering us again. I need to clear out, but you've got one thing left to do."

She hands you two small devices that look like phone filters. "These are meme bombs that will, if we can hook them into the public address system, get my voice to their whole cell and clear out all their knowledge of this. You need to place them for maximum effect. This electrical room has part of the PA system; you'll need to put one here and one at a place where the voices are likely to initiate. Check for secretaries, I guess."

You gingerly accept the meme bombs. "OK. I take it you'll be taking off to build more of these for the others?"

"You bet. Good luck." She ducks out.
action: You check what you're carrying
response: You are carrying:
two meme bombs
some lockpicks
action: You examine the bomb
response: This innocuous looking device looks like a telephone line filter. However, if Bian's done her work right, they should wipe all knowledge of her from the people here. You'll need to place one on each end of the public address system in this office.

The meme bomb is currently switched off.
action: You put the bomb on the switchboard
response: You find the box that handles the public address system in the building and connect the meme bomb to it.
action: You turn on the bomb
response: (the meme bomb)
You switch the meme bomb on.
action: You examine meme bomb
response: This innocuous looking device looks like a telephone line filter. However, if Bian's done her work right, they should wipe all knowledge of her from the people here. You'll need to place one on each end of the public address system in this office.

The meme bomb is currently switched on.
action: Go west
response: This short hall connects the cubicle farm to the west to the hallway to the east.
action: You go west
response: The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. You're in the southeast corner now; the room continues to the west and north, and a corridor leads off to the east.
action: You go north
response: The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. A proper wall is to your east, but you can move north, west, or south freely.
action: You go to the west
response: The cubicle farm continues through this area. describing a squarish path around this room. A proper wall is to your west, but you can move north, east, or south freely.
action: You go south
response: This looks disappointingly like an ordinary corporate workspace. Cubicles line the walls, and a well-defined hallway made out of cubicle walls leads north and east. An actual hallway leads to the west a short distance, leading to a stairway.
action: Go west
response: This narrow hall gives you decent cover from anyone else on the floor. It opens into a cubicle farm to the east and leads down to the main offices. Past the cubicle farm, a good distance to the east, you can make out a corridor that turns north.
action: You go downward
response: A small spiral staircase leads up from here to the upper story. The main offices lie to the east.
action: Go east
response: A flimsy partition makes it a little harder to see the back office to the north. A desk forms a wall of sorts to the south, but the main entrance is still quite visible past it. The building's staircase lies to the west.
action: You examine the desk
response: This is an undistinguished but perfectly servicable reception desk, made of the finest imitation lumber. The phones Past it, to the south, is the main entrance to the building. You could probably climb over it to get past it.
action: You put the bomb on the phones
response: You connect the meme bomb to the main phone line at the front desk.

That should do it. You clear out of the building and take a few busses to nowhere to confuse the trail.

On the third bus, you get a phone call from Bian's cell.

"Hello, Bian. Everything's done."

"Great." Yes, that's Bian all right. "How's your reception?"

"Pretty good. Why?"

"OK. I'm a woman of my word, so listen carefully." You can't really make out what she says next. "You should probably go report in the usual location now. Thanks a lot for your part in all this." She then hangs up.

You're practically through the doors at the Weishaupt Foundation office before you realize that you've been heading here instead of Skinner Hall. Janet and Saint are waiting for you.

Saint nods as you walk in. "Bian's trail is covered. The League claims to be staying out of our way here for the foreseeable future, and the Priory operations here will be severely disrupted by the memory scramblers. So things seem to be mostly settled down for awhile."

"You sound awful sanguine."

"We aren't complete idiots. We've been studying the papers produced by Bian's colleagues, and we'd like to have our psychologists take a look at you to make sure you aren't a Manchurian candidate. If you would walk this way, please?" He gestures at a pair of unsmiling men in suits and mirrorshades near a back door.

"Uh, sure." But even as you're heading to the test, you know you'll be OK. You've been thinking more clearly in the past half-hour than you have been in the past month. You'll be ready for anything, once they trust you enough to take it on.
action: Endnotes
response: Congratulations!
Things to try
Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return

Well done! You've completed a playthrough. The route through the plot you took was:

The team raided a secret society of alchemists operating out of the basement of the Chemistry building.
Hal located and retrieved Bian's keycard.
Benj was captured by the SubGenii.
Janet found and deactivated the control systems for the trapped briefing room.
Janet was captured attempting to retreive Benj.
Hal and Bian came to a detente regarding their situation.
Janet failed to defend Bian from capture.
The team was sent to rescue Bian.
Benj helped Bian escape from her captors and stabilized the local
power structure.

Your effectiveness rating is 20%.
Your subtlety rating is 30%.
Your canonicality rating is 40%.

> Congratulations!
Things to try
Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return

> Congratulations!
Things to try
Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return
action: Go north
response: Congratulations!
> Things to try
Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return

Congratulations!
> Things to try
Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return

The path you took through the game is only one of many possible. On a replay, you might want to try achieving some of these alternate outcomes:

Benj has several opportunities to escape the SubGenii. The easiest involves finding a non-obvious exit that the SubGenii have neglected to guard.

If Benj evades the SubGenii, you can exploit his misfortune to find a unique way through the trapped hallway at the Foundation.

Janet's capture significantly affects the rest of the game. You should try putting yourself in a position where Bian can't find you, then ensure she can't catch you later.

Bian got captured in Chapter 5; you could try to prevent this.

Congratulations!
> Things to try
Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return

Congratulations!
> Things to try
Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return
action: You go north
response: Congratulations!
Things to try
> Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return

Congratulations!
Things to try
> Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return
These are more Easter Eggs or silly responses than serious, plot-affecting suggestions. Have you tried...

... reading the Alchemists' worthless papers?
... raiding Isaac's fridge?
... XYZZY?
... As each character?
... Ordering Benj to sing, dance, or pray when he's suggestible?
... Attacking or kissing Benj when he's suggestible?
... Actually referring to Janet's "l33t n1nj4 sk1llz" as such during the Skinner Raid?
... Taking inventory afterwards?

Congratulations!
Things to try
> Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return

Congratulations!
Things to try
> Silly things to try
History of the game
List of influences
Return
action: Blah
response: Ok.
action: XYZZY
response: That trick only works in adventure games.
action: Raid fridge
response: Please answer yes or no.>
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