Childhood's End

**Childhood's End** is a Story Quest in *They Came From Below* DLC. It starts as soon as the cutscene begins between Roger and James during Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

## Objectives

* Talk to James
* Enter the Conversion facility
* Find another way into the facility
* Get past the big Robot and friends
* Disable the laser wall
* Get to Faraday's machine
* Destroy Faraday's machines 0/3
* Defeat Faraday's robots
* Return to James

## In-Game Description

We might never see eye to mechanical eye with them... but even robots don't deserve a fate like this. It's too awful. I've got to find that Positronic Converter of Dr. F's and scrap it for good.

Hmm, it's blocked. I wonder if there's a path around this corner here... hopefully not involving any big scary leaps of anything.
I need to get through those lasers.
There must be a switch in here somewhere. I hope that doesn't mean I have to tangle with Mr. Big over here. He looks tough.

Better switch this off else I end up julienned like the carrots in one of Moo's salad.

That Positronic Converter will make wretched slaves of living, feeling, things. I've got to throw in a very big spanner in it before Dr. F makes a terrible mistake.

If I can only find my way here, I might find a way to disable it.

I should smash these horrible devices right away, or we might never see an end of these Faraday robots.

This could be the end of everything... I guess that means Moo and me too. I've got to get back to him before it's too late.

## Walkthrough

*"How many worlds are lost when we kill each other. What could we win if we would only talk."*
— Roger after he defeats the Boss Robots.After attempting to reason with James, head down the stairs and go into the Conversion facility.

Down the hall, the door to the elevator is locked, forcing the player to get around through a hole in the mountain to the left of the door. Take the gondola ride to the other side, the Curious Device is able to move it.

While on the ride, a small memory of a conversation between James and Roger will play out in dialogue form, in which James cheered Roger up by reassuring him that if something horrible were to happen, he could rise to the occasion.

After the ride comes to a stop, the player will have to jump from that gondola and onto the one next to it, taking it around to a room. In the room, the player will get ambushed by two Boss and three regular robots.

When the robots have been dealt with, go to the far end of the room to the right and get on the elevator, use the Curious Device to move it upwards before jumping onto the other elevator. At the top, jump onto the platform and traverse to the control desk with the switch, flip it.

Now get back down by any desirable means and go through the now unblocked door. Here, the player will find a room with one regular robot patrolling the area, they can either kill or sneak past the robot and head to the corner of the room which has a vent attached to the wall. Climb up the container and crawl inside.

The vent will lead to a room where Faraday is testing her security system with missiles, one will home in one the five test robots in the middle before shifting gears and home home in on Roger. The player can use the Chronobomb to shoot the missiles before it hits them safely.

When this is done, head outside to the right and get onto the gondola. When the player gets off, they'll find the room where the Positronic Converter is set up, though it's gone offline. Dr. Faraday orders Roger to check on it, though he refuses to, causing Faraday to send in six regular and one Boss robot to eliminate Roger, be sure to get rid of them first before doing anything else.

After they've all died, the player can use the Curious Device to open up the glass panels protecting the explosive barrels, shoot all three to destroy the converter. Faraday is shocked as to what Roger has done, deciding to catalyze the motilene and burn the whole facility down to stop the robots from killing everybody, showing no concern if the robots in their own world die too.

James will shout at Roger through the Talkie, ordering him to come back to the base immediately. The quest ends once the player returns.

## Collectibles

### Notes that the player will gather

* Friendship (On the metal container next outside of the room with the boss robots)

## Transcript

### **Peace and Conflict**

Open/Close

James: Did you have a nice spot of tea with your new robot friend?

Roger: Dr. Faraday's planning to make worshipful slaves out of the robots.

James: They are mechanical servants, Roger. That's the entire point of their existence.

Roger: How would you like it if someone you hate reprogrammed you to love them instead?

James: I suppose I'd be blissfully happy, wouldn't I? Nothing like being in love.

Roger: You don't find that at all horrifying?

James: Not like you do, no. You grew up expecting to be free. That's the lovely thing about you. You never look down to see if you were on solid ground, so you just look at the moon and the stars all day long.

James: But where I come from, everybody has a job. And nothing's worse than not belonging to anybody.

Roger: What if we didn't have to kill them all? What if we could go to their world and learn from them --

James: -- What, make friends with them? You're like that lord that kept an Indian tiger for a house cat. Until it ate him.

James: We're going to find Dr. Faraday, who is smarter even than you, and we're going to help HER do whatever SHE thinks makes sense. All right?

Roger: You can't see that we could be at the threshold of something bewildering and beautiful.

Roger: You refuse to.

James: Fuck's sake, Roger!

### **The Cave**

Open/Close

Roger: She seems to have locked the door.

James: (Radio) Look for a sort of crack in the wall.

### **Flashback**

Open/Close

James: What's wrong, Puppy?

Roger: Oh, you know.

James: I made you a cake.

Roger: I'm thirty four years old. Jesus was already dead.

James: Well, he went into the family business. That always gives you a leg up.

Roger: At least you fought for king and country.

James: And if all we ever do is make each other happy, that's not enough?

Roger: No, yeah, of course it is.

James: Hey, maybe something will go horribly wrong, and you'll rise to the occasion.

Roger: You always know how to cheer me up, James.

### **The Boss Robot**

Open/Close

Roger: There is a very big, very mean looking robot here.

James: (Radio) You're not doing anything foolish, are you, Pup?

### **The Positronic Converter**

Open/Close

Helen: There you are again. You can actually be of some use. The positronic converter has gone a bit wonky. I need you to check if it's got power.

Roger: You're enslaving them. Worse. Making them love their slavery. So they can work the fields for you.

Helen: They are tools. And whoever constructed them thoughtfully gave them feedback loops so their user doesn't have to program each and every behaviour. I'm just changing the numbers!

Roger: They're a race of intelligent people!

Helen: They're not. And they're killing actual people.

Helen: I don't know what you think you're doing here, but if I can't get my positronic converter up and running, they'll kill every last one of you.

Helen: Right! I'm putting a stop to this right now.

### **Goodnight, Sweet Prince**

Open/Close

Helen: Oh, my God, Roger. What did you do?

Roger: I've smashed it.

Helen: I have to set off the reaction after all.

Roger: What reaction?

Helen: The motilene. I have to catalyze it. Set it all on fire. Burn all the robots on this side of the portal. Or they'll kill us all... All my research gone to waste.

Roger: What about the ones on the other side? The ones in their own world?

Helen: They'll burn, too, I suppose. And there's a non-zero chance the mines under Wellington Wells will explode. Brilliant job, Roger. I won't be needing your services any more.

James: (Radio) ROGER! COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!

## Trivia

* The name of the quest is a reference to the science fiction novel of the same name.

## Gallery

Get Out Fast.Undetermined.Be Prepared to Defend Yourself.Bad Dog Here.