Alien_Background.png
<SHOW!3!neutral@Character_Right>
"Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence. I sigh and shake my head."
G: "Okay, so a portal was summoned. Let me try and see if we can reverse-engineer this. Can you show me what happened just before?"
"If I'm prepared, I can undo it without sucking half the office into the fifth dimension."
"She ponders this and nods."
TRIA303_AH.wav
3: "I was attempting a write a pivot table to double my RAM, to better manage direct deposit."
"I have no words."
"She does a series of keystrokes fast enough that I have trouble keeping track without magic, and I start to feel a pull forward."
"The portal opens wide. The computer tower and monitor are floating in front of us in a colourful void. A void that's tugging at everyone and everything at the office."
"A pencil flies past me at high speed."
"I shout an anchoring spell. The office stays still. I had the time to prepare, so everyone in the room should be safe."
TRIA303_CAME_IN_PEACE.wav
3: "It... isn't safe to reach into there, theoretically."
G: "More than theoretically."
"I take a deep breath."
"Fly to me, strings of reality!"
"I gather the fibers that reach through existence..."
[CG 3]
hide@R
hide@L
hide@Speaker_Background
hide@Speaker_Text
hide@Nametag_Background
hide@Nametag_text
ComputerWarp.wav
Vortex_Screen.png
...1.5
N0G: Okay, I would. But it's cheaper and easier to just use this nearby box of RJ45 cables.
N0G: They unfurl, reach into the dimension, and snap around the equipment. I raise my arm, and the cables strain and haul out the tower and monitor.
Alien_Background.png
G: "Now hit escape!"
TRIA303_UMM.wav
3: "Okay?"
G: "No, that's delete! Escape is on the other side!"
TRIA303_AH.wav
3: "Oh, that one!"
[Background: Generic Cubicles, Alien variant. Portraits: Greg, Tria 303]
ComputerWarp.wav
"The portal closes. The computer sinks back into its spot. I send the cables to retreat back to their box."
G: "At least that's over with."
3: "Thank you. It looks like everything works... I think."
G: "Just don't overload the computer again."
"I chug the rest of my coffee and retreat to the IT haven."
[Background: IT Office. Portraits: Greg]
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<SLIDE!LEFT@Character_Left#2>
hide@R
"Huh. Zaxyss is gone. Probably off working on one of the other support tickets."
"At least I don't have to listen to him plotting to lay an ancient curse under the building or poison the coffee the next time Corporate Filing Services screws up."
"I'll check the tickets... Huh. Something from the boss's office?"
"There's an issue with her mech suit? Well, better I fix it than Zaxyss grab it when he comes back and mess everything up."
[Background: Boss's Office. Portraits: Greg, Boss]
Squirrel_Background.png
<SLIDE!LEFT@Character_Left#2>
"There she is. Small, mysterious, and all too happy to remind you she pays your salary."
MalwareArm.wav
"She seems pretty absorbed in grumbling at her robot arm."
SQUIRREL_CURSEYOU.wav
B: "No, I will NOT pay you 1,000 gold to unlock functionality! This is why I despise the pathetic creatures scrabbling in vain to keep their rule over this era!"
G: "Oh, so it's ransomware again."
"She stands up straight."
SQUIRREL_UMM.wav
B: "Oh! I didn't see you there. Geoff, was it? From IT?"
G: "Greg."
B: "Of course. Whatever it is, I should hope you have a way to clear this off my mech suit before it spreads. The one arm's locked in place."
"I approach her to look over the arm. I try not to look too annoyed, but I also don't care enough to succeed."
G: "Looks like it's started to spread. What have you done so far since it started happening? Walk me through it."
SQUIRREL_CURSEYOU.wav
B: "Do not command me, insolent space wizard! Your magic will not save you when... (cough) Yes, well. I turned it off and on again."
"I try not to let her see my eyes rolling. I just open up the panel on her robot arm."
MalwareArm.wav
"Where did she get a mech suit like this, anyway? She always said she was from the blandest place on Earth. Possibly actually Bland, but she doesn't sound Australian to me."
"Wait. There's an engraving here under the panel."
"A copyright notice from something called the Sciurii Time Invasion Force? In the year 6972?"
"Huh. Subtle."
"Anyway, whatever, I need to keep messing with this to see if I can salvage the suit. I start keying things in and mumble some spells to try and source the virus."
G: "Just a minute. If I can find where this came from, I can try to undo it."
SQUIRREL_NOOO.wav
B: "Don't try, do! And be quick about it. This is far too humiliating to continue."
MalwareArm.wav
B: "If I keep depending on humanity, I'll never be able to destroy them!"
G: "..."
SQUIRREL_UMM.wav
B: "..."
G: "..."
B: "..."
B: "...In Minecraft."
G: "Right."
"The last thing I want is to have more trouble."
"But the last thing I want is to get killed and/or subjugated because my boss is a squirrel in a robo-suit who came from the future to destroy us."
"But the last thing I want is for Zaxyss to find out he was right and gloat about it."
"What is the last thing I want? Wait, what is the first thing I want?"
G: "I..."
-Mind my own business=>BadEnd3
-Press the boss=>GoodEnd