Wow, hello, Trip! It is so nice to meet you! How did you find yourself in there? Are you one of these "Anomalies"? You sure do not look like one! You look so cool, I like your hat! Ah Ha!

I think we should let him out so he can have some pizza! I love pizza! Some of my favorite toppings are pepperoni, and pineapple! What is your favorite kind of topping, Trip? You have such a silly name! Should we let him out? I think we should have pizza!

I pick up the Level X card and use it to open the door to BPI-2101.

I pick up the Level X card and use it to open the door to BPI-2101.

I'll have to insist that you don't do that.

...Can he be let out? Does anyone know why he's in there?

I'm getting more Deja Vu from this guy. We didn't go to highschool together or something did we?

It doesn't matter if he's some John Carpenter abomination or not. Drop that card if you value keeping all ten digits.

Live a little.

Live a little.

Dodo can't find any fault with the old codger's sage reasoning.

With the opening of the door to the Anomaly Lab, the story had shifted genres once more - from horror, to murder mystery. One, I realized, I had as much intimate knowledge of as horror. My novels, the Alex Casey series, featured a hardboiled detective dealing with a series of ritualistic murders, before meeting his own end in The Sudden Stop.

As we looked upon the scene of the murder, it dawned on me that I myself would have to step into the shoes of my own character, and discover the true culprit. Looking at the lieutenant as he began to take lead of the investigation, I thought to myself with a small smile: "At least I'm in good company."

...My eyes kept getting drawn to the fallen agent's rolecard, the spiral iconography prominent upon it. Spirals had played a large part in my life in recent years, and it was unsettling to see one here, center stage.

Tearing my eyes from the corpse, I began at the beginning of any murder investigation: suspects.

---

I think we can all agree we're going to need everyone's rough whereabouts last night. And on that note...

Spooks, you seem like you'd be the one to ask. Is there anyone missing? I believe Astrid mentioned someone called the Director, but I don't think we've ran into them yet.

Hey Lyra, as the residential anomaly expert, do you know of anything with claws that can make a wound like this? Otherwise, we should check the museum hall for something with a curved blade.

Hm, lemme think... Claws... Well, if you wanna get technical with it, I guess 3550 has claws, but... yeah no they aren't doing this. It looks like a stab wound to me.

You decide to go check the Museum Hall instead. It looks like there is indeed an artifact missing from one of the displays. You can't tell exactly what it is, though.

First I'll fiddle around with the red computer. Is there anything about it other than glowing red? Can I use the access card on it? Turn it off and on again?

Then I'll make a quick jump over to the Armory. Are any curved daggers missing?

You check out the red computer first, giving it a complete examination. Curiously, you find a red-and-black USB stick in the back. You unplug it, and the computer returns to normal after flashing a screen of red-tinged code.

Wow! I do not know what you just did, but I can feel it all coming back now! You are a good employee, I will recommend you for a raise.

[DATABASE CONNECTION RESTORED] - Map Descriptions are now unlocked.



It will take me a while longer to restore the full map functionality.

Two questions; Are there any bullet holes in the room where Grayson's body is, and can you hear gunshots from out at the garden from all the way down there?

There doesn't seem to be any bullet holes in the room. You borrow a gun from the Armory, and try firing off a couple shots in the lab, aiming at a chair. Outside, Astrid sits by the fountain and listens for gunshots.



Sorry, nothing. It was kind of nice though... sitting out there. It's quiet.

Add digging around in the Fountain to my to-do list.

If my memory is correct, I believe somebody said that the fountain outside has been broken since last night. If Dr. Liz Grayson died last night... What do you think? Could this be a coincidence?

I will investigate the fountain more closely and see what can be found! Anybody else is welcome to join me as well! I think a fountain is so pretty when it is operational!

You go bum around the Fountain for a bit. Giffany mostly examines the fountain visually, while Columbo gets shoulder-deep in the murky water, rummaging around for clues. She notices that the spout at the top of the fountain seems to be warped and bent, as though it was hit by something. Columbo chuckles, pulling a particularly soggy arm out of the water.

He holds up the object he found to the moonlight. Looks like a single bullet.

This doesn't look like a stolen card, if that's what you're thinking. It still works, at least.

What do you mean by "look like a stolen card"? Is there a way to find out about its usage history?

Kyeh heh heh, if there was a way to do that, that'd make our whole job a lot easier, wouldn't it? No, you can't check the usage history as far as I know, but... Level X? That's top clearance. I don't even know who she'd steal that from, and I know everything!

I guess while I'm down here with the body, I will also further examine the bloodstains.

*Judging by the illustration, there is a lot of blood on the door. What's the shape? Is it more of a splatter or a smear?
*Does the amount/spread/shape of the blood match what one would expect from a stabbing?
*What shape and size are the bruises on the body?
*AFAIK there is a notable difference between bruises sustained while alive vs. while dead. How do these bruises look in that regard?

Dodo silently waddles over to the body and stares.

The blood on the door is both splattered and smeared, looks like she might have fallen against it. The blood does generally resemble a stabbing, you think, but probably a slow death, like she bled out. The bruises are of many shapes and sizes, but there's a couple deep, long bruises as well as some blunt, flatter ones. It looks like she was probably tossed around the room while still alive.

I have an idea! I have learned that bullets have something called "ballistic markings", which indicate what gun they belong to! You can almost think of them like the "fingerprints" of a bullet. I learned this information from a visual novel one time! I love visual novels! My favorite visual novel is called "Phoenix Wright: The Ace Attorney"!

I wonder if this bullet matches any guns that are nearby? If we cannot make out those "ballistic markings", maybe whether the bullet is the right size for an armory gun? Playing detective with all of you is so fun!

The Decontamination Room keeps records? Nobody seems to be covered in blood, maybe the killer went through at some point. Could we take a crack at the logs? (if there are any)

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 6:54 AM by Spooks?.

Hey, how's it going?

Not good, dude... It's cramped in here, and there's nothing to do. They coulda given me a comic book or something...

Wow, hello, Trip! It is so nice to meet you! How did you find yourself in there? Are you one of these "Anomalies"? You sure do not look like one! You look so cool, I like your hat! Ah Ha!

I think we should let him out so he can have some pizza! I love pizza! Some of my favorite toppings are pepperoni, and pineapple! What is your favorite kind of topping, Trip? You have such a silly name! Should we let him out? I think we should have pizza!

It's funny, I got no idea how I got here. One minute, I was filming something for my TV show, and the next... I'm here, stuck in... I dunno, jail? Where even AM I? This blows. What's an "Anomaly" do though? Is it something that can get me outta here?




For me though? Pepperoni and cheese all the way, bro. It's a classic.

I pick up the Level X card and use it to open the door to BPI-2101.

I pick up the Level X card and use it to open the door to BPI-2101.

I'll have to insist that you don't do that.

...Can he be let out? Does anyone know why he's in there?

I'm getting more Deja Vu from this guy. We didn't go to highschool together or something did we?

It doesn't matter if he's some John Carpenter abomination or not. Drop that card if you value keeping all ten digits.

Live a little.

Live a little.

Dodo can't find any fault with the old codger's sage reasoning.

Indiana Jones (old) lifts the Access Level X card from the victim's body, and brings it towards the Containment Room. A whole host of people watch with dread, and a couple more get ready to spring up and snatch the card from his hand.

He winks, and instead tosses the card to Spooks.

Someone's gotta keep you kids on your toes, after all.

Grab a flashlight from wherever you'd get a flashlight from in this place and take a look at the tracks in the shuttle tunnel.

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 7:12 AM by Nashu Mhakaracca.

That's...Agent Grayson? Is it? Isn't it? Isn't she supposed to be really strong? My head hurts...



I was mentally prepared to find a body, but where's the killing game announcement? No cuddly mascot? No puhuhu? And what in the seven hells is an Abyss Team?



W-Well, it's time for the investigators to, um, investigate. Perhaps we could try to trace the killer's path? If they did indeed pilfer Lyra's access card as she slept in the Sleep Lab, that would place them in the vicinity of the missing artifact in the Museum Hall, though we don't know for certain what that object was. And after the struggle in the Anomaly Lab, they fled north via the shuttle, dropping the card in Station I. This assumes Lyra is being truthful in the first place.

I wonder also, what interest did Agent Grayson have in this "Trip" anomaly? It almost seems as if she was trying to free it prior to her untimely demise. What can the staff tell us about "Trip"?

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 7:24 AM by Alan Wake.

I believe Lyra said she spent her night... doing something? In the Sleep Lab. Maybe the devices in there have logs of previous usage, if they're used to keep track of sleep patterns.

I'm going to ask one of you to help me take a look at the Sleep Lab again - but not you, Lyra. Sorry. If this was your keycard, this currently makes you one of the main suspects. It's best you stay away from it until we exonerate you.

music: Show

Alright! Time to get to the bottom of this, and maybe prove once and for all that Astrid stole my keycard. A two-for-one deal, if I say so myself - Kya ha ha!.

It was a normal night, normal as it can be when nearly your entire lab staff is gone anyway. Good riddance, if you ask me! They were only ever holding back my brilliance! Mouthbreathers who can't even take notes right, "computer guys" with the typing speed of a toddler, the usual. Anyway, I was alone in the Killing Game Lab, finishing something up. Classified info, obviously.



That's when I noticed this report, apparently the Sleep Lab was on the fritz before everyone left, and no one got around to calibrating the equipment. Figures. Still, a brain like mine needs sleep, so I'm not about to turn down an excuse to take a nap on the clock. I think when I was leaving is the last time I saw Agent Grayson. We ran into each other in the Lab Passage. I think she was heading somewhere too, but she didn't follow me up the Main Elevator.

I walked down through the old Historical Society building, and I was kinda worrying I wouldn't even be able to sleep, because someone was banging around in that old furnace room. Anyway, I did manage to drift off after a while, but then, a couple more bangs woke me up! Are you serious? What is so interesting about that furnace room?



That's about when I realized my keycard was missing! It's gotta be Astrid, I'm telling you. She's always wanted to work with the cool, dangerous Anomalies, I can see it in her eyes!



But to think you'd resort to murder... Kyeh heh heh. Must be getting really desperate now, huh?

After that though... I didn't really have a lot of options. I tried to go check out the source of the banging, maybe someone lit the old boiler or something, but nah, it was empty. Weird. Then I just took the Patio stairs down to the facility. I thought maybe I'd find a card with a bit of juice left in it in the Locker Room or Break Room, but that theory was a bust. Definitely not making it into any science journals.

That takes us to about when we met. I know they sometimes kept a spare just in case in that reception desk outside the Director's office, but I was out of luck there, too.

Hm. Well, I have it back now, at least...

Gus, you mentioned that you might be able to find some spare access cards laying around. Did you happen to find any while you were poking around earlier? Besides the one you mentioned at the shuttle gate of course.

Besides that, I'd like to ask the rest of the staff about their access levels, if they have a card.

Sorry, 23.

Check the boiler room for signs of unsanctioned activity.

Also sample some of the ash in here, taste if it's vintage.

Jackson's got the Museum Hall, I'll follow other leads. Maybe the Archeologist's Office or the Killing Game Lab for where that curved blade might've came from?

And hey, Spooks, mind helping me search the Shuttle Line? Station 1 and 2, we can just look around and check the trash or something, but I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt on the tracks. Too much blood already.

Grab a flashlight from wherever you'd get a flashlight from in this place and take a look at the tracks in the shuttle tunnel.

That sounds like fun, detective! I will happily accompany you on your mission! The Shuttle Line is perfectly safe to walk, provided no one is using the shuttle. We are going to have a wonderfully compliant time.



It seems the rotund avian will come too. I do not know if he will take no for an answer.

As Columbo and Spooks examine the Stations, Dodo begins to waddle slowly across the tracks, sweeping a flashlight around. Where did he get that anyway? Oh well. It's better not to ask. The dynamic duo doesn't seem to turn up much, despite their best efforts. Just a couple newspapers, stuff people were presumably reading to kill time while waiting for the shuttle.

As Dodo braves the dark tunnel, his eyes catch something on the ground between the tracks. He picks it up to examine it. It appears to be... a handgun, Bureau standard issue.

The Decontamination Room keeps records? Nobody seems to be covered in blood, maybe the killer went through at some point. Could we take a crack at the logs? (if there are any)

The Decontamination Room does keep records of previous use. You pull them up now... It looks like it's been used twice recently. Once today, and once last night.

How many bullets are in the gun right now