Hey, now that the database is online, maybe we can check what BPI-2101 is, there's gotta be a reason she was killed next to its containment room.

Agent Liz Grayson is dead.

...



Murdered.

Jesus Christ.

You - the Hunter. Do you truly expect this to have been an assassination, ordered and carried out by the Crimson Eye? What are their methods? What happened to the Agent... is this in line with their process?

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 6:53 PM by Spooks?.

Testimony? What is this, Law and Order? You know, I'm an investigator by trade, I should be doing this whole thing, not sitting here giving a play-by-play to a bunch of nobodies. This would've been solved hours ago. I already have my own theory, you know.

Tch, whatever. I'll help, but I'm doing this as a favor. I charge for my services, normally. Like anyone does! Because it's a job! It's not like I have much to say though, because in case you haven't noticed, this Lounge is basically the only place with a fucking TV in this whole facility! Seriously, what else am I supposed to do, go to the library and pick up a copy of Slicer IV: The Blade is Back? Fat fucking chance.



Well, I guess the Lounge isn't the ONLY place. Actually, the last time I saw Grayson was... Up in the old-ass building. I was trying to get that stupid projector working, the one in the Meeting Room. I thought maybe if I hooked that piece of shit VCR over in the Anomaly Hall up to it, I might be able to watch a movie. I think I saw her around the Library, but I dunno.



Fuckin' cat was playing the Fun Police and trying to stop me from opening the VCR display, because god forbid anyone enjoys themselves for once. In case you haven't gathered, I wasn't paying much attention to the totally random lady who, at the time, was definitely not a murder victim.

So I took the elevator downstairs and shuttled over to the Lounge, because god forbid anyone do anything in this place. And that's where I stayed. All night. Where else would I even go? Apparently it's against the rules to do anything else!



I didn't see anyone the rest of the night. Closest I came was hearing that shuttle pass by. I had some music going, but you can still feel the rumble. Anyway, accuse me all you want, but I couldn't have killed that lady either way - I don't have the access for it. I'm a contracted field investigator, I'm only Level II.

Having noticed that Dexter did not actually divulge this theory of his,
Dodo believes it wise to sit on this man until he does so.

...or until his spine crumbles. Whichever happens first.

Why is your theme so cool, Dexter? So annoying but I can't hate someone with a theme that good.

M-me? Testify? I am not programmed to "give testimony". Such events that would require "testimony" are not supposed to occur under my watch.



I can, however, recount the events of the night without adhering to the BPI Incident Report Template, should that be sufficient. Though my algorithms do not see the relevance of these events.

I was keeping watch from the Security Office, as my idle programmed defaults to, when my sensors began to detect a disturbance in the Anomaly Hall. I attended the site of the disturbance, only to find [AGENT DESIGNATION: DEXTER HEXLEY] attempting to break BPI-3999-C from its case using a metal object identified as a "crowbar".



ERROR: UNSAFE BEHAVIOR

POTENTIAL HAZARDS DETECTED: BROKEN GLASS, UNRESTRICTED ANOMALY, ETC.



Thankfully, I was able to disarm the situation - all in a day's work for Spooks, the Magical Cat™!

There was some mild damage to exhibit BPI-3999-C, so I made sure to page [STAFF DESIGNATION: GUS} to come and clean up any debris and make repairs. I disposed of the tool left behind by [AGENT DESIGNATION: DEXTER HEXLEY] in the Boiler Room, as is protocol. While delivering the item, I detected [AGENT DESIGNATION: ELIZABETH GRAYSON] exiting the Library with an unidentified book.



Agent Grayson... has been murdered.

I was not designed to handle casualties outside of accidents or Anomaly-related deaths.



Forgive me. I have reset my stress module threshold. I should be fine now.

Returning the unauthorized tool was the last thing I did, before returning to the Security Office to await further instruction. When I passed through the Lobby, Astrid was visible entering the Library through the doorway. I have been instructed to keep her safe, and the Library is a non-hazardous area. This is good.



It was not long after that I got to meet you all! It was nice to do so.

I think we should release all of the anomalies and interview them one by one.

Mm. Don't like this one bit, nope. Never been anythin' like it in my time here, a regular... ah, whaddya call it... homicide? It ain't good, whatever it is. I'd be happy to clear to the air 'bout my night, if it helps find whoever killed that poor lady.



Right, so...Some of you might not know this, but I don't have my own dedicated sleepin' quarters, even if I'm not an "Agent", or whatever they're callin' themselves, I sleep in the Survey Dorms. Lets me keep an eye on the grounds, an' I like bein' outside. It's a fine enough arrangement, I'd say.

Now, I was just leavin'... headin' out to the ol' Auxiliary Building to take a look at somethin, when I get a call from that damn hunk of junk. Seems someone's been messin' around with one o' the exhibits. You people always gotta make more work for me, don't you?



I keep all my tools and equipment in that ol' boiler room, so I headed over there to pick up a couple things. Someone had been messin' around with them though, they were all over the damn place. Really grinds my gears, that does, but nothin' was gone at least.

Had to spend a while rearrangin' them, but eventually I got what I needed and headed back over to that there display. ...Well, it wasn't that bad. I took a bit to survey the damages, and it just looked like a bit o' chipped paint an' scratches. Nothin' I can't fix on my own



Work only took a couple o' minutes, just a touch o' filler and paint. thankfully, so I headed outside again after that, while the night was still young.



That's when I heard the shootin'. It's mighty dark out there, so I wasn't seein' much, but there were two gunshots, and it looked like... a couple 'o people out there in the dark, shootin' at each other maybe. Or maybe one was gunnin' for the other. Couldn't rightly say. One of 'em must have hit that old Fountain though, because when I saw it next, it wasn't workin' no more.



Hmph. They'd better start givin' me better benefits after this.

Hey. Research lady. Robot cat.

The guy in there. Is he supposed to be in there? What IS supposed to be in there?

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 7:24 PM by Spooks?.

Check the boiler room for signs of unsanctioned activity.

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

You inspect the Boiler Room. Most of it is occupied by tools and other such items of a custodial nature. Pretty disorganized in here, but not unworkable.

You bend down, if you even can bend, and take a big handful of the ashes. Mmm, tasty. Mostly vintage, but with a hint of...

You spit something out, and it lands on the ground with a clatter. It appears to be an ornate dagger, with an emerald laid into the hilt.

How many bullets are in the gun right now

You examine the gun. It's a Bureau standard issue handgun, though it looks extremely beat up, with the finish being very scratched and dented. Thegun appears to hold ten bullets, as all Bureau standard issue guns do. It is missing one bullet.

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 bullet seems like it probably came from the type of gun that Dodo found in the tunnel, though the damage the bullet sustained by striking the Fountain seems to make it very difficult to identify any markings.

Gonna ask all of them to consent to a body check, just in case, y'know

I believe it's reasonable to assume that dagger came from the Museum Hall, but it never hurts to double check.
That design though... you know, my wife, lovely woman that she is, she was really into those Killing Games, and the funny thing is, that reminds me of a dagger from one of those. Might be a coincidence, I don't know.

And if anybody needs me, unless somebody's got some sorta metal detector I could borrow, I'll be outside looking around in the grass by the Lake and the Boathouse lookin' for another bullet.

You examine the rest of the room. Some of the desks and chairs are knocked over, and various papers are strewn around. Nothing is destroyed at least, besides one smashed computer monitor. A monitor next to it is displaying a red glow, curiously. It doesn't seem to respond when you try to press buttons or move the mouse.

Columbo and Giffany inspect the body, though it's pretty clear that the former is putting in more heavy lifting in that regard. Without a full autopsy, you're a bit limited, but you can figure out what you can. She is pretty badly bruised though, especially on her head. You turn over her body, and find that there is no knife still stuck in her. Examining the wound though, it becomes clear that it is not a kitchen knife, but some kind of curved blade, like a dagger.

While delivering the item, I detected [AGENT DESIGNATION: ELIZABETH GRAYSON] exiting the Library with an unidentified book.

(She exited with a book... but it's not where she is now? Are they using books for something other than reading here? She dropped it somewhere! We should search for it! Or the one who killed her stole it!)

The intern cocks her head and shuffles into the scene of the murder, investigating the Anomaly Lab more closely for any conspicuous books and checking the strewn papers to see if any resemble torn book pages, then precedes to the library to look for any signs of conspicuous disturbance to the books within.

music: Show

...So it really happened. A murder, here.


...It's okay. I've seen people die before, it's part of the risk you take when you work here. This... isn't much different is it? It's just that this time, the killer's one of us. I didn't know her very well, but I'd like to think that everyone here... even Dexter and Lyra... wouldn't be capable of something like that.

Looks like I was wrong. Well, I won't sit here and just let whoever did this get away with it.



Heh... I've always wanted to solve a mystery anyway, right? Let's do this.



My night... wasn't as involved you'd like though. I spent most of my time up in the Observatory. I wasn't stargazing, it was too cloudy for that, so I decided to finish the book I'd started a few days back.

It... wasn't any good. Heh... Most of them aren't. That's the thing about a book, compared to movies, or TV. They can be a window into infinite possibilities, buuut... at least you can usually tell if a movie sucks from early on. I was getting kind of bored though, so I made the trek down the mountain to visit the Library, which is where I met you guys. I didn't hear gunshots, or anything like that really, but I did see Agent Grayson heading into the Auxiliary Building. The uh... Geology Lab, to be specific. I guess that's... probably when she headed downstairs, huh?



Sorry if I don't know much more than that. I spent the rest of the night in the Library, until I bumped into Alan Wake, that is. I... don't know why a famous author like him is working with the Bureau, but to be honest, I'm glad it's working for him. I've read a bunch of his stuff, and to be honest...



...It's good that he's looking into a different career path.

Oh damn...

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 9:47 PM by Spooks?.

music: Show

Ah, to testify... I speak the only the truth, a gospel with which to cast judgement upon the guilty, and bathe in their blood! I shall testify of course, for the Crimson interloper cannot be allowed to walk among our number hereforth.

That means yes. Of course we'll testify~ I don't have anything to hide, and neither do you, right 23?

I am a maelstrom of secrets. The legends of the dark, the foul things that squirm between the cracks of our world and the next. I have much to hide, a burden which could threaten the very nature of this world should I drop my guard for even moment!



...

...But, of course, nothing to do with this case. I shall be forthcoming - on this matter.

Now, my tale begins in the depths of the earth. We were facing down a beast moste terrible, armed with naught but mine own handgonne for defense. An affair not for the faint of heart.

We were feeding BPI-3550. He's a sweetheart, 23's just being dramatic~

We managed to escape with our lives, and absconded to the open air, the depths of the night!



We took the shuttle, then the stairs. There was someone watching the television in the Lounge, but we don't have time for anyone rotting their brains like that, now do we?Next up on our checklist for feeding time was that cutie 1650, up near the Chem Lab. Totally adorable, but 23 doesn't like him very much. I let him take a walk.

I despise that plant, I fear it will nibble on my cloak. And I allowed myself to take a walk! You don't hold such sway over me!



I ventured out into that darkness through the Room of Infinite Tedium, alone in the night with naught for company beyond the stellaric woman, in the distance entering the archives. I walked one lap, but as soon as I approached that Fountain, My hunter's sense was set alight - the Crimson Interloper was near, bathed in blood. There! By the door I had just passed through myself! I began to give chase, but their draw was fast, and they fired upon me. I managed to evade the blow, and raised mine own handgonne.

*BANG*

I fired one shot, but the figure disappeared into the dark of night, or perhaps... back into the building.



Ahahaha, that's quite the story, 23. You sound like you had fun out there, didn't you? I just finished up feeding the Anomalies and was on my way out, when I heard Decontamination going off. By the time I reached the room though... no one was there.

23 came back in, looking like he'd seen a ghost. While that's a possibility, I just thought he was being silly~. We went back to the Control Department after that.



I have not once been "silly"! I am a victim, of a most terrible crime! The Crimson Interloper would have struck twice, had I not had the reflexes I did. Blood spilled twofold, under the glow of the scarlet moon! Yet another tale to feed the codex!

Heed my warning!

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 10:04 PM by Morgan.

How long would it take me to lap the building at 23's pace? Is it enough time to ride the elevator twice?

EDIT; Could I also check how long it takes to run across the shuttle tracks and back?

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 10:12 PM by Nashu Mhakaracca.

That fancy dagger...looks an awful lot like the one that Mr. Godbert described...



I'm curious, Lyra. Did you actually enter the Boiler Room and confirm that it was empty? How did you access it without a card?

Hey, Dexter. Where did you get the crowbar? Were you the one who made a mess of Gus's tools

This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2023 at 10:33 PM by Spooks?.

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"?

Hey. Research lady. Robot cat.

The guy in there. Is he supposed to be in there? What IS supposed to be in there?

Kyeh heh heh, coming crawling to me for information, huh? Oh, I'm flattered! But... I can't tell you anything about 2101. It's not classified or anything, it's just new. We never got a chance to enter it in the database yet because we haven't researched it or learned anything about it. That one was her responsibility though. I've been working with the two on the other side.

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.

I'll help. I've spent a lot of time in the Historical Society, I'm kind of familiar with the Sleep Lab.

You take a look with Astrid, despite her dissing your writing earlier she doesn't seem to have anything against you personally. It does look like there are logs of previous usage, though it seems like the instruments still aren't properly calibrated, because they don't give timeframes, only indicators that someone has slept here. One instance of sleep appears to have occurred in the past night.

There is also a small meter on the screen of the instruments, reading [SOMATIC ENERGY: 33.33%]



I have no idea what that's for. I've slept in here before, but I've never been able to make it go above 33%, no matter how long I sleep. Sorry.

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.

Nope. Went lookin' in the usual places. Security Office, the Gates. Nothin'.

You proceed to ask the rest of the characters their Access Levels, minus Dexter, who told you already.

Lyra shows off her card, the one Gus brought a while ago. It reads Access Level IV
Nancy shows off her card as well. Similar to Lyra, it reads Access Level IV
Astrid refuses to show you her card.



...Me? I'm only a 2 on that scale, but I've got an emergency override, in case of somethin' urgent like a fire. It gets logged when it's used though, so I can' go throwin' it around all willy-nilly.



...I am fine with my lack of a card. To possess such a thing is to acknowledge yourself as a slave to a greater power. I am free, regardless of how they may "confine" me.

Hey, now that the database is online, maybe we can check what BPI-2101 is, there's gotta be a reason she was killed next to its containment room.

It seems as though while the map database is functional again, the Anomaly database is still suffering from errors. You will probably need to look them up using the physical files if you want to fill out their descriptions.

Agent Liz Grayson is dead.

...



Murdered.

Jesus Christ.

You - the Hunter. Do you truly expect this to have been an assassination, ordered and carried out by the Crimson Eye? What are their methods? What happened to the Agent... is this in line with their process?

The Interlopers are cold-hearted and deadly. Augmented by the dark powers that be, they possess abilities most terrifying. When they strike, they leave naught behind but a corpse and infinite gore. Cruel creatures, the Interlopers are. Monsters among men.