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  • Locked thread
No Gravitas
Jun 12, 2013

by FactsAreUseless
Let's wait and see what happens. Probably nothing good, but what the hell...

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Princey
Mar 22, 2013
Since that attempt to "color" the device yielded an interesting result, I'm guessing that's going to be a central mechanic. I looked back at what's been said about various colors so far.

White: bliss, peace (seems specifically related to harmony with the Song, so kind of rapturous, religious feelings, I guess)
Grey: tedium, boredom
Yellow: curiosity, excitement, intrigue?
Green: enjoyment, pride, also excitement
Orange: unease

There are also mentions of "protective violet" and "frantic red" in there.

I say we see if we can

>color humans grey

Crepuscule Adepte
Feb 21, 2008

Why is my hair purple? It's from the blood of everyone that lost a bet against me.
...Actually, I wonder if there's a command that tells us what the colors do... colors, maybe? Let's try that.

>colors

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

Crepuscule Adepte posted:

...Actually, I wonder if there's a command that tells us what the colors do... colors, maybe? Let's try that.

>colors

There is in fact such a command, it is in fact "colors", and it does in fact do exactly what you think it does.

I am choosing to defer typing that command, for now. There's also a hint command that gives context-sensitive help, a solution command that flat-out tells you the solution to your current puzzle, and a walkthrough command that tells you every command necessary to win the game. I'll dip into those if you guys get stuck, but for now it's more fun to figure things out. If you never get stuck enough to need them, I'll type them all at the end so you can see the results (along with running you through a few tidbits in the game that most people tend to miss).

No Gravitas posted:

Let's wait and see what happens. Probably nothing good, but what the hell...

Waiting is the easiest part.

pre:
>z
Time passes.

Two of the humans burst into the room. You vaguely recognize one as being in
charge: Captain. She blasts streaks of uneasy orange with undertones of
commanding violet. The other is much more nervous, corkscrewing tightly in
red-orange folds. Obviously she is the beast's handler: Engineer. They
searchingly clunk about the engine with such singular focus that they completely
fail to notice you, although you do feel somewhat exposed.

They are much bigger than you expected, certainly much bigger than you. But they
cannot be without empathy. You attempt to reach out to the Blind Ones, to ask
them for help, to connect and communicate and sing in harmony, but the humans
cannot hear. They cannot understand. None of them can, you realize. Their
ignorance will make them dangerous; there must be a safe way to reach them.
We are so lucky.

Princey posted:

Since that attempt to "color" the device yielded an interesting result, I'm guessing that's going to be a central mechanic. I looked back at what's been said about various colors so far.

White: bliss, peace (seems specifically related to harmony with the Song, so kind of rapturous, religious feelings, I guess)
Grey: tedium, boredom
Yellow: curiosity, excitement, intrigue?
Green: enjoyment, pride, also excitement
Orange: unease

There are also mentions of "protective violet" and "frantic red" in there.

I say we see if we can

>color humans grey

There weren't any humans around then, but there are now! Let's try it out.

pre:
>color captain grey
Captain is too strong to be influenced.

Once again, you can see the colors of their pitiable Song of clashing teeth,
mushing lips, and vibrating membranes - each note an emotional, simplistic,
story. The dissonant dialogue is even more jarring this close, but you manage to
keep pace. Engineer quickly smooths out into a rounded indigo. "... easy fix. A
simple replacement."

>color engineer grey
Engineer is too focused to be influenced.

Captain continues to churn anxious orange, "We need to get them to a hospital
ASAP. Medic doesn't know what the gently caress is going on with the crew, and we already
have to eat the cost of abandoning the transponders. I need to know right now if
I can trust you on this, or if I need to send out an S.O.S."

>

Fat Samurai
Feb 16, 2011

To go quickly is foolish. To go slowly is prudent. Not to go; that is wisdom.
The Captain seems stressed :smith:

> Color captain white.

Princey
Mar 22, 2013
I'm inclined to hang around and listen until they either wander off or step on us.

Mikl
Nov 8, 2009

Vote shit sandwich or the shit sandwich gets it!
We are out in the open, so as soon as they stop worrying about the engine they'll probably spot us.

For now, I think we should

>hide

Crepuscule Adepte
Feb 21, 2008

Why is my hair purple? It's from the blood of everyone that lost a bet against me.
So nobody can be influenced right now, then... I guess we wait until an opportunity shows up, then?

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

Mikl posted:

We are out in the open, so as soon as they stop worrying about the engine they'll probably spot us.

For now, I think we should

>hide

What an astonishing idea!

pre:
>hide
You cram yourself into an unnoticeable position.

Engineer solidifies, strong and sure. 

Captain churns further, folding over herself. Indecision. Uncertainty. She
hangs, momentarily simultaneously trusting indigo and stubborn ultraviolet. In
this delicate state, you could color her either way...

Princey posted:

I'm inclined to hang around and listen until they either wander off or step on us.

Crepuscule Adepte posted:

So nobody can be influenced right now, then... I guess we wait until an opportunity shows up, then?

Looks like we've done both of these already. Let's proceed...

Fat Samurai posted:

The Captain seems stressed :smith:

> Color captain white.

Sure, why not?

pre:
>color captain white
Creating pure bliss in someone else is a feat too difficult for you.

Captain  but then pushes away the irrelevant colors, pragmatically returning to
the situation at hand. Captain touches Engineer: it seems emotionally
significant, but you cannot hear it. "I can't take that kind of risk," she
solidifies decisively. "I need to call a rescue." Engineer mallots the wall with
reverberating force.

Within a small enough window of time, more Blind Ones arrive. The enormous
creatures move and enunciate quickly: Engineer designs an elaborate trap for
you, and everyone works together to keep you quarantined. They transport you
ashore, where your peace is constantly interrupted by some new Blind Ones
tapping at you with scientific grey instruments. One day, in a flurry of bright
green excitement, the Blind Ones shove a permanent rod into your body. Then they
leave you alone to fold. You are never again interrupted, but the rod always is
there, a nagging splinter preventing you from fully embracing the bliss of the
Universe. But the Song is still lovely, and you join in as best you can.
Off-white. Happiness.



    *** You are happy enough. ***



Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT, or UNDO the last command?

> UNDO
Oh, that's why. Well, clearly I railroaded you into that one, so let's give it another shot. What do you REALLY want to do with the one move we have left?

pre:
> 

Feinne
Oct 9, 2007

When you fall, get right back up again.
Looks like we've seen how things go if she stays stubborn, so >color captain indigo.

Princey
Mar 22, 2013
If the above suggestion doesn't work, try grey again. Instill the captain with intense, burning apathy.

Ghostwoods
May 9, 2013

Say "Cheese!"
Indigo is the way to go.

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

Feinne posted:

Looks like we've seen how things go if she stays stubborn, so >color captain indigo.

Let's hit her up with some Mood Indigo.

pre:
>color captain indigo
You reach out, caressing Captain's delicate aura, willing it to become indigo.
Her aura absorbs this new state willingly, as though they were her own emotions.

Captain physically touches Engineer with a kind of emotional significance that
is unreadable to you. "I trust you," she oozes in incepted indigos. "I'm going
to go tell that medic that we may have a problem," she finalizes before turning
away and heavily, humanly, limb-pushing down the passageway. Engineer exhales an
unnecessary stream of air out her mouth, and swings her body and limited gaze to
the machine.

>
So, no rescue ship will be en route, for now. What shall we do next?

Princey posted:

If the above suggestion doesn't work, try grey again. Instill the captain with intense, burning apathy.

If you try that, you get "Captain sloths in an unadvancing haze, but then pushes away the irrelevant colors, pragmatically returning to the situation at hand." And then we end up getting shafted again.

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


x engineer

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

I assume we may take the Monty Python ex-parrot joke as read here? I might be able to do something with A Wind in the Door, but that's probably a bit too obscure.

pre:
>x engineer
A Blind One, a human. Probably a female.

Her light indigo aura tapers fixedly.

Engineer opens the casing of the temperature gauge. Blue. Hope.

>

Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011
My god, what did we do to the crew.

Make unpleasant squelching sounds to distract the engineer from her work, and if that doesn't do the trick then burst right the gently caress into song.

No Gravitas
Jun 12, 2013

by FactsAreUseless

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

My god, what did we do to the crew.

They were called "Sleepers". One of them can "walk" while "sleeping".

Sounds like dreaming.

I think we cut their ties to reality, keeping them asleep. The last guy was lucid dreaming and we... uh... Yeah...

Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011
Also, I note that things are starting to get interesting, and I'm looking at this:



Whoever said we were dredged from the ocean might be getting at something. This does look like a ship, or a submarine. DSV-2 could be a deep sea vehicle. For that matter, since there are lifeboats on the quarterdeck, it's likely that this is an ocean vessel.

From the looks of the descriptions, we oozed our way out of Survey Storage on the lower deck and into the engine room, and we're still there now. I'd love to check on the people in the Sick Bay but it's on the quarterdeck and directly across from the Captain's Quarters, so getting in will probably be hard as hell.

Victis
Mar 26, 2008

Turn her red, make her give up on fixing the gauge. Or maybe grey.

Feinne
Oct 9, 2007

When you fall, get right back up again.

Victis posted:

Turn her red, make her give up on fixing the gauge. Or maybe grey.

We should wait and see if she can fix it at all first.

Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011
Color her psychedelic so she gets all trippy and then tries to eat it in a fit of the munchies and shorts herself out too.

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

My god, what did we do to the crew.

Make unpleasant squelching sounds to distract the engineer from her work, and if that doesn't do the trick then burst right the gently caress into song.

We taught them to sing in glorious harmony instead of fitfully singing their own separate, contradictory songs! I'm sure that Captain would approve if we could help her understand.

pre:
>squelch
That's not a verb I recognise.

>distract engineer
That's not a verb I recognise.

>sing to engineer
You emotionally, mentally sing to the human, but the Blind One cannot hear you,
ignores you. Anything you try to communicate, just gets ignored. There must be a
less direct way to influence them to help you.

Engineer eye-dances the insides of the device. Yellow. Investigation.

Man, communicating with these lower species is a complete drag.

Victis posted:

Turn her red, make her give up on fixing the gauge. Or maybe grey.

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

Color her psychedelic so she gets all trippy and then tries to eat it in a fit of the munchies and shorts herself out too.

Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

pre:
>color engineer red
Engineer is too focused to be influenced.

Engineer seeks for something among the cold parts. Yellow. Focus.

>color engineer grey
Engineer is too focused to be influenced.

Engineer moves parts around in a way that seems significant. Green. Engagement.
Looks like we can't mess with her aura right now.

Feinne posted:

We should wait and see if she can fix it at all first.

Sure, we can do that.

pre:
>z
Time passes.

Engineer closes the casing of the gauge. Green. Satisfaction.

>z
Time passes.

Engineer bubbles into a self-focused gleeful green as the machine resumes its
apathetic, mindless life. The entirety of the vessel moves again... away. You
warble in despair. You just need enough time so that you can figure out how you
can communicate to them. You just need a break. You just need it to stop.

>z
Time passes.

>l
Pounding Room
The gigantic whirling, chewing machine fills the room with its deafening beat
and blistering fever. Engineer bubbles contentedly green, enjoying her victory.


The interstitial room is to the northeast.

>
She... doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011
Right. From what I've seen, we are unable to enter the Song while in motion. We'll need to stop the ship again somehow if we want to start singing and then, I don't know, untether her?

No Gravitas
Jun 12, 2013

by FactsAreUseless

idonotlikepeas posted:

She... doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Maybe this is crazy... but...

Let's try to make a friend.

Show yourself, say hi, wiggle your astfyd in her direction so she knows we just want to gwdzfg and frumphcz.

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

No Gravitas posted:

Maybe this is crazy... but...

Let's try to make a friend.

Show yourself, say hi, wiggle your astfyd in her direction so she knows we just want to gwdzfg and frumphcz.

Gwdzfg? On the first date? Naughty.

pre:
>wiggle
That's not a verb I recognise.

>wave
You undulate your aqueous body in pulsing bliss.

>dance
You fold. The music is faint and the song warms you, but you know you cannot
truly Sing without being in your Cellarium at the proper place.

>say hello to engineer
You emotionally, mentally sing to the human, but the Blind One cannot hear you,
ignores you. Anything you try to communicate, just gets ignored. There must be a
less direct way to influence them to help you.
Keep in mind we don't actually have hands or a mouth, and Engineer isn't in a state of mind where we can influence her or communicate directly with her using our non-physical abilities.

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

Right. From what I've seen, we are unable to enter the Song while in motion. We'll need to stop the ship again somehow if we want to start singing and then, I don't know, untether her?

The error responses in that last block might have given you some more specifics on that. As for stopping the ship, well, I guess we should jump back into that panel again...

pre:
>enter device
The Blind One would surely notice you tampering with the machine in front of
her. You need a way to permanently destroy the engine. The cold pipes need be
stoppered.

>
I suppose that would do the job, but I doubt we can stuff ourselves in there, especially with Engineer standing around being proud of herself. I didn't see an opening to the pipes in our examination of the machine anyway.

Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011
Well then, sabotage the cooling room I suppose. Get back to the interstitial room and head southeast? If we crawled into the cold pipes somehow and froze, would we destroy the pipes or just ourselves?

Feinne
Oct 9, 2007

When you fall, get right back up again.

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

Well then, sabotage the cooling room I suppose. Get back to the interstitial room and head southeast? If we crawled into the cold pipes somehow and froze, would we destroy the pipes or just ourselves?

Well we were corrosive enough to metal to break the engine so we can probably gently caress up the pipes too.

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

Well then, sabotage the cooling room I suppose. Get back to the interstitial room and head southeast? If we crawled into the cold pipes somehow and froze, would we destroy the pipes or just ourselves?

OK, let's go check that out.

pre:
>ne
You emerge from your hiding spot.

The Interstitial Room
A long metallic hallway that spans the length of the vessel. The Blind Ones left
open a passageway to the southeast, you notice.  The drifting auras of humans
call from the to the northwest and to the northeast.  The collection room is to
the east, and one small unexplored room is to the west. The pounding room is to
the southwest, and the open newly opened room is to the southeast. A set of
stairs leads up to the rest of the ship.

>se

Pipe Room
The protector, the ameliorator, this is what keeps the dead beast calm. A simple
set of connecting pipes steals heat from the engine, stores it in a tank of dead
and artificial water, which is itself then soothed by a living water vat of
pumped water, cooled with its own hose system.

The interstitial room is to the northwest.

>
The observant may note a difference in the interstitial room description.

Princey
Mar 22, 2013
Always Examine Everything is my mantra. Even when time is of the essence, there's time to stop and smell the flowers. Or stare intently at inconsequential bullshit, as the case may be.

>x pipes
>x tank
>x water vat
>x hose system

Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011

Feinne posted:

Well we were corrosive enough to metal to break the engine so we can probably gently caress up the pipes too.

Is that what happened? My reading was that we just short-circuited the machine with our highly-conductive goop body. At least we know that electric shocks don't do poo poo to us.

For that matter, being impaled with a metal rod and put in a display case forever didn't do much to us either. What can kill one of these creatures?

Crepuscule Adepte
Feb 21, 2008

Why is my hair purple? It's from the blood of everyone that lost a bet against me.

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

What can kill one of these creatures?

Hm. This sounds like an experiment.

>kill me

We can always undo if it actually works!

Crepuscule Adepte fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Sep 18, 2014

No Gravitas
Jun 12, 2013

by FactsAreUseless
> Touch pipes

Let's see if we are corrosive.

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

Princey posted:

Always Examine Everything is my mantra. Even when time is of the essence, there's time to stop and smell the flowers. Or stare intently at inconsequential bullshit, as the case may be.

>x pipes
>x tank
>x water vat
>x hose system

Always Be Considering Doing Examination.

pre:
>x pipes
Metallic, hollowed bones, pumping hot and cold in a dead, apathetic constant
rhythm.

>x tank
Stomaching gallons of empty and chemically-infused water, the huge tank churns
with stolen heat streaming in from the other side of the wall in an undead
andante of grey.

>x water vat
In a horrifically efficient system, water humming with life is sucked up via
hoses into the heating chamber, burned clean of life, and then spit out back
into the ocean. The soothing cold and songs of the ocean are consumed
mindlessly.

>x hose system
Flimsy tubes of pliant artificial flesh. An intake hose pulses with cold life
not its own, while the exhaust hose pumps dead and boiling water.

The vessel's tempo increases steadily.
Uh-oh.

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

Is that what happened? My reading was that we just short-circuited the machine with our highly-conductive goop body. At least we know that electric shocks don't do poo poo to us.

For that matter, being impaled with a metal rod and put in a display case forever didn't do much to us either. What can kill one of these creatures?

We did indeed short-circuit the box with our conductive body. So far it isn't clear what can kill us, or if we can even die at all.

Crepuscule Adepte posted:

Hm. This sounds like an experiment.

>kill me

We can always undo if it actually works!

We can find out, though!

pre:
>kill me
Infinites cannot be ended, even if they wish they could.
We cannot self-terminate.

No Gravitas posted:

> Touch pipes

Let's see if we are corrosive.

That's a thought.

pre:
>touch pipes
You push your aqueous form against it (the connecting pipes), but nothing happens.

>
Well, if we're corrosive, it's not enough to immediately eat through metal.

Obscil
Feb 28, 2012

PLEASE LIKE ME!
>Enter exhaust hose

Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011
Sounds like a simple heat-exchanger. Pull out the intake hose and give the coolant pipes a breath of fresh sea air. With any luck the coolant will boil and the engine will explode in short order.

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

Obscil posted:

>Enter exhaust hose

pre:
>enter exhaust
You can't enter them while they're whole, so you decide to fix that. The hose
stores scalding, dead water that would burn you once you melted through it. The
intake hose, however, does not have that problem.
Looks like it's a bit too hot for us...

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

Sounds like a simple heat-exchanger. Pull out the intake hose and give the coolant pipes a breath of fresh sea air. With any luck the coolant will boil and the engine will explode in short order.

pre:
>pull intake hose
It is fixed in place.
Well, we can't pull it. See you guys later!


...



...



Eh, okay.


pre:
>enter intake hose
You surround the intake hose, and feel it crackle from inside you. As the
plastic oxidizes, bubbles trickle through your aqueous body and cause small
bursts in your surface tension with a sensation that is actually somewhat
pleasant. In a sudden explosion of energy, a jet of living water bursts through
one of the hoses, forcefully spraying you away from the chaos.

The mechanics of the cooling vat thwarted, soon the entirety of the beast
catches up with its parts and frictions to a halt. Living water continues to
vomit uncontrollably from the ripped hose. You sense the handler approaching
from the passageway, and you feel nervously conspicuous.

>
So I guess we are acidic after all! Good to know. Way to break that engine, guys.

No Gravitas
Jun 12, 2013

by FactsAreUseless
Surrounding worked on metal... will it work on manflesh?

> hide
wait until someone comes
> surround them

Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011
Interesting detail that the plastic oxidized on contact, rather than just melting. Hints somewhat at this goopy thing's chemical makeup, and suggests that we could potentially rust various metals to death.

idonotlikepeas
May 29, 2010

This reasoning is possible for forums user idonotlikepeas!

No Gravitas posted:

Surrounding worked on metal... will it work on manflesh?

> hide
wait until someone comes
> surround them

OK, let's do some murder, I guess? That's a thing we do now?

pre:
>hide
You cram yourself into an unnoticeable position.

Engineer peals yellow desperation as she searches the room. Not noticing you,
she turns to the vomitous mouth and tendon-muscle-attends the seacock in a way
that seals it. As she unfurls in green relief, you become aware of something
strange: the bubbling hose sensation, but not from your body proper. A small
fleck of your Aqueosity was sprayed on the exhaust pipe, and is eating through
it. Suddenly, the other hose bursts in a high-registered hiss, expelling its
contents onto Engineer. She warps maddened black, stabbing in every note of
every octave, then moves to the floor in a writhing mass of altered flesh.

>
Uh. It might not be necessary for us to try to melt her now. :stare:

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Pittsburgh Lambic
Feb 16, 2011
Uh yeah let's get the gently caress out of here and hide in a detergent bucket in Laundry. Should be the west door in the interstitial room. Are we capable of throwing up? Because goddamn.

On second thought, we should have mercy on her. Sing for her and maybe untether her too; if we have to get back to Survey Storage and into our cellarium then do it. We can't just let her slowly scald to death all alone :smith:

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