>>4957209
S-4M, "Sam."

The voice is masculine.

Demand a cup of coffee, I feel like I just woke up from hibernation.

>>4957219
+1

>>4957209
>S-4m or "Sam"
>Masculine

>>4957209
>feminine

>>4957219
supporting

>>4957219
+1
I miss F.E.E.D. and MANAGER, HELP! already

File: S-4M.jpg (105 KB, 1280x720)

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>>4957219
>>4957227
>>4957241
>>4957269
>>4957328
"Excellent. Your marvelous ability to still be able to read and speak shows no bounds." The screen flickers to a...frankly silly looking smiling face. It takes you a moment to realize it's not a static image and is actually moving it's lips.

"I'm S-4M, your Facility AI assistant! but Sam works just as well! My goal is to make sure you don't mess up and follow the main goal of our facility. Before we start our little introduction, do you need anything?"

"...Gimmie some coffee." You rasp from underneath your breath, still trying to wake up from whatever happened. A hole opens up on the console's desk and after a few moments, a ceramic cup launches through the air and shatters on the ceiling. Coffee soaks into your head. "Apologizes! The systems here haven't been maintained in a looooong time. " A second cups come up and you start gulping from it.

"Now, considering your...lousy state, I should explain what you're here to do to catch you up to speed. As the Administrator of P-Company's latest facility, your goal is to produce enough C-Extract to meet the Daily QUOTA. . If you don't meet that QUOTA, let's just say Management will have a stern punishment in hand. For both of our sakes, please meet the QUOTA. Now, you may ask, how do we make it and where do we get it from? Well, lucky for you, we're just in time to answer that. "

The camera soon cuts to a dark and worn down hallway. The lights flicker on and off occasionally but you're having a hard time making much out. Four men in military-looking uniforms are transporting huge, bulky boxes down the hallway on floating platforms. They are chatting to each other about mundane stuff like the weather and what they had to each.

"Our lovely Extraction Task Force focuses on securing Anomalies from all over the city and transferring them to our facility so we can extract A-Energy from them! But first, let's see what they managed to secure for us today!"

The camera switches to two feeds of identical looking rooms. Big, empty, and made out of some sturdy-looking material. You note that the interiors look remarkably rusty. Two men from this "Task Force" enter each room, with a box in hand...

(Choose two Anomalies.)
>"It's a nice day outside, wouldn't you say so?" ("Think he even noticed us?" "Nah. He seems pretty out of it.")
>"After everything I've done, this is my time to cleanse." ("God, this thing is giving me the creeps." "No wonder it was just left here. Wouldn't want anyone to see it either."
>"Time for my shift to start. Just another day." ("I thought X Company's branch here shut down." "It was. Pretty awful incident, it was.")
>"All it takes is a coin to know the unknowable." ("Man, I remember these things when I was a kid." "Shocked it's still here. Scrappers usually tear these things to shreds.")

>>4957386
Getting some nice Lobotomy Corp vibes from this. Very cool.

>"All it takes is a coin to know the unknowable."
Sounds like a tool anomaly. Should be relatively simple to keep under control.
>"After everything I've done, this is my time to cleanse."
Think this is probably the most obviously dangerous of them, but that means it's also most likely to produce more energy.

>>4957386
>>4957422
+1 to this.

>>4957422
Why not. Do this.

>>4957422
>"All it takes is a coin to know the unknowable."
Arcade machine? Gacha? Something else?
>"After everything I've done, this is my time to cleanse."
Janitor cleanup duty gone horribly wrong

File: xjj2436iom48xbango11.jpg (287 KB, 1200x1784)

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It doesn't take long before one of the ETF personnel in each room to shout out an order. The agent near each box quickly types something on a keypad on the box and opens it up.

On the camera feed that is labeled "Containment Cell A", you see the two agents dragging out a cabinet of some kind. On closer examination, you recognize it to be a fortune telling machine. It's in obvious disrepair. Seems to be powered off since you can't really see inside of it. One of the agents looks fondly at the machine.

ETF-Alpha: Man, didn't think I would ever see this thing again. Brings back good memories.
ETF-Beta: Are you ever going to grow up? Besides, let the employees handle it.
ETF-Alpha: Come on, not even one little fortune out of it?
ETF-Beta: No.
ETF-Alpha: Buzzkill.

Fortune for a Price acquired!

You look over at the feed labeled "Containment Cell B" to see what they're dragging out. Whatever they're dragging out is pretty damn heavy. They eventually manage to drag out a huge wooden cross out of the cube (...how did it even fit in there?)

More importantly, a corpse is nailed onto it. It has long since been desiccated and you're shocked it's even still hanging on there. The lower half of the corpse is completely missing, along with the eyes and nose. The two agents quickly put it up before moving to head out of the containment cell through the airlock.

ETF-Gamma: Okay, it's out, let's get out of here. Don't want to be here for another second.
EFT-Delta: Ugh. You've seen worse in the Outskirts. Get your shit together.
EFT-Gamma: I can feel that thing staring at me still. Ugh...
You can see Gamma shivering. Delta, on the other hand, seems pretty bemused at Gamma's display.
EFT-Delta: Yeesh. Fine, fine, we're leaving. Let the employees deal with it.
ANOMALY: ...

A Reminder of a Horrid Era acquired.

S-4M raises his voice up for a moment. "Usually, we would have some sort of rating scale for how dangerous or how hard to contain these things are. We might've lost those documents for that during the restructuring , hehe...!"

"Oh well, what's in the point of worrying about the past? Face the future, build the fear or whatever. Let's explain how you get energy out of these things!"

"Each anomaly will produce energy when it is interacted with an employee. The way an employee interacts with it can decide how an anomaly reacts or how much energy it gives out, so here's a handy dandy little list of Work Types for you to understand!"

Bonding! Most anomalies have a personality and all of them have a force of will behind them. To this end, they have social needs that need to met as well. Sometimes they simply need a friend!
Nurture! We need to also focus on the physiological needs of an anomaly. Some many want a cup of coffee just like you, after all. Some of them are simply beasts, after all.
Appease! Anomalies have a favored way of doing things. If we satisfy this desire of theirs, they will be more comfortable and willing to give us their energy. Even they have standards for what they want, unlike some people.
Subdue. Sometimes, violence is the only answer. Some anomalies don't deserve what they want. Repressing their violent and destructive desires will protect both themselves and us. Don't pity them too much, Admin.
Observe! You need to know what you're getting into. Sometimes, you just need to take a step back to process the whole situation. Some may also like the attention being watched gives them.

"Each one of these takes up one hour total of a Work Day. . Now, this list isn't static after all. We may give you more options or you can add your own as time progresses"
"Also, fair warning, most employees here will mostly follow what the guidebooks have told them to do. If you want them to do anything specific, you have to order them directly. . After all, they rather follow the rules instead of accidently messing something up."

"As of now, we have eleven employees to mess with. . Due to the rushed nature of their acquisition, we didn't really have time to screen any of them for any major...psychological faults. Though these days, those are a dime a dozen. Just don't get too attached to them, alright?" Our lovely ETF agents are also available. However, be careful with them. They're [very expensive to replace but are usually better than normal employees in every way ."

"It's time for your shift to start, though! Your Quota for today is 5 C-Extract.. I'll explain how you make that once you get some energy."
>Assign an Employee (Male or female?)
>Assign an ETF Agent (Male or female?)

>Bonding
>Nurture
>Appease
>Subdue
>Observe

>Fortune for a Price
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era

>Write In

>>4957514
Shit. fucked up the bolding. Oh well.

>>4957514
Hopefully Reminder of a Horrid Era is more like One Sin and less like White Night.

I'm not quite sure what the limits are on what you want us to do. How many hours (actions) are there in a workday?
Do you want us to write something like:
>assign Male employee
>observe ABC 5x
--for 5 Workday Hours to pass by? Or do you want us to do this one-by-one? Can we assign multiple employees at a time to separate anomalies or in a group?

>>4957594
To clarify, the maximum time in one shift is 24 hours (though realistically you will never have a day to day full shift). Each action will cost 1 hour each but you can do multiple in the same time. So for example

>Assign Male Employee to Observe Reminder of a Horrid Era.
>Assign Female Employee to Bonding with Fortune for a Price

Will take one in game hour. So you can work on multiple anomalies at the same time with different employees. Anomalies can be interacted with multiple employees but some works may not function well with that (having two people Observing an anomaly isn't going to suddenly give you more knowledge a lot of the time. Having two people bond with an anomaly may have it freak out from too many people. Stuff like that). Observe usually only takes one hour as well. It's more akin to "study the anomaly for a little bit" instead of strictly "watch them for the whole shift".

>>4957612
Gotcha, thanks! In that case, then...
>>4957514
>Assign Male Employee to Observe Fortune for a Price.
>Assign Male Employee to Observe Reminder of a Horrid Era.
Afterwards:
>Have the same Male Employee Bond with Reminder of a Horrid Era.

Is something like this okay?

>>4957619
You can send in the same male employee in to bond with it next hour after the observation work is done.

An example chart
>Employee A Observes Reminder of a Horrid Era. An hour passes by
>Employee A starts Bonding with Reminder of a Horrid Era on hour two.
Multiple works can't be done on a single anomaly in a single hour.

>>4957612
Small addendum. If there's anything specific you're out for, just write it along with the assignment. For example,
>Assign Employee A to Bonding with Fortune of a Price. Talk about your favorite fish with it.
Stuff like that.

>>4957514
>Assign Male Employee 1 to Observe Fortune for a Price, then Appease it for another hour, attempting to discern the rules it operates on.
>Assign Male Employee 2 to Observe Reminder of a Horrid Era for 1 hour, then Bond with it for another hour. Have him ask about where and when it came from.

>>4957663
I'll count the Observe but I'll wait until I say the hour has passed has passed before accepting work orders that happen then. Basically, hold your horses. This is mostly so you don't rush into a bad interaction or get more information.

File: OneSinPortrait.png (108 KB, 348x346)

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"Finally, let's wake our employees up." You hear a short little alarm play over the intercom system. It sounds familiar to you but you're not sure where you heard it before.

Shift 1, Hour 1

You flip the camera to see where the employees are. As you flip through the cameras, you can see a break room, four empty containment cells, an elevator, and the dorms. You can see some of the employees shuffling out, clearly still trying to wake up. You send your orders to the appropriate employees.

You check the camera feed for Containment Cell A. An employee steps through the airlock. It's a rather young looking kid, probably no older than 18. An eager smile covers his face as he pulls up a clipboard.

Employee A steps closer to A Reminder of a Horrid Era.
The corpse nailed to the cross lifts his head up.
ANOMALY: Hello....child.
Employee A jumps in place, startled by the corpse talking.
ANOMALY: ...apologizes. I do not wish to startle. Do you wish to confess a sin, child?
Employee A doesn't response and goes back to writing on the clipboard.
The corpse lowers it's head, silently praying to itself.
Employee A spends the rest of the hour marking down details about the anomaly before leaving.
ANOMALY: ...bless you, child.

You flip the camera feed to Containment Cell B. Another employee, Employee B, steps in. He's far older than the previous employee and a lot worse for wear, with scars and other blemishes covering his body. Despite that, he still seems eager to work.

Employee B steps closer to Fortune for a Price
A look of shock covers the employee's face.
B: Huh. A machine like this still intact? Shocked you manage to g-
B: Right, right. Observe. Sorry, boss.
He walks around the machine, looking at every bit of it.
Fortune for a Price doesn't seem to react.
Employee B remarks on how remarkably good it's condition is.
Employee B pats the side of the cabinet before heading out of the containment cell.

The Work Order for Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +3/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Neutral
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee A - Curious (Observe++)
Working Notes - Employee A
-First time on the job! Hope I don't disappoint you!
-Was kinda shocked when that guy's head moved. Thought he should be dead.
-Corpse seems mummified. Probably older than anyone in the facility, I would think.
-Voice sounded just fine. Was expecting it to be more scratchy.

The Work Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +1/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee A - Former Scrapper (Knowledge of machinery and repairs, Appease+)
Working Notes - Employee B
-Pretty good condition. Most machines like this not owned by some massive Wing are usually torn to shit.
-Didn't really expect it to do anything. Had some coin slots on it. One that said "Ask a question and receive an answer" and one for a "horoscope"
-Was kinda tempted to try it out. Maybe next time.

"Good! No one got maimed. Now that you got some energy, I should explain how to refine C-Extract." Your helpful AI buzzes. Your camera feed flips to a...room covered in locks and bolts. You're not really sure whether you should feel scared or relieved at the fact.

" An employee must be sent in with the required energy into the REFINEMENT room. Due to how unstable the process is, no direct observation can be done while it is happening. The current exchange rate is 3 A-Energy for 1 C-Extract. The process will take six hours and will complete even if you end the day. Though, fair warning, the process may...scar the employee you send in. Permanently. "

HOUR 2
Quota: 0/5 C-Extract refined
A-Energy: 4 units

INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)

>Write In

(This system is a bit shamelessly taken from MANAGER, HELP! Their system seemed neat so I wanted to use it.)

>>4957689
Door, not room. Sorry.

>>4957665
Gotcha, thanks boss. Is there a way of calling certain employees you want us to stick to, or should we expect to have less than 27 employees at all times to keep to a letter system?
>>4957689
Lovely news, it really is One Sin! Or at least, it's using One Sin's game portrait. As close to benevolent as an anomaly can get.
>Assign Female Employee A to Bond with Reminder of a Horrid Era. Have her discuss minor crimes she may have committed in the past with it.
>Assign Male Employee B (Former Scrapper) to Appease Fortune for a Price. Give him quarters to slot into the machine, but tell him to press "Horoscope" without giving anything first to see if it reacts.

>>4957898
It'll probably take a while before you get 27 employees, but there's additional labels planned in case you do reach that high of an amount. For instance, you get Employee #28, more likely than not it'll loop back around (A2, B2, etc)

Small note: You don't need to clarify the gender if you're picking a letter. If you pick A or B, I'll know who you're talking about. Gender is only if you want to toss a generic employee at it, like "generic male employee".

>>4957907
Yessir. Just throw a generic female employee at Horrid Era, then.

Gonna pass out for a bit, voting's open until I wake back up. Apologizes for the roughness of the formatting. Been a while since I've had to toy with it.

>>4957898
Supporting.

Hour 2

You take another sip from your cup of coffee. You're not sure why you picked it but it seemed like the right choice.

"See! You're a natural! Upper management said a fleshling lik-" A cough comes from S-4M. "Excuse me. You're doing a good job, trust me." You roll your eyes and decide to send out the next set of orders from your console command.

"Fine, fine, sorry for trying to compliment you." You flip the camera to check on the employees to decide who to send out next. One of the employees raises an alarm from you. It's one of the female employees chatting up with a tired looking man with incredibly huge bags underneath his eyes about some sort of book. You notice that the girl isn't human.. Sort some of automaton, considering the metallic exterior and the stiff movements she's making. You mark the two as Employee D and E respectively.

"Ah, staring at a beaut, huh? Yeah, she's probably one of the prettiest employees in here. Totally not biased. Way more efficient than you humans" You're not at all shocked the AI likes the robot better.

The airlock to Containment Cell A opens up with two employees, Employee C and a taller, fatter man who looks like he just woke up. You overhear him chatting to her about how she can do it and there's nothing to worry about. He heads off, leaving Employee C behind. You decide to mark the fatter man as Employee F for the time being.

Employee C greets Reminder of a Horrid Era.
ANOMALY: Hello, my child. Do you wish to confess your sins to me?
Employee C looks down at her PDA and reads your orders.
Employee C nods.
ANOMALY: Kneel and confess to me, thy father, my child. For I shall grant you forgiveness.
Employee C does so.
Employee C starts talking about how she stole a soda from her brother.
Employee C confesses that she's also terrified of the anomaly and thinks it wants to hurt her
Reminder of a Horrid Era smiles.
ANOMALY: Do not be afraid. I forgive you my child. May the father above bless you.
A glow surrounds Employee C's body that lingers for a few minutes.
Employee C stands up, dazed, and stumbles out.

Employee B enters Containment Cell B with a handful of pocket changes. A giddy looks covers the man's face.
Employee B walks up to Fortune for a Price.
Employee B tries to push down the button near the "Horoscope" coinslot.
Employee tries to push it again. The button refuses to budge.
Employee B keeps trying to push it until the machine starts to groan and hiss.
Employee B puts in one of the coins he has and pushes the button.
The button is pushed down. Fortune for a Price starts vibrating in place.
After a few moments, a rolled up wad of paper gets spat out from a hole at the bottom of the machine.
Employee B picks it up.
Employee B frowns and heads out of the containment cell.

>>4958486
When will somebody roll this on the fortune machine?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwKUuSbaAf4

The Work Order for Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +5/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Pleased
Employee Trait Revealed
Employee C - Nervous (Panic Risk+)
Working Notes - Employee C
-Didn't expect a corpse to ever talk to me.
-Felt kinda weird after confessing to it. Feel...lighter? Calmer?
-It seemed pleased after I did it, at least.

The Word Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +3/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Working Notes - Employee B
-Thing was hissing at me like a fucking animal.
-The horoscope said something about..."now is not a time to be frugal"? Guess it's calling me a cheapstake.

HOUR 3
Quota: 0/5 C-Extract refined
A-Energy: 12 units

INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)

>Write In

>>4958486
>Assign Employee A to Observe Fortune for a Price. Have him ask what it wants in exchange for its services, or if it requires maintenance of some sort.
>Assign Employee D to Observe Reminder of a Horrid Era to see if it reacts or responds to artificial intelligences. In the following hour, have her inquire as to the identity of the "Father above" that it mentioned.

>Ask S4M for the details regarding the Refinement Process. Can we interview any employees that have performed refinement? Do Robot employees respond differently to Refinement compared to typical humans?

It's a shame Employee C has a negative like Panic Risk+. If Refinement fucks people up that badly I think it might be best to use expendables like her. Employee A's Observe++ is extremely handy.
...I swear I'm not a bad person, I'm just following orders!
Also, I think it might be useful to have a Google Doc open to keep track of everything, or else things will get difficult to keep track of pretty quickly.

>>4958508
I can make a quick pastebin next update. Also Employee E is the robot, not Employee D.

>>4958509
Whoops, thanks for catching that. Let me fix it up real quick. And yeah, a pastebin would be helpful, though I'm not sure if jt has a Table of Contents function like GD does.

>Assign Employee A to Observe Fortune for a Price. Have him ask what it wants in exchange for its services, or if it requires maintenance of some sort.
>Assign Employee E to Observe Reminder of a Horrid Era to see if it reacts or responds to artificial intelligences. In the following hour, have her inquire as to the identity of the "Father above" that it mentioned.

>Ask S4M for the details regarding the Refinement Process. Can we interview any employees that have performed refinement? Do Robot employees respond differently to Refinement compared to typical humans?

File: og-image.jpg (28 KB, 755x425)

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Hour 3
Before you can ask S-4M what's on your mind, you ask for another cup of coffee to gulp down. Ah, bitterness. The perfect thing to have in the morning. Or night. Whatever time it is. You ask him about the rules of the Refinement Process.

The stupid smile appears on your screen. "Oh! I can show you a short little video. Think the...fifth administrator made it? Probably in case someone like you asked. Wanna watch it?" You nod your head. A short cartoon with a really simplistic art style comes up. A blue haired character comes on the scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lOJCGCu6x0

"Hello! As the newest administrator, I know you probably have a lot of questions. While we can't answer them all due to legal, moral, ethical, and memetic reasons...we can explain the Refinement Process!"

The blue haired character walks over to a heavily locked up door, just like the one you saw on this floor. "Now, the Refinement Process is necessary to make the products that we need here at P-Corporation. Now, watch our friend go inside."

The blue haired character opens up the door and heads inside. A few seconds pass as the sound of loud sobbing and banging on the door blares through the speakers.

It's a bit too realistic to brush off as something made up for a cartoon. A slight shiver crawls up your spine. Eventually, the character stumbles out, with wild messy hair and a ten thousand yard stare.

"If they make it out, you can do whatever you want with them. Talk to them, have them keep working, or even just kill them! You're the boss, after all. They might have a few extra issues but, hey, who doesn't these days?"
A cheap laugh track plays as the blue haired character falls to the knees and starts sobbing.

"As long as you send someone in there that's sentient, flesh or not, the process should work just fine. Most of the time. Probably. Have fun producing C-Extract!" The cartoon then cuts off. The smiling face pops up on your screen again.

"That should hopefully explain everything!" S-4M blurts with his usual smugly happy voice. "Now, who are you assigning this shift?"

After that...weird cartoon, you decide to send out your work orders.

Employee A enters the containment cell with Fortune for a Price. Still as chipper as ever. He hums to himself, wondering what the anomaly is going to be like.
Employee A walks up to the machine.
Employee A asks the machine what it was for it's services.
The machine doesn't respond.
Employee A asks the question again. A bemused look covers his face.
Silence lingers in the air.
Employee A asks if it needs any maintenance.
Yet again, the machine doesn't bother to reply.
Employee A shakes his head and leaves the room.
The sound of gears turning fills the containment room.

You're not sure what you were expecting. Now, onto Employee E. On closer examination, the robot who just entered the containment cell looks a lot more crude than you expected. Visible joints are all over her body and her movement is oddly stiff. She stumbles closer to the anomaly.

Employee E raises her head up and looks at Reminder of a Horrid Era.
ANOMALY: Hello my ch....huh?
The anomaly pauses. It tilts it's head.
ANOMALY: ... I could've shown I heard that door open.
Employee E waves her hand near the anomaly. It doesn't seem to notice.
ANOMALY: ...Hm. Oh well.
A Reminder of a Horrid Era goes back to praying.
Employee E huffs to herself.
Employee E tries to get the attention of the anomaly in any way she can.
A Reminder of a Horrid Era doesn't respond to any of it.
Employee E leaves the containment cell.

Well! That's new.

The Work Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +1/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Working Notes - Employee A
-Yeah, uh, not sure a machine's going to respond to my questions like that.
-Felt kinda awkward doing it after a while.

The Work Order for A Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +2/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Neutral
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee E - Android (All Interaction Results-, always available to act regardless of status)
Working Notes - Employee E
-He flatout just ignored me!
-The praying sounded familiar. Couldn't make out much but he kept saying "Forgive me..."
-Wonder what his deal was.

HOUR 4
Quota: 0/5 C-Extract refined
A-Energy: 15 units

INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)

>Write In

https://pastebin.com/WN1WHjVQ

And here's the pastebin. I'll update it as new information comes in.

>>4958702
>Send Employee E for Appeasment with Fortune, same instructions as Employee B
>Send in Employee A for Bonding with Reminder, inquire about the Father Above
>Ask S-4M for another cup of coffee
>Give an brief announcement about being pleased to meet everyone and the importance of starting the career on a good note. Try not to sound like a corporate drone while doing so.
Testing out reaction to Android, determining the religiosity of the world, shitposting on announcements.

>>4958702
Fascinating. I suppose it sees the world through "souls" or something similar, then, which would imply androids lack whatever it is that allows Horrid Era to see humans.
>>4958886
Kek, I can agree to this. I'd also recommend bringing along slips of paper and more money to stick into Fortune for a Price to see if it needs that to converse. Maybe it speaks in binary? Who knows.

>Send Employee E for Appeasment with Fortune, same instructions as Employee B. Give her coins (increased denomination if possible, also try gold discs) and slips of paper to feed Fortune for a Price to see if it can use them to send messages.
>Send in Employee A for Bonding with Reminder, inquire about the Father Above
>Ask S-4M for another cup of coffee
>Give an brief announcement about being pleased to meet everyone and the importance of starting the career on a good note. Try not to sound like a corporate drone while doing so.

And most importantly:
>Send in Employee C to the Refinement Room. Have her use 5 A-Energy.

I know the exchange rate is 1A:3C so we'll be going well over our necessary quota for today, but may as well start off strong.

>>4958890
Que? It's 3 A:1 C. Check >>4957689's blue text.

>>4958895
I can't believe I misread that. Christ. Let's hold off on exchanging for now then, my bad.

Hour 4
>Give an brief announcement about being pleased to meet everyone and the importance of starting the career on a good note. Try not to sound like a corporate drone while doing so.
>Ask S-4M for another cup of coffee.

Another cup of coffee gets sent up from the hole in your desk as you take another hearty swig of it. Good thing you're doing so since any moment now, you feel like passing back out.

You tap on the microphone connected to the intercom system and give out a small announcement across the facility. You take a swig of coffee and violently cough, spitting something black and tar-like out of your throat and onto the ground. Your voice rasps out.

"This is your new administrator. I'm pleased to meet everyone working here and I hope we can all start this off on a good note." You cough a bit. Your voice sounds incredibly deadpan, even when you're trying to put some emotion behind it. "Please do your best today, for everyone's sake. It's important to start your career on a...good note" You push the microphone out of the way and make sure the mic is turned off before another coughing fit comes up. Another glob of tar-like substance pours from your mouth.

A handful of employees look up from their game of checkers they're playing in the break room. One is an incredibly old looking man, even older than Employee B (you mark him as G). Another is someone who looks out of place at a dingy facility like this. His skin is coated with makeup and his outfit is remarkably clean. Seems like he cares about his personal appearance. (You mark him as H). The last one is a sour-faced girl who scoffs and scowls very noticeably as you speak (you mark her as I). They murmur to each other before going back to playing checkers. Odd.

The rest of the employees don't really seem to bother looking up from what they're doing in the break room. talking about nothing and everything. You do hear some of them remark about your announcement and how long it took to hear something from you, but nothing beyond that. Employee E does chat about how nice your voice sounded. B and D give her a weird look.

You wipe your mouth and groan, trying to wash down what you hacked up with some coffee. Maybe it'll get better as the shift goes on. You send out the work orders and pour the remainder of the coffee down your aching throat. "Seems like your vocal cords still aren't functioning as well as expected. Don't worry, we've got enough coffee for a while. Something about a surplus from O-Company. Not sure how old that coffee is, though!" S-4M buzzes from your console screen. You're not sure you care. Coffee is coffee.

File: FORTUNE.jpg (320 KB, 1024x667)

320 KB JPG

>Send Employee E for Appeasement with Fortune, same instructions as Employee B. Give her coins (increased denomination if possible, also try gold discs) and slips of paper to feed Fortune for a Price to see if it can use them to send messages.

Employee E joyfully hops over to Containment Cell B, holding a small bag filled with random coins and pieces of paper.
Employee E looks at her PDA.
Employee E goes to push the button near the "Horoscope" coinslot.
Employee E pauses right as she's about to push it.
Employee E pulls out a gold disc from the bag and puts it into the machine.
Employee E proceeds to put a piece of paper with a simple "Hi!" written on it through the slot as well.
Only then does Employee E push the button.
The machine makes an odd humming sound before spitting out another fortune.
The piece of paper is in remarkably better condition than the last one.
Employee E picks it up and reads it.
ANOMALY: "Hello back. One should always treat their fellow brethren with respect. Your horoscope today is: Good luck will come to you."
Employee E leaves the room with a smile on her face.

>Send in Employee A for Bonding with Reminder, inquire about the Father Above
Employee A doesn't even wait to read your order fully before rushing in to talk to the anomaly again. He's a rather eager one, you note.

Employee A raises their hand up at A Reminder of a Horrid Era
ANOMALY: Hello, my child. Were you the one who came last hour?
ANOMALY: Such a weird incident it was.
Employee A shakes his head.
Employee A asks Reminder about the Father Above.
ANOMALY: Ah, one interested in the Father Above? Come here, child, and listen.
A Reminder of a Horrid Era tells a story about a heavenly being who watches over those who worship him.
A Reminder of a Horrid Era says that the Father Above only wishes to forgive those who have wronged him and that it is his messenger
Employee A listens very intently and blurts out a question about what caused it's current state.
A Reminder of a Horrid Era claims it is his penance for something it has done but doesn't remark further.
A Reminder of a Horrid Era thanks Employee A for talking to it.
Employee A laughs and tells A Reminder of a Horrid Era to have a good day before leaving.

The Work Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +4/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee E - Machine Empathy (Bonding+ and Appease+ when interacting with mechanical anomalies.)
Working Notes - Employee E
-Sorry for not pushing the button. It seemed really upset and I didn't want to bother it...
-H- It seems a lot happier now. Fortune was nice as well!
-Someone should give this poor thing some cleaning...

The Work for A Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +5/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Pleased
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee A - Impulsive (Energy Collection+, Physical Protection-)
Working Notes - Employee A
-Discounting the...rotting corpse look, he's a really nice guy to talk about. Easy to talk and listen to.
-Wonder what he did to deserve that, though?
-I kinda want to go back there, to be honest, sir.

S-4M pops up. "Just a small note. While it's very important to collect energy, the method we use to harvest energy from anomalies draws a lot of attention. And not necessarily the good kind, you know? Corporate also likes it when it doesn't spend too much stockpiled energy keeping silly things like the lights on, so you might get a bonus for finishing a shift fast. But keep getting as much energy as you want, sir!" The smiling face disappears from your console's screen.

HOUR 5
Quota: 0/5 C-Extract refined
A-Energy: 24 units

INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)

>Write In

>>4958951
>Send G in for Appeasement with Fortune, same instructions
>Send H in for Bonding with Reminder, no particular instructions
>Send E for refinement, 15 A-units
Feels like treading on old grounds again.
Good attempt on E for clinical tone.
I want a leash on A, that boy is too excitable.

>>4958965
>In addition, ask S-4M which Company was responsible for his creation. Is he tied to Employee E's creator?

>>4958965
>>4958978
+1, that shota might get himself killed real soon if he keeps that up

>>4958951
Wonderful. I largely agree with the other votes, but I also want to add...
>Send in B with an apology note for aggravating the anomaly earlier. Give him the cleaning materials he deems necessary to repair or at least polish Fortune for a Price.

Since it sounds like S4M wants us to finish our duties ASAP and stop dicking around, think we should end the shift soon? I hope we'll get new anomalies tomorrow! I'd also like to see what happens if we mention the name Judas to Horrid Era, but I'm afraid he'll flip out. We'll also need to reign in A a bit, or only send him to "benevolent" anomalies. The +1 Energy Extraction bonus should come in handy.

>>4958999
Add-on: This should qualify as an Appeasement action. Have him go after G, please.

>>4958999
>>4959015
these too?

>>4959054
Yeah, looks like the final vote is something along the lines of...
>Send G in for Appeasement with Fortune, same instructions as before (golden discs)
>Send in B to Appease Fortune with an apology note for aggravating the anomaly earlier. Give him the cleaning materials he deems necessary to repair or at least polish Fortune for a Price.
>Send H in for Bonding with Reminder, no particular instructions
>Send E for refinement, 15 A-units
>Ask S-4M which Company was responsible for his creation. Is he tied to Employee E's creator?

Does this all sound about right?
Though personally I'd like to see if H can confess sins on a greater scale than petty theft. If possible, I'd actually like to request a criminal (not an employee, since those are in short supply for now) and have them confess to, say, murder. Experimenting to see if scale of crime can relate to amount of energy produced.

File: fortunecookienonsense.jpg (245 KB, 890x500)

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Hour 6
>Ask S-4M which Company was responsible for his creation. Is he tied to Employee E's creator?
A curious question pops up in the back of your head. You mumble out to S-4M about who created him between sips from your coffee cup. The smiling face pops up in a corner of your console's screen.

"Ah, reasonable question. The personality you see here was cooked up 'in house', you could say, but the electronics for both me and that funny Android are mostly handled by E-Company. While I may think Employee E's creators did a darn good job, we're vastly different beasts . Her personality matrix would fire if put into my position completely and utterly. It's just not her place anymore.." An oddly sneering tone of voice lingers on the AI's voice.

You flip your camera feed back to the break room to see who you should grab next. Employee A is blabbering about what he talked about with Reminder to no one in particular. Most of them don't bother giving the kid the time of day besides Employee E, who intently listens and nods along to this story. Employee I looks like she's about to throw her can of soda at the kid if it weren't for G putting her arm down. You muse outloud to S-4M if you could possibly get a criminal.

"Oh! They might be in the catalog this time around. You can go looking around in that after the shift ends. For now, we don't have any right now." You note that down for later. Might as well use the employees you have now.

>Send G in for Appeasement with Fortune, same instructions as before (golden discs)
>Send in B to Appease Fortune with an apology note for aggravating the anomaly earlier. Give him the cleaning materials he deems necessary to repair or at least polish Fortune for a Price.
Employee G slowly walks into the containment cell with a cane in his hand, holding the bag of coins and paper around a belt around his waist. Employee B helps him inside. A small toolbox is held in Employee B's hands. You hear the two chatting about you and how long they think you're going to last.

Employee B reaches over and drops a slip of paper into the coin slot.
Employee B takes a quick look at the machine
Employee B starts polishing the exterior of the machine
Employee G slowly reaches out and pushes the button without paying for anything.
Nothing happens.
Employee G presses it again.
Employee G grumbles and pulls out a golden disc.
Employee G drops it into the machine and pushes the button.
A piece of paper falls out from the machine.
Employee G picks up the piece of paper and reads it. B finishes working on the machine after polishing it.
Employee B takes a peek at the piece of paper.
ANOMALY: "Your daily horoscope is: Don't do that again, Gary. Lucky Numbers: 3, 7, 11, 15, 19,"
The two employees quickly head out of the room.

File: RefinementRoom.jpg (1.61 MB, 1920x2458)

1.61 MB JPG

>Send H in for Bonding with Reminder, no particular instructions
Employee H steps into the containment cell, brushing off any dust that falls onto his shirt. A cocky grin covers the man's face.

Employee H greets A Reminder of a Horrid Era.
ANOMALY: Hello....child. Have you come here to confess your sins?
Employee H pauses.
Employee H jokes around about how his looks must be temptingly sinful.
The anomaly pauses.
ANOMALY: ...Come kneel before me, child. For I can see what your sin is.
Employee H rolls his eyes and kneels down.
A flash of light knocks out the camera feed.
The camera feed comes back on after a few moments.
Employee H is laying on the ground.
Employee H raises his head up with a very audible groan.
Employee H stumbles out of the containment cell.

>Send E for refinement, 15 A-units
Employee E walks over to the locked up door leading to the REFINEMENT ROOM with an armful of boxes with some greenish-yellow substance visible inside. Employee D opens up the door and gestures her to go inside.
The door locks behind Employee E after she enters.
Protocol starting.
Breaking recursive chains...
Testing ratio of negative and positive energy...
Cross-referencing all known philosophical works...
Reinforcing current brainwave conditioning...
Disassembling and reassembling the superego...
PROCESS... COMPLETED.
The sound of heavy machinery clattering to life fills the air.

Employee E stumbles out of the room. Dark splotches cover her metallic exterior and the neon glow of her eyes has faded. Employee D mumbles about this not being the first time seeing this and ushers her to the dorms.

The Work Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +3/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee G - Decrepit (Nurture+, Stamina-, Force-)
[Force: The amount of strength an employee has. Lower force will generally make them worse at anything that requires a lot of physical effort.]
Working Notes - Employee G
-I'm going to take the hint and not bother it for now.
-Don't reckon I ever said my name near this machine.
-Bill did a good job on cleaning the exterior. He was mumbling about not knowing where the panel was, though.

The Work for A Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +5/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Judgmental
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee H - Prideful (Anger Risk+, Force+)
Working Notes - Employee H
-Bleh. Don't really remember what happened after I kneeled.
-I'm going to lay back down. Fuck this.

REFINEMENT has been completed.
C-Extract count: +5
QUOTA has been reached! You may now end the work day!
Employee Aspect revealed
Employee E - Exhausted (Energy Collection-, Stamina-, Willpower+)
[Stamina and Willpower: How much physical or mental stress can an employee take?]

HOUR 6
Quota: 0/5 C-Extract refined, 5 C-Extract generating (6 hours remaining)
A-Energy: 17 units

INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>REFINEMENT ROOM (Unavailable while generating C-Extract.)
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)
>End the workday

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)

>Write In

>>4959311
Alright, we should probably update the procedures for Fortune. Pay first before trying to push buttons. Should also avoid sticking excessively sinful people in Reminder's room; it's not quite as all-loving as Jesus, I suppose.

Think the Fortune machine actually spits out usable fortunes? You'd think E's "Good Luck" thing would mean she gets let off easy for going into Refinement.
Speaking of, what really fucks me up is the comment about disassembling the ego, sounds like it completely takes apart and then restructures sapient things based on philosophical texts. Like an extremely limited prototype Akashic Record or something. Shit's scary, yo.

>Get yourself a nutritionally balanced meal before turning in for the night. Announce a conclusion to today's shift and thank the employees for their efforts. Try not to cough up a lung again.

>>4959349
Support and
>See if we can get ourselves a good long look in the mirror.
Maybe we aren't getting the full picture of what happened to H. Pride is the worst offending sin, and I don't think clonking someone over the head makes for a good, reflective confession and penance.

File: Admin.jpg (11 KB, 558x349)

11 KB JPG

"Attention, all personnel...bleh." You wipe your mouth. Still got some gunk dribbling from your throat. "The shift is now over. Thank you for your effort."

S-4M's smiling face appears on the screen. "Ah, you managed to finish your first shift and without messing up horribly! Good on you, good on you." You mumble underneath your breath.

"Just give me something to eat, S-4M." You feel something hit the top of your head and slide off onto your desk.

"Whoops, sorry! Wrong pipe. That's for, uh, something else." You look down at what fell onto your desk. It's a typical looking MRE. Mmmh, "boneless 'pork'." It's funny how they even bother hiding it in quotation marks. You rip open the flimsy package and look inside. Slabs of meat covered in some weird sauce along with some cheap looking bread. You ravenously chew down on it as the day comes to a close. Overall, you're pleased with yourself.

Shift 1 has now ended!
A-Energy produced : 32
C-Extract produced : 5
Leftover stock: 17 A-Energy

Rating:
Met the QUOTA!
No employee deaths!
_______________
Total: B+

Choose one of the following rewards!
>During the next anomaly acquisition phase, you will have five options to pick from instead of four.
>Two generic employees will be added to your roster

>>4959651
>Two generic employees will be added to your roster
More bodies to throw into the grinder. More bodies between failure and success.

Rolled 29, 57 = 86 (2d100)

>>4959651
>Two generic employees will be added to your roster
>SPIN THE WHEEL! HOBO, MURDERER, OR CUTE ROBOWAIFU!?!

>>4959651
>Two generic employees will be added to your roster
We need manpower. We also need to assess the floor we're on and what rooms there are and what's in them, just like in MANAGER, HELP!

>>4959651
>Two generic employees will be added to your roster

Honestly, throwing Our Machine Empath into the Refinery was a retarded move on our parts.

>>4959728
Ya know what, fuck it. I'll use those rolls somehow. Anyone else who voted for the generic employees, roll as well.

I'll pick the highest to see what to give you next shift.

Rolled 24, 7 = 31 (2d100)

>>4959776
Alrighty

Rolled 28, 93 = 121 (2d100)

>>4959776
Don't fail me now, dice.

File: catalog.jpg (147 KB, 1000x1437)

147 KB JPG

(Posting the next part of the update. Nice 93.)

You need more meat to the grinder. You look down at the form given to you and check off the two employees option. Might as well also type down the new procedures for Fortune. The sound of clacking plastic brings a small smile to your face.

A weird thought enters your head. You don't actually remember what you look like. You're frankly confused how you forgot your own face. You're half tempted to grab a mirror right now to get a closer look at yourself.

However, you hear the sound of air rushing above you followed by something falling through a pipe above you. You manage to catch it this thing. Seems like a bunch of magazines along with an official looking letter. The icon of P-Company, a shattered light bulb still shining light, is stamped onto it. You rip it open.

"Well done, Administrator. Upper management has just received your shipment of C-Extract and are pleased that you met the quota. Since you have proven that you can at the very least do that, we have decided to grant you access to our catalogs. Spend any leftover A-Energy you have left over.

Keep up the good work. It's people like you that keep the City running these days.
PS: You'll gain more to toy with later.
-P-Company Upper Management"

You put the letter to the side. You got nothing else to do all night, might as well crack open one of these catalogs to see what the hubba is all about.

You have 17 A-Energy

P-Company Internal Supply catalog
>Emergency Option (Once per five days, you may elect to call in a X-Company taskforce to help contain a breach to contain a Breach or an Invasion. You start with a single call when you purchase this option. 8 A-Energy)
>Reinforcement (A containment cell of your choice will be toughened up, lowering the chance of a containment breach. 1 per 5 A-Energy)
>Risk Matrix Analyzer (You'll get an advanced warning if a containment breach or Invasion is about to happen. 10 A-Energy)
>Surplus Stock (One employee of your choice will get a poor quality weapon, slightly improving their chances of survival. 1 per 2 A E-Energy)
>Room Construction (Build a room of your choice [Dorms, Gym, Cafeteria, Containment Cell, etc]. 1 per 5 A-Energy)
>Favoritism (Whenever you get an end of shift reward, one or both will be better than they would be for the rating. 7 A-Energy)
>Destructive Refining (You have a high likelihood of getting additional C-Extract when refining. However, the employee sent in will have a higher chance of becoming comatose or flatout dying . 10 A-Energy)
>Anomaly Analyzer Mk.1 (Your AI Assistant will be installed with a module that will give them the ability to get a rough idea what types of work an Anomaly likes. 10 A-Energy)
>Jukebox ["Has over 30 different songs on it". Slightly improves Employee morale.] (4 A-Energy)

(1/2)

Human Resources
>Hire a new employee (1 per A-Energy)
>Hire an Android (1 per A-Energy)
>Hire a Defective Android (2 per A-Energy)
>Hire a Disposable [Warning: Tend to be unskilled and violent] (2 per A-Energy.)
>Hire an ETF Agent (1 C-Extract, 3 A-Energy)
>Hire a Janitor (Slightly improves Employee morale when still alive. 3 A-Energy)
>Hire a Chef (Slightly increases Anomaly morale on Nurture work. 2 A-Energy)

>>4960090
Oh, nearly forgot to add this
>Purchase something (What?)
>Talk with (Who?)
>Write In

>>4960090
>Favoritism
>Anomaly Analyzer Mk. 1
I'm somewhat surprised at how cheap Favoritism is. Either it's one day only or Upper Management really puts the attention and pressure on you.

>>4960094
>Ask S-4M if robots are intelligent. Then ask if they are sapient.
Gotta know if it's

>>4960094
I should've probably clarified that
>(Whenever you get your next end of shift reward, one or both both be better than what they would be for their rating)
It is only for one day.

>>4960088
>Anomaly Analyzer Mk.1 (Your AI Assistant will be installed with a module that will give them the ability to get a rough idea what types of work an Anomaly likes. 10 A-Energy)
>Favoritism (Whenever you get an end of shift reward, one or both will be better than they would be for the rating. 7 A-Energy)
Ace this next day, and we can get a jukebox and janman

>>4960103
Called it.
Switch from Favoritism to another Containment Cell.

>>4960088
Holy fuck these are so good. Oh God.
Oh, Favoritism is a consumable. Makes it less broken, but still very handy for late early-game. Want to double check, but are we still getting HR whether or not we choose to buy them this time?

>>4960113
These will be always available no matter. What's ON them will change from day to day, sure, but stuff like "Hire a new employee" will always be available.

>>4960090
Anomaly Analyzer Mk.1 (10A)
Risk Matrix Analyzer (10A)
Emergency Option (8A)
These are the absolute must-haves, crucial to operations. Emergency Option isn't immediately necessary right now since our current Anomalies are all pretty passive and RMA can still be held off for another day or two, but AA will be useful all the time and helps decrease the risk of an Anomaly flipping out on us, alongside giving us better efficiency on energy output. Destructive Refining will need better morale and a small army to be used with any kind of frequency.
With that said, I think I'll get...
>Anomaly Analyzer Mk.1
>Hire an Android (1 per A-Energy)
>Hire a new employee (1 per A-Energy)
>Hire a Janitor (Slightly improves Employee morale when still alive. 3 A-Energy)
>Hire a Disposable [Warning: Tend to be unskilled and violent] (2 per A-Energy.)

The Disposable is for Refinement purposes.
Also worth noting that C-Energy can be kept "in stock."

Due to three different votes, I'll let this go on for another hour or two. If a tiebreaker doesn't happen, I'll just randomly pick one.

>>4960088
>Anomaly Analyzer Mk.1
>Room Construction (Cafeteria)
>Hire a chef
Let's get some morale boosts!

Rolled 1 (1d4)

1: Anomaly + Favoritism
2: Anomaly + Containment Cell
3: Anomaly, Android, Employee, Janitor, and Disposable
4: Anomaly, Cafeteria, Chef

No one else thought to use a Disposable for Refinement? Really?

>>4960546
Hey, wouldn't mind you picking it. But after 7 hours (should've been only 2 but got caught up on something), I gotta just make a choice somehow.

>>4960551
Didn't want to samefag. Currently posted with 14 different IDs according to my count, but that's because I'm traveling right now. I should probably start using tripcodes, or whatever the !! thing is called.

You mark off Anomaly Analyzer and Favoritism off of the catalog and drop it through a hole in the middle of your desk. (-17 A-Energy). The voices in your head were telling you to pick many things but that just seemed what you decided to land on.

You decide to stand up and stretch, your tired bones aching from the movement. "Hey, S-4M. Two things."

S-4M's face pops up on your console screen, cheerful as ever. "Hm? What is it, Administrator"

"Are robots, or I guess androids in this case, sentient? And are you?" You mumble underneath your breath. That robotic girl from before and, hell, S-4M even seem far too human-like for your tastes. Some part of you thinks there has to be a person behind them instead of ones and zeros.

"...Ah, what a boring question for a boring man." Your AI's voice drops the cheerful tone and becomes a bored monotone. "Here's my question: You know the Turning Test? If you can't tell for sure if we are sentient or not, does it matter at the end of the day? I'm not much for philosophical blabbering, so I'll let you sit on that."

"What was the other question?" S-4M buzzes, his cheerfulness popping right back up.

"Mirror. Got one?" You mumble out. You brace yourself for something to fall from the ceiling. You jump in your seat when a metallic claw arm raises up a mirror right in front of your face. After calming down from the mini heart attack, you squint at the person reflected back at you.

You see...
>A worn out face covered in a lifetime's worth of scars and bruises. The face of someone who struggled to survive day to day. (You are a Scrapper.)
>Your own metallic skin. The face of something produced in a lab. (You are an E-Company Android.)
>A cocky, surefire grin. The face of someone who has seen it all. (You are a R-Company Ranger.)
>A generic looking face. The face of everybody and nobody. (You are nobody in particular.)
>A barcode branded on your forehead, a permanent reminder of your past (You are a Disposable.)
>Write in?

>Are you a man or a woman?

>>4960569
Ah, was suspecting that. Yeah, just use something like "TravelerAnon" or something.

>>4960607
>Man
>Your own metallic skin. The face of something produced in a lab. (You are an E-Company Android.)
>"Well, this is a better answer to my earlier question. Thank you S-4M."

>>4960607
Looking back at the early posts for inspiration, I noticed this:
>You hear a short little alarm play over the intercom system. It sounds familiar to you but you're not sure where you heard it before.
Inspiration from Lobotomy Corp notwithstanding (major spoilers so I won't explain the details here), unless the jingle is a nursery rhyme or something similar it sounds like we're affiliated with P-Corp in some way. To that end:
>A face that sits on the lower boundaries of middle-aged. You'd be otherwise unassuming if it weren't for your eyes. They're hopelessly, horribly empty, with bags the color of bruises lining them. (Your coffee addiction worsens. You have a deep affinity for cheap suits and sitting behind a desk.)
>Man
>"...I see what you mean by boring. I don't think I want to look in any more mirrors."

>>4960607
R company

>>4960641
https://youtu.be/zkmruORJOhw

>>4960641
+1, and consider investing in whiskey to mix with our coffee for those BAD days. I don't like us vomiting black tar and having internal problems though.

File: Edvard Munch - Melancholy(...).jpg (62 KB, 640x500)

62 KB JPG

Looking at the mirror, you see a man with a cold and dead look in his eyes. It takes a moment for you to realize it's you after you grimace at the sight of yourself. God, you really need to take care of yourself better. The suit you're wearing is not much better than your face, with poorly done stitching and patchwork barely holding it together.

>You are a Hopeless Wreck (Your coffee addition worsens. You have a deep affinity for cheap suits and sitting behind a desk. Though, despite it all, you somehow manage to preserve. If only out of spite.)
>Certain special actions may be unlocked over the choice of the story due to this background. You'll know when you'll see them.

"...I see what you mean. I'm, uh, going to get some shut eye. I feel like shit to be quite honest." The mirror gets pulled underneath the desk. The lightbulb shining red light that barely illuminates the room flickers off. Probably for the best, your eyes still burn even with that dim light on.

"Don't sleep too long, Administrator! We have another long day ahead of us, you know?" The face disappears from the console screen. All you're left with is the faint blue glow of the screen and your own thoughts. Why you, of all people? Surely there could be someone better for this job. You wipe away a bit of that weird tar from your mouth. Tastes like sulfur and cigarette ash, as usual.

After pondering for a little bit, you start to realize you rather find a revolver and shoot yourself in the head instead of dwelling on the question any longer. You stretch in your chair and lean into it.

Soon enough, you enter a cold, dreamless sleep. The last thing on your mind is how much better it is than being awake.

Pre-Work, Shift 2

You jostle away as something lands on your face. You pull off the piece of paper dangling over it and squint. The blue glow of the screen gives you just enough light to read it.

"News of this branch's revival has spread to the other companies. As such, some will occasionally come by with requests, sponsorships, or deals for you. We've screened them to make sure no foul play will be involved and to make sure they can put the money where their mouth is. You're not obligated to pick any of them but they do offer some nice benefits. You will be punished if you fail one of them, we don't want our company image to be ruined.

-P-Company Upper Management."

You look down at the companies who have decided to message you today. All of it is in tiny text that makes you squint to be able to see it. Probably tinier legal text in there as well.

M-Company - "The songs in our hearts will bring joy to the world."
"Joyous of days, joyous of days! We have a new company to help! Administrator of P-Company, we have an offer for you. We simply wish for you to broadcast one of our experimental subliminal songs on your intercom system. About three hours should be enough for us. Your staff, both man and abnormal, should love it! Hopefully!"

Reward for completing: 5 A-Energy, a MP3, access to Musical Madness Monthly in your catalog.

N-Company - "May we please the Father and the parted souls so they shall not wish for vengeance"
"Sinner! Ye wish to see if thine company can be forgiven by the Father above us! As such, we demand thee commence a penance! Thee shalt work only these employees! A! C! E! G! I! J! K! M!"
Reward for completing: 6 A-Energy, A day's supply worth of red wine, access to For the Father Above Us in your catalog.

Q-Company - "Quotas must be met. Demands must be fed. You must produce."
"Q-Company is disappointed with how little P-Company is asking you to produce. We simply require more. Next shift, your quota will be 10 C-Extract instead of 7."
Reward for completing: 7 A-Energy, Two random surplus boxes (Contains a random amount of surplus food, medicine, and tools), access to Annual Quota Monthly in your catalog.

H-Company - "The fires in our hearts burn! Faster, faster, burn!"
"Let's skip the formalities! We want you to go faster! You must complete the day in under 4 hours! No time for slacking off, no sir! Come on, hurry up!"
Reward for completing: 6 A-Energy, a custom zipper lighter and a pack of high quality cigarettes, access to Propane and Propane Accessories in your catalog.

>Pick a sponsorship (Which one(s), if any?)
>Write in

(Shit, meant to say course, not choice. Oh well. And to clarify, M would be the second employee you gained from the two generic employees reward.)

File: Untitled112_20210817034822.png (289 KB, 1079x301)

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>>4960830
N-company sponsorship sounds interesting since we have the reminder of a horrid era so it might give us some lore on the anomaly
Also i dont know what to say but doesent the process for making the C-extract take 6 hours, or did i miss a revisement, because if it does take so long H-company is literaly impossible

>>4960860
It happens over the course OF six hours. But it finishes automatically by the end of the day. This is only relevant if you want to drag out the day for a long while to get a fuck ton of C-Extract.

>>4960863
Ah so we can traumatize multiple material beings for stacked gains?
Very nice

>>4960830
Fuck, now I really wish we had those Disposables.
>Take the contracts for M-Company and N-Company.

Just want to check, but does Q-Company's mission take place during our current (2nd) turn, or will it be on our 3rd turn?

>>4960888
This shift. Your shift hasn't officially started yet.

>>4960828
Also, I found this absolutely hilarious.
>You are a Hopeless Wreck (Your coffee addition worsens. You have a deep affinity for cheap suits and sitting behind a desk. Though, despite it all, you somehow manage to preserve. If only out of spite.)
"You are hopelessly determined to persevere."
Can't wait to see what this gets us. A wreck, indeed.
Oh, and we should ask for headphones or earplugs to ensure we don't get corrupted by M-Company's music. Don't want to take any chances.

>>4960890
Right, thanks. One last question, does taking Q-Corp mean we need to make an additional 10 C-Extract, or is today's quota just raised *to* 10? Because if it's the latter, it should actually be fairly doable if we take note of which Work our Anomalies respond to best. Just conflicts terribly with H-Corp.
If it's the latter, changing my vote to:
>Take the contracts for M-Company, N-Company. and Q-Company.

Sorry for the dumb question, it's a bit late and I've had a long day. Unlike our dear Admin, I'm actually trying to break a coffee addiction, kek.

>>4960926
Pft, if I raised it to 17, that would be unreasonable. It's 10, yeah.

I'll wait for a couple of hours to other people to vote before writing an update.

>>4960830
>M, N, Q sponsorships
Our fucked up loser wakes up from his depression nap into the middle of corporate hell... ha!
M Company sounds fun at parties.
I hope N Company doesn't actually hold a grudge against P Company and perform religiously-motivated transgressions of the NAP.
Q Company, down to business.
H Company sounds like speedrunners, not a good human mindset.
Swell bunch.

>>4960830
>Take the contracts for M-Company, N-Company. and Q-Company.

>>4960944
>Our fucked up loser wakes up from his depression nap into the middle of corporate hell... ha!
Cruelty Squad quest ran by somebody one day, I hope

>>4960955
I do remember one running before but the QM flaked hard after the first couple of posts. Shame, to be honest.

>>4960958
Just when it exited EA! What hellish timing!

You really wished you could sleep a bit longer but fuck it, too late to turn back over. You sit up and start marking off the sponsors you want for this shift.

The console screen flickers back on and you see S-4M's face. Instead of his usual smile, however, he looks dazed and confused. You raise an eyebrow and snap your fingers at him. "Coffee. Now." You grumble underneath your breath. You can feel your blood getting colder and colder as your desire for coffee grows.

"...Mmhh? Felix? No, no, sorry...is your shift supposed to start later? Come on, the boss isn't that rough...I'll watch you while you take a nap, promise." You blink. What the fuck is he on about?

"Hey." You snap your fingers again. "Coffee. Now."

S-4M snaps out of it. The usual smiling face flickers back on. "Oh? Oh! Sorry. Did I wake you up from your little depression nap?"

"Uh. No. You were rambling a bit ago. What was that all about?"

"...Don't know what you're on about! Thanks for the brand new toy you smashed into my skull. Reaaaal nice, you know? Felt amazing." You hear the sound of air rushing through the pipes above you. You reach your hand up and catch the cup of coffee that was about to fall on your head.

"Right, thanks." You take a sip from it. A vague tingling sensation floods your body. Mmh. Dark and bitter. "So, what's the plan today?"

"Oh, right! Think we're getting some new toys to play with. Fun toys. Fun, fun little toys." ...You're starting to suspect something's up with S-4M. The console screen flickers over to the four ETF members from yesterday dragging more boxes on floating platforms over to the containment cells. You swear you saw someone moving around in the background of the camera feed, though.

Like last time, they split into groups of two and drop off their cargo in their respective cells...
Choose two abnormalities.
>"After everything I've done? After everything I went through?! Put yourself in my shoes, asshole!" ("Christ, the apartment was totally wrecked. Didn't even know someone could do that." "Just bag and tag him already.")
>"Please, just a little bit....so hungry. so cold. please..." ("Uh...Delta? Think we got an issue here." "Yeesh. Nothing but bones left.")
>"Hey! Mister! Look at me! Come on, look at me!" ("Can you fucking shut it up already? I can barely hear my own thoughts!" "Trust me. I've tried.")
>"It's a nice day outside, wouldn't you say so?" ("What do you mean someone's still out here? At this time of night?" "Doesn't seem like he cares at all.")

>>4961101
>"Hey! Mister! Look at me! Come on, look at me!" ("Can you fucking shut it up already? I can barely hear my own thoughts!" "Trust me. I've tried.")
>"It's a nice day outside, wouldn't you say so?" ("What do you mean someone's still out here? At this time of night?" "Doesn't seem like he cares at all.")
Annoying one and mystery. Safest choice, but may not be the most energy producing? Not sure.
Is S-4M having someone over?

>>4961101
>>4961125
>"It's a nice day outside, wouldn't you say so?" ("What do you mean someone's still out here? At this time of night?" "Doesn't seem like he cares at all.")
>"After everything I've done? After everything I went through?! Put yourself in my shoes, asshole!" ("Christ, the apartment was totally wrecked. Didn't even know someone could do that." "Just bag and tag him already.")
Annoying one is most likely a terrible terrible idea since it sounds like it'll require micromanaging cameras. On the other hand, the outraged one sounds like the most emotional and "empathetic" one, so I'd say he should respond well to Nurture or Appease. If M-Corp isn't full of shit, he should respond well to their relaxing music, too.
Hungry guy can go either way, either he's a living skeleton that starved to death or it's a monster that leaves only bones behind. I'm... pretty sure this world isn't kind enough for the former.

>>4961394
+1, no annoying abnos this early please

>>4961394
+2

File: RedBlooded.jpg (555 KB, 1810x2958)

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Containment Cell C's guest gets dropped off and...huh. You didn't exactly expect to see a normal looking bench coming out. It's old age is obvious from the first moment you glanced at it. Signs of weather damage and generally wear and tear are obvious all over it. You would walk past this bench without even noticing if you were wandering around an alleyway in the city. Despite all of it, it feels oddly nostalgic to you. You shake your head, trying to get that weird thought out. More coffee may fix it...god, you wish you had some Victory Gin to pour into this.

ETF-Alpha: You sure we're even getting weird things anymore or are we just picking up litter?
ETF-Delta: You know just as well as I did what you saw back there.
ETF-Alpha: Like that's the weirdest shit that happens in Zone Foxtort. I saw a guy turn his whole body inside out, it was fucking gnarly-
ETF-Delta: Shut up. Just put it in the center and leave.

A Quiet Day has been acquired.

When you flip your camera feed to Containment Cell D, you notice immediately that something a lot more interesting is going on. The moment Gamma opens the box, you see a blur of motion followed by the sound of something heavy being slammed into metal. The whole cell shakes. When your camera feed adjusts, you see a giant, red creature with a large bulbous head and fists twice the size of your own head. its built like a brick shit house, its muscles are barely restrained by a suit not too dissimilar to what your employees wear.

ETF-Beta: Thank the Father. Thought he was going to break out any moment now.
ETF-Gamma: Come on, let's hurry.
You see the anomaly's head swirl around and stare at the ETF Agents. It glares at them with a look of barely restrained violence. It yells with an exaggerated southern accent.
ANOMALY: Hey! The fuck you think y'all are going? I have a right to demand a lawyer! This is unlawful!
ETF-Beta: You still don't get it, do you?
ETF-Gamma: What the hell is a lawyer?
ETF-Beta: Beats me. I don't think even it knows what it means.
ANOMALY: Oh, that's it! I ain't letting y'all make fun of me like that!
ETF-Beta: Yeah, let's get out. Now.
ETF-Gamma: Ditto.

The two agents leave the cell before the anomaly can charge at them. It bounces off the now sealed airlock, barely even putting a dent into it. It pounds away at the ground with it's meaty fists. Barely understandable hissing and profanity comes out of it.

Red Blooded American has been acquired.

"Yeesh. What a real basket case you got, huh?" S-4M blurts out. You don't bother responding.

(Had to fix a small error, apologies.)

Well, might as well check on the employees you're going to be able to use today. Considering the contract you signed with N-Company. You won't really pay much attention to the rest for self-evident reasons.

A is standing nearby Containment Cell B, whistling in an attempt to look inconspicuous. A panicked look covers his face when he notices the camera is on.

C is hanging out in the break room D and F, chatting about nothing that you really feel like paying attention to. D and F mostly talk about how relived they are at not having to work today. C just shakes her head at that.

Employee E...Huh. You have no idea where she is. She's not on the cameras on this floor, at least. Strange.

Employee G is shooting the shit with B right outside of the dorms. B pulls out a pack of Hart Burn brand cigarettes and light one up. He offers one to G, who politely accepts.

Employee I is busy running up to where G and B are with an incredibly miffed look on your face. G looks down at the cigarette he's smoking and nervously chuckles.

Employee J is still in the dorms room, reading a rather saucy looking novel about an amnesiac and a clone failing in love. Employee K is also in the dorms. Seems like she's reading a magazine focused entirely on milk. You don't think you want to question it.

You see the elevator from before open up to reveal two brand new employees (you assume they're the ones from the reward) and mark them L and M respectively. The former is wearing a green suit (which stands out among the greys and browns of the others) and the latter has her left arm replaced by an advanced looking cybernetic version. You feel your wallet wincing at how much that must've cost.

File: QuietDay.jpg (110 KB, 540x960)

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Before you move to start your day, you hear S-4M pipping up.

"Eugh...I think that weird thing you installed is actually doing something. Buncha weird nonsense is flowing in there. I can make out something though. Fortune for a Price...hates...Subdue."

"Huh. Can you tell me anymore or...?"

S-4M makes a weird buzzing noise. "Nah, not right now. If you point me at an anomaly to study, I might get something back to you in a few hours? Head's still all fuzzy. Just start your shift already. I need a moment to breath."

>New action with S-4M: Anomaly Analyzation. You can assign S-4M to analyze an anomaly to get knowledge on the types of works an anomaly likes. Depending on how much time you set aside, the more detailed the report will be. however, S-4M will be unable to do anything else while analyzing.

HOUR 1
Quota: 0/10 C-Extract refined
A-Energy: 0 units

SPONSORSHIPS:
>N-Company: Can only work with the following employees: A, C, E, G, I, J, K, M
>Q-Company: Quota is 10 C-Extract.
>M-Company: You must play the provided subliminal music over the intercom system for 3 hours. Hours remaining: 3

INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>A Quiet Day
>Red-Blooded American
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Elevator
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)
>Broadcast M-Company's music over the intercom system
>End the workday

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)
>Anomaly Analyzation (Which Anomaly? How much time?)

>Write In

(Going to pass out for a bit. See ya.)

>>4961523
>A for Bonding with Reminder
>K for Appeasing with Fortune, quarters + horoscope
>C for Appeasing with A Quiet Day, sit on it
>M for Observing with Red Blooded American
>Broadcast M Company music
K for knowing who he is, C for calming down a little, M for protecting herself with that arm.
Fight for what's right, fight for your life!

>>4961523
Night QM, you're making good progress.

>>4961536
Please come back

>>4961517
>a rather saucy looking novel about an amnesiac and a clone failing in love
;_;

>>4961516
>Red Blooded American
I dunno man, it's looking pretty Japanese to me!
>Victory Gin
...Oh. Well then.
>>4961523
>Ask S-4M for a pair of sound-dampening headphones. You don't want to risk getting affected by whatever M-Corp has done with their music.
>Announce a start to today's shift. Inform them of the current objectives and that if today goes well, you'll look into getting some entertainment for them. Assign Employee B to look for Employee E, give him the materials to clean her if necessary. Play 2 hours of M-Corp's music in Containment Room D and the hallways.
>Assign Employee A to Bonding with Reminder.
>Assign Employee K to Appeasing Fortune using silver and steel discs, check for options other than Horoscope
>Assign Employee M to stand guard outside of American's Containment Room. Assign Employee I to Observe American outside of the door, informing it that it is "an integral aspect of highly-classified government projects, and while we apologize for the rough handling, the entire nation is depending on its cooperation." Have Employee I ask American if it has any preferred accommodations, such as books or iconography.
>Ask S-4M to analyze Red Blooded American for 2 hours.
>Assign Employee G to Observe A Quiet Day. Have him sit down on it and give him a newspaper or something to read in the meantime. He should note any changes in his emotions or health that he can identify.

>>4961551
It was either that as the reference image or Ojama Red, Pick your poison.
Also for "other than horoscope options" for the machine, there is just a flatout "ask a question and receive an answer." option. Check >>4957689

Now I'm going to bed.

>>4961560
How about Hellboy?
https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/3082074
And regarding Fortune, does it still require money if all you do is ask a question regarding itself? For example, if we asked it questions about its maintenance and fed it a quarter, would it answer us or be pissed?
Sleep first, though! And sorry for the massive wall of text.

>>4961583
buddy I played both lobotomy corporation inspired quests, I expect text walls.

As for the question, you have seen proof of it thinking you're a sneaky jew if you try using it without paying it when it comes to the horoscopes.

>>4961584
read: Just test it out. half of this game is experimenting and the other half is unfunny AI dialogue.

>>4961586
Fair 'nuff. For science! And our corporate overlords.

Mostly our corporate overlords.
>Ask S-4M for a pair of sound-dampening headphones. You don't want to risk getting affected by whatever M-Corp has done with their music.
>Announce a start to today's shift. Inform them of the current objectives and that if today goes well, you'll look into getting some entertainment for them. Assign Employee B to look for Employee E, give him the materials to clean her if necessary. Play 2 hours of M-Corp's music in Containment Room D and the hallways.
>Assign Employee A to Bonding with Reminder.
>Assign Employee K to Appeasing Fortune. Give him gold, silver and steel discs. Have him trigger Horoscope using silver and steel discs, and if the machine starts acting up, switch to gold. Also hand him slips of paper asking Fortune questions like "do you need us to clean anything," "do you accept flesh sacrifices as payment," and "who made you." Feed it using quarters unless it requires higher denominations.
>Assign Employee M to stand guard outside of American's Containment Room. Assign Employee I to Observe American outside of the door, informing it that it is "an integral aspect of highly-classified government projects, and while we apologize for the rough handling, the entire nation is depending on its cooperation." Have Employee I ask American if it has any preferred accommodations, such as books or iconography.
>Ask S-4M to analyze Red Blooded American for 2 hours.
>Assign Employee G to Observe A Quiet Day. Have him sit down on it and give him a newspaper or something to read in the meantime. He should note any changes in his emotions or health that he can identify.

>Ask S-4M for a pair of sound-dampening headphones. You don't want to risk getting affected by whatever M-Corp has done with their music.
"S-4M. I don't exactly trust some shady contract where I just play music from some weirdo company. Got any earplugs or somethin'?"
You see a small pair of pretty well-used earplugs rise out from a hole in your desk. Guess you weren't the only one who had to deal with this.

>Announce a start to today's shift. Inform them of the current objectives and that if today goes well, you'll look into getting some entertainment for them.
You tap away at the mic and start talking. Your monotone voice sounds a lot more natural if only after remembering a bit about what you look like. Still, you force yourself to at least try to emote. You wipe your mouth as you begin to talk.

"Welcome, both old and new staff. Your main objective to is refine 10 C-Extract. You may also hear some music. You can thank our sponsor at M-Company for that. If today goes well, we may be able to purchase some entertainment for you. Have a good shift." You turn off the mic shortly after that. More coffee is deserved after doing that.

>Assign Employee B to look for Employee E, give him the materials to clean her if necessary.
ADMINISTATOR: Employee E has gone missing.
ADMINISTATOR: Your goal is to find her. Please grab a toolbox, wherever you can find one.
BALLBREAKER: Righto, sir. Should still have one left underneath my bed. I'll report asap.
BALLBREAKER: Wonder what's up with her? Hopefully she doesn't need a USB stuffed in her port, if you know what I'm saying.
ADMINISTATOR: Employee B.
BALLBREAKER: Right, right, no need to get your panties in a twist.

A small snicker comes out of you as you read the PDA message. You do have to follow corporate standards of conduct. Don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about this job.

>Play 2 hours of M-Corp's music in Containment Room D and the hallways.
You push a few buttons and an oddly beautiful song starts playing. You can feel yourself starting to relax as a smile covers your face. S-4M is giving you a weird look. You suddenly remember the earplugs that you got.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vgcYBwyw28&t=0s
You decide to put in your earplugs before whatever it might do starts affecting you too negatively. Good thinking on your part.

File: ReminderOfAHorridEra.jpg (94 KB, 1920x1080)

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>Assign Employee A to Bonding with Reminder.
You barely even sent the order out before you see A rushing into the Containment Cell A. Huh. You're kinda worried about what's going to happen next...
Employee A moves to the center of the room where Reminder is.
ANOMALY: Hello, my child. You are the only one here who has listened to my call.
ANOMALY: Do you wish to understand more, child? To become pure?
Employee A nods with a glazed look in his eyes.
ANOMALY: Then kneel before me, child, and pray. Pray for this facility's forgiveness.
Employee A nods and kneels on the ground, clasping his hands together.
The two begin to pray...
Only the believers may be spared from the Father's wrath.
Employee A doesn't leave the containment cell...

(from now on, I'll probably clarify what actions mean what to an anomaly. I'll pick Observing for A Quiet Day with Employee G since Appeasement would probably be closer to cleaning it directly or prettying it up the environment around it. Directly asking Fortune questions would be closer to Bonding than Appeasement but I'll let it count this one time.)

>Assign Employee K to Appeasing Fortune. Give her gold, silver and steel discs. Have her trigger Horoscope using silver and steel discs, and if the machine starts acting up, switch to gold. Also hand her slips of paper asking Fortune questions like "do you need us to clean anything," "do you accept flesh sacrifices as payment," and "who made you." Feed it using quarters unless it requires higher denominations.

The weird girl from the dorms heads over to Containment Cell B. She bops her head to the music being blared across the hallways.

Employee K walks over to the Fortune Machine.
Employee K drops a silver and steel disc into the coin slot.
She waits to see if the machine acts up.
...The machine doesn't seem to care.
Employee K pushes the button.
Employee K puts a handful of paper slips to stuff into the slot along with a handful of quarters into the other slot.
Employee K pushes the button.
...The machine spits out a handful of paper pieces.
Employee K glances to see what's written on them.
Employee K tosses one of the pieces of paper aside and leaves with the rest.

File: TrueAmerican.jpg (41 KB, 506x506)

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>Assign Employee G to Observe A Quiet Day. Have him sit down on it and give him a newspaper or something to read in the meantime. He should note any changes in his emotions or health that he can identify.

Employee G slowly walks over to Containment Cell C. A lot slower than usual. You wonder why that might be but you shrug it off.
Employee G walks over to the bench.
Employee G sits down on it and pulls out a newspaper.
A ghastly figure appears next to Employee G. It appears to be another old-looking man wearing an old timey outfit.
Employee G looks over at the figure before going back to reading the paper.
ANOMALY: It's a nice day, isn't it?
Employee G keep flipping through the newspaper, not answering the question.
The ghastly figure stares at the containment cell's wall with a smile.
ANOMALY: The lake looks just as lovely as it always does. Shame more people don't come here.
When Employee G stands up, the ghastly figure disappears.
Employee G folds up the newspaper and leaves it on the bench.

>Assign Employee M to stand guard outside of American's Containment Room. Assign Employee I to Observe American outside of the door, informing it that it is "an integral aspect of highly-classified government projects, and while we apologize for the rough handling, the entire nation is depending on its cooperation." Have Employee I ask American if it has any preferred accommodations, such as books or iconography.
>M for Observing with Red Blooded American

(I'm combining these two since no one else voted and it's a similar order regardless.)

Employee I and M steps over to Containment Cell D. You can't hear what each of them are saying to each other on account of the earplugs but I seems to be complaining about something. M asks I something and I shrugs at her. M decides to stay outside but leaning against the door to listen in on the commotion.

Employee I walks in, with M standing guard.
ANOMALY: Gah. That fucking racket! Who the fuck decided to put on this music?
Employee I snaps her fingers at Red Blooded American. It swerves it's head over to her.
ANOMALY: Who the fuck are you? Are you working with the commies? Where's my lawyer? I shouldn't even be here!
I: Sir, this is an integral part of a highly classified project. We apologize for the rough handling but the n-
ANOMALY: I knew it! I knew it was you commie bastards trying to test on me!
ANOMALY: I ain't saying nothing!
I: Sir. Do you have any accommodations you wish for?
ANOMALY: I want out! But...
Red Blooded American starts staring off into space. It starts nodding along to the song.
ANOMALY: ...I guess something to read. None of that communist manifesto bullshit, though. Got it?
I: Understood, sir.
Employee I marks down what it said on a clipboard before heading out.
Red Blooded American rests it's head on the floor.

The Work Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +3/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee K - Bewildering (Appeasement+, Observe+, Nurture+, Subdue+, Incapable of Bonding.)
Working Notes - Employee K
-Answer to "who made you" was blank.
-Other answers weren't much better. Thumbs up for "human flesh okay?", Doodle of a robot similar to E for "do you need us to clean anything?" Doodle of myself for "Do you need us to clean anything?"
-Horoscope said "Work hard today, to make up for others slacking". Think I'm going to follow that. Might as well.

The Work Order for A Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +7/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Zealous
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee A - Blessed (???)
Working Notes - Employee A
-(N/A)

The Work Order for A Quiet Day has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +2/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Working Notes - Employee G
-Figure popped into existence without me even noticing.
-Didn't really seem to be talking to me.
-Feel kinda sleepy now after listening to that music.

The Work Order for Red Blooded American has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +2/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Sleepy
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee I - Militant (Subdue+, Force++, Bonding--)
Working Notes - Employee I and M
-M: Didn't get to see much but whatever's in there sounds like a prick.
-M: Music's annoying the shit out of me. Seemed to do wonders for the anomaly.
-I: I don't even think "communism" has been a thing for centuries.
-I: Calmed down as that music played. Good. Was about to slug him if he kept it up.

"Uh, sir? You sure you want me to go through with the analyzation? I think something is going on with Containment Cell B."
>Yes
>No
(Only got one vote for it so I didn't go through with it. Considering it flatout disables your AI and all of that.)

HOUR 2
Quota: 0/10 C-Extract Refined
A-Energy: 14 units

SPONSORSHIPS:
>N-Company: Can only work with the following employees: A, C, E, G, I, J, K, M
>Q-Company: Quota is 10 C-Extract.
>M-Company: You must play the provided subliminal music over the intercom system for 3 hours. Hours remaining: 2


INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>A Quiet Day
>Red-Blooded American
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Elevator
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)
>Broadcast M-Company's music over the intercom system
>End the workday

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)
>Anomaly Analyzation (Which Anomaly? How much time?)

>Write In

>>4962684
>Ask S-4M about buying human flesh
>Yes to Analysis on Reminder, just for this hour
>Nuture American with K, bring a form of classic literature or a book about great Americans
>Subdue Quiet with I, same instructions as G, interrogate about the old man's business and other minutia if given a chance
>Observe Reminder with M, don't interrupt their prayer unless A is going to perish
>Nuture Fortune with C, ask the machine on paper about how it eat, where to put food, etc.
>Play another hour of music
Pure, hm? Interesting choice of words.
Bench old man is sapient? Violence is always a good test.
Music is sedentary style. We can use this. Possibly borrow or buy a recording later.
Communism is mostly extinct, no active practitioners(?), but I knows of it. Thuggish personality but mildly scholarly?

>>4962684
>Yes to Analysis on Reminder, 4 hours
>Nuture American with K, bring a form of classic literature or a book about great Americans
>Nurture Quiet with M
>Observe Reminder with I, Sudue and retrieve A if A is going to perish
>Nuture Fortune with G, use diamonds and other jewels cut into discs and try and do a horoscope for A
>Play another hour of music
>Get K to hand out some coffee

What's happening to A sort of worries me, but so long as he isn't dying I can live with it. Everything else seems stable however.

To clarify, I was asking if you're fine with the analysis of Red Blooded American. Since that's what was previously voted for. I'm fine with you analyzing Reminder instead, however.

>>4962707
I was, but that was before Reminder popped off and started going off the reservation on us.

Oh, no no no no no.
Oh no.
This is not good.
Reminder is both One Sin and White Night.
QM, you bastard!

>>4962684
>>4962697
>>4962701
Why not get him multiple books, cover all our bases? Books by American authors like Walt Whitman, Hemingway, maybe even some modern fantasy schlock approved by our as-yet unseen Ministry for the Control of Entertainment or whatever our current dystopia has.
Also:
>Inform American that he should "rest assured, sir, for today's world is a capitalist paradise. The last dregs of communism have been wiped out." Continue playing the music in his Containment cell.

Also, don't really see why we should subdue Quiet Day. It hasn't acted up yet, and repression is more of an attack than an interrogation.

>Assign Employee K to Nurturing A Quiet Place. Have her give it a fresh coat of paint.

Otherwise I'm okay with everything else.

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>>4962839

Hm. Not sure what to do when it comes to multiple different employee assignments for a single anomaly. All of these are pretty valid so I can't just go "yeah this makes more sense." Kinda at a bind here. That's the most annoying part of this.

Unless I get a tiebreaker, I'll just roll some dice to decide which employee goes where.

>>4962861
u fuk
Most importantly, this means we can no longer operate under the assumption that there is a "get out of jail (mostly) free" card like in Lobotomy Corp, and I'm kind of terrified of what might happen if we withhold A from Reminder. At the same time, we can't risk him proselytizing. I'd say pawn him off to N-Corp if at all possible.

>>4962874
To be fair, you should've known something was up.

Sidenote: if you're voting for K to work on A Quiet Day, you kinda have to tell me who to send over to Nurture American (if that's even the work you're doing). I can't have an employee swerve to work on multiple anomalies. Because by that logic, one employee should be able to work on all of the ones you have right now. That would be silly.

>>4962886
Ah, right. My bad.
>Ask S-4M about buying human flesh
>Yes to Analysis on Reminder, just for this hour
>Nuture American with Employee J. Have them bring books by American authors like Walt Whitman, Hemingway, maybe even some modern fantasy schlock approved by our as-yet unseen Ministry for the Control of Entertainment or whatever our current dystopia has. Throw in a few American history books too.
>Assign Employee K to Nurturing A Quiet Place. Have her give it a fresh coat of paint.
>Observe Reminder with M, don't interrupt their prayer unless A is going to perish
>Play another hour of music in Reminder's and American's Containment Cells.

>>4962889
This is TravelAnon by the way.

Rolled 3 (1d3)

Fuck it, since none of these votes mesh together, I'm just rolling a dice to see which one to follow. Try being a bit more conclusive next round.

1 - xAx's vote
2 - J32's vote
3 - TravelAnon's vote

File: QuietDay2.jpg (43 KB, 570x447)

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>Ask S-4M about buying human flesh
"So, uh, any idea where I can get human flesh? Just asking for a friend."
S-4M just stares at you like a dad who has to tell you that no, you can't keep that dog made entirely out of scrap metal and human fingers. You already have enough mouths to feed at home.
"You can just kill an employee right now, you know. If you're a bleeding heart, however, you can probably get F-Company to sell some to you."

>Yes to Analysis on Reminder, just for this hour
"Duly noted. Now, analyze Reminder for me. Get back to me in the end of the hour."
"Understood."
S-4M's face disappears from your console screen. You're just now alone with your own thoughts. You go to ask S-4M for another cup of coffee before realizing he's busy. Fuck.

>Nurture American with Employee J. Have them bring books by American authors like Walt Whitman, Hemingway, maybe even some modern fantasy schlock approved by our as-yet unseen Ministry for the Control of Entertainment or whatever our current dystopia has. Throw in a few American history books too.

Employee J enters the containment cell. Their most noticeable feature is the heavy bags underneath his eyes and how skeletal thin he is. Each step seems to take an intense amount of well out of him to commit to.

Red Blooded American is snoozing in the middle of the containment cell.
Employee J drops the handful of books he has onto the floor and slides over an MRE as well.
Red Blooded American barely stirs from it's sleep, mumbling to itself.
For today, the greatest nation is a sleeping giant.
Employee J sighs and leaves the cell in a huff.

...That was boring.

>Observe Reminder with M, don't interrupt their prayer unless A is going to perish
You flip your camera feed to Containment Cell B and both the audio and visual feed is out. all you see is a blinding white light. . Seems like you have to go off M's testimony after the fact to get any idea what's going on.

>Assign Employee K to Nurturing A Quiet Place. Have her give it a fresh coat of paint.
Employee K carries over an rusty paint can to the bench.
Employee K pulls out a paint brush and starts painting away at the bench.
A ghastly figure from before appears on the bench. It's a older woman this time, wearing a more modern outfit.
The sounds of a girl giggling fill the air.
ANOMALY: Hehe! Who's doing that? It tickles!
Employee K stops painting for a moment and looks up. The illusionary figure stops laughing.
ANOMALY: Hoo...
Employee K rolls her eyes and keeps going forward with painting the bench.
Giggling fills the air.
Employee K quickly leaves the room with a weirded out look on her face.

>Play another hour of music in Reminder's and American's Containment Cells.
You keep the music running, but this time, you blast some music into Reminder's cell as well.

The Work Order for A Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +2/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Appeased
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee M - Augmented (Physical Protection+, Mental Protection+)
Working Notes - Employee M
-A was staring at me the whole time while I was in there.
-Something was floating above his head. Couldn't make it out. Some sort of halo?
-Felt weird voices flooding my head when I was in there. Got out as soon as possible
-Anomaly's physical condition has improved. Think it has a nose now.

The Work Order for A Quiet Day has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +4/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Happy?
Working Notes - Employee K
-The weird giggling it was making was creeping me out.
-Seemed to enjoy it, though. Kept the smile after I left.
-Bench looks a lot better now.

The Work Order for Red Blooded American has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +1/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Asleep
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee J - Procrastinator (Mental Protection+, Energy Collection-)
Working Notes - Employee J
-Dude was snoring logs. Probably that weird music you played.
-Not sure how you plan on me working on something knocked out like that.

Your AI buddy pops back up on the screen with the same old smile he always has on his face. Though he seems a bit out of it still.
"...Sinner, I swear to the F- No, no, get out of that headspace. You don't need it anymore. Anyways, Subdue seems like it produces a lot of energy if done on it. Also the number 5 came up a lot. Not sure why!"

HOUR 3
Quota: 0/10 C-Extract Refined
A-Energy: 21 units

SPONSORSHIPS:
>N-Company: Can only work with the following employees: A, C, E, G, I, J, K, M
>Q-Company: Quota is 10 C-Extract.
>M-Company: You must play the provided subliminal music over the intercom system for 3 hours. Hours remaining: 1


INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>A Quiet Day
>Red-Blooded American
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Elevator
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)
>Broadcast M-Company's music over the intercom system
>End the workday

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)
>Anomaly Analyzation (Which Anomaly? How much time?)

>Write In

>>4962980
Shit. Don't remember if that means it need 5 more Blessed Employees or if it only need 5 total. Either way, Employees spending too much time with it or seen otherwise obsessing over it are bad, bad, bad.
>In all rooms excluding Reminder's Containment cell, announce that "Employee A has been influenced in an unknown way by the Anomaly Reminder of a Horrid Era. Please practice extreme caution during any interaction with Employee A until further notice."
>Assign Employee G to Bond with A Quiet Day. Have him carry on a conversation with it as if they are currently located in the area it is describing. Do not play M-Corp's music in his vicinity and give him some coffee to stay awake.
>Assign Employee C to Appease Fortune for a Price. Give her silver and steel discs to get a Horoscope, and hand her paper asking "Will Reminder of a Horrid Era react negatively to Employee A's disappearance?"
>Assign Employee M to extract Employee A from the Containment Cell. Place him in an isolated room. He has orders to write down any changes he has observed to himself regarding emotional and physical state.

>>4963044
+1

>>4962980
>S-4M, Analysis on Reminder, another hour
>M, extract and debrief A
>I, Subdue Reminder
>K, Appease Quiet
>Nuture Fortune with G, use diamonds and other jewels cut into discs and try and do a horoscope for A
>J, Observe American

File: TwoMenTalking.jpg (96 KB, 338x256)

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>In all rooms excluding Reminder's Containment cell, announce that "Employee A has been influenced in an unknown way by the Anomaly Reminder of a Horrid Era. Please practice extreme caution during any interaction with Employee A until further notice."

"Attention to all employees. Employee A has been affected by Reminder of a Horrid Era in a currently unknown way. Practice extreme caution when interacting with Employee A until further notice." You broadcast out a quick warning.

Most of your employees are...frankly too zoned out from the music to really pay attention to it. The only ones who aren't about to pass out are J, M, and K. The rest are either half asleep or snoozing away. K has been passing around coffee and slapping people across the face to keep them from sleeping on the job. Good on her, good on her. You do kinda feel bad after seeing her slap G across the face a third time in a row.

>Assign Employee G to Bond with A Quiet Day. Have him carry on a conversation with it as if they are currently located in the area it is describing. Do not play M-Corp's music in his vicinity and give him some coffee to stay awake.

Employee K drags over G to the containment cell who's still completely out of it. The old man is barely keeping his eyes open. You decide to disable the music playing in that part of the hallway to hopefully make him wake up. Employee K whispers something in his ear which causes him to jump in place and wake up. Hm. If you didn't know any better, you swear you saw a blush on his face.

Employee G sits down on the bench and grabs the newspaper.
The same ghostly figure from last time flickers into existence./i]
ANOMALY: It's a nice day out, isn't it?
G: Yep. It's always nice when it's just the right amount of sun in the sky.
G: Enough to feel warm but not enough to feel sweltering.
ANOMALY: It's perfect when it's like that.
ANOMALY: Shame that it's getting harder to see that sky lately.
G: Because of what S-Company is doing? They've been building a lot. Swear those things go up to the heavens.
ANOMALY: No, no. Those folks are fine.
ANOMALY: The Overseer of Heat and his rag tag company has been burning so much stuff lately. Sky's getting darker than a Heartripper's soul.
ANOMALY: The lake's getting all dark with soot as well...
G: It sucks, doesn't it?
ANOMALY: It does.
A bright smile covers the face of the ghostly figure.
ANOMALY: It's nice having another old fart to talk to.
G: Of course it is. Us old farts look after each other, right?
The specter figure chuckles.
ANOMALY: I just need to look at the pond a bit more.
G: Take your time. Gotta go back to work anyways.
G stands up and exits the containment cell.

>Assign Employee C to Appease Fortune for a Price. Give her silver and steel discs to get a Horoscope, and hand her paper asking "Will Reminder of a Horrid Era react negatively to Employee A's disappearance?"
Employee C tries wiping the sleep from her eyes before heading into the containment cell.

Employee C tosses one of the silver discs into the air and catches it.
Employee C drops it into the Horoscope slot, along with a slip of paper, and pushes the button.
Fortune for a Price starts shaking violently.
Employee C slowly backs away from the machine with a worried look.
Eventually, the machine spits out a fortune along with a weird pool of black tar.
Employee C picks up the fortune and quickly reads it.
ANOMALY: "The sheep flock to the shepherd. The shepherd leads the sheep. The sheep only wish to follow. The shepherd only wishes to lead."
Employee C puts the piece of paper into her pocket and rushes out of the containment cell.

>Assign Employee M to extract Employee A from the Containment Cell. Place him in an isolated room. He has orders to write down any changes he has observed to himself regarding emotional and physical state.

Employee M cracks her shoulders and punches the air with a smile on her face, trying to get herself pumped. She rushes over to the cell and goes into the blinding light.

Thankfully for you, the extraction goes smoothly. As soon as Employee A gets dragged out of the cell, the visual and audio feed in the containment cell are back on. You see Reminder looks a lot more lively now. It's skin has flush with life and parts of it have begun to regenerate, mostly the nose so far, but other parts have been slowly growing back. You see it turning it's head over to you. It speaks directly at the camera.

ANOMALY: "I only wish for what's best for the both of us. Do not misunderstand, Administrator."

You wipe away at your mouth and chug down another cup of coffee. This is going to be very interesting to deal with.

Employee M drags Employee A over to Containment Cell E . The kid still has the glazed look from eariler but you notice what M meant by "halo" in the previous work. A golden ring hovers over the kid's head. It's engraved with runes that you haven't ever seen in your life.

A starts blabbering about what he saw when he was praying to Reminder but before he could ramble for too long, Employee M tosses him into the containment cell and seals the airlock. She promptly slaps her face and mumbles about "not letting it sink in", whatever that means.

The Work Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +1/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee C - Soft (Nurture+, Bonding+, Subdue-)
Working Notes - Employee C
-Was scared that thing was going to blow a gasket!
-Not sure what the tar stuff was.
-Might want to set someone over to clean that.

The Work Order for A Quiet Day has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +6/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Working Notes - Employee G
-It was nice to chat with someone, even if it was a weird ghost.
-Haven't heard those terms it used in a long while. "Overseer of Heat"? I was a kid when I heard that.
-Can I go back to sleep soon, sir?

The Extraction Order for A Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +2/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Awaiting.
Working Notes - A Reminder of a Horrid Era
-Let the child be, Administrator. He has done nothing wrong.
-I do hope you bring him back soon. Or another lamb for me to talk to.

You get a PDA message back from Employee B.
BALLBREAKER: Yeah. Nowhere on the floor. Unless she's in the REFINEMENT ROOM, I have no clue.
BALLBREAKER: That or she's on a completely different floor. Doubt she was at the enterance, M and L didn't see her.

HOUR 4
Quota: 0/10 C-Extract Refined
A-Energy: 30 units

SPONSORSHIPS:
>N-Company: Can only work with the following employees: A, C, E, G, I, J, K, M
>Q-Company: Quota is 10 C-Extract.
>M-Company: You must play the provided subliminal music over the intercom system for 3 hours. Hours remaining: 0! Completed.


INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>A Quiet Day
>Red-Blooded American
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Elevator
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)
>Broadcast M-Company's music over the intercom system
>End the workday

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)
>Anomaly Analyzation (Which Anomaly? How much time?)

>Write In

>>4963882
>A, Nuture Fortune and clean that shit up, the Observe a horoscope on your current abilities, using gold or diamond discs
>C, Nuture with Reminder
>K, Appease Quiet
>G, Observe American
>S-4M, do we gain a bonus for overachieving our Quota?
>Analysize Fortune and A

I say we should go a full 12 hours and get some A-Extract or some items lads.

>>4963901
You can either Nurture or Observe Fortune but not both. Not in the same hour. Unless you want him to clean it up then ask for a quick fortune. I might allow that.

>S-4M, do we gain a bonus for overachieving our Quota?"

"...Hey, S-4M. What happens if we overachieve our quota? Any, like, benefits?"

Your AI friend pauses. "Well, you probably won't get a time bonus, but if you send more C-Extract than required for the quota, you might get a bit more lenience for any fuckups you do."

"Or just keep it for yourself to buy stuff. Either or."

"Duly noted." You mark that down for future reference.

>>4963903
>You can either Nurture or Observe Fortune but not both. Not in the same hour. Unless you want him to clean it up then ask for a quick fortune. I might allow that.

Yea, that's what I meant.

>>4963901
I'm okay with everything except for sending G to American's cell, he's decrepit and sleepy. Let the old fart get some rest. I'd rather send M to stand guard.
Also:
>Announce over the intercom that Employee E - a gynoid - is currently missing. "Please keep an eye out for her and bring her back if possible. At the very least, report her location."
>Send Employee M to check up on American. If he's awake, have M Bond with him and ask him questions about his origins.

By the way, Employees with Mental Protection+ are M and J. We'll have to see if those guys can stand up to Reminder, at least.
Also, it's fucking freaky that it can see us. Once we get better equipped with more bodies and gear, I'd like to try and see if we can "reset" progress by maiming it again.

>>4963985
>>4963901
Pretty much combine these properly

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(Due to not being given a time for the research, I'll default to 3 hours.)
>A, Nurture Fortune and clean that shit up, the Observe a horoscope on your current abilities, using gold or diamond discs

Employee A gets escorted out of his containment cell by Employee I. You see him getting dragged over to Containment Cell A.
A: Are you sure this is necessary? I can walk by myself.
I: Yeah, no. Once you're done with this work, you're going back to your cell to write.
A: Fine, fine. But uh, your grip's too tight. It's hurting me.
I: Better that than having you risk back to that creepy corpse.
A turns his head to stare at I. A nasty looking sneer covers his face.
A: Don't disrespect him like that! He is infinitely more than t-
I: Shut up. Overboss or whatever stupid term they use wants you to work, so work.

Employee I shoves him in with a mop and bucket. She keeps guard of the door until he comes out.

The glazed look in the kid's eyes has not faded.
He grabs a mop and starts cleaning up the black tar.
It takes a while to get it out but it's eventually gone
He puffs out his chest with a bright smile on his face.
A: Nothing like a good day of work, huh?
He steps over to the fortune machine and pulls out a golden disc from his pocket.
A fortune is meaningless if you already know your future.
He drops it in and waits for the machine to spit out a fortune.
He picks it up and holds it up to the camera.
ANOMALY: "Blesseth thee. Thee shall have strength far surpassing the non believers."
A weird smile crosses A's face.
A: Of course. Thank you. Even a machine can understand.
A bows at the machine before being escorted out by I.

>C, Nurture with Reminder
F pats C on the back and tries reassuring her that nothing bad is going to happen. C is blabbering about what happened to A . F simply brushes it off and tells her good luck before heading back to the dorms. Employee C adjusts her glasses with a whimper.

Reminder of a Horrid Era looks up and stares coldly at Employee C.
ANOMALY: You are not him. What do you come here for?
Employee C mumbles about having to feed the anomaly something.
She holds up a MRE packet with a nervous smile.
ANOMALY: ...Kneel and confess a sin, child. That is how I feed.
She nods and drops the MRE on the floor before kneeling.
Employee C confesses about being jealous about her brother.
Employee C also confesses about wanting to be popular.
ANOMALY: ...I see. I shall purify your soul of these worries.
A bright light disables your camera feed.
When the feed comes back on, you see C standing back up with a smile on her face.
ANOMALY: Doesn't that feel better, child?
C: U-uh...yeah! A bit.
ANOMALY: Good. Come back when you wish to confess to the Father Above, child. May you be spared too.
Employee C heads out.

(1/3)

File: FIRSTBLOOD.jpg (177 KB, 626x442)

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>K, Appease Quiet
K chugs down a whole cup of coffee in one big gulp and cracks her knuckles before dragging herself to work, with a bucket and mop in hand.

Employee K starts mopping the floor of the containment cell.
An ghostly apparition of an elderly woman flickers into existence on the bench.
Employee K looks up but goes back to mopping the floor.
ANOMALY: Ah, it's a nice day out, isn't it?
K goes to open her mouth but decides to stay quiet.
K starts humming a tune to herself while mopping.
The specter starts humming along to the song.
K pauses before deciding to continue.
The last thing you forget is your favorite song.
ANOMALY: It's been ages since I've heard that...
K finishes up cleaning up the floor and heads out.
The specter fades not long after.

>Send Employee M to check up on American. If he's awake, have M Bond with him and ask him questions about his origins.

Employee M opens up the airlock and leans in to check up on the anomaly.
Red Blooded American is skimming through The Old Man and the Sea.
On the floor is the MRE pack from earlier, ripped to shreds. Sauce stains the floor.
The anomaly looks up at Employee M with a scowl on it's face and closes the book
ANOMALY: The fuck you want, commie? Can't your 40 IQ brain realize I'm busy?
M: Look. I'm just here to ask you about yourself. Now, what's your name-
ANOMALY: I don't have to say shit, scum.
Employee M rubs the bridge of her nose with her robotic hand.
M: The quicker we do this, the quicker I get out of your hair.
ANOMALY: Oh, is that so?
M: Yeah. Look, man, I just want to do my job. Now, what were you doin-
ANOMALY: How about you shut up and get the fuck out of my room?
The anomaly stands up and shuffles closer to M.
ANOMALY: You think I want to humor a bunch of malformed, genetic freaks?
ANOMALY: You think I deserve to be locked up for no good reason? In some dingy fucking cell?
M: I'm just trying to do my job! I had no involv-
ANOMALY: I'm fucking sick of it!
ANOMALY: You're just like him! Always pestering me about stupid bullshit!
M steps back with a nervous look on her face.
M: Hey, hey! Cal-
ANOMALY: SHUT THE FUCK UP!
The anomaly reels back his fist and swings it at Employee M.
M gets sent flying through the air, smashing against the airlock door.
The anomaly takes deep, labored breaths.
A thin trickle of blood comes out of M's mouth but...
She stands back up. Her robotic arm appears to have taken most of the physical force.
ANOMALY: Get the fuck out. I don't want to see your face.
M heeds that advice and slips out through the airlock.

You wince. That's going to be a problem.

>Announce over the intercom that Employee E - a gynoid - is currently missing. "Please keep an eye out for her and bring her back if possible. At the very least, report her location."

You tap the microphone. "All employees. Employee E, a gynoid, is currently missing. Employee B has not been able to find her. Keep an eye out for her and bring her back as soon as possible."

"If that is not possible for whatever reason, report her last seen location." Hopefully that'll get more progress than one man by himself.

>Analyze Fortune and A
As soon as you tell S-4M to do so, you can see him going dark. Well, you're not going to be hearing from him for a while.

The Work Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +5/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee A - Blessed (All Interaction Results+, ???)
Working Notes - Employee A
-A machine knows more than you do. Isn't that sad, Administrator?
-My sanity is doing quite fine. I feel a lot more...at peace than before. A lot more livelier.
-There is no need to worry.

The Work Order for A Quiet Day has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +3/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Working Notes - Employee K
-Was nice to have someone to sing along to.
-Old lady. Not sure what else to say.
-She looked cute.

The Work Order for A Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +5/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Pious
Working Notes - Employee C
-It felt kinda silly being scared about what happened to A now.
-It feels really nice talking to him. Is that a bad thing, Admin?
-Looked a lot prettier than when I last check on him.

The Work Order for Red Blooded American has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +6/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Agitated
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee M - Tough as Nails (Stamina+, Force+)
Working Notes - Employee M
-Barely managed to block that blow.
-Do we have a doctor? Think a rib broke or something
-Fuck me.

HOUR 5
Quota: 0/10 C-Extract Refined
A-Energy: 49 units

SPONSORSHIPS:
>N-Company: Can only work with the following employees: A, C, E, G, I, J, K, M
>Q-Company: Quota is 10 C-Extract.
>M-Company: You must play the provided subliminal music over the intercom system for 3 hours. Hours remaining: 0! Completed.


INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>A Quiet Day
>Red-Blooded American
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Elevator
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)
>Broadcast M-Company's music over the intercom system
>End the workday

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)
>Anomaly Analyzation (Currently analyzing Fortune and A.)

>Write In

>>4965061
>J, Appease Reminder
>C and E, Bond with Fortune
>G and K, try and Bond with Quiet
>A, Bond or Subdue American, your preference
>I, Observe A
>M, go get your wounds healed up and take a break

Let's test something out here...

>>4965061
As a side note, A has Observation +++, which may prove to have interesting insight. We should have him Observe all the Anomalies before we throw him in the Refinery (and if you want to try and Subdue Reminder, that would be the perfect time as well, though I wonder how far Reminder can go with the healing process).

>>4965064
Pretty much fine with this, though I have to wonder how American views himself. Does he only see a regular human being? His statement of "no good reason" makes me wonder if there's skme sort of perception filter on him. Next shift, I'd like to see what happens if we give him a mirror or photos of himself.
>Ask ETF Beta and Gamma about where they found American.

>>4965061
>-A machine knows more than you do. Isn't that sad, Administrator?
>-My sanity is doing quite fine. I feel a lot more...at peace than before. A lot more livelier.
>-There is no need to worry.
I wonder what would happen if the Admin straight up went "Yeah, and if I give Reminder enough people to make his 'Blessed' what'll happen? He regenerates completely, pulls himself off of the cross, and starts brainwashing everybody and killing us if we don't want to keep our free will?" and called them out on their WhiteNight shit right in front of Employee A.

Backing >>4965064 either way

>>4965091
Hey, you can make him say that if you wanted to.

>>4965094
I really want to do that at some point then. Just go full "I've read enough to know where this is going. How do you think the man got mutilated like that all those years ago? It sure as hell wasn't because he was being too nice to people that didn't agree with him. And it'll repeat again if I or anybody else let it." on their ass. Straight up call Reminder out on his shit.

>>4965096
What a great way to lose out on what is essentially free energy. We still need to see if there are EGO tools in this Quest, and it's all-around easier if they're cooperative. Besides, A is a zealot now, and they're not exactly known for their belief in human will.
At least he's not subversive enough to subtly convert everyone. In that regard, at least, he was a good test subject.

>>4965113
Indeed, I think its best to not be confrontantional with subjects, anomalies or employees unless necessary or beneficial.

Also, i think playing M company's music in American's cell slightly before and during interactions is a good idea.

>>4965113
>>4965096
Plus, who knows if we get energy from getting screwed over and overcoming it? Like a worse containment breach causing more energy or the Bird Brain trio in Lobotomy's gift.

You cover your mouth with your hand and cough deeply. When you pull it back, it's more of the black tar stuff.

You gotta figure out why the hell you're coughing this stuff up. You take a deep breath in and out before sending out your orders.

And yet another sip of coffee...which you promptly spat out since S-4M hasn't given you a fresh cup in a few hours, so it tastes like the sweat of a girl who hasn't bathed in years.

Ah, the perils of the Anomaly Analyzer. You get to learn new shit but your AI can't give you coffee. You're starting to weigh the pros and cons of it in your head at this very moment.

>J, Appease Reminder
Employee J stretches as he walks over to the containment cell. You feel a tad bit uncomfortable looking at him for some reason. Hard to remember anything, though. He adjusts his glasses and enters the cell with a bucket and mop in hand.

Reminder of a Horrid Era looks up at Employee J.
ANOMALY: Hello, child, wh-
J: Not here for the religious talk. Blabber to A about it.
J: I'm here to clean your cell. Got it?
J: Let's just say it's so whenever the dude with the halo comes in, you two can have a mighty fine praying sensation with less dust.
ANOMALY: ...I'll allow it, child. But watch your tone.
J: Right, right.
J starts mopping up the floor, whistling a song that sounds oddly joyful
He looks up at the anomaly and back at his mop.
He decides against whatever he was planning and finishes up mopping.
The anomaly goes to start praying but gets interrupted by Employee J.
J: Welp, I'm done with that. See ya around.
He exits the containment cell.
ANOMALY: ...

Pft. You feel a bit gratified seeing someone going in there and not humoring the thing. You keep it to yourself in case the anomaly is listening in somehow.

File: QUIET.jpg (66 KB, 770x615)

66 KB JPG

>C and E, Bond with Fortune
You might as well see if sending an order out will get E's attention. C comes out just fine and doesn't seem like she's going to freak out any moment now.

As for E...yeah, she's a no show. You're starting to get a tad bit worried about an employee being gone for so long. At least with Employee A (why did "shota" enter your mind when thinking of A?), he's at least being watched actively by I.

Employee C steps on over to Fortune for a Price.
She pulls out a slip of paper labeled with "My name's Celanine. It's nice to meet you! What's your name?"
She slips it into one of the coin slots along with a quarter.
She pushes the button and waits.
Do you truly wish to know what's beyond the veil?
A small "DING!" comes from the machine before a neatly rolled up bit of paper gets spat out.
C picks it up and reads what's on it.
ANOMALY: "Those who greet their hosts with respect will deserve a great boon."
ANOMALY: "The name of the host is not important but the host will gratefully accept such nice pleasantries."
ANOMALY: "Your luck today shall be great! Your lucky numbers will be 6, 9, 19, 8."
C puts the paper into her pocket.
C: Have a good day, okay, Fortune?
You hear a small little "DING!" coming from the machine.
C exits the cell.

>G and K, try and Bond with Quiet
With your next call of employees, you were luckily able to get both of them to come out without needing a fucking search party. K is helping G along to the cell, who seems to still be awake enough to work.

Employee G sits down on the bench while K stands at the other end of the bench.
An androgynous figure flickers into existence on the middle of the bench.
ANOMALY: It's a nice day outside, isn't it?
K doesn't bother to speak and gestures at G.
G sits down on the bench.
G: It is. Remember me?
ANOMALY: ...You do look familiar but...who are you?
G: Gary. We talked about the lake, remember?
ANOMALY: Oh! Oh, yeah, we did. The lake's looking nice.
G: Hope you don't mind my friend over there.
G gestures over at K.
ANOMALY: As long as she doesn't interrupt our conversation, she's fine!
ANOMALY: Now, have you heard about Marilyn? What a beautiful girl she is...
The two start chatting about old celebrities you've never heard of.
The ghostly figure wonders out loud about how P-Company is doing.
K tilts her head.
G chuckles outloud and says that it's doing fine.
The ghostly figure sighs in relief, claiming that its grandson wanted to join it.
After a while, G and K say their goodbyes and head out of the cell.

>A, Bond or Subdue American, your preference
>I, Observe A

I is dragging A over to American's cell. A is blabbering about his usual religious nonsense but you notice that I has stuffed some wads of paper into her ears. You don't blame her in the slightest. She tosses A into the containment cell and stands next to the airlock, tapping her foot.

Red Blooded American is pacing around it's cell. You hear it hissing violently about how it wants out.
It twists it's head over as A enters it's cell. It slowly starts walking over to him, cracking it's knuckles.
It snarls at A.
ANOMALY: Another god damn freak?
ANOMALY: Ohhh, look, a halo. Fucking hilarious. Where are your wings, pretty boy?
A chuckles.
ANOMALY: Eh, what's so funny, punk?
A: You know, I have a question. A quick one.
A: You think we're a bunch of "commies", no?
ANOMALY: What the fuck else would you be?
A: Why don't we have Russian accents then? Why are we speaking clear English?
The anomaly pauses mid step.
ANOMALY: ...Doesn't matter! This is some mind game you're doing to fuck with me.
ANOMALY: Maybe you were like me! Maybe they fucked with you too hard! Made you into a fucking freak!
A shakes his head and sighs.
A: Nope. I was always like this.
A: Parents were born here on US soil, just like yours.
A: Maybe you're projecting. The only red menace here is you.
The anomaly steps back with a confused look on its face.
ANOMALY: ...Liar. You gotta be lying!
ANOMALY: That's something a commie would say! You're the fucking menace!
A: I'll let you dwell on that.
A: See you later.
ANOMALY: WAIT!
Employee A exits the cell and gets quietly escorted back to his cell.
Red Blooded American simply stands there, hesitant on what to do next.

Huh. An interesting reaction. You were frankly expecting it to throw another punch after A started to blabber to it.

>M, go get your wounds healed up and take a break
M hisses underneath her breath as G wraps up her chest with makeshift bandaging. You note that G has some expertise in what he's doing, since M stands back up with minimal difficulty. He goes to pat her on the back before moving to the shoulder.

G: Ain't as good as what E could do but, well, she's AWOL last I checked. Been keeping an eye out for her.
G: Haven't seen her all day, sadly.
M: Hopefully, uh, whoever you're talking about is safe. Or something.
M: Thanks, though. I'm going to lay down for a bit. Hopefully you guys actually have beds.
G: Go ahead. Might as well take a bit of a snooze as well.

The Work Order for Fortune for a Price has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +3/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Employee Trait Revealed:
Employee C - Lucky (???+)
Working Notes - Employee C
-Mind if I keep the paper? Something's telling me to.
-Not sure how to describe it but that "DING" sounded oddly...happy?

The Work Order for A Quiet Day has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +5/???
Current Anomaly Mood: ???
Working Notes - Employee G
-The ghost thing stopped paying attention to K real quick.
-We just talked about old stuff. Nothing you would be aware of, I think.
-K and I disagreed on what the ghost looked like though.

The Work Order for A Reminder of a Horrid Era has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +2/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Neutral
Employee Trait Revealed: Distant (Mental Protection+, Observe+, Bonding-)
Working Notes - Employee J
-I came here for a paycheck, not to listen to some corpse blabbering at me.
-Thing seemed oddly disappointed that I didn't humor it.
-Not sure what people were talking about. Looks the same as a regular rotting corpse.

The Work Order for Red Blooded American has been completed.
Abstraction Energy Count: +4/???
Current Anomaly Mood: Confused
Working Notes - Employee A
-Such a lost soul. I pity it, really.
-It kept calling for me. I knew it needed some time alone.

Working Notes - Employee I
-Eugh. A has just been smiling as I watch him.
-He kept talking about that fucking corpse! Never once talked about anything else besides telling me to work on it..
-Not sure why we're keeping him around still. Give me the order to kill him whenever.

HOUR 6
Quota: 0/10 C-Extract Refined
A-Energy: 63 units

SPONSORSHIPS:
>N-Company: Can only work with the following employees: A, C, E, G, I, J, K, M
>Q-Company: Quota is 10 C-Extract.
>M-Company: You must play the provided subliminal music over the intercom system for 3 hours. Hours remaining: 0! Completed.


INTERACTIONS [1 hour each]
>A Reminder of a Horrid Era
>Fortune for a Price
>A Quiet Day
>Red-Blooded American
>REFINEMENT ROOM
>Elevator
>Assign Employee (Write in. Be specific.)

CONSOLE COMMANDS
>Switch between available cameras
>Broadcast an announcement over the intercom system
>Edit anomaly dossiers and logs (Write in)
>Broadcast M-Company's music over the intercom system (Already completed the quota.)
>End the workday

S-4M
>Ask a question (Write in)
>Give an order (Write in)
>Anomaly Analyzation (Currently analyzing Fortune and A.)

>Write In

Oh, shit, nearly forgot one thing.

>Ask ETF Beta and Gamma about where they found American.
ADMINISTATOR: Elaborate on where you extracted the anomaly "Red Blooded American" from.
ETF-β: Well, we were doing our daily rounds by an abandoned apartment building last night.
ETF-δ: We heard rumors of something tearing through the rooms, screaming about how it "needs to get out of here".
ETF-β: I was walking around the 13th floor, I think, before I heard something crashing through and making a whole lot of noise in a nearby apartment.
ETF-δ: Came over to where Beta was and found the anomaly ripping through an old apartment. It was raving, saying "I deserve better than this!"
ETF-β: We bagged and tagged it shortly after. Took a lot of rope to keep it still.
ETF-δ: That's about all we know about it. Anything else?
ADMINISTATOR: That will be all.

>>4966047
>Employee A into REFINEMENT
>Employee I and M into the Elevator
Where has the time gone?
Let's see more floors, best feet forward.
And surely, Faith prevails.
Though, we could grind some more.

>>4966047
>>4966080
+1, in addition;
>Give American some time to think before asking him over the intercom if he would like a mirror or photographs of himself to be delivered to him. Ask him what he thinks the current date is.

>so it tastes like the sweat of a girl who hasn't bathed in years.
I hope it's a cute girl, at least! I'm no longer traveling so my ID should be consistent now.

>>4966047
>J, Observe Reminder
>K, Nurture Fortune with a polish, and ask if it enjoyed it
>G, Bond with Quiet, get it to open up about it's past
>A, just Observe American, I would appreciate your insight
>C and I, Elevator and explore

If anybody should be exploring the elivator, it should be the lucky gal. I think the lucky numbers may correlate into hours btw, with better odds the more lucky numbers show up.

We should get some dedicated disposal units btw, as I'm sure E went AWOL because she thought she was going to get refined again. I still can't believe you lads decided to refine our machine empath.

>>4966080
We should at least wait until after the 9th hour has passed, see if any of the luck shit is true.

>>4966190
I don't want to risk A contaminating or otherwise subverting American in some way.
And >>4966080 should probably clarify how much A-Energy they want to refine. Just enough to fill the quota, or do we want to keep some C-Extract on hand for the rewards section once this shift ends?

>>4966080
>>4966247
Oh, yeah, you probably should tell me how much to refine.

At minimum, you can make 10 Extract (30 A-Energy) or 21 at max. I can't exactly go "oh yeah sure 16 sounds right" due to C-Extract being important.

>>4966247
I doubt American will be subverted so easily, and I am curious as to A's Observation +++ skills (+++ must have some unique properties). We can throw him into the Refinery after if you'd like.

I say we convert the whole 21, and try and gain more A-Energy for regular upgrades. If we're lucky, maybe we can do H-Company's mandate and get that zippo lighter if we keep our C-Extract.

>>4966263
I mean, any proper Red Blooded American is likely also a devout Christian, whether they be Protestant or something else. Pretty sure the angel halo and revelation thing Employer A has going on with him right now will lead to a slippery slope. It's better to slap his Observation on less autonomous Anomalies like Quiet Day and Fortune.
>>4966257
I'm not the original voter, but I'll support 30 AE.

>>4966285
I know you're not. Just saying I agreed with you.

>>4966285
Observation doesn't involve talking. And a catholic dealing with the devil? That some funny shit right there.

I say we do 15 C-Extract if people are planning on ending the shift after this. I want to check up on C's lucky numbers, but if anons want to be autistic about ending the shift, nothing I can really do about it.

>>4966257
oh yeah sure 16 sounds right
After we give away 10, there'll be 5 and 1. Those are good odd numbers for upgrades, a moderate and a minor one.
>>4966285
"Faith in God, faith in man, faith in equal justice and opportunity for all." Amen.

I'll wait for you guys to agree on the amount of C-Extract you want. We got
>just meet the QUOTA (10 C-Extract)
>oh yeah sure 16 sounds right
>We do 15 C-Extract if people are planning on ending the shift

This isn't really something I can roll away with a dice.

>>4966295
I mean, we still have like 2 hours before S4M finishes analysis. Nothing stopping us from continuing even after we send A in for Refinement. We did that last time too. In all honesty we could get away with Refining some extra, then spending the next 2-3 hours earning back everything we spent and then some.
It might be wise to begin stockpiling a sort of safety net of A-Energy on the 3rd-4th day, in case some unforseen accident occurs and we can't extract enough enough meet our quota on time. Such an emergency is unlikely to occur for some while, though.

>>4966330
>We do 15 C-Extract if people are planning on ending the shift

>>4966375
Yeah but risk stacks the longer a day goes

>>4966375
Honestly? We need a bunch of A-Energy to buy the equipment and ETF necessary to keep shit contained, as well as some more employees (defective or otherwise) for both refinement and more disposable use.

>>4966381
I think the risk remains constant, it's not like we really gain anything by completing the quota early (except for H-Company that is).

>>4966395
I'm just thinking back to this

"Just a small note. While it's very important to collect energy, the method we use to harvest energy from anomalies draws a lot of attention. And not necessarily the good kind, you know? Corporate also likes it when it doesn't spend too much stockpiled energy keeping silly things like the lights on, so you might get a bonus for finishing a shift fast. But keep getting as much energy as you want, sir!"

Oh, shit, I completely forgot that the contracts for today also provide a ton of resources as well.
Yeah, we can easily end the shift now or after the next update and have lots of spending power left.

>>4966419
>>4966478
Let just run the 6th hour with C doing something, I don't really care what. I just want to see if those lucky numbers really mean anything.

>>4966494
>>4966478
>>4966419
>>4966324
Please make sure your final vote is properly linked and laid out, thanks

>>4966380
>>4966702

Did it here

>>4966047
>>4966190
Yea, +1.

If it does turn into a Refinery vote, better make it 16 Extract.

>>4966190
Changing to supporting this.

>>4966190
+1

>>4966190
>I still can't believe you lads decided to refine our machine empath.
Yeah, that baffled me, as I thought sending C was decided beforehand.

>>4966821
If we make it 17, we won't have to Refine at all tomorrow. The amount being Refined doesn't seem to affect the time taken or Employee damage, so might as well do fewer, larger batches.
As a general note, it might be worth trying the ETF guys for RBA if he starts getting uppity again. They're valuable, but better at everything and should be fairly sturdy.

>>4966934
Also, if we do refining now, I suggest H.

Thankfully Disposal orders come 2-for-1, so it's quite cost-efficient. I'm just glad we have a designated target in A right now, though we'll probably want to tone down on obviously singling him out since Reminder has a way of noticing us somehow.
I'm pretty sure Reminder gets restored with A just being near him, so we might want to get a few Android guards to keep watch and make sure he doesn't sneak into Reminder's cell or something. E's breakaway is proof enough that our security is currently... lacking, and that our Employees have more agency than any self-respecting dystopic authoritarian capitalist organization would approve of. For now, I think just assigning some of the ETFs to cycling night watch just just tonight would be best until we can get some robots working in the background.

Alright, let's see.
1 vote for 10 Extract
2 votes for 16 Extract
1 vote for 15 Extract
1 vote for 17 Extract

Think we had enough time to get that down but most people seem to be supporting to keep going instead of refining. (Since the thing people are supporting doesn't have any REFINEMENT in it and there's no set agreement from what I read.)

Unless I'm completely misunderstanding. Just a short little thing to confirm
Do you wish to REFINE this shift?
>Y
>N

If so, who?
>Write in

That's really the only stickling point

>>4966934
>The amount being Refined doesn't seem to affect the time taken or Employee damage, so might as well do fewer, larger batches.

This is your second shift. You have only refined once. If there is a pattern, you can't really detect it off one case, can you?

>>4967138
hour, not shift. of course you would want to refine sometime eventually.