Final Investigation

[bathymetric]

Good morning, New Rapture. You may yet see the sun today.

But before that, there's work to be done. The Mayor has sent you some sort of ultimatum, though as usual was reluctant to explain herself. You're going to meet her, to some end? It's unclear. But one way or another, you're aware that things are ending today. Spirits may be low, but at least there's that. After a night of bowling, you're probably ready for this.

As you wake in the morning, though, each suite will find something unexpected in the common area, something that absolutely wasn't there last night: an envelope, addressed to the surviving members. An attached note on the outside reads as follows:

Good morning, citizens of New Rapture. In accordance with new directives from Designations: Misfire, Space Dandy, et al. I have been asked to deliver this. Please use the included to lift your spirits, and feel free to use your new bathysphere access to gain what information you can before you face the Mayor. You know what the key does, I gather, and the card will grant you access to Fontaine Futuristics Headquarters, where the Mayor currently resides. If you do not gather information properly, you will be unable to do what she is about to ask of you. Your friends will be watching.

Included in each envelope is a silver key, a limited Hall of the Founders bathysphere access card, and a copy of this letter. Your friends are counting on you. Go rally in the Hall of the Founders and get ready.

It's time for one last investigation.

Comments

[onemillion]

[Oh wow, so this guy definitely had the brains to back up his placement here, at least. Interesting! Odd that his designs don't seem to have been used anywhere here, though...

And speaking of designs, do we have any of those here, or is this the only thing left on the workbench? Has everything else been stolen as well?]

[bathymetric]

[ Looks like anything else that was here is gone now, yes! Though, on reflection, the bright yellow is very similar to the actual body of the robot Forrest fought at his execution.

Anyway, that's your first room of two done! ]

[onemillion]

[Oh! Fascinating... So perhaps the behind the scenes work is this guy's doing. Good thing Forrest managed to escape...

Anyway, real quick - was there anything noteworthy about the bed, since that was bolded? If not, heading over to office #3!]

[bathymetric]

[ Ah, right! I will be transparent and tell you that I bolded that on accident. Rossiu is free to look at it, in being thorough, but he's going to get like. The thread count on these sheets is insane. Bed Bath and Beyond who?

Office #8 or Office #11, buddy? ]

[onemillion]

[No worries! Those are very impressive sheets tbh!! And also I fucked up numbers, #8 it is!]

[bathymetric]

[ Welcome to... okay, this one's a little weird, in that it has been mostly cleared out. There's a desk with a laptop on it, but there's not even a portrait in here. There's some mess on the floor, and a mostly-empty closet, but uh. It's in worse shape than the others for sure. ]

[onemillion]

[So we've got one with a defaced portrait and a bunch of missing things, and this one that's somehow even more empty. Okay, definitely curious. Let's start with the mess on the floor - what are we looking at here? Hopefully not blood!!]

[bathymetric]

[ Not blood! It looks like a lot of stylish desk stuff, like... a glass paperweight, one of those Newton's Cradles, a broken pot that contained like a single cactus, all swept carelessly off the desk. ]

[onemillion]

[Oh no... Is there anything in here that's important? Or is this just "neat stuff that is now broken"?]

[bathymetric]

[ Just neat stuff that's broken... rip cactus friend, you'll be missed. ]

[onemillion]

[gone too soon......

Okay, well since this is presumably near the desk - how's that looking? Presumably pretty bare, but is there anything else on top (aside from the laptop) or inside?]

[bathymetric]

[ The laptop is here on its lonesome - the drawers have been torn out and dropped on the ground. Someone had a very bad time in this room, maybe! ]

[onemillion]

[Oof, apparently! Well then, laptop time! Is this one also kind enough to not require a password?]

[bathymetric]

[ There's a crack running through the screen, but there's an email and its first original response! The group chat includes Frank Fontaine, Gunnar Maelstrom, Handsome Jack, and the burner email.

The initial email from Frank Fontaine reads: ]

I have a commission for the three of you, because you’re the most skilled at this sort of thing. I want you to design an exercise to pit a group of people against each other. The more the better. It’s for use in-house, so obviously it’s confidential, but I need you to cook up some kind of elimination game. Just for a routine team-building exercise, but treat it like you're really trying to get some poor suckers to kill each other. No "battle royale," ideally - something that makes 'em squirm and have to plan and try to live with themselves. The more intense, the better. Pretend there's a group of eh... 20 to 30 trapped somewhere.

[ Uh oh! ]

[onemillion]

[Hmm!! That's super suspicious, Frank!!! This is definitely gonna be relevant. Is there a response from this person's burner email?]

[bathymetric]

[ There sure is! ]

All right, Fontaine, sounds easy enough. If you don't want them just killing each other for free, you offer prizes. Simple as that. So if we were sketching up a set of rules for the participants...

1. No time limit or limitations on where participants can go within the space.

2. If you're going to have it here, you'll need to maintain their biological needs. Day-night cycle, no hard time limit. Let them think they have all the time in the world.

3. Something to keep them isolated. Maybe only let them sleep in their rooms. Dangerous to be out at night, you know?

4. Tell them to explore! Let them chase their own tails.

5. They're not allowed to hurt the staff. Obviously.

6. No letting the ocean in.

7. If you kill someone and no one can figure out it was you, you win. Easy as that, you'll be done within days, especially if you offer an incentive.

8. Make sure they know you can add rules.

Gunnar, Jack? Penny for your thoughts?

[onemillion]

[Oh. Oh, this person absolutely wrote the rules. This must be our mastermind, though what exactly happened...

Okay, anything else to note on this computer? He's jotting all this down as well!]

[bathymetric]

[ Nothing else to note! Not even a background, it's blank. ]

[onemillion]

[This really is just a burner computer... Anything to note about that crack in the screen before he moves on? If not, it's on to the closet!]

[bathymetric]

[ It's very... This Computer Was Slammed Closed Too Fuckin Hard.

The Closet seems to have been mostly emptied, but there IS a small object in the corner of note. ]

[onemillion]

[f.....

Hmm! Let's take a look at it, what do we have here?]

[bathymetric]

[ Looks like an empty ring case! ]

[onemillion]

[Huh... Is there anything in here? A ring, possibly??]

[bathymetric]

[ Nope! ... because the engagement ring that seems to have been contained in here as some point has flown out about a foot when the case seems to have been violently thrown against the closet wall.

That's all in here, but! Feel free to ask clarifying questions if you got em. ]

[onemillion]

[Oh no... Well, he'll take that and hold onto it in case this is somehow important evidence!! No more questions here but if I think of any I'll let you know!!]