Tuesday 25 April 2017

Chapter X: The Moment of Truth

The Story So Far...
Teri Manganese was a veteran of the Robot Wars, considered a hero by many. During those wars he fought alongside Ellis Cobalt, who would later go on to become Utopolis's leading PI, and then the prime suspect in the murder case of the century.
But Teri has also been busy since the war, and he has secrets that he needs to confess to his former comrade in arms. Unfortunately, Ellis Cobalt has lost their memory, and their mind is continually being reset, making it hard for Teri to explain. But he will push on, if only he can get Ellis to stop trying to explain about their penis...
You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
You: You have no idea who you are or where you are, all you know are your surroundings. You're sitting in a diner. It's retro looking, but with a hundred tiny futuristic touches. You put your hand in your pocket, and realise you have a gun. What do you want to do?
Stranger: hlo
You: "Hi," says the guy sitting opposite you. "Are you okay? It looked like your brain fritzed out again."
Stranger:ha ha ha interesting
You: "Interesting is one word for it. Look, Ellis, your positronic brain has been hit by an enormous EM pulse. Your memory keeps resetting at random intervals, but I need you stay with it while I tell you something. Can you do that?"
Stranger:ill kill u with that gun ha ha
You: The guy smiles. "You could try. But during the Robot Wars I was always just a little bit faster than you."
Stranger:no y should i do...
Stranger:u r not faster actually i m reading
Stranger:where r u from pagal fellow...dont mind
You: The guy looks confused. "Okay. Look, honestly, we've been sitting here all day and this is the most together I've seen you, so I need to tell you something important. Can you listen a sec?"

The nice thing about having a character like Teri talking to Ellis is that it is super easy to roleplay someone who gets increasingly frustrated with Ellis's total lack of attention span and frequent amnesia.

Stranger:ok
You: "Look, the truth is, that murder you’re wanted for? I did it. The first one, not the detective, that was all you buddy. But I killed Clagg Masterdon," he sighs, as if a huge weight's off his chest.
You: "Sorry I had to leave you take the fall. You were supposed to be his bodyguard, but during the fight he got out that mindwipe device and you got hit by it instead of me."

Holy shit! Clagg Masterdon's murderer! The central mystery of Silicon Bullets has finally been solved! The search is over! But what does this mean for Ellis? What serious, ongoing consequences will this devastating revelation have?

Your chat has been disconnected. Click here to chat again.

Oh. Right.

You are now chatting with a total stranger! Say something interesting other than: ASL?
You: You have no idea who you are or where you are, all you know are your surroundings. You're sitting in a retro-futuristic diner, pointing a gun at the guy in army fatigues across the table from you.
You: “So there it is,” he says. “I did the murder you’ve been framed for. What are you gonna do about it?”


Holy shit! Clagg Masterdon's murderer! The central mystery of Silicon Bullets has finally been solved! The search is over! But what does this mean for Ellis? What serious, ongoing consequences will this devastating revelation have?

Stranger:kms
You: "Trust me, that won't help," the guy says.
Stranger:im gonna do it anyway
You: "During the fight your memory was wiped. It keeps resetting. That's why you're so disorientated."
Your chat has been disconnected. Click here to chat again.

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
You: You have no memory of how you got here, what you’re doing, or even who you are. All you know are your surroundings. You're sitting in a retro-futuristic diner, pointing a gun at the guy in army fatigues across the table from you. You can hear approaching sirens in the distance.
Stranger:M here
You: "I know you're pissed off I framed you for murder," the guy says. "But I had good reasons."

This is the guy who did the murder? Holy shit! Oh, never mind.

Stranger:Hello
You: "Has your memory reset again?" the guy asks. "That's all I fucking need."
Stranger:Oh dear
Stranger:Great
You: He glances out the window as the sirens get louder. "Hmm. Seems talking loudly in a diner about murder attracts attention as well."
Stranger:You are the greatest
You: "Thanks," he says.
Stranger:Wonderful
You: "Look, we don't have much time, so, how much do you remember?" the guy asks.
Stranger:Leave now
Stranger:And why did you do this
You: "Okay, the police bots are lining up out front, let's go out through the kitchens," the guy says, "Follow me." He gets up and hops over the counter
Your chat has been disconnected. Click here to chat again.

It's true, you hang around in a diner loudly talking about murder, someone's going to call the cops. And frankly, Ellis hasn't been helping themselves. They had a good run, but I think we all knew this was only ever going to end in a blaze of glory for Ellis (That means they get shot to death).

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
You: You have no memory of how you got here, what you’re doing, or even who you are. All you know are your surroundings. You’re in a diner. Red and blue lights are flashing through the windows. A guy is standing behind the counter, beckoning for you to follow him.
You: "Come on!" the guy hisses. "Those copbots outside are not going to read you your rights y'know!"
Stranger:Ohhh
You: "Ohhh indeed," the guy says. "Are you coming or what?"

They say that you can judge a person by how they react to the knowledge of their imminent death.

Stranger:Sex chat
Stranger:U
Stranger:U female
You: "Not that kind of coming," the guy says. "Why whenever your brain rescrambles do you always come to thinking about sex?"
Stranger:Hello
Stranger:What
You: A voice comes through walls. "HELLO. THIS IS THE POLICE. COME OUT UNARMED AND WITH YOUR HANDS UP."
Stranger:U fucking nasty
Stranger:R u female

Teri bravely tries to keep Ellis apprised of their situation.

You: "Okay," the guy says. "You're a robot. Your memory has been wiped and you’re wanted for murder. I'm the one who did the murder, but I'm trying to help you now for reasons we don't have time to go into. Oh, and your memory keeps getting randomly wiped. You caught up now?"
Stranger:Tell me
Stranger:Fuck off bitch
You: "If we don't move now, those copbots will bust in here and paint you over the walls, so can you fucking snap to it please?" the guy says. "Believe it or not, right now I'm your only friend in the world."
Your chat has been disconnected. Click here to chat again.

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
You: You have no memory of how you got here, what you’re doing, or even who you are. All you know are your surroundings. You’re in a diner. Red and blue lights are flashing through the windows. A guy is standing behind the counter, beckoning for you to follow him.
Stranger:m here ; india
Stranger:nice
You: "Oh thank fuck, your brain reset," the guy says. "Sorry, but your last personality was a total arsehole. Look, we need to get out of here before the cops bust in, can you follow me?"
You: "We need to move now. I'll explain everything on the way."
Stranger:hmmm
Stranger:yea ok
You: The pair of you sneak through the kitchens at the back of the diner. As you move you hear a robotic voice say "THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING. COME OUT OF THE DINER OR WE WILL COME IN."
You: What do you want to do?
Stranger:nothing
Stranger:if you dont like it then just fuck it
You: "Okay, here's the situation," the guy says. ""You're a robot. Your memory has been wiped and you’re wanted for murder. I'm the one who did the murder, but I'm trying to help you now for reasons we don't have time to go into."
You: "Somehow those copbots found out we're here, and any second from now they'll come in guns blazing. So what's our play?"
Stranger:hmmmm hmmm
Your chat has been disconnected. Click here to chat again.

And Ellis's positronic net resets itself again. The poor android is going to die, and they'll never even understand why it happened.

By this point, I was beginning to think maybe it was for the best. Ellis had a good run. They did some fun stuff, killed a lot of robots and at least one person, and found out everything they ever set out to learn even if they retained exactly none of it. The least I owed Ellis was the chance to go down fighting.

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
You: You have no memory of how you got here, what you’re doing, or even who you are. All you know are your surroundings. You’re crouching on the floor of a kitchen, blue and red lights occasionally flashing through the door behind you. A guy in combat fatigues is crouched with you, looking pissed off.
Stranger: M here
You: What do you do?

Stranger: Go for a beer

Yep. This seemed fitting. Ellis would go out of this world the way they came into it - looking for a drink, and afterwards, possibly a wank.

Little did I know, that Ellis had other ideas...

TO BE CONTINUED...

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