[rednblack]

Does Chino end the world??? No!

Phew!

[Tecumseh]

I'm a bit relieved too, as I wasn't certain how to GM something sudden and horrible like an astral rift. The game probably would have reached a swift, unsatisfactory conclusion.

Good news: Poindexter is alive and well. He's adapting to a new job. He'll be back with us shortly.

[rednblack]

Good news: Poindexter is alive and well. He's adapting to a new job. He'll be back with us shortly.

Glad to hear it. 

[Zweiblumen]

Good news: Poindexter is alive and well. He's adapting to a new job. He'll be back with us shortly.

I'm glad things are going well for him.  Look forward to him coming back!

[Malevolence]

Good thing we're all alive and well, both IC and OOC.


Moving forward, my broad strokes are:
1. Get updated photos of the artifact, including astral plates
2. Re-bury it (possibly with Sam's surprise attached, again with photos in case we need to show how dangerous it would be to try to steal it from us)
3. Use Doc's insane logic to do some chemistry tests in order to melt and separate the fairly low melting point metals (set heat to above melting point of metal 1 but below metal 2, separate the solid from the liquid, repeat for metal 2&3, etc)
4. Use Ohanzee and Katsina's artisan abilities to craft it in to reasonable facsimiles of trinkets and baubles - rings, pendants, letter openers, other simple items usually made from precious metals - so that it doesn't raise too much suspicion when we go to sell them
5. Start in Rifle with a pawn shop or something to sell a small amount to get some jing. Buy some fly-spys (for scouting) and other items we might need in order to get safely into Denver. From there, we can explore our contacts to offload more of the metals. How much does Ohanzee thing Styles is good for? 10k¥? 50k¥? 100k¥?
6. Get way, way, out of Dodge. Are the Bahamas still nice? Maybe somewhere in California Free State or Florida or anywhere that the weather is nicer. We can buy a new ride with our cash to facilitate this.
7. Send Jäger an "after" picture of the artifact with a note saying that the precious metals alone were worth nearly as much as she felt she should pay for the artifact and that we certainly hope that allowing the desecration of such a major find won't leave a stain on her precious reputation. This works whether the person we talked to was a member of the cult interested in worshipping the artifact or the actual Jäger
8. Optional: Find out how Jäger was able to get a facsimile of the astral photo into the matrix and try the to shop the artifact itself for a few million nuyen
9. Sip exotic drinks on a tropical beach for a few years, or life, depending on how things work out. Or enjoy moonlight stroll along said beach, depending on your disposition toward sunlight.

[Zweiblumen]

Good thing we're all alive and well, both IC and OOC.


Moving forward, my broad strokes are:
1. Get updated photos of the artifact, including astral plates
2. Re-bury it (possibly with Sam's surprise attached, again with photos in case we need to show how dangerous it would be to try to steal it from us)
3. Use Doc's insane logic to do some chemistry tests in order to melt and separate the fairly low melting point metals (set heat to above melting point of metal 1 but below metal 2, separate the solid from the liquid, repeat for metal 2&3, etc)

Metallurgy (Log 9 - Defualting 1 = : 8d6t5 1
opps... lets edge that:
Edging for metallurgy (7 misses): 7d6t5 3
Much better

4. Use Ohanzee and Katsina's artisan abilities to craft it in to reasonable facsimiles of trinkets and baubles - rings, pendants, letter openers, other simple items usually made from precious metals - so that it doesn't raise too much suspicion when we go to sell them
5. Start in Rifle with a pawn shop or something to sell a small amount to get some jing. Buy some fly-spys (for scouting) and other items we might need in order to get safely into Denver. From there, we can explore our contacts to offload more of the metals. How much does Ohanzee thing Styles is good for? 10k¥? 50k¥? 100k¥?
6. Get way, way, out of Dodge. Are the Bahamas still nice? Maybe somewhere in California Free State or Florida or anywhere that the weather is nicer. We can buy a new ride with our cash to facilitate this.
7. Send Jäger an "after" picture of the artifact with a note saying that the precious metals alone were worth nearly as much as she felt she should pay for the artifact and that we certainly hope that allowing the desecration of such a major find won't leave a stain on her precious reputation. This works whether the person we talked to was a member of the cult interested in worshipping the artifact or the actual Jäger

No real issues with this, but why?  Seems like it's exposing us more (not much, but some) for no actual gain.  What do we get out of doing this?

8. Optional: Find out how Jäger was able to get a facsimile of the astral photo into the matrix and try the to shop the artifact itself for a few million nuyen
9. Sip exotic drinks on a tropical beach for a few years, or life, depending on how things work out. Or enjoy moonlight stroll along said beach, depending on your disposition toward sunlight.

Lots of exotic drinks!

[Malevolence]

Ohanzee's a vindictive little fragger, mostly. But it could also serve to make the followup negotiations in step 8 be taken a little more seriously if we decide to go that route.

[Zweiblumen]

Ohanzee's a vindictive little fragger, mostly. But it could also serve to make the followup negotiations in step 8 be taken a little more seriously if we decide to go that route.

Cool.

Also, here's a matrix search for separating the materials.
Matrix Search on Metallurgy (Comp 5 + Int 4 + Ganglia 1 - Noise 3 = 7): 7d6t5 1
WTF...
Matrix Search on Metallurgy trying again (Comp 5 + Int 4 + Ganglia 1 - Noise 3 - Trying Again 1 = 6): 6d6t5 0
Wow...
Matrix Search on Metallurgy trying again (Comp 5 + Int 4 + Ganglia 1 - Noise 3 - Trying Again 2 = 5): 5d6t5 1
Okay, last one.  If this doesn't work, Doc just can't figure out how to make a simple forge and crucibles
Matrix Search on Metallurgy trying again (Comp 5 + Int 4 + Ganglia 1 - Noise 3 - Trying Again 3 = 4): 4d6t5 2

Geeze.... finally.  That search took him a while.  I'm gonna blame the satellite uplink... yeah, that's what it's gotta be.

[Tecumseh]

Thanks for the broad plan, Mal. Very interesting! Let's walk through it step by step:

1. Get updated photos of the artifact, including astral plates

Taking new visual photos is easy. As for quicksilver photos, Katsina took three good ones. We delivered one to DIMR so we still have two available. New quicksilver photographs would look almost exactly the same as what we already have. All we've altered is the mundane base. Astrally, the obelisk looks pretty much unchanged. (Technically the base is a different shape, but you'd only be able to tell by its astral silhouette. Since you took the quicksilver photos in the van, specifically for the black astral background, the change in the base will not be noticeable.)

2. Re-bury it (possibly with Sam's surprise attached, again with photos in case we need to show how dangerous it would be to try to steal it from us)

Reburying it is easy. Attaching Sam's device isn't a problem either. However, it should be noted that Sam's device isn't 100% tamper proof. It was designed to be extremely difficult to disarm, but it's not impossible.

The challenge of Sam's device is disarming it before Sam triggered it remotely and/or the timer expired. But if someone had an unlimited amount of time and Sam wasn't around to trigger it, it could be disarmed by a professional. Or, since the base is already mangled, they could just cut off the portion of iron that the device is attached to and then dispose of the device separately.

3. Use Doc's insane logic to do some chemistry tests in order to melt and separate the fairly low melting point metals (set heat to above melting point of metal 1 but below metal 2, separate the solid from the liquid, repeat for metal 2&3, etc)

The value of the precious metals is about evenly split between gold and osmium. Melting out the gold is possible. (A fire spirit would make it a cinch, but sadly that's not one in Ohanzee's tool belt.) Melting out the osmium is well beyond your capabilities.

4. Use Ohanzee and Katsina's artisan abilities to craft it in to reasonable facsimiles of trinkets and baubles - rings, pendants, letter openers, other simple items usually made from precious metals - so that it doesn't raise too much suspicion when we go to sell them

This should be feasible.

5. Start in Rifle with a pawn shop or something to sell a small amount to get some jing. Buy some fly-spys (for scouting) and other items we might need in order to get safely into Denver. From there, we can explore our contacts to offload more of the metals. How much does Ohanzee thing Styles is good for? 10k¥? 50k¥? 100k¥?

The value of the gold you have is ¥473,200. Ohanzee thinks that Styles could eventually move all of it. The drawbacks are 1) the fixer's cut, and 2) it might take him a while to move it all. (A few days, maybe a week.)

6. Get way, way, out of Dodge. Are the Bahamas still nice? Maybe somewhere in California Free State or Florida or anywhere that the weather is nicer. We can buy a new ride with our cash to facilitate this.

This depends on how far you want to go and how much trouble you're willing to take with borders. You can drive straight to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or Phoenix, all of which are in the PCC and are temperate at this time of year. Hawaii is still a major tourist destination. I'd have to research some of the other options, like the Caribbean League.

7. Send Jäger an "after" picture of the artifact with a note saying that the precious metals alone were worth nearly as much as she felt she should pay for the artifact and that we certainly hope that allowing the desecration of such a major find won't leave a stain on her precious reputation. This works whether the person we talked to was a member of the cult interested in worshipping the artifact or the actual Jäger

If the person you were talking to wasn't Jäger, then the real Jäger will be quite confused by the message and will probably dismiss it as a hoax or bizarre misunderstanding.

8. Optional: Find out how Jäger was able to get a facsimile of the astral photo into the matrix and try the to shop the artifact itself for a few million nuyen
9. Sip exotic drinks on a tropical beach for a few years, or life, depending on how things work out. Or enjoy moonlight stroll along said beach, depending on your disposition toward sunlight.

So is the rough plan to not contact Cannon immediately? What I'm hearing is that you'll try to shop the artifact remotely. The hurdle for this is how you would handle the exchange. Nobody's going to pay millions of nuyen for a treasure map with "X marks the spot". Any buyer will demand to see the obelisk and verify it's authenticity, before handing over the credsticks.

I'll look at Zweiblumen's posts next.

[Tecumseh]

Doc knows that he needs the following to melt down the gold:

1) Something that can withstand the required heat (1,090 C). A graphite crucible will do the trick. They are ¥7 to ¥77, depending on size, but they're not available in Rifle. You would have to go to Grand Junction, an hour to the west.

2) Tongs to hold the crucible (from ¥5 to ¥35 depending on how nice you want them).

3) An oxy-acetylene or oxy-propane torch (from ¥80 to ¥380, depending on how professional).

4) A graphite mold (¥22) to cool the melted gold so it can be turned into rings, or a bucket of water if you want gold shot (basically looks like gold kibble, which makes it easy to transport but also easy to lose).

You're looking at just over 18kg of gold. Volume-wise, that's the size of 1.5 of those big gold bricks you see in movies. It's going to be a sizable quantity. A larger crucible will help the work go faster, but you're probably looking at a full day of work to melt down the gold.

Katsina and Ohanzee will also need an inexpensive jewelry-making kit (¥10 to ¥30).

So, if you go cheap across the board you're looking at an outlay of ¥124, or up to ¥544 if you buy more professional tools. Your current balance (minus another day of rental van fees) is ¥1,114.

Next
I'd like some buy-in (OOC or IC) from everyone for Ohanzee's plans

[Zweiblumen]

I like Ohanzee's plans.  They work for me.

[rednblack]

Ohanzee's a vindictive little fragger, mostly. But it could also serve to make the followup negotiations in step 8 be taken a little more seriously if we decide to go that route.

Ace has that streak in him as well, so he'll be in support of that idea. 

Otherwise, it all looks good.  I say we do lower end smelting, and try to sell the gold raw.  I'm down for going a few towns over to get to a jeweler. 

[Tecumseh]

Does Chino have any thoughts on the matter?

Sam should chime in too.

Per the IC post, Katsina is fine with the jewelry route but wants to hear more reasoning behind trying to sell the tablets remotely and how that might actually work in practice.

I've been considering the possibility of Ace using his holy crap lasers to extract the osmium. Said lasers would have to be attached to the van to act as a continual power supply. Doc can probably do that, but there's a small risk of draining the van batteries and stranding yourselves. You would definitely need a graphite crucible for the molten osmium, which would be insanely hot and bright. Ace will have to do the work with his flare comp unless you buy a welder's mask (¥35).

[Malevolence]

Depending on the size of the equipment, we could do the osmium work near town somewhere where we wouldn't be disturbed. I doubt it's particularly noisy and could be done inside the van where the OMFG LAZERS! wouldn't attract any undue attention.


Once the "collectors" see the new condition of the priceless artifact, they might be very angry. Physical distance could be critical to surviving that. That is Ohanzee's primary motive for skedaddling before opening up contact. Also, if Mrs. J wasn't an imposter and wasn't lying, then our prospects would be dried up here, so having a new set of potential buyers could be beneficial. Physical proximity to them is useful in regards to delivering the astral photos, but if we can skirt that, then I guess we could reach out to anybody world wide from right here.


As for how the deal would go down, once a price was agreed on, we would give them the location so they could inspect that it is indeed what they purchased before deciding to pay. At that point, they are on a clock and if anything smells fishy, kaboom, so it's in their interest to pay once they have seen we aren't swindling them. What's to keep us from blowing the bomb after we get paid? Nothing, really, but since we can't sell an exploded device to a third party, there really isn't any profit in it for us. If they disarm the device somehow before paying, we blow the valley and bury them in an avalanche. We might not make any money on it and they only lose a few expendable people and can then send a second team in to dig the artifact up, but maybe it'll cost them a million or so in lost equipment.


As for Jager being confused if we weren't talking to her earlier, presumably her communications are being tapped by the party we did talk to, so they would get the message.


Southwest PCC is fine and avoids borders, so that sounds good.


I suppose we could start the chat with Canon and just be on the road already in case things go way south. It's close enough to being gone already.

[Tecumseh]

Doc would be legitimately concerned about the vapors involved in extracting the osmium. Specifically, burning off the mercury will be hazardous. Ace has an internal air tank and can do the work without ill effect, but it's not something Doc would recommend that you do inside the van (as it would seriously mess up the van). Plus, using lasers inside a van? Dicey to say the least.

The Atlantean Foundation and the cult are the only people who know how the artifact used to look, so they are the only ones in a position to be angry about the desecration. As far as any other buyer knows, you dug it out of the ground with the base all broken up and disfigured like that. Hey, it's archaeology. It's old. Drek happens.

Let's walk through Sam's device so that we all have an understanding of how it works:

- It has nine kilograms of explosives.
- The explosives are high-rating plastic explosives. Sam doesn't remember exactly what rating but he knows that this is some good stuff. (Plastic explosive ratings go up to 25.)
- It has 3 detonators: a Rating 3 Radio detonator, a Rating 3 Timer, and a Pull detonator on the underside of the bomb.
- It has a powerful electromagnet built into it, allowing it to be mounted to a ferrous surface. The Pull detonator is connected to the electromagnet and is set to detonate when the pulling force is released, so disabling the magnet or removing it from the surface will detonate the bomb unless steps are taken to lock the pull detonator in place. Once armed, disarming it would be very difficult.
- Once the bomb is armed, the magnet activates, the timer starts, and the radio detonator is ready to receive a signal.
- The radio detonator seems designed to only accept signals from Uncle Sam's commlink.
- The timer is set to 1 hour. Even if the radio detonator is not used, the bomb will still explode when the timer expires.

Now, here are the implications for the current proposal:
- Sam can skip using the timer.
- The electromagnet is powered by an internal battery. This power supply is not limitless and will only last for 24 hours at most once activated, but very likely less given the freezing conditions. Once that duration expires, the pulling force will be released and the pull detonator would detonate.
- Doc could get crafty and turn some of Ace's laser battery packs into extended batteries for the electromagnet, but even then it's lifespan will be a week (or less, given conditions). That's dependent on Ace sharing his batteries too.
- Triggering the device (or the avalanches) remotely would require a Matrix signal. You'd have to leave the satellite uplink, which is a significant vulnerability. First, it would be easy to find. Second, whoever finds it could easily disable it, meaning you couldn't use it to trigger the detonators.
- Furthermore, you would need that same Matrix signal, plus a good deal of sensor equipment, to have any idea that people were on-site to dig up the artifact and examine it. Again, all of this would be relatively easy for someone else to find and disable.
- Katsina will probably not go along with any plan that leaves Sam's device attached to the base where there's a significant risk of the device detonating accidentally, or by default.

Let me know if that makes sense or if it needs additional clarification.

Southwest PCC sounds good. Any votes? Phoenix is awfully close to the Aztlan border. Los Angeles and Las Vegas both have plenty of shadows to hide in.