@Judah: Response is almost immediate.
Respect. U got your own wheels or I send the driver for ya? I need you in Aurora, Auburn as fast as possible, even faster.
@Fang: It took you only a few moments to get the commlinks to reveal their secrets, as there are no active countermeasures in use. The drone you leave for later, this seems to be different level of work and you feel that it may be inhabited somehow.
As for recent data you found there, Commlink that belonged to someone called Griffin McBride reveals quite a treasure, as the man is systematic, skilled investigator, and his data are the best you can find there. You are watching bodyguards carying bodybags full of meat waste away, and you wonder in which one is Griffin now.
Then you tun your focus back into your findings:
Crime scene - The Parking lot:
You have a serious problem here... It was a Toxic spirit. This place - it's polluted, and the state of the Astral here was worsened... on purpose. And the culprit was a Toxic Spirit. One of the more cunning kind, and I can't track it from the echoes he left... This probably means someone's manipulating it, so you have a toxic shaman or mage to find... Let's see wha else we can find. Gods, Shadow, this stuff is... Damn, I'm going to need a shower. Or a lot of bleach...
kidnapping actually, the Aura echo fits - is a Toxic Domain, I'd say Level 3 in Schwartzkopff scale. Obviously it was formed naturally in a polluted parking lot of a big mall, but something - or someone - worsened the effect. And I've found echoes of a Toxic spirit, easily classified as 'spirit of Man'.
There are traces of dust and rubble, regularly crushed by something that looks like mini tracks. Both of you are staring at that quite puzzled, you have never seen something like that before, and you simply dont recognize that.
Forensic kit has also the recognition software for identifying common traces, and with the connection to right database it would be the matter of seconds to reveal some results.
With the microscope, that is part of the forensic kit, Harry is able to take more pictures for later expertise, and he also found some alien particles in the traces, and you are also able to take samples of it. Their anaylsis, thought, is out of capabilities of this kit.
Besides those traces Lynx have found, routine examination of the closer surroundings reveal:
Lynx`s radar sensor shows, that every parking place have its own RF sensor, comunicating with the gridlink of the parked vehicle. You already know that feed from the sensor goes straight to the vehicle owner`s account as Mr. Wong gave you a few details thanx to this fact.
The place has quite good surveillance, every floor is watched by cameras from multiple angles, so you should be able to get trid view of any scene if you get feeds from them.
Crime scene - Security feed:
Well my friend, I have some bad news for you...I will give you a discount for this, lets say 30% down from original price. Ive managed to convince one of my cowboys to hit the malls security feeds for the area you gave me, and what he foung is pretty fucked up security footage that revaals nothing. [Feed attached] More to it, i have him check the whole mall security system. The entering gate was fried by EMP, so its malfunction now for maybe 4 hours, and nobody cares, Seems like some inside missunderrstanding, on their security panels they are all green. Since the security cameras are hardwired and there are no edit or hacking traces, I assume that what you see on the feed is some fucking mojo. I feel a bit helpless now, but this interrests me a bit. Call me back iof you need anything, Ill try to give you some edge if I can.
When you play security cams feed you find out that:
Ms. Wong parked her car on the place 1157 at 3:15 PM, and left the car with the boy (Hao Wang is just another young chineese boy, about 12 years old, nothing special about him. He seems to be in the good mood, talking and laughing with his mom.)
4:02 PM: Something goes on, Cloud of nasty looking, unpenetrable fog appears on the garage level, moving towards place 1158. When it stops, Ms. Wongs Comet also disappears.
4:10 PM: Wongs entering the scene., like nothing is going on , they are walking towards theirs car. when they pass by 1158, the fog reaches out and swallows them. They dissapear.
4:18 PM: The cloud of mist moves towards exit. A few second after Wongs commet appears. Ms wong is lying on the drivers seat, lower body out of the doors,.
4:33 PM: Ms. Wong wokes up, managed to get in car, closes the doors. Car leaving.
End of Feed
Crime scene: The Car
2 pieces of metal, found on the drivers seat. You quickly recognizes taser darts, with no wire, possibly one of more expesive models.
Real paper notebook, with real crayon attached, found in the compartement in the right doors. Quick scan reveals a lot of pictures simillar to those in the boys room, and on the last pages, you see developing versions of that strange image Griffin was assensing...you can see the developement of the quality and growing certainty in of the hand drawing the image.
On the last page, covered with drawing, is the most precise version of it, done almost with a single draw.
The physical search search done, you decide to look at the car`s "blackbox". Pilot and gridlink are saving every moment passed to most cars detailed by seconds.
LOG IN:
When you access the node, you let the stream of inputs flow throught your body and mind, becoming 150 HP beast for the moment...you shrug this feeling, you know that, it happens all the time you became the machine.
At the beginning there is wide stream of sensory inputs - radar, front and rear cameras, grid, engine performance, breaks, fuel, electronics, tires reports...every piece of it being like the common sense to you.
It rains, road surface is wet, so you are driving throught the city carefully, correcting some of commands driver gave you. Drivers reflexes are not bad...for a human...
when you`ve parkd at the mall, same place as ever, you became silen, waiting for passengers....maybe 15 minutes after, you are suddenly deaf. Blind...cut off most senses, floating in the silence and darknes...
The only think, that ypu Can feel, is your body. your both front doors opened. Then your receptors cathed hi energy electric discharge, so close to you that you are also hit...
5 seconds
Access ID: Authorized Driver (Possible spoof)
LOG IN
Command you to set signal transmition to unknown mode
[mode that you recognize as jamming-on-the-fly]
Driver LOG OFF after 10 seconds
73 seconds after that your senses returns...
There is uncounsciousness woman-driver, laying half body on the front seat. Doosrs are still open.
Grid link and Radar are off, you dont have any connection to wireless world...
You are still tansmitting.
Ten minutes..
HARDWARE RESET...
Access ID: Authorized Driver
LOG IN
Login Grid
Checking Access ID
Gridlink ON
Command: Take me home
Driver LOG OFF
...you follow...
....
LOG OFF
Crime scene - Sample analysis:
Particles of Volcanic ash, quite strong presence. Hight presence of many poisonous components...quite agressive samples.
Well, nothing exceptional in some parts of Seattle...unles some special conditions are met...like rainy weather that washes this stuff out odf the streets...and then it may be valid trace...
Traces of two artificial molecules. Identified as:
TSP - trisodium phosphate - this chemical traces are quite old, molecules showl large signs of degradation...at least 40-50 years
AR AFFF Class B - also just trace amount...not a surprise in fact, due to the biological nature of the stuff...This chemicals are in use for almost hundred of years, yet they are still used where use of the current technology would be just a waste of resources...
Lab AI interpretation:
Well if I understand it right, those samples are from traces of smart tires. Its not likely that this this chemicals get on those tires on the road, rather tires may had been in direct contact with them for longer period. As you can see here and here, there are also traces of Oil products. Not surprising, taking into consideration that those chamicals: AR AFFF class B, and TSP were used for fire fighting on Oil Platforms, Gas stations, Oil Refining plants etc...
Idea of the toxic spirit is out of my experience, yet I dont think he would left physical traces...well I cannot be sure.
Traces of volcanic ash, due to weather condition in given time and area, points to the fact that vehicle must pass throught highly contaminated area before arriving to Crimescene. Geographical location of Crimescene narrows possibilities to Pullyallup Ddistrict. More precise location would be impossible, due to generall geological instabillity of the area.
But presence of specialized chemicals and other traces leads me to conclusion, that the "vehicle`s" residential area would be one of possibilities listed before: Gas station, Raffinery, fuel reserves tank or something like this. It may had been hit by fire in las 10 years. Well, for further specification there are insufficient data, so much was lost in Crash event that there is lack of coverage on this, mostly uninhabited and dangerous, district.
Victims father :
We are rather not attempting to anger whoever lives there...Im confident about my knowledge enought to say that that place may be inhabited by some kind of techno-sapient entity. Never met her, thought. Not that I want to. It began maybe one and half year ago. I was serriously thinking about using force to put things to normal state, when its presence became apparent, but my son told me not to. The way he said that...well, I decided to accept our new neighbor and keep ourselves safe as much as possible We had done everything we were able to cover its presence, nearly cutting ourselves from the matrix. Well, I soon find out that my satelite comunication system is running beyond its possible performance...and...
He pauses, looks at his wife, who nods
well, I think we need to be honest to you. You need to see something.
He stands up and walks to the stairs.
Please, understand that this is the very carefully kept secret of mine
he continues as he climbs one of helix stairways.
I was working for Renraku Seattle, hardware R&D laboratories. I was one of people imprissoned in the Arcology during the Shutdownt. I managed to avoid being captured by Deus puppets, recjoined my familly, which was also living in the arcology. Later I`ve found a way to contact some outside help. A group of independent specialists, like yourselves, set up the extraction and were risking their lives to get us out from there. They were helpfull even after, providing full cover and new identity to us, putting our real identities to the Shutdown cassaulties list. Mr.McLister was very helpfull those days. He is the last one who remains from that team. Others are dead, some of them disappeared during crash, even Bill hes left the bussines some years ago, saying that he is far too old for all that mess.
As you follows him to the upper floor, large space opens around you. Different machines, multiple interconected automatic assembly lines, stable hum of the ventilation and air-conditioning, everything controled by the Nexi connected to large holographic design tool, maybe four meters in diameter, in the centre of the room. Most of you is simply stunned to comment this place, Timmy recognizes the huge, probably hardware manufacturing capacity of SOTA facility in the room using almost whole floor of the building.
You see that the wall separating this space from elevator shaft is pierced by multiple cabel bundles, which are also connected to the Nexi.
Given My experience, I was shocked when this something slipped in through my satelite uplink, cutting throught my firewalls like they were next to nothing. It didnt take any capacity from my node`s performance, rather it improved it to the level no human would be able. The only thing I know about It is that it is consuming waste ammounts of data storrage. I have to upgrade twice a month...but since Im able to gain the profit on the upgrades it made to my equipement, I dont care about it.
Well, now I do not. At the beginning, I was shocked. Like I said, I was ready to alarm KE and give up my whole new life, rather to went throught something like that again. But my son spoke to me. I knew that many children were influenced by Deus, but my son wasnt even concepted in 2059.
Ofcourse we heard some about Emergency phenomena. I put one and one together, and decided to wait and see the further developement. Due to general prejudice, we were very carefull about any leaks. My son was always followed by nanny or my wife, he learned how to hide his talent. Ive provided him with the equipement that should head been used as an explanation if some minor accident happens. Even when we wre educating him at home, we didnt want him to stay isolated, so he was treated like any other well carred normal child. Untill today it worked well.
His room is also up here. None of the other children likes this place too much, it gave them creeps. But Hao loves this place...and I assume he is able to understand this entity, whatever it is. But if it is somehow connected with his dissapearance, I cannotr say. His room is overthere
He points at the doors.
The other rooms are storage and material bay, please avoid them if not unnecessary, inner conditions are strictly controlled. Now, if you want to take a look be my guests, just don`t touch anything. I`ll wait with my wife, you may ask for anything you need, and also, don`t forget to finish your tea.
