[8.3.5] Merv mission feedback thread: "Unplugged"

**Rarebit**

Scheduled for tomorrow.

**MotorZ**

Hmm...interesting. Death, or something in the Real.

**MxO-Insertion**

Oh, looking forward to it... considering last week's.

**MatrixRefugee**

MxO-Insertion wrote:

Oh, looking forward to it... considering last week's.

Mm, this has been, I think, the most suspenseful chapter yet...

**CPT_Starschwar**

Very interesting.

*Spoilers*

Lots of Sentinels around 01, eh? Sounds like buildup for the next cinematic. As for the unplugged humans, I'm beginning to think that they're the ones the Machines use to repopulate Zion after its destruction!

**Illyria22**

I thought the One got to pick a certain number of bluepills to repopulate Zion...

Illyria

**MatrixRefugee**

Illyria22 wrote:

I thought the One got to pick a certain number of bluepills to repopulate Zion...

Illyria

Mm, I'm thinking this has little to do with repopulating Zion, and more to do with the Machines' intentions toward New Zion...

**CPT_Starschwar**

Illyria22 wrote:

I thought the One got to pick a certain number of bluepills to repopulate Zion...

Illyria

((Note: unless otherwise specified, my comments in merv/zion mission feedback are purely ooc.

Anyway... who is to say that he didn't, hm? I imagine there's much more to Neo's conversation with DEM than "I won't".

))

**GamiSB**

The one picks 23 people, not 14.

**CPT_Starschwar**

GamiSB wrote:

The one picks 23 people, not 14.

Of course, the cycle hadn't been perfected back then - its possible that fewer humans were awakened initially.

**GamiSB** · 11/01/2007 16:30:52

kou_urake wrote:

GamiSB wrote:
The one picks 23 people, not 14.

Of course, the cycle hadn't been perfected back then - its possible that fewer humans were awakened initially.

Possible but not likely since you are just assumeing that the cycle hadn't been perfected then. I find it hard to believe the number 23 came about through trial and error when one error would not only have the potential to destroy Zion before it was even able to get going but also destroy the system that Zion was a major factor in.

Not to mention the way the report was worded made it sound as if this was being done while the version of the Matrix was still active and wasn't in need of a cycle.

Finaly it was the One that picked those selected to restart Zion, not the Machine.

Just three little details that lead me to believe that this is something other then just another cycle about to start up.

**ZippyTheSquirrel** · 11/02/2007 04:22:36

GamiSB wrote:

kou_urake wrote:
GamiSB wrote:
The one picks 23 people, not 14.

Of course, the cycle hadn't been perfected back then - its possible that fewer humans were awakened initially.

Possible but not likely since you are just assumeing that the cycle hadn't been perfected then. I find it hard to believe the number 23 came about through trial and error when one error would not only have the potential to destroy Zion before it was even able to get going but also destroy the system that Zion was a major factor in.
Not to mention the way the report was worded made it sound as if this was being done while the version of the Matrix was still active and wasn't in need of a cycle.
Finaly it was the One that picked those selected to restart Zion, not the Machine.
Just three little details that lead me to believe that this is something other then just another cycle about to start up.

But what if it is? Just.. now what you think.

... Perhaps a new Matrix?

Edit: Just finished the mission. What a grand way to interrupt the on-going mission! The General's sudden appearance, Flood and Malphas's sudden shift of focus (it was like Flood simply canceled the mission at the end, since without a Controller to give you directions, what can you do?), and, most importantly, the report that the General hastily transmitted. Sounds like he's in trouble, too. Great cliffhanger, though I would have liked a bit of closure for the M.I.A. bluepills story. Hopefully that will be all cleaned up sometime next chapter.

And again, I love the use of Neighborhood Contacts and other programs not usually accessible, such as in this case the Archivists.

**Cmdr_Dezreki**

((Could the dead guy get a mission summary over here? XD))

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

((Normally I wouldn't do this in this thread - I'd make a seperate thread for it - but since Dezreki asked nicely, and xenin's been doing it and hasn't gotten yelled at it, and hasn't done it here yet, I'll make the one exception.

NOTE: Due to my doing this mission really early in the morning and just before the server goes offline, some of the logs might be out of order or missing, but I think you'll get the general gist of it.))

Flood:     That littler nerd, Hypatia, has been rescued at significant expense from the Machine lock-up. She and her precious "Archivist Society" are known to salt away all sorts of useless data for no apparent reason whatsoever; at the moment, however, they may prove slightly useful, despite themselves.

Operator:     You're supposed to meet Hypatia and Persephone in there. This could be interesting.

Succubus:    I suppose they're too busy deleting Zionites to bother us much.

Succubus:    The last version of the Matrix was so much more fun.

Oh... No, you probably wouldn't have liked it...

Persephone:    When I was with the Machines, at the pods, there was a time when a human was removed from the tower next to mine. I did not know why or where they were taken. I was intensely curious. I tried to find out, but they would not tell me. I accessed the activity logs secretly, hoping to find the reason, but no--it only showed that they had been strengthened, then disconnected. The log entries looked just like those of the MacHenry woman.

Operator: More log entries. I think this would be where the librarian comes in.

Persephone:    It was so long ago; I had begun to see it as someone else's life, not mine. Hearing that caretaker program, and seeing the log entries for the woman...it came back--a shock.

Hypatia:      The Archivists may have records of the incident Persephone remembers. Many records from previous versions of the Matrix were lost when the Machines began this current one, but the Society has recovered more than the Machines themselves would have thought possible. Normally they would at least charge a heavy fee for information from a previous iteration, but tell them that I said the rev.2 data can be allowed in this case.

Hypatia:    I do appreciate the Merovingian helping me get away from the Machines. Now we're even.

Was it really me, there? A thing of gears and claws... I liked to think I had shed them.

Flood:     Well, operative, I'm sending you to that colloquy of trivial pundits; you should find yourself right at home.

Although if you really wanted to fit in, you'd need a change of shoes.

Operator:     I'm reading some nearly identical programs in there; they should be Archivists.

[DETAILS: ARCHIVIST]     The Archivist Society manages vast stockpiles of historical data. While these programs support and operate within the Machine infrastructure, some believe they have their own motives for their studious activities.

Archivist: That data may not be accessible.

Archivist:     Hm... Yes... Cross-referencing...

Archivist:     My colleagues are correct. However, the index refers us to another occurrence of similar log histories. This was during rev.1--that is, during the first iteration of the Matrix simulation.

We do not have this data ourselves; however, we know where it is stored. If you would be willing give it to us for archival purposes, we could tell you where it may be obtained.

Flood: Yes, yes--agree to whatever he wants. Just get the location.

Operator: Let's go liberate some old information.

[NOTE: I'm aware a fourth Archivist appeared after the phase was completed, but I don't have the logs of what he said. The gist was that he is more intelligent or more cynical than the others and told you he doesn't trust you.]

Flood: Hm... if this pans out, I may have to re-evaluate my opinion of those moth-raisers. Can it be they've actually come up with some useful information?

Return it to them? Ah, operative... Sometimes your naivete almost has a certain quaint charm.

Operator:     Looks like the Machines have their own colloquy going on, although I think these geeks would be more at home at a gun show than a library.

Machine Exterminator:    Records office M3C8, day 4381. Continued from yesterday.

Although the janitorial routine and the courier program favor the pro rata theory of particulate accumulation in this environment, they have yet to counter successfully my argument that a more complex level of dust simulation is necessary; while the current algorithm yields an aesthetically pleasing even distribution of particles, it does not take into account the different levels of particle generation per room, dependent upon composition of the room-specific decor, age, rate of ventilation, humidity--

Machine Exterminator:      Oh!

Operator:     Okay. I think I'm getting something. That computer in... Hey, wait a second! That skulky looking one has the data! Trying to sneak off with it!

Security: I believe a mistake has been made.

Operator:     Hah. Glad we caught it. Okay, upload that to me at a hardline.

Flood:     I'm busy at the moment, operative; the General's got his tentacles in a knot over something or other. Just go discuss those records with Malphas, or whoever it is....

Operator: Gee, and here I was hoping that Flood was going to give us a medal.

Malphas and a few of his leeches are in there.

Blood Noble: The Archivists like to put on their holier-than-thou act. Don't believe it.

Blood Noble: The cave-monkeys are losing again. Think they'll learn to stop trying?

Malphas: Although the data you recovered is not complete, it indicates that at one point during the first iteration of the Matrix, fourteen individuals underwent intense physical therapy followed by disconnection from their pods--all of them removed almost at the same time. This could suggest that in that case a group of humans was required for whatever purpose these--

Hm. I was not expecting contact from the General.

Operator:     Hey, the General's broadcast just kicked in. What's the deal?

Malphas: I am not sure.

Holographic Projection: --unusual patrol activity, including what may be a convoy or escort formation approaching the city.

I repeat: I am withdrawing all units from the vicinity of the Machine city. A large number of enemy units has launched from the emplacements surrounding the city to take up what may be either defensive or reconnaissance positions. Simultaneous with this development, my perimeter scouts began reporting unusual patrol activity, including what may be a convoy or escort formation approaching the city.

I repeat--

Operator:     Ah.... Problem?

Holographic Projection:     --withdraw--all units--

Malphas: Excuse me. I must attend to this.

Blood Noble:     What's the General stumbled into this time?

Blood Noble:     What the hell was all that about?

Flood:     Talk. You? Don't bother me now. I'll get back to you when I need you.

**MotorZ**

Ah, well this has me intrigued. Too bad I have to run through all the earlier crits to get to this one, seeing as I'm behind after being gone.