The synapse virus runs through her nervous system and up into her brain, delivering a potent jolt of electricity and scrambling her thoughts.
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Arc (24 HPdmg)
Achlyss (4 dmg)
Ajithu (7 HPdmg)
Shocca (58 dmg, Confused 6 rds)
Oh no! Should I restrain her so that she cannot harm herself? I have nothing to remove the confusion itself.
Shocca yelps in pain as her body turns against her. "Youch!" She turns to Achlyss, her eyes cloudy and her arms pulling out her rifle as she speaks. "Achlyss, my brain really hurts. Let me give you some medicine to administer to me. Just take this needle and put it in my neck, right like this." She pokes her rifle at the borai's neck and pulls the trigger. Thankfully, the needle pings off his thick armor. "Ok, now your turn."
Shocca takes a small step backwards and begins to babble incoherently. "Achlyss, here's how you make the medicine. Take the watermelon liqueur. Put it in your mouth. Swish it around. Then, add some... stuff."
Shocca initially struggles and almost pierces Achlyss with her needler, but it doesn't take too long for Achlyss to grab a firm hold of her. Although Shocca spends some time babbling and more time struggling, Achlyss' grip doesn't let up and she's rendered mostly harmless. A few seconds later, the synapse virus wears itself out and the party's biohacker returns to full control of her own actions.
Rounds Over!
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Arcalinte barely has time to react before Shocca's mishap occurs, and breathes a sigh of relief when it turns out to be only temporary.
"That was too close. We may want to invest in some sort of mind-shielding tech or magic when we return to civilization, given how the technology of this place seems to like messing with our heads."
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Achlyss releases his grip on Shocca once he can tell she is no longer confused.
When Arc mentions mind-shielding tech, he simply nods.
Perhaps that is what happened to me--to my squad--when we were here before. What foul magic will take over the mind?
He remains standing at attention. "So what now? It seems like going through that concealed door could be promising."
Nifri, how did you traverse this place without setting off all of these traps? Are you aware of other traps?
Ajithu still seems a little shocked that these keep popping up.
Shocca shakes her head as the confusion fades. "What was that?" She runs a diagnostic on her medlab. "A virus... interesting. Must be more careful with these in the future." She looks around, and apologizes to the group. "Sorry, they got me good with that one. These architects sure were particular about who could open doors." Seeing nothing having changed, she heads forward to work the lock again.
While Nifri and Ajithu talk, Shocca attempts another go at the access panel. When she touches it to begin working, another microscopic needle lances out from the panel and injects her with another synaptic virus!
This time however, Shocca is a little more prepared. The experience is intensely painful for a moment as the shock runs through her nerves, but she overcomes it before it can take over her brain. Before the panel can reset to inject her once more, she toggles it. The wall next to the panel shakes and vibrates for a few seconds, then slowly grinds aside.
In the room beyond, orange lights blink and displays flash from the array of computer consoles and machinery. Unlike the other rooms, the walls of this chamber are composed entirely of grey-black metal, making it difficult to distinguish individual pieces of equipment. Rectangular consoles jut out from the walls and floor around the chamber’s perimeter. Piping and conduits criss-cross the walls and ceiling, many of them charred and partially detached. A large, hexagonal workstation stands alone at the center of the room. Each of its six sides consists of a panel of switches, buttons, and keys. A holoprojector atop the device displays a three-dimensional topographical map of a mountainous planet.
More immediately important are the three humanoid figures, huddled together under a large insulating tarp. When the door opens, they cautiously poke their heads and eyestalks up. You see a quorlu with gold eyestalks, an android with red hair, and a kasatha... a kasatha that looks identical to Nifri. Your own Nifri pushes past Shocca in excitement to find his team, only to freeze in place as he spots the second Nifri. The two stare at each other in shock.
Uuuuuuuuh, is it too much to hope you are twins? Or did we SWITCH UNIVERSES each time Schocca got shocked?! I kid, I kid. No really, are you two identical?
Ajithu prattles, rather not sensitively to the likely reality that has the Nifris shocked.
Shocca curses, realizing the needle was a trap rather than a punishment for her poor coding. After entering the next room, her eyes widen. "Y'all ever seen the holo-film, Attack of the Reptoids? The finale looked a lot like this..." She eyes the map out of the corner of her eye, trying to see if she knows the planet.
The ikeshti speaks directly to the quorlu, in her native language. "Talla? Is that you? How are you, is anyone hurt? What is going on?"
In tandem, the two Nifris say "No, I certainly do not have an identical twin." Their cadence and inflection is so similar that it almost sounds like only one voice from two directions. The moment they say it, they grow even more alarmed. "What? This?!" The exclamations are similarly spoken in tandem.
Meanwhile, Talla cautiously nods her eyestalks at Shocca "Y-yes? We're alright, mostly, I think. Who in the world are you all, and why is Nifri..." As she speaks Nifri's name, both Nifris turn to look at her and she wiggles back a step. A sudden stiffening to her eyestalks suggests that she's come to some kind of idea "If you're more of this complex's agents, be aware that we won't hesitate to defend ourselves! Nifri, Ariad, stay right by me!"
The three explorers are very much on edge, and the presence of your own Nifri is not doing you any favors. In fact, your Nifri is currently fingering his zero pistol nervously, like he might be about to do or say something rash.
Ajithu takes a more serious demeanor and tries to calm the Nifris with a bit of reasoning.
Look, this is very alarming for all of us. No, we aren't agents of this complex either. We're exploring it like you, and we're just as alarmed by this... odd situation. Let's work together to explain it.
Shocca is much better with people's insides than their demeanors, so she lets Ajithu take the lead. "We found our Nifri underneath some rubble in a room with a swarm of nanites!" She looks backwards at 'their' Nifri with a worried expression. "We've had to battle a few of the complex's guardians to get here to you. What agents did you come across?"
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"We're here to rescue you," Arcalinte adds to the explanation. "I'm a Starfinder, Shocca and Ajithu are with the Xenowardens, and Achlyss is AbadarCorp's representative for our group. Everyone of us wants to make sure you get back to civilization alive and well. ALL of you."
He displays the Society's mark on his hand to prove it.
"Odd situation!?" The two Nifris squeak in unison. "Obviously this is some kind of trick! And-"
"You're in on it!" says the Nifri with the group of explorers.
"You tricked Talla and Ariad somehow!" says the Nifri by your side. "You are... you are certainly some kind of doppelganger!" He gives voice to Achlyss' ruminations. As he does, he draws and points his zero pistol at the new Nifri, in defiance of Achlyss' suggestion.
Arc's voice cuts through the standoff, revealing your identities to the team of explorers and defusing the growing tension. Your Nifri doesn't lower his pistol, but it's clear he's less ready to use it. Talla speaks up "Yes, we all want to get back to civilization, but if someone here is working on the side of this complex, we could be exposing others to even greater danger. If this place can mimic one of our own so well, I fear what might happen if they got free." She turns to looks at Shocca "Before we trapped ourselves in here, a hulking machine chased us through the halls. There were no nanites to speak of, though I would not be surprised if the technology here were capable of constructing them."
The new Nifri shakes his head "That doesn't matter! What matters is unmasking that fake there. He's definitely working for the complex."
Shocca looks at the new Nifri with a puzzled expression. "Now now, let's not get excitable. You're a xenoarchaeologist, right? Remind me... what was your doctoral dissertation on again?" While she doesn't know much about those we're trying to rescue, she will ask a few questions of each to see if they remember those key details about their past.
The new Nifri doesn't miss a beat, saying "Non-Chitinous Artifacts in Bolida Funerary Tradition." Your own Nifri nods after a moment, confirming that this is correct. Talla adds "I can confirm that one - Nifri told us about it on the journey to Jedarat."
Ajithu squints, looking back and forth between both Nifris.
Do they both believe this?
Ajithu notes that your own Nifri seems generally nervous, but seems at least confident in his confirmation of the name of the dissertation. The new Nifri is definitely stressed as well, but he seems happy that Talla backed him up. They both seem to honestly believe they wrote this dissertation.
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Shocca purses her lips and messages on the team's comms. This could get ugly, but let's see what a little examination shows. She wraps her tail around, bring up the microlab. Within just 12 seconds, she scans each of the Nifri's to identify their genetic makeup.
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Arcalinte frowns a bit, and fold his arms.
"I'm hoping we can solve these things amicably...assuming one Nifri or the other is some sort of clone saboteur may be starting from a flawed foundation. Clearly both of you believe you are the original Nifri, and...assuming the hypothesis that one of you was recently generated as a clone by the facility's equipment is accurate...what difference would there be in the first place? You'd have the same set of memories, the same experiences and the values that formed from those experiences. So you'd both equally be the real Nifri at this point, and why can't both real Nifris coexist?"
Ajithu laughs sheepishly at Achlyss' suggestion.
Hehe, let's not jump to that just yet.
He then speaks more broadly across all the minds with his telepathy.
My gut says one of the two is from a different reality. I believe that you both belong, just not both here. Did either of you experience anything in the complex that felt like some sort of planar shift? Does either of you feel subtly out-of-place?
The two Nifris find themselves a mix of spooked and reassured by Arc's suggestions, neither one wanting to think they might be a clone. While Shocca's scan runs, both shake their heads at Ajithu's question, with your own Nifri commenting "I was knocked out for a long while, I suppose it is not entirely out of the question that some planar leap occurred during that time. However, I do not feel anything unusual - beyond my current sense of discomfort around... him." He points at the new Nifri.
Shocca's microlab displays its results - the two Nifris are both kasatha, and are identical duplicates of one another... or so it seems from a casual look at the microlab's display. As Shocca looks more closely, she notes that the new Nifri's biology is somehow not entirely stable. Almost like that Nifri's matter is vibrating just slightly, with tiny shifts and changes that a particularly sharp eyed individual might be able to spot.
Neither Nifri has yet seen the output from the microlab, but from their visible nervousness, they're not looking forward to hearing the results.
On reflection, I think that Arc's idea is most likely. One of these is a quantum clone, a rare byproduct of certain quantum magitech mishaps. The clone has a single vulnerability - severe existential distress causes it to lose both cohesion and realness.
Ajithu is focusing on both of them even more intensely and curiously now.
Shocca's eyes widen as she hears Ajithu's interpretation of the data. Within the team comm, she says, Yes, let's leave them in the dark for now. Hopefully we can all work together until we're in a less stressful situation, then reveal our diagnosis. She smiles and stands back, hoping Arc's kind words smooth things over.
"Work together!?" The two Nifri squawk in unison "When HE-" they each point at the other "-might be some variety of mind reading doppleganger!? We could be attacked while we are attempting to escape." They both seem shocked that you're willing to just give up on figuring out who the fake is.
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"I ask you, are either of you attempting to read minds right now? Do you even have psychic powers in the first place?" Arcalinte asks, an eyebrow raised. "Again, these two are pretty much completely identical in all ways that matter. If we select one as 'real' and abuse the other because they're "false"...what gives us the right to do that? Besides..." he says turning to the Nifris. "Anything we did to one of you would be forcing the other to watch YOURSELF being harmed and treated with suspicion, and that could arguably be even MORE traumatizing than what we've...what YOU'VE already gone through...and I don't want to put EITHER of you through that. The Dawn Brings New Light...maybe you could see this as a fresh start...after all, for all we know, one of you was only just born."
Neither Nifri is satisfied with Arc's suggestion of doing nothing and both claim that they don't have psychic powers. They both say, stumbling over each others words "I like the borai's suggestion! Tie him up! I won't mind. Just, do not let it keep talking with my face like that!" Growing even more wide eyed as they keep speaking in uncanny unison, both Nifris are quickly degrading back to outright panic.
As this is going on, Talla and Ariad seem torn between standing in defense of 'their Nifri' and backing away to safety if something happens.
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Shocca rubs her chin. "We understand, you're in a confusing and scary situation." She begins to wave her hands as she speaks. "We walked by a Quantum Transporter Tube earlier, full of magical plasma. Didn't have time to give it a real check, as some lasers started going bananas. But..." She gestures towards Ajithu, then the new Nifri. "You could be onto something. Perhaps one of you are a nice happy twin from another dimension who touched the transporter tube! Let's get y'all out of here then we'll find a powerful mystic to tell us who is who and send you back to your plane of existence." She pats the Nifri on the hip. "No need to distress, you're both on the same side! And both super duper real, from a certain perspective" She looks at 'old' Nifri. "Come on, you can't bully yourself! Let's let the experts worry about this when we get to safety."
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"Besides, if we are gonna tie up one of you, we'll have to tie up BOTH of you to make it fair. Playing favorites won't get us anywhere. But I'd rather it not come to that, as we could really use your skills, and with two of you, that's double the expertise!" Arcalinte continues. "Operating from the assumption that your opposite number must be a hostile imposter is fallacious to say the least. This isn't some horror trivid or party game!"
Although Shocca's theory about the transporter tube and the twin from another dimension offers a thread of hope, both Nifris seem largely unconvinced until she suggests finding a powerful mystic to divine out the truth and maybe send a duplicate back to where it belongs. Your own Nifri looks at Shocca and asks "Do you know, someone like that?" while the Nifri with the other explorers asks Talla "Did we see a transporter tube?". The line of reasoning manages to calm the two down a little and get them thinking once more.
Arc's suggestion to tie BOTH of the Nifris causes the two to share a worried glance before they say simultaneously "Alright. Until we can prove HE's the duplicate, you can tie me up. Just make sure you keep an eye on him." Both seem to be too worried about the possibility of hostile impostors to entertain the idea that the duplicate might be innocuous.
Hey! I'm a powerful mystic! But I don't quite know who is who and where they came from... and I can't plane shift them.
His indignance recedes immediately after it appeared.
The two Nifri submit themselves to being bound, but insist on being kept separate - "just in case". Once they're both tied up and no longer a potential threat, the tension in the room dissipates, first from the other two explorers and then from the Nifris themselves. Talla wriggles forward and takes a careful look at both of the Nifris, then heads over to talk to you, with Ariad following behind her.
Her eyestalks bobble "Thank you so very much. I was not entirely sure what to make of you when you arrived, with another copy of our friend and companion in tow, but it seems you have calmer heads than most. I mentioned before, but I am Talla, and this is Ariad-N5. You know Nifri Zamas Gidren Sye already." She burbles wearily, exhaustion settling back in now that adrenaline is ebbing "Do you happen to have any food or water? We exhausted ours yesterday."
With the explorers settling back down, you can also turn your attention back to the functioning computer console in this center of this room. A holoprojector atop the console displays a three-dimensional topographical map of a planet. Upon closer inspection you recognize the current geography of Jedarat. In addition to Jedarat's mountain ranges and valleys, the map displays the entire infrastructure of what was once a planet-spanning installation buried underground. All wings of this staggeringly large facility are currently grayed out, indicating extensive damage and inaccessibility.
A few of the still functioning displays on the console show a steady stream of tiny, glyphic characters, similar to but distinct from the Siivan text you've come across elsewhere. It's regularity suggests that it may be a form of the language adapted for use with computers.
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Achlyss seems satisfied to have both of the Nifri secured and takes it upon himself to keep a watchful eye on both of them.
He does take some time to examine the holo-display of the massive underground complex.
"Does this suggest that most of the planet has a facility under the surface? That's almost incomprehensible."
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"We brought supplies: AbadarCorp spared no expense equipping us to find you."
Arcalinte gets some R2Es out of his pack for them.
Once they're settled, he looks at the holo-display.
"This is...incredible! A planet-spanning installation...AbadarCorp may need to pivot their operations here from winter tourism to archaeological salvage. This is...big, there's no other word for it! Big!"
Shocca's eyes widen and she looks at Ajithu with embarrassment. "Uh, right, well, I mean, you're good at lots of things..." She sputters out, before patting him on the hip. "Don't worry buddy, you'll get there." As Arc takes care of the rescued adventurers, she looks over the displays.
She shakes her head. "This place is so much more than anyone ever imagined. And we are seeing the results of playing with an untouched planet, that just wanted to be left alone." She sits down at the terminal. "Let's see if we can learn more. But, first, uh... can you all leave the room for a minute? This place's computers don't seem to love my hacking methods." Once everyone who is interested has left, she gets to work.
You clear the room for Shocca, explorers digging into Arc's offer of R2E meals as they move. Shocca engages the interface of the terminal, bringing up a series of spherical, interactive holograms. After a few tentative prods, she recognizes that they work similarly to some of the other pseudopod adapted interfaces you've encountered thus far. With a flash of inspiration, she intuits the control sequence and in short order manages to bypass a password authentication and spatial PIN sequence.
The terminal's holograms spill out in spirals, filling the room with red and yellow arcs of what you quickly realize are status messages. Errors, corrupt files, lost connections... it takes some time to sort through it all. But you soon recognize that you're in front of a control mainframe!
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Although you can't read the Siivan text directly, you're slowly able to infer the function of various programs and data archives. From the terminal, you realize you can access and control this facility's electrical systems, activating or shutting down the automated defense measures and enabling or disabling power to the individual doors and rooms. Unfortunately, access to the larger super-complex buried under Jedarat's surface has been cut off - presumably due to the extensive damage.
Although the data archives in the mainframe have been mostly corrupted, the system indicates that some backup archives in the radiative experimentation lab and the storage chamber nearby should still be intact.
Among the various external connections the mainframe currently has access to, the vast majority you recognize as AbadarCorp and New Horizons equipment, equipment it managed to acquire by means of a hostile wireless takeover. The mainframe has already managed to analyze and catalogue the Pact Worlds systems it took over, reverse engineered its function, and seems to be working through repurposing the equipment for war. This "technology acquisition" function of the mainframe appears to be a very fundamental feature - possibly whatever this facility was once for, defending against hostile technology was a priority.
It seems like it might be possible to reverse the changes the mainframe has made to the terraforming equipment and satellites, though it won't be easy.