Suddenly, all the telescreens within sight, and there are a lot of them, freeze. Moore's eyes are frozen everywhere. The vehicles slowly retreat ... all but one. The retreating vehicles only move back 50 feet or so.
A single black suit clad agent of the Thought Police steps out of the remaining vehicle, holding in front of him, a telescreen. It faces Nissa and the party. A long cable connects the telescreen to the truck.
For the first time, you see more of Big Brother Moore than his face. He's on the screen standing and waving excitedly. He's saying something too.
Approach to hear Moore:
"Nissa, darling," gushes Moore. "You made it! I knew you would. Looking good, Theo! Zellgato, Unity ... hey, where's the new kid?"
Henri can see that Nissa, Unity, Zellgato, and Theo are slowly getting surrounded by Thought Police whom they will easily defeat. Nissa set a couple vans on fire.
"I'm not sure how I could help, but if there is anything I can do, this is the most interesting thing that has happened since I found out I was dead," he says. "I went in to report the error and everyone was very nice, but no one seemed willing to try to fix the mistake. ... If it was a mistake."
On the street ... You're definitely surrounded but not outmatched. If you want to kill Thought Police--more and more of who come each round--roll for initiative. This includes Henri. If you want to try another approach, you've got everyone's attention, except for four drunk proles in the bar.
Nissa manages to trigger the fire-resistant foam, on a couple of vans, but the vans are able to back out of the foam, not having crashed. Unity's attack on the tires of one does cause it to veer into a post and puts that vehicle out of commission. More Thought Police arrive. Your public attack on the execution got a lot of attention. They sent everyone. They're establishing a perimeter, staying in their vehicles. You can fight your way out of this, but lots of people are going to get hurt, including your freed prisoners. You'll probably be fine though. All of the screens in all of the windows and on all of the posts feature Big Brother Moore's eyes. It doesn't seem to be on a loop. Big Brother is watching.
Comrade Ogilvy joins Henri at the window. He sips the gin. Winces because it's terrible.
"That's the thing, I don't remember anything. I know things about myself, but I don't remember any of them. I know that I was district organizer for the Junior Anti-Sex League when I was only 17. I don't remember being a teenage boy. I know that, at 19, I designed a hand grenade that is used on the Eurasian front. I'm not sure how I would have done such a thing, but I know it as a fact and I can find the report on the telescreen."
He looks around. He sips. He surreptitiously pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to Henri. "I accessed my records yesterday. No one tried to stop me. They checked my papers and became very deferential.". The paper contains an obituary of "Heroic Comrade Ogilvy"
The paper reads:
Pursued by enemy jet planes while flying over the Indian Ocean with important despatches, the twenty-three year old soldier had weighted his body with his machine gun and leapt out of the helicopter into deep water, despatches and all. Big Brother himself said it was impossible to contemplate such a death without feelings of envy. Comrade Ogilvy’s life was marked by single-minded devotion to the Party. He was a total abstainer and a nonsmoker, had no recreations except a daily hour in
the gymnasium, and had taken a vow of celibacy, believing marriage and the care of a family to be incompatible with a twenty-four-hour-a-day devotion to duty. He had no subjects of conversation except the principles of Ingsoc, and no aim in life except the defeat of the Eurasian enemy and the hunting-down of spies, saboteurs, thoughtcriminals, and traitors generally
"I sound like a t@!!," says Comrade Ogilvy sipping his gin and looking out the window while Henri reads his paper. "So, are these friends of yours then?"
"Walking and talking with a friend? I'm not sure these things are done anymore. But, I do know a quiet place ... there's a room in the back that used to be used for something called community meetings before the Party took over all the planning. At least, that's what those old proles say" he throws a nod to the drunks gathered around a table quietly grumbling. "Personally, I don't remember anything before the Party ... I don't remember anything before last week, in fact."
He pauses as if considering the implications of not remembering the past, including his own. Ogilvy waves his empty glass and the barman tries to serve him some top shelf brandy. Ogilvy refuses the good stuff and talks him down to two glasses of gin, one for Henri.
The glow of fire can be seen through the smudged windows. Something is burning on the street.
On the street:
As Nissa attacks the Thought Police, the screens on the entire block begin to flash red. A woman appears on the screen declaring a public emergency and ordering people to return to their homes. No one, other than Nissa, Theo, Zellgato and Unity are there.
No one exits the van.
Two more vans arrive from the other direction.
Once again the Thought Police are boxing you in and waiting for back-up before confronting you.
"Ah, I was hoping you knew me. I have questions. Like your friend, I too have had an interesting day. I'm not entirely sure that I exist," he tosses back the gin and grimaces at the taste and then grins. He stands up and extends a hand to shake, "Comrade Ogilvy, hero of the revolution, at your service. You look lost, friend, is there anything I can do for you?"
On the street:
The black van stops when Unity takes aim at it. The prisoners cower in fear, ready to surrender. Henri is not with you.
Zellgato attemtps to shoot it down. Still wielding his wrist attached weapon not his rifle.
[dice=Shoot a drone. 101.]1d20+10vs EAC [dice=acid damage]1d4+6
"Time to move folks. Lets take a car. ushering the group forward out of the allyway hoping to hijack something they see.
The drone whirls about a bit and then crashes into an alley wall before falling to the ground.
On the street:
No vehicles are parked on the street. No one is on the street. Screens are lit in every doorway, bus stop, empty store. All of them show Moore’s eyes, watching. If you see anyone, they are inside, eyes glued to the screen. A black van rolls slowly down the street.
Inside the Red Lion:
Ogilvy looks up at Henri and says, ”Do I know you, Comrade?” The screen switches from reports on the brilliant leadership of the party to a shot of Big Brother’s eyes. Moore’s voice is quietly droning on about love. The eyes are scanning back and forth and full of suspicion while the words are honeyed. No one in the pub pays attention to the screen.
From the side door you can see into the darkened pub. It's almost empty. A couple of old farmers sit around one table complaining quietly. A large screen behind the bar gives updates on production quotas exceeded thanks to the brilliant leadership of the Party. No one pays attention.
A bartender leans over the bar and one man in a dark suit sits at it. His jacket hangs on a hook just beneath the bar. The sleeves of his white shirt are rolled up. His clothes mark him as 'Inner Party' not 'Outer Party'. The rest of the people in here are proles.
The bartender eyes him suspiciously.
You recognize him as Ogilvy, whom you last saw in War of the Worlds.
He looks at you as if you look vaguely familiar, but then turns his attention back to the glass of gin in his hand. Perhaps he couldn't see you silhouetted in the doorway like that.
Into the pub or onto the street or loiter in the alley?
The Party van successfully blocks the alley and Nissa sets it on fire. The van explodes in some kind of flame-suppressing foam that instantly hardens. The alley is now blocked by a block of grey foam roughly in the shape of a van.
The freed prisoners and the group are standing, or hovering, in an alley.
On the alley wall is a faded painting of a red lion.
A back door to the pub is open wide enough to allow the stray cat in the alley to run into the pub and away from the commotion.
Henri heads for a narrower side street when he realizes he's lost a tire.
Can he get the van cross-wise in the narrower road, block the road to stop our pursuers?
The higher the Piloting check, the more blocked that alley is.
”That’s the Red Lion,” says one of the freed prisoner. ”I wouldn’t be caught dead in there. You’d be a suspected Thought Criminal just for walking in.”
”We are suspected Thought Criminals,” says the second freed prisoner.
”Everyone is a suspected Thought Criminal,” says the third.
They laugh the way one laughs at a joke that is dark and not particularly funny.
Unity, standing in the back of the truck, keep one hand free in case the most indoctrinated rescuee tries something while using the other three to aim their freeze cannon. They fire a warning shot above the one officer still holding position, aiming to startle them but not cause harm... this time.
The officer, startled by Unity, fires back at the tires of the van. attack:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Everyone, freed prisoners included, have jumped onto the truck. The truck is driving towards four Thought Police who don't look like they're going to jump out of the way.
Despite years of conditioning, a moving vehicle is hard to face down. Three of the Thought Police jump out of the way. One stands resolutely, and draws a weapon, aiming for the driver. He holds his fire to see if Henri stops.
Inside the truck prisoners are yelling things like, "I didn't tell them. I didn't tell them anything.", "Hahaha. 2+2=4. Freedom!", and "I'm sorry. I see five lights. I'm sorry."
I’ll make this an opposed Strength check. She is weak from having been tortured for months in the place where there is no darkness.
Strength:1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12
She is dragged screaming to your stolen truck.
Small black vans surround Victory Square, Sector 27. Four people dressed entirely in black step out of each one. All exits are blocked. The Thought Police have arrived.
The witnesses to the execution are beginning to scatter. They're not sure what is happening, but most were eager to go home and sit in front of a screen so they couldn't be accused of being out causing trouble.
There are five prisoners. Unity and Theo each take one. Nissa tries to persuade others. I'll let her Diplomacy check of 31 stand opposed to three conditioning by Big Brother checks for each of them.
Big Brother's smiling face is frozen on the screen. A voice--not Big Brother's--is shouting, "Comrades. Do not move. You are the victim of a terrorist event. The Thought Police will be there soon to assist you."
Do the prisoners move? Prisoner 1 has been messed up:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29 Prisoner 2 has been re-educated:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (7) + 20 = 27 Prisoner 3 has been re-built from pieces:1d20 + 25 ⇒ (17) + 25 = 42
One of the prisoners, one of the women, falls to her knees and calls out hoarsely, "No, don't follow her. Can't you see it is another test! Stay strong. Big Brother is watching!"
Big Brother Moore's frozen face smiles on a 12-foot-high screen behind them.
The other two prisoners follow Nissa.
Okay, guys, big decision, get in the truck, abandoning the prisoner who won't follow or hold up and someone goes and gets her? A delay means trouble. The Thought Police are coming. The other four have come more willingly.
Nissa and Unity bring down the last remaining party member. Nissa is suffering from the toxic effects of the mushroom spores both from when she exited the gun and now as she flies through the spores in her blazing orbit. Nissa takes the full 21 points of damage from the spores. The fight is over and Nissa was the only group member injured.
Henri shoots his target, who falls to the ground unconscious. Henri has control of the truck. Someone is calling through the radio. "... pre audio reception doubleplus ungood. Restate sit rep. Over."
The crowd is confused and has barely stopped chanting; they have not yet had the good sense to run.
The three Inner Party members are surprised by the attack. Despite the rhetoric of enemies from within constantly attempting to undermine the Party, in truth, no one has attacked the Party in a very long time. The toxic mushroom spores start them chocking and clawing at their throats.
Nissa’s punch breaks the jaw of her Party member; she falls, dead or unconscious.
Theo takes another down with a tremendous blow.
Unity fails to get a grapple on the final Inner Party member who now points his gun at Unity and fires. Attack; damage:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 161d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Henri misses with his pistol. The driver of the truck scrambles to the front and hits a button on the controls. He starts to shout an explanation but forgot to pick up a mic. He’s holding it now. Henri has one chance to stop reinforcements from being called in.
On stage, only one Party member is standing; he has moved out of the toxic area.
Nissa, were you in the Inner Party member’s space when the toxic spores hit? DC 19 saveFort save.
When the prisoners profess their love for Big Brother, some in the crowd praise Big Brother, chanting "B B ... B B"; others, such as the girls from the Junior Anti-Sex League, scream "Liar! Pervert!" at the prisoners. Some go back and forth between shouting their love and screaming their hate.
The prisoners beg, weep, and profess their stupidity.
The three inner party members on stage position themselves behind two of the men and one of them women; they put their hands on their guns.
Nissa is getting in a gun; Henri is positioning himself by a truck while being watched. What do the others do? Things are going to happen very quickly when they happen.
Zellgato: the image of Moore seems like a video, perhaps on a loop. Moore does look healthier, and better groomed, leaner, and at least a year older.
Z notices that the party members are each armed with a pistol.
Henri’s attempts to stealthily scope out the scene from a distance attract the attention of one of the two flanking party members on the stage.
Henri notices a truck parked beside the stage. The prisoners were probably brought in it. The driver stands beside it but is focused on the stage and screen.
Unity has a bird’s eye view of the stage and is above the focus of the cameras.
”Comrades,” calls the woman from the stage. ”The party knows that, when properly introduced to the brilliant teachings of Big Brother that even the most recalcitrant of traitors eventually recognize their mistakes. Would you like to hear them reflect on their errors?”
The woman nods to the roar of approval from the crowd and barks at the five prisoners to confess.
The prisoners, three men and two women, all start shouting their love for Big Brother and their stupidity for turning away from his love.
Heading in the direction of the large white building and heading in direction of the horns blaring the summons to the executions takes you in the same direction.
Going to the execution:
Zellgato’s disguise consists of blue overalls and a cotton shirt, stained despite repeated bleaching. Everyone you have seen so far has been dressed the same.
A crowd, including the couple you saw earlier, are gathered around a stage in an open square. By the time you arrive, the speeches have started. A woman with short dark hair in a black suit—the first person you’ve seen not wearing blue overalls—stands on the stage, flanked by two men also wearing dark suits.
Five prisoners, with their hands cuffed behind their backs, stand on either side. When one of them slouches, another prisoner hisses something and he stands up straighter.
Moore’s face appears on a very large screen behind them. He looks better than he ever has and the lighting of the room he is in gives him a bit of a halo. The camera is so close you can see every pore, but every pore looks perfect.
”Comrades,” says the woman in black. ”Thanks to the Party leadership, production of all necessary goods has risen an amazing 5% in the last year, exceeding all quotas. Clothing, food, and daily necessities are being produced in great quantities. Praise Big Brother.”
Big Brother Moore smiles while the crowd chants ”B B … B B … B B …”
”Only deliberate sabotage by counter-revolutionaries prevent the people from enjoying the fruits of their labour, nurtured under the party leadership,” the woman says, gesturing to the captured prisoners. ”Corrupted by the evil doctrines of those who would destroy our lifestyle and return us as slaves to the capitalists of old, these five former party members have intentionally undermined our economic recovery.”
The crowd explodes in boos and hisses as Moore’s face disappears from the screen and another man’s face appears. This man’s face is as repulsive as Moore’s was attractive. He looks rat-like and untrimmed. He looks both like he has sucked all the fat that life has to offer and, yet, still looks poor somehow. His face is intellectual and unmistakably jewish. He is twitchy and snide looking. The crowd roars its disapproval at the face of the enemy; you hear the name ”Goldstein” muttered by some. After a solid minute of shouting and roaring at the face of this man, the screen shows the faces of the five prisoners on stage, one at a time. The crowd’s shouting shifts from the enemy, Goldstein, to each of the five men in turn. The hatred of the crowd is fluid; it is summoned by the face of Goldstein and then redirected to the prisoners.
Obviously, the woman on stage is building up to something.
Anyone wanting to stop the execution? There are 30 people in the crowd, 3 party members on stage, 5 prisoners. If there are police, you do not see them.
Looking for a pub:
Nissa and Theo get a look at the crowd gathered for the execution but slip away before they are noticed. The white building is further down the main road. It looms over what used to be Willingdon. Nissa and Theo are almost in its shadow when they see a small pub. A faded sign painted on the side shows it used to be called ‘The Red Lion’. A painting of a red lion is almost visible in the alley. The new name, apparently, is ‘Victory Bar’. It looks almost empty, as if anyone inside has headed for the execution other than the bartender and a single familiar looking customer.
Slouched over a half-litre of beer is a tired, worn-down, familiar face. Wearing a dishevelled black pants, a torn black suit jacket sits Ogilvy … the same Ogilvy you met in War of the Worlds. He looks up when you enter, but does not seem to recognize you.
Is Nissa still riding the drone? I assumed she jumped off in the alley near the graffiti. Are you all about to be arrested for loitering?
If Nissa is still riding the drone::
The drone is large and clunky. It's a bit advanced for the 1980s, but a society that didn't invest in health care and practiced continuous war clearly would have had better drones. After circling around for a while it turns towards a building and slides in through a drone-sized port. If Nissa goes with it, she finds the drone in a docking station, recharging.
The drone goes where you cannot follow. You are now standing on the street in a group, which is very suspicious behaviou--the kind of thing thought-criminals and counter-revolutionaries might do.
You can (1) exit, back to Animal Farm, through the gate; (2) skulk in alleys, (3) explore the sewers, (4) go to an execution, (5) visit a pub, or (6) get arrested for loitering.
The woman looks frightened and the man looks confused. ”I’ve never noticed the colour,” says the man. ”I thought it was colourless. … You’d better hurry if you’re going to the execution, comrades, gas or not.”
The couple rushes off towards the center of town, and, apparently, some executions, which may or may not involve gas.
Nissa replies, “It’s from 1984… you’re led on to think ‘where there is no darkness’ is a good place, and that the guy who wants to meet the main character is a good guy. But nope.
“And the ministries are all the opposite of what they claim to be. The Ministry of Love… it’s where they torture you until you’re so broken you ‘love’ Big Brother.” Enough about Dystopian Novella 101 and more about room 101: “Miniluv is in block C, so I guess we figure out which way…” Hearing Unity, she says, “—or yeah, just try the big, ominous building.”
[dice=Culture]d20+12+d6
Having seen the movie, and perhaps also done a Book-Vs-Film comparison, could Nissa spot the building or describe it accurately?
Nissa:
With that Culture check, Nissa would remember that the Ministries are in London. She could also decode the drone's newspeak message "Sec 27 Block-C untext upsub miniluv anterectify" as "Reporting that in sector 27 Block C there is an inappropriate message (untext). Submit this up the chain (upsub) to the Ministry of Love (miniluv) before (ante) rectifying the situation (rectify)."
Nissa does not know how far Willingdon is from London.
Five people standing around in the street chatting looks a bit too much like counter-revolutionary activity. The drone circles back to make sure the party isn't loitering and, once it sees Nissa gone and Henri moving, it heads off, satisfied.
The drone heads down an alley between the old firehall and one of the brutalist apartment blocks.
On the wall of one of the alleys someone has painted the words "We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness" it is signed only with the tag "M". The drone slows and moves back and forth along the length of the graffiti, beeping quietly. Somewhere, someone receives a message on their screen that says "Sec 27 Block-C untext upsub miniluv anterectify".
The drone continues down the alley and out the other side.
Unity frown to themself. "Do you see any buildings that look more important than others around here?" they ask, looking around for themself as they do.
A tall silver building towers over the others. It looks like a series of cubes stacked on each other, each cube 20% smaller than the one beneath it, but none perfectly aligned. It's twice as tall as the next tallest, and can be seen from a distance.
Nissa considers the options. “Either the alarm and the commotion are worth following, or Moore is intentionally drawing everyone away.”
She tries to use her knowledge of the Orwellian setting, rather than fly off and be called a ‘whore’ again.
[dice=Culture]d20+12+d6
What’s happening in the story now? ..in case knowing that helps us find Moore!
Nissa doesn't have enough information to link it with the story. She doesn't remember a Sector 27 in the story, so it may be that the book 1984 is ONE story of this world, but not the whole story.
The party hears a fairly inoffensive siren. It isn’t too loud, but loud enough to get your attention. It blares and pauses and blares and pauses. It comes from the direction the girls went.
Two people rush out of the apartment buildings as if summoned by the siren. They too rush in the direction the girls went.
By the time Nissa flies down to the anti-sex girls’ level, she’s pretty much where the party is. She hovers close to the girls and expects her appearance alone draws attention.
“Excuse me, young ladies. I’m Nissa van Donk…” Her eyes dart from sash to sash. “…Officer van Donk, if you prefer. I’m looking for a man—“ Turning toward the virgin with the exposed knees, she says, “—not for that! Haha, when it comes to men I am very strongly unwaveringly anti-sex. And besides, the man in question is like a Big Brother to me, y’know?
“I’d describe him, but I’m sure you’ve seen his face on the posters.” She asks plainly, “Do you know where I can find Big Brother?”
The girls laugh when she asks where she can find Big Brother, like it's a joke.
"Come on girls," says the primmest of the 'officers'. "Can't you see what kind of girl she is? Just look at who she's with."
The girls turn away from Nissa and resume walking, giggling as they go. Nissa hears the word "Prostitute" and "I bet they're thought criminals!".
She zips into the air and follows to joyful noise. If the laughing girls are in a building, Nissa will fly to a window and peer inside. If they’re outside, she watch from above at first.
[dice=Stealth]d20+11
Nissa:
5 girls are rushing down the alley between the old firehall and the apartment block. They are straightening their clothes and looking serious and hurried. On a signal from one of them, they all start laughing again. Their facial expressions show the laughter is fake.
Five teen girls pop out of an alley in front of the party. Each of them wears a sash that says "Junior Anti-Sex League". Each also wears a tight white dress shirt and a skirt that ends just below the knee. Three of them have the word 'Officer' on their anti-sex leagues sashes. The remaining two have the word 'Virgin' on their sashes. One of these two has pulled her skirt up so high her knees show.
They see the party and giggle and head the other way.
Unity doesn't see an ambush. He does see a woman come out of one of the buildings with a large basket of loaves of bread. She heads off into town quite quickly, not even looking at the party.
A light goes on in a building on the other side of the street too.
And you hear girls laughing not far away breaking the silence that had been rather ominous a moment before.
The sleepy little street seems to be suddenly waking up.
"Sir, when did our contact pass through this gate?"
I have a bad feeling about this. I think they will try to pick us up once we are inside.
When Henri turns to ask the question he sees a poster on the wall behind the guard. The poster reads "Big Brother is Watching". Above the text is a familiar face. Henri only met Dr. Moore once, but he recognizes the face.
You can enter 'Sector 27' formerly known as Willingdon if you wish.
From where you are standing, you can see a bit of Sector 27. You see apartment blocks stamped on top of what was probably once a nice little farm village. Everything is both clean and grey. Anything attractive about Willingdon is diminished, suppressed by the brutalism of Sector 27. The old fire station, a brick building from the 1900s, would have made a nice postcard. It's now in the shadows of two 5 story apartment blocks and has no clear purpose.
You can see this from the gate to Sector 27, where you are being watched by a nervous old guard and a keen-eyed young guard.
When Unity attempts to bluff, Henri notices the younger guard look up at a camera tucked in a corner. A small red light flashes three times. The younger guard nods to the camera.
The younger guard nods to the older guard who stands aside.
”’ave it your way then,” he says. ”Welcome to Sector 27.”
The gate opens automatically without either guard appearing to press a button or even signal for it to be opened. The younger guard steps into a booth and puts on a pair of headphones with a connected microphone.
”WIllingdon? I haven’t heard that name …” the older guard begins.
The younger guard looks at him out of the corner of his eye. The older guard trails off. He seemed like he was about to say “I haven’t heard that name in a while” but left it at “I haven’t heard that name.”
The younger guard finally turns to you and asks if you have a permit for being in a restricted area.
You start walking. As you near Willingdon, the road becomes pavement, you see some factories in the distance. Chainlink fences and concrete barriers rise on the sides of the road.
This isn’t looking like the little farming community the book referred to.
It smells like industry.
You finally come within sight of Willingdon.
It’s more modern than you expected, bigger than you expected, and grayer than you expected.
A pair of guards watch the gated entrance to the fenced in village.
Over the gate is a sign that says ‘Freedom is Slavery’.
Zellgato, having taken a look under the hood with the help of his additional Zellgato, has determined the truck is, indeed, in need of repair. The job will probably take an hour.
Make another Engineering check if you are willing to take an hour to repair the truck.
Had to check - speed and piloting are what the class is about, but I don't see a special bonus other than immunity to the flat-footed condition.
Uh-oh - is there a reroll mechanic here? I have a lot of resolve left...
Not aware of a reroll mechanic.
The truck slams into the ditch. Everyone takes damage:2d6 ⇒ (5, 1) = 6 worth of no-seatbelt bludgeoning damage, but worse, the truck is now in need of repair before it can be used.
Rex whimpers very much like a dog and jumps out the driver side window and starts running back towards Animal Farm.
You are two miles from Willingdon, the nearest town.
