Ember finds himself holding up the tiny Mr. Prog in front of his face, clutched between his fingers like a bite of food. With his razor-sharp ears, he is barely able to make out what it is yelling:
"WELCOME TO THE GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH COMP!" It yells, tiny voice generator straining. "CAN I HELP YOU, GIANT NAVI? YOUR FILESIZE IS SO HUGE, YOU'VE GOT TO BE REALLY IMPORTANT, RIGHT? WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM US?"
Tepid Trip
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"Wuzzat? Oh! Um... I'm looking fer some custom weapon data that's a green swordy virus sword or something like that, any idea where it might be?"[b][/b] Ember gently places the tiny Mr. Prog on his other palm and holds it close to it's hear so he can hear it better.
Meanwhile, mark was watching the entire scene while perplexed at the situation. His navi was said to have a large filesize by the micro Mr. Prog, but mark thought he did a sufficient job in optimizing to make sure he didn't take too much space, could the technology be that old? Has current technology demanded a higher average of memory to work?
Meanwhile, mark was watching the entire scene while perplexed at the situation. His navi was said to have a large filesize by the micro Mr. Prog, but mark thought he did a sufficient job in optimizing to make sure he didn't take too much space, could the technology be that old? Has current technology demanded a higher average of memory to work?
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"Um, this computer is cut off from the network at large-- we only send outgoing geothermal and geological data back to the research center in Electopia. We don't get any incoming data aside from jack-ins, so there are no viruses on this comp, so..." The Mr. Prog kind of wiggles its' plug in a dismissive manner. "It probably isn't here! Did you try the other consoles in the volcano?"
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"One of them is turned off, and the other we cannot get into"[b][/b] Ember replied, Mark added on to what Ember has told them. "We have already examined the cave and we found two other consoles, one is sealed under an automated lock and the other isn't functional. How can we open the automatic lock on the functional one?...Oh! But before that, we found a chamber illuminated by lava behind some odd insulating transparent material, can you tell us anything about that chamber?"[b][/b]
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"What do you mean by functional?" The prog asks, seemingly ignoring everything else Ember said. Although the way he doesn't react at all it's... more like the thing is programmed not to react.
Eerie!
Eerie!
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Mark was mildly confused with the program's tone of voice and response, how would it not know what the term "functional" means? And why did it show so little concern? More importantly it seemed to have dodged his previous question about the lava chamber as well. Mark started to become suspicious of the programs, but played along with it some more. "Well... It's not working, it seems to not be powered at all as the screen is blank and no LED lights are on; and again, what about that chamber I asked you about?"[b][/b] Mark's tone remained calm as he spoke, but waits to see what the program does. Denial and avoidance would clearly mean it's hiding something, or it could just be really old data that doesn't know otherwise.
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"No power and no lights? Are you sure none of the consoles have power?" The little prog asks, tilting its' head. "At least one of them should be turned on! See, look at the statuses!" It pulls up a little list.
"See?" The little prog says, not seeming to notice anything amiss. "I mean, the red console is off, but you should be able to turn it back on somehow!"
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VolComp 1: Offline
VolComp 2: Online
VolComp 3: Transmitting
VolCornp 4: Online
"See?" The little prog says, not seeming to notice anything amiss. "I mean, the red console is off, but you should be able to turn it back on somehow!"
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Mark examines the list of the comp status between all four Volcomps, with only four of them and one being confirmed to not have what they are looking for, things should be easier than they seemed at first, but the fact that Volcomp1 is offline is a bit worrying, and finding a way to turn that on would be a good idea incase what they are looking for turns out to be in that one. Mark decides to ask if the Programs would have any idea as to how Volcomp1 could be turned on.
"Aright then, so how does one turn on the first Volcomp? We need to check every one of them so being able to bring Volcomp1 back online would be a big help for us. Is there a power switch somewhere or are the power controls automated?"[b][/b]
"Aright then, so how does one turn on the first Volcomp? We need to check every one of them so being able to bring Volcomp1 back online would be a big help for us. Is there a power switch somewhere or are the power controls automated?"[b][/b]
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"Usually the system should automatically reboot itself! But it hasn't, sooooo--" The prog flops over. "Maybe try one of the other consoles? This one doesn't have any controls like that, we're toooooo old, but some of the other comps should have some maintenance functions!"
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"Hmm...This might be all we are going to get off of them, aright Ember time to go, Jack ou- Wait, you haven't told us anything about the chamber that I mentioned. There is a door behind it that is sealed with a nine digit password, can you tell us what that chamber is or what the password is at all?."[b][/b] Mark was intent on getting answers about the lava chamber he found, it could lead to the fourth Volcomp that they haven't found on their own yet.
"Just to jog your memory, it's a large chamber with lava behind some kind of ultra insulate glass material with a large door and a keypad."[b][/b]
"Just to jog your memory, it's a large chamber with lava behind some kind of ultra insulate glass material with a large door and a keypad."[b][/b]
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Mark got pretty annoyed with the program's blatant denial of supplying information about the chamber. "Aright now, you better speak up about that lava chamber or else I'll turn this place into a lava chamber! My navi has a setlava program installed and this area is small enough to be completely engulfed in boiling hot lava once we use it. So you better speak now or prepare for a lava bath,"[b][/b]
Ember was shocked with his operators threat "Boss! You're really going to do that to these little guys?"[b][/b]
"Yes I will, they are keeping us from moving forward, and I'm not going to take that sitting down!"[b][/b]
Ember was shocked with his operators threat "Boss! You're really going to do that to these little guys?"[b][/b]
"Yes I will, they are keeping us from moving forward, and I'm not going to take that sitting down!"[b][/b]
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..."What?" The prog says, voice shaking. "Why would you turn this place into a lava zone!? What did I do wrong?!"
Far below, beneath the giant Ember's feet, the rest of the Mr. Progs start to panic, running around frantically and screaming.
Far below, beneath the giant Ember's feet, the rest of the Mr. Progs start to panic, running around frantically and screaming.
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"Now see what ya did now Boss?"[b][/b] Ember said, scolding his operator. Mark could only sigh and mash his palm against his face in frustration. "These programs are hopeless, they are too old to be of any use. Come on Ember, let's go."[b][/b]
"Naw Boss, let me try this time."[b][/b] The Barrel on Ember's neck pops open, he reaches in to pull out a bottle of brandy and a shot glass all in one hand. Carefully he sets the shot glass on the ground, trying not to squish any of the frenzied programs, and began to pour Brandy inside it. "Take some of that now, that'll calm ya down"[b][/b] he returns the bottle of brandy back into his barrel and closed it shut. He then turns his attention to the program in his hands. "Roite then, so tell us, do ya know anything about a magma chamber here on the island, anything at all? If not then just say so, and don't worry about my Boss, he's got a stick in his rump is all."[b][/b] Mark grew irate over the fact his navi had the audacity to make a remark like that, but remained silent to see if he could get them to talk.
"Naw Boss, let me try this time."[b][/b] The Barrel on Ember's neck pops open, he reaches in to pull out a bottle of brandy and a shot glass all in one hand. Carefully he sets the shot glass on the ground, trying not to squish any of the frenzied programs, and began to pour Brandy inside it. "Take some of that now, that'll calm ya down"[b][/b] he returns the bottle of brandy back into his barrel and closed it shut. He then turns his attention to the program in his hands. "Roite then, so tell us, do ya know anything about a magma chamber here on the island, anything at all? If not then just say so, and don't worry about my Boss, he's got a stick in his rump is all."[b][/b] Mark grew irate over the fact his navi had the audacity to make a remark like that, but remained silent to see if he could get them to talk.
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The programs that aren't drinking stare at Ember with a blanker stare than the ones that are, as if they're completely incapable of even acknowledging what he just asked.
A few moments pass, then one of the tiny progs shouts something about free beer.
A few moments pass, then one of the tiny progs shouts something about free beer.
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"Well, I got nothing Boss..."[b][/b] Ember gently places the program in his hand back onto the ground. "We are wasting time with them, let's head back into the cave and look for some answers elsewere."[b][/b]
In a bright cyan beam Ember left the network, jacking out and returning to his PET. With his navi back in his possession, Mark returned to the room filled with netbattling stands and the holographic map of the caves. Deciding that there may be some information left in the netbattling stands; he searches for a jack in signal in the room.
In a bright cyan beam Ember left the network, jacking out and returning to his PET. With his navi back in his possession, Mark returned to the room filled with netbattling stands and the holographic map of the caves. Deciding that there may be some information left in the netbattling stands; he searches for a jack in signal in the room.
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None of them are turned on, for one, and for two they are covered in thick, heavy layers of dust, even underneath the sheets. It is highly doubtful they would have the information you seek.
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Nothing here either, they were drawing at blanks at this point, only 4 computers but one is useless, one is locked, one is off, and one is somewhere else. It's now very much clear why the client needed help. But where was the fourth Volcano computer? Nothing was on the control console hologram besides the two other computers and the path down to the chamber. Looking for options wherever he could find, he began to examine the control console for any sort of control or button he could try.
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Mark doesn't find anything particularly useful-- this "console" just just a display hub, after all- wait, what's this? Stuck to the side is an ancient-looking sticky note, half-crumbled and faded. Mark goes to grab it, and the corner by which he does so disintegrates, so he opts for reading it where it's at.
"Note: Power bills were getting too high due to people leaving control console screens on, so we've set them to turn the screens off after a while. Just hit a button on them to turn them back on."
The console with the locked jack in apparatuses that was turned on comes to mind.
"Note: Power bills were getting too high due to people leaving control console screens on, so we've set them to turn the screens off after a while. Just hit a button on them to turn them back on."
The console with the locked jack in apparatuses that was turned on comes to mind.