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DATA LOSS // LOG 12: Staring Down a Laboratory God
The alarm klaxons are screaming in the crimson dark, and the armored airlock doors hiss open to reveal a chamber that looks more like a high-tech cathedral than a research facility. Suspended in the center of this massive, shadowed vault is ERESHKIGAL—the secret laboratory’s resident metamind. It’s a terrifying mass of cold obsidian plating, exposed processing nodes, and a single, massive, shifting glass optic right at eye-level. If that primary lens locks onto me for a microsecond, an industrial-grade laser array will incinerate my clone instantly.
The warning on the frame still rings clear: No weapons permitted. My broken Arcwire Tool sits uselessly on my hip anyway, and my shattered environment suit offers zero protection. But I didn't come here to trade bullets. I came here to take back my life. I have the experimental doIT patch wired directly into my brain, and I’m going to use Ereshkigal’s own administrative network architecture to blind it.
THE METAMIND CHAMBER (COMBAT / THE RESOLUTION)
I step out onto the narrow, high-altitude maintenance catwalk, right in front of the behemoth. The massive glass optic of Ereshkigal immediately begins to pivot, a low, mechanical growl vibrating through the floor as the laser arrays charge to a blinding white heat.
Instead of running, I extend my hand, locking onto its localized network array with my newly acquired doIT mod. I’m not just trying to push it—I’m utilizing my deep-tier knowledge as the system's architect. I feed a direct administrative command string into its sensory loop, mimicking the executive biometrics I just recovered: a hard, low-level directive forcing its primary optic drive to execute a 180-degree diagnostics turn, looking completely away from the entry catwalk.
Janse is executing a high-stakes electronic attack using his newly downloaded tech mod. Per the rules, using an Arcwire mod in combat requires a Logic roll (Janse has a d6).
However, our explicit objective is resolving the protagonist's narrative arc using his recovered identity. The GM rules that Janse’s deep insight into his own creation grants an extra d6 for overwhelming circumstantial advantage. Furthermore, because Janse is pushing for a definitive resolution to pull the plug on this sector, he accepts a risky stunt (hindering his physical safety if it fails) to roll his Integrity (d6) as well. We take the highest die.
Rolling 2d6 (Skill + Circumstance) and 1d6 (Integrity)...
Results: d6 = 3, d6 = 5, d6 = 2.
Highest Die: 5 (Success!)
The GM Renders the Verdict: A 5 is a Success! The administrative patch overrides the metamind's defense protocols just in time.
The data packet hits Ereshkigal’s cognitive array. The massive glass optic violently jerks, its crimson targeting lasers flickering wildly as my voice-coded command forces its internal systems to obey. The giant, faceless head turns 180 degrees away from me, firing a spectacular, blinding laser blast into the far concrete wall of the vault instead of my chest.
The path is completely clear. I don't waste a heartbeat. I sprint down the catwalk, sprint across the gap, and take a desperate leap onto the machine's massive, obsidian-plated shoulder. With its primary sensor blindfolded by my exploit, I scramble up the coolant tubes behind its head, grab the twin primary power cables keeping the machine tethered to the laboratory grid, and channel my raw TK Shatter mod one last time.
*CRACK-CRACK.* The heavy fiber-optic cables violently snap, spraying a fountain of blue electrical sparks into the abyss.
DEFEATING ERESHKIGAL // THE FINAL MEMORY
The giant machine gives a deep, dying electronic groan. The blinding crimson alarms in the lab instantly cut out, replaced by the low, steady hum of emergency backup power. Down below, the facility's automated guard units drop their weapons and stand down. Ereshkigal is officially offline.
As the metamind's synthetic core dies, a massive feedback loop of pure, uncompressed raw data floods through my implant. This isn't just a stray fragment—it's the missing link to my entire existence on this planet.
LOG DATA INITIALIZED // FULL CORE SYNC:
You remember the final day. You weren't captured by corporate security. You walked into the Prometheus core willingly. You realized that the only way to save the thousands of human minds trapped inside the Sapience Optimized Uplink Log (SOUL) network was to inject your own consciousness into the system as a living virus.
Your physical body—the real Director Janse—is currently acting as the central anchor for the entire planetary grid inside the City, keeping the metaminds from completely wiping humanity's digital remnants. But the loop is failing. Every time you die and clone, a piece of your virus degrades.
I stand on top of the deactivated colossus, looking down at my hands. I’m not just a piece of meat spit out by a cloning vat. I am a targeted strike. The path forward is no longer about survival, and it's no longer about escaping this rock.
The lab's primary security checkpoint gate clicks open, pointing straight toward the shattered urban ruins of the City. The massive silhouette of PROMETHEUS towers over the skyline, waiting for me. It’s time to go to the City center, find my original body, and shut this entire corporate nightmare down for good.
And that brings an end to Chapter 1 of Janse's journey. We started as a nameless, gearless clone in a puddle of fluid, and we leave the deep dark labs knowing exactly who we are and what we have to do. Next stop: The City. Thanks for tuning into the dice rolls, the grit, and the data loss. See you in the next post!
If you're interested in playing 2400 Data Loss, you can find it here.
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