#:Climbing Sycoil

[creepy-crowleys]

The central room, barrels upon barrels of liquid Filth, and what remains of Dr. Mitro who was kind enough to hand over his key to the Vali levels.

I might try talking to Harumi and Security Five about a way to get the custodian out of the tower and back to Agartha before I head further up though. And. Maybe see if I can use it to bust open the doors to that shipment from Venice. 

[creepy-crowleys]

More of the the fungi infesting the 44th floor

The littlre round ones look weirdly edible

Flip the Three of Daggers. Smiles above the table, daggers underneath. Or was it the other way around? What does the Fool win when he unites the Demon and the Goddess? When will his impossible game turn on him?

Is Gozen a goddess...?  I knew she was long-lived for a human but...

Mm. Starting to get a little floaty, haha

[creepy-crowleys]

God, look at these. They’re gorgeous.

It looks like the floor and everyone on it was completely overtaken by bioluminescent fungal Filth, more similar to the Romanian strain than the African one claiming the docks. I don’t recall the Romanian ones being quite this vibrant, though maybe there was more ambient light from the moon there.

[creepy-crowleys]

Floor 44. On the bright side, it seems that the lights are off deliberately - this level was working with bioluminescence.

Still nobody around though.

[creepy-crowleys]

Got past the custodian to get into the central room

Nothing useful to help me stop it for good, but did get a keycard to the 44th floor.  I’ll have to come back for the custodian later...

Sorry.

[creepy-crowleys]

The custodian’s started to figure out that I’ve been getting past it and waits for me at the end of the halls now. It’s more hostile to the drones though, and they give off an EMP when destroyed that shuts it off a few seconds. So. That works out.

I don’t know what to do about the Mitsubachi.

What do you do with an enemy who can die as many times as you? What do you do when you understand the enemy as well as your reflection, and they you? What do we whisper in their ears? Do we whisper in their ears?

...I don’t know.

Sweetlings. Sweetlings all.

[creepy-crowleys]

We see his scientists toiling like termites in grand termite mounds. They are trying to emulate the Third Age, trying to recapture that demiurge spark. Portable technology. Portable Anima wells. Anima on tap. Orochi's Bees coming to life wherever they like.

[creepy-crowleys]

Okay.

Getting around might be less straightforward than hoped.

A lot of the floor’s security devices are still online and active - nothing dangerous so far, but enough to trigger alarms which then set off the rogue custodian. The one positive is that it’s too large to fit in the offices, and I’ve been able to take shelter in them for the time being.

This one’s been interesting.

The guard has a keycard for the security doors on this floor, but it was damaged when he was put through the doors. I’ll need to figure what to do with that later. What I’m really looking at is the device on the table.

There’s a second one in the next office.

They’re intended for the Mitsubachi Project.

[creepy-crowleys]

Welcome to the Sycoil branch of Orochi. Sycoil: fueling innovation.

Sycoil is Orochi’s power and energy solution branch. Their gas stations are everywhere and I came across one of their drilling operations in Egypt that was harvesting liquid Filth from underground wells rather than oil.

This team though appears to have been dabbling in Third Age tech.

Well. I say dabbling but

Through a Sycoil window, we spy a Custodian. ALERT - ROGUE CUSTODIAN. They do not belong outside Agartha. Who brought it here and how? They do not belong here.

They’ve ripped apart one of the custodians that usually protect Agartha. It’s hit a degree of stasis as far as I can tell, the damage the researchers have done is cancelling out and being cancelled out by its automated repair systems. It can’t heal and it can’t break down. It’s just in pain, and its systems aren’t recognizing me as any different than the researchers. It just keeps pacing this hallway.

[creepy-crowleys]

The Host’s been cancelled. Permanently. Or something.

That’s awful. Sorry.

He was watching my progress through the floor on the central room’s monitors.

I suppose that explains the traps and laugh tracks.

And I got a card for Sycoil, another few floors up. 

Floor 38 and four branches down - if I keep going at the rate I have been, I’m about halfway there. Then just Lilith, Samael, and whatever else they might have waiting at the top.

[creepy-crowleys]

--------------------------- Orochi Group: Sycoil Operations ---------------------------

Please select inquiry  -- E-Memos --  -- Employee Board --

---------------------------

-- E-Memos --

-- Z-00 --

I would like to direct our team's attention and focus to potential energy applications for the substance tentatively labelled: Z-00. We will have a meeting today to discuss this.

Best,

Dr. Mitro

---------------------------

-- Employee Board --

-- What Could Go Wrong? --

I see. Experimenting with the Filth, what could possibly go wrong? Do the top floors know about this? I thought the official word down the pipeline was we are NOT to mess with the Filth without very specific authorisation.

W. Symons

Your concerns and input are welcome, Symons, but not your tone. Let's stay objective and avoid vulgar parlance. Substance Z-00 has potential, and danger, and both should be respected, and reacted to, accordingly. I am confident that "word down the pipeline" is about to arrive, but we have to get a jump on things now. No results leads to other teams getting the funding, leading to unavoidable team size reduction (and then I have to make tough choices).

Best.

Dr. Mitro

[creepy-crowleys]

Subject: Climbing Sycoil From: The Labyrinth

A robotic monstrosity, a floor full of fungus and dissected draug. Sycoil sounds like a fun place to work - if you’re into that sort of thing. Either way, good job and guess what?

Keep climbing!

KG

[creepy-crowleys]

Previous images appear to have been where the battle lines are currently drawn; no more draug since I passed them, but plenty of more common Filth growth and infected researchers. 

I expect I’ll be finding Substance Z-00 in the central room.

[creepy-crowleys]

Conflict between two different Filth strains

This is something interesting. I saw a bit of this on Solomon Island, but there the Sargasso Sea strain (which forms the draug) had largely overwhelmed the still partially contained Blue Mountain strain (which develops into the more common black ooze and tentacles form of infected). But here they seem to be evenly matched and actively hostile to each other.

Top images appear to be an attempt to form a brood pod around a victim perhaps already carrying what Dr. Mitro insisted on calling Substance Z-00.

[creepy-crowleys]

‘Living’ Djúpr specimens wandering halls and tending brood pods

[creepy-crowleys]

A memo found on the floor of a 49th floor Sycoil office