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quote:

Charlie Wincott posted:

TRESPASSER ALERT
TO: Ground Zero Op - All


*****************TRESPASSER ALERT*****************

AMY FERRERO IS IN THE GODDAMN SECURITY STATION UNSUPERVISED. My understanding was that Amy Ferrero was supposed to be recording a series of false confessions for our PR campaign. Clearly that’s not the case.

How do I know she’s unsupervised? Because a) she's in the goddamn security station and b) SHE’S DIGGING THROUGH SENSITIVE MONARCH FILES AND TRANSFERING THEM TO A USB STICK. No big deal, just, y’know, ALL OF MONARCH’S SECRETS.

Radio alert is already in effect. Converge on her location IMMEDIATELY. Do NOT let that USB stick leave this operation.

Oh, and remember Jack Joyce? The guy you were supposed to stop from turning our entire operation into a clusterfuck? Maybe get on that while we still have an operation left?

Can you just act like this was your natural environment? You know, like a high school locker room, and he’s the kid who can read a full sentence without moving his lips? JUST. FUCK HIM. UP.

Charlie

Martin Hatch posted:

RE: Jack
TO: Beth Wilder


Fiona,

William Joyce is dead. Our only shot at stopping this thing is Jack. He can lead us to the countermeasure. I still believe that.

Serene got to Jack first at the university. Too much heat for me to intervene. He’s being moved to Ground Zero. I’m following the convoy there and will rescue him once his transport is past security checkpoints. Not gonna be easy, but it might be our only shot. Keep Charlie Wincott distracted so he’s not looking over the security feeds.

My cover won’t last much longer. You need to be my eyes on the inside. I agree, you should check into Dr. Kim’s lab and let me know what you find. I know gaining access will be difficult, but with the gala tonight you might have a window. Might be able to steal Dr. Amaral’s keycard?

I will contact you once I’m on the other side.

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

TO: FIONA MILLER
FROM: BETH WILDER
DATE: OCT 9, 2016 – 5:22am
SUBJECT: RE: Jack

Beth

They’re saying that William and Jack Joyce have both been detained. Did you manage to get to William first? Did he reveal the location of the countermeasure? You said you could get Jack out of there. What happened?

Interesting developments over here. With the team focused on the university op, I managed to dig through an old email correspondence between Paul Serene and Dr. Kim. The content of the messages is very cryptic, but before he died, Kim was running some kind of tests from his lab, and William's research and a device related to this were somehow connected to what he was doing. Did he know about the countermeasure?

I think I need to get into Kim’s lab and find out more, but that place has been on restricted access since he died. Not a lot of choice, though; if Jack and William are in custody, then that lab may be our only lead left. I’m just not sure how to do it. I sure as hell can’t just ask somebody to let me in there.

Sofia Amaral posted:

RE: Dr. Kim's lab and Serene’s treatment
TO: Fiona Miller


Fiona

I share your concern. Paul’s treatments are becoming increasingly ineffective and I hypothesize that the onset of the Fracture will increase the Chronon Syndrome’s rate of progression exponentially. I’ve been trying to take a more calculated approach at finding a permanent cure for Paul’s sickness, but Martin Hatch has shifted all the necessary resources into our tech division instead. I’m beginning to question his behavior. Every attempt I’ve made to discover a cure has been met with Martin’s red tape. Just between us, I do start to wonder if Martin even wants Paul to be cured.

I’ve looked into Martin’s past. He began work for Monarch in 2001, but I couldn’t find any records about his past, or any aspect of his life before then. It’s almost as if he just appeared out of nowhere. He was the only one present during the accident that claimed Dr. Kim’s life. I don’t want to jump to conclusions… but I do wonder what his agenda truly is.

Regarding your question, unfortunately there is nothing of value in Dr. Kim’s lab aside from Paul Serene’s treatments and confidential files that would be of no use to your research. We will have to find another way to develop a cure.

Dr. Sofia Amaral
Head of Research

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

TO: SOFIA AMARAL
FROM: FIONA MILLER
DATE: OCT 9, 2016 – 5:45am
SUBJECT: Dr. Kim's lab and Serene’s treatment

Dr. Amaral,

Would it be possible for me to gain access to Dr. Kim’s lab in order to search for any files that might assist in our research? I am concerned about the slow progress in developing a permanent cure for Paul Serene’s Chronon Syndrome. The treatments are only a temporary solution. I know that Dr. Kim was close to discovering a cure at the time of his death. I know that you use this lab to administer Paul Serene’s treatments, but if I could borrow your keycard during the gala tonight perhaps I could investigate this further while everybody is occupied with other matters.

Fiona Miller

quote:

The Sudden Stop, the final Alex Casey novel by Alan Wake.

This copy is signed by the author, and dedicated to Emily Burke.

Clarice Ogawa posted:

RE: Liam Burke’s status
TO: Martin Hatch


Sir,

Given the very recent events at the dry docks, I now see exactly what you mean. Clearly, you were right about Burke’s loyalties being more fickle than they appeared.

Of course, we have plenty of unanswered questions about how it came to this. To begin with, I don’t see why Burke would be involved with Joyce. There’s no way he did it out of some kind of an altruistic urge, there has to be more to it. We know Burke didn’t divert Joyce’s transport, since whereabouts at that time are accounted for. So there has to be somebody else involved, too.

I’m looking into it.

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

TO: CLARICE OGAWA
FROM: MARTIN HATCH
DATE: OCT 8, 2016 – 9:47am
SUBJECT: RE: Liam Burke’s status

Clarice,

I understand why you consider Mr. Burke an asset to our future plans. Unfortunately, while he is an exceptional individual, he is less suitable for the kind of duties you have in mind than may be immediately obvious. I’ll explain.

Yes, he’s been trained as a Striker. But Mr. Burke WAS disqualified, and for good reason.

The men we have chosen to be Strikers have strict physical requirements, a certain moral flexibility, and the kind of killer instinct you have to be born with, cultivated to a fine degree. A ferocious knack for survival. Mr. Burke certainly has those qualities. He wasn't disqualified from the Striker program because he lacked them, or because he couldn’t wrap his head around the technical aspects of operating the technology; in fact, his performance was exceptional. So I fully agree with you that he’s an impressive operative.

But Strikers, by their very nature, have to be made aware of Project Lifeboat and its purpose, at least on a general level, and that means they have to able to accept its implications. Unfortunately, Mr. Burke has a deep attachment to his wife, and the fact is that even if we brought Mr. Burke in, that wouldn’t guarantee a spot for her in the program. To be blunt: we don’t need any more nurses, and we’re already at capacity overall. We need Mr. Burke, but we don’t need his wife. Mr. Burke would never accept that, particularly now that Mrs. Burke is pregnant. Therefore, it’s vital that he doesn’t understand the nature and scope of the threat we face.

As for having him play a role in other aspects of future developments, I suspect that despite his seemingly amoral nature, Mr. Burke may have other qualms he’s not consciously aware of. If he ever has to truly make a choice between conflicting loyalties, he may take a stand on principle and elect to act against his own best interests.

That’s not a chance I’m willing to take.

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

TO: MARTIN HATCH
FROM: CLARICE OGAWA
DATE: OCT 7, 2016 – 8:01pm
SUBJECT: Liam Burke’s status

Sir,

I’ve been thinking about Liam Burke. I know you’ve worked closely with him for a while now, and he’s been useful, but there are assignments we can’t use him for because of his insufficient security clearance. For instance, having to keep him in the dark about much of what will happen at the university – about the stutters we’re expecting, about where it’ll lead – makes him a far less effective field operative than I’d prefer and causes quite a bit of logistical difficulty, given that he’s still going to be a part of the operation. And frankly, it feels like wasted potential.

I’d like you to consider the possibility of bringing Burke into the fold. He's completed most of the Striker training, and even though he didn’t finish the program, he made an impression on me as a tremendously capable asset. His service record is exemplary, and he has a well-earned reputation as somebody who gets things done, no questions asked.

By the same token, I would love to include Burke in our long-term plans. We could use a man like him in our corner, and I could deploy him far more effectively.

Let me know what you think.

Manuel Porretta posted:

Liam Burke psych evaluation
TO: Martin Hatch


Martin,

First of all, I have to again register my objection. What you are having me do under the guise of a “psych evaluation” is a blatant violation of Liam Burke’s doctor-patient confidentiality, and the only reason I’m doing this is because you leave me no other choice. Now, I recognize that in the world to come, our current rules and legislation – even our standards of morality – may no longer be applicable, but we aren’t there yet. You and Mr. Serene are placing the long-term mental wellbeing of hundreds of individuals in my hands, and I’m telling you right now, if they don’t trust not only me, but the system that put all of us in our particular positions, there’s no way we can recover from it.

On to Burke. It is my considered professional opinion that the man is a bit of a powder keg. For all his calm exterior, he’s under tremendous pressure. I understand your reasoning for pulling him out of the Striker program, but what you have essentially done is instill in him a sense of encroaching doom. He doesn’t know the specifics, obviously; he didn’t make it far enough in the program to be briefed on that, but he knows that we’re preparing for a future threat that is somehow related to the flow of time being interrupted – and that there are dangers out there, dangers that we have specifically been training the Striker units for.

There are men who are content to merely follow orders and let others worry about the consequences. Burke is not one of them. He is willing to commit acts of violence without asking why, but don’t mistake that lack of qualms for blind obedience. Burke needs agency; he has a fundamental need to feel in control of his life, and you have put him in a position where that’s no longer possible for him. He’s good at seeing patterns and drawing accurate conclusions from the facts available to him, and he has deduced – quite correctly – that he was being trained for a specific scenario that Monarch believes will happen. He is also painfully aware of the fact that if and when that scenario arrives, he will not be a part of the solution. He understands the nature of the Striker suits, that they are only useful in a zero state situation – and he understands that in such a situation a man without a Striker suit is, essentially, dead. He doesn’t know about the Lifeboat protocol, obviously – but if he did, he’d then also know he’s not a part of it.

Either way, the bottom line is that he’s in a hopeless situation. He fears that the end of the world is coming, and he knows that if it does, the only way he could survive is with the technology Monarch has denied him access to. He doesn’t understand the details, or even the exact nature of that end of the world, but that just makes it worse. Fear and lack of understanding breed tremendous anxiety, Mr. Hatch; he may not show it, but believe me, Burke feels it – for himself and for his family. (It may interest you to know that his wife is pregnant. You can understand how that adds to the pressure.)

To be honest, given the parameters we’re operating under, I don’t know how to resolve this. In Burke, you have a tremendously efficient operative, but you’ve put him in an impossible position. I believe he will remain effective as long as he doesn’t have reason to believe the scenario he fears is imminent, but once he believes it has arrived, all bets are off. That is, unless you can give him hope of survival – but at this point, resentment and suspicion are starting to turn into paranoia, and, frankly, I’m not sure he would trust either of us anymore.

And speaking of trust, I recommend you think about what I said in my opening paragraph, Martin. Our greatest challenge – and greatest assets – in the subjective years to come won’t be technological, but all too human. Don’t make the mistake seeing people as just entries on a spreadsheet.

Charlie Wincott posted:

Amy Ferrero
TO: Ground Zero Op - All


What up fools,

So, I looked up Amy Ferrero. She checks out pretty much how you’d expect – good grades, no student loans because daddy’s got money, popular, the classic “I’m better than you because I care so much” package, not studying anything even remotely useful in a world where you gotta work for a living.

She’s into this whole activist lifestyle, always protesting this or that, and generally just hugging every tree and saving every whale she sees. Yawn. On average, she signs two petitions a week and generally spends half her life sticking her nose in other people’s shit. Credit where it’s due, she’s pretty good at it. Also, she’s got a lot of friends who’re all into this stuff, and she seems to be real good at getting them coordinated. Kinda makes her perfect for our purposes, ‘cause if you can talk her into saying what we want, there’s a lot of folks who’re gonna listen.

No boyfriend, or girlfriend, I dunno which way she swings (why doesn’t she put that on the internet, doesn’t she know that’s what it’s for?), but there’s that family of hers, looks like she’s got real close ties. So if we need leverage, that’s where you’ll find it.

You may wanna make sure she stays on our side, though. Like I said, she’s pretty popular with the rest of these people, and if they get the idea she’s been screwed over, they just might get pretty mad. You know how these neo-hippie bleeding heart hipster types are, always up in arms about something.

Holy shit I’m glad I’m not in school anymore.

Charlie