Toggle Background Color
Part 3: It's Not The Best Choice, It's Spacer's Choice!
------
Today, we're exploring Edgewater and talking to the important people in town to hopefully be pointed in the direction of a power regulator. I'm gonna say up front that this will be an extremely talky update.
But first, let's turn back and check the shacks near the Edgewater entrance. One of them is inaccessible (contrary to what I claimed in the last update), but this one has the blue lights on the sides of the door indicating it's open. So, let's check it out.
Speaking of the blue lights and the game's color selection in general, The Outer Worlds was designed to be fully accessible to players with color blindness, without any separate mode toggles or that sort of thing. Tim Cain himself is actually color blind, so this sort of accessibility was obviously a priority for the team from the start.
This is Junior Inhumer Silas' shack. There are a few boxes we can steal stuff from, but nothing particularly exciting. Stealable items are marked in red, and as far as I know, there's no flag that magically lets people know you're carrying stolen goods and refuse to buy them, a la Elder Scrolls. Nor is there a karma system that magically tells the whole world you're stealing stuff and tells you you're being naughty, a la Fallout. As long as nobody sees you, you can steal everything not nailed down, and even if you do get caught, you can talk your way out if your dialog skills are up to the task.
Let's have a look at the terminal on his desk and see if there's anything on there.
Well, he forgot to renew his Inhumer's Association Newsletter, but that's not very interesting. How about the other one?
quote:
FROM: Spacer's Choice Human Resources
TO: Spacer's Choice Junior Inhumer - Emerald Vale Division
SUBJECT: Official Advertisement Text
Edgewater Cemetery is a property of the Spacer's Choice Company. The Spacer's Choice family takes care of its own, from the cradle to the grave. Gravesite plots and headstones are provided by Spacer's Choice at an affordable rate.
- Comfortable, spacious plots
- Custom engraved headstones and monograms
- Complimentary eulogy courtesy of the Order of the Scientific Inquiry
- Let your spirit rest in the privacy of a Spacer's Choice brand gravesite
Fascinating. There's also a burial invoice we can look at, requiring 1 Hack to access.
quote:
BURIAL INVOICE
NAME: Theodore Granger
CAUSE OF EXPIRATION: Industrial Accident
BURIAL STATUS: Successfully interred in gravesite 13-F
GRAVESITE FEES: Paid and accounted
INHUMER'S ADDENDUM: Teddy's corpse was missing a hand. Deducted five bits from gravesite fee, because I'm a kindly fellow.
Hardly any earth-shattering information here. But hey, at least they got a discount on the fee.
Now let's make your way back to town proper. We want to head to the cannery, but there's some stuff here we can take a look at first.
Namely, three wanted posters. Let's see here...
quote:
WANTED: Guillaume "Gill" Antrim
FROM The Spacer's Choice Department of Retirement, a WRIT OF EXECUTION, effective immediately, for Guillaume Antrim. Former Spacer's Choice Associate Mechanic, terminated from his position and escorted from Edgewater on grounds of unauthorized use of Adrena-Time.
WANTED for DESTRUCTION of company property, MURDER of company workers in good standing, THEFT, and UNAUTHORIZED USE of medical supplies.
GENEROUS BOUNTY: Payment on delivery. Must be able to sign your own name. See CONSTABLE REYES for details.
Got it. How about the next guy?
quote:
WANTED: Bert "Bertie" Cotton
FROM The Spacer's Choice Department of Retirement, a WRIT OF EXECUTION, effective immediately, for Bert Cotton. Former vicar stationed in Edgewater Vicarage, no longer in good standing with Halcyon Branch Order of Scientific Inquiry. At large and dangerous.
WANTED for DESTRUCTION of company property, MURDER of company workers in good standing, SEDITION, and UNAUTHORIZED USE of medical supplies.
GENEROUS BOUNTY: Payment on delivery. Must be able to sign your own name. See CONSTABLE REYES for details.
Town vicar turned marauder, huh? Interesting. Let's see what the last poster says.
quote:
WANTED: Doc Maybell
FROM The Spacer's Choice Department of Retirement, a WRIT OF EXECUTION, effective immediately, for Maybell Burgess. Former Spacer's Choice physician, condemned on charges of dereliction of duty. Disappeared from Edgewater with two parcels of Adrena-Time. At large and dangerous.
WANTED for DESTRUCTION of company property, MURDER of company workers in good standing, VANDALISM, and UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE of medicine on seditious criminals.
GENEROUS BOUNTY: Payment on delivery. Must be able to sign your own name. See CONSTABLE REYES for details.
I see all three are charged with medication-related crimes in addition to the usual murder and destruction, with Adrena-Time mentioned by name on two of the posters. Possible connection? Well, this isn't the time to play inspector, there will be plenty of opportunity for that later.
We've wasted enough time, let's head to the cannery and talk to the guy in charge and see if he can help us out.
Okay, before we do anything else, the overenthusiastic waypoint marker has to go. I might turn it back on for specific situations, but for the most part we don't need it and the marker on the compass is plenty to guide us to objectives. With that sorted, let's have a look at the reception terminal.
quote:
NOTICE:
The Edgewater Saltuna Canning Facility strictly adheres to Spacer's Choice standards of health and safety.
NOTICE:
Schedule your sick leave with your Spacer's Choice Foreman and/or Supervisor.
Be considerate toward other members of the Spacer's Choice family. Allow two to four weeks to process and approve your scheduled sick leave.
Lost hours must be compensated to the company. See Reed if you're having trouble paying for your sick leave. We'll try to arrange wage deductions instead.
Remember: Work invigorates the spirit. Sickness in the body reflects sickness in the mind and sickness in the character. If you find yourself falling ill, it maybe time to schedule a meeting with our local vicar.
Preferably before the vicar snaps and starts murdering people like their predecessor. Somewhere, some corporate executive is playing this and thinking, "Hey, there are some really good ideas here!"
As we ride the elevator to the top (and listen to an elevator muzak version of the Spacer's Choice jingle), we start to hear people talking.
REED TOBSON: Ms. Holcomb, I need you to explain this with less of the- the grease-monkey argot.
PARVATI: I'm sorry, Mister Tobson, sir. You asked why it's taking so long to fix. The answer is technical.
We'll just wait here for a moment. The conversation seems pretty important, so it would be rude to interrupt.
REED TOBSON: Don't apologize. Just- try using small words for me.
PARVATI: Um. The cans bust open in the oven, because she's set to cook saltuna. Which isn't what we got. Mister Tobson? I think there's someone to see you.
REED TOBSON: Focus, Ms. Holcomb. You and I are still talking. Let's start over. Walk me through the process. Show me where it's going awry.
PARVATI: Well, sure. It's mostly on account of what we're feeding into the mechanism.
It puts food in cans. We have food. We have cans. Why won't it work like we need?
PARVATI: She's expecting saltuna of a certain size. We're filling the cans with - well, not-fish.
Someone in the thread pointed out that one of the possible reasons for this game's satire not quite landing is that it's often so broad and general that pretty much anyone can look at it and go, "hey, that's just like my job" or "hey, that's like some real-life evil corporation!" And yeah, this is one of those moments. We have Parvati, clearly an expert mechanic, futilely attempting to explain to her clueless boss why getting something to work is more complex than "well we have thing A and thing B so clearly it should work, just get it done", which I'm sure many of us are all too familiar with.
That's all we hear from the conversation, as Reed Tobson finally notices us.
REED TOBSON: Seems we've got a guest. Really now, Parvati. I do wish you'd spoken up.
She did. You told her to focus.
REED TOBSON: I do apologize. I was given no forewarning of your arrival, or I might have welcomed you at the gates myself.
CORNELIA VECTREX: I'll wait until you're finished.
Might as well hear the rest of it.
REED TOBSON: You were saying, Ms. Holcomb?
PARVATI: It's just- what Bess needs is a proper refurbish. I can bandage her up and whatall, but she's just... old. Sorry. I'm sorry. I-I'll do better.
Parvati is voiced by the excellent Ashly Burch. At this point, she was already appearing in a lot of stuff (most prominently as Aloy in Horizon: Zero Dawn) and her voice had become very recognizable. That's not really a complaint, as she does a fantastic job as Parvati and her performance managed to elevate certain material even the writers weren't sure about. I'm not even gonna bother dancing around the fact she's a party member, as she's joining us in a few minutes.
REED TOBSON: And I do wish you'd stop referring to our cannery as 'Bess'. Personification of company property is strictly contrary to the Spacer's Choice code of conduct. My apologies. I am not in the habit of allowing my guests to witness such a row. Now, what can I do for you?
CORNELIA VECTREX: Are you Reed? I was told I should talk to you.
REED TOBSON: I'm Reed Tobson. Outpost administrator. I cannot help but notice you are not in uniform.
If you're dressed as a marauder, he admonishes you for that.
CORNELIA VECTREX: I think you may have the wrong idea about me.
REED TOBSON: Yes, so it dawns on me. Seems I allowed my excitement to run away with my wits. Been a few seasons since we've had a visitor pass through.
Might as well go straight to business.
CORNELIA VECTREX: My ship needs repairs. I'm looking for a power regulator.
PARVATI: Only regulator we got is hooked up to the town transformer. Mr. Tobson ain't liable to be keen on dismantling it.
REED TOBSON: I beg your pardon. I am most emphatically not keen on any such thing. I can't let you have our power regulator. But I happen to know of another one. And I happen to know exactly how you may retrieve it without frying yourself in the process.
Of course they weren't gonna give us their power regulator, that was to be expected. Tobson seems to have a lead on another one, so let's find out what that's all about.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Frying myself?
REED TOBSON: Oh yes. Saw someone put his hands on a regulator while the power was running. His legs were still twitching when we buried him.
Noted. We'll try to avoid the same fate.
REED TOBSON: There's a power regulator in the old botanical lab. It's mostly abandoned, so all that power is being squandered. Go down to the geothermal plant. Reroute power from the botanical district over to us. Once their power's shut down, you can have their regulator and be along on your way.
"Mostly" abandoned?
CORNELIA VECTREX: When you say "mostly abandoned," what do you mean?
REED TOBSON: I was not entirely sure how to tell you this. The botanical labs are not legally inhabited, but there are people who live there.
Naturally. And we should just cut off their power, then?
CORNELIA VECTREX: I don't think these people will take kindly to losing their power.
REED TOBSON: No, I do not imagine they will be pleased. But like a parent disciplining an unruly child, you will be doing them a kindness. The people living in the botanical labs - they're deserters. Former workers. I need them back at their posts. I need them to come home.
I'm sure they'd love to return to this utter shithole of a town.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Why?
REED TOBSON: Edgewater is struggling. We haven't hit our production quota in years. If we don't meet our quotas this year, the company might shut us down for good. I need those workers back at their stations.
Well, we have been in town for about five minutes, but we can already tell Edgewater is not in good shape.
CORNELIA VECTREX: I've seen Edgewater. I don't blame those workers for walking out.
REED TOBSON: Neither do I. The fault was entirely mine. I pushed them too hard. My hope is that by cutting off their power, you will convince those deserters to come back to town. Before you go to the plant, I want you to stop by the botanical lab. Speak to their leader, Adelaide. Tell her the power's about to go, and that it's time her band of deserters came back to town.
CORNELIA VECTREX: How will I recognize Adelaide?
REED TOBSON: Adelaide's older than the other deserters. She's dignified. Kindly. From what I understand, her camp looks to her for leadership.
We're going to need a lot more convincing to cut off these so-called deserters.
CORNELIA VECTREX: You're asking me to cut off power to an entire community.
REED TOBSON: I am asking you to help us survive. Edgewater needs more workers, or we will collapse. We belong to one community - the Spacer's Choice family. If we dissolve into factions, then we will all perish separately. Adelaide will understand that.
If you say so.
CORNELIA VECTREX: I can't make any promises.
REED TOBSON: Of course! I understand completely. Here - let me give you the passcode to the geothermal plant. A sign of good faith, for so politely listening to me as I ramble on.
PARVATI: Are you setting off for the Vale? 'Cause I know my way around. I mean - in case you want a guide. I-I mean, if that's all right with you, Mister Tobson. Sir.
REED TOBSON: I hesitate to part ways with Ms. Holcomb. But I cannot deny that she is talented, and may prove useful to you.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Sure, I could use the company.
You don't have to recruit any companions if you don't want to, but of course we're gonna take Parvati along.
REED TOBSON: Well, I am glad to hear that. Best of luck to you, and thank you again for your help. It is a lot to ask of a stranger, I know.
Companions are useful for increasing your carrying capacity and giving a helping hand in combat, but they also improve your skills. For example, having Parvati in the party increases our Persuade, Lockpick, and Engineering. Obviously, this comes in quite handy. There is a small catch, though.
These skill boosts, like the boosts you get from equipment or your aptitude, are what I call "soft" skill points, meaning they don't count towards the various unlocks. For example, even though having Parvati gives us enough Engineering points to put us over the 20-point threshold for the field repair ability, we don't unlock that because we need to hit that threshold naturally by investing "hard" skill points on levelup.
We're not quite done with Tobson yet, as we can ask him about various things. So, let's do that before we leave.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Have you taken a look around your town lately?
REED TOBSON: It is my job to keep two eyes on my town. I am the steward of this place, and this is my watchpost.
CORNELIA VECTREX: How long have you worked here?
REED TOBSON: I'm trying to remember. Twenty-five years? Twenty-six? When you get to my age, the years just rush by. You stop counting altogether. I remember looking out this window and seeing the Vale spread out from horizon to horizon. We were a sprawling town. We were booming. Times change. People change. But the Vale will always be here. Spacer's Choice will always be here. Our work won't ever end. I take comfort in that.
Speaking of Spacer's Choice, the Spacer's Choice Edition of the game changes Tobson's model to look considerably older. I don't have a screenshot handy at the moment, but I think that change makes some sense.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Your town is falling to pieces.
REED TOBSON: I wish you wouldn't say things like that.
I mean, it is the truth. And as for Spacer's Choice always being here, he did say there's a good chance Spacer's Choice will pull the plug if Edgewater doesn't meet their quota. What happens then?
CORNELIA VECTREX: You disagree?
REED TOBSON: Yes, as a matter of fact. When I stand at my window and look out over my town, here's what I see. I see decent, loyal, hard-working people. I see a family. We're all part of the Spacer's Choice family. We're all doing what we were brought into this world to do.
I think the conventional wisdom is that if the company you work for or apply for describes itself as a family, you should run far away.
CORNELIA VECTREX: You're loyal to Spacer's Choice.
REED TOBSON: This is a Spacer's Choice town. We're all part of the Spacer's Choice family here. The company keeps us warm. Keeps us fed. Keeps us working. Loyalty's got nothing to do with it. This is good old-fashioned gratitude.
CORNELIA VECTREX: What makes you think I can convince those deserters to come back?
REED TOBSON: That you are not one of us may work to your advantage. Adelaide and her folk loathe the people of Edgewater, you see. I admit the fault was mine. I am about as diplomatic as a bristling canid. I just hope Adelaide and her folk will see their way past my flaws and return to town.
Obviously, Tobson is all in on the Spacer's Choice kool-aid (or at least whatever cheap and shitty equivalent Spacer's Choice makes) and genuinely seems to believe what Spacer's Choice is selling him, but at least he appears to be self-aware enough to understand his failures and weaknesses. Or maybe he's just putting up a front to manipulate us into doing horrible things.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Sometimes people move on. It's the way of things.
REED TOBSON: Scripture tells us we all have or purpose in this world. Our work shows us that purpose. We should not have to move on from it. Yes, we have lost good workers to desertion. We have lost even more to plague. But it is why we must square our shoulders and carry on.
CORNELIA VECTREX: [Perception] You and Adelaide have a personal history?
REED TOBSON: Losing Adelaide was the hardest. She was our only flavor specialist. When she walked away, I knew we were in trouble. Spacer's Choice Saltuna is renowned across the system for its quality flavors and additives. We used to sell citrus flavored saltuna in our heyday. Ever since Adelaide left, we have been reduced to selling unflavored and spearmint.
I think I'd rather have unflavored.
CORNELIA VECTREX: If you expect me to talk to this Adelaide person, I could use a little information.
REED TOBSON: Adelaide was our only flavor specialist. We are saltuna canning institution. Saltuna without flavor is like a cystypig without tumors - borderline inedible!
In Halcyon lore, a cystypig is a pig genetically engineered to grow cancerous tumors which fall off on their own. The idea is that being able to grow and regrow meat on a pig and harvest it like fruit from a tree, it's more efficient than just slaughtering the pig for its meat. This also lets the companies go "oh, look how much more humane this is", but of course the life of a cystypig appears to be mostly pain and suffering until they get slaughtered for their hooves anyway.
Now that's good eatin'. But never mind that, let's get back to our regularly scheduled programming.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Don't you people eat anything other than saltuna?
REED TOBSON: Were it up to me, friend, I'd stock our larders with saltuna galore. No other brand of Saltuna adds as much vim or vigor to the body's humours. But - and this is something we must keep between the two of us - saltuna is hard to come by, what with being a species indigenous to the seas of another world.
That world, by the way, is Terra 1 (not to be confused with Earth). There are some... slight import issues at the moment. I could've asked about that, but there is a more burning question.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Hang on. So what are you canning here, exactly?
REED TOBSON: Oh, we've scavenged together some organic material from the surrounding environs. Mostly organic. Mostly local mushrooms. Some of which possess a texture akin to a well-boiled slab of saltuna. The difference is all but impossible to detect to any but the prissiest of palate.
Texture is one thing, but... uh... at the risk of being accused of having a prissy palate, are any of these substitute ingredients actually safe for human consumption? At the very least, it seems like eating nothing but weird mushrooms and "mostly organic" materials might not be the best for your health. Speaking of which, let's talk about this plague that's going on!
CORNELIA VECTREX: We need to have a word about the plague.
REED TOBSON: Can we not? Talking about unpleasant things always gets my bile up.
CORNELIA VECTREX: How long has this plague been happening?
REED TOBSON: That I cannot say. There was no moment when the plagues began. Disease always lurks on the fringes of society, waiting to infect the idle and the lethargic. But in the last ten years, the plagues have become progressively worse. And increasingly frequent.
Oh, of course. Just gotta work hard enough to avoid the plague. That is most definitely how that works. Fortunately, Cornelia has medical training, so let's see if we can talk some sense into Reed.
CORNELIA VECTREX: [Medical 11] You should have developed an immunity after repeated exposure to a single strain of contagion.
REED TOBSON: Corporate doesn't like us using the word "should." It encourages the imagination. I believe plague is a test. It is a test of our loyalty and our fortitude. And it is one we will see through to the end.
That is... not how that works. That is not how anything works.
CORNELIA VECTREX: You must have some kind of treatment plan.
REED TOBSON: Show up to work. Put in your hours. Wear a smile. Problems of the body come from problems of the spirit. Work improves the spirit and fortifies the body.
*sigh*
CORNELIA VECTREX: [Medical 6] You know what else fortifies the body against disease? Antibiotics.
REED TOBSON: And where do you suggest we find this magical panacea? Can we pan for medicine in the stream? Medicine is a rare and precious commodity. If you demonstrate you have earned the right to be treated, you will be treated. Otherwise, you must heal yourself.
CORNELIA VECTREX: You withhold medicine from your own workers.
REED TOBSON: If I had enough medicine to treat everyone who fell sick, I would. But I don't. I can't save everyone. So, I have to choose.
CORNELIA VECTREX: That can't be easy for you.
REED TOBSON: It is not easy for me. And the moment it becomes easy is the moment I'm no longer fit to serve. Spacer's Choice is a family. And the survival of the family is more important than the survival of the individual.
If he tries really hard, Tobson might be able to pass for a human being in another 200 years or so. Anyway, we're done with him for now, so let's have a look at Parvati.
Parvati comes with a basic light pistol (level 2, so it's ever so slightly better than our level 1 peashooter) as well as a one-handed melee weapon, the Impact Hammer. This does Shock damage, which is effective against mechanical enemies. We can change her weapons and armor when we find better stuff, but we don't have anything right now.
PARVATI: Hey, ma'am? Can we talk? Sorry.
When we take the elevator down, Parvati has something to tell us. I gotta admit I was very confused by the tooltip mentioning a thought bubble above her head, because there isn't one. It's actually referring to the small [...] next to her HUD icon. But yes, that indicates they have something important to say.
PARVATI: Sorry. I- you just want to get out of here. And you likely don't want a tag-along like me. It's just, Mister Tobson has his own view on matters, on account of it's his job and whatall. But that's not the only side of the tale.
CORNELIA VECTREX: This is about the deserters? So what's the other side of it?
PARVATI: To Mister Tobson, a person's a gear. It does its job quiet-like. If it squeaks or stutters, it gets replaced. The deserters are decent folk. I knew some of them, afore they left.
CORNELIA VECTREX: How well did you know the deserters? You worked with them, you were friends, or what?
PARVATI: I don't know anybody well. I mostly listened to them talk, kept my head down.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Did you know this "Adelaide" Reed mentioned?
PARVATI: Ms. McDevitt? Gosh, no. She was a real important person. A flavorist. Made all the food taste decent. She used to work up in the Big Office with Mr. Tobson. All's I know is, she left after her son died. It was a real big to-do. I could hear them both yelling clear from my own place.
CORNELIA VECTREX: You can't leave it at that. Why were Reed and Adelaide arguing?
PARVATI: Can't say as I know. I wasn't there. The sound carried, but not the words. If Mister Tobson ain't of a mind to tell you his own self, you'd best ask Ms. McDevitt. If you can get out to her.
Well, Tobson certainly wasn't sharing the information, so we'll ask Adelaide later.
CORNELIA VECTREX: I can't blame anybody for wanting to leave. This town's got issues.
PARVATI: Life's hard here, 'specially for them that don't fit in so well. We're one big Spacer's Choice family, but every family's got the one the rest whisper about. Mister Tobson's aiming to take away their power. They'll have no lights to see, nor heat to cook. They'll be at the mercy of marauders, or worse. I think you should talk to the town's Vicar about it. Max, his name is.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Where would I find him?
PARVATI: The Mission's on the east side of town. You can't miss it, on account of it being the only clean thing.
CORNELIA VECTREX: What do we need to talk to the Vicar about? Flipping a switch in your power mill?
PARVATI: About if what Mister Tobson proposes to do is upright. Leaving Ms. McDevitt's folk to their fate. They're neighbors. Kin. And maybe he can think of something else to try. Something we ain't. He used to go walking outside town. Maybe he found something that'll help. It's just an idea. That's all.
Sure, I think we can do that.
CORNELIA VECTREX: I suppose it couldn't hurt. We'll stop by.
PARVATI: Thanks, ma'am. I just think, when you gotta make a decision that'll hurt somebody, it's best to think on the right and wrong of it. That's what my dad used to say, anyways.
We'll ask Parvati about her dad later. Right now, we'll head to the cannery proper because there are a couple of things we can do in there.
Of course, we gotta have armed guards making sure the workers don't try anything. That's one way to keep up the morale.
We'll head to the upper level to have a chat with the supervisor, as she's one of the people we need to collect Silas' gravesite fees from.
PHYLLIS GRANGER: You the new worker? Whatever. Make it quick, tenderfoot. I'm busy.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Gravesite fees. I'm here to collect.
PHYLLIS GRANGER: Shit. Silas still on about that? Here, take the fees. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Reed I was late on my payment.
CORNELIA VECTREX: These papers aren't signed in your name.
PHYLLIS GRANGER: Because they're not my fees and not my gravesite. Guy I worked with shot himself. I paid the bill.
That doesn't make much sense, does it?
CORNELIA VECTREX: You have to pay for your neighbor's gravesite fees?
PHYLLIS GRANGER: If you're not familiar with Board law, you oughta be. Law requires delinquent gravesite fees to be paid by the deceased party's closest living relative. Which meant me. Shame, though. Eugene was a good worker?
CORNELIA VECTREX: You said this guy shot himself?
PHYLLIS GRANGER: Woke up one morning and put a round through his upper story. Can't imagine why. The kid was doing all right on his desk. We all thought he was an upstanding receptionist. Just between the two of us, I'm pretty shocked his weapon didn't misfire. Spacer's Choice handguns aren't the most reliable.
CORNELIA VECTREX: Must be tough losing family.
PHYLLIS GRANGER: Eugene wasn't family.
Hm? I do believe we read something about a Granger dying a while back.
CORNELIA VECTREX: I thought you said you were his closest living relative.
PHYLLIS GRANGER: Yeah, I was the closest living person relative to his body at time of death. I'm the one who found him, you see. So I pay the fees. Suicide's a crime. The legal term is irreparable damage to company property. What Eugene did was vandalism.
Oh, of course. That checks out with everything we've seen of Spacer's Choice corporate practices in our brief time in town.
CORNELIA VECTREX: What are they gonna do? Arrest his corpse?
PHYLLIS GRANGER: When one of your workers commits a crime, the entire town pays for it. In other words, Edgewater would've been penalized pretty hard. Whatever Eugene was worth as an asset, we would've had to pay out of pocket to Spacer's Choice.
CORNELIA VECTREX: He was a person, not an asset.
PHYLLIS GRANGER: Well excuse you. I'll have you know Eugene was an asset to us all. May his atoms be commended to the Law. All I know is Silas asked me for Eugene's gravesite fees. Which means he was approved for burial. Which means his papers went through. Which means the town's in the clear. I'm just glad to put this whole ugly affair behind me. Eugene can rest his bones in peace. And the rest of us can get on with our lives.
So what happens if you're not approved for burial or your fees no longer get paid for some reason? Presumably, they'll just dump you in a ditch somewhere. Unfortunately, we can't ask about that so let's just leave Phyllis to her work and have a look around.
On the upper level, around each corner, there are two doors we can access. Let's check this one first.
This unused office has some loot we can appropriate, but the most important thing is this - Volume 2 of the Guide to Mechanical Engineering. We don't have any immediate use for this, but a proper video game protagonist knows an important item when they see one. So, this is coming with us. It would actually have been kind of nice to have skill books like in New Vegas because that would've helped make exploration more rewarding, but unfortunately this is just a quest item.
While we're here, we can take a look at the terminal for some quality bullshit from the desk of Reed Tobson.
quote:
From the office of Reed Tobson, Outpost Administrator:
Symptoms of infection have now reached a critical mass. I have instructed our staff to transform the old domicile into a sick house.
Plague is a reality of life on the frontier. And as Spacers, we are expected to face up to reality. And the reality is that we do not carry enough medicine to treat all of you.
Medical treatment is a privilege, not a right. We must strive every day to demonstrate our worthiness of that privilege.
If you find yourself suffering the symptoms of incipient plague, the best thing you can do for yourself and for your family is to don your jumpers and come to work. Work fortifies the spirit. Physical illness recapitulates spiritual weakness.
Wonderful.
Next to the terminal, there's a locked bin containing something pretty nice. There are some bits and various vendor trash, but also a level 5 Aramid Ballistics Advanced Defensive Helmet with a whopping 17 armor points. For context, our current armor has a rating of 3 points, 8 with our bonus armor rating perk. Heavy body armor will reduce our stealth skills by 5 points but heavy helmets do not, so this is just a massive upgrade with no downside whatsoever. Damn right I'm stealing this.
Around the other corner on the upper level is Phyllis Granger's office. Her terminal has a message from Tobson as well as a personal file we can access with some hacking skill. Naturally, we'll have a look at both.
quote:
FROM: R. Tobson
TO: P. Granger
SUBJECT: Medical Treatment
Phyllis,
Owing to your hard work and positive attitude, I have sanctioned your access to medical treatment in the event of contagion.
As you know, the company has not provided us with enough medicine to treat every worker. I wish I could treat every member of the Spacer's Choice family who fell ill to this plague, but I cannot.
Medical privileges are strictly merit-based. Please do not--under any circumstance--distribute your ration of medication to any other worker.
We're all in this together.
Good old Tobson. Let's commit a tiny little invasion of privacy to see what's in this personal file, then.
quote:
Personal Files - Last Entry
Theodore buried last night. Reed asked me not to report his death in our quarterlies. Sounds fair to me.
Was asked to prepare a statement or something for the other workers. Been thinking about it. Don't know what to tell them.
Don't end up like Theodore - do your work, show up, wear a smile, and you'll get your medical privileges.
It's a start?
We saw Theodore's burial invoice on Silas' terminal earlier. He was indeed related to Phyllis, who now has to pay both his and Eugene's gravesite fees, the latter of which we just collected like the heroes we are. I believe Theodore was her cousin.
There's a Lost and Found terminal in the cannery floor with a message from the person who located Theodore's hand. I forgot to look at it during this recording session, but here's the text:
quote:
[FOUND]: One (1) left hand. Severed at the wrist. Some bone damage.
People. This is our second unscheduled amputation in as many months. Please exercise caution and safety around machinery. Maintenance fees will be deducted from your pay.
This update is going to run entirely too long with all the talking, so I'll stop it here for now. I suppose we accomplished a few things? At least we know our next objective, and we also gained a party member! Next time, we'll run around town some more and hopefully make our way further into Emerald Vale.
------