Continuing…
STEP TWO: ELIMINATE HAMISTAGAN
Hamistagan maintains much of the equipment in Absolution. Most importantly, they monitor the train leading into the town, and the tube system utilized by the Order. The CEO wants Jake to get hold of either the train blueprints or the machinery used to manufacture and repair the train system, so their researchers can reverse engineer the process and create a cheaper alternative. Oh, and he has to blow up their headquarters. Considering he just torched three sex dens a few hours ago, Jake is more than prepared for that.
Upon arrival, however, it turns out that Hamistagan is not at all like anything else in Absolution. The people inside the main building are kept in blissfully neutral states by drugs and mind control, completely unaware of the nightmares outside. This is reinforced by the use of easy listening music and a practically cooing staff, all of whom seek to “protect” the inhabitants from Sector 3’s wasteland. (Needless to say, unless Jake is careful, THIS will be his fate, as well.)
First off, Jake has to steal the blueprints or equipment. Both of these objectives can be located inside Hamistagan’s basement. Unfortunately, the entrance is heavily guarded from the inside. Fortunately, there is a connecting factory that Jake can use, staffed by the same druggies in the rest of the building. There are two ways inside:
-If Jake has the shears from the hippy, he can simply kill one of the non-staff inhabitants, steal their work uniform, and sneak in. However, if he gets seen with the bloody shears, or if the body is seen, he will be found out immediately. (The body can be disposed of by throwing it into the mist, but Jake first has to get it outside, which can lead to him being caught.) If the player goes this path, they should just focus on getting in and out quickly.
-A more roundabout way is to simply steal a uniform. There is a laundry room on the first floor; unfortunately, that particular area is off-limits to non-residents. After talking to the receptionist (a woman drugged into a particularly creepy Stepford Smile), he can obtain permission to check out the dormitories on the third floor. Once there, he has to talk to a tour guide, who will show him all of the different room styles and living options. During the tour, they will pass by a residential laundry room, which also has a laundry chute to the first floor. (The staff does not want their prisoners to wash their own work clothes. If they did, they might find the substances they lace the clothes with. Security reasons and all.)
After seeing the laundry room, Jake has to ditch the guide. He can tell her he’s interested in signing up with Hamistagan, or that he has to use the bathroom. Then, while the guide is waiting at the front again, he can slip into the laundry room. Inside is a basket of clothes, which he can dump down the chute. Do so, and then jump down. The clothing breaks his fall, allowing him to safely move around the laundry room. Inside are several clean uniforms; however, only one of them has not been laced yet. Grabbing the completely clean one, he can put it on and walk out to the lobby, now an official employee.
(Note: This entire section has to be done quickly. The guide will NOT wait around for long, and if she figures out Jake went missing, the entire building will be alerted. Fortunately, as long as Jake keeps the uniform on, he can safely sneak around.)
Disguise in hand, Jake can now enter the factory. In contrast with the perfect floor above, the basement is a dark, noisy, smelly dungeon, filled with incredibly dangerous manufacturing equipment. (Yes, you can die here. A lot.) The actual basement is divided into four key areas: the entrance, the machine room, the equipment cage, and the official archives. From there, Jake has to steal the actual stuff.
Blueprints: They are located in the official archives, at the far end of the basement. Strangely, the room is unguarded; however, the only entrance to the basement itself is guarded, and if Jake tries to leave with the prints in his possession, he will be searched. To get them out safely, he has to grab a metal tube from the machine room, as well as some screw-on caps. He has to shove the blueprints inside the tube, seal it completely, and then mark it with a quick run-through of the drill press. He can then shove it into a crate of similar tubes in the machine room, which is then raised to the surface. (He can also dispose of the bloodied shears this way.) When he leaves, he will be searched, but nothing will be found. He can then walk to the crate, retrieve his items, and return to Absolution Corp.
Equipment: Unlike the blueprints, Jake CAN leave the building with this stuff…but only if there is an actual emergency. Unfortunately, he didn’t think to cause one before entering; however, he CAN fake the signal. First, he has to go to the equipment cage, retrieve a pair of wire cutters, a screwdriver, and insulation gloves, and then go to the large switchboard in the machine room. (This shows all the areas Hamistagan has an interest in, and if any repairs are needed.) Jake can sneak around the back, open the back of the machine with the screwdriver, and then cut the wires. Once that’s done, he can use the insulation gloves to safely manipulate the wiring into giving a fake red light. With that accomplished, he can return the equipment to the cage, grab some of the loose machinery in the machine room, and simply walk out of the building.
(Note: Jake has to hit something in Sector 3 when crossing the wires. If he screws up, and starts an alarm in any other sector, another division will handle it. If he does this five times, the guards will figure something’s up and investigate. Jake then has no choice but to steal the blueprints.)
With this accomplished, Jake has one more task: destroy the building itself. Fortunately, this one is easy. At the far end of the basement is an elevator, leading into the sub-basement. Inside that chamber are the large vats where the drugs are manufactured. Unfortunately, Jake cannot enter without getting caught; there are no guards in the basement, but there ARE a small army in the drug labs. There is a workaround, however. In the equipment cage is a small breaker. Jake can fiddle with the breaker, until he shuts down power to the drug lab. They will then request a repair man. He can use the elevator to go down, and then mess with the various valves on the tanks, mixing the various chemicals into a dangerous collection of fumes. Next, he has to tear out some loose wires from one of the vat’s control panels. Finally, he just has to go back to the elevator, return to the security cage, turn on the breakers, and run for his fucking life. The machine powers back on…and the sparks from the wires sets off the fumes. The sheer force of the explosion destroys the entire building. Anyone inside not killed in the initial blast is instantly devoured by the toxic air.
(Note: If Jake does not have the blueprints or equipment, he will not turn the breakers back on. He has to get the stuff first.)
STEP THREE: DESTROY THE MINES
With this task done, Jake can return to Absolution Corp, items in tow. The CEO is quite pleased with his new worker, but his next task is far more difficult. He has to sneak into the mines owned by the Aaru Company, and demolish them. Once that is accomplished, Absolution Corp can convince the Order to buy their gold from Absolution Corp’s own supply, which only contains 40% filler.
Okay, I lied. This one’s a breather. Jake simply has to enter the mines, set up a few bombs, leave, and remote detonate them. There are guards, of course, but as long as Jake moves quickly, he’ll be fine. (The idea is to give the player a breather, especially considering this is less than a quarter of the way through the game.) After that, if he has not done it already, Jake has to kill the hippy.
With all his competition gone, the CEO is now arguably the most powerful person in Absolution. He will gladly give Jake permission to guide a product shipment to Sector 4. Outside the gate, he meets back up with Holly and the stranger. Holly is quite pissed at Jake’s latest killing spree, telling him he probably belongs here at this point. Even the stranger notes he may have crossed the line. Still, they have a way out. The gatekeeper gladly opens the gate, leading to Sector 4…the Merchant District.
[i]“Were they right? Had I gone too far that time? I didn’t really give a fuck, but now… We learned this wasn’t as simple as we thought. This wasn’t some morality play, teaching us ‘love thy neighbor’ and all that bullshit. We were damned…and that’s how Baphomet wanted us to stay. Holly wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. Even the stranger was trying to fight back in his own fucked-up way. That left only me, the supposed rapist.
Then things really went to shit…[/i]
Next time: Nakir and Munkar, and the deaths for the Absolution Corp Route
