Please promise me no castration. 
Sector 3: The Industrial District
Jake, Holly, and the stranger wander down the path, passing rivers of toxic slime, mountains of lumped garbage, and the dumped remains of the district’s many victims. In the distance, various factories and plants, evidently pulled directly from the Industrial Revolution, continue to pelt smoke and gases into the air, the haze becoming ever thicker as they reach a small man-made valley.
The minute they reach the outskirts of the valley, they encounter a small, pimple-faced teenager, dressed in an “Absolution Corp” t-shirt and operating a small metal stand. In exchange for Jake’s cash, he gives the three hazard suits and oxygen tanks. Without the suits, the sheer accumulation of pollutants will blister and melt the skin off of everyone; likewise, the air is so toxic that oxygen tanks have to be used to breath. There are oxygen refill stations placed at the few safe areas in the sector’s valley, but otherwise, they have to make tracks to wherever it is they’re going.
All three suit up and enter the smog. However, the sheer density of the cloud causes all three to split up. Eventually, Jake ends up outside of the smog…only to find himself standing in the same wasteland he had seen upon entering. The district’s exit is also here; however, only official product shipments are allowed in and out of the gate. The gatekeeper, a twisted old black man with his entire left side replaced by clanging and creaking machinery, gives Jake a map of the valley, while also suggesting that he find work with any of the main industrial companies: Absolution Corp, Nakir and Munkar Inc., Hamistagan Industries, and Aaru Company.
Absolution Corp is Absolution’s largest legitimate corporation, holding 70% of all production shares in the district. They primarily cater to the mainstream consumer base, especially in the sixth sector. Nakir and Munkar Inc. is a corporate firm, established by two brothers, that holds 15% of production shares in the city. They primarily cater to the Order of Baphomet, and are particularly responsible for turning the dead citizens into twisted machines. Hamistagan Industries is a relative newcomer, holding 10% of all production shares. It primarily caters to the mechanics of Absolution, keeping the train running at all times and making sure the lights stay on. Finally, Aaru Company used to be number one, but lost most of its contracts to Absolution Corp, and holds only 5% of production shares. However, they are also responsible for many of the mining operations on the city’s outskirts, which provide the gold needed for the Order’s statues and churches.
As Jake is making his way back to the valley, he is stopped by a normal human, a long-haired hippie. He claims to have been in Absolution for nearly forty years, and has been trying to return the sector to its no doubt beautiful original appearance. He wants Jake to help him shut down all four corporations; in fact, in order to ensure his cooperation, he’s managed to capture the stranger, and will kill him if Jake does not do as he asks.
(to be continued)
I’m really liking this, it’s very compelling and original
Sorry for not commenting in awhile. as I’ve said before, you really know how to tell a compelling story throughout and still do the icky well. …a little TOO well. Ignore that knock at your door. it’s most definately NOT the men in the clean white coats. Nope. It’s a…candygram. Yes.
I know I’m delaying this update again (mostly because I want to commit myself to some more research), but there’s a couple other things about the game design I wanted to discuss. In this case, I want to speak about the game’s take on morality.
Originally, I had no moral component in Absolution; it was straight horror, sort of steampunk mixed with a twisted reality and a dash of Dante’s Inferno. However, as I began to develop on the groundwork, I began to realize there needed to be some sort of <i>punch</i> behind your actions. Jake always had to deal with or perform awful deeds to succeed, but the reasoning felt rather empty.
Then I remembered BioShock. The game was awesome (and is the ONLY game I have ever finished in one long sitting). However, I remember one of the game’s biggest selling points being the idea of “power vs. humanity.” This was supposed to be exemplified in the “Little Sisters,” and your decision of whether or not to harvest them for more power, or save them at a loss in strength. Unfortunately, this was fucked over by the introduction of a “reward” system for saving Little Sisters. In the end, it was far more beneficial to save as many as possible, leaving the whole struggle between becoming stronger and retaining your humanity moot.
In fact, this is seen all OVER gaming. Being a nice guy gets you power-ups; being a dick gets you hated by everyone. Even games that had you playing as a bad guy (like God of War) only really rewarded you for following the game’s white-and-black notion of morality. This wouldn’t be a problem, except that developers are advertising many such “open” games as having realistic moral consequences, when in reality they are following the same Saturday Morning Cartoon logic that they’ve always had.
I decided to introduce a moral component into Absolution, but not in the traditional “this is good or this is bad” sense. The idea was to break down the barriers between good and bad actions, to show that even being a hero has nasty consequences. This is showcased in the first moral decision in the game: whether or not to kill the child prostitute. The other patrons in the brothel return much later, and will remember your actions accordingly.
If you decide to kill him, you can quickly destroy the brothel and escape without anyone noticing. However, you <i>have</i> just murdered a child. A few even witness you doing so, although they won’t report you (since there’s no real use in such a place). When you bump into the other people you killed, a few are shown to be genuinely remorseful about their actions, thinking that the boy committed suicide because of what they were doing to him. They will actually offer their help as some means of redemption.
However, if you did the right thing and didn’t commit direct child murder, the same people appear again. However, because they have no motivation to question their actions, they are the same as ever. In fact, they’re even more pissed than before, thanks to knowing Jake did them in, and will refuse to help him unless he does some favors for them, mostly involving satisfying their lust.
The idea is to try and not present things in simple terms, but show how even actions that would make people vomit can sometimes NOT have a negative effect on the universe. Furthermore, saving puppies doesn’t always mean you’ll be treated as a saint.
There is a lot more to this, as well, such as thematic takes on age-old beliefs and hypocrisies, the exclusion of a 'light side/dark side" meter, and how this all factors into the endgame. However, this is simply meant to give somewhat of a glimpse into things to come, including some much MORE twisted revelations.
And rape. Can’t forget the rape.
Quite often if you don’t get the same or a bigger amount of money by being a boy scout, you get so much more XP the question is moot.
Alright, I’m sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been having a lack of motivation in regards to this work. I’m just…not sure where to go anymore, partially because I’m trying to take this next part seriously. There will be an update Saturday, and I will go rapidfire through the rest of the sector.
Branching paths!
Absolution Sector Three Continued:
ABSOLUTION CORP PATH:
By far the most straightforward of the paths, Jake’s goal is to bring down
Absolution Corp’s remaining rivals. This is also the second most evil option, as Jake will have to perform some EXTREMELY morally-questionable actions here.
Jake returns to the valley, and navigates the toxic fog to Absolution Corp’s main office. The building itself is a massive skyscraper, its exterior rotted and twisted from years in the poisonous air. Inside, however, he finds a lavishly decorated fortress, with gold-plated walls, decorative obsidian columns, and for the first time since his arrival, stable electric lights. The only other person in the lobby is a secretary, a woman that looks like half of her body was held down in magma for a few hours. The parts that are not covered in pulsating sores are instead encased inside cybernetics, all of which seem to be operating with a mind of her own. If Jake decides to indulge her in idle conversation, she reveals that she literally has two minds; the cyborg is what was left of the last secretary, who was thrown into the fog after pissing off the CEO. Waste not, after all…
In any case, Jake is allowed to see the CEO, an almost skeletal old man. His face looks like a partially-melted Vincent Price, his eyes rolling loosely in his threadbare skull. His office itself is lavishly decorated, massive bookcases covering every wall, the floor covered in a decorative mural showing a demonic skull gleefully burning and tearing at numerous naked bodies. The CEO wanders absently-minded about, his teeth constantly chattering and clicking in harsh, unnatural tones. He has been in Absolution for a very long time, having abandoned his own pilgrimage (the term for people trying to leave the city) in exchange for his power. Now, he wishes only to see his rivals ground into dust, and sees gullible Jake as the perfect pawn.
STEP ONE: ELIMINATE NAKIR AND MUNKAR, INC.
“The k-k-key is the Order, my boy. The ORDER! They rule e-v-erything, EVERYTHING, in Absolution, AB! But they don’t want efficiency- efficiency- EFFICIENCY! Those antiquated fools at Nakir and Munkar, THEY have poisoned our minds! Yours, mine, OURS! Show them! Show those fools in the ORDer that we can make things better! BETTER! And FASTER! Faster.”
Absolution Corp has recently built a new means of refitting the damned into monsters, one that is far less varied, but quicker on the uptake. Unfortunately, in order to accomplish this goal, they have to undermine the Order of Baphomet’s confidence in Nakir and Munkar’s abilities. Jake’s task is to find someone, kill them if needed, and then take their body to Nakir and Munkar Inc. Once inside, he will have to refit the body <i>in the wrong fashion</i>. Absolution Corp. has already prepared a few corpses for demonstration; all Jake has to do is convince the Order to shop around, and the company will handle the rest.
Jake has three options of whom to murder:
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The hippy from the gate. If Jake sneaks back, he can enter the hippy’s private camp, where the stranger is being held. Also inside the camp is a small collection of garden tools, including a pair of shears and a spade. If Jake frees the stranger, he can convince him to murder the hippy (something the stranger is a little <i>too</i> eager to do), or he can simply kill the bastard himself. Either way, there’s a body.
-
Wandering around the mist is an older woman, trying desperately to find her way to the relative safety of Absolution Corp. If Jake decides, he can offer to bring her to safety…and then take her to Nakir and Munkar directly. Once inside, she will fail their test miserably, and be ordered to undergo the transformation…while still conscious. Jake can then enter the chamber in the middle of the process and muck with things.
If Jake takes her to Absolution Corp instead, she will refuse to leave. Furthermore, the CEO will ask to see her. When Jake comes back from Nakir and Munkar, he will see the CEO casually tossing a half-eaten bone away.
- If Jake saved the dominatrix in Sector Two, she’ll appear back at the entrance, desperate to thank him. Furthermore, she also has access to a body; one of her former co-workers, now a burnt-out waste. This is the only way for Jake to escape the situation without killing someone.
If Jake didn’t save her, there will be a young child running around, having escaped the Cherub’s Lair before its destruction. If Jake threw the other kid out the window, the child will have no idea he was responsible, and will beg him for help. All Jake has to do from there is throw him into the acidic valley, watch as his body melts, take his brain, and head on out. If Jake was caught, the kid will run in terror. At this point, the player has no choice but to take options one or two.
Once a body (or at least part thereof) is in his possession, Jake has to sneak into Nakir and Munkar, Inc. In particular, he has to enter the lower levels, where the surgical machines needed to create the monsters are kept. There are two ways to accomplish this:
-
If Jake opted for option two, he can simply follow the old woman through the security area. As long as he doesn’t talk to any of the guards, or act suspiciously, he can go as far as the actual surgery ward. Once there, he can sneak into the nearby laundry, borrow a guard uniform, fake a message on the intercom, and then enter the chamber.
-
If Jake opted for any other choice, he has to take a more direct route. On the far east side of the valley, there is a Jeffries tube of sorts, which connects directly with the surgery ward. If he has a body, he can simply load it into the tube, which shoots it down the drain. From there, he can quickly hop into the tube himself. Once he gets to the ward, he has to quickly jump off, or he’ll get sucked further down. Fortunately, the doctor is currently out, giving him a few minutes to work.
The actual surgery ward is a surprisingly sterile world, bathed entirely in a metallic white and grey. The actual surgery is performed using a large series of metallic needles, hammers, and other automated tools, held together on a robotic chasis hanging over a long table. If he has the child’s brain, he instead has to place it inside a handful of contraptions: a vacuum cleaner, a robotic blowjob dispenser, a street cleaner, a security bot, and a security camera.
First, Jake has to follow the complex ritual involved in the process. The CEO was not kidding when he said the whole mess was slow. Jake has to first input the cause of death on a computer, in order to deem the appropriate fate. Once he has accomplished this task, he has to place the body on the table (or the brain in the device), and then connect the appropriate modifications and wires to power the reanimated corpse. However, since he has to purposely screw up things, he has to change one part of the procedure, so that the resulting automata ceases to function.
-
The Hippy is ordered to be a door greeter, and as such is to have his vocal chords replaced, his legs rendered useless for walking, and have much of his strength removed. Jake has to perform the latter two actions straight (mostly by removing muscle tissue and replacing it with less flexible silicone substitute), but he must change two of the wires on the vocal chords. This will cause the voice box to overload and explode upon testing, harming the waiting Order agents.
-
The woman is to be nothing more than a Reagent, and as such must half three-quarters of her brain lobotomized and replaced with a low-grade computer. Obviously, what Jake has to do is change the brain’s programming so that it operates at an improved level, thereby making her <i>smarter and more capable</i> than before. She will then attack the Order’s agents, forcing her to be put down.
Unfortunately, in this case, she is also conscious throughout the whole thing. This gives Jake less time to work before the doctors arrive. (Or, for that matter, less time for the players to enjoy her suffering, if they’re sick enough to actually play this game.)
- If Jake has the dead dominatrix, her new role is not that dissimilar from her prior one: a simple whore for the Red Light District. Because most of her body is burnt off, what remains is to be placed inside a new robotic chasis. Jake’s task is to screw with certain parts of the machine, most particularly the vaginal regions, so that they don’t function the way intended. When she is initially tested, the guy fucking her has to actually SUCEED (that is, not die horribly), thereby defeating the entire purpose of the operation. She is then shut down permanently.
If Jake has the boy’s brain, he is ordered to be placed in the blowjob dispenser and shipped off to the former pedophiles in sector seven. Simply enough, Jake can either swap the brain’s wires in the dispenser (thereby making it malfunction), or simply place it in the security bot (leading to some much-deader perverts). If he chooses the later action, he will also have to change the matter of the child’s COD, thereby making it look like a top-level mistake.
(Note: Above all else, Jake cannot leave overt signs of his tampering. If he does something obviously wrong, the Order will realize this was sabotage, march on Absolution Corp, and kill Jake.)
Afterwards, all Jake has to do is reverse the tube and jump in, sending him back to the valley.
When the demonstration fails, the Order will go to Absolution Corp for their pitch. The CEO will demonstrate a number of automata, all of which was extremely simplistic but otherwise work. Seeing the obvious quicker turnaround, the Order will sign a contract with Absolution Corp, robbing Nankir and Munkar of their most important source of revenue. With this, the player is one step closer to escaping.
Note: This has a major impact on the deaths. From Sector Four on, there are two versions for each of Jake’s fates: a simpler one for siding with Absolution Corp, or a more elaborate one for choosing someone else. The only exception is when he is killed by the Order, as they have special technology for such an incident.
(to be continued)
This is quite impressive. And the deaths were pretty funny (and morbid, but it’s cool). Nice work, d!
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
Oh my god, this is a masterpiece of blood and gore. I’m imagining the death scenes like the ones in Dead Space. If it was made into a game I’d buy it to display on my shelf and not play it 'cause a lot of this is too much for me.
Good man, I thought you had abandoned it. In my mind’s eye it’s a LucasArts adventure with early Sierra deaths and glorious VGA. I also keep imagining a whip, but that’s from another story.
No need to keep the next episode brewing for 8 months, right?
Another four months, barely enough for an update.
This whole chunk has been ridiculously hard to plan out, as evidenced here. I’ll probably edit this post, fleshing out the random tidbits and possibly adding more solutions. I might just keep this route as the “easy” one for the time being. Furthermore, I’ll make one giant post for all the deaths in this sector. A lot of them overlap (such as stepping into the fog without protection, or running out of air), and it would just be easier that way. Hopefully updates will be more frequent from now on, and for those still around, thank you for your patience.
NAKIR AND MUNKAR ROUTE
Nakir and Munkar Inc. is located at a small corner of the valley, nestled between several small, rocky hills. The main route is through a metal gate, guarded by a pair of nearly-skeletal figures, almost completely naked and hairless, armed with shotguns that could crush their bodies into paste with the kickback alone. If Jake is seeking employment with the corporation, they’ll let him pass through. Otherwise, they will know he’s working for someone else, and turn him away. Rather than press the issue, Jake has to climb across a side rock formation to sneak inside.
The company’s headquarters is shaped like a mausoleum, with small hints of Islamic influences. Open graves are lined up in thirteen neat, straight rows. On occasion, bone-thin figures like the ones at the gate would come in, each with a wheelbarrow of random body parts. They dump them into the graves, and after a while, out pops a new worker, his body a massive patchwork of the Order’s refuse. A ramp to the side leads to the lower levels, where bodies are processed into the mechanical freaks seen elsewhere. Jake’s goal, however, is to enter the mausoleum.
The very instant he steps inside, the door slams shut, leaving the room in total darkness. At the same moment, cold metal touches Jake’s throat, while an inhumanly strong arm wraps around his torso, trapping him in an unbreakable hold. A pair of voices ring out in the darkness.
“Damned soul.”
“Unworthy sod.”
“Blasphemer.”
“Sinner.”
“You have entered our domain.”
“You seek penance for your crimes.”
“We shall test your worth.”
“All other routes lead to eternal torment.”
NOTE ON NAKIR AND MUNKAR: Whenever Jake enters the mausoleum, the two will grab him in the same hold. They will then ask him questions about his last task, as well as his actions in the previous two sectors. Jake has a number of responses; however, no matter what the player picks, Jake will tell the truth. If he lies, even once, the metal turns out to be a scythe, which quickly slits his throat.
Jake must then answer three questions.
“Many have already fallen to your hand, both directly and indirectly. Answer us, does a child’s blood lie on your hands?” (Answer: Yes if you killed the kid. No if you didn’t.)
“The slaughterer fell to your hands. Answer us, was this in defense, or merely another act of cruelty upon this forsaken land?” (Answer: Self-defense.)
“Blood boils forth from the dying earth. Answer us, who slew the lord of passion?” (Answer: I did.)
Three easy questions under his hat, and Jake is allowed to work for the two. His first task: getting rid of Absolution Corp. The rival corporation wants to promote a faster, cheaper version of their own refitting procedures. Nakir and Munkar want the whole thing shut down…by delivering the CEO to them, in person.
ABSOLUTION CORP:
Upon entering the building, Jake is confronted by the secretary. She warns him that the CEO is attending an important meeting with the Order, and as such cannot be disturbed. Jake can try to persuade her to let him through, but she will still not budge. Thus, he is presented with two options.
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He can try to sneak past the secretary. Soon after talking to her, a group of robed figures will wander past, heading for the elevator. Jake can quickly get behind the group, pull to the side, and use the group as walking cover. To do so, however, he will first have to distract the secretary. To the left side of the room is a potted plant, which Jake can push over. The secretary, very frustrated with him at this point, storms off to find the janitor. Jake can then make his move. Otherwise, he can try sweet talking the monstrosity, until she becomes so frustrated she storms off to find a manager.
-
He can wait until the group leaves, and then simply kill her with the shears or spade from the hippie’s camp. Doing so, however, tends to end very, very badly, as security will be coming by quickly to bring Jake down.
Once past the front security, Jake simply has to find the right board room. It’s actually pretty obvious; it’s the room with the robed guys standing in front. Naturally, they won’t let him pass; fortunately, he can enter the next room, don his equipment, and rappel across the side with the rope from Sector Two. Finally, he’s outside the window leading into the room itself. The CEO is already there, while the Order is moving outside to give him time to prepare his next presentation. Furthermore, the next step involves going outside, so the CEO is already gearing up his suit. Seizing his chance, Jake sneaks inside, grabs the executive, and starts climbing down the building. (Needless to say, I…haven’t fully formulated how this would be carried out.)
Once back at Nakir and Munkar, the CEO is thrown in front of the two. A few seconds later, the door opens, just in time for a torrent of blood and body parts to spew out. Skeletal workers pick up the pieces and start loading them into graves, while Jake steps inside. Quiz time again.
“Answer us. Does the young guardian’s demise lay upon you?” (Did you kill the secretary?)
Question answered, Jake gets his next job: shut down Hamistagan Corp. The company believes that happy workers are better than forced labor, an idea Nakir and Munkar find abhorrent. Your job is to shock the work force out of compliance, by reminding them they’re in Absolution.
HAMISTAGAN CORP
Once inside the building, Jake discovers the same Stepford Smilers as before. This time, however, he has to interact with the actual people. First step is to repeat the process from the Absolution Corp path to get the uniform, and from there enter the factory. Once inside, he has to engineer a series of “accidents.”
-In the machine room, one worker is sawing and buffing a series of metal tubes. (The same ones you use to get the blueprints, BTW.) The saw is constantly turning; OHSA has no place in Hell, it seems. The box is set to the far side of the machine, forcing the worker to wander away from his station for a few seconds. Next to the entrance is a box of bolts. Jake simply has to grab some bolts, quickly drop them when the worker moves away, and take a step back. The worker slips on the bolts, falling into Jake…who then has to shove him into the saw. The still-running blades, saw half of his body in half before it finally stalls completely. The man dies with the same creepy grin on his face…
-In the equipment cage, a hapless fellow is trying to fix a broken buffer. Jake has to make the machine turn back on at the wrong time. When the worker moves away to pick up another tool, Jake has to sneak to the buffer and switch around some wires, causing a massive electrical surge. When the worker touches it again, the fatal level of electricity fries him charcoal black. Again, that smile…
These two acts accomplished, people begin to whisper. The forced smiles begin to fade, as sheer primal fear starts to overpower the drugs. Before long, the workers are fleeing the factory in terror, many of them dissolving in the acidic fog. Needless to say, Hamistagan itself is pissed, forcing Jake to run like hell.
Once back at base, Nakir and Munkar quiz him again.
“Answer us. How many lambs must perish to destroy the flock?” (Answer: Two.)
With Hamistagan deprived of much of its work force, more jobs will come to Nakir and Munkar Inc. Jake must now finish one more task. A gold shipment is expected to leave Aaru’s mines. It’s headed right for the Order’s headquarters, to be fashioned into statues and monuments to Baphomet. Nakir and Munkar want you to contaminate the gold shipment, by replacing several of the bars with fakes. The Order will be displeased, and will bring down their wrath upon the hapless ones. Unfortunately, said bars are smaller and lighter than actual gold. That can pose a problem.
AARU
The gold shipment is just outside the mines, but of course it’s guarded by folks in powered armor, wielding massive machine guns. If Jake gets within fifty feet of the thing, he’ll be stopped and/or shot on sight. Unfortunately, there is only one way to get the fake gold past them.
Just inside the mines is a side chamber, containing a massive smelter and forge. The miners frequently melt down the gold, and then forge it into bars for easier transit. The obvious solution is to simply plant the bars in the pile, and thereby allow them to be loaded on. The problem is, the guards blocking the shipment will check the bars first, and if they see or feel one lighter than the others, they will come to investigate. If Jake times his movements, he can lower the bars into the melted gold, coating them and giving them a better look. After that, he has to wait until the workers bring out a new trolley to load up, and THEN place the bars inside. With them at the very bottom, and looking more like real gold, they can fool the guards out front.
With this done, Jake returns to Nakir and Munkar. The duo do not quiz him this time, instead offering their thanks for helping to clear away their rivals. Absolution Corp will fall into turmoil without its leader, Hamistagan will be labor deprived for years to come, and Aaru will soon face complete destruction. Jake can also point out that this really doesn’t give them a direct business advantage; Nakir and Munkar claim instead that they are enacting justice upon the ones damned here. If someone ended up in Absolution, they must have committed some evil at some point. As such, it’s important that they understand the reason for their suffering, as they toil as slaves for the shadowy, formless brothers. Jake has just provided them with the keys to an endless labor supply.
Returning to the camp, Jake has to deal with the hippie (if he hasn’t already done so). The stranger calls bullshit on Nakir and Munkar, seeing as how decent people have ended up in “this very shithole.” Holly is more concerned about what she may have done to deserve Absolution, but Jake and the stranger calm her down. In any case, they’ve finished their task. On Nakir and Munkar’s orders, they escort a chain of half-metal, horridly-scared figures through the gate. Ahead of the team lies the Merchant District.
[i]”Damned. Sinner. Nakir and Munkar’s little speeches pissed me off, but I couldn’t deny them. We had screwed up. That was the only reason anyone could deserve being trapped down here. Our mistakes in life were adding up. The problem now was, I still don’t know if I did it or not. In any case, I thought, the Golden Gate is still a long way away.
“Then things really went to shit.”[/i]
Next time: Hamistagan.
Seizing his chance, Jake sneaks inside, grabs the executive, and starts climbing down the building.
Secret exit. Or sliding down a conveniently-located pole/drain if you want to strain Jake’s arms.
All you need to do is find a good VGA (SVGA tops, but that S feels wrong) and a coder 
Hey d, nice to see you’re still working on this.
Sorry I haven’t commented on this, it’s just that horror stories aren’t really my thing. But I’m impressed by how you’ve handled both the “mythology” of your setting and the gaming aspects; you obviously know this stuff!
I can see this going several ways… the Salvation thing is a lie, and all this effort was for nothing. That would suck, but it would fit the genre. Or, the opposite- it’s very much true and he’s saved. Nice, but too obvious. Or something completely unexpected happens, like in the ending of Digital Devil Saga (the one where the main character finds out that all his struggles to escape his hellish realm led to… the real world; the whole thing was a virtual reality simulation, and he wasn’t even a real person!)
Whatever the case, I’m confident you’ll write it well. 
I, too, am happy to see that you haven’t forgotten about this, even though I didn’t comment as much as some others. I, like Wil, am not a big fan of horror, but I’ve been known to make an exception if it’s exceedingly well-written, and this definitely qualities.
Let us continue.
HAMISTAGAN ROUTE:
Hamistagan is actually located pretty close to the valley’s edge, far enough out that a few, bleak rays of artificial light break through. There is nothing grandiose about the building itself. It isn’t a skyscraper like Absolution Corp, it isn’t a tomb like Nakir and Munkar Inc., and it isn’t a giant statue like Aaru Company. Instead, it’s a two-story office building, attached to a five-story dormitory, attached to a basement factory. Workers methodically unload shipments of raw parts and salvage, and take them through a guarded side door into the factory. If Jake gets close enough, he can make out the sound of the welding, pounding, and shaping of metal.
As mentioned previously, Hamistagan is a trap, baited with the prospect of pure, endless happiness. If Jake enters the dormitory, he can see several of the residents, their minds completely wrecked by years of drugs and mind control, reduced to sitting, breathing husks of bone and stringy meat. They are oblivious to his presence; when spoken to, they do not even look at Jake. In any case, Jake’s goal is the offices.
In the office building, Jake meets with the receptionist (see the Absolution Corp route). She at first asks him if he plans to live with them. When he says no, she repeats the question. A second negative, and she starts to break into a sweat. The third “no” sends her into a freak out; she grabs the phone, dials an unknown number, and starts screaming in panic. Apparently nobody ever thought to say “no” to eternal bliss before.
As she speaks on the phone, her demeanor slowly calms down, until she is sporting her big, Cheshire Cat grin yet again. She asks Jake if he would be willing to help “expand” Hamistagan’s influence on the valley. Of course, Jake agrees, as long as he will be allowed to leave the valley afterward. The receptionist confirms this with her boss, and then hangs up the phone. Jake is given his first assignment: eliminate Absolution Corp. As soon as he receives this, a video shows up on a television monitor behind the receptionist.
”Greetings, and thank you for joining Hamistagan Industries, on the cutting edge of technology since 809! Our goal today is to bring a sense of calmness to the people of Absolution, a peace they have lost since their eternal damnation. Here, we are all one happy family, one that never fights, never argues, and never contradicts their mission. Help us to spread the word, and you too can belong to our family!
ABSOLUTION CORP.
Absolution Corp is central to the sixth sector’s way of life, and as such has attracted a certain…high-level clientele. They offer peace of mind through new products; mere gadgets that distract Absolution’s residents from their real plight. Hamistagan Industries cannot stand this. True bliss comes from maintaining a neutral state of mind, never wanting or asking, but rather sharing and utilizing goods for the whole. If the sixth sector is to listen, however, the flow of products must be halted forever. Absolution Corp must be destroyed.
The receptionist gives Jake a small bag. Inside are twelve packs of C4, a detonator switch, and several maps detailing multiple floors of the Absolution Corp building. The maps all have spaces marked; these are critical weaknesses in the building’s structure. Jake has to plant a bomb at each marked spot. Once that is done, he has to escape the building, return to Hamistagan, and detonate the explosives. The toxic fumes in the air run the risk of igniting from the blast, so Jake must be inside the building to do this.
Jake can enter the building easily. All he has to do is tell the receptionist he is interested in working there, and wants to take a look around the offices. He must then follow the maps and plant the bombs. (Unfortunately, this is a rather visual puzzle, so bear with me.) He must first make sure no guards are looking at him. Then he has to plant the bomb along the wall (each one takes about three seconds). Then, he has to find some way to cover it up, without anyone else noticing. Two of the bombs go right outside the building. One goes in the men’s restroom in the lobby. Two go on the third floor offices. One goes outside the third floor. Three go on the second floor; one in the office, one outside, and one in the server room. One goes in the basement, next to the main generator. And finally, the last two go outside the fourth floor, along a narrow ledge.
With the bombs planted and hidden, Jake has to beat it back to Hamistagan. Once safely inside, he flips the switch, detonates the bombs, and watches as Absolution Corp goes up in flames. The toxic air ignited briefly, burning like a huge fireball for a second before subsiding. The building, already ravaged by the environmental pollution, crumbles like a house of cards.
(Note: Doing this makes you an instant enemy of sector six. That area is now much harder.)
NAKIR AND MUNKAR, INC.
Hamistagan can only look upon the workers of Nakir and Munkar with profound sadness. They are little more than parodies of their former selves, cobbled-together corpses shambling to and fro on their cruel masters’ whims. They are created in the mass graves; Jake must destroy them, and thus deprive Nakir and Munkar of their work force. The receptionist gives Jake another bag, this time containing three baseball-shaped devices. Also included is a note, explaining that the items are pulse weapons, designed to shut down the underground systems that pump out the workers.
When Jake reaches the main gate, the sentries turn him away. (See the Nakir and Munkar route for how he sneaks past.) The neat rows of graves are still being worked, with the current employees dumping their future co-workers in for processing. Jake has to get the devices into the graves, set them off, and then escape within one minute. Unfortunately, the note also states that there are three separate machines, linked together with a network of failsafes. All three devices have to be set off simultaneously, or the system will simply reboot. Next, he has to make sure they enter the right grave; ideally, each device will be set next to the main console for each machine. He can locate this by listening for the sound of machinery when a body is dumped in; if he hears a loud clicking noise, then he found the right grave. He has to be careful, however; the workers are purely autonomous, and if he gets in their way, they will simply knock him into one of the graves.
Once all the devices are in place, Jake simply flicks the detonator. If successful, the machinery grinds to a crunching halt. Jake then runs for his life as the devices explode, utterly destroying Nakir and Munkar’s labor pool (and causing another fireball, albeit much more contained).
AARU COMPANY
The same as Absolution Corp. (Sorry, but there’s not a whole lot you can do with these guys. You’ll see why next update.)
When Jake returns to Hamistagan, he notices rapid construction going on around the standing structures. When Jake crippled the other companies, the Order shifted their attention to Hamistagan. As a result, they have snatched up nearly every job contract. The only one remaining out of their grasp is the refitting of the dead; for the time, Nakir and Munkar have retained their hold on this key industry. With the new contracts come rapid expansion, and a lot more workers to control. The explosions have burned off a huge chunk of the existing poisons, allowing the company to pump out another, stronger form of the mind control drugs they use into the atmosphere. The air will no longer kill anyone, but anyone that steps foot into the fog without protection will fall under their control.
The receptionist congratulates Jake on his good work, and gives him one last bag. It contains a letter, thanking him for his hard work, and promising him a future should he ever return to sector three. Also inside is a notice for the guard, allowing Jake and his companions to leave the valley. Jake leaves the building, as yet another resident keels over, a smile plastered on their leather-toned face.
Once back at the camp, Jake has to kill the hippy. This accomplished, he and his allies gather to leave. The Stranger notes that Hamistagan sounds like a pretty nice place, certainly better than the shit they’ve suffered through so far. Holly is less enthusiastic; the fog is still there, and now Hamistagan can enslave anyone that tries to pass through. If anyone else tries to make the pilgrimage, they will almost certainly not make it past here. Jake briefly considers this point, but ultimately brushes it off. They still have to escape Hell, after all. Ahead of them lies the Merchant District.
[i]“Holly was right, of course. She was always right. If anyone did try to make it through, they were as good as fucked. It took me a long time to realize that. I was selfish… we all were. We just wanted to get out of here, go through the Golden Gate, whatever. It hurt to admit, but… maybe I do deserve to be here.
“‘It’ll be okay,’ I thought. Then we reached the Merchant District… and things went to shit.”[/i]
Next time: Aaru, and the Hippy
If there is a collaborative project of people working on adventures out there they should get their mitts on this.
This is very interesting i’d like to see a demo with enough talented folks