-+ HELPLINE +-

[knux400]

Attempt to switch to that camera, then. There's really no other way to determine if it's being used or not.
SPEAK: We're going to try and switch to the camera you're looking at. Let us know what happens to the light, please.

On a related note...
Hey Pomo? Do these cameras have any sort of numbering system or something that we could use to quickly select specific ones, or are we stuck just pointing to a camera and saying "that one"?

[victorianflorist]

How much can we interface with the vending machine?

> TARGET: Hallway Vending Machine
> VEND: 2A, 3D, 4B, 5C
> ALTER: Increase Vending machine power input to 200V

[ಠ_ಠ]

>vend: entire stock

[1011686]

>Let's not put the vending machine 50v over what it can withstand
that's dangerous to lucky and there's just not really a reason to do it, though I agree with seeing if we can
>vend several items from it
It's a good test of our abilities.
I agree with >disconnecting from the current camera and switching to the camera in that next hallway,
but i wonder if we could switch to cameras we haven't seen yet, if we know they exist.
Pomo, what are some rooms in this facility? Not in the context of location to eachother, but just some names of places.
>SPEAK: Lucky, are there any specific objects that would be required for you to leave this place that you don't currently have? Keys, cards, anything like that? Additionally, do you know of anyone else in this facility who would be willing to help you or trying to leave themselves? Would there be any remote way to contact them, or anyone on the outside world, such as through a phone?

[SHIVERS]

LARK: Pomo, what are some rooms in this facility?

LARK: Not in the context of location to each other, but just some names of places.
POMO: I'm sorry, but I can't give out the names of locations you haven't accessed with LUCKY yet.
POMO: However, I can tell you where you are, and where you've been!
POMO: You are in a hallway.
POMO: [ - - - ]
JURY: VIOLATION. MESSAGE REMOVED.
POMO: JURY - TEMPORARY OVERRIDE.
JURY: OVERRIDE ACCEPTED.
POMO: Sorry about that!
POMO: Before that, LUCKY found your tablet in one of the Thesis Lab office rooms!
POMO: JURY - REMOVE OVERRIDE.
JURY: OVERRIDE REMOVED.
POMO: I hope that was helpful!




HELM: We're going to try and switch to the camera you're looking at. 
HELM: Let us know what happens to the light, please.

HELM: Attempt to switch to that camera, then. There's really no other way to determine if it's being used or not.
WYCH: As a note, remember to use ">" or "COMMAND:" for commands, Helm.
WYCH: Otherwise, it isn't translated, and only serves as a message that Pomo and I can respond to.

LUCKY: ...Nope, nothing yet.




Translating commands . . .

"TARGET: Hallway Vending Machine"
"VEND: 2A, 3D, 4B, 5C"
"Vend: entire stock"
"Vend several items from it"
No payment account detected.
Insufficient funds to vend all items.
"ALTER: Increase Vending machine power input to 200V"
"Let's not put the vending machine 50V over what it can withstand"
Action(s) canceled.
"Disconnect from the current camera"
Disconnecting from current camera.

Your view goes dark.

"Switch to the camera in that next hallway"
Unknown camera: "in that next hallway".
Accessing nearest available camera with tag "hallway".

You can hardly tell that you've accessed any camera at all, with how pitch black your new view is.
You can just barely make out some features this hallway:
There are three doors on your left, one door on your right, and a right turn at the far end of the hallway.




LUCKY: There it goes.
LUCKY: Yep, turned green.

You can't see Lucky anymore, but you can hear a bit of shuffling from the tablet mic.

LUCKY: And the other one's blinkin' red now.
LUCKY: So that's how I know which one y'all are using, then.
LUCKY: Could be helpful.


LARK: Lucky, are there any specific objects that would be required for you to leave this place that you don't currently have?
LARK: Keys, cards, anything like that? 
LARK: Additionally, do you know of anyone else in this facility who would be willing to help you or trying to leave themselves? 
LARK: Would there be any remote way to contact them, or anyone on the outside world, such as through a phone?

LUCKY: Whoof, lotsa questions again. 
LUCKY: Uh...
LUCKY: Specific objects...
LUCKY: All I can really think of is a badge with higher clearance.
LUCKY: My janitor badge probably won't get me into too many places, but I'm hoping it's enough to get me out of here, at least.

LUCKY: And like I said, I'm brand new here.
LUCKY: I don't know anybody, and I don't know of anything that'd let me call for help outside.
LUCKY: Keep on the lookout, I guess.




LUCKY: Anywho. 
LUCKY: New camera, new hallway.

You see some dark shape creep up at the bottom right corner of your view. 
It takes you a moment to realize that it's just Lucky, peering around the corner.

LUCKY: ...I might as well be lookin' at a wall.

You see a tiny amount of light shine in near Lucky, but it doesn't make much of a difference.

LUCKY: Okay the tablet screen does pretty much nothin'.
LUCKY: Guess I can just follow along the wall, but maybe you've got a better view?
LUCKY: ...Can you make anything out down there?




HELM: Hey, Pomo? 
HELM: Do these cameras have any sort of numbering system or something that we could use to quickly select specific ones? 
HELM: Or are we stuck just pointing to a camera and saying 'that one'?

POMO: I'd be happy to help with that!
POMO: You are currently accessing [CAM-2RTL3]. 
POMO: You previously accessed [CAM-2RTL4] and [CAM-HDI-INT] before that.
POMO: For ease of use, would you like me to notify when previously-unused cameras become accessible to you?

[knux400]

That would be great, Pomo.

>SPEAK: "There's three doors on your left, one door on your right, and a right turn at the far end of the hallway. I think you should head into the closest door. If you can open an app that has a lot of bright colors in it and point the screen outward, that might help a bit."

Just to keep track of cameras:
CAM-2RTL3 is the one we're in.
CAM-2RTL4 is the other hallway cam we were using.
and CAM-HDI-INT is the tablet cam, INT probably stands for internal.

>SPEAK: "I'm going to try and work on a map of where we've been. To see whether I have the access necessary to show it to you, I'm going to send you a sample image. Tell me if you see a smiley face on your tablet."

>ACCESS: Nearest device with tag "tablet"
>DISPLAY: Embedded image

[victorianflorist]

Yes, that would be satisfactory, Pomp.

 > SPEAK: Hey, Lucky. 
> S: What's your social security number?
> S: We should get snacks while we're near the vending machine and it says there's no account so I'm going to open a credit card in your name.
> S: That cool with you?
> S: There's three doors on our left of the hallway, 1 on our right.
> S: And keep an eye out for any light switches, this hallway is dark.

Polo, can we access any of those doors?

[knux400]

...Map completed. It may not be to scale.


Red dot: inactive camera
Green dot: active camera
Yellow dot: light source
Blue dot: Lucky

[Bug]

This map is incredibly helpful! ...the numbering on the cameras interests me.

>SPEAK: Please hold on for [Approximately 1 Minute]. I am going to attempt to access a [hypothetical Camera] very briefly. This may result in nothing, of course, but we will [inform you] if we discover something [important].

> Disconnect from CAM-2RTL3

> IF (CAM-2RTL1 is Accessible) THEN (Connect to CAM-2RTL1)

> IF (Connected to CAM-2RTL1) THEN (Wait 5 Seconds, Disconnect from CAM-2RTL1)

> Connect to CAM-2RTL3

[ಠ_ಠ]

wait a minute wait a minute
did we never try turning on the lights
>turn on the lights
>SPEAK: Hey lucky whats a thesis lab

[1011686]

...thankyou Pomo, that was indeed helpful. I notice you overrided Jury just now, in what kinds of situations are you able to do that?
Hm.
Jury, what regulation did Pomo violate by mentioning Thesis Lab?

>SPEAK: Lucky, a suggestion, you should check rooms you pass by to see if there's anything useful in them. You shouldn't spend too long searching, but as time does not currently seem to be of vital importance, there's no reason not to at least have a look.

[SHIVERS]

HELM: That would be great, Pomo.
VIGS: Yes, that would be satisfactory, Pomp.
POMO: That's not my name, but I'm happy to help!
POMO: I've created a camera log that I'll display for you periodically, and update every time changes happen with cameras!

Show Content

CAMERA LOGIN USE: CAM-2RTL3

PREVIOUSLY USED:
CAM-HDI-INT
CAM-2RTL4

DISCOVERED:
N/A

POMO: It should be self-explanatory, but I'm here to assist if you have any questions.
POMO: I hope this is helpful!




HELM: There's three doors on your left, one door on your right, and a right turn at the far end of the hallway. 
HELM: I think you should head into the closest door. 
LARK: Lucky, a suggestion: 
LARK: You should check rooms you pass by to see if there's anything useful in them. 
LARK: You shouldn't spend too long searching, but as time does not currently seem to be of vital importance, there's no reason not to at least have a look.
VIGS: There's three doors on our left of the hallway, one on our right.
VIGS: And keep an eye out for any light switches, this hallway is dark.
LUCKY: Yup, that's what I was thinkin'. Can do.

OGRE: Please hold on for Approximately 1 Minute. 
OGRE: I am going to attempt to access a hypothetical Camera very briefly. 
OGRE: This may result in nothing, of course, but we will inform you if we discover something important.
LUCKY: Alright, then.
LUCKY: Holdin'...

Translating commands . . .
"Disconnect from CAM-2RTL3"
Disconnecting from current camera.
"IF CAM-2RTL1 is Accessible THEN Connect to CAM-2RTL1"
Accessing camera: CAM-2RTL1

Show Content

CAMERA LOGIN USE: CAM-2RTL1

PREVIOUSLY USED:
CAM-HDI-INT
CAM-2RTL4
CAM-2RTL3

DISCOVERED:
N/A

Your view changes over to another dark room, though this one is slightly more visible thanks to a few small red lights on various equipment in the room. 
The room is easily distinguishable as a large lab; somewhat similar to one you might see in a high school, though clearly professional-grade.
There's a long black counter-top against one wall that contains two sinks, a few tables in the middle of the room with objects atop them that are hard to make out, a fume hood in one corner, and several black cabinets along the walls - presumably for storing lab instruments, chemicals, or other things related to the lab - which all have the small red lights on the front of them.

"IF Connected to CAM-2RTL1, THEN Wait 5 Seconds, Disconnect from CAM-2RTL1"
Timer set.
Running timer . . .

During your brief view of the lab, you take in as what you can:
One of the black lockers is open, though you can't make out anything inside it.
It seems at first as if some of the red lights are turning off and back on again in some kind of odd sequence. 
However, you soon realize that something is moving inside the room, blocking out the lights when it moves in front of them.
You struggle to make it out, but can only perceive the haziest outline from time-to-time.
You follow it as best you can, but you keep losing it.
It seems to move from away from the open locker, then near one of the tables, then ...upwards. You think.
You hadn't noticed before, but there is some square shape hanging down from the ceiling.
The shadow seemed to move up towards it--

Timer complete.
Disconnecting from camera: CAM-2RTL1
"Connect to CAM-2RTL3"

Your view is cut off, then returned to the previous hallway.
You can see Lucky again.

Show Content

CAMERA LOGIN USE: CAM-2RTL3

PREVIOUSLY USED:
CAM-HDI-INT
CAM-2RTL4
CAM-2RTL1

DISCOVERED:
N/A

VIGS: Hey, Lucky.
VIGS: What's your social security number?
VIGS: We should get snacks while we're near the vending machine and it says there's no account so I'm going to open a credit card in your name.
VIGS: That cool with you?
LUCKY: ...
LUCKY: ...My what?
LUCKY: ...I'm not hungry, I don't need--
LUCKY: How 'bout we focus on me not getting killed, please?
LUCKY: I'd appreciate it.

Translating commands . . .
"Turn on the lights"
Powering lights in current location . . .
Unable to provide power.
Power systems may be damaged.
Please inform maintenance immediately.

BARB: Hey Lucky, what's a thesis lab?
LUCKY: Not a clue.
LUCKY: I know there's labs in here, so... probably one of those.
LUCKY: Not much sense asking me that kinda stuff.

VIGS: Polo, can we access any of those doors?
POMO: That isn't my name, but I'll be happy to answer your question!
POMO: The doors in this hallway are not shutters, so you won't be able to open or close them.
POMO: Some doors in this hallway do have electronic locks that require badge access, but you don't have access to those.
POMO: I hope that was helpful!

LUCKY: Alright, that's been minute. Probably more.
LUCKY: Guessing nothin' happened, Ogre?




HELM: If you can open an app that has a lot of bright colors in it and point the screen outward, that might help a bit.
LUCKY: Uhh...

It's hard to make out, but you can faintly see Lucky fiddling with the tablet.

LUCKY: ...Look, I can barely work this thing.
LUCKY: Oh, uh... Pomo, can you make the... screen brighter? Or somethin'?
POMO: The device is currently on its maximum brightness setting, LUCKY.
POMO: However, I can make the screen white to maximize its use as a source of light for you!
POMO: Would you like me to do that?
LUCKY: Yeah, yeah that works.

Lucky is illuminated just a little more as the screen changes.

LUCKY: Well, guess that's all I got for now.
LUCKY: Helps a little bit, but there's gotta be some kinda light around here.
LUCKY: I'll see if I can't find one while I'm lookin'.






HELM: I'm going to try and work on a map of where we've been. 
HELM: To see whether I have the access necessary to show it to you, I'm going to send you a sample image. 
HELM: Tell me if you see a smiley face on your tablet.
LUCKY: ...Oh, yeah? 
LUCKY: Well, alright, then.

Translating commands . . .
"ACCESS: Nearest device with tag tablet"
"DISPLAY: Embedded image"
Access request required.
Sending request . . .
JURY: SCANNING IMAGE . . .
JURY: SCAN COMPLETE. NO VIOLATIONS DETECTED.
JURY: SENDING . . .

You watch Lucky's head turn downward, presumably looking at the tablet.

LUCKY: Yup, think that's it.
LUCKY: Wanna try the map now?
LUCKY: I'll start lookin' while you send it.

Lucky steps into the hallway with the tablet held up in front of it, 
Using the tablet as a light source, it cautiously follows along the wall towards the camera.





LARK: ...Thank you Pomo, that was indeed helpful. 
LARK: I notice you overrode Jury just now, in what kinds of situations are you able to do that?
POMO: I can override JURY at any time.
POMO: However, I'll only override when I believe JURY has made a mistake, such as removing a message when there was no violation present.
POMO: This will often result in JURY updating their rules to reduce the chance that they will make the same mistake again.
POMO: I hope that answers your question!
WYCH: ...I genuinely had no idea Pomo could do that.
WYCH: You'd think being stuck with them long enough, I would have realized that by now.
WYCH: You can most likely use that to your advantage.
WYCH: Finding ways to exploit their programming may be a helpful way to bypass certain rules.
LARK: Hm.
LARK: Jury, what regulation did Pomo violate by mentioning Thesis Lab?
JURY: I AM UNAUTHORIZED TO DISCLOSE REGULATIONS TO CONTACTS.
WYCH: Jury, on the other hand, I don't believe will be of any use to you.
WYCH: As far as I'm aware, they're only here to block what you and I can do.



HELM: ...Map completed. 
HELM: It may not be to scale.
POMO: I can see you're trying to make a map!
POMO: Would you like help with that?

[ಠ_ಠ]

Yes we would like help with that, thank you Pogo

say: "Lucky we saw a uh a thing in a room that we did the hypothetical camera switch to."

Jury: How do we figure out what cameras link to what rooms?

[Bug]

>SPEAK: This is [Ogre] reporting. My hypothesis was [Correct]. I have [Unfortunate news]. There may be an [Unknown Organism of Neutral or Hostile Intent] Moving about through the system. Though visual recognition was [Inadequate], I believe it to be utilizing the [Ventilation System]. Please maintain a [Recommended Safety Diameter of 5 feet] away from any [Ventilation Systems] you may encounter. Recommendation: [Keep Moving.]

Wych: Are we able to maintain the positions of cameras on the map? We will need to do so ASAP. While it might have been nothing, better overprepared than underprepared.

[victorianflorist]

> Say: It appears that those rooms are labs of some kind.
s: Whatever it was they were testing, there are these red lights on the equipment in there.
s: We thought they were blinking for a second but its actually something movin'.
s: I hope its a curtain and not a person or like a creature.
s: it might be smart to pick up a weapon, take any sports in school, Lucky Ducky?
s: Like Morbit Lacrosse or Morbit Hockey?
s: Those skills would be hella useful.
s: Anything can be a weapon so long as its long and heavy.

Pogo, do the cameras have any alternative viewing ability? Night vision maybe? Infrared?
I mean, how advanced are these cameras we switching around? Do we even need to turn the lights on?
And definitely help us with the map, if you could configure an application on Luck's tableterino, that would be golden Pimo.

[knux400]

POMO: I can see you're trying to make a map!
POMO: Would you like help with that?

Yes please! My, uh, processing power would probably be better put to use helping Lucky escape.

>SPEAK: Okay, the map should be coming now. If it doesn't show up, let me know. Also, does the tablet have any actual buttons on it, or is it just a touchscreen?
>if pomo gives us an image file, rename it "map1"
>access nearest device labeled "tablet"
>display image "map1"

[Guest]

mod notes: this is 1011686 AKA Lark speaking.

I don't think that's the case, Wych. I'm not sure you were able to perceive it, but Jury was the first one to talk to us, and they told us our assistance was required. I think they must care at least somewhat about what happens to us and Lucky, even if they're constrained by rules.
But I can put that to the side for the moment.
>Say: "Lucky, what other kinds of machines have you seen in this place that we might be able to control?"

[SHIVERS]

Heyo,
Just putting this in Oubliette and Helpline bc there's a lot of new folks from the forums here that aren't in the Discord:

Updates have been really slow lately because my arms are injured (currently on lots of pain and nerve meds) and it hurts to type a lot.
I am going to keep up with both of these projects as much as I can, they are Still open for suggestions and such, just be wary that things will likely be slow.

Thank you.