Friday, July 29, 2011

Finally some progress on all fronts

B2 took a team down to Florida right when he got back from Africa. The hotel manager was coerced to help us out through a combination of bribery and forged FBI badges. Specter was nowhere to be found, and the manager mentioned that there'd been no sign of the guest who rented the room for a couple of days. The manager mentioned there had been a guy looking for Specter, though. Asked for his cover name while in public (the one he rented a hotel room with). Grey shirt, brown hair. Fairly nondescript. The kind of guy you'd expect to miss walking down a street or in a crowd. B2 and his team searched the room top to bottom, didn't find any kind of hidden message or warning. The manager said there were no signs of a struggle in the room. Specter just up and disappeared. If anything like that happened, they would have called the police.

It wasn't long after that we got a call from a cell number one of the dead bodyguards had used. The guy in possession of the phone, whoever he is, wants a rendezvous. He didn't say why, but he rattled off a very interesting list of facts. Whoever it is has a fairly intricate knowledge of PTC operating procedure. We don't exactly pass out fliers with that information. Either it's someone in the PTC, or Specter's been captured and he's getting interrogated. And he's cracked. We've got to find him, and fast.

The rendezvous is to take place tomorrow. He's provided an address. We're not gonna say where or when, as he requested.

As for Mr. Collector, our team's still hot on his trail, regardless of his offer. This Mr. Reed fellow, however, is interesting. As important as finding Specter is, Collector needs to be dealt with, and Mr. Reed's a potential security risk. We've already dispatched two squads to Reed's address. They have orders to take him alive if possible, but if he's difficult, another one for the body count doesn't hurt.

Internal Affairs has been bugging the crap out of us to just get back to work and let them find Specter. They're being unreasonable about this. We haven't given two shits about their authority before, and we're not about to start now. Meanwhile, our relocation is almost finalized. Things are cleared up, and our previous safehouse is now recognized as a potential risk for future PTC Divisions to use until this matter with Collector is resolved.

I've also been getting back on topic, in terms of the science team's workload. We had a theory, relating to the Electric Theorem. Common circulating theory is that the Slender Man is easy to harm with electricity and magnetism. So, assuming dimensional manipulation can be done artificially (if at all), we might be able to dimensionally contain him to keep him from just getting away, get him inside a cage consisting entirely of highly-magnetic and conductive materials, run a massive current through it, and then get it to close in around him. The result should be a bit explosive.

That's assuming any of that works at all, let alone hurts him. We might be able to actually kill the bastard. We'd need to lure him into the cage, though. But again, just some theories we've been kicking around. We've also been debating 'lethal taser' rounds again.

The problem is that solid-projectiles seem to do nothing upon impact (presumably that's just without an electric current), and just don't connect if they do have an electric current. Confirmed video evidence of a blunt object and a car not hurting the Slender Man exist and are currently on the everymanHYBRID channel on Youtube. That was the whole reason we broke out the laser carbines to deal with this. And they were effective. Current theory to explain that here at the SMD involves the stuff that hits the Slender Man simply moving too fast and being something different from your average baseball bat. In the case of the laser carbines, a beam of coherent light. Nothing slower has ever been confirmed to harm it. You don't get faster than the speed of light. And the light's not actually solid, and even the laser carbines never really did anything but make it back off, which could be explained by any number of things.

That might change with the addition of a running current into the mix, but that still leaves the matter of the taser rounds just not connecting. I don't know, I'll keep kicking the idea around.

Anyways, we'll keep you posted.

-Goggles

Monday, July 25, 2011

On my way

Money's been wired, I got a plane ticket.

I'll be back in the States by tomorrow. We can put our heads together and come up with a plan once I'm back. Hold things together, Goggles. Twenty-four hours to go.

-B2

Tried to contact Specter

He hasn't answered any calls, and he's not replying to emails. So I contacted his bodyguards.

Turns out, they're all dead and Specter's disappeared, for one reason or another. Either he's gone to ground, or he's been captured or killed. I haven't gotten an answer for that.

How do I know this from calling a dead guard?

It wasn't the dead guy who answered the phone. Someone took his phone, said that he was dead, and hung up on me.

If Specter wanted or needed help, he'd contact us himself, so I have to assume he's unable to, or simply won't, for whatever reason. So for now, Specter's on his own. We need to relocate anyways.

B2, I know you're reading this. Please, just get some money wired. We can't wait for you anymore.

-Goggles

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Supercomputers

Do you have any fucking idea how hard it is to SAFELY take one apart and then put it back together without breaking something?

Do you?

Because I'm doing it.

IT ISN'T A FUN PROCESS.

-Goggles

Friday, July 22, 2011

Well FUCK.

OK, so, a guy got killed right outside our hideout. One of our science team members.

Then Collector bragged about it and took credit. And compromised our hideout's secrecy.

We're taking apart the PATCH and relocating already. Damn it.

On the other hand, now we have a lead. It's amazing what a bit of DNA testing, security footage from our own cameras, and some satellite-surveillance data from hacked satellites can do.

We're on your trail, you little freak.

-Goggles

Thursday, July 21, 2011

My boss's unpaid vacation

Specter's going on a little trip. I'm not at liberty to divulge all the details, but it involved a hissy-fit, some confusion on my part, and Central Command locking him out of the PTC Darknet for two weeks. I'm in charge here at the SMD hideout while he's away. Great.

Word from B2. He apparently got into a shootout with a bunch of African militia out in the middle of fucking nowhere. How's this correspond to him getting out of Africa? Apparently, he needs to get enough money to pay off a guy who can get him safely off the continent. Which makes no sense, because he could just ask for someone to wire him some money, or call for a pick-up. We have PTC units operating in Africa, so he could just get in touch with one of them. Anyways, apparently, he's raising the money by hunting down and killing African militia, and then he's taking their rations for food, and selling their guns to some other militia. Why do I have the feeling he's played way too much Fallout, and just wants an excuse to get away with this kind of thing in real life for a little while?

Anyways, the science team's finally finished going over all of the test results from the PATCH. We're finally getting to work on some actual devices now. As for Mr. Collector, we've given Central Command a rough idea of his current location, and they've dispatched a few investigators. They're already on the move. Once they have a solid fix on his location, the SMD will send in a squad to wrap things up.

-Goggles

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

good

Subject: SMD/Central Command Conference
Sender: PTC Central Command Transcript Office
To: PTC Transcript Record Databank
Date: 7/20/11, 01:29
Conference 1793 Audio Transcript

Attending:
PTC General Marcus Karmac (Callsign: Orca)
PTC Head Executive Omar Carlyle (Callsign: Drumroll)
SMD Head Executive Kyle Leonard (Callsign: Specter)
SMD Science Department Head Scientist Phillip Spinal (Callsign: Goggles)

Specter: Karmac, Carlyle.
Drumroll: Leonard, what is the meaning of this conference? It's one-thirty in the morning.
Specter: Oh, no reason. Just thought I'd call up, say hi, request permission to authorize the 'Imminent Exposure' protocol, and top it off with permission to engage the target of Imminent Exposure with heavy assets.
Orca: Wait, wait, wait. You want to authorize gunship deployments again? Against what?!
Drumroll: I know what this is about. Karmac, he's talking about this Collector business.
Orca: You want to kill some random psychopath with a gunship?!
Specter: Gunships. Plural.
Orca: Are you completely insane?!
Drumroll: And with the Imminent Exposure protocol active, no less. You're basically requesting permission to broadcast our existence to the world by way of excessive collateral damage.
Specter: Yeah, pretty much.
Drumroll: I don't know how you can make this call to Central Command and remain so calm about this while requesting authority to deploy heavy weapons! With a straight face! This is a joke, right?
Specter: Yes, Omar. I'm joking. I'm really calling to request authorization to deploy our tank. Can I have authority to deploy heavy assets, now?
Drumroll: I don't appreciate jokes, Leonard. Especially not when we're discussing such a matter as the Imminent Exposure protocol.
Goggles: Wait, we have a tank?
Specter: I'm not joking. Rockets, tanks, gunships. Give me something to green-light, here.
Drumroll: Absolutely not!
Specter: Why is it whenever I try to do my job, Central Command does everything in their power to tie down assets or flat-out keep me from deploying anything big enough?
Drumroll: Don't start up with that! We've given you plenty of leeway! That blog, the rampant gunship deployments, numerous casualties! Drafting of Irregular personnel! You're almost as bad as Nile!
Specter: Don't you dare go there, Omar. I'm not Nightcrawler. We've been over this.
Drumroll: You're going too far, this time!
Specter: I'm going to green-light it, with or without your permission.
Drumroll: I'm calling your bluff, Specter. You wouldn't dare do that.
Goggles: Could somebody rewind for a minute? What was that about a tank?
Specter: You're right. I wouldn't. Congratulations, you called my bluff.
Drumroll: What do you hope for this...temper tantrum to solve, Leonard?
Specter: A very bad problem.
Drumroll: Specter, you're not getting authorization to deploy heavy assets for the Imminent Exposure protocol. Kill him with nothing bigger than an automatic rifle. Do a drive-by if you feel it necessary. Nothing pointlessly public if at all possible.
Specter: Karmac, authorize it.
Orca: Of course I won't authorize it, Specter. I'm in full agreement with Carlyle. No good.
Specter: You won't authorize it, either?
Orca: Why should I? No point. It's one guy. Kill him, by all means. Just do it the usual way.
Specter: Is it such a bad thing to make sure the guy's dead?
Orca: Specter. Think about it. You're authorizing Imminent Exposure and requesting permission for tanks and gunships to make sure one person stays dead and buried when a brief engagement on foot would do just as well, with minimal exposure.
Drumroll: Specter, are you alright?
Specter: What do you mean?
Drumroll: You're sweating. A lot.
Specter: I...What are you talking about?
Goggles: Can we go back to the tank for just a minute?
Specter: Shit, you're right. I AM sweating. I need to go and get a drink or something. Excuse me.
Drumroll: Oh, sit down. As long as it doesn't afflict your ability to think rationally. Not that it's a skill you're known for, these days.
Specter: I'm not nuts, alright?
Drumroll: Specter, you eat, breathe, and drink this job, and specifically this case. Maybe it's time for a vacation.
Specter: No way! We're finally making some progress! We-
Drumroll: Do you trust your subordinates to properly do their jobs while you take a day off?
Specter: Of course not!
Goggles: Hey!
Drumroll: In which case, give me a moment here...and, there we go. All of your passwords and registry information will be rejected for the next two weeks. You won't be able to access any PTC databanks or darknet sites.
Specter: You're locking me out?!
Drumroll: Take a vacation, Leonard. For your own sake. You're twenty-nine years old. You have greying hair. Your Division has reached an odd sort of stability in the wake of a recent drop in activity that you can track. Your situation will not totally collapse if you take a vacation. I'd suggest Florida.
Specter: Unbelievable! I try to do my job, and you lock me out!
Drumroll: Listen to yourself! You're obsessed with this case! Take a break!
Specter: You listen to me, Carlyle-
Drumroll: Take a break, or I will have you discharged, shot, and left for dead in a dumpster.
Specter: You make a persuasive argument. I'll start packing immediately.

CONNECTION CUT

CONNECTION CUT

CONNECTION CUT

Goggles: Will somebody please confirm or deny the existence of the tank?!

CONNECTION CUT

-END TRANSCRIPT










soon he'll be isolated

perfect

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I thought I was done with this blog

Goggles is busy in the labs right now, so I'm responsible for keeping everyone updated.

In light of B2 getting stuck in Africa, he's responsible for getting himself out. I don't doubt that he can, but he's stuck there until he can get back home on his own. We're too busy here, and I need everyone on hand.

Mr. Collector, on the other hand, has proven he's out for blood. His kill-count has spiked in the last week. If only for the sake of keeping this from making the news, and possibly exposing us and the Slender Man to the world (you know he's gonna prattle on about it if he's ever interviewed, and he'll try, I think) we probably need to take him down ahead of schedule. We're narrowing down his location, but we can't devote the PATCH to that right now. It's too busy assisting Goggles, and we want Goggles and the rest of the science team done with the dimensional restabilization equipment as soon as possible. So we're resorting to identifying where he's been, and using that to determine where he's going based on what he's said on his blog, combined with our usual methods of covert recon to confirm he's there once we narrow down a location. I'd rather use PATCH's pattern analysis, but the PATCH is tied down with the lab work, so our field agents are on their own.

We're not gonna say if he's hot or cold, but that incident with the school definitely means we need to get on it in earnest. One Indoctrinated running around with delusions of grandeur and 'fighting the good fight' by killing kids isn't what we're normally supposed to really focus on, but the body count's entered the hundreds. The bigger this gets, the more we (and more importantly, the Slender Man) risk very public exposure if the police get him into custody. We can't let that happen, since there's no guarantee of our main target somehow bailing him out of trouble a second time, and if he gets interviewed, and ends up on mainstream media somehow, it'll cause more problems than we can deal with. If he gets caught and ends up staying in police custody, gets interviewed, and it gets aired to a large enough audience, then...well, there goes the neighborhood.

Onto another topic. There doesn't seem to have been any hacking attempts or transcript leaks lately, since you guys haven't brought it up for a while. Keep us posted about that, guys. If there's another transcript leak, we need to get that fixed as soon as we can. As for The Friend, there hasn't been any word from him. If he requests another meet-up, we're going to try and talk to him, face-to-face, and hopefully he'll oblige. The ball's in his court.

On that note, there's been no further leads regarding the attack on our hideout here. I'm not sure if we should completely drop that investigation, or try another angle.

There hasn't been much that's changed over the last month, so, that's a small blessing. Goggles is looking at it all wrong. 'Quiet and undisturbed' means 'stable.' That's all we can really hope for right now.

-Specter

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Not as planned!

OK, so, one thing kind of led to another, and, long story short, I'm stuck in Africa.

Lucky me, right?

Don't worry, I planned for just such an occasion. Gimme another week to get home, and we'll cover everything I was supposed to be doing while I was away. Alright, Goggles?

-B2

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Gonna be a little late

Won't be back at the hideout today or tomorrow, Goggles. Expect me back on Monday. I've got something I need to wrap up here, and it's taking longer than anticipated.

-B2

Friday, July 15, 2011

Reality of the situation

Specter made a few calls. We dodged a bullet, but there's no telling how long that's gonna hold up.

We've been getting a lot of incentive from Central Command (Read: Threats to transfer our funding to other Divisions) to get off our duffs and actually make something happen. It's been especially boring for a while, around here. Most of us have been holed up in here on lookout during our work hours, or pointlessly bashing our heads against a metaphorical wall. Progress has been slow on all fronts, but we're making progress nonetheless.

It's kind of depressing since it's been so long since our last big breakthrough, and there's been close to no major changes in the situation ever since. We haven't really been messed with since the last attack by (what we think were) Indoctrinated that knew how to use guns. We've gotten stagnant. The PATCH has been helping with research and data compilation, but we've been near-totally isolated here in our little hideout, trying to come up with the magic bullet to win.

We have no idea what's going on in the wider Irregular community nowadays. Most of us are too busy to keep up to date on any of the runner-blogs circulating out there, which doesn't help matters in the least. And this Mr. Collector that's got B2 so pissed off is showing an attitude outside that of most of the Indoctrinated 'community', which indicates that (when combined with what little information we've got regarding that last attack) Indoctrinated are somehow 'evolving.' Getting more complex, smarter. That's definitely a bad sign.

The Slender Man hasn't been sighted by us in...shoot, I don't even know how long. Think it forgot about us? On a lot of levels, we've forgotten about it. We've been so wrapped up in researching the dimensional bleeding and how to stop it, keeping the cops/FBI off us, and putting out a few other fires over the last couple of months that we haven't really stopped to try and track down the thing. The reason we haven't given the Banhammer a shot is because it hasn't come looking for us, and we haven't gone looking for it. Kind of an odd ceasefire.

Anyways, that magic bullet might actually be coming around. If the PATCH can figure out how to stop the dimensional bleeding, there might be an angle we haven't considered before. Keeping the Slender Man from getting away like he normally does when he just disappears can allow us to finally pin the thing down. Even if it can't be killed, we might be able to keep it contained. That's all a theory, but we might be able to make it work out.

Of course, given our track record, something will go horribly wrong. Oh, well. Let's do it. FOR SCIENCE.

B2's slated to come back sometime tomorrow. I'm sure he'll tell us all about his trip. He never really explained what that was all about.

-Goggles

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Morning Mayhem

Hey, everybody. I'm Goggles. I don't post here most of the time, but Basroil 2's out on what he called 'personal business' and kind of left me in charge of this little pet project of his and Specter's. I'm sure you're all positively anxious to hear how I'm doing. I mean, sure, B2's the big, badass sniper, and Specter runs the show, but let me put it this way: The scientists are the ones who make or break any PTC case, and never let anyone tell you otherwise.

So, all bragging and attempts at blowing my own importance out of proportion aside, my morning's been rather hectic thus far. The PATCH has been kind of acting weird. It's doing a few things off to the side, anticipating orders, and has been compiling dimensional variation reports all night despite being told to power down to minimize risk of overheating. So, we're checking that out. Not sure how long it's been acting like this.

On the subject of Father Paranoia, we've been narrowing down whether or not this is the real deal, or just a guy fucking with us. For once, it's looking like the real deal, in which case, we can expect close cooperation with the Father Paranoia Division of the PTC. This is actually a bad thing. Joint PTC operations have no over-riding protocol for determining chain of command between the two Divisions. Both Divisions tend to retain overall authority over their own personnel, and that can lead to some infighting between the officers of both groups. It's happened before, and usually ends badly. At any rate, this Father Paranoia thing falls under their jurisdiction, but if the two cases are tied together, we're gonna need to work with them. Not looking forward to that. Nothing's worse than getting the science teams of two separate Divisions in the same room. We start off comparing notes, and it eventually degenerates into us stealing each-other's research. Sometimes at gunpoint.

Our dimensional bleeding problem's definitely not getting better, but we think we've managed to contain the damage and keep it from spreading. So we're making progress, for those of you still concerned with that.

Now, one thing we've had to deal with recently. Some cops have been coming around asking a few very specific questions we never want to hear, along the lines of 'Have you seen these people?' At least one of the people 'missing' is in our custody, and at least one other has been confirmed Indoctrinated and executed with a few others. Specter's talking about relocating, but we're running out of places to go. If the cops narrow down our hideout here, then we end up with very little else to work with. And we can't move the PATCH, so we need to stay here. We might have a problem on our hands, but Specter's got to have some ideas. He's gotten us this far. I can't see him letting us down this time.

I'll update sometime tomorrow. Got some test results out of the PATCH to look over. Then it's time for breakfast.

-Goggles

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Good, I was getting bored

Still no word on Mr. Collector's current location. Soon as we get a solid lead, I'm sending a team out. Specter's cleared any shootings for 'permission to make the news.' No lasers, though.

I'd go along myself, but something's come up. I'll probably be gone all next week. Updates to this blog will be made by Goggles in the meantime.

-B2







the marksman is suspicious

Friday, July 8, 2011

OK, then.

So, Specter just called me over to his office, showed me his blog, and I have a theory.

You ready for this?

The blog has schizophrenia.

Mystery solved. Pack it up folks, we're done here.

-B2

Thursday, July 7, 2011

A Friend's Warning

Our Friend decided to leave a little warning over on Specter's blog.

Wanted to get our computer experts on tracing the hacking attempt. Specter said not to bother.

-B2

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Overall priority update

Alright, so, we've been going over our current priorities ever since we've managed to take care of a few of our problems in quick succession.

Priority 1: Killing the Slender Man.

Still no progress, and that's frustrating the hell out of me.

Priority 2: Fixing this dimensional bleeding crap.

There's been some word from the science team on this, actually. Now, according to them, there's been a lot more 'stability' or whatever, ever since the Reintegration Tablet flipped the fuck out. They have no idea why, they have no idea what's going on, and they all have some suspicion that it's just the calm before the storm.

Lovely.

Priority 3: Figuring out what's up with these hacker posts, and the transcript and communication leaks.

Still no luck with this, but, judging from how nobody's tried to bring it up lately, there hasn't been one in a while.

Priority 4: Figuring out the identity of 'A Friend.'

We have no idea where our Friend stands right now. The Wyoming Incident videos at that suburb may have been some attempt to try and tell us something, but if he's working for Father Paranoia, why is he tipping us off to some of the stuff he knows about? It makes no sense. Does he know anything he's not telling us?

Priority 5: Killing Indoctrinated.

This sick fuck's still on my list. No, I haven't forgotten him. But as soon as I can, one bullet, between the eyes. Boom, headshot.

Priority 6: Clearing up whether or not Father Paranoia is involved in any of this at all.

DONE.

Priority 7: Figuring out what's going on with this attack by PTC Internal Affairs.

We're still unsure of whether this was an Indoctrinated attack, or actually was PTC Internal Affairs. If it was Internal Affairs, we've got a problem. If it was Indoctrinated, then see Priority 5.

Priority 8: Ensuring the safety of the Reintegration Tablet.

Not a whole lot of point, now. We got what we wanted out of the Tablet, and it's pretty much become useless ever since the Summer Solstice. We've been leaving the matter alone. Crowley's been on the move, lately, but we can't afford to track his movements. We're spread too thin elsewhere as it is. It's out of our hands.

Priority 9: Ensuring the safety of Dr. Cairo Zelphest.

The situation on Dr. Zelphest's end is now out of our hands, too. Best of luck to him.

 Priority 10: Working out the kinks in the PATCH.

We've got this fixed, for the most part, and the PATCH is now hard at work helping the science team track and compile dimensional distortion and changes so as to make it easier to figure out how to fix it. We might actually make some progress in the near future.

Priority 11: Trying to convince the PTC's financiers to provide additional funding.

ALSO DONE.




This brings us to a series of revised objectives.

1. Kill the Slender Man. Top priority, nothing less. But, that's kind of a 'take shots when the opportunity presents itself' thing rather than 'search and destroy.' Because we haven't seen hide-or-lack-of-hair of Twiggy for ages, and we can't go looking for him, except in the Path of Black Leaves. And we all know how well that one worked out.

2. Fix the dimensional bleeding. With the PATCH upgraded and in a better position to help, we should make some progress.

3. Find out where this hacker guy who keeps leaking transcripts is, and keep him from leaking any further information. That shit's classified for a reason, and it's not making our job easier.

4. Find out where and when the Friend is going to be when he contacts us again. We need to find him and get some answers. Concrete, straightforward answers.

5. Kill that Mr. Collector piece of shit, and any of his Indoctrinated buddies.

6. Narrow down suspects for that last attack, and either clean house or return the favor depending on the culprit. If Internal Affairs did it, they're not talking. And I mean 'not talking.' No confirmation or denial at all. Specter's called out the Head of Internal Affairs on it during a live conference twice now, and he was completely ignored.

7. Narrow down our list of priorities so that we have something in the range of two or three, instead of six. Because this shit is getting ridiculous.

-B2

Sunday, July 3, 2011

What Specter found

OK, Specter couldn't access his blog. Probably bad news, there.

At any rate, he's back safe and sound. What he found definitely implies something else was going on before he showed up.

He found the original Wyoming TV hijacking videos, from the Wyoming Incident, on infinite loop on a big-screen TV. The message he got said to meet the Friend at an address that turned out to be a small house in the suburban area of the city. No sign of Twiggy, no sign of any Indoctrinated, and no sign of anyone else there, except for the fact that there were a few things that had quite apparently been moved recently, and there was no sign of any dust in the house. None. The whole house was fully furnished, had a clean pool in the backyard, and generally looked like it was inhabited, with no sign of what happened to the people who lived there.

He went to the extent of asking the neighbors living near that house about it. They said nobody's lived there since (they think) sometime in 2007. Right around the time things in Wyoming started to go bad.

Specter immediately latched onto the idea of our Friend working for Father Paranoia. That raises a whole bunch of questions, though. I'm not sold on it. We're still not sure if our Friend is actually on our side, here, and if Father Paranoia's actually involved, then all hell could break loose at any given moment.

I don't like this.

-B2