This thread is permanently archived
(setting/closed) Somnus Office
| >Dallas opens the door and gestures for you to enter ahead of him.
"After you, Mr. Gonzales! It's your big day, after all!"
>He grins
| >>275430
"T-Thank you Mr. Ramses..."
>He enters as he forces a professional grin, wearing a simple gray suit with a light blue shirt, contrasting his usual, casual appearance.
| >As the two of you enter, the receptionist stands and bows
"Hello Mr. Ramses Sir! And you must be Mr. Gonzales, please sign in here and take a seat"
>He places a pen on a clipboard on the desk
>Dallas waves very casually at the man at the counter
"Well Mr. Gonzales, you're on your own in there from here! I'll keep in touch."
>He gives you a wink and places an id badge on the door scanner, letting himself in to the facility proper.
| >>275447
"Thank you."
>He takes a moment to sign in then goes to take a seat, looking at the other candidates he will have to compete against.
| >The candidates appear to be mostly people from lower living standards, judging by the low quality suits and general anxiety in the unusual situation. A few stand out, however. One man in a black pinstripe suit with slicked back blonde hair sits across from you. His eyes are a bold green color. As he sees your gaze fall on him, he smiles, stands, and walks over to you.
"Hello there! Mr. Gonzales, was it? You look like the guy to beat here! Name's Jeremiah."
>he offers his hand
| >>275460
>He stands up and offers his own hand to meet the shake.
"Good to meet you, please call me Ryan. Hope you guys haven't been waiting here long."
| >The man smiles
"No, no, I just got here a bit ago myself.It's good to be early for an interview, but too early and you seem desperate, you know?"
>He laughs and glances around the room
"In fact, they should start bringing us in any minute now"
>as if on cue, the interior doors open and a black haired man enters
"Hello candidates! I'm Aaron Erikson, the hiring manager here at Somnus! I'm sure a few of you remember speaking to me over the phone! Let's get this started!"
| >The man gestures for everyone to follow him through the doors. As the general masses begin to shuffle in line behind him, Jeremiah smiles at you
"Well, see you on the inside!!"
>He hops in and mixes into the crowd
| >>275501 >>275496
"Hope you're not that psychic with the interview questions."
>He chuckles as he follows the rest of the candidates inside with Jeremiah.
| >The crowd follows behind the man as he delivers a very generic speech on the company and its goals, the kind you'd hear at any business. Eventually he stops before a simple wooden door and pushes it open, revealing a room with a large wooden table with several chairs, a coffee machine in the corner, and a large screen on the opposite end of the room.
"Everyone in! There are name badges placed around the table, please feel free to get coffee and find your seat!"
| >Jeremiah quickly scans the room, locating his name badge at the far end of the table.
"Hey there Ryan, looks like you're next to me! Isn't that a nifty coincidence!"
>He smiles and takes his seat, opting out of the free coffee.
| >>275517
"Sure is, I must say this interview process is pretty unique though, I guess it's because the corporation just expanded to the city."
>CN replies as he takes his own badge and seat, glancing over at the screen
| "Well, group interviews aren't an entirely new thing. the trick is to stand out but like, in a good way"
>he smiles
>The room is abuzz with small conversation as people find their seats and get coffee, while Aaron stands by the screen observing the crowd. after a brief moment, he speaks
"Alright everyone. Before we get started, it's only fair to warn you. Out of the 15 people attending today, we're only looking to fill 3 positions in R&D"
>The room gets quiet
| "however, after the interview we will be having a small reception for everyone, regardless of the results. those who receive the positions will be given a brief onboarding session and given their level 1 clearance immediately, so they can familiarize themselves with the facilities. They can then join up with the reception later."
>He coughs
"Anyways, let's get started."
| >The interview process takes roughly an hour before wrapping itself up. Most people remain rather quiet, but Jeremiah, yourself and one other person stand out by asking relevant questions and appearing knowledgeable. As the session wraps up, the three of you are called one by one to an office across the hall, starting with Jeremiah. As you're called after him, you pass him on his way out. He smiles and waves before walking off towards the reception.
| >As you enter the office, the hiring manager sits across the desk from you
"So this part is very simple for you. Your associate Mr. Ramses provided most of the details already, in fact. All we need from you is a photograph to print onto the badge itself! please, stand in front of the wall here"
>The man gestures
| "Excellent!"
>The photo is taken and printed directly onto an id badge
"this badge gives you access to the whole first floor here, and as you progress in your training it'll be upgraded to allow access to the appropriate facilities. Congratulations on becoming an employee of Somnus Pharmaceuticals!"
>He opens the door to allow you to leave, and as you exit the final interviewee passes you, a plain looking middle aged man.
| >As you step into the hallway, Dallas greets you
"Well well, congratulations Mr. Rodriguez! I'm sure you're eager to head over to the reception, but how about a quick tour of the facilities, first?"
>his attempts at speaking professionally clash with his appearance, as he made no effort to look professional and strolled in in his leather jacket.
| >Dallas grins
"Well then, first we'll show you the labs here! this is where you'll be working during your training! There's plenty of state of the art technology here, such as.... um...."
>He kinda trails off as he looks around and sees nobody nearby
"Alright, why don't we go ahead and see what you can get out of the computer lab here. I'll scare off anybody who might come by. For some reason people try to avoid me here! It hurts my feelings!"
>He puts on his best fake pout
| >He opens the room next to him and gestures inside. The room is filled with all kinds of complex machinery, with several terminals to interact with them.
"I'm afraid I'm no expert so again, you're on your own! Good luck!"
>He stands by the id pad and leans against the wall.
| >CN looks around for the most appropriate looking terminal and plugs his deck in, getting to work
| >you manage to get through the security without too much effort and find yourself looking at a file directory
>Projects Directoy
>.
>..
>/Anti-sleep(experimental)/
>/Cold Medicine/
>/Meeting Notes/
>/Project Prodigy/
>/Somnus Sleep/
| >/Meeting Notes/
| >Meeting Notes/
>5/6/207X
>A.Erikson
Simple meeting today, aside from one strange occurrence. Boss led the meeting with the usual statistics and reports.
highlights:
-Stocks up since GC announcement
-anti-sleep research coming smoothly
-construction on new HQ likely to finish early, just in time for the new hires to finish training
-cold medicine ↑, placebo effect works!
-Joshua going dark and requests people to pretend they don't recognize him if they see him around? Strange.
| >5/7/207X
>A.Erikson
interesting meeting today. Let's get right to it.
-somnus sleep sales down, pitched working with local water filtration when anti-sleep is less experimental.
-I've been put in charge of hiring! Me! They said there's a reason for it but I have no idea what it could be.
| >5/8/207X
>A.Erikson
no meetings for me today, I've been calling interviewees for the past few hours. was told to pay special attention to a few standouts. we'll see how it goes.
| "Hmm... not much but to go down the list I suppose..."
>CN quickly copies the text for reference before moving on to the next item
>/Anti-sleep(experimental)/
| >Anti-sleep(experimental)/
>Goals:
Product designed to effectively and efficiently stave off sleep for days while countering most negative side effects
>Practical Applications:
-increased workplace productivity. more waking hours = more time to work
-sell partnered with Somnus Sleep to counter the effects when you DO want to sleep. 2-for-1 packages at slightly discounted rate
>Status:
Currently not ready for distribution. Test subjects prone to hallucination and paranoia
| >/Cold Medicine/
| >Cold Medicine/
>Goals:
Product designed to alleviate the effects of the common cold
>Practical Applications:
Low development cost, high returns. Increased productivity when distributed in the office.
>Status:
Currently on store shelves.
| /Project Prodigy/
| >CAUTION: Project Prodigy access RESTRICTED to board members and CEO ONLY. All access to this directory, even those with proper authorization, will be TRACKED.
>Proceed? Y/N
| "Tch, dammit."
>N
>/Somnus Sleep/
| >Somnus Sleep/
>Goals:
Induce sleep.
>Practical Applications:
Highly successful with all test subjects. High Success Rate, Fast-Acting. Good for insomnia.
>Status:
On store shelves, extra strength provided with subscriptions. On order with private military organizations for use as a tranquilizer.
>NOTE:
Product developed entirely by CEO Gregson.
| >>275735
>CN calmly exhales and takes a moment to copy the files while he walks over to Dallas real fast
"Uh... just to warn you I'm about to do something risky, so just be ready in case things pop off."
>CN walks back and see if he can bypass the tracker for Project Prodigy
| >You manage to bypass the tracking and gain access to the file
>Project Prodigy/
>File 1
>A.Gregson
We've finally begun our research. Starting with my own genetic code, and splicing in code from the most intelligent of our subjects and staff, we've managed to create several embryo that exhibit enhanced brain activity. We have hired some low-level goons to try and collect subjects that exhibit a degree of physical prowess. Waiting on results.
| >File 2
>A.Gregson
Progress is coming along smoothly, however some of our hired hands have found themselves in custody. It was expected, but it's happening far quicker than we thought. Luckily, our proxies in the deal have not been revealed, but at this rate it's only a matter of time.
>File 3
>A.Gregson
The source of our headaches as been found. Some two-bit detective sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. We've hired some people to take him out.
| >File 4
>A.Gregson
Our muscle failed. Luckily none were captured, but they don't want anything to do with this guy anymore. Despite our setbacks because of this detective, progress on the project is proceeding smoothly. We have a working subject now, being aged rapidly. I've got Erikson falsifying his documents, so he'll need to be dealt with. His brat seems to be quite capable himself. Note to self to keep him close, but not too close.
| >File 5
>A.Gregson
The thorn in my side has finally been dealt with. I had to sacrifice my daughter to finally put him in his place. She was a liability, and might have slipped and said something about my new heir. Two birds, one stone. The subject is coming along remarkably. He has my eyes. Not much else, but there's something at least.
| >File 6
>A.Gregson
That damn detective managed to somehow bust out of the cell he was being kept in. No matter, I've hired someone to take care of him. A real justice-freak, and as an added bonus the detectives former partner. If anybody can track him down it's this guy. Just wish he was a little less unhinged, but no matter. He'll be dealt with soon enough as well.
| >File 7
>A.Gregson
The subject is finally complete. I got some fine samples from an associate in Glitch City, who also let me know about an interesting development there. Some sort of biological weapon. We'll have to research this.
>File 8
>A.Gregson
I've named the boy Joshua. He's calm, obedient, and strong. More importantly, he's quiet. He's already taken out several competitors and nobody knows any details. My heir is a remarkable success.
| >The final file is dated several months after the one prior
>File 9
>A.Gregson
Our detective has been tracked down to glitch city, a remarkable coincidence as we were planning to plant our seeds there as it was. I'll be bringing Joshua with me and having him blend in with the people of the city. It'll be a good exercise for him, and he may turn up something our dog didn't.
| "Bingo..."
>CN quickly makes a copy of the files and discreetly leaves the room towards Dallas
"Well that is some pretty remarkable equipment, I can tell that stuff is state of the art."
| >Dallas smirks
"Indeed indeed! It's quite the stuff! I take it you had no issues getting it to work?"
>He talks as he walks
"Anyways, I'm famished, think I might crash that reception for some food myself!"
| >As the two of you walk, you come up to the reception hall doors.
"Well, after you Mr. Gonzales!"
>He gestures towards the doors, but something seems off. With all those people, you'd expect to hear more noise, or any noise at all for that matter
| >Dallas can't stop himself from laughing
"Oh, man, could you be more cliche?"
>He reaches into his coat and pulls out a handgun
"Well, worst that happens is I scare a few new hires, right? You good in a fight?"
>He leans against the wall on one side of the doors
| >Dallas smirks
"Aw, where's the fun in that? Aren't you even a little curious? Just keep your head down and you'll be fine!"
| >>275790
"Considering I know where Asher is and the fact that I've so far gotten this done without tripping an alarm I really have no reason to listen to that suggestion, especially since this is the first job I've done with no complications, something I've really like to keep going."
| >Dallas frowns
"fine, fine! whatever floats your boat, man!"
>He puts his gun back in his jacket
"Side door then, down the hall. Whatever's going on seems like it's just in this area so try to act natural. There's a smoking area out there so it's not too unheard of for employees to head out that way. You smoke?"
>He pulls out a box of cigarettes and offers one
| "No but I do today, come on, let's get out of here."
>He takes the cig for his "smoke break".
| >The two make their way to the door, Dallas waving casually at the people they pass. Most noticeably avoid him.
"Man, never thought being this hated would be so convenient..."
They step out the door to the smoking area, a small enclosure overlooking an alley. Dallas lights his cigarette and takes a drag
"let's get you on out of here then"
>He puts his back to the fence and holds his hands out to give you a boost
"I'll be right behind ya"
| >>275830
"This isn't going to be one of those things where you say you'll do it but you actually don't?"
| >He smiles
"Nah, you haven't given me my evidence yet. Can't be just letting you get away with busting Ash out without it, now can I? Besides, I gotta live to confront this Gregson guy."
| >Dallas begins to climb the fence as the door behind him opens
>The blonde man from the interview strolls out, smiling
"Ah, CN, I was hoping you'd come visit but it seems you'd rather run away! I've looked into you, you know, but I never expected to see you here!"
>he immediately pulls out small knives from his suit jacket and throws them at Dallas, a couple hitting him in his leg as he falls over the fence
"And Mr. Ramses! My Father will be so disappointed!"
| "Shit, let's get the fuck out of here!"
>Dallas rips the knives out of his leg and drops them on the ground, wincing in pain
"Go!"
>He begins to run through the pain down the alley
>The blonde man simply smiles and waves from behind the fence
| >>275854
"Yes well hopefully this will be the last time we do see each other!"
>>275856
>He runs away with Dallas
"Dammit *this* close to a clean escape, *this* close."
| >Dallas laughs while running
"Ha, well, the best laid plans and all that! Still, far from the worst run I've had to do"
>He winces at the pain in his leg as he runs
"How about we head back to Asher and go over todays events?"
| >The two make their escape and catch a cab to the Lily Pad, where they walk to the bunker Asher is being kept in
>Dallas winces with every step down the ladder, despite bandaging his leg on the ride over.
"Bleh, bad time to lose my health insurance plan"
>He smiles
| >The two enter the room where Asher is, with Dallas bringing up the rear
>Asher looks up, apparently reading in his spare time
"Well, sure hope there's good news here! Don't imagine you'd have brought CN back if there wasn't though."
| >>275892
"Hold on, I got a first aid kit, let me look at the injuries."
>>275897
"Yea, I did, it's pretty definitive too I'd say."
| >Dallas sighs
"Probably a good thing we didn't go in guns blazing. That guy was scary calm, and this is coming from me"
>Asher looks concerned
"You get shot again Dallas?"
| "knives, actually, if you can believe it! Who throws knives these days!"
>He sounds genuinely offended at the concept
| >Asher laughs
"Well, as long as they didn't take you down. So CN, what did you find?"
| >>275924
"Long story short it involved this clone experiment called Project Prodigy to make a perfect heir or something like that. He didn't like you getting close to it so CEO guy killed his daughter to keep her quiet and framed you for it."
>He opens the files on his deck
"They're all there."
| "fuckin' hell"
>Asher lights a cigarette and starts smoking
"I expected some sort of coverup, but this..."
>He glances through the papers before one catches his eye
"Hm? A contact in Glitch City, huh? I wonder..."
| >Dallas laughs
"Well, good news is I don't have to kill ya! The other good news is I can go kill this Gregson asshole now. Never did like him. Suppose that blonde fella was his clone? Another to the list I suppose. Not sure how I'll get to them now, though."
>He turns to CN
"Anyways, thanks for the help pal. Never been so happy to lose my job"
| >>275965
>Asher shakes his head
"No, I don't. But I think I may have been on their trail. Went cold after the riots, though. Guess I'm just destined to be wrapped up with these guys."
| >>275970
"No prob Bob, at least Asher doesn't have to stay cooped up here anymore."
>>275973
"What are you going to do now then?"
| "Well, get back to work, probably get back to driving the cab a bit, run the office, stuff like that. Mostly enjoy some fresh air. Of course, I'll follow this case as well. Won't really be free until it's resolved, y'know?"
>He takes another drag on his cigarette
| "Yeah, Lily is probably worried sick. Plus I have to pay Reg my rent"
>He smiles
"What about you, Dallas?"
>Dallas smiles his usual annoying smile
"Well, I'm gonna get the guys that tried to play me, of course! Ramses is known for cursing people!"
>Asher groans
"You used that god awful name again? If anybody should have been locked up it's you"
>The two laugh
| "sorry, this guy just kinda rubs off on ya after a while"
>Asher coughs and cuts his laughter off
"It's true that there's still a lot going on, but at the very least we have allies we can trust. But enough about this. I'm going to go check in with Lily and get things back to normal."
>Dallas speaks up
"I'll stay here, place works surprisingly well for having the worst security ever."
| >>276037
"I guess I'll head home for the time being, I'm still pretty busy and I should put this into somewhere place."
| "probably a good idea. I'll see ya around, pal"
>Dallas smiles at him
"Oh, I forgot, I had these made for both of you"
>He tosses Asher and CN keys
"key lead outta here, so if you come in you don't get stuck. what a weird system whoever built this place had"
>he shakes his head and shrugs
>Asher catches the key
"Yeah, thanks. See ya around, Dal."
>He walks over and opens the door
"Oh, and change the entry code"
>He walks out
| "Thanks..."
>He leaves soon after
This thread is permanently archived
| >The office building is in great shape, clean and well kept.The front doors open up into a lobby filled with a white interior, several chairs, and a reception desk. Several of the chairs are full with people in cheap suits, all looking somewhat anxious. Behind the desk is an oddly muscular man for a receptionist.