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Paranoid: An Adventure in Extreme Fishing[Lanun Spoilers]

[Image: Happiness_is_Mandatory_by_Joebles.jpg]


I'm Sel-R-AHC-1.
This thread is not about pirates.

This is the story of Alpha Complex.
The Patrian empire collapsed. The great cities sealed themselves away in magical protections.
Before the fall, Alpha Complex had been the administration centre for agriculture across the empire.
The great magical automatons that administered the tasks were mostly annihilated.

All but one.
A great spirit that administered over the fishing fleet of the empire.

Seeing its potential value the last high magisters worked over its program extensively. Thy turned it from an automaton into a computer, one that would look after the populace when they died. They programmed it to be on the lookout for the cultists and mutants that had destroyed the Empire. They programmed it to look after the remaining populace to the best of its abilities. They tried and failed to get it to stop being so obsessed with bloody fishing.

For generations now the Computer has been running Alpha-Comlex.


To annihilate any latent support for the cultists that had permeated into society, the computer created a vast network of security clearances, and a powerful internal security force to police its populace.
[In reality there had been no support for the cultists that had destroyed the empire within Alpha Complex. But after a few generations of ruthless cracking down on a non-existent enemy many secret societies began to form. The colour based clearance system created a vast illiterate underclass, ready to believe almost anything since almost all information was unavailable to them.]

To stop genetic drift, it has used its innate Body magic facilities to create a vast cloning system, creating new population only when required. Mutants were ruthlessly purged as the enemies of orthodoxy. Only a select few registered mutants were allowed to exist, as a tolerated underclass.
[Of course the reality was that due to the chaos protocols inherent in the computers operating matrix, large portions of the populace were mutated. Barely any of them felt like admitting this to the computer though.]

And of course, the Complex was fully dedicated to fishing. The populace was informed daily and nightly on proper fishing protocol. Proper fishing procedure. What types of fish were the best. It became mandatory to list the various procedures in reeling out and reeling in before sleep time. The majority of the populace enjoyed a small connection to the buisness as they worked in the vast underground kelp farms.
[Of course this vast ritualization of the process coupled with a complete lock down from the outside world meant that any actual information about fishing was covered up with vast amounts of misinformation and stifling protocol.]

You want to know more? I'm afraid that information is not available at your security clearance.
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Troubleshooter Maksim-R-MAP, here to provide you with collected information on the Great Outside in the immediate vicinity of the Complex. Please sign the attached form in triplicate to confirm the receipt of this documentation.

Stay alert! Trust no-one! Keep your fishing rod at your side at all times!
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Let's go OOC for a bit while I explain the plan.

This is a straight out summon rush. It was initially planned to be for Hyborem, although that is currently subject to change.
Bob is ded-lurking me, and we discussed possible civs for the summon.

We talked about Mercurians with Luchuirp for a little bit, but Hyborem is probably more fun.
Einon Logos was our first choice. Philosophical is the best trait for rushing to Hyborem, and Sanctuary would give some good insurance for a pure builder rush towards Hyborem. Good security, mixed with good speed. I would have liked to get my hands on him.
Our second choice was Hanah. Now she can *probably* do the job faster than anyone... but she is tied heavily to map concerns. I'm hoping we get some water available to us. Otherwise we're a little screwed.
Also discussed was Cardith Lorda. The Kurios are also a very fast summoning civ, with Philosophical and the inherent early economic strength of super cities and a high happy cap.

Ultimately we decided that Tasunke would be a good third choice instead of Cardith though, if everyone else wanted the summoner civs then breaking heads would be an acceptable alternative.



Now... I'm looking at the list of other Civs. Two things cause some concern.

The first thing is Tasunke. Nasty nasty rush civ. Without the protection from sanctuary this civ could cause us some big problems down the line. Befriending them will be diplomatic priority number 1 if we start nearby. I have some ideas in this direction already...

The second thing that stands out is Irgy and his Kuriotates. As I said, Kuriotates are a good summoner civ. Irgy has been as vocal as myself in talking about summoning civs around the other games. I would honestly be surprised if he *wasn't* trying to use the Kuriotates for summoning. My only hope is that he doesn't pick the same civ as me, and that I can summon faster. Ideally I'll be able to sound Irgy out diplomatically, and we'll come to some agreement.

With regards to the entirety of the other picks, I think everyone is still trying to showcase choices that haven't been looked at.
Kandros Fir got a rather raw deal in PBEM1, so Ichabod is revisiting him. Irgy is probably going for summoning rather than a more traditional Kuriotate game. Dain, Tasunke and Ethne are all unplayed leaders.
Just my opinion, but I think this was only technically unrestricted. Leaders were picked based on the ability to provide a unique game. Next PBEM will probably have to start seeing some out and out repeats though.



Now, I do have some flexibility. I could go for Angels if it becomes apparent that the Devils are out of reach. We will have to see how things pan out...
For now, the plan is to set up a nice research factory to work towards devils.

Explanation of the Paranoia setting that I'll be using for Diplomacy to come.
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Maksim Wrote:Troubleshooter Maksim-R-MAP, here to provide you with collected information on the Great Outside in the immediate vicinity of the Complex. Please sign the attached form in triplicate to confirm the receipt of this documentation.

Stay alert! Trust no-one! Keep your fishing rod at your side at all times!

The troubleshooter team leader, Deddon-R-IVA-1, had been sent to survey the surface for the first above ground colony since the cataclysm. And he was very confused.

According to the records, the land around him was supposed to be a lush paradise, on the shores of the ever bountiful ocean. He was supposed to report the most likely sites to set up fishing fleets, and report if any mutant cultist scum tried to sabotage his efforts.

There had been no sign of the saboteurs, but he knew that the ocean was supposed to be wetter than this.

After a few days of searching he had thought that he'd finally met with success when he encountered a running water source. Perhaps this would be a good location to establish a fishing colony? After 8 days of angling however, he was forced to come to the conclusion that this was not the great and terrible fishing spot of legends.

The terse words he received in reply to his first communique seemed to agree. They were also very averse to the notion of "land fish", and he had received official censure for his reports on the horned creatures he had seen wandering along the riverbank. He resolved to ignore the creatures, which official reports called "Deer". It was rather hard when they kept eating parts of his official camouflage tent. Even worse, his secret society masters in the "Fellowship of Sierra" wanted him to bring back a live sample for them all to admire!


The increasingly stern tone of his orders made him wonder if they were going to bring him back to base for interrogation soon. The thought was making him quite sad. He resolved to hide this thought from his team. Happiness was mandatory after all. Best if he started losing the order dispatches for the time being though...

There was nothing to be done. He was just going to have to search further afield. Once he found a real fishing site all would be forgiven. He could claim the lost orders were the fault of his subordinates and claim all the credit for finding a fishing site. Maybe he would even be promoted to Orange...
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In summary, that is an awful initial site. I'll be looking for something more coastal. Even if I wasn't the Lanun I'd be hoping for somewhere a little better than that.

Not quite sure which direction to go in though.
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//: INITIATE CHECK-IN PROCEDURE...

> DEDICATED LURKING UNIT B0B-CH_I11ING_W0RTH LOADED

> ESTABLISHING BATTLEFIELD CONTROL, STANDBY...

> TERRITORY SITUATION ANALYSIS: SUB-SUB-OPTIMAL. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE EVACUATION OF SECURITY PERSONAL TO COORDINATES 1_E_ , RECON TEAMS TO HOT POINT COORDINATES 1_N_ , 1_NE_ . CIVILIAN CREW DESTINATION: UNKNOWN. RECALCULATE FOLLOWING ANALYSIS OF TOPOGRAPHY REVEALED AT MILITARY VECTOR TERMINUS.

> B0B-CH_I11ING_W0RTH SHUTTING DOWN. HAVE A NICE DAY.
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Ran a Hyborem test game... but my god was it not representative of the average.

Lanun capital spot was a plains hill start, and had room for three coves, as well as a pearl, a fish and a clams resource. The early research to fishing was speeded up by having a riverside incense available. I got the free settler event, and was up to 4 cities by T50, with the way that the terrain was set up in a sort of bay formation meaning that they could share coves and resources from the capital easily. Immediately after I lightbulbed to found Ashen Veil on T51, I got the great prophet event which knocked out half/two thirds of the cost of Infernal Pact. Hyborem was summoned on T59.

Honestly, I'm not sure if the game could have been more favourable if I'd scripted it myself.

EDIT:
[Image: Civ4ScreenShot0085-2.jpg?t=1301170665]
Overview shot on T61. I'm going to use the file to check out what techs it is useful to grab for Hyborem.
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I know what's going on, but some pictures for the not quite as dedicated lurkers might be nice, if only to show how ridiculously awful the land is =)



Also I'm afraid that Ichabod is the coolest dude in this game, by virtue of having his thread title be a Dwarf Fortress reference. But you're probably second!
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Dwarf fortress and Paranoia... Everyone really is doomed.

The crack troubleshooter teams of Alpha Complex spent an age wandering the wastelands.
[Image: Civ4ScreenShot0092-1.jpg?t=1301498838]

The devastation that Alpha Complex had protected them from was severe. The world was an endless desolate, windswept wasteland.


[Image: Civ4ScreenShot0091.jpg?t=1301498837]

Fortunately, the clones of Alpha Complex knew one thing.
Where there was water, there were fish. And where there were fish, there was life.

[Image: Civ4ScreenShot0103-1.jpg?t=1301498605]

Here is the capital, Hex. Administered by citizen Rid-U-LLY-8, with assistance from Pond-R-STB-11.

Clearance Ultraviolet
The secret of the computers sudden urgency in seeking surface colonies was known only to a few.

Over the years the High Programmers had kept experimenting. Creating specialized personality subroutines for a dozen different circumstances.

The computer was going mad*. Torn apart from the inside by a dozen different personalities. At times it was forced into complete operational paralysis*. For a while a complete Reboot was discussed.

But a solution had been found. By localizing these disparate personalities to Comp Nodes, and sending them to be chief administrative AI of the new surface cities the computer could rid itself of the subsystems, without mandating High Programmers to begin erasing parts of its central nodes.


Rumours that the personality subroutines sent off the grid like this were being set up for later deniable purging are of course treason.

Have a good day citizen.

*Alright. Madder.
*Much worse than the partial operational paralysis that was day to day life in Alpha Complex.

Hex
Purpose of creation: Research and Development.
Reason for "Obsolescence as Operational Component": Noticeable tolerance towards mutants and cultists. Development of future/past loops. Out of Cheese Error. Focal point for computer sub-personality dissatisfaction.
High programmer views: That'll teach that uppity machine for complaining about how I treat my infrareds.
OOC view: The city will get pearls, crabs and two coves. Pretty decent... it does have the fairly obvious downside of coming with no workable tiles at all until fishing is researched though. cry This map really is a desolate wasteland.

[Image: Civ4ScreenShot0102-2.jpg?t=1301501834]

The data links predictably showed their scurrilous lies, demeaning the efficiency and productivity of the glorious Alpha Complex.



[Image: Civ4ScreenShot0096-1.jpg?t=1301498776]

In the northern wastes... the unlucky Desert Exploration And Tactical Hazard unit encountered surface worlders. Worse, they didn't even have a security clearance!

Initial suggestions to shoot them all and say they were commie-mutant-traitors were vetoed by team leader Deddon-R. (Clearance-UV: Rumours of Free Enterprise involvement have now been confirmed. Deddon-R-IVA-1 was terminated.)

A diplomacy sphere was handed to the self styled leader of the group.

Quote:In the middle of the night your scouts hear a commotion.

A group of red jump-suited individuals seem to be arguing about something.
The largest one is clutching his apparently injured foot, and whimpering in pain.
"Shut up you idiot. You'll wake them up."
"Too late"
"Oh no! We'll get surface plague. Just drop the orb and run!"

They run.

Investigating the orb they left behind, you see that it is labelled "Diplomacy Sphere"
With a little examination you find the right button to push.

A projection of an enormous unblinking eye appears before you.
[Image: 250px-FCeye.gif]
GREETINGS SURFACE MUTANT.
I AM THE COMPUTER. CHIEF OVERSEER OF THE ALPHA COMPLEX.
YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO RUN DIPLOMACY.
DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE Y/N?

It looks like you can punch in messages, which the computer will analyse and respond to.

Through this sphere, official diplomatic relations between the Alpha Complex and the Amurites have been established.
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Do you perhaps have a section of code named "Auric Ulvin" that has been affecting your decisions and wanderings? Maybe he was killed by a floating contraption of wood and cloth and his consciousness assimilated?
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