Richard's Index

Cool Regime Change -- Session Log 10/5/03

"Exposure"

Game Master: Richard McCluney

The PCs return to the Bed & Breakfast. Benny gets information about alien abductions together for Kutch. Charles says he'd been messing with the aliens' computers back at the Laboratory for Human Studies, and he'd found a serious problem for the Company. The aliens have developed an Internet-like interface for their datanets, with the information automatically translated to English. They've made this accessible from the human Internet. The problem is that Blacknet, the Company's secret intranet, is also accessible from the aliens' interface, with all the security controls disabled, so that all the Company's secret information is available in the clear. Charles thinks it's now possible to access Blacknet from the Internet through the aliens' interface [which for convenience will be referred to as Aliennet]. Ginger sends a bird-bot message to Company headquarters letting them know about the breach.

The PCs access Aliennet on their laptops and spend some time browsing through the Company's secret files, most of which are normally inaccessible to them because it's usually available on a need-to-know basis only. The Company has been engaged in any number of illegal activities, such as unconstitutional searches and seizures, erasing peoples' memories, and killing dangerous people like UFO cult leaders. "We could have a Company-gate on our hands," says Benny, "or a Star-gate." After a while the Company starts taking the information physically offline, apparently in response to Ginger's message.

The aliens' own data networks are available, translated into English with an Internet-like interface, but are hard to navigate because of the references to unfamiliar culture and advanced technology -- something like a caveman trying to make sense of a modern newspaper. However, Benny has no trouble finding pictures of naked alien females. Neither the Grimmans nor the Threans seem to have pornography per se, so what Benny gets is mostly medical-related information, but he's happy with this. The Grimmans have no nudity taboo, and often bathe or swim nude in public. [The translation AIs also "translate" the pictures into what humans would see in visible light, otherwise Benny wouldn't find the Grimman pictures so interesting.]

Jerry looks up history. He's curious why the lichen from the Grimmans' home world was genetically engineered 100,000 years ago, yet the Grimmans say they've only had inter-world travel for 10,000 years. Why the big gap? He finds that three separate civilizations existed on the Grimmans' home world [called Grimmarth in the English translation] before the Grimmans developed their civilization.

First there were the Zira, 100,000 years ago. They were a Third Level race, much like humans, except with gray skin. They built a technological civilization much like Earth's. They destroyed themselves in a nuclear war when they started running out of fossil fuels. Enough of the people survived to continue the race.

Next came the Arcologists, named for the huge arcologies they built starting about 80,000 years ago. The twisted metal skeletons of some of their arcologies survive on Grimmarth to this day. The Arcologists were probably the same species as the Zira. They were peaceful, but their culture was stagnant. When an ice age started 60,000 years ago, they couldn't cope with it, and their civilization collapsed.

By the time the ice retreated, 40,000 years ago, the natives of the Grimman homeworld had evolved into a new, Fourth Level species, the Nossians. Devoted to science, they are prone to dangerous experiments. Their civilization on Grimmarth was destroyed 20,000 years ago in what is believed to have been an experiment to control earthquakes. Instead, it made them a lot worse. Volcanoes erupted everywhere as the planet's crust partially melted. Huge amounts of both carbon dioxide and volcanic dust entered the atmosphere, making the climate highly unstable. The Nossians had established offworld colonies before the disaster, so their civilization survives, just not on Grimmarth. They are members of the same trade alliance that the Grimmans belong to. The offworld colonies judged the experiment a success, using what was learned in the disaster to develop their own earthquake-control systems, and considering the loss of their homeworld a reasonable price to pay to make their own worlds safer.

The Grimmans were genetically engineered to do manual labor for the physically-disinclined Nossians. Stronger and tougher, they survived the disaster and eventually built their own civilization. Jerry finds their eyesight was genetically engineered, but the psionics evolved naturally after the disaster. Some speculate the Grimmans' evolution was speeded up due to their harsh environment.

Benny looks up how the Grimmans were created. He gets documents listing the genetic differences between Nossian and Grimman nucleotide sequences, a description of the steps taken to make the changes (mostly indecipherable to Benny, whose knowledge of genetics is 3 Tech Levels behind the aliens'), and a list of the abilities added onto the Nossian template. Grimmans are stronger, faster, more agile, and tougher. They can "see" the entire electromagnetic spectrum up to 1-meter radio wavelengths. They can sense electric and magnetic fields directly. All their other senses are enhanced. They are highly resistant to electricity, heat, cold, and crushing damage. They regenerate rapidly and regrow lost body parts. The price of all these abilities is that they have to eat a lot more and use a lot more oxygen. In a closed room they would pass out in one-third the time a human would, and would starve to death in a few days with no food Fortunately, they are true omnivores and can eat just about anything organic, though they prefer human-style food.

Jerry wonders if the Grimmans "junk DNA" was removed to make room for all this, but finds it was retained for reasons obscure to him. New chromosomes were added instead. Benny discusses the possibility of making telepathy more widespread among humans. They discuss legal and ethical issues, like the need to expand "peeping Tom" laws. Jerry agrees that more human telepaths should be possible and desirable. The Company does try to recruit any telepaths it comes across. Jerry searches the datanets for the differences between the Grimmans' culture and the Nossians, and comes up with what seem to be Nossian artistic critiques of weather control, describing the weather in terms something like a symphony.

Benny decides to look in the nearest town for some local entertainment. Jerry says he could use a "cheap laugh" and goes with him. They find a redneck bar with "live entertainment" and go in. The clientele is mostly blue collar white males, farmers and construction workers. Jerry and Benny don't really fit in. They order beer, Benny getting a light. The entertainment starts, turns out to involve dancing women not wearing much. The bar customers throw money at them. Benny joins in enthusiastically. Jerry decides he really has better things to do, so he leaves while the rednecks call out jokes about his manhood or lack thereof. Benny fits right in and hits it off well with the rednecks in spite of their prejudice. He throws over $100 and gets a dancer in his lap. She asks if he'd like to meet her after the show. Benny agrees and has a very pleasant if somewhat expensive evening.

Jerry finds a less rowdy bar nearby, with a country music band playing. He goes in and orders a light. He listens in on the locals' conversation, and finds they are not at all happy with the aliens setting up their base nearby without asking anyone's by-your-leave. They're upset enough to consider doing something about it. They know it would be suicide to face the aliens' weapons directly. They speculate on the possibility of ambushing one of the aliens while he's away from the base alone. Jerry isn't sure how serious they are; it's the sort of thing people say when they've had a few. Some of the locals say they've spotted aliens outside the base in the nearby woods and farms. A couple insist the aliens they saw were green-skinned, not gray. The others aren't sure.

Jerry leaves the bar and calls Ginger to report possible Jungle Man sightings outside the base, and that the locals may be thinking of attacking the aliens. Ginger thinks the Jungle Man sightings might be genuine. The Grimmans ignore the Jungle Men unless attacked by them, so they probably wouldn't bother to prevent them leaving the base. Ginger also says she expects it's only a matter of time before they have some more human vs. Grimman incidents.

Jerry tries to call Benny, but Benny is otherwise occupied and doesn't answer his cell phone. Jerry heads on back to the bed & breakfast. He asks to be awakened an hour early in case Benny needs a ride. The next morning Benny gets up before his companion, leaves her a generous tip in addition to what he paid the night before. He showers and calls Jerry for a ride.

Jerry goes to pick up Benny. A light rain is falling. Jerry tells Benny what he overheard at the country bar. While they're driving back to the bed & breakfast, there is an explosion overhead. They stop and investigate. There is a power line running along side the road, and a transformer on one of the poles has exploded. They look around for Jungle Men or other threats, but see none. Just flashes from a couple more transformers exploding.

They continue on back to the bed & breakfast. Jerry, driving, notices the hood of the car is turning gray. They are almost back, so they just continue the rest of the way. When they arrive, they recognize the alien lichen growing on the car's non-metallic body. They conclude the lichen is what is causing problems with the power lines, too. The power is out at the bed & breakfast. The PCs call Company headquarters to let them know about the lichen. The people back at headquarters sound stressed out already, and the PC's report on the lichen fails to cheer them up.

The PCs drive to the Grimman base with Charles and Ginger. It's still raining, and the lichen on the car continues to grow. They tires blow out before they get to the base, and they have to walk the rest of the way. When they get to the base, they find a long line of people trying to get in. Some look like locals, some don't. Some are wearing costumes that look like they belong at a science fiction convention. Most are being turned away by the National Guard personnel at the checkpoint, but not before arguing very loudly why they should be allowed on the base. Some want to tell the aliens where to go, some want to buy stuff from or sell stuff to the aliens, some want to join the aliens, some want the aliens to help them with their personal problems, some want to save the alien's souls, some claim to have been telepathically commanded to come to the base by the aliens. When turned away, most don't leave, but hang around outside the perimeter established by the National Guard, forming a growing, grumbling crowd.

Finally the PCs make it through the line. The Guards are not having a good day, with a lot of their equipment failing in addition to having to deal with a mob of fruitcakes. The PCs are cleared to enter the base, making those who have been turned away even more upset. The PCs go to the Human Studies lab [the players keep calling this Human Resources, but that's not correct].

Vruf and Kutch are waiting for them. Benny tells them about the lichen breakdowns, the unhappy crowd outside, and the grumbling by the locals. Vruf says he's identified some possible solutions to the plastic replacement problem and asks if the PCs want the Grimmans to go ahead with that. The PCs say yes. Vruf says to repair any damaged equipment, they'll need specifications. The PCs promise to acquire these. Kutch expresses surprise that the military would be willing to supply specifications for their equipment to the aliens, whom they regard as possible enemies. The PCs admit this may not be likely.

They discuss the possibility of Jungle Men having escaped to the surrounding countryside. Vruf promises a sweep of the surrounding area to get rid of them. They PCs warn them about the hostility of the local rednecks, and get into a discussion of what 'rednecks' are. Kutch says they have several instruction manuals on file on how to be a redneck. Benny says they're probably intended for humor, and Kutch makes a note of this. Vruf says they can handle any hostile locals.

Jerry asks Vruf about his Guild logo, a canine's head biting a Grimman's hand. Vruf says the closest thing in English is the Veterinarians' Guild. It's for Grimmans who take care of Second and Third Level creatures. The PCs ask why Vruf and Kutch speak English so well, when Tisa didn't know any at first. Tisa hadn't studied English. Her job is dealing with any language difficulties the customers may have, and the customers are Fourth Level and up. Kutch knows English because he's been studying humans for a long time now. Vruf learned it when he was assigned his current job.

Benny gives Kutch the information about alien abductions. Kutch matches the descriptions of the bug-eyed gray aliens with a race known as the Mantris. [Note: the comment 'I forgot the printout, so I don't have their name' was the GM talking, not Kutch.] The males look much like the descriptions given by the abductees. The females are the same, but taller. They are an old Fourth Level race, members of the trade alliance. They are telepathic and their air vehicles are saucer-shaped, both details also matching the abductees' descriptions. Jerry notes there have been saucer sightings on Earth since the 1940s. Kutch says the Mantris will have a lot of explaining to do.

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