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[Arcvasti]

3

Yeah, figured we needed either Empathy or Grace for medical people.

[Culise]

3.  Let's run our friend's corp right into the ground give ourselves a tragic backstory to justify our inevitable conquest of Alaska do what's best by our people for as long as we can.

[Vgray]

You nobly refuse to adopt robot labor, even as your bottom line feels the sting.

A few months later, you're catching up on tech blogs when you see a photograph of one of your robots—only, it's not your robot. The story is about an upstart Chinese robotics company, funded in part by the Chinese government itself. "We believe this company will help us finally make Mao's dream a reality," says party official Zheng Guowei. "If robots do all the labor, it will allow China to modernize while at the same time breaking out of the bad cycles of exploitation that occur in the West."

How in the world did the Chinese steal your technology?

Your own computer security personnel claim there's no evidence of a break-in. Unconvinced, you hire a consultant to look into the matter. The consultant finds malware lurking not only in your laptop but in the brains of your robots, including Joyeuse. The security consultant says there are tell-tale signs of the malware being Chinese in origin—he can tell, for example, that the person who remotely logged into your machines used a Chinese keyboard layout, given some particular Unicode characters lingering in your servers' RAM.

"But I had all kinds of antivirus running!" you say. "I took every reasonable precaution!"

The computer security consultant shakes his head. "That stuff's such a scam. It detects the script kiddies but leaves you vulnerable to the real bad guys. You know what happened to McAfee, the guy who started the whole antivirus business? Fled to Belize eventually to hook up with young women and do drugs." He proceeds to tell you some sordid tale behind the man whose software scans all your computers, but you aren't listening.

You take advantage of your computer consultant to educate yourself and your robots on code exploits and the proper defenses against them, a blind spot in your computer science education. (+Autonomy) But for now, the damage is done.

Soon, you find your prices being undercut and your profits suffer.

A few weeks later, you wake up to a blaring alarm while it's still dark. It's your phone, and it only has that annoying alarm for a few specific callers. You reach over and check it.

From: PhysSec Bot 12

EXPLOSION at Alaska factory. Fire department on its way. Three human workers missing. Some robots trapped inside. Suspected cause of explosion is bombing.

What objective will you tell your physical security robots to prioritize until you get down there?

1) Free the trapped robots.
2) Look for the missing, human workers.
3) Try to find the bomber.
4) Try to rescue the expensive laser cutters and 3D printers.
5) Stay safe.

Spoiler: Current Stats (click to show/hide)

Year: 2025

30-year-old Isaac Tesla
  Humanity: 91%
  Gender: male
  Fame: 8 (Nationally Famous)
  Wealth: 0 (Broke)
  Romance: none

Joyeuse

  Autonomy: 14 (Stable)
  Military: 14 (Stable)
  Empathy: 11 (Stable)
  Grace: 14 (Stable)

Relationships
  Professor Ziegler (Bad): 21%
  Elly (Very Good): 67%
  Josh (Bad): 47%
  Mark (Bad): 32%
  ?: 50%
  Tammy (Bad): 17%
  ?: 50%
  ?: 50%

[Neonivek]

You know what happened to McAfee

Yeah unfortunately I do... then again McAfee was never EVER a good program.

Uhhh hmmm

1

[birdy51]

2.

We hired them, we can save them!

[FelixSparks]

3. I think it's Tammy, and it's time we dealt with this problem.

[Cptn Kaladin Anrizlokum]

2.

We hired them, we can save them!

+1

[Vgray]

You quickly text back that physical security should look for the missing workers.

Then you drive down to the factory in your ancient Toyota Yaris.

You come to the factory just before sunrise, the fiery blaze bright orange against the early morning indigo sky. A dark column of smoke reaches up to block out the full moon.

Josh is already there, black with soot, carrying the bulky 3D printers and laser cutters out of the building.

Your PhysSec robots appear to have found the missing workers—you see three people huddled under blankets, coughing and black with soot, but okay.

You think you hear a car start in the parking lot. You see Tammy Cooper in an old BMW, backing out of a space with her headlights off.

Josh has a brief coughing fit as he turns around to head back into the burning building.

1) I tell the robots to stop Tammy.
2) I try to stop Josh from going back into the burning building.
3) I tell my robots to try to save more robots.

Spoiler: Current Stats (click to show/hide)

Year: 2025

30-year-old Isaac Tesla
  Humanity: 91%
  Gender: male
  Fame: 8 (Nationally Famous)
  Wealth: 0 (Broke)
  Romance: none

Joyeuse

  Autonomy: 14 (Stable)
  Military: 14 (Stable)
  Empathy: 11 (Stable)
  Grace: 14 (Stable)

Relationships
  Professor Ziegler (Bad): 21%
  Elly (Very Good): 67%
  Josh (Bad): 47%
  Mark (Bad): 32%
  ?: 50%
  Tammy (Bad): 17%
  ?: 50%
  ?: 50%

[FelixSparks]

Uuuuuuurgh. 1 or 2 1 or 2....

Fuck it. 2. We can assassinate Tammy later. The bitch.

[Kassire]

1, we're going to make them pay
An entire fucking factory, plenty of money put into it

[Arcvasti]

1

Dammit, where does this woman even GET these bombs.

[FelixSparks]

If something happens to John, we'll never forgive ourselves!

[Kassire]

1

Dammit, where does this woman even GET these bombs.

Robots, duh

[birdy51]

2).

[Vgray]

I was actually going to update, but my browser is acting up.

Your robots race across the parking lot to stop Tammy. Tammy guns the engine to try to break through the robot blockade, but Joyeuse has a gun, and it takes aim at Tammy's front tire and fires rapidly. The BMW careens into a turn as the front wheel becomes useless, and your robots take advantage of the car's slowing to swarm it. Soon, Tammy is pulled from the vehicle.

Eventually, the fire department arrives to help you combat the flames. Though the firefighters' efforts take well into the day, the blaze is finally put out by the afternoon.

The damage isn't as bad as it could have been, since Josh pulled most of the important stuff out of the fire.

The robots grumble that you didn't seem to think their friends trapped in the factory were worth saving. Secretly, you do believe they were replaceable. But your robots seem to recognize this. They begin decorating their frames with different paint and ornaments in an effort to make themselves seem less interchangeable. (+Autonomy)

Your rescued employees apologize for their weird hours getting them in trouble. They seem to appreciate the effort you took in saving them.

You look on with satisfaction as police take Tammy into custody.

"Just think about the consequences of your actions!" she shouts as the police guide her into the police car, the irony of this injunction apparently lost on her.

"I guess it could have been worse," Josh says, surveying the damage.

"I'm pretty sure it could have been," you say. "Were you really going to risk your life to save your stuff?"

Josh shakes his head. "I guess sometimes I lose track of what's important." He gives you a sideways look. "I'm sure you can relate."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Pssh!" Josh makes a disgusted noise, but in a way that suggests he's used to you.

You spend a little while just chatting about nothing, subtly reminding the other that you'll be there when needed.

A few weeks later, a politician visits you at the factory: one Jacqueline Irons, a Representative from Alaska. You vaguely remember hearing that she was once a venture capitalist who rose to fame on the success of her Fox webcast Against the Man, in which she pilloried unsuspecting guests as examples of privileged elites. There have also been rumors of her running for President soon.

"You can imagine why I'm here," she tells you in your office, leaning over your desk. Like many politicians these days, she wears a neticle, a monocle with a small screen visible only to her in which she can read messages from her advisers and speechwriters, some of whom are watching her interactions at all times. You think the neticle is probably recording even now; politicians love to weave moments in which they look good into their streaming video commercials. Her hair is cropped short but her fingernails are long and pink, and she wears a broad-shouldered suit. "I heard about the explosion at your factory. I've promised my constituents that I would not tolerate big industry turning us into another China, where workers' lives are held in contempt. Yet it seems safety standards at your factory are not up to par."

"What exactly do you want?" you ask guardedly.

"A substantial campaign contribution would show your heart is in the right place."

You're fairly certain she has the power to hurt your business if you anger her. But your options are somewhat limited due to your current financial situation (Wealth: 0).

1) "Sure. Here's a hundred bucks."
2) "I'm afraid I don't have a significant amount of wealth to spare. Sorry."
3) "If you want my support, pass laws that will keep China from stealing my technology."

Spoiler: Current Stats (click to show/hide)

Year: 2025

30-year-old Isaac Tesla
  Humanity: 91%
  Gender: male
  Fame: 8 (Nationally Famous)
  Wealth: 0 (Broke)
  Romance: none

Joyeuse

  Autonomy: 15 (Good)
  Military: 14 (Stable)
  Empathy: 11 (Stable)
  Grace: 14 (Stable)

Relationships
  Professor Ziegler (Bad): 21%
  Elly (Very Good): 67%
  Josh (Good): 54%
  Mark (Bad): 32%
  ?: 50%
  Tammy (Bad): 17%
  ?: 50%
  ?: 50%