I already wrote fluff for
C so let’s do that.
Roll 2d6 (political) where:
2 = Padelheb's lies still have some power. The populace calls for Quill to be lynched. Or at least tried for murder
3 to 5 = You didn't provide enough evidence, so people are suspicious. You have to choose again, without middle options.
6 to 8 = The populace is divided. -1 political.
9 to 10 = The majority supports Quill but some still think Padelheb did nothing wrong. Convincing them is an ongoing event
11 = The people believe you.
12 = The people wholeheartedly believe you and reject Padelheb's slander. +1 political.
Result: 1 + 6 = 7 → -1 political yay.
“That’s it,” says Quill, peering into the chamber of the autoclave. The test tube had been remotely shattered and its contents subjected to hot steam for around fifteen minutes. “That’s the virus destroyed.”
He turned to the small team of researchers and engineers behind him, all covered, like he was, in foot to toe hazmat gear. “Can I have this thing cast into an iron brick and dropped into the Atlantic, please? Pays to be certain.”
As he was walking out of the lab he was met by a small man with unkempt hair. “Erin Quill, right?” he says. He bluntly holds his hand out. “Evan Wexcombe. Congratulations on getting your job back.”
“I thought Padelheb had everyone thinking I was a madman?” Quill asks.
“Most of them do, but my friends and my group actually pay attention to events, and it’s clear that his charges are totally made up.”
“Your group?”
“I’m heading the organization that’s been protesting for better animal rights,” he explains.
“Oh god, alternate PETA,” Quill mutters.
“What’s that?” Evan asks. “PETA? What’s that stand for?”
“Uh…” Quill says. “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.”
“Hey, that’s actually a good acronym!” Evan says. “I’ve been looking for a better name. We’ve just been calling it ‘the organization protesting for better animal rights’ up until now.”
“Whatever,” Quill says. “What do you want here?”
“So you know that we’ve been protesting the dog intelligence serum right? But then we were thinking - what if we used it to grant intelligence to other animals? What if we gave them the ability to speak on their own behalf? That would make our job so much easier!”
There was a long silence while Quill considered this.
“You gotta admit, it’s a great idea!” says Wexcombe.
“It’s a terrible idea!” Quill shouts. “Firstly, it’s not a fire-and-forget medication, it has to be tuned for every species and monitored closely in order to work right.”
“We have plenty of scientists on our side!” Wexcombe replies. “You could monitor it personally!”
“The personality of the animal inherits from the instincts of the species. It only works on dogs because they already have a complex nervous system, doing it to anything else could just make them insane.”
“Llamas are plenty as smart as dogs, Quill. We’ll start with higher mammals, obviously. We aren’t doing this to fish.”
“Then there’s an ethical standpoint! Some of these animals have short lifespans. Some exist only to feed us, some live in horrible conditions! Do you really think it’s humane to make them able to really
feel that?”
“See, here’s the question, Quill,” Evan asks. “Are you rejecting this because you can’t? Or because you’re not willing to acknowledge that you’ll have to start treating them like worthy beings once they can speak for themselves?”
“I’m rejecting it because it’s emotional blackmail! You’re forcing minds into existence just so you can wave them around to threaten leaders with!”
“Animals have
always been there! They are suffering as we speak, and all this will do is pull people face to face with the consequences. That’s not blackmail, that’s just effective action!”
What do you say?A: “Absolutely not. You aren’t using the intelligence procedure on anything.”
B: “You make a good point. We’ll work something out, but under heavy supervision.”
C: “I don’t have the time to micromanage this. I’ll send the data over and you can use it yourself.”
D: “This is lunacy, and in fact as of now I’m going to ask the government to shut you down.”
E: (add on to any) Put the organization and its leaders under surveillance
F: Something else...
Stats list check:
- +1 military
- +2 scientific
- +1 informational
- -1 political
- BONUS: Scientific designs get one die automatically 4
- BONUS: D7s are rolled on anything relating to Wenton Celling
- Fingerprint scanners on military base doors
- Uplifted dogs
- Lobotomized child soldiers called “Cherubs”
- Plans for a shield against Andantesite wormhole disruption, although power-intensive and requiring a lot of Andantesite
- Large, cracked Andantesite shard, ready to link
- Radio-frequency Andantesite disruptor - 14.03 hour working time
- Loading of wormhole onto SFN Pylos planned, to follow Magellan back home
- Hammerspace parrot
- Venomous implants for dogs
- Hammerspace disruption masers, although in control of Padelheb
Plot points to be resolved:
- Interrogating captured rebels
- Armen DeMarco
- Order of the Stick
- Rebel location
- Secondborn
Tell me if I missed anything