Paranoia: My Name is Troubleshooter

[BlueBard]

You are correct, ArrMatee would not have taken a lot of time to examine it.  That would have detracted from the search for the power panel.  But it still sounded comparatively small, such that he might have been able to quickly duct-tape it to his jumpsuit.  (If one is going to remove an object from a Confession booth, it still occurs to ArrMatee that the best time is probably when everything is powered down.)  With GM permission, ArrMatee would have done that.

Nevertheless, the current problem seems to be the deafening music that is reverberating through the CITC.  ArrMatee would put down the rolling pin and laser rifle so that he can cover his ears more effectively.

Granted.  I assumed you'd find some way of carrying the multicorder-thingy, even if it involved learning juggling on the fly.  Duct tape it is.

So... how does ArrMatee deal with the deafening noise?

[Viking]

Does the noise seem any less crippling inside a confession booth?  With his hands over his ears?  Do the confession booths have doors that can be closed, fully or partially?

[BlueBard]

Does the noise seem any less crippling inside a confession booth?  With his hands over his ears?  Do the confession booths have doors that can be closed, fully or partially?

Hands over ears doesn't help much, but it's better than nothing.  The confession booths do have doors that can be closed, though you assume the electromagnetic seals aren't working... do you enter one?  (That's the only way you'll be able to tell if it helps or not).

[Viking]

Given that his previous searches apparently required him to enter other confession booths in order to search them, yes.  He enters one.  And yes, he'll try closing the doors after that, if the noise level hasn't gone down by that point.

[BlueBard]

Given that his previous searches apparently required him to enter other confession booths in order to search them, yes.  He enters one.  And yes, he'll try closing the doors after that, if the noise level hasn't gone down by that point.

True.

(Sorry, RL's got me a little punchy right now...)

ArrMatee-R enters a booth and closes the door behind him.  It's not a perfect seal, but it does cut down the noise a little.  After turning on his flashlight, he peers under the bench seat and sees a kind of a panel that wasn't in the other booths he looked at.  It's basically a metal box with a door in the front of it.  It looks like the door requires a tool to be able to open it... but fortunately ArrMatee happens to have a suitable tool in his kit.

Do you open it?

[Viking]

Yes, he'll open the panel to see if it matches the description given by Elec-O.

(And don't worry about the real life thing.  You've got something wonderful to be focused on, so enjoy it.)

[BlueBard]

The panel opens to reveal a large switch set inside it.  There are two positions, one marked 'ON' and the other 'OFF'.  Currently the switch is pointing to the 'OFF' position.  There are also bolts securing the plate into which the switch is set.

ArrMatee is blissfully unaware of his previous clone's experimentation with switches.  What does he do?

[Viking]

He does not switch it to the ON position.  Not yet.  Not in a confession booth in which the doors are presently closed, and which would probably become electromagnetically sealed once power was restored, when he also has a laser rifle in his possession.  That sounds like a sure-fire way to activate a fresh clone, really quickly.

Of course, I'm guessing that the oppressively loud music hasn't shown any signs of abating, either.  Which would rather make it impossible to get word to Elec-O.

Thus, he's going to continue putting duct tape to work.  First, he's going to wad up strips of duct tape to fashion some earplugs for himself.  After inserting those in his ears, he's going to take additional strips of duct tape and put them over his ears, to further insulate them against sound.  (It won't be perfect, but hopefully will help him achieve his next objective.)

From inside the Confession booth, he'll try concentrating on his Empathy again, to get a sense of where people are.  He'll brace himself for the expected torrent of sensations of pain from sensory overload that the various clones must be experiencing.  Nevertheless, his Empathic priorities would be:

1) Does he sense any emotions unexpectedly close to his location?
2) Based on where he last suspected Elec-O to be, can he sense an emotion from that general direction, and estimate how far away he is?
3) Based on where he last suspected Spyd to be, can he sense an emotion from that general direction, and estimate how far away he is?

His subsequent action will likely depend on the intelligence that he gets.

[BlueBard]

He does not switch it to the ON position.  Not yet.  Not in a confession booth in which the doors are presently closed, and which would probably become electromagnetically sealed once power was restored, when he also has a laser rifle in his possession.  That sounds like a sure-fire way to activate a fresh clone, really quickly.

Awwwww....  You are definitely paranoid.  And quite possibly correct.

Of course, I'm guessing that the oppressively loud music hasn't shown any signs of abating, either.  Which would rather make it impossible to get word to Elec-O.

Now that you mention it, there is a shrieking peal of feedback then silence.

Thus, he's going to continue putting duct tape to work.  First, he's going to wad up strips of duct tape to fashion some earplugs for himself.  After inserting those in his ears, he's going to take additional strips of duct tape and put them over his ears, to further insulate them against sound.  (It won't be perfect, but hopefully will help him achieve his next objective.)

Going to assume you don't do that, but let me know if you do anyway.

From inside the Confession booth, he'll try concentrating on his Empathy again, to get a sense of where people are.  He'll brace himself for the expected torrent of sensations of pain from sensory overload that the various clones must be experiencing.  Nevertheless, his Empathic priorities would be:

1) Does he sense any emotions unexpectedly close to his location?
2) Based on where he last suspected Elec-O to be, can he sense an emotion from that general direction, and estimate how far away he is?
3) Based on where he last suspected Spyd to be, can he sense an emotion from that general direction, and estimate how far away he is?

His subsequent action will likely depend on the intelligence that he gets.

1) There are fewer sources of conscious emoting than there were before, and more snoozers.  Some of those still awake are unaccountably mellow.  There are still a handful of hostiles remaining.  Three of them are within 10 meters and are between you and the CITC entrance.  They are spread out.

2) Elec-O is nearby and still anxious.  He is also within 10 meters, and very close to one of the hostiles.

3) You're unable to determine which of the remaining emoters is Spyd-R, whether he is alive or dead, asleep or awake.

[Viking]

Okay - based on that sudden change in situation, you are correct - he does not fashion earplugs for himself.  It's much more important to rescue Elec-O.

He'll open the doors and exit the confession booth.  He'll leave the rolling pin next to the Confession booth (outside the booth) so that he can focus on handling the laser rifle.

Now, if Elec-O's emotional state still seemed like a general frazzled state of anxiety as opposed to a "Oh, bleep, a Commie Traitor is about to kill me," then ArrMatee will interpret that as a sign that Elec-O is still unaware of the nearby hostile.

And that, of course, means that ArrMatee doesn't want to just call out the signal, either.  That would run the risk of Elec-O and a hostile bumping into each other, and the hostile bumping off Elec-O.

He will, however, attempt a Bluff Check in the darkness.

ArrMatee hollers out, "Hey, I found a loaded Cone Rifle!  SWEET!"

And then he'll start moving as swiftly as he feels safe, in the direction of the traitor closest to Elec-O, laser rifle at the ready.  He doesn't want to stay in one spot, for fear that a variety of hostile grenades are headed his way.