Chapter 298 - Why, Gaben?

...

Afton raises a brow at what Borous had just said... Teleportation relay? He knew they said something about teleportation, but never had an opportunity to bring it up. He also doubted they would be willing to explain the technology to him, mostly due to the fact he might be able to use it to escape... Though, he'd be very, very wary about leaving without his brain...​​

"Teleportation array?" he asks, hoping the guilt trip he'd put Borous through would pull his attention enough for him not to notice him asking about this.

"Indeed. A technology that the American government sought, and funded... Unfortunately, we only managed to create it after the bombs had dropped. With us not wishing to leave the safety of Big Mt, it's all just been collecting dust... Aside from kidnapping... Unfortunate American citizens..."

"Explains the functions of this 'array' to me."

"The Teleportation array? Its the combined technology that facilities teleportation. It uses various relays via satellites to send an atomized person's parts to their desired destination... Usually intact. Of course, recently, one of our satellites seems to have been knocked out of the sky by some space junk, that's the one that abducting you I think."

Afton nods, from his vague, half-dead memory that matches up with what he saw. "Where would this 'teleportation' array be?"

"Why underground ofcour-I mean. You aren't SUPPOSED to know that... Do you have something else to ask? Truthfully, I am barely holding myself together... I thought such emotions were above me, such an irrational reaction..."

Afton nods sympathetically, "Last thing. The X-8 Facility. Is there anything I should know before I go there?"

"Oh, very much so. The various tests that you must pass to acquire the Sonic Emitter upgrade are rather... No, incredibly dangerous. Of course, I designed them that way... I thought that only our commie prisoners would be forced to go through them. Again, you have my apologies."

"What tests?" Afton asks.

"Tests where you'll be forced to fight sentry turrets, Cyberdogs, and the Lobotmites that seem to have broken into the facility... My old dog, Gabe, is still within the facility as well..." he adds, somewhat remorsefully.

"Your dog, Gabe?"

Borous nods his monitors, "He was a good boy. Used to be so happy back when I was human, his silly wet nose, playful demeanour... Appetite for chems." he growls the last part.

Afton raises a brow, "Wouldn't that make Gabe around two-hundred-years old?" he asks, wondering how on earth the dog was still alive.

"Ah, well. Cybernetics prolong an organic being's life. The... Experiments I conducted on my old pet drastically extended his lifespan... You might be forced to... Put Gabe down if you encounter him, I remember that he'd buried the Sonic Emitter schematics in the replica home." Borous leans in and whispers, "The others would say 'good riddance' so a failed experiment, but... After all I've done... Could you spare Gabe? He doesn't deserve what I did to him, even if it was in the pursuit of knowledge."

Afton shrugs, "I'll see what I can do... Any chance there's a way to avoid killing any of the other Cyberdogs in the test areas?" he asks, no wanting to kill potential assets. If he could gain control of the Cyberdogs, he'd be able to create an army of them... An army of durable Cyborg dogs that're able to fire sonic projectiles from their mouths... Yeah, sounds pretty good.

Borous appears to be in thought for a moment before nodding his monitors, "The test areas require Cyberdogs to be present... Or, at least, something similar to Cyberdogs. If I'm not mistaken, a shipment of Night Stalkers were sent to X-8 while the other staff were still alive. If you can gain access to the kennel before conducting the tests, you can replace the Cyberdog participants with Night Stalkers."

"Alright, that's fair... Do I need a key or some passcode to access the kennels?"

...

"Err, I am unaware of where the key currently is..." Borous admits.

Afton sighs, "Great." he'll just have to cut his way in like he had the VR room. "Alright, I'll leave you to mope about all those millions of people you indirectly killed, as well as the many innocent American citizens you Lobotomized." he says, giving a small wave.

In response Borous gives a short cry and quickly floats towards his room, the other scientists turning and watching this. Afton couldn't tell what they were thinking, but it must be something disrespectful to their colleague.

To be honest, Dr. 8 and Dr. Borous seemed like the only scientists that he'd 'get on' with. Once Borous came to terms with his actions and their consequences, perhaps he'd be more willing to ally with him and turn against his colleagues... Hm, he'll see in time.

For now, at least he had an idea of what is held in X-8. He'd gain access to the kennels, replace the Cyberdogs with Night Stalkers, see what he could do about Gabe, and finally retrieve the Sonic Emitter upgrade.

"User, sensors have been recalibrated. I did not find the issue, but trust I will be at 110% sneakiness onwards." Nyx's voice says.

Afton nods, "Thank you. Don't worry, I doubt another error like that will happen for... At least a week." he says, smirking slightly despite the fact he was referring to his recent death. Thinking on that, he did need to take less risks until his Perk was ready for use again... Maybe he should spend the rest of the day in the Sink to recover from the injuries he'd taken.

He wasn't exactly on a time limit, and he doubted Karl, Boone, and Anja would need his immediate assistance anytime soon. Plus, he was expecting to stay in Big Mt for a while, even after recovering his brain. He wanted to tinker with some technologies and try a couple things out.

Shrugging, he leaves the Think Tank and heads back up to the Sink to get some food and rest until tomorrow.