Can you talk about TCTF's history more next time? I'd love to learn more about how they formed from all the various world governments!

I'm just kind of sad we never get to go Super Sayan Imago form, as the game was certainly hyping me up to.

Anyway, it's crazy to think Muro's programmers, the same ones that hacked the crap out of TCTF's HQ, would let the program overload itself like that. I mean, TCTF managed to build a Deadly Brain from scratch within the timespan of the game. What the hell, Muro?

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Awesome job, Raga!

For two days after the incident at the TCTF Prison/Lab the world is peaceful, silent. Whatever tracking devices the TCTF had implanted in Mai’s body went silent when she immersed herself in acid. And, of course, there would be no body to recover.

For Commander Griffin, the loss of Mai would already have been bad news. He’s lost his ace in the hole, and Muro is still out there and just as unstoppable as ever. Except, Griffin doesn’t seem to believe Mai is dead. When given an update on the loss of signal from Mai’s trackers, Griffin is not at all relieved. Instead, he orders his team to keep scanning. Clearly, he is unsure of her demise.

And he has a right to be. Just moments after Griffin’s subordinate leaves, Mai drops in from the ceiling to confront him. She demands answers. He rebuffs her and activates a lockdown of the entire TCTF building. This includes his 13th story office descending down into a secure basement bunker!

For Mai, this must feel awfully familiar. It was only a couple of day prior that she’d risked her life battling the Syndicate floor by floor by floor to pry this building from the grip of their surprise attack. Now, Mai must fight her way from the top of the building to its basement. Fortunately, she knows this building and its security systems inside and out by now.

Along her descent, Mai must dodge the TCTF HQ’s formidable array of fixed security emplacements. Machine guns and wall mounted plasma turrets cover long lines of sight. And troopers try to engage her at every turn. But, by deactivating the security substations, just like the Syndicate did, she is able to bypass much of the building’s built in security.

Those paying attention will find multiple terminals relating to the TCTF HQ’s security situation.

Rogue agent Konoko:

SECURITY ALERT 19:35:06

Group: Security_12

Rogue agent Konoko has been identified as active and present in Sector 12 with probable motives of homicide and data theft.

Commander Griffin has relocated to security bunker Omega.

Escort all other non-tactical agents to their appropriate security bunkers.

DO NOT FORGET TO LOCK YOUR DATA STATIONS BEFORE LEAVING YOUR POST

Capt. D. Joost
TCTF Security & Facilities

So, right off the bat they are classifying Mai as a very serious threat. Sure, we already knew that from all the TCTF forces trying to kill her since the Atmospheric Processor… but still, presumably these people at the HQ are ones she worked with or at least received training from. Of course… entering the building by shooting out the glass on the roof may not have put her former coworkers in the best of moods…

Extraordinary Security Measures:

This message was sent with High Priority
To: Commander Griffin Cc: Comptroller P. Tamte
From: Capt. D. Joost
Subject: Re: Status of power substation repairs
All three internal security substations are now operational. However external building repairs will not be completed in time for system initialization. Until then, I suggest that we implement the following extraordinary security measures:

-Blast doors to remain engaged in locked state.

-Internal car park facilities closed. Traffic redirected to security kiosk A as per protocol Theta K12.

-External security patrols to remain in effect. Commander Griffin, I'm afraid we have to continue this program since the external surveillance equipment protecting your office and floor will not be ready by tomorrow as you requested.

I apologize for any inconvenience this repair process may cause you.

Capt. D. Joost
TCTF Security & Facilities

Well, that explains how Mai got up to the roof without anyone noticing…

Emergency Overrides:

This message was sent with Low Priority
To: Capt. D. Joost
From: P. Tamte, TCTF Comptroller
Subject: Re: Status of power substation repairs

I ran the numbers on the extra security measures you requested, and I'm afraid there's going to have to be some give and take.

Keep in mind that Security & Facilities is already way over-budget thanks to that remodel of Commander Griffin's office.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I always thought that elevator was a bit much.

In any event, I'll authorize the overtime to staff the additional sentries, etc.

We will, however, need to cut costs in something systemic; mainframe cycles, for example. I'll advise Operations to suspend a few low-level emergency overrides. Let's say Alpha0 to Omicron15.

With all the other security routines you're implementing, there's really very little chance of any of these being called, wouldn't you agree?

P. Tamte, TCTF Comptroller

Well, at least someone agrees that a glass roofed office that can descend some 13 stories into a secure bunker is a bit… excessive. Oh, and surely that page about disabling some security routines won’t ever come up again…

As Mai moves further and further down, she also comes across a fairly chilling console detailing the relationship between Shinatama and herself:

Shinatama/Konoko Relationship:

CLASSIFIED
<<Clearance Theta K12 and Above Only>>
TCTF32\sld\taL15 Shinatama/Konoko Relationship Analysis

Analysis of the remains of the Shinatama SLD gave us a new perspective on the bond between the android and the agent she was patterned after.

We have long suspected that SLDs might share some form of bond with their pattern donors: after analyzing Shinatama's engrammatic readouts we can now be sure.

TCTF32\sld\taL15 Shinatama/Konoko Relationship Analysis [cont]

State analysis suggests that Shinatama thought of Konoko as family, a sister.

Subconsciously Konoko might have realized this emotional connection and, as an orphan, fixated on this emotional bond.

In the last few days before she went offline Shinatama began falsifying her reports to Dr Kerr; downplaying the recession rate of the symbiote's latency.

TCTF32\sld\taL15 Shinatama/Konoko Relationship Analysis [cont]

This behavior alone is alarming in that it suggests an unprecedented degree of free will in the android, but it also portends something more chilling:

Konoko is closer to full transition than we ever suspected. Rough projections estimate that the Chrysalis will have infiltrated more than 80% of her body and will have replaced somewhere between 40 to 56% of her original organs.

We must hope that Konoko was destroyed when she fell into the biomatter disposal vats.

TCTF32\sld\taL15 Shinatama/Konoko Relationship Analysis [cont]

If not then she may be even closer to her final evolutionary stage: what form that might take, and what the presence of such a creature might portend for humanity we cannot know.

Given that Mai did survive the biomatter disposal vat, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the rough estimate above is, at this point, inaccurate. We know that the TCTF had placed sub-dermal transmitters in Mai’s body to monitor the growth of her Chrysalis. Could it be possible that most of or all of Mai’s original body was destroyed in the vat? Or maybe just her skin and other outermost tissue was burned away before her Chrysalis could save her life? That would explain why the techs at TCTF HQ could no longer track her. The acid probably destroyed those sub-dermal transmitters.

This would also indicate that, at this point, Mai may in fact be all Chrysalis. But, as Kerr said, she is evolving into a more powerful version of herself.

Finally, as Mai nears Commander Griffin’s bunker, she finds one last console.

Omega Security Vault Retrofit:

CLASSIFIED
<<Clearance Gamma S16 and Above Only>>
TCTFdb88\sld\zZ1 Update: Omega Security Vault Retrofit

Most of the modifications Commander Griffin asked for have been made, but none have been tested.

That type of android was never designed to operate this kind of system and the condition of the unit also made it difficult to initialize many of the primary subroutines.

TCTFdb88\sld\zZ1 Update: Omega Security Vault Retrofit

The slaver nodes installed could be overloaded if they receive conflicting input from the assembled control modules. What the Omega Vault would do if that happened is anybody's guess.

That sounds suspiciously familiar… conflicting input… “ghost data”… from command consoles. Did Griffin have his team build a Deadly Brain like the one Mai fought at the Musashi Heavy Manufacturing Concern??

As Mai enters the vault, Griffin reveals that’s exactly what he did. But, instead of an anonymous human brain controlling the plasma turrets and screaming cannons… this setup is controlled by the badly damaged remains of Shinatama!

Griffin:

Shinatama was in constant contact with you through every stage of your development. No one knows you better. I have wired her to the control system of this assault pod. You haven't got a chance. You never did.

But maybe that was Griffin’s mistake as well? While true, nobody knew Mai better than Shinatama, perhaps nobody knew Shinatama better than Mai? During the battle, Mai darts from control console to control console inputting false data? Or could it be real memories or her time connected to Shinatama? That would explain why the screen on each console switches to an image of the SLD after Mai inputs some data.

In the end, Mai is able to disable this “Deadly Brain” much like she did the last one she encountered. But this time, the deadly brain does have feet! The badly battered remains of Shinatama disconnect from the control position and begin to advance on Griffin. Griffin shouts for the computer to activate an Alpha level emergency override… but remember, those overrides were disabled as a cost cutting measure! And so, left with no choice, Griffin fires on the android that Mai once considered her little sister. At last. Shinatama finds her final rest… and Mai uses that opportunity to disarm Griffin.

Here the story can split into two paths. And this may be my favorite part of the story. Mai can either choose to kill Griffin for the violent, unfeeling crimes he perpetrated on herself and Shinatama. If she does that you get this excellent line from Mai:

No, it was never up to me. YOU did this. YOU made my own uncle put this THING inside of me. YOU lied to me, betrayed me. You are a monster. And now I'll take care of Muro myself.

The emotion in those words, from a girl that was raised from age 7 as basically nothing more than a killing machine are heartfelt and profound. But not as profound as if you make what is, in my opinion, the correct choice:

I won't be the monster you thought I would be. Just remember what I am: the woman you betrayed because you weren't big enough to take responsibility for your actions.

From here, Mai goes to confront the Syndicate, unravel their master plan, and stop her brother Muro.

Previous: 33: Sins of the Father
Next: 35: Dawn of the Chrysalis

After awaking from her nightmare, Mai makes her way to perhaps the most interesting Tech Crimes Task Force facility yet. Obstinately a prison, this highly secure facility is in actuality far more of a bio-research lab!

Situated across the rooms of this lab are multiple pods that look to be some sort of cryo pods. Or could they be medical pods? Or SLD “wombs” for “birthing” more Simulated Life Dolls like Shinatama? Or could they be for something else far, far more scary? (Hint: They probably are!)

Speaking of Shinatama, our first terminal sheds some sickly light on the TCTF’s attitude towards Mai:

Sytropin
Project: 14 (1.3.51)
Subject: Status Update - Prime Daodan Symbiote 1B(h)

SLD remote analysis of the subject (ref. Hasegawa, Mai) indicates that she remains stable. We are maintaining latency with regular injections of Sytropin, but the dose has to be increased every 3 to 5 weeks to keep up with her bolstered resistance.

Project goals remain unclear: Commander Griffin seems content to stabilize the host/Daodan symbiote for as long as possible.

Subject: Status Update - Prime Daodan Symbiote 1B(h) [cont]

If she is intended as a contingency of some kind the team has recommended cryofreeze as an all around safer alternative to keeping the organism active and evolving, however slowly.

Senior researcher Kerr has been very vocal in his concerns about our treatment of the symbiote.

Team members are concerned that Kerr may suffer from an unprofessional attachment that may compromise his objectivity towards the program.

We’ll learn significantly more about the Daodan Symbiote in a bit, but for now, we see that Commander Griffin was going to great lengths and great risks to keep Mai active and… evolving? As a contingency? A contingency to what? The global catastrophe outside the atmospheric processors is one possible answer, and would probably be Mai’s best guess up to this point. But then she meets her uncle, Dr. Kerr.

Kerr sends Mai on a mission to activate three generators to provide power to what must be some incredibly advanced (and expensive!) equipment in his lab. As usual, Mai meets armed resistance from various TCTF troopers, but by now her fighting skills are more than sufficient to deal with most of them without breaking a sweat.

Once Mai returns to her uncle, he instructs her to climb into some sort of large scanning device. Once inside, Dr. Kerr tells Mai that he is taking a look at the Chrysalis inside her and testing to see how far it has integrated into her body. Wait, what?!

Mai, being just as confused as we are, asks for an explanation. And Kerr delivers. The Chrysalis, which is rightly termed the Daodan Chrysalis, is the result of research between Mai’s father and uncle. It is Mai’s father’s solution to the toxic outside world that killed his wife. Consisting of hyper evolved cloned tissue from a host body, the chrysalis is reinserted into its host where it reinforces or, in extreme cases, totally replaces damaged tissues and organs. Evidently, it is this Daodan Chrysalis that has given Mai her superhuman abilities that have gotten her this far!

That’s the good news. Next, Kerr lays out the bad news. Mai’s father and uncle poured everything they had into their Chrysalis project, but it was not enough. When most legitimate organizations refused to help them they turned to the Syndicate. You know, the organization that perpetrated everything from stealthily turning normal people into addicts with singles doses from hyposprays, to the group that literally took control of people’s minds by hacking mass market sub-dermal implants. But while Dr. Hasegawa and Dr. Kerr thought the Syndicate was uninterested in their work, it turns out they were wrong.

The Syndicate kidnapped Mai’s father, Dr. Kerr, Mai herself, and the two prototype Daodan Chrysalises based upon her and… her brother. Muro! That’s right, Kerr reveals that Muro is in reality Mai’s brother. Perhaps that’s how he knew so much about her at the airport? Somehow, Kerr managed to escape the Syndicate with Mai. He sought out the safety of the TCTF, but, as we’ve seen, Commander Griffin isn’t someone you can really trust.

Griffin forced Kerr to implant Mai’s chrysalis looking to keep Mai as a weapon able to counter whatever the Syndicate managed to do with the Chrysalis. Mai is shocked at this revelation. She questions what her chrysalis is doing to her and what she is becoming. Muro, Barabas, Mukade… they all had Daodan Chrysalises implanted inside them and they are/were all vicious murderers capable of nearly unstoppable superhuman feats. Mai rightly wonders what she will become.

Fortunately, Kerr provides one last bit of good news. The Chrysalis doesn’t turn someone into a killer. Instead, the Chrysalis adapts to and enhances a person’s true nature. “You are changing...into a more powerful, resilient version of yourself,” Kerr tells his niece.

But, then the worst happens. A TCTF trooper with a Mercury Bow enters the scanning room and fires a shot at Mai. Tragically, at the last second, Kerr jumps in the way. It’s possible that Mia with her body armor and Daodan Chrysalis might have survived the toxic effects of being struck by a frozen mercury bullet. Kerr? He dies nearly instantly.

With troopers closing in on all sides, Mai makes a run for it. Along the way, she comes across an unlocked terminal that reveals even more about just how potent and powerful her Chrysalis is:

Project: 14 (9.1.28)
Subject: Chrysalis Removal - Prime Daodan Symbiote 1B(h)

Research Team C has failed to determine a way to reverse the Daodan implantation if the Host develops in an unwanted direction. There are two key reasons for this:

1) The Daodan technique subjects select cells to a hyper-evolutionary process before replanting them in the donor's body. The Daodan 'clone' grows inside the body of the donor, replacing the host's organs with its own hyper-evolved biomass.

Subject: Chrysalis Removal - Prime Daodan Symbiote 1B(h) [cont]

2) Professor Hasegawa's theory was that the Daodan Chrysalis would replace damaged or weakened biological systems in the host body as required, enabling humans to survive what he saw was an impending collapse of the Earth's biosphere. This leads to the first difficulty. Namely that the host organism's original organs are 'devoured' and replaced by those of the Chrysalis. The second difficulty arises from the nature of the Chrysalis itself: the organism possesses an unearthly ability to adapt to adverse stimuli.

Subject: Chrysalis Removal - Prime Daodan Symbiote 1B(h) [cont]

Attempts to perform invasive or exploratory surgery are met with near instantaneous mutation in the host organism, repairing skin and organ damage almost as it happens.

If we can communicate with the Chrysalis directly it may be possible to directly influence its physical development.

It is possible to overload the recuperative capacity of the Chrysalis, but doing so would prove fatal to the host body.

Subject: Chrysalis Removal - Prime Daodan Symbiote 1B(h) [cont]

We do hold out hope that an alternative treatment method may exist.

If we think of the mutated cells as a cancer we could theoretically attack the Chrysalis with the implantation of a second cell cluster modified to destroy the Chrysalis cells and possibly reverse the mutation they caused.

How the Daodan Chrysalis might respond to this threat to its existence, and what effect such a treatment might have on the host body remains unknown.

So, this is how Mai has been able to fight and be punched, kicked, shot, and hit with explosives over the last few days without suffering any permanent injury. The effects of the Chrysalis devouring the organs of its host don’t sound particularly painless… but maybe they are? If skin or bone or any other organ is quickly being replaced by a toughened, evolved version, maybe the pain Mai experienced was quickly extinguished as she rapidly healed?

In any case, Mai takes a serious, quite possibly fatal risk using this new information. In order to escape the overwhelming TCTF forces converging on her, she flings herself into a vat of powerful acid, trusting her Chrysalis to protect her. The pursuing TCTF troopers all agree that she must be dead and give up pursuit.

In the final scene of this chapter, we see Mai surrounded by acid that appears to have been powerful enough to burn her armor completely away. Mai doesn’t appear all that comfortable, either. Presumably and apparently, Chrysalis or not, sinking beneath a vat of powerful acid hurts… a lot.

All in all, this is an incredible, insightful chapter in Mai’s story. We finally learn about her past, and can fairly easily guess what happened to her father and brother. Professor Hasegawa was likely killed by the Syndicate once he no longer proved useful. I’d like to think he resisted and refused to implant a Chrysalis into his son for as long as he could, but unfortunately we just don’t know.

What happens now? Mai seemed pretty darn angry after her uncle was killed in front of her. “You’ll all pay!” Those seem to be pretty strong words for the young woman who up until now seemed most interested in keeping the peace and learning about her past…

Previous: 32: Dream Diver
Next: 34: Phoenix Rising

Good job making it this far, but I’m already 6 hours into this joke. I hope you liked it!

Show of hands, how many of you read all three articles / made it to the April Fool’s page? :p

Lore and Backstory has always been a big part of Bungie games, so I thought it’d be fun to demonstrate that by detailing a few levels from Oni. I wanted to do more, as some of the coolest lore is in the earlier levels, but there wasn’t time. Here’s a few of the cool things I skipped:

At some point in her training, Konoko experiences a Daodan spike and this happens:

CLASSIFIED - Clearance Gamma S16 and Above Only>
TCTFdl12\gpp\aL3 Personnel Performance Log\supplemental
During routine physical training Konoko experienced a drop in latency that precipitated a Daodan power spike.

Her strength, speed and endurance were temporarily improved to what can only be described as superhuman levels. She was able to perform at record-breaking capacity for over an hour and a half.

TCTFdl12\gpp\aL3 Personnel Performance Log\supplemental [cont]
While boosted, she demonstrated an uncharacteristic aggressiveness that frightened her instructors. She was asked to stop working out so we could monitor her but she refused.

When the spike subsided we expected her to be exhausted but she was not. In fact she was elated and insisted on starting her routine over from the beginning.

If Konoko's latency drops any more than it did during this incident we are concerned that she could become violent. All of her trainers are advised to keep VDG pistols on hand for the time being.

Or these pair of Consoles on the development of SLDs, which are an awesome fusion of advanced biotech and AI development:

HyBAC.sys2-res\data\proj\cA.MM01
The SLD project is an attempt to recreate human physiology with artificial materials.

This is similar to the cyborg implant protocols developed for the "Marionette" project but it calls for a design that uses no human cells.

SLD technology has reached it's third design generation and prototype SLDs are in use in a wide range of industries including law enforcement, fire fighting, manufacturing, and aviation.

At present, regulation SLD designs appear childlike. An "immature" body limits the androids' physical capabilities in the event of catastrophic failsafe collapse.

Troubling reports indicate that the Syndicate has been engaged in parallel SLD research to the mainstream development community.

Indeed, they may have completed fully functional SLDs intended for paramilitary purposes.

(ref.TANKER v1.6 - 1.9)

As our confidence in the core technology grows, the mainstream research community will continue to increase the size of the SLD units.

We are on course to create dolls with a 'fully mature' physiognomy within the next three to five years.

Data File: SLD - Simulated Life Doll

HyBAC.sys2-res\data\proj\cA.MM02
SLDs are individuals in many respects. Dolls are grown by implanting micromechanical fabrication cells in large molds containing a mass of materials we call "prototissue".

By varying the priming data input over the fourteen day molding process we are able to approximate genetic variation and the effects of environment on early life.

It is always a pleasure to see a new unit come out of the mold. We are never really sure what they will look like until they are ready for their first systems check.

One thing we still cannot do is create an artificial system that adequately simulates the processes of the human mind.

Instead SLDs contain a behavioral framework patterned on donor brain engram data fed into the system during its formation.

This core personality is then given a chance to develop a unique neurolattice while experiencing accelerated streaming sensory feeds.

Most SLDs have to spend at least three months in the senseloop, which we have come to think of as their psychological womb.

Plus, it was fun to relive just how cool of a game Oni was. I remember I first encountered it as a demo on a MacAddict Magazine CD and I played the heck out of it. I never know about the troubled development and only read maybe one article about the cut multiplayer. When I finally got the full game some time later I was awed that the level arrangement was different and far bigger than what was included in the demo! As much as I love Halo and Destiny, I can practically talk you through each level and room and fight of Oni.

Oh, one last console. I made a reference to the Deadly Brain Mai fought at the manufacturing plant. I’ve always loved the cool sci-fi / cyberpunk-ish nature of the way a Deadly Brain operates and can be confused:

ENCRYPT SEQUENCE TaL0315-68 seq. 3
Deadly Brain > Weaknesses
The greatest weakness of the Deadly Brain prototypes stems from their control interface.

Brains harvested from trained combat personnel come from a lifetime of interfacing with human physiology.

Deadly Brain > Weaknesses [cont]
Once integrated into the cybernetic system a barrage of alien data with no human frame of physical reference often overwhelms them.

Given time the host brain can adapt and begin to utilize its new physical state, but that delicate equilibrium is easily upset by ghost physical data input through the command consoles of the drone.

However approaching the command consoles of an active Deadly Brain is deemed virtually impossible, so this so-called flaw in the system is considered insignificant.

Finally, special thanks to Beorn for the OBO Oni theme, and all the help modifying and restoring the previous Bite-sized Backstory articles to give the impression that they’d always been about Oni. Big thanks to Xenos as well for the fun fake front page news article hinting at the existence of the other two articles.

We had a lot of fun putting this together and we hope you enjoyed it. :)