Dead People Continue Visiting You Guys

[tacklefordwhimsy]

[By now it shouldn't be much of a surprise. The usual 'you have a visitor!' ping in Furry Passing sounded, and it's Shelley again. Her avatar seems calmer than how she was last week]

Jess! Jessie! It's great to see you survived another week!

[She really is glad you're not dead. Come on, shouldn't be long to get to the endgame! Just like three weeks more! Hang in there!]

There isn't much from this side yet, but something weird did happen. What about you? Found anything yet?

Comments

[toprotecttheworld]

Was there ever any doubt, Shelley?

[She makes her avatar do the "flowery" action where she sways back and forth, beaming, and then the "thumbs up" action that somehow ends with a twinkle in her eye.]

Look forward to seeing more of me next week, too. [Since she's immune, of course.] We found Perkins. We're on the top deck now. Alice is acting unusual, too.

[tacklefordwhimsy]

Oh, the top deck! About time it opened, I--wait, you found Perkins? I knew she was dead, but--what happened to her?

[This could be very, very important!]

[toprotecttheworld]

She was poisoned. We found a bottle of alcohol and a vial with her body, and Arbok confirmed it for me.

[He's like a poison-sniffing dog.]

Alice can't see inside of that room. And she thought, for some reason, that there's no way the Captain could be dead. She's claiming to be forgetting things.

[tacklefordwhimsy]

So she may have been murdered and Alice didn't even know it? Did she think Perkins was staying in her room all this time? Something doesn't make sense...

[Shelley feels there's some big piece they're all missing, but can't start guessing what it is]

Agh! Well, if she was poisoned...the alien that lived in Elizabeth really liked poisons. She may have been killed by an alien, right?

[toprotecttheworld]

Shelley, it's entirely possible that she killed herself. She was slumped over at her desk.

[But as for the rest, she agrees.]

I suppose it's not impossible she was killed by an alien, but that seems too clean.

[tacklefordwhimsy]

Next time I see Perkins I'll ask her if she suicided, but I don't see why she would...she's saying all the time the project is the last hope, she didn't seem like the type to bail out...

[Oh! That reminds of something!]

Hey, on this side we got contacted by someone who doesn't seem to be one of you living people! There were three people, and a lot of static and interference. We couldn't even see their faces. One of them's name started with an N.

Have you seen anything like that?

[toprotecttheworld]

Well, something went wrong, didn't it? Ask her if she did, and then demand she tell me how to fix this whole mess! I want to hear from her myself. Tell her I'll pass along a message straight to Alice for her.

[It's worth a try, right? She has no idea how this shitty afterlife video game works.]

I have no idea what that might be. There's no one here whose first or last name starts with an N. What were they talking about to you?

[tacklefordwhimsy]

Got it. I'll tell her that next time I see her.

[It may take a while, though]

...there was a lot of noise, none of us knew what they were saying, but they were trying to establish contact, and then...they started asking for help. "There's another", they said at the end.

[Just like the other time, looks like Shelley is running out of time]

[toprotecttheworld]

[She hates this, she hates running out of time.]

Another what? Another participant? Another project? Another stupid motive or AI? I'll find out what I can, you keep working with me!

[One last thing, though.]

Tell Adelina...something encouraging for me! I'm not good at that. And you, too! Keep fighting with us! I don't hate either of you!

[tacklefordwhimsy]

I don't know what 'another' it was. Another alien, maybe. It could be...a last message from the crew. Try to see if more people have died in there besides Perkins. I'll keep working from this side.

I'll try to contact you again next week! Keep kicking everyone's butts!

[Shelley appreciates Jessie's support more than anyone can guess. The avatar waves before vanishing. Good luck, Jessie]