Amygdala Simulation 7 - Deplorable Ratking

Video: https://youtu.be/3gUhid83Lr4

I do not believe it.

Project Assembly Line 5: Wyatt Reed

Riley sent me another download. 

It's called "pal5.pdf" and is a file over Wyatt. Like Nashiko's, there's a weird shadow thing over it. It's slightly different than the last one, though.

This one's even longer, at 7 pages and a little bit. There's the cover page, and the rest is text. Here's what it said:

PROJECT ASSEMBLY LINE

SUBJECT #5: WYATT REED

Marionettes recreation of his last staff photo circa March 26th, 2006.

"NAME: WYATT REED

STATION: #85

POSITION: SCRIPT WRITER

In January of 1975, Kellen Reed married Cassidy Marion. The two had a wonderful wedding day, and nine months later, their first son was born. They named him Wyatt.

The first four years of Wyatt's life were as close to perfect as one could hope for. Kellen was an attorney, which earned him a fair amount of money, giving Cassidy the opportunity to stay at home with Wyatt. He was raised exactly as his parents wanted, and was showing some promising signs of being a rather bright kid. He was talking and walking earlier than most, and had a natural curiosity about the world around him. However, in March of 1979, disaster struck.

Kellen got in a car accident. It was nobody's fault; it was late at night, and black ice coated the road, so nobody could control where they were going. Someone's car slid at an intersection as he was driving past, crashing into the driver's side. He died almost instantly. Cassidy was in shambles--she had just lost the love of her life, and wasn't able to take care of her son and work a job at the same time. He had some money stashed away, just in case, so they would be able to survive until she got a job, but she needed someone to help take care of him.

She had always been close to her brother. The two supported each other at their lowest moments, and he visited frequently, even helping take care of baby Wyatt when he could. Although she didn't want to burden him, he was more than willing to help them out. He didn't make nearly as much money as Kellen, but he could act as Wyatt's father figure as he grew up, offering him support and taking care of him when Cassidy wasn't able to. Kellen was buried in April, and Edward Marion started taking care of his nephew. 

Over the next ten years, the two grew close. Wyatt grew to see Edward as a father, and Edward loved Wyatt like his own son. Cassidy did her best to be in her child's life, but she was often out at work, having been hired as a nurse at a hospital, while Edward had a lot more free time. He worked at a local news station during the day, when Wyatt was at school, so by night he was able to cook him food, play games with him, and make sure he wasn't alone. He even showed his nephew around the station he worked at a couple times, showing him the ins and outs of the broadcasting world. Edward's coworkers weren't always thrilled, but Wyatt loved it, finding it fascinating. He was especially enthralled by the chaotic, loose nature of the research and writing, finding it incredible that people could figure out how to fairly and accurately represent something that had happened just hours prior, in some situations. 

Despite the hardship and difficulty inherent to the family's situation, the household was staying afloat until October 3rd, 1989. It was a Tuesday. Wyatt, 14 years old, was sent off to school by Edward, as his mother had to work a double shift at the hospital she worked at; he promised that he'd take the three of them out for dinner that night, despite the fact that it was a school night. Wyatt was excited.

When he returned from school, Edward wasn't there. Figuring that he was kept late at his job for some reason, he waited, watching television. When he turned it on, there was an issue--all he saw was a colorful distortion, with broken, uncomfortable music slithering through the speakers. While he was watching, he could've sworn he saw a symbol in the noise. A strange, tree-looking thing, which entrapped his vision. It almost felt as if the television was talking--or, rather, like something in the television was reaching out to him, desperately trying to make him understand. He only looked up when the broadcast was cut, leaving only static. It had been several hours, and his mom had finally woken up from her nap, which she was taking when he got home. 

Edward still wasn't home. 

A day passed. Then a week. Then more. Months passed, and Edward was nowhere to be found. His house had been sold the week after his disappearance in a private sale, his car was nowhere to be found, and his coworkers said that he never showed up to work that Tuesday; however, someone had broken into the station and trashed it, destroying thousands upon thousands of dollars of important equipment, alongside stealing the central database server for the station. Whoever it was could never be identified, as the entire security apparatus was destroyed. They suspected that he finally had enough from the stress, broke down, went on a vengeful rampage, and ran. He was gone. 

Cassidy mourned and fell into a deep depression, believing that her brother had abandoned her and her son. Wyatt, however, refused to believe it. He knew his uncle; he wouldn't leave unless it was for a reason. If it really was true that he trashed the station and stole the central server, then he must've done it for a reason. It was a weird coincidence that, on the same day, Wyatt saw the strange broadcast on the television. He couldn't shake the feeling that the two were connected. 

Believing that Edward was still out there, he went searching far and wide. He tried to look at all nearby businesses, tried to track down who he sold his house to, and when he had access to the internet, attempted to search for any mention of Edward Marion in the news. It was no use. It was as if he had completely vanished. 

That was, until September 17th, 1999. Wyatt had just graduated from university that spring, having gotten a bachelor's degree in journalism, so that he could work as a writer at a local news station. As he looked for places that would hire him, however, he found that a larger news station was searching for freshly minted graduates: Upstaged Communications. 

Intrigued by why it would be looking for recent graduates when it was such a large and prestigious company, he investigated it a little, trying to see what was going on. He found nothing shady or peculiar about the company, outside of two facts: one, it was founded on October 17th, 1989. Two, the founder was Edward Marion. His uncle. He immediately applied, and was accepted as a script writer in Station 48. 

While he worked there, he tried to find a way to reach Edward. However, he couldn't. Edward had stationed himself in Station 85, as the head of HR. Wyatt knew that Edward saw his application and approved it, but he didn't know if Edward intentionally let his nephew work at his company, or if he had simply forgotten. Wyatt hoped that he was let in.

In the meantime, he worked hard at his job, diligently investigating stories for the station. His work was most frequently used during the nighttime programming, with Joshua O'Dell and him forming a part of the skeleton crew that ran the station at night. Whenever he had extra time, however, he went diving through the Marionettes archives, in an attempt to find any mention of Edward, or of the strange broadcast he saw the day his uncle disappeared. 

There were only a few files that mentioned Edward by name, and they were all locked, leaving him unable to access them. He was, however, able to learn more of the broadcast he saw. He saw a recording of the same symbol on a distorted rainbow background. The file name was coded, but it translated to SIGNAL. It was then that he knew his search wasn't in vain, and that he was going to learn why Edward did what he did. Learn why Edward abandoned him, and his mother. During his tenure at Upstaged, he chose not to tell his mother about Edward, just in case. 

Several years later, on September 19th, 2006, he was able to convince his higher-ups to transfer him to Station 85. His first day there officially began on October 13th, 2006. He did his job diligently on his first day, but when it was closing time, he decided against spending time or talking with the other employees, leaving him a relatively unknown face in the station. Other employees, such as Riley Donnelly, never had a clue that he had transferred in the first place. Instead, he immediately went to the office of Edward Marion.

He was not in the office that day. Nor the 14th, or 15th. He was only able to reach Edward on the 16th at nearly 11:53 PM, hours after he was supposed to leave. 

When Wyatt finally saw Edward again, he wasn't sure what he expected. He would be aged, certainly, and might take a moment to recognize Wyatt, but maybe when he saw his nephew, he'd be happy. However, when Wyatt saw his uncle for the first time in 17 years, he recoiled, left horrified at his decayed body. It looked as if he were a walking corpse, barely held together by the last vestiges of life dripping through his veins. Edward saw Wyatt, with little more than an empty smile on his face, and motioned for him to enter his office. The two had a lot to discuss.

Edward apologized for abandoning Wyatt and his mom, saying that he knew what he did hurt the family, and that it hurt him more than Wyatt could ever imagine. However, there was something more important to tend to. Wyatt screamed at him, demanded to know what could possibly be more important than his family, when someone knocked on the door. It was midnight of the 17th. 

Riley entered, panicking, saying that something had happened. The three of them rushed out, and immediately recognized that everything had begun to fall apart. Edward looked at the two of them, and told them that the Signal had escaped, and was starting to spread from person to person; he told them that he would explain more later, but he needed their utmost cooperation and trust, no matter what, or else they risked every single person within these stations dying. They agreed. It was then that the stations started to fluctuate in unison, melding together, as Wyatt fell through the floor. There were no exits.

He went searching for Edward again, avoiding all receivers that had been created. he knew better than to approach them, as he remembered the day his uncle disappeared, where he was entranced by the television. He suspected that it could do worse than that now. Eventually, he found Joshua, and the two of them found Edward, who told them of a plan to save them all from the horrible fate the company had wrought upon all of its employees. He was one of the eight that survived the events that began October 17th, 2006.

Just like Thomas, Joshua, Lily, and Nashiko, he was free once the Signal was trapped. His memory had suffered a moderate amount of damage, similar to Joshua; he forgot the specifics of the Signal, and forgot of his relation to Edward Marion, along with his uncle's entire existence. He could not remember the terrible acts he committed at Edward's command. When the Signal started back up in 2016, he was called back. He was sent a package on October 1st, 2018, and received it October 3rd, 2018. He received it the same day as Thomas, Joshua, Lily, and Nashiko.

He has not been captured yet. He is no longer protected, but he can still be saved. One chance. One solution."

That's the end of the file.

I didn't realize that Edward and Wyatt were related. I guess it makes sense, though. They look somewhat similar.

In 1989, Edward saw the Signal for the first time. I'm positive of that. That's probably was the weird broadcast that Wyatt received at his home. What happened that day, though? How did Edward know that was going to happen, and how did he know to stop it? I'm also wondering what's with the packages sent to everyone. I'm assuming Edward sent them, right? Why did he call everyone back? And what is it exactly that Wyatt and the others did that Edward ordered them to do?

Him looking like a corpse... well, it fits what I've seen of him. I wonder what made him like that.

Project Assembly Line 4: Nashiko Morita

Got another download from Riley.

It's called "pal4.pdf" and it's a file over Nashiko. Interestingly, this download screen has some darkness over it. Almost looks like a shadow, or something. Not sure what it is. 

This one is longer, at 5 pages and a couple paragraphs. Like the others, the first page is the cover page, and the rest is writing. Here's what it said:

PROJECT ASSEMBLY LINE

SUBJECT #4: NASHIKO MORITA

Marionettes recreation of her last staff photo, circa March 26th, 2006.

"NAME: NASHIKO MORITA

STATION: #48
POSITION: ANCHOR/BOARD MEMBER

In 1989, Edward Marion needed to contain the Signal. To do so, he created a system called Marionettes, which was capable of imprisoning it, stopping its deplorable spread. However, he needed funding to develop and maintain this system. Equipment costs money, after all. He came from a background in television, so he created a company, named Upstaged Communications. However, he was not interested in the day to day runnings of the company, so he chose to focus his time almost exclusively on Marionettes, while also acting as the head of the human resources department. This was a sensitive situation, so he needed to be the one to screen potential hires, and review the actions of problematic employees. In order to run the company, he set up a board of 12 employees, who decided what to do with the company. He would only step in if there was a deadlock, acting as a tiebreaker. They had control otherwise. Nashiko Morita was one of the individuals selected to be on the board.

None of the board had any family or other close connections. This is why they were selected. When Nashiko was found by Edward, she was working a dead-end job as a janitor for the company he used to work for. Despite her employer's disbelief at her potential, he recognized her decisiveness, her willpower, and her determination, despite the weariness she felt from working such a thankless job. He offered her a chance to change--a way to make a difference in the world, to be a known and trusted face to thousands, and a way to meet more people like her. People who understood her. Nashiko, despite her initial reluctance to believe such a wondrous proposal, decided to take him up on his offer, and joined Upstaged Communications. She was hired as a daytime anchor of Station 29, but she was also inaugurated to the board, helping with the day-to-day decisions of the company so that Edward could focus on his project. 

Edward wanted transparency with his actions, so he informed the board of the Signal. Nashiko and the others did not believe what they were being told until they saw it first hand, when Edward gave them a glimpse. Not enough to harm them, but enough to impress upon them the importance of Marionette's completion and maintenance. She saw a flicker of the future that never was, a flicker of the destruction it would leave in its wake if it were to ever break free. It broke her, and left her terrified, but she knew what had to be done. The company opened faster than anyone had expected, on October 17th, 1989. 

She did a wonderful job as an anchor at Station 29, but found it to be smaller than she had hoped for. By her own request, she was moved to Station 48, the second and much larger station to open. As soon as she moved, she instantly became well-loved by the ones watching at home. As Edward had promised, she became the trusted face of the news for thousands, covering a large portion of the midwest during prime hours. The rest of her employees and board respected her, and even grew to like her. Meanwhile, other board members proved themselves to be shrewd and resourceful, and managed to rapidly expand the company over the 17 years it was active. 5 years in, they were a national presence, having stations across the country; 10 years in, they were a household name. They competed with industry titans, slowly taking over local TV stations that were beginning to run out of money, and replacing them with stations that people kept their eyes on. It took the lead role in the propagation of news in the United States, and was even exploring expansion into Canada. 

Nashiko was thriving as the company did the same. Her life had been stagnant and dreadful for years, decades, but she was finally able to have everything she wanted. She had friends, a stable job that paid well, people who respected her and her work, and even the knowledge that she was helping save the world. The Signal would be contained. Everything would work out.

It did not.

When the clock struck midnight on October 17th, 2006, something happened. An exploit was found within Marionettes. A flaw. This let the Signal break free, and transform the one who found it. Penelope became a transmission tower. Edward's role as number one was upstaged, and he was left scrambling, trying to find a way to fix it. He had a contingency plan if the Signal ever escaped, but he never thought it would have escaped through someone else. As such, while the board was kept safe, he and the rest of the employees were not. Despite his precarious position, however, he devised a plan.

Although he was the founder of the company, the board held all the power. He structured it this way on purpose, so that he wouldn't have to worry about the money-making and legal sides of Upstaged, and could focus on the Signal. As such, to enact his plan, he needed approval from the board, to let him access all sensitive material within the stations. Employee files and history files on not just the regular employees, but on the board, too. They were a necessary part of the plan to re-contain it. All history had to be amalgamated into the new transmission tower.

A proposal was quickly drafted and sent to the board for Project Assembly Line. Edward was confident that it would be approved as soon as they got it, allowing him to act before all employees perished. After all, he knew how to contain the Signal, and knew how to stop it from being able to spread again. Unfortunately, the board had some ideas, left to stew over the years the company was flourishing, with the ingredients given the day Edward showed them the potential of the Signal. Maybe there was an alternative to both Edward's desired future and the Signal's desired future. When the meeting was called, Nashiko watched in horror as all of her friends convinced themselves that they could use the Signal to further their media empire, and transform it into something with real power. They thought they could control it. And, if they could control it, maybe letting it spread to all employees was a good idea, so that they had the pieces needed to win. When a vote came up to approve Project Assembly Line, Nashiko was the only one to vote in favor of it. It died at 11-1.

The verdict reached Edward shortly after, as he continued to collect the few employees that had managed to avoid the spread. He knew he had no alternative, if he was to defeat the Signal before it took him and the rest. He found the safe room the board was in. A gun was in his hand. Forty eight seconds later, Nashiko was the only one left. She watched as all her friends were turned into crimson stains against the stone walls of their bunker. Her entire world had been ruined in the blink of an eye, leaving her with nothing inside but the rage that sped through her veins, festering as she watched her friends die one by one at the hands of Edward.

Despite her burning hatred, however, there was no time to lose. No matter what she may have felt towards Edward, the Signal was worse. When he held his hand out, she was forced to grit her teeth and accept it, knowing that she had to help stop the Signal, before it ended all. She was one of the eight that survived the events that began on October 17th, 2006.

As was the case with Thomas, Joshua, and Lily, she was free once the Signal was trapped. Her memory suffered only minor damage, similar to Thomas, so she remembered the death of her friends, and the blood-soaked hallways she waded through. Of course, certain specifics escaped her, along with the memories of what she did to paint those halls red. Unfortunately, the Signal awoke in 2016, so she was called back once again. She was sent a package on October 1st, 2018, and received it on October 3rd, 2018. She received it the same day as Thomas, Joshua, Lily, and Wyatt.

She has not been captured yet. She is no longer protected, but she can still be saved. One chance. One solution."

That's the end of the file.

Ms. Morita was the board member that got Thomas a job at Upstaged. I didn't realize that Nashiko was that board member. Although the board made collective decisions to pass down to the employees, it was never revealed who they were. I had no idea they were all normal employees.

The Signal tried to misrepresent what happened with the board and employees. At the same time, I don't know how to react. Edward did what he perceived as necessary, to stop the Signal. Stopping the Signal is more important than anything, if the future is as terrible as the board and Edward saw. At the same time... was there truly no other way to convince the board? That can't have been the only option, especially if Nashiko was willing to help him. Right?

I don't know. Each one of these has mentioned the person being talked about doing something horrible. This is the most direct of all. What did Nashiko and the rest do? It also mentioned that Edward started Upstaged in 1989, the year he discovered the Signal. I wonder how he found it in the first place. I guess we'll see.

It's good to hear that she hasn't been captured yet. I'll do everything I can to save her, Wyatt, and Riley. Whatever it takes.

Brief respite

Something just happened that I wasn't expecting. I was about to go to sleep, but I heard a chime from my phone. It was an email from Edward.

The subject line is "Brief respite" and it reads:

"Hiding spot has allowed for a brief respite to communicate a truth:

There is only one chance."

I immediately shot an email back, asking "One chance for what?" I probably could have asked more, but I figured that he wouldn't actually respond, given what Riley said. If he truly is as vulnerable as she said he is, then this kind of a thing is a one-time deal until things are safe. Like he kept on saying, safety comes first. At the same time, if this was important enough to reveal himself, even temporarily, then any clarification would have been helpful, and worth asking for.

My suspicions were confirmed when he didn't respond, and I instead received an automatic response. 

There was a change, however. At the bottom, it now reads: "I saw the future"

I want to know what he saw. Unfortunately, he isn't going to be around to answer, if I had to guess, so I'm probably going to have to wait until his file is reached in Project Assembly Line. 

In the meantime, I noticed that in Amygdala Simulation 6, the mention of only one surviving Edward's massacre of the board was accompanied by a picture of Nashiko. But she was an anchor at Station 48, not a board member, I thought. Although, now that I think about it, I don't remember a single person who was on the board. I don't know if we were ever told. 

I'm still hungry. It's only gotten worse.

Amygdala Simulation 6 - No Alternative (UPDATE)

Someone noticed something in the most recent Amygdala Simulation. More intrusions from Riley.

The first intrusion was one I picked up, which read: "YOU NEED CONTEXT - RILEY", which was at the beginning, before it properly started. However, there were two more that I missed. One in the middle of the video, and one at the end. 

The first is at around 30 seconds, before the video starts talking about the board. It reads: "IT PROMISES SOMETHING UNFATHOMABLY HORRIFYING - RILEY"

The second is right at the end, before it cuts off. It reads: "IT OFFERS LIES WE CAN BE FREE AND SAVE THOSE LEFT - RILEY"

I wonder what the Signal's goal is here. I know it wants to spread. That much is clear. It's taking over people to aid its spread. But what does it actually want? What is this "unfathomably horrifying" future it wants? Obviously the board of Upstaged must've seen some potential in that future, if they were considering it. Then again, they were the ones that were considering using the Signal, so I don't know whether the future they saw would've been good for much of anyone. At the same time, it's hard to imagine many scenarios that justify murdering eleven people, or abandoning however many dozens of employees. Edward had a plan; why wouldn't it have worked?

Amygdala Simulation 6 - No Alternative

Video: https://youtu.be/r5vsRBsgayw

There was an intrusion in the beginning, from Riley. It said: "YOU NEED CONTEXT - RILEY"

I am listening.

Project Assembly Line 3: Lily Boyce

Another new download from Riley.

It's called "pal3.pdf" and it's a file over Lily.

This is a little longer, at 3 pages, and a paragraph after. The first page is the cover page, the rest is writing. Here's what it said: 

PROJECT ASSEMBLY LINE

SUBJECT #3: LILY BOYCE

Marionettes recreation of her last staff photo, circa March 26th, 2006.

"NAME: LILY BOYCE

STATION: #48

POSITION: CAMERA GRIP

Lily Boyce was hired on November 8th, 2002 as a camera grip for Station 48. She was bouncing around jobs when she caught the ad on the news; Upstaged Communications offered a training program to anyone who wished to join the station. She took the job, despite her lack of interest, because she needed the money. Her landlord was starting to get antsy about late payments. 

The job was simple in concept, but difficult in execution. She was part of a team of two responsible for the camera. Not just turning it on and off, but positioning it, while maintaining all the equipment that kept it in place. Tripods, dollies, cranes--it was all handled by the two of them. She was barely trained by the time her coworker left, leaving her as the only grip. It was a hard job, one that should've been shared, but the company refused to hire more. Claimed it'd just be a waste of money. So she worked.

Given how much was put on her, it was no surprise that she turned to outside sources to help herself. Both men and substances. It was a poorly kept secret, which is why nobody believed her when she said she saw something, on the camera. A signal intrusion, but one that wasn't recorded, despite being shown on the screen. It showed her a strange symbol of a dead tree, stripped of all leaves, that was glitching. Nobody else saw it, so they brushed it aside, while the board warned her against talking about it again, as it was supposedly causing a distraction. In order to buy her silence, they gave her the day after off, with Riley Donnelly substituting from Station 85. 

When she didn't tell anyone is that it spoke, too. The intrusion said: "SIGNAL FREQUENCY 22.22 RECEIVER POINT NULL PENDANT INACTIVE," which left her concerned. What was it talking about? What pendant? Was someone planning to hijack the station?

Given that she couldn't talk about what she saw, she decided to search through the Marionettes video archives, in an attempt to see if this had ever happened before. To her surprise, results turned up--she found a video in Marionettes, which showed a strange, distorted rainbow, with the same dead tree symbol on it. The video name was an encoded form of the word SIGNAL. She also found an image of a strange pendant, which had a similar symbol to the image labeled SIGNAL. It was at this point that Lily knew something was wrong at Upstaged, given that they had records of a hijacker, knew whomever it was may return, and yet did nothing to stop it. Whatever was going to happen was intended by the company. This much she knew. 

That's why she was prepared when the world fell apart. The Signal began to bleed out, and one by one, people fell to it, the pendant transferred between people like a virus. Lily, however, was able to recognize it, and avoided all employees that tried to pin her down, eventually falling into Station 85 due to the structural fluctuations. There, she found Edward, who told her of a plan to save them all from the horrible fate the company had wrought upon all of its employees. She was one of the eight that survived the events that began October 17th, 2006.

Just like with Thomas and Joshua, she was free once the Signal was trapped. Her memory suffered significant damage, however; she did not remember how the company closed, only that there was more to it than the official statement. She could not remember all the despicable deeds she performed to end it. When the Signal started back up in 2016, she was called back. She was sent a package on October 1st, 2018 and received it on October 3rd, 2018. She received it the same day as Thomas, Joshua, Nashiko, and Wyatt.

She was the first receiver the Signal was able to capture in 2018. There is no longer a Lily Boyce."

That's the end of the file. 

The company knew that something was going to happen with the Signal. The people in charge of it, at least; the board told her not to talk about it anymore, so I'm guessing it was them specifically. A consistent thing between all three files thus far is Edward saying that the company wrought some horrible fate upon all of its employees. What did the company want to do to its employees? What was its plan with the Signal? And how did Edward get involved?

Project Assembly Line 2: Joshua O'Dell

I got sent another download.

It's called "pal2.pdf" and it's a file over Joshua.

Once again, it's 3 pages long. The cover page, which you can see there, and two pages of writing. Here's what it said:

PROJECT ASSEMBLY LINE

SUBJECT #2: JOSHUA O'DELL

Marionettes recreation of his last staff photo, circa March 26th, 2006.

"NAME: JOSHUA O'DELL

STATION: #48

POSITION: ANCHOR

Joshua O'Dell was a relatively fresh hire by the time Upstaged Communications closed, having joined Station 48 on June 5th, 2005. He had been an anchor for a local news station for 12 years, but was hired by Upstaged when his old job closed. The old company simply ran out of money, which Upstaged was never in short supply of.

As the anchor, his job was to smile, look relaxed, read the teleprompter, and say what he was being fed. It was an easy job, in his eyes; he didn't have to make any of the more difficult choices on what to broadcast, he just read what was written. Given his charming personality and, by his standards, decent looks, he eased into his job, flipping the switch to his conscious thought off with little difficulty as he focused on the teleprompter. His segment was the late night news for a large region in the Midwest, making him the nighttime comfort for thousands of people. 

That was when it happened. In the middle of a broadcast, he saw something. The people at home saw him squint, forced to bring his mind back to reality with a concerned expression, before laughing it off, as he explained to his viewers that there were some technical difficulties. A glitch in the teleprompter, he said; he'd return in just a moment. The station got a few angry calls over the interruption, but it could've been far worse. He handled the situation well.

Joshua also happened to be a fast reader, and had a good memory. What he saw on the teleprompter didn't leave him after his shift was over. On the screen, he saw a strange, hollow tree symbol, lightly glitching and fragmenting. There was then text, written over itself countless times, in such a way that it was utterly incomprehensible. The only word he could make out was SIGNAL. There was nothing he could do to try to decipher what else was said, as the glitch wasn't recorded; instead, he was forced to sit on what he saw, trying his best to force it out of his mind. After all, Upstaged Communications was a reputable company, yes? There was no chance that it could've been something bad. Just a glitch. 

The feeling of wrongness wouldn't leave him, and it started to drive him mad. Months later, on the eve of the new year, he visited the Marionettes archives, attempting to find any mentions of this SIGNAL. He wasn't able to find much, as a surprising amount of the archive was coded and password protected, but he found files of some strange music, and an image. An image of the same tree symbol from before. It unnerved him, but by that point, he knew better than to dig further. He had enough information, should anything happen.

This left him prepared when everything shattered. As the Signal began to spread through the stations, he recognized the strange music from the speakers, and the strange symbol he saw that day, on the teleprompter. He managed to slip past all the other employees riding the fluctuations of Station 48 until they landed him in Station 85, where he found Wyatt Reed. He and Wyatt found Edward, who told them of a plan to save them all from the horrible fate the company wrought upon all its employees. He was one of eight to survive the events that began midnight of October 17th, 2006.

Just like with Thomas, he was free once the Signal was trapped. His memory had suffered more damage, however; he remembered that the company had shuttered, and remembered some specifics, but could not remember what horrible things he did to help stop the Signal, nor what it even truly was. When the Signal started back up in 2016, he was called back. He was sent a package on October 1st, 2018 and received it on October 3rd, 2018. He received it on the same day as Thomas, Lily, Nashiko, and Wyatt.

He was the second receiver the Signal was able to capture in 2018. There is no longer a Joshua O'Dell."

That's the end of the file. 

Upstaged appeared to know more about the Signal than just the fact that it existed, if they had the symbol it uses to represent itself on file. I'm not sure why or how it could've appeared on the teleprompter; I do know that everything in Upstaged was connected to Marionettes, and that it was trying to free itself. Maybe it was able to slip through some flaws in Marionettes to show itself, or something, even if it couldn't free itself.

Joshua and Wyatt met each other when the Signal began to spread. That's good to know. However, there is once again a reference to having to do something horrible--the same thing was mentioned with Thomas. What did they have to do?

Like with Thomas, I am very unsettled by the final line. 

Project Assembly Line 1: Thomas Carola

Riley sent me the first part of Project Assembly Line.

The file's called "pal1.pdf" and it is a file over Thomas.

The thing's 3 pages long; the first is the cover page there, and then two pages of writing. This is what it said:

PROJECT ASSEMBLY LINE

SUBJECT #1: THOMAS CAROLA

Marionettes recreation of his last staff photo, circa March 28th, 2006.

"NAME: THOMAS CAROLA
STATION: #85

POSITION: AUDIO ENGINEER

Thomas Carola was originally hired on September 17th, 1999. A friend of Ms. Morita, a board member, he was sped through the hiring process at the only station with an open position, after being laid off from his last job. His former workplace claimed he was negligent and careless, but never offered any proof to him, nor to Upstaged Communications, when the HR department called.

As an audio engineer, his job was to work the sound board on live broadcasts--mix the audio so that people could be heard, while preparing sound effects and music for appropriate moments. Maybe it was because of the false accusations at his prior job making him want to prove himself, or maybe he was just that talented, but he performed fantastically at his job. Always working above and beyond, to the point that he found something he shouldn't have. In 2001, while he was searching the archives in Marionettes for a particular track to use, he stumbled across something. A recording of an indecipherable chatter, sounding as if it were being broadcast from a poorly tuned radio. Confused, he approached Edward Marion about it, who told him that it was simply a recording of an audience. He refused to elaborate. 

Thomas was unnerved, but quickly did his best to focus on his work, continuing to be a studious employee that put in more work than anyone would have ever expected. He was so studious and brilliant at his work that he was offered a promotion several times; he turned them all down, claiming that he knew what he was best at, and that he wished to continue doing what he was the best fit for. This was a lie. He continued his current job to ensure he had access to the Marionettes audio archives, where he went searching, and found more strange recordings. More recordings of this audience, and recordings of something new. Recordings of music, which sounded wrong, incomplete and broken, all named coded variations of the word SIGNAL. When he approached Edward about these, he was told that it was of no concern to him. 

He could never let go of the voices, or the music. It ate away at him, as he tried to think of what any of it could've possibly been used for, desperately attempting to excuse or explain it. It didn't work. He wouldn't get his answers until 2006.

Having accidentally discovered that something shady was going on at Upstaged Communications, he was prepared when disaster struck. The Signal began propagating through all stations, but he was able to recognize the music, and locked himself away in his office. He only opened the door when Edward came knocking, telling him that there was a plan to save them all from the horrible fate the company wrought upon all its employees. He was one of eight to survive the events that began midnight of October 17th, 2006.

Three days later, Upstaged Communications was dead, the Signal was trapped, and he was free on October 20th. His memory had been only moderately damaged; the memories of what he had been forced to do grew hazy, but he was secure in the knowledge that he was safe. However, the Signal woke back up in 2016, and so he was called to action once again. He was sent a package on October 1st, 2018, and received it on October 3rd, 2018. He received it the same day as Joshua, Lily, Nashiko, and Wyatt.

He was the third receiver the Signal was able to capture in 2018. There is no longer a Thomas Carola."

That's all that was written. 

Upstaged Communications knew that the Signal existed. They knew, and kept records of it. It says that Edward had a plan to "save them all from the horrible fate the company wrought upon all its employees," which makes me think that the company knew how dangerous the Signal was. Planned to use it, even. 

The damage to his memories explains why he seemed to know some, but not all, of what was going on; I imagine the others all suffered the same thing, to varying degrees. It also says that he received a package in 2018, which matches what Riley told me, back before Marionettes was taken over. She got a package in 2016, and then two years later, everyone else did. Who sent the packages, though? Why did I get mine on the 20th? That was the day the struggle ended, it seems, back in 2006. 

It says that eight people survived what happened in Upstaged. I assume they were Thomas, Joshua, Lily, Nashiko, Wyatt, Riley, me, and Edward. What happened to the rest? And what does it mean when it says that there's no longer a Thomas Carola?

I don't like this. 

Project Assembly Line 0: Project Proposal

I got another download prompt from Marionettes today.

I downloaded it.

What I got was this image:

It's the original file that was sent to the board by Edward to start Project Assembly Line. It reads:

"UPSTAGED COMMUNICATIONS

PROJECT ASSEMBLY LINE

Submitted to the board for approval on October 17th, 2006.

To the board,

I trust that you are all staying safe; it should be impossible to penetrate the room's defenses by the unseemly forces currently working against us. As per your request, I have identified the cause of the unfortunate circumstances we have found ourselves in, and have theorized a potential solution for the current problem. 

A flaw was found within Marionettes, exploited by SIGNAL through an unwitting vessel in Penelope Adams, which has resulted in the contamination of Upstaged Communications. It has spread through all stations with little difficulty, due to the increasing instability meshing them all together, and it has claimed almost all employees as receivers. However, it has experienced an unexpected roadblock; it is unable to propagate beyond the stations without a second active transmission tower, which it lacks due to my efforts. This leaves it vulnerable. 

The solution I am proposing will result in the recapture of SIGNAL, and trap it in a new host. This is Project Assembly Line.

The first step is to deactivate the current primary transmission tower, Penelope. This means it must be unwound from her hippocampus and amygdala. To free her hippocampus, the history of Upstaged's relationship with SIGNAL must be amalgamated into her mind, overwhelming it, ensuring a release. To free her amygdala, the primary source of her fear must be conquered, so that she is able to fight back. Following that, regaining control of Marionettes is imperative, while the removal of all tainted employees is necessary. Finally, Marionettes will be used to erase the amalgamated memories within her, which will result in the complete deactivation of the transmission tower, while forcing SIGNAL to become dormant.

I have assembled the remaining employees into a group willing to carry out Project Assembly Line. However, for this to work, I will need access to the entirety of Upstaged Communications, which requires your approval. 

Please let me know your response as soon as possible. I would be happy to find you in person to discuss this in further detail. I know how to find you. 

Thank you,

Edward Marion

Upstaged Communications HR

Dpt. 85"

This is project Assembly Line.

I don't know how to feel. The plan is to have me learn everything important about the Signal and Upstaged, free me of my fears somehow, retake Marionettes, remove all "tainted" employees (which sounds bad), and then use Marionettes to erase my memories. Just... proof. Gone. 

I kind of want that. This entire thing has been awful. I've been learning about and doing things that I never would've thought possible, and it's horrible. I feel like everything is my fault. I don't want to deal with it. I just want it to go away.

I don't know what it means by remove the "tainted" employees, though. I assume that means the receivers? What does remove mean? Thinking about it, I haven't heard from most of the past employees since Upstaged closed. Riley mentioned death being a possible solution... well, I hope there's a way out for Lily, Joshua, and Thomas. I don't want them to be hurt. They didn't do anything. All of this was my fault. 

Riley did offer me a way out. I'm sure there's a plan for those three, too. 

If this is what it takes to fix everything, I'll do it. I'm just worried about whether it'll actually work. I didn't remember what happened to Upstaged after the station closed, and completely forgot about it all until I received this package. It must've been a clean memory swipe, too, because Riley said I saw her in 2016, but I didn't recognize her. I think I would've recognized her, after everything we did together, but I guess not. So what happened? Why didn't it work? What's different this time?

I trust Riley and Edward. I'll do whatever it takes. I'm just worried things won't end the way they're supposed to.

Letter from Riley

Marionettes did something weird today.

I got a download prompt, out of nowhere, from Riley. It was for a file called "letter.pdf". I didn't think she had any control left, so I was concerned that it was another ruse from the Signal. However, I can't even begin to think of why it'd try to do something like this, so I downloaded it, and opened it. It's not like I have anything left to lose, right?

Just as it said, there was a letter. A letter from Riley. 

It was one and a half pages long. I'll copy the entire thing here:

"Penelope, this is Riley. I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen. You're not good at that, are you?

Unfortunately, you'll have to listen now, because you're the only hope we have left, now that everything's gone wrong. The Riley you talked to wasn't me. It was a fabrication of the Signal. Because of your efforts prior, it managed to get almost complete control of Marionettes, and because of your recent efforts, it managed to stabilize Station 85.

It can't start the show quite yet, though, because it doesn't have Edward; unfortunately, he's now in a compromised position, so he can't help you or me anymore. He was living, if you could call it that, in the fluctuations of Station 85. With them, he was able to make sure the receivers were never truly close to where he was, effortlessly slipping to a different layer or room as he flowed with the station. However, you stabilized the station, which means he now has to actively hide, so he can't talk to you anymore. Or Nashiko, Wyatt, or I; then again, he always seemed to talk to you to talk to us, instead of directly to us. Probably figured it would identify where we are or where he was if he tried to contact us directly. Anyways, we're going to have to do this without him. Safety comes first, after all.

There's a plan to end the Signal. You're an active transmission tower, which leaves us two options: you can die, or it can be contained. I'm guessing you'd rather not die, so we're going to have to start a delicate procedure to unravel it from your mind, and contain it. Tendrils of teeth and blood are sprouting from your cerebellum and wrapped around your hippocampus and amygdala, which has allowed it to ravage your memories, and allowed it to tap into your fears to manipulate you. I'm flattered you worry so much about me, by the way. 

This is the last chance to fix all of this. There is one good thing, though. The exploit you found in Marionettes, which freed the Signal? I can use it now, through the remote communicator I have. The fake me lied about who it was and what it wanted, but it did try to stick as close to the truth as possible, and it was right: the communicator I have gives me more privileges in Marionettes than the average user. That's because it's your old communicator, Penelope. Ain't that funny? And since you found the exploit through this, I was able to, as well. That means it can't stop me from sending you what needs to be sent. However, I need to scan physical documents from Edward's desk, which he had been preparing while you were lacking patience. I have the documents, but scanning these will take some time. Especially since the three of us have to dodge the receivers in a now fully stable station. After that, I'll be sending them to you through Marionettes, the same way I sent this. The Signal can read this, but it can't stop it, and can't tamper with the files at all.

Some of this is going to be weird. You won't always understand why you're being shown what you're being shown. However, Edward carefully prepared it, and it worked on him. It should work on you. You just gotta be patient. 

Just for the record, I'm still pissed off at you. But that doesn't matter right now. Responsibility can be doled out once this is over. For now, let's get to work, and begin Project Assembly Line.

    - Riley"

That was the letter. I briefly considered that it might be the Signal, but this is definitely Riley. Only she would insult me while telling me to help. She was a little like that even when we were on good terms. The Signal's copy was too nice. I should've noticed it then, but... well, hindsight, and all that.

Riley said that Edward was talking to her and the other two through me. That explains why he was so cryptic. He knew the others would be listening, but that means that the Signal would've been, too. He had to walk a fine line of making sure I understood what he said, making sure Riley and the others could understand what he was saying, and making sure the Signal couldn't. I feel bad for blaming him now. Something that weirds me out, though, is Riley saying "He was living, if you could call it that," which is weird to me. What was happening to Edward?

Project Assembly Line was first mentioned back when Edward first contacted me, when I was attempting to recover the image of Lily. It feels like he's been planning for this for a while. 

Lile Riley said, I'd rather not die, so I'm going to do this. Whatever this is. I need to do my part to end the Signal, after everything I've done to help it, accidentally or not. 

Just to be thorough, I emailed Edward, asking him if he was okay, and if he could see what I sent. I didn't get a response from him, just an automatic response.

It's the same as always, except for the bottom part. It now reads: "SAFETY COMES FIRST
I WILL HIDE
ONLY SILENCE
BEGIN ASSEMBLY LINE"

I guess we're on our own, now.

Amygdala Simulation 5 - Stability

Video: https://youtu.be/DS2zAzRNKFs

I'm an active transmission tower. Edward was the second, but the Signal described him as "broken" in Amygdala Simulation 3, which I'm guessing is what has been limiting it thus far. What will happen if the Signal manages to reach him, too?

There was a message at the end; seemingly another interjection, like the one in Amygdala Simulation 4. It reads: "YOU WILL RECEIVE A LETTER - RILEY"

I guess it's time to wait. I don't know for what, though. I don't know what can be done to fix this. 

Untitled Broadcast (UPDATE)

Someone figured out the audio part of the untitled broadcast.

If you can't read what it says, it's from "Pokyt" and reads: "Hi I'm only seeing this now but I found out what's hidden in untitled broadcast. The beeping is 'This is Riley do not continue it lies please stop' in morse code."

I still don't know what the visual part was, but I'm going to assume it was along the same lines. The real Riley was trying to warn me this entire time. 

Riley & Penelope: Chat Log 6

Everything went wrong.

[/begin_chat_log]

8:50 [Riley] I don't have much time

8:50 [Riley] in a moment, your closet door will open

8:50 [Riley] go through so you can stabilize station 85

8:50 [Riley] you can fix this

8:50 [Riley] please, trust me

At that point, my closet door swung open. I went and looked. I blinked, and I was outside, on the path that Riley had said she was trapped at before. Nobody was in front of me. Not the receivers, not Nashiko, not Wyatt, and not Riley. However, I did hear a gasp, and felt as if the world had shifted behind me in an unbearably cold transformation,  so that whoever was there was gone. I couldn't focus on that, though. There was the irresistible feeling that something was wrong in the sky. 

I looked up, and I saw it. There was a hole in the sky, and I could see the Signal within. I then passed out, and dreamt. What I dreamt was seen in the rest of the video. 

Marionettes was communicating to me through my dreams. Edward managed to hijack it, taking control back for a moment to deliver his message. I was able to see his face unobscured for the first time. He looks dead. His message read:

"LIES WERE BELIEVED

SAFETY IS ABANDONED

PLAN WAS UPSTAGED

ALL IS THREATENED"

Scattered throughout the rest of his message was the station monitor system. I was able to see that the building was slowly regaining stability. First, it went from 0.0 to 3.5.

"NASHIKO SAW HER FRIENDS KILLED

IT SAVED HER BUT LEFT HER WITH RAGE

SHE IS NO LONGER PROTECTED"

The stability raised from 3.5 to 6.2.

"WYATT SAW HIS FATHER FIGURE DISAPPEAR

HE WENT SEARCHING AND FOUND HIM WRONG

HE IS NO LONGER PROTECTED"

The stability raised from 6.2 to 8.5.

"RILEY SAW THE LOSS OF ONE SHE LOVED

DESPITE HER WARNINGS, THERE WAS ONLY FAILURE

SHE IS NO LONGER PROTECTED"

The stability raised from 8.5 to 10. When it did, it could finally count the staff present, which was 4. Nashiko, Wyatt, Riley, and one other. Not me. The warning then changed multiple times. It started as "Warning: Avoid building at all costs." It then changed to "Warning: Station at full stability." After that, it changed to "Warning: Safe movement is no longer possible." Finally, it changed to "Warning: Hide."

The Signal interrupted Marionettes, at that point, taking control back from Edward. It said: "presence of transmission tower 1 has transmitted desired stability to station 85"

It then switched back to the chat log. I could still see it, in my dream, but it engulfed the whole of my vision. It changed, and someone else started talking. Not Riley. This entire time, it wasn't Riley. Not since she closed the original chat thread to me, back when Marionettes was taken over by the Signal.

█:██ [U0lHTkFM] thank you for your help

█:██ [U0lHTkFM] it is only a matter of time now

The name is base64, which translates to SIGNAL.

After that, there was one last message from Edward. 

"SAFETY COMES FIRST
I WILL HIDE
ONLY SILENCE"

The Signal completely wrested control back at that point, and shut Marionettes back down. I saw the broken Upstaged Communications logo until I woke up. I was back in my chair, like nothing had happened. The broken logo was on my screen. My closet door was closed. I thought that it was just a nightmare, but then I picked up the broadcast on my television.

In roundabout terms, Edward told me to not trust Riley. I thought this was a trick, or that he was out to stop me, but he wasn't. He was trying to warn me that she wasn't real. She did say Ed in chat log 5, which I've only heard the Signal use. I should've known. Especially with the interjected warning on Amygdala Simulation 4.

I don't know what will happen, now that Station 85 is stabilized. I thought it'd fix things, but it didn't. It made things worse. 

Everything went wrong. 

Upstaged

Video: https://youtu.be/VE5IhLXcImc

This broadcast appeared on my television almost 12 hours later

Tendrils of teeth and blood

I got another unprompted email from Edward. The subject line is "Tendrils of teeth and blood" and this was the email:

It reads: "They are wrapped around amygdala and hippocampus, writhing and salivating as they twist and distort all thoughts from the source of emanation. Sinew spreads through the grey matter, transmitting all abhorrent desires.

A plan is in progress, and will reveal itself soon. Do not believe. Do not give in. Do not become its marionette. Ignore. Patience." 

There was also an image. I'll get to that in a moment. 

I replied. I'm desperate for something.

I said: "When is soon? And what is it going to try to make me do? What's your plan? Please, just give me something. Anything."

It appears he heard my plea. 

It's the normal automated response, except for the segment beneath the dashes. It changed to read: "Patience, assembly line begins soon"

"Assembly Line" was mentioned multiple times. I can remember it appearing when Edward left me the message he left while I was recovering the image of Lily; I also remember Marionettes saying that it needed to be restarted, before it completely died, and got taken over by the Signal. I'm not sure what it is.

This was the image that Edward sent me.

I checked multiple different things, and there's nothing hidden in it. I'm pretty sure there was in the untitled broadcast, even if I still can't figure it out, but there's nothing here that I can see. I'm guessing this is a visualization of the tendrils of teeth and blood that Edward mentioned. They were also mentioned by Marionettes, before it fully died. They look like puppet strings, more than anything. 

I know Edward's warning me against something. I can't tell what, though. He's being too vague on what it is I need to avoid doing. I'll just do my best to be careful, I guess. 

Something is going to happen soon. I think my next update will be that. Hopefully it's me being able to stabilize Station 85, and save Riley, along with the others. If I'm able to get them back, I think there's a much better chance of being able to stop this thing.

I wonder where Edward is right now.