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
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.
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