Through the Dimensional Rabbit-Hole

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This page needs content: what happens if you reach level 10 without access to Susan?

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Walkthrough

1. Reaching level 10 after finishing All the World's a Quest, and All the Men and Women Merely Heroes you get the journal message:

It's been a while since you've talked to Susan Novak. Maybe you should check in with her?

Visiting Susan Novak you get:

<player>, I'm so glad you stopped by! I've got a situation of sorts. Remember the portal that was confiscated after they shut down the Zion's tears operation? Well, I'm part of a research institute that managed to acquire the portal for testing. We still don't really understand the science behind it, but we've managed to determine enough from the controls to get it operational."

You sputter for a second. "What? You opened the portal? Don't tell me they've invaded again, because I don't think I can take fighting another batch of archons-"

"No, no, we wouldn't open up a portal for an invading army. We've learned how to redirect the device. We picked someplace that looked empty, someplace quiet and desolate, where we could safely pursue some scientific investigations on a new world. It seemed so safe ..." Susan sighs. "We thought we were being smart, avoiding a known risk from the Zion's Tears beings, but what we've found is much worse."

"How much worse?"

"Apparently the dimensional gate is causing some sort of disturbance on the other side. What we thought was empty tundra turns out to have some sort of alien wildlife. It's fascinating to see non-Earth biology, but for some reason they seem to be swarming around the gate. At first it was just herds of harmless herbivores, and we weren't concerned. But with the swarms of herbivores came predators, which were more dangerous, but mostly left us alone. And then, and this is just a hunch but I think we'll see this is right, stranger creatures began to appear that I think are from other dimensions. Some are translucent or transparent or seem to have the ability to disappear and reappear in other locations, or they change form in erratic ways that could only be explained by a creature that existed in more than the three spatial dimensions we're used to dealing with. Many are fearsome beyond imagining. And they seem to be drawn to the dimensional gate. They're terrorizing the natural fauna on the other side, and they also keep trying to come through to our side.

Can you come with me to the lab? It's located in the Industry district, in the Elco Hoist Laboratory."

2. Visiting Elco Hoist Laboratory you get:

You visit the lab with Susan, and get much the same story. Terrible beasts are swarming the portal, and it's all the lab can do just to keep them out.

You ask, "Okay, so why not shut the gate?"

Susan explains, "I wish it could be that simple. Unfortunately, we have people on the other side. An expedition left before the danger became apparent, and communications systems aren't very reliable on that side of the gate. They won't work at all through the gate, and with the swarms of creatures trying to get through it's all we can do to keep them out here, meaning we can't get anyone back to the other side to attempt to communicate. That's why we need you. We're hoping you can get through all the creatures and either establish communications or locate the expedition and help them return safely."

You peek through the gate, and eye the predatory chaos that lurks on the other side. It's clear that no normal human would stand a chance of getting through if you don't do something to clear a path.

The journal message changes to:

Elco Hoist labs is under attack by strange creatures, and a party of scientists is lost on the other side of the dimensional gate. The first order of business is to fight your way through some of the critters so Susan's group can get some breathing room.

3. Adventure in Staked Tundra (for 10 turns?) until you get No Ferns in this Gully‎. Your journal message will change to:

You've broken through the worst of the interdimensional creatures and located Ash, a member of the science expedition. You need to take him back to Elco Hoist Labs and figure out the next step.

4. Visiting Elco Hoist Laboratory you get:

As soon as you step back through the portal you realize there are several more people in attendance than when you left. Most of them appear to be random suits, but one of them you recognize immediately, and it seems he remembers you, too. "What are you doing here?" growls billionaire Michael Ace, owner of the Golden Wooden Nickel casino--among many, many other things.

"Trying to save a bunch of foolish scientists," you reply. "What are you doing here?"

"It's my lab. You better not make another mess of things," he says.

"Figures. I'm trying to save lives, you're worried about profits."

"Profits? This portal is one of a kind. You can't place a value on that. And on the other side -"

Ash jumps into the conversation. "Yes, we found some! He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a chunk of crystal. It looks a bit like amethyst, purple and white in long hexagonal tubes, except it's softly glowing.

"What is that?" you ask.

"Nostromonium. Very rare. Only a few flecks of it have ever been found on Earth. Named after Elena Nostromo, the woman who first discovered its unusual energy properties. We need a few pieces of it to stabilize the portal and get communications working on the other side. After that we can dedicate ourselves to fully extracting the rest. The things we'll be able to do ... it's going to change the face of the world!" Susan is nodding, Ace is nodding, the suits with Ace are practially salivating, their eyes agleam with the promise of profits. The scientists are smiling and whispering amongst themselves, talking about the implications of the discovery.

"Yeah, great," you say. "I'll leave that to you once I've solved the little problem of your team being possibly eaten by alien creatures." Everyone looks a little chagrined. After a quick consultation session with Ash, you agree that the next step is to patrol the badlands, learning the lay of the land and searching for any other lost team members.

Your journal message changes to:

Now that you've pushed back the worst of the creatures from the gate and found a path to the badlands, you've got to search the badlands for the missing scientists. Hopefully you can find them before it's too late!

You're disappointed to have learned the very annoying Michael Ace is the founder of the research facility, and is in part responsible for this mess.

5. Adventure in the Astral Badlands until you get Alien Geology 101. Your journal message will change to:

You've discovered the caves known as the Mouths of Darkness, where the scientific expedition had set up camp before being scattered. You now have a choice: search for the lost members of the expedition in the badlands and see what they've learned from the caves, or explore the depths of the smaller caves in search of Nostromonium needed to shield the dimensional gate and build a homing beacon that will bring back the lost scientists.

You're disappointed to have learned the very annoying Michael Ace is the founder of the research facility, and is in part responsible for this mess.

6a. Adventuring again in the Astral Badlands until you get Stranger in a Strange Landscape will change the journal message to:

You've discovered the caves known as the Mouths of Darkness, where the scientific expedition had set up camp before being scattered. You now have a choice: search for the lost members of the expedition in the badlands and see what they've learned from the caves, or explore the depths of the smaller caves in search of the minerals needed to shield the dimensional gate and build a homing beacon that will bring back the lost scientists. You've found some of the missing members already but it seems like more are still out there.

You're disappointed to have learned the very annoying Michael Ace is the founder of the research facility, and is in part responsible for this mess.

7a. Adventure again in the Astral Badlands until you get Geyser Dolls. This will not change the journal message.

References

• The quest's name references the name of the first chapter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, "Down the Rabbit-Hole". The term "going down/through a rabbit hole" has become a popular term for going on an adventure into the unknown.