Through the Dimensional Rabbit-Hole

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Walkthrough

1. Reaching level 10, but only after getting your permanent sidekick as part of 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 5-10 turns, see notes) until you get No Ferns in this Gully‎.

• 5 out of 6 monsters found at the Stake Tundra will occasionally drop glob of goo, use it on foes in this step to reduce the number of turns needed. You get the following special message when using a glob of goo:

Your attempt to spray the goo around causes a couple of the nearby monsters to become bogged down, and natural tendencies among the predators quickly take care of some of the crowdedness.

Your journal message changes 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 (for 5-10 turns, see notes) until you get Alien Geology 101.

• Having the ability to fly makes this step quicker. You get the following message after each combat:

Being able to fly is letting you map this territory much faster than you would be able to on foot.

• If you don't have the ability to fly, having Super Jumping ability also makes step 5 quicker. You get the following message after each combat:

Your super jump ability lets you map more of the terrain than you could have without it.

Your journal message changes 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.

At this point you can go directly into the Mouths of Darkness for step 7, or you can continue to adventure in the Astral Badlands and do step 6 which is not mandatory.

6. (optional) Adventure in the Astral Badlands until you get Stranger in a Strange Landscape. This 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.

This will mark one of the caves in the Mouths of Darkness as empty. You can continue to Astral Badlands until you get Geyser Dolls, Alien Ecology 201, Sucks to be Dinner, Night is Coming and Murky Purple, which will mark more caves as either full or empty. After getting all of the above events 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've also found what sounds like every surviving member of the expedition, and from the information they gave you, you have a decent idea of the cave system's layout. Now it's time to collect the remaining minerals and go home.

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.

7. Adventure in the caves at the Mouths of Darkness. You should adventure 5 times in each cave to get a special encounter. Do this until you get Pooled Resources, Mother's Milk and finally Do They Have Packrats Here? Raccoons?. This will change the journal message to:

All surviving members of the scientific expedition have been located, and you have the needed minerals. Time to get back to Elco Hoist Labs.

8. Visit the Elco Hoist Laboratories again to get:

While the force field is being set up, you pull Susan aside and warn her about the Nostronomium reaction in the cave. "Hm. I hadn't expected so small amount to be so volatile. I apologize for not warning you. We'll be very careful in handling it." Susan and many of the other researchers spend several minutes thanking you profusely for your help.

You're about to declare the usual "I think my work is done here" and escape into the night when you notice Michael Ace placing two of the four Nostronomium crystals into padded briefcases and locking them up. You say, "Wait, what are you doing with those? I rescued the crystals to save the lab, not so you could play with them."

Ace simply ignores you, while a couple of the burlier suits--maybe they're actually bodyguards--step between him and you. Susan blushes and clears her throat. "Actually, <player>, Mister Ace owns them. As founder and sole sponsor of the lab, he has rights to half of anything we produce, with the other half being retained by the lab ... which of course is also run under his guidance. I can see you have some history, but Mister Ace has been a truly generous benefactor for us. Without his aid, it might be centuries before we could be researching the things you see here. It's such a small price to pay for such a tremendous benefit to all of humanity."

You harumph and grumble for a bit, but you don't see any way around it, and only watch as a couple of suits carry the briefcases out into the night. Ace, who hasn't said a word to you since your return, delivers a scathing smirk before turning to leave. You grimace and grit your teeth, but resign yourself to letting him go, when <sidekick>, your impetuous understudy*, lunges toward Ace. The bodyguards immediately take a defensive stance and reach for concealed weapons, while you place a restraining hand on your understudy's shoulder. <sidekick> says, "No! It's not fair! We do all the work to save the people this bozo put into harm's way, and he gets to keep the crystals? He didn't even thank us! I'd like to wipe that disdainful sneer off his face with my fist!"

Ace stares at you both, unflinching, sneer still firmly in place. After a pause so lengthy you don't think he's going to deign to respond, Ace finally says, "Tough luck, kid. I call the shots, I own the lab, I run the show. Don't kid yourself about the part you played. I would have gotten the Nostronomium eventually, with or without your help. You just saved me a couple of days of waiting, is all." With that Ace turns and strides out into the night, his bodyguards close behind. Susan and the scientists try to reassure both of you that you did indeed help save a number of lives, but you also realize Ace is probably right. He could have easily mustered a small private army to go in and do the same thing you did, just at a higher cost to human life.

It makes you think: Mafia in his casino, possible ties to the Zion's Tears cult that first used this portal, exhibiting a grim determination to claim his prize at any cost, with little regard for the lives of others ... you're starting to think Michael Ace might deserve a little more investigation.

* If your understudy is not your active sidekick, the following text is added in this place:

(who has been hanging out at the lab while you venture into the caves with a different companion)

The following message is added to the Completed Quests section of your journal:

Well, you've gone through a dimensional gate, explored forgotten plains and astral badlands, delved the depths of the caves known as the Mouths of Darkness, discovered valuable Nostronomium, rescued the remains of the lost scientific expedition, and your understudy nearly came to blows with billionaire Michael Ace, head of Elco Hoist Labs. Whew! That's a mouthful!

Rewards

• Nostronomically Hardened skill.

Notes

• You can get this quest before finishing Protests Aren't for Amateurs, but you will be stuck at step 1 since you cannot visit Susan.
• Although the quest is supposedly not available until one finishes All the World's a Quest, and All the Men and Women Merely Heroes, in reality all one needs to do is get a full-time sidekick at The Bit Player 7. If one did not do that step yet, the first message will not appear in the journal.

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.
• The quest includes many references to movies with aliens, including Alien, Aliens, Pitch Black and more.