Man and Machine (TWS)

You want more details on the checkup procedure. If there's a chance somewhere in there for one of the doctors to hide something from the other, you want to know about it, even if it's unlikely.
You want to know about possible enemies; maybe somebody here was jealous of him, for instance, or maybe he had a patient who was particularly dissatisfied.
And you want to know if there was anything special about his implant in particular.

"What, precisely, is involved in the diagnostic procedure?"

"Well, it's fairly simple. We have a diagnostic program on our computers. We simply interface with the device, and the computer runs a small battery of tests. To be honest, Doctor Anderson probably could have done it himself. He was a methodical man, though. Liked to be thorough. Besides, I run tests like that one all the time, and could spot any abnormalities faster than he could."

You stop him. "You work with many voice-boxes?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. Internal implants, though. The process is pretty similar for all of them. The tests and results are slightly different, but I've been doing this for many years, now. I know how to do it by rote."

"And he was privy to everything you were doing during the test."

"Yes... Are you implying that you suspect me of... sabotaging him?"

Evan breaks in gently, "Right now, we have to cover every possible angle, Doctor. We have to view everyone as a suspect."

"I suppose. Well, I didn't know the boy well, but I liked him well enough. I certainly didn't wish him ill."

"Do you know of anyone who did?"

The doctor furrows his brow and thinks for a moment. "Not that I know of."

"No disagreements with one of the other doctors here? No dissatisfied patients?"

"I'm sorry, but if there were I didn't know about it. He was a pleasant enough fellow, but he tended to keep to himself. We chatted occasionally if we were on break together, but beyond that..."

You nod. Marie did say that he wasn't close friends with anyone at the clinic.

"Was there anything special about Doctor Anderson's implant? Rare make, manufacturing abnormality, anything like that?"

Paine shakes his head. "No. It was a high-end model, yes, but not uncommon. Diagnostics always returned results well within the ordinary specs."

What are all the ways he knows to make an implant explode.

The ask about possible suspects - if he recognizes your mystery assailant and if he can think of anyone that would want to harm the vic.

"Do you know of anything that could cause an implant like his to... explode?"

You should probably have waited until Doctor Paine wasn't taking a sip of his coffee to say that. He begins sputtering and coughing. Evan walks around the table and slaps him on the back a couple of times.

"Explode!? Are you saying his implant exploded!?"

"That... seems to be the case."

"I've never heard of such a thing... I suppose it might be possible though. If the implant was reconfigured so that its power supply was caught in a feedback loop, the supply could--"

You butt in, stifling a sigh. "The power supply could be affected with thermal runaway resulting in heat buildup and an explosion."

"Precisely, yes. But the changes would require physical modification of the device, both to cause the feedback loop and bypass the safety features of the system."

"Is there no way that it could be modified so that it could be triggered at a later time?"

"Possibly, but the implant would be non-functioning in the intervening time. Anderson would have noticed something wrong."

"And there's no way else that the implant could have been detonated from a distance?"

"Not that I know of, and I've been working with implants for almost as long as I can remember."

Well, that was helpful.

"Just one last question for you." You expose your watch and pull up the picture of the suspect from hopper port surveillance.
"Have you seen this man before?"

Doctor Paine leans forward and looks at the man closely.

"...I'm sorry. I don't believe so."

The receptionist pokes her head in the door.

"Detectives? Doctor Munroe said that you can have Doctor Anderson's client list." You let her transfer the file to you. "And she'd like to talk to you, when you have time."

You decide that you've gotten pretty much everything useful out of Doctor Paine that you can, and bid him good day. If you think of anything else, you can probably find him again after talking to Doctor Munroe.


You knock on the door to Doctor Munroe's office, and are told to come in.

The Doctor's office is rather spartan. There are no decorations, no holograms of friends or family, no drawings from a favorite niece or nephew, there isn't even one of those "Hang In There" posters with the kitten hanging from a piece of rope. A few diplomas hang from the wall behind her desk, which is itself devoid of ornamentation. It's a plain, particle-board desk, with nothing resting upon it but a console, and the Doctor's elbows.

Doctor Munroe is probably someone who is often referred to as 'severe', though presumably not to her face. Her steel grey hair is pulled back in a tight bun, and her posture is ramrod-straight. Her thin lips are set into a frown as she peers at you over her tented hands.

"Please, Detectives, take a seat. I am Doctor Gail Munroe."

You and Evan both do as you're told.

You start to introduce yourself, but she waves a hand at you to silence you.

"I know who you are." She sighs. "And I know why you're here. Doctor Anderson was our best prosthetic limb specialist at the clinic, and his loss is going to be deeply felt. If there is anything I can do to aid in your investigation, let me know."

You ask her some basic questions; If she knew Anderson well, if she knew of any disagreements he might have had with coworkers or patients, if he had been acting strangely recently.
She answers every question in the negative. You ask her about the possibility of an implant exploding. She doesn't tell you anything you don't already know.
Finally, you show her the picture of the suspect from the hopper port. She doesn't remember seeing him anywhere.

Looks like this lead isn't panning out so well. Do you have any more questions for Doctor Munroe or Doctor Paine? You probably won't turn up much questioning the other doctors at the clinic, but you're welcome to try. Otherwise, you'll need to figure out what to do next.


Possible leads to follow up on:

Netcom found in Victim's Luggage, (Saved to your pocket.)

Review the victim's recent activities for any sign of unusual behavior or spending.

The lab techs at HQ will perform a more in-depth autopsy and scan of the body. Maybe they'll turn up some new material for you.

The lab techs at HQ will perform a more thorough check of the luggage belonging to the Victim and Whitaker. Maybe they'll turn up some new material for you.

Check with the lab techs to see if any info can be extracted from the voice box.

Track down the unknown suspect from the surveillance footage.

The details of this case might have some effect on the Bitoticists. Check with Det. Walden Olivera for details.

Review the list of patients received from the clinic.


Possible Witnesses/Suspects to interview:

Marie Whitaker (Witness, Victim's Girlfriend), currently in West Central franchise of Our Lady. Unknown if she'll have any more useful information.

Doctor Chase (Suspect), Inquire about him at South Sector franchise of Our Lady.

King (Real name unknown, Suspect), Must find real location by cross-referencing with Simulacrum address (or you could just log on and talk to him, you guess).

Unknown Suspect (Suspect), Location and identity unknown. HQ is working on finding out his identity.

Victim's Coworkers, At Bol Munroe Cybernetics Clinic in North Central. Unknown if they'll have any more useful information.

SpoilerShow

Fun Fact: Besides being the online handle of one of your suspects, King is common slang roughly equivalent to cool, neat, or awesome. This usage of the word was popularized by the Old Royale cigarette company, as part of a massively successful ad campaign.