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Description
Sam stood in their new, empty briefing office. Just a moment before, an executive had shown them the offices available for their clearance, and Sam picked one located in the middle of a complicated maze of corridors in the office building, almost hidden by the other offices that surrounded it. Mainly, they chose it because its localization meant that there were no windows, as each wall was connected to just another room.

Their new rank came with a lot of exciting choices and decisions, and even more freedom – all of which Sam hadn’t known before, so used to having each minutecycle of their day strictly dictated by a schedule. Now, they were supposed to make their own schedule, something they haven’t gotten around to doing yet. The first thing they did when they walked out of that old, charred non-office of that communist mutant scum was go to a PLC center to get themselves some clearance-appropriate clothing.

The abundance of choice overwhelmed them a bit, so they chose the simplest option – a white button-up shirt and yellow suit pants, complete with brown, laced shoes. They’ve seen a visiting CPU officer at their old IntSec bureau wear something similar before, and they always associated clothing like that with authority and composure. Having only worn simple shoes before, though, Sam had to look up and learn how to tie these new ones.

Currently, Sam was flipping through a small catalogue of furniture and other office supplies available for their clearance. They were feeling overwhelmed with choice again, unable to make a decision. It frustrated them a bit – Friend Computer had trusted them to be a briefing officer, trusted them to be able to make a lot of decisions, by themselves. Sam couldn’t help but be grateful for how highly Friend Computer must think of their abilities if it gave them such a tall task, a task most clones of lower clearances would surely not be able to manage. The thought stroked Sam’s ego, but also instilled an even greater sense of frustration. They wanted to do their best for Friend Computer, to prove that putting this much trust in Sam was worth it. Friend Computer has been hurt and betrayed before, countless times, even by the previous briefing officer who turned out to be a communist mutant traitor, and by the other Troubleshooters who let loose that vile, twisted AI – a mockery of Friend Computer’s powers. It angered Sam to think how many times Friend Computer’s trust has been broken, how hurt it must’ve been every time those traitors committed treason against it.

But Sam was not going to betray or disappoint Friend Computer. They will prove that Friend Computer was right to trust them, that they are the only one who will never hurt it, who will always defend it...

They were getting distracted again.

They glanced at the back cover of the catalogue, where a couple advertisements had been placed for some treat foods offered by PLC for Yellow Clearance officers. One item caught Sam’s attention – a drink, it seemed, called “coffee”, that was advertised as a tastier, milder alternative to Focusol. Curious, Sam ordered it – and soon, a small rectangle opened in the floor, and a mechanical platform emerged with a yellow cup on top of it. Sam took it, and the platform retracted back into the concrete, sealing the gap behind itself.

The cup was filled with steaming black liquid that had a pleasant smell to it. Sam found themselves really enjoying the smell, and remembered that they have, in fact, encountered it before at their old job at IntSec. One of their supervisors had this scent in her office, though back then Sam was unable to pinpoint the source of it.

They waited for the coffee to cool off enough to be safe to drink, reveling in the smell and the heat warming up their usually cold hands. They tasted it; it was bitter and intense, its exact flavor not easy to describe for Sam, who was more than used to the blandness of the sustenance provided at lower clearances. Still, the taste didn’t disappoint, and as they finished the drink, they felt their head clear a bit, their thoughts becoming more focused and overall more alert. It felt a bit similar to ranking up, in that their brain was less fuzzy and able to process more and faster on its own. In a matter of minutes, Sam was able to ascertain what exactly they needed for their office; a desk, a yellow chair, a metal file cabinet, and some stationery.

Additionally, they found that they could get a small coffee-scented air freshener for cheap, to have the pleasant smell accompany them even when they couldn’t have the drink itself.

Satisfied with the arrangements, Sam sat down in front of their new desk and smiled. Time to get to work.

************************************

We were told to sit in a room and not cause trouble for 3 hours so that our briefing officer, Xander, would get to live.

We didn't last even five minutes before one person ordered an experimental gun that shoots turrets that shoot lasers, another person released a rogue AI called !!FUN!! whose idea of fun is to shoot fireworks in tightly enclosed spaces, and another person tried outright killing Xander (and in the end succeeded, accusing Xander of being a communist mutant traitor in the process).

Thanks to some very fortunate rolls, Sam managed to prove themselves very effective at killing !!FUN!! in front of Friend Computer, who awarded them with yet another promotion and a transfer from Internal Security, their old service group (equivalent of the police - Sam is literally ACAB, which means Assigned Cop At Birth), to CPU, which directly run the government of Alpha Complex. This meant that Sam was also appointed as the new briefing officer of their troubleshooting team, to the dismay of literally everyone else.

This means that Sam became an NPC in the campaign, and I can FINALLY evict the rat from my brain. So as a parting gift, I gave them choice paralysis and coffee (They'd drink their coffee black, with no milk or sugar. I think they like bitter tastes, and sweet tastes would make them nauseous).

Description
Sam stood in their new, empty briefing office. Just a moment before, an executive had shown them the offices available for their clearance, and Sam picked one located in the middle of a complicated maze of corridors in the office building, almost hidden by the other offices that surrounded it. Mainly, they chose it because its localization meant that there were no windows, as each wall was connected to just another room.

Their new rank came with a lot of exciting choices and decisions, and even more freedom – all of which Sam hadn’t known before, so used to having each minutecycle of their day strictly dictated by a schedule. Now, they were supposed to make their own schedule, something they haven’t gotten around to doing yet. The first thing they did when they walked out of that old, charred non-office of that communist mutant scum was go to a PLC center to get themselves some clearance-appropriate clothing.

The abundance of choice overwhelmed them a bit, so they chose the simplest option – a white button-up shirt and yellow suit pants, complete with brown, laced shoes. They’ve seen a visiting CPU officer at their old IntSec bureau wear something similar before, and they always associated clothing like that with authority and composure. Having only worn simple shoes before, though, Sam had to look up and learn how to tie these new ones.

Currently, Sam was flipping through a small catalogue of furniture and other office supplies available for their clearance. They were feeling overwhelmed with choice again, unable to make a decision. It frustrated them a bit – Friend Computer had trusted them to be a briefing officer, trusted them to be able to make a lot of decisions, by themselves. Sam couldn’t help but be grateful for how highly Friend Computer must think of their abilities if it gave them such a tall task, a task most clones of lower clearances would surely not be able to manage. The thought stroked Sam’s ego, but also instilled an even greater sense of frustration. They wanted to do their best for Friend Computer, to prove that putting this much trust in Sam was worth it. Friend Computer has been hurt and betrayed before, countless times, even by the previous briefing officer who turned out to be a communist mutant traitor, and by the other Troubleshooters who let loose that vile, twisted AI – a mockery of Friend Computer’s powers. It angered Sam to think how many times Friend Computer’s trust has been broken, how hurt it must’ve been every time those traitors committed treason against it.

But Sam was not going to betray or disappoint Friend Computer. They will prove that Friend Computer was right to trust them, that they are the only one who will never hurt it, who will always defend it...

They were getting distracted again.

They glanced at the back cover of the catalogue, where a couple advertisements had been placed for some treat foods offered by PLC for Yellow Clearance officers. One item caught Sam’s attention – a drink, it seemed, called “coffee”, that was advertised as a tastier, milder alternative to Focusol. Curious, Sam ordered it – and soon, a small rectangle opened in the floor, and a mechanical platform emerged with a yellow cup on top of it. Sam took it, and the platform retracted back into the concrete, sealing the gap behind itself.

The cup was filled with steaming black liquid that had a pleasant smell to it. Sam found themselves really enjoying the smell, and remembered that they have, in fact, encountered it before at their old job at IntSec. One of their supervisors had this scent in her office, though back then Sam was unable to pinpoint the source of it.

They waited for the coffee to cool off enough to be safe to drink, reveling in the smell and the heat warming up their usually cold hands. They tasted it; it was bitter and intense, its exact flavor not easy to describe for Sam, who was more than used to the blandness of the sustenance provided at lower clearances. Still, the taste didn’t disappoint, and as they finished the drink, they felt their head clear a bit, their thoughts becoming more focused and overall more alert. It felt a bit similar to ranking up, in that their brain was less fuzzy and able to process more and faster on its own. In a matter of minutes, Sam was able to ascertain what exactly they needed for their office; a desk, a yellow chair, a metal file cabinet, and some stationery.

Additionally, they found that they could get a small coffee-scented air freshener for cheap, to have the pleasant smell accompany them even when they couldn’t have the drink itself.

Satisfied with the arrangements, Sam sat down in front of their new desk and smiled. Time to get to work.

************************************

We were told to sit in a room and not cause trouble for 3 hours so that our briefing officer, Xander, would get to live.

We didn't last even five minutes before one person ordered an experimental gun that shoots turrets that shoot lasers, another person released a rogue AI called !!FUN!! whose idea of fun is to shoot fireworks in tightly enclosed spaces, and another person tried outright killing Xander (and in the end succeeded, accusing Xander of being a communist mutant traitor in the process).

Thanks to some very fortunate rolls, Sam managed to prove themselves very effective at killing !!FUN!! in front of Friend Computer, who awarded them with yet another promotion and a transfer from Internal Security, their old service group (equivalent of the police - Sam is literally ACAB, which means Assigned Cop At Birth), to CPU, which directly run the government of Alpha Complex. This meant that Sam was also appointed as the new briefing officer of their troubleshooting team, to the dismay of literally everyone else.

This means that Sam became an NPC in the campaign, and I can FINALLY evict the rat from my brain. So as a parting gift, I gave them choice paralysis and coffee (They'd drink their coffee black, with no milk or sugar. I think they like bitter tastes, and sweet tastes would make them nauseous).