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Token Hunting: A Review of the Collectors of MxO – Richland
So, you're just starting out and looking for an edge in combat. Or maybe you've hit the level cap and you're wondering how much you missed out on while levelling up. The Matrix Online after all, is a rich tapestry of storylines and interweaving plotlines. Contact missions, hideouts, local gangs, and the subject of this series of articles, collectors.
Collectors are a fantastic way to not only gain some valuable gear as you progress, but also to get involved with the neighborhoods in the Megacity. Each collector has acquired some valuable equipment they will be glad to share, for a price. They have their reasons and stories, but nearly all have a grudge with the Exile gangs that have overtaken their neighborhood of choice. Some have deeper secrets than they initially share.
I'll start out by saying that the inspiration for this series is of course the wonderful and exceptional work of Sugaree and her Sugar Shack series on the local mission contacts. It has obviously proven that people are interested in reading about and examining the storylines and design of the city. Those articles surely caused me to take a look deeper into the collectors from all angles.
I will be doing my best to summarize the storyline content of each collector (as scant as it may be), examine the value of the rewards, the difficulty with which they are acquired, and try to put it all into some context. Feedback as always is welcome, especially about the gear. I'm posting in the Districts, Neighborhoods, and Constructs board because it seemed to the best fit.
I'll be starting with probably the longest of these articles I'll be writing...
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Clio and Friends: Welcome to the Matrix
Generally, I will be examining the collectors myself on the Syntax instance. However, for Clio to even talk to me these days she wanted to see the ID card from my previous life as a bluepill, which most of us gave up long ago. So, for this first installment of Token Hunting, I enlisted the help of a brand new redpill my crew had recently seen to freeing. (An alt, for those of you who don't care for that silly in-character mumbo jumbo)
Fresh out of the Uriah northeast hardline, our intrepid redpill is ready to get going on his quest to becoming a powerful operative in the Matrix. But where to go? Past the usual crowd of loitering redpills, he spots a woman in green standing along the roadside. She calls out to him.
“Hey, redpill! Glad to see you made it through the awakening process. Now you're here and it's time to get down to business. The Matrix is a pretty harsh place – we need to help each other out if we're going to survive. You notice the ID card in your inventory? We all have baggage from our former lives, baggage that doesn't do anything but hinder our progress. I need you to hand that over before we can get going.”
Baggage or not, it's still a bit disconcerting to be handing over your ID card to a perfect stranger. Sensing some hesitation, Clio offers an envelope in exchange. It seems important, and maybe she's right about letting things go. What good is an ID card for a life that no longer exists, anyway? He makes the trade.
“All right, not a moment to lose. The first thing you'll want to do is turn around and use that hardline. Make sure you have all your abilities loaded up. They'll come in handy once everything hits the fan – and believe me, it will. Once you're done, head straight west until you find Stokes. There's a compass at the bottom of your HUD if you need it.”
And with that, he's on his way. As an aside, it's pretty clear that Clio and her buddies work for Zion, although never stated directly. They tell you to contact command at the end, and pretty much everything in the beginning is Zion. Wonder how they got the “standing around a dumpy dock” duty. Lock must really not like these folks.
He takes her advice and loads up some abilities and heads west. He notices that the envelope appears to be a “Note for Stokes” and holds it out to him as he approaches, explaining he just spoke to Clio.
“So, talked to Clio, huh? Good, good. No time to lose. There's something you're going to find out about soon: Exiles. They're programs, just like the Machines, except they're here in the Matrix without permission. Kinda like us, and you might think we'd be on the same side... but no! Most of 'em just want a bigger piece of the pie, more power... and they'll kill you on sight. Give me that note, and I'll get you armed and send you on to some more specific training. Time to get your feet wet, eh?”
Stokes holds out a shotgun, and another note. Since the note is addressed to him anyways, it seems like a fair trade. Stokes stuffs the note in his pocket and hands over the firearm and another note addressed to someone named Acid.
“All right, there ya go. Make sure you equip that shotgun – it's a little nicer than that piece of... that thing you got in the training construct. Now it's time to find Acid, to the west of us. You might want to bring up the map on your HUD [press the 'M' key] and add a waypoint. Just right-click near Acid's icon on the map and select 'Add Waypoint'. You might need to zoom the map out; just use the buttons at the bottom.”
Easy enough. A bit further west, near the entrance of what appears to be a club named Parallaxis is Acid. Right where the waypoint he set said she'd be. Again, our redpill offers the note with her name on it, but it appears Acid has something a bit different in mind.
“So far, so good, eh redpill? Well, I've got something a little more dangerous for you. You see those Choppers hanging around the containers just to the north of us? Those are some of the same Exiles that Stokes loves so much. It's time to take some of 'em out. They carry keys like sort of a gang insignia... bring me a key and I'll send you on your way. Oh, one more thing – you loaded up all your abilities, right? You might want to try out Remote Proxy now. Bring up your abilities screen [hit the 'O' key] and drag the Remote Proxy icon onto your hotbar, then click on it. Those proxies can be real life savers.”
Ah! We have our very first token collection duty. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, the gang insignias referenced by Acid are also referred to as collector tokens. These are the items that the gang members drop that can that are the currency of a collector trade, earning you the special item that that collector has. Into the maze of shipping containers we go! 5 Choppers later, and we have our key. Back to Acid, who is looking pleased.
“Nice! I see you're willing to take on a little dirty work. Good thing, too – there are Exiles like them all over the City, and all of 'em are bound to be tougher than these. You're going to need to practice and develop your skills if you want to survive. You'll need to use all your abilities out there. Now just hand over the goods, and I'll send you to the next spot. Plus I've got something that can help you out if you get into any trouble.”
In exchange for the Note for Acid and Chopper Key, she offers a Note for Override and several health pills. Definitely a good thing to have, considering the relative weakness of most characters going through this collector series.
“Before I send you anywhere – did you notice the building behind me? It's Club Parallaxis. Feel free to stop in and take a breather if you need to. There are clubs like this around the City, worth checking out if you're ready to party. Once you're set, head south between these buildings and keep an eye out for Override. You might meet up with some Exiles, but I think you can handle them just fine. Remember to have your abilities and items ready, by dragging them from your abilities window ['O'] or your inventory ['I'] to your hotbar.”
After a quick drink and look around inside the club, it's back outside and south to Override. On the way we spot another collector standing along the building. He appears to be a member of the Choppers, but isn't attacking or acting aggressively at all. Perhaps we'll need to visit him later on.
“So you think you're hot stuff, huh? Well you're doing pretty good... but don't get **bleep**y. I can't tell you how many operatives we lose when they get in over their heads. As long as you're in Richland, just remember this: Things get tougher as you head south. If you get yourself in trouble, just point yourself north and run. Now you better keep that in mind, 'cause I want you to get some more Chopper Keys for me.”
In fact, in addition to the Note for Override, he wants three Chopper Keys. Luckily, it only took combatting 8 Choppers to get enough keys. Override didn't have much to say, but seemed impressed.
“Not too bad kid. Hand over those keys, and I'll send you on your way, with a little parting gift.”
The trade is made, and along with a Note for RPM, Override also hands over a pair of Industrial Pants!
Industrial Pants Melee Damage Resistance (3pts) Requires: Min character level at 3
“Before you do anything, you better equip those pants. They'll give you an edge in a close fight... and you're gonna need it. Now head southwest. You'll find RPM down there, and she'll finish up the training for ya. And remember: if you're in over your head, go north.”
Southwest it is, but not before equipping those pants, to RPM. She stands in the parking lot near the Uriah southwest hardline.
“So, you're the new redpill, huh? Clio and the gang have been sending me some info on you. Sounds like you'll make a great operative, if you keep it up. Now I need you to use everything they taught you and bring me six of those Chopper Keys. Remember, experiment with those abilities you have loaded up. And level them up when you get a chance... it makes a big difference.”
Nice to know people are starting to talk about our new redpill. I thought the dialogue here was very nice, tying the collectors together as a group. Six Chopper Keys turned out to be a tall order, as it took him tearing through 33 gang members to come up with them. Seriously.
The time and effort pays off though, as we complete the starter contact mission set, and receive our brand new Industrial Shirt. The ballistics buff + the pants melee buff round out a low level nicely. Just need to go hit that pesky Mars Industrial Storage for some gloves, and you'll be gold!
Industrial Shirt Ballistic Damage Resistance (3pts) Min character at lvl 3
RPM has some final words before the gang sends me off into the dangerous world of The Matrix.
“Well, looks like it's time to head out there, soldier. If you haven't already, tag that hardline behind me – that's something you'll be doing a lot of. Once you've got a hardline on your list, you'll be able to teleport there, plus use it for your abilities, code storage, and all that good stuff. Now would be a good time to talk to Zion command. I know they'll have some missions for you to run. Just bring up your cell phone [hit the 'N' key] and you'll be on your way. Good luck operative!”
Phew. And that's that.
As far as an introduction to the game, I've always thought these were great. I cannot imagine a player trying to get going in the game without the content of these missions, but many do. I really like the dialogue contained within, with but a few exceptions. Clio's bit about the ID being baggage from a former life, and letting go was very true to the Matrix spirit of bucking the system. Stokes disdain for the tutorial gun made me chuckle. I got a real sense of individual personalities, which is hard to do with the limited space and capability of a collector. Override is a bit more cautionary and has good reason, based on the operatives he's seen fall due to overconfidence. As I mentioned earlier I really liked RPM's comments about how they had all been contacting each other as you progressed. It makes them feel just a bit less static.
My only real dialogue complaint... I found Acid's comments about Stokes confusing. He doesn't seem to “love” the Exiles... in fact he warns me about them and hands me a shotgun!
In the end, all the collectors in this sequence do a very good job of hyping up the player about things to come in my opinion, and convey their messages well. I was glad to see that the club/party culture is represented, and a good variety of gameplay elements introduced from waypoints to proxies. The only thing I still want to see introduced in this sequence of course, is the Find/Seek team functions.
The gear is good, considering it's for a lvl 3. It's fairly easy to hit at least lvl 4 just doing these collectors, especially if you hit a patch like I did and need to kill 33 choppers to get 6 keys. For someone not encountering viral attacks just yet, killing Choppers or running their first missions, it's a good introduction to resistances and buffed clothing. I was sort of surprised that RPM didn't mention, as Override does, just exactly what that ballistics buff means. There's space in the collector window dialogue box. Maybe something to think about?
Overall, very well scripted introduction to game concepts. The neighborhood is obviously not hard to farm and isn't supposed to be. Essential sequence for new players, and a fun reminder for this 50 of what it was like to be taking my first steps in The Matrix Online.
Next installment, which will be much shorter I'm sure, we'll be heading back to Uriah for some boots to round out my Industrial outfit from FastBack. Thanks for reading.
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FastBack: Original Gangsta (5 -6 535)
Situated outside Club Parallaxis in the Uriah neighborhood is FastBack. He wears the outfit of a Chopper, but not the demeanor. His gray streaked hair and proud stance are a stark contrast to the usual Chopper stereotype of young, brash carjackers.
"I used to run with the Choppers back before they turned into a group of thugs and murderers. I want control of the gang back. Take out those new bloods and bring me their Chopper Keys. A Chopper's ride is still his pride."
Darn right. I'm already digging FastBack. The traditionalist thing plays well with ol' phroggy, let me tell you. Considering Jack the Hack's recent self-serving behavior regarding the dead bluepills and this so-called "Smithpill" business, I thought it would only be fair to pay him a visit. Again and again. Besides, I'm sure FastBack will like those keys even better when I tell him I stomped out Jack and his closest buddies personally to get them.
This one's for you FastBack.
I'll tell you though, those Choppers didn't make it easy. What they lack in level (and oh, how they lack in level) they make up for in good old fashioned stubborn refusal to drop keys. It took me and my faithful proxy 71 Choppers to farm up the 9 keys FastBack wanted. Somewhere around halfway through this mass slaughter, I stopped back to FastBack to tell him how it was going.
"The new Choppers are just a bunch of thieves and murderers. No heart. No soul. Keep clearing them out, and maybe I can get control of the gang back. If you can bring me more sets of their Chopper Keys, I'll make it worth your while."
No need to bribe me FastBack! There's nothing that pleases me more than laying a hurt to ungrateful young punks with no respect! Many more deaths, and concussions for Jack, and it's time to head on back to FastBack with proof that I've stunted the growth of more than a few carjacking tough guy wannabes.
"Good job, you killed the little Chopper thugs and took their keys. No ride, no pride. Every one of these new punks that go down is a step towards me getting control of the gang back. I want you to have these boots. They used to mean something so wear them with pride."
Always nice to have my work appreciated. No ride, no pride baby is right. I need a slick catchphrase like that. No teeth, no grief? I'll work on it. FastBack takes the keys and hands over a pair of Industrial Boots for my trouble. Just for grins, I throw them on and lay a hurt to a few more Choppers. Feel these boots? They used to mean something, you ingrates! Industrial Boots Ballistic Damage Resistance (4pts)
"You're an old school Chopper as far as I'm concerned."
Nice. Thanks FastBack.
I must say I'm a fan of FastBack and his story. There's a lot of sob stories out there from the collectors, but FastBack has a strong, legit beef. On top of that, you're not just killing for revenge, but to whittle down the numbers of the guys who ousted poor FastBack in hope of getting the old school ways back on top again. His comments about pride, being disgusted with what his once proud group had become, and his emotional connection to the item he gives really gives a strong sense of character and importance to what is going on. His "old school Chopper" line at the end especially really gives a little kick of pride at the end, and I think that's great, especially for new players. The dialogue gives a background to the gang as well, which I always love. They are the "lowbie gang" or "noob gang" that new players use to practice on, of course, but the dialogue here at least gives them some importance and context.
The gear is definetly worthwhile for lower levels, especially when used in conjunction with the other "Industrial" items. The ballistics resistance comes in handy, as we all know, at those lower levels when literally everybody in town seems to be shooting at us as we try to check out the City.
I did think that the opening line stating "I used to run with..." is sort of confusing. I've never really thought of a leader as "running with" the gang. Moreso they run with him, I would think. Perhaps "I used to lead..." would make more sense. And, of course, I am sad that we'll never hear the end of FastBack's, or really any collector's, story. I'd like to see some new collector items available with new dialogue that continues his quest to retake his once proud gang from the punks, or something. But, that's not really their purpose I know. Still, we can wish.
Thanks for reading, hope to see you next time as I continue to hunt those tokens down around Richland. And don't be shy, post some comments.
Message Edited by PhroG on 06.30.200602:24 AM Message edited by PhroG on 06/29/2006 23:24:55.
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I highly appreciate your work, Phrog. It's just that I wanted to build up my own opinion about the Collectors after finishing the contacts, so at some point later, I'll just sit down and read the whole thing. Just showing that you're noticed
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One note:
After reading through the FastBack article again, I realized that I left out the coordinates of Jack the Hack. Since he's not a key drop boss, his location can be hard to track down, and I try to be as complete as I can.
So, Jack the Hack is located, in Uriah obviously, at -33, -7, 726
You'll find as this series progresses that I essentially always go right for the boss and tend to camp him until I've acquired the tokens needed. This is for a two-fold reason. First is the more obvious reason, and that's the spawn rate. Mob bosses spawn quickly and predictably, with a nice sized group. Second, is it gives a nice added element of storyline importance to the proceedings. I'm not just knocking around chumps in alleys, I'm going for the leader of the chumps! It takes the random mob killing feeling down a notch when you're knocking off guards waiting for the boss to reappear, so you can smite them. At least, it does for me. Having a named character with at least a somewhat developed backstory makes it just a bit more fun, IMHO.
If you can hang with the boss and his guards in the neighborhood you are collecting, I recommend you find them and do it. I've always found Blipper to be a valuable resource for doing just that. Here is the mob bosses blip file. Happy hunting, and thanks for the kind words so far.
Bonus: I've always hosted the screenshot of FastBack I used for his header picture, which I think makes a nice desktop wallpaper. I'm using it right now
Message Edited by PhroG on 06.30.200611:50 AM Message edited by PhroG on 06/30/2006 08:50:32.
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Awesome thread, Phrog! I was hoping someone would do something like this, and I'd been thinking that ever since I stumbled on Sugaree's excellent walk-throughs for the Neighborhood Mission Contacts, that the collectors needed to have their stories shared. Keepo 'em coming!
And yep, I personally love FastBack, too! I wore those Industrial Boots he gave me, with pride until the soles wore off them.
((Also, the various tokens make for useful event/character props. Until the devs finally give us swords, I've been carrying a Daggers Ornamental Dagger as a stopgap sword since my main character is/was a championship level sword-fighter.))
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Michel: Application Denied (639 5 510)
Following a natural progression on up from the docks of Uriah, Token Hunting is moving right along to the lovely neighborhood of Tabor Park. Tabor Park is home to the always mysterious The Chessman, Wright Research Corporation, the Demon Army and our collector du jour Michel.
I found Michel looking sullen in a slighty mismatched-looking outfit, leaning against a rail.
“They think they can keep me out? The Demon Army thinks they are too good for me? ME? I'll show them. I want you to kill each and every one of them. Bring me their Demon Head Medallions to prove it.”
Yeah! How dare they keep THE Michel out!? It's not like he's a poorly dressed whiner who proves his worth by hiring people he just met of the street to do his bidding or anything! Geez! But I have to admit, Demon Head Medallions sound pretty cool. Maybe I'll keep one for myself after all this, and use it at a tollbooth just to confuse the minimum wage employee there.
A quick trot over to Tabor Park (the park, not the neighborhood) to find Mammon (804, 1, 209) it is. The excellent Tyndall's City Guide has this to say about the Demon Army:
“The Demon Army is part cult and part gang, practicing strange blood-rites and other such ceremonies in their initiations and promotions. The members are fanatic exiles who are determined to destroy their rivals in the Crossbones gang at any cost. Ironically, their "turf" in Tabor Park is generally considered one of the better areas of Richland, because the gang's secretive nature does not lend itself to overt crime, and they seem to be more interested in fighting with their rivals than attacking bluepills.”
Apparently their blood-rites and ceremonies involve dressing like goths with too much money and growing their hair to their butts. Still, it's a cool look for them and I absolutely adore the park. It's a fantastic location and as I walked up on it, I oddly found myself missing the Blue Sky Concert structures. They added an extra little jazz to the park, no matter what you thought of the event itself.
Frankly, I was surprised with the frequency that the Demon Army thugs tossed their medallions at my feet. In short order I was well on my way to satiating Michel's need for petty revenge. Speaking of our incorrigible collector, I made a trip back to see if he was feeling any better about getting laughed out of his Demon Army audition.
“The Demon Army is still out there, laughing at me. You've been takin' 'em down, I hear. I need more of their Medallions. Come back when you have the rest and I'll have something for you.”
Sadly, I wonder if this couldn't all have been solved with some hair extensions and red face paint. Those Demon Army guys look so much alike, maybe with a good hair and makeup job, Michel could just sneak in. Oh well, he doesn't seem to see things the same way. Back to the regularly scheduled Boot To Face Hour with Phrog and Mammon already in progress.
To gather the 6 necessary medallions to satisfy it took only 19 notches in my belt. Considering I whittled away 4 belts to a fine powder getting FastBack his keys, I couldn't have been happier! Michel seemed happy too. Maybe.... maybe a little too happy.
“Ha! HAHA! That'll show those Demon Army bastards! They didn't want to give me one of their medallions, and now I have some of theirs! I'll have them all before I'm done. I guess you want to get paid, don't you?”
Yeah, you little toad. I'm not here for your winning personality, so pay up. I think it's sort of funny how he was hollaring for me to kill them all when we first met, and now he's happy that I killed six of them as far as he knows. I don't much care, because the shirt he pays me with is more than worth putting up with his yammering.
“The Demon Army will pay for making me look like a fool.”
Yes. That MUST be the reason you look like a fool. Keep on thinking that.
If I didn't make it clear, I'm sort of annoyed by Michel. He's sort of a crybaby because the Demon Army didn't let him in their club, and frankly I can't blame them. Between the silly revenge motive and the laugh that spells P-S-Y-C-H-O, I wouldn't want him in my cult either! It's really hard to hold a blood-rite when this goober is accusing everybody of not liking him and giggling like a nutball. Move on man. You don't have the hair, the fashion sense, or the demeanor to be a Demon Army member. Live with it!
Still, the shirt if definetly a prize for the lower level looking to upgrade from his Industrial gear. 3 pts resistances for viral, ballistic, and melee makes this a nice well-rounded shirt with no level requirement. A must have for the any new redpill who can patronize Michel long enough to get the shirt, then join the Demon Army in mocking him.
Till next time, thanks for reading and posting your comments. I appreciate them so much. And remember... somewhere right now, the Demon Army is still out there, laughing at you. Ha! HAHA!
Message Edited by PhroG on 07.01.200612:43 AM Message edited by PhroG on 06/30/2006 21:43:36.
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lol, I love the jokes about Michel (never liked that collector). 'specially the ones about his laugh, reminds me of Father Gregori from HL2. :smileytongue:
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This is so great! I would never have thought of this! Definitely keep these coming, especially for the upper-levels who would have to start all over to do some of them. Thanks for opening my eyes to something I had never thought about!
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:smileyvery-happy: Very high praise considering your excellent series Sugaree, thanks for the kind words. Glad to see folks are taking an interest. There's so much story and content stuck into places like the collectors, and I hope these illustrate that to folks while being an entertaining and informative read.
sugaree wrote:
This is so great! I would never have thought of this! Definitely keep these coming, especially for the upper-levels who would have to start all over to do some of them. Thanks for opening my eyes to something I had never thought about!
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Jack: Brother's Keeper (1041 7 -184)
Well, it's the Fourth of July here in the States and I'd like to extend wishes for a happy and barbecue filled one to all of my fellow countrymen. Let's move right along from fireworks here in the real to fireworks of a different kind in the Megacity as we trek to the Moriah Projects neighborhood and visit Jack. I found him lingering behind a fence in a Rocawear ensemble and the same pesky grey beanie cap Michel had on. Do these collectors shop at the same stores? Jack seemed pretty concerned about his brother's well being when we first spoke, and I can't say I blame him.
“I tried to bring my little brother up right but he's been talking about joining the Crossbones gang lately. I want you to help me discourage him. Kill members of the Crossbones and bring me their Skull and Crossbones. I'll make it worth your time.”
After that little crybaby Michel, here's some reasoning I can get behind. I've got a little brother myself, and despite the occasional scuffle and wedgie growing up, all big brothers deep down love and care about their younger siblings. The Crossbones, I should note, appear to be one of those gangs that recruits bluepills on top of Exiles. Not all do, but Hatchet and his boys seem content to take in whoever is interested. Speaking of Hatchet.... it's time to pay him a visit.
One of the great parts of writing this series is encountering mob bosses that I wouldn't have normally. If they don't drop a key, most people don't bother. Sadly, Blipper failed me this time, so after a little forum hunting I found a post from Stack detailing Hatchet's location (545 55 -355 ). Major props to Stack and his superb work on the MxO Archive, and for unknowingly aiding in this article. If you haven't visited his site, make sure to swing by.
I decided to forgo my usual Killbot 9000 procedure (Utility Master for those not in my faction), and met Hatchet and his men with Kung Fu fists a-flying. Didn't take very long at all, really. Seems that Hatchet and his guys are better at ruining young kid's lives than fighting. Jerks.
Time to stop by and let Jack know that I was doing all I could to keep his brother away from these losers.
“All my brother talks about is joining the Crossbones. The more of the jerks that turn up dead, the easier it'll be to help him see the truth. You've done good so far, but I need more Skull and Crossbones before I talk to him. Keep trying.”
Hey! Jack calls people jerks too. I knew I liked this cat. I also am digging his plan to plunk a bunch of these items down in front of his brother and say “See? This idiots get themselves killed all the time!” as a deterrent. Speaking of getting killed all the time....
It took a mere 15 Crossbones dropping dead to get the tokens I needed. I couldn't have been happier. Word on the street has it that the Crossbones and Demon Army are engaged in a gang war. My money is on the Demon Army. They put up a better fight than this for their tokens. Well, hopefully my work here will help Jack turn his brother from ending up like the idiots in white beneath my feet.
“Alright, that should be enough Skull and Crossbones to convince my little brother to stay away from the gangs. These gloves should help you out, take 'em.”
Will do. Thanks Jack.
“Thanks for helping me out. The Crossbones should stay away from my brother... for awhile...”
While I was more than happy to help Jack in his quest, the gloves aren't doing it for me. For a level 5 waiting to get to level 6, where the Mars Industrial Storage drops outshine this pair, perhaps they would be worthwhile. Especially if that player is going down the martial arts path. But hackers, proxy coders and most ballistics users will find little benefit and who stays level 5 very long? Perhaps if the buff were different, and not so similar and close in level to the Mars Industrial drops, it would shine a bit brighter.
From a character perspective, I really enjoyed Jack. He's got a fraternal obligation and is doing his best to uphold it. He doesn't get into it, but you can infer from the few lines that he raised, at least in part, his younger brother and is trying to look out for him. This is both accessible and realistic to me, and really good writing. A perfect example of the small, personal stories that the best of the collectors can convey. The space for dialogue, and the opportunity to dig deep into character background is scant, and I applaud the writer here for getting across a lot with a little. You can infer and imagine the conversation the items you are collecting will facilitate. That final line of dialogue is sort of sad to me, and conveys the hopelessness common in bluepill life. Problem solved for today, but Jack doesn't believe it to be a long term fix. Eventually, he fears that they'll find a way to get to the brother he raised. Life is hard in the Megacity when you're not hyperjumping around, and are instead trying to raise a family and keep them safe.
Pretty good stuff for what amounts to a few sentences of dialogue.
Thanks for reading, as always. Please post any comments you have about this, or the previous articles. They are always appreciated. Check back soon!
