conversations.from: system
conversations.value: Dear Noble Researcher,
  
  Congratulations! I have followed your research from afar for many years, and I am writing to say I am quite impressed with you. I know you have had difficulty finding patronage in the past, due to the mainstream scientific community's close mindedness about your work, but those days are at an end. I find your research thoroughly interesting, and I wish to fund it. Fully. However, I must insist that you come to me if you wish to receive the afore mentioned funding. I am a wealthy rubber merchant living in the city of Stanleyville in the Congo Free State. If you come to Stanleyville, I promise you will have a nearly unlimited budget for your research, but I insist you must come here so that I may supervise both you and my various rubber plantations simultaneously. Enclosed in this letter, you will find the name of a travel agent local to you. Go to him, and he will arrange for you to journey to Stanleyville in the finest accommodations, at my expense. Once here, your research will begin with the budget and respect it always should have had. I hope you take me up on this offer, and I look forward to meeting you.
  
  Your noble patron,
  Mycroft Van Der Bijl
  
  The year is 1907. The world and its history are the same as our own, at least on the surface. You are a researcher into a field of science largely dismissed by the mainstream scientific community (see list of choices below). You've have spent years trying to find someone to fund your research, but with little to no success, largely relying on yourself to fund your meager efforts. Then you receive the above letter. You've read about the horrible human rights violations in the Congo Free State, but the idea of your own fully funded lab, of a place where you can research to your heart's delight, that seems too good to pass up, so you take him up on his offer and journey to the heart of the Congo on the greatest adventure of your life.
  
  This game will essentially be a steampunk horror story, with a focus on the dangers of science without a moral compass. The players will be researchers into fringe scientific theories that Mycroft Van Der Bijl is interested in. They may be from any race, culture, gender, or religion anywhere in the world, Mr. Van Der Bijl does not discriminate. All that is required is that they must have published research in one of the following fields so that Mycroft will have heard of them. Those fields are...
  
  Mind Modification : Experiements in the manipulation of human behavior.
  
  Ontogenetics : The reshaping of living or dead tissue into a new form (Think Frankenstein or The Island of Dr. Moreau).
  
  Para-Energetics : The study of unknown forms of energy.
  
  Psychical Research : What would be called in modern times Parapsychology, with an emphasis on hypnosis and mesmerism.
  
  Tesseraxis : The study of the fourth dimension of space, and possible methods of moving through it.
  
  Xenonucleonics : The study of matter with unexplainable properties.
  
  In addition to the above scientific disciplines, Mr. Van Der Bijl is looking to recruit a leading Transcendental Philosopher, and a constructor of Automata. These disciplines will be available as your nature cards, so please select the appropriate one and try to avoid duplicates. As for the other cards, feel free to chose from what I've created or select your own. I look forward to seeing your characters!
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You construct and maintain primitive mechanical men. They have no internal power source and are controlled by an outside source. Really, they're just elaborate mechanical puppets with very little practical value, and you're a bit confused as to why you were recruited into this group.
conversations.prefix: Automata:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You study methods of altering human thought and behavior. Unlike the others, your field of study tends to be dismissed not because it is unrealistic, but because it is unethical.
conversations.prefix: Mind Manipulation:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Life is your laboratory. You reshape organic tissue to create new life, which may mean grafting brain tissue onto animals to make them smarter, enhancing human beings to create superhumans, or bringing dead tissue back to life.
conversations.prefix: Ontogenetics:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You study types of power unknown to mainstream science, hoping to create such things as broadcast power, force fields, death rays, or advanced scanners.
conversations.prefix: Para-Energetics:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You study psychic powers, hoping to either find them or create them. Your main tool to this end is hypnosis, frequently referred to in this time as mesmerism.
conversations.prefix: Psychical Research:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You study the fourth dimension of space, and hope to discover a way to access and move through it some day.
conversations.prefix: Tesseraxis:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Unlike the others, you are neither a scientist or engineer, and as such, Mr. Van Der Bijl has not recruited you for experiments, per say. Instead, he's asked that you spend a few hours a day discussing the nature of the universe with him, personally. For this, he will pay you an obscene amount of money.
conversations.prefix: Transcendental Philosopher:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You study unknown or theoretical forms and states of matter. Since Madame Curie discovered radiation, all theories about the relationship between matter and energy seem to be in doubt, and you have a few theories of your own that you'd like to prove to the world.
conversations.prefix: Xenonucleonics:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Your are extremely good at thinking outside the box, as they say.
conversations.prefix: Versatile:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You come from a high society background, and know how to socialize with the elite.
conversations.prefix: Savior-Faire:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Your strength lies in creating gadgets, and you can generally construct something interesting from the spare parts in any workshop.
conversations.prefix: Gadgeteer:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Your greatest strength comes from observing the world and recognizing patterns in it.
conversations.prefix: Perceptive:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Unlike many of these so called scientists, you actually have a legitimate degree from a legitimate institution. This gives you a larger base of knowledge than most.
conversations.prefix: Academic:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Everyone seems to find you likeable, something that has occasionally help cover the lack of results in your research.
conversations.prefix: Charming:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are extremely emotionally invested in your work. This leads you to take extreme risks, but they tend to pay off for you.
conversations.prefix: Passionate:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The solution can present itself at anytime. That is why it's important to always remain calm, so that you see it for what it is.
conversations.prefix: Cool Headed:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are obsessed with power, specifically your own, and you see science as a means of controlling others.
conversations.prefix: Megalomaniac:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You are from a race, class, or sex that is frequently looked down upon by mainstream society in the year 1907, and you've had to fight to be accepted.
conversations.prefix: Social Stigma:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: One of the reasons you find it hard to be accepted in scientific communities is that you have difficulty controlling yourself around alcohol, opium, or some other addictive substance.
conversations.prefix: Addict:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You cannot stand human suffering. This will be a problem in the harsh, brutal Congo Free State.
conversations.prefix: Bleeding Heart:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You're and idea man. Follow through on those ideas is not your thing.
conversations.prefix: Lazy:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You work yourself into exhaustion, sleeping only when you can no longer stand. Some call this foolishness, you call it devotion.
conversations.prefix: Workaholic:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You work yourself into exhaustion, sleeping only when you can no longer stand. Some call this foolishness, you call it devotion.
conversations.prefix: Workaholic:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Like many in 1907, you think yourself better than those who are unlike you.
conversations.prefix: Prejudice:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Your work is too important, and you can't be bothered to remember little things like people's names or where you live.
conversations.prefix: Absent Minded:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You secretly don't believe in any of this fringe science nonsense. You know the theories, all right, but to you, it's just an excuse to get money from fools. This Mycroft looks to be the biggest fool of them all!
conversations.prefix: Con Artist:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You are always looking for ways that your work can benefit mankind.
conversations.prefix: Humanitarian:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Your main motivation for pursuing fringe science is to show your teachers and classmates how wrong they were!
conversations.prefix: They Laughed At Me...:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You come from a group you consider oppressed, and you're hoping to use your scientific gifts to show the world your people deserve respect.
conversations.prefix: Uplift Your People:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You're secretly here in the Congo to record the human rights abuses being inflicted on the natives so you can tell the world.
conversations.prefix: Reporter:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You intend to use what you discover here to help take over the planet, either for yourself, or for some outside political figure you admire.
conversations.prefix: Today The Congo... Tomorrow The World!:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The port on the western end of the Congo River where you catch the boat to Stanleyville and Mr. Van Der Bijl's laboratory.
conversations.prefix: Leopoldville:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You were a scientist once but your ideas proved too preposterous for your era.
conversations.prefix: Heretic:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You've cultivated your mind, garnering unconventional knowledge and wisdom.
conversations.prefix: Polydactyl:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: You see things other people don't.
conversations.prefix: Crazy:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Your encounter beyond the fringe, a world of madness, caused your psyche to split in two.
  You seek to remedy what ails you, whatever that may be.
  
conversations.prefix: Cure:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: You were jilted by the love of your life, she was too headstrong and wilful. 
  
  Now you seek a means to fully control anyone you wish, to make them worship you, be devoted to you. So you will never be alone again. 
conversations.prefix: Create the perfect partner:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Separated by death from your true love, your scholarly rigor and relentless pursuit of knowledge is funded entirely by your desire to be reunited with that which was taken from you by fate.
conversations.prefix: Bereft: