conversations.from: system
conversations.value: Late summer, City 17 and environs.
  
  The growing period of stagnation is wearing nerves thin as one debacle after another mars each passing week. Familiar faces paint a picture of restlessness and frustration, or disappear altogether. As the refugees and rebels without a cause struggle to get by and the few worthwhile plans in action are stalled by absences, weather, insufficient preparation, or some combination of these, many contemplate 'vacations'.
  
  Some slip back into the city, to try and assist the Railroad. Others set out to try and re-establish contact with other, more distant refugee communities. Action - any action - seems better than remaining in these doldrums.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Carved out from the cliffside over eons, this small, sandy cavern has been taken over by Quinn Sniderman as a place of solitude and meditation.
conversations.prefix: The Cave by the Sea:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A place of quiet reflection, secreted away in a shallow cavern overlooking the old highway that stretches below.
conversations.prefix: The Cave in the Valley:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: One of a few decrepit lighthouses around the City 17 coast, 'Vanguard' and its small encampment lies on the same headland that houses the mystic's cave.
conversations.prefix: Vanguard:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Slowly shrinking ever since being co-opted for irrigation of Soviet agriculture in Kazakhstan's deserts, the Aral Sea is now a bleak, dry hardpan devoid of colour. Only the hardiest of antlions and wild goats are capable of surviving here.
conversations.prefix: The Aral Sea:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: This major Combine rail route covers thousands of miles, most of it endless steppe or parched desert.
conversations.prefix: The Inland Express:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Once a shipping terminal, this bay has shrunk to a shallow lagoon. The warehouses and cranes stand solemnly, the silence broken only by the wind and waves.
conversations.prefix: Coastal Docks:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Prolific tunnellers, these large termite-like aliens dwell in colossal colonies similar to those of their Earth-native counterparts.
  Quite apart from their physical size and strength, they are capable of limited flight and can spit powerful acid dozens of yards when provoked.
  
  Antlion workers are seldom seen on the surface. When they are, it is usually a sign of a more pressing threat.
conversations.prefix: Antlion worker:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: These powerfully-built, man-sized creatures dwell in large underground colonies. They are often encountered on stretches of sand, where they utilise the loose surface to trap prey like their namesake.
  
  Like their worker counterparts, antlion soldiers are capable of short bursts of flight.
conversations.prefix: Antlion soldier:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Nestled deep inside each antlion colony is a hive, where eggs are laid and the larvae first emerge. It is a place of both mortal danger and great beauty.
conversations.prefix: Inner Hive:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Worn away by the forces of time, nature, and conflict, this once-great bridge has partially collapsed, severing the road it carries.
conversations.prefix: Broken Viaduct:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The local population has fallen into a rut lately. Despite the fair weather, few truly constructive plans are progressing and many are getting stir-crazy. There's only one way out - to find a sense of purpose.
  
  The way some tempers are fairing, it's going to need to be sooner rather than later...
conversations.prefix: Monotony:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: It's been some time since word has been received from the more major resistance camps nearby, and it's no surprise, given the locals' lack of purpose and utter dysfunctionality. Not everyone is happy to sit around, though...
conversations.prefix: Re-establish contact:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A little initiative goes a long way.
conversations.prefix: Initiative:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A desolate, remote, windswept bay quite far removed from City 17 and its environs. A camp of dugouts and tents lies amidst a scrapyard in the dunes; an enormous beached submarine lies rusting in the surf, powerlines emerging from its forward hatch and extending across the beach towards the camp.
  
  The surrounding cliffs are barren, home only to tussock grass and rocky scree; it's no wonder the Combine have left this place alone.
conversations.prefix: Hope Bay:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The inside of the submarine is cramped and uncomfortable, and the air tastes odd. Round-the-clock work parties constantly rewire circuits, drill out rusted screws and bolts, and struggle with the half-century-old systems. Everybody is on edge. The central compartment houses the boat's two pressurised water reactors, locked away behind heavy doors. Only one is functioning; nobody seems to know how stable it is, not even the ship's chief tech and former Soviet Navy petty officer. It is, at least, a warm and dry place to sleep...
conversations.prefix: K-54/'Nadezhda':
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Set beside a towering railway viaduct that spans a large inlet, this small cluster of buildings is sought-after real estate. Combine positions on the bridge itself make it untenable as a longterm community, however, relegating it to the role of jumping-off point for many hitch-hikers.
conversations.prefix: 'Bridge Point':
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The bridge that gives 'Bridge Point' its name, this enormous span carries the busy rail artery that connects City 17 to Nova Prospekt and other installations further to the east.
  
  A manned Combine outpost has been established to try and restrict Resistance freedom of movement, more than to safeguard the automated razor trains. Crossing is only made more difficult by particle barriers, forcing would-be stowaways to get creative.
conversations.prefix: Railway Viaduct:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The main above-ground area of the enormous '50 Years of Victory' coal mine, an installation occupied by the Resistance as well as a large colony of antlions. The complex consists of several dozen structures, including several very large ones, and access shafts that reach down into the mines themselves. There's also a large rail marshalling yard.
  
  The city can be seen clearly from the higher points of the complex. It looks disturbingly close.
conversations.prefix: Victory Mines Complex:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: An extension of the massive mining complex, this area spans a small mountain river and includes a waste processing plant and several additional rail links. Like the other above-ground areas of the mine complex, it's often used by the Resistance.
conversations.prefix: Victory Mines River Outpost:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: One of dozens of abandoned mineshafts. The air is thick and difficult to breathe; the detritus of a long-dead industry litters the floor. The only light is provided by a handful of floodlights hooked up to a struggling generator.
conversations.prefix: Mineshaft:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The underside of the railway viaduct by Bridge Point is a perilous, wind-blasted web of rusting girders, flimsy catwalks, and tin sheds. The noise of wind is deafening, and every passing train shakes the bridge like an earth tremor. Some hundred feet below lie the cold, leech-infested waters of the Black Sea.
  
  This is not a place for the faint of heart. Don't look down.
conversations.prefix: Viaduct Structure:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The floor of this shaft has given way, providing access to areas of the mine that are blocked off elsewhere. The corpses and bloodstains make it clear: this is not Resistance-friendly territory. Antlions and headcrabs are in competition for food and territory here.
conversations.prefix: Collapsed Shaft:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The central districts of City 17 are the only remaining residential areas. Even so, they feel empty. A handful of hunched-over citizens in blue denims shift around the streets aimlessly. More watch from their windows, not daring to let their gaze linger on the few bored-looking Civil Protection units lounging on top of their APCs.
conversations.prefix: The Inner City:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: This creatively-named outpost is one of the last Resistance settlements before Nova Prospekt. It's sparsely-populated and subject to regular probings; few refugees make it their home.
conversations.prefix: 'Lighthouse Point':
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: One of the nearest coastal communities to the city, NLO is a popular stop for voyagers travelling the treacherous Highway 17.
conversations.prefix: New Little Odessa:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: This large red boathouse is an important, if obvious, staging point and supply depot for the Railroad. Extended stays are not uncommon, but few feel safe this close to the residential areas of the city.
conversations.prefix: Station 7:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The leader of the New Little Odessa camp, 'Colonel' Cubbage's tales of his past life are as colourful as his personality. A stint in the Royal Marines saw him fight in the Falklands, followed by some years as a career officer. Growing bored of paperwork, Cubbage then took on various jobs as a merchant seaman, safari guide, bodyguard, university security officer, and club bouncer.Of course, what Cubbage *claims* to have done and what Cubbage *has* done are not necessarily the same thing...
conversations.prefix: Odessa Cubbage:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Intended for signalling distress, these handheld pyrotechnic devices can also be used for a wide variety of other, more contemporary purposes, and are one of the few easily-found tools along the region's roads.
conversations.prefix: Distress flares:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: These relics of the Second World War may be crude, but still have value as a simple, relatively foolproof means of setting a delay charge. Their small size allows them to be adapted to many different devices.
conversations.prefix: Time pencils:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Watchtowers have been emplaced at either end of the bridge, as has an active exclusion field. Getting close enough without being spotted may prove difficult...
conversations.prefix: Combine outpost:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Old habits die hard, and old lifestyles die harder. A Royal Marine before the Combine arrived, Jane has since blended her training with her wits to get by.
conversations.prefix: Squaddie:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Being the loudest person in the room comes naturally to Fletch. Peckham born & raised, her working-class upbringing on a council estate has only added to her innate extroverted nature.
conversations.prefix: Strong personality:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Jane quickly becomes frustrated when things don't go according to plan, or her view of how the world ought to work. With frustration comes anger, and with anger comes poor decisions.
conversations.prefix: Short fuse:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Combine have unwittingly abolished all the old social constructs; race, class, nationality - they all mean nothing now. A perfect place to begin again, according to the left-wing Londoner.
conversations.prefix: A new beginning:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Hailing from a working-class family situated in rural Texas, most of what Janet recalls from her childhood involves being left to her own devices in the woods behind her house. While this also provided her with a set of skills and know-how that are useful in the post-Combine world, what's perhaps more important is the sense of independence and do-it-yourself ethic that these days imprinted on her.
conversations.prefix: Country Girl:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: For better or worse, Janet is about as rock-solid in her conviction and beliefs as they come. When her mind is set on something it's going to be difficult to discourage her or get her to think otherwise.
conversations.prefix: Hard-Headed:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Of course, her conviction in her beliefs also means that it's easy for her to think negatively and stick herself in that downtrodden mindset indefinitely. She's usually the one most liable to accentuate the negative.
conversations.prefix: Pessimistic:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Janet, being a product of the world under the Combine during her years for peak emotional growth, isn't as steadfast in her self-worth since she doesn't know the pre-Combine world as well. Before anything else she wants to know what it is she and others are fighting for, and what attaining that outcome means for her.
conversations.prefix: Identity:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: An aggressive if cowardly rebel, Harry comes from a working-class background in southern England. He blends his own sense of self-preservation with his need to defend his friends and companions, in order to survive.
conversations.prefix: Anxious Partisan:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: While not the loudest or most aggressive voice in the room, Harry is likely the most persistent, continuing at his points, generally based on his poor common sense, until it takes hold in somebody's head. He's also not an awful shot, but also not the best either.
conversations.prefix: Aggressively persistent:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: While it can be helpful from time to time, Thane's persistence can also lead to him derailing arguments, conversations or plans due to irrelevant tangents in his thoughts, or situations involving him. He also has a thin grasp on his surroundings at the best of times.
conversations.prefix: Aggressively Persistent:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Thane's attachment to previous relationships and ideas is rather worrying, including his inability to let go of them. Beyond that, he's picked up left-wing ideals from Fletch and plans to run with them as far as possible.
conversations.prefix: Solidarity in one Mind:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A prototypical G.I. Joe, Tom enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly before the Storms. His training, wealth of field experience, and good old-fashioned luck have given him the edge needed to survive thus far.
conversations.prefix: Soldier:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Blessed with ice water in his veins, Tom maintains a cool head when under fire. His ability to operate and provide direction to his teammates when shit hits the fan is the biggest thing keeping him alive.
conversations.prefix: Nerves of Steel:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: And yet, every man has a breaking point. Tom's high-stress occupation has had him dangling at the edge for years. At best, he's irritable, aloof, and callous. At worst, he goes over completely.
conversations.prefix: Battle Fatigue:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A decade of Combine oppression hasn't been kind to his spirit. World-weary and tired of fighting, Tom struggles to find meaning in his role as a revolutionary facing an impossibly superior foe.
conversations.prefix: Disillusioned:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A soldier with a few extra tricks. Conscripted for service at 18, Timo volunteered to stay once the mandatory service period expired. It eventually netted him in Karelia Brigade's 2nd Engineering Company.
conversations.prefix: Sapper:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A skilled driver, amateur pilot, and familiar with the operation and maintenance of Warsaw Pact military equipment. While Timo is a competent soldier, he's much more at home behind a wheel.
conversations.prefix: Mechanically Inclined:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: On the run for years and a minor staple on the Combine's watchlist, Timo's nomadic tendencies aren't always a benefit. The physical and mental wear has taken its toll over the decade, making him more susceptible than most people are inclined to think.
conversations.prefix: Exhaustion:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Since even before the Combine occupation Timo has had to cope with the need for everyone to push themselves to the limits in order to maintain a semblance of peace and quiet. Now nearing his forties, he still hopes to be able to see the end of this and finally get a well-deserved rest out of it.
conversations.prefix: "Time to relax.":
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Darjee is a biochemist, mostly self-taught, but knowledgeable nonetheless. However. over the course of her time in the world of alien- and multi-dimensional empire-filled world that Earth has become, she has since taken up the mantle of medicine, out of necessity, self-taught with some guidance from various doctors.
conversations.prefix: Doctor/Biochemist:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Having been reading and learning for the better part of 20 years, and being a practitioner of the Method of Loci, Darjee's amassed a large mental library of knowledge on medicine and science, with some minor trivia along the way. This may assist her, though it's not a world-breaking feature that can overcome any obstacle, but instead lend a hand to reaching such an outcome.
conversations.prefix: Knowledge:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Darjee's born without any melanin, and it's not coming anytime soon. This puts limits on her, both through not being able to withstand the sunlight, and having extremely poor or sensitive eyesight. She's also an introvert, and not always willing to convene with others on things she might be insecure on.
conversations.prefix: Albinism/Introversion:
conversations.from: human
conversations.prefix: Wild:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Darjee, alone in a world of non-Tibetans and non-Buddhism, seeks to utilize what talents she has to free her native land, and the rest of the world, from an oppressive force of alien menaces, and eventually re-establish Tibet as a spiritual and cultural haven, while also soldiering on to reach Nirvana through her faith.
conversations.prefix: Tibetan Buddhism: