Chapter 9: The Cruelest Intentions

In the save hub you can in fact save your game. In order to proceed, enter the lobby and take a thorough look at the paining, then follow the straight path. Back in 'reality', inspect the barricaded dead end behind you for [500 GREEN GEL] and crates, as well as the area to your right for another [500 GREEN GEL]. Continue to the mansion in the distance and inspect the right side of the area to find several barrels and a crate with [RANDOM ITEMS]. Explore the left side of the area to find a somewhat separate area that has an [EXPLOSIVE BOLT] sticking out of one of the walls, and [500 GREEN GEL] and [1 SHOTGUN SHELL] on the ground. The approach the steps of the mansion's main entrance and inspect the right side of it to find another [500 GREEN GEL].

Inside the mansion, look for a [SYRINGE] on one of the chairs on the left side. You are now in the main hall, and the large door in front of you will automatically close. There's a red door in the (upper) left corner that leads to the save hub, plus you can find the [KRIMSON POST NEWSPAPER CLIPPING] in the small room. Inside the save hub you can find the [BODIES FOUND NEAR ESTATE] newspaper in the stand, and the [MISSING PERSONS POSTER - RUBEN]. When you're done upgrading skills and saving, head back to the mansion.

NOTE: You need to know that Ruvik will appear every five minutes or so, attempting to kill you. He'll stick around for a little longer than half a minute. Do not bother shooting him, this only makes him teleport close to you, which is very dangerous as he has an instant-kill move. Simple moving around and waiting for him to go away will work fine. An area such as the main hall is ideal for this; other areas will require improvising, especially with other enemies around.

First explore the single door to your left (under the stairs) and search this dining room for [300 GREEN GEL] and the [MANSION DINING ROOM NOTE]. Continue through the next hall, but beware of the bomb in the next room. There are also two enemies feasting in the next room, so take them out. In this room you can find [4 HANDGUN AMMO] to the right. The last room contains [1000 GREEN GEL] in between the shelves and a [FLASH BOLT] on the shelves. There's also a puzzle that you need to solve on the table.

It's actually very simple the brain has two halves (which are called the left and the right hemisphere). The area you need to insert the probe into is the green area (F-7; CONSENT) depicted on the picture to your left). This means you will have to insert the probe into the lower right portion of the LEFT hemisphere/brain-half. This triggers two 'holograms'. Return to the main hall and you'll find that one of the blood injections into the door (yes) has been activated.

Head through the double doors on the other side of the main hall (also under the stairs) and inspect this room to find [3 MATCHES]. There's also a [SYRINGE] lying on the table in the middle. The door in the right corner leads to a small storage room with [500 GREEN GEL], [2 SNIPER RIFLE ROUNDS] and several barrels with [RANDOM ITEMS]. The other door in the hall leads to a room with a bomb behind the crates, so be careful. You can find [300 GREEN GEL] and [2 SHOTGUN SHELLS] inside as well.

Continue through the hall and look for [2 HARPOON BOLTS] sticking out a chair on the left side of this piano room. There's also a [GRENADE] near the piano, and the [MANSION MUSIC ROOM NOTE] can be found under the wall safe in the corner of the room. The safe cannot be used right now, so head back to the main hall.

Go upstairs. The door on the right is locked, so head through the double doors in the middle. You can find [300 GREEN GEL] in this room, along with the [LOWER SAFE DIAL]. Now you only need the upper one. Head through the door on the left in the main hall, which is the only area we haven't explored up to now (other than the area behind the locked door on the right).

Don't rush through; instead, crouch and sneak up on the enemy inside this room for a stealth kill. There's [2 SHOTGUN SHELLS] on the desk, and you can also find [300 GREEN GEL] on a small table. Climb the ladder, kill the 'corpse' and collect the [UPPER SAFE DIAL]. Carefully count how many spectators are depicted on the painting (the white heads); 11. When you climb down, several enemies appear. You should be able to stealh kill one of them; defeat the other two any way you want.

Now head back to the main hall (ignoring the unexplored hall in the room you're coming from, at least for now). Head downstairs and go through the double doors, you're headed for the piano room. Enter the safe dials and input 11 for the upper dial and 2 for the lower dial. Behind it is another experiment. This time you must put a probe in the blue 'hope' center, which is roughly in between the two already implanted probes, but a little bit more to the left than that.

When you've so, head back to the main hall. You'll come across two enemies on the way, so kill them. And in case you somehow needed to go back to the storage room, there's now an enemy with its back turned in there. You *can* stealth kill it, but you must press the button as soon as you're near enough, because she will turn around as you get close.

In any case go back upstairs and back to the room you came from. Here, turn left. Ignore the body and search around for [500 GREEN GEL] and [2 PARTS]. Go through the first door on the left and search the desk for [RUVIK'S ROOM NOTE], [4 HANDGUN AMMO] on a chair, and [500 GREEN GEL] in the cupboard. The adjacent bedroom contains [500 GREEN GEL] and a [MEDICAL KIT], as well as [2 MATCHES] in the cupboard near the door. When you search the bedroom, an enemy will enter the other room. It's quite possible to sneak up on it to save some ammo.

Head back to the hall, but beware of the trap. Go around the corner and enter the bathroom to the right, which contains [500 GREEN GEL] in the toilet and [MAP FRAGMENT 16] near the bath. Continue down the hall and shoot the red light above the trap when it requires you to.

Go through the nearest door to enter a bedroom that contains a statue/[ORDINARY KEY] and a [SYRINGE] in one of the cabinet drawers. Move through the fireplace's tunnel to find the last experiment, along with an [EXPLOSIVE BOLT] and [1000 GREEN GEL]. This time you must put a probe in the red/A-2 'fear' center, which is essentially the far right side of the brain, in the middle.

Go back to the hall and go around the corner; collect the [500 GREEN GEL] from near the corpse and then (with your lights dimmed), sneak down the hall and spot an enemy around the corner. You can sneak up on him quite easily as he moves away from you. In the room up ahead, the 'corpse' will come alive, so you might want to shoot it in the head right away. There's [500 GREEN GEL] on the chair nearby and the table contains the [AUDIO TAPE - CASE STUDY: DECONSTRUCTING PSYCHIC BARRIERS].

At this point I (Steve) want to stress that the talk on these tapes is bogus scientifically speaking. The psyche is emergent and cannot be reduced to spatially located lobes of the brain. There are, of course, certain parts of the brain that greatly contribute to certain functions, but the structures of consciousness and the human psyche in general cannot be explained by, much less tinkered with through the neuro-reductionist frames that appear to be hegemonial in the game. Nonetheless the cultural desire and striving towards integral forms of collective consciousness are adequately tapped into once again (other such cultural artifacts were: the Borg, and to some extent the Matrix). We could call this the desire of assimilation of others' consciousness.

In any case, when you attempt to exit the room, a second enemy will appear. Kill it and go through the door; you're now in the main hall. Save you game if you wish, then go through the big door you've finally opened. Move through the hall and you'll reach a room with a [SPARK BOLT].

Move through the next hall and you'll reach a room in which Ruvik appears. Do not waste your ammo on him but continue down the next hall. In this room, several trapwires appear; it's not too hard to move around them though. First move to the left, then head right, then left again and you've pretty much made it already.

Continue through the hall. In the next area, bars will drop from the ceiling, partially blocking your way while Ruvik moves right through them. Simply shoot the lock on the bars blocking your way (when you're completely locked in) to continue. Do this several times and beware of the bear traps near the end; they can be nasty. In any case, once you reach the end you'll be inside the same room as before, but this time you can find [500 GREEN GEL] and [MAP FRAGMENT 17] here. Head down the hall to enter a new setting.

Search the cart on the left side for [300 GREEN GEL] and the cart on the right for [2 HANDGUN AMMO] and a [FLASH BOLT], as well as [2 SNIPER RIFLE ROUNDS] nearby, then enter the barn. After the scene(s), turn the wheel, then the crank to the left of the wheel. Step inside the cage, turn around and shoot the crank/wheel you turned to reach the upper area. Here, grab the [500 GREEN GEL] and attempt to flee by the window. This starts a boss fight of some sort.

Again, do not bother to shoot Ruvik himself, which is impossible. The idea, this time, is to shoot the regular enemies that Ruvik spawns (and set them on fire). You can find [2 HARPOON BOLTS] and [2 SHOTGUN SHELLS] in the area. Just stay away from Ruvik (and the enemies themselves) while you keep downing any newly spawned ones.

When the fight is over, move to the end of the hall and go slide yourself through the opening behind the bookshelf.