Deus Ex Diaries Part Fourteen

This is my ongoing exploration of the Deus Ex Universe, in preparation for when Mankind Divided arrives later this year. Whether you’re a newcomer or an old-goer, I hope to make this something you can read along with and enjoy. We continue on with Deus Ex.

Having found Nicolette DuClare with the help of the terrorist group Silhouette, I had left Paris to join her in her chateau. I had managed to miss Gunther Hermann as he ran up to attack me, which was fortunate as the city was under MJ12 control…

We arrived at Nicolette's chateaux, or more correctly, her family home. She had not been there for some time, and I suspected MJ12 troops would jump out at any moment. She had me break in because she no longer had a key (quite suspect, I must admit), and we began to search for her mother’s secret computer room. I say we -- she just followed me about and chatted about the past…

"Zis von time, at band camp..."

We found nothing downstairs, so we went upstairs and searched her room, including the ‘hidden’ nook behind her bookcase. If you’re putting a hidden trigger, don’t make it a skull… We then went to her mum’s room and she commented on the painting that her mother “spent hours looking at” -- another hidden nook with a note for her, though JC didn’t relay that to her. I took the dumb waiter down to the kitchen and waited whilst Nicolette joined me.

The AI Icarus spoke to me again, warning that I would find no help here, and sounding quite threatening. I didn’t think I’d end up being buddies with him, at all…

In the kitchen was a door to the cellar, where I noticed some wooden beams in the way. One laser-swording later, and we found the hidden computer room, which Tracer Tong had spoiled the surprise a few moments ago by commenting on the “large amount of fibre activity”. Looks like Nicolette was a member of the Illuminati, and seeded some torrents. That cheeky French minx!

"And that looks like a media server!"

I logged in using the information from the datapad in her hidden nook (hah! a Nook in a nook!), and transmitted a message to Morgan Everett. He contacted me on my comm and told me that he wouldn’t meet me face-to-face, until I had gained him access to the MJ12 computer network. Currently housed inside the Cathedrale de Payens, it was the base of operations for the Knights Templar until the MJ12 murdered them all recently.

Yep, I was in secret Illuminati room in France being told that the Knights Templar were still about. What’s more, they were the ones who created modern banking, which made them bigger monsters than anyone I had encountered thus far in the game. Sadly, voices in my head were telling me to do things, so I went out the rear of the house and into the maze. It led to the crypt, which I needed to use to get to the sewers, and the cathedral.

If you can't read that, she's saying "Crazy... I lost my virginity out here. I believe Mom was out conspiring to get me into La Sorbonne at the time." to someone she's known for HALF AN HOUR...

Nicolette was chatting away as I entered the maze, but stopped as I headed in. Moments later, Jock warned me that there were heat signatures in the sewers. As I rounded a corner, there stood an MJ12 commando. I hid and waited for him to come over before laser swording him (and honestly, it had been far too long since I had killed…), then his mate an instant later. With that, I entered the sewers.

Morgan contacted me once more, telling me to continue along the route and get access for him. I had the option of picking the lock on the nearby gate, or heading up and smashing through some windows. Laser sword in hand, I went up and stole some money off of an already-dead woman. I waited for the commando on the ground to get into position -- and was spotted by him, putting me into a swift panic.

I dropped down and took him out, then looked for others. There were none in sight, so I began walking -- and got shot by a sniper. I ducked and looked around for him, then noticed a door open and a guy come out. I hadn’t moved from the spot, but he looked for a moment before deciding I wasn’t there and turning to go. So I murdered him savagely.

Then it all went wrong…

Commandos, troopers and a massive mech all began taking shots at me and I barely managed to get to safety where the mech couldn’t get me. Picking off the humans, made easier by the mech’s rocket blasts killing a couple, I soon snuck past the mech and down a nearby staircase.

Daedalus, my AI buddy, contacted me to tell me I was going the wrong way, and even sent me a picture of the cathedral. I actually just wanted to have a wander and a little explore, but figured I had to get on and went back upstairs. Deciding against a frontal assault, I jumped off of the bridge nearby and swam through a little channel and up through a disused well behind the cathedral.

Unable to navigate and dying of lack of oxygen...

I was spotted by a robot, of which there were four or five wandering around, and I quickly ran for it. I found a trellis and decided to try climbing it -- just as Tracer told me to do just that.

Now on the roof, I smashed a skylight and dropped into the library, nicking a key for the front door before exploring. There were several guards but surprisingly few alarms triggered as I headed down, figuring the command room would be in the basement. I came across a room protected by a keypad and used several multi-tools to open it.

Yes, it does look like a USB drive

There was a laser system in place to stop trespassers, but using some boxes and a crouch-jump, I managed to avoid them. As I went in and ducked from the cameras behind some of the large pallets, Morgan informed me that this was the gold that he had asked me to find as a secondary objective, and that he would tell Chad to come and claim it. I disabled the security cameras and left, purposefully triggering the laser grid.

One guard came to investigate the noise and died swiftly, before I rounded a corner and came face-to-chest with a Woman in Black stood on the stairs. As they explode when they die, a LAM was required to ensure my survival, then I went into her room. I found the codes for most of the areas and some money, then noticed a security panel on the wall. I used it to disable the single camera focussed on the mainframe I needed to access, then went on trying to actually find the damned thing.

Some people have Chaucer, some King, others have a list of door codes

Gunther Hermann had contacted me with the knowledge that he had a satellite tracking me whilst I was on the roof. As I explored, he contacted me again to goad me with the fact he was waiting for me. I finally came to a keypad-locked door protected by a camera and a minigun. I checked my list of numbers and ran at the door, hammering in the code: success! I leapt into the room just before the alarm sounded and found myself in the mainframe room.

I went down the stairs and looked around before going near the computer. As I suspected, Gunther was stood in the gloom, and decided to chat with me rather than lobbing LAMs or rockets at me. Luckily, Jaime Reyes had told me Gunther’s kill phrase, which I happily told him. He exploded in moments.

Insta-gibs...

I accessed the mainframe and turned around to leave, when I noticed a hologram communicator. Stood there, ready to speak to me, was Walton Simons, FEMA director and leader of the MJ12 (or something). Apparently he had sent Gunther after me just to get rid of the old-model augment, and the next one I met would be like JC…

I went to leave the cathedral and Morgan contacted me once more. He thanked me for the intel, which had given him the final piece of the puzzle to create a true cure for the Grey Death virus. Also, that he would meet me in the metro station that Daedalus had turned me away from earlier.

As I exited the building, I managed to alert the troops… With a lot of running, I made it to the metro station, my lust for murder not sated, but my arse still attached to my body. Down I went, passing police and small security bots. Once on the platform, Morgan’s representative ran up to greet me.

"I'm running in a none threatening manner!"

He told me that I would not be allowed to know where we were going, and I okayed him doing whatever he had to. When I woke up, I was in Morgan’s apartment -- and the cure was ready...