| Item: | Rave in Peace |
| Size: | 225 cm |
| Type: | Coin-Op Machine (Game Console) |
| Potential/Current Hazards | None |
| Required Wear/Weaponry | None; tight-fitting sports attire is recommended. |
| Location: | Facility: Closet-16 |
| Reported Anomaly: | Reanimation and Remote Control |
Usage
Operation of the Item must happen in tandem of one operative acting as the Performer and one acting as their Aide. The Aide is to support the Performer with tactical input and drinks during prolonged operation.
All dead bodies are to be placed in the required formation around the Item before its activation, as later coordinated changes by the Performer are impossible.
During operation, the Performer must incorporate movements into their routine that represent the intended actions as closely as possible. The skeletons will mimic them. By incorporating movements like pulling, pushing, boxing or jumping into their dance performance, the Performer is able to coordinate massive synchronous actions of the skeleton audience.
The performance may not be disrupted by any noticeable pause to rest or think in order to keep the "Flow" rating high; if necessary, the Performer might have to resort to purely artistic figures whilst coordinating with the Aide. These intermissions may be required anyway to keep the "Fresh" rating high enough to not lose the bonus multiplier.
Operators are encouraged to compile their own playlists to use with the Item, but all tracks on the list are required to have a BPM not below 150 to allow fast actions, but not exceeding an undetermined maximum at which the Performer can no longer keep their "Heat" rating up.
The Item is rarely used on field missions, due to its distinct lack of subtlety and the fact that users makes themself an obvious, high-priority target for enemy attacks. Instead, the main purpose of the Item is providing cheap, inexhaustible menial labour even in dangerous conditions, and is an invaluable defensive weapon to provide great amounts of decoys.
Report
The Item is an Rhythm Game Arcade Machine designed to look like a big headstone. It features a marquee bearing the title "Rave in Peace". The rest of the device is decorated with stickers of Calaveras or the universal recycling symbol accompanied by the slogan "Reduce. Reuse. Reanimate." and various small graffiti paint jobs of Danse Macabre-like scenes bearing the phrase "Memento Mori" instead of an artist's tag.
When connected to a standard 220 V power supply, the machine enters the idle demo mode typical for arcade machines, displaying gameplay scenes and prompting to "Pay the Ferryman" and play by inserting a coin. The range of its audio can be extended by connecting additional loudspeakers to the Item's corresponding ports; however, processing the signal in any way digitally will cause the audio source to lose its anomalous properties.
Upon insertion of a coin, the game allows to choose from various single player and duel modes, but all modes except "Freestyle" will cause the message "ERROR: Failed to load module from cartridge." to be displayed, necessitating to power cycle the machine.
After selecting "Freestyle" mode, the player is offered to choose one of 5 game avatars ("Grin Reaper", "Horseless Headman", "Lady Death", "Zom B." and "Santa Muerte") which appear to be entirely cosmetic. After the character selection, the player may select one song in .flac, .mp3 or .cda format from a drive connected to an USB 3.0 Type-A receptacle at the side of the machine. The machine will then start a game round with the selected file playing.
During the round, which lasts for the duration of the song, the game will track the player's move with an infrared motion sensing bar mounted below the marquee. The skeletal tracking is then applied to the player's chosen character who mirrors their dance movements in the game. By staying in sync with the music and gaining "Style Points" during play, a combo meter is slowly charged through the levels "Bronze", "Silver", "Gold", "Platin" and "Crystal".
"Style Points" are accumulated based on the ratings in five categories, displayed as a star chart in the corner of the screen. The categories are determined by the following criteria:
- "Flow": Slowly increases over time and decreases if the player struggles to keep up with the music and is spending to many beats in the same pose.
- "Heat": Increases during movements and decreases when a stance is held for too many beats.
- "Poise": Exact scoring mechanisms are unknown. Assumed to be positively influenced by an even balance between arm and leg work.
- "Fresh": Increases with each new move introduced and decreases as moves are excessively repeated. Assumed to be meant to discourage players from continuously repeating simple, high-scoring movements.
- "Spark": Exact scoring mechanisms are unknown. Assumed to be positively influenced by increased geometric difference between individual stances.
The Item's anomalous effect trigger when a player is in the "Crystal" combo mode. For the duration of the combo, all non-living, eligible skeletons in audible range of the device will animate to dance with the player. The skeletons must be roughly humanoid and consist of bone matter, but anything that happens to be attached to them, like surgical splints or dead flesh, will move with the rest.
However, the imitation is not entirely accurate in respect to the limited size of the playing area. This makes it possible to cause the skeletons to move an indefinite amount in any direction through means like moonwalking. The skeletons will orient themselves to face in the same direction as the Performer.
Appendix
The following is a non-comprehensive list of operations utilizing the Rave in Peace.
| Operation | Skeletons used | Additional Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tango-Mauve | Disrupting a SEPIA marine pipeline | 5 (Human) | Underwater deployment proved successful. |
| Hotel-Murmur | Unearthing a dig site in the Lop Depression | 24 (Human) | Each skeleton was equipped with a spade, whilst the performer used a tap dancing cane as prop to incorporate the tool into her dance routine. |
| Bravo-Anaconda | Reclamation of a Kaiju Corpse from a GOC Research Facility | 1 ("The ██████████") | |
| Quebec-Gossip | Removal of evidence from the scene of a raid on a Sarkic Community | 31 (Human), 4 (████████), 60 (unidentified) | Partly unsuccessful; many of the corpse were either not humanoid enough or lacked an osseous skeleton. |
| Golf-Arrow | Checking an area for anti-personnel mines | 115 (Rhesus Monkey), 1 (Human) | During usage, the skeleton of the Aide, Agent Beckett, was also animated unknowingly, and subsequently tried to claw its way out of his corpse. The entity that was Agent Beckett's skin at this time was disposed of with a flamethrower. |
