Perfect Paranoia is Perfect Awareness

Introduction

This plot was inspired by a conversation I was having about a month ago with an old friend. He said something about getting paranoid in his old age, and out of habit I said in return, “Well, perfect paranoia is perfect awareness.” I got to thinking about that particular phrase. I must have quoted it a dozen times, but I cannot for the life of me remember its source. But on reflection I realized that it would make a nifty idea for a plot line. I hope your players enjoy it as much as mine did.

Setting the Stage

The runners receive an urgent call from their fixer, informing them that a Johnson wishes to meet with them as soon as possible. The Johnson is a small Japanese man that dresses the role of a mid-level corporate executive. He will introduce himself, and with no more formality will begin to explain the run.

The Johnson represents Yuma Security Specialties, a small research corporation. It seems that several days ago a truck carrying vital chemicals used in their research turned up missing. They have the route the truck was to take, and the truck itself has a microtransceiver that will help pinpoint its location once they are within a 10 kilometer radius.

The team will be supplied with chemsuits and a signal locator for the truck, as well as a map indicating its route toward the city. The chemsuits, they are told, are to prevent any exposure to any of the chemicals in the truck. If asked specifically about what the effects of the chemicals might be, the Johnson will simply respond that he doesn’t know. (This is truthful, he really doesn’t know).

The team’s mission is to locate the truck, remove any and all identification from the vehicle and then contact Yuma Security to have them retrieve the vehicle and take any steps necessary for cleanup. The Johnson should be polite, direct, and to the point.

The characters will most likely begin following the route posted in reverse in an attempt to get close enough to the truck to locate it. Their signal locator will begin registering a signal from the truck about a mile outside of a small town about halfway in between the players’ city of origin and the city from which the truck was dispatched.

The players will enter the town to find the streets completely deserted. The main road has been blocked off, and all of the town’s businesses are closed and boarded up. Not a soul is in sight, the whole place is abandoned and eerie. The players will have to get out of their vehicle and go search for the truck—this is where the fun begins.

Behind the Scenes

This is a challenging scenario for players, and one that can be particularly nasty if any of the characters in the group are somewhat paranoid to begin with. A few days ago a truck carrying a new experimental toxin left from a nearby city and is en route to your runners’ home local. The toxin is a new chemical agent designed to induce extreme paranoia into enemy troop concentrations, causing them to lose touch with reality and making them much easier targets. Unfortunately the truck’s tanker developed a leak and the driver succumbed to the effects of the gas.

The gas itself induces extreme paranoia into its victims. The driver, convinced that his own corporation was out to kill him, decided to hide as best he could. He drove the tractor-trailer off the main highway and proceeded into a small woodland area. He was driving up a very shallow stream bed when he lost control and the truck tipped over. The tank ruptured, and the truck’s toxic cargo was exposed to the atmosphere. The resultant gas cloud has spread over a fairly wide area, making everyone in the small town extremely paranoid. The real danger to the party is not the citizens of the town, however, it is from the gas itself. Any character that is exposed to the gas must make a resistance check using their natural body against a target number of 10 with a base damage level of serious. Anything that results in a moderate “wound” or higher results in the onset of extreme paranoia.

If the “wound” level is moderate, the character will begin to feel the effects and it will slowly increase over time. If the result is serious, the character is very paranoid almost immediately. If the results are deadly, the character loses all touch with reality and paranoia takes over completely. If the character is not close with other members of the party they too will be perceived as a threat and possibly attacked, depending on the character’s personality. At the very least, even the most timid or pacifistic individual would run away and hide from their friends, believing that they are out to get them.

If the characters wear their chemsuits they will be safe from the gas, but when they encounter any of the locals this could change very rapidly. To one of the locals, the characters would represent a tremendous threat and the local would respond with whatever force he or she could. Imagine a farmer with a shotgun, or a store owner with a pitchfork, or even a small child with a pocket knife. None of these threats would be very serious, but any one of them might prove sufficient to puncture the character’s chemsuit. This is when the real problem begins.

Successful Resolution

The characters should be able to locate the truck, remove any identification that might have linked it to Yuma, and call for a cleanup crew. Of course, once the identification has been removed and returned to the Johnson, Yuma has no intention of attempting to clean up the spill. They will simply deny the entire event and leave the townspeople to suffer until the tanker’s supply is exhausted or some other government agency gets involved to clean up the mess. As long as Yuma can’t be directly held responsible for the accident, they will be happy.

Adventure Hooks

This scenario can provide a variety of adventure hooks, particularly if the party kills or injures any of the townspeople. It is recommended that you use this particular scenario with caution, as any character that might be paranoid to begin with can be in serious trouble if their suit ruptures. It can, however, provide your characters with a valuable object lesson in teamwork and cooperation.