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Chicago is a city in Illinois, where the crew is supposed to meet a Weave contact. However, there is a high number of Justice officers stationed in this city, making it dangerous to explore.
History[]
Street[]
On October 22, 2030, Pax, Theo, Noam, Ziggy, Eli, and Caretaker board a train to Chicago in order to look for The Bad Lands Bar & Grill, but they struggle to find it due to Caretaker's records being outdated. Theo suggests using the buddy system while searching for the bar, and Pax can choose anyone other than Theo to pair with. Along the way, Pax finds several people who suffer from Echo-induced paranoia, and she can remove those Echoes with the ME-EM. Using that same machine, she detects that Hawker is an Anomal. If Pax starts a conversation with Hawker, he offers to sell a contraband mixtape to Pax, which she is interested in because it contains K-pop songs that Sai likes, but she is unable to purchase it due to having no cash. Pax and Hawker discuss the latter's status as an Anomal, and while she offers him a place on the crew, Hawker politely refuses because he is loyal to his friends in the city. He is touched by Pax's gesture and gives her the K-pop mixtape for free.
Pax sees a television broadcast about the election that states the Justice Magistrate is not endorsing Samuel Ward's son, Preston, for the American Republic's 2031 election. Noam and Ziggy doubt that a new president will be able to change the status quo, Eli is optimistic about the prospect of removing Ward from office, and Caretaker states that their records about the Republic's politics are too old.
Pax finds a Henry robot who lost his job and ability to walk, causing her to feel sorry for him. Noam states that it should be easy to retrain or reprogram Henry for another job. Ziggy says that even if she could fix Henry's hardware, his software is not programmed to enjoy agricultural tasks that are needed in a commune. Eli finds Henry's situation tragic and wonders if he can seek support from a Betty. Caretaker states that robots and humans alike suffer when they lose their purpose and ability to function. The nearby Betty is programmed with a newer lore and personality, and is unsympathetic to the homeless Henry. Pax can give Henry a bowtie that she received from the Great Plains Exclusion Zone's Betty, and Henry asks Pax to deliver his song to the next old-school Betty that she meets.
Pax witnesses two Justice officers arresting civilians for drawing pro-Sara Medina-Castillo graffiti. She can use the Normalize Vox to convince the officers that this is just art and not something worth an arrest, causing them to let the civilians go.
When Pax finds a beggar in the streets, she laments not being able to help due to her lack of cash and she can ask her partner to comment on the situation. Ziggy does not have cash either, due to only experiencing Liberty's barter economy. Eli also lacks cash, though he remarks the Horned Riders do not use cash and that they would have taken pity on the beggar. Noam used the last of their cash in the abandoned mall. Caretaker's programming disallows them from hacking into a vending machine to steal cash for the beggar.
Pax sees a Justice officer harassing a homeless woman. Noam and Pax state that this happens with Pacifica Authority too. Ziggy and Eli are upset that they cannot save the woman without blowing the crew's cover and jeopardizing the greater good of the mission. Caretaker fears what will happen to the woman, since they have already witnessed Justice mistreating children.
Pax watches a game where the player is supposed to guess where their chosen card is after the dealer shuffles it among two other cards, and she notices that it is a con. If Ziggy is present, Pax remarks on how primitive the con is, and Ziggy states that when the mark is an idiot who is oblivious to the setup, the complexity of the con does not matter. Noam and Pax compare this to their own cons in Pacifica. Eli is tempted to use his own Vox to give the conman a taste of his own medicine. Caretaker is able to see through the con due to their eye's high scan rate.
At the entrance of The Bad Lands Bar & Grill, Bob and Marshall refuse to let the crew through because they are not on the guest list. Pax can give a fake name and use Hoax to try to convince the bouncers that she is a Battle of the Bands participant, but they refuse to budge, so she has to ask a crewmate for help. She can ask Eli to rewrite the list with an illusion, resolving the situation with minimal tension. If Noam uses their gaslighting Vox, they state that the bouncers' rationale of simply following orders is Nazi-like and that they can be better than that. If Ziggy is chosen, she uses her speed to steal the list and lure away the bouncers.
The Bad Lands Bar & Grill[]
The crew finds most of the tables occupied by Justice officers, who throw a retirement party for one of their members, Sharon. Two officers talk about how one of them, David, was seen in Boystown, a gay village in Chicago. They lament that due to Justice's socially progressive rebranding, they cannot make good-natured jokes about the situation. When Pax goes to the counter, two officers mistake the crew for Battle of the Bands participants and direct them to the green room. In the green room, Noam, Ziggy, and Eli get drunk before the performance, which worries Pax and Theo. Pax has to scold the drunkards, use Vox on them, or give them the silent treatment. Winning the Battle of the Bands requires the crew to get sufficient scores on four different songs.
If the crew wins the contest, Eli and Ziggy become metaphorically drunk on victory, otherwise Eli will complain that victory was stolen from the crew. Theo wants everyone to stay sober in preparation for meeting the Weave's contact, but gives in to the party spirit when Eli brings a tray of Blue Creek whiskey. While waiting for the contact to show up, the crew plays pool, talks about their Coda paths, and fraternizes with the Justice officers. Caretaker decides that they are no longer constrained by perceived gender no matter which Coda they are on.
Eventually, Theo receives a message stating that the contact canceled the meeting due to all the Justice officers. The crew now must go to Rotown in Detroit, Michigan, in order to safely meet the contact. Pax stays behind to wait for Noam, while everyone else returns to the train station. Noam has a long conversation with the bartender about the latter's attempted career at music, which annoys Pax both because of the urgency of the situation and because she is jealous that Noam is directing their attention to someone else. The two argue about their past relationships, with Noam accusing Pax of stringing them along for years and using them, while Pax points out that Noam is also guilty of using her. Pax states that both used their Vox in tandem to mess with people and that this is the wrong way to have a relationship, and that they need to be more honest with each other. When the two leave, they run into Praetor Walker and Prefect Kim, who question Pax about her presence at the Yellow Brick Road Motel and test her memory regarding her answers from her previous encounter with them. If Pax tries to use Hoax to claim innocence, Kim shows video evidence of Pax at a Standard Energy Service Station in Boulder, Colorado. Pax and Noam flee when they realize the officers have enough evidence to implicate the crew.
Chase[]
Pax and Noam run outside, and the bouncers slow down the officers if Pax did not incur their suspicion. If the graffiti artists were saved, they trip the officers to buy time for Pax. When Walker and Kim run past Hawker, he goes Nova in order to attack the officers with his Vox, allowing Pax and Noam to lose Justice. At the train, the crew mourns Hawker's sacrifice, and Theo states that there is no longer any room for mistakes in this mission.
Physical description[]
Street[]
The game does not portray the entirety of Chicago and instead just shows the street that "The Bad Lands Bar & Grill" is located on. The street contains several buildings in a compact arrangement, such as:
- Wholesome Food, an abandoned mini mart.
- A Quarter Quest arcade on each end of the street.
- The Byterunner, a building containing publicly usable computers.
- An outdoor service station that does not require a Henry.
- Betty's Diner Express.
- Neon Tattoo, a tattoo parlor.
- A small laundromat.
- An unnamed audio shop.
- Whinos, an abandoned shop or bar.
Other objects of note include several electronic signs promoting Samuel Ward, Battle of the Bands posters, campaign posters for Medina-Castillo, Justice and Ward propaganda posters, a poster about "supporters", missing persons posters, several power boxes, a giant Junior Justice statue, a television screens showing the Justice Magistrate, a hologram of the Magistrate's upper body, pro-Medina-Castillo graffiti, box speakers, vending machines, and video phones.
The Bad Lands Bar & Grill[]
The outside of the building is made of brick walls and has a neon sign with the establishment's name, as well as a purple skull with two horns. The interior consists of a bar, a stage for performances, and green rooms for bands to make preparations in. The bar section has a neon sign with the establishment's name and logo, several booth tables, a bar counter, a jukebox, a pool table, a blue cake that says "GOODBYE TENSION HELLO PENSION!", and a shelf stacked with liquor. The crew's green room has a water dispenser, a counter with a large mirror, instruments, two sofas surrounding a table, a small green chair, the establishment's neon sign, and several posters depicting punk rock musicians. The stage has several speakers, a large Battle of the Bands poster, a purple curtain, and a mic stand.
Items[]
- Main article: Items
- mix tape
- Henry's lyrics
- Bad Lands matchbook
Gallery[]
Street[]
The Bad Lands Bar & Grill[]
Bouncers[]
| Dustborn locations |
|---|
| Divided States of America |
| American Republic • Pacifica |
| Issues 0-1 |
| Noam's apartment • Purity • La Torre • Rock Rabbit Campground |
| Issues 2-3 |
| Liberty • Knapper Campground • Trailer park • Signal Hill Campground |
| Issues 4-5 |
| Abandoned mall • Texas Beach Campground • Alpine Visitor Center • Yellow Brick Road Motel • Peaceful Valley Campground |
| Issues 6-9 |
| Great Plains Exclusion Zone • Camp Oakwood • Abandoned house • Chicago • Rotown |
| Issue 10 |
| New York City • Owl's Head Campground • Schoodic Point • Nova Scotia |
| Recurring locations |
| Standard Energy Service Station • Betty's Diner |