PP victory

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How to win the game with 1pp.png Phoenix Project ending

Pp victory deco.jpg

Research Atmospheric analysis (50)

Atmospheric analysis.jpg

Needed to unlock The Phoenix Archives research

Before research: We have managed to connect to some of the remaining weather satellites. We should use these to assess the extent of the new mist outbreak.

After research: Atmospheric Analysis Reprogramming of our satellite systems has revealed the extent of the new mist outbreak. The origin sites are in the coastal sea region, as in the previous two incursions, but the activity level seems higher, posing a serious threat to remaining life on earth.

Havens caught within the mist will be at risk of attack, so we should explore mist-covered regions thoroughly and defend any havens trapped within them. Our geoscape monitoring systems have been updated with current mist coverage.

Bonus effect: Global mist monitoring system available Mist explained here

Research The Phoenix Archives (100)

The Phoenix Archives.jpg

Prerequisities: Atmospheric analysis research

Before research: We have discovered a batch of encrypted files on the mainframe of the newly-reclaimed Phoenix Base. According to the filenames, these are the Phoenix Archives, or what remains of them.

After research: Randolph Symes III's notes indicate the existence of a private retreat owned by the Symes family, used as a place of meditation and research. It may contain information that could help us understand what Symes was trying to achieve in his final days.

Bonus effect: Phoenix bases are revealed and can be activated. Base activation explained here


Cinematics about Randolph Symes the third are played:

Randolph Symes was the last leader of the 1pp.png Phoenix Project. His great-grandfather had been there when it was founded, and he was there to witness its end. When we took back Phoenix Point, we found his notes. In his final days, as the world collapsed around him, he had been working frantically to understand the Pandoravirus.

Somewhere in the complicated history of the Project, in decades of missions and investigations, there had to be an answer. His notes were damaged, too many of the files corrupted. But perhaps, if we could retrace his steps, we could figure out where his journey had taken him... and what the answers he had discovered would mean for us.

After cinematics: Whatever happened to Dr. Symes? Randolph Symes's notes indicate the existence of a private retreat owned by the Symes family, used as a place of meditation and research. It may contain information that could help us understand what Symes was trying to achieve in his final days. Site added to escape: The Symes Retreat. We should send our operatives to investigate.

Site added to Geoscape: The Symes Retreat

The Symes Retreat

Eliminate enemy forces to gain access to the Symes Retreat.

Mission briefing: Our operatives have reached Randolph Symes III's private retreat, where we may be able to find additional information that may help us decipher his notes and make sense of his activities. However, our scans indicate the enemy presence in the area.

After mission: Our operatives have retrieved a big batch of documents from the Symes Retreat. These should allow us to better understand what Symes was doing and what he discovered. Analyze the documents.

We have identified 3 key sites that Symes singled out as particularly relevant to his research into the history of the 1pp.png Phoenix Project and previous outbreaks of unusual diseases. It is imperative that we send operatives to investigate these sites as soon as the strategic situation allows. Cinematics are played:

As the world fell apart around us, it was difficult not to feel guilty. Some chose to be proactive and fight, but not me. I came here instead. My best weapon is my mind, and I need silence to put it to work. The history of the 1pp.png Phoenix Project is a complex tapestry. In Russia, Turkey, Britain, Spain... not one unbroken lineage, but a tangle of organizations, each passing the torch to the next, with only one goal: to protect the human race.

But protect it from what? Did they know about the Pandoravirus, and if so, how? The answers are out there. So much has been investigated and collected and analyzed. But it’s all scattered… lost. I don’t know if it’s possible to track it all down, but I have to try. There’s only one thing I’m sure of: I can’t stay here anymore.

Rewards: Tech TECH +100, Materials MATERIALS +300, 3 Sites added to Geoscape: Frozen, Prisoner of Ice and Rise by sin, by virtue fall.

3 sites

Player needs to visit all of them. After visiting all of them Pandoravirus research will be unlocked.

Frozen

Our operatives have reached a defunct research station in northern Siberia identified in Symes' notes as a significant point of interest. The doors stand open and there are no signs of life. Investigate.

The scientists who worked at this station are all long dead; their mutated bodies lie frozen in strange, demoniac poses. It's easy for our operatives to retrieve the samples they were researching, which Randolph Symes came all this way to examine. Cinematics are played:

In 2022, a group of researchers investigating an Anthrax outbreak caused by melting permafrost in northern Siberia went missing. The 1pp.png Phoenix Project tried to find out what happened to them but our resources were stretched too thin and our allies in the Russian government were losing influence. So we let it go.

All these years later, looking at these samples, I wonder... is this where it started? Is this the first outbreak? If we had done more... could we have stopped it? The genetic material I have recovered might hold the answers, but I'm not sure I want to know.

Prisoner of Ice

Secure the cryogenics laboratory.

Mission briefing: Our operatives have discovered the cryogenics laboratory Symes mentioned in his notes. It appears to have been a government facility, possibly a black site of some kind. As far as we can tell, Symes came here to examine samples collected in the 1960s. Unfortunately, the facility has been compromised, and now functions as a base for a group of raiders.

After mission: With the facility secured, our operatives have carefully retrieved the viral samples that were stored here. They are in less than ideal shape, but preliminary analysis suggests it's extremely likely that we're looking at some version of the Pandoravirus. A more rigorous analysis will be initiated immediately. OK. Cinematics are played:

In the 1960s, the 1pp.png Phoenix Project clashed with an unknown intelligence outfit associated with the CIA. One of these clashes concerned the cultures stored in this lab. said to be responsible for a "terrible plague" somewhere in what was then called the Third World. At the time of his death, my great-grandfather was trying to force the CIA to at least share some samples, but they denied everything - even the existence of this lab.

It looks like the research was abandoned in the late 1970s. I'm not sure why. The samples are degraded, but if my analysis is correct... this is the Pandoravirus. (sigh) Sometimes I wonder whether the only reason we survived as a species is sheer luck.

Rewards: Tech TECH +200, Materials MATERIALS +300

Rise by sin, by virtue fall

The coordinates in Symes' notes have led our operatives to a small abandoned camp high up in the mountains. Behind it lies the entrance to a cave. Investigate.

The cave contains the corpse of a Caucasian male. It is hard to identify at first, as it is overgrown with yellow, sickly-looking leaves sprouting from the shrivelled skin. A backpack on the floor contains faded photographs and broken specimen jars.

Symes seems to have taken what he needed, but even what remains is enough to revolutionize our understanding of this planet's biological history. Our analysis of the leaves growing from the body show that this organism contains traces of the Pandoravirus - but a different, older strain. The implications of this discovery warrant further study. Cinematics are played:

In his essays, my great-grandfather recounts the story of the ill-fated Qinling-Bashan expedition of 1915 and the journal of Lei Meng, the leader of the mission who found evidence of a forgotten protocivilization deep below the ground. There is also mention of James Dawson, a British photographer who stole most of the precious samples recovered by the team.

What became of Dawson has always been a mystery, but now I know the mundane truth he died here in the mountains, forgotten and alone. This protocivilization... could it hold the key to defeating the Pandoravirus? They say history repeats itself. Has all of this happened before?

Research Pandoravirus

Pandoravirus.jpg

Prerequisities: 3 sites are finished

Before research: We have isolated a sample of the Pandoravirus and prepared it for analysis. This virus is widely considered to be responsible for the mutations and ecosystem changes that have led to the near-collapse of civilization.

After research: Until now, we believed the Pandoravirus to be a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus that rapidly mutates any living organism in an unusually directed way, incorporating DNA from multiple species to create the horrors we have witnessed. The suggestion that the Pandoravirus could be extraterrestrial was widely debated by scientists in the 2020s, due to its enormous genome size and the dissimilarity of many of its genes to those of any other lifeform on Earth. Many suspected that its intelligent-seeming behavior could not be fully explained by the usual evolutionary models.

Our analysis, incorporating new data from the cryogenic facility, the Chinese sinkhole, and the Siberian lab, confirms three facts with worrying implications:

1. The Pandoravirus existed on Earth long before the current outbreak.

2. The Pandoravirus is non-terrestrial in origin.

3. The Pandoravirus is the product of design, not evolution.


There had always been rumours that maybe the Pandoravirus wasn't from Earth; that some alien disease had come down from the stars like a plague from heaven. But now that we finally had the evidence we needed, we realized the truth was more terrible than that. The Pandoravirus was alien, yes.

But it wasn't a disease. It was a bioweapon. We were not alone. And whatever was out there... wanted us dead. None of this had deterred Randolph Symes. He'd continued his quest, hoping that whatever his great-grandfather had buried in Oglethorpe University's time vault held the answers he needed. We would have to hope that he was right.

The Shadow of the Past. We need to investigate Oglethorpe University's time vault, where Randolph Symes Sr. buried a collection of files that might shed light on the history of the Pandoravirus. The coordinates have been uploaded to our system.

Our research regarding the nature of the Pandoravirus has caused a great deal of controversy within the factions.

Tobias.jpg Tobias West sees our research as confirmation of what NJ.png New Jericho has always preached: the Pandorans are invaders, a military solution is the only way forward, and anyone who disagrees is helping the enemy.

In Synedrion.png Synedrion, internal debates rage. What are the socio-political rights of creatures created by a bioweapon? Should we even be trying to co-exist?

As for the Anu.png Disciples of Anu, there is no official statement from the Exalted or the Synod of Yearning, but rumors suggest they are neither surprised nor worried.


Outcome: Cinematics are played NJ.png New Jericho's attitude to 1pp.png Phoenix Project +3, Synedrion.png Synedrion's attitude to 1pp.png Phoenix Project +2. Site added to Geoscape: Time Vault

Time Vault

According to his notes, Randolph Symes III discovered that his great-grandfather had buried a trove of documents and samples, largely belonging to the 1pp.png Phoenix Project's predecessor organizations, in Oglethorpe University's time vault. There is little left of the university itself, but the time vault still exists. It's been opened, presumably by Symes, but is still safe from Pandoran infestation. Retrieve time vault contents.

At this point, Symes' notes become hard to make sense of. He seems to have investigated an archaeological site of some kind and noted down several fragments of Antediluvian writing, which led him to wherever he went next. We would need to reconstruct the writing to figure out his final destination. Cinematics are played:

The writings of my great-grandfather recount his mission to Oglethorpe University and the Time Vault. It was here, in 1936, that he deposited the files - sealed aluminium containers that were locked away, to be opened in a thousand years. Did he know what those files contained? I'm not sure. He was a wily old devil.

I have the documents before me now. They prove what I had previously only suspected a technologically advanced hominin civilization existed on this planet long before Homo sapiens came along. They flourished... until something destroyed them. But some of them must have survived, or where did the stories come from? Somehow, they must have won.

I know that some of my operatives think I've lost it. It doesn't matter. I have to keep searching. If I find the answer it'll all have been worth it.

New research available - Antediluvian Protocivilization

Research Antediluvian Protocivilization

Antediluvian Protocivilization.jpg

Prerequisities: Time Vault mission is finished.

Before research: An encrypted but partially corrupted file has been found in a reactivated Phoenix Base. It is entitled "Antediluvian Protocivilization" and has been marked as extremely important.

After research: The archaeological evidence we have collected points to a startling conclusion: civilization on our planet first arose a much longer time ago than commonly believed - more than two million years ago, in fact. This globe-spanning civilization was created by a race of advanced hominins that preceded Homo sapiens, reaching a significant level of technological development before being destroyed by an unknown force. Small groups of these hominins survived for some time after the fall of their civilization, intermingling with Homo sapiens and passing along elements of their language and history, which formed the basis of the flood myths that are so common in cultures around the world. Could the unknown force that destroyed the Antediluvians have been the Pandoravirus? And if so, how did the rest of the planet survive? We must find out more.

Based on reconstructing Symes' writings about the Antediluvian Civilization, there are two potential sites that match the descriptions in Symes' notes, but it's impossible to know which one is the right one. The coordinates for both have been uploaded to our system.

Outcome: Soldiers gain an additional 10% experience from missions and training, 2 Sites added to Geoscape: Seeking Dr.Symes (1) and Seeking Dr.Symes (2)

Seeking Dr.Symes

Investigate Dr. Symes' next step. In order to advance you need to do only the one that reveals Antarctica. You can skip the second one.

Seeking Dr.Symes (1)

Mission briefing: This archaeological site may be related to the Antediluvian Civilization discovered by Randolph Symes III. If we can secure it, we may be able to figure out where Symes went next.

After mission: The Shattered Sphere. We have recovered a shattered metallic sphere of unknown origin - most likely an Antediluvian artefact. The writing inside it, or what is left of it, seems to match what we found in Symes' notes. Based on the data we have been able to decipher, it seems Symes organized an expedition to the place he believed held the ultimate answer to the riddle of the Antediluvians and the Pandoravirus.

With the last remaining 1pp.png Phoenix Project operatives, he set out for Antarctica. They did not return. Perhaps we can finish their work. That's what the 1pp.png Phoenix Project has always been about: no-one can do it alone, and each generation continues the struggles of its ancestors. We have to go to Antarctica.

Rewards:Tech TECH +200, Materials MATERIALS +500, Site added to Geoscape: To Antarctica

Seeking Dr.Symes (2)

Mission briefing: This archaeological site may be related to the Antediluvian Civilization discovered by Randolph Symes III. If we can secure it, we may be able to figure out where Symes went next.

After mission: Wrong Turn. Unfortunately, we have not managed to recover any useful information from this site. This is not the location mentioned in Symes' notes. We will have to keep looking.

Rewards:Tech TECH +300, Materials MATERIALS +400

To Antarctica

Retrieve evidence of how the Antediluvian Protocivilization defeated the Pandoravirus.

Mission briefing: Our operatives have arrived at the Antediluvian site in the Antarctic. We must investigate the Symes Expedition and retrieve evidence of how the Antediluvian Protocivilization defeated the Pandoravirus.

After mission: It would appear that the entire Symes Expedition perished in the Antarctic, most likely overwhelmed by Pandoran forces as they tried to retrieve a mysterious metallic sphere of Antediluvian origin. That sphere is now in our possession, and it's up to us to figure out what it is and how it might help us save the Earth. Prepare the sphere for study. Cinematics are played:

I’m running out of time. I have my answer... but it's not what I wanted. The Antediluvians... they were like us. Then… the Pandoravirus came. It destroyed... everything. In the end, they found a solution. But… at a terrible cost. They created a weapon… the Virophage… that destroyed the Pandoravirus… and themselves.

A whole civilization lost… to give us a chance. And we... we wasted it. All this... for nothing. This is... where it ends. I keep thinking... maybe we are all children of the Pandoravirus. But... the sphere... my God, the sphere...

Rewards:Tech TECH +300, Materials MATERIALS +1000, New research available: Yuggothian Entity.

Research Yuggothian Entity

Yuggothian Entity.jpg

Prerequisities: To Antarctica mission is finished

Before research: The existence of the telepathic nodule suggests the possibility that whatever created the Pandoravirus is controlling the Pandorans directly. We must find out more about this entity.

After research: Our analysis of the Antediluvian texts, combined with the knowledge gathered by the Phoenix Project over the course of the last century, has forced us to acknowledge a shocking truth: the war against Earth is being waged by an alien entity. This being of unimaginable age and power is located on Yuggoth, the ninth planet of our solar system.

Yuggoth's orbit is highly elliptical, coming close to Earth once every 17.000 years. When it does, Yuggoth expels meteorites carrying various iterations of the Pandoravirus, a bioweapon intended to radically transform the Earth's ecosystem to the advantage of the Yuggothian Entity.

The Entity communicates with its creatures via some form of quasi-telepathic signal. Evidence suggests that some human beings are sensitive to these transmissions, explaining the occurrence of the name "Yuggoth" and variations thereof in the work of artists such as H.P. Lovecraft, Virginia Gutierrez, John Bellairs, Ralph Pabodie, and many others. This presumably represents an earlier, less powerful expression of the phenomenon we have termed Oneiric Delirium.

We have concluded that the ultimate purpose of the Entity is to create the ecological conditions that will allow it to come to Earth, and have hypothesized the existence of the Yuggothian Receptacle, a clone or replica to which the Entity will transfer its consciousness. We believe the Pandorans are already in the process of accumulating biomass and genetic material for this purpose.Cinematics are played:


Finally, we knew our enemy. The Pandoravirus was only a tool. It was the hand that wielded it that truly mattered. The creature we came to call the Yuggothian Entity. It was old - perhaps older than the Solar System itself. On Yuggoth, the ninth planet, it lay waiting. For thousands of years, it slept in the outer darkness.

But when Yuggoth's orbit approached the Earth, it expelled the seeds of our destruction. Its mind reached out, haunting our dreams, infesting our stories. Its ultimate purpose was to transform our world into its own - to recreate whatever long-lost abyss it had come from. Its creatures were already assembling a new body it could inhabit. And when they were done... when the Yuggothian Entity came to Earth... nothing could stand in its way.

Know Thy Enemy. Finally, we have revealed the true enemy behind the Pandoravirus: the Yuggothian Entity.

For NJ.png New Jericho, this is excellent news. Finally, a proper war with clear sides - and they know which side they're on. There's no more time for traitors or accommodationists.

For Synedrion.png Synedrion, it's now a question of philosophy - do they want to seize the master's tools and transform the world, or destroy this cosmic hierarchy and let things take their own course? The answer will have to be reached democratically.

The Anu.png Disciples of Anu have no official statement on any parallels between the Yuggothian Entity and their Dead God. The Liturgy of the Divine Flesh draws close, and they have more important things to focus on than the ravings of those trapped in ideologies of the old world.


Outcome: NJ.png New Jericho's attitude to Anu.png Disciples of Anu -5, Anu.png Disciples of Anu's attitude to NJ.png New Jericho -5, NJ.png New Jericho's attitude to Synedrion.png Synedrion -3.

Needed for Yuggothian Receptacle research

Kill or capture any evolved alien

Needed for unlocking Pandoran Evolution research.

Research Pandoran evolution

Pandoran Evolution.jpg

Prerequisities: Evolved Pandoran is killed or captured.

Before research: Field teams have reported seeing mutated versions of Arthrons and Tritons with evolved body parts. While similar in appearance to the original classifications, these new specimens are considerably tougher. We could be witnessing the emergence of several new types of Pandoran.

After research: Field reports are indicating that some Pandorans of the Arthron and Triton types are gradually developing resistances and counters to our weaponry. While this process in some ways resembles traditional evolution, it is clearly a much more directed process. Rather than adapting to evolutionary pressure, the Pandorans are being adapted with a goal in mind - the eradication of humanity.

Rewards: Tech.png TECH +150, Materials.png MATERIALS +300, Needed for Virophage weapons research

Research Virophage weapons

Virophage weapons.jpg

Prerequisities: To Antarctica mission is finished and Pandoran Evolution is researched.

Before research: It would be possible to adapt a weakened, highly-modified form of the Antediluvian Virophage into weapons for our operatives.

After research: We have produced designs and functional prototypes for a new set of virophage-based weapons, which will exclusively damage lifeforms that carry traces of the Pandoravirus. Note that this includes anyone who has undergone controlled mutation, such as the Disciples of Anu. After extensive testing, the weapons are now ready to go into full production.

Working with the Antediluvian Virophage has been challenging; it is almost as dangerous a weapon as the Pandoravirus, and under any other circumstances the only correct response would be to destroy it immediately. Any larger-scale application constitutes a potential extinction event.

New Item for manufacturing available: Phoenix Virophage Sniper Rifle (Gungnir SR-2) and Phoenix Virophage Grenade (Yggdrasil Grenade), needed for Virophage Injector research.

Reveal Pandoran Colony

Revealing Pandoran colonies (bases) explained here

You can reveal the Pandoran colony by defending Haven or your base. It always reveals an attacking base when the base is inside the range of the base scan. It has a chance of revealing the base when the Pandoran base is not inside the scan range. First successful defense has a 20% chance to reveal an attacking base. Second defense from the same attacking base has a 50% chance to reveal. Third defense from the same attacking base has an 80% chance to reveal. Fourth has a 100% chance.

Destroy Pandoran colony

Pandoran bases mission types are explained here

Successfully attack any Pandoran colony. It will enable Pandoran Colonies research.

Research Pandoran Colonies

Pandoran Colonies.jpg

Reveal requirements: reveal any Pandoran Base (Nest, Lair, Citadel), Unlock requirements: destroy any Pandoran Base (Nest, Lair, Citadel). Revealing Pandoran bases explained here

Before research: The underground breeding sites of the Pandorans must form a crucial part of their biology and should be investigated as soon as possible.

After research: Pandoran Colonies are underground tunnel-like structures made of Pandoravirus-produced biomass. Following the ecological transformation of the sea, they appear to be the next step towards the total conquest of the Earth's ecosystems. Each colony produces its own specific mutations, which is why we see certain mutations predominate in different regions. The colonies seem to expand their area of operation over time, attacking any human settlements they find. Based on colony growth patterns, we suspect that there are multiple levels of development. The initial level has been classified as the Pandoran Nest.

Rewards: Tech TECH +100, Materials.png MATERIALS +200, Food.png FOOD +300. Unlocks research of Pandoran Capture and Containment, Enables Pandoran Lair research

Research Pandoran Capture and Containment

Pandoran Capture and Containment.jpg

Prerequisities: Pandoran Colonies research is finished.

Before research: We are close to being able to create technology capable of capturing and containing live Pandoran subjects.

Achieving this goal would allow research on living Pandorans, further enhancing our understanding of them.

After research: Specialized Pandoran Containment facilities have been designed and successfully tested, allowing us to safely keep Pandorans in a state of constant paralysis.

This represents a step forward in our struggle to understand their biology.

Bonus effect: Containment facility available for construction Capturing Pandorans explained here

Build containment facility

Containment facility is necessary in order to do Scylla vivisection research

Destroy Lair

Enables Pandoran Lair research.

Destroying Lair mission explained

Research Pandoran Lair

Pandoran Lair.jpg

Prerequisities: destroy Pandoran Lair, Pandoran Colonies research is finished

Before research: Larger in size than Pandoran Nests, Lairs are more abundant in Pandoran creatures and home to more advanced specimens. Further field research and exploration would be of benefit to our understanding.

After research: Lairs represent larger and more complex Pandoran colonies. Based on our observations, when several Pandoran Nests come in contact with each other, a dominant Nest assumes control of the others, entering its second level of development. While Nests are only able to spawn lesser mutated creatures, Lairs produce specialized types known as Sirens and Chirons, as well as all Pandoran subtypes that the Nests within were previously creating. It is speculated that Lairs are capable of merging, leading to an even larger and more dangerous structure.

Rewards: Tech.png TECH +150, Materials.png MATERIALS +300, Food.png FOOD +400 and Enables Pandoran Citadel Research

Destroy Citadel

Enables Pandoran Citadel Research.

Citadel missions explained here

Research Pandoran Citadel

Pandoran Citadel.jpg

Prerequisities: Citadel destroyed and Pandoran colonies research is finished

Before research: The largest type of Pandoran structure, a Citadel acts as a huge control complex, directing all Pandoran activity in a vast region. Citadels are home to the largest and most terrifying Pandoran creatures.

After research: Our research shows that when several Pandoran Lairs exist in one overlapping territory, they merge into one single structure. It is noted that this new network is larger than before and no longer has a Spawnery. Instead, the Citadel contains a single controlling Scylla, while all other creatures are created from clusters of biomass in the cave network itself.

Killing the controlling Scylla will cause a cascade reaction that will effectively destroy all biomass in the entire Citadel, including all the creatures created from it. All citadels should be destroyed as soon as they are discovered.

Bonus effect: Area scans will now detect Pandoran colonies. needed for Yuggothian Receptacle research

Kill Siren

All Siren types

Enables Siren Autopsy research

Research Siren autopsy

Siren Autopsy.jpg

Prerequisities: Kill or capture Siren.

Before Research: The Siren is a powerful, advanced Pandoran mutation, appearing for the first time with the third mist incursion.

After Research: Summary: The Siren is named after its bone-chilling screech, which has psychic as well as sonic components. It incorporates human and myriapoda genetic information, resulting in a particularly gruesome monster. However, its mind control abilities are its most terrifying characteristic. In order to understand more about its mechanisms, it is imperative that we capture and study a live specimen. This could be the key to understanding the whole structure of the Pandoran symbiotic collective.

Genetic origins: 9% Arthropod, 8% Myriapoda, 23% Human, 60% Unknown

Function: Leadership, abduction, close combat

Mind control: Can directly control an enemy with a low will (especially after attack by a virus or psychic scream).

Offensive Mutations: Acid ejection, slashing blades, viral infection, Psychic scream

Defensive Mutations: Multipedal variant is armored

Mobility: Agile variant can move rapidly

Weakness: Very limited ranged ability

Rewards: Materials.png MATERIALS +150, enables Siren vivisection research

Capture Siren

All Siren types

Enables Siren Vivisection research

Capturing Pandorans explained here

Research Siren Vivisection

Siren Vivisection.jpg

Prerequisities: Capture Siren

Before Research: A live Siren specimen is required in order to continue research. The Siren study will require 1 free laboratory space in the containment facility.

After Research: Summary: We have detected powerful, unusual wave-forms from the Siren's brain which can influence human thought, especially if the mind is in a weakened and receptive state. Complementary mutations, such as viral injection or psychic scream are simply designed to make the victim's mind more vulnerable to total mind control. Lesser Pandoran mutations are effectively directed and controlled by Sirens by the same mechanism. The next step is to isolate and analyze the part of the creature's brain responsible for this extraordinary ability.

Language: None. Directs other Pandorans through telepathic transmissions. Lesser Pandorans can receive, but not transmit.

Countermeasures: Physiological tests have resulted in enhanced capability against Sirens in the field, but, as yet - no countermeasures for their mental powers. Extreme caution must be taken when encountering these creatures in the battlefield.

Bonus effect: Damage inflicted on Sirens is increased by 10%, needed for Pandoran Telepathic nodule research

Research Pandoran Telepathic nodule

Pandoran Telepathic Nodule.jpg

Prerequisities: Siren Vivisection research is finished.

Before research: We have recently identified a small nodule located in the brain of every single Pandoran creature. This anomalous neural cluster may explain some of the Pandorans' inexplicable behaviors and abilities.

After research: Discovered during multiple autopsies but initially dismissed as a tumor, the telepathic nodule or T-cluster is in fact an essential part of how the Pandoravirus controls its victims. Located in the cerebral cortex, this cluster of Pandoravirus-produced neurons can radically alter behavior, completely overriding the victim's sentience. More significantly, we have empirical evidence that the T-cluster is capable of receiving and transmitting signals of some kind over vast distances in a process akin to telepathy.

It should be noted that the size of the cluster depends on the type of Pandoran. Arthrons, Tritons, and Chirons have minuscule almost, unidentifiable nodules, while those of Sirens and Scyllas are much more pronounced.

The real question that must be answered, however, is this: is the T-cluster only used for communication between Pandorans, or are they receiving orders from an outside force?

Unlocks many other researches - Virophage Injector, Pandora Key, Project Domovoy and Signal Disruption Tech


Triggers Control event: Our research has once again caused controversy.

To NJ.png New Jericho, the existence of the telepathic nodule is unsurprising: they have always seen infection as an attack on human will. But it's made their relationship to the Anu.png Disciples of Anu deteriorate even further, as they now see the Anu.png Disciples as not only trying to pervert but to enslave humanity.

To Synedrion.png Synedrion, confirmation that the Pandorans are controlled by an external force is deeply shocking. To the Polyphonic Tendency subfaction, it means co-existence is no longer as simple: the Pandoran creatures must be liberated first. But the Terraformers argue that this is naive; the task is to take control of the Earth for humanity, not romanticize the alien invaders.

The Anu.png Disciples, meanwhile, have released a rare official statement from the Exalted: "Behold, our people have drunken deep of the Waters of Life, and yet they are free. Our path leads not to enslavement, but to liberation from the flaws of the old flesh."


Outcome: Anu.png Disciples of Anu's attitude to 1pp.png Phoenix Project +2, NJ.png New Jericho's attitude to Anu.png Disciples of Anu -5.

Kill Scylla

All Scylla types

Needed for Scylla Autopsy research

Research Scylla autopsy

Scylla Autopsy.jpg

Prerequisities: Kill or capture Scylla.

Before Research: Battlefield reports suggest that the Scylla is the apex alien. It is suspected that in addition to the creature’s destructive capabilities, it’s able to control lesser creatures. A complete autopsy will be able to reveal more.

After Research: Summary: The Scylla is something like a Pandoran battleship, with multiple weapons and defence systems, and critical command and control abilities. It is certainly highly intelligent and seems to be responsible for the increasing strength of Pandoran attacks on havens. Many of its mutations seem to be oriented towards the abduction of human populations rather than an outright massacre. It is absolutely essential that we capture a live specimen, even though it will be an extremely dangerous task.

Genetic origins: 8% Arthropod, 4% Arachnid, 11% Human, 77% Unknown

Function: Leadership, abduction, mass terror, demolition - some mutations have the ability to instill frenzied attacks by lesser Pandorans

Offensive Mutations: dual “smashers”, dual melded “cannons”, mist launcher, Sonic blast, goo launcher, deployment of Mindfraggers

Defensive Mutations: Reactive mist emission, armored variants

Mobility: Agile variant can leap over short distances

Rewards: Tech.png TECH +100, Materials.png MATERIALS +200, Food.png FOOD +500, needed for Scylla Vivisection research

Capture Scylla

Capturing Pandorans explained here (also Scylla)

Needed for Scylla Vivisection research

Research Scylla Vivisection

Scylla Vivisection.jpg

Prerequisities: Capture Scylla

Before Research: A live Scylla specimen is required in order to continue with its research. The Scylla requires 25 free laboratory spaces in the Containment Facility. The Scylla must be kept in a constant state of sedation. All sanctioned research sessions must be supervised by armed personnel at all times.

After Research: No doubt the Scylla is the apex Pandoran mutant and serves as a command hub for the largest Pandoran colonies. Its extraordinary intelligence allows it to understand human languages. From the specimen, we have managed to "interrogate" we understand that it receives commands from some higher entity via some multiple wave frequencies, but we could not understand the origin of these commands as "explained" by the Scylla. Vivisection has revealed a highly developed sensory nodule near the brain stem which we believe is the receptor for these signals. Other information the creature has provided will allow us to discern the purpose and function of the largest Pandoran colonies and give some clearer idea of what the Pandorans are trying to build.

Bonus effect: Damage inflicted on Scyllas is increased by 10%, needed for Yuggothian Receptacle research


After researching Scylla Vivisection, Victory by Understanding event triggers:

Tobias.jpg Tobias West: Congratulations on capturing a live specimen of such a fearsome predator. It can't have been easy, and I admire your dedication to understanding the enemy. Thank you.

Some of my people think killing the Pandorans is enough, but if that were true, why did all the armies of the world fail to stop them? To win a war, you need to know when and where to strike. Maybe we're a step closer now.

NJ.png New Jericho's attitude to 1pp.png Phoenix Project +3

Research Yuggothian Receptacle

Yuggothian Receptacle.jpg

Prerequisities: Yuggothian Entity, Pandoran Citadel and Scylla Vivisection researches are finished.

Before research: The existence of the telepathic nodule suggests the possibility that whatever created the Pandoravirus is controlling the Pandorans directly. We must find out more about this entity.

After research: As we had feared, the Pandorans are accumulating biomass and genetic material in order to construct what we have termed the Pandoran Receptable - a clone of the Yuggothian Entity, capable of downloading the Entity's mind. The sheer size and power of the Entity mean that an enormous structure is required in which to construct the Receptacle.

This structure, which we are calling the Pandoran Palace, is most likely being built at this very moment. Locating it is one of our highest priorities. Our analyses suggest that should the Yuggothian Entity's plan succeed, humanity's chance of survival drops to 0%.

Needed for Virophage Injector research

Research Virophage injector

Virophage Injector.jpg

Prerequisities: Yuggothian Receptacle, Pandoran Telepathic Nodule and Virophage weapons researches are finished.

Before research: If all other alternatives should fail, we could follow in the footsteps of the Antediluvians and use the virophage as a weapon of mass destruction. WARNING: While this would lead to victory, it would also lead to the near-extinction of our own species.

After research: WARNING: This option must only be considered as a last resort.

If we inject sufficient quantities of the Antediluvian Virophage into the Receptacle, we will trigger a chain reaction that will lead to the death of the Palace and, after some time, every single Pandoran on Earth . However, simulations show that a vast proportion of the human population would also be affected, leading our species perilously close to extinction.

Are we willing to take this risk? The factions will certainly turn against us if they realize we are planning such an atrocity.

When Virophage injector is researched Knowledge is Power event is triggered:

There is no other choice. The only way to stop the Pandoravirus is to use the Antediluvian Virophage. Even though the consequences for humanity will be terrible, it is better to sacrifice lives to remain free than to allow the Yuggothian Entity to turn us all into its slaves. We must end this, and end it now.

Despite our enhanced security protocols, information regarding the Virophage injector has leaked out. As a result, all factions have ceased diplomatic relations with us. At this point, war is inevitable. Understood. There's only one way forward now. Either we take the ultimate risk, or humanity falls.

Outcome:Unlocks Phoenix Project ending - Site added to Geoscape: The Last Resort. Removes all other faction ending options.

Synedrion.png Synedrion's attitude to 1pp.png Phoenix Project -50, NJ.png New Jericho's attitude to 1pp.png Phoenix Project -50. Anu.png Disciples of Anu's attitude to 1pp.png Phoenix Project -50

The Last Resort

Inject the Antediluvian Virophage into the Yuggothian Receptacle, no matter the consequences.

Mission briefing: To succeed, we will have to inject the virophage directly into the Yuggothian Receptacle's central cortex.

After mission: Cinematics are played:

We had no choice. None of the factions had a viable plan. There was no other way to save the planet and sometimes the ends had to justify the means. That's what we told ourselves, anyway. Within minutes, the Pandoravirus began to die, and its creatures soon followed. They died by the millions, and soon the rest of us were dying too. Not everyone. Not enough to wipe us out. But too many.

The Anu.png Disciples of Anu collapsed first. The Exalted died within 24 hours of the virophage being released, and without its prophet, the religion fell apart. The future it had promised was impossible now.

Synedrion.png Synedrion tried to fight, to develop a vaccine... and if they'd had more time, they might have succeeded. But they'd lost too many people to maintain their communities. Slowly, they faded out of existence.

NJ.png New Jericho had wanted a world without the Pandoravirus, but this was not how they'd imagined it. Within a few months, their havens had become ghosts towns. Tobias.jpg Tobias West was one of the few to survive, having lived long enough to see his empire reduced to dust.

In the end, despite our losses, we were the only ones left capable of guiding the survivors. We seized control; humanity could no longer afford to divide itself into factions. And so the 1pp.png Phoenix Project began to build the new world. But although our responsibilities had widened, we did not forget our initial purpose. The war was not over. Up there, in celestial darkness, something ancient and powerful still hungered for our planet.

But next time... next time we'd be ready.

Cinematics link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbnIKBPVUxY&list=FLQhAicnrnoNbs48sv4Vtpjg&index=1&t=1s