Tower to the Gods?.txt

Lately, something's been off about the V.T.C. guys. They've been snapping up huge stretches of barren land no one was using, throwing up high walls around it, and digging like crazy. Security out there is tighter than it needs to be. There are even rumors that V.T.C.'s leader has been on-site. What is this? What the hell are they hiding out there? The scale alone doesn't make sense… They're using way too much land. Are they building some kind of new religious facility? If that's all it was, there'd be no reason to keep it under wraps. No matter how I look at it, something's off. Twenty years in this business, and my gut's telling me that... there’s something there.

Today, the government dropped some shocking news. The site I've been investigating is apparently where they're building a lift for humanity's push into outer space. So far, they've only revealed one thing: Missilis Industry is leading the project, with government backing. But something doesn't add up. There's no mention of V.T.C. anywhere. And yet, I've seen people tied to V.T.C. going in and out of that site. So why leave them out? … Why? I can't stop thinking about it! There's only so much I can learn from the outside. Is there any way to get inside that construction site myself? … I'll figure something out.

After calling in every favor I could, I finally managed to get onto the lift construction site. The physical labor's killing me. I'm not built for this. Still, thinking about the kind of story I might uncover here is enough to keep me going. One thing I noticed right away: The place is locked down way too tight. Not just who works where, but even the routes people can take are strictly controlled. More importantly, only a handful of people are allowed anywhere near the underground levels. I asked some of the workers who've been here a while, but all they said was the underground is handled by another company, and they don't have clearance to go anywhere near it. Something's off. There's definitely something down there.

I finally made it underground. Sigh... getting down here was a nightmare. All the snacks I had to hand out, all the drinks I had to pay for... I don't even want to think about the cost. Still, it paid off. I got a lead on someone who'd just come up from below. Playing the part of a die-hard V.T.C. follower worked like a charm. I got close to him, got him drunk, and lifted an access pass right out of his pocket. I'll write the rest once I'm further in. — I did it! I actually did it! This is it! A real scoop! What they've got hidden underground is… a giant eyeball? No, some massive spherical machine. And that's not all. This isn't some "space development project" like the government claims. There's something else going on down here. If I can pull this off, everything I've been through will finally be worth it. If I can just get my hands on the proposal for the Mechanical Messiah Proj (Draft saved.)