MeatDump WakeUp — Rogue Trader Dialogue Archive

Entry point 1 of 8

StrangerYour cracked lips work in tandem with your burning lungs to expel the familiar words of prayer. Each uttered line fills your body with His light, giving you strength and driving away the pain, as if the Emperor Himself is commanding you to rise. You make another attempt.

StrangerYour bare feet feel like they are stuffed with rags and refuse to obey. You have to draw upon all your willpower to suppress the rebellion and stand upright. The pain that engulfs your whole body immediately makes you question the wisdom of this act of defiance.

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Entry point 2 of 8

StrangerYou immediately regret this decision. Every inch of your body is suffering. There is a dull, debilitating pain in your head caused by chemicals of some kind. Your body is covered in deep cuts, made either for fun or with sinister intent. All of your organs appear to be intact, but the same cannot be said for your blood — you have lost a great deal. Finally, a strange gnawing spasm occasionally flares at the base of your skull. It is not severe but for some reason it is what concerns you most of all.

YOU[Feel your body]

YOU[Look around]

StrangerYou are surrounded by the dead — numerous corpses, mutilated bodies and pieces thereof. Humans, Drukhari, and other xenos unfamiliar to you lie motionless in this gruesome mortuary.

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

StrangerYour eyes refuse to focus on the blurry figure of the person who came to your aid. He appears to be tall, and... your mind emphatically refuses to continue, for every moment of concentration causes you suffering.

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

Stranger"A dream obscure of death, deliverance,
Illuminating will, and agony."

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

Stranger"Among the shadows in the wings you lie,
Where taut are pulled the puppet master's strings."
The stranger intricately links his fingers to mimic the tools of a puppeteer.

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

Stranger"Not here. The roles have been decided now,
But if you play your part, perhaps, the plot
Will draw you back together... or to doom."
The figure's cruel laughter follows.

Stranger"This overture in verse, the final lines:
The Merchant's time to tread the boards has come,
Embark you now upon your pilgrimage.
And take my parting gift: a humble prop."
The stranger deposits something in your hand and disappears into the twilight.

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

StrangerThe figure whispers conspiratorially,
"I spare my breath. The drape is yours to part."

YOU[Attempt to rise]

StrangerYour body has suffered too much to obey your mind... or rather, that is how it would have been for someone else, perhaps. But not for you. You have lived through worse. Anguish and torture could never break you now. You will rise to your feet and press on. All that is left to understand is why you should.

YOU[Remember all the people whose lives depend on you]

StrangerHundreds of faces flash before your mind's eye: friends, subjects, and companions. The universe is cruel and full of darkness, and your will and determination are the only barrier between your loved ones and its crushing apathy and brutality. You have no right to die, not here and not now. Resoluteness floods your veins like incandescent plasma, and you make another attempt to get up.

StrangerYou get up. Yes, your body aches and rebels against you, but your tempered mind is stronger than mortal flesh. You draw yourself up straight and take in your surroundings.

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YOU[Overcome this trial, in the Emperor's name, for your service to Him is not yet ended]

StrangerYou get up. Yes, your body aches and rebels against you, but your tempered mind is stronger than mortal flesh. You draw yourself up straight and take in your surroundings.continues where this line first appears above

YOU[Turn your thoughts to the warp gods]

StrangerYou do not immediately notice when something foreign and painfully familiar enters your mind. The frantic whispering grows into many voices, but muffled, as if they are being heard through many walls.

Stranger"...sheltered in the Web of Souls... thirsting... give them to me... look for the signs... opportunities... break down inhibitions... destroy barriers... find the stifler and destroy it... let the Truth permeate the Dark City once more... help you..."

YOU[Rise. Gather your strength and simply rise]

Stranger(sequence)

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StrangerYou may have commanded multiple planets and millions of lives in your former life, but in this new reality, not even your own feet will obey you. As if to punish you for your arrogance, your disobedient limbs send a sharp jolt of pain up your body.

YOU[Remember all the people whose lives depend on you]

YOU[Overcome this trial, in the Emperor's name, for your service to Him is not yet ended]

YOU[Pray to the warp gods for help]

StrangerFor a few moments, your prayer goes unanswered. And yet... And yet something does reach your tortured consciousness after a while. The familiar feeling of an alien presence descends upon you, but when it speaks, the voices are barely audible, as though you are separated by dozens of thick walls.

YOU[Rise. Gather your strength and simply rise]

Stranger(sequence)

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YOU[Stay down]

StrangerIt would be nice to fade back into blissful oblivion and forget your misfortunes, but reality is merciless — your body has already realised the unenviable position it is in and is signalling you with the last of its strength, sending bright flashes of pain into your limbs, muscles, and organs. If you do not get up right now, you probably never will.

YOU[Remember all the people whose lives depend on you]continues where this line first appears above

YOU[Overcome this trial, in the Emperor's name, for your service to Him is not yet ended]continues where this line first appears above

YOU[Pray to the warp gods for help]continues where this line first appears above

YOU[Rise. Gather your strength and simply rise]continues where this line first appears above

YOU[Stay down]

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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StrangerAll your equipment is gone, as are your shoes. You do not even have a knife at hand to fend off enemies, or to open your veins.

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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Entry point 3 of 8

StrangerEvery single inch of your body is suffering. Satisfied with this result, you do not delve into a detailed examination of your misfortune.

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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StrangerAll your equipment is gone, as are your shoes. You do not even have a knife at hand to fend off enemies, or to open your veins.

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Entry point 4 of 8

Stranger(no text)

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Entry point 5 of 8

StrangerYou try to resurrect the faces of your friends in your memory, but they all seem to be cloaked by an impenetrable haze. Pain prevents you from focusing on any one of them, and anger and despair start to overwhelm you. You must remember, you cannot die here! Spurred on by hopelessness, you make another attempt to get up.

Entry point 6 of 8

StrangerYour cracked lips futilely try to utter the words of a prayer. The familiar lines slip away from you one by one, devoured by the murky gloom of your errant thoughts and flashes of pain. But you refuse to believe the Emperor has abandoned you. If you cannot pray to Him right now, you must get up and survive so you can utter a thousand more prayers later. You make another attempt to get up.

Entry point 7 of 8

Entry point 8 of 8

StrangerThe world is an impenetrable haze of warm pain. You lie motionless — no, you rest! — in the murky gloom, slowly dissolving into nothingness. Sometimes your repose is troubled by unpleasant and persistent tremors coming from the place where your legs used to be. You do your best to ignore them.

Stranger"Away, you vulture, this is not your prey!" A vaguely familiar voice reaches you through the curtain of darkness, but your disobedient thoughts refuse to reveal where and when you have heard it before. Was it just recently, or a hundred lifetimes ago? The trembling coming from your legs is replaced with a violent jerking motion, and then it finally stops.

Stranger"From this phantasmagoria retreat
And deftly seize, my Merchant Vagabond,
The puppet master's strings left dangling.
Again rise up to take your place and dance."
A spark ignites in the darkness, and its light ruthlessly cuts through the gloom that envelops you. An ugly image of the reality around you assaults your retina. You can feel your body again and realise it is filled with pain. Your shoulder is sore from an injection.

YOU"Help..."

StrangerQuiet laughter reaches your ears.
"Your legs require direction, Merchant mine,
Therefore, address your pleas to them, not me.
Their thirst for dancing may yet spur them on!"

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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YOU"Rogue Trader [Name] von Valancius lies before you. Kneel... and help me to rise."

StrangerThe stranger's tone speaks of bored indifference:
"Let your hauteur a steady crutch become
And vanity its elbow offer up."

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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YOU[Ignore the vaguely familiar voice]

Stranger"Your wordlessness is worth a hundred words,
But here you ply your trade in other gems:
Red rubies of blood, and emeralds of pain,
The dance will leave your pockets fit to burst."

StrangerA prickling sensation burns your shoulder, and the darkness at last fully withdraws from your mind. Whatever the injection was, it is making your heart beat a frenzied tattoo and your pupils narrow so that you now register every detail of the disgusting place in which you have found yourself in merciless clarity.

YOU[Feel your body]

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YOU[Look around]

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YOU[Look at your rescuer]

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YOU"I... I have seen you somewhere before. Who are you?"

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YOU"Where am I?"

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YOU"My companions... Where are they?"

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YOU"What... will happen to me now?"

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YOU[Attempt to rise]

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YOU"Until I get a cup of recaf, my vital status is yet to be determined."

Stranger"Alas, the bliss of death will save you not,
The whirling waltz of chance and gloom you'll dance."