Recap / Criminal Case: Pacific Bay - Case 58: The Sting of Death

Roxie: Well, <Player's Name>, it looks like Karen encountered something more venomous than the woman herself!

Amy and the player wake up chained inside of a prison cell after being kidnapped by Karen Knight in the previous case, but manage to escape when the player picks the lock of the chains. Then upon exiting the underground Meteor Systems facility where they were being held, they encounter the body of none other than Karen, covered in scorpions and with her eyes missing.

Tropes:

• I Am the Noun: Dr. Rascher says Tesla is Meteor Systems, since he created the company to continue with his work even after having his mind uploaded into his computer. Later, Tesla declares he is Pacific Bay, and because of it he has every right to destroy it.
• The Anticipator: The first line told by Agent Z after appearing is that he's been expecting you.
• Anti-Hero: What Karen and Frank are revealed to be: they did everything to try and save their daughter by giving the plutonium to Tesla, but when Karen learned Tesla was going to destroy Pacific Bay instead, she turned against him, and was killed for it. For this reason, Frank decides to end Tesla once and for all at the end of the case.
• Back for the Dead: Alden Greene, who you haven't seen since the finale of the previous season, reappears here after having escaped prison, killing Karen then being killed by Frank after being outed as the murderer.
• Batman Gambit: Frank tells you that the reason why Karen kidnapped you was because she knew you would escape and uncover everything without alerting Meteor Systems about her betrayal.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The Computer Interface presents itself as nice at first, even warning you that the end of the world will come if you don't stop Karen's killer. Then it's revealed that the interface is actually Albert Tesla, the one behind Meteor Systems, Karen and Frank's betrayals, and the imminent destruction of Pacific Bay.
• Boom, Headshot!: How Alden meets his demise.
• Brain Upload: We discover that Albert was successful about this, appearing as a computer interface helping Meteor Systems after they supposedly enslaved him when his computer was found. We also learn that his endgame plan is doing this to everyone in Pacific Bay, aiming to upload everyone inside of a virtual utopia where he reigns supremely.
• Bunker Woman: Played straight with Amy and the beginning, and can happen to the player too if you're using a female avatar.
• The Bus Came Back: Trevor Finn and Alden Greene return after escaping from prison.
• Call-Back: Agent Z and Dr. Rascher reappear as suspects.
• Chekhov M.I.A.: Albert Tesla, the scientist you learned about in the previous case who disappeared fifty years ago after supposedly uploading his mind inside of a computer, is revealed to still be around in the form of a Huge Holographic Head who is behind everything wrong that has been happening over Pacific Bay.
• Cliffhanger: The case ends with Amy and the player running after Frank after he storms off to kill Tesla, only to hear a gunshot at the distance.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Agent Z recalls how you met him in Rhine Canyon, but only the player is able to remember him.
  • Amy mentions that one time Dr. Rascher injected himself with nanobots, and how Trevor was the first person you ever arrested.
  • When you learn about Alden's release, the player explains to Amy how he had been arrested twice already.
• Darkest Hour: Starting from Chapter 3, Albert Tesla has begun to launch a mass bomb attack on Pacific Bay, intending to destroy the city and anyone who opposes his master plan of uploading everyone inside of a virtual utopia where he's the ruler.
• Dead Man Writing: Karen leaves you a programmed phone call, telling Amy and the player about how Meteor Systems intends to destroy the city and how you need to stop them.
• Death Equals Redemption: In all her appearances, Karen had been depicted as an immoral businesswoman who was willing to manipulate, intimidate and threaten others to get what she wants, even leading Frank into a path of crime because of it. Then we find out in this case that she was being manipulated by Tesla, who promised Karen her daughter's recovery from a comatose state in exchange for her service and the plutonium from the casino heist. When she realized Tesla's true intentions, she betrayed him, understanding that Pacific Bay's safety is more important than her daughter's life.
• Death of a Child: It's revealed that Laura, the eldest daughter of Karen and Frank, died by being run over with a car, which led to Frank becoming The Alcoholic and Karen leaving him. Then his other daughter, Daisy, fell into a permanent coma due to meningitis, which led to Frank and Karen going back together to try bring her back.
• Dramatic Irony: Due to having her memory erased back at Rhine Canyon, Amy find hard to believe that the GIA and Meteor Systems had been working together to research alien life and technology.
• Drowning My Sorrows: The reason why Frank became The Alcoholic and separated from Karen was because his daughter died when she was nine.
• Elaborate Underground Base: One of the crime scenes is a bunker being used by Meteor Systems as a base for their experiments.
• Eye Scream: The killer removed Karen's eyes as a wicked trophy after killing her.
• Fed to the Beast: Meteor Systems had been threatening Trevor with feeding him to their sharks if he didn't comply with taking care of them and hiding information from you.
• Freudian Excuse: The reason why Karen organized the heist and Frank killed Danny was because they wanted to save their comatose daughter, who Tesla promised could be revived if the brought him the plutonium. Unfortunately, Tesla was only manipulating them.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Alden Greene, who was supposed to be serving a life sentence for being part of The Crimson Order, reappears here as one of the CEOs of Meteor Systems and Karen's killer with absolutely no foreshadowing. Even Amy claims how it doesn't make any sense.
• A God Am I: While not directly stated, Albert Tesla tells you how he has been controlling Pacific Bay from his computer ever since he uploaded his brain onto it, and thanks to him Pacific Bay is a place thriving with prosperity, culture, and technology instead of the barren wasteland it was when he found it.
• Great Escape: The case begins with Amy and the player escaping from a cell inside of a Meteor System's underground facility.
• Grief-Induced Split: Karen and Frank lost their eldest daughter when she was hit by a car. This drove Frank to hit the bottle and Karen to leave him.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: When Karen discovered Tesla was planning to use the plutonium to destroy Pacific Bay and upload everyone into a virtual world, she turned against Meteor Systems and tried to stop him, so Tesla ordered Alden to kill her.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: One of the killer's attributes is that they were stung by the scorpions used to kill Karen, which makes it easier for you to follow their tracks.
• Huge Holographic Head: How Computer Interface/Albert Tesla presents himself, though it looks nothing like his real face.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: The Computer Interface says this after Amy declares she's scared of artificial intelligence.
  Computer Interface: I understand your fear of Artificial Intelligence. But what you should really fear are the humans behind it.
  Those puny humans at Meteor Systems enslaved me! They've forced me to use my wisdom just to make them rich!
• I'm Not Afraid of You: When Amy threatens to shoot Agent Z if he keeps hiding information from them, he says that Amy is as scary as his cat, which is not much.
• Inside a Computer System: The Computer Interface is revealed to be Albert Tesla inside of a virtual world created within his computer, and now he wants to do the same with the inhabitants of Pacific Bay so he can rule over them in his perfect virtual world.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: Alden Greene murdered a reporter in cold blood. He then got arrested for being connected to an ancient order controlling Grimsborough. He got bailed out of that too. This time, however, he gets put down for good.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Alden, courtesy of Frank.
  Amy: Who is this "master" you're talking about? Who else is behind this madness? Tell us, Alden!
  Alden: Ah, why not. You'll soon be dead any-
  [BANG!]
  Alden: I... No...
• The Man Behind the Man: Tesla (and by extension Meteor Systems) is revealed to be behind a lot of the bad things that had been happening in Pacific Bay, such as the man-made storms of Jazz Town or the Utopians brainwashing people in Ivywood Hills, since he wanted to test if Pacific Bay could properly survive all of these things. In addition, he's also the one who ordered Karen to perform the heist to steal the plutonium, promising her that he would bring her daughter back if she complied, which turned out to be a lie.
• The Metaverse: Tesla's endgame plan is creating one of these with the inhabitants of Pacific Bay and later the world, destroying everything so nothing but his virtual reality is habitable and therefore forcing people to join him. It's also the reason why he needed the plutonium from the casino's vault, since such a powerful invention would require a lot of energy.
• The Needs of the Many: Karen and Frank were willing to sacrifice their daughter's chance of survival if that meant they could stop Tesla.
• The Only One: Agent Z says you're the only hope at stopping Meteor Systems and Albert Tesla from destroying Pacific Bay.
• Psycho for Hire: The reason why Meteor Systems hired Alden Greene was because they knew how deranged and evil he was, which meant he wouldn't back off from a plan involving killing millions of people.
• The Reveal: Albert Tesla, now living as an artificial intelligence, is the creator of Meteor Systems and Pacific Bay and the one behind Karen and Frank's betrayals, and is now planning to destroy the city and later the world with bombs so he can upload everyone inside of his virtual reality and be the supreme leader.
• "Save the World" Climax: Agent Z tells you that the fate of Pacific Bay and possibly the world are at your hands when you encounter him for the first time, and later you discover what he means: Albert Tesla is planning to destroy it so he can build a virtual utopia where everyone lives under his rule.
• Scary Scorpions: Karen was murdered with these.
• Shame If Something Happened: While berating Rascher for his experiments, he tells Amy that she's starting to sound like Karen, and she must already know what happened to her.
  Amy: You'd better change your tone, Dr. Rascher! And if you're hinting you killed Karen, you're even crazier than we thought!
• Shout-Out:
  • In the Secret Headquarters scene, there is a familiar eagle emblem.
  • In the Conference Table scene, there is an Xbox controller.
  • After Frank shoots Alden Greene, he says to the player "Follow me if you want to live."
• Together in Death: Amy says that if she's going to die, she'd rather do it with Russell than all alone in The Wastes.
• Tricked-Out Gloves: Amy encounters one of these inside the Meteor System's lab, which allows her to summon the Computer Interface to be interrogated.
• Start of Darkness: The death of their daughter Laura was these for Karen and Frank, who became struck with grief and led to it tearing their family apart. Then after their other daughter fell into coma, Tesla's empty promises about bringing her back was enough to push them onto betraying the police department.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: Tesla is willing to destroy the world if that means he can create a virtual utopia where no crime, suffering, or grief will exist.
• Wham Episode: Karen and Frank were Good All Along, Albert Tesla is alive inside of a computer, he's the creator of Meteor Systems and Pacific Bay and is now planning to destroy the world so he can create a virtual utopia where he is the supreme ruler, and a bomb attack has started on the city, leading to a Race Against the Clock to stop him.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Agent Z thinks so about Albert Tesla.
  Agent Z: Tesla wasn't an evil man... but I guess the power has driven him mad.
• A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Tesla pretended to be a lot less powerful than he appears, letting Alden believe he was controlling him when it was the other way around.
• Would Hit a Girl: Oh yeah, this isn't the first time Alden Greene murdered somebody of the opposite gender.