Patient Zero
| Patient Zero | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Contract |
| Contract Chain | Containment |
| Contract Group | The Scourge |
| Issuer | Dr. Shaffat |
| Repeatable | No |
| Rewards | |
| Added in Version | 1.5.15.0 |
We've just isolated the vector and the original source of the epidemic. A ship that crashed just outside the Deep Desert.
If our research has been correct and my epidemic patterning is accurate, then it is there you will find patient zero. You're taking a risk for us - but we should be able to finally stop this entire thing if we can just get a sample. Find out who they are, and bring me back a piece of them. Good luck - we're counting on you.
Objectives
- Travel to the shipwreck from the Overland Map
- Find the source of the contagion
- Kill Captain Grobian
- Collect a Tissue Sample from the Captain
- OPTIONAL: Give Phrakk a Tissue Sample before returning to Dr. Shaffat
- Deliver the Tissue Sample to Dr. Shaffat
Findings
Hallucination in Arrakeen when leaving Dr. Shaffat's clinic after accepting contract
Unknown: Ours is a dread jihad. Only we can see the enemy.
Contract Item: Patient Zero Biological Sample
This tissue, blood, and brain sample were taken from Patient Zero in the Wreck of the Hieronymus. A sticky mass that gives off an unpleasant odor, can this really be the key to ending the scourge?
Dialogue
Dialogue with Dr. Shaffat to conclude What the Doctor Ordered and introduce Patient Zero
Dr. Shaffat: You've returned Player: (Complete contract) I bring data from our mysterious benefactor, Phrakk the Tleilaxu Master. Dr. Shaffat: If I'm being honest with myself, I suspected his foul nature, given his convenient knowledge of synthetic viruses. I just did not want to believe. Dr. Shaffat: It violated the very oaths and responsibilities of my vocation to fraternize with such filth. Player: [1] Desperate times. Desperate measures. [2] [TECHNOLOGIST] We cannot deny the unparalleled skill and knowledge the Tleilaxu bring to such subjects. [3] [BENE GESSERIT] The Tleilaxu are an abomination of the highest order. And yet... Dr. Shaffat: (3) And yet. Player: What is our next step? Dr. Shaffat: To synthesize a cure, we must extract the virus in its most matured state. That is to say, we need to find patient zero of this terrible disease. Dr. Shaffat: We've received reports of a shipwreck in the desert. It appears to be the source of the contagion. Dr. Shaffat: An official expedition would take too long to mount. You are our best hope for finding patient zero. Player: [1] (Accept contract Patient Zero) I will go to the shipwreck. [2] I cannot perform this task at this time. [3] Regarding my infection, I've been suffering... hallucinations.
Dr. Shaffat: (3) Interesting. What is the nature of these hallucinations? Player: A mad voice warns me of alien horrors from beyond. Dr. Shaffat: And what do you make of these... phantasms? Player: [3.1] Merely the alchemy of pathogen and fever in my brain. [3.2] I think they are warnings, visions of some existential threat. Dr. Shaffat: (3.2) It is easy to mistake delusions as prescience, especially on Arrakis. We must devise a cure for you soon. Will you go seek out patient zero? Player: [1] (Accept contract Patient Zero) I will go to the shipwreck. [2] I cannot perform this task at this time.
Giving Phrakk a tissue sample
Fleshshaper Phrakk: You again. What is it now? Player: I found the source. And I brought you a sample. Fleshshaper Phrakk: Set it down carefully. You are holding the only uncontaminated argument remaining in this entire affair. Player: [1] What happens to the sample now? [2] The wreck's records say they encountered another vessel. An ancient star-searcher like in the story...
Fleshshaper Phrakk: (2) Did they identify it? Player: The Ampoliros. Fleshshaper Phrakk: So. The ghost has finally acquired a name. Player: You knew the name all along. Fleshshaper Phrakk: I knew the legend. The Ampoliros was a pre-Guid star-searcher commanded by Captain Fregonokon. Fleshshaper Phrakk: Its crew succumbed to fever and collective paranoia, armed themselves against an imaginary enemy, and vanished into the stars. Fleshshaper Phrakk: They story claims they wander still - forever seeking, forever prepared, and forever unready. Player: [1] What happens to the sample now? [3] The Captain believed another war was coming. They wanted to infect all of Arrakis to prepare it. Fleshshaper Phrakk: (3) Then the pathology has preserved more than its symptoms. Your Captain did not merely contract the disease. They reenacted its oldest legend. Player: Did they actually find the Ampoliros? Fleshshaper Phrakk: You found a vessel whose crew claimed to have encountered it. That is not the same conclusion. Fleshshaper Phrakk: Perhaps they discovered the legendary ship. Perhaps they found another derelict carrying the same pathogen. Fleshshaper Phrakk: Or perhaps, the disease has repeated this cycle so many times that each new victim mistakes inherited madness for revelation. Player: Which do you believe? Fleshshaper Phrakk: Belief is what one uses when evidence has become inconvenient. The blood may answer the medical question. The ghost may remain a ghost. Player: [1] What happens to the sample now?
Fleshshaper Phrakk: Shaffat completed the base synthesis while you were away. Competently, I am obliged to admit. This blood provides the original template we lacked. I will remove what I require for study. The remainder will complete her cure. Our arrangement has delayed nothing. Player: [1] You promised to make this worth my while. [2] And House Harkonnen gets its weapon. Fleshshaper Phrakk: (1) Yes, yes. Your species' ability to contemplate eternity without losing sight of payment remains one of its more dependable traits.
Delivering the tissue sample to Dr. Shaffat
Dr. Shaffat: You've returned. Player: (Complete contract) I did it. I found patient zero. Dr. Shaffat: That is remarkable news. Did you... did you acquire a blood sample? Player: I did. Here it is. [Delivery Screen] Dr. Shaffat: I'm not one for heavy displays of emotion but... Arrakeen, and perhaps all of Arrakis, owes you a debt. We were closer to the brink than I let on. Dr. Shaffat: With this, I can begin synthesizing a cure right away. Thank you. Truly. Player: Will things go back to normal? Dr. Shaffat: I see no reason why they shouldn't. Yes. That is... as normal as things get on this planet. Player: [1] Now, about that cure... [2] Just one more thing. Patient zero seemed obsessed with Gurney Halleck.
Dr. Shaffat: (2) In what way? Player: He seemed to think Halleck was the center of a vast conspiracy. Dr. Shaffat: Hm... The ravings of a man whose brain was literally cooking in his skull. But I can pass these concerns up the chain, if you desire. I owe you no less. Player: [3] No. That won't be necessary. [4] Yes, please. Just to be safe. Dr. Shaffat: (4) Very well. Player: [1] Now, about that cure...
Dr. Shaffat: Yes, of course. Once I synthesize this sample, inoculating you should be simple enough. Player: I'll wait. [Time Passes] Dr. Shaffat: There... how do you feel? Player: Better? I hear no voices at least. Dr. Shaffat: Hallucinations will cease, and the fever should break up over the next day. I can now treat the people of Arrakeen and send the cure to Harko Village. Player: On behalf of all the people we will cure, thank you.