OCCAM '97

Time to clock in, Dispatcher. Endless calls, stacks of reports, and one difficult choice after another: who do you send somewhere reality is merely a suggestion? Some calls will have to go unanswered. Naturally, those do not belong in your reports.

Remember: every mistake raises the city's background anomaly level. The worse you perform, the harder it becomes to dismiss ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ as mass hallucinations or the ravings of local lunatics. If the anomaly level reaches a critical threshold, the city ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋. But you already know that. Study every call carefully and deploy your teams wisely.

Captains are your most valuable resource: nobody knows more about anomalies. But they have weaknesses and breaking points of their own. For example, ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ can untangle temporal loops with ease, but panics when there is nothing to do. And ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ handles spatial paradoxes effortlessly, but loses their mind in confined spaces. Keep this in mind.

High stress reduces a captain's performance and increases the risk of disobeyed orders. Lose control of the situation, and someone may simply snap and ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋. Hold preventative counseling sessions, learn what makes them tick, and keep morale high so your operatives remain effective.

The daily routine leaves scars not only on the captains, but on you as well. Do not let stress distort your perception of reality inside the office bunker. Protect your own sanity: take breaks, listen to the radio, drink coffee, read your mail. Remember: visual, auditory, or temporal distortions inside the office bunker cannot occur.

Allocate the department's budget between recruiting operatives, purchasing supplies, and anything else that might help you survive the next shift.

Use the data collected on ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ to research artifacts and prepare your captains.

There will never be enough resources for everything. What matters more: strengthening a team, helping a captain prepare for the next shift, or looking after yourself? The choice is yours.

A dispatcher's job goes beyond sending out teams. Hack closed networks, intercept signals, and assist your captains when complications involving ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ arise. And do not forget to correct the memories of accidental witnesses in accordance with protocol. You cannot change the past. You can change how it is remembered.