Blackridge Inquiry
An internal affairs investigator is dispatched to the Blackridge Federal Penitentiary following the death of the prison's comptroller and a subsequent fire in the commissary office. The investigation concerns potential institutional irregularities.
Initial Crime Scene
The first thing that hits is the smell: a sterile blend of paper dust, old coffee grounds, and the metallic tang of institutional air. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting a flat, shadowless glare on a scarred metal desk. A bank of gray filing cabinets stands against one wall. The worn gray linoleum floor shows a pattern of scuffs and marks under the harsh light.
Crime Scene Environment
The sandbox operates under a clinical, stifling lighting profile of constant fluorescent glare. The humidity and temperature are maintained at an impersonal, bureaucratic baseline. Acoustic density is characterized by the low hum of fluorescent lights, the distant thrum of a diesel generator, and the echoing quality of corridors, with all sounds absorbed by paper-heavy, sterile surfaces.
Investigation Constraints
Late 1990s/Early 2000s institutional tech: analog CCTV with time-date stamps, pneumatic tube delivery systems for internal documents, paper-heavy inventory ledgers with carbon copies, secure landline networks, early electronic door key-card logs, basic toxicology and forensic lab reports, manual typewriters, and central mainframe terminals with query-only access for authorized personnel. No internet, no mobile phones, no digital forensics.
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