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Spoiler! This article contains potential story spoilers for Grounded. |
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"You may have defeated my MANT, but you and your Ominent paymasters will never get their hands on the Embiggening Cocktail. I'll take that secret to my grave! TO MY GRAVE!" |
| -Wendell |
Dr. Wendell Tully is a major character in Grounded and the inventor of the SPAC.R that shrunk the player. He is found in the depths of the Undershed Lab, guarding the recipe for the Embiggening Cocktail, so Ominent doesn't get the recipe. The Mant boss is required to be killed to find Wendell.
Personality[]
Wendell appears to be very dedicated to his work, but is also rather self-aggrandizing. This has been shown multiple times with Wendell's dedication to the SPAC.R and him believing that he is above his fellow co-workers. Still, Tully is shown to care a great deal about his family throughout the many recordings found across the yard—going as far as to create an audio recording just for missing a Thanksgiving dinner. He, however, seems to care more about his work than his family in the long run, abandoning them to continue work on the SPAC.R.
Gameplay[]
When found in the Undershed Lab, he will be able to follow the player around in a similar way to a pet. He will passively follow the player and make small remarks randomly, as well as teleporting if the player gets too far away. He can be talked to when following as well as be told to stand still or follow if he is already still. He will also attack O.R.C. Creatures, Director Schmector, and any other Creatures in Factional Raids or MIX.Rs with a static charge shot, similar to the ARC.R. Do note, these attacks CAN harm the player, but are fairly weak. He will also warn about the approaching of larger O.R.C Creatures, be in the game world or during the JavaMatic Event.
Story[]
Time At Ominent[]
During his time at Ominent, he made multiple inventions which all ended in failure through one way or another. One of these experiments was a shrinking machine. After multiple failures with other inventions such as the GLU-ON and SCA.Bs, he decides to try his luck with the shrinking device again or as he calls it, the SPAC.R (or Space Reducer). His first few prototypes end with them either breaking down or exploding, while most of his colleagues agree that such an invention would be a waste of time. The higher ups at Ominent, including Director Schmector, request a showing of the SPAC.R due to one of Wendell's colleagues ratting about the device to them. Wendell is then able to make a working SPAC.R, being able to shrink a pair of dice. However, during the presentation, his device malfunctions unexpectedly, and Wendell is fired by Director Schmector. In a fit of rage, Wendell threw away his pink slip and all logs relating to the SPAC.R's development in the Trash Heap.
SPAC.R Development[]
Due to Wendell being fired from his job, he is forced to work at the local high school as a substitute teacher. Eventually, he decides on continuing his work with the SPAC.R in his free time. Soon, he discovers the reason why his SPAC.R failed during the demonstration, an unknown particle which disrupts certain electronic frequencies. He dubs this particle "Raw Science", with it being a byproduct of the shrinking process. After much testing, he is able to shrink complex mechanical devices such as the SCA.Bs found across the yard and even BURG.L. He is then able to return BURG.L to his normal size with no issue whatsoever. Wendell then decides to jump the shark and shrink himself, which works perfectly. Wendell then decides to set up multiple labs across his yard, using a kids chemistry set he created that never made it into market. However, he is worried that the lackluster manufacturing of products by Ominent could cause them to slowly break down over time.
Hedge Lab[]
After setting up the Oak Lab as his base of operations, he choose to create another lab nestled in the Hedge for observing the wildlife. Unfortunately, after setting up this lab, one of his children throws a Flingman Flying Disc and damages the structure. This causes a plethora of Orb Weavers to invade the facility, causing Wendell to recalibrate the TAYZ.T food bots for defensive actions. After a trip to Stormin' Beaches Waterpark, Wendell has the idea of navigating the hedge using ziplines like the ones in the park. Because basic steel cable would be too expensive, Wendell fuses Raw Science and Web Fiber into forming a unique substance he calls "ZIP.R Fiber". Sadly, he is forced to evacuate the Hedge Lab due to more complications with the spiders and sightings of a giant Broodmother nearby. He also been receiving strange radio signals from across the yard, causing him to encrypt all the research into the lab and lock several of its doorways.
Pond Lab[]
The next lab Wendell chooses to build is one inside the Koi Pond. This lab starts out as an elaborate hydroponics unit. Because of his love for Brussels Sprouts, he decides on experimenting with them in the Pond Lab. However, after a doctor's appointment, Wendell finds out he has the health of a man 20 years greater than his own age. He then discovers that the SPAC.R causes rapid aging, but decides on sacrificing his years for continued experiments. He then sets up the HAMS Test, to grow a hybrid of human muscle and Brussels Sprouts created with Raw Science called Muscle Sprouts. It's then mentioned that, following this experiment, he got into a fight with his wife, Trudy, over missing Thanksgiving dinner. He contemplates leaving them, asking if they "ever understood him at all." Eventually, it's revealed that Wendell's wife did leave him, with her tossing the Wedding Ring into the pond and taking both children. After the sprouts were fully grown, Wendell noted how they couldn't be enlarged without them completely shriveling up or having the water in their system removed. Not to mention, the people at Mouthtown see little interest in Wendell's creation, only having the idea to turn them into a breakfast cereal. He is confused why his Muscle Sprouts die so quickly after embiggening, as they are about his age when converted to human years.
Haze Lab[]
After the Pond Lab, he builds the Haze Lab. Wendell is remorseful over abandoning Trudy, with his health getting worse and body becoming more "raisined". He then decides on an experiment by merging Mushrooms with Raw Science, in order to potentially find a cure for his illness. He attempts to reverse the mushrooms cell age maturity, which goes very well with Phase 2 of the mushrooms. However, Phase 3 ends up becoming extremely infectious, being able to infect local fauna and control them through a primitive hivemind. Not only that, but the fungus is also extremely explosive and volatile. Eventually, this fungus is able to breach its containment and infect more creatures. This forces Wendell to quarantine the lab and blast open a nearby canister of weed killer, thus sealing off the fungus in a thick cloud of toxic gas. This doesn't kill the fungus, however, with it only being contained in the Haze area itself.
Black Anthill Lab[]
The final major lab he built is one inside the Black Anthill, where he continues to experiment with Raw Science. He, however, needs more samples, which causes him to invent the MIX.Rs for mass production. Wendell is also becoming skeptical with BURG.L due to him still having a grilling function, even though Wendell asked him to delete it. The MIX.Rs are also very disturbing to the bugs, which causes a swarm of Black Ants to invade the lab multiple times. Due to this, Wendell enacts multiple procedures. First, he spreads the MIX.Rs across the yard in easily defendable areas to create more Raw Science. Secondly, he uses another one of his scrapped robots, known as the Assistant Manager, to defend the lab from the invading ants. Finally, he backs up all of BURG.L's memory into multiple chips to hide his experiments from Ominent, and to save BURG.L's memories if anything were to happen. Wendell hid the Super Chips and BURG.L hid the Auxiliary Chips, which is why the Auxiliary Chips can be found in more random locations. Wendell becomes much more afraid that someone is watching him, causing him to lockdown the lab and lay down in defeat, considering finally giving up.
Undershed Lab[]
Wendell's raisining has only worsened, with him barely being able to fit the SCA.B on his wrist. He decides to go into exile from everyone in the Undershed, constructing a lab for his final experiments to hopefully cure his illness before it is too late. He chooses the Undershed due to the mass containment of Raw Science needing to be kept somewhere cool and out of the sun. In the lab, Wendell enters a state of depression. He laments ever abandoning his own family and misses their quirks, including his son's daily random obsessions. The most recent was about Mants from the tabletop RPG game Mazes & Minotaurs. This gives Wendell an idea he would later enact, but shrugs off at first. His earlier idea is multiple Raw Science injections to cure his illness, though this does nothing. After much failure, he gives in and begins "Project MANT" in order to transfer his consciousness into a new host. He infuses it with his other inventions: Muscle Sprouts in the body, ZIP.R Fiber for slinging around the yard, and the Haze Fungus. After many tests, Wendell decides he's ready to transfer his mind into this body, but the ant's instinct manages to remain in the creature, making it fight back against Wendell's mind. The Mant ends up becoming sentient, forcing Wendell to give up his plans. Afterwards, Wendell is reduced to just a head, with him preserving his degenerate form inside a floating pod and locking himself in cryo status so Ominent will never get his secrets.
Events of Game[]
After finding Wendell, he is remorseful that Ominent has not only stolen his experiments, but shrunk innocent children for use as test subjects, blaming it all on himself. He promises to help the teens escape the yard and grow big again, with the first step being to brew the cocktail in the JavaMatic. Ominent or Director Schemector likely sees this, and sends a plethora of O.R.C. Creatures to stop Tully's attempt. Fortunately, Wendell's cocktail is brewed and, once at the Mysterious Machine, thanks the teens for all they've done, before vowing to get revenge on Ominent and fix his family.
Bad Ending[]
If the player doesn't cure Wendell of his raisining, both the teens and Wendell attempt to fight Ominent in a court case, but lose due to a lack of evidence. The teens are also blamed of lying about "faking their disappearance" and are harassed by the media. Director Schemector manages to get away with the teen experiments/kidnapping, and perfects the SPAC.R and takes full credit for it. Wendell is also harassed by the media due to his rasined state. Wendell does return to his family, but it's inferred he does not have much time with them remaining.
Good Ending[]
If the player faces off against Director Schmector and cures Wendell, the teens win the court case against Ominent. This leads to Director Schmector being arrested for the teen experiments/kidnapping. Wendell also is recognized for his invention, becoming famous. He also creates a teen scholarship fund, mostly for the teens who helped him. He returns to his family, but this time being just as he left them, and now having all the time he needs with them.
Trivia[]
- The game appears to take place in Tully's backyard, based on things like the Wedding Ring in the pond and the SCA.B on the table next to the chair on the deck of the shed. It can be assumed that the various footprints in the grasslands were from Tully setting up his SPAC.R.
- In the Trash Heap, the player can find a pink slip from Ominent, presumably meaning Tully was fired. Though specifics are obscured by the trash, this is confirmed in greater detail by a data tape found in the trash heap titled "Fired".