[Vote] Blackout Protocol IRIS - Detective Game

🚪AI's taking over everything nowadays... Well, least don't take my money 💡

📕Story Background

It was a dark and stormy night at the "Nexus Penthouse" of tech CEO Elias Vance. The house is run by "IRIS", a central AI computer that controls everything from lights to magnetic door locks.

At 11:00 PM, a massive lightning bolt hit the building. The entire penthouse lost power for exactly 5 minutes before the backup generator kicked in. During those 5 minutes of darkness, Elias was knocked unconscious and his safe was robbed.

Police arrived and interviewed the only three guests. All of them claim they couldn't have done it because of the blackout.

Dax (The Rival): "I was in the kitchen. I was heating up some milk. When the power died, the microwave stopped working immediately and my milk stayed cold. I was kinda mad and just stood there waiting for the lights to come back, and it did after a few minutes."

Chloe (The Business Partner): "I was in the Home Theater watching a movie. When the power went out, the room went pitch black. I tried to run out to check on Elias, but the electronic door was deadbolted. I was locked inside the theater for the full 5 minutes until the power came back on!"

Mara (The Sister): "I was in the shower in the guest room. The water suddenly went freezing cold because the electric water heater shut off. I was too busy looking for a towel in the dark to go anywhere."

After examining the clues👇, detectives pointed out the flaw and detained the most suspected one out of the three guests.

(This story is absolutely fictional. Any inconsistencies with common sense work for the plot)

🔍Known Clues

1. The Lightning Strike: The lightning caused a "Total Power Failure." This means no electricity reached the appliances or the AI system and relevant devices for the time being.
2. The Appliance Logs: The kitchen microwave is purely electric; it stops instantly without power.
3. The Safety Manual: The penthouse manual states that, for fire safety reasons, all electronic device are "Fail-Safe." This means if the power is cut, everything that uses electricity will be automatically disabled and back to the original form, so it won't cause any danger.

🕵️‍Questions and Discussions for YOU

1. WHO was lying, and WHY? Can you guess the possible MOTIVE behind it?
2. As the technology advances, many of our dailylife objects are electronized. For example, the mechanical switch are now gradually replaced by the touching panel. Which way would your prefer, the old-fashioned switch or an integrated panel? (Open-ended)

🎉Participation Rewards

The FIRST user to successfully deduce the identity of the "culprit" and their motive in the comment, will receive a reward of 2,000 GT points! Other participants will earn 200-500 GT points based on the completeness of their submissions. 💰

📅Submission Deadline

January 16, 2026

Reminder: This is the submission deadline if you want to claim the reward with your vote, but after this date the vote will still remain open for a period of time, so please feel free to participate at any time if you want to test your skills, detectives!

----- Previous answer (Through the Scandinavian Tundra) -------

Correct Answer: Countess Livia

The Deduction Logic: The solution relies on Newton's First Law of Motion (Inertia).

1. The Physics: The train is moving North. Everything inside the train (passengers, wine, phones) is also moving North at 180 km/h. When the train brakes, the train slows down, but loose objects continue moving North until they hit something.
2. The Truths:
3. Doctor Aris: He dropped his phone. It continued moving North (to the front of the car). This is physically correct.
4. Marcus: He was walking North. The tray continued moving North (faster than the slowing train), flying forward and hitting the door in front of him. This is physically correct.
5. The Lie: Countess Livia claimed she was sitting facing North and the wine splashed onto her chest.
6. The Impossibility: If she was facing North and the train brakes, the wine in her glass would continue moving North. It would fly forward, away from her body, splashing onto the table or the seat opposite her. For the wine to splash back onto her own chest, she would have to be facing South (backwards) or the train would have to be accelerating, not braking.
7. Conclusion: Livia lied about her position or the event entirely. She likely staged the stain later (by pouring wine on herself while standing still) to create an excuse for hiding in the washroom with the jewel.

Link to the post: https://forum.gtarcade.com/topic/251819

We will be rewarding 200 GT points to all players who voted correctly, and additional points to some outstanding responses.

Congratulations and enjoy your juicy GT points reward!!!