MAP20: The Experiment (Memento Mori II)

MAP20: The Experiment is the twentieth level of Memento Mori II. It was designed by Alden Bates and uses the music track "Sacrifice" by David "Tolwyn" Shaw.

Mission briefing
According to both the text file and the Infopack:


 * Sector coverage:
 * Laboratories, Grade-A clearance required for assess [sic] to data.


 * Agent report follows:
 * I have gained access to the laboratories and observed some of the monsters at work. I don't know what this place was used for before the invasion, it looks like [portion of text censored] and the creatures seem to be using it for something.


 * At the moment I have reached the first laboratory. It looks to have carved [sic] from a natural underground cavern.  Some of the small spider brains are supervising some zombies who are working on the [portion of text censored] and conducting what look like light-wave experiments.  I thought I recognised one of the zombies, it may be a friend of mine.  I'm going to try and make contact.


 * Later I'm hoping to go deeper into the labs. It sounds like they're testing heavy weapons further in.
 * +++ Report Ends +++


 * Last transmission recieved [sic] 3 days ago included visual scan. An enhanced version of this image is included with this report.

Walkthrough

 * Letters in italics refer to marked spots on the map. Sector numbers in boldface are secrets which count toward the end-of-level tally.

Essentials
Take the elevator down, and rush to the northeast door. Enter the central door to find the yellow keycard. From there, what you must do depends on the path you take. If you take the western path, go through the western doors, enter the southwest or northeast teleporters, take care of the opposition, and grab the blue keycard. Head back to the teleporters, enter the northwest door, take the elevator, and tread along the walkway to the northern room. If you take the eastern door, flip the switch in the east side of the machine, enter the teleporter, open the door, kill the monsters in front of you, and grab the blue keycard. Head back to the teleporter room, enter the northeast door, take the elevator, cross the walkway in either path to trigger an elevator, and take that elevator up. Whichever path you take, once you reach the northern room, rush over, and grab both the red keycard and the rocket launcher. Backtrack to the very southern room, and take the silver elevator up into the computer area. With the red and blue keycards in your grasp, activate both of the computer controls to open access to the center of the room. Dash in there to open the exit door to the northwest, and then run into the newly accessible elevator to finish the level.

Other points of interest
In the western teleporter room, on Hurt Me Plenty or higher, there is a former human (a sergeant on Hurt Me Plenty, and a chaingunner on Hurt Me Plenty or higher) inside of the northwest pillar who will shoot at you through the southeast side. To kill them, you must fire into that side yourself. In addition, if you run into that side, you will obtain a medikit.

Secrets

 * 1) After obtaining the yellow keycard, go through the western door, and then open the metal door with grating upon it to the west.  This reveals an elevator up to a secret corridor that leads to a rocket launcher. (sector 147)
 * 2) In western teleport room, enter the southwest teleporter.  After that, walk up to the wall with the skull upon it, and open it to access a hidden corridor with a set of shells and a super shotgun. (sector 29) Note that the super shotgun here may prove difficult to obtain unless you back against the opposite wall, and then bump into the stand it is on as quickly as you can.
 * 3) In the red keycard room, either walk onto the metallic platform to the south from the westernmost walkway, or step down to the walkway from the platform.  Either way, after that, run as quickly as you can to the northeast corner of the room, where you will find that an elevator has lowered to reveal a plasma rifle. (sector 178)
 * 4) After accessing the computer area in the south of the level, look toward the southern side of the mainframe to find that there is a small recess.  Open it to find fifteen health bonuses, three clips, a box of shells, a backpack, and combat armor. (sector 100)

Routes and tricks
This level is one of the few levels in Memento Mori II that can be completed in under a minute. As with designer Alden Bates's MAP10: The Mansion from Memento Mori, this level contains large, open areas with little opposition in proportion to size, with the exception of the platform on which you obtain the blue keycard, which has several enemies in a small space, as well as some tight spaces where you must kill some enemies, or at least stun them with gunfire, to get past them, and obtain a fast time under UV speed rules. Aside from that, you can ignore most of the monsters in this level, including the two Cyberdemons that appear in the red keycard room (some time after you enter it,) and the exit room (after you open up the center of the room,) and zip to the exit in little time. The fastest path to take is the western one; ignore the teleporters when you first enter, and on your way back, enter the southwest teleporter to avoid leaving yourself open to the enemies below. Drop in, stun your foes with gunfire as you obtain the blue keycard, and then proceed to the exit as normal.

Current records
The Compet-N records for the map are: