Mid-West Campaign
Session Sixty-One

Monday, 14 May 2001

After a brief stop to buy Agent Turn a dry polyester suit, the agents open case NY2229 and head to the thirteenth precinct in NYC. They arrive around midday. Yamamoto Harding has been briefed and is waiting on the telephone (although he is at a beach party that involves drinking copious amounts of spirits). The agents speak to the desk sergeant and are shown down to the interview rooms by Officer Austin.

Raphael is a staid, older gentleman of 5'7"; he appears frail and seems to be in his fifties or sixties. He has a deep voice, but no perceptible accent. It is obvious from the off that this Raphael is both Raphael Barton and Raphael the archangel. He doesn't want to participate with the charade of a 'psychological examination'. He knows that the agents of well aware of his true nature. He has been arrested because the United States government wish to dissect him, and the only reason that he has remained in his prison cell is because he wants to talk to the agents.

Jane is keen to move the conversation away from the police station where they could be overheard. Also Raphael is summoning coffee and doughnuts for the group with gay abandon which is hardly very discreet. They can't do a psych evaluation even if they wanted to (because Harding is chugalugging too much booze, and refuses to speak to Penny on the phone). They agree to take Raphael with them immediately, safe in the knowledge that they have about three days before he is missed. Turn signs the prisoner into his custody and the orange boiler suit clad archangel is bundled into an FBI sedan.

The question of where to interview Raphael now springs to mind. Jane phones Rock but they can't use the East Coast HQ as the poltergeist might kill them. They park in a local multi-storey carpark and decide their next move, and to dress Raphael in one of Justin's suits. Penny makes a pass at Raphael. He says that has been single since 1949. They all get into the same car to begin the interview. It is a little crowded.

Raphael steps out of the car. It is no longer in the car-park in New York, but a corn field a few miles outside the centre of Winterset. Raphael says that he has much to discuss with the agents, but like his fellows he is bound by the Covenant. He can only answer questions that the agents have some inclining of the true answer of. However, he is more talkative than his follows. He has an appointment to keep in Winterset, and during the walk there he will allow the agents to ask him what they will. This opens the flood-gates of a long and meandering cross-examination. The following account distils the pertinent facts case by case:

0025-GCF: The obsidian disc below Winterset was created by the tremendous heat when a space craft crash-landed here 5221 years ago. It is the same type of craft that is buried beneath the West Coast headquarters. There is a S.C.H.U.L.T. here as well (Sentient Computer Holographic Utility - Life Pod Three), but it has not taken the same sort of identity as the evidence response butler. The S.C.H.U.L.T. here is actually Marc Georgeson, the Chairman of Dynamicorp! The ship is buried directly below his house. Although he doesn't specifically say so, the agents can assume that Michael Georgeson (the father) and Marc Georgeson (the son) are one in the same.

There are at least three life-pods. One crashed in Los Angeles, one in Winterset, one somewhere in the Ukraine. The life-pods were piloted by the original inhabitants of Alpha-Signai, who were fleeing he attacks of the brain bugs. These aliens (who are the true Signai) were very like humans, and had evolved in a very similar fashion. Only twelve survived the crash in Winterset, but those twelve bred with the local population…

Winterset is covered by a force field similar to the one that surrounds the west coast HQ. However, because it covers a much wider area it is weaker and has a different effect. The field promotes inspiration, dedication and happy thoughts. That is the origin of the Winterset effect. Because of this Winterset is a wonderful place to live, and people who are born here always come back. This is the alien genes of the original twelve Signai are still visible in the population here and nowhere else in the world. This is why Todd O'Connell has his extra chromosomes.

0017-GCF: The brain bug fleet will arrive on earth in five years, two months and three days - i.e. 17 July 2006 (probably in the late evening, just after the news). Raphael refers to the brain bugs as the Puppeteers as he says that the terms "brain bug" and "Signai" are not accurate. The brain bugs do not hail from Alpha Signai, but it is the direction they are coming from. The brain bugs attacked an alien race (the true Signai) a very long time ago. Survivors of this battle fled in a number of life-pods. At least five of these life-pods crashed on Earth. One is below the west coast HQ and one is below Winterset.

The brain bugs have been tracking these lifepods which was what drew their attention to the Earth in the first place. They want to conquer our world, but there are differing opinions amongst them of the best way to go about this. The two factions (mystic and technical) are approaching the matter in two different ways. Both have sent advanced agents to Earth. The brain bugs encountered in case 1097-IN1 were agents of the tech faction. The mystic faction are fighting a guerrilla war, while the tech faction plan to obliterate resistance with overwhelming firepower (hence their fleet).

The technical faction are obsessed with hunting down any unusually technology that could be used to counter them and their invasion plans. Any tech that seems to be slightly too good draws their attention. This is why Dynamicorp has kept such a low profile. If humans exploit high technology (such as that in the downed life-pods) too much then the brain bugs will come down on them. Raphael says that the weapons buried in the lifepods might be enough to defeat the brain bugs, but he thinks that they would still have the edge.

One of the technological advances that the brain bugs were hunting down was the drug given to highly trained assassins by Majestic. That is why they sent agents Vitrano and Lavin after Apache Joe. See S73 below.

Raphael confirmed that it is the tech-faction of brain bugs that control the Ukraine are Jane's opponents in the Game. She may yet meet Vitrano and Lavin again.

TL348: Raphael is indeed Raphael Barton. He does not say why he created the company Dynamic Industries. One of the four agents knows the identity of the unknown shareholder with a stake of 5% in the company. The company's advanced technology (and therefore its excessive profits) comes from the fact that Raphael formed the company with Michael Georgeson and used the high technology found in the spacecraft. However, because of the brain bug's desire to stamp on all unusually high technology that could be used against them, it was dangerous to continue to do this.

Dynamic Industries (and therefore Dynamicorp) had an extremely good start using the technology in the space craft. But it was only a start. Since then they have improved and excelled completely as a result of hard work and perseverance. Remember that the Winterset effect encourages hard work and grants inspiration. That is the reason for the exceptional profits and therefore case TL348 can be closed.

0019-GCF: Alan Hamblin III was the prison of the tech-faction of brain bugs. They forced him to use his magic to move the military attack helicopter from the Ukraine to Casper, Wyoming.

NW988: Dubieniec's grandfather was actually Ukrainian. The tattoo placed on Dubieniec's body was an entity - it was actually the witch from the fairytale, bound onto Dubieniec by the words of her tale. When Dubieniec died the words and the entity passed on to Dr Fairbanks. However, the witch left an imprint of herself on the body, which is why it animated and attacked Drake and Jones.

The witch was continually trying to possess and control Dubieniec, but the assassin had been trained to resist this by his grandfather. As the agents supposed, when Rustam Bezushko died the brain bug inhabiting him went into Dubieniec's mind. However, because of the assassin's training in resisting the witch, the brain bug was never able to exercise control. Dubieniec had two entities in his mind vying for control of his body and this sent him a little bit strange. Dubieniec began to lose control with the Signai and the witch in his head. His body simply shut down. That is why he was helpless when Youri and Ivan turned up to murder him. The ray-gun found in Dubieniec's apartment originally belonged to Bezushko.

The witch believed that the Winterset Effect might in some way weaken Dubieniec so she could exert more control. That is why she was trying to persuade him to go there. This explains the magazine in Dubieniec's apartment marking the position of Winterset and the entrance to life-pod three. However, the witch never got a chance to carry through her plan.

The sandwich in Dubieniec's fridge was made with special Department of Agriculture bread. The modified retro-virus that Dubieniec had in his system had come from the tech-faction of the brain bugs that was controlling the Ukrainian mafia. They had improved upon it, in order to use it as a weapon against the mystic-faction.

WK001: Jenson Gilgoolie had worked with Department of Agriculture's special bread and he was taking it. He was therefore inhabited by a sick brain bug that was completely inert during the day. This gave him the chance to work on his retrovirus. After his death, the tech-faction of the brain bugs continued to research the retrovirus, and they created the version that found its way into the hands of Dubieniec.

S73: The tech-faction of the brain bugs have control of the Ukrainian military (and possibly the Ukrainian government). Vitrano and Lavin and the rest of their team are confirmed as working with the brain bugs, they may even be possessed by them. The brain bugs were tracking down the drugs used by Majestic to create super soldiers. They ascertained that Apache Joe was a rogue Majestic Agent and set Vitrano and Lavin on to him in the hope that Apache Joe would lead them to the rest of Majestic. That is why V&L kept the case going. They even paid Apache Joe for information. The agents still do not know why Vitrano and Lavin stopped their operation. What had the brain bugs accomplished to make this possible? Raphael did not say where Vitrano and Lavin could currently be found.

S89: Previously attached to this case, but more of Raphael's general musings - The archangel emphasised the importance of calling things their proper names. He said that in names there are power. He referred to the words the Armoured Man spoke to Nathan Harlow: "First there was stone and magic was easy; Then there was bronze and magic was bound to stone; Then there were words and magic became hard; Now there is science and magic is just remnants." Raphael ascribes the fall of magic as a disjoining of the heart and the mind. When mankind knew things in their heart - knew them instinctively - they could work magic. But when we started to write things down and learn them from books the magic went away. Raphael infers that the Armoured Man was another archangel (or equivalent); the mid-west team subsequently deduce he was Samael (Satan).

Raphael names the top seven archangels, and the bottom seven (or Samael's Seven). The top seven in order of seniority are:

• Michael, the Right Hand of God. Archangel of Nature, associated with Hope.
• Raphael, the Left Hand of God. Archangel of Life, associated with Faith.
• Azrael. Archangel of Death, associated with Justice.
• Israfael. Archangel of Beginnings, associated with Prudence.
• Uriel. Archangel of Fire, associated with Fortitude.
• Gabriel. Archangel of Revelation, associated with Charity.
• The seventh was originally Samael who was the Archangel of Light, associated with Temperance. After he fell he was replaced by the Metatron (the Voice of God). There is therefore no Archangel of Light.

The bottom seven:

• Gamaliel the Obscurer. Lust.
• Satariel the Concealer. Avarice.
• Ogiel the Hinderer. Envy.
• Tagiriron the Litigator. Sloth.
• Gash'Khalah the Breaker into Pieces. Wrath.
• Lilith the Woman of the Night. Pride.
• Thormiel the Twin of God. Gluttony.

Also, the Joker is not dead. He has only been banished for 101 years, however, it will take him many millions of years to return to the same level of power he enjoyed before he crossed paths with Artemis Black.

By this time, Raphael has very nearly arrived at Marc Georgeson's house (his destination in Winterset). There are many questions the agents haven't asked him, but he is certain that they will see him again. Raphael has given away prizes in the form of small Christmas crackers to agents who have asked particularly incisive questions or made correct leaps of logic. Both Jane and Drake have one of these crackers.

Drake has also been trying to summon his own coffee and doughnuts all the way from the field. He has actually succeeded in summoning a malformed doughnut. This is something he intends to work on.

Raphael has little else to say. He completely dismisses Catholicism as a bad idea. He says that he was against it at the time. Jane is glad that Benedict isn't present to hear this. He also tells the north-east team that the Etruscan marks from case (HWKW001) are important, and they should look into them further.

And with that he heads into Georgeson's house. It occurs to Jane that when Gabe said "Don't let him go" he could well have meant don't let Raphael keep this appointment. However, she doesn't see what they could have done to stop an archangel going somewhere he wanted to go, and besides… Raphael has actually been candid and helpful, whereas Gabe as always been a pain in rear. She has no regrets.

Drake pulls the cracker Raphael gave him with Agent Turn. Jane didn't even have time to say "Don't do it Drake!" There is a twinkle of sparkling light, but nothing much seems to happen.

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