Mid-West Campaign
Session Seventy-Four

Wednesday, 6 June 2001

The questions to Marc Georgeson continue. The Signai have had dealings with other multi-dimensional entities in the past, but cannot make any startling revelations about them. Jane asks if there are any other sentient alien races on earth besides the Signai, Shaggai, Sil and K'tai. There are a few that Georgeson lists.

The Cthonians are a race of thinking 100 ft worms with tentacles. The creature the old west coast evidence response team attacked in the desert was a cthonian, their indestructible trophy was a cthonian's scale. Dominic and his team found a nest of young cthonians in the sewers beneath Los Angeles. The parents were not caring for the nest and had summoned a multi-dimensional guardian to protect it: the thing that Bruce Campbell-Robson killed with his claymore mines. The creature was like mirror vampire.

There are about a dozen cthonian active in the deserts of the south-western United States. They usually stay around the core of the planet, and only come to the surface to breed. They like the heat, and even the hottest desert would feel like the Antarctic to them. If they get cold they lose their higher brain functions and turn into ravening monsters.

The Cthonians came to earth on a directed asteroid. Also on the asteroid were the Formless Spawn (the fire creatures encountered in Hawaii). The spawn had a symbiotic relationship with the cthonians and kept them warm in the void of space. The Formless Spawn live in the volcanoes of several remote islands. Once a formless spawn takes a shape (such as the 29 Elijah Stones) they physically become that being and are completely indistinguishable form them - forgetting their previous lives. They are generally no threat, but will revert to their true form on death.

The polyps that have been fought by the west coast team on several occasions are simply parasites, that also fell to Earth on a meteorite. They are not a thinking race.

On the subject of ghosts, Georgeson said that on death some people have the sufficiently advanced to send their spirit onto a multidimensional plane. In effect, some people are genetically predisposed to become ghosts.

Georgeson also mentions the Yig. They are a race of serpent-men whose presence on Earth predates the Signai. They are also a spacefaring race and are possessed of high technology. They originate from a different area of galaxy than the Signai, Shaggai, Sil and K'tai. Their race is extremely varied and they come in many different types and sizes. They are found in tropical jungles such as the Congo, Malaysia, the Amazon and Indonesia.

With Jane in the room it is inevitable that the conversation eventually turns to the missing Vitrano and Lavin. She has many questions for Georgeson, particularly because of the link the two agents allegedly have with the brain bugs. Georgeson says that he intercepted a message from Vitrano and Lavin to their superiors on 5 May 2001. At that point they were in Uruguay! There have been no transmissions since. The transmission was as follows:

Jane is amazed at their location and wants to head to Uruguay immediately, but Artemis immediately poo-poos the idea. Georgeson goes on to say that although the theory that Vitrano and Lavin are complicit with the Shaggai seems to fit the facts, he doesn't think that this is the case. If the Shaggai had been after Apache Joe then they would have simply possessed him. They must be serving someone else.

This puts Vitrano and Lavin (and all of case 0018-GCF) in a different light. Are they involved with a secret society of some kind? With the Yig? Is there a K'tai link as the drug MK Ultra enhanced him with is very similar to the powers gifted by the doppelganger battle suit? Jane is swift to point out that there is no way to tell without actually finding Vitrano and Lavin.

Another anomaly is the issue of the Sil. Georgeson has said that the Sil are completely against any form of magic. The Game is played exclusively by magical entities, so the Sil wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. And the Sil certainly wouldn't leave the team with two magic swords (assuming, of course, they are magical). The only explanation is that the Sil were not responsible for putting Benedict in that coma. Everything the agents 'discovered' in Benedict's visions should be called into question. Especially the prophecy that the "kicking man" (aka woman, aka Jane) would be the Sil's champion.

But what about the scenes Ben saw while under hypnosis? These could have been a vision within a vision; or he could have been captured by another space-faring race such as the Shaggai. Simon Magus told Jane that the Brain Bugs would be her opponents in the game. But the Shaggai are a fractured people. They could just as easily be her opponents as well as her 'allies'. Maybe she is being played by the mystic bugs, and her opponents are the tech-based ones. Or even two mystic cabals - there are no firm alliances.

It is at this point that Georgeson admits to being the mole in evidence response. He has been passing the team's secrets through the Mary Estate to other innovators and potential allies in the war against the brain bugs. He helped install the supercomputers and they are, therefore, not the isolated system that was intended. Georgeson explains his reasons for doing this and after much arguing and acrimony, the conversation continues.

While Alan Hamblin III went into the past, he met with Horus-Ra, not realising that he was actually the insane holographic utility of a downed space pod. Benedict subsequently translated Hamblin's Hieroglyphs, but now Benedict realises that Marc Georgeson should be able to make perfect sense of them. Georgeson does indeed give Ben a perfect translation (see the section on Hamblin's Hieroglyphs in the evidence locker for more information).

Realising the depth of what is at stake, the agents want more help from Georgeson. Who has he been passing information to? What are his plans? Georgeson says that he won't tell the agents everything because he isn't sure whether he trusts them yet. This enrages Jane. She says that Georgeson has access to all their files he knows that every member of the team has sacrificed. How seriously they all take their work. It is insulting. Fortunately, Artemis manages to calm her down.

Georgeson does have some suggestions of who the agents should talk to gain more information, and to raise an alliance against the Shaggai. Some of these are organisations that Georgeson may already be allied with, but this is not the limit of his contacts.

NTOPFOR is an obvious choice, with Huntingdon-Price the best contact in the United States. The commander-in-chief of NTOP is Doctor Emmanuelle Zocci, but she is based in Europe. Operation Yuri is the name of the Department of Agriculture's war against the brain bugs. The head of this operation is Deputy Director William DeMontu (not Michael Levin). Georgeson suggests the agents talk to him. Organisations such as MK Ultra and Majestic-12 would also be useful. International equivalents such as Project Excalibur (in the UK) and Beowulf (in Germany) are probably too far a field. Georgeson suggests distancing the group from magic because it annoys the archangels. He doesn't think we should get involved with them or look to them for help.

Artemis adds that he will also contact Special Agent Richard Justice Williams. When his companions all say "who?" simultaneously, he explains that Williams is his top agent. Williams was a close friend of Eisenstein's and he works alone. When Eisenstein died he was deep under cover, otherwise he would have got Artemis's job, Justice Williams is the best of the best. They need him. Artemis decides to put him on the trail of Eisenstein's killer.

Georgeson answers some more questions. Raphael's daughter Mary Butler is alive and well. The mystery shareholder in Dynamicorp is the Winterset Town Council. However, it is clear the interview is coming to an end.

Then Bruce Campbell-Robson telephones. He has the interstellar coordinates (that the team no longer needs) and also says that the I-Ching translation program is getting progressively more complex.

Using his link to the Wichita supercomputers, Georgeson takes a look at the program that is running. He calls it "novel". Artemis asks him to run it through his own powerful processors (this would be much quicker than the Wichita machines by many weeks). Georgeson is suddenly rather worried. There is an artificial intelligence occupying the book and it has taken over 25% of his memory space. He departs to give his full attention to the problem.

Of course, the program is also still running back at HQ. Jane orders that it be shut down but all the controls are frozen out, so she orders the power be turned off - a move that could destroy the computers. She is annoyed when Bruce and Ecks fail to comply until Artemis gives the word. Just before this happens the program jumps from being 2% complete to 98% complete. Jane now gives order to pull out the hard drives.

Georgeson returns. He says that he fought out the AI and sent it back to Wichita. The agents formulate a plan to repair the computers, make sure they are isolated and then run the system again. However, they will need two more of the Kray supercomputers (for a total of five) just to run the program.

The agents stay the night with Georgeson. He agrees to help them against the brain bugs if they can come back to him with a workable plan. He also agrees to stop snooping on their every move and just rely on the case files (which he will get access to via SCHULT).

Artemis says that he needs to meet with Hunting-Price of NTOPFOR and also DeMontu of the Department of Agriculture. He is happy to go over Levin's head, but Jane wants to talk to Michael about this first. He has been a good friend and contact to the team and there seems no point in alienating him. Eventually, Artemis concedes the point.

Artemis is also thinking of other things. He is becoming progressively more paranoid about being spied upon. If he is going to meet these men he wants to do so in a room that is impervious to scientific and magical means of detection. He can find somewhere in Washington and make it bug-proof. Magic is trickier. He can draw an Elder Sign, but to do would cost him a portion of his soul. Obviously, he doesn't want to do that! Someone else's soul would be fine, but if it was an unwilling someone then it would have to be a blood sacrifice. If only he could find a victim he didn't have to kill. Or, one that would get better once he was killed… Artemis Black begins to scheme….

Thursday, 7 June 2001

Over breakfast, Georgeson adds one more name to their list: John Smith. He lives in the upper-middle class area of Augusta, Maine near the industrial district. Ostensibly he works as a factory foreman, but he is much more than that.

Benedict wants to go to hospital in Winterset to have his head wounds seen to, but Artemis thinks this could compromise their activities and tells him to head to Los Angeles and let SCHULT look at it. In fact, he orders Jane and Clint to LA as well. They need a new dose of nanites. He, on the other hand, has business in Washington.

Hours later, in an underground room in Washington, Artemis Black has made all the preparations to inscribe an elder sign. All he needs is a victim. Soon a heavily, sedated Wendell Wells is wheeled into the room. Artemis is left alone with the agent. Wendell, as mad as ever, regains consciousness. He mistakes Artemis for his nemesis: a super villain known as The Wolf. Despite cries of "You'll never get away with this!" Artemis murders Wendell Wells and allows the agents blood to infuse the elder sign with power.

But Wendell is a werewolf and soon after his apparent death he is completely healed. Less than himself, and even unluckier than Alex Drake on a bad day, Wendell bursts free of his restraints. However, the power of the elder sign (that affects all supernatural creatures), throws him against the far wall and drags him toward the door. Artemis fills a syringe with more stupefying narcotics and tries to stab Wendell with it. It takes two does to bring him down. Wendell is bundled onto a gurney and returned to his mental institution.

Meanwhile the rest of the team arrive in L.A. and have a second breakfast with SCHULT. Because of the time difference they have arrived extremely early. Todd is particularly embarrassed to see Jane at the table when he arrives for his morning meal clad only in his boxer shorts and an ill-fitting dressing down. Benedict's mutterings that Jane has feelings for Todd

Schult can find nothing wrong with Benedict, but Ben still wants a second opinion. Jane says that as soon as they return to Wichita she will run all the tests she can think of on Ben.

Jane tells Todd about Danni's current attitude and her fear that some of evidence response's enemies will want to get at Jane through Danni. Todd was going to come to Wichita very soon, but Jane asks him to come that day. She also insists that he stays with her and Danni rather than checking into a hotel. He thought it might be awkward, but Jane says that she wants Todd there. Someone needs to keep an eye on Danni.

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