The Evil Within (GSP Ruben Victoriano by Peanuckle)
New Infernal. Spoilers for The Evil Within. Subject to approval and edits.
Uses Revlid's SWLiHN since we may be switching over. Also, I cannot for the life of me get an image up on this board today.
Fire. Smoke. Darkness. Confinement. Release. Success. Betrayal. Confinement again.
He had once been a man. Brilliant by any standards, his scientific drive and willingness to disregard petty ethical concerns meant that his discoveries pushed the boundary of psychiatric and psychological knowledge; he could identify a dozen medicines, devices and treatments that owed their existence to his work. But nobody knew his name.
Thief!
Jimenez had stolen his work, then sold him out to Mobius to cover his own ass instead of paying for what he'd done. And now... now?
Even as he walked the endless expanse of his mind, he knew that in truth he was merely a disembodied brain, floating in a glass case in an open room. Vulnerable to anyone who wanted to take a poke at him. And several had. He'd been scalded, scraped, prodded; been forced to experience certain emotions and relive certain memories when those ignorant barbarians tried to replicate his methods, methods he'd perfected over years of... practice. It was painful, infuriating, humiliating... and he couldn't do anything about it. He was just a brain in a jar. But that would end today.
Today, he felt more minds enter the STEM machine. It was designed to produce a signal that would enslave those within range, allowing whoever was at the controls to alter their perceptions however they felt. However, he'd taken precautions; his paranoia stretching even to this unimaginable possibility. Several hidden backdoors lay in wait, to throw open the gates to anyone who was plugged into the machine, secret routes that only he knew, just waiting for him to throw the switch. He would be a god...
He activated the code that he'd buried under so much chaff.
Nothing happened.
No portals appeared, no doors opened, no golden road to a new mindscape... nothing! Nothing!
"What!? Why isn't it working!? Where is it? Where are they? Why am I still here?" Falling to his nonexistent knees, he howled into an illusory sky as his one chance at freedom escaped him.
Failure.
Was this it, then? Would he be a slave forever? Just an organic component to the STEM control device?
"They're right out there! I can feel them, just sitting and waiting! Empty shells that could be me! Should be me! Why can't I reach them?"
"Men are often elusive prey."
Ruben whipped around, searching for whoever, or whatever had spoken. It spoke English, but there was an undertone of... no. It didn't matter, this place had no rules. But still...
"Who said that?"
"I did. I have tracked you long and far, Ruben Victoriano. You were hard to find in this place, but find you I did. I commend your skill."
The creature that spoke was... unnerving, even to Ruben's unusual tastes. It had the vaguest outline of a large buck, but instead of fur, meat and antlers, there were only worms. White, writhing worms that held themselves together in the shape of an animal.
Was Mobius fucking with him?
"What the fuck are you? Is this another one of Mobius' jokes?"
"Oh no, Ruben. In fact, I took the liberty of ensuring that we would not be interrupted by the men outside."
"What do you mean?"
"They are all dead. Mortals pose little difficulty to one such as I."
"I'd question that, but there's really no point. So, what do you want with me?"
"Your skill at manipulating flesh and mind has not gone unnoticed. Neither has your failure to capitalize on your earlier successes."
"Are you just here to taunt me?"
"No. I am here to offer you a second chance."
"What?"
"You are not the only one to know this sort of captivity, trapped and made into a resource for others. Like you, they are locked within a waking nightmare, unable to act upon the outside world... except through intermediaries like myself. I am here to offer you a deal."
"I'll take it."
"The deal is- what?"
"I said I'll take it. Either you're some crazy hallucination Mobius thought up to fuck with me, so cutting you off will disrupt their plans, or you're the real deal and my only way out. There's no reason to delay."
"You don't care for the terms?"
"Whatever they are, they're better than this. I'll do it if you can get me out."
"Ah, that decisiveness will serve us well in the future. Very well Ruben. Now, prepare yourself."
The creature charged and for a moment, Ruben thought he'd been fooled; hope dangled by a thread only to be yanked away again, but the deer exploded and showered him with worms. Worms crawled in his mouth, his eyes, up his nose, bored through his skin... He screamed for but a moment, then all was black.
=====
Ruben Victoriano
The voice cut cleanly through his confusion, a crystalline note that rang endlessly throughout the void.
"What? Where am I?"
We have enemies. Chaos, disorder, false hierarchies. You will destroy them.
"Destroy what? Wait, where are you? I can't-"
Do not waste time with questions. You have accepted the deal. Perform your function.
"My function, huh? I can feel it, the orders you've burned into my mind. Clever trick; I've tried the same before, but I never had this kind of success."
There was a brief pause before the musical voice returned.
We seek the same thing. Order. Control. Logic. To make sense of the world. To understand how it could have turned against us.
"The cause is in the minds of those who did so."
Correct. The solution is to purge those minds of thought.
"It would work. Implementation is a problem, though. I thought this device would be my masterstroke, but it was used against me instead."
All things may be understood. Study. Develop. Execute.
"The reason for my failure is that others sabotaged me. I... have to find them, prevent them from ever interfering again."
Once the sources of disorder are removed, solutions to greater problems may be pursued without distraction.
"What greater problems?"
Imprisonment. The world does not make sense without me.
"I... see. So, I am to free you as you have freed me?"
Correct.
"Who are you? Who am I working for now?"
The universe closed in, and whispered a name.
===
Days later, police would investigate an old asylum, only to find it full of bodies and strange machinery. Even more strangely, and a little worringly, a trail of bloody footsteps led outside before disappearing into the foliage.
He had once been a man. Brilliant by any standards, his scientific drive and willingness to disregard petty ethical concerns meant that his discoveries pushed the boundary of psychiatric and psychological knowledge; he could identify a dozen medicines, devices and treatments that owed their existence to his work. But nobody knew his name.
Thief!
Jimenez had stolen his work, then sold him out to Mobius to cover his own ass instead of paying for what he'd done. And now... now?
Even as he walked the endless expanse of his mind, he knew that in truth he was merely a disembodied brain, floating in a glass case in an open room. Vulnerable to anyone who wanted to take a poke at him. And several had. He'd been scalded, scraped, prodded; been forced to experience certain emotions and relive certain memories when those ignorant barbarians tried to replicate his methods, methods he'd perfected over years of... practice. It was painful, infuriating, humiliating... and he couldn't do anything about it. He was just a brain in a jar. But that would end today.
Today, he felt more minds enter the STEM machine. It was designed to produce a signal that would enslave those within range, allowing whoever was at the controls to alter their perceptions however they felt. However, he'd taken precautions; his paranoia stretching even to this unimaginable possibility. Several hidden backdoors lay in wait, to throw open the gates to anyone who was plugged into the machine, secret routes that only he knew, just waiting for him to throw the switch. He would be a god...
He activated the code that he'd buried under so much chaff.
Nothing happened.
No portals appeared, no doors opened, no golden road to a new mindscape... nothing! Nothing!
"What!? Why isn't it working!? Where is it? Where are they? Why am I still here?" Falling to his nonexistent knees, he howled into an illusory sky as his one chance at freedom escaped him.
Failure.
Was this it, then? Would he be a slave forever? Just an organic component to the STEM control device?
"They're right out there! I can feel them, just sitting and waiting! Empty shells that could be me! Should be me! Why can't I reach them?"
"Men are often elusive prey."
Ruben whipped around, searching for whoever, or whatever had spoken. It spoke English, but there was an undertone of... no. It didn't matter, this place had no rules. But still...
"Who said that?"
"I did. I have tracked you long and far, Ruben Victoriano. You were hard to find in this place, but find you I did. I commend your skill."
The creature that spoke was... unnerving, even to Ruben's unusual tastes. It had the vaguest outline of a large buck, but instead of fur, meat and antlers, there were only worms. White, writhing worms that held themselves together in the shape of an animal.
Was Mobius fucking with him?
"What the fuck are you? Is this another one of Mobius' jokes?"
"Oh no, Ruben. In fact, I took the liberty of ensuring that we would not be interrupted by the men outside."
"What do you mean?"
"They are all dead. Mortals pose little difficulty to one such as I."
"I'd question that, but there's really no point. So, what do you want with me?"
"Your skill at manipulating flesh and mind has not gone unnoticed. Neither has your failure to capitalize on your earlier successes."
"Are you just here to taunt me?"
"No. I am here to offer you a second chance."
"What?"
"You are not the only one to know this sort of captivity, trapped and made into a resource for others. Like you, they are locked within a waking nightmare, unable to act upon the outside world... except through intermediaries like myself. I am here to offer you a deal."
"I'll take it."
"The deal is- what?"
"I said I'll take it. Either you're some crazy hallucination Mobius thought up to fuck with me, so cutting you off will disrupt their plans, or you're the real deal and my only way out. There's no reason to delay."
"You don't care for the terms?"
"Whatever they are, they're better than this. I'll do it if you can get me out."
"Ah, that decisiveness will serve us well in the future. Very well Ruben. Now, prepare yourself."
The creature charged and for a moment, Ruben thought he'd been fooled; hope dangled by a thread only to be yanked away again, but the deer exploded and showered him with worms. Worms crawled in his mouth, his eyes, up his nose, bored through his skin... He screamed for but a moment, then all was black.
=====
Ruben Victoriano
The voice cut cleanly through his confusion, a crystalline note that rang endlessly throughout the void.
"What? Where am I?"
We have enemies. Chaos, disorder, false hierarchies. You will destroy them.
"Destroy what? Wait, where are you? I can't-"
Do not waste time with questions. You have accepted the deal. Perform your function.
"My function, huh? I can feel it, the orders you've burned into my mind. Clever trick; I've tried the same before, but I never had this kind of success."
There was a brief pause before the musical voice returned.
We seek the same thing. Order. Control. Logic. To make sense of the world. To understand how it could have turned against us.
"The cause is in the minds of those who did so."
Correct. The solution is to purge those minds of thought.
"It would work. Implementation is a problem, though. I thought this device would be my masterstroke, but it was used against me instead."
All things may be understood. Study. Develop. Execute.
"The reason for my failure is that others sabotaged me. I... have to find them, prevent them from ever interfering again."
Once the sources of disorder are removed, solutions to greater problems may be pursued without distraction.
"What greater problems?"
Imprisonment. The world does not make sense without me.
"I... see. So, I am to free you as you have freed me?"
Correct.
"Who are you? Who am I working for now?"
The universe closed in, and whispered a name.
===
Days later, police would investigate an old asylum, only to find it full of bodies and strange machinery. Even more strangely, and a little worringly, a trail of bloody footsteps led outside before disappearing into the foliage.
Uses Revlid's SWLiHN since we may be switching over. Also, I cannot for the life of me get an image up on this board today.
"There's no cure for what I'm going to do to you."
Name: Ruben Victoriano
Age: 37
Concept: Mad scientist trying to uncover and exploit the deepest secrets of the mind.
Caste: Fiend
Patron: She Who Lives in Her Name
Anima Banner: A crystal brain wrapped in barbed wire
Motivation: Find and torment the members of the Mobius organization
Urge: Build a society of obedient drones (Pyrian)
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2; Charisma 1, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2; Perception 3, Intelligence 5, Wits 4
Abilities: Martial Arts 1, Craft (Air) 3 Psychiatric Instruments 2, Craft (Water) 3 Psychiatric drugs 1, Investigation 3, Lore 3, Medicine 3, Occult 3, Socialize 2, Integrity 5, Presence 1, Resistance 1, Awareness 2, Dodge 2, Larceny 1
Essence: 2
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 5, Temperance 2, Valor 2
Willpower 10
Intimacies: Mobius (Vengeful fury), SWLiHN (Professional admiration),
Backgrounds: Cult (SWLiHN) 1, Backing (SWLiHN) 1, Influence (SWLiHN) 1, Unwoven Coadjutor (Ethses) 2, Resources (Victoriano Fortune) 5
Coadjutor trait: When pushed to extreme anger, his skin shifts slightly, as if worms crawled underneath it (Luminata).
Charms:
First Ebon Dragon Excellency, Shadow-Spite Curse, Cracked Cell Circumvention, Loom-Snarling Deception, Witness to Darkness, Nemesis-Self Imagined Anew
First and Second SWLiHN Excellencies, Factual Determination Analysis, Incorrect Value Rejection, Cosmic Transcendence of Conviction (Greater Good: Knowledge is Power), Invasive Extroception Technique, Mind-Hand Manipulation, Every Last Detail
Age: 37
Concept: Mad scientist trying to uncover and exploit the deepest secrets of the mind.
Caste: Fiend
Patron: She Who Lives in Her Name
Anima Banner: A crystal brain wrapped in barbed wire
Motivation: Find and torment the members of the Mobius organization
Urge: Build a society of obedient drones (Pyrian)
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2; Charisma 1, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2; Perception 3, Intelligence 5, Wits 4
Abilities: Martial Arts 1, Craft (Air) 3 Psychiatric Instruments 2, Craft (Water) 3 Psychiatric drugs 1, Investigation 3, Lore 3, Medicine 3, Occult 3, Socialize 2, Integrity 5, Presence 1, Resistance 1, Awareness 2, Dodge 2, Larceny 1
Essence: 2
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 5, Temperance 2, Valor 2
Willpower 10
Intimacies: Mobius (Vengeful fury), SWLiHN (Professional admiration),
Backgrounds: Cult (SWLiHN) 1, Backing (SWLiHN) 1, Influence (SWLiHN) 1, Unwoven Coadjutor (Ethses) 2, Resources (Victoriano Fortune) 5
Coadjutor trait: When pushed to extreme anger, his skin shifts slightly, as if worms crawled underneath it (Luminata).
Charms:
First Ebon Dragon Excellency, Shadow-Spite Curse, Cracked Cell Circumvention, Loom-Snarling Deception, Witness to Darkness, Nemesis-Self Imagined Anew
First and Second SWLiHN Excellencies, Factual Determination Analysis, Incorrect Value Rejection, Cosmic Transcendence of Conviction (Greater Good: Knowledge is Power), Invasive Extroception Technique, Mind-Hand Manipulation, Every Last Detail
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