hugh_donnetono
No use to complain
- Location
- Caught Out In The Rain
The Archer class is truly made up of Casters. The Berserker class, now, that one's truly made up of Archers.
La Chanson de France - Fate/Broken Europa
- Thread starter Omicron
- Start date
-
- Tags
- fate/stay night (fate series) urban fantasy (fantasy) canon what canon female protagonist a living records of your shames brexit france hubris is a coward's word i put on my suit and guillotine impending saberface ishtar is totally useless mistakes may have been made mommy issues (mom) those wacky cultists
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Things have been pretty quiet on this vote, so I'll call it here and start work on the update tomorrow. "[ ] Whether or not they are in fact Assassin" wins!
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XVI. Street Pulse Beat
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
XVI. Street Pulse Beat
"Alright," Richard said, drinking the last of his post-lunch coffee, staring at the sheets of paper scattered haphazardly scattered on the table, full of scribbled notes. "What do we got?"
"Not enough," Marc said, rubbing his forehead while waiting for his Earl Grey to cool down to drinkable levels. "CCTV footage across the street caught a brief glimpse of our suspected Assassin leaping up to a rooftop, so we know they weren't in spiritual form yet."
"But," Richard says, "those few people who were up and at their windows quickly enough after the initial commotion to be watching the street at the time don't report seeing anyone or anything."
"As for me," Cream said, waving a half-munched on croissant about, "with my new forensics friends we were able to locate the spot from which the initial arrows were fired, and judging from footprints and the like, we estimate that the Mystery Figure followed the Polish Pair for a while before taking this opportunity to strike, opportunistically, when the street being empty of civilians provided an opportunity! Opportunity."
"Do we think they knew they were being followed?" Marc asked, tired enough of waiting for his tea to be the right temperature that he proceeded to scald his tongue drinking it.
"If they were," Cream said, "then the Mystery Figure isn't as great at the sneaking and the attacking part of the sneaking attacking than we should expect from Assassin. For shame!"
"On the other hand," Richard pointed out, "the inconsistency between the footage of their escape and the testimonies. Think they might, what, be invisible, but with a reduced effect on cameras?"
"That's possible," Marc said, thinking, "but our big guy fought like he could see his opponent just fine. Either he could see through it, or he's just that good. Or it's not invisibility."
"Perhaps the Mystery Figure erased their memories!" Cream exclaimed, suddenly excited.
"They do remember getting up at night and everything else, except seeing the… Mystery Figure… escape."
"Oh," Cream says, frowning. "Then maybe Parisian people simply are not observant."
Suddenly, a buzzing sound - followed by the dulcet tones of Tom Jones' Sex Bomb.
"Hold that thought," Marc said, pulling out his phone and swiping on the screen. "Damn, she really came through." Looking up from his phone brightly, the young Sword added, "guess what, guys, we don't even have to tell Mads we suck at this. We just got our asses saved by Laurie from Tech."
"Laurie Hauchant?" Richard asked, then dredging up some memory, "Didn't you two use to date?"
"Nah. We're friends." Marc paused. "With benefits."
Richard raised an eyebrow. "One of these benefits being saving our asses today."
"Yes," Marc said, and then, looking vaguely uncomfortable and pointedly avoiding looking at his right, "is the Puritanical German girl glaring at me?"
"No comment," Richard said, counting bills to pay for the meal while Cream glowered, unblinking, in Marc's direction.
"I am not Puritanical," she finally said. "I am an atheist! We all are!"
"You're a Calvinist in denial is what you are," Marc said. "Anyway, you know how in movies cops always have these computers they yell 'Enhance!' at that magically make pictures better, and the closest you get to that in real life are guessing algorithms that turn a blurry picture of Obama into a white dude?"
"...yes," Richard said.
"Yeah, well, turns out when you have actual magic computers you can in fact do that! So I sent the CCTV footage to Laurie, and…"
Marc laid the phone flat on the table, and all three Swords craned their necks to look at the tiny image. There, on the screen, was a section of the (already high-quality) footage of the subway station battle - only it wasn't the fighting itself; it was the moment before it, when the blurred figure stepped down the stairs, and the giant held his torn metal bench in his hands like a staff. Clarified, zoomed in on the giant's face, and slowed down ever so slightly, he could be seen spelling out with the clear emphasis of utter contempt:
A-ssa-ssin.
***
Les Halles.
Once Paris's central fresh food market, a venerable institution - moved in the 1970s, the old site excavated and turned into one of France's largest shopping malls.
It is so large it has no doors as such; you pass under a wave-shaped roof, down a long, stretching stairway, into a lower level where you are assaulted by a riot of brand signs and billboards, countless individual stores garishly advertising themselves to you, a perpetually moving crowd hurrying about around you. Then down more stairs, into deeper levels, where the mall center fuses into the arterial flow of the city at Châtelet-Les Halles, one of the world's largest underground train stations, each pulse of its heart sending thousands of travelers away on subway trains or intra-city rail. And then deeper down, into the places meant not meant for the public, into maintenance tunnels and places whose true purpose is best left wondered at.
And then deeper down.
You input the code, and the metal doors slide open, revealing the warehouse-sized space sitting, unbeknownst to all, under Les Halles, the secret thing clutching this heart of Paris, drinking of its blood.
"...you never told me anything about a place like this," Lola says as you enter the room, looking around the room in wonder.
"Welcome," you say, grinning at your own dramatic reveal, turning around to bask in the amazed looks of all three of your companions, "to the Phantom Engine."
The walls of the room are completely covered in metal plates, silvery-grey tiles separated by black lines, shining in the lights arranged in a circle across the ceiling. Only the floor is rock - the very ground of Paris, polished smooth. In the center of that room, a massive ritual circle, at least ten meters in diameter, multiple concentric circles of incantation and equations overlaid with a complex hexagram. Even in its dormant state, it glows faintly blue.
The room is full of equipment. Tubing runs out of the wall onto humming machinery, LEDs blink on the side of massive data servers. At the other end of the room, a large screen hanging off the wall, currently turned off, looms over a large deck with its own sub-monitors and controls.
It takes a moment for Lola, Ruler and Saber to look up and see the final component of this expansive set-up: the world upside-down. The ceiling of the room is occupied by a complete to-scale model of Paris, down to the very last tree, with a thirty-centimeter Eiffel Tower pointing down at you. All of it is made of an unidentifiable white material, and the lights that brighten the room have been set at the borders of the city.
"What on Earth is this?" Ruler asks.
"The Phantom Engine", you explain as you walk around the ritual circle, "began life under the Revolution - although it was in a different location then - as a divination tool. Its purpose was to create a "living map" of Paris, which would adapt in real time to any changes in the capital, and would aid in locating items or individuals. Over time, its purpose evolved as the Cult kept working on it and expanding it, increasing the scale and scope of its divination magic. Eventually it was able to produce a complete, modifiable simulation of Paris, allowing the Cult to test the effects of any geomantic working in advance, study the impact of any new construction work within the city, monitor the ley line network of France thanks to Paris being its nexus…"
A highly polivalent tool, and one that is deceptively closer to your own, more muscular line of work than it seems at first glance. The Phantom Engine's extended awareness field constantly mapping out the configuration of the entire city was actually based on the same core Magical Discipline which gave birth to your Voice of Reason. In a sense, you and this ritual system are siblings.
"I have a question," Lola asks, raising her hand. "Why was designing a tracking and monitoring system such a high priority for the Cult in the tumult of the Revolution?"
…ah.
You turn your head, looking mildly embarrassed - reflexively touching your right shoulder, where the scar lines remain.
"You know the answer to that question, don't you?" You say. Lola doesn't answer; she stares at you, her arms folded across her chest. Finally you sigh. "The Cult was using it to track down and capture - or kill - aristocratic Magi during the Terror."
"That's what I thought," the Wörms-Ostringen heir mutters.
"It was a different time," you say, looking back at her. "We do things differently today and you know it."
Lola raises an eyebrow, spreads out her hands as if to encompass the city where the Holy Grail War has already begun, and asks:
"Do you?"
"I'm not going to be lectured on the morality of holding the Grail War by someone who was trying to join as a Master," you say scowling.
This gives her pause. After a moment she says: "Fair enough."
"None of this," Ruler says, "explains how this device of yours is meant to assist in preventing collateral damage."
"That's because it couldn't," you say, your smile returning, "until we reconfigured it for that purpose. A purpose it cannot fulfill without the kind of power the Grail alone can provide. We've done test runs, of course, so we know it's working - but those could only be active for a limited time in limited locations."
"You know," Lola notes, "you could have just told us all that during the drive here, rather than going 'actually let me just show you' and then being all mysterious."
"And spoil my fun?" you say.
"You're dragging this out on purpose," she says, trying to use frustration to mask her obvious interest. "Out with it!"
"The Phantom Engine," you start, and then-
Are you sure this is wise, Master? Comes Saber's voice, ringing clear in your mind, but not your ears.
You startle in surprise, your speech cut short, and scan around the room until you make eye contact with the Gaul, who is looking at you oddly.
"Maddie? What's wrong?" Lola asks, confused.
What the hell was that? You think, unconsciously thinking at her, and a moment later you hear her echoing in your skull again.
…did I not inform you that we could speak mind-to-mind owing to our bond as Master and Servant?
"Maddie, please, the suspense is killing me," Lola drawls.
"Just a second," you say, waving her off, "I need to talk about something with Saber."
"What? Now?!" she shouts, genuine indignation peaking in her voice as you stride towards the Gaul, grabbing her by the arm (or, rather, trying and failing to pass your hand through her solid oak trunk of an arm, then resorting to tugging on the sleeve of her garish purple suit), then leading her away out of Lola and Ruler's (presumed) hearing range.
"You very much did not tell me that," you whisper sotto voce, glaring at the Gaul. She shrugs.
"I suppose we've never before had a reason for me not to say what I was thinking out loud."
"This could have had huge tactical implications!" you say. "It's not like you to forget to mention something like this!"
Saber scratches a cross-shaped scar on her cheek, thinking. "You're right. It's not like me. I will consider this."
You look over your shoulder, watching Lola try to give you an angry glare before finally succumbing to professional derangement and kneeling down to study the ritual circle with hooo's and haaa's as Ruler paces around the room, watching the model of Paris with great interest.
"Anyway, I have to explain to them how the Phantom Engine works," you say, turning back to Saber, "or I won't be able to convince them to let me tap into the Grail."
"I guess you're right," Saber says, looking uncomfortable with the idea, "but please, remember this, Mademoiselle: A neutral arbiter is better than a hostile one, but neutral is still not friendly."
You frown at this. "I know that, but I'm not sure what you mean by saying it."
Saber raises an eyebrow, as if the answer ought to have been obvious.
"Is there a reason you treat it as assumed that the rules will always work in your favor, and that Ruler will never be given reason to rule against you?"
You blink.
You hadn't thought about that.
Once the threat posed by the Church being actively hostile to you was removed, you started unconsciously thinking of Ruler as an ally. Because the rules, as formulated, seem to you an unambiguous good - why would you ever harm a civilian? Why would you break the secrecy of the moonlit world? As cavalier as you may have been around the cops that morning, you still do ultimately work within the Mystery.
But you can't be sure you'll never have a reason to break these rules. Nor can you be certain that Ruler won't issue new directives during the course of the War, that you will then have to follow.
"You're right," you say, tempering your expectations. "I will keep that in mind. But on this matter, I have no choice but to be open."
Saber nods, but her expression is still one of concern.
"Plus," you add, "think about it this way: if this Servant can allow us to tap into the Grail, then that'll confirm that he truly is who he claims he is, and endowed with the Grail's authority."
"That is true…" Saber says, her expression softening. "Very well. I approve of this plan."
You give her a smile, then the both of you walk back to the German pair.
"Sorry about that," you say, only to be shushed by Lola, who is still kneeling studying the third inner ring of the ritual circle.
"Mathematical proofs as means of anchoring the spell within immutable reality - genius. But how would you deal with the shifting physics of history… Oh!" She suddenly bolts up, shaking her head. You give her a smirk, and she lets out a haughty scoff. "So, Maddie? What of this engine of yours?"
Ruler is there again, watching you patiently.
You step back over the edge of the circle, and provide a dramatic flourish.
"The Phantom Engine," you say, "has been configured to create a Phantom Paris. Its computer will monitor the city, and when it detects the beginning of a fight involving Servants, it will create a quasi-Reality Marble at that location. A temporary alternate reality, identical in every way to the combattants' original surroundings - but without any civilians, and where collateral damage will not be reflected in the real world once the fight ends."
You pause for effect, basking in the two Germans' speechless stares. They are exactly as stunned as you'd anticipated.
They don't need to know the cost of such a ritual - that some of the Cult's most valuable Crests had to be sacrificed for the working, weaving their Magic Circuits into the 'nervous system' of the computer-enhanced ritual. It better be worth it.
"You're crazy," Lola says. "Point-targeted Reality Marble creation across an entire city? That's insane. How did you even- God, this makes so much sense though! That's why you were so willing to hold the War in Paris - which gives you the home field advantage but also means any collateral would hit your own base of power. You found a way to have the benefits without the drawbacks!"
"That is," Ruler says, "an elegant solution."
"Well, I wasn't the one who came up with it," you say, "but my mentor is a woman of tremendous intelligence and skill."
"I will need to think on this," the man says - his face is shadowed with concern.
"What's your issue?" you ask, . He rubs his beard, thoughtful.
"By its very nature, your Phantom Engine includes a surveillance system capable of monitoring all of Paris and detect Servants. Which, if I provide you with the power you need, will provide your faction with a tremendous advantage against everyone else in the War."
"...right."
You might have hoped he wouldn't notice that.
It's not like the monitoring system would be an absolute advantage, anyway - it wouldn't be able to continuously track every Master and Servant. Any level of active Presence Concealment would thwart it, and it would otherwise struggle to detect any individual not actively spending prana at the time. But it would be an ace up your sleeve.
Too bad it was such a long shot.
"I could be convinced," you say with a sigh, having anticipated this reply, "to set the system to run autonomously then lock everyone out, including myself."
"Let me think on this," Ruler says, turning away and walking across the room, hands behind his back, brow heavily furrowed in thought, pacing.
"...of course," Lola says, staring up at the upside-down model of Paris. "A crystalized mana construct, informed in real time by feedback from the system, adjusting itself constantly to any change in the street plan of the city. Beautiful."
Well, it's nice that she is so impressed, and it does flatter you by proxy, but you do feel a bit forgotten here.
Then Saber's mind-voice chimes in your head again.
Were you being truthful?
You give her a glance. About?
Locking yourself out of the system.
I kind of have to, if I'm to let him trust me with this, you think.
Trust. Indeed. Who can trust who? She gives you a long stare, an unusual heaviness in her eyes. Is that not the great dilemma of this Grail War? These are your computers and your spells. If you gave yourself a hidden advantage and lied to Ruler about it, would he find out?
You frown. It's not that you wouldn't consider it, but… You have to stop thinking like he and Lola acting as a pair makes your friend his Master; it doesn't. He's an autonomous entity with an agenda of his own.
You're actually curious about Saber's take on this.
Would you approve of such underhanded tactics?
She raises an eyebrow. Do you think I would?
Well, now the idea is in your head.
Which may be a waste of thought, considering that Ruler might simply refuse you-
"I accept," Ruler says solemnly from across the room, his voice echoing in the vault.
Ah.
"You will lock yourself out of the system," he says, "and allow me entrance. In exchange I shall pour from the Grail's chalice to empower your machine, allowing for the battles of this War to occur safely. Do you accept this?"
"Wait a minute," you exclaim, "that's not what I proposed! I'm not giving you access to the monitoring system!"
"I," Ruler says, folding his arms across his broad chest, "am Ruler, the High Arbiter of the Holy Grail War. I am impartial. I am sworn to uphold the rules of the War. With access to this system, my sight expanded will allow me to easily find any who might break the rules. Is this not to your advantage? Are you not the one who set down these commandments? Do you not seek protection for the meek and the secrecy of magic?"
"Yeah," you say, almost snapping, "but I don't know you. I don't know that you're actually impartial. The Ruler Class exists, but that doesn't tell me whether or not you're telling the truth about your intentions."
"Beware," Ruler says, a rumbling in his voice and his eyes flashing with anger, "that you do not impugn my honor."
You stare at him, each of you on one side of a chasm which threatens to widen. Yet, perhaps, a bridge might be built to cross that chasm.
The easiest thing would be to agree to his terms. Because what he's saying actually does make sense. You're the Master of Saber, a blunt instrument, if a clever one. You're working with the home field advantage here in Paris. Everyone else is hiding, skulking around in the shadows. If he is truthful about his intentions. If the rules benefit you more than your opponents. If you stand to gain more from allowing the system to surveil you than everyone else does. Then he's correct. This is the right choice. And it means building bridges, trust, with the arbiter of the War. Even if he is neutral, good will between you may in time prove crucial.
Of course, that's making a lot of assumptions.
Or you could stand your ground. If you force the issue, he will agree to make the Phantom Engine equally blind to all. Everyone will be locked out. The machine will fulfill its primary function autonomously, and no one will have access to its powerful surveillance system. Ruler will be left to fulfill his own role with the tools the Grail gave him, and no more. This is safe, except, of course, that it will make it clear that there is no trust between the two of you; that you accept his presence and his rule because you must, but that you consider him a threat like any other, a potentially hostile factor whose true intentions may not be known. You will part on cold terms. But then, if he is impartial as he claims, surely that won't affect his judgement.
Or.
Or you could sneak a backdoor into the system. Pretend you've locked everyone out, but allow yourself a means of access. It's risky, of course - Ruler is certain to demand guarantees allowing him to verify you've respected your word. He might, might discover your treachery at some point, which would inevitably bring painful consequences. But that's not really the issue here - remote access to the Phantom Engine could prove an incredible trump card, once, and using it will definitely prompt immediate retribution. But it's better to have that ace up your sleeve than to not, right? The only drawback is that you risk actually using it.
You're reminded of Saber's discussion of ethics and realism.
[ ] Constructivism. Make the active choice to entrust Ruler with the monitoring system.
[ ] Defensive realism. Prioritize fundamental safety over building positive relationships.
[ ] Offensive realism. Lie and build the means of attack, at the risk of prompting escalation in return.
"Alright," Richard said, drinking the last of his post-lunch coffee, staring at the sheets of paper scattered haphazardly scattered on the table, full of scribbled notes. "What do we got?"
"Not enough," Marc said, rubbing his forehead while waiting for his Earl Grey to cool down to drinkable levels. "CCTV footage across the street caught a brief glimpse of our suspected Assassin leaping up to a rooftop, so we know they weren't in spiritual form yet."
"But," Richard says, "those few people who were up and at their windows quickly enough after the initial commotion to be watching the street at the time don't report seeing anyone or anything."
"As for me," Cream said, waving a half-munched on croissant about, "with my new forensics friends we were able to locate the spot from which the initial arrows were fired, and judging from footprints and the like, we estimate that the Mystery Figure followed the Polish Pair for a while before taking this opportunity to strike, opportunistically, when the street being empty of civilians provided an opportunity! Opportunity."
"Do we think they knew they were being followed?" Marc asked, tired enough of waiting for his tea to be the right temperature that he proceeded to scald his tongue drinking it.
"If they were," Cream said, "then the Mystery Figure isn't as great at the sneaking and the attacking part of the sneaking attacking than we should expect from Assassin. For shame!"
"On the other hand," Richard pointed out, "the inconsistency between the footage of their escape and the testimonies. Think they might, what, be invisible, but with a reduced effect on cameras?"
"That's possible," Marc said, thinking, "but our big guy fought like he could see his opponent just fine. Either he could see through it, or he's just that good. Or it's not invisibility."
"Perhaps the Mystery Figure erased their memories!" Cream exclaimed, suddenly excited.
"They do remember getting up at night and everything else, except seeing the… Mystery Figure… escape."
"Oh," Cream says, frowning. "Then maybe Parisian people simply are not observant."
Suddenly, a buzzing sound - followed by the dulcet tones of Tom Jones' Sex Bomb.
"Hold that thought," Marc said, pulling out his phone and swiping on the screen. "Damn, she really came through." Looking up from his phone brightly, the young Sword added, "guess what, guys, we don't even have to tell Mads we suck at this. We just got our asses saved by Laurie from Tech."
"Laurie Hauchant?" Richard asked, then dredging up some memory, "Didn't you two use to date?"
"Nah. We're friends." Marc paused. "With benefits."
Richard raised an eyebrow. "One of these benefits being saving our asses today."
"Yes," Marc said, and then, looking vaguely uncomfortable and pointedly avoiding looking at his right, "is the Puritanical German girl glaring at me?"
"No comment," Richard said, counting bills to pay for the meal while Cream glowered, unblinking, in Marc's direction.
"I am not Puritanical," she finally said. "I am an atheist! We all are!"
"You're a Calvinist in denial is what you are," Marc said. "Anyway, you know how in movies cops always have these computers they yell 'Enhance!' at that magically make pictures better, and the closest you get to that in real life are guessing algorithms that turn a blurry picture of Obama into a white dude?"
"...yes," Richard said.
"Yeah, well, turns out when you have actual magic computers you can in fact do that! So I sent the CCTV footage to Laurie, and…"
Marc laid the phone flat on the table, and all three Swords craned their necks to look at the tiny image. There, on the screen, was a section of the (already high-quality) footage of the subway station battle - only it wasn't the fighting itself; it was the moment before it, when the blurred figure stepped down the stairs, and the giant held his torn metal bench in his hands like a staff. Clarified, zoomed in on the giant's face, and slowed down ever so slightly, he could be seen spelling out with the clear emphasis of utter contempt:
A-ssa-ssin.
***
Les Halles.
Once Paris's central fresh food market, a venerable institution - moved in the 1970s, the old site excavated and turned into one of France's largest shopping malls.
It is so large it has no doors as such; you pass under a wave-shaped roof, down a long, stretching stairway, into a lower level where you are assaulted by a riot of brand signs and billboards, countless individual stores garishly advertising themselves to you, a perpetually moving crowd hurrying about around you. Then down more stairs, into deeper levels, where the mall center fuses into the arterial flow of the city at Châtelet-Les Halles, one of the world's largest underground train stations, each pulse of its heart sending thousands of travelers away on subway trains or intra-city rail. And then deeper down, into the places meant not meant for the public, into maintenance tunnels and places whose true purpose is best left wondered at.
And then deeper down.
You input the code, and the metal doors slide open, revealing the warehouse-sized space sitting, unbeknownst to all, under Les Halles, the secret thing clutching this heart of Paris, drinking of its blood.
"...you never told me anything about a place like this," Lola says as you enter the room, looking around the room in wonder.
"Welcome," you say, grinning at your own dramatic reveal, turning around to bask in the amazed looks of all three of your companions, "to the Phantom Engine."
The walls of the room are completely covered in metal plates, silvery-grey tiles separated by black lines, shining in the lights arranged in a circle across the ceiling. Only the floor is rock - the very ground of Paris, polished smooth. In the center of that room, a massive ritual circle, at least ten meters in diameter, multiple concentric circles of incantation and equations overlaid with a complex hexagram. Even in its dormant state, it glows faintly blue.
The room is full of equipment. Tubing runs out of the wall onto humming machinery, LEDs blink on the side of massive data servers. At the other end of the room, a large screen hanging off the wall, currently turned off, looms over a large deck with its own sub-monitors and controls.
It takes a moment for Lola, Ruler and Saber to look up and see the final component of this expansive set-up: the world upside-down. The ceiling of the room is occupied by a complete to-scale model of Paris, down to the very last tree, with a thirty-centimeter Eiffel Tower pointing down at you. All of it is made of an unidentifiable white material, and the lights that brighten the room have been set at the borders of the city.
"What on Earth is this?" Ruler asks.
"The Phantom Engine", you explain as you walk around the ritual circle, "began life under the Revolution - although it was in a different location then - as a divination tool. Its purpose was to create a "living map" of Paris, which would adapt in real time to any changes in the capital, and would aid in locating items or individuals. Over time, its purpose evolved as the Cult kept working on it and expanding it, increasing the scale and scope of its divination magic. Eventually it was able to produce a complete, modifiable simulation of Paris, allowing the Cult to test the effects of any geomantic working in advance, study the impact of any new construction work within the city, monitor the ley line network of France thanks to Paris being its nexus…"
A highly polivalent tool, and one that is deceptively closer to your own, more muscular line of work than it seems at first glance. The Phantom Engine's extended awareness field constantly mapping out the configuration of the entire city was actually based on the same core Magical Discipline which gave birth to your Voice of Reason. In a sense, you and this ritual system are siblings.
"I have a question," Lola asks, raising her hand. "Why was designing a tracking and monitoring system such a high priority for the Cult in the tumult of the Revolution?"
…ah.
You turn your head, looking mildly embarrassed - reflexively touching your right shoulder, where the scar lines remain.
"You know the answer to that question, don't you?" You say. Lola doesn't answer; she stares at you, her arms folded across her chest. Finally you sigh. "The Cult was using it to track down and capture - or kill - aristocratic Magi during the Terror."
"That's what I thought," the Wörms-Ostringen heir mutters.
"It was a different time," you say, looking back at her. "We do things differently today and you know it."
Lola raises an eyebrow, spreads out her hands as if to encompass the city where the Holy Grail War has already begun, and asks:
"Do you?"
"I'm not going to be lectured on the morality of holding the Grail War by someone who was trying to join as a Master," you say scowling.
This gives her pause. After a moment she says: "Fair enough."
"None of this," Ruler says, "explains how this device of yours is meant to assist in preventing collateral damage."
"That's because it couldn't," you say, your smile returning, "until we reconfigured it for that purpose. A purpose it cannot fulfill without the kind of power the Grail alone can provide. We've done test runs, of course, so we know it's working - but those could only be active for a limited time in limited locations."
"You know," Lola notes, "you could have just told us all that during the drive here, rather than going 'actually let me just show you' and then being all mysterious."
"And spoil my fun?" you say.
"You're dragging this out on purpose," she says, trying to use frustration to mask her obvious interest. "Out with it!"
"The Phantom Engine," you start, and then-
Are you sure this is wise, Master? Comes Saber's voice, ringing clear in your mind, but not your ears.
You startle in surprise, your speech cut short, and scan around the room until you make eye contact with the Gaul, who is looking at you oddly.
"Maddie? What's wrong?" Lola asks, confused.
What the hell was that? You think, unconsciously thinking at her, and a moment later you hear her echoing in your skull again.
…did I not inform you that we could speak mind-to-mind owing to our bond as Master and Servant?
"Maddie, please, the suspense is killing me," Lola drawls.
"Just a second," you say, waving her off, "I need to talk about something with Saber."
"What? Now?!" she shouts, genuine indignation peaking in her voice as you stride towards the Gaul, grabbing her by the arm (or, rather, trying and failing to pass your hand through her solid oak trunk of an arm, then resorting to tugging on the sleeve of her garish purple suit), then leading her away out of Lola and Ruler's (presumed) hearing range.
"You very much did not tell me that," you whisper sotto voce, glaring at the Gaul. She shrugs.
"I suppose we've never before had a reason for me not to say what I was thinking out loud."
"This could have had huge tactical implications!" you say. "It's not like you to forget to mention something like this!"
Saber scratches a cross-shaped scar on her cheek, thinking. "You're right. It's not like me. I will consider this."
You look over your shoulder, watching Lola try to give you an angry glare before finally succumbing to professional derangement and kneeling down to study the ritual circle with hooo's and haaa's as Ruler paces around the room, watching the model of Paris with great interest.
"Anyway, I have to explain to them how the Phantom Engine works," you say, turning back to Saber, "or I won't be able to convince them to let me tap into the Grail."
"I guess you're right," Saber says, looking uncomfortable with the idea, "but please, remember this, Mademoiselle: A neutral arbiter is better than a hostile one, but neutral is still not friendly."
You frown at this. "I know that, but I'm not sure what you mean by saying it."
Saber raises an eyebrow, as if the answer ought to have been obvious.
"Is there a reason you treat it as assumed that the rules will always work in your favor, and that Ruler will never be given reason to rule against you?"
You blink.
You hadn't thought about that.
Once the threat posed by the Church being actively hostile to you was removed, you started unconsciously thinking of Ruler as an ally. Because the rules, as formulated, seem to you an unambiguous good - why would you ever harm a civilian? Why would you break the secrecy of the moonlit world? As cavalier as you may have been around the cops that morning, you still do ultimately work within the Mystery.
But you can't be sure you'll never have a reason to break these rules. Nor can you be certain that Ruler won't issue new directives during the course of the War, that you will then have to follow.
"You're right," you say, tempering your expectations. "I will keep that in mind. But on this matter, I have no choice but to be open."
Saber nods, but her expression is still one of concern.
"Plus," you add, "think about it this way: if this Servant can allow us to tap into the Grail, then that'll confirm that he truly is who he claims he is, and endowed with the Grail's authority."
"That is true…" Saber says, her expression softening. "Very well. I approve of this plan."
You give her a smile, then the both of you walk back to the German pair.
"Sorry about that," you say, only to be shushed by Lola, who is still kneeling studying the third inner ring of the ritual circle.
"Mathematical proofs as means of anchoring the spell within immutable reality - genius. But how would you deal with the shifting physics of history… Oh!" She suddenly bolts up, shaking her head. You give her a smirk, and she lets out a haughty scoff. "So, Maddie? What of this engine of yours?"
Ruler is there again, watching you patiently.
You step back over the edge of the circle, and provide a dramatic flourish.
"The Phantom Engine," you say, "has been configured to create a Phantom Paris. Its computer will monitor the city, and when it detects the beginning of a fight involving Servants, it will create a quasi-Reality Marble at that location. A temporary alternate reality, identical in every way to the combattants' original surroundings - but without any civilians, and where collateral damage will not be reflected in the real world once the fight ends."
You pause for effect, basking in the two Germans' speechless stares. They are exactly as stunned as you'd anticipated.
They don't need to know the cost of such a ritual - that some of the Cult's most valuable Crests had to be sacrificed for the working, weaving their Magic Circuits into the 'nervous system' of the computer-enhanced ritual. It better be worth it.
"You're crazy," Lola says. "Point-targeted Reality Marble creation across an entire city? That's insane. How did you even- God, this makes so much sense though! That's why you were so willing to hold the War in Paris - which gives you the home field advantage but also means any collateral would hit your own base of power. You found a way to have the benefits without the drawbacks!"
"That is," Ruler says, "an elegant solution."
"Well, I wasn't the one who came up with it," you say, "but my mentor is a woman of tremendous intelligence and skill."
"I will need to think on this," the man says - his face is shadowed with concern.
"What's your issue?" you ask, . He rubs his beard, thoughtful.
"By its very nature, your Phantom Engine includes a surveillance system capable of monitoring all of Paris and detect Servants. Which, if I provide you with the power you need, will provide your faction with a tremendous advantage against everyone else in the War."
"...right."
You might have hoped he wouldn't notice that.
It's not like the monitoring system would be an absolute advantage, anyway - it wouldn't be able to continuously track every Master and Servant. Any level of active Presence Concealment would thwart it, and it would otherwise struggle to detect any individual not actively spending prana at the time. But it would be an ace up your sleeve.
Too bad it was such a long shot.
"I could be convinced," you say with a sigh, having anticipated this reply, "to set the system to run autonomously then lock everyone out, including myself."
"Let me think on this," Ruler says, turning away and walking across the room, hands behind his back, brow heavily furrowed in thought, pacing.
"...of course," Lola says, staring up at the upside-down model of Paris. "A crystalized mana construct, informed in real time by feedback from the system, adjusting itself constantly to any change in the street plan of the city. Beautiful."
Well, it's nice that she is so impressed, and it does flatter you by proxy, but you do feel a bit forgotten here.
Then Saber's mind-voice chimes in your head again.
Were you being truthful?
You give her a glance. About?
Locking yourself out of the system.
I kind of have to, if I'm to let him trust me with this, you think.
Trust. Indeed. Who can trust who? She gives you a long stare, an unusual heaviness in her eyes. Is that not the great dilemma of this Grail War? These are your computers and your spells. If you gave yourself a hidden advantage and lied to Ruler about it, would he find out?
You frown. It's not that you wouldn't consider it, but… You have to stop thinking like he and Lola acting as a pair makes your friend his Master; it doesn't. He's an autonomous entity with an agenda of his own.
You're actually curious about Saber's take on this.
Would you approve of such underhanded tactics?
She raises an eyebrow. Do you think I would?
Well, now the idea is in your head.
Which may be a waste of thought, considering that Ruler might simply refuse you-
"I accept," Ruler says solemnly from across the room, his voice echoing in the vault.
Ah.
"You will lock yourself out of the system," he says, "and allow me entrance. In exchange I shall pour from the Grail's chalice to empower your machine, allowing for the battles of this War to occur safely. Do you accept this?"
"Wait a minute," you exclaim, "that's not what I proposed! I'm not giving you access to the monitoring system!"
"I," Ruler says, folding his arms across his broad chest, "am Ruler, the High Arbiter of the Holy Grail War. I am impartial. I am sworn to uphold the rules of the War. With access to this system, my sight expanded will allow me to easily find any who might break the rules. Is this not to your advantage? Are you not the one who set down these commandments? Do you not seek protection for the meek and the secrecy of magic?"
"Yeah," you say, almost snapping, "but I don't know you. I don't know that you're actually impartial. The Ruler Class exists, but that doesn't tell me whether or not you're telling the truth about your intentions."
"Beware," Ruler says, a rumbling in his voice and his eyes flashing with anger, "that you do not impugn my honor."
You stare at him, each of you on one side of a chasm which threatens to widen. Yet, perhaps, a bridge might be built to cross that chasm.
The easiest thing would be to agree to his terms. Because what he's saying actually does make sense. You're the Master of Saber, a blunt instrument, if a clever one. You're working with the home field advantage here in Paris. Everyone else is hiding, skulking around in the shadows. If he is truthful about his intentions. If the rules benefit you more than your opponents. If you stand to gain more from allowing the system to surveil you than everyone else does. Then he's correct. This is the right choice. And it means building bridges, trust, with the arbiter of the War. Even if he is neutral, good will between you may in time prove crucial.
Of course, that's making a lot of assumptions.
Or you could stand your ground. If you force the issue, he will agree to make the Phantom Engine equally blind to all. Everyone will be locked out. The machine will fulfill its primary function autonomously, and no one will have access to its powerful surveillance system. Ruler will be left to fulfill his own role with the tools the Grail gave him, and no more. This is safe, except, of course, that it will make it clear that there is no trust between the two of you; that you accept his presence and his rule because you must, but that you consider him a threat like any other, a potentially hostile factor whose true intentions may not be known. You will part on cold terms. But then, if he is impartial as he claims, surely that won't affect his judgement.
Or.
Or you could sneak a backdoor into the system. Pretend you've locked everyone out, but allow yourself a means of access. It's risky, of course - Ruler is certain to demand guarantees allowing him to verify you've respected your word. He might, might discover your treachery at some point, which would inevitably bring painful consequences. But that's not really the issue here - remote access to the Phantom Engine could prove an incredible trump card, once, and using it will definitely prompt immediate retribution. But it's better to have that ace up your sleeve than to not, right? The only drawback is that you risk actually using it.
You're reminded of Saber's discussion of ethics and realism.
[ ] Constructivism. Make the active choice to entrust Ruler with the monitoring system.
[ ] Defensive realism. Prioritize fundamental safety over building positive relationships.
[ ] Offensive realism. Lie and build the means of attack, at the risk of prompting escalation in return.
[X] Constructivism. Make the active choice to entrust Ruler with the monitoring system.
part of me wants to do this in exchange for (privately) knowing Ruler's True Name, give up an advantage for a safeguard.
but, tbh? I'm going to be the optimist here. And I'm not sure Omicron would let us do that particular write-in.
part of me wants to do this in exchange for (privately) knowing Ruler's True Name, give up an advantage for a safeguard.
but, tbh? I'm going to be the optimist here. And I'm not sure Omicron would let us do that particular write-in.
- Location
- Norway
[x] Constructivism. Make the active choice to entrust Ruler with the monitoring system.
We are simply to good and the enemy needs the handicap.
We are simply to good and the enemy needs the handicap.
[X] Offensive realism. Lie and build the means of attack, at the risk of prompting escalation in return.
The only way to win a Grail War is not to participate but Maddie IC doesn't grasp that truth yet and wants to win plus she is inherently convinced she's serving a higher/superior moral standard than every other faction in play and I think getting a chance to explore the less shiny aspects of that side of her and the Cult of Reason as a whole's character is fun.
Narratively I like us having the option of nuclear option that we can use if one of the Masters-Servants involved is operating on a Giles De Rais play style or has a Kirei Kotomine minded end goal and we really need to use the nuclear cheat. Also it allows a bit more character depth to our MC that yes she's invested in not hurting innocent people, yes she's a nice not-magus who serves an Enlighted ideal but she willing to deceive the honorable and make shady moves in the name of victory.
The only way to win a Grail War is not to participate but Maddie IC doesn't grasp that truth yet and wants to win plus she is inherently convinced she's serving a higher/superior moral standard than every other faction in play and I think getting a chance to explore the less shiny aspects of that side of her and the Cult of Reason as a whole's character is fun.
Narratively I like us having the option of nuclear option that we can use if one of the Masters-Servants involved is operating on a Giles De Rais play style or has a Kirei Kotomine minded end goal and we really need to use the nuclear cheat. Also it allows a bit more character depth to our MC that yes she's invested in not hurting innocent people, yes she's a nice not-magus who serves an Enlighted ideal but she willing to deceive the honorable and make shady moves in the name of victory.
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- Location
- France
[X] Offensive realism. Lie and build the means of attack, at the risk of prompting escalation in return.
- Location
- Planet Earth
[X] Constructivism. Make the active choice to entrust Ruler with the monitoring system.
He could fuck us over if he turns hostile and we've gone with Constructivism, but narrative irony(which I'm pretty sure Omicron adores) ensures that he would fuck us over if we go with Offensive Realism and he finds out, and he absolutely would. Its too juicy a plot point for this checkov's gun not to be fired.
He could fuck us over if he turns hostile and we've gone with Constructivism, but narrative irony(which I'm pretty sure Omicron adores) ensures that he would fuck us over if we go with Offensive Realism and he finds out, and he absolutely would. Its too juicy a plot point for this checkov's gun not to be fired.
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- Location
- Portugal
[X] Constructivism.
Not messing with the arbiter of the war for a one time advantage thtat we will be penalized over seems like a bad deal.
On the other hand, the story of ignoring Vercingetorix continues to grow...
Not messing with the arbiter of the war for a one time advantage thtat we will be penalized over seems like a bad deal.
On the other hand, the story of ignoring Vercingetorix continues to grow...
bookwyrm
Doom of Public Libraries
- Location
- Wichita, Kansas
[X] Constructivism.
I mean we've already trusted the Grail system enough to spawn it in Paris and play out this war. We obviously think that we can forge a happy ending out of these legends reborn, that playing to this game will ever let us win, so why not trust Ruler as a manifestation of the Grail War? Plus it'll make it all the more dramatic when Ruler and the Grail War and the-War-as-an-allegory-for-French-society-and-the-rat-race all betray Maddie in the end
I mean we've already trusted the Grail system enough to spawn it in Paris and play out this war. We obviously think that we can forge a happy ending out of these legends reborn, that playing to this game will ever let us win, so why not trust Ruler as a manifestation of the Grail War? Plus it'll make it all the more dramatic when Ruler and the Grail War and the-War-as-an-allegory-for-French-society-and-the-rat-race all betray Maddie in the end
Cetashwayo
Lord of Ten Thousand Years
- Location
- Across the Horizon
[X] Constructivism.
- Location
- Texas
So, what was Plan A here?
It seems like this while system requires a power infusion from the Grail, which Ruler is capable of providing as overseer, in theory.
But no one knew Ruler was a thing that would happen.
So, what did Mad think was going to happen when the Cult set this up and she went to see her bud, the German master?
It seems like this while system requires a power infusion from the Grail, which Ruler is capable of providing as overseer, in theory.
But no one knew Ruler was a thing that would happen.
So, what did Mad think was going to happen when the Cult set this up and she went to see her bud, the German master?
AmaiKotori
Not quite pure enough.
[X] Constructivism. Make the active choice to entrust Ruler with the monitoring system.
Even without the potential benefits of trust, this seems the smaller risk.
Even without the potential benefits of trust, this seems the smaller risk.
- Location
- PA
[X] Constructivism. Make the active choice to entrust Ruler with the monitoring system.
We had a moment, where we saw how people in the past would act, and chose to be BETTER.
That is RARE, because more often then not the ancients have a clear view of the world and thus can apply wisdoms lost in the confusing and byzantine systems of today.
I'm not letting that slip through our fingers because of a moment of distrust.
We had a moment, where we saw how people in the past would act, and chose to be BETTER.
That is RARE, because more often then not the ancients have a clear view of the world and thus can apply wisdoms lost in the confusing and byzantine systems of today.
I'm not letting that slip through our fingers because of a moment of distrust.
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
They expected the Church to do it.
As overseers of the war, the Church would have had roughly the same authority as Ruler, although not all the same tools. The Cult and the Church made an agreement that the Church would enable the Phantom Engine. Then the Church's installment as overseers failed, and instead of communicating this to the Cult, they decided to switch tracks, enter the War as Masters, and try to take out their old enemy in an opening strike by luring them with the pretense of parley. When going in to these talks, Mademoiselle would have expected the Phantom Engine to be one of the main topics of discussion, and the evening to end with Mads taking them down to the room she's currently in so they could power it up.
The main reason it didn't come up within her internal monologue at the time was because
The main reason they failed was because their Servant was a poor fit for this kind of treachery and because Cardinal Beneventi himself couldn't resist the urge to deliver a dramatic monologue.
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Thank god the church didn't get queen Isabella of Spain because 1 she's basically a religious fanatic with large amounts of intelligence. 2 unlike louis IRL she was known be perfectly willing to use unconventional methods like establishing a proto NKVD ie the Spanish inquisition or doing pramatic evil stuff like outlawing slavery and giving the natives rights in order to make them more servile. She'd probably have a noble phantasm involving the spanish inquisition which would most likely be an auto-de-fe and one involving all the slaughter carried out by her name and commands in the americas so she probably would have a narrative advantage over versci since her very life was essentially breaking people like versci and destroying their culture
- Location
- France
[X] Constructivism. Make the active choice to entrust Ruler with the monitoring system.
Wait a minute. Large hidden rooms beneath Chatelet-les-Halles? The Cult is the reason we can't properly expand our RER station! How can you claim to serve France while obstructing our greatest achievement since the standardisation of the baguette tradition?!?
Wait a minute. Large hidden rooms beneath Chatelet-les-Halles? The Cult is the reason we can't properly expand our RER station! How can you claim to serve France while obstructing our greatest achievement since the standardisation of the baguette tradition?!?
Ah, Catholic priests. As always, foiled by their own tragic flaw!
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While also having one of the largest religions in the world and has survived including but not limited to Angry Romans,Roman political bullshit,The fall of Rome, multiple antipopes,french reveloutionaries,communists, socialists,Stalin, the enlightenment and napoleon so don't think that just because we beat the catholic church once that we can defeat them considering their entire organization is designed to survive and absorb anything that tries to kill it.
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Offensive realism. Lie and build the means of attack, at the risk of prompting escalation in return.
I trust our decisions to not bite us in the ass later
I trust our decisions to not bite us in the ass later
