Your botanists are astounded in amidst the more mundane herbal ingredients like lemon balm, and feverfew there is a previously unknown to science branch of the lotus family, neither of the extant Nelumbo lutea nor Nelumbo nucifera but sharing a root ancestry much closer to Nelumbo orientalis (thought extinct since the Cretaceous ).
Within its cellular membrane are luminous flecks, that defy easy scientific explanation - the raw stuff of magic 'Aetheric Effluvium' in a naturally occuring terrestrially occuring flora.
The concentrations are much lower than encountered in the conjoined Old Ones organ of power, but they are part of the plants native cellular structure and not some foreign contaminate. The miniscule samples isolated appear dessicated as if stored moisture free for decades.
When asked 'Mother' Yesheyan, at first is taken aback. Then she smiles a slow smile and a guilty shrug. "It is true, we the people of the Tiger's nest had access to a sacred black lotus, grown exclusively within the walls of the Monastery. What you found is a limited dwindling supply passed from my grandmother to my mother and then on to me. We have no live samples to cultivate, and no one has had success wakening the few seeds we possess we apparently have not the favor of the god's as did Guru Rinpoche the Lotus Born who planted the Temples plants.
I can't understate how important this lotus would be for our future efforts. A sustainable source of aetheric effluvium would be invaluable for our future magic research, even if it isn't a big source. Plus, it wouldn't be taken from the corpse of a dead otherworldly creature, but from something grown on our world.
"Ma'am, thank you for this gift. I swear to God, I'll do everything I can to see this lotus bloom, now and for many generations to come."
These seeds were their secret to keep and their treasure to protect, and she's giving them to us in good faith. We can't treat this gift lightly.
Oh, agreed. Even if the Admiral is elsewhere, and cannot express this. Speaking of which...
-----
As he retrieved his personal firearms from the communal Council gun locker, Admiral James Nixeu came to a sudden realization. Despite how well made his much-loved sawed-off shotgun and 9mm pistol were, bullets might not work, if he found himself up against the entities that had nearly wiped out the Powells family and their guards. There was, after all, that portable version of the PPR device that the missing Dr. Pretorius had potentially left with. Things could go pear-shaped rather fast, with that thing in play.
Obviously, there was evidence of tasers working on those entities, so he'd make sure to snag one of those from the armory on his way out. But he wanted some better options than a taser, with its limited range and poor rate-of-fire. Just in-case the sh*t really hit the fan. Which meant a trip to Logistics, as well as the Experimental Weapons Division. He vaguely recalled having spotted some boxes of those fancy, non-lethal, piezoelectric shock rounds in storage. He'd have to ask around, see where they ended up. Hopefully, those would do the trick. And, as a bonus, they would work exceptionally well at stopping human attackers.
And, in case those weren't enough, he figured some of his buddies in the EWD could hook him up with something of use. It'd probably be his last resort, though, in-case the bullets failed, since the shock rounds needed something solid to impact in order to produce electricity, unlike a taser, and thus might end up being as ineffective as normal rounds. Still, he would definitely need to be careful with whatever they gave him. Bleeding edge tech was generally called that for a reason, after all. "Teething issues" was usually a polite way of saying "potentially life threatening flaws", in the EWD.
The Admiral gave a final, long suffering sigh, closed the locker, and set off towards Logistics. Well, between the potential threat of monsters and Doc Brown's presence, at least things aren't likely to be boring, he thought to himself.
-----
As a side note, @Highwind, I vaguely recall you planning on assigning one of your guys to the investigation in Atlanta, in addition to the Admiral and Doc Brown? If so, who are you considering sending?
As a side note, @Highwind, I vaguely recall you planning on assigning one of your guys to the investigation in Atlanta, in addition to the Admiral and Doc Brown? If so, who are you considering sending?
I sent in a nameless BPR&D scientist to for the initial investigation. Of the four named characters I created for my omakes only Richard is anything close to a scientist. Glass wasn't my creation, and she's busy with Ms. Choi. Harrington is a Brigadier General, so he's got day-to-day Military stuff to oversee. Campbell and d'Aubigny are pretty much muscle with some knowledge they picked up over the last week, and I already brough Campbell with me as the just-in-case backup for the interview, so you're left with either Pvt. Anette d'Aubigny or with a random BPR&D researcher that you'll need to create.
I don't reccomend using d'Aubigny at all for now because I haven't fleshed out her personality all that much.
I sent in a nameless BPR&D scientist to for the initial investigation. Of the four named characters I created for my omakes only Richard is anything close to a scientist. Glass wasn't my creation, and she's busy with Ms. Choi. Harrington is a Brigadier General, so he's got day-to-day Military stuff to oversee. Campbell and d'Aubigny are pretty much muscle with some knowledge they picked up over the last week, and I already brough Campbell with me as the just-in-case backup for the interview, so you're left with either Pvt. Anette d'Aubigny or with a random BPR&D researcher that you'll need to create.
I don't reccomend using d'Aubigny at all for now because I haven't fleshed out her personality all that much.
I can work with making up a scientist, if you're up for potentially using them in the future. Otherwise, they can just go nameless.
Note, I may copy Smith a bit and steal the name from a character from movie. In fact...I think I have an idea already. Would you mind terribly having an amalgam of Dan Aykroyd's character from Ghostbusters and his real-life self on staff? Dan Aykroyd is actually quite into the paranormal IRL, in case you weren't aware.
I can work with making up a scientist, if you're up for potentially using them in the future. Otherwise, they can just go nameless.
Note, I may copy Smith a bit and steal the name from a character from movie. In fact...I think I have an idea already. Would you mind terribly having an amalgam of Dan Aykroyd's character from Ghostbusters and his real-life self on staff? Dan Aykroyd is actually quite into the paranormal IRL, in case you weren't aware.
EWD listens to Councillor Nixeu's concerns, they provide several tools they think appropriate for the job.
(2) machete sized shock prods designed for your capture teams (designed to shock not only along the tip but also along the 'truncheons' edge. Designed to act as an incapacitating stun for cattle sized beasts; extreme caution is urged in handling, human contact -shouldn't- be lethal, but is not advised.) (At casual glance they appear as a metallic police truncheon with a rubber grip, potential current is initiated by squeezing the grip 'firmly')
(2) Kel-Tech KSG 'bullpup' Shotguns (7 piezoelectric shock rounds in first magazine tube + 7 standard scatter shot in the second magazine tube. Allows for ammo switch on the fly). For picatinny rail accessories it has a laser pointer (set for ballistics of piezo rounds at >5 m distance )and an underslung maglite whose beam matches shotshell shot group at 5m range.
After some minor wheedling from Councillor Nixeu convinces EWD to allow the 'loan' of the man-portable DEW - Laser prototype (a proof of concept model left lying around from the DEW-Superheavy research, it bears the same concept of shot power & efficiency being tied to charge time between shots, it has a bulky backpack power supply, and has quite limited energy.
It is also extremely obvious, and looks rather intimidating. (the EWD geeks without a project tend to tinker with case modding. This weapon has been modded with gratuitous LEDs and speakers to 'enhance' the badassitude by making the powering up as lethal looking and sounding as some bored fanboys could imagine without actually disrupting function.)
The train ride to Atlanta is both smooth and quick, Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz spends most of the trip chatting up Doc Brown explaining his interest in unusual cases, his recent investment in an occult bookstore, and how he had personally witnessed and helped document an unexplained mass sea sponge migration off the coast.
With Waldo Kim radioing ahead as your Liaison, there is a police tactical van & 2 uniformed officers put at your disposal upon your arrival.
They know the way to Tillinghast's lab and will act as local law enforcement should you find hard evidence implicating one of their citizens in the deaths.
Atlanta as a political entity cannot allow a foreign power (no matter how close an ally) to seize their citizens without due process. Otherwise the police are to act merely as chauffeur and guides staying with the vehicle unless you request otherwise.
Georgia State University's Parker H. Petit Science Center is where Tillinghast maintains lab space.
-------------------------------------------------
Please before entering building explain 'force distribution' , as I said before how visibly aggressive your posture is will impact interviewee's perception and responses.
After some minor wheedling from Councillor Nixeu convinces EWD to allow the 'loan' of the man-portable DEW - Laser prototype (a proof of concept model left lying around from the DEW-Superheavy research, it bears the same concept of shot power & efficiency being tied to charge time between shots, it has a bulky backpack power supply, and has quite limited energy.
It is also extremely obvious, and looks rather intimidating. (the EWD geeks without a project tend to tinker with case modding. This weapon has been modded with gratuitous LEDs and speakers to 'enhance' the badassitude by making the powering up as lethal looking and sounding as some bored fanboys could imagine without actually disrupting function.)
I'm thinking we leave that in the car for the moment. I put low odds on encountering anything with Tillinghast, and the stun batons should work alright for our purposes.
With Waldo Kim radioing ahead as your Liaison, there is a police tactical van & 2 uniformed officers put at your disposal upon your arrival.
They know the way to Tillinghast's lab and will act as local law enforcement should you find hard evidence implicating one of their citizens in the deaths.
Atlanta as a political entity cannot allow a foreign power (no matter how close an ally) to seize their citizens without due process. Otherwise the police are to act merely as chauffeur and guides staying with the vehicle unless you request otherwise.
Hadn't thought of that, but that's definitely something we need to consided getting solid rules on in the near future. Having to operate on Interpol-type rules while in Atlanta territory may end up being an issue at some point. I feel like Atlanta should be more like "another state" than "another country".
Please before entering building explain 'force distribution' , as I said before how visibly aggressive your posture is will impact interviewee's perception and responses.
Myself and the Doctors, weapons concealed (just pistol and baton for me, if the shotgun isn't easily concealed, and the rounds don't fit my sawed-off), stance friendly, if, at least on my part, somber. People have died, even if it was a result of their own choice to ignore safety warnings, and a possible supernatural weapon is unaccounted for.
(OOC) Ty @Nixeu , it is so much easier to write up these blurbs with tone set by the relevant player.
Shock Rounds will chamber in any standard 12 G, (please give me a brief physical description. IE, is it a single or double barrel? side-by-side or over/under? If your sawn off is a pump then the Kel-Tech is rather smallish considering its payload (26.1" overall & slings like an SMG).
It is assumed if a sawed off is standard fare then it will have a holster, Being in military garb your eccentric 'going heavy' appearance (visibly armed) can be chocked up to you being on war footing elsewhere (Common knowledge in Atlanta). Tillinghast has worked with military oversight before and is aware of 'some' officers eccentricities.
The fact no mention of arms on your science team makes me think standard lab coat (Doc Brown) or business casual of a tenured professor (Ray Stantz) with maybe a briefcase with some tech equipment or sampling paraphernalia. Sound about accurate??
(Edit: I fully understand NOT equipping either of these two; mega-volt shock rods - "what's the worst that could happen..." )
Shock Rounds will chamber in any standard 12 G, (please give me a brief physical description. IE, is it a single or double barrel? side-by-side or over/under? If your sawn off is a pump then the Kel-Tech is rather smallish considering its payload (26.1" overall & slings like an SMG).
Now that you ask...I think I like over-under, double barrel. Am undecided on pump or not. I was reminded of the Sturdy Caravan Shotgun that really carried me in the early days of my Fallout New Vegas game, so I'm thinking not.
It is assumed if a sawed off is standard fare then it will have a holster, Being in military garb your eccentric 'going heavy' appearance (visibly armed) can be chocked up to you being on war footing elsewhere (Common knowledge in Atlanta). Tillinghast has worked with military oversight before and is aware of 'some' officers eccentricities.
Indeed. I was considering going with slightly less remarkable clothing, perhaps something like a bomber jacket, but official garb fits this meeting better. So, yeah, visible pistol and shotgun in holsters is pretty much required in that case. A big enough coat could conceal a shotgun under the right circumstances, but, in this scenario, that seems contraindicated.
The fact no mention of arms on your science team makes me think standard lab coat (Doc Brown) or business casual of a tenured professor (Ray Stantz) with maybe a briefcase with some tech equipment or sampling paraphernalia. Sound about accurate??
(Edit: I fully understand NOT equipping either of these two; mega-volt shock rods - "what's the worst that could happen..." )
Yeah...mostly, I don't think it's needed for the moment. Tillinghast is unlikely to have one of these devices lying around. Now, if we go after Pretorius, I may end up giving them something to protect themselves.
And I think Ray would be a natural with the DEW. You did say it had a power pack that would go on the back, right?
The lab space is spacious, well appointed, and has an abundance of equipment for the measurement of a good portion of the EM spectrum with a heavy leaning towards the non-visible/non-audible spectrums of light and sound (and more specifically the biological effects on the human nervous system of things beyond our normal perception range).
Strangely, the lab has an overabundance of small pet kennels containing felines of every breed and stripe scattered strategically around. Leaving a kennel nearly within arms reach of any point in the lab.
Crawford meets you at the entrance, his excitement evident even through a thin veneer of solemnity. But his attention is split almost evenly between you and him scanning the visages of the closest cat.
"I am happy to be of any assistance I can, but I had repeatedly warned the purchasers about using the machine on only the lowest of settings. I'm certain I hold no -legal- liability, but I've not slept well since hearing of the incident.
I do feel a certain remorse for not taking the time and physically hobbling the machine by installing a different setting switch with no easy access to the higher functions, but only with the proceeds from an immediate sale was I able to retain my lab, equipment, and continue research along tangential lines of inquiry.
Now that I've secured some angel investors to continue, I'd be happy to reacquire the device if any heirs are willing to part with it at a small loss on my part.
There are quite a few useful subcomponents, and I could disassemble that beastly machine of Praetorius's once and for all."
He grimaces, "That came out a lot more callous and mercenary than I had intended." He sighs, "Let me show you *WHY* I'm so eager to see that machine deconstructed."
He fumbles to slot a dvd in a nearby computer.
"I assure you this is not some CGI trickery, we have documented life beyond our five limited senses, Praetorius named them 'Desh' after the mythical beast of legendary Hyperborea; though if that connection is actually real or just an apt metaphor is for scholars of history, biology, and archeology to decide.
We recorded them remotely, as direct observation proved hazardous, an intern lost a finger. They have senses we don't have words for, but Praetorius posited they operated by co-opting the awareness and senses of potential prey psionically ; and of all our senses stolen it was most commonly sight.
Like a child playing peek-a-boo if you covered your eyes; they lost track of you and acted blind, no evidence of native sight organs exist in any of the myriad samples we encountered.
They are more native to the ultraviolet end of our spectrum whereas we inhabit closer to the infrared end. We co-habitate the same spaces oblivious of each other's existence, and although the smallest and most numerous are benign. The larger are fierce and voracious in appetite. We called them Ultraviolet Devourers."
The tape starts with the Praetorius device in the background whining just on the edge of hearing, emanating a sickly violet radiance that causes the eyes to water slightly. The primary focus of the camera is on an empty open expanse of floor lying before the device.
Suddenly with no transition a creature the size of a finger wriggles into existence swimming awkwardly thru the air as if swimming in a liquid. It is joined just as suddenly by a half dozen others of similar size, darting after dust motes, and gambling playfully around each other.
Larger balls of tentacles join the dance, the size of a closed fist. It stretches out in all directions as if drawing in the strange radiance of the machine like a sunflower turning towards sunlight.
Most of them suddenly bolt away nervously when joined by a bulbous, head sized semi-inflated balloon glowing mauvely as streamers of gas coruscate within its inky flesh. It radiates thin, finger-like tentacles lined with barbed cartilaginous hooks alongside its many longitudinal mouths.
Against prey of the smaller sort, the jellyfish-thing mouths opens and shuts with a slurping snap, swallowing them whole.
Against slower chunky fist sized entities, it spreads its feelers wide and floats in almost gingerly, its heliotrope-petal mouths smacking as the feeding-hooks strain for contact.
The Jellyfish thing radiance increases slightly with each morsel devoured, and a dust is casually sloughed away, the residual organic components, all that remains as a disintegration style digestion occurs.
The tape cuts away again repeating the theme of smaller innocent seeming prey and the eventual appearance of an apex predator.
This time it is a thing built of mantises, anglerfish and piranhas, with no regard for gravity; tendrils and stalks trail off of it, and wide spiral mouths gape open filled with jointed fingery teeth designed to grab and pull victims within.
Some of the tendrils flicker or bend when they detect other presences, like a catfishes whiskers do. It has no visible eyes, but parts of its translucent, phosphorescent flesh thicken and bloats around gland-shaped objects in its skull.
The theme continues this time a flopping, dangling eel made of whirling disks of varying thicknesses, some so gossamer thin they resemble spinning spider webs. But they rotate with such frenzied speed that they must surely liquefy any solid meat they should intersect, and the bluish-purple sparks they throw off would surely sting like dragonfly bites.
"Their evolution is alien, but it approximates our own, big fish eats little fish, biggest fish eats everything it catches.
At one point in our earliest evolution, we must have shared awareness.
Apparently our defensive adaptation was to allow the sensory organelle, our pineal gland to go dormant as this is a case of 'only the danger we knew of could eat us'.
Cats on the other hand retain full awareness and can see ultraviolet life, that is why they appear to stare intently at nothing at all from time to time, but they as a species resonate slightly out of phase and so mostly remain invisible to the devourers.
I cannot unsee what I've seen... and I'll be damned if I'm ever present when any iteration of that machine is on.
I still can't stop worrying there is a species out there we never managed to document.
One who sees us just fine across the gulf, the cats would recognize such a hazard... And I for one want a large head start."
Stolen almost whole cloth from : Trail of Cthulhu, Pelgrane Press Ltd "Foul Congeries 1"
(OOC) I apologize, I've had Tillinghast's interview pre-written and did not see how to include any appropriate (Doc Brown/Ray) responses on the fly, Tillinghast is a font of other extremely useful research concepts (in this field of study) but his knowledge of the Desh and the resonator are limited pretty closely to the info shared ( that is not to say additional conversations can't/won't bear valuable fruit, merely that this line of inquiry is near exhausted.)
Edit: The resonator is a hybrid machine generating BOTH infrasound and multiple spectrums of ultraviolet light radiations to stimulate resonances in the nervous system of beings in proximity.
We recorded them remotely, as direct observation proved hazardous, an intern lost a finger. They have senses we don't have words for, but Praetorius posited they operated by co-opting the awareness and senses of potential prey psionically ; and of all our senses stolen it was most commonly sight.
"This is a vital question: is there any possible way the device itself might disable video recording for a period of time at higher levels? Clearly, it doesn't always disable recording software, if you were able to record these beings. But I doubt you turned the power all the way up during these experiments, seeing as you only had one minor injury.
"I ask because we completely lack footage from the CCTV security cams during time the device was active. If that wasn't a side effect of the device...then we may no longer be looking at an accident, here. It may, in-fact, have been deliberate, mass homicide. Which then leads to other questions, like what the motive might have been."
"A couple other important questions: do you know how the Powell family learned of your device? And was there any investigation into where, exactly Pretorius departed for? Because, if this was deliberate, I suspect either himself, or one of the interns aware of what the device could do, would have to have been involved. Speaking of which, we're probably also going to want the names of those interns."
Edit: Is anyone else hearing their mental "Charleston may be involved" alarms going off, or is that just me?
Tillinghast is a bit perplexed, "It could only potentially bleed over and act as interference at its highest setting, and then only as ghosting or snow on the monitor, not a total blackout on a non-broadcast CCTV system.
The FCC used to be big about shielding electronics to prevent casual interference between devices, to totally black out a closed system? What your talking about sounds like intentional sabotage..."
As to how the Powells gaining knowledge of the devices sale? I needed cash, I paid to have my willingness to sell off various lab equipment we'd gathered bandied about Atlanta's market. I figured the sensors, monitors, or something with broader applications would go first and the resonator was going to be an Albatross I couldn't recoup money on.
I was surprised as hell when someone bit hard at the Praetorius Resonator, I assumed a criminal element was involved, to enhance their sex trade."
Ray chimes in. "What was the impetus of the psychosexual reaction? I'm betting it was something regarding infrasound in the 1/2 Hz range stuff, idea patented by Hendricus G. Loos under the auspiciouses of the CIA's 'Subliminal acoustic manipulation of nervous systems' some real MK Ultra shit."
Tillinghast nods emphatically " You know of Loos work? We had found that infrasound stimuli was insufficient in and of itself, but when you add stimulation of the optic nerves with certain wavelengths of light as well you could cause a cascading resonance across the entirety of the human nervous system."
Doc Brown raises an eyebrow, and speaks mostly to himself; "Leary and Alpert, now those were REAL pioneers..."
Tillinghast is better at remaining on point than either Stantz or Doc Brown and continues answering Councillors Nixeus queries.
Praetorius where abouts are a complete mystery I'm afraid, he left me in quite a lurch. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a hand in an event with the machine wide open just to satisfy his curiosity... he didn't want to experience a devourer first hand and he had no data on how area of effect would scale at full power, we had projections of course but strange anomalies of field interactions abounded once it came to practical application.
Towards the end there were no 'real' interns left just his groupies, and good luck finding records of their names.
I can offer you one of Praetorius's incomplete Journals he left behind, but it is barely legible, I truly question his sanity near the end."
When given enough scrutiny it reads:
"What do we know of the world and the universe about us? Our means of receiving impressions are absurdly few, and our notions of surrounding objects infinitely narrow. We see things only as we are constructed to see them, and can gain no idea of their absolute nature. With five feeble senses we pretend to comprehend the boundlessly complex cosmos, yet other beings with wider, stronger, or different range of senses might not only see very differently the things we see, but might see and study whole worlds of matter, energy, and life which lie close at hand yet can never be detected with the senses we have.
I have always believed that such strange, inaccessible worlds exist at our very elbows, and now I believe I have found a way to break down the barriers. I am not joking. Within twenty-four hours that machine near the table will generate waves acting on unrecognized sense organs that exist in us as atrophied or rudimentary vestiges.
Those waves will open up to us many vistas unknown to man and several unknown to anything we consider organic life.
We shall see that at which dogs howl in the dark, and that at which cats prick up their ears after midnight. We shall see these things, and other things which no breathing creature has yet seen.
We shall overleap time, space, and dimensions, and without bodily motion peer to the bottom of creation."
A later entry is written in block letters, almost as if the use of cursive now eludes him
"THINGS ARE HUNTING ME NOW — THE THINGS THAT DEVOUR AND DISSOLVE — BUT I KNOW HOW TO ELUDE THEM. … MY PETS ARE
NOT PRETTY, FOR THEY COME OUT OF PLACES WHERE AESTHETIC STANDARDS ARE – VERY DIFFERENT. DISINTEGRATION IS QUITE PAINLESS, I ASSURE YOU — BUT I WANT YOU TO SEE THEM. I ALMOST SAW THEM, BUT I KNEW HOW TO STOP."
(ooc)Accreditation - A good portion of the Praetorius journal, is lifted straight from "From Beyond" by Lovecraft, originally Lovecraft had Tillinghast serving as the Madman of the Story, I substituted Praetorius a character from the film adaptation as the boogeyman instead. Apparently Tillinghast gets a pass in this AU.
"THINGS ARE HUNTING ME NOW — THE THINGS THAT DEVOUR AND DISSOLVE — BUT I KNOW HOW TO ELUDE THEM. … MY PETS ARE
NOT PRETTY, FOR THEY COME OUT OF PLACES WHERE AESTHETIC STANDARDS ARE – VERY DIFFERENT. DISINTEGRATION IS QUITE PAINLESS, I ASSURE YOU — BUT I WANT YOU TO SEE THEM. I ALMOST SAW THEM, BUT I KNEW HOW TO STOP."
Tillinghast is a bit perplexed, "It could only potentially bleed over and act as interference at its highest setting, and then only as ghosting or snow on the monitor, not a total blackout on a non-broadcast CCTV system.
The FCC used to be big about shielding electronics to prevent casual interference between devices, to totally black out a closed system? What your talking about sounds like intentional sabotage..."
Praetorius where abouts are a complete mystery I'm afraid, he left me in quite a lurch. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a hand in an event with the machine wide open just to satisfy his curiosity... he didn't want to experience a devourer first hand and he had no data on how area of effect would scale at full power, we had projections of course but strange anomalies of field interactions abounded once it came to practical application.
"Do you know if there was an investigation on the subject? If not, I'll have to see about having Atlanta's police look into this. If he's hiding out somewhere in their territory, or ours, fine. But I'm somewhat worried that he went to Charleston. If so...that device could make for a hell of a terror weapon."
"Thank you for your help in this matter. While I do understand that you've now acquired some investors, we're probably going to be researching this tech ourselves over in Savannah, at least partially to try and figure out defenses against such beings. I'd be more than happy to have you join us in that endeavor. As Doctor Brown can attest, we look after our experts quite well...even when they commit misdemeanors due to excessive enthusiasm. Given the high level of danger these Desh might pose, research into them may end up having a fairly high priority."
"Even if you don't join us, though, I expect our researchers on the subject will want to correspond with you on the matter, so I'd like to have your contact information, please. I'll leave you with my contact information, as well as the contact information for Councilor Highwind. Amongst other things, he's our expert on matters Hyperborean, as well as the head of our Paranormal Research. He might actually be able to figure out if these entities really are those ancient Desh or not. He'd have been present today, but I'm afraid he had other matters to attend to. You have heard about that 'casting call' we sent out? Investigating the leads that turned up has kept him busy, so I figured I'd do this one for him, lessen his workload a little."
"One last thing. There was mention in the documents I read before coming here of incomplete plans for a portable version of the device. Would you mind terribly if we copied those, or at least took a look at them? I'd like to get an idea what such a device would look like. Knowing that might end up being vital to saving lives."
Not really my concern. I meant that I suspect Charleston of being the ones who had the Device turned up to full-blast and stole/erased the footage, and that Pretorius may have fled with that handheld version of his Device to their territory. If he did go bonkers, and possibly join up with the Great Old Ones, that's the natural place for him to run to.
That whole mess at the Powell's might have been an experiment...and it might equally have been something of a terror attack. Think about it: a weapon that wiped out nearly an entire estate almost silently, and summons monsters that can dissolve a person whole. That's scary as hell. A portable version is even worse. The sooner we can figure out safeguards against something like that, the better.
(OOC) Sister in law's b-day today, will have to jump out and attend festivities. Hope to have a write-up in this evening tying up Atlanta investigation.
I hope these small scenes for the casting call have been an entertaining world building exercise, I promise we'll return to the tried and true Giant robot kicking butt shortly and it will be more MOTW than marathon this time.
"Thank you for your help in this matter. While I do understand that you've now acquired some investors, we're probably going to be researching this tech ourselves over in Savannah, at least partially to try and figure out defenses against such beings. I'd be more than happy to have you join us in that endeavor. As Doctor Brown can attest, we look after our experts quite well...even when they commit misdemeanors due to excessive enthusiasm. Given the high level of danger these Desh might pose, research into them may end up having a fairly high priority."
Tillinghast chuckles "Civilian investors are always an iffy proposition, I'd prefer a government as a backer every time, at least you know the checks will clear. And if I'm going to do -ANY- research adjacent to mine and Praetorius research, I'd feel safer with a large quantity of heavily armed men in proximity... that and some understanding regarding my feline early warning system.
"Even if you don't join us, though, I expect our researchers on the subject will want to correspond with you on the matter, so I'd like to have your contact information, please. I'll leave you with my contact information, as well as the contact information for Councilor Highwind. Amongst other things, he's our expert on matters Hyperborean, as well as the head of our Paranormal Research. He might actually be able to figure out if these entities really are those ancient Desh or not. He'd have been present today, but I'm afraid he had other matters to attend to. You have heard about that 'casting call' we sent out? Investigating the leads that turned up has kept him busy, so I figured I'd do this one for him, lessen his workload a little."
"Yes, I caught word of the Casting Call. I once thought of magic as hokum, But I've witnessed a multi-story Golem carrying a Rabbi marching out to slap around Kaiju." He shrugs "When basic laws of physics such as square-cube law are violated with impunity, a wise scientist has to re-examine our preconceptions of what remains true."
"One last thing. There was mention in the documents I read before coming here of incomplete plans for a portable version of the device. Would you mind terribly if we copied those, or at least took a look at them? I'd like to get an idea what such a device would look like. Knowing that might end up being vital to saving lives."
"Praetorius had some rough sketches for a small device designed for low scale emissions, his 'party favor' for personal use, but he was terrified of the devourers I doubt his was worthy of 'weaponization', the power supply would be far too small. By all means you putting me on the payroll gains you access to any and all of the data I possess."
I'll have to see about having Atlanta's police look into this. If he's hiding out somewhere in their territory, or ours, fine. But I'm somewhat worried that he went to Charleston. If so...that device could make for a hell of a terror weapon."
The wheels of government 'usually' turn slowly, but it is remarkable how quickly Atlanta's police force turn up some results only a few days after the request. In part it is a testament to how seriously they take Savannah requests, but the additional threat of a mentally unstable man within their borders with an indiscriminate terror weapon grabs them by the collar.
No sign of Praetorius or the groupies still exist within their borders, but the Atlanta Commodity market is under constant video surveillance, and upon review of the tapes a Praetorius associate is witnessed having tampered with the resonator, placing a false label on the selector switch a label that names low as high and high as low. The Powells are victims of intentional sabotage without a doubt.
It is assumed that some person or persons unknown removed the false label and tampered with the CCTV footage after the carnage to cover their tracks and lay the blame at the Powells feet, as victims of incompetence.
Tillinghast chuckles "Civilian investors are always an iffy proposition, I'd prefer a government as a backer every time, at least you know the checks will clear. And if I'm going to do -ANY- research adjacent to mine and Praetorius research, I'd feel safer with a large quantity of heavily armed men in proximity... that and some understanding regarding my feline early warning system.
"Oh, believe me, the cats are more than within the realms of what we're willing to put up with when it comes to odd quirks in our researchers. The explanation of their purpose should be more than enough to get the guards to understand why they're there. Welcome aboard, Doctor."
"Praetorius had some rough sketches for a small device designed for low scale emissions, his 'party favor' for personal use, but he was terrified of the devourers I doubt his was worthy of 'weaponization', the power supply would be far too small. By all means you putting me on the payroll gains you access to any and all of the data I possess."
"Good to know, though I wouldn't put it past, say, Charleston, to try and develop something portable with a large enough power supply to cause some havoc. Which is where I'm concerned he might have gone off to. As such, I'm thinking we'll have to figure out countermeasures. Beyond things like shock rounds, taser batons, and DEWs with large power sources, I mean."
The wheels of government 'usually' turn slowly, but it is remarkable how quickly Atlanta's police force turn up some results only a few days after the request. In part it is a testament to how seriously they take Savannah requests, but the additional threat of a mentally unstable man within their borders with an indiscriminate terror weapon grabs them by the collar.
No sign of Praetorius or the groupies still exist within their borders, but the Atlanta Commodity market is under constant video surveillance, and upon review of the tapes a Praetorius associate is witnessed having tampered with the resonator, placing a false label on the selector switch a label that names low as high and high as low. The Powells are victims of intentional sabotage without a doubt.
It is assumed that some person or persons unknown removed the false label and tampered with the CCTV footage after the carnage to cover their tracks and lay the blame at the Powells feet, as victims of incompetence.
Concerning, but ultimately a dead-end. I'd say we should put out a bounty on Pretorius and known groupies/a reward for information leading to their arrest, see what comes up. Maybe take a close look at our own CCTV footage in the general vicinity of the Powell's home, see if we can ID anyone linked to Pretorius. They must have been watching the place, waiting for the device to be activated, to have acted that quickly when the device went live, then dead. Might be able to find signs of their activity in our territory, too.
"Oh, believe me, the cats are more than within the realms of what we're willing to put up with when it comes to odd quirks in our researchers. The explanation of their purpose should be more than enough to get the guards to understand why they're there. Welcome aboard, Doctor."
They wouldn't be much of a hassle if they can serve as a warning system. They're way higher maintenance than a canary but if it works and can keep people safe from invisible horrors then I doubt anyone will make a fuss aside from those allergic to cats. Hell, we can just call it "on-site kitten therapy" and stick it in the list of employee benefits.
Good to know, though I wouldn't put it past, say, Charleston, to try and develop something portable with a large enough power supply to cause some havoc. Which is where I'm concerned he might have gone off to. As such, I'm thinking we'll have to figure out countermeasures. Beyond things like shock rounds, taser batons, and DEWs with large power sources, I mean."
The first countermeasure that comes to mind is an electric barrier of some kind. And since we know a few things that attract them we can probably find ways to repel them or lure them somewhere they're less likely to kill people. And since they can only interact with us when we see them, we can try the same Reverse Voorish Sign trick Sammael used.
"Good to know, though I wouldn't put it past, say, Charleston, to try and develop something portable with a large enough power supply to cause some havoc. Which is where I'm concerned he might have gone off to. As such, I'm thinking we'll have to figure out countermeasures. Beyond things like shock rounds, taser batons, and DEWs with large power sources, I mean."
Tillinghast thoughtfully looks up, you can almost see inspiration flash in his eyes.
"Active noise reduction, Sound is a pressure wave, which consists of alternating periods of compression and rarefaction. A noise-cancellation speaker to emit a sound wave with the same amplitude but with inverted phase (also known as antiphase) to the original sound. The waves combine to form a new wave, in a process called interference, and effectively cancel each other out – an effect which is called destructive interference. The Resonator has a very narrow range that affect the pineal... the trick would be designing as system that can listen within that range and self adjusts to match amplitude on the fly."
Suddenly Commissioner Nixeu is buried in an avalanche of geek speak as Stantz, Brown, & Tillinghast dominate the conversation with a back and forth of scientific techno-jargon. The eventual consensus is it is -possible- but would require considerable additional research including field testing versus a 'live' generator.
Concerning, but ultimately a dead-end. I'd say we should put out a bounty on Pretorius and known groupies/a reward for information leading to their arrest, see what comes up. Maybe take a close look at our own CCTV footage in the general vicinity of the Powell's home, see if we can ID anyone linked to Pretorius. They must have been watching the place, waiting for the device to be activated, to have acted that quickly when the device went live, then dead. Might be able to find signs of their activity in our territory, too.
Suddenly and with minimal time to respond, Savannahs sensors (normally effective only out to a range of 30 miles) Pick up a high atmosphere anomaly a hundred miles out due to the intensity of the signature, an intensive Neuatopic radiation source and an accompanying electrical tempest. It is coming from due south in the skies above the ocean, luckily the projected flight path runs to the northwest missing Savannah by at least 50 miles.
It matches records of the low earth orbital Category V Kaiju 'Apocalypse' , and even at these distances comms become garbled and unusable, the megastorm that accompanies it tests the resilience of your new power grid with record breaking lightning strikes. (It holds, but some electrical towers not on your grid are affected by lightning strikes the same as a Bennett pinch , Visually the towers bow inward as if grabbed and crushed by a giant hand and some of the metals with lower melting points show evidence of them dripping like molten wax.
Sensors flicker and stutter, 'Apocalypse' mass has increased threefold since the initial breach readings. The speed of its approach and immediate departure was supersonic. The turbulence and shockwaves had such a passage been done in atmosphere, it would have been catastrophic.
A small (when compared to 'Apocalypse') object detaches and falls to earth along the flight trajectory , but with the spotty sensors it is near impossible to determine an exact impact point... Merely a vague direction, 50-70 +/- miles to the northwest (The object is only a momentary blip as it outside normal sensor range and was only visible with the contrast of 'Apocalypse' bulk as a background.)
If you want to deploy troops to attempt to locate whatever fell to earth that is reasonable, it is outside Savannah's sphere of influence (30 mile) and even beyond your current comms range (45 mile) the object is somewhere to the NW 50-75 miles (if Wadely were a current city with its own stats it might fall in their sphere of influence) but your chain of comms is still reliant on soldiers in the field acting as word of mouth 'relays' and not a continuously forwarded signal.
'Apocalypse' did a fly-by, maintaining L.O.E. so there is no 'battlefield' to speak of and being beyond sensor AND comms intel is non-existent on conditions in the potential ground zero impact circle. The uncontrolled electrical output is part of 'Apocalypse's' unique biology and follows him, the local weather is more turbulent than before his passage with cloud to cloud and cloud to ground strikes a possibility as weather patterns try to normalize after being supercharged.
Your gut tells you whatever fell to earth can not be a happy thing, but how serious you treat it is entirely your call. I can tell you this IS NOT your Monster of the week encounter, that is as much info as you'll garner without some sort of intel gathering...
