SOLVED Fragment Eleven: Durkonos

[Marty.60]

This is my tried and true method of prying a source without seeming like I’m prying a source. There are one of two kinds of people in a whistle blowing situation…

Forthcoming, which is possible since they’re already discussing their feelings of injustice at the thought of what KS is doing. Obviously much more open to scrutiny and tough questions.

Then there’s Withholding, which are people who are scared of the company’s power, or feeling like they might incriminate themselves as well. In that case they’ll take comfort in the fact that I’m not asking incriminating questions about them, only the company we collectively want to expose. They’ll open up knowing we’re not looking at them suspiciously, even if we are in the long run.

Best to throw softballs at the start until we figure out who we’re dealing with. Earn their trust either way.

Does 117-2 sound familiar?

Does Project Sweeper or Wanderer sound familiar?

Have you ever encountered a young girl there? Possibly by the name Portencia?

Is there any way to safely share internal files?

Do you have a specific field of expertise?

Are the names Kendrick or Theodore Fallon familiar to you?

What is the workplace atmosphere? Are employees encouraged to collaborate, or socialize, or are they more strict about restricting opportunities for employees to potentially “overshare?”

Do you know anything about the history of the company? A company mission statement, history of executives, what your supervisor’s name is?

Would it be possible to safely record what you experience before the details start feeling unimportant?

[Deyavi]

If they had taken someone like Climber in the past, with knowledge of generations at their disposal, and managed to break that person…

I wonder if all of their gifts are hereditary. Teddy’s comments about what they’d done to Portencia’s “fathers” and how it was passed down from her bio dad makes me think they might have a… list? Directory? A program tracking potential persons, or families, where gifts might present themselves. And they watch for certain factors that might indicate a Magiqal ability.

Teddy also talked about “a storm coming to their little corner of the world” makes me think that, perhaps, The Storm that Augie mentioned may be the very same thing, the hand manipulating the puppet, but that KS isn’t it’s sole branch in the world or even its most important.

[Marty.60]

Agreed. I don’t want to overplay our hand, but this reeks of the tip of an iceberg. I don’t think we have any idea how deep this rabbit hole goes. KS could be one arm of many. Any corrupt entity with power knows only fools consolidate it. The truly corrupt spread it around. That way the good guys spend their lives cutting off the buds while the roots get deeper and deeper.

[Deyavi]

@Marty.60, you are a genius. Are you sure you’ve never worked as a military interrogator in a past life?

I think this list is just enough to maybe get us somewhere, without spooking him, or leading him too much.

Also reduces the risk of being led too far off course ourselves if he’s interfered with, somehow.

[Marty.60]

Okay. If we all say aye I’ll send over with a brief precursor.

[Kingsington]

That’s a yes from me.

[Revenir]

Sounds good to me. I’m dying to hear what this person says.

[Augustus_Octavian]

Agreed.

[Marty.60]

Sent. Will let you know if I hear back.

[Brit]

Awesome work @Marty.60!

[Deyavi]

Reading more in Teddy’s notes about Wanderer makes me think they’re using the harnessed gifts of an adept to… erase people. Possibly send them into another world? Another timeline? It’s his use of the word “unhook” that gets me.

If they used Magiq to send people away, erasing some sense of who they are (hypothetically), it would be an alternate way of dealing with potential issues.

Perhaps Wanderer was an adept with trans-dimensional abilities. And that, with the implication that time itself is a fourth dimension we are capable of traversing.

He said that none of it could be proven. If they’re forcefully transplanting people across space-time with Magiq, then they may have no idea what they’ve actually done.

[Revenir]

You know, I think this is an excellent theory.

It’s interesting to me that Teddy notes that Wanderer’s results haven’t been confirmed. They have clear numbers on Sweeper on how well it works, but “we have no clear overview of its effectiveness, or consequences.” It feels like it’s too uncertain to be some kind of program or machine. And given he mentions “that she died for a cause” and “I hope I can do better by him than I did by her,” I think you’re spot on with this Wanderer being a former test subject.

[Deyavi]

The way his entries about the adepts read, it’s like they’re trying to perform surgery, blind, with a pickaxe and a saw. Teddy gives me the impression that his level of background knowledge is incredibly unusual among the employees of KS.

[Furia]

It seems like “Sweeper” Isn’t a machine, Something much worse, like a glob of souls somewhat like a forced fusion From Steven Universe, If they are putting the bodies in another dimension, Have they taken their Powers? And sent them to a dimension where they can not do anything, And more powers the stronger Sweeper gets, Maybe they test the Persons power then puts it inti the machine then Unhooks them? Or then they erase their memories of having any powers to start with then set them free? That’s just a theory though

[Revenir]

Ha, I love this imagery. I feel like the whole mind erasing their own employees thing is gonna come back to bite them eventually. Maybe with a little help from us.

[Deyavi]

I think, aside from this new gentleman… Teddy is their weak link, in a way. He wants to use a “gentle touch” and funnel their gifts into creative endeavors to accomplish their mission. He feels emotion when the adepts they use as test subjects are wounded, emotionally or otherwise. He wants to “make the world a better place” and he thinks adepts are miracles. He feels remorse. While everyone else is chasing power, he seeks knowledge.

I still think he’s despicable.

He knows about us, but he chooses to stay with KS. He’s probably more familiar with our history than we are. He could find us, but he opts to allow the torture of children instead.

His “better” isn’t better for everyone.

An ugly part of me wants to deal him one for one.

[Deyavi]

That aside, though… I think you’re damn right. All Magiq has consequences, and if they’re doing what I think they are… this ain’t gonna be a slow dance in the moonlight

[Marty.60]

They wrote back:

Does 117-2 sound familiar?

That’s a security designation within the company. The first is the employee number, and the second number is security clearance level. This would belong to someone pretty high up. Have you been investigating someone inside? How?

Does Project Sweeper or Wanderer sound familiar?

I have memory of the word Sweeper, something about a longterm project, but it’s very vague. I don’t know anything about Wanderer.

Have you ever encountered a young girl there? Possibly by the name Portencia?

I think so. I keep seeing a girl. But there’s a boy too in my memories. I can’t make sense of any of it. But I’ve seen them a lot. The confusion and the other memories keep getting stronger and none of it’s clear. Like, I keep seeing her hooked up to a chair, like an old throne. All these cables running out. It’s like a dream where it all makes sense, but doesn’t. I see her scared. And the boy… he’s walking away from me but I can’t catch up.

Is there any way to safely share internal files?

If I had time, maybe. But there are systems in place that even I don’t know about. They’re nuts about protecting against unauthorized access and information going offsite.

What is your specific field of expertise?

I’m a security engineer. But I’ve also been studying machine learning. Funny, I remember stories about school, but not actually being there. Are those even my memories? Did they give me a lobotomy and an education?
There’s all this anger inside me. And…regret. Like I’ve been experiencing all of this in the background while I was sleepwalking.

Are the names Kendrick or Theodore Fallon familiar to you?

Fallon is who I report to. It’s who we all report to. I remember Kendrick. The name. Feels like we were close. Maybe we worked together? Are you investigation Fallon?

What is the workplace atmosphere? Are employees encouraged to collaborate, or socialize, or are they more strict about restricting opportunities for employees to potentially “overshare?”

I honestly can’t remember. If they can wipe people’s minds what do they care if we socialize? It’s even more sickening than being rigid pricks. They let us think we have autonomy. What about our families? Where do they think we work? What do we tell them when they ask? My parents died a long time ago, at least that’s what I remember, but what are you if you can’t even trust your memory, your sense of who you are?

Do you know anything about the history of the company? A company mission statement, history of executives, what your supervisor’s name is?

Same. Sorry. I can’t even tell you how long I’ve been there. I mean, I know what I’m supposed to say… but there is all this other stuff welling up that mixes with it and makes everything confusing.

Would it be possible to record what you experience before the details start feeling unimportant?

That’s my plan and it’s all I’ve been thinking about this weekend. The most grueling 48 hours of my life. I gotta keep focused on seeing everything I can, and remembering it when I leave. I’ve been making notes here at my place, to try and remind me what happened just in case I forget. I’m scared of going back tomorrow but have to hope that whatever “broke” in the accident will help me remember what’s really going on there.

Part of me wants to tell you who I am, where to come look for me if I don’t answer back tomorrow… but I have this overwhelming feeling of mistrust. And I’m too confused to pinpoint where it belongs. I’m sorry.

If I make it out tomorrow, I’ll tell you everything I can.
If I don’t, promise me you won’t stop trying to expose them. Promise me you’ll take them down somehow.

-Whistler

Mounties, we’re going to take this company down, I don’t care if we have to do it brick by brick.

[Deyavi]

He effing remembers them using The Chair on Portencia.

The Chair that Teddy said was too dangerous to even be in the same room with for long.

Yeah, we’re going to take them apart.

[Deyavi]

This Chair.

None of the rest we learned there surprises me. Fallon is a Big Boy in the company. High enough that Whistler was surprised about the “level 2” clearance. 117 must be Teddy’s employee ID number.