Notes taken by Alastair and Samantha Beadle.
Session 5.12 Index Session 5.14
In the warehouse half a mile from Boston Castle, Noesis has constructed a fake laboratory, and morphed Blitz so that he is now looking like Matthew Cromwell.
Void and Noesis are dressed as guards. Truth is dressed as Cromwell's assistant and/or secretary.
Slowly, Quincy, abducted from his laboratory under Boston Castle, begins to wake up.
Blitz shakes him and tells him to pull himself together.
"Who are you? Where am I? Where is the lab?" Quincy demands.
Blitz tries to convince him that he needs to work on the new project to reverse the effect of the old machine.
Quincy insists that Cromwell said he could work on whatever he likes and he isn't going to work on anything bar his machine. He seems to remember everything he has been told by Cromwell, in detail, and is willing to repeat it, verbatim, over and over, with emotionless, mechanical precision, until his point is proved. Hmm...
Eventually we give up on this idea.
Back in the real lab, Servo has been trying to work out how Quincy's machines work. Most of their components are comprehensible, if primitive. However, all of the weird machines, like the Telluric Energy Projector (TEP), have components that, as far as Servo can see, just should not work, and which seem to function as 'and then a miracle occurs' boxes. It is as if Quincy has the superpower to make pseudo-science objects that actually work.
However, from what he has seen, Servo believes he can make a TEP reversal machine to remove the powers it grants. Given time.
That being so, Servo then tests the superpowers detection device. From what he can unravel of Quincy's notes, it detects both actual and potential Blessed. It has a large circular screen with a grid of lines over it and seems to be controlled by four dials. Three of them move the centre of its scan to a position in space defined by x, y and z co-ordinates that are displayed on the dials. The fourth seems to be a 'zoom' function.
He aims the detector at the warehouse where the rest of us are. Five lights appear on the screen, so there are five Blessed there. This indicated that Quincy is a Blessed after all. He notices that although the overall brightness of the lights is the same, two of them are more concentrated than the others. Perhaps they are natural Blessed (Noesis and Quincy) as opposed to those created by the TEP. If he zooms the machine in as far as it will go, the lights just about resolve into illuminated stick-figures; there is no concentration of light anywhere in them.
By scanning the whole city, Servo can see various lights scattered across it. Most of them are dim - presumably potential Blessed - but there are two lights of the less concentrated variety in a position corresponding to the Lord Protector's Residence. Presumably these are John Smith and the Witch-Hunter.
His curiosity satisfied for now, Servo begins works on the reversal machine.
Back in the warehouse Blitz suggests the idea of using a hypnotist to bend Quincy to our will.
Truth suggests having Bethany try talking into his mind instead to the same end.
At this moment Bethany arrives in Void, so the idea is proposed to her.
She agrees to give it a try.
Void agrees to go in and touch Quincy so that Bethany can transfer into him.
He goes in to the other room and touches Quincy; he feels Bethany slide out of him and into Quincy. He leaves.
A short time later Bethany returns to Void. Through him, she tells us that Quincy is quite mad, and is not at all willing to listen to her suggestions. He seems to be aware that she is some intruding presence rather than an 'internal voice'. Damn.
Truth proposes that we use Quincy's TEP in reverse to remove the power of all the Blessed that it created. That will leave only the natural Blessed, and that would be the job done. The New Commonwealth and the Octuple Alliance should then be on a more even footing and we can go home.
We all consider this.
Bethany goes off to see Servo and tell him of this plan.
In the real laboratory, Servo feels Bethany slide into his mind. They greet one another, and she tells him everything that is happening with the rest of us and Quincy. In return, Servo tells her that he will need at least a couple of days to alter the TEP into a power-removal device.
That being so, with the aid of Bethany, who acts as a message carrier between Servo and the rest of us, we set up a watch divided between Void and Noesis to look out for the approach of Cromwell and/or any of his associates to Boston Castle.
Those of us in the warehouse discuss what to do with Quincy. We are all worried about his potential for causing trouble and how dangerous he is. For example, even if we destroy the TEP, how can we stop him building another one?
Void suggests that the only answer is to kill him. Some of the rest of us reluctantly agree with this idea, but Servo most definitely does not. In the end no real answer is arrived at with apart from a prison. Hmm.
As he continues to work on the TEP, Servo realises that by reversing it all of the megawatts of power transmitted into the earth and the target will return into the TEP here and be output as electricity again. This will probably blow out the Boston power grid. Again.
He considers what to do with this power surge and comes up with the idea of a large cable running out into the sea to dissipate the electrical charge when the reversal occurs. It will be insulated near the coast, but not further out, so that, hopefully, nothing strange will be noticed in Boston itself.
Noesis starts work on this.
In the warehouse, Truth suggests that the way forward is to challenge the New Commonwealth Blessed to a battle royale to lure them into a trap which would allow Servo to use the reversed TEP to zap them all. We consider this, and decide to put this idea on the back burner for now.
However, we do agree that John Smith and the Witch-Hunter are our first choice of targets, as that will allow us to perform the substitution for them and Cromwell. However, before that Servo intends to try the reversed TEP on at least one random Blessed to make sure it works, as if the use of the reversed device is anything like its normal use there will be a highly visible energy discharge when it is used, so we want to be sure it works.
In the warehouse, Quincy complains on and on that he wants paper. Eventually we give in and give him some. He is then quiet.
Truth, with the assistance of Noesis, does things to the doctor to try and 'cure' him. As she knows little of psychology or psychotherapy this basically consists of inflicting various types of mental torment that Truth, in particular, dreams up.
Servo works on reversing the TEP machine.
We consider the idea that we may need spare parts for the 'miracle' bits of Quincy's machines, and conclude that perhaps he could build us some more. With the aid of Void, parts are passed through and given to Quincy, who begins building. Precisely what he is building we do not know, however.
A couple of days pass. In our dreams we remain in the grey misty plane with our counterparts from here, who are getting nearer and nearer to our actual selves with every passing night.
The electricity supply is restored to the city of Boston.
Void happens to be scanning the outside of Boston Castle through a micro-gate when five of the Blessed from Southampton arrive at the Castle, carried down from the sky in rainbow force fields. They land in the courtyard, where guards proceed to rush up, guns at the ready. Papers are presented and they are admitted to the Castle proper. They begin to proceed through the castle.
Meanwhile, Bethany quickly slips into Servo and warns him of what is happening.
Just after she has done this, the laboratory door bursts open and the five Blessed enter.
Servo does a good convincing mad doctor impression and orders them out of the room.
They refuse. The Security Policeman, who seems to be in charge, tells 'Quincy' that they have been assigned to protect the machine.
Servo orders them out again.
The leader says the that Cromwell has given orders that one of them must stay in the room at all times.
Servo continues to rant madly.
They largely ignore him. The one of the five who we previously saw partially shapeshifting shimmers into the form of a giant centipede, with a body the thickness of a human torso and some ten metres long, many legs, large mandibles and pincers, and large compound eyes. It moves rapidly across the room, up the wall, and coils on the ceiling, around the TEP.
'Quincy' eventually accepts this as long as the others stay outside. This they do.
Servo wonders whether he can do anything to protect the TEP, and its reversed version, from the damage and overloads that seem to happen every time it is used. Examining it, he finds this will be fairly easy. The TEP has no protection against such things, and no fuses or anything like that. Servo spends some time and comes up with a number of protections against overload and with the assistance of the dwarves installs them. He also has spare parts made ready so that bits that do break can be replaced. This includes some of the strange, complex, radio valve components.
As he works, every so often the door opens and a wind blows through the lab for a second before the door slams closed again.
Not liking this idea, Servo uses the Blessed detection machine. It shows the other four Blessed in one of the other rooms on this level. It also, when the wind blows, shows that one of the four is briefly disappearing and reappearing in a different place. It could be they are the source of the wind, but if they are, for example, moving at super-speed the detection machine does not respond quickly enough to see them do so.
More time passes.
Noesis completes Servo's power dissipation cable, running out to sea to ground the vast amounts of electricity he expects the reversed TEP to generate.
After a few more days, when we sleep we are now beginning to occupy the same space as our counterparts!
When Blitz wakes up the next morning he briefly flies, a force field flickers around him, and his friction powers are not present. Then the he settle back to the ground and the force field flickers off, and his friction powers return a moment later.
This also happens to the rest of us. Servo briefly loses his radio powers. Truth becomes briefly gaseous. Noesis briefly gains psionic powers at the expense of his matter-moulding powers.
We agree that this cannot be good. We are all a little concerned at this bleed-through between dimensions as we cannot go back for several months yet, something we hope will fix the problem. There is also the problem of what might happen if our counterparts wake up in our bodies with their powers, as the power-suppressing cells in Project Stronghold have to be adjusted to suppress a specific set of individual powers...
With the assistance of Bethany we pass a message back to Madame Drakulich to ask for advice about this, and also what effect this may have on our bodies back in our world if we remove the powers from these bodies.
She returns to tell us that Madame Drakulich is considering the problem.
And later that day, Servo completes his reversal of the TEP machine.
To test it he uses the Blessed Detector to choose a target from the front in France. He can detect several such Blessed, all of them of the less concentrated variety, and chooses one, selecting from France, so not including the Scarlet Enigma, and a target that is at ground level so they will not die by suddenly having their powers removed while high up in the air.
The machine is slowly powered up, and an electrical hum is heard throughout the laboratory. Then it activates. Power surges into the machine, then lightning crackles out from the stone floor slab under the machine and into it. The reversed TEP pops and whines and sparks flash from various parts of it. A massive surge of electricity passes out of the TEP and down Noesis' cable to dissipate in the sea before fading away.
Servo checks the Blessed Detector. It shows that the target has dimmed to the base level of a potential Blessed. Then, as he watches, it fades away completely. Oops.
Servo rants in full 'mad doctor' mode as he checks over the machine.
He finds that only a few hours worth of repairs are needed. He begins at once.
The rest of us notice a release of gas and vapour far off out at sea.
At our request, Bethany takes a flying visit to France to see if there is any news of unusual things happening to Blessed.
After a short while she returns and tells us that the Blessed known as Shrapnel was involved in the big New Commonwealth push into France, then was struck by lightening out of a storm-free sky before becoming human. At which point he was shot and killed.
Servo feels very guilty at this killing of a human being, even if indirectly.
However, it does seem that the reversed TEP machine works. That being so, it is time to remove the real John Smith, Witch-Hunter and Cromwell and replace them with our duplicates. To this end Noesis, Void and Blitz are transformed into doubles of John Smith, the Witch-Hunter and Cromwell.
With the assistance of Void, we also acquire some explosives. You never know when they'll come in handy.
Truth will remain in the warehouse to watch over Quincy.
More time passes. After a few hours Servo has repaired the reversed TEP machine. By now it is early evening.
With the assistance of Bethany, he informs the rest of us of this, and we make ready for the replacement of Cromwell and the others.
Using the Blessed Detector, Servo locates John Smith and the Witch-Hunter. They are close together, in a location corresponding to the Lord Protectors Residence.
That being so, Servo starts up the machine again.
As he does so, the centipede-creature scuttles down and goes towards him. "Stop," it tells him.
He ignores it.
It shoves him aside from the machine. It is much stronger and faster than he is.
Servo goes to the door instead.
As he approaches it, it slams open and the other four Blessed stride in. "Traitor!" accuses the Security Policeman.
In the warehouse, Bethany warns us what is going on.
Void quickly opens a gate into the laboratory and moves it over to the machine, ready to reach through and hit the switch. However, the centipede sees the gate coming, and blocks it.
Instead, Blitz has Void open the gate wide and as soon as he can throws himself through at the creature. Looking like Matthew Cromwell.
Truth raises her force shield and tries to hit the switch with it, extending it through the gate without going through herself.
Noesis holds back and starts shifting tentacles to reach through and hit the switch.
Servo makes use of the distraction of the rest of us appearing to run behind the other four new Blessed and attacks the red-haired one in the back using an invisible radio blast, stunning him.
The five Blessed seem more than a little fazed by having Cromwell appearing and attacking them!
Servo attacks the other Blessed who is stunned again, knocking him out.
Reaching through the gate with her force field, Truth hits the switch.
"Stand back and don't move," says 'Cromwell' (Blitz).
The Blessed continue to be a little surprised by Cromwell's presence.
"Why must I be disturbed?" says 'Quincy'.
"You aren't Cromwell! You're an impostor," exclaims the smoke-haired Blessed.
As he say this power surges through the machine works and then dies back again.
Blitz charges at the smoke-haired man who is now surrounded by black smoke. The cloud moves to one side.
Servo re-stuns the red-haired man.
Truth opens fire at the centipede, but bullets bounce off of it. She turns the gun towards the others instead.
Noesis' tentacles reach through the portal and, becoming sticky, remove the many papers from Quincy's bench back to the warehouse.
The centipede attacks Truth, biting her with its large, sharp mandibles, but its blow bounces off her force field.
Truth's gunfire hits one of the dwarves. The dwarves shout for the automaton to protect the machine.
It moves to do so.
Truth fire again, hitting the Security Policeman. He falls over. Blitz takes advantage of this to kick him in the head. This unfortunately caves in and goes 'splat'. He is dead. Ouch.
Servo attacks the smoky man, who jinks out of the way.
The man surrounded in his rainbow force field looks at Blitz with irritation, and the force field begins to stretch towards him. Blitz jinks out of the way.
The automaton begins to patrol round and round the TEP machine.
The smoke-haired man begins to wrap smoke around Blitz again, partially blocking his sight.
Blitz charges at the man surrounded in the rainbow force field, but Blitz bounces off him. Ouch. Instead he grabs the man's arm, wanting to throw him, but the man seems to be immovable.
One the other side of the laboratory, the centipede attempts to come through the portal, but Void shuts it and then re-opens it in the corridor behind the fight.
The smoke-haired man hits Blitz, knocking him away from the man with the rainbow force-field.
Servo attempts to blast the smoke-haired man, but he jinks out of the way again.
The man with the rainbow force-field sends rainbow force out into the room, lifting all of the workbenches from around the walls and throwing them at Blitz.
Blitz tries to dodge, and manages to avoid them all.
The automaton continues to patrol around the machine.
Dwarves cower.
The red-haired man begins to wake up.
Void's portal opens again behind Servo. Through it, Truth sees the red-haired man regaining consciousness and shoots him, hitting him in the leg.
Blitz dives into the black cloud. He doesn't hit anything directly, but does come into contact with something in the blackness, and hits it instead. It staggers.
Servo sees this and attacks again, but misses.
The centipede moves towards the fighting.
Noesis attempts to attack the rainbow guy by shapechanging him at range, but nothing instantly happens.
"Get them or get out," shouts Void.
Blitz charges the smoke-haired man and misses completely. He tumbles towards the centipede, rather out of control, and it takes advantage of this, moving in as quickly as he could and biting off his right leg at mid-thigh. Ouch!
Servo attacks the smoke-haired man, who is distracted by watching Blitz, and hits him.
He seems stunned by this, and the smoke around him fades away, rendering him visible.
Truth shoots him, and he falls over.
Blitz, coping as well as he can with his massive and continuing blood loss, turns off all friction and the centipede slips. Truth takes advantage of this and shoots out one of its large compound eyes.
Servo attacks the centipede, which ducks. His blast hits the automaton instead, which stops moving, the red glow in its camera-eyes fading. Molten metal from it splashes the TEP machine.
Void moves his gate over the man with the rainbow force-field, air rushing into it and blackness visible beyond. The gate passes over him and he disappears.
Servo attacks the centipede again. His blast hits, and largely bounces, but does mark its carapace. He notices that the centipede's eye is starting to heal.
The centipede moves to climb up the wall.
Servo blasts it again, hitting it, and it slows.
Void's gate re-opens close to the centipede.
Truth jumps through and fires at the centipede again, hitting it to little visible effect.
Servo blasts it again, hitting it full on.
It falls over, unconscious. And slowly reverts from centipede back to human form.
We do not think we want to continue this fight any longer, so Void transports the remaining enemy Blessed away to somewhere 'safe', that is, to some hundreds of miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. And they are gone. Quiet descends.
Noesis heals Blitz, re-attaching his severed leg and topping up his blood supply.
Servo talks to the dwarves.
They seem to be concerned with what is going on, but wish to stick around for now.
With their assistance Servo looks for the Blessed Detection device under the pile of wreckage, hoping that it is intact and we will be able to see if the machine worked, and the Witch-Hunter and John Smith are now powerless...