4/7

Played: April 9, 2021.

Friday, June 28, 1973. 4:30 pm. Roger and Mitch assist Jocasta upstairs. The team decides that Mitch will accompany Jocasta on a recon mission to the URIEL suite on floor 12, with Mitch acting as a sort of “scout” to feel their way through the temblor zone as they go. At first Mitch has difficulty attuning his abilities to the new ontological landscape. After taking a breather and grabbing a drink from the bar, he tries again. Good news: his preternatural ability to sense History B still works. Bad news: the Hotel is definitely sinking deeper into History B. Also, he believes that it is likely that other psychic phenomenon will start popping up throughout the Hotel soon. He recalls reading something during his SANDMAN training about how subduction zones can “trigger” psychic powers in certain sensitive individuals. To cap it all off, the powers wielded by these people are probably going to act erratically and unpredictably.

The duo takes an elevator to floor 12. As they go higher and higher in the building, Mitch finds the “background radiation” growing stronger and steadier. Jocasta observes that the upper floors are “deeper” in History B than the lower floors. She thinks that this is due to the number of humans on the lower levels, whose power of consensus belief is “anchoring” the building in History A. Jocasta shares this information with Mitch, who takes this opportunity to ask Jocasta if she thinks human nature bends inevitably toward fascism.

Jocasta: No, absolutely not. Human nature is essentially good. That’s what we do this for.

Mitch: But if human nature is essentially good we wouldn’t need to do this. Definitionally we must live in a fallen world, right?

Jocasta: But extend that metaphor to its biblical source: the world is fallen but the people in it are savable, right? They’re capable of salvation and even perfection. Adam and Eve were not inherently flawed. They were tempted. (pause) I should’ve brought some grenades.

Back in the lobby, Roger feels out the Krane fans about their willingness to participate in an experimental game experience. A couple of them express interest. Roger then heads over to the front desk to check in with the staff about the 2:00 pm shift change and whether they need to worry about certain employees leaving and new employees coming on site. When he asks Lyons, the desk manager, about the state of things, he gets back a blank stare and a choked response: “Oh, no worry sir. We’re here for the long haul.” Roger tells him to send anyone with questions or who threatens to leave to Roger. Lyons says in a strained voice that he will. Sir. From there, Roger heads down to the basement for the scheduled delivery of the “game” materials.

Archie and Charley pack up the Atlantis A-Risen materials and props into his station wagon to bring to the St. Francis. On the drive, Charley inquires about the packets’ purpose (she had been in her lab all afternoon). Archie explains that the packets are loaded with several memes to help protect the minds of the con-goers from contamination by History B. Houdini, speaking inside Charley’s mind, says: “Clever.” They are going to deliver everything to the team at the Hotel for deployment and then they’re going to head home and “act like things are normal for a little bit.” Charley seems disappointed. Houdini tells her he shares her concerns.

In the basement, Archie and Charley unload the packets, a suit for Roger, signs to put up, props to distribute to team players, and boxes of flowers, passing them to Roger through the “bubble.” With that done, Archie asks what’s the status on the inside. Roger says the situation is serious. Very serious. But they’re holding it together. He hopes this “game” will work, because things are starting to get really squirrelly. Serious and squirrely. Archie explains what all the various materials are to Roger and how to distribute them. He then tells Roger to be careful handling these things:

We didn’t skimp on the source code. This stuff is … it’s pretty powerful. You can do this. All you have to do at the start is project authority. Confidence. Take charge. We’ve brought the suit — Sophie picked it out. Once they have the materials in their hands, it really should start working almost on its own. I really think that, once you get them rolling, they should … uh, they should pick it up and run with it. All but the very strongest willed of them will be into it.

Roger asks what sort of flare-ups does Archie anticipate once this meme is unleashed. The “strong-willed” people Archie mentioned, and others. What can they expect? Archie explains:

People who are gonna be suspicious about, “is this really a game,” we're going to try and get them into believing that there's some kind of Cold War espionage actually happening in the hotel. Probably won't need that for a lot of people but the ones were really sort of, like, this can't be happening, something else has to be happening, that gets them. For the people who just don't care about game, the idea is to get them to stay in their rooms and out of trouble and out of public spaces. Hopefully that will help clear the hallways of innocent bystanders. Big groups of people believing stuff. That kind of thing — keep them in their rooms watching TV. That's literally what the meme tells them to do.

There's a lot of fail safes built in. I guess the only other things to worry about is, of course, some people might take it too seriously. They might have to be deprogrammed afterwards, so just watch for people who are really, you know, too gung-ho about it. And then, of course, the game itself may lead them into situations of danger. If you can help them, do it, you just have to fold your actions into the game narrative …

In her mind, Houdini asks Charley why on Earth she isn’t trying to get into the Hotel right now. Charley interrupts and asks Roger if he needs them to stay and help. Roger says he wishes the answer could be yes, he wishes Archie could be here to run the game, but he wouldn’t ever ask anyone to come inside knowing the danger and the risk that they may lose their very soul if they try to leave. Archie agrees and says he couldn’t subject Charley to that sort of risk. Charley pipes up, “Um, I’ll go! I mean, I don’t see why we should go … we can’t really go home! We can’t go home while this is happening! I’m surprised you want to go home.” Archie briefly contemplates acquiescing. His psychological assessment of Roger’s demeanor is that Roger feels stressed and overwhelmed. A bit freaked out, but managing it with his Green Beret training. Archie turns to Charley and says he understands what she’s saying, but they need to ask themselves whether they’d be more help inside or outside. The two of them just aren’t equipped for this sort of scenario. Sure, Archie could help administer the game, but if there are irruptors inside, he and Charley would be more a hindrance than a help. Charley pouts and says she thinks she might be useful inside. Roger asks if there’s currently a Plan B in the works and notes that it would make tactical sense to have some people outside in case this meme does not work. Archie says this is a good point: if URIEL winds up needing to use the particular accelerator option, they will definitely need Charley for that.

Mitch and Jocasta descend to floor 11, having completed their survey of floor 12. Once again, Mitch finds his abilities stymied by the unsettled ontological landscape he finds himself in. As they meander through the halls, they hear music coming from a particular suite: the Special Ones’ party room. Mitch attempts to channel his psychic senses again and this time succeeds. He feels the presence of History B emanating from the Special Ones’ suite. Focusing in even more, he determines that there’s a reality shard inside.

Mitch: OK! Jocasta, there's a reality shard in Marshall's suite. My guess is he doesn't know that there's a reality shard in his suite. I don't think that he's, like, trying to pull a fast one or anything — especially in as much as he's not here. But you never know with Marshall. You never know. We should talk to them. Do you wanna talk to them or should I talk to them?

Jocasta: I haven’t really dealt with these kids. I think you’re probably better off dealing with them. I’ll hang outside, ready to open fire if anything goes wrong.

As she says this, Jocasta slings her sniper rifle and starts rummaging through her duffel bag for something. Mitch is kind of flummoxed: what does Jocasta want him to do with them? Jocasta tells him not to overthink it. She says the goal should be to keep them out of way, make sure they haven’t been corrupted, and somehow abscond with the reality shard. With that, Mitch knocks on the doorframe and walks inside. He finds a group of kids lounging around the room, smoking pot, all watching a giant video screen on the opposite wall. The video is a montage of scenes at the Mission. A few of the Special Ones greet Mitch languidly. He says hello and tries to attune himself to the location of the reality shard, rapidly discovering that it is the videotape inside the tape-player. As this occurs, Marshall’s face comes on the screen and he begins speaking in Sumerian. Mitch recoils but gets himself under control pretty damn quick. He notices that the Special Ones turn their gaze away from him and toward the screen as Marshall speaks in Sumerian, beatific smiles forming on their faces. Mitch crosses the room to the tape player and unplugs it.

The Special Ones: Heeeyy!

Mitch: I know, right?! What’s going on!? (he starts opening the window)

The Special Ones: Hey! What are you doing?!

Mitch: I know! This is crazy, right?

Once the window is open, Mitch lifts the tape player to the sill and tilts it over. It plummets eleven stories to the ground. Inwardly, Mitch is relieved to see it fall and not, like, bounce off the ground or turn into a bird. He now detects only a baseline level of History B “radiation” in the room. Some of the Special Ones ask Mitch if he’s the same guy who’s visited Zeb up at the Mission a few times, but Mitch just stuns them into confusion with blathering small-talk while stealing a few mini-bottles of vodka and tonic from the room fridge.

In the main ballroom, Viv has convened around 30 people (among them the con committee) and planted the seed of a forthcoming announcement regarding a game and Andy’s absence. They are receptive. Roger rushes upstairs and delivers one of the packets to her, along with the boxes of flowers and a costume. As he heads off to change into his own costume — a MARPA suit — Viv reviews the materials. The premise of the game is that everyone is attending a summit at the Atlantean Cultural Mission in San Francisco. For several years, San Francisco was known as Yerba Buena, a “free city” that splintered off from the United States following a bloody revolution by radical student activists and various left-wing forces. The USA is now back in charge, but San Francisco-Yerba Buena is still a deeply unsettled “hot spot” and home to a sizable Atlantean presence. The purpose of the summit is to see if the two sides can calm things down, set up some boundaries.

Viv sets about implementing the game. She tells the con committee she is going to have an announcement to make soon, so start assembling everyone. She also thinks to herself that she does not want to tell people that they are just “in” Andy’s Atlantis timeline — that seems like it may just push things in the wrong direction. Instead, she wants people to believe that they are participating in a psychodrama from which they can derive a sense of experiential self-worth. She also plants the idea in a few people, and tells Roger to do the same, that the “prize” for “winning” the game is meeting Andy. However, this idea is not something that anyone will officially confirm, and entirely unacknowledged “inside” the game. It will exist only as the vaguest of rumors. Roger, for his part, attempts to project an air of total coolness, the handsome Black secret agent with the fancy suit and the MARPA pin. He hopes this demeanor will draw prospective MARPA-aligned players to his group. It works! More and more nerds are drawn to his aura of suave mystery.

A little after 6 pm, someone from the con committee gets on the mic and tells everyone to grab a seat because they have an announcement to make about what is going on and where Andy is. They introduce Viv, who steps up to the podium, clears her throat, and says:

Everyone, everyone, thank you for coming to this special announcement and for your patience with everything that's going on. I know a lot of you are here to see Andy and his not being here is really throwing a damper on everything plus that attack this morning? That was really something. I'm sure you've seen some agents around. We've called this meeting because we have been cleared to share some of the details of the situation we have been —

RECEIVING TRANSMISSION.

WE are the Atlantean council of philosophers.

WE speak through one but WE are the many.

WE speak to partake of the individual so our hive can be connected here.

YERBA BUENA is part of ATLANTIS in the KRANE narrative timeline, and SO we are able to meet you HERE at the NEW ATLANTEAN CULTURAL MISSION to seek volunteers.

WE are here to find what WE can learn from each other.

Ignition of global awakening in service to others. The Atlantean cultural mission seeks the balance and integration of the WE/ME/I AM.

WE have much to learn through the unique diffraction of the I and the I has much to learn about WE-NESS.

And so we invoke an invitation to: the artists, the philosophers, the visionaries, the ecological scientists, the gentle hearted, the lovers, the believers.

Volunteer to take up the mantle of the diplomat, open yourselves to our perspective, to allow us to co-presence in your mind with your enthusiastic consent, so that WE may see out of the EYES of I and I might come to feel with the the heart of WE, and a new awareness, understanding, agreement may emerge.

Tell us, who is brave enough to meet us and for this diplomatic mission, in peace and trust?

The delivery is incredibly effective. Roger enters the ballroom with his cadre of MARPA aligned folk and sees a mass of people move toward Viv, a hundred or more attendees sort of gravitating toward the stage asking her how they can help, what they can do. People cry out with their occupations, their abilities, their skills — all the ways they can aid Atlantis in this mission. Roger sighs and draws his handgun. As the crowd grows more enthusiastic, he bangs it on a doorframe and shouts:

People of America! You are needed to help us control and organize a response to this invasion of our cultural attaché. We the American people, under our beloved President Robert F. Kennedy, we have the magic and the ability to create a better harmony, to make a détente with this organization. But do not be fooled! Do not just fall under their spell! You should come and help your country. Help the magical abilities of your fellow Americans against the impingement of a group mind and controlled speech on our individuality and liberties!

As he delivers this short speech, Roger feels the temptation of Maître Carrefour: “Oh, mon cheval — your words, they could use so much more, so much more.” Roger suppresses this urge, though in doing so, he feels that his loa are closer to the “surface” now. The space between him and them is thinning.

Archie and Charley arrive home around 6:30 pm. As Archie walks in the front door, Melanie immediately comes to him and ask if he’s been in touch with Eddie. Archie says no, he hasn’t — he thought Eddie was with Jimmy at Jimmy’s house? Melanie says she hasn’t heard from him all afternoon and is getting worried. She’s going to call Jimmy’s mom. As she heads to the phone, it starts ringing. She picks it up and, after a nervous greeting, says, “Oh, Eddie! Where are you? You’re supposed to be home for dinner!” A pause. She hands the phone to Archie, muttering, “I can’t. I can’t!” Archie asks, “Eddie? Where are you? Your mother’s worried about you.” Eddie says he’s over at Jimmy’s house, but Archie can tell that Eddie is lying. The most telltale sign is that he’s obviously calling from a payphone based on the background noise and the quality of the reception. He knows he must be at the St. Francis. Eddie presses on, telling Archie that Jimmy’s parents invited him to stay for dinner. Archie doubles down, asking Eddie to put Jimmy’s mom on the phone. Eddie says she can’t, she’s making dinner. He sounds scared and anxious. “Jimmy is here, though!” The line goes dead.

Archie pauses a beat but keeps talking into the dead line. “OK, that’s fine. You should’ve called though. I’m going to come pick you up.” He hangs up, and Melanie shakes her head. Archie tells her a lie about Eddie and Jimmy watching Planet of the Apes movies all day and losing track of time. He says he’ll “swing by” Jimmy’s house to pick him up. Charley asks if she can come; Melanie says no, she should stick around and have dinner. Archie backs up Melanie, telling Charley to stay here, he’ll only be a little while. He then grabs his keys and heads out. As he leaves, Charley excuses herself to go freshen up in the restroom. Once there, she climbs out a window and sneaks into the back of Archie’s station wagon. Archie drives off.

At an Air Force base outside San Francisco, Marshall stands at his Rolls Royce as a SANDMAN commando team emerges from a military plane. They are accompanied by a young guy in a suit: Merrick, the neurolinguistic programmer who first met URIEL at the Altamont dig. He walks up to Marshall and they shake hands. Marshall catches them up on the situation. Merrick tells him that the folks at Granite Peak are a bit concerned about one of the father’s of the atomic bomb being potentially compromised by the opposition. Marshall says he understands why they would be, but that they’re operating on a deadline here, so let’s dispense with the office gossip and get down to brass tacks. Merrick says absolutely, he’s here to help. Marshall briefs the kill-team:

So there's this creature. He’s referred to as the Old Man by the enemies that we've captured. At this point he has been there, in some sense, for 50 years or more. I have pretty good intelligence that he cannot leave the physical confines of where he is — he is somehow bound to the spot that he's in. He is not to be trusted in any regard. I believe — but I do not have this confirmed — that this whole plan has been his brainchild since he was inserted into our timeline. I believe further that the two catalysts for this disaster — the science fiction author and the other science fiction author — I think he may have even orchestrated their births under a particular astrological sign in order to ensure that this sequence of events happens. So we must be aware that he is thinking on a grand scale and he may very well know what is about to happen — that what is happening here on this airfield was always going to happen. What has to happen today is: this thing must be captured or killed. Because of its nature, you cannot trust what you think, you cannot trust what you feel. When you are in that space, all of your thoughts will be its and all of your feelings will be its. The thing that you must be is the tool. You are a tool and you have one job. And that one job is to capture or kill the Old Man in the basement. Nothing else matters when you are there. When you start to think or you start to feel, you have to assume that he is making you think and making you feel those feelings. You are not those thoughts or feelings. You are a tool with one purpose and that purpose is to capture or kill the Old Man in the basement.

Marshall continues with this speech, lulling the team into a hypnotic-suggestive state in hopes that it will inure them, to some degree, to the Old Man’s powers. One of the commandos asks if he prefers the Old Man dead or alive. Marshall says he would prefer alive but that, once they are inside, any preference they feel for capturing or killing the Old Man should mean nothing because such preferences may be the product of the Old Man’s manipulations. In all events, killing him is the default command. They depart in two vans for LeConte Hall at Berkeley.

Upon arrival, the team turns off the water and electricity to the building and sets up a perimeter of “caution” tape. A few of the commandos don hazmat suits and Merrick pins an EPA badge to his lapel. A “forward team” enters the building and descends into the basement, reporting on their findings as they go. It is definitely a subduction zone, the team lead says. The air is hot and dry. A moment later, a sedan pulls up to the building. Marshall sees a middle-aged man driving and, in the backseat, three individuals in sunglasses and fedoras wearing what appear to be black trench coats. As the three passengers emerge from the car, Merrick shouts: “Oh my god, they’re bašmu!” He immediately hops on the two-way to warn the team. From the other side, Marshall and Merrick hear the sound of screams and gunfire.

After gathering a few more people to the MARPA team, Roger strides off to the huckster room to find more recruits. Here he is quite successful, enticing to his side the old “hard sci-fi” types, wargamers, pulp fiction enthusiasts — precisely the demographic that would lean toward a hardnosed secret agent narrative. Pleased with his efforts, Roger heads toward the art room where he finds a throng of young people, among them Archie’s son Eddie, gathered obsequiously around a woman in her late 40s or early 50s who is dressed as a sultry Venusian princess. Roger confronts the woman: “Hey. What’s up here, princess?” The woman sneers back at him: “I am not a princess. I am a queen. I am Queen Minerve of Deneb 4, and I have come to your planet to select the most virile male specimens to return with me to my home world.” The group around the woman grows larger. Roger makes a grab for her. He snatches at her cloak and reveals a tiny kulullû latched on her back. It looks up at Roger with its horrifying frog-eyes. In a flash, it snaps its tail out and a tiny barb, no larger than a hornet’s stinger, pricks Roger in the cheek. Everything goes blurry.

On floor 11, Mitch emerges from the Special Ones’ suite.

Jocasta: Did you get it?

Mitch: I got it. I mean, I destroyed it. I think. Probably. It was one of the bad ones.

Jocasta: Oh, Mitch … we probably could have used that.

Mitch: I don’t think so. Not in this case. It was Marshall speaking Sumerian. It was creepy. There’s nothing … it was, it was bad. Now you’re making me rethink the whole decision and it’s too late. I can’t go back and undo it. It’s pieces on the ground outside. Do you want a vodka-tonic?

Jocasta: No thanks.

Mitch: OK. Well, more for me.

Jocasta and Mitch finish scouting out floor 11, Jocasta fighting off the effects of the poison from her encounter with the girtablullû in the basement. Upon arriving, they follow the sounds of a raucous party to a large two-room suite. As they approach, they hear the sound of 1920s jazz playing on what sounds like an old-timey gramophone. Mitch immediately senses the presence of History B. Peering inside, they see a group of about two dozen con-goers dressed in full-blown Jazz Age attire — white tie and tails, flapper costumes, the works — partying it up around the kusarikku Mitch previously encountered. Mitch and Jocasta are overwhelmed with the utter strangeness of this scene, which stuns them into silence for several seconds. The kusarikku spots them, extends his arms, and says in a booming voice: “Boys! Welcome to the party!”

Archie pulls into the basement garage of the St. Francis. He gets out and heads to the entrance. As he does, he spots Charley sneaking along behind him. She attempts to duck behind a pillar. He sighs.

Archie: Sweetheart. I have to go in. I want you to stay here.

Charley: I don’t want to. I don’t want to! I don’t want to stay here. I can do this. You’re going in, right? I can always get out if that’s what you’re worried about.

Archie: We don’t know what it’s going to be like in there. (pause) … OK.

Archie takes her hand and they walk into the hotel, together. Somewhere, Marshall sighs. “We are so screwed.” But Archie is undeterred. He knows the meme is good.