A Meeting of the Dungarees
Brant
Marshall grabs a coffee and takes a seat on Archie's couch once he, Sophie, and Archie are convened. He'll also draw the blinds a bit.
"So, I couldn't speak too freely in the car because I had Jocasta and Charley with me. Obviously. Anyway. It is a bizarre situation, this whole thing, Arch."
Marshall will then relay what happened from his perspective, including what Jocasta and Charley told him.
"The woman, Genevieve ... I am deeply suspicious of her. She is either the best or the worst enemy agent I've ever seen, or maybe not one at all, but that option — that she's just an unwitting civilian — seems beyond unlikely to me given the coincidences."
He will toss Stevenson's book on Archie's desk. "I mean, what do you even make of this? The woman believes in reincarnation, which, fine, and then meets an idiot-savant child prodigy who credibly recounts past lives — don't even get me started on that — and is not fazed in the least and then she just gives this book to Jocasta?"
"Meanwhile we have retro-created posters of a dead Kennedy brother popping up downtown based on a book that is quite plainly based on our work, or derived from our work, and none of this — none of it? — carries a hint of History B. I don't like it, Arch. And I don't trust that this Viv woman didn't do something to Jo and Charley when I wasn't there."
Michael
Sophie is definitely going to stay quiet.
Rob
"I don't like it either. Like I said on the phone, Sophie and I went through Abeille's books today, and whatever's going on between her and Krane, we think she's the brains of the operation. Krane's stuff, with the rocket-planes and the secret agents, it's —" (Archie thinks of the Jesus/John the Baptist metaphor, pauses to think of something less blasphemous) "— its just the spoonful of sugar to make the real medicine go down. Abeille's stuff is, well, first off, it's just weird. Why does everything have to be so weird nowadays? It's not History B, it's not memetically loaded, not so far as we can tell, but it's chock full of sex, psychedelics, group consciousness … all the things the opposition uses to make, ah, re-enslavement look attractive."
Michael
So Sophie is being overly cautious, which is weird enough — she's never one to be retiring on how she feels about a mission, especially when it comes to intel analysis — but her body language tells you she's scared, which is not something you've seen often with her in the safety of her "tower" here at Livermore. The fear and coldness is also not directed exclusively at Marshall; it seems general and Sophie's usual ease of affect with Archie seems impacted as well
Brant
“Sophie, what do you know about Stevenson?” Marshall will interject during one of Archie’s pauses.
Michael
“Well,” Sophie says, clearing her throat, “when we got Charley's dossier back in April I did some research on him to familiarize myself with his work. He's been clued-in with SANDMAN since '66, since that book came out," she gestures at Twenty Cases, "because it was clear that the generation being born in the postwar period were showing more and more signs of reincarnation or past-life awareness, and SANDMAN wanted to find out why. There's no consensus at Granite Peak or Duncorne as to why. Some say it's the Bomb," Sophie stifles a laugh, "that radiation is causing further mutation to Anunnaki-designed latent psi abilities. But mostly Dr. Stevenson is an earnest researcher who wants to help these kids. In that sense, it doesn't surprise me that Abeille reads his work.” Sophie pauses. “But I agree with Mr. Ransom,” she says, suddenly very formal. “Her general awareness of the esoteric and the supernatural seems high. Whether that means she's compromised … I don't know. We have awareness and we're not. Her politics are definitely suspect but, I mean, who in this whole scene isn't?”
Rob
Archie looks serious. "Just between the three of us: Frank Stanton said something — back in March, after you came back from Granite Peak, Marshall — about, well, security leaks. In SANDMAN. But a mole would stay hidden! Handing Jocasta this book, Krane making us out to be the Men from UNCLE — it's all too cute by half." He thinks some more. "Maybe Abeille is trying to reach out to us. Letting us know she knows. Trying to open up a direct line of communication."
Michael
"I will say, that my reading of Abeille's works show that there's definitely a … compulsive readability to her novels, but no mastery of Anunnaki source code and no Powered memetics. Certainly no glyphs hiding in the cover art, Mansa-style. But, as you and Mr. Ransom well know," she says to Marshall, "some un-clued-in people do manage to understand the basics of memetics and neurolinguistic programming without knowledge of all the … 'hidden lore' of History B." "If she is reaching out, she's clumsy about it. But that seems to be her M.O.: deadly earnestness. I managed to find a few interviews and she is just … warmth and sweetness and light all the time."
"She loves nature." With that, Sophie shudders a bit.
Brant
Marshall nods in response to Archie's comments. "Yes, I had the same thought. The whole thing feels," a pause, "like we've noticed the floor is wet and we suspect a leak, but can't see where it's coming from."
Michael
"I could ask Granite Peak to contact Stevenson, see if he's ever worked with or corresponded with Abeille."
Brant
Marshall will subtly convey through body language that he thinks that is a great idea, but he will let Archie make the decision.
Michael
"I'm sure they've done periodic mail covers on him over the years."
Brant
"Be careful — if you do that — how you couch it, Sophie. We have to assume not everyone is trustworthy on this."
Rob
(To Sophie): "Yes, by all means." Archie notices Sophie's shudder on "she loves nature," which is weird, but as usual lets it go for now.
Michael
(To Marshall): "Yes. That's why it's probably best to check records and internal surveillance to see if there's anything there before reaching out personally. I jumped the gun a little bit." She looks in her purse for cigarettes, then realizes she's in Archie's office and puts the pack away.
Brant
Marshall lights a cigarette. "Have you heard from the boys in the field? Do you know their ETA? We need to plan next steps with this fucking convention or whatever ... and now that Viv has ID'd me, Charley, and Jocasta, I don't think it wise to have us within eye-shot of her at the hotel."
Michael
"I want to talk to Jo."
Brant
Marshall gives Sophie a look that says, "I'm sorry, what?"
Michael
"I want to find out more about her experience with Abeille. Use hypnotism if necessary. We keep it safe and we keep it sequestered."
Rob
"If Abeille wants to talk, maybe we should talk. How do you feel about making contact with her, Marshall? Feel her out. Let her know we know she knows." "It has to be you, I think. If there's any question of Jocasta's fitness. And I don't want Charley exposed to her again until we know what's what."
Brant
To Sophie, running a hand through his hair: "I thought about attempting something on the drive back but I was unsure of the implications. If we do that, Sophie — " Marshall having now inserted himself in this idea, “ — it will have to come from you, Archie. We could use the CCRME to avoid further contamination."
Marshall is warming to Sophie is a weirdly co-conspiratorial way, not sure if she'd pick up on that.
To Archie, "Make cont—what? You mean approach her in an official capacity?" Marshall gives Archie an evaluative, suspicious look. "I don't know, Arch. I'm not convinced she's a witting agent. She could just be a freak." Rich comment coming from a man wearing the Sorting Hat and purple pants. "No, I don't — respectfully, I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, she palpably dislikes me, it practically oozes off of her."
"At a minimum," Marshall concludes, "We should wait to see what the boys in the field have to say about this ex-husband of hers, Krane or whatever his name is. They may have learned something that will uhhhh influence our thinking."
Michael
Sophie takes in both of Marshall's statements. "All right. We should watch for Mitch and Roger's report; if they're on long-term stakeout it may be a call instead of their returning so I should get back into the library at some point and watch the phones. I agree with you, Marshall: Archie should gently interrogate Jo, check her for memetic infection, and hypnotize if necessary. If you think it's necessary to go up to Sonoma to use your CCRME, that's fine, but I trust Archie's ability to protect himself. Especially if Jo is hypnotized." She's gone back to using his first name. "Charley. What should we do about her, and possible exposure there?"
Rob
(Still thinking about the Jo and Charley questions, but in the meantime Archie hasn't quite dropped the idea of Prideaux-ing Marshall. I'm also thinking about how, on The Americans, whenever they made any kind of contact with an asset, the Center immediately kept pumping them for more, more, more).
"Well, no not in an official capacity, whatever that would even mean. Just, you know, drop hints back at her. Give her an opening to make contact, while maintaining deniability if she is just a civilian. We could watch your back, keep you under surveillance the whole time."
"And if not you, then who? I don't know that I'd trust Mitchell's detachment here. If Abeille's as sweet and lovely as everyone keeps making her out to be, he's liable to, I dunno, propose marriage or something."
"But we can certainly wait until he and Roger check in about Krane."
Brant
Marshall shakes his head. "I think we should just watch her. She is just too much of an unknown right now to risk playing games with her. What if she's a deep Russian asset? What if she's a test sent from Granite Peak? What if she's a catspaw for a deep mole in the Indigo Children program? I think we need to watch her for a while. Put Roger on her. He is always reliable and I suspect his alternate personae subroutines provide him with a degree more uhhh protection from neurolinguistic interference. He managed Moore extremely well, after all, and I see parallels between Moore and Abeille."
Rob
Though inclined to be suspicious of Genevieve, Archie's a bit nonplussed by Marshall's paranoia. "This woman really rattled everyone, didn't she?" (Thinks, but doesn't say: didn't you make deals with a kusarikku in Colorado, now you're spooked by a family therapist?)
"Certainly, we can just keep eyes on her for now: put Roger on her, leave Mitchell on Krane if need be."
"So. Shall we go talk to our girls, see what they made of the celebrated Mrs. Abeille?"
Brant
"Sure. Do you want me to stick around for the interview? I'd leave the questioning to you. Probably best not to do it alone, I guess."
Rob
"Stick around, if you don't mind. I'd appreciate your read on Jocasta's mental state. (no mention of Charley's) Actually, before we call them in: this business about Jocasta's 'flash back'. Is this something I need to be concerned about? Her drug use, I mean? I try not to stick my nose in to people's, erm, lifestyles, but there was another incident in England …"
Brant
Marshall stands up and fixes his blazer. "The woman's a mess, Arch. You know that." He turns to open the door. "Who do you want first? Or do you want them together?"
Rob
"Let's do it together. I don't want them to feel like they're being called to the principal's office."