That’s How It’s Done
Michael
Thursday. October 18, 1973. At 6:00 pm local time in Huntsville, the communications personnel near the big board at ALLOCHTHON headquarters start hearing their phones ring and their Telexes chatter. On the big board, a cluster of four sightings pop into life; the Telex tells the tale. A pair of high-altitude sightings from SANDMAN recon craft and two sightings called into local authorities from civilians on the ground over the course of 15 minutes in a rough line from the Point 7 zone to Mansfield, Ohio, roughly 40 miles north. The UFO is appearing at low altitudes, apparently between 1,000 and 2,000 feet, and ground-based interceptors have been scrambled from Wright-Patterson as well as helicopters from the much closer Mansfield Air National Guard base. The craft is silvery, oblong, and generally matches the "physical" descriptions of the vehicle seen at Point 1 by Roger and in the air from Atlanta to Huntsville by Archie. By 6:40 pm, the big board will look like it does below.
Teams from Huntsville could be on the ground in Mansfield at the Air National Guard base in a little over an hour. Helicopter teams could surveil, track, and engage the craft while the jet fighters hit the air from Wright-Patterson. The comms team will hail Mansfield with engagement orders as given by Dr. Redgrave earlier today unless the URIEL team wants to supplement or countermand them.
Brant
Do the various dispatch teams need the go-ahead order from either Archie or Marshall to put all this into action? If so, I think you can safely assume: permission granted. Shoot down that UFO.
Michael
"Roger. Standing orders engage and takedown."
Do any of the team want to catch a flight to Mansfield tonight? Be ready to scramble if there's a takedown? Three very promising bodies of water near Mansfield and of course Lake Erie 40 miles north (if things head in that direction).
Brant
Marshall is staying at HQ.
Leonard
If the craft goes down, and it's over water, and it appears the dispatch teams have acted as ordered, Jocasta would consider going out there to commune with the Mishipeshu and make sure he keeps his end of the bargain.
If Marshall or Archie countermand it, she won't go, nor will she if anything appears to go wrong, but if things seem to go as planned, she'll give it a shot.
(She's fine with anyone else coming along if she goes, as well, but will go solo if not.)
Jeff
Mitch was pretty unhelpful last time he showed up to support Jocasta's interactions with one of the Beautiful, so it would probably make more sense for him to sit this one out.
Bill
Roger would definitely go, to back Jo up and do the needed in negotiations with spirits or the dead. Also with his gun.
Michael
Okay, Jo and Roger confirmed for being embedded in the ground retrieval team to actually make sure Underwater Panther gets fed.
I was thinking, there was talk of Archie and Marshall wrapping a shootdown and retrieval op in some memetic camouflage so URIEL could operate freely in the situation, and I'd love to design that meme with you two here if that's okay:
"Maybe I'm overthinking it, though," he says, cutting off Archie as he opens his mouth. Marshall seems a bit ... excited.
"Maybe we can just disinfo it — bureaucratize it. Tell the pilots that a ground team is going to clean up the site. Tell the ground team that we're sending in another — classified — specialized scalper unit for any survivors. Tell the scalpers that we're using a different — even more classified — team of scalpers with specific training in this field. Tell ground control all three versions and wrap it up in a memetic cloak of, 'Eh, sounds above my pay grade, I'll let someone else worry about it'."
Marshall suddenly steps quite close to Archie. He smells like fancy cologne. In a near whisper: "And we could use this against them, you see. The Ozzies. Inject a rumor, a bit of hearsay, about us. How the things in the sky that aren't 'ours' belong to the shadowy cabal of traitors that people have been 'whispering' about ever since Dr. Redgrave got shot. 'And I heard that the things piloting the UFOs are theirs, like, the next generation of Indigo Children.' So it stands to reason, does it not, that Control would want recovery handled by their most trustworthy intermediaries? URIEL, Uriel, the angel who watches the Earth."
Two skill rolls are needed. To evaluate a target audience, roll against Anthropology, Area Knowledge, Current Affairs, Psychology, Research, or Sociology, at the GM’s option. Crafting the campaign is a Propaganda roll. Average the margin of success on these rolls; that becomes the meme’s Power.
To deploy a meme, roll against the skill governing your chosen deployment method: Computer Programming, Electronics Operation (Media), Merchant (to buy advertising), Streetwise or Politics (to spread a rumor), and so forth. If need be, apply bonuses to this roll based on the Reputation or Social Regard of your spokesmen, the Appearance of your spokesmodels, etc.
Evaluating the target audience feels like a roll where Marshall will use Savoir-Faire (Project SANDMAN)-16 to aid Archie's Sociology-18 roll. Logic here is that with this many moving parts—pilots, ground team, scalpers—Archie has to analyze how all these paramilitary teams work together sociologically, and Marshall can help smooth that with his deep structural-psychological knowledge of how SANDMAN works.
Crafting the campaign: So here I think the combination of effects will be Marshall working on the verbiage to be used for each team while Archie crafts his trademark "multi-level campaign targeted at ants with different levels of knowledge/different levels of the picnic blanket" memeplex around it.
So here I think Marshall will aid with a Psychology-21 roll using his Empathy bonus, provided Marshall doesn't mind actually delivering the meme verbally to each SANDMAN field unit once the meme is ready, and then Archie can roll Propaganda-20.
So Brant, first Marshall will roll his two aid rolls: Savoir-Faire and Psychology. A successful aid roll gives +1 to Archie's roll, a +2 on a critical success; a failed roll gives -1, or -2 on a critical failure.
Then Rob, Archie will roll both his rolls with those modifiers. Then we will mock up the delivery of the meme once we know what the final maximum Power is.
Brant
Psych-21.
>> SUCCESS by 11
Savoir-Faire-16.
>> SUCCESS by 1
(whew)
Michael
Both successful, so Archie will roll the following to determine the max Power of the memeplex: Sociology-19 to analyze Propaganda-21 to craft.
Rob
Sociology-19.
>> SUCCESS by 7
Propaganda-21.
>> SUCCESS by 6
meh
Michael
Okay, well that's (7+6)/2 or 6 Power (rounded down). Let's see if Marshall can juice this a little with delivery. Brant, have a look at your skills, see if you see one that would be a good venue for giving orders. I was thinking Public Speaking would be good; add in your situational modifiers for Security Rank (and Voice and Charisma obviously) and you'd be looking at Public Speaking-24.
Brant
>> SUCCESS by 12
Michael
Okay, so the final Power of the meme will be a 7. You two want to split the Corruption equally? It would work out to 3 Corruption for each of you.
Brant
Fine by me.
Rob
team work makes the dream work
Michael
All right, so that meme will begin worming its way around the teams assigned to interception, takedown, and recovery.
I assume with this alert going on, the URIEL team on site at Huntsville will stay close to the phones and radios in ALLOCHTHON offices to get live reports from the field.
While Jo and Roger wait on the flightline, ready to be scrambled when needed.
The next couple of hours are quiet. Long-range radar in the Mansfield area shows no bogeys; the fighter jets that were scrambled to intercept the saucer find themselves without radar or visual targets; reports from the ground of UFOs, which ended up numbering a half-dozen at around sunset Ohio time, peter out. Normal military air traffic resumes at around 10 pm Eastern, 9 pm Central, with another line of Hueys and fighters fueled and ready to scramble if contact is re-initiated.
Then, a little before 10 pm Huntsville time, the ALLOCHTHON comm center buzzes to life again. An Air National Guard Huey en route from Columbus to Cleveland through our sighting zone radios in to Mansfield ground control. ALLOCHTHON radio listens in on the call, Captain Lawrence Coyne commanding.
"We have, uh, confirmed visual contact with the bogey reported earlier, level altitude twenty-five hundred feet, moving parallel to us, approximate air speed 90 knots. Our, uh, visibility is clear, approximate distance 12 miles heading zero-niner-zero. We will keep eyes on it until interceptor craft can be scrambled from Mansfield ground, over."
About 15 seconds later, radio contact from Coyne's Huey again. "Uh, bogey's nose is glowing orange-red, illuminating a... cigar-shaped oblong craft, dull metallic sheen illuminated by blue glow on its underbelly... portholes visible around top and side of craft, it has changed heading to an intercept course with us, taking her down to seventeen-hundred now as we pass over Mansfield Base, please advise, over.
The head of the SANDMAN contingent at Mansfield says back over radio, "Army Reserve one-five-triple-four, change your heading to original due north course, see if they follow, over."
Coyne responds, "Roger, you just get your boys in the air quick, I don't think we have what it takes to outrun this thing."
An increase of static on the radio transmission. "Mansfield ground, the vehicle is [static]... instruments are g...[static], the cockpit is bathed in green light, and the... [prolonged period of static].
Another comms clerk speaks up to the team monitoring the situation. "Mansfield Base has scrambled an air-to-air-capable trio of Hueys. They're closing in on the craft."
Coyne on UH-15444 returns to the airwaves. "We bent around it, it... it just stopped and hovered right in front of us, we are going top speed, balls to the wall, heading three-four-five, navigator can see gunship squadron approaching from ground."
As the Coyne broadcast fades into the background, the rocket-equipped gunship squadron's captain reports in on a SANDMAN-secure frequency. "The craft is hovering over Mansfield proper, it is no longer intercepting UH-15-triple-four. We have the craft in our sights, is it still advantageous to down over a body of water? If so, we will attempt to draw enemy craft to Charles Mill Lake and will keep our distance from bogey's presumed psychotronic weaponry."
Brant
Marshall nods at Coyne. “Parameters still in effect. Make it happen.”
Michael
A little over a minute of radio silence as the main comms center switches over from listening into Coyne's recon Huey to the lead attack gunship commanded by SANDMAN. After a tense 80 or 90 seconds, "Uh, Mansfield-Huntsville, bogey has been hit by rocket fire, its speed is reduced and it seems to be losing motive power, trying to stay in the air. Uh, surface of the craft looks damaged, metallic shell shredded. We are, uh, picking up a localized atmospheric disturbance, cyclonic winds... the wind seems to be buffeting the craft, it seems much lighter than could be physically possible... it's moving under the increased wind more like a dirigible or a balloon."
20 or so more seconds of silence. "Mansfield-Huntsville, the craft is now losing altitude rapidly, headed directly for ground impact at Charles Mill Lake Reservoir. Have ground teams erect cordons in a mile radius around the southern end of the lake, the craft is trailing debris east-northeast across farmland and forested area south of the lake."
"Impact. I repeat, impact, what was left of bogey has splashed down into southern portion of Charles Mill Lake." A couple of woos from the boys in the lead Huey.
Brant
Marshall will instruct a comms guy to give Roger and Jocasta the green light to take off.
Bill
I'm sure we're all packed and waiting in a hanger in our black turtlenecks. Gotta have the black turtleneck.
What the jacket is, I guess we have to figure out. Military? Classic black trenchcoat with hat?
Roger goes with Jo's suggestion, as long as he can get his gun holster under it.
Leonard
"Full field greens, Roger," Jocasta says with a smile he hasn't seen on her face in weeks. "Just like the old days. Uncle Sam Ain't Released Me Yet."
Bill
"Well I guess I'll pop on the old beret, then."
Brant
Quick system question: can Marshall give Jo and Roger like a +1 modifier bonus to Will rolls for the duration of their trip using Hypnosis or Enchantment or a guided Meditation or something? I can roll and do a little IC thing to make it happen, no big scene or anything. But before I think about how to play it I wanna know if it’s a thing that GURPS can do.
Michael
I was thinking we could do this with psychopharmacology. I was looking at the Combat Amphetamines section (pp.46-47) of the Madness Dossier book, and it looks like each of these raises an attribute by 1 per dose, with the drawback being an equal and opposite penalty for twice as long after the drug wears off, plus the possibility of a Mental Disadvantage if the HT roll is failed. So how about we enshrine something like this:
Whites: Each dose gives +1 Will. If the HT roll fails, the user also gains On the Edge (15)—or On the Edge (12) if he already has any degree of On the Edge—until the drug wears off. On a critical failure, IQ and Will are at -1 per dose and he gains On the Edge as above. $100/dose.
I chose high-value Disadvantages at relatively high Self-Control numbers because Will seems a more important secondary stat than Move or Perception.
Brant
Looks great to me! Marshall will supply Jo and Roger with some, with a blessing. If they want to take them they can but not required.
Michael
Where do you fall on whether the Disadvantage should be On the Edge or Low Empathy?
Rob
(guided meditation, combat amphetamines: potato, potahto...)
Michael
Well, what can I say, I didn't want the boost to Will to come cheaply, but if Marshall did want to teach Visualization as a technique to the rest of URIEL during our upcoming timeskip, I dare say you'll all have the character points to buy it.
Brant
Let’s go with On the Edge.
Michael
Makes more sense for something in the amphetamine class, I concur.
Also tweaked the Self-Control numbers a little bit.
In players' favor.
About 10 minutes after UFO splashdown (right around when Jo and Roger have taken off on a military flight to Mansfield, Ohio), the bell rings on the secure Granite Peak Telex in the ALLOCHTHON back offices. A lengthy chattering of the printer spits out a set of orders sent direct from Control:
PROJECT SANDMAN AGENTS REDGRAVE, HELIX, RANSOM, GOTTLIEB, WEST TO REPORT TO HUNT AIRFIELD, LANDER, WYO., FRI 19 OCT, 2 PM MDT AGENT NICHOLS (CODENAME RAVEN) REACTIVATED AND REINSTATED AS ACTIVE AGENT, REASSIGNED FROM OPERATION THROWAWAY TO OPERATION URIEL FRI 19 OCT AGENTS GOTTLIEB, WEST OFFICIALLY DETACHED FROM OPERATION ALLOCHTHON FRI 19 OCT. WILL REPORT TO GRANITE PEAK DIRECT FROM HUNT AIRFIELD FOR DEBRIEFING, TECHNICAL INTERVIEW, AND REASSIGNMENT AGENT RANSOM TO REPORT TO GRANITE PEAK ASAP AFTER OPERATIONAL CLOSURE OF OPERATION ALLOCHTHON FOR SECURITY BRIEFING, RETRAINING, AND REASSIGNMENT: HEAD, OPERATION AUGEGOTTES AGENT REDGRAVE TO SUCCEED AGENT RANSOM AS OPERATIONAL DIRECTOR, OPERATION URIEL, UPON RANSOM REASSIGNMENT. REDGRAVE TO SUPPLY CONTROL WITH NEW OPERATION URIEL MISSION STATEMENT AND PERSONNEL ROSTER ASAP AFTER SUCCESSION ALL ACTIVE MEMBERS OF OPERATION URIEL TO REPORT TO GRANITE PEAK NO LATER THAN 31 DEC 1973 FOR INDIVIDUAL DEBRIEFING AND TECHNICAL INTERVIEW RE OPERATION ALLOCHTHON, ADDITIONAL SECURITY BRIEFINGS
Brant
Marshall permits himself a smile when he finishes reading the telex; then he heads back to the comms center to monitor for reports from Jo and Roger.
Michael
In the half-hour immediately following the downing of the UFO in Mansfield, Ohio, the reports from both the high-altitude and on-the-ground subduction-measuring instruments show no appreciable change in the size of the four remaining subduction zones. They are all still radically reduced from their original extent and power but the mere downing of the UFO does not seem to have changed the status quo. We will have to see what the recovery teams and the URIEL representatives are able to come up with. Jo and Roger will be on the ground in Mansfield by 12:15 am local time, at the advance SANDMAN base south of Charles Mill Lake by 12:40 am. Modafinils are in both your loadouts.