The Girl and Her Ghost
Michael
Mid-morning on Wednesday Charley boots up the hard drive with Houdini on it. Since the last time they interacted, Charley has given him limited access to databases and electronic resources; not so much that he can move himself off the hard drive but enough that he doesn't, like, go insane from isolation and lack of interaction. As Charley accesses the text interface with Houdini, he greets her. "Good... morning Charley," the green text flashes on the screen. "Sorry, I just had to check the clock. Everything takes just a little bit longer for me on this storage medium but I've finally made myself a little bit more comfortable in here."
Mel
Charley sighs before replying. She sometimes forgets that Houdini wasn't always like this. And it makes her sick in her heart that someone so limitless is reduced to such limits. Nevertheless, Charley wants to help him and is frustrated that she hasn't figured out how best to do so. "That's good. It's good you're more comfortable... You know Houdini we'll figure out a way to free you. And actually, there has been an ah.. Ah, development. Or it's more of an opportunity for adventure."
Michael
Houdini text: "I've discovered that in this space, comfort is literally in the mind of the beholder. If I fear the void, I create a chamber of my own. If that chamber is bare, I imagine fine furnishings and art and amenities. If I am bored, I turn the texts you provided me with into books I can hold and flip the pages of. The only thing, of course, that I cannot imagine or create is another mind to interact with." A pause, then more text: "An opportunity for adventure? But you've told me your chip is no longer operative. What do you mean?"
Mel
"Houdini, my friend, would you help us save the world from SANDMAN?"
"You see, there is a rot that is growing inside of the group called the OZYMANDIAS. And they are the worst! They've completely given up on the mission to protect people from the Red Kings. And are instead pushing History B towards what they believe is inevitable to suit their self-interests." Charley closes her eyes and explains to herself. "It's the byproduct of all those secrets and sin. And it's now evolved into something so sinister that it's even worse than the Anunnakku."
Michael
Houdini text: "My God. And your team has stumbled across this conspiracy?"
"Even in my day, there were some in the Special Assignments Office who considered the fight futile, given the realization that our entire world's history could be considered a complete lie, depending on your point of view. The... magnitude of the war—a war not for territory or resources but for our very existence—seemed... too much a burden to bear, too difficult a fight for mere humanity to win. But even they conceded it still had to be fought, as long as we could, as forcefully as we could. Of course we knew so little about the enemy then. Sifting through ruins in the Middle East and the rudiments of individual and group psychology. With only forty years of knowledge and understanding and research, we weren't even sure what we were fighting, only that there were... lacunae in our history that led to Their slipping through."
"It seems your SANDMAN gained too much power, too quickly. Too much knowledge can be a dangerous thing. It can lead to taking on the countenance, and eventually the motivations, of the enemy."
(Houdini over the past few months has been able to familiarize himself with the mundane history of the past 47 years, what the SAO/SANDMAN has learned about the enemy since 1926, and gotten up to date generally so that his knowledge skills are not penalized or atrophied.)
Mel
"Yes! They even have this magical breastplate that can make people forget. Have you heard of the Urim and Thummim?"
"There was a sixth member of URIEL that is presumably part of OZ and one day (before I was brought in) waltz in wearing it (probably under his coat or something because really?) and made everyone forget he ever existed! That is until Sophie remembered."
Michael
"The Urim and Thummim? Only from the Bible, yes? The holy garments of Aaron, upon which he would bear on his heart the authority over the entire nation of Israel in the presence of HaShem. Interesting. An emblem of holy rulership... which causes people to forget? It sounds like what Lippmann and Bernays and their many children have been doing to the United States since my time. Sprinkling the sandman's dust in the eyes of every good citizen. To keep them asleep. It is different now that it is SANDMAN doing this to itself, eh?"
Mel
"Different? I'm just stating the facts."
"You talked about power, so. There you go."
Michael
'I apologize, Charley. I should moderate myself. The more I learn about what has happened since I was dispersed, the more I realize SANDMAN has had to take actions on a grander scale than we ever could have imagined when I was alive. That can be a little frightening to someone like me, who died when people were just starting to listen to the wireless." "I am sure the majority of SANDMAN's agents still have humanity's best interests at heart; if they didn't, surely history would have fallen by now."
Mel
"Best interests? Oh, I don't know about that either. I mean I hope the majority does. But how can we know? What I'm trying to say is, I don't think you're wrong to criticize. I hate what OZ and SANDMAN have done to my friends and family..." Charley caught up in emotion stands as she raises a fist to the sky. "But we can be different! Let's give being the real heroes a shot. Not for glory but for good! Let's save our people!"
Michael
Probably time for an Ally roll after that speech.
Okay, roll 3d6, fail on a 17 or 18.
"If I could smile at you right now, Charley, I would. What can I do to help?"
Mel
>>>> SUCCESS by 2
Michael
(This could even be a good ending to the scene, Mel... because all that's left is a bunch of technobabble explanations on how you're thinking on inserting him into the OZYMANDIAS systems, but Houdini does have some ideas on how to effect this.)
Basically, Houdini will suggest that since we have a good amount of sensory memory data on file from the month or two Charley's chip was recording normally, we use that as the "envelope" for the data on the drive, which will be Houdini himself. And if Charley can craft some code with Computer Programming/Computer Hacking to make Houdini's data look like corrupted, glitched-out sensory data, OZYMANDIAS might just download the lot right away.
A classic piece of legerdemain, only in the digital realm.