URIEL Confabs at the Hotel

Leonard

Jocasta, nervously smoking, pipes up first. "Dav ... Dr. Wolf seems very convinced that this is legitimately useful and even groundbreaking. Convinced maybe to an extreme degree; he strikes me as practically fanatic about it. But, well, we've all seen things a lot more unlikely than this, right? I have to be honest: the idea, however risky, is powerfully appealing to me," she admits. "I'm not even so much interested in the results, as I'm dubious from a psychological perspective that this model can provide any really micro-predictive accuracy and I'm not sure what we would do about it if we did. We have enough on our plates without trying to change the future. But as an experience? It sounds like it would be mind-altering in the best way, a truly transcendent human experience. Everything we talked about in the Guard."

She pauses, thoughtful as if deciding whether to admit a terrible secret. "I want this. I ... I may even need it. I see the logic of putting people with SANDMAN training through the process, and I trust Charley completely to run the simulation," she finally says. "But there's something in me that doesn't trust it. And, you know," she continues, looking a bit abashed particularly at Archie and Sophie, "that may just be ... me. I have some issues that might be clouding my judgment. It seems like a risk worth taking, but...well, I don't want to lose any of your confidences, as an effective agent, but I just don't know if I'm thinking straight about this. It seems like such an incredible opportunity that I can't really make out the angles."

"What do you all think?"

Rob

Archie seems to be taking it fairly lightly. “It’s very interesting work. I won’t claim to understand the computer side of things but the modeling they're doing here – the social science, mass psychology, and esmology – is extremely impressive. For that reason alone, I'm curious to take it for a spin."

“But I wouldn't make it out to be more than it is. It's going to be like play acting, a kind of role-play game to help Wolf kick the tires on his simulation. Nobody's going to lose their grip on reality. And you don't have to worry for one second about our confidence in you, Jocasta."

Now Archie looks a little more serious. "But you're right that Dr. Wolf is something of a true believer. If there's anyone here I'm worried for, it's him. He might be too close to his work. It's not... good for you to think too hard about esmology. To imagine human beings as cogs in a machine, bees in a hive. That's how they saw us, once. But we showed them that human beings are more than that, that we can't be reduced to holes in a punch card. We showed them that in Oakland back in March. We show them that every day. Maybe we can show Wolf that too."

Bill

Roger is really impressed by Archie. “So we go, we play along, maybe teach these folks a thing. I’m down for that. And Jo, if the first hit Friday is bad, we get the hell out. Go tour some distilleries or something.”

Michael

Sophie: "All right. I suppose it's only fair to inform you all that David and I were romantically involved at university. More than a dalliance, less than an engagement, let's say." Sophie bums a cigarette from Jocasta; she's been doing that a lot lately. "I... I almost feel like a different person than I was back then. Regardless, when I was recruited into MI6, David went off to pursue another degree, of course. We split up. But he's always been... idealistic. It doesn't seem like learning about the secret war between us and the Red Kings has changed that very much. His concern is still with humanity and its perceived failings."

Archie is of course correct. Esmology can have a slow, eroding effect on one’s view of humanity if one isn't careful. And the straitlaced rationalist David that I knew at Cambridge doing research on medieval mystics and chant seems ... absolutely ludicrous, to be quite honest. He has changed. URIEL being here, with our well-known-within-SANDMAN experience with, let's say, 'true believers,' seems almost like ... a cry for help from him. Like he needs us to keep an eye on him."

"I'm fairly enthused to see what he's been working on, but I'm also wary. Damn it, I wish Mitch were here. I'd love to see what his vision tells us about the GRAIL TABLE team and their equipment. Taint-wise. But that will need to fall to Charley, I think. I agree with everyone, Charley included: Charley should do a complete diagnostic on the entire system before we agree to go in. But I will go in. I owe it to you, and honestly to David."

Mel

“Well Dad, if everything checks out and I’m certain I can keep things running safely, it would be for the best.”