Logan's gig (LS.org story)

[Cybermancer]

I think you've been doing a good job of it so far. Without revealing too much, I'll say the following that has impressed me so far.

1. Location: Relatively isolated. The supernatural isn't in the public's face. It won't challenge the beliefs of anyone not involved.

2. Scale: It's a big bad but defeatable. And if not this year, maybe next. An element I thought was pretty clever.

3. Levels of involvement: There's something for everyone, from investigators to combat types.

4. Links to literary horror: A nice touch IMHO.

5. Starting out low key, and contacting possibly interested parties ICly via PM. Plus, it'll never effect anyone who doesn't get involved. It's not in the face of anyone not interested.

I say keep it up. It has potential and I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

There are a few players who can expect IC PM's from Nemesis shortly for their role in all this.

[Lord Z]

Li, be aware that Jefffar has some big plans soon for all the characters based in D.C. I noticed that Logan just got a new office there. I mention this because his story could conflict with Logan's Gig if they take place at the same time.

I don't know if it would help, but Professor Ali is an expert in translations and Middle Eastern history. Raven has a small army of NPC journalists to dispatch for whatever on-location coverage you would like done.

So what are the thread names I should follow when they pop up?

[Lord Z]

I don't know what your Big Bad might be, but Ali has publically offered help with Middle Eastern lore before, and he has mentioned his translations. If he could be helpful, someone would have to send him a PM to draw him in. Raven, well, let's just keep him out of it. You raised a good point about them being antagonistic.

[Jefffar]

Well a major portion of the folks involved in the 21st stuff have stopped responding, so I've put that off.

[Lord Z]

I received the PM from Logan. I sent back an initial reply. Is there a particular phrase that we would like Ali to translate this text into?

[Lord Z]

Psychic Translation should compensate for bad initial translating. I've sent the PM with the translation included. At this point, Ali thinks that Logan has purchased a hoax grimore.

The star on the parchment, how many points does it have?

[Cybermancer]

"That is not dead which can eternal Lie."
"With strange eons even death may die"

Interesting.

[Lord Z]

That quote is from Call of the Cthulhu (the story), right? I thought I recognized kit.

A five-pointed star can represent a lot of things. In Jewdiasm, it represents the ten tribes of Isreal. In Christianity, it's the Star of Bethlehem. It is the official symbol of the Bahal'i religion (in which it also often represents the human body). Both the Neo-Pagans and the Satanists have adopted the pentangle as their own. It can even represent militaries.

The combination of an eye with a pentangle suggests free masonry. I did not find a reference to fire as a masonic symbol though. The fire could be literal, representing actual fire. Then again, the flames might not be flames at all. It could be crudely drawn smoke or water or cloth. Clearly, Ali is not much of a symbologist.

I'm just brainstorming at this point.

[Cybermancer]

I am reminded of this very old wisdom.

To everything there is a season, and
a time to every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born, and
a time to die;
a time to plant, and
a time to pluck up
that which is planted;

A time to kill, and
a time to heal;
a time to break down, and
a time to build up;

A time to weep, and
a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and
a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and
a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and
a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and
a time to lose;
a time to keep, and
a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and
a time to sow;
a time to keep silence, and
a time to speak;

A time to love, and
a time to hate;
a time of war; and
a time of peace.


Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

From The Holy Bible (King James Version)
Attributed to King Solomon

It's supposedly a very bad translation of
"That is not dead which can eternal Lie."
"With strange eons even death may die"

A five-pointed star can represent a lot of things. In Jewdiasm, it represents the ten tribes of Isreal. In Christianity, it's the Star of Bethlehem.

[Cybermancer]

That doesn't look like an eye in the center to me. To my imagination, it looks like a hooded thing using two arms to pull itself out of some pit.

But then, I may be reading more into than is there.

Also notice that the lines don't intersect. It's one continuous line that bends, then goes over and under itself endlessly.

*EDIT*

The recent post by Nemesis is related to this thread. Check with Logan/Shang Li if you're aiming to give up IC information on the Cult in Yellow (better known as the Cult of the Yellow sign). Just to make sure everything is on the same page. Even intended red herrings should be close enough to the real deal not to be discounted out of hand.

[Lord Z]

Thank you for the link, Li. That does help.

Good catch, Cybermancer! I did not notice the way that the outer line is drawn. The eye, however, does look like a hastily drawn eye to me, but it is a reptilian eye. Oh gosh, Reptoids! Someone must have a crazed conspiracy theorist character, like the Lone Gunmen or the Question. Where is our raving lunatic to warn ujs about the reptoids?

[Cybermancer]

I have my suspicions about what it really is but I'm going to PM Logan/Shang Li before I say anything. Especially since at this point, the characters I have involved in the RP haven't come across these symbols. It would be frustrating to figure out everything OOCly and not be able to act on it ICly.

As to the reptoids, the reminds me of this utterly insane rant I came across the internet one day. I think I was researching Atlantis. But this was something utterly incoherent. Pure fascination with the insanity in it caused me to read it all the way through to the end. I couldn't believe that there was anyone that gave it any credence. What a world we live in.

It's present in my mind because I came across an equally insane rant last night, posted in all seriousness about what the "King in Yellow" play was really about. What got me about this one, was that it started out coherent but then, bit by bit you could see the bias and eventually even the insanity slip in. It never slipped to the point of blatant dementia that the reptoid one I saw years ago did. And there was just enough governing sanity to make it almost seem reasonable. The sad thing about this author was his bias against a particular religious group. The irony was that his methods were so very similar to theirs. It was like he was a mirror image, opposite but identical as well.

There's a lot of stuff out there in the real world to mine for BtS ideas.

[Cybermancer]

Can I get the link to that? I want to add it to my collection of props.....

I'm afraid I can't or rather won't help you with that. The first link is long lost to my memory. The second was a deliberate tool of hatred, spreading hatred and insidious lies. I will not lead others to such things deliberately, sorry.

However Nemesis did ICly link something that I think is actually fiction, intended as fiction but works as a prop regardless.

UFOlogists and Cultists Unite!

[Cybermancer]

Someone who tells you what to think, is trying to control you, Someone who teaches you how to think is trying to free you, after all.

Quite a wise mind that first said that.

I do not tell anyone how to live or think. But neither will I promote or lead others to those who would attempt to do so-for that would amount to the same thing.

And while I'm sure you could handle it as you say, that is entirely beside the point. My decision has absolutely nothing to do with what you can or cannot handle. It has nothing to do with you at all. It has everything to do with opposing that which I see as wrong by every means available.

I will not contribute to providing such people as would distribute hate in any form the attention and recognition they crave. Even when deconstructed, it provides them with a warped sense of validation. Attention, recognition and validation are things that I will not provide them.

Sometimes teaching someone how to think requires setting an example.

I have made my decision. I believe the reasons for that decision to be correct. There is no profit therefore, in continued debate on the subject.

As for the subject that is the purpose of this thread.

There is some limitation in what information can be shared ICly as not all the players are aware of each others investigations as yet. I should like to mention that however, that Dr. Boggs' player and myself were sharing quite a bit of information via MSN last night. We were also sharing some theories.

[Lord Z]

The King in Yellow play is not a real play at all. Like the Necronomicon or the Tristine Chronicles from Palladium Fantasy, it's a work of literture never written but appears in fragments in other fiction. The play is a story-point of the Tatters of the King campaign for Call of Cthulhu. The rant you found, Cyber, might have been written in-character by some gamer.

Ali at this point will be leaning towards the Bahal'i interpretation of the star symbol. The star would represent a human body. The eye inside the star would repesent either a reptilian influence living inside the body (if it is a reptile's eye) or a symbol of knowledge to be observed, the classic all-seeing eye. If it is the former, then tjhe reptile is probably a crocodile as these were considered prophetic animals and living links to the gods (plus the eye does look a little like the eye of Horus, thus the Egyptian connection). If it is the later, then the flames could be literal. Something must be burnt in order to reveal hidden knowledge. It's not an elegant solution, but then again, Ali is a historian not a symbologist.

[Cybermancer]

The King in Yellow play is not a real play at all. Like the Necronomicon or the Tristine Chronicles from Palladium Fantasy, it's a work of literture never written but appears in fragments in other fiction. The play is a story-point of the Tatters of the King campaign for Call of Cthulhu. The rant you found, Cyber, might have been written in-character by some gamer.

You've missed the mark a bit as to what was being discussed. PM sent.

Ali at this point will be leaning towards the Bahal'i interpretation of the star symbol. The star would represent a human body. The eye inside the star would repesent either a reptilian influence living inside the body (if it is a reptile's eye) or a symbol of knowledge to be observed, the classic all-seeing eye. If it is the former, then tjhe reptile is probably a crocodile as these were considered prophetic animals and living links to the gods (plus the eye does look a little like the eye of Horus, thus the Egyptian connection). If it is the later, then the flames could be literal. Something must be burnt in order to reveal hidden knowledge. It's not an elegant solution, but then again, Ali is a historian not a symbologist.

An interesting theory. I don't recall seeing anything ever done with the Reptoids at LS before although I could be wrong.

[Lord Z]

Regarding reptoids: In a way, maybe we do have reptoids in BtS. The Sowki seem to match reptoids rather well. Keneth Hites wrote the basics about reptoids in his article Ancient Alien Texas Steel Cage Match. I'll go back and review that article.

Yeah, maybe I did miss the point of the earlier post. Oh well, Ali will send Logan is new theory sometime this week.

[Cybermancer]

Regarding reptoids: In a way, maybe we do have reptoids in BtS. The three-eyed monsters (I'll edit this post when I have the books in front of me) are reptilian and masters of disguise. I have long thought that they fit the slot of reptoids rather well. Keneth Hites wrote the basics about reptoids in his article Ancient Alien Texas Steel Cage Match. I'll go back and review that article.

Yeah, maybe I did miss the point of the earlier post. Oh well, Ali will send Logan is new theory sometime this week.

You know, the reptoids might make an interesting wiki article.

[Lord Z]

That is a great suggestion. I have some articles to edit this week, but I might be able to get to a Wiki article next week.

[Cybermancer]

Okay, let's get this beast rolling again.

In 'real time', the Solstice has come and gone. That's fine. It just means that people are currently traveling home, recovering or preparing their thoughts on the adventure they just took part in.

Meanwhile, we need to sort out exactly what happened. Which means the tail end of the investigation needs to be settled before the actual hunt begins. As of the 20th, Doctor Boggs, Ron Caliburn, Brutal, Logan, Nemesis and Cybermancer were all in the area and had met up, thanks to Doctor Boggs. A couple of days prior to that, Doctor Boggs and Cybermancer had conducted a helicopter survey of the park looking for traces of magic and dimensional energies.

I believe Doctor Boggs was also doing some asking around on his own time? Also, Brutal mentioned to me that he was arriving around the 18th to do some snooping around. What info did that bring up?

I trust we're all sharing info ICly at this point?

[Cybermancer]

Okay, Cyber will make a note of the other locations along the line. At least there's a straight line of advance that's relatively predictable.

He'll compare the energies to the usual suspects (Hades, Dyval, Palladium) to see if it's something he's seen before. Not a big deal if it's not. But now he knows where it's coming from and what frequencies to try and jam when he springs the trap. He's not overly concerned about Logan, so long as he stays out of his way and let's Cyber do his thing. He does mention (to no one/everyone) that his ten spheres are already buried although oddly there's no evidence of the ground being recently disturbed. Dr. Boggs would have seen them in the back of the semi but they're not there now.

At some point, when everyone is together, he'll explain the dimensional trap. There are ten spheres buried in the ground where the demon likes to disappear from when it's rampage is over. When he activates them, they'll pop up out of the ground and form an interconnected lattice in two layers (blue lines of energy will link the ten spheres, forming the five outer points of a pentagram and the five inner junctions). They will 'jam' it's attempt to return home, but not indefinitely. And once it realizes that they're stopping it from going home, it's liable to begin smashing them. It's impossible to predict how many it will have to smash before it escapes. Maybe one. Maybe all. Perhaps any number in between. Even if it doesn't start smashing them, they don't have unlimited power. It's impossible to predict how long they'll last.

It's Cyber's intention to monitor the trap during the anticipated encounter but he does have a couple of other tricks up his sleeve. One is a covered mirror on a hydraulic lift, in case the thing doesn't like the look of it's own face. Next in his bag of tricks is some special sabot silver ammo he's brought along. He calls it moon silver. Why? Because it was mined off the moon from his own world. The sabots are all very pure. He has it in 9mm, 10mm, .45 ACP, .44 Magnum, 5.56mm NATO, 7.62mm NATO, 6.5mm Grendal and .50 Beowulf.

He's also going to have concealed lighting in the area so he can bathe the area in normal white light, ultraviolet light and infrared light in various amounts. Along with them will be various imaging recorders and sensors. The intent that even if the mission fails this time, the information gathered should be useful next time.

So he's not going to have a lot of time to investigate things as he'll be busy setting up the above ground equipment.

When it all goes down, he'll be fairly close to ground zero, monitoring the equipment so he can shout out a warning should it appear as though the trap is about to lose coherence.

Nemesis will tell Logan, that she had planned to ghost this one but couldn't very well leave her friend, Ronny boy, to his own devices. Not after she'd asked him along, anyway. She didn't know about Cyber and the two of them are more or less avoiding each other. And that went double for Brutal. She'll be doing some asking around (at which point the encounter with the drunk you sent me can happen) but otherwise will be setting up in a high point about a mile away with her 20mm South African Sniping rig. She intends to have Brutal at her side for that. To act as her spotter, of course. Since everyone is together, she'll share what she knows (already done via PM).

[Cybermancer]

How familiar is cyber with Egypt? (the entry points all come from the egyptian underworld, while the departure point is to the palladium world - note far harder to pinpoint the origin as each one is seperate, whereas the exit point has been used at least once a year).

Cyber's never been to the dimensions of the Gods of Light and Dark although he has been to some of their pyramids and temples both in Palladium and Egypt (both modern and ancient). So I think it's fair to say that he'd recognize a connection to the ancient Egyptian pantheon although he'll confirm it at a later date.

Given that Nemesis reported that it seemed to take a personal dislike to a puma, it might be worthwhile for some of the investigators to look into "Bast, enemies of."

On arriving at her point, Nem will find the grizzled old ranger already parked nearby in a jeep, eye sockets and cheekbones blacked. "Ya know a bench is a lot more comfortable than tha ground miss. The keys are in it." Is all he says before he walks downslope, seeming to vanish when he hits the woodline. (not like spooky mage vanish or high end special ops agent vanish - more like a life-long hunter in his own back yard)

Speaking of cats, there is one person that I've neglected to mention. Nemesis' cat, Diana is with her. She'll be sniffing around and using her psychic sensitive abilities although she'll have trouble communicating any of it to anyone.

Nemesis herself will be setting up range markers up to a mile and a half from her firing position. She'll also be checking radio receptions at all ranges.

[Jefffar]

Well Ron's brought a few goodies with him.

First off, the steel version of what he'd been working on for Logan. He of course knows the details via PM.

Secondly, Mr. Fluffers. Ron's not so good on the sensitive aspects of all this, so he also has his own early warning system.

Third, based on the intell he had given to him by Nem, Ron's believing he's up against a creature highly tied to the element of Fire (yellow colour, only comes in the summer, comes in an area known for heat based geological phenomena, shoots fire bolts) so in addition to the usual assortment of items and substances that tend to damage the supernatural, he's also brought a few items based on the element of water as a counter. Highlights include mercury filled rounds (associated with the element of water) rounds containing icosahedron penetrators (geometric symbol for water and the shape of a D20) rounds inscribed with mystic symbols for water, holy water and regular water spraying/misting devices, etc. He's also tuned up his armour to be a bit more flame resistant than normal. He doesn't have enough to share, due to the short notice, but he has enough to do some serious damage if it turns out to be the magic bullet.

Fourth, his primary weapon is a tad modified this time around. Normally he prefers shotguns for large bore weapons and rifles to be small bore, high velocity affairs. However, the need for specialized ammunition and the difficulties in making that ammunition tiny forced him to go big. He's got a carbine sized Alexander Arms Beowulf for his primary long arm with an under-barrel repeating 12 gauge for that added flexibility and fire power.

[Cybermancer]

Doctor Boggs, does your namesake know much about Egyptian mythology and history? And can he get such info on short notice?

[Cybermancer]

After reviewing some of his readings taken at the demons exit point, Cyber may be over heard saying (by anyone interested in doing so), "That miserable hell hole? I'm not going back there for nothing. Not while they're still talking about that stupid prophecy." When he realizes he's talking out loud, he shuts up and gets back adjusting things.

[Cybermancer]

I've already mentioned this to a couple of people but for those I missed, I'll be starting a road trip, almost as soon as I'm done typing this. I don't expect to be online again for about 72 hours.

See you then.

[Cybermancer]

And I'm back.