The Found Arcana - Chapter 10, X marks the spot Options

[Jack_Spade]

<<Monday Morning - March 20, 2079 - Seattle>>

The move had been successful and the first week had gone in a blur. The first HOA-meeting had turned out not as bad as could be expected: Sunday evening with lots of soycaf and fresh donuts, the actual meeting had been good natured and more of a socializing event. There had been two somewhat lenghty speeches from the president, who obviously loved to hear himself talk, as well as from the minute keeper who just read out the minutes of the previous meeting in its entirety, never stopping to think if all this information was actually relevant.

But at least they had been welcoming Bobby had attended with AM and kept his mouth shut most of the time, so that it was left to the elf to leave a favorable impression
(One CHA+Ettiquette role please)

Once they were back, Bobby gave his goodbyes to the team: He was setting up his third initiation with one of the nine paths to enlightenment - Satori, which meant spending excessive amounts of time in meditation and hardly leaving his room.

[ Spoiler ]

SG p.141

Initiation Satori Magic+2: 11d6t5 3
Initiation Satori CHA+3: 7d6t5 0

Success - Bobby is 29 days not available
Initiation: 14d6t5 6
Success - Bobby reaches Grade 3

Around 0900h the official SIS matrix page received a message, alerting AM.

The message read:

<<Dear Sir or Madam,

Your agency comes highly recommended and I would like to hire you for a special task: A very valuable artifact was taken from me - likely by my own son.

I ask you to find both and bring at least the artifact back to me. If you can convince my son to come as well, or at least talk to me via commlink, I'm prepared to offer you a bonus.

For details, I'd prefer a face to face meeting, this afternoon at 1500h, if you can manage. 1918 8th Ave #3300, Seattle.

With kind regards

Xavier Tien III>>

[Gilga]

I am not at my best during the HOA meeting, but I keep it polite and try not to draw too much attention to myself or show signs of boredom. It is not my area, and I am thankful for Bobby showing up. It is comforting to have an actual SINner that has been part of a legitimate society at arm's reach.

[ Spoiler ]

Ettiquete: 11d6t5 2

===
Once I get the message, I forward it to my colleagues and start researching Mr. Xavier Tien III on the matrix to see who we will meet.
I add

>> Tamarind, I'd like to do a basic background check on the client if you want to help. That way, we come ready for the meetup. Guys, if you need my mojo, do it quickly, not five minutes before we leave I sometimes need to rest after these things.

[Tecumseh]

Mato's idea of conspicuous consumption is more cyber. After moving in, he disappears to the clinic and emerges with new cybereyes.

"Doc Painless says hi," he reports back.

His eyes are different than before. On the astral they are obvious as can be. In the physical world, the effect is more subtle. The whites are whiter. The pupil is blacker, deeper, almost like a little abyss. The iris retains some of the chocolate brown of his previous eyes, but from some angles there's a metallic flash that circles the pupil like a golden ring.

"Doc says that bear eyes are popular," he says. "Not literally, but almost like an orange color."

In Touristville, Mato was prone to staring out the window for long stretches of time. One can do that in Bellevue but what's happening out on the street isn't even even a fraction as interesting. Now you can often find Mato simply staring at inanimate objects around the house, as if seeing them for the first time.

"Everything is so sharp..." he says, lost in thought. "Have you ever looked and salt and pepper up close? Or sugar?" He is equally curious about dryer lint, bread mold, moss, the grass in the backyard, tree bark, and pine needles.

He does his best to present a distinguished image to the neighborhood. He makes sure to always groom before going outside, usually wearing a suit. He treats it almost like a uniform. "My social armor" he calls it.

He is grateful when the call comes in, if only because he broke the piggy bank to afford the high-end cybereyes. Sure his trust fund would keep him housed, clothed, and fed, but that wasn't going to pay for the genemods he had eyes on...

"That gives us six hours," he says once AM relays the message. "It's at least a 20-minute drive, but let's leave 30 minutes to account for parking and any slowdowns. Once we get a basic outline of Mr. Tien was can start sending out feelers."

He contributes his own modest skill to the collective effort but is clearly better suited to other ventures: Logic 5 + Computer 2: 7d6t5 1 hit

[Jack_Spade]

A surface matrix search reveals the following info:

The address is that of a high rise, belonging to a law firm Brewster, Brewster and Jakobson.

Xavier Tien III seems to be a profesionally rich man: He sits on various corporate boards, has a lot of stock and otherwise occupies his time as a patron of the arts. There are at least four stories about him visiting galleries and vernissages.

[Thanee]

"That's in Downtown between the Space Needle and the Wuxing Towers," Raven comments. She had spent a moment looking up the address with her map soft.

"So, yeah, we better put on the good suits and dresses. That guy must have some serious money. Fairly traditional wear is probably good. Are there any pictures of him? What kind of clothing does he wear? Do you think that recommendation came from Ben from Johnson, Goldberg and Associates? Seems fitting. Although, he probably simply is a client, not a lawyer himself."

Rachel casts a spell to increase her charisma a few hours before heading out. She will also assist with any fashion-related questions.

[ Spoiler ]

Increase Charisma F6

Spellcasting 3 hits
Drain Resistance 2 hits (1S Drain)

Spellcasting 3 hits
Drain Resistance 6 hits

Spellcasting 1 hit
Drain Resistance 8 hits

Spellcasting 7 hits (finally!)
Drain Resistance 2 hits (1S Drain)

The small headache should be gone by the time they leave the house.

[Gilga]

" Either them or from the Pike family... the Duchess that gifted me that book if you remember." She explains that Rachel was not with them then.

Then she lies in her workstation and begins to work, "I am digging some stuff for us to use in negotiations. Information is power and everything. If anyone wishes to help, you are most welcome. "

Then comes the fun part, an hour or two in hot simulation feeling like a superheroine capable of scanning vast amounts of data, only limited by the processing power of her hardware. AM tries to find out: 1. about the client, 2. What may have been stolen and its value, 3. Who stole it. 4. Anything else she can use for conversation/negotiation to have something to say in case she gets embarrassed or blanks out at the situation. Now that Jawsey is gone, she will likely take the lead position rather than the wingman, and she needs to be informed to feel more relaxed in the meeting.

[Tecumseh]

"Great work, AM," Mato says of the Matrix research.

"Next I would say let's pivot and look at his son, Xavier Tien IV, since he's an early suspect. Now maybe it's someone framing him so we'll keep an open mind, but let's see if we can establish his recent whereabouts.

"The Fourth is 20 years old. The Boston lockdown was June 2076, so almost three years ago. If he really was at MIT&T at 17 years old then we could be dealing with a formidable intelligence. And magically active on top of that."

[Gilga]

"I don't mind doing it again..." I grin deviously; hot sim is more fun than anything else I can do right now, even if it is just looking for information and not proper gaming. Let's see what we can study on Xavier the Fourth. I say, and with a grin, I close my eyes and enter the wonderland for the second time.

[ Spoiler ]

matrix search: 20d6t5 8

[Tecumseh]

Mato considers what AM digs up on IV.

"He's quiet... disciplined... which makes him all the more formidable."

Shakespeare comes to mind. "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. Such men are dangerous."

To the three ladies he asks, "Can you make sense of this thesis? I know you're experts in magical theory and arcana. If IV is the culprit then maybe what he stole is connected to his research."

[Thanee]

"Sounds like some writeup on the astral body. But what he describes there, materialization from the astral space, like spirits can, should not be possible, as far as I know. I probably won't understand half of it, though. I'm more intuitive than learned. The biggest difficulty is going to be to actually find him. And we should look into what the problem between him and his father is, I doubt the latter is going to tell us too much about it, but you never know. Maybe he is serious about reconnecting with his son, and does realize that he likely did a lot of mistakes. Yeah, I know. But, hey, sometimes people surprise you."

[Gilga]

AM plays the geek, being very knowledgeable about Arcana and other theories.
"In principle, Metahumans can project, which none of the spirits has. The spirit's materialization is the mirror image of astral perception as they are astral entities. By materializing, they also exist in the physical plane but still occupy the same space in both planes. Full mages can exist in both planes but not in the same place, which is a surprising ability. It spawns a heated discussion about what a person is and where the soul lies.

A projecting mage can, in principle, interact with the physical plane where their projecting self lies. She can manifest and speak to people, and there are known examples of projecting self-triggering alchemical preparations in the physical plane - but even these are rare abilities. This thesis claims the possibility of interacting with physical objects by the projecting self - which is very radical.

Though, Many of the things we now casually do were considered impossible before - Bobby's transformation contradicts classical science about the preservation of mass, for example. It was likely, not possible a century ago. So at this point, I keep an open mind and don't assume to know what can and can't be done. Common wisdom changes all the time.

[Thanee]

"Well, maybe it would be a good idea to read the whole thesis, it might give us some insight into him as well," Rachel wonders.

[Gilga]

"Oh, I'll read it eventually, and if it works, you should try it. I am not sure how much we can accomplish before the meeting though, or if the Forth is even relevant."

[Tecumseh]

"Well let's educate ourselves so that we can be informed going into the meet with III," Mato says. "It might help us ask intelligent questions.

"Let's also note these allegations about the III with simsense models. I don't know what his 'type' is, but - ladies - be prepared for some extra attention.

"Is there any hint about the nature of the very expensive clinics that the III has spent so much time at the last nine months? Are they health and wellness places, or is he getting something fancy done, like gene therapy? There are lots of types of gene tech: genetic restoration, rejuvenation treatment, phenotype adjustment, then there are exotic metagenics..."

Mato drifts off with a dreamy look on his face. One imagines that he's fantasizing about what sort of genetech he might get for himself.

He snaps out of it. "So do we know anything about the clinics he's been visiting?"

[Gilga]

"Praise the Trickster. He happens to like tall blonde women. " I say with a mischievous grin. "It is religious. I will have to dress nicer than usual." I say with a makeshift seriousness, and I thank Iktomi for these little tidbits to show me a new perspective on life. I look at Mato seriously and comment . He goes to delta clinic, and they can do anything; you can even be a tall blond elf girl. I'll ask for contact if we end this job on good terms. It would be unprofessional to ask for favors in advance. I always humor when I am a bit nervous.

[Tecumseh]

Mato makes sure he is showered, shaved, and dressed in his nice suit.

"Let's take the Ford," he suggests. "AM will take the lead in discussions. The rest of us can support as we are best able."

[Jack_Spade]

<<Monday Afternoon, 1455h - March 20, 2079 - 1918 8th Ave #3300, Seattle>>

The high rise building was a glittering monstrosity of steel and glas, slightly reminiscent of an eldritch monolith planted by inhuman intelligences - in other words, just your typical, run-of-the-mill corporate cookie cutter construction that made up Seattle's famous skyline.

After having applied all their usual gear, spells and other accessories, the team faced the first hurdle: A ward on the buildings entrance, clearly made by a competend, if not particularly inventive wage mage.

[ Spoiler ]

F6 Dual natured mana barrier
Roll your CHA+MAG vs 12 dice to slip through without breaking it, or - if you can buy hits reliably, beat the 3 bought hits of the barrier

Inside the lobby, a series of identical looking service points with a series of nearly identical looking service people awaited the guests. Their smiles and the inaction of the two very heavily armored and heavily build trolls in Knight Errant uniforms showed that the team's arrival was expected and welcomed.

"SIS Inc?" the fit and smiling service girl with the heavy make up, that made her skin look a bit like it was encased in polyacryl, asked.

The affirmative, made her hand out four visitor badges with printed holo-images of the team's faces.

[ Spoiler ]

Perception test - 3 hits notice the following

[ Spoiler ]

They had a fifth badge ready - one that showed Bobby
Though the two badges for Tarmarind and Rachel look like they were done only a minute ago with a photo taken outside. The one for AM is clearly from before she grew in size

"Please take the elevator over there. The badges will lead you directly to your destination and open any door you need to pass through."

[Gilga]

I use a few fashion spells to choose the occasion dress. A business-like dress with doll shoes and a long skirt, in grey. I do not like leading negotiations, so I ask for Iktomi's blessing before I leave. I was wearing the spiderweb earing and gave myself a fresh makeover by painting the fingernails with a combination of pink and white and tidying my hair in what the matrix calls a 'short and pixie tomboy' hairstyle. Then some attention to my cosmetics to bring more attention to my green eyes and increase my confidence. The ritual makes me feel better, and it ends with invoking Iktomi to be more charming. The entire project takes me 40 minutes, and once well groomed, I take a moment to appreciate myself and feel happy. How can I not be satisfied when well dressed and after I shaped my body exactly as I wanted it? Last smile, and now for that assertive business-woman act.

I like the Ford, but arriving at a meetup with such a wealthy customer in such a car saddens me. The classy look and expensive suits will make up for that impression. As strange as it sounds, I need a more excellent car to feel more confident so that we are successful - not in my head but in my critical and demeaning inner voice. I mean, it is Bellevue. If we move again, I will have a butler named Alfred and the Batcave under my room.

I let someone else drive as I review the background checks and what I know about the man.

[ Spoiler ]

Improve Chrisma F6 - buy 4 hits.
Improve charisma drain: 15d6t5 3
no drain.

Fashion spell drain.
Fashion: 15d6t5 8 - no drain.

Makeover drain:
Makeover: 15d6t5 5
again buying five hits.

I frown at the ward and try to push in; it takes a few moments of awkwardness as I struggle with a barrier that none of the mundanes see - but I quickly make my way inside.

[ Spoiler ]

For passing the ward.
Ward passing: 15d6t5 4

[Thanee]

Dressed in her Zoé Executive Suite, Rachel is ready for their appointment. Her luxurious, dark hair is tied back in a ponytail. Heeled boots and orange-tinted sunglasses, as well as a black cap, complement her outfit. Makeup is minimal, only subtly underlining her natural attractiveness.

She had her senses shifted to the astral before entering, since she expected a ward. They were in Downtown, after all. Once she has attuned her own aura to it, she can easily pass through that obstacle. Nodding at the two guards, Rachel wonders whether those are always here, or just extra security, because of Mr. Tien III. She immediately notices the irregularity with the badges. Looks like they had some older information on SIS, which rules out Ben as the one that passed along the recommendation. That probably also means they expect them to come from Redmond.

Thanks to the trodes fashioned into her cap, Rachel can send some magnified images of the badges to the others.

<< Looks like they got some older pictures of you guys. Tam's and mine are ... very recent. >>

[ Spoiler ]

Buying 4 hits to pass through the ward

Perception (visual) 6 hits

[Tecumseh]

Mato pins the badge to his chest pocket (if that's what he's supposed to do) and wordlessly walks over to the elevator.

He grew up megacorp but still... seeing two trolls on guard, not actively patrolling, just for... deterrence? High-threat response? Mato's been slumming it for long enough that it now feels odd. Will it feel normal again, if the company continues to prosper?

He uses the badge to key the elevator, which presumably will know to take them to the 33rd floor. Along the way, Mato does what his old mentors taught him to do, which is to pick out cameras, drones, points of ingress/egress, etc. Not that he expects to need it, but it can help keep him fresh on what the nice buildings are doing these days.

[Beta]

Tamarind chose the skirt suit, rather than the pants suit. Dark grey, which she suspected may not be her best colour even thought it seemed to work for administrative assistants the world over. She thought she looked a bit older and more weathered than usual, but whatever. She actually doesn't mind hosiery and a skirt, so long as it isn't too cold out. Not as practical as pants, but the world seemed to think that 'skirt' = 'dressed nicely'. And since all she cared about what showing that she'd made an effort to dress for the occasion, that was all that she was looking for. And of course she'd picked up an appropriate clutch of appropriate size for her RCC, and to that she also added a physical notebook and pen.

Aside from her usual moisturizer and some lip gloss she didn't bother with cosmetics. When she'd gotten out of Butte below she'd been teased for being so baby faced, her skin so soft from almost never seeing the sun or real weather. Since then she'd spent a lot of her life outside. Oh, sometimes in vehicles for sure, but when she had a chance she'd always gotten out and sat on the hood or leaned against the side and appreciated the sun or clouds, the wind, even the rain. The weathering of her face reflected being outside and above ground, and she had no desire to hide that.

She did take a bit of time to brush her hair out well, and loosely bind it. It may be picking up some streaks of grey, but overall it still had good thickness and lustre, and she intended to enjoy that for as long as it lasted.

She brought Beauty along with her, to provide moral support on the drive She did make sure to remove the taser darts, however, who knew how strict the security in the parking garage was? With real regret she also left her other drones at the house, and disabled all but the commlink functions of her RCC. She hoped that the security was all that it had cracked up to be. Well, at least Stitch and Toothless were patrolling the house, occasionally twitching curtains and opening and closing doors (she'd confined toothless to those areas where the heavy drone and its tracks wouldn't cause damage). Not true security, but it would make the house seem potentially occupied. She would not be in much of a position to do anything about it quickly, if anything did happen. That would definitely be in the back of her mind until they got back.

Finally before leaving she turned on the AR fashion features, from the team's account. She rapidly selected options to make the software actually reflect her more or less as she was, instead of some attempt at making her look like the latest fashions victims on the AR side.

When they arrived she left even Beauty in the car, and was feeling a bit stressed until she was amused to see AM's clearly mark the location of the building's wards. Tamarind wishes that she could see the wards, but AM's actions marked it clearly enough.

The lobby was definitely designed to intimidate, and she had to admit it did its job reasonably well. The 'we have more money than you will ever have, and the power that it buys' came through quite clearly. It was a small detail, but the badge had been processed impressively quick. For all of the 'standing around impassive' thing they had going on in here, they'd moved fast. Tamarind was sure that the pic was not of any one moment, but rather a composite made from interpolating multiple frames to maximize resemblance as interpreted by some algorithm. And the AR provided both a pic identical to that on the physical badge, and the AR enhanced view. That little details was in some ways even more intimidating than all of the big stuff. Not just a lot of money, but enough money to spend in places that were not all that obvious.

At the elevator she asks Mato "Do those legs get tired on stairs? My knees and various leg muscles I don't even know the names of are happy for elevators, rather than trudging up endless stairs. But I never did like the design of elevators. They work, but they are not pleasing. So I wish I liked stairs better."

[Jack_Spade]

The elevator moved so smoothly that it's action was nearly imperceptible. Wards flashed past them, but apparently the creator had been present in some fashion, as they let AM and Trouble through without a forced intersection. An uninvited dual-natured creature would have had a very unpleasant ride.

The elevator stopped on the 33rd floor and subtle AR markers guided the team towards an entrance, past another reception and directly into a large corner office. Everything on their way here had been in very tasteful beige colors, accented here and there with a bit of steel and wood. This office looked more like a small museum - its wall were covered in memorabilia from the last 15 decades of American history. Real black and white photographies jockied for positions with seemingly worthless trinkets and genuine pieces of art. A few baseball cards here, a few "Magic the Gathering" cards there and a large painting that quite obviously was a real Grant Wood of "American Gothic" fame was sat prominently on the wall next to the large desk in the middle of the room.

A tastefully creme colored sitting area had been prepared with a plate of cookies. In one of the armchairs sat a man that the team recognized as Xavier Tien III.
Next to him sat a thin man of about 50 years with a severe widows peak, round glasses and an understated suit.

Both got up, when the team arrived.

"Welcome, you must be the SIS Team. Please, take a seat. Would you like some coffee? Soycaf, or some other refreshment?" Xavier greeted them warmly. His demeanor was very charming and disarming, as he introduced the man next to him: "This is Dr. Ian Jackobson. I begged him to let us use his office for this meeting. Isn't it just great? Such a great collection."

The prospective client busied himself with handing out beverages and waited for everyone to settle down.

"Thank you for making time for me at such a short notice, but I'm afraid we have to move quickly. I understand that your firm has a reputation for discretion. But Ian insists that you sign a non-disclosure agreement, before we beginn. That's alright with you?"

[Beta]

Tamarind is grateful to get a cup of coffee to keep her hands occupied. She messages the others <<I don't have a problem with an NDA>>

Then she talks to her agent, and assigns it to start scanning the team's links for marks, and then she takes several seconds while the team deals with the NDA issue to scan all of the gear herself. It doesn't seem like the sort of place that would pull such tricks, but better safe than sorry.

[Thanee]

Rachel did not recognize much there, but the collected pieces did look interesting. "Indeed, a very nice collection, Dr. Jackobson. If I may say, I also really like the suit. Not ostentatious at all. Great choice. As for the NDA. Obviously, we won't have a problem with it. Standard procedure. You are absolutely right to insist. And we are not here looking for gossip, but for a client and to solve a problem of his. And as Mr. Tien III already said, discretion is one of our cornerstones."

[Gilga]

I take a short while to appreciate the hallway and play the game, but I don't comment. It is just bits and pieces of information that may connect though I appreciate the effort people make to be unique and the fact that our host seems to be an interesting person.

I take a seat, but none of the food, and I am relieved that Tam takes some. When pressed with the NDA, I say , "In principle, no problem, but I need to read the specific agreement before we decide." I say seriously. Then I'll read the document for a while to understand its highlights and verify that it does not expose us to unnecessary legal risks for things out of our control. Then I'll compare it to a standard NDA agreement and highlight the changes to see if I come up with anything meaningful.