The Found Arcana - Chapter 11 [IC] Options

[Tecumseh]

<<Monday Noon - 11:55 - April 10, 2079 - Printing Office - University of Washington>>

Raven might have a good point: is the absence of evidence also evidence of absence?

You're about 90 minutes into the search and... you've made a dent. The filing cabinet work is slow and tedious. Using a spirit of man does help speed things along, but it doesn't lessen the mind-numbing drudgery of opening each cabinet, examining the contents, and then assembling a map per Tamarind's request.

Honestly, things aren't much better on the data terminals. They are so slow! Tamarind remembers that these terminals used to be called, what, turtles? Tortoises? Evidently for good reason. Gone is the instantaneous zipping around that you are accustomed to in the modern Matrix. The terminals whir and clunk concerningly, as if there are physical parts moving in response to your queries. Searching is not done at the speed of thought but rather by the speed (and dexterity) of your fingers. And the terminals' organization is approximately the same as the filing cabinets: either there is no order, or it follows a madman's logic.

It's getting toward lunch and you haven't found anything to suggest that Potter graduated from, or even attended, the University of Washington. Maybe, with a concerted effort, you could be done with the search by the end of the day, but tomorrow might be more realistic. The longer you search the more tired you become, and the more prone to errors and oversights.

[Beta]

After a quick washroom break, Tamarind comments to the other two "If we come up with something better to do, go ahead and do it. I'm willing to keep grinding away here. But magic and modern-matrix magic and and the magic of a pretty face might make more progress on another avenue. I'm not counting on getting back in here tomorrow, so unless there is something that actually needs my attention, I want to keep grinding away. Probably won't find anything, and that won't be proof of anything, but at least we will have taken a shot at it."

"I'd be happy if I could find print files from diplomas or something, or registration from any of the years she was supposed to be here. Not finding her name wouldn't prove anything, but it would be suggestive. But so far it feels like they consolidated the files from many other machines into these ones, to the capacity of their storage. And when the memory is that full it makes everything all the slower, so no promises that I even find a strong indication that her name is missing, but I'm not ready to give up yet."

[Thanee]

"While we are here, we might as well try. Who knows, we might get lucky," Raven suggests.

Since it is going to take a while, she wonders what happens when they close the doors here. She makes sure, her spirit is on the far end of the hall, ideally out of sight from the entrance.

She will also occasionally check on the front desk with her Clairvoyance spell (Low-Light Cryptesthesia), just to be sure.

[Tecumseh]

Clairvoyance suggests that the rest of the place is busy working and not paying any attention to the ladies.

The young man before is at the front desk. He looks distracted and seems like he's perspiring. Raven often has that effect on men. Women, too.

Closing the doors makes no difference. Nobody pays any more or any less attention to you if the doors are shut. Nobody seems too concerned about your presence, although it's an open question how long that will stay true.

Raven's spirit doesn't notice anything particularly interesting. There's no magical activity in the area, nor magical security. If anything the mana is dull. The whole place feels lifeless, like a desert with no breeze.

Speaking of which, you are starting to get hungry and thirsty.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby went back to the car with a noodle box, contemplating what he could do next.

Unless they went for mind reading, he doubted they would get anything out of Philips about what was going on.
He wanted to move - staying any longer wouldn't do any god for anyone.

The he had an idea: <<Going to fetch the DNA results.>>

He drove of and before he got out, he cast physical mask on himself

[ Spoiler ]

Physical mask (barehanded Adept) F2: 19d6t5 6
Resist drain: 11d6t5 5

Wearing the form of himself in a snappy three piece suite that he had seen Mato wear on special occasions, as well as giving himself an illusionary haircut, he approached the contact with confidence - and without having to worry about fine clothes chaffing.

[Tecumseh]

<<Monday Early Afternoon - 12:46 - April 10, 2079 - Doc Wagon Clinic, Bellevue>>

The Doc Wagon Clinic in Bellevue is directly south of Phillips' office in Snohomish. It should only take 30 minutes to drive between the two, but Bobby takes an extra 15 minutes to loop around to the west to avoid driving through the Barrens.

He pulls around to the back of the clinic. The clinic is busier than it was on Saturday. Just as Bobby comes around a corner, an armed-and-armored ambulance fires up its sirens and races off to retrieve a client, barely missing Bobby.

Bobby finds the bay door is still open. The skinny, androgenous technician with an asymmetric bob haircut is back there, still wearing tight black slacks, a white lab coat, and bright teal ballet flats.

"Oh!" the technician says with a little gasp, raising their hand to their heart when they see Bobby. "What's your name?" The tone is coquettish.

<<Monday Mid Afternoon - 14:24 - April 10, 2079 - Printing Office - University of Washington>>

The women arrange for some lunch to be delivered, which comes via drone. The skinny kid at the front doesn't say anything as you walk past, then come back with food and drinks. He gulps hard if Raven passes by.

A couple more hours of work have provided a bit of clarity. In the next two or three hours you'll have a pretty good understanding of what is and isn't available. However, there are additional nooks and crannies that will take hours past that to explore. Odds are that nothing's there but you won't know for sure unless you look.

[Jack_Spade]

"Still Bobby. Just thought I'd put something on to make you happy. You got our results?"

Bobby replied with a - what he hoped - was a winning smile.

[Tecumseh]

Bobby receives a look that suggests that the technician doesn't recognize him.

"Well, Bobby," the technician says playfully, languidly lengthening Bobby's name. "Are you here for these?" The technician holds up a data chip.

When Bobby reaches out for it, it's mischievously pulled back. "Ah ah ah! You didn't say the magic words: 'Drinks on me after work.'" A spirited laugh.

As best Bobby can tell, the technician is being serious, but their demeanor is so different from what it was over the weekend that it's hard to believe its the same person. Except how many DocWagon techs are there with asymmetric bobs, tight black slacks, white lab coats, and bright teal ballet flats?

What gives? Different day? Is it just the suit? Drugs? A peek at the astral indicates that, yes, chemical influence might be at play.

[Beta]

Tamarind takes a moment to straighten out her back and stretch a bit. Looking at all that is still to be done, she comments to the others "You are both magicians, you must have trained to do long rituals and all that sort of thing. You up to staying here into the night, if we can convince Raven's fan club to work late so we can stay?"

[ Spoiler ]

All three of them at this task have Willpower 5, for whatever that is worth in terms of stick-to-itness.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby groaned inwardly.
Aloud he said: "That depends entirely on what the results are - because my shift could be going for a long time if the results are inconclusive.
If you were a good boy there might be a few drinks in the immediate future for sure.

So, tell me what you've got"

[Tecumseh]

"Oh, not much," the technician says coyly, offering the data chip.

"Only ancestral composition, carrier status, predispositions, and pharmacogenomics. Also, physical characteristics, sensory responses, and nutritional needs. Be sure to work with a registered dietician to come up with a meal plan." A saucy wink.

"The subject here is a fine specimen. No extra chromosomes, no Huntington's disease, no cystic fibrosis, no sickle cell disease, no phenylketonuria, no colorectal or breast cancer. I presume this is all good news, but remember that DNA is only one factor influencing health and traits, so results should be seen as informative, not definitive."

The technician gives flirtatious look. "Now I know that this is for a woman. A potential partner, perhaps? She's not so very beautiful, is she? I'm hoping she's not your type." The technician bites their lip expectantly.

[Jack_Spade]

"Strictly business." Bobby sighed. He much preferred the previous disgust to this... whatever this was.
"Thanks for the material. Is there any indication, that the person has magic? How about a computer approximation how she would look like?
And I assume the person was not in your databases, right?"

While he spoke, he composed a short update for the rest of the team.

[Tecumseh]

"Well it can tell you what she's genetically predisposed to look like. You'll find hair color, eye color, skin color, all of that in there. Of course, it means precious little in the modern world. She might be a he by now, but her DNA would never know. Same when it comes to contacts, or cybereyes, or fiberoptic hair. So who's to say?

"As for magic, there are markers which show if someone is predisposed or not, but it's not all up to your DNA. Be grateful! Otherwise the corporations would be gengineering us all to be witches as warlocks!" A trilling laugh. "In this case, the subject has above-average potential to Awaken, but nothing is guaranteed.

"If you want to see if she's related to you, then there are any number of ancestry databases you can pay to check. If you're asking whether she's a DocWagon client or not, well... that depends on whether we're getting drinks or not." Batted eyelashes.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby nodded: "Alright, drinks are on me. Meet me at 2000h down at McMurdock's. Great Guinness even better Banoffee Pie."
So far everything pointed towards the hair belonging to Potter, though nothing damning. Hopefully the others could find something at the printing office.

Again he sent the others a quick update as well as the somewhat unfortunate arrangement. He wished he had sent someone else. Now all he could do was fine tune the illusion to be just less appealing enough to get through this meeting without having to rebuff the advances of a valuable source.

[Tecumseh]

<<Monday Early Afternoon - 12:50 - April 10, 2079 - Doc Wagon Clinic, Bellevue>>

"Ooo, goodie!" the technician claps. They kick up their heels in excitement.

"2000h at McMurdock's. I'll have the results for you then." Some more batted eyelashes, and then Bobby is free to escape.

~~~

<<Monday Late Afternoon - 17:02 - April 10, 2079 - Printing Office - University of Washington>>

The women keep working. The results are the same as before: there is no evidence of Potter attending the University of Washington. AM and Tamarind have done a good job combing through the old records of printed diplomas. There are a few more places to check to be 100% sure, which would take a few more hours of work.

The kid from the front desk comes around 17:00. He knocks on the door nervously. "Umm..." he says, gulping. "We're going home?" His voice breaks at an embarrassing moment, making it sound like a question.

He closes his eyes and gives himself a short mental pep talk. Opening his eyes again, he says, "We're shutting down for the day. It's time to go."

And then, after he's built up his courage a bit, he asks, "This wasn't really a scavenger hunt, was it?"

[Beta]

Tamarind can't but mutter "More like a wild goose chase..." but then continues, directed at the poor kid "I promise all we did was hunt and scavenge. We didn't take anything or change anything. We did figure out these old machines, and map a lot of the filing cabinets, and we're happy to pass along that information, if it is of any use to you all. And in terms of your reputation .... letting people in here on a scavenger hunt sounds reasonable enough. So personally I'd stick with knowing that."

She messages to Raven and AM <<If he pushes harder, I'd suggest trying to sell that we were doing background checks on some potential corporate hires, who conveniently had their records lost in the crash. But go with whatever feels best to you in terms of selling a story, I'm terrible once I move away from the truth.>>

[Gilga]

I give the boy a friendly grin as he informs us they are closing. Deciding that Raven is the best person to handle the conversation. "Thanks for helping us." I say without answering questions.

[Thanee]

Rachel grins at the young man. "Well, it kinda was... or is. Okay, maybe not quite the way I presented it to you, but that was merely to save time, really. Essentially, it is pretty much what I said. Either way, we havn't quite found what we are looking for. The organization in here is really... lacking. Is it okay, if we come back tomorrow to finish our search?"

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby left and got back to the car, where he dropped the disguise. He had to admit, that he smelled a bit rank after staying in the car for most of the day. He decided it was time for a shower and some real food at home. He still has some milled oats and two apples. With some soy milk this would make a delicious supper.

<<Heading back for now - anyone interested in cultivating our source at the clinic - I'm probably not the best at keeping that chummer happy.>>

[Tecumseh]

<<Monday Late Afternoon - 17:05 - April 10, 2079 - Printing Office - University of Washington>>

When the kid processes the implication that Raven will be back the next day, he swallows hard. After a long moment, during which his brain appears to fritz out, he nods dumbly.

"Yeah..." he says, finally breathing. "But it would be helpful to know what you've found. You've done more work in a day than any of us have during my time here." He's so young, that can't have been long. "If you have an inventory of the filing cabinets, or the offline systems, that would be useful."

You can see him sweating a bit.

[Gilga]

I quickly fire a text back to Bobby >> I'll probably say all the wrong things, but I don't mind knowing someone useful. I think I might have some mischief in my words recently, perhaps its bad luck but perhaps I am getting special love from my totem. Who can really tell?

[Thanee]

Rachel nods. "Yeah, sure, we can share what we have figured out, if that is helpful. It's a start, at least, if someone actually wants to bring some order into that mess."

[Tecumseh]

<<Monday Late Afternoon - 17:07 - April 10, 2079 - Printing Office - University of Washington>>

It's agreed that AM, Raven, and Tamarind can return tomorrow to finish up their work in exchange for sharing their findings.

The ladies pack up and head out.

~~~

<<Monday Evening - 18:08 - April 10, 2079 - SIS House - Bellevue>>

Weeknight traffic - plus some drizzly weather - makes the commute back to Bellevue longer. The ladies are pretty sure that they are going to be visualizing filing cabinets and ancient system folder structures in their sleep. Still, they've made good progress.

Over dinner, you have a chance to form a plan about how to handle the DocWagon technician.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby was munching on his porridge, when the others arrived.

"So, we stand again before the dilemma: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Hopefully, she has some appearance in genetic databases. I'll sent it in to a few of those find my ancestors things. If we can find some relatives of hers - even distant ones - that might give us some clue.

The tech promised to check the Doc Waggon database too. Hopefully there is something there."

[Gilga]

Well, ancestors seem promising. You won't believe how terrible things were before the Matrix. Seriously these things were barely commlinks, most of the information was printed on actual paper. Like that Hive book the Duchess gave me.

I then add "What is the story with the technician?