← Previous Chapter |
Next Chapter →
Back to the game page
Pope: I know this is all new for you, so don’t hesitate to ask me anything you want to know. There are no stupid questions. The door to the Comms Department is just outside the Board Room, back to the lobby. They should’ve gotten it open by now. Follow the sign to the Mail Room. You can get to the Hotline Containment Chamber through there. Good luck, Jesse. See you back here once you have the Hotline.
Jesse: Thanks, Emily.
Pope: The Hotline should be in the Communications department.
Jesse: Where did the Hiss come from?
Pope: I’m not sure. You said the Hiss was here when you entered. Did you see anything like that outside, before you came in?
Jesse: No, no, just inside.
Pope: The source is internal then. The Oldest House is a sprawling complex, with… openings to other places as well. I don’t even know where to start looking. But in the context it’s good news. The lockdown holds. The Hiss escaping the building would be the end. A pretty shitty world out there if you ask me, but I wouldn’t want the Hiss to destroy it.
Jesse: With you on that, Emily. You mentioned “the Oldest House”? What is it?
Pope: This building, the Bureau headquarters, the Oldest House, is a shifting place. You’ve seen it. It transcends its physical limits.
Jesse: I’ve been to New York a few times. How didn’t I notice this place?
Pope: It’s an attribute of the building. This is a Place of Power. The Oldest House doesn’t like attention. So unless you are purposefully trying to find it, you don’t. Which is perfect for us. The work we do here is essential, but unstable. The Bureau prefers not to be noticed and we need strong walls to make sure nothing gets out.
Jesse: (So without you, I never would have found the front door.) Okay. This Trench guy. I keep hearing him in my head. Is he a ghost? Haunting me?
Pope: I doubt we’re talking about a ghost in the traditional sense. But an echo, maybe. See, if he was killed by the Service Weapon, your gun, maybe it’s his final thoughts recorded by the bullet in his brain. Like a deep space probe sending back data. That’s just a hypothesis on my part. I’d need the gun to research it. But you better hold on to that, given the circumstances.
Jesse: I think I will, yeah. Can you tell me what an Object of Power is exactly? This is all… well, new to me.
Pope: Don’t worry, I love going over the basics. Objects of Power are mundane objects that house paranatural energies and have developed a link to the Astral Place and can thus be controlled, which is what differentiates them from Altered Items, which are still housings of paranatural forces but are more volatile and cannot be bound in the parautilitarian sense. Got it?
Jesse: (Did she memorize this?) Got it. Thanks. So HRAs stop you from becoming Hiss?
Pope: It seems that way. I hadn’t even heard of an HRA until a few weeks ago, when Dr. Darling started handing them out. I began analyzing mine as soon as I got it. Each one seems to emit a powerful short-range frequency, way beyond anything I’ve even seen.
Jesse: Doesn’t the timing seem suspicious?
Pope: I thought that too. Dr. Darling usually likes to unveil his latest breakthrough in big presentations. With these, he just passed them out. His behavior makes me wonder what exactly he knew.
Jesse: Thanks, Emily. I’m sure I’ll have more questions soon.
Pope: Just let me know.
Jesse: There it is again. Our welcome message.
Jesse: The Hiss, it’s overpowering here. You don’t want me anywhere near it. I’m with you on that.
Jesse: Communications. We’re on the right track.
Jesse: An Object of Power? Looks like the Hiss have latched onto it. We need to cleanse it.
The Board: <The Floppy Disk/Nuke can be Bound to gain Launch/Telekinesis. Teach Us to believe, Director.>
Jesse: It’s harder to hear you when I’m here. It’s like the channel’s been changed. The Board’s in charge here. Their pyramid’s in the Bureau seal. Are they really the ones pulling the strings? I’m not their director. I’m no one’s director.
The Board: <Launch/Align the Cube/Thingamajig Into the Hole/Slot to Advance/Score.>
The Board: <Destroy the Copies/Fakes/Made-Ups with your new Ability/Gift/Burden. The Hiss/Noise is burrowing into our Astral Plane/Secret Base. You must Stop/Mute them, Director.>
The Board: <The Floppy Disk is now Bound/Delivered. The Hiss/Antagonist is seeking our Astral Plane.>
Jesse: There you are. You were gone, cut off. I got it, just like you wanted, right?
Jesse: Emily said that the Hotline can be reached through the Mail Room.
Jesse: Locked. Maybe there’s a key nearby.
Jesse: This must open the door.
Jesse: They can fly now. Great.
Jesse: I have a feeling he’ll be back. Let’s stay focused. The Hotline should be past the Mail Room.
Jesse: Alberto Tommasi. Head of Comms. The Hotline can’t be far now.
Trench: …the Ocean View Hotel and Casino…grim logic…the light switch cord… the door marked with the Black Pyraimd…
Jess: Whoa! Have we been here before? No. I’ve stayed at a lot of roadside motels across the country, on the road, on the run, under the radar. This feels like all of them, like something recognized from a dream.
Jess: Hello? Anyone here?
Jesse: The key has a Back Pyramid on it…
The Board: <The Hotline/Seashell is a Transmitter/Bridge. Directors can call the Board/Long Distance. Well Done/Dialed, Director! You can contact Us/Past Selves in the Hotline/Collectibles Menu. We expect compulsive/weekly calls.>
Darling: It is a phone. It’s an Object of Power. It doesn’t connect to any typical network. A direct line to the Astral Plane and the Board, and my hypothesis is, under the right conditions, to other planes of existence as well.
Trench: A director needs a team. My management team. These people know the secrets of the Bureau as well as I do, some even better. They have proven themselves. Darling, Tommasi, Salvador, Marshall. Marshall especially, my Head of Operations. She sees right through me. She knows I don’t like relying on people. The only person you should fail is yourself. But things change when you become Director.
Jesse: I have it, the Hotline. I can reach Trench. Well, listen to him. He feels more like an echo. An echo with important info. I need to get back to Emily.
Jesse: People react…strongly when I tell them about you. Is it too soon to tell Emily? She might be able to help.
Pope: Jesse! Did you get the Hotline? How is it out there, the Comms? The Hiss? Sorry. You made it. I’m glad.
Jesse: Emily. Let’s talk.
Pope: Of course.
Jesse: I got the Hotline. I can make out what Trench is saying now.
Pope: Incredible. What did he say?
Jesse: He talked about his management team. People who knew the Bureau’s secrets. Your boss, Darling. Tommasi, but he’s gone, the Hiss got him. Salvador?
Pope: He’s the Head of Security.
Jesse: And Marshall?
Pope: Helen Marshall is Head of Operations. She’s tough, ex-CIA. She took her rangers and went to the Research Sector to secure the HRA production. She hasn’t come back.
Jesse: Someone who could help us. The other sectors, how do I get there?
Pope: It’s impossible because of the internal lockdown. You can perform a Directorial Override to lift it, but that can only be done in the Maintenance Sector. Normally, you’d take the Sector Elevator down there, it connects all the sectors, but it won’t work while the lockdown is in effect.
Jesse: (We already got past one lockdown.) Maybe I can find a way.
Pope: Jesse, look, with no prep, no training, in this extreme situation, you are doing phenomenally well. All that, and the Hiss can’t seem to affect you. I would love to run some tests on you, if you agree that is. We could find out something that would help us.
Jesse: (Tests? I don’t know. She might find out about you. But I wouldn’t mind understanding more myself.) Okay. If you think it will help.
Pope: Great. I’ll check the internal documentation for any lockdown bypasses. We need to get these sectors open to locate Darling and Marshall.
Jesse: And I’ll look for a way inside the Maintenance Sector. The sooner we find one, the sooner I reach this override.