The Last Equation

[HoneyDog]

Nik's hands are in his pockets, one of them with the finger on the release of his automatic knife. If there are any surprises in the sedan, hopefully he can put it to work. But he's taking the agents at their word - if they wanted to kill him and Vanessa, there would probably be a less obvious way of doing it.

“Hey, why don’t you fucking relax?” he tells the smiley man, irritably. “We agreed to come with you, didn’t we?”

[Mr. Handy]

Vanessa is ready for anything, but she's willing to go along with them. "Don't worry, we won't try to be Rambo," she says. "We had a run-in with a guy like that once. It didn't end well for him." The memory of their first case that introduced them to this hidden world returns, reminding her again of the stakes.

[Silver Priest]

"Can't blame me for being cautious in our line of work," He says. "Would you be any different if you were in our situation?"

One of the goons opens the car door and gestures for the agents to get in. It's the typical backseat of a sedan, nothing special or anything that rings the agents of something being amiss. Smiley gets in after they both have, forcing them to bunch together. From the other side, the car door opens and the woman gets in, so they're both once again surrounded. In the front, Doctor Gosselgets in the passanger's seat and the final guard gets in to drive. Then the doors are shut and they are off.

"Thank you very much for coming without a fuss. It makes things easier for all of us." Says Smiley, and he sounds genuinely appreciative.

Then he reaches over and plunges a needle into the agent sitting next to him. In unison, the female agent plunges hers into the other.

Both Nik and Vanessa instantly feel their limbs freeze up. Things begin to grow dark. Within a few seconds, they go completely black.

OOC:   Last thoughts? You can't really act, but you can get out a final few words or a gesture, perhaps obscene.

[Mr. Handy]

"That wasn't necessary..." is all Vanessa can manage before the paralysis takes hold.

[Silver Priest]

Both agents wake up with a start.

They are inside a room, some sort of study by the looks of it. It's nicely decorated and the left side of the room contains shelves lined with bookcases. The few titles that can be made out are all psychological or medical texts. The right side of the room is blanketed by a series of dozens of monitors,though none are currently on.

Both remember everything they just experienced, and Nik in particular remembers his time in the retirement home and his time as Vanessa's lawyer. He does not recall why he believed in that particular illusion; now it just seems ridiculous. In addition, both of them have their hands and cuffs and their legs shackled, preventing much movement. At least the chairs are comfortable. Cushioned, too.

"Subjects 1501 and 4852, I see you have regained consciousness."

At a desk across from them sits a man. Short of stature and wide of girth, he resembles nothing so much as a twisted mole. He is on the later side of his 60's, perhaps older, and his skin is covered with wrinkles and liver spots. What remains of his hair is a wispy white, and he wears a doctor's uniform.

Picture,[img]https://i.postimg.cc/wBTm7B2v/tumblr-inline-pm8fh0-ACq-M1uxzqji-540.png[/img]

"Ah, forgive me. You both retain enough of a sense of self to still respond to your names. Vanessa Marchand, Nikolas Siilasvuo. Both agents of the federal government, firs tin the Phoenix office and presently in New York City. Quite a promotion. I am sure your other employer helped you with that advancement." It's the same man that had spoken over the intercom, they both realize.

"Not to downplay either of your skills, of course. Indeed, you both did rather exceptional work in maintaining your senses during our recent experimentation. Quite a willful pair. I would like very much to document how long it would take for the both of you to lose that connection to reality, but unfortunately I do not have that luxury.

He picks up a saucer and takes a sip from it.

ooc,Both of you can make an alertness roll. If it passes, you notice a slight shake to his hand as he drinks. Come to think of it, he seems to have a slight tremor even sitting still.

"Tea, herbal specifically. Good for my throat. I find it quite relaxing. I would offer the both of you some, but the last subject I offered it to attempted to attack me with it. As such, precautions have been undertaken."

He sets the tea aside and places both hands in front of him, clasping them together as he regards the pair.

"You've had enough pleasantries, I suppose. My name is Dr. Albert Yrjo. I am a Behavioral Scientist, and run what you know as the OUTLOOK Program. It is my understanding that the two of you were investigating a recent simulation we've been running, and you were promised answers. Well I am a man of my word, so ask away. You have satisfied my curiosity, so I shall return the favor."

OOC:   If there are any other rolls you'd like to make, feel free.

[HoneyDog]

Alertness,Alertness 50: [url=http://orokos.com/roll/699674]Alertness[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]13[/b]

Nik’s head is spinning as he tries to comprehend what has just happened. But knowing he was right and it was just a hallucination allows him to keep a grip. It was so real though! And the two different situations seemingly occurring at once have disoriented him.

He looks at the man opposite him. “Classic sociopath” he thinks. He shakes his head. He notices the man's tremor and hopes it might be something they can use.

“Get me some water” he snarls.

[Mr. Handy]

"For starters," says Vanessa, "what was the purpose of the simulation we were investigating?" She notices the twitching hand. Parkinson's, unless I miss my guess, she thinks.

OOC,Alertness roll (50% skill) to notice the shaking hand: [dice]0[/dice] HUMINT roll (54% skill) about [b]Dr. Yrjo[/b]: [dice]1[/dice] Medicine roll (60% skill) to diagnose [b]Dr. Yrjo[/b]: [dice]2[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

Dr. Yrjo looks at Nik and smiles indulgently.

"Of course. Or would you prefer tea?" He rises to his feet with some effort and shuffles his way over to a small wetbar. "I also have various spirits, but if my assessment of you is correct, you would prefer to stay alert." Once Nik gives him his preference he pours him a glass and calls a guard over to deliver it to the restrained agent. The man is dressed in fatigues and openly carries a rifle on his back. Wordlessly he puts the drink to Nik (And Vanessa, if she requests ones) lips, and allows him to sip.

"Of course we're not alone in here. I have three guards here with me, and two more just outside. If either of you make a move that can be interpreted as hostile you will both be eliminated. It's one reason you are both restrained; I understand the situations you have just experienced can be quite traumatizing, and this helps to prevent either of you from doing anything rash. Despite what you may think there is a purpose to all of it, and having to eliminate the both of you now would be a waste of time for all involved.

He sits down once again and turns to Vanessa. "A very understandable question, and one I am happy to answer. The Laqueus Equation has been known to Majestic for some time. It is truly an enigma, and was only recently solved by some of our scientist. You can imagine what happened to them. But Majestic has the support, financial and otherwise, of the US government. For some time Majestic has been throwing the most brilliant minds at it in an attempt to understand, only rendering them homicidal wrecks. Eventually self preservation kicked in, and Majestic-12 does what it always does when it encounters something along these lines; it classified the files and shifted them around in the hopes that they would be able to achieve some sort of breakthrough with it later. I confess that the Equation itself is a rather interesting little puzzle. I don't understand it, and that is very likely a good thing.

"But some of my superiors understood the usefulness of such a tool, and sent it to my department to weaponize. Are either of you familiar with MKULTRA? They are a form of techniques one may crudely refer to as mind control or brainwashing. I pioneered that, you know. It's what I used on Agent Siilasvuo here. A simple injection of a certain drug to place you in a mentally moldable state, and it was quite easy to program a new identity into you. Such a thing is quite effective in any number of things my paymasters need to carry out. We also have created drugs to silently induce a heart attack in someone or lead them into a form of homicidal rage or suicidal despair. But the central flaw with all of these techniques is that they required some sort of delivery to the target. In many covert operations, that is impossible.

His eyes light up and he grows excited. "Do you see now the usefulness of the Laqueus Equation? With this, all one needs is to email or mail it to a target, and they do the work for us! It really is a magic bullet. And the only ones intelligent enough to comprehend it are precisely the sort of high value targets that we want targeted. With this tool, we can ensure American scientific supremacy over all of our foreign adversaries. Imagine sending this to the head of the mathematics department at the university of Beijing. We could cripple them. Both of you are surely patriots, I think you can understand that this is for the good of the nation. It's a new kind of espionage.

"The initial subject, that young college student, was a test. We needed to ensure the Equation would work in an uncontrolled environment. A regrettable loss, but it provided us with valuable data that we could not have garnered otherwise. Namely his attempt to spread the equation to others that could comprehend it. This only serves to increase its usefulness.

"As for Dr. Gossel, his role in this expierment was to be an easily discoverable link. My superiors believed your organization would piggyback onto this investigation and wanted to know what you knew. The simulations I just ran on the both of you were designed to test your abilities to handle stress and determine what is real and what isin't."

Vanessa can tell that Parkinson's is a good guess. Yrjo is probably an advanced sufferer of it. He looks rather unhealthy in general, and every now and then he wheezes. He probably only has a few good years left in him, though that's not affected him mentally.

For all his talk of patriotism, they can also tell that it means nothing to him. He very much seems to be a sociopath, and seems to view others as his lab rats.

"I hope it makes sense to you now," Yrjo continues. "I'm given to understand your group is used to hunting monsters with no discernible goal but chaos and death. The things we are doing here could not be further from that. We are expanding the understanding of what it means to be human, the triggers that effect the human mind. I firmly believe our research here will have momentous impacts on the future of humanity." He speaks with the self assurance of a zealot.

[HoneyDog]

Nik listens to this lecture silently, disgusted by this man’s absence of empathy. “No doubt he just sees everything as a scientific problem to be solved” Nik thinks. “He couldn’t care less about ‘Humanity’”. He hopes that one day he might be able to do something about Yrjo.

“Is your… experiment with the equation finished now, Doctor? Can you confirm and guarantee that you won’t cause any more innocent deaths? I’m afraid some of us take that kind of thing quite seriously”.

[Mr. Handy]

"It was lucky we were there to clean up your mess," says Vanessa. "The Laqueus Equation is like a virus. Once that spread on the Internet, there would have been no containing it. That's what would have happened if we hadn't stepped in quickly and stopped it. You could have brought this country you profess to care about so much to its knees. It's not useful as a weapon. It will come back and bite us, and it could ultimately cause the collapse of civilization. It's not the scalpel you imagine it to be. It's a deadly disease that, once it's unleashed and reaches critical mass, cannot be stopped."

OOC,Persuade roll (71% skill) to convince [b]Dr. Yrjo[/b] that the Laqueus Equation is too dangerous to use: [dice]0[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

"Yes, I believe it to be finished. We received useful results that will help us target the equation more effectively. I don't anticipate further testing to be necessary."

He listens to Vanessa before responding. "Your concerns are noted Agent Marchand, but rest assured the matter was well in hand. Had you not intervened when you did we had teams on standby ready to eliminate any incursions when the order was given. This is not to discount your own work, however; indeed had you not acted when you did it is likely casualties would have been higher. In any event, the fear of a widespread outbreak is unnecessary. The beauty of the Laqueus Equation is that it can only be understood by those with a brilliant underpinning of mathematics, less than one percent of the population. Rest assured however that future uses of it shall be carefully monitored to prevent an out of control situation from developing."

"As for the matter of the simulations in general, they are the bread and butter of OUTLOOK. My goal is to expose many different individuals to a variety of simulations and catalog how they respond to them. In so doing, we learn much about the human mind, and one day, I believe I will be able to ascertain certain triggers that will allow one to direct an individual, or even a society, in the direction one wishes them. Oh do not think my goals monstrous,; the end goal would be to create a type of human immune to trauma or mental illness,a boon for all of humanity. As for what it takes to get there... well, no one wishes to see how the sausage gets made."

"Most of the individuals you saw in your simulations were fellow subjects. Your brother, Agent Marchand, was a subject we fed a script based off all the information we could find on you. That, along with a combination of drugs and the assistance of retired Hollywood makeup artists, ensured a realistic portrayal. As for you Agent Siilasvuo, your daughter was created the same way. It's one reason I believe neither of you could detect the illusion, despite your analytical personalities. They would have sworn on their lives they were who they said they were, and that makes the story so much easier to sell. And they will continue to believe it until their next simulation, when they are given new roles. Most of the subjects here sooner or later become Marionettes. Their initial selfs are wiped away, and they are made easily programmable to whatever role we require. Do not feel sympathy for them; most of them are criminals or various other forms of retrogrades. They offered nothing to the world. But now they are fortunate enough to live not just one life, but a thousand. And it is not as though we torture them; they are offered many joyous moments and tender episodes. All data is import--." He pauses, interrupted by a coughing fit which only a large swig of tea stops. "You may understand why I view them with envy."

"On one final note, you may be interested in the fast of Dr. Gossel. Like the both of you, he was placed into a simulation. Permit me to show you." Yrjo presses a button on his desk, and one of the monitors on the wall comes to life. It shows a full covered picture of Gossel in a coffin. He is lying prone and it is difficult to tell if he is still breathing.

"Oh he's not dead. We injected him with a strong paralyzing agent. Dr. Gossel won't even be able to tell that he is breathing, but he remains fully aware, but trapped in a shell. Then we woke him up to a mock funeral we set up for him, before burying him in a coffin. Would that we could hear what was going through his head now. But alas, such things are beyond my power. I've run the simulation enough to have a good idea, however. By now the doctor is very likely either convinced he is dead or breaking down his last barriers to the idea. He may very well wonder if he is trapped in some sort of hell. In an hour or so he will be dug up, revived, and thoroughly debriefed so we can learn what he experienced internally.

"Most of those who undergo this particular simulation end up either religious zealots or fall into a suicidal apathy. The doctor is fortunate, though; he will be led to believe this was all a dream, and his memories of OUTLOOK and the assistance he has rendered it wiped from his memory. As I have stated I am no monster, murdering others with no cause." He calmly finishes.

[HoneyDog]

"Yeah, right" thinks Nik.

"And what exactly do you have in mind for us, Doctor?" he asks.

[Silver Priest]

Yrjo smiles. "That, Agent, is for me to know and you to find out. I did promise you would both survive. And I am a man of my word. My superiors tend to discourage open friction between our groups.

"Have you any further questions for me, or shall we bring this meeting to an end? "

[HoneyDog]

“Survive?” Nik says. “The people you’ve just described are also surviving, Doctor. I don’t trust your choice of words. We came here in good faith, and you’ve abused that. So if you want to avoid open friction, I suggest you let us go. Now. Without any more experiments.”

[Mr. Handy]

"I'd also like to point out that we did not come here unprepared," says Vanessa. "I'm guessing you didn't find the tracking devices. Even if you find them now, it's too late. Our agency has already pinpointed this facility's location by now, and it is no doubt already preparing a raid in the event that we do not emerge in a timely manner. If that raid happens, there will be plenty of open friction between our groups that your superiors so discourage. And ballistics. They won't be too happy with you in that event. I have one more question: how did you come to obtain the Laqueus Equation in the first place?"

[Silver Priest]

"Oh, but I could give you so much. Your work is so traumatic. Wouldn't you prefer staying here, living out your ideal existences? Most of my subjects eventually find delusion more comforting than reality."

He laughs at Vanessa's ultimatum. "Please, agent Marchund, spare me the threats. Your position is not as strong as you may think. No, I'm quite confident even if Delta Green had the power they'd not be so foolish as to risk an assault for the two of you. As to your question, I honestly don't know. The Equation itself is documented as being several hundred years old, but was classified as unsolvable until a few years ago when someone from Majestic deciphered it. I don't know how or why it came to their attention. Perhaps from The Cookbook. That would fit in with it being a sort of trap as well. Our so called 'benefactors' do delight in leaving those little trinkets behind for us."

He smiles at seeing their reaction. "Ah, neither of you know what I am talking about. Forgive me, I am just a silly old man. Now, I believe this meeting is concluded." Rising to his feet once again, he goes to besides the wetbar and grabs a siringe, carefully filling it to the brim with a strange cloudy yellow liquid.

"You may feel some small degree of discomfort. Please don't struggle. The only other way this could go would be far more painful for you both."

Of course, neither agent could struggle even if they wanted to. Dr. Yrjo walks towards them and calmly sticks the syringe in the sides of both of their necks. He had lied; the pain was excruciating, and it only abated after a moment when they black out. The last sight either of them see is the elderly man, his head cocked as he watches them succumb to unconsciousness.

***

Both wake up at the same exact time.

They're back in the clothes they were wearing when they were first abducted, and Nik can feel none of the fatigue he had experienced earlier as an 80 year old man. Both of them are on the top of two separate beds, the covers laying smugly under them. A TV is on in front of them, giving the local news and announcing the date as February 26th, 2000, three days after they had been abducted.. A smiling woman is delivering the weather for the local area, which seems to be northern New Jersey.

They seem to be in some sort of grimy motel room. All their belongings are on them, with something extra; in each of their pockets is a small grape lollypop, the kind one might give very young children after a doctor's appointment.

[HoneyDog]

Nik looks at Vanessa. “Well, that was freaky, wasn’t it? I don’t think I want to do that again.”

He takes out his phone.

“We’d better call in”.

He dials McRay.

[Mr. Handy]

"Agreed," says Vanessa. "Orange is not my color. Let's make sure we're not in another simulation."

[Silver Priest]

McRay answers. He's cagey at first, and it's only once he's sure of the identity of the agents that he loosens up.

"I was about to write you both off as dead, or worse. You dropped out of contact just as the cleanup was occurring. What happened?"

OOC:   A short post from me. Will wonders never cease?

[HoneyDog]

Nik fills McRay in with a summary of the most important details, starting from encountering the Outlook goons in the cafe, and the experiments conducted on himself and Vanessa and the machinations of Yrjo, up to the point where they found themselves in the motel room.

"Is the virus under control?" he asks.