Track Six: Up, Up and Away

[SunlessNick]

Zara turns up bright and bushy to take the transcript, careful to avoid any specific acknowledgement of Tony.

[Mr. Handy]

Liz greets Tony with a smile and accepts his card, tucking it away discreetly after reading it. She wears a little black dress under her lab coat. "One thing to keep in mind when playing golf on the moon is that the gravity is approximately one-sixth what it is on Earth," she says. "You can hit the ball much further. Lunar golf courses would have to be designed on a much grander scale. Anywhere people live on the moon would need to be protected by a dome that is fed with a steady supply of oxygen. You'll need plenty of plants inside the dome to generate that oxygen. There could be individual domes over single houses, or perhaps a larger dome encompassing an entire city."

[Starspawn338]

"You'd certainly want an extensive waiver of responsibility for anyone looking to travel there." Lew opines.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

There is much interest in these speculations from the executives. (Who, by the way, from their accents, represent not only the USA and Japan, but many other nations.) After a long session, with many questions, one of the executives, an older man of Eurasian appearance, stands and makes an announcement. The others seem to treat him with deference.

"This is all very interesting. This project is, of course, to remain a secret from any of our competitors, which includes NASA and the Soviet space program. Having no wish to keep you under lock and key for the rest of your lives, I suggest that you submit to our standard security protocol. Mister Draper, if you would demonstrate?"

Draper, as if used to this, stands, takes off his jacket, undoes one of his cuff links, and rolls up his sleeve. One of the younger executives stands, picks up a briefcase, opens it, and takes out a syringe full of a clear liquid. He wipes Draper's arm with an alcohol pad and administers the injection. Draper stumbles back to his seat and passes out.

"He will, as usual, remember nothing of what has been said here. I suggest that you voluntarily submit to a similar treatment. Unless, of course, you would care to become a passenger aboard Gossamer Wings One?"

[jp1885]

Seeing no way around it, Tony slowly begins to roll up his sleeve. While doing so he tries to play for time, so that his friends can at least attempt to make surreptitious notes. Hopefully this will give them something to go on when they regain conciousness.

"Gossamer Wings One? Some kind of aircraft I presume? Would you have us flown to some secret island until whatever you're doing is complete?" he asks, half-jokingly.

[Mr. Handy]

"Or perhaps she's a spacecraft bound for the moon," says Liz. "It doesn't hurt to tell us. Unless we're aboard her, we'll forget it all anyway." While Tony stalls for time, she silently tries self-hypnosis to implant the memories of what is being said in this room deep in her subconscious, to be restored to her conscious mind the next time she sleeps.

[SunlessNick]

Zara sees no option but to accept the injection, but tries to fix in her mind the existence of the transcript at least.

[Starspawn338]

"Good sirs. I must object. I hold myself to the highest standards of attorney/client privilege. I assure you no word of these discussions shall escape my lips." Lew argues.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Seeing no way around it, Tony slowly begins to roll up his sleeve. While doing so he tries to play for time, so that his friends can at least attempt to make surreptitious notes. Hopefully this will give them something to go on when they regain conciousness.

"Gossamer Wings One? Some kind of aircraft I presume? Would you have us flown to some secret island until whatever you're doing is complete?" he asks, half-jokingly.

This particular statement causes the man with the syringe to pause.

"What made you say that? What do you know about our rival's island headquarters? Where is it? Talk!"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Or perhaps she's a spacecraft bound for the moon," says Liz. "It doesn't hurt to tell us. Unless we're aboard her, we'll forget it all anyway." While Tony stalls for time, she silently tries self-hypnosis to implant the memories of what is being said in this room deep in her subconscious, to be restored to her conscious mind the next time she sleeps.

Spoiler:

Given the way the Preternatural Effect of Hypnotism works in this game, I will judge that an attempt at self-hypnosis, for a single, simple purpose, and for a brief time, requires that you FAIL a Wisdom save, this representing your inherent, unconscious ability to resist its effect, even when imposed by yourself. WIS = 10[dice]0[/dice]

Despite her best effort to remember what she has heard, Liz's mental stability is too strong to allow her to voluntarily enter a self-induced trance state on such short notice. She recalls nothing of what was said here, once she awakens from the drug-induced slumber, and just imagines she fell asleep at a boring meeting.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Zara sees no option but to accept the injection, but tries to fix in her mind the existence of the transcript at least.

Spoiler:

Same as above. WIS = 11[dice]0[/dice]

As the drug takes effect, the memory of the transcription -- the only copy of which is removed quickly -- fades completely from Zara's mind, and she falls into a restless sleep. She experiences a strange dream during this brief slumber, of a bird flying to the Moon.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Good sirs. I must object. I hold myself to the highest standards of attorney/client privilege. I assure you no word of these discussions shall escape my lips." Lew argues.

Spoiler:

This will take some convincing. CHA = 11 + 1 for Law Profession = 12 + 3 for Well Spoken = 15, but -1 for Suspected by Squares = 14[dice]0[/dice]

Because there are a few lawyers present at the meeting, this argument is persuasive.

"Very well," says the head of the legal department of Takara Electronics. "But you now work for us, exclusively. The consequences of revealing one word of what you've heard here will be most unfortunate."

[jp1885]

Tony does his best to look bemused.

“Um, I know nothing about any rivals. I was just joking around - secret stuff like aircraft, lairs: Dr. No and all that crazy James Bond stuff. Have you seen the latest one: You Only Live Twice? It’s a real blast.”

Hoping that they’ve fallen for the airhead model act and noticing that Lew has managed to avoid being injected, he proffers his bare arm.

“You chaps seem awfully uptight. Perhaps you’d better stick me before I go back to my agent and get another gig.”

[Starspawn338]

"Very well," says the head of the legal department of Takara Electronics. "But you now work for us, exclusively. The consequences of revealing one word of what you've heard here will be most unfortunate."

"It's a good thing that I have no other clients currently so I can work for you exclusively, but I must say that I am quite capable of maintaining attorney/client privilege over multiple clients."

[Mr. Handy]

When her turn comes, Liz slips off her lab coat, revealing her bare arms. She folds the coat over her right arm and extends her left for the injection.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Assuming nobody tries to start a fight, which would seem very risky in this situation, the injections proceed as planned, with the investigators, except Lew, remembering nothing of what has been said here. This poses a dilemma for the canny lawyer. No doubt his clients will be keeping a very close watch on him, which makes revealing what he knows to his companions -- not to mention the Russians, who are also eager to discover Takara's secrets -- a risky business, at best.

[jp1885]

Tony shakes his head groggily as he regains consciousness.

“What the deuce?” He looks around, wondering where on Earth he is. “I remember having a jolly good time... and something about golf...”

OOC:   How far back does the injection work? I’m assuming Tony remembers the events of the previous night.

[SunlessNick]

"What happened?" Zara asks, confused about why she'd be in the meeting she seems to be in.

Spoiler:

Re Lew,Telling the rest of the gang might be difficult, but Zara did take a transcript, even if it will have been removed before the injection.

[Starspawn338]

Lew will watch with great interest as the others are given injections. He will also note how long it takes for the injection to work.

"How far back is their memory affected?" He asks the other attorneys. "Have they all signed releases for this?"

OOC,Are there others that are given the injection besides Draper and the others in the group?

[Mr. Handy]

Liz groggily comes to her senses and lifts up her head from the table. "Sorry, I must have nodded off for a bit," she says.