{
    "title": "BLACK LANTERN Final Report",
    "date": "2020-07-20 06:00",
    "reportcode": "GT/GH-200720-086260723",
    "url": "https://teeth.zarquan.fyi/reports/gt-gh-200720-086260723/index.json",
    "description": "△▼△TOP SECRET//SI//DGO△▼△",
    "content": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReport No:\u003c/strong\u003e GT/GH-200720-086260723\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocation:\u003c/strong\u003e Calvert Exchange, Baltimore, Maryland\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAgents:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy Banks, Drug Enforcement Administration\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Louis Ming, neuroscientist\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnst Baldkar, senior computer science analyst, RAND Corporation\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReverend Jeremiah “Jerry” Arnoldson, Federal Bureau of Prisons\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe analysis team completed its review of the BLACK LANTERN material and identified Conrad Hopko, later Jacob Tillman and Esau Tillman, operating online as “Conradin,” as the surviving Cornucopia House child presently employed through the immigration detention system near El Paso. Available evidence indicated Tillman had used his position and a private contractor to gain access to children separated from their families, creating conditions materially similar to those associated with Cornucopia House.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team concluded that immediate investigation was required to determine whether Tillman was deliberately reproducing the unnatural conditions associated with Cornucopia House and Parker Crown. Dr. Ming identified impaired childhood language development as a probable component of the earlier phenomenon and assessed that children removed sufficiently early might retain the capacity to develop normally and escape at least some of its effects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAgent Rennick initially rejected immediate Program intervention on political and operational grounds. The situation changed after the team disclosed recent unnatural animal behavior directed at them, including a mass rat incursion and pigeons striking the conference-room window in a pattern producing the message \u003cstrong\u003eGO TO HIM\u003c/strong\u003e. Rennick subsequently provided the team with an unidentified telephone number, instructed them to call it six hours later, and ordered the official written assessment altered to indicate that nothing actionable had been discovered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team ended the session committed to acting outside the Program’s formally acknowledged response, with El Paso as the anticipated operational destination.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOperation Report:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team reviewed the reconstructed history of Conrad Hopko:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHopko survived Cornucopia House and was subsequently placed at King Torino Children’s Refuge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn unsealed FBI file established that Hopko was identified as kidnapping victim Jacob Tillman and reunited with his father, Eli Tillman.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt age seventeen, Tillman rejected the name Jacob and legally adopted the name Esau.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAs both Jacob and Esau Tillman, he used the online identity “Conradin.”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis documented trail led to El Paso.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTax and employment records connected him to Life Force, a private youth-security contractor operated by his former roommate, Chasen Lafferty.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLife Force held government contracts connected to immigration enforcement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTillman worked at the Franklin Harvey Water Reclamation Plant, which appeared to conceal an unlisted detention facility.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA journalist had previously identified Tillman as an immigration agent involved in apprehending immigrant mothers and taking custody of their children. Local communities referred to him as “El Niñero.”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTillman had also participated in recruiting personnel into immigration enforcement, including individuals with documented extremist or violent backgrounds.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team compared Tillman’s activities with the historical Cornucopia House material and the BLACK LANTERN findings.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe working conclusion was that Tillman appeared to be recreating significant elements of his own childhood environment through government detention infrastructure.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team did not establish whether Tillman possessed the specific occult knowledge formerly held by Yelena Kalamatiano.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team therefore distinguished between confirmed abusive institutional behavior and confirmed unnatural activity.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team agreed that direct observation of the El Paso facility was necessary before determining the full nature of the threat.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed former Agent Clove’s conclusion that killing affected children could interrupt the Parker Crown cycle.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReverend Arnoldson rejected including the killing of children as an operational recommendation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Ming also rejected the proposal.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBanks argued that Clove’s stated conclusion remained relevant historical data even if the present team did not endorse it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe final position was to document Clove’s theory as the recommendation of a rogue agent without mandate or demonstrated proof that the proposed action would work.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo recommendation for killing the children was included in the team’s endorsed course of action.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Ming identified a possible neurological component linking the Cornucopia House survivors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChildren whose early language development had been severely disrupted appeared more likely to remain profoundly affected.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeveral “quiet children” never developed functional language and remained strongly associated with the unnatural influence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNika Chilikov retained at least rudimentary language capacity despite its suppression at Cornucopia House and later substantially recovered after removal from that environment.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOther younger survivors also developed language following removal, although later unnatural involvement remained possible.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team concluded that the ability to form and express thought through language might be relevant to resistance against the phenomenon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChildren removed from Tillman’s environment sufficiently early might therefore avoid the permanent developmental condition observed among some Cornucopia House survivors.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team could not determine how long exposure would be required before the effects became irreversible.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnline review of King Torino Children’s Refuge found no pattern of unusual incidents comparable to those surrounding Cornucopia House.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAvailable reporting described ordinary institutional and neighborhood complaints.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo additional evidence was found indicating that Chilikov had propagated the Cornucopia House phenomenon through her later work.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis supported the possibility that removal, separation from affected children, and treatment had allowed her to substantially escape the earlier influence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team prepared its formal assessment for Agent Rennick.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe report connected Hopko, Jacob Tillman, Esau Tillman, and Conradin as one individual.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt described his employment and government-contract relationships.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt identified the similarities between the El Paso detention activity and Cornucopia House.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt identified Tillman as a plausible continuation of the Parker Crown-associated cycle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt recommended further investigation, direct observation, removal of endangered children where possible, and efforts to interrupt the repeating pattern.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnusual animal behavior was referenced as a recurring feature associated with the existing case material.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAgent Rennick arrived Monday morning and received the findings.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBanks presented the relationship between the MASTICATE findings, Parker Crown, Cornucopia House, and Tillman.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick restated the conclusions and confirmed that he understood the team to be identifying Tillman as a Cornucopia House survivor apparently reproducing conditions associated with a series of previous Program operations.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReverend Arnoldson emphasized that the children needed to be saved.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArnoldson observed immediate guilt and resignation in Rennick’s reaction.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick stated that the recommendations would be sent up the chain but strongly indicated that no immediate intervention was likely.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen challenged, Rennick explained that Tillman was a federal agent operating within federal policy and through a government contractor.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick stated that direct Program action could expose the organization and potentially force explanations at the highest levels of the Executive Branch.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe specifically cited the current political environment and election cycle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick suggested that action might become possible after twelve to eighteen months.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArnoldson challenged the purpose of identifying an active threat if the Program intended to leave the affected children in place.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick reacted negatively to the challenge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining team members continued arguing for at least surveillance and monitoring.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie warned that Cornucopia House had involved only a small number of children yet had preceded potentially catastrophic events, while the present detention system involved far more children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBanks argued that failing even to monitor the situation would constitute a failure of responsibility given the established pattern.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Ming suggested that a conventional legal case might eventually provide an alternative means of intervention.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick conceded that surveillance or monitoring resources might be obtainable but reiterated that overt Program action was politically untenable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie volunteered his surveillance expertise for any sanctioned monitoring effort.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick agreed to pass that information upward.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReverend Arnoldson privately resolved to travel to El Paso despite the absence of authorization.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOther members of the team were also considering independent action.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team recognized that any Program surveillance initiated following Rennick’s report might interfere with unauthorized activity.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore Rennick departed, Ernie deliberately disclosed additional details regarding the earlier animal incidents.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe informed Rennick that numerous pigeons had repeatedly struck the conference-room window during the weekend.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie had previously inspected the exterior area and found dead pigeons below.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOn the window, the impacts and bodily residue formed marks recognizable as the words \u003cstrong\u003eGO TO HIM\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie had photographed the marks.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick removed the privacy film from the conference-room window.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team observed bloody and greasy impact smears.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe reversed message could be discerned in the pattern.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team connected it to the earlier rat incursion, during which damaged documents had been marked in a pattern indicating the same message: \u003cstrong\u003eGO. TO. HIM.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick’s behavior changed immediately after observing the window.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe became visibly concerned and reassessed the team and the case.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe stated that he needed to make a telephone call and left the room.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team concluded that Rennick might contact superiors and potentially restrict their ability to operate independently.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie deployed an IMSI-catcher/Stingray device from his surveillance equipment.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe identified Rennick’s outgoing cellular connection and obtained the destination number.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie disrupted the call before Rennick could complete it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBanks separately attempted to establish contact with Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonia Pitzerelli.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli remained publicly listed within the Department of Justice.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBanks reached her office through official channels.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe requested an urgent personal conversation concerning work previously conducted with Cortez, Drummond, Steele, and McCarter.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe emphasized that the matter required Pitzerelli personally because of her prior involvement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli’s staff accepted Banks’s contact information and agreed to forward the message.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick returned after the failed telephone call.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe instructed the team to remain in place temporarily.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis reaction to the pigeon message suggested uncertainty over whether the agents were deceiving him or had themselves become involved in the phenomenon they had described.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReverend Arnoldson displayed the rat bites sustained during the earlier incursion and informed Rennick that the pigeon event had coincided with a mass rat attack.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick accepted that the agents were now directly affected by the phenomenon rather than merely reporting historical information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArnoldson told Rennick that he, too, was now involved.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Ming told Rennick that delay might no longer be possible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe identified an apparent additional force capable of influencing animal behavior and stated that it was actively directing the team toward Tillman.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMing stated that ignoring the message could itself place the team at risk.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArnoldson appealed directly to Rennick.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe argued that four agents were present and willing to act to protect the children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked Rennick to make use of them rather than leave the situation untouched.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBanks reiterated that Cornucopia House represented a repeating cycle that would continue unless interrupted.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMing additionally emphasized the personal danger to the agents if the force directing them was ignored.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick acknowledged that he had not previously been read into the underlying operation beyond the information supplied by the team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe stated that the material presented to him was genuinely horrifying.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe reiterated that official Program action remained effectively impossible because of the associated political risks.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfter reconsidering the animal events, the failed telephone call, and the agents’ willingness to act, Rennick abandoned his previous position.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick wrote a telephone number on a sheet of paper and gave it to the team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe instructed them to call the number in six hours.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe stated that the people reached through that number should be able to help.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe did not identify the recipient.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick then ordered the team to revise the official report.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe new report was to contain nothing actionable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTillman was to be characterized as presenting no immediate Program concern.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team understood that the official record was being deliberately sanitized to conceal the independent response now being arranged.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team agreed to make the requested changes.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick expressed hope that the unauthorized course of action could at least save some of the children.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team retained the unidentified contact number and prepared to place the call after the specified delay.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe expected next operational phase was direct action or reconnaissance in El Paso.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnalysis and Recommendations:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTillman should be treated as a priority BLACK LANTERN continuation rather than merely an abusive former Cornucopia House resident. His access to detained children creates a mechanism capable of reproducing the population and developmental conditions associated with the original site on a substantially larger scale.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe absence of demonstrated occult knowledge on Tillman’s part does not materially reduce the urgency. Cornucopia House may have required Kalamatiano to establish its original conditions, but the present evidence leaves open whether subsequent participants require conscious understanding of the process at all. Parker Crown has previously demonstrated little respect for conventional distinctions between perpetrator, victim, vector, and instrument.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Ming’s language-development observation warrants immediate exploitation. The correlation between acquisition of language and later independence from the “quiet child” state offers one of the few identified interventions that does not depend upon destruction of affected subjects. Children recovered from the El Paso site should be separated from one another, individually evaluated for language development, and placed in environments designed to encourage normal communication. Group housing of recovered subjects should be avoided until the relationship between shared proximity and the phenomenon is better understood.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChilikov represents a potentially important control case. Her subsequent history should remain under passive review. No anomalous pattern has yet been identified around King Torino, making her survival and recovery more useful than Clove’s unsupported recommendation regarding eradication of affected children.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe repeated instruction \u003cstrong\u003eGO TO HIM\u003c/strong\u003e materially changes the operational picture. Independent animal populations produced the same directive through separate mechanisms: selective marking of documents by rats and apparent writing through mass pigeon impacts. This establishes intentionality more strongly than coincidence alone can reasonably sustain within the parameters of the case.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe identity of the source issuing the directive remains unknown. Compliance should not be mistaken for cooperation. A force capable of using animals to communicate can direct agents toward a desired target without sharing Program objectives. Previous MASTICATE material provides ample precedent for apparently helpful synchronicities producing outcomes useful to something other than the participating agents.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll four agents should now be considered exposed to an active unnatural influence. Arnoldson and the others have transitioned from analysts of BLACK LANTERN material to participants in its continuing pattern. Routine psychological and medical observation is indicated, but isolating them before the El Paso matter is resolved may simply remove the only available indicators of the phenomenon’s current intentions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReverend Arnoldson presents both an operational advantage and a command risk. His commitment to protecting the detained children was sufficient to push Rennick past institutional paralysis, but he had already independently resolved to travel to El Paso before receiving support. If formal authority is withheld, Arnoldson is likely to continue regardless. His motivation is ethical rather than ideological, which makes conventional disciplinary pressure less useful.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie’s interception of Rennick’s telephone call represents a serious compartmentation breach. It also prevented an unknown Program response that may have resulted in containment of the team before action could occur. The act should remain absent from routine records until the identity of Rennick’s intended recipient is established.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBanks’s attempt to contact Pitzerelli creates a second possible channel into the legacy MASTICATE structure. Her response, if any, should be evaluated carefully against Rennick’s unidentified contact. Two dormant branches may now be moving toward the same site without knowledge of one another.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick’s unexplained telephone number is of immediate counterintelligence interest. His insistence on falsifying the official assessment while privately directing the team elsewhere strongly suggests access to capabilities or personnel outside normal Program channels. A-Cell should determine whether Rennick knowingly opened a door into the old organization or merely remembered where one had been buried.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sanitized official report will create intentional divergence between the Program’s records and actual operational knowledge. This provides short-term protection but creates substantial future liability. Any later incident at the El Paso facility may appear to have occurred despite an assessment explicitly declaring Tillman non-actionable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSurveillance around the Franklin Harvey Water Reclamation Plant should assume the possibility of simultaneous observation by Program personnel, immigration authorities, contractor security, and whatever group responds to Rennick’s number. Identification procedures should be established before field contact to prevent separate Delta Green elements from mistaking one another for hostile actors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRetrieval of the children should take precedence over neutralization of Tillman unless field conditions demonstrate an immediate unnatural threat. Tillman can be replaced. The developmental window identified by Ming cannot.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe apparent scale is the principal strategic concern. Cornucopia House involved approximately two dozen known children and generated effects that persisted for decades across multiple operations. A detention mechanism processing hundreds of children offers Parker Crown, or whatever lies behind it, an industrial substrate.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo assumption should be made that Tillman is the center of the phenomenon merely because the animals ordered the agents to go to him. He may be the perpetrator, the next victim, a gateway, or simply the location at which the next stage is intended to occur.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEl Paso should therefore be treated not as the conclusion of BLACK LANTERN, but as the first confirmed location where something connected to Cornucopia House appears to be deliberately calling Delta Green back into the cycle.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cdetails \u003e\n  \u003csummary markdown=\"span\"\u003eSession Notes\u003c/summary\u003e\n  \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe session opened with the Handler recapping the investigation into Conrad Hopko, the final missing child from Cornucopia House whose whereabouts had remained unresolved.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfter being rescued from the Skoptsi at Cornucopia House in 2001, Conrad Hopko was placed at the King-Torino Children\u0026rsquo;s Refuge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn unsealed FBI case file revealed that Conrad Hopko had originally been kidnapping victim Jacob Tillman and was subsequently reunited with his father, Eli Tillman.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe available records made it clear that Conrad Hopko and Jacob Tillman were the same person.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt age 17, Jacob rejected the name given to him by his evangelical father and legally changed his name to Esau Tillman.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnder both the Jacob and Esau Tillman identities, he used the online handle \u0026ldquo;Conradin.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis later trail led to El Paso, Texas.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTax records connected Tillman to Life Force, a private youth-security contractor operated by his former roommate, Chasen Lafferty.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThrough Life Force\u0026rsquo;s contracts with ICE, Tillman obtained work at the Franklin Harvey Water Reclamation Plant.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe plant appeared to serve as cover for an unlisted detention facility.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA journalist had already identified Tillman as an ICE agent involved in arresting immigrant mothers and taking custody of their children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLocal immigrant communities had given him the nickname \u0026ldquo;El Niñero,\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;the babysitter.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTillman had also been recruiting carefully selected people into ICE.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had asked Lee Jarnigan to write applications for Terry Smedley, an exposed neo-Nazi militiaman, and Alan Rapp, a would-be school shooter who had written about \u0026ldquo;living inside young skin\u0026rdquo; and constructing \u0026ldquo;a heaven behind bars.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe investigative team had consequently begun to suspect that Tillman was recreating the conditions of Cornucopia House on a vastly larger, institutional scale.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler also reiterated the unnatural events that had occurred while the team was analyzing the Black Lantern material.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePigeons had repeatedly hurled themselves against the windows of the six-story building.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRats had watched the agents from ventilation ducts.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLater, the agents had awakened to find their meeting room filled with vermin.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe animals swarmed through the office, biting and clawing the agents before disappearing into the darkened building.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe documents left behind had been chewed, bloodied, and fouled.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe damage was not random. Bloody marks repeatedly crossed or emphasized the same three words across multiple pages: \u0026ldquo;Go. To. Him.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBy the following morning, the team was confident that Conrad Hopko, Jacob Tillman, Esau Tillman, and Conradin were all the same man.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey also believed he had embedded himself within a government-linked system and was filling detention cells with children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe immediate question facing the agents was what they should recommend Delta Green do about him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents had approximately 24 hours to prepare a report for the Program.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheir assignment was to explain who Conrad was, determine whether he was connected to the events in the Black Lantern file, and advise whether the Program needed to take action.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team began discussing what conclusions and recommendations should be included.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie initially argued that the most straightforward conclusion was simply to connect the available evidence.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTillman appeared to be the person they had been looking for.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis activities strongly suggested that he was constructing some form of child-abuse detention system analogous to Cornucopia House.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt this stage, however, the agents recognized that this remained an inference based on the pattern of evidence rather than direct observation of what was happening inside the El Paso facility.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndy Banks focused on the larger pattern involving the Parker-Crown phenomenon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe believed Delta Green\u0026rsquo;s primary concern should not merely be apprehending an abusive or criminal individual.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe deeper Program objective should be determining how to break the repeating cycle connected with Cornucopia House, its victims, and subsequent unnatural incidents.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy recalled that rogue Agent Clove had believed one possible way of breaking the cycle was to kill the affected children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe also considered the possibility that the opposite approach might work: refusing to kill perpetrators, showing extreme empathy, or otherwise disrupting the violent pattern that appeared to perpetuate itself.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy did not have evidence establishing which approach was correct.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend objected strongly to the idea of putting the killing of children forward as an actual recommendation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe pointed out that the team did not know what condition Tillman\u0026rsquo;s detained children were in.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe also emphasized that Tillman himself was still alive while the Parker-Crown cycle was apparently continuing, undermining any simple assumption that killing a particular set of people would necessarily end the phenomenon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend would later make clear that he would neither sign nor support a report that recommended killing the children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie raised Nika Chilikov as potentially important evidence for an alternative to killing the affected children.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNika had survived Cornucopia House and eventually escaped the state in which many of the \u0026ldquo;quiet children\u0026rdquo; remained.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe had initially been severely affected and had suppressed or underdeveloped speech, but later recovered enough to speak, function independently, pursue graduate work, and work with children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie suggested that understanding how Nika separated herself from the phenomenon might provide a model for helping other children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler clarified Nika Chilikov\u0026rsquo;s history and the neurological pattern surrounding the quiet children.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNika\u0026rsquo;s language abilities had been stunted because Yelena Kalamatiano and the Skoptsi at Cornucopia House forced the children into silence and tortured them, especially when they spoke.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNika had apparently developed at least rudimentary language abilities before this suppression.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBecause the neurological structures associated with language had already begun to develop, she was later able to relearn and expand those abilities after leaving Cornucopia House.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe very youngest children appeared to have been much more vulnerable because they were deprived of normal language development during a critical developmental period.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler revised Dr. Ming\u0026rsquo;s professional skills to better reflect his background.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Ming was given a neuroscience skill and increased proficiency in biology and neuroscience, around the 70% level.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis chemistry expertise was reduced to reflect working knowledge rather than specialization.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe then attempted a Neuroscience roll and rolled 97, failing despite the newly increased skill.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven with Dr. Ming\u0026rsquo;s failed Neuroscience roll, his expertise allowed him to recognize an important pattern in the historical material.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEarly language development appeared to be deeply involved in how the Cornucopia House children were affected.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChildren such as Elle Gable and Samuel Ball, who never developed normal language abilities, seemed to remain completely under the influence of the unnatural force into adulthood.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChildren who retained or later developed language appeared capable of gaining some separation from that influence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe ability to put thoughts into language therefore appeared to be an important factor in whether a child could escape the phenomenon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Ming concluded that if Tillman\u0026rsquo;s children were very young and could be removed from the environment early enough to develop language normally, at least some might avoid the fate of the original quiet children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe shared this with the rest of the team as a prognosis rather than a guarantee.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents reviewed what had happened to the surviving Cornucopia House children.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend had closely studied the list of children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler pointed out that the youngest children appeared to be the ones who later developed at least some language ability.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFinn Smith, later adopted and renamed Bradley McKay, was one of those younger children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBradley developed language and was able to function reasonably well.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNevertheless, unnatural forces eventually became involved in his life as well.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group therefore had evidence that language development might reduce the influence but did not guarantee complete safety.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend noted that only four of the original Cornucopia House children appeared to remain alive.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThree were already being monitored.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConrad had been the missing fourth survivor.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBy identifying Tillman as Conrad, the agents believed they had now located the last previously unaccounted-for member of that group.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler allowed the Reverend to make a Bureaucracy check based on his years working for the Bureau of Prisons.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend indicated that he had worked there for at least a decade.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe rolled 86, failing the check.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDespite the failure, his experience with government institutions made it obvious that the Tillman situation was politically and bureaucratically explosive.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNeither conventional government agencies nor the Program would want the true circumstances to become public.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend also clarified the extent of his own experience with Delta Green.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had mostly existed around the periphery of Program operations.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had been read into some matters but had not penetrated deeply into Delta Green\u0026rsquo;s inner workings.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis relatively intact sanity reflected his comparatively limited direct exposure to the Unnatural.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndy Banks was described as having more field experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe was adapted to violence and had clearly seen serious Program operations.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe was not regarded as a completely junior operative, but neither was he an upper-level Program insider.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis poor SAN score reflected substantial exposure to traumatic and unnatural events.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Ming described his own Program experience as primarily laboratory-based.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had seen disturbing and unnatural things through scientific work.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had comparatively little field experience.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie had substantial experience as a Program analyst.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had worked with the Program for years and was associated professionally with the RAND Corporation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe was accustomed to making assessments that could include morally questionable or unethical options if the evidence justified presenting them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe did not view his job as deciding whether an operation could actually be resourced, only as presenting the best analytical recommendations available.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on Ernie\u0026rsquo;s background, the Handler gave him some insight into the Program\u0026rsquo;s actual size and capabilities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDelta Green did not appear to be a large organization.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt had attached itself to a handful of important institutional \u0026ldquo;veins\u0026rdquo; inside the federal government from which it could draw intelligence and resources.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt had enough influence inside the FBI and other law-enforcement structures to attach itself to certain investigations.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt did not have enough authority to simply seize control of government agencies or act openly whenever it wished.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed possible recommendations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne option was removing Tillman from his position.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnother was having Delta Green take control of the El Paso black site.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Ming favored taking over the entire location with surprise.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy argued that someone needed to investigate the children directly before the Program could know what action was appropriate.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group increasingly converged on the idea that the Program needed eyes on the facility before making any irreversible decision.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents discussed the animal incidents but initially did not know how to interpret them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy believed the strange behavior of the rats and pigeons fit warnings already present in the Black Lantern material about anomalous animal activity.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend noted both the rats and the birds.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group understood that the incidents were clearly unusual but did not yet know what they signified beyond the repeated directive to \u0026ldquo;go to him.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie briefly questioned whether Nika Chilikov might still be a vector of the phenomenon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe noted that she had gone on to work at another children\u0026rsquo;s refuge, which could potentially have been suspicious if she remained infected or influenced.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team researched the later history of King-Torino Children\u0026rsquo;s Refuge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe organization appeared in child-psychology publications, professional material, and local Charlotte news.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSome neighbors had complained about noisy or distressed children at the facility.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere was no evidence of the type of bizarre or unnatural activity the agents were specifically looking for.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis supported the interpretation that Nika had genuinely escaped the worst of the phenomenon rather than continuing to spread it through King-Torino.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe group continued refining its understanding of language development.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNika had been old enough when she entered Cornucopia House to possess at least rudimentary language.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHer language was subsequently suppressed and stunted but could later be redeveloped.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChildren deprived of language during the earliest developmental years would have much greater difficulty developing full adult language later.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Ming and the Handler discussed the rough developmental window as beginning very young, approximately ages two to five, during which normal language exposure contributes significantly to brain development.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents debated whether older or younger children in Tillman\u0026rsquo;s custody were in greater danger.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe crucial factor was not simply age at the present moment.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChildren who had already developed meaningful language before being subjected to the Cornucopia House-like conditions had a better chance of later recovering.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVery young children removed quickly enough could still develop language normally and might therefore escape the effect.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe greatest danger appeared to be children who spent most of the critical language-development period inside an environment designed to suppress speech.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents did not know how quickly the changes could become irreversible.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe group tried to reconstruct the duration and evolution of Cornucopia House.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConrad had been abducted around 1994, seven years before the 2001 raid.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCornucopia House and its associated practices had therefore existed for many years.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEarlier in its history, the institution may have been more focused on producing recruits for the Skoptsi cult.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKalamatiano later used the children as material for her own experiments.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMuch of the detailed information concerning Kalamatiano\u0026rsquo;s methods was absent from the current Program records because the original MASTICATE team had deliberately kept her notes out of the Program\u0026rsquo;s hands for approximately two decades.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents therefore lacked important information that might have explained exactly how the process worked.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler ultimately clarified that, based on the evidence currently available, simply removing the children from Tillman\u0026rsquo;s environment would likely help a significant number of them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt could not be guaranteed that all would escape Parker-Crown\u0026rsquo;s influence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHowever, whatever was occurring under Tillman had been operating for a much shorter period than Cornucopia House.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEarly intervention therefore offered a credible chance of saving at least some children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend questioned whether Tillman even possessed the knowledge necessary to reproduce Kalamatiano\u0026rsquo;s supernatural work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTillman had only been a child at Cornucopia House.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKalamatiano possessed specialized knowledge and had conducted deliberate experimentation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents did not know whether Conrad had inherited or reconstructed that knowledge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAs a result, the Reverend viewed the present evidence as potentially showing an abused child recreating his own horrific upbringing rather than conclusively proving that he was deliberately reproducing the supernatural mechanism itself.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team settled on direct investigation as the most defensible immediate recommendation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAgents needed to get to El Paso and observe the facility.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey needed to determine the condition of the detained children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOnly after seeing what was actually happening could they determine whether Tillman was reproducing Cornucopia House\u0026rsquo;s supernatural effects and what intervention was appropriate.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore presenting the final report, the Reverend made clear that he would not sign a document recommending the murder of the children.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Ming agreed that such a recommendation was insane.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend said he would actively fight to keep it out of the written report.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy still believed Agent Clove\u0026rsquo;s proposal needed to be mentioned as part of the historical data because omitting it could misrepresent the information available.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe compromise was to record that the rogue Agent Clove had proposed killing the affected children as a means of breaking the cycle, while making explicit that the current analysis team did not endorse that course of action.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe report would also note that the agents had no clear explanation of what information, if any, Clove possessed that led her to that conclusion.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler confirmed that Clove was already characterized in Program records as a rogue agent acting without mandate or authority.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn Monday morning at 8:00 a.m., Agent Rennick arrived to receive the team\u0026rsquo;s findings.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBefore his arrival, the Black Lantern materials had been shredded and bagged according to protocol.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team had prepared a sanitized report containing its conclusions while redacting the sensitive information that could not be passed forward.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick joined the agents in the meeting room and asked them to walk him through their findings.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndy Banks took the lead on the presentation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe explained the Parker-Crown pattern identified by the original MASTICATE team.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe connected that pattern to the present family-separation system involving Tillman.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe emphasized that a former Cornucopia House child now appeared to be reproducing circumstances resembling those from the original incident.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe argued that breaking the recurring cycle needed to be treated as a priority.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy cited Nika Chilikov as the best known example of someone who had escaped the cycle through separation, therapy, and later language development.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe also mentioned the recurring association with unusual animal behavior.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFinally, he included Agent Clove\u0026rsquo;s historical theory that killing the affected children could eliminate the vectors, while making clear that the present analysis group did not share that recommendation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick listened carefully to the presentation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe drank coffee from a paper cup and occasionally stopped Andy to ask for clarification.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt the end, Rennick summarized the conclusions in his own words.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe confirmed that Conrad Hopko, Jacob Tillman, Esau Tillman, and Conradin appeared to be the same person.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents had traced him from Cornucopia House into work connected with ICE.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe appeared to be attempting to recreate conditions similar to Cornucopia House.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCornucopia House itself appeared to have been the originating incident for numerous later Program operations.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy confirmed that this was an accurate summary.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick then asked whether the team\u0026rsquo;s recommendation was to investigate further and determine exactly what Tillman was doing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend answered more directly: the children needed to be saved.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler called for a HUMINT check from the Reverend.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWith an 80% HUMINT skill, the Reverend rolled 36 and succeeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe immediately read guilt and resignation in Rennick\u0026rsquo;s body language.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick\u0026rsquo;s pause after hearing that the children needed to be saved made it clear to the Reverend that no immediate official intervention was planned.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend directly challenged Rennick.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe accused him of intending to leave hundreds of children in the facility.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick responded that Tillman was a federal agent working through a federal system.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAny overt action against the operation could create enormous political consequences for the Program.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRepresentatives of Delta Green could ultimately be forced to explain themselves at the highest levels of government.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick specifically asked whether they wanted the president briefed on what the Program did and why it had intervened.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick told the team that the political situation made immediate action impossible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe referred to the fact that it was an election year.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe suggested that in 12 to 18 months, after the political circumstances changed, action might become possible.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe claimed not to like that reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend reacted angrily.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked why Delta Green existed at all if its purpose was not to save humanity.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe then got up and walked out of the meeting.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie attempted to salvage some immediate action.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked whether someone could at least be sent to El Paso to observe the site and establish what was actually happening on the ground.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe suggested using any Program contacts inside ICE or related organizations.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick refused to discuss whether such assets existed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe also pointed out that the facility was not directly operated by ICE but by a contractor.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie and the others continued pressing Rennick on the purpose of their assignment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf the Program could not act, they questioned why they had been ordered to spend the weekend investigating the matter.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick responded that what they had described was a problem for the future.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie argued that Cornucopia House had involved only a few dozen children yet had been associated with potentially catastrophic events.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTillman\u0026rsquo;s program appeared to involve one or two orders of magnitude more children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf the scale of the supernatural threat increased proportionally, postponing action could produce a vastly larger catastrophe.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndy supported at least ongoing observation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe argued that failing even to monitor a situation with such a close connection to MASTICATE and such potentially volatile consequences would be dereliction of duty.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick conceded that the Program might be able to allocate resources for monitoring.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe regarded surveillance as a considerably more viable option than direct intervention.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Ming suggested attempting to build a conventional criminal or legal case against Tillman and his associates.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe idea was to make the evidence so damaging that even the administration would be unwilling to defend them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents acknowledged the institutional difficulty of pursuing such a case given Tillman\u0026rsquo;s apparent role in implementing government policy.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick ultimately repeated that the Program could not officially act until the political environment changed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend, having returned and now eating turkey cold cuts in the doorway, again asked why the team had been tasked with reviewing the information now rather than a year later.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick visibly bristled at the challenge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe thanked the team for its work and stated that he would take their report to his superiors.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe insisted that something would be done \u0026ldquo;at the appropriate time.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents were openly contemptuous of the likely fate of their report.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy gestured as though the proper filing location was a garbage can.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend and others clearly understood that the Program\u0026rsquo;s official response was unlikely to help the children in the immediate future.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler asked whether any of the agents were thinking about handling the situation independently.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend was.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeveral agents attempted Bureaucracy or Law checks to evaluate the practical consequences of acting outside official channels.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMost of the rolls failed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler nevertheless explained that once Rennick submitted the report, some Program surveillance assets might be deployed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAny attempt by the team to operate independently could therefore bring them into conflict with other Program personnel unknowingly working in the same area.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie tried to place himself inside whatever official surveillance response might develop.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe told Rennick that he had extensive experience in surveillance.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe volunteered to participate if the Program established a monitoring operation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick said he would pass that information along.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Rennick prepared to leave, he began collecting the bags of shredded Black Lantern documents and other materials.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUp to this point, the bizarre pigeon incident had not been described to him in detail.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe formal report contained only a general reference to unusual animal behavior associated with the pattern.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie then deliberately raised the pigeon incident with Rennick.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked whether Rennick had noticed the pigeons outside.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe explained that during the weekend, a large number of pigeons had repeatedly slammed themselves into the meeting-room window and died.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe described them striking the glass over and over for roughly 10 to 15 minutes.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick appeared confused and asked which window Ernie meant.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie had previously gone outside to inspect the area beneath the window.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe found dead pigeons on the ground.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLooking upward, he had been able to make out smeared markings on the exterior window.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe marks were bloody and indistinct, but his mind resolved them into letters.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey appeared to spell \u0026ldquo;GO TO HIM.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe sight had required a SAN roll.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie failed and lost 1 SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe took a photograph of the window on his phone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBack in the meeting room, Rennick inspected the indicated window.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe glass was covered with an opaque or obscuring film.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick felt along its edge until he could lift part of it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe began peeling the film away.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe other agents helped expose the glass beneath.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeeing the bloody, greasy smears on the window prompted SAN checks from the agents.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOn successful SAN checks, the marks appeared to be nothing more than unsettling smears.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOn failed checks, the agents could discern the reversed letters forming the message.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie explicitly pointed out the words to anyone who could not immediately recognize them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe message matched the one previously found in the rat-damaged documents: \u0026ldquo;GO TO HIM.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick stared at the markings and became visibly unsettled.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend, with his high HUMINT, could read the rapid change in Rennick\u0026rsquo;s thinking.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick was reevaluating both the situation and the four agents standing in front of him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe appeared to be wondering whether the team itself had somehow become involved in or affected by the unnatural phenomenon they had just described.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick clenched his jaw and announced that he needed to make a phone call.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe left the meeting room and walked toward the far end of the floor.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents immediately considered what Rennick\u0026rsquo;s call might mean for them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend stated plainly that he intended to go to El Paso.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler allowed INT×5 checks to assess the implications of Rennick\u0026rsquo;s departure.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend succeeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie failed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThose who understood the situation realized that whoever Rennick was about to contact might make independent travel to El Paso significantly more difficult.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePreventing or delaying Rennick from contacting his superiors could make immediate action easier, even if doing so created serious long-term consequences.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents considered tailing Rennick, but nobody had particularly strong Stealth for the task.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie instead reviewed the surveillance equipment he had brought with him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis kit included a laptop, external wireless router, Raspberry Pi, forensic tools, a shotgun microphone, several tiny wireless microphones, a tiny wireless camera, and an IMSI catcher or StingRay-type device.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBecause of his surveillance background, Ernie was equipped to intercept nearby cellular communications.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie used the IMSI catcher to identify and interfere with Rennick\u0026rsquo;s phone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler required a SIGINT check.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErnie had 60% SIGINT and rolled 17, succeeding.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere were relatively few signals in the immediate area, allowing him to isolate Rennick\u0026rsquo;s phone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe obtained the phone number Rennick was attempting to call.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe then cut off the call before Rennick could complete it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile this was happening, Andy considered another potential contact: Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonia Pitzarelli.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzarelli had been mentioned throughout the historical records and had direct knowledge of the original MASTICATE agents.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group did not possess her private contact information, but she remained publicly listed through the Department of Justice.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy called her office through official channels.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndy reached Pitzarelli\u0026rsquo;s secretary.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said that he urgently needed to speak with Pitzarelli regarding work she had previously done with associates including Cortez, Drummond, Steele, and McCarter.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe stressed that the context was specific to Pitzarelli and could not simply be passed to another person in the office.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe secretary agreed to pass the message to Pitzarelli.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy provided a contact number where he could be reached.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Andy finished the call, Rennick returned down the hallway.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe was holding his phone and appeared annoyed that the call had failed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe came into the room and told the team to remain there for 10 minutes.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe then appeared prepared to head toward the elevators.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErnie questioned Rennick about what had suddenly become so concerning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeveral agents attempted HUMINT checks to read him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend achieved a critical success.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWith that result, the Reverend understood Rennick\u0026rsquo;s state of mind clearly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick was not exactly afraid of the agents.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRather, he was uncertain whether they were deliberately manipulating him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey had just delivered a report describing synchronicities, bizarre animal behavior, and unnatural influence, and immediately afterward had shown him a window where dead pigeons had apparently written the same message found in their evidence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick was trying to determine whether the agents themselves were now affected by the phenomenon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend then showed Rennick the rat bites on his leg.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe explained that the pigeons had not been the only animal event.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA large number of rats had also appeared at the same time and attacked the team.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis additional physical evidence moved Rennick\u0026rsquo;s assessment further.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRather than merely wondering whether the agents were affected, he increasingly concluded that they actually had become entangled in whatever force they were investigating.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Ming spoke up and challenged the assumption that waiting was possible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBased on his understanding of the reports, there appeared to be another active force involved in events.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhatever was sending animals and producing the \u0026ldquo;GO TO HIM\u0026rdquo; message did not appear inclined to wait 12 to 18 months for political circumstances to improve.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents therefore might not have the luxury of following Rennick\u0026rsquo;s proposed timetable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend appealed directly to Rennick.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe told him that four men stood in front of him who genuinely wanted to do the right thing.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked why Rennick would not make use of them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler called for a Persuade check.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend rolled 39 against an 80% skill and succeeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend\u0026rsquo;s previous critical HUMINT success allowed him to closely follow Rennick\u0026rsquo;s reaction.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick looked at his phone and reconsidered the strange failure of his attempted call.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfter listening to the team\u0026rsquo;s description of synchronicities and unnatural intervention, he appeared to entertain the possibility that his inability to make the call had itself been meaningful.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe did not know that Ernie had deliberately jammed it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Rennick\u0026rsquo;s perspective, something connected to the phenomenon might have prevented him from reporting the agents.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend also determined that Rennick genuinely did not possess hidden knowledge about Parker-Crown or the Black Lantern material.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick had told the truth when he said he had not previously been read into the case.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEverything disturbing him now came from what the team had reported and what he had personally witnessed in the room.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick finally admitted that he believed there would still be no official Program action.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe political risks were too substantial.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis superiors would recognize the same dangers he had.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNevertheless, he found the situation horrifying and did not want it to continue.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked the agents how committed they were to doing something about it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents answered that they were committed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend stated that regardless of whether Tillman\u0026rsquo;s actions were supernatural, Tillman had to be stopped and the children had to be saved.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndy emphasized that the situation represented the same repeating cycle that began at Cornucopia House.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf nobody intervened, the pattern would simply continue.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDr. Ming added a more self-interested concern: if a force capable of controlling wild animals was telling them to act, he was worried about what would happen to the team if they ignored it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHelping the children and complying with the apparent demand to \u0026ldquo;go to him\u0026rdquo; had now become intertwined.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick considered the agents, the window, and the situation and finally reached a decision.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Reverend could see that Rennick had reached a point of abandoning strict adherence to official procedure.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick took a notepad from his pocket.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe wrote a phone number on a blank page.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe tore the page from the pad and gave it to the team.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe instructed them to call that number in six hours.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said that the people on the other end \u0026ldquo;should be able to help.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe identity of the people associated with the number was not revealed during the session.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents speculated that the contact might involve the older, unofficial incarnation of Delta Green, but this was not confirmed in play.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRennick then told the team that they still had one additional task.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheir official report had to be revised.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick wanted the report to contain nothing actionable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn practical terms, they were to obfuscate their real findings and make Tillman appear unimportant.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe purpose was to prevent the official Program hierarchy from recognizing that the agents intended to act independently.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents agreed to rewrite the report accordingly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reverend told Rennick that he was a good man.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick did not fully accept the characterization.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said that it was probably not true.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe nevertheless expressed the hope that they might at least be able to help some of the children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the end of the session, the team had therefore moved from being an analysis group to committing itself to direct action.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey possessed a mysterious phone number provided by Rennick.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey had instructions to call it six hours later.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRennick was covertly assisting them despite believing that the Program could not formally authorize an operation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheir official report would conceal the seriousness of Tillman\u0026rsquo;s activities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe agents now intended to pursue the situation in El Paso despite the absence of formal Program approval.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler indicated that the next session might begin with the team operating on the ground in El Paso.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003c/details\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n"
  }