{
    "title": "Temporary Reality Anamoly",
    "date": "2019-10-27 20:00",
    "reportcode": "GT/GL-191027-078260423",
    "url": "https://teeth.zarquan.fyi/reports/gt-gl-191027-078260423/index.json",
    "description": "△▼△TOP SECRET//SI//DGO△▼△",
    "content": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReport No:\u003c/strong\u003e GT/GL-191027-078260423\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocation:\u003c/strong\u003e\nKick Springs, Pennsylvania, DC Metro Area\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAgents:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/cells/d/#mccarter\"\u003eMcCarter-2\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/cells/d/#booth\"\u003eBooth\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/cells/d/#smith\"\u003eJustin Smith\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/cells/d/#farrington-cowles\"\u003ePhilomena Farrington-Cowles\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMASTICATE attempted to secure Vicky King and her daughters after the collapse of King’s alternate domestic reality. King remained severely unstable and unable to provide coherent information. Booth contacted Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonia Pitzarelli to arrange discreet custody transfer. During the transfer, Booth and Justin apparently crossed into an adjacent reality and surrendered King and the children to a version of the expected receiving party. Philomena and McCarter experienced memory discontinuity during the event. Subsequent device tests showed Picky Eater infection spreading to newly acquired hardware without ordinary network access. A fresh laptop with its wireless antennas physically disabled still became infected, gained apparent network access, and manifested a factory-integrated chip marked “HUSH.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOperation Report:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the prior collapse of King’s alternate house-state, King was reunited with her daughters inside the Pennsylvania residence. The agents had neutralized two intruders resembling National Child and Family Services personnel from another reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKing remained fixated on the belief that “Reapers” and a hostile family-services conspiracy would return for her children. She attempted to leave the residence with the girls.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents attempted to determine whether King had been running Picky Eater in the altered reality and whether a second instance existed. King confirmed that she had run Picky Eater to hide from Family Services and the Reapers but rejected the agents’ framing of events as involving alternate realities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena attempted to prevent King from leaving by warning that police or authorities would separate her from her children. King became more agitated, grabbed a lamp, and attacked Philomena. Philomena avoided the blow; the lamp was pulled short by its cord.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBooth physically restrained King and returned her to her daughters. King collapsed emotionally, and the children gathered around her. The family remained frightened, unstable, and unable to provide orderly testimony.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents assessed King and the children as operational liabilities but also potential sources of critical information. The children had previously built their own Picky Eater device from plans found on their mother’s computer, making them materially relevant to the origin and spread of the phenomenon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents searched and reviewed the house further. The house was described as neglected rather than physically destroyed. The basement in the present version contained a generator and a phone charger, but no corresponding phone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin questioned the extra-dimensional McCarter regarding Picky Eater transmission. McCarter reported that, in his originating reality, experiments indicated the infection was connected to hardware. He also relayed that his handlers did not know whether the rules changed between realities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents obtained new phones and laptops, intending to keep clean backups powered off until needed. Justin planned to isolate known infected devices and monitor for reappearance of Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBooth contacted Pitzarelli from a newly acquired phone. He reported that King had been trapped in her own reality, was too unstable to release, and likely retained useful information. Booth also warned Pitzarelli that Picky Eater appeared to behave like a worm and asked whether it had appeared on her devices. Pitzarelli checked and reported no visible infection on her phone or laptop.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePitzarelli initially advised that the team’s FBI task-force cover could be used to access Bureau resources, then agreed to arrange a more discreet transfer. She later instructed the agents to bring King and the children to a Virginia/D.C.-area location at 1800 hours, where they would be met by men in a black SUV with specified plates. No names were to be exchanged.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the drive, King remained delusional but became manageable when Booth affirmed her belief that the agents belonged to a hidden government faction opposing the child-stealing conspiracy. The agents transported King and her daughters to the handoff location.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the designated parking lot, Booth and Justin escorted King and the children to the waiting SUV. The plate matched Pitzarelli’s instructions. The receiving men appeared consistent with government or ex-military personnel and did not display the rune-marked cowls or palm-mouth features previously associated with hostile extradimensional N.C.F.S. figures. They accepted King and the children without substantive conversation and drove away.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena and McCarter remained in the agents’ SUV. From their perspective, Booth and Justin disappeared, then reappeared approximately fifty feet away in the parking lot. Philomena experienced confusion over why they were present and confronted Booth and Justin over their sudden appearance. McCarter drew his weapon but did not point it at anyone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBooth and Justin perceived no discontinuity. From their perspective, they had completed the handoff normally and walked back.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents checked their devices. Picky Eater was present on all newly acquired active devices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBooth concluded that he and Justin may have crossed into another reality during the handoff and surrendered King and the children to that reality’s receiving party. The agents further noted that Philomena and McCarter’s memory discontinuity resembled prior events in which people who remained behind forgot or rationalized the absence of those displaced.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents considered whether the black SUV contained or carried an active Picky Eater system capable of pulling infected subjects into a selected reality. Booth proposed that the phone or device infection might function as a receiver while another chip or system generated the altered reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents powered down and removed batteries from infected devices where possible. McCarter destroyed one ordinary phone. His separate hardened reality-anchor device remained active, as he had been told it maintained his link to this reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBooth tested whether distance from the team prevented infection. He separated from the others, powered on a clean phone, and observed Picky Eater appear on it within minutes despite the other agents being down the street.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBooth attempted to contact Pitzarelli from a payphone. The operational number rang through to voicemail twice. Booth did not leave a message. He noted that Pitzarelli had previously answered an unknown burner number without receiving prior notice that he had changed phones, but she did not answer the payphone call.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents discussed whether they could still trust Delta Green channels, Pitzarelli, or any external support. Booth argued that the team was isolated and should proceed directly to the apparent source at MIT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team began driving north toward Massachusetts. Air travel was rejected because a reality shift during flight could leave the agents displaced at altitude or otherwise unrecoverable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents continued experimenting with infection vectors while underway. Justin physically disabled the wireless antennas on a new laptop before powering it on. Despite the lack of ordinary Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capability, Picky Eater appeared as a hidden system-level presence.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin further determined that the laptop retained apparent internet access through Picky Eater despite disabled wireless hardware.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn inspection, Justin found a Picky Eater chip physically attached to the laptop motherboard. The chip had not been present before the laptop was powered on. It appeared factory-integrated into the board rather than crudely soldered or externally attached.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chip casing bore the inscription “HUSH.”\u003c/p\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\u003ePicky Eater should no longer be treated as ordinary malware, a single infected application, or even a purely hardware-borne compromise. The incident demonstrates apparent spontaneous physical integration of a chip into previously clean electronics. The phenomenon may rewrite matter, manufacturing history, or local causality to accommodate the infection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe “HUSH” inscription is operationally significant. It intersects with the repeated silence motif already present in Cornucopia House, the quiet children, Magna Mater-associated muteness, the robed figure who instructed King’s daughters to be silent, and Justin’s private connection to the entity he identifies as the Hush Father. The possibility of multiple unrelated silence-linked phenomena converging around Picky Eater should be considered unlikely.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKing and her daughters may have been lost to an adjacent reality during the custody transfer. If Pitzarelli’s organization in baseline reality did not receive them, then a valuable witness set and two child-level Picky Eater builders have been transferred to an unknown party. If Pitzarelli’s organization did receive them, the receiving channel may already be compromised by reality-shift mechanics. Either outcome requires discreet verification without using known infected communications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBooth’s loss of confidence in operational reality and command channels is rationally grounded in field evidence but represents a command-and-control risk. His instincts remain functional, and his focus on MIT is consistent with accumulated leads; however, his increasing refusal to trust external confirmation may isolate MASTICATE from usable support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter’s reality-anchor device remains an unresolved vector. The distance test suggests that McCarter’s device was not the immediate source of Booth’s isolated phone infection, but its continued operation preserves an active extradimensional link inside the cell. It should not be disabled without a containment plan, but it should be treated as an active unnatural artifact.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll electronic devices carried by MASTICATE should be presumed compromised once powered. Conventional Faraday isolation may slow ordinary transmission but is not sufficient against the observed phenomenon. Clean-device procedures are no longer reliable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA-Cell should assume that any Program asset exposed to MASTICATE, Pitzarelli, Narnia, Diving Bell, MIT-derived materials, or Picky Eater-contaminated phones may be compromised retroactively. Standard digital forensics will likely produce internally consistent but false histories.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMIT remains the appropriate next target. Known connected names include Charles Bauer, Nora Bridget, Kim Bowyer, and Wesley Cole. The operation should prioritize physical seizure of source hardware, handwritten research notes, fabrication records, and personnel with direct access to early chip designs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAny future containment team should operate with analog protocols, prearranged dead drops, written challenge-response phrases, non-electronic timekeeping, and physical identity markers that can be checked after suspected discontinuities. Even these controls may only reveal a shift after the fact.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf the “HUSH” mark indicates personalization of Picky Eater manifestations, agents should expect future chips, applications, or altered environments to reflect individual beliefs, fears, religious fixations, or prior unnatural exposure. MASTICATE should be monitored for individualized reality artifacts before and after contact with MIT.\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\u003eLuke opened the session by recapping that the team had previously been split between two versions of the same house, neither of which was safe.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin and the alternate Matthew McCarter had explored the ground floor and upper rooms of a dark version of the house.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey were watched by two young girls who gave contradictory claims about where their mother was: upstairs, in the basement, or simply busy.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen McCarter and Justin moved to clear the second floor, the girls attacked with a kitchen knife.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcCarter stopped one of the girls by kicking her down the stairs.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUpstairs, McCarter found a computer gutted down to its frame, with components snapped and the monitor smashed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn the wreckage, he found a lab-built Picky Eater device still intact enough to pocket.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the night version of the house, Frank Booth and Philomena had followed the sound of country radio to a locked bedroom.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBehind the door was Vicky King, terrified and armed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky had been hiding for years, running Picky Eater on a humming desktop computer to keep the “Reapers” off her trail.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky believed her daughters were gone and did not know where they were.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen Frank unplugged the computer, night became day.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe two realities collapsed into one.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky suddenly found herself in a house full of strangers and reunited with her daughters.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reunion was interrupted when two agents of the National Child and Family Services came through the front door from another world.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThese agents appeared to be versions of Justin and McCarter.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey wore cowls stitched with runes.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey had mouths in their palms.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team killed them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank covered their faces while Vicky held her daughters and wept.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfterward, the girls confessed that they had built their own Picky Eater device from plans on their mother’s computer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey had wanted to find their father, whom their mother had never spoken about.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInstead, they found somewhere with impossible colors, stone blocks, an old man by a strange machine, and a very tall figure in robes who told them to be silent.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheir father’s name was revealed as Wesley Cole.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWesley Cole is a mathematics professor at MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team noted that MIT keeps recurring in the investigation, along with Charles Bauer, Nora Bridget, Kim Boyer, and now Wesley Cole.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuke noted that Matthew McCarter had shot himself in the face in the prior session.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBecause of that, Luke assigned McCarter a loss of 1 SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcCarter was close to his breaking point afterward.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed what exactly had happened with Vicky King, her daughters, and the versions of Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin questioned whether the Picky Eater plans were on King’s computer even though Vicky herself had not seemed to understand what happened.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group reasoned that Vicky had pulled her daughters into her alternate reality, where they grew up and then created their own Picky Eater device.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group was unsure whether the robed, hooded versions of Justin and McCarter came from Vicky’s Picky Eater-created reality or from the girls’ Picky Eater-created reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe working assumption was that the robed agents came from Vicky’s version of reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team confirmed that Vicky was no longer preventing them from searching the house.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky remained terrified and convinced that more Reapers would come.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe believed the house was no longer safe.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe wanted to leave with her daughters.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe asked whether the team had a car.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed whether they could call Antonia Pitzerelli.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey did not trust their own phones because of Picky Eater contamination.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey also questioned whether Pitzerelli’s phone could be trusted.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team considered using a landline or another random phone, but remained cautious about phones in general.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe group reviewed what they knew about how Picky Eater spreads.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey believed, based on prior experience, that in their world it spread by proximity.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople had to be in roughly the same room for contamination to occur.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey did not know whether a person needed to have the chip, the app, or some other connection to be affected.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey also did not know whether the rules changed between realities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena theorized that once a Picky Eater chip was running in a system, it might gradually destabilize more of that reality as Picky Eater instances spread onto other phones.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe compared this to Bradley McKay’s case.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcKay’s system broke, and he snapped back to his reality while still having Picky Eater on his phone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena suggested Picky Eater might be trying to break down the barriers between realities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe also noted that when the team snapped back to their own reality, they dragged someone across with them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank pointed out that the current situation with Vicky was a different data point.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn Vicky’s case, Picky Eater had been running inside the alternate world.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe computer in the team’s current world had already been destroyed and was not running.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen Frank unplugged the computer in the alternate reality, that ended the alternate state.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group noted as players that when McCarter killed Wallace, that also caused a collapse back to another reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke allowed an INT × 5 roll to think through what made Vicky’s situation different.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe conclusion was that Vicky may have been running Picky Eater longer than anyone else they had encountered so far.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team questioned Vicky about whether she had been running Picky Eater in the other reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena attempted to persuade Vicky at a penalty.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe roll failed badly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky said she did not know what Philomena meant by another reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky acknowledged that she had run Picky Eater so it could hide her from Family Services and the Reapers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe insisted that Philomena sounded crazy.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena tried to convince Vicky that leaving the house would put her in more danger.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe warned Vicky that the police would find her outside, separate her from her children, and treat her as unstable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky did not believe the house was safe.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky remained convinced that the Reapers had already found them and would send more people.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky begged the team to take her and the girls somewhere safe.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe attempt to keep Vicky calm failed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky grabbed a lamp from a table.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe raised it and came at Philomena, shrieking.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena dodged.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky’s attack failed; the lamp’s cord yanked it from her hand on the backswing before it connected.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the failed attack, Frank physically restrained Vicky.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank used his unarmed combat skill to manhandle Vicky and bring her back to her children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky’s daughters were screaming and crying.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky collapsed on the ground after Frank released her.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe pulled away from him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHer children piled on top of her, and the three huddled together.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuke clarified Vicky King’s mental state.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky was at zero SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe had spent a decade living in a reality built out of her worst fears and anxieties.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom her perspective, the people hunting her children had just knocked down her door shortly after she had recovered her daughters, whom she believed she had lost forever.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe situation explained why Vicky could not be meaningfully reasoned with in the moment.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew McCarter made a SAN roll in response to the pathetic, helpless state of Vicky and her children.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcCarter rolled a critical success.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe did not lose SAN from that moment.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed searching the house further.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe house in the current reality was mostly uncared for, not violently torn apart like the other version.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin had already searched the basement and found a cell phone charger with no cell phone, along with a generator.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team remembered that they had never searched the basement of the other version of the house.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey considered that Vicky’s Picky Eater data center may have been in the other basement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin asked the alternate McCarter what caused Picky Eater to spread.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin specifically asked whether the vector was people linked to Picky Eater or the active chips themselves.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe wanted to know whether buying a new phone away from any active Picky Eater chip would prevent reinfection.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcCarter explained that, in his world’s experiments, it seemed to be tied to the hardware itself.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHowever, McCarter’s world did not know whether the rules changed between realities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAll they had to work from originally was George Avery, who did not understand how Picky Eater worked.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe working answer was that in McCarter’s world it was connected to hardware, but that might not be universally true.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin reasoned that he could buy new phones and laptops as spares.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe planned to keep most of them powered off.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe would use active devices until they became reinfected, then switch to clean spares.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke allowed this, noting that Justin had enough money and worked in technology.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team also had access to Frank’s operational funding.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed what to do with Vicky and her children.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena suggested finding a Delta Green safe house or some other secure location where they could be handed off.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe concern was not simply putting Vicky somewhere, but keeping her there.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin considered that Vicky might be a liability and that killing her might be the merciful or operationally secure option.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank argued against killing her immediately because she was close to the source of the Picky Eater problem and might still have useful information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe children were also valuable sources of information because they had built a Picky Eater device themselves.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin asked McCarter whether he had the same unnatural sensing ability as the previous McCarter.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin explained that the original McCarter had been able to smell unnatural things or physically detect wrongness in reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank added that Delta Green had been cultivating that ability in McCarter.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe alternate McCarter did not have that ability and was alarmed by the idea.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcCarter also discussed differences in his world’s Delta Green, including greater public empowerment and access to strange technology such as his lightning rifle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank attempted to determine whether he knew of any accessible Delta Green resources for Vicky.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe made a Bureaucracy roll and failed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe did not know of any easy-to-access Delta Green safe house nearby.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team concluded they would need to call Pitzerelli and arrange something.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank called Antonia Pitzerelli from a new phone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke ruled that Frank had memorized the number due to his years as a field agent.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli answered and asked how Pennsylvania was.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank told her they had someone who had been trapped in her own reality and was too mentally unstable to leave loose.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe explained that Vicky likely had useful information but could not be safely brought along to Massachusetts.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked for a place to drop Vicky and the children on the way.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePitzerelli asked whether Vicky was a liability to be eliminated.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said the only reason they had not done that was because Vicky seemed very close to the source of the Picky Eater situation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said they needed her kept in safekeeping and possibly calmed down enough to recover information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli noted that the team was operating as an FBI task force and could use FBI resources.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe also said she could arrange something more discreet, but it would take a couple of hours.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team warned Pitzerelli about Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank asked whether she had checked her phone and apps recently.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe explained that Picky Eater seemed to work like a worm.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team had powered down and removed batteries from their devices.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli checked her phone and laptop while on the call.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe reported that she did not see Picky Eater on either device.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank told her their theory was that infection was proximity-based, though they were not certain.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli said she would call back with instructions.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team waited in a motel room or similar location while Pitzerelli made arrangements.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli called back and instructed them to drive Vicky and the children to Virginia, near Washington, D.C.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe gave them an address, a time of 6 p.m., and the license plates of a black SUV.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe instructed them not to exchange names with the people taking custody.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said they should simply hand Vicky and the children over.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli also said she would know where Vicky and the children were after the handoff.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank also asked Pitzerelli about Kim Boyer and Cooper.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli said she had been working on arranging an interview.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSince the team would be near D.C., she could provide a time and place.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said Boyer might be connected because so much pointed back to MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin asked whether Pitzerelli could check whether Boyer or Cooper had Picky Eater on their phones before the team met them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli had very little information on them and could only arrange the meeting through existing channels.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team prepared to drive Vicky and her daughters to Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey kept Vicky away from the driver’s seat.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky asked leading questions about whether the team was part of a secret government conspiracy fighting another secret agency that stole children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank answered yes and leaned into Vicky’s delusional framework because it kept her calmer.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky accepted that the team was taking her to a safe place shielded by another shadowy organization.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe ride was stressful, but Vicky remained manageable as long as the team fit themselves into her existing narrative.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team arrived at the designated parking lot.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe location was a nondescript government building parking lot.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank and Justin got out with Vicky and her children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena remained behind the wheel of the team’s SUV.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew McCarter was seated in the back.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank checked the license plate of the waiting SUV.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt matched the plate Pitzerelli had given him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe men in the other SUV got out.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey looked like classic “men in black.”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank judged them as military or ex-military.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey opened the back doors of their SUV.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky and the children climbed inside.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank told Vicky that these men would take her to safety.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere was no meaningful conversation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe SUV drove away with Vicky and her children.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin set a watch timer to remind himself to check for Picky Eater every hour.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe wanted to regularly inspect his phone for signs of reinfection.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team continued treating Picky Eater contamination as a major threat.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the handoff, Philomena and Matthew McCarter made SAN rolls.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena lost 1 SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew lost 2 SAN and reached his breaking point.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe cause was a reality-slip event.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrom Philomena and McCarter’s perspective, Frank and Justin appeared in the parking lot about fifty feet away.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey had been gone, and then they were suddenly there again.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena and McCarter had a hazy, slippery memory of why they were there.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey seemed to remember being there to drop someone off or pick someone up, but the exact purpose was difficult to hold onto.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena got out of the car and confronted Frank and Justin.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe asked where they had just appeared from.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank and Justin did not understand the question because, from their perspective, nothing unusual had happened.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey remembered getting out of the SUV, walking over, completing the handoff, and coming back.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey had not experienced a gap.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter got out of the car and drew his gun.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe did not point it at anyone, but he held it openly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe wanted Frank and Justin to see that he was armed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis reflected his alarm at seeing them appear from nowhere.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank realized that this matched a previous pattern.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe told Philomena that when people disappear, those left behind forget what happened to them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said that he and Justin must have left reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena understood and remembered the prior phenomenon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank concluded that the handoff SUV must have been involved.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis working theory was that he and Justin crossed into another reality when they handed Vicky and the children over.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank and Justin made SAN rolls or were asked to consider the SAN impact of what had happened.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank made his roll.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke considered whether losing Vicky and the girls into another dimension would cost SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank’s primary concern was that they had lost a resource and potential source of information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBecause Frank was more focused on the operational loss than the horror of Vicky’s fate, Luke ruled that this did not cost him SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team reasoned through what had happened during the handoff.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe other SUV’s plates matched Pitzerelli’s instructions.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe men appeared normal enough not to raise alarm.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank had not checked their palms for mouths.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena argued that the reality Frank and Justin entered must have been close enough to their own that it did not immediately seem wrong.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team did not know whether they had returned to their original reality or whether all of them were now in another nearby variant.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team checked their devices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePicky Eater appeared on all of their new phones.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis included phones that had only recently been purchased.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin immediately removed his phone battery.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank asked whether the whole handoff event had infected them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team considered that their proximity to the SUV, or to an active Picky Eater system in the SUV, might have caused it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank searched the internet on a phone to see whether the current reality had obvious differences.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe searched for Delta Green.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe also considered checking major historical facts such as the president and World War II.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe failed his Search roll.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNothing obvious looked different or concerning.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group joked in-character and out-of-character about how hard it would be to identify a subtle reality shift.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team powered down infected phones and discussed containment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKnown infected devices were to have their batteries removed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin had bought backup phones and laptops.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group discussed using a Faraday bag or Faraday box to isolate contaminated devices.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke allowed Justin to have a hardened box or container suitable for isolating electronics, given the availability of consumer Faraday containers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter destroyed one of his own phones.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe removed the battery, threw the phone on the ground, and stomped on it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis special hardware was not a normal phone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke described McCarter’s device as a hardened piece of military field technology, like a reality-anchor “hockey puck” with a high-capacity battery.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcCarter had been told that this device was what kept him anchored in the current reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe did not want to turn it off because he feared it might sever his link to this world.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team considered whether McCarter’s device might be spreading Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena raised the possibility that McCarter’s special hardware had broken containment.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team noted that Justin had been checking devices during the drive and had not seen Picky Eater before the handoff, depending on when the checking began.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke clarified that Picky Eater had installed earlier but hid itself under another name or in a less obvious form before revealing itself.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt may not have called itself Picky Eater initially.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was only after the handoff that the icon clearly appeared.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe group debated whether phones could be used at all.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena argued that they should stop using phones entirely.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank wondered whether the team themselves had become the vector.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team considered that even if phones were off, Picky Eater might still appear once powered on.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey also considered whether the car’s electronics could be infected.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team decided to perform an experiment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank took one powered-off phone and separated himself from the group.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe others drove away down the street.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank powered on the phone while away from the others and away from their devices.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWithin a minute or two, Picky Eater appeared on the phone anyway.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis suggested that proximity to the rest of the group was not required for reinfection, or at least that proximity alone did not explain what was happening.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank tried to call Pitzerelli from a payphone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe call rang several times and went to voicemail.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank did not leave a message.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe powered down the phone and removed its battery, then tried again.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe second call also rang and went to voicemail.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke noted that Pitzerelli had probably answered Frank earlier because she had recognized the burner phone number.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank realized that the earlier call had involved a new phone and a new number, yet Pitzerelli had answered and seemed to know it was him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis became another sign that the prior call may not have happened in the team’s original reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team considered whether they could trust Pitzerelli or Delta Green.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said Pitzerelli had known he was calling before he called, or at least had answered a call she should not have recognized.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said they were isolated, could not trust backup, and could not trust Delta Green.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe argued that they needed to go directly to the source of the Picky Eater problem.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe source appeared to be MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena agreed to drive north toward MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed whether the altered realities might reflect someone’s worldview or fears.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcCarter recalled being told that Picky Eater initially pulled information from realities corresponding to what the user seemed to believe.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank asked whose worst fear their current situation represented.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group considered that Vicky’s reality had been formed from her fears.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey also noted that Charles Bauer’s reality seemed to have suited his desires rather than his fears.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin discussed the Hush Father.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin explained that he feels a connection to his god when he is nonverbal.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis medication can induce that state.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe first felt that connection as a child before he learned language.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis parents had neglected his language development, and he later lost that connection as he learned to speak.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe rediscovered it by medically inducing nonverbal states.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin also had a gut feeling about people his god wanted him to help.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group considered whether Justin would notice if that connection changed across realities, but it was not a constant sense unless he took his medication.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe group regrouped after Frank’s test.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe others returned to pick Frank up.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank was relieved that they came back and had not forgotten him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe concluded that whether the phones were on or off might not matter anymore.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePicky Eater had appeared on a fresh phone even when he was separated from the group.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team continued toward Massachusetts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke noted that the drive from the D.C. area to MIT would be a little over seven hours by car.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA train-and-bus trip would also take about seven hours.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA flight would only take about an hour and twenty minutes.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team rejected flying.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena worried that if they shifted realities during a flight, they could suddenly find themselves falling or otherwise displaced.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcCarter also had too many weapons, including his lightning rifle, to easily take a plane.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group preferred the highway because it seemed more survivable than a plane if reality shifted.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team ran another experiment using one of Justin’s fresh laptops.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena suggested physically disabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth before powering on the laptop.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke said Justin had the necessary technical skill and toolkit to physically disconnect the laptop’s antennas.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin opened the laptop, disconnected the antennas, and powered it on while the team drove.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin made a Computer Science roll and succeeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin found that Picky Eater was still present on the laptop.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was not immediately visible.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had to search deeply through the system.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe eventually found that Picky Eater had insinuated itself into a system service.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis showed that Picky Eater was present even without normal wireless antennas.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin tested whether the antenna-disabled laptop still had internet access through Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt did.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis indicated that Picky Eater was communicating by some means other than normal Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLuke prompted Justin to think through what that implied.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin made an INT × 5 roll and succeeded.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe considered the idea that he himself might be a transmitter, then rejected it as crazy.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eActing on a hunch, he opened the laptop again.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe knew the component had not been there before.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe found that a Picky Eater chip had appeared attached to the laptop’s motherboard.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe newly appeared chip looked factory-manufactured.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was not a crude soldering or hacked-on addition.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt appeared integrated into the board cleanly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt looked as though the motherboard had been manufactured with the chip already included.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin inspected it with a pocket microscope.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInscribed in small letters on the chip casing was the word “Hush.”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe appearance of the “Hush” inscription suggested a direct connection to Justin and the Hush Father.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe session ended on that reveal.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfterward, the group considered that other infected devices might also contain personalized Picky Eater chips, but they had not yet disassembled those devices.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team had seen Picky Eater apps on phones but had not previously checked whether chips had physically appeared inside them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuke clarified the broader chronology of the Picky Eater investigation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe oldest known Picky Eater-related case was the FBI investigation into Charles Bauer from MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBauer seemed to have found Picky Eater in 2016.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe used it for a couple of years.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBy late 2017, he emerged into a reality where marrying children was legal and socially acceptable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBauer was picked up by the FBI and killed himself in custody.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe FBI had his phone, which had Picky Eater on it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuke also clarified how NSA and Delta Green had learned about Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDiving Bell at the NSA had independently picked up dark web chatter about Picky Eater.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey found references and some source code.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey did not have the chip design or a physical chip.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNarnia was a Delta Green working group operating under a counterterrorism cover, like the current team.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNarnia was activated in response to the Friday Night Massacre, a high school football shooting in Texas involving two young Muslim men with AK-style rifles.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Friday Night Massacre occurred about a week before Bradley McKay’s shooting.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe current team was pulled in about a week after McKay’s shooting.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuke clarified the CIA contact connected to Narnia.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe CIA contact the team had previously met was intended to be Narnia’s Delta Green handler.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThat handler had been assessing whether to put the team in contact with Narnia.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis explained why the team was stonewalled and why the connection to the researcher who provided information eventually mattered.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed a possible next step involving Pitzerelli.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin wanted to talk to Pitzerelli and ask whether she knew about the Vicky handoff.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf Pitzerelli was fuzzy about the details, that might indicate Frank and Justin had disappeared from reality and that she was affected like the others who forgot them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf Pitzerelli remembered the handoff clearly and said it went well, that could indicate either that she was involved or that the reality situation was even more complicated.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena was uncertain whether asking that question was wise, because the team was already spiraling into dangerous uncertainty.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe session ended before the team pulled that thread further.\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"
  }