{
    "title": "MIT Investigation",
    "date": "2019-10-27 21:00",
    "reportcode": "GT/GL-191027-079260430",
    "url": "https://teeth.zarquan.fyi/reports/gt-gl-191027-079260430/index.json",
    "description": "△▼△TOP SECRET//SI//DGO△▼△",
    "content": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReport No:\u003c/strong\u003e GT/GL-191027-079260430\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocation:\u003c/strong\u003e\nCambridge, Mass\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 proceeded toward MIT after the failed Vicki King handoff and the discovery of Picky Eater-linked hardware alterations. During transit, the team confirmed that powered devices displaying Picky Eater software contained newly manifested physical chips, while at least one unpowered phone did not. Near Cambridge, several agents observed a spatial/reality distortion across I-90. McCarter partially entered the distortion and disappeared from the others’ perspective, emerging alone in an alternate Cambridge/MIT environment where Wesley Cool was described as “ascended” and associated with a superior successor to Picky Eater called the “atherophone.” The remaining agents destroyed contaminated devices, after which the distortion ceased to be visible to them. McCarter later experienced a collapse or withdrawal of the alternate environment, broke into Wesley Cool’s ordinary MIT office, and eventually reunited with the team at a nearby hotel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOperation Report:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMASTICATE was traveling north toward Boston/Cambridge with a collection of electronic devices, including phones and laptops known or suspected to be contaminated by Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team reviewed the disposition of the devices. Batteries had been removed from some units. The agents debated whether to retain, discard, or destroy the devices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin disassembled a phone that had not been powered on. No Picky Eater-related chip was found inside.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin then disassembled Frank’s phone, which had previously displayed Picky Eater. A smaller chip was found inside the phone. It bore the same Department of Defense-style imprint seen on the previously examined laptop hardware.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team confirmed that the laptop chip previously discovered by Justin bore the word “HUSH” in small block lettering. This inscription was visible to more than one agent.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team established the following observed pattern: devices did not appear to contain the anomalous chip prior to activation; after activation and Picky Eater manifestation, a physical chip was present.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena entered a meditative state while the team continued toward Boston. Her stated purpose was to compare the current reality against her own memory for subtle inconsistencies. She detected no obvious mismatch in the surrounding world. The first major anomaly she could identify remained the earlier parking-lot handoff event outside D.C.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team continued toward MIT. Based on travel time, arrival in Cambridge was expected shortly after 2:00 a.m.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs the vehicle approached Cambridge on I-90, Philomena observed a vehicle ahead ripple as it passed through a subtle visible distortion across the roadway.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena abruptly braked. The team’s SUV was rear-ended by another vehicle. Philomena sustained a minor facial injury from the impact; no other agent suffered meaningful injury.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe other driver exited and shouted at the team. Frank exited the SUV, drew his firearm, displayed federal identification, and ordered the driver to leave. The driver returned to his vehicle and fled.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents moved the SUV to the shoulder and examined the area ahead. Frank, Philomena, and McCarter could see a membrane-like distortion across the freeway. Justin could not see it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePassing vehicles continued through the distortion without vanishing. Their outlines rippled as they crossed it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe agents tested the boundary by throwing debris through it. A broken bumper fragment and then an illuminated flashlight passed through and landed beyond the distortion. The distortion remained visible during these tests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distortion appeared to extend beyond the visible bounds of the freeway in both directions. It did not visibly expand during the short period of observation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter tested the boundary by extending his non-dominant hand into it. From the perspective of the remaining agents, McCarter vanished completely. A rope attached to him fell to the ground.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom McCarter’s perspective, he emerged on a quiet, landscaped road beneath an elevated train structure. The interstate was gone. A silent maglev-style train passed overhead. The surrounding area appeared to be a technologically advanced alternate Cambridge.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter attempted to return through the boundary by retracing his steps, but could not find the transition point. He retained memory of the freeway and the team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA small electric police vehicle stopped near McCarter. Two officers questioned where he was going. McCarter said he was walking to the university. The officers warned him not to sleep beneath the train tracks and then left.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter proceeded on foot toward MIT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining agents remained on the roadside and considered the connection between the distortion and the contaminated devices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin and the others began destroying the contaminated electronics more thoroughly. The phones and laptops were lined up and crushed by the SUV.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMassachusetts highway patrol units arrived while the team was destroying the devices. Officers approached with caution due to the reported firearm threat and the unusual roadside activity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank identified himself as a federal officer and framed the incident as a hit-and-run involving the fleeing driver. The team recovered the other vehicle’s license plate from debris lodged near the damaged SUV.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe highway patrol accepted Frank’s explanation, apologized for the intrusion, and departed after instructing the agents not to leave debris on the highway.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs the devices were destroyed, the visible distortion disappeared for Philomena and then for Frank. The disappearance correlated with the destruction of the last contaminated devices visible to those agents.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining agents collected the destroyed electronics rather than leaving them on the roadside.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter reached MIT in the alternate Cambridge environment. A campus map identified the mathematics department in Building 2. The building appeared open and posted as accessible 24 hours a day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter entered the mathematics building and located the office associated with Dr. Wesley Cool.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the alternate environment, Cool’s office was not a standard faculty office. Instead, McCarter found large ornate double doors marked “Offices of the Revealer.” Light was visible beneath the doors, and a typewriter could be heard inside.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter opened the doors and encountered a middle-aged woman with red curly hair and a bright blue sweater seated at a typewriter. She did not react until McCarter saw her directly, then greeted him and asked whether he had an appointment with the professor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter claimed he had an appointment and said he was from Toronto.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman stated that Picky Eater had been released in Toronto and appeared surprised that McCarter did not understand current events.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe described Wesley Cool as responsible for major inventions and said he had created “the atherophone,” which she characterized as a better version of Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe said Cool was not presently available and described him as “ascended,” while acknowledging that Cool might not approve of that wording.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman suggested McCarter speak with Cool’s research assistant, Vicky, and led him to another office.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter entered the office and encountered a young woman he recognized as Vicki King, appearing much younger than the Vicki previously encountered by the team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe young woman sat motionless behind a desk with a fixed grin until McCarter entered. She then introduced herself as Vicky, one of Dr. Cool’s students, and welcomed him to the “Office of Pre-Revelatory Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter perceived the encounter as false or unreal. The young woman flickered, and the room went dark.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter then found himself alone in an unlit, ordinary MIT office. The room was cramped, filled with books, papers, and a computer. The office no longer contained the young Vicky.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe door to the office identified it as belonging to Professor Marjorie Leibniz.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter retraced his path and found Wesley Cool’s office, now appearing as a standard locked faculty office rather than ornate double doors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter broke the office door window, reached through, unlocked the door, and entered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWesley Cool’s ordinary office was dusty and crowded with books, notebooks, papers, mathematical material, and a whiteboard covered in equations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA desktop computer sat in the office, but it did not power on. When McCarter touched it, he discovered the tower was unexpectedly light and appeared to be an empty case with cables attached.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA desk calendar or puzzle calendar in the office showed a date from May 2016.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter searched the office for journals, notes, or non-mathematical explanatory material. He found extensive mathematical writing but could not identify useful explanatory content.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter noticed that sunrise had arrived earlier than expected, indicating that several hours may have passed during his time in or near the alternate environment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA man approached the office from the hallway and called out after noticing the broken door window. McCarter hid under the desk but was seen. The man fled.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter exited the building by a stairwell and left campus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter confirmed the apparent local time was shortly after 6:00 a.m. on Saturday in October 2019. The mathematics building was now closed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, the rest of MASTICATE reached the normal MIT campus. The mathematics building was dark, locked, and monitored by visible security cameras.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining agents were exhausted. Justin was visibly depleted and unstable. The team considered forcing entry, using credentials, or waiting for a better opportunity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team chose not to break into the MIT mathematics building in the middle of the night. They checked into a nearby Marriott hotel within walking distance of campus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter searched the area for the team and eventually located their damaged government SUV at the Marriott.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter reunited with the rest of MASTICATE at breakfast in the hotel restaurant.\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 contamination should now be treated as capable of physical hardware manifestation, not merely software intrusion. The appearance of chips after device activation indicates either matter alteration, retroactive insertion, or a localized rewrite of observed device history. Standard digital forensics are inadequate.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe “HUSH” inscription is significant. It appeared on hardware created or altered after Picky Eater activation and was visible to multiple agents. This suggests the inscription is not solely a private hallucination or individualized perceptual artifact. Cross-reference with any prior Program holdings containing terms such as HUSH, SILENCE, STILL MOTHER, BLACK CHANNEL, or other communications-suppression designators.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fact that an unpowered phone did not contain a chip while powered devices did supports immediate field guidance: suspect devices should remain unpowered, isolated, and physically destroyed only under controlled conditions. Battery removal alone may not be sufficient once activation has occurred.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe I-90 distortion appears to have been anchored, revealed, or stabilized by active contaminated devices in the team’s possession. Its disappearance after the destruction of the devices indicates a probable connection between individual device contamination and localized access to adjacent or constructed realities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter’s disappearance after partial contact with the boundary establishes that the distortion was not merely visual. The transition was physical, cognitive, and environmental. Rope contact did not preserve continuity or enable retrieval.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter retained memory across the transition. The remaining agents initially lost practical continuity concerning his absence. This suggests the phenomenon can selectively suppress causal awareness among observers while leaving physical traces intact.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe alternate Cambridge environment should be considered a live contamination vector. It contained civil authorities, infrastructure, institutional continuity, and social normalization around Picky Eater or its successor technology. The reference to Toronto indicates possible broad deployment in that reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe “atherophone” should be treated as a priority term. It was described as Wesley Cool’s superior version of Picky Eater and associated with Cool’s “ascension.” The name implies transmission through a medium not limited to conventional electronics. This may intersect with older files where sound, silence, and cognition substitute for signal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe “Offices of the Revealer” and “Office of Pre-Revelatory Mathematics and Theoretical Physics” indicate that Cool’s work has acquired religious, institutional, or cultic framing in the alternate environment. Whether this reflects Cool’s own structure, an imposed symbolic layer, or an interface built to manipulate McCarter remains unresolved.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe young Vicky entity should not be treated as Vicki King. Its motionless presentation, delayed animation upon direct perception, fixed affect, and collapse under McCarter’s rejection or recognition are consistent with a constructed lure, mask, or reality patch. It may have been derived from Vicki King’s history, trauma, or proximity to the original Picky Eater event.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ordinary Cool office appearing after the collapse contained signs of abandonment, including dust, obsolete calendar material, and a hollow computer tower. The May 2016 date may indicate the point at which Cool departed, vanished, or transferred relevant work out of normal physical space.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter’s unauthorized entry into MIT and the broken office window create an exposure risk. MIT security, faculty, or local police may now investigate Wesley Cool’s office. A-Cell should consider immediate cover action through federal credentials, campus police contacts, or a controlled burglary narrative.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Massachusetts highway patrol encounter creates a secondary exposure risk. Officers observed federal personnel, a damaged government SUV, armed agents, and crushed electronics on the roadside. The recovered hit-and-run plate provides a useful mundane anchor, but the roadside incident should be buried quickly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe destroyed electronics remain hazardous evidence. If recovered fragments contain anomalous chips, even damaged ones, they may seed future contamination. The team’s decision to collect the debris was correct. A-Cell should arrange transfer to a burn-capable containment channel rather than standard Program technical review.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin’s inability to see the freeway distortion while the others could should be reviewed against device ownership, device destruction sequence, and prior exposure history. Differential perception may reveal which agents are synchronized to which version of events.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team is operating under extreme fatigue, repeated memory disruption, and escalating ontological stress. Continued action without rest will increase operational error. However, delay risks Cool-related evidence disappearing, especially if the office has already been disturbed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecommended next actions: secure the collected device remains; isolate all surviving electronics; inspect Wesley Cool’s MIT office under controlled cover; obtain campus access records, security footage, and personnel files for Cool, Marjorie Leibniz, and Vicki King; identify any record of “atherophone” in MIT, DARPA, DoD, or Program-adjacent archives; determine whether Cool physically vanished in or around May 2016.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStanding caution: this operation now shows characteristics of a self-editing incident chain. Devices, memories, institutions, and physical spaces are all mutable. Standard witness accounts should be treated as partial, not false. Multiple contradictory reports may all describe valid states of the same event.\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 began with the Handler recapping the prior situation: Vicki King had been mentally destroyed by roughly a decade inside a Picky Eater reality built from her worst fears, and the team had kept her calm by letting her believe they were part of a resistance protecting her twins.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank had arranged a handoff through Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonia Pitzerelli, and MASTICATE drove Vicki and her daughters south toward Virginia. The handoff initially appeared successful, but it was not.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a government building parking lot outside Washington, D.C., Frank and Justin walked Vicki and the girls toward a waiting SUV whose plates matched what Pitzerelli had told them to expect. From Philomena and McCarter’s perspective, Frank and Justin vanished for a moment and then reappeared across the lot after the handoff had already happened.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena and McCarter had hazy memories of why they were in the parking lot. Frank and Justin remembered nothing strange about the handoff.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the handoff, Picky Eater appeared on every new phone the team had, including one that Frank powered on alone several blocks away from the others. This showed that the contamination was not simply spreading through proximity to the team or to any visible chip.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin stripped a fresh laptop down to its components and found a factory-clean chip soldered directly onto the motherboard. The chip had not been there before. When examined closely, it had the word “HUSH” inscribed on it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the start of the session, the team was on the highway between Washington, D.C. and Boston, traveling toward MIT while carrying a collection of contaminated or suspect devices. Pitzerelli was not answering, Vicki King was gone, and the team had reason to believe MIT was tied to whatever reality the SUV had belonged to.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed what they were doing with all the devices they had accumulated. Some were still in packaging, others had been powered on, and several had already had batteries removed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank expressed that, from his perspective, the situation had degraded to the point where “it’s just Picky Eaters all the way down.” He deferred to Justin as the technical expert but no longer expected normal precautions to be fully reliable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin began dismantling and destroying old devices. The team discussed keeping phones with removed batteries in a Faraday container, but Justin’s inclination was to start scrapping and smashing the devices, since they seemed to be spawning new Picky Eater chips.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team questioned whether the Picky Eater chips might be inside people themselves, joking darkly about chips in their brains and whether an MRI would detect or remove such a thing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin examined a clean phone that had never been powered on. He disassembled it rather than turning it on first. Because the phones were not designed for easy disassembly, he had to pry through glue and take it apart destructively enough that it would not easily go back together.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin found no sign of a Picky Eater chip in the clean, never-powered-on phone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team then asked Justin to inspect a phone that had previously displayed Picky Eater. Frank volunteered his phone as an example.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin disassembled Frank’s phone and found a smaller chip with the same Department of Defense-style imprint as the one found in Justin’s laptop. This confirmed that powered-on phones could also develop physical Picky Eater chips, even though the clean phone did not appear to have one before activation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team confirmed their observed pattern with the Handler: they had not found a Picky Eater chip in any device until after that device had been powered on and shown Picky Eater. The clean phone had no chip; Frank’s powered-on phone had one. Justin’s laptop had first been disassembled and shown no chip, then reassembled and powered on, after which Picky Eater appeared and the HUSH chip was present.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter asked whether everyone could see the word “HUSH” on the laptop chip or whether only Justin perceived it. Another character looked through the microscope and confirmed that the word “HUSH” was visibly inscribed in tiny block letters.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena proposed using her meditative technique while McCarter or someone else drove. Her intention was to enter the same kind of altered state she had used before and search for subtle discrepancies in reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler clarified that Philomena’s meditative ritual had originally been used to recall small details from memory with unusual accuracy, not as a general supernatural reality detector. Philomena reframed her intent as looking for subtle details in the current world that did not match her memory of the original reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena made an Occult roll and succeeded with a 06.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring Philomena’s meditation, she rode in the vehicle while Justin periodically cracked, snapped, and dismantled phones in the back seat. She centered herself, let herself enter the meditative state, and allowed her memory to flow over her surroundings.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena detected nothing obviously wrong or out of place. The world around her seemed normal and matched her memory. The strange event in the parking lot, when Frank and Justin vanished and reappeared after the handoff, remained the first clearly out-of-place incident since the team left Pennsylvania, aside from the device contamination itself.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena concluded, or at least felt, that they were still in their original reality rather than fully displaced into another world. The Handler noted that the ritual only compared the world to Philomena’s own memory, and the team recognized that memory itself was not reliable in the current situation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team noted that all their devices were off and that they were not being recorded by their own electronics.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed the plan for arrival in Boston. They expected the drive from their current location to Boston to take about seven hours, putting them near MIT a little after 2:00 a.m. if they drove straight through without major stops.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause they would arrive very late on a Friday night, the Handler noted that official campus offices would likely be closed until Monday unless the agents used FBI credentials or similar authority to force access.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team leaned toward going directly to Wesley Cool’s lab or office rather than waiting for normal business hours.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter and Philomena planned to split driving duties. McCarter initially joked about driving on the wrong side of the road, but the Handler allowed that he could handle American roads despite Philomena’s British background.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank and Justin each made Luck rolls. Justin succeeded; Frank failed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena made an Alertness check and succeeded.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs the team approached Cambridge from the west on I-90, passing through the dense residential sprawl of Newton and Brookline, Philomena watched for the Massachusetts Avenue exit that would lead them toward MIT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough it was around 2:00 a.m., there was still traffic on the road.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena saw a car a couple hundred meters ahead suddenly waver as it passed through something. The shape of the car rippled, as if passing through an invisible membrane or distortion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena immediately slammed on the brakes at interstate speed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena made a Drive check and failed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause of the sudden stop, a vehicle behind the team’s SUV rear-ended them. Everyone made Constitution checks to determine whether they were hurt in the crash.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone succeeded on the Constitution check except Philomena. She took 1 hit point of damage when the airbag slammed into her face, leaving her with a painful but not serious injury, including a likely black eye, an abrasion, and a small cut.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe driver of the rear vehicle got out and yelled angrily about the sudden stop.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank, already at the end of his patience, got out of the SUV with his gun drawn and told the man to get away. Frank also displayed his badge.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe other driver went wide-eyed, retreated to his vehicle, backed up, and drove around the team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena pulled the damaged SUV onto the shoulder and activated the hazard lights.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena explained why she had stopped and pointed out the area where she had seen the car pass through the distortion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank, Philomena, and McCarter could see the distortion. It appeared as a subtle but visible refraction or membrane across the roadway. Cars passing through it did not disappear, but their shapes wavered as they crossed the boundary.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin could not see the distortion at all. From his perspective, traffic looked normal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team observed that the distortion appeared to extend across both sides of the freeway and out into the darkness beyond the road. They could not tell how large it was from their position at night.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank tested the boundary by throwing a piece of broken bumper or plastic debris through it. The small object landed beyond the boundary, but because it was dark and the object was small, it was hard to tell whether it shimmered as it crossed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank then used a flashlight as a test object. When thrown through the boundary, the flashlight gave enough visual detail for the others to see it pass through the distortion in the same way the cars had.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team considered whether the distortion was growing. Over several minutes of observation while they threw objects and watched traffic, it did not appear to expand.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin, who still could not see the boundary, approached and tried to make it out while the others described what they were seeing. He wondered whether his inability to see it might mean they were in his reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter volunteered to test the boundary directly, noting that he had already experienced something like this before.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed tying a rope to McCarter before he crossed. McCarter chose to test it cautiously, starting by putting his non-dominant hand through rather than walking through at speed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter extended his fingertips through the threshold.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the perspective of the rest of the team, McCarter vanished. The rope that had been attached to him fell to the ground. The team immediately had to grapple with the fact that McCarter had disappeared through the barrier.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe barrier remained visible after McCarter vanished.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining agents recognized that repeatedly sending people through one at a time would be a bad idea, even if they could not fully explain why.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom McCarter’s perspective, he was suddenly standing on a sidewalk along a manicured road instead of beside an interstate. The freeway walls were gone. The road appeared to be a single-lane roadway with another lane on the opposite side.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter found himself beneath or beside an elevated train track. The area was green and carefully maintained. There was a nearby neighborhood, a bus stop, and what looked like a train stop with an elevator leading up to the elevated tracks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter lost 1 Sanity as his mind fought with two sets of memories. Despite the dissonance, he remembered that he had just been on the freeway and understood where he had come from.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter tried to step back through where the barrier had been, but walking back did not return him to the highway. He walked five paces, ten paces, then fifty paces, and remained in the new environment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA nearly silent maglev train passed overhead.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter decided to walk along the train route toward where he believed MIT would be, based on the team’s original direction and distance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBack on the highway shoulder, the remaining team members discussed whether to drive slowly through the boundary, walk through it, investigate its circumference, or continue experimenting. They also discussed whether Justin’s inability to see the boundary mattered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin focused on the Picky Eater chips and whether destroying more contaminated devices might affect the distortion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin made an INT × 5 check to assess how thoroughly he had been smashing the chips. He succeeded with a 46.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin determined that smashing chips in the back seat with a screwdriver was not a fully reliable method of destruction. He had done his best, but he could not testify with confidence that every chip was completely nonfunctional.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince the team was already stopped on the side of the road, Justin proposed lining up the phones and backing over them repeatedly with the SUV to destroy them more thoroughly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team began arranging contaminated phones on the road and using the vehicle to crush them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile the team was in the middle of running over the devices, three Highway Patrol vehicles arrived with lights flashing. One patrol car passed through the barrier. The others positioned themselves around the team’s SUV.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe officers ordered the vehicle stopped, instructed the occupants to keep hands visible, turn off the engine, and throw out the keys.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank identified himself as a federal officer. He said his badge was in his breast pocket and that the team was conducting official United States government work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe officers approached tensely with weapons ready. Once they checked Frank’s badge and got an initial verification that he was FBI, the tension eased.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne officer explained that they had received a 911 call from the man who rear-ended the team, claiming Frank had threatened him with a gun.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank replied that the man had rear-ended them, that Frank had shown his badge, and that the man fled. The Handler ruled that no Persuade check was needed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe officer apologized and said they had to take such calls seriously. He asked whether the team had the other driver’s plate.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank made a Luck check and succeeded. The team found the other driver’s plate, which had come loose and fallen near the damaged bumper. The officer picked it up and used it in a casual salute before letting the agents continue.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne officer noticed the damaged vehicle and the crushed electronics on the ground and asked whether everything was all right or whether they had dropped anything.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank said he could not talk about it and acknowledged that it looked strange.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe officer asked them to keep the highway clean, and the patrol cars left.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team continued running over the devices. As Philomena crushed the third-to-last phone, the bubble or barrier disappeared for her.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Frank crushed the final devices, Frank could no longer see the barrier either.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team concluded that destroying the contaminated devices had removed the visible boundary from their perspective. They later clarified that it was not a single phone causing the phenomenon; rather, individual devices seemed tied to what each person could perceive, and once all the phones were destroyed, the barrier was gone for the remaining team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team recognized that McCarter had disappeared before the barrier vanished. They also noted that McCarter still had his armored computer or special device with him, and they had not destroyed it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team cleaned up the smashed electronics rather than leaving Picky Eater-contaminated components scattered on the highway.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the barrier gone, the remaining team continued toward MIT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the alternate MIT-adjacent reality, McCarter was walking toward campus when a small electric police vehicle slowed and stopped beside him. Two men inside asked where he was going.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter told them he was headed to the university and was getting his steps in.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe officers told him he was close and that transit was free. McCarter explained that he spent too much time sitting at his day job.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne officer gave McCarter a hard look and warned him that he could not sleep under the train tracks. He added that McCarter knew what would happen if they found him sleeping there.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter assured the officers he would be gone shortly. The vehicle’s windows slid up silently, and the electric police car drove away.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter continued to MIT and reached the edge of campus. He found a posted campus map and saw several areas of interest, including the mathematics department.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRemembering that Vicki King had identified Wesley Cool as a mathematics professor, McCarter chose to go to the mathematics department.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter reached Building 2, where the mathematics department was located near Memorial Drive.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe building lobby was illuminated, and the posted hours indicated that it was open 24 hours a day. The door was unlocked, so McCarter entered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lobby was empty but lit. McCarter found a directory that listed Dr. Wesley Cool as a professor with an office on the second floor, south wing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter attempted to move stealthily through the building. He made a Stealth check and succeeded with a 20 under his 30 skill.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter moved quietly up a concrete stairwell, reached the second floor, and entered the south wing through glass doors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost offices had plain wooden doors with wire-mesh or frosted-glass windows and professors’ names painted on the glass.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere Wesley Cool’s office should have been, McCarter instead found a large ornate pair of double doors with brass inlay. In large gothic script, the doors read: “Offices of the Revealer.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLight showed beneath the double doors, and McCarter heard the unmistakable sound of a typewriter clacking inside.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter tested the handle and found that the door was not locked. Through the frosted glass, he could tell something or someone was moving inside, likely seated at a desk.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter screwed a suppressor onto his pistol, concealed it again, and slowly opened the door just enough to slip inside.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs McCarter began entering, he saw a middle-aged woman with curly red hair wearing a bright blue sweater. She was typing at a keyboard. There was another closed door beyond her.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman looked up only after McCarter had made eye contact with her. She smiled broadly and asked how she could help him.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler called for a Sanity check. McCarter succeeded with a 23 under 51. He was only slightly startled by the unnatural timing of her reaction.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman asked whether McCarter had an appointment with the professor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter said he believed he did and asked whether Wesley Cool was in.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman said that was a difficult question to answer. McCarter claimed to be from out of town, specifically Toronto.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman reacted with surprise and asked how far out of town he meant. She noted that she was fairly sure Picky Eater had been released in Toronto.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter claimed that he knew about Picky Eater and implied that perhaps it was sold under another name in Canada.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman apologized for being rude and said it was clear McCarter did not follow current events. She explained that Wesley Cool had made a better version of Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman referred to something called the aetherophone and said Professor Cool had used his invention to bring them many great inventions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe said she would not claim to fully understand it and described Cool as a mind far beyond the rest of them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen asked about Cool’s location, she said he was not “here” now. She said that although Cool might not like the word, she would say he had “ascended.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe woman suggested McCarter should talk to Cool’s research assistant and said Vicki should still be there. She checked her wristwatch and led McCarter away.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, the rest of the team arrived at MIT in their own reality. They got off the freeway, reached Memorial Drive, and drove onto campus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause it was the middle of the night, garages were closed, though surface lots were available. The campus appeared dead and quiet.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining agents were exhausted after a long day and the overnight drive. The Handler called for fatigue effects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team discussed using caffeine and similar stimulants to stay awake. The Handler ruled that stimulants such as coffee could remove the exhaustion skill penalty for a limited time, but the characters still lost Willpower from exhaustion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe remaining agents each lost 1d6 Willpower from fatigue. The Handler used the same roll result for everyone for simplicity. Coffee prevented the immediate -20% skill penalty from exhaustion for several hours.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin had very low Willpower after the fatigue loss and began having an emotional breakdown or tantrum. He was suffering a -20% penalty due to emotional stress, not merely fatigue.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team went to the math department, but in their reality the building was dark, locked, and closed. External cameras were visible, and the building had security.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank and Justin could both pick locks, but the team recognized that breaking into the building at that moment might trigger alarms and create additional problems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team considered forcing access with badges, waiting near the building to tailgate someone, or badgering administrative offices once they opened.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin, badly fatigued and emotionally frayed, suggested finding a hotel. The team agreed that trying to break into the math department in the middle of the night while exhausted was unwise.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team decided to stop for the night at a nearby hotel within walking distance of MIT, eventually settling on a hotel near campus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter, in the alternate reality, continued following the nameless administrative assistant through the building.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe assistant brought McCarter to another office and told him Vicki was inside. She then walked away.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter waited until the assistant was gone and opened the door.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInside, McCarter saw a young woman with brown hair sitting behind a desk. He immediately recognized her as Vicki King, but she appeared at least ten years younger, possibly closer to twenty years younger, than the Vicki he had recently seen.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Vicki sat completely motionless behind the desk with a fixed rictus grin until McCarter entered. Then she looked at him and spoke.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe young Vicki welcomed McCarter to the “Office of Pre-Revelatory Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.” She stood, walked toward him with her hand extended, introduced herself as Vicki, one of Dr. Cool’s students, and asked how the office of the Revealer could serve him.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter greeted her and said he was happy to be there.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler called for a Sanity check. McCarter failed with a 60 and lost 1 Sanity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter then made a POW × 5 check and failed badly with a 96 over 65.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler told McCarter that this was not Vicki King. McCarter had just met Vicki King, and this was an unreal fake. The dissonance rippled through him.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fake Vicki flickered, and the room went dark.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter was suddenly in an unlit room at night. No one was there. The room was now a small, cramped office with a computer on the desk and books and papers stacked everywhere. It looked like someone worked there every day, unlike the sparse reception-like room he had just been in.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter used a flashlight or similar light source and checked outside the office door. The name on the door was Professor Marjorie Leibniz.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter tried to retrace his steps back toward where the ornate Offices of the Revealer had been.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the ordinary dark hallway, he found an office where the double doors had been, but it looked like any other faculty office. The nameplate identified it as Dr. Wesley Cool’s office.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWesley Cool’s office was locked and dark.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter did not have locksmithing or lockpicking training. He broke the window in the office door and reached through to unlock it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInside Wesley Cool’s office, McCarter found a small office similar to the one he had just left. There was a computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse on the desk, with a desktop tower on the floor under the desk near a wastebasket. The computer was not powered on.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter considered examining the computer for a Picky Eater chip, but he did not have Computer Science and recognized that the chip had looked like just another component to him when Justin had found one. Justin had needed a microscope to identify and confirm the chip.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter looked for signs of how recently the office had been used.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe office was dusty. There was a puzzle-of-the-day calendar, apparently a mathematical puzzle calendar, on the desk. The most recent displayed date was from May 2016, even though the current date should be October 2019.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter looked for the object that seemed most recently used on the desk, such as a notebook or journal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe found a notebook near the keyboard and opened it, but it contained mathematical material that made no sense to him. The whiteboard also contained mathematical writing. McCarter had no Mathematics or Science skill relevant to understanding it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter searched the office for something written in plain language, such as a personal journal or explanation. He made a Search check with 50 skill and failed with a 56.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter spent about an hour searching through the office. It was not large, but it contained a great deal of material, most of which seemed meaningful but incomprehensible to him.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter about an hour, McCarter heard someone moving in the hallway outside.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter realized the sun was coming up too early. It had been not quite 4:00 a.m. for him, and sunrise should not have happened yet. He estimated that he had lost roughly two or three hours, or about two hours more than expected.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSomeone outside the office called, “Hello? Someone in there?”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter tried turning on the computer, but nothing happened. When he pressed the power button, the tower slid slightly, making him realize it was much lighter than it should have been.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter checked the tower and found that it felt like an empty case. Cables came out of the back, but the case itself felt hollow or empty.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter decided to hide under the desk until the person outside went away.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause the circumstances had changed, the Handler called for another Stealth check. McCarter failed with a 34 against his 30 Stealth.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA man in his mid-to-late forties looked through the broken window in the door. His eyes found McCarter hiding under the desk, widened, and he immediately backed away and hurried down the hall.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce McCarter heard the man leave, he exited Cool’s office, closed the door behind him, and went in the opposite direction.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter found a fire stairwell and left the building without going through the main reception area.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOutside, McCarter found a digital clock display on a sign. It showed that it was a little after 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 25.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mathematics building now appeared closed, and the main lobby was not open.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter considered how to find the rest of the team. No one was carrying active devices, and he did not have Pitzerelli’s number. He reasoned that the others were probably staying at a nearby hotel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter first thought about checking university parking areas for the team’s damaged government SUV, then began looking around the nearby hotels and campus-adjacent lots.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter found the black SUV with government plates at the Marriott near the edge of campus. Its rear bumper and rear hatch were visibly damaged from the earlier crash.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rest of the team had checked into the hotel and gone down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast after sleeping.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Handler described the team as eating breakfast at the hotel restaurant when McCarter arrived.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team had some recollection on waking that McCarter was missing, but they had no obvious way to search for him. They reasoned that he had found them before and might do so again.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcCarter found the team at breakfast, rejoining them after his time in the alternate MIT reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe session ended with McCarter approaching the others at the hotel restaurant near MIT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the in-game session end, the group clarified that the barrier had disappeared from individual characters’ perception as their respective contaminated devices were destroyed. It was not one single phone that had removed the barrier; rather, all relevant phones and laptops had to be destroyed. The team had destroyed roughly ten phones and three laptops.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe group also clarified that the team cleaned up the smashed device debris from the highway rather than leaving contaminated technology behind.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003c/details\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n"
  }