{
    "title": "MIT Reality Delamination Incident",
    "date": "2019-10-27 22:06",
    "reportcode": "GT/GL-191027-082260521",
    "url": "https://teeth.zarquan.fyi/reports/gt-gl-191027-082260521/index.json",
    "description": "△▼△TOP SECRET//SI//DGO△▼△",
    "content": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReport No:\u003c/strong\u003e GT/GL-191027-082260521\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 experienced escalating cross-reality displacement connected to Picky Eater contamination, MIT, Dr. Wesley Kuhl, and ritual mathematics. Philomena was contacted by Dr. Evelyn Vale, an MIT academic whose claimed institutional context and access to the Book of Ibon did not match baseline reality. Frank remained at the site of Devon Ayers’s suicide and later returned to the hotel after Matthew and Justin disappeared while testing the shimmering barrier. Matthew and Justin entered a Picky Eater-dominated 2032 reality in which Dr. Kuhl was venerated as a transformative figure and occupied a central Hightower at MIT. Justin began deliberately shifting between realities. Matthew recovered heavy weapons after regaining memories of a separate mission to prevent MASTICATE from reaching MIT, then used a grenade launcher to clear armed guards at the Hightower entrance. Frank and Philomena moved toward MIT amid mass suicide events and emergency response activity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOperation Report:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena met Dr. Evelyn Vale in the hotel bar after Vale arrived at Philomena’s room without an apparent legitimate means of knowing her location.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVale identified herself as affiliated with MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and stated that she wanted Philomena’s expert insight regarding signs, ancient mathematics, the Book of Ibon, and a Turkish excavation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVale described the Book of Ibon as focused on spiritual ritual expressed as mathematics. She stated that MIT held a copy in Special Collections and that she possessed digital portions of it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVale said her excavation in Turkey involved a sealed chamber beneath an Ottoman bathhouse, older than the visible structure above it, containing panels with nested astronomical diagrams and geometric shapes resembling material in the Book of Ibon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena determined that Vale’s claims did not match the academic or occult landscape Philomena knew. Philomena believed she would have known of such an excavation and would have known if MIT possessed the Book of Ibon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVale appeared to treat occultism and hidden powers as foundational to academic history rather than as marginal or forbidden knowledge. Philomena arranged to meet Vale the following morning at MIT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena returned to her room, ordered wine, secured the door, and attempted to rest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank remained at the scene where Devon Ayers, identified by Frank as an acolyte of the Hushfathers, had thrown himself under a car.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst responders and police treated the deceased as a John Doe because Frank had taken Ayers’s identification. Police interpreted the death as a suicide by vehicle impact. Frank gave an eyewitness statement and contact number without escalating his federal cover.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew and Justin left Dr. Amardeep’s residence with contaminated electronics from the household. The agents destroyed the devices by crushing them with a vehicle on a quiet residential street.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe shimmering barrier remained present. The team implemented a rope-and-bell protocol to test passage through the barrier while maintaining physical contact indicators.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank, Matthew, and Justin passed through the barrier. Frank experienced the rope going slack at both ends; Matthew and Justin were no longer present. The vehicle remained in baseline reality with Frank.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew and Justin found themselves on a different residential street. The nearby highway noise was gone, and an elevated train line was visible. Matthew recognized the environment as related to a prior displacement.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew and Justin investigated the altered reality. Picky Eater was publicly known as Dr. Wesley Kuhl’s invention and was treated as an infallible source of objective truth. Society had reportedly been transformed by the removal of misunderstanding and dispute.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA query about Kuhl’s present location did not provide a direct geolocation. Instead, available public information stated that Kuhl had perfected Picky Eater, reshaped society, and withdrawn to pursue a new project called the Xanatheraphone, described as making Picky Eater look like a toy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew and Justin experienced discontinuity in time and location, finding themselves later at a restaurant with partial memories of intervening events. They decided to retrace Matthew’s prior path to Kuhl’s offices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank returned to the hotel and located Philomena. Both agents experienced contradictory memories regarding Matthew and Justin’s presence and absence.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank briefed Philomena on the Hushfather suicide and on the apparent spread of Picky Eater contamination through contact with Amardeep’s devices.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena briefed Frank on Vale, the Turkish site, MIT’s alleged possession of the Book of Ibon, and Vale’s impossible academic context.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank raised the possibility that the altered realities were reflecting desires or identities of the agents: Hushfather religious reality for Justin, enhanced occult-academic legitimacy for Philomena, and an unknown construct for Matthew.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew and Justin reached MIT in the altered 2032 environment. People in the building appeared inactive until observed, then began behaving as if going about normal business.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey entered the Office of Pre-Revelatory Mathematics and encountered Vicky King. She was not consistent with baseline Vicky King and behaved as an artificial or altered version of the person.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVicky stated that the building housed a museum commemorating Kuhl’s work and the first wave of revelation brought by Picky Eater. She said Kuhl’s real research occurred in the Hightower.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVicky described a world that knew it existed among infinite realities. She said humanity had moved beyond its pre-revelatory condition.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin and Matthew attempted to gain access to Kuhl. Vicky stated that an appointment was required and that Kuhl was not taking visitors. She entered them into Kuhl’s schedule approximately three years out.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin attempted to present himself as a programmer and possible aide. Vicky stated that Kuhl’s work had moved beyond software and computing hardware.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hightower was identified as an immense white tower at or near Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street, in a rebuilt central MIT plaza.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe following morning, Frank and Philomena observed a man surveilling them during breakfast at the hotel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank approached the man, who identified himself privately as Captain Nathan Havel. Havel stated that Frank’s handler had directed him to MASTICATE.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHavel reported that a quantum physics experiment in an MIT physics building sub-basement had opened a rift and contacted an intelligence from another dimension or from beyond the stars. The intelligence had been teaching the lab personnel knowledge they should not possess.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHavel stated that he had led a team into the sub-basement the previous night. Half the team had been vaporized. He had two shooters remaining and requested Frank’s direction, treating Frank as a highly respected Delta Green operative.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank instructed Havel to lay low, recover, prepare equipment, and meet again at 1900 hours.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin shifted into Frank and Philomena’s location from the Hightower reality. He reported that he was phasing between realities and needed the Program to create a fall-arrest setup at Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street in case he shifted back while inside the Hightower and emerged in baseline reality at lethal elevation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin then departed toward the Hightower intersection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Justin moved through the altered MIT environment, he needed a bicycle. A cyclist arrived, threw himself from the bicycle, exhibited extreme distress and jaw-snapping behavior, and then moved into the path of an oncoming bus. Justin took the bicycle.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile Justin rode toward the intersection, multiple people jumped from upper-floor windows in a synchronized pattern along his route. Justin continued to the intersection and entered the Hightower reality from the center of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin appeared inside the Hightower, approximately midway up, near a window. He saw Matthew below and signaled him.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew remained with Vicky King’s museum tour. Vicky described humanity’s progression from fire to Picky Eater and showed him exhibits concerning infinite realities and alternate selves. Matthew refused to look into a device that would show alternate versions of him.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew focused on Kuhl. Vicky described Kuhl as a brilliant mathematician and philosopher who had pierced the veil between realities and would lead humanity to greater truth.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew judged the people in the altered reality to be shallow or incomplete reflections rather than fully realized individuals.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew attempted to return to baseline reality long enough to recover equipment. He appeared in the back seat of the team SUV and recovered his bag containing the lightning rifle and grenade launcher.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew regained critical memories inconsistent with his previous understanding. He remembered that there was a hole in reality at MIT and that his mission had been to prevent MASTICATE from reaching MIT under any circumstances.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew further remembered that MIT was deeply compromised and that the arrival of multiple Picky Eater-contaminated persons with trans-dimensional baggage had destabilized the situation. In that memory set, MIT had been walled off with a perimeter or no-man’s-land.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew concluded the original prevention objective had failed and that helping the team act inside the anomaly was the remaining viable course.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew attempted to force his way into the Hightower with the recovered weapons but emerged outside the tower instead.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew took cover behind a stone planter, loaded the grenade launcher, and fired on armed guards at the Hightower. The shot killed three guards and did not strike the surrounding crowd.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe crowd scattered, and the Hightower entrance was cleared. Matthew entered with the lightning rifle and grenade launcher.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank contacted Pitzerelli by telephone. Pitzerelli expressed concern about Frank’s condition and asked whether he could still complete the operation or needed extraction.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank stated that he did not know what “out” meant anymore and asked whether Pitzerelli could arrange to block off an MIT intersection that day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank attempted to impose a cover scenario involving a movie stunt setup at MIT, but Pitzerelli instead suggested a bomb scare, referencing a prior Duluth operation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank asked Pitzerelli about Vicky King and stated that Vicky, Bridget, Nora, and another associated person were involved in creating the present situation. He clarified that they were not the masterminds but recommended containment and questioning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank and Philomena moved toward MIT. Emergency vehicles were already responding toward campus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlong Vassar Street, Frank and Philomena observed the aftermath of the synchronized suicides: a bus fatality, multiple bodies from window jumps, and police and first responders beginning to cordon off the area.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street, traffic was still moving through the center of campus. A bicycle lay in the intersection while drivers swerved around it. Vassar Street was being blocked by emergency response activity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe session ended with reality continuing to delaminate around MASTICATE, Justin inside the Hightower, Matthew entering the Hightower armed with heavy weapons, and Frank and Philomena arriving near the campus perimeter.\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 be treated as a reality-affecting ritual technology rather than a conventional electronic contagion. The original chip design translated symbolic/divinatory structure into hardware, and the current incident demonstrates that the system can propagate through devices, memory, environment, and identity continuity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMIT is now the operational center of a multi-vector breach. Separate descriptions of the anomaly are converging: Kuhl’s Picky Eater revelation, Vale’s ritual mathematics and Book of Ibon correlations, Havel’s physics sub-basement rift, and Matthew’s memory of a walled-off MIT all point to the same locus under different ontological frames.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Wesley Kuhl is the central target. His public apotheosis in the Picky Eater reality, withdrawal into the Hightower, and development of the Xanatheraphone indicate escalation beyond informational divination into active manipulation of realities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVicky King requires immediate containment if still accessible in baseline reality. Her alternate manifestation functions as gatekeeper, propagandist, and scheduling interface for Kuhl. The baseline Vicky, Bridget, Nora, and their associated personnel should be detained, isolated from all networked devices, and interrogated under anti-contamination protocol.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Evelyn Vale represents a separate but linked vector. Her claims concerning MIT Special Collections, the Book of Ibon, and the Turkish excavation may indicate a branch reality intruding into baseline, an infected academic cover, or a parallel ritual-mathematical approach to the same breach. Vale should be located and contained before any meeting at MIT proceeds.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hushfather suicides appear functionally linked to reality compliance. Individuals in the altered environment sacrificed themselves to provide Justin with passage, equipment, or narrative convenience. These deaths were not random panic responses. They behaved like enforced corrections by a hostile or self-stabilizing reality engine.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCaptain Nathan Havel’s account should be treated as useful but unverified. His Program affiliation may belong to an adjacent reality. His description of the physics sub-basement rift may be a compatible but incomplete model of the same anomaly. His remaining shooters may become valuable assets or additional contamination carriers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew’s restored memory set is operationally significant. In at least one continuity, the correct mission was to prevent MASTICATE from reaching MIT. That objective has failed. A-Cell should assume that every additional infected agent entering MIT worsens the breach unless the Hightower action achieves decisive termination.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAgent continuity is degrading. Frank, Philomena, Justin, and Matthew all experienced contradictory memory sets, impossible personal histories, and location-time discontinuity. Justin and Matthew have begun exerting limited voluntary control over displacement, but this control consumes their stability and may accelerate assimilation by the anomaly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe altered 2032 world contained shallow human reflections, synchronized behavior, enforced worship of Kuhl, and armed protection around a supposedly post-strife society. This suggests not a healthy alternate timeline but a constructed or overwritten domain with limited human interiority.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA-Cell should authorize immediate containment of the MIT campus under mundane cover: bomb threat, gas leak, chemical spill, or active-shooter response. The objective should be evacuation, isolation, signal suppression, and denial of further device contact.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll Picky Eater-contaminated electronics should be destroyed by physical means and treated as ritual artifacts, not merely data-storage devices. Standard forensic exploitation is contraindicated.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHeavy-weapons deployment inside the Hightower has already begun. A-Cell should prepare for mass-casualty cover, structural fire, terrorist-attack narrative, or building-collapse narrative depending on outcome.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf Kuhl or the Xanatheraphone cannot be contained, termination of the Hightower locus should take priority over agent recovery.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCross-reference with any archived material involving mathematical ritual expression, divination through machine substrates, Book of Ibon fragments, Book of Thoth correspondences, and prior “Duluth” emergency-clearance actions. The old files marked with glass, bells, towers, and false appointments should remain sealed unless A-Cell is prepared to lose the reader.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cdetails \u003e\n  \u003csummary markdown=\"span\"\u003eSession Notes\u003c/summary\u003e\n  \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe session opened with a recap of the prior events involving MASTICATE’s investigation into the circuitry behind Picky Eater.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKuhl’s notes had led the team to Dr. Rajneesh Amardeep, an MIT electrical engineering professor who had helped fabricate the original Picky Eater chip years earlier.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank, Matthew, and Justin found Amardeep at home.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt first, the name Wesley Kuhl meant nothing to Amardeep, but the phrase “Picky Eater” caused the memories to return.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmardeep admitted that he had built one working chip for Kuhl in exchange for a faculty senate vote.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had thought the project was embarrassing, primitive, inefficient, and outside his proper field.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe design used pointless gold, strange materials, impossible tolerances, and useless redundancies.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDespite being bad engineering by ordinary standards, Kuhl’s design worked.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin reviewed Amardeep’s files and found the same strange core design the team had seen under magnification: a point where silicon and wiring stopped behaving like circuitry and became symbolic.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmardeep copied the files, deleted his local copies, and promised to purge the lab later.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThat appeared to be containment, but it did not last.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena had studied the Book of Thoth at the hotel and clarified part of the occult significance of the chip.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe symbol embedded in Picky Eater was not decorative.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was a divination rune meant to see beyond the world and into others through the dreams of gods.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKuhl had not invented Picky Eater through mathematics alone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had translated ritual into hardware.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the road back from Amardeep’s home, Matthew and Justin saw the shimmering barrier again.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank did not see it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA young man stood beyond the barrier and stared at them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe young man then threw himself under a passing car.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank recovered the man’s ID, identifying him as Devon Ayers, an acolyte of the Hushfathers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team returned to the Amardeep home with increasing concern and discovered that Picky Eater was still spreading.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was on Dr. Amardeep’s laptop.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was on his phone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was on the devices belonging to his family.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe contamination was still loose.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile the others dealt with contaminated electronics, Philomena received a knock at her hotel room door.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe visitor was Dr. Evelyn Vale.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale should not have known Philomena was in Cambridge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale asked about Turkey, the Book of Eibon, and signs.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena went downstairs to meet her.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena met Dr. Evelyn Vale in the hotel bar.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale had seated herself at the bar and ordered wine.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe hotel bar was still open, though it was late and near closing.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale apologized for coming directly to Philomena’s room.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe explained that she did not know when Philomena would be leaving town and did not have a phone number for her.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena asked what wine Vale was drinking and accepted a glass when Vale offered.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena steered the conversation toward the Book of Eibon and ancient mathematics.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale said she wanted to know about Philomena’s order.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena asked whether the Book of Thoth contained ancient mathematics.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale said the Book of Eibon focused heavily on what she would call spiritual ritual formed as mathematics and represented as mathematics.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale admitted that she was not a mathematician and that the precise details were beyond her.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale said the excavation site in Turkey had carvings with some of the same geometrical shapes.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale believed the Turkish site might have been used for the rituals described in the Book of Eibon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe also suggested it might have been where those rituals were constructed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena questioned Vale about how she had encountered the Book of Eibon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale said she had accessed it through the university library at MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena found this startling.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale clarified that it was kept in MIT’s special collections.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale did not have the physical book with her.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe did have portions of it in digital form.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe also said she had portions memorized.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVale described the Turkish archaeological site.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was discovered beneath an Ottoman bathhouse.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA sealed chamber underneath the bathhouse appeared to be much older than the structure above it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe chamber contained carved panels depicting nested astronomical diagrams.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe excavation began because the room was old, sealed, and contained unusual material.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena made an Occult check and achieved a critical success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBased on her expertise, Philomena was certain she would have heard of Vale’s site if it existed as described.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale claimed to have been working on it for several years and to have published preliminary material.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena knew this should not have escaped her notice.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena also knew that if the Book of Eibon were in MIT Special Collections, she would have known that.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale’s statements did not fit the world Philomena knew.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena checked her surroundings for obvious signs that she might be in the wrong reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere was a television in the bar with the volume off.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNothing on the television was obviously wrong or supernatural.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt appeared to show ordinary late-night television.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere was no obvious public confirmation that the world itself was openly unnatural.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena continued interviewing Vale.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOver roughly an hour, Philomena drew out more information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale spoke as though occultism was foundational not only to her work, but to her entire field.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale’s academic worldview assumed that history was filled with secret powers and unseen forces.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale believed that understanding the present required understanding this secret occult past.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis was not the academic world Philomena came from, unless Vale was simply a crackpot.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena asked Vale again about her university affiliation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale said she was at MIT, in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe stated department name did not align with Philomena’s understanding of MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale’s academic context continued to feel wrong to Philomena.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVale’s goal became clear.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe wanted Philomena to consult on figures, shapes, and their meanings.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale wanted to correlate material from the Book of Eibon with the Turkish archaeological site.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe wanted Philomena’s expert insight into how the shapes and rituals were related.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena chose not to continue the meeting that night.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe offered to meet Vale the next morning.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale eagerly accepted.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale said she arrived at her office around 8:30 a.m.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said her office was on the third floor in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences building.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVale then departed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter Vale left, Philomena ordered another bottle of wine to be sent to her room.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe checked the money but found nothing overtly altered or bizarre about it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe returned to her room.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe also looked outside for anything obviously wrong, such as strange stars or a visible rent in the sky.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe sky looked as she remembered it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere was no obvious visible sign of reality being altered.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena locked herself in her hotel room.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe locked the door and secured the chain.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe prepared to sleep rather than wander around alone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe judged roaming around in the current circumstances to be dangerous.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Handler called for a Helplessness SAN roll.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena succeeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe kept herself composed, helped by the wine.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe focus shifted back to Frank at the scene where Devon Ayers had thrown himself under a car.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFirst responders arrived.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe young man was dead.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSince Frank had taken the man’s ID, the responders treated the dead man as a John Doe.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe police on scene considered it an apparent suicide by a man who had thrown himself under a car.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey found it strange and gruesome, but not impossible.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank did not flash a badge or identify himself as FBI.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe gave an eyewitness statement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe provided his cell phone number when asked, although the phone did not work.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA detective spoke to him briefly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank remained at the scene until Justin and Matthew returned.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin and Matthew left Dr. Amardeep’s home carrying contaminated electronics from the Amardeep family.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheir plan was not to destroy the devices on the side of the freeway.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey intended to find a quiet residential street, line up the electronics, run them over with the car, and then dispose of the pieces in a scrapyard.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey found a quiet side street and crushed the electronics with the vehicle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe shimmering barrier was still present when Justin and Matthew returned.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank walked out to the location where he believed the shimmering barrier was, because he knew the others likely would not come through to him if it remained visible.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin and Matthew could still see the barrier exactly where it had been.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team discussed what to do about the barrier and the spreading Picky Eater contamination.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin concluded that the contagion was broken loose and that they could not find every infected Picky Eater chip.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe believed they had to go through the barrier.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team implemented a rope protocol to test passage through the barrier.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey discussed the risk of people disappearing or falling out of vehicles when crossing realities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey chose to walk through as a group rather than drive through initially.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEach person held or was attached to a rope with identifying markers.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank positioned himself in the middle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe team joked about the inadequacy of the name “rope protocol,” but proceeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank crossed the barrier with the others and failed a SAN roll.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank lost 1 SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAs the three walked down the sidewalk through the barrier, Frank heard the rope jangle as both ends dropped slack.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin and Matthew vanished from either side of him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe rope remained real, but the people attached to it were gone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis caused Frank to hit a breaking point.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin and Matthew also lost 1 SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin and Matthew experienced passage into another reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey felt disorientation and a falling, vertiginous sensation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey caught themselves.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe street was different.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was still a residential side street, but the background hum of highway traffic was gone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn its place, there was an illuminated elevated train line.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheir vehicle was no longer present.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew recognized this as the same world he had visited before.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was night, around 10 p.m. or later.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew noted that when he had visited before, it had been much later, around 2:30 a.m., so he believed they might be safe for the moment.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew told Justin that he had been in this world before.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin connected this reality to Dr. Kuhl and the possibility that Kuhl might be found here.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew was uncertain but suggested going back to Kuhl’s office at MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe two decided to investigate this version of MIT and learn about Picky Eater, the first chip, and Dr. Kuhl’s whereabouts.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin and Matthew spent time gathering information in the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInformation about Picky Eater was easy to find.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn that reality, Picky Eater was invented by Dr. Wesley Kuhl.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePicky Eater had become an unequivocal source of truth.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA person could ask a Picky Eater device any question and receive an infallibly true answer.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis had reshaped society.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArgument and misunderstanding had largely fallen away because everyone now had access to objective truth.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin used a terminal to ask about Dr. Kuhl’s current location.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe specified that he wanted Dr. Kuhl’s location at the exact current date and time, not historical information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePicky Eater did not provide a geolocation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInstead, it produced information similar to a news story.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe response said that after perfecting Picky Eater and reshaping society into something more rational, effective, and efficient, Kuhl had moved on to his next project.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKuhl claimed the new invention would make Picky Eater look like a child’s toy.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe project was called the Xanatheraphone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe article described the project as something only Kuhl’s singular mind could understand and complete.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKuhl had secluded himself until the work was complete.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe project appeared to be developed at Kuhl’s lab at MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin asked Matthew what happened the last time Matthew was in this reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew said he had gone to the university and straight to Dr. Kuhl’s office.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had spoken to Kuhl’s secretary.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe secretary had directed him to Vicky King.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThen Matthew had been sent back to their world.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin decided that they should retrace Matthew’s steps and go to Vicky King.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTime began skipping for Justin and Matthew.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey suddenly found themselves at a falafel restaurant.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin was taking a bite of falafel.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew had an ice-cold Coke in his hand.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey were still in mid-conversation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey remembered leaving the library and doing other things, but the details were unclear.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was now the middle of the afternoon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey were unsure whether one day or two days had passed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin failed a SAN roll.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew succeeded on his SAN roll.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin remarked that the situation did not seem right.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin asked Matthew how Philomena had gotten back to their timeline.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew said he did not know.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew said he had walked to the Marriott lobby after meeting Vicky King and had then returned to their world, but he had not teleported across locations while doing something else.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin concluded they needed to retrace Matthew’s steps and go to Vicky King.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank remained alone at the original barrier site after Justin and Matthew disappeared.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe remembered Justin and Matthew being with him, but his mind also supplied a plausible false explanation for why he was dragging a rope with bells on it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe false explanation did not fully hold together.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank saw the rope markers for Justin and Matthew on either side.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe remembered walking into the barrier with them and then their absence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank gathered the rope and returned to the car.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe drove back to the hotel to find Philomena.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank arrived at the hotel late at night.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe lobby was quiet.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMost things had closed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank went to Philomena’s room and knocked.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena was halfway through the bottle of wine and had settled into bed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe checked through the peephole and saw Frank.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe opened the door and invited him in.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe poured him wine.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank asked Philomena whether the other two had come back.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena suffered a SAN effect and lost 1 SAN as her brain struggled with contradictory memories.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe hit a breaking point.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe remembered the others being present and being sent away at the same time.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHer mind also supplied a false explanation that they had gone to Harvard for some reason, which she recognized as untrue.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe understood the cognitive dissonance as part of the reality disturbance.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe told Frank that, as of that moment, it was only the two of them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank and Philomena compared what each had experienced.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena told Frank that an MIT professor had come to her room knowing she was there.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe described the discussion about the Turkish archaeological site and the Book of Eibon.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said the Book of Eibon should not be in an MIT library, but apparently was in this reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said Vale belonged to a department that should not exist.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank told Philomena that he had seen an acolyte of the Hushfathers dive under a car to kill himself.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said they were “not in Kansas anymore.”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank recalled the meeting with Dr. Amardeep.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe remembered the team’s theory that touching Amardeep’s computer may have triggered Picky Eater again.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe told Philomena that the infection seemed to spread through touch.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said he did not know where they were anymore.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe noted that this reality did not seem like the one Matthew had described.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilomena described her assessment of the current reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said that, for all intents and purposes, it seemed like their regular world.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe main difference was that she appeared to be better known in specific circles than she expected.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe clarified that Philomena was already known in certain occult or academic circles, but Vale being able to track her to her hotel was still strange.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena believed Vale did not appear to have ill intent.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe suspected she might be more famous in this reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe had not explored further because she did not want to touch electronics, ask too many questions, or appear to have had a psychotic break.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank considered whether the reality they were in reflected desires or personal affinities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe noted that if the Hushfathers had real acolytes and a real religion, that might be something Justin would want.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe noted that the academic occult knowledge might be something Philomena would want.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said he had not noticed anything personally altered around himself.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe did not know what Matthew might want.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena said she was meeting Vale the next morning and intended to use that as a regular pretense to reach MIT and learn more.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank suggested trying to determine whether anyone in this world knew Kuhl.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena said she could ask Vale the next day.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey decided there was little more to do that night and finished the wine.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin and Matthew reached MIT in the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey were in the math building.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnlike Matthew’s previous visit, there were students and people around.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe people seemed inert until Justin and Matthew came into view, at which point they began bustling around and acting as though going about their lives.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin compared this to an artificial or staged reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey went toward the offices Matthew had previously visited.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin asked Matthew to retrace exactly what he had done last time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew remembered how to get to Vicky King.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey entered the offices of Pre-Revelatory Mathematics.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe room was nearly empty.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky King sat behind an otherwise empty desk.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky greeted them warmly and strangely.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe welcomed them to the Office of Pre-Revelatory Mathematics.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said they did not get many visitors there anymore and asked how she could help.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe was unsettling and clearly not the Vicky King they had known before.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe did not recognize Matthew from his earlier visit.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew asked about Dr. Kuhl and how he had reached his current state.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky suggested taking them to the museum.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin asked whether Dr. Kuhl was around.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky laughed too much at the question.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said the building primarily held a museum commemorating Dr. Kuhl’s great works and the first wave of revelation he brought humanity.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said Kuhl’s real work happened in the Hightower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin was not interested in a museum tour unless it was necessary to reproduce Matthew’s prior return to reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin asked Matthew what happened next during his prior visit.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew said that was where his story ended.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky said it did not have to end there.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe described the museum as devoted to artifacts of the pre-revelatory world.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said humanity needed to maintain knowledge of its history, even though it had moved far beyond that history.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said they now knew they lived in one world among an infinite number.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe described “the sweep of the endless” as being before them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin learned the year in the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt was 2032.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin asked how to gain entrance to the Hightower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky said an appointment was needed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said she maintained Dr. Kuhl’s schedule but that he was not taking visitors because he was engrossed in his work.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe offered to take a note and schedule them when he became available.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin tried to convince Vicky to give him access as a programmer or potential assistant.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe suggested that even if he could not directly help Kuhl’s research, Kuhl might need someone to move things, file things, or assist with electronic filing.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky said she handled some of that.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said Dr. Kuhl had perfectly optimized his working space.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe explained that access was carefully controlled because his work was crucial to the next phase of human evolution.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin described himself as an excellent programmer.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said that, given enough time, and if Kuhl did not exist, he might perhaps have come up with Picky Eater.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky clearly did not accept this as plausible.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said Dr. Kuhl’s work had moved beyond software and computing hardware into an entirely new level.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky said Justin could go to the tower and request an audience.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said Kuhl did sometimes speak to the crowd.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin asked to be put on Kuhl’s calendar.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky opened a book from her desk and wrote something down.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe appointment she created was roughly three years in the future.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe focus shifted back to Frank and Philomena the next morning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena intended to keep her appointment with Dr. Vale, though she planned not to arrive as early as 8:30.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank and Philomena went to breakfast first and attempted to behave normally.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey looked for clues in the news, newspapers, or television.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe news appeared to be ordinary CNN and ordinary television coverage.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank and Philomena made Alertness checks while at breakfast.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoth succeeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena noticed first that a man elsewhere in the restaurant was watching their table.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe man had coffee and an untouched muffin.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had a short buzzed haircut and wore a dark jacket.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe was trying to be subtle, but Philomena caught him glancing toward them repeatedly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank noticed Philomena notice something and then saw the man himself.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank judged the man to be a military type, possibly police but more likely military.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe man was in his mid-30s and fit.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank approached the watcher.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe got up with his coffee and sat at the man’s table.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked whether the man was not hungry.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe man looked down at the muffin and slid it across the table to Frank.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank asked whether he could help him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe man glanced around to see whether anyone was listening.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said Frank’s handler had told him where to find them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said it was not protocol, but that things were out of hand.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said he had been told Frank had a team in town.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe offered to explain more somewhere private.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank moved the conversation to an empty, closed restaurant area of the hotel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe area was roped off but easy to enter.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank watched the man for aggression or signs he might make a move.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank made a HUMINT check and failed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe man remained hard to read.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the same time, Justin shifted realities again.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin and Matthew rolled SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin failed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank failed his SAN roll as well.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank was sitting with the unknown military man in a private booth when Justin appeared there.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin was suddenly in the booth, though he had also somehow been there the whole time.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin remembered both being at breakfast with Frank and sleeping in the hotel, while also knowing those things had not happened in the same way.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe felt as though two parallel Justins had overlapped.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe man across the table did not react to Justin’s impossible appearance.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin told Frank that they had to solve the situation quickly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe described dimension hopping or phasing between versions of himself in different realities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe watcher identified himself and explained his mission.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe man said he did not know Picky Eater could do what Justin had just done.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe assumed they were likely on the same operation from different angles.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said part of him could not believe he was sitting with Frank Booth.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had heard of Frank and treated him with significant reverence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe identified himself as Captain Nathan Havel.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said something was contained in the physics building sub-basement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHavel had taken a team in quietly the previous night.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHalf of his team had been vaporized.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe escaped and regrouped with two shooters remaining.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe needed someone who knew how to navigate this kind of situation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had called for backup and been told that MASTICATE, Frank Booth’s team, was already on scene.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe expected Frank to point them in the right direction.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHavel described the thing in the physics building.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said a quantum physics experiment seemed to have opened a rift.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA lab had contacted some kind of intelligence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe intelligence might be from another dimension or from beyond the stars.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt had been teaching the people running the lab things they should not know.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Program had noticed and planned to burn it out.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHavel’s mission was to deal with the threat in the physics building sub-basement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin compared Havel’s information with the Hightower from the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Hightower in the Picky Eater reality was at the center of campus, at the cross-section of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn that reality, the center of campus had been reconstructed around a large garden plaza and an immense white tower with reflective windows.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank, Justin, and Havel were at the Marriott on the east end of campus.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Hightower was visible from much of campus in the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank told Captain Havel to lay low.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said they could not go back into the physics building until night.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe told Havel they had to continue working their own part of the problem.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe instructed Havel to meet them back at the hotel at 7 p.m. to make a plan.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHavel accepted and used military language.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank told him to lay off the military talk to blend in better.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHavel treated Frank’s advice with great respect.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHavel left quietly through the back.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin then disappeared from Frank’s reality again.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe focus returned to Justin and Matthew outside the Hightower in the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA crowd was assembled around the tower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey were not doing much.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin had just returned from his contact with Frank.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe told Matthew he was reality shifting and that the situation was becoming unstable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin wanted to infiltrate the Hightower by shifting locations between realities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe was concerned that if he shifted back to the original reality while high inside the Hightower, he could fall from the sky because the tower would not exist there.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe wanted Frank or the Program to arrange a large stunt fall bag or similar protection at Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin deliberately attempted to shift back to Frank’s reality to pass the message.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe focused on Frank and the Justin who was with Frank.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attempt cost him 1 SAN and 1d4 Willpower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe lost 4 Willpower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe effort was exhausting.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe appeared at the table with Frank and Philomena.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin told them that shifting back took a lot and that he might not be able to do it often.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked them to arrange a large drop bag or stunt cushion at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe explained that he planned to go to the corresponding intersection and try to transition into the Hightower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe needed them to prevent him from falling to his death if he snapped back to their reality in midair.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said he would do what he could.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin said that if Frank had people he trusted to handle that task, Frank could still infiltrate the physics building.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin then left quickly to get to the center of campus.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJustin acquired a bicycle in the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe thought that he needed a bicycle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA person rode up, threw himself off a bicycle, and left it in front of Justin.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe person looked directly at Justin, then looked around wildly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe person’s face contorted; his eyes rolled and he snapped his jaws.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe person looked toward Massachusetts Avenue, where a bus was coming.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin acknowledged the person’s apparent sacrifice and took the bicycle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAs Justin rode away, he heard a bus horn, screeching brakes, and a wet impact.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReality around Justin became more violent as he rode toward the Hightower.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhile he pedaled hard up the street, people on the third and fourth floors of buildings began diving out of windows in synchronization.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbout half a dozen people fell and struck the pavement.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin was adapted to violence and continued riding past.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe reached the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCars honked as he rode into the center of the intersection.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThen he was inside the Hightower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew continued with Vicky King in the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe tried to learn from her and understand where Dr. Kuhl had gone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky gave him the museum tour.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe tour described the arc of humanity from fire to Picky Eater and then toward what would come next.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky explained that there were many worlds, infinite realities, and infinite versions of each person.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe museum had a machine where a person could see some alternate versions of themselves.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew chose not to look at it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said he was not interesting and was more interested in Dr. Kuhl.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVicky praised Dr. Kuhl extensively.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe described him as a brilliant mathematician and unparalleled philosopher.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said he was the first to marry mathematics and philosophy so thoroughly that he pierced the veil between realities and found the underlying truth.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said his work was not complete.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere were more fundamental truths still to be discovered.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe believed Kuhl would lead humanity to that light.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew could see that she could not praise Kuhl enough.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew made a HUMINT check while speaking to Vicky and others.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe succeeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe concluded that there was not much substance inside the people in this reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey seemed like thin reflections.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThey represented only the thinnest understanding of people.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew tried to persuade Vicky to help him reach Kuhl.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said he needed to get to Dr. Kuhl.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said Kuhl was incredible and no one had done anything like him.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe suggested he might be able to reach Kuhl.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said it would be incredible if they could get Kuhl back.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVicky only replied that Matthew was already in the appointment book.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew realized he could return to the tower if he wanted.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe remembered Justin had told him about the plan to shift into the Hightower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin was already inside the tower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin looked out a window from roughly halfway up the tower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe saw Matthew below in the crowd.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin used a reflected glint of light to draw Matthew’s attention.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew saw Justin inside the Hightower, waving him to come up.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew assessed the tower security.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe failed a Military Science check.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere were armed guards around the tower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe crowd formed a perimeter away from the tower doors.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew remembered Justin’s plan involved shifting from one reality to another to bypass the entrance.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew attempted to shift back to their world to retrieve weapons.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe shift cost him 1 SAN and 1d4 Willpower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe lost 3 Willpower, leaving him very low.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn their original reality, Matthew was in the back seat of the SUV.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis lightning rifle was in a bag in the vehicle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe grenade launcher and other equipment were also in the SUV.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew grabbed the bag containing the heavy weapons.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew suffered a SAN effect and remembered more of his true mission.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe succeeded on a SAN roll but still lost 1 SAN.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe remembered with great clarity something critical that he had forgotten.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere was a hole in reality at MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had been told under no circumstances to let the MASTICATE team go to MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHis head had been filled with the thoughts and assumptions of another Matthew.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had believed he needed to join the team and help their mission.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn truth, he had originally been supposed to stop them from coming to MIT.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThat mission was now impossible because they were already there.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe concluded that helping them might be his only way through.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe also remembered that MIT had been deeply compromised.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen too many Picky Eater-infected people crossed into MIT with trans-dimensional baggage, including him, it upset the entire situation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe understood that MITs across realities might now be overlapping or collapsing into one another.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew tried to enter the Hightower with the weapons.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe attempted to push through the shifting force while carrying the bag.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe failed an Athletics check badly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe was too exhausted to maintain control.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe snapped back to the Picky Eater reality outside the Hightower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe had the bag with the lightning rifle and grenade launcher.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthew attacked the guards outside the Hightower.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe took cover behind a carved stone planter with a groomed tree.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe placed the lightning rifle beside him for quick access.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe loaded the grenade launcher.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe fired at the guards.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew rolled Heavy Weapons and succeeded.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe grenade arced over the crowd and struck behind the guards.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe explosion killed the three guards without blowing up anyone in the crowd.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe crowd screamed and scattered.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe entrance to the Hightower was clear.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew put the grenade launcher back in his bag, grabbed the lightning rifle, and headed toward the tower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, Frank and Philomena considered what to do in their reality.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank told Philomena about the thing in the physics building basement and Captain Havel’s report.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said that in this reality, his personal alteration appeared to be that he was regarded as the greatest Delta Green agent ever.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena asked why the Program would not simply blow up the physics building if it was so dangerous.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank answered that the operation still appeared to be secret in this reality, so they did not want to draw attention.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said that in Matthew’s alternate reality, that might be exactly what they would do.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said whatever was in the basement was not real, and that none of this was real.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen Philomena asked whether that meant the alternate Matthew was not real, Frank said that Matthew McCarter was dead in his book.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said Justin appeared to be in Kuhl’s world and was able to move himself between realities, which he regarded as a bad sign.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank tried to arrange a safety measure for Justin.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe decided to call Pitzerelli from the lobby phone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen Pitzerelli picked up, there was an unusual silence.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank opened by saying that Frank Booth was the greatest agent in the world.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli became concerned and asked whether everything was okay.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank asked whether she had recently spoken to a captain.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe said no.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe was worried and asked whether they needed to pull Frank out.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said he did not know what “out” meant anymore.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli reframed the question and asked whether Frank could still complete the operation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said he was still breathing and did not know whether she could get him out even if she tried.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked about the odds of arranging a blocked-off intersection in the middle of MIT that day.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank briefly tried to use the altered reality logic to create a movie production at MIT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe concentrated hard on there being an action movie filming at MIT with a big finale scene at the relevant intersection.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNothing obvious happened from this effort.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli instead suggested a more practical approach.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShe reminded Frank of a prior event in Duluth where a bomb scare had been used to clear people.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank accepted this as workable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank also warned Pitzerelli about Vicky King.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe asked whether Pitzerelli had met Vicky King.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli did not know the name at first.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank clarified that Vicky was connected to Bridget, Nora, and the partner now working for them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli remembered her.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said they were involved and had created it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli asked whether letting Vicky go had caused the problem and whether containing her would fix it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank said no; he did not think Vicky and the others were the masterminds.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe said they were only doing the work.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHe recommended that Vicky be contained and questioned.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli said she would pass that message along.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank and Philomena headed toward the center of campus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAs they moved toward the disturbance, they heard police sirens.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmbulances and first responders were heading toward the center of campus.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlong Vassar Street, there were bodies on the sidewalks from people who had jumped out of buildings.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePolice and responders were beginning to rope off parts of the area.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA person had been hit by a bus.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe route toward the center of campus was marked by dead bodies.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank and Philomena were adapted to violence, but the carnage was still unpleasant and disturbing.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank remarked that he did not think the dead people were their problem and kept moving.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhilomena looked on with obvious distaste.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrank and Philomena reached the blocked-off area near the center of campus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePolice were blocking the eastern side of Vassar Street.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMassachusetts Avenue traffic was still moving through the center of campus.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA bicycle lay in the middle of the intersection.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDrivers were swerving around it, creating a dangerous situation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe bike appeared to be the one Justin had used when shifting into the Hightower.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe session ended with reality continuing to delaminate around MASTICATE.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJustin was inside the Hightower in the Picky Eater reality.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatthew had cleared the Hightower entrance with a grenade launcher and was moving in with the lightning rifle.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrank and Philomena were approaching the corresponding location in their own reality amid bodies, sirens, and police response.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCaptain Havel and his remaining shooters were set to meet Frank later for the planned physics building operation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePitzerelli had been warned about Vicky King and asked to consider containment and questioning.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMultiple members of MASTICATE had suffered SAN loss and breaking points during the session.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe group ended with the situation unresolved and the realities increasingly unstable.\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"
  }