Agents of TAROT (Temporal Anomaly Recognition & Observation Team) (Inactive)

Game Master Tarren Dei

DATE 2219 13 05 13:00

The screen nearest you displayed the following memo.

Temporal Anomaly Recognition & Observation Team requires your expertise. TAROT is authorized to select and require transfer of any and all necessary personnel from law enforcement, military, and state-funded universities who have specific areas of expertise as required for specific missions. Permit two-way communication and wait for further instructions.

You've heard of TAROT. Most of the people living in the North American Regional Alliance have. It was supposed to be secret. It's hard to keep an entire government agency with twenty full-time researchers dedicated to policing the timeline secret.

For the most part, policing the timeline has meant maintaining a time machine--one of seven known to exist--and hoping no one takes one of the other six out for a joyride. The integrity of the timeline is constantly compared to a backup copy maintained on an extratemporal server.

Maybe you understand why this is necessary, but most people thought it was a waste. Time travel was possible and it had been done, but it consumes a massive amount of energy. The six other time machines in the world were under lock and key.

What were you doing at 13:00 on a typical weekday when you received this memo?

Scera had been enjoying her time the last few days. She'd finished studying last night and went to a club where she found a man, and a woman, who were fascinated by her alieness. Many hours later she was woken up by a chiming tone that indicated a message, a very important and highly classified message. She looked to her two companions, admiring them a moment, before she said, "I need you two to get up and get going. I have to go to work." Her voice was melodious and sleepy but wouldn't brook any argument though she softened it and said, "We'll have to do this again sometime."

The two managed to get themselves up and out the door without any hard feelings and when they had Scera went and hopped in the shower as she began speaking to her house system, "Enact Tower security protocols, play recording." She began to enjoy a nice hot shower while she listened to the memo.

Lunch in Lus Bioinformatics was a boring affair. Had been since she started, even more so with their skimping on the lab assistants. The name on her employee tag read as "V. Cavendale", but that was just her cover identity. She would have appeared much like any of the multi-degreed beings that worked here, mostly unremarkable with her brown hair pulled back in a somewhat neat bun, strands slipping out due to her habit of keeping her writing utensil stuck through it when not needed. Glasses were a given, since staring at screens took a toll, especially if the repair treatments were skipped. Her lab coat was neat, as was her clothing, everything in order. Normal.

Currently they were on a "pressure schedule", and that meant that most of the time, food was eaten in or near your lab station without compromising your current work. It had been a month since she had started here, and had only managed to compromise one system. Her assignment had been for four, and there were likely another few months before she would have been able to manage to compromise a second system. The work was okay, but a little on the edges of her interests. She had been eating a light cup of yogurt, and was now nibbling on a piece of nutri-strip, doing some light reading.

The chiming of the message brought a raised eyebrow and a casual glance towards the display from over the tablet she was using to scroll over the latest journal publication. More intriguing— and what brought the other eyebrow up in line with the other– was the addendum from the Institute to that message. It was coded to supersede the current assignment, and that was a rare thing. It was a significant cost of resources to scout and prepare the assignments, so someone somewhere had a fair amount of influence.

Shame. Her departure was cause some questions, but those looking for answers would not get far. The data that could be pulled out of the one system that she had compromised was minimal, but she was sure that they were aware of that. Sighing, she set the tablet and the nutri-strip down, and triggered the emergency exit package that had been grounded here ahead of her. In the chaos of a multi-level evacuation, her absence would not be noted for a while.

As Scera casually showers and dresses and as Julian makes a hasty but well-planned exit from the chaos she has created, each screen they pass lights with the memo.

Julian only sees the memo flash on screens when she steps into corridors or stairways that are otherwise empty.

Dr. Mortimer was in between lectures at the North American university of physical sciences. he had finished his first class just an hour earlier and his next lecture was scheduled for 1400 hours.

Dr. Mortimer is a fully tenured astro-physics professor at the university. but has contacted his expertise to other agencies as needed.

Master, the monotone computer generated voice from a small hovering robotic dog announced to get Mortimer's attention, Incoming message, marked as urgent, from special agency coded 4623

Thanks Rex, play message. Dr. Mortimer responded.

after hearing the message, Thank you Rex. send a notice that the temporal paradox lecture at 1400 hours has to be cancels for a family emergency. Mortimer commands as he gathers his tools.

affirmative, Master. message sent

looks like we have work to do, come on Rex. Time to save the universe again.

As each of you acknowledges the incoming message and permits two-way communication, a computer generated face appears on any and all nearby video screens.

"Greetings Agent Cannon ... we haven't met. My name is Gabriel and I will be requiring your assistance today. I congratulate you on eluding corporate security. There are several drones out looking for you now, so I invite you to take the vehicle that is arriving in 15 ... 14 ... 13 seconds ...". The voice is professional and to the point. A black and yellow taxi floats up and the hatch opens to allow Julian to enter. It is unoccupied and empty; the AI pilot doesn't take up any space and no old-timey android has been installed to amuse the tourists.

"Hello Scera ... My name is Gabriel. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I have an invitation that might interest you. There's a gravcar waiting on your rooftop when you've had a chance to get dressed." The voice is warm.

"Greetings Dr. Mortimer ... good to see you again. It appears the unthinkable has happened. Someone is tinkering with the timeline. I'm assembling a team as we speak and arranging transportation for them to The Well. Should I send a car or will you be using your own transportation?" The voice is playful.

Scera was still in the shower when the "recording" began playing and she was surprised it was an AI. At least she thought it was an AI. "Nice to meet you Gabriel and luckily my entertainment was over with hours ago. I just had to rush my guests out was all but they needed to be leaving anyway." She looked down at herself momentarily and then said, "Dressed, yes, I'll take care of that and be right up. It will only take me a few minutes."

She left the shower and dried off as she asked, "Is there any information you can give me about what you need me for today?" She headed into her bedroom and began dressing quickly and efficiently, "Are there any particular things I should prepare while on my way there?" She finished dressing quickly enough as she awaited a response and began doing her makeup and hair before grabbing the hat she habitually wore when needing to blend in.

"Are there any particular things I should prepare while on my way there?"[/b]

Gabriel's computer generated faces smiles fairly convincingly. "I think you will find our selection of clothing surprisingly thorough and authentic. Pack light. I'm generating a catalog of the available clothing and, with your permission, I'll place the options on a model approximating your height and shape."

As he sees this, a button appears on your screen labelled "personalized catalog."

"You could browse it in the grav-car on the way over if you would like."

As he sees this, ....

"says this" not "sees this"

Scera listened to what Gabriel told her and figured it was much as she expected. They wanted things to be very accurate so she knew they would likely provide clothing for her. She had just finished closing up her home and securing the door with her access code before getting into the car.

With the door shut Scera began to look through the display of clothing while she said, "Yes Gabriel, putting them on a mannequin would be helpful once I've got them picked out. How many days worth should I plan for?" She began picking out outfits she liked, mostly in greens, reds, and blues. She looked to Gabriel and said, "I'll need the normal hat or head covering to go with these of course, can't scare the primitives with my alieness after all."

Best get me a vehicle, I have a feeling that this mission may go a little longer than expected.

As Mortimer gathers some simple supplies, making sure he also brings his Custom rig as well. Brief me on the team as we go Gabriel if you please.

Best get me a vehicle, I have a feeling that this mission may go a little longer than expected.

As Mortimer gathers some simple supplies, making sure he also brings his Custom rig as well. Brief me on the team as we go Gabriel if you please.

"There's an unlocked hoverbike around the corner. I predict you'll like it. I'll have it waiting for you when you exit."

"As for the team, I'll let them introduce themselves when they get to The Well. I've optimized the team for infiltration. Hurry back. I've got so much to tell you."

The conditional filtering on her system was something impressive, since she worked hard on making sure that her equipment was as untouchable as someone in her position could make it, which was not much by comparison to an organization that could make the Agency re-code a mid-level plant operation. As it was, after the first few flickers, she killed the message and took it as a given. As she descended the first few floors, she already had an eartap in, and visual was devoted to the HUD on her glasses.

The appearance of Gabriel was another impressive note, along with the current surveillance of their security. Unlucky. They should have been a few minutes slower, so that made the cab a sufficient exit. She was certain that security was inclined to be less than courteous, should they manage to apprehend her. That was not her first idea of a pleasant evening.

"Well, Gabriel...", she said, settling into the cab and glancing around the interior as it pulled off, "Thank you for the timely exit. Given the haste, I'm guessing that this is rather imperative. Do you have my equipment inventory prepared?"

Julian smiled in anticipation, sparing a glance behind at the throng of employees milling about in confusion for a false alarm, undoing the bun with a wry smile. On to the next job.

The AI driven vehicles guide themselves out of the city and into the countryside where they converge on an old hilltop church surrounded by a handful of dark vehicles. A young man in a dark suit comes outside and guides you in. "Welcome to The Well," he says. Once you're inside you descend to the church basement, through some doors, and into large workspace. Half a dozen men and women rush in and out of the room. The young man guides you into a locked room.

"This is a secure room with extensive counter-surveillance measures. Any communication or recording devices you have or wear will cease to function. Gabriel will meet you inside."

When you enter, the computer-generated image of Gabriel appears on the large screen. Gabriel has created a background that makes it look as if he is in the same room you now sit in, merely sitting at the end of the table.

Scera had finished picking her clothing outfits on the trip over. They were mostly dresses, though one was a pair of pants and a blouse just in case, and all of them would fit fairly closely to her body but not so much as to be truly scandalous. Well OK, one was a bit scandalous but she knew it might be needed if she had to seduce someone. With the car stopped Scera waited for the door to open and then got out.

As she got out of the car Scera stood to her full height standing about five foot nine on her three inch heels. She wore a dark green sheathe dress that hugged the curves of her form closely and had her honey-blonde hair in a loose wavy fall to her back. Her eyes were a color of blue that seemed inhuman and this was only backed up by the pair of wriggling antennae that sprouted from her temples and swept back over her head.

With a small purse hanging from her left shoulder Scera looked around at the other vehicles to see who would appear from them. As much as she used her more mundane senses she reached out with her mind as well making contact with each passenger's mind that was just the barest brush. Most of them may not have even noticed the contact but if they did it would likely seem somewhat alien but not incomprehensible and carry both curiosity and greeting in the fleeting contact.

Pulling up to the building is a man on a hoverbike, a small robotic dog strapped behind him.

once he pulls up, before removing his helm, he stays still a moment then looks toward any that are present.

after a brief pause, he unstraps the dog which comes to life a floats off the bike hovering about a foot or so from the ground.

the man removes his hem and sets it on the bike. relatively handsome man, well dressed almost nostalgic Victorian. a small pistol holstered on his hip, that seems a bit out of place, like something out of the old american west.

he straightens his coat and grabs a walking cane from the bike.

he turns to head toward the building. come along Rex

the robotic dog responds, affirmative, master

As he walks in he makes eye contact with the lashunta, but says nothing.

he makes his way into the church as directed, Rex you wait by the door indicating the door to the secure room they are to meet in.

the dog follows the command and sets himself down near the door.

The catalogue that Gabriel generated for Scera offered a fairly varied wardrobe, placing all of the clothes on a 3D model of Scera. A DC 15 Culture check would recognize the fashions as those of Earth in the 1960s, particularly the hippie subculture. If Scera has any facial markings, Gabriel has even disguised them by blending them into an appropriately flowery facepainting.

Seeing Scera, Mortimer feels very much like he feels when he recognizes a face, but realizes this was something else, a telepathic caress.

To Scera, Mortimer's mind feels precarious. That seemed like an appropriate way to describe Mortimer with his high Intelligence and average Wisdom

When all the PCs are in the conference room, Gabriel will begin the mission briefing.

Scera caught the sensations of Mortimer's mind and realized the man bared watching. He might well turn out to be unstable if the circumstances were right and that could be dangerous. She did find the dog cute though.

Scera headed inside, not waiting for whoever was in the third vehicle, and followed Mortimer. Once inside she made her way to a chair and sat gracefully. She crossed her knees and placed both hands on top of them for the moment as she looked at Mortimer and raised one delicate eyebrow as she asked, "I take it you're here as part of the job they have for us? I'm Scera."

Kit is repairing a drone’s rotor when his comm pings multiple times in rapid succession. Taking off the latex gloves he sees the first is from TAROT. He reads it and grunts to himself. The other messages he doesn’t read yet, just sees that they are from his battalion’s commanding officer and squadron’s head NCO.

We can roleplay this if you want...I just don’t want to hold up the game anymore.

The Well. He remembers waking up there. Time to go back.

He changes out of his maintenance fatigues and into his uniform. He packs a bag of spare clothes and writes out a few lengthy texts to friends and colleagues while waiting for the autonomous vehicle.

Kit studies while the vehicle whisks him to The Well.

Once there, he follows the directions to the appropriate room. ”Rawlings, reporting as requested.”

looking to the young woman (Scera), he recognized her from outside. Yes, he responds to her question, Doctor Mortimer. he says in response to the introduction.

Is this you first mission? he asks her.

Scera nodded in response to Doctor Mortimer and said, "Yes, it will be my first time in the field anyway. I've been doing mostly research work since I arrived here." Scera gave him a smile and asked, "How about you, is this your fist mission?"

It was around then that Rawlings arrived and Scera's gaze turned to him. "I take it you're here for the job too then?" She pointed to herself and said, "I'm Scera, this," she pointed to Mortimer, "is Doctor Mortimer."

A change of clothes was not something that Julian took advantage of on the ride over, though she did discard the lab coat. The ride over was pretty smooth, and just being able to relax before the start of another job— however short the window– was good. The arrival was just as smooth, though she did give the church a bit of a dubious look. She would have probably overlooked it, so it made a great choice for a location.

'Out of one job, into another...', she thought to herself as she took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. Having an escort was appreciated, since she was certain that the security on this place was on another level far beyond what she was familiar with. The robot dog outside of the door was novel, and out of place for this location, so at least one of the others were here. Putting on a professional smile, she opened the door with confidence.

The door snapped shut and locked behind Julian. After a slight pause, Gabriel spoke to the four of you: "Well, now we have some privacy. I am sorry for any inconvenience this rapid summons may have caused. I have met all of you, but you do not all know each other. You will have time to introduce yourselves in a moment. TAROT has verified your security clearances." You can introduce yourself when you get a chance.

"I am Gabriel, a sentient computer and the Director of TAROT. I am communicating to you from an extratemporal space unaffected by changes to the timeline."

"Despite being a 7th level intellect with processing power unparalleled by any computer of which you are aware, I dedicate 99.9999% of my processing power to scanning obituaries and looking through old phone books and, then, comparing this data to my stored record of the timeline, making sure everyone dies when they should and nothing changes."

"I am empowered to monitor the timeline and dispatch a TAROT team if the timeline is altered. It has been. The timeline that you know is different in several ways from the one in which I was created."

"I began to notice a number of ripples in financial data centred in the town of Ogden, Maine in 1968 ... a security guard at the university began accumulating a great deal of wealth very quickly."

"These ripples were very minor and barely worth risking sending a TAROT team to correct, but then four students at Ogden College caused a more serious shift in the timeline when they assassinated presidential candidate Richard Nixon."

"This will contradict your own recollections of the historical record, but in my timeline, the one you are to preserve, Richard Nixon went on to become President of the United States for ... a period of time."

"Your mission is to travel back to Ogden, Maine, 1968 and find out how and why this campus security guard and these four otherwise unimpressive students have managed to change time and then, as unobtrusively as possible, stop them."

"When you leave this room, you will receive as much support as you need from our staff, who will help you choose weaponry, personal effects, and clothing suitable for a visit to 1968."

"Questions?"

No ranks in Culture so no checks for Kit.

”I’m not sure how to ask this, but will we return to the present, right after we left? Say it takes us two weeks to stop this assassination, when we return will two weeks have passed here?”

Kit makes some notes on his comm. ”Unobtrusive. I like the sound of that.”

After briefly glancing at the others he asks, ”Will you be able to communicate with us while in 1968? No other agents have been sent back?”

No ranks in Culture so no checks for Kit.

”I’m not sure how to ask this, but will we return to the present, right after we left? Say it takes us two weeks to stop this assassination, when we return will two weeks have passed here?”

"When you return, two minutes could have passed in the lab, but you could have aged two weeks or two months or more. The most famous example was that of the first authentic time traveller, Dr. Van Winkle who tested his time machine by going back to the early U.S. colonies. When he left he was a young man but he enjoyed the idyllic country life so much, that when returned to his team, he was 25 years older. He now runs the operations at FATE."

Kit makes some notes on his comm. ”Unobtrusive. I like the sound of that.”

"The students--I'll provide you all the data I have on them--should be convinced to return to their mediocre lives. Historically, none of them accomplished much, but their absence might make a difference. Avoid killing them if at all possible."

After briefly glancing at the others he asks, ”Will you be able to communicate with us while in 1968? No other agents have been sent back?”

"Although I exist in extratemporal space--relatively unbound by time--I interact with the global datanet, which didn't exist in 1968. If you do, at any point, get lost or stranded, bury this beacon some place where it will remain buried for the next 200 plus years and I will get our European friends at FATE to rescue you."

As he speaks, an egg-shaped device on the table pulses with lights and hums.

culture check 1: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
physical science: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Dr. Mortimer seems a bit off at the mention of FATE. not the most civilized group, but they do serve their purpose, I guess

looking to the group, I suggest we maintain some sort of coms among ourselves. It may prove rather vital.[/b] Mortimer suggests.

Gabriel, Will be using the standard Temporal travel means? I have been looking to have the Time engine installed in a ship for greater flexibility.

"The ship is in The Well and the temporal phase systems are ready to be patched in."

"Regarding communication devices, we will not be able to use any devices that rely on cellular or GPS systems. I could offer you a subdermal implant that uses the ship as a relay or we could pull a set of communication devices appropriate for the era out of storage. They're called 'walkie talkies.' Which would you prefer?"

It took a couple of seconds as Julian recalled the data involved in the assassination. "The Candidate was poisoned... As I recall, the poison was not able to be identified." Thoughtful, she considered it a moment, before introducing herself.

"Julie, Medical", she said crisply, with an expression that said she was considering the information that had been given already. Her features implied that her heritage was many and vaired, her fair skin and thick hair indicative of a multitude of possible origins. Her dress was conservative, but comfortable, a blouse in a tame tone of grey and a pair of dark slacks over a sensible pair of flats.

"I am fine with Walkie-Talkies. They are a bit antiquated, but the less attention we attract, the better we should be." That they would be going back two-hundred years meant that communication was still rather limited, with information traveling in a matter of days, rather than moments, depending. Practically, they were barely out of the days of the telegram. Novel.
____________________________________
Culture: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Culture #2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Scera listened to the briefing intently and made a mental note of the details. As they began to question Gabriel Scera had none of her own at the moment. As they discussed communication she finally spoke up and said, If we are close enough I can serve as a short range and private means of communication. It may have taken a moment for those gathered to realize but her words were not spoken but projected straight into their minds. "My people are naturally telepathic but only to a very limited range, if you are within thirty feet of me I can communicate with you like that and pass information around quietly."

After a moment more of thought Scera said, "I think the 'walkie talkie' would be best, if something were to happen and one of the implants found it could be damaging to the timeline but a walkie talkie wouldn't be as problematic."

Gabriel remains oblivious to Scera's telepathic communication with the others unless their faces betray their surprise.

"Walkie talkies it is then. We'll adapt them to provide far superior range than models of the time, but they will remain the same in outward appearance.

"One question, for you to consider is exactly when in time you will go back to. To help with your decision, I have prepared a brief chronology of the ripples that I detected."

The following data appears in front of each of you on the glassy tabletop.

In the revised timeline,…
On April 22, 1968, Lee Reynolds was not hospitalized with a broken finger.
On May 5, 1968, ICU Holdings LLC is registered in Augusta, Maine.
On July 7th, 1968, Lee Reynolds buys a house.
On July 17th, 1968, Lee Reynolds does not file an insurance claim and police report regarding a stolen car.
On Aug 31, 1968, Lee Reynolds gets his picture in the newspaper after picking 3 winners in the horse races in Scarborough, Maine.
On September 20th, 1968, Richard Nixon's presidential campaign itinerary changed suddenly as he headed to Maine.
On September 22nd, 1968, four students from Ogden College, where Lee Reynolds worked as a security guard, assassinated Richard Nixon in a diner.

"What should be our target date for this trip?"

Just as a note when I am doing bolded with quote marks it is spoken, when it is bold and italicized without quote marks it is telepathy.

I feel like I suddenly lost everyone's interest by giving a list of rather boring events. I know where this is going, so I'm excited. Next step? Discussion?

Was just trying to give the others a chance to respond.

Scera considered the revised timeline and asked, "Who exactly is this Lee Reynolds, other than a security guard, or did I miss that somehow? What do we know of the cause of his broken finger and is there any connection we know of between him and the assassination?' She considered further and asked, "What was this pattent he didn't filed, who stole his car, and what horses did he bet on?"

Hi guys, got a little busy... planning my upcoming vacation and my wedding anniversary this weekend.

Mortimer considers the options, I think that a simple earbud that can easily be concealed that works through the ship's systems. however also the walkie talkie idea would be good as well at the very least it may be a good distraction.

of course I fear that my idea will be to late

looking over the dates toward the end of July may be best. the lack of police report and the sudden winnings seems rather suspicious.

"Lee Reynolds," Gabriel said, "is a 'nobody.' Or, he was a nobody. Then, somehow, the timeline changed and he bet on winning horses and avoids a whole lot of trouble that was coming his way. He opens ICU Holdings, an investment firm and begins picking winning stocks. I would have overlooked this, as strange as it was, but then four other people at the same college changed the timeline again. Timelines don't just rewrite themselves. This is a temporal anomaly. Something strange is happening in 1968."

"Regarding the car, in the Original Timeline Lee Reynolds reported his car stolen to the police and the insurance company and, then, withdrew those claims. The police report suggested he may have owed someone money."

The information was helpful and gave her a better idea of when to try and go. She looked at the Doctor as he spoke about latter July and said, "Given the fact that time was changed twice and that the guard had a connection to everything I think going back further would be wise. If we can prevent the guard's timeline from being changed we may prevent the rest of the alterations as well or at least get a better idea of who is changing it and how." Scera looked at each person intently and said, "There's also the fact that this nobody had to have been targetted for change for a reason and it should be stopped for that alone. For all we know if we change only the death of Nixon we will be overlooking something as disasterous if it is allowed to go on."

Turning to look at Gabriel again Scera asked, "Just how problematic is this Guard being a somebody to the timeline, is there any indication it would be as bad as letting Nixon die?"

"'July in Ogden," Gabriel reads in a bit of a singsong voice, "is a special time. Students who stay for the summer work at part-time jobs. New faculty move into their offices and find apartments in town.' It's from a campus welcome guide from around that time period."

"You may, Scera, have detected from the outfit suggestions I collated for you that I feel you could integrate easily into the student body. Kit would possibly pass, particularly as some young men were attending college later after serving time in the military."

"Unfortunately, Dr. Mortimer, in that time period, education was something largely pursued by the young. You might, perhaps, be able to pass as one of their instructors?"

"Julia, of course, will have her own plans."

"I will have Aaron and Bron gather the earbuds and walkie talkies. Make a list of any other equipment you need. Outfits will be provided. We have an impressively large selection of clothing from the past four centuries. If we don't have what you need, we will make it."

"Sadly," said Gabriel, "in the Original Timeline, Lee Reynolds only lived a few more years. In the revised timeline, he retired to a pretty cabin and lived a longer, happier life, but still not one of much significance. Neither one seems particularly devastating to the timeline."

"Nixon's early death, however, resulted in significant changes to the timeline. The crackdown on youth activism was brutal and set the tone for the next 50 years."

I wonder if I misrepresented Mortimer. He is supposed to be a current professor not a student

No, you haven't misrepresented him. Gabriel is suggesting you might be able to pass as a professor in 1968 as well, but only as a professor, not as a student. In the heavily automated future, older adults often attend university full-time as well and you could pass as either a student or a professor then.

It may have been surprising for Gabriel to mention that she was somewhat exempt from the planning that was going on, so when the eyes glanced in her direction, she gave a reassuring smile. "I am competent enough with medicine, field and otherwise, that I could serve as a transfer student or aide in what passes for a medical program then. However, depending on how we plan to go about preventing this temporal adjustment, I may be able to gain their trust enough to find out what— or who– motivated hem to assassinate a presidential candidate beyond simple politics and activism."

She did look around the room at everyone present, and raised her eyebrows in inquiry. "I presume our involvement is intended to be minimal enough to disrupt this assassination attempt without removing the pawns from the board?" Her face was neutral, and her tone sounded as if she were checking boxes on a list.

Scera, thanks for explaining the formatting for telepathy. Your system makes sense.

Kit continues writing notes as Gabriel answers questions. At the suggestion of posing as a student, he chuckles. ”School after war, that sounds familiar.” He chuckles to himself.

”For clothes, thanks for getting that together. You know more about the style of the era than I do. What about weapons? I think we should bring pistols and knives.”

He tags words on the timeline to think about later. ”How big is Ogden? Is it a place where many people can be anonymous? What do we know of these assassins? Besides there being four that we know of. Yeah, knowing their motivations will help us stop them.”

Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he looks at Scera. ”Please don’t think I’m rude, and I’m not trying to offend, but how do you plan on hiding your antennas?”

Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he looks at Scera. ”Please don’t think I’m rude, and I’m not trying to offend, but how do you plan on hiding your antennas?”

Gabriel's computer generated face is replaced by the samples from the fashion catalog he'd prepared using a model of Scera. The fashions are perhaps exaggerated hippie styles, each making use of a different way of dealing with Scera's antannae, including exaggerated hair-dos and floppy hats. One of them is bewildering for those without the cultural reference--it leaves the antannae prominent and simply dresses Scera in a short one-piece dress, as if she were cosplaying a character from Star Trek.

"We have some options available."

She did look around the room at everyone present, and raised her eyebrows in inquiry. "I presume our involvement is intended to be minimal enough to disrupt this assassination attempt without removing the pawns from the board?" Her face was neutral, and her tone sounded as if she were checking boxes on a list.

"Ah, yes," said Gabriel, "we will generally try not to remove any 'pawns from the board.'"

"Speaking of which, here is a little more information on the pawns in question."

The glass on the table displays pictures and brief descriptions of the students:

- Andy Jimenez, Male, Physics, 3rd year student, no previous arrests.
- Sophia Kush, Female, Fine Arts, 2nd year, born and raised in Ogden, no previous arrests.
- Alex Dancy, Male, English, 3rd year, no previous arrests.
- Olivia Giroux, Female, Nursing, 1st year, no previous arrests.

"In the original timeline, there wasn't a lot written about them. In the revised timeline, I can tell you what Andy Jimenez ate for breakfast as a child," says Gabriel.

A DC 20 Culture check would tell you the following, but so would Gabriel: In the revised timeline that you inhabit, numerous detailed psychological profiles have been published on each of them. None of them can explain their anomalous behavior. Most attribute it to drug use but provide no evidence other than "it was the sixties." The Ogden Four initially maintained that they had been brainwashed, but refused to elaborate later and ceased communicating with anyone other than their lawyers and each other. All of this happens after Nixon is dead of course.

”For clothes, thanks for getting that together. You know more about the style of the era than I do. What about weapons? I think we should bring pistols and knives.”

He tags words on the timeline to think about later. ”How big is Ogden? Is it a place where many people can be anonymous? What do we know of these assassins? Besides there being four that we know of. Yeah, knowing their motivations will help us stop them.”

Pistols and knives can be provided.

Gabriel responds to Kit's question about the size of Ogden: "Ogden in 1968 had a population of 76,000 people. Ogden College, at 1700 students, 600 of them living on campus, is significantly smaller and, during the school year, is its own little community. The college community sees new people entering it every Fall, but people do get to know each other over time."

Scera looked to Rawlings as he asked about how she would hide her antennae and said, "No offense taken, it's a valid question." She looked to Gabriel and said, "Would you mind showing them the outfits and how they will conceal my less than human features?"

As the AI spoke andshowed the hats and such that would be used his last image of a short one piece dress and her antennae showing caught Scera offguard. It wasn't a bad outfit, in fact she rather liked it, and the fact she could display her antennae made her quite happy. She looked at Gabriel and asked, "Is it possible to pass the antennae off as a fashion statement or possible issue like the occassional human with a tail that I've heard of? It is far more comfortable not to hide them if I can."

As the discussion turned to their targets Scera listened to the information on them. She considered intently and then asked, "What kind of information do we have on their personal lives from the revised timeline? What kinds of things they were interested in before the assassination would be helpful." She looked at the group and said, "Among other things I am very good when working with people's minds. If I can get close to them I can try and get inside their heads and figure out what is happening. If we get really lucky I can find out who is behidn this and we can stop them directly."

"What kind of information do we have on their personal lives from the revised timeline? What kinds of things they were interested in before the assassination would be helpful." She looked at the group and said, "Among other things I am very good when working with people's minds. If I can get close to them I can try and get inside their heads and figure out what is happening. If we get really lucky I can find out who is behind this and we can stop them directly."

"A number of psychological profiles have been written," says Gabriel, "but none managed to explain their motivation sufficiently."

"There was a meeting of students interested in forming a chapter of Students for a Democratic Society at Ogden, but only Andy Jimenez attended. He's often been cast as the ringleader. After the arrest, he was the one who made the claims about mind control and insisted that they 'must have been drugged.' The Ogden Four ceased talking to the press shortly later."

"Sophia Kush," says Gabriel, his face disappearing and being replaced by paintings of colorful squares, "was a talented artist. Much has been made of her sudden switch of artistic styles. Her previous art--as seen here from her entry in the 1st year Ogden Arts Exhibition--were unimaginative rehashings of Piet Mondrian. The 23 paintings she produced in the summer and early fall of 1968 were fantastic but in a realistic style, and post-apocalyptic in theme." Gabriel flashes through a number of hurried paintings of cities flooded. Half-human, half-animal creatures lurk around bleak urban landscapes.

"In the original timeline, Alex Dancy volunteered for the army in 1969. He did not return from the Vietnam war. His obituary read, 'He chose to fight so others could choose to live.' The obituary mentioned Olivia Giroux as his 'fiancee'. In the Revised Timeline much of the biographies claim the four of them were activists."

"Olivia Giroux's father was a French-Canadian socialist poet, but not a very good one. In the Revised Timeline his work was taken much more seriously, but was no better. Very little is known about her in either timeline. She seems to have lived quietly in one and died silently in the other. In the original timeline, she quit nursing after 5 years and became a herbalist."

"The press reports described them as 'ringleaders Ogden's radical movement.' When the campus radicals believably denied knowing them, the press described them as 'a splinter group of the campus radicals at Ogden College.' Ogden was not a hotbed of student activism in either timeline, with the professoriate tending to be more vocal than the students."