GM: Sam Tillis
Players: Adrienne Mueller, Dylan Arena, James Lawton, Sean Nittner, Sarah Terman, Matthew Fisher
System: Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition
Stop that ritual!
The investigators gathered and shared our recent accounts and work to stop Omar Al-Shakti from killing our friends the Ulema and restoring the Queen Nitocris to life!
- There are gates we believe connect many locations and the central hub connected to the stele behind the Sphynx. Inside the gates lived the Children of the Sphynx, monstrous half human, half animal creatures. Probably the ones that Warren Besart saw on the Carlyle Expedition.
- Colby returned the stolen scrolls to the temple of Bastet and met Neris, one of her disciples. Neris gave him a cat figurine that he uncharacteristically worn around his neck.
- We convinced Johanna Spect to assault Omar’s compound. She took some of the armed forces from the Clive expedition but the attack failed. Catherine saw visions of the fake emerald necklace cast onto the ground, but Spect’s fate is unknown.
- On the stele we found 12 symbols that we believe are 12 moons, 12 faces of the gods. Possibly 12 cults. Twelve very bad things.
- We learned how to open the gates, reciting the passphrase “Mighty is the god whose breath brings death and whose form means madness.”
Plans within plans
There were so many possible ways to thwart Omar and so many defenses he had against them. His compound and the sphynx were all so well guarded that anything we did would require incredible subterfuge or incredible force. We settled on
- Convincing Martin to scare off the guards
- Setting dynamite on the stele and destroying it, hopefully keeping enough spare explosives to destroy another gate if needed (we failed at that).
Intro
The sun marches toward the horizon. Less than 18,000 heartbeats remain. We stood inside the excavated tomb in Memphis with an open gate shimmering in front of us.
On the other side we saw a cavern that looked like the vision Catherine had where Omar performed the ritual. Frigid air came from the portal but we heard no sounds. We could see a dim purple light and the entrance of a tunnel that led to parts unknown.
Unexpected Exits and Entrances
Catherine, as is her way, exampled the gate and gingerly tried to pass her hand through it. The moment she touch the surface however, she was transported to the other side. A nauseating wave struck her and it would not pass. The nether realm was fundamentally different from our world in ways that she could not reconcile, like walking through cobwebs that weren’t there [-1 Sanity].
There was a sigil on the other side matching the symbols we found at the entrance. Also, the sounds of dripping water, echoing down a cavern. While we could communicate across the gate, two things made it difficult. Sound did not pass between the barrier and everything seemed too fast from the inside (and too slow from the outside). After some experimentation we determined time passed roughly 4.5 times slower in the nether realm than it did in our world. Very wrong.
As we were having these hobbled communications, the investigators were surprised by sudden appearance of James Gardner, Clive’s loyal assistant. The one who believed there were tunnels between the pyramids. Tunnels we had just discovered! James, seeing the portal open, was unable to comprehend. Colby used White Holes as a frame of reference and that seemed to appease him somewhat, but what was seen could not be unseen. Like it or not, Gardener was aware that our world is not as it seems.
James did share with us that Martin is furious that Johanna took off with half of his forces. He may be difficult to work with from here out.
As we left the pyramid we felt a strange absence of wind…a sign of the upcoming storm.
Martin, Enraged
At the camp in Memphis we found Martin, understandably enraged, that Johanna Spect made off with half of his forces to assault Omar’s compound. Though we didn’t take credit for this, we did convince him (mostly) that we’d need a new approach. Instead of confronting Omar during the ritual, we’d have got to the ritual site early and plant a trap for him. If Martin could scare away or capture the police guards that worked for Al-Shakti, we could plant the trap. [Hard success on a charm roll, that I would later wish was an extreme success instead!]
Evangeline, Iris, and Amos snuck off to the temple ruins beside the Sphynx, while Francois, Colby, and Catherine went with Martin and his soldiers on jeeps to the Sphynx. When we arrived, instead of commanding his men to threaten or intimidate the police he just told them to open fire [this was the difference between a hard success and an extreme success on the charm roll]. A bloody firefight ensued and we did all that we could to not be a part of it. Colby and Catherine detached from the group and snuck towards to the location of the stele. Francois held back further to watch Martin and monitor the fight. From the ruins, Evangeline and Amos took shots anyone who got to close to cover us.
As the assault continued the early advantage of surprise that Martin’s soldiers had diminished and all sides began to fortify their positions, hunkering down behind cover and (for the police at least) calling in reinforcements. Rather than a swift blitz the fight became a prolonged skirmish. A few things became apparent during the fight:
- We saw a caravan of luxury vehicles approaching…and then changing their route. Damn it, Omar was going to enter the nether realms from another gate. Almost certainly the Pyramid of Menkuare that we had just left!
- Martin’s forces were unlikely to overwhelm the police guards. This would be a long and brutal battle. Martin was a poor leader and when he disappeared Colby had to step up to give the soldiers direction.
- A hot wind from the south arrived and with it the beginning of sandstorm. While we could still operate, our vision was obfuscated.
- In the sands Francois saw strange writing bestial figures, the Children of the Sphynx, the same creatures that Warren Bessart must have seen five years ago when the ritual was performed by the Carlyle expedition. He ran.
- Colby and Catharine realized that even with all the dynamite they had (including the two extra sticks Catherine “collected” form Martin’s camp) it might still not be enough to destroy the stele.
Below of some depictions of the battle.
- Blue beads – Martin’s soldiers
- Red beads – Omar’s guards
- Red poker chips – Children of the Sphynx
Everything, all at once
When Martin detached himself form the fighting it was to see what we were up to. He found Catherine and Colby working on the stele, but more significantly, he saw the symbols that would open the gate. An otherworldly obsession consumed him and without thought of his own safety, he spoke the incantation to open gate and ran into the dark. From outside our companions with long arms fired shots and tried to stop him but firing through a gate into another realm where time travels at a different rate require some mythos-imbued sniper skills that none of us possessed. Martin was clipped in the should, but it was not enough to stop him.
Francois, who had been firing on Martin chased him right to the edge of the gate…and then into it! He was not only perusing Martin, he was fleeing from the Children of the Sphynx that (unbeknownst to everyone but Francois) were about to descend on us. Had we a moment to discuss there were many avenues we could have taken, but once Francois crossed the threshold it was clear what we had to do.
Catherine lit the fuse, we all ran through the gate, and the stele exploded behind us. Trapping us inside the very realm we were trying to prevent Omar from entering. So far, cultists-1, investigators-0.
The Rivers Between
The place we entered was, as anticipated, a massive thoroughfare that connected many branching caverns (likely all going to different gates) to a singular long and massive passage. In the place sounded was deadened and none of us seemed complete real.
Amos recognized (from his experience there) that this place was somewhere between our world and Dreaming. He also noticed that of all of us and all our belongings, only the Sword of Dreaming seem real and completely substantive here.
On the ground we saw signs of infrequent traffic, both boot prints and those of clawed feet. The walls depicted loathsome images. People with bestial heads practicing horrific acts.
The symbols on the walls, similar to those we had seen to open the passage showed an uncanny likeness to hieroglyphs. These were perhaps the pictographic language they came from!
There was a small trail of Martin’s blood that lead us to a dark corridor where it suddenly stopped. Only by divining the graduation of the shadows did we realize there was a creature lurking down one of the passages, ready to pounce when we passed (very likely just as it had done to Martin).
Prepared for the ambush we lured the monster out and Francois fired, landing a perfect shot that fell the monster. Though muffled the shot still reverberated and could hear the sounds of more creatures, more of the Children of the Sphynx descending upon us.
With some quick thinking and a bit of physics help from Catherine to plot the trajectory and angles, Amos hammered his blade on the stone in just such a fashion that it created an echoing effect that threw the Children off our trail…at least for a time. We made all haste to proceed forward!
Entry Chambers
The path led us down a massive stairwell into a giant room filled with an oppressive silence. Massive pillars ascended to ceiling that none of our light sources could reach. We dared not imagine the giants that must have inhabited this space.
We passed stairs that descended into a ruby mist, likely into yet another realm entirely.
We came upon massive pool that was at least 75′ wide, with an 8′ drop down to the water. Small creatures (fish, something else?) moves around inside it. Steps inside led down to a small raft with oars and there was an island in the middle.
Altar Room
Despite our fascination, we continued forward rather than investigating these curiosities. We had little time to stop Omar and perhaps even less before the Children were upon us.
The next room featured a giant alter with a sarcophagus in the center. With all our might we pushed the lid to slide it open an within we found the mummified remains of….Queen Nitocris! On her head was a diamond circlet. We got to work making sure this queen would never be reborn.
- Colby took the circlet
- Amos, using the sword of dreams and powering it with his own life force decapitated the corpse (which was harder that you’d think it would be).
- Rather ungracefully, but at least successfully we took the body and head with us, and proceeded forward!
Throne of Sweating Stone
Beyond we entered a massive room featuring the legendary Jeweled Throne of Darkness. Though the throne itself was raised up high and massive (30′ tall at least), the seat was clearly intended for two human (sized) figures.
Once again we suppressed our eagerness to investigate and moved forward to giant bridge which ended in another stele. Afraid of being caught in the middle when Omar arrived we made haste across the bridge. From the configurating of symbols on the stele, it looks like it was a gate that would also open to the Sphynx. Though tempting, we did not want to leave behind evidence (or a quick means of following us) by leaving and open gate behind us, so we pressed on.
Escape
Past the stele were many more small caverns like the ones we found when we first entered…and…like the one Cathine found earlier in the day when she crossed over from Menakaure. We we heard Omar and his entourage approaching we hid down one passage (and didn’t pass though the gate there, despite the possibility that it led to somewhere in Cairo) and let them pass, arguing in Arabic the whole way.
When we exited there was
- A sandstorm raging
- Nobody (that we could see at least) in the Clive camp
- Three cars, each with drivers and guards
- Some hard to make out sand beast (another Child of the Sphynx?) circling the pyramid.
We waited for the patrolling beast to past and then scrambled down the pyramid, crouched behind the low wall and made our way to Jimmy with a swift “Punch it!”
On the drive back to Cairo we heard from Jimmy that the police were after the “Slater Expedition” (oh yeah, getting Clive out of this mess meant we were even more firmly in it!)
Despite this we encouraged Jimmy to make all haste to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun.
Third time is the charm
At the mosque, Catherine (armed with the Sword of Dreaming) tried once again to convince Ahmed to let her try to save the Ulema. It turns out that they priests were not above some duplicity of their ow and they created a fake girdle that they would protect from the attack.
Catherine, though not an intimidating figure, realized that Ahmed simply did not believe her plan would work so she thrust the girdle in his hand and said “Take this and run or I’ll cut you down right here!” Honestly, he knew Catherine was lying, but he did believe she would fight for him. He opened the door to the Ulema and took the girdle to keep it safe.
The other found a oil drum fire in the street, filled it with every accelerant they could find, and put the mummified corpse of Queen Nitocris in the barrel to burn…which it did very, very slowly, as though some magics were still protecting it. As the were working in the alley they heard a shot!
The ran back to the temple steps and found Ahmed slumped over bleeding. Footfalls echoed down the alley and Colby made chase after Johanna! As Colby ran, Iris, Evangeline, Francois, and Amos all opened fire on the fleeing figure of Johanna. Though their bullets struck true, a similar distortion magic to the one we saw when we fired on Gavigan protected her, at least mostly. The final shot ended her life and when Colby tackled her, he found the Sapphire Girdle and the Emerald Necklace (far more ornate than the fake Evangeline created) on her person. We now had all three of the gems of Queen Nitocris.
Below, inside the Mosque, Catherine made another plea to the Ulema to run, but it was too late. The gate opened and the horrific black winded monster from Catherine’s vision reach it’s tentacles through the portal to take the (false) girdle and murder all the (real) people inside. We rushed for the warded doorway but it Catherine was caught in it’s powerful grip. She felts herself being crushed to death but far more terrifying she saw in this monster the oblivion that she was being pulled into. Catherine poured her soul into the blade and drove it into the tentacle that held her. Piercing it’s defenses (as the blade does), the horror recoiled and flung Catherine against the wall. Satisfied that it had obtained the girdle the horror retreated back through the gate as Catherine and the Ulema dashed through the warded doorway to safety! [Catherine lost 10 sanity in the fight and could not shake the fear that the winged horror was still coming for her and would envelop her in darkness].
Stopping Omar
Knowing Omar plans for the night were thwarted we believed he would only keep trying to complete his goal of raising the queen. We had to stop him, and we had to do it now while he was weakened.
We rented vehicles and together with the Ulema drove back the the pyramid just in time to see Omar and the winged horror come out of it! Catherine recoiled in fear as the beast started coming out way. Our our instruction, Jimmy put the pedal to the medal and fled back to Cairo with Catherine (and the girdle), Francois, and Iris in the car. Even in the horrible sandstorm the beast seemed to know our location perfectly. All we could hope was to drive fast enough and keep out of it’s grip long enough that Colby, Amos, Evangeline and the Ulema could stop Omar.
Of course Omar still had resource of his own!
Firefight
Colby, Amos, and Evangeline took shots at the cars trying to disable the drivers and find which one contained Omar. The plan worked well, but not perfectly. Though Omar’s driver was killed, another car stopped to pick him up. Meanwhile the drivers and guard were returning fire.
Also, the not-cat servitor did what we all hope it would not. It stood on it’s hind legs and grew to monstrous proportions. Amazingly however, as Colby charged towards Omar he felt the cat figuring of Bastet grow warm against his skin and the servitor recoiled in fear at his presence.
Amos handed the Sword of Dreaming to Nessim who cut down the servitor in one blow, leaving only a mummified cat behind.
Colby tackled Omar and drove his blade into the sorcerer, finally killing him. However, when he rolled onto his back, one of the cars drove by and the driver opened fire point blank at Colby Slater…who should have died in that moment…but at the last minute he donned the diamond circlet and the bullet that should have killed him merely severely wounded him [He took 19 damage, but 8 was absorbed by the circlet. Colby has 12 hit points!].
Flight from the Winged Horror
As Jimmy drove faster and faster against the horrific sandstorm, the winged horror only seemed to get closer. Catherine remembered what the the Yith did in such dangerous times, where their only choice was to flee or be exterminated…the fled to a place outside of time. With the yith artifact and sapphire girdle in hand, the scariest thing she had ever seen bearing down fast upon them, she reasoned it might be possible for her to do the same. She grabbed hold of the artifact, turned it towards herself, and activated the device.
A split second before it fired, however, Iris saw what was happening and knocked it from her hand, horribly electrocuting herself and showing Iris hundreds of futures in the split seconds she was in contact with it.
And just as the horror had its tentacles wrapped on the hood of the car and ready to devour us, it’s master died, it’s mission ended, and the horror flew back into the darkness above, hopefully to whatever realm it came from.
It is an understatement to say that Iris was very made at Catherine.
Why should I ever put this down?
After the fight Colby began to hear the voice of his mother, beckoning him to help her. Meanwhile Amos and Evangeline made very compelling arguments to take the circlet off (especially since they had seen this behavior before) since he was no longer in immediate danger. Colby wasn’t sure if the circlet was still the only force keeping him alive, and since it had protected him, he made strong arguments as well to keep it on.
Thankfully after some persistence from his friends, Colby relented, removed the circlet, and the compelling voice of not-his-mother ceased. Man that queen is persistent!
Aftermath
Amos tried again to return the Sword of Dreaming, but they once again said that we would need it more and even though they had more skill using it, we understood it well enough to “point that end at the bad guys.”.
Catherine, Colby, and Iris all checked into the Ibn Tulun hospital and were tended to without question (Colby’s near fatal gunshot wound was perhaps the most banal of our injuries). Evangeline told the doctors that she was wiling to pay for anything that could be done to help help them recover faster and the doctor tried not to look offended at the notion that bribing him would somehow improve his healing skills.
From her hospital bed, Catherine reached out to Evangeline and made two rather substantial requests. Would it be possible to recover Reggie’s emerald (presumably still discarded at the estate of Omar Al-Shakti) and would she try to purchase the Mosque at Ibn Tulun and return it to the Ulema? Two big asks, but both very important to her. After that she tried to get up but Evangeline held her in place “Reggie would want you to rest.” Catherine relented and made one more request, that an inquiry be sent to Dr. Kalfour to find if he had any success in his search for the Library of Pnakotus.
Remembering Reggie
That night Amos and Evangeline sat by the fire at the Shephard’s Hotel. He told her how Reggie died in circumstances that were just as dire as the ones we just experienced. During his life she did not believe in him, but in death she was very proud of the man her son had become. When told that she should also be proud of herself Evangeline responded as though that was the most obvious thing one could imagine “Oh yes, of course.”
Gardener’s Future
James Gardener and Amos had a discussion of what to do next. He probably would have talked to Colby about this, but the archeologist was having a bullet removed from him in the hospital. Gardener could no un-see what he had seen or un-know we what he learned. He was also grossly unprepared to confront the whole of the mythos or the cult of the Black Pharaoh. The men agreed that Gardener would stay and study with Dr. Kalfour and pass along what he learned to us.
Uneasy Sleep
Night passed slowly for all of us. The mummy of Queen Nitocris finally did burn (it took all night) and with it the power imbued in the gems. The Ulema destroyed the girdle (a feat they had tried and failed to complete many times before) and we kept the remaining very valuable, but no longer magically potent, jewels.
As the sun rose the winds reverted back to normal and we found the queens body melted to slag.
Amos and Ahmed
Amos first confirmed that the scepters Omar wielded were destroyed. Phew.
Ahmed also told Amos that he had been wrong before regarding the threat of the Carlyle expedition. There are more powerful wards than the elder signs, and in their ritual the Carlyle expedition broke one of them, which might be impossible to repair.
Amos, ever curious asked how we could learn more about these “greater” wards…
The Queen’s Jewels
Francois spoke with Catherine about her attempt to tuck the jewelry out of time and wondered if they would be safe with the Yith. She was not sure, but they agreed that it they were to try it again, she would point the device firmly at the object all on it’s own (and not while she was wearing it)!
He inspected the necklace and circlet and it seemed that the power was drained from them. Maybe they could be recharged, but for now they are defanged.
Reassurances
Amos visited Catherine after she was discharged from the hospital and thanked her for her bravery defending the Ulema. He told her that her actions had rekindled his own faith, and in doing so helped Catherine find a bit of her old purpose which had been replaced by fear and doubt [Mechanically, though it’s over the course of several conversations, this psychoanalysis restored 3 sanity]
The Devil You Know
Evangeline met with Felix Falzone, the Maltese financier and asked for several things:
- The deed to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, it had been a bad investment anyway.
- The emerald necklace found at Omar Al-Shakti’s compound (which Felix corrected was now his compound), which had been thoughtlessly discarded.
- To have Colby Slater’s name kept out of the papers.
Felix was willing to help, but at a cost. He wanted Morseley money. He wanted a lot of money, with the promise to turn it into more. [Mechanically he asked for 30 points of Credit Rating, which Evangeline haggled down to 25]
Hakim in good health
Hakim visited us every day to run errands (and collect tips) as needed. [I have notes that Colby told him something, but not what it was.]
Lost Library of Pnakotus
Work from Dr. Kalfour made it’s way to Catherine about the timeless city of Pnakotus. Some claim to visit the city in out of body experiences. Travelers (we imagine line the fellow George we met in London) shared this information in Egypt. Such a vision included cone like invertebrate inhabitants who fled from cist-like creatures that flew from the sky. The ruins of the temple are thought to be in modern day Australia.
Dr. Kalfour also included a personal note of caution to Catherine. “Beware of meddling in time’s flow. She has protections. Your friends (the Yith) might have ways of around those protections, but you haven’t developed them.”
Returning the Manuscripts
Colby gave the partially translated Black Rites of Bastet to Dr. Kalfour who thanked him and told him “It takes every sort of mind to win this fight.” Seemingly encouraging Colby to hold on to his suspicions of the supernatural and his scientific approach.
Colby remembered what had been shared with him in the temple. “Not all gods want the words for this world” – Neris, on behalf of Bastet.
Rest and recouperation
A week passed and many of us recovered from our wounds, Iris, however would retain permanent scaring on her arm neck and face from the electrocution burns she suffered. At a distance they appeared just to be burns, but up close it was clear they were recurring fractals curling up her face.
Sending Gardener to work
We sent Carver to do more investigation of the Bent Pyramid and to see if he could find anything that would help us repair the broken seal. Colby cautioned “Don’t go during the new moon!” Gardner agreed to help but asked that we help Dr. Clive as well.
One more favor Mr. Falzone
Evangeline returned to Felix’s office with the request that he do her one more favor: to exonerate Dr. Clive and Agatha Broadmoor
“You want me to protect these people who are obviously guilty of the crimes they are charged with?”
“Yes.”
“Done!”
Preparing for our next journey
Colby, affected by the voices he heard while wearing the circlet, wrote letters to his parents to reconnect with them. [restoring 5 sanity]
Amos and Catherine practiced sword fighting with the Ulema.
Evangeline worked on slowing the transfer of funds so that she would still be fulfilling her contractual obligation to Falzone but holding on to more of her funds for now [only 15 CR lost]
Francois, learning of the boon that Bastet provided us, went in search of more allies. He spent time by the Nile trying to learn a spell to “Contact the Lord of Waters” The waters lapped against the shore as he learned the spell. Francois somehow knew that his relationship with water hasn’t changed yet, but if he cast the spell, it will be!
What Rocked
Holy hell, we did it! We were all so amazed that we survived our encounters with Omar Al-Shakti, the cat servitor demon, the winged horror, the armed guards, the Children of the Sphinx, the sandstorm, Martin Winfield’s rampage, the firefight, the nether realms, and Johanna Spect! Not only that but we saved the Nessim, Ahmed, and the rest of the Ulema in the process.
There were so many close calls this session, times when the dice or trusting in a mysterious gem at the last moment, or infusing a sword with magical power, just barely saved us. So many amazing moments of bravery and fortune. It was a delight!
The discoveries were also phenomenal. Aid from Bastet, the Lord of Waters, the Library of Pnakotus, the great wards, the realms between here and dreaming. So much to learn (and so little mental fortitude to contain it in).
Such a good session!
What could have improved
I find it difficult to play characters who are “insane” without just being obnoxious, or worse, offensive. It’s fine if they have little ticks (Catherine being unsettled by time pieces for instance) or if it’s single fight or flight response, but prolonged bouts of insanity are both difficult to maintain and feel disrespectful to people who suffer with actual mental health issues.
So far we’ve managed to kept most of our long term trauma in the form of phobias, which feels like it’s more feasible to manage (Amos’ fear of fire after experiencing all the burning from his vision, Iris’s fear of open water, etc). When I played Catherine after the attack from the horror I think she was more cogent than she should have been (albeit the attempt to knock herself out of time was certainly not well thought out) and I’d like to make sure the experience leaves the appropriate mark on her psyche without attempting to roleplay disabilities I’m not familiar with. I’m going to take a look at the Fate Disability Toolkit for some ideas. My current thought is that claustrophobia seems like a reasonable take away from the experience and something I could play out respectfully.
Book of the Month
“She would not say of any one in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on. She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day.”
– Mrs. Dalloway by Virginal Woolf.
Dr. Slater’s notes while convalescing
[In a halting and unsteady script, as if from trauma leading to an altered motion]
When I remarked to Gardner that simple people use mythology to explain the unknown, Catherine replied that all people do that.
Of course that’s not true: Rational people use science rather than stories. But I’m here recuperating instead of underground like Reggie because of a cat pendant and a mummy’s crown.
So what about stories, and simple people? What are our theories and models except stories about how the world works? Ptolemy had a story, but Copernicus told a better one. Newton gave us a wonderful story, but Einstein’s sequel enriched our understanding.
There must of course be scientific truth behind or beneath these stories that Amos and the others are learning, as with the “white holes” we traversed at Giza. But shall we chew tree bark as the ancients advised, with no understanding of the mechanisms of aspirin or quinine? Why then not also attach leeches to cure anger, or knock wood to appease nature spirits?
Efficacy, I suppose. So I shall chew the bark: I shall wear the pendant and treat fairly with cats as long as doing so seems to yield benefit. The crown no longer has any psychoactive effect, and repeated tests with a needle I procured from my nurse confirm no further apparent protective benefit either, so I shall set it aside.
Now, as to form: In Peru, New York, England, and here in Egypt, we have encountered (and killed) creatures that metamorphosed, if not more completely than a butterfly, then more readily and reversibly. Autopsy has not revealed any mechanisms or causal agents, but surely our zoology is woefully incomplete.
Question: Is such metamorphosis always linked with violence? No. Neris, whom I believe to be capable of such transformation although I did not witness it directly, made no attempt at violence (and may perhaps be said to have saved my life with this pendant, which somehow cowed Shakti’s creature–another metamorphoser).
Question: How does metamorphosis relate to white holes, or to the psychoactive effects of certain artifacts (murals, statues, books, paintings, crowns, etc.)? Are these simply distinct phenomena linked by stories whose tellers cannot yet discern the disparate causes? Or is perhaps the psychoactive property the key to all? That’s the most parsimonious explanation prima facie, but no: I think the many empirical consequences (deaths, deaths avoided, destruction, accurate predictions, etc.) rule out shared hysteria. (Too bad!)
I hope that Gardner has the fortitude to wade in with me, to brave the wild and woolly and carefully trace the curves of what’s really happening here. Tomorrow’s scientists may one day herald our work as we do that of the giants on whose shoulders we stand.
