Thirteen Wheel Broken Santuary

Paul Linton (order #4667478)

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook


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Credits

TABLE OF CONTENT

LEGAL STUFF :

Bibliography

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STRUCTURE OF THE THIR- THE NOTION TEENTH WHEEL Origins and philosophy 33

MECHANICAL DREAM CREATORS

INTRODUCTION

Paqzu&Francis

Player characters Playing the Campaign Optional rules for simplified combat Setting the Mood Right

4 6 7

The Thirteen Groups Project Azure Project Cassandra Project Brazier The Imperialist Republic League The Red Front The Omnium of Unity The Cartel The Notion The Twin Voices The Confederacy The Consortium The People's Assembly of War for Naakinis The Four

34 34 35 35

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CONSPIRACY GROUPS

41

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PROJECT AZURE

22 24 26 28

Overview Organization Resources Task Forces Notable individuals

41 41 42 43 43 44

WRITING

Erick N. NBouchard EDITING

Luke Walker, Erick N. Bouchard ART WORK: Yann Leroux, Donald Caron, Jean-Francois Ferland et Emmanuelle Hunter THIRTEENTH WHEELS COVER: DESIGNED&CREATED

Tommy Asselin

CAMPAIGN SYNOPSIS THE VEILED TRIBUNAL I.E.S. Structure Missions

8 9 10 12 13 15

LOGO : EMMANUELLE HUNTER BOOK LAYOUT, DESIGN AND TYPESETTING

Francis Larose

PROFESSION: COUNTER-ESPIONAGE AGENT 16

36 36 37 37 38 38 39 39 40 40

PRODUCED AND PUBLISHED BY STEAMLOGIC EDITIONS INC 645 WELLINGTON#404 MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC H3C 1T2 STEAMLOGIC CAN BE REACHED THROUGH THE INTERNET @ WWW.STEAMLOGIC.COM [email protected]

Aliah Cashtin Tarejin of the Lotred tribe Oriam of the Adekis tribe Jamir Asianor Sharek Tronc

PRODUCT #: SLG-B002 THIRTEENTH WHEELS : BROKEN SANCTUARY

THE THIRTEENTH WHEEL

THE CARTEL

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DÉPÔT LÉGAUX : JUILLET 2003 BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONNAL DU QUÉBEC NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA ISBN : 0-9730153-6-5 ALPHA PRINT: IMPRIMÉ AU CANADA


HISTORY OF THE CONSPIRACY

30 The Solek Invasion 30 The Thirteenth Squadron 31 The Rebel Machination 32

45 Origins and philosophy 45 Structure 46 Personnel 46 Resources 47 Relations with the Thirteenth Wheel 48 Notable people 49

Structure Personnel Resources Relations with the Thirteenth Wheel Notable people

THE OMNIUM OF UNITY Origins and philosophy Structure Personnel The Library Resources Relations with the Thirteenth Wheel Notable people

50 50 51 54 54 55 56

58 58 59 60 61 61 62 62

BROKEN SANCTUARY

64

SYNOPSIS

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SECRETS OF BASE 4891 65 Origins The Cartel and the Spectral Alliance Project Azure The Accident The Changed

65 66 66 68 69

PROLOGUE: MEETING PROCURER EMETH

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© 2002, SteamLogic Editions Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permis sion of the publish ers is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for per sonnal use only. SteamLogic and Mechanical Dream are registered trademarks of SteamLogic Editions inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places, and text herein are copyrighted by SteamLogic Editions Inc. The mention of or reference to any company or product is not a challenge to the trademard or copyrigths concerned. Any (s) Similarities to character, situations, institutions, corporations, etc, (without satirical intent) are coinci dental.

FIRST THE WASTELANDS Station 1789 and the Iron Jaw Inn Trekking the Wilderness Encounters The Monks and the Shrine The Gota and the Speakersayer The Gota's Visions The First Vision The Second Vision The Third Vision

SECOND ACT: THE FRONTIER TOWN Overview of Morduch The Nutcase Inn B.E.S. Morduch's Grisly Secret Perfidy exposed The Murder The Hidden Truth Events get into motion Meeting the Auditor Jurisdiction People of importance The Investigation's Culmination

ACT: HIRD ACT: BASE 4891 72 72 74 75

98 The Citadel's Perimeter 98 The Outer Base 101 Zin, Mad 108 The Inner Base 109 The Finale 121

77 79 80 80 81 81

82 82 84 85 86 86 87 88 90 91 93 97

DEBRIEFING

125

LOOSE ENDS

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APPENDIX ONE: CHARACTER PORTFOLIO Cartel operatives Odwoane hunters of Morduch Villagers of Morduch

CHARACTER INDEX Aria of the Kierc tribe Cemetery Keeper, The Hesperid Loth (agent Sloane) Maroa, Polyn Pallid Wanderer, The Palmach, Tov Seraphim, Avar Tremens Zin's Aran Beast, The

129 129 129 129 130 130 130 131 131 132 132 133 133 134 134

APPENDIX TWO: EXHIBITS AND GAME AIDS 134 Exhibit 1: Exhibit 2: Exhibit 3: Exhibit 4: Exhibit 5: Exhibit 6: Exhibit 7: Exhibit 8: Exhibit 9: Exhibit 9b: Exhibit 10: Exhibit 11: Exhibit 11b: Exhibit 12: Exhibit 13: Exhibit 14: Exhibit 14b: Exhibit 15: Exhibit 16: Exhibit 17: Exhibit 18: Exhibit 19: Exhibit 20:

134 135 135 135 136 136 137 139 140 140 141 141 141 141 109 141 142 142 143 143 143 143 144

PLAYERS' GLOSSARY

145

ABSOLUTE JUDGE'S GLOSSARY

146

INDEX

147

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Special thanks to: My beloved Isabelle for her strange dream that became the inspiration for Hesperid, the Sorrow Root and the Weeping Tree; Me Jean-Christian Drolet, for his feedback and for providing many ideas that inspired this story ; Francis Larose and Benjamin Paquette, for giving me this wonderful opportunity to contribute to the monument that is Mechanical Dream; Luke Walker, for liberally sharing his ideas and critics with me; and the Almighty, for everything. Decicated to my young brother-in-law, Olivier, who died of cancer on June 28 as this book was in its final stages. Ton souvenir restera éternellement avec nous.

Note about genders Considering the numbers of sexless races such as Frilins and Volkoïs, gender usually makes little difference in social roles on Kaïnas, except for Dream Shamans and Yaki midwives who are always female. As such, the masculine form is used by default but ‘he’ could very well be replaced by ‘she’ or ‘it’. The English language does not have a proper term for genderless creatures gifted with intelligence (such as Frilins and Volkoïs). The term ‘it’, though usually used for inanimate objects, will be hence used throughout this book to refer to neuter individuals. People offended by this flagrant breach of political correctness are invited to report to the nearest CSRM office for appropriate re-education. SPECIAL REFERENCE : To Autechre, for their musical influence and the mechanical inspiration dyed in the Dream that they have given us. To understand our state of mind during most of our Mechanical Dream game sessions, we invite you to discover Autechre Lp7, available at Warp Records.

In respect and reverence, I dedicate my page set-up to their music, that I consider "the classic" of our times. Francis SteamLogic


Table of Contents

The Thirteenth Wheel: Broken Sanctuary

TABLE OF CONTENT

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BIBLIOGRAPHY References within this book are abbreviated MD for the Core book of Mechanical Dream (MD/DS for the dream side, MD/MS for the mechanical side), BS for the Boxed Set (E for Engrenages ["Gears"], R for Rouages ["Clockworks"], PD for Pièces Détachées ["Spare Parts"]) and WB for the Wilderness Bestiary.

INTRODUCTION

Note: Biographic elements annotated [F] are in French. Steamlogic: Francis Larose & Benjamin Paquette’s Mechanical Dream, Mechanical Boxed Set: Coffret Mécanique and Wilderness Bestiary. Comics: Andreas’ Rork, vol. 1-6 [F], Capricorne, vol. 1-7 [F] and Cromwell Stone, vol.1-2. [F]; Enki Bilal’s Partie de chasse [F]; Alejandro Jodorowsky & Moebius’ The Incal, vol.1-6; John Wagner & Carlos Ezquerra’s Judge Dredd series.


Welcome, reader and fellow dreamer, to the first piece of a vast conspiratorial puzzle about to unfold in the Mechanical Dream universe. The book you are holding, Broken Sanctuary, is part sourcebook, part adventure and can be played either independently by itself or as the first chapter of a trilogy forming the Thirteenth Wheel campaign. As a sourcebook, it presents the origins, projects, secrets and members of a subversive and powerful secret society whose web of influence extends well beyond the Core’s domain. As a campaign, it contains a complete adventure along with various exhibits (“props”) to be handed to players. If you play the part of the Absolute Judge (AJ), you are about to discover the menace pending over Kaïnas through the accidental discovery of an archaic object and the twisted net of politics woven around it. Players, stop reading here or suffer the wrath of Naakinis! This book is intended for the AJ’s eyes only, so unless you intend to narrate this campaign from the storyteller’s perspective, you should put this book aside.

Broken Sanctuary was written to stand on its own as a complete adventure but takes its complete dimension when the players realize the meaning of the strange and deceitful elements found along the way: clues, testimonies and artifacts that tie the three chapters together. The conspiracy hiding within these pages features no less than 13 groups along with its opponents and unaffiliated individuals. A global portrait of the coalition’s origins, goals and members is portrayed within this book, including the detailed description of the conspiracy’s three grand projects as well as the three groups featured in the first adventure: the Cartel, that represents the darker side of the Inaïs race; the Omnium, a strange coalition of Frilins seeking psychological unity through the construction of a mental Library; the Notion, a discreet spiritual movement of Emovans obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge on the worlds of Dream and Aran. Also featured is the Veiled Tribunal, an independent counter-espionage organization acting as the player characters’ employer for this campaign.

The Thirteenth Wheel campaign only demands knowledge from the Core Book of Mechanical Dream (Chapter One: The Core’s Crusade, abbreviated MD/MS for the mechanical side and MD/DS for the dream side), but refers on occasion to other books of the game line such as the Wilderness Bestiary (WB) and the Boxed Set (BS). Although these books can enhance your understanding of the world of Kaïnas and the game’s rules, the campaign can be played without them as relevant game mechanisms have been provided when and where necessary. For Echo powers and gifts, the AJ only needs to substitute Nightmares for Specters and Awakeners for Engineers, should the need for more specific game mechanisms arise.


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Fiction: Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451; Arkon Daraul’s Les sociétés secrètes [F]; Philip Dick’s Ubik and Minority Report; Frank Herbert’s Dune series; Howard P. Lovecraft’s Shadows over Innsmouth; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World; George Orwell’s 1984; Edgar A. Poe’s The facts in the case of M. Valdemar; Jules Verne’s 20 000 leagues under the sea. Movies: Brazil, Dark city, Demolition Man, Hochelaga [F], Nightmare Before Christmas, Total Recall, Twelve Monkeys.

Other: F. Agonstini & N.A. de Carlo’s Les jeux de l’intelligence [F]; Henry Dudeney’s The Canterbury puzzles and other curious problems; Jay Galbraith’s Designing Organizations; Friedrich Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom.

Introduction


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook PLAYER CHARACTERS The common framework of a counter-espionage organization has been proposed for the Thirteenth Wheel chronicle in order to provide the players with a common goal and a believable purpose to work together as a group. In this regard, it is assumed by default that all player characters (hereafter named “operatives”) will be employed by the Veiled Tribunal, an independent agency funded by the CPRM and two of the Core’s most important corporations: the Orpee Anywhere S.E.S., the greatest and most powerful firm involved in the transportation of orpee, and the Secure Stock S.E.S., that controls monopolistically the stocking of this rare and indispensable resource. This flexible structure is easily adapted to any independent faction, group or mercenary association since the only requirement (aside for relevant professional abilities in intelligence gathering and field operations) is a basic degree of loyalty to the Core and its government. No terrorists, anarchists or egocentric “artsy” character types should be permitted for this adventure since such characters would go against the campaign’s central concept and lack the motivation to work with the group in opposing enemy spies and organizations. Broken Sanctuary was tailored for a group of beginning 1st Sphere Echoes, with a good balance of skills, powers and qualities between tactical combat, science and social abilities. Should the AJ decide not to have Echoes in his group but characters of a lesser power, whether Ecatims (Half-Echoes, featured in the Boxed Set) or mundane people, the level of opposition can easily be adjusted by reducing the number or attributes of the critters involved, and tuning down the powers of the adversaries by transforming Echoes into Ecatims and Ecatims into ordinary folk. The reverse could also be true for more experienced characters, although the campaign would loose balance against true powerhouses or “power gamers”: the mystery and danger would be much depreciated should the characters be capable to simply blast or hack their way against all opposition. Six player characters have been provided for your convenience, which can also be used as non-player characters (NPCs) for the Veiled Tribunal.

At least the two thirds of the group should be able to fend off for themselves in a fight, and intellectual abilities should also be represented. Echoes of the Walker and Guardian vocations will prove very useful for this first adventure, although all vocations could be valuable, especially in the later


chapters of the campaign where social, organization and investigation skills will be very solicited. A new character Job (Counter-Espionage Agent) has been provided here to provide a basic career path for characters or as a suggestion for skills that will be useful to this campaign.

PLAYING THE CAMPAIGN The campaign itself is divided in three separate but related adventures (or chapters), each comprising a number of scenes, characters and locations in relation with the Thirteenth Wheel’s plans. The campaign’s separate but linked adventures are located in quite different settings: the frightful wild lands of Kaïnas (Broken Sanctuary), an industrial construction site (Station 1917) and the Core’s great city of Oce (The Murmur of Oblivion). These adventures form a consistent whole that feeds the players on the Thirteenth Wheel’s mysteries as they gather and analyze the clues leading to the conspiracy’s culmination. Player characters take the part of operatives for the Veiled Tribunal, an independent counter-intelligence agency under the supervision of Prosecutor Resh 7, , a veteran War Engine. The Tribunal is financed jointly by the CPRM and the Orpee Anywhere S.E.S and Secure Stock S.E.S corporations for the purpose of investigating and opposing terrorist activity in the Core’s domain. Pushing their abilities to the very limits, the Tribunal’s operatives will face one of the Core’s most pernicious foes. Their choices and actions will prove decisive for Thirteenth Wheel’s goals and the lives of countless innocents. The first Act, Broken Sanctuary, pits the player characters against the consequences of a psychic experiment gone awry in Oce’s eastern quadrant. As they investigate an isolated Secure Stock S.E.S. base, they will discover the dreadful results of unethical research on an artifact known as “The Fragment” conducted upon living subjects by PROJECT AZURE. Traveling at the very limit of the Core’s domain, the operatives will confront hostile Kaïnas wildlife, the strange inhabitants of an isolated village, inimical Core bureaucrats, a demented Zïn, a mutated Awakener and Inaïs assassins led by a merciless Judicator.


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Introduction


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OPTIONAL RULES FOR SIMPLIFIED COMBAT When facing many opponents or adversaries of lesser importance, the AJ might wish to use a lighter version of Mechanical Dreamís combat rules for greater ease and speed of play. Simplified combat rules have the following modifications for NPCs:

1.

No dice are rolled for NPCs. For initiative (Combat sense), attack, dodge, and other rolls, use rounded-down dice averages for results, with a +1 bonus per die above the first (e.g. 4 for 1D8, 4 for 2D6, 8 for 5D4+2, 8 for 3(2)D6, etc.). These opponents never use special maneuvers.

Exploring the secrets and horrors of the abandoned base, the operatives will face its crazed guardian and the Thirteenth Wheel’s agents for the first time. The completion of OPERATION: BROKEN SANCTUARY will provide the Veiled Tribunal with a first glimpse of PROJECT AZURE’s cryptic data and the conspiracy’s plans to come. The second Act, Station 1917, calls the Tribunal’s agents to a major railway construction site where a series of terrorist attacks have killed hundreds of workers and severely damaged the station’s structures, preventing its compltion. The mysterious deaths of two agents sent to investigate the situation have convinced Prosecutor Emeth that secret infiltration would prove the best option to complete this criminal operation, as evidence suggests the presence of traitors or telepaths. Investigating clues and witnesses will lead the operatives to a grisly tail of murders and betrayal implicating the Core Army, and from then on to a secret experimental laboratory where PROJECT CASSANDRA is perfecting a fantastic apparatus drawing on the powers of a Mould made from the Fragment to deliberately arouse fury in the Odwoane masses. The paramilitary forces sent to “correct the situation” will confront PROJECT CASSANDRA’s armed personnel with extreme prejudice.

(Continued on page 9.) In Act Three, The Murmur of Oblivion, the Veiled Tribunal turns its attention to the city of Oce where the conspiracy’s activities seem to congregate. A complex web of politics, bureaucracy, intrigue and urban violence expands as PROJECT BRAZIER’s many pawns and cells make their strategic moves. Dissension between the rebels over strategy and ethics degenerates into opposition, disorder rising as a military “coup”, an economic crisis and popular riots overcome the city. As attacks against the Core’s structures deploy in the urban chaos, the Thirteenth Wheel plays its last card as it unleashes the genuine Fragment’s power to control the Dream’s reality to force the city authorities into capitulation. Unfortunately, a flaw in the apparatus’ design causes a sentient and demented Dreamstorm to manifest within the city’s very walls, menacing all within of annihilation. These three adventures are different in style and setting, although they share the common themes of espionage, politics and criminal investigation. The campaign’s general premises stick closer to the mechanical side of Kaïnas than its dream side, be it in the dangerous wilderness of Kaïnas, the steam factories of a railway construction site or the urban perfectionism of a massive metropolis. Its ambience is darker in tone compared with previous publications. Paul Linton (order #4667478)

Brains are favored over brawn: this makes the overall chronicle closer to the cyberpunk or conspiracy/horror style than traditional fantasy. For this reason, players should not fear their eventual lack of familiarity with the Mechanical Dream setting to be a limitation for play, as focus has been given to the industrial, economic and political elements of the game world. A glossary has been provided for both the players and the AJ for terms specific to the game world and (for the AJ) specific to this campaign and adventure.

SETTING THE MOOD RIGHT Every storyteller has his own set of tricks on how to guide players into sharing an entertaining story, and we do not have the pretension to dictate how a game session should or should not be conducted. The AJ might however find interest in seeing how to convey this adventure’s intended atmosphere from its author’s perspective. Faint lighting, a discreet instrumental background music (something like sinister “new age” melodies, or perhaps a movie or video game soundtrack) and maybe some visual props could incite players into the right mindset for a tale of mystery and awe. Much detail in this adventure has been given to the disquieting oddness of the people and places the players are to discover, like their gloomy journey into the unknown marshes of the east, the subtle tension of the remote town of Morduch where deformities are commonplace and strangers unwelcome, the macabre battlefield at Base 4891, the ar-chaic splendor of the Frilin’s secret sanctuary and the horrifying experiments conducted there by the slaughtered scientists of PROJECT AZURE. A great part of this adventure’s enjoyment is built on this uneasy feeling of abnormality, a sad eeriness familiar to readers of Edgar Allen Poe and Howard Philip Lovecraft. While this adventure is certainly not without physical dangers, be it the predatory wildlife, lurking apparitions, bloodthirsty hunters, mechanical traps and belligerent commandoes, the greatest adversary the player characters will face will be mystery itself: the weird hints of a forgotten science, the grueling suggestions of a lurking horror, the evocation of terrible deeds committed at Base 4891 in the name of progress and science. Much of this would be lost should the game degenerate into a simple “hack and slash” monster hunt, so the AJ is advised to keep attentive to his group’s mood to make the best of this story.


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2. Assume all NPCs use their Combat pool (CP) in the same way: CP 1 2 3 4 5 6

Combat sense Attack Defense +0 die +0 die +0 die +0 die +1 die +1 die

1 die 1 die 2 dice 2 dice 2 dice 3dice

0 die 1 die 1 die 2 dice 2 dice 2 dice

3. Do not take in effect wound types, treating all damage as cumulative. One CP point is lost (see the table above) every time an enemy takes damage equal or above his Wound threshold (WT). 4. Consider all damage against a NPC equivalent to a pure violence wound as an instant kill. 5. For damage, either use averages as stated above (e.g. 5 for 3D6) or roll as normal but ignore size difference and damage added from exceeding the PCs’ defense roll. For fair play, modifiers for size or defense rolls should also be dropped for PCs.

Introduction


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CAMPAIGN SYNOPSIS In the days of the Old Empire, some 250 years before today, the late Empress had sent her best troops to the south to oppose the upcoming Solek Tribes. A battered military squadron came by chance upon a terrifying edifice of unknown origin and titanic proportions, an alien “cube” whose very structure seemed to defy the laws of reality. Little is known of this uncanny discovery, for the sole survivor of this expedition died soon after telling his crazed tale, showing as proof a small piece of the Cube he had brought with him, something made in a baneful material that filled with terror the hearts of anyone gazing upon it. For many years, the story of the mad soldier was forgotten until imperialist rebels came upon this mysterious Fragment, imparted with the power to influence the manifestations of the Dream and perhaps Reality itself. The rebels soon realized that by understanding the Fragment’s powers, they could harness this powerful weapon against the Core’s hegemony and perhaps eventually bring back the lost glorious days of the Empire.


Though unbroken idealists, the imperialists were pragmatic enough to realize they had not by themselves the necessary resources to conduct a revolt on so grand a scale. With caution, they contacted other conspirators sympathetic to their goals to form a strategic alliance called the Thirteenth Wheel, united in opposition to the Core’ policies and continuous expansion. The 13 groups forming the conspiracy have a wide variety of purposes and ideologies: imperialist aristocrats, Volkoï militarists, Frilin dogmatists, spies of independent city-states, Inaïs foreign intelligence, Emovan spiritualists, free traders, anarchists and others, all united in the common goal of weakening the Core’s autarchy. The conspiracy plans to harness the Fragment’s potential by developing an array of psychic machinery by combining scientific, Frilin and Weirdsmith technology in an ultimate weapon of “liberation” that could evoke Dream Storms and provoke fury in the Odwoane masses - disrupting a major axis of the Core’s economic strength to force its withdrawal in foreign affairs. Its seditious activities orchestrated in three independent projects, the Thirteenth Wheel sets its forces in motion to understand the arcane secrets of the Fragment. While various groups under PROJECT AZURE conduct strictly scientific investigations in dispersed locations, technical researchers of PROJECT AZURE test a prototype of psychic apparatus at Station 1917 to understand the Fragment’s power over the Dream and Odwoanes in an urban setting. Meanwhile, the larger organization of PROJECT AZURE is planning a complex strategy of corporate mergers, information gathering, political activism, sabotage and outright attacks designed to provoke an important socioeconomic crisis in the Oce quadrant, preparing the stage for its insurrection. Formed of a variety of groups and coalitions, the Thirteenth Wheel’s cohesion remains fragile. Its mishaps and ideological controversies regarding the proper use of the Fragment’s powers will eventually generate internal division and fragmentation, that will in the long run degenerate into overt warfare between the underground groups.


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Campaign Synopsis


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE VEILED TRIBUNAL I.E.S.

The following campaign is based on the premise that the player characters, or heroes, are taking the part of para-governmental agents investigating espionage and terrorist crimes within the Core’s domain. Although it could easily be adapted for members of the Core Army, the CERM, independent mercenaries or even an official security organization (such as an Echo circle for hire), it was assumed the player characters will be taking the part of field operatives for the Veiled Tribunal, an autonomous agency (or Intermediary Economic Society under formal Geodem classification) responsible for conducting highly dangerous counter-intelligence investigations for the security of the Core’s citizens. Of course, the AJ is free to adapt this premise as he sees fit.

The Veiled Tribunal’s formula provides a greater freedom of action than having by default the characters take the part of Core Army soldiers or agents of the Core's formal administration, and provides a powerful incentive for players to work united as a group towards a common goal. The suggestion to use Prosecutor Emeth’s Veiled Tribunal as the basic organization allows the Absolute Judge with the opportunity to modulate the campaign to his tastes, building on the presented setting to craft his own adventures. Pre-generated characters were included as examples of appropriate characters. They could also serve as fellow agents for the Tribunal if the AJ needs any in a pinch, as details and a fraternal relationship with the Tribunal contribute to make the narrated story richer. Although the campaign’s theme does not warrant that the characters be fanatically loyal to the Core, characters such as rebels or terrorists, flimsy artists, the severely disabled or common laborers would be inappropriate for this campaign, as well as any characters that could not survive by themselves. Characters should have at least a respectful relationship with the Core; operatives acting with hostility towards the Core authorities would dull the contrast with the Thirteenth Wheel’s conspirators, which would considerably lessen the enjoyment of the campaign as a whole. Sympathizing with power-crazed terrorists hardly makes for interesting espionage stories. On the other hand, many of these groups' motivations are understandable and maybe even respectable, despite their brutal methods. These shades of grey contribute to a more realistic and compelling "feeling" than fighting merely egocentric psychopaths bent on world domination. As the campaign’s overall tone is more gritty and sinister than the prevalent style previously featured in Mechanical Dream, characters should be apt to hold up on their own in severe conditions, both psychological and physical. True to the espionage and industrial overtones of the adventures presented herein, commandos and investigators are more appropriate to the genre, although by no means should this be interpreted as an invitation to slugfests. In fact, quite the contrary, characters too confident in their muscles that act neglectfully are likely to end up dead before the end of the First Act.


STRUCTURE The Veiled Tribunal’s (VT) purpose is to provide a greater flexibility and freedom of action in opposing both internal and foreign terrorism and espionage, outside the strict regulations and hierarchical procedures of the CPRM and the Core Army. Operating as an independent corporation (I.E.S., or Intermediate Economic Society), the VT has complete autonomy in the execution of the various missions demanded by its “client organizations”: Orpee Anywhere S.E.S., Secure Stock S.E.S. and the Oce CPRM Decentralized Intelligence Department (OCPRMDID). The term “funding agencies” would be more appropriate than “client”, since the VT is forbidden to contract with other organizations: in practice, it operates as a “partnership corporation” funded jointly by the “Big Three”. In contemporary management slang, the VT’s structure is a “virtual organization” - a joint venture by independent organizations created for a specific purpose and using their collective resources in regard of its mission.

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Campaign Synopsis


The Tribunal’s official status is an independent Advanced Economic Society (A.E.S.) under the Geodem classification. Its current annual funding (leveled at 2 450 000 BP) is composed as follows: 38% from 2nd Division CPRM subsidies (Oce quadrant) for counter-intelligence services 32% from Secure Stock for internal security services 23% from Orpee Anywhere for research grants on surveillance methods 7% from Prosecutor Emeth’s personal investments As a security agency, the Tribunal’s annual budget is spent mostly on salaries (77%), equipment (11%), transport (8%) and infrastructures (4%): a subsidy by Orpee Anywhere allows the VT to rent buildings of its command center in Oce for minimal fees. The Tribunal also keeps a special annual reserve of 50,000 BP for special expenses, such as bribes and subcontracting. Officially posing as a private security agency headquartered in Oce, the VT employs an administrative staff of 20 (the Prosecutor, project managers, secretaries, information analysts, various specialists, etc.) and 63 field operatives, including 16 low-powered Ecatims and Echoes for “black operations”.


Annual Funding

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook Prosecutor Resh Emeth (Gnath War Engine, 2nd Sphere) acts as top executive and direct supervisor of the Field Operations division. The Training division, headed by a middle-aged Gnath female named Jars Essor, teaches the operatives methods of investigation, survival, tactics and technology. The Information division coordinates data and intelligence gathering, building the tactical map for the VT’s operations. It is led by the Ecatim Palindrome, an Odwoane “living computer” capable of processing astounding amounts of data at fascinating speed. The Specialist division, led by a Volkoï Core Army veteran named Grume, provides the Tribunal with various specialized expertise: forensics, econometric analysis, medicine, explosives, Core administration, technological applications and criminology. Field operations, directly headed by the Prosecutor, comprise 9 cells divided in three task forces: Observation cells, Enforcement cells and Investigation cells. The VT’s Echoes and Ecatims are divided among two Investigation cells (one of which being the player characters’) and one Enforcement cell. Since agents are recruited for the most part among specialists and mercenaries from the Core Army, the CPRM and independent security corporations, all are rigorously competent and trained for the worst. As Echoes are cherished as a rare resource, their talents are deployed only for missions requiring great expertise and superior capacities. The Prosecutor takes great pains to protect these highly qualified agents, as he does for the rest of his personnel that he considers as his extended family.


MISSIONS The Tribunal manages to keep its operational costs down by using the infrastructure and transportation provided by its three partners: railways, warehouses, offices, vehicles, beasts of burden, etc. Specific mission expenses vary according to the degree of risk involved and the number of agents: it covers food and lodging, transport, additional equipment. Operatives are responsible for any equipment lent to them. Destroyed or damaged property of the Tribunal will be deducted from their future salaries at up to 10% per week, at annual interest rates of 10%. Of course, agents are encouraged to mend their own broken material in order to lessen the costs for repairs.

Danger level Moderate danger: High danger: Critical danger:

Equipment worth

Salary adjustment

1 000 BP 3 000 BP 6 000 BP

Regular +50% +100%

Most operations conducted by Echoes will be of High or Critical level. The operatives will also benefit from a life insurance of ten times the mission’s risk level, to be given to family or relatives at the agent’s death. Health insurance for invalidity is also provided, varying from 1% to 50% of the worth of their life insurance for a given mission. A lost hand during a High danger mission, for example, could receive compensation for 3 000 BP (10%), while the loss of both legs would be compensated at 12 000 BP (40%). Remuneration for the Tribunal’s personnel varies on their professional rank as counter-espionage agents (see below) or an equivalent thereof, such as CRM Clerks or CA Soldiers. Echoes will receive a weekly salary according to their rank in the agency, though never under what an agent would earn at Operative rank (3) considering the risks involved in their tasks.


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Campaign Synopsis


Danger Level

16


COUNTER- ESPIONAGE AGENT This profession covers the wide range of field operatives secret agents working for governmental or para-governmental organizations such as Core Army infiltration specialists, foreign spy agencies, the various CPRM secret services and, of course, the Veiled Tribunal itself, as well as other economic societies specializing in security, surveillance or intelligence. This specialization demands less emphasis on direct military interventions than on covert operations such as sabotage, shadowing, investigations, cryptography, etc. Since few people actually start their lives working for internal security agencies, it is usually taken as a second career. The Absolute Judge is of course free to adapt this professional framework to the specific profile requirements of various organizations.


Cost Income

Melee weapon L.2

Spy 90 1200/2

Commando 115 1000/5

Melee Weapon L.3 Melee Weapon L.5 Range Weapon L.2 Range Weapon L.4 Range Weapon L.5 Dodge L.1 Dodge L.2 Dodge L.3 Dodge L.5 Unarmed L.1 Unarmed L.3 Unarmed L.6 Persistance L.1 Persistance L.2 Persistance L.4 Core’s Knowledge (k) L.2 Core’s Knowledge (k) L.4 Hiding L.3 Hiding L.5 Hiding L.7 Repair (tool) L.3 Rapair (tool) L.5 Disguise L.3 Disguise L.5 Black market (k) L.2 Black Market (k) L.4 Black Market (k) L.5 Observation L.2 Observation L.3 Observation L.5 Intimidation L.3 Intimidation L.5 Investigation L.2 Investigation L.4 Tech Weapon L.1 Tech Weapon L.2 Tech Weapon L.4


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Job: Conter-Espionage Agent

COMMANDO

Operative 65 800/2

SPY

Observer 45 525/2

OPERATIVE

Rookies 20 250/1

OBSERVER

ROOKIES

The Thirteenth Wheel: Broken Sanctuary COUNTER- ESPIONAGE AGENT

18

Mechanical Dream sourcebook PRE-GENERATED OPERATIVE 001

Attributes Agility: Quickness: Strength: Toughness:

P/M 17/12 16/11 12/13 12/12

Appearance: Charisma: Expression: Presence: Perception:

12 22 13 11 7

Secondary Attributes WT HP: Size:

5/8 18/16 6/4


Combat pool: Eflow:

5+1 20

Name: Aliah Vocation: Walker, 1st Sphere Specialty: Scout

BIOGRAPHY Inaïs female, age 26 (birth year 85), born in Vlorë hearth. Born from an eccentric nomad family, Alia emigrated outside the underground Inaïs caves as a teen to discover the amazing grandness of the wilderness. Her wanderlust, fueled by family tradition and her growing Whisper, drove her at a young age to leave her kin and set for Khaï-Bhëk. Working as a part time diplomat for various Inaïs mining corporations, Alia discovered her true calling when she prevented a terrorist bombing from murdering innocent Core civilians. Shaken by the violence that “Those Above” showed to their fellow citizens, as she compared with the peacefulness of her homeland, she took on the career of CERM import controller (i.e. Gater) to oppose this mad social violence. Recruited by the Veiled Tribunal, who was greatly impressed by her impeccable record, she proved herself a valuable asset for peacekeeping and exploration operations.

FUNCTION Alia doubles as scout and diplomacy specialist for the team. Her skirmish skills are also valued for tactical combat.

PERSONALITY Though born the sixth child of an outlandish family of eight, Alia was always the shy and quiet one. Still today she is possibly the Tribunal’s gentlest agent. Her strong convictions for peace and harmony are not deterred by the most military aspects of her work, for she believes one must act virtuously to prevent the rise of malevolence in society. Her Whisper drove her away from the profession of Dream shaman despite her natural affinities, but she likes to pose as a spiritual work advisor to prevent psychic disharmony from resulting into Dream disasters. Many factories still practice today her “spiritual health break” consisting of weird, “new age” style dances that appear to soften the Dream’s manifestations. Who knows, perhaps there is indeed some truth behind these odd ballets.

Special: Children of the eflow, Eflow receptivity. Echo Powers: Traveling Instinct: Make Anything (2D10). Sense of Reality: Time and Space Sensation (1D8).

Edges: Animal companion (Mashy, +7), Master of Enigmas (+3). Flaws: Puny (mental, -7). Combat skills: Balance 1, Combat sense 1, Dodge 3, Ranged weapons 1, Melee Weapons-normal 5, Unarmed combat 1.


Other skills:

Core’s knowledge (k) 3, Dialects 2, Diplomacy 3, Disguise 2, Engineering 3, Etiquette 5, Hiding 3, Interrogation 2, Investigation 1, Observation 3, Races (k) 2, Organization (k) 4, Politics 3, Read & Write 1, Repair 2, Subterfuge 2. Jobs: Diplomat (3), Gater (2). Equipment: Leaf sword (3D), Trossen teeth (2D+2), light crossbow (3D8), rough plant armor (-2), leather carapace (÷2), 20 quivers, Mashy mount (“Pitchoune”), 30 orpee, 1,000 BP.

19

Operative 001


20



P/M 18/16 14/16 16/13 15/11


12 14 10 13 13


5/5 21/18 6/7


Combat pool: Eflow:

5+1 20

Name: Cashtin Tarejin of the Lotred tribe Vocation: Judge, 1st Sphere Specialty: Coordination

BIOGRAPHY Yaki male, born year 70 (41 years old) in Khaï-Bhëk. The Lotred Techno-Tribe into which Cashtin was born was decimated in the late year 82 in a gang war against the Peykis, petty Solek thieves and racketeers that had been viciously fighting for turf monopoly. As Cashtin saw his siblings die before him, he felt his Whisper awaken within and delivered his first Sentence to their murderers. His tribe dispersed, Judge Cashtin relinquished all ties to the criminal world and set upon a journey to bring justice to Kaïnas. After a short interlude with a wife and kids, he realized such a life was not for him and followed his Whisper. He joined the Secure Stock S.E.S. where he worked 17 years as security manager, investigated corruption within the corporation. After facing opposition in denouncing blatant nepotism in the upper ranks, he lost his left hand in an “accident” soon after, an event that convinced him he had powerful enemies within the Secure Stock hierarchy. Disgruntled from the corporation, the Yaki settled down in Oce with Prosecutor Emeth, which he befriended during his corporate career.

FUNCTION Cashtin has been working as operations supervisor from the Veiled Tribunal’s first days. He sees his role more as a coordinator than an overseer, and never underestimates his team’s competence. His responsibilities include supervising investigations, orchestrating tactical operations and keeping regular contact with Prosecutor Emeth.

PERSONALITY Judge Cashtin combines the proud attitude of a warrior with the bleak determination of his vocation. Working “under the flag” for some twenty years, he understood rooting out crime sometimes demands more expedient actions than the formal context of a court. He is disillusioned but not cynical, striving to bring a sparkle of justice and truth in a hard world. Judge Cashtin has no sympathies for terrorists or anyone who would use violence to further his ends, though he understands sometimes a degree of coercion is necessary to protect the masses. Keeping a low profile despite his intense gaze, he wears a heavy wool cape over his dark green bio-armor and always carries his adorned axe - a symbol for Justice.

Special: Birth armor, Tribe. Echo Powers: ·Objectivity: Shatter Mask (1D8). Edges: Enhanced Mental Quickness (+5), Enhanced

Physical Strength (+5), Contacts-Secure Stock (+3), Visionary (+5). Flaws: Compulsive (-4; cares for fellow agents as tribe members), Dismembered (one hand; -5), Enemies in Secure Stock (-3). Combat skills: Balance 1, Combat sense 2, Dodge 4, Feint 1, Melee Weapons-normal 4, Shield Maneuver 2, Unarmed combat 2. Bio-armor enhancements: Air pockets (1), Equilibrum (1), Modify (1). Paul Linton (order #4667478)

Other skills: Driving 2, Eflow (k) 2, Forensics 2, Hiding 2, Gymnastics 1, Interrogation 2, Investigation 4, Observation 2, Orpee Distribution (k)2, Organization 1, Read & Write 1, Riding 4, Persistence 3, Tactics 3. Job: Secure Stock employee (3). Equipment: Kioux hammer (3D+1), Trossen teeth (2D+2), Caltha bola (1D), Yaki armor (-3, Structure 25), leather carapace (÷2), bonds, 16 orpee, 26 BP.

21

Operative 002


22



P/M 21/11 16/16 13/14 16/21


10 8 7 16 21


6/6 24/27 6/8


Combat pool: Eflow:

5 20

Name: Oriam of the Adekis tribe Vocation: Pilot (Overlord), 1st Sphere Specialty: Technologist

BIOGRAPHY Solek male, born year 78 (33 years old) of the nomad Adekis tribe roaming the southern wastes. Oriam’s innate aptitude for mechanisms made him a pariah in his primitive tribe, leading him to work as an itinerant Slum Assembler before the onset of his Echo vocation. Gifted as a Pilot, he was soon promoted lead carrier for the Orpee Anywhere S.E.S. for which he undertook a variety of assignments across the Core’s lands and beyond. In the year 110, Oriam was recruited by the Veiled Tribunal and worked for it ever since.

FUNCTION Recruited as a “conveyance and advanced technology specialist”, Oriam’s role for the Tribunal is to provide technical solutions and problem-solving skills during the Tribunal’s missions. His expertise focuses on personal machinery and motorized vehicles.

PERSONALITY A taciturn fellow, Oriam would rather spend time with machinery than people but staunchly supports his comrades during missions, faithful to the Solek ideal of dependability. Though he rejected the nomad lifestyle, he still wears his tribe’s ritual scars and remains loyal to his kin. A pragmatic type, Oriam appreciates the Core’s investments in technology and looks upon rebels as “ignorant dupes”. A year ago, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease causing the gradual dysfunction of the nervous system. Anticipating the consequences, the technologist began to work on a light model of motorized exoskeleton that would give him more mobility than a wheelchair. His prototypes are too cumbersome so far, but he still has years to go by before severe symptoms occur. He’s been using since then every free time he can spare to improve on his designs.

Special: Impenetrable mind. Other skills: Crafting (machinery) 2, Driving 2, Engineering 1, Fauna & Flora (k) 2, First Aid 2, Repair 4, Riding 2, Read & Write 1, Echo Powers: ·Piloting: Innate Control (+1). Edges: Enhanced Perception (+5), Enhanced Physical Agility (+5), Roads (k) 4, Slums (k) 2, Slum Tech 2, Taming 1. Mechanical aptitude (+4). Jobs: Pilot of the Core (2), Slum Assembler (2). Flaws: C.B. debt (-5), Multiple sclerosis (-10; roll PT against DN 8 Equipment: Trossen teeth (2D+2), small shield (-1), heavy crossbow after intense exertion, in case of failure -2 penalty to all physical rolls for 1d4 hours). Combat skills: Balance 1, Combat sense 2, Dodge 2, Ranged weapons 4, Melee Weapons-normal 2, Persistence 1, Unarmed combat 1.


(3D12), rough plant armor (-2), leather carapace (÷2), portable toolkit, medical exoskeleton (reduces exertion penalties by half but noisy, weight 30 pounds, Structure: 50), modified traveling motorcycle with tripod (carfo engine), 9 orpee, 13 BP.

23

Operative 003


24



P/M 17/16 17/21 12/15 13/8


13 5 10 15 17


6/6 18/13 5/5


Combat pool: Eflow:

5+1 20

Name: Jamir Asianor Vocation: Nightmare, 1st Sphere Specialty: Sniper

BIOGRAPHY Gnath female, born year 89 (22 years old) in Khaï-Bhëk. Her father, an export/import manager with a flair for exploration, raised his only girl to become the perfect operative for the company. A “special operations” specialist (i.e. assassin) for the Tribunal, Jamir worked for 6 years for the second city plate’s defense department where she had her share of adventures before her “accident”. Something terrible happened to her previous team, something she won’t talk about. It has been hinted that this silence would be related to the homicidal crisis known to Nightmares… Though her employers tried to retain her, she renounced her previous loyalties and joined CPRM intelligence for some months before being recruited by the Tribunal. The organization’s discipline has tamed her more savage instincts, slowly regaining control of herself as her Whisper gains strength. Prosecutor Emeth as been acting as Jamir’s mentor, teaching her to hear the Whisper and develop her unique powers. The old Gnath has been treating her as an adoptive daughter, an affection to which she responds in kin.

FUNCTION Jamir is the team’s gunslinger and precision sniper. Her talents focus in infiltration and assassination, a role that fits her passion for the hunt. Stalking prey is more than a job to her; it’s a true passion, almost a calling. More panther than Gnath, she is not a female to be trifled with - as she’ll show to any idiot who’d dare treat her like cheesecake.

PERSONALITY The Nightmare girl is not exactly an easy person on the social side. She’s sarcastic, dour, harsh and somewhat arrogant about her abilities (a bad example of the Gnath stereotype). She’s a loner as to affairs of the heart but doesn’t mind going along with groups, having learned that teamwork can be crucial to survival. In typical Gnath fashion, her job means everything to her: to strive for excellence is her pride and goal. She’s a pragmatic Gnath, with no time for fashion or arts, with a predator’s attitude when on a mission. For years, her dreams have been haunted by vivid visions of a mysterious phantom imploring for release. She’s curious to unlock this mystery but doesn’t trust the mindwalkers enough to let them investigate her mind’s secrets.

Special: Burning eflow. Echo Powers: Aspects

of the Predator: Death Aura (+2 Fear factor).·Cover of Dream: Dream Eyes (1D10), Smog of Dream (2D8). Edges: Acute sense-sight (+4), Contacts in the CPRM (+4), Discreet (+4), Enhanced Mental Quickness (+5). Flaws: Bloodthirsty (-5), Mental Illness-delusions (-4). Combat skills: Balance 2, Combat sense 3, Dodge 4, Feint 2, Ranged weapons 5, Melee Weapons-normal 4, Unarmed combat 2.


Other skills: Disguise 2, Drive 2, Forensics 3, Hiding 1, Investigation 3, Observation 2, Organization 2, Read & Write 1, Sabotage 2, Subterfuge 3, Survivalism 2. Job: Counter-Espionage Agent (3). Equipment: Leaf sword (3D), 2 stone knifes (2D+2), long bow (3D), Sika leather armor (-2), leather carapace (÷2), full cape, 13 orpee, 230 BP.

25

Operative 004


26



P/M 14/8 17/11 12/11 16/11


16 16 11 11 12


5/5 20/15 4/4


Combat pool: Eflow:

4+2 20

Name: Sharek Vocation: Truth Crafter, 1st Sphere Specialty: Infiltrator

BIOGRAPHY Odwoane male, age circa 25 (birth year unknown), born on Oce’s 2nd platform. Sharek cannot properly recall much of his childhood nor teenage, but is nevertheless gifted with a prodigious memory for details and keen observation skills. He survived by going through various clerical jobs in the Core’s administration, gathering vast amounts of useless information that he would write down in great detail with a rusted typewriter. His discovery by the Tribunal was an act of chance, when Aliah realized the extent of his powers as she was working undercover in a customs agency that Sharek was turning into bureaucratic chaos (something they never forgave him). The Tribunal has been using him primarily for deep infiltration missions for which he has proven exceptionally effective.

FUNCTION More versed into investigation than warfare, this mimicking Odwoane works as observer and spy for missions of an intellectual nature.

PERSONALITY This ebony skinned charmer is the very epitome of Odwoane oddity, a social chameleon whose attitudes are entirely fashioned after those around him. This Odwoane’s greatest flaw is an troubling tendency to loose himself in whatever covert identity he took, to the point of sometimes forgetting his original mission.

Special: Frenzy, Mimesis, Solidarity. Combat skills: Balance 1, Combat sense 3, Dodge 3, Melee Echo Powers: ·Roots of Manipulation: Craft Impression (2D10+1), Weapons-normal 3, Unarmed combat 3. Etiquette (1D6), Direct Mood (1D8). Other skills: Economy (k) 5, Engineering 2, Gymnastics 1, Edges: Enhanced Presence (+5), Enhanced Mental Strength (+5), Intimidation 2, Investigation 1, Leadership 2, Mathematics (k) 3, Enhanced Mental Toughness (+5), Liar (+5), Mechanical Aptitude (+4), Memory (+3), Observer (+5). Flaws: Enemy (customs bureaucrats, -2).


Observation 1, Politics 2, Read & Write 3, Repair 2. Jobs: CERM Clerk (1), Gater (2). Equipment: Stone knife (2D+1), soft leaf armor (-1), writing material, CERM clerk uniform, 20 orpee, 2,200 BP.

27

Operative 005


28



P/M 16/13 14/18 21/13 17/12


11 11 7 16 14


6/5 28/18 7/6


Combat pool: Eflow:

4+1 20

Name: Tronc Vocation: Guardian, 1st Sphere Specialty: Bodyguard

BIOGRAPHY Volkoï neuter, born year 103 (8 years old) in Vilnaco. Raised by the city’s Core Army Infantry Division, it won a medal for bravery during the Iron Wings Campaign against a barbarian Solek incursion in year 108, and became the pride of its battalion for its impromptu heroism. With its newfound Echo powers it raised quickly in the ranks, becoming sergeant in 109 and four months later the personal bodyguard of an important Gnath colonel. In 110, Tronc left the Core Army (with honors) after the colonel’s accidental death by a stampede of Chargers. To escape the perpetual pressure and expectations, it petitioned the Veiled Tribunal (with high recommendation) and was hired by Prosecutor Emeth in the late year 110.

FUNCTION Tronc’s responsibilities focus on the security and defense of its team, acting as bodyguard as well as sentry. It takes its job very seriously and holds in high consideration the Prosecutor’s respect. Its hulking size and Echo presence tend to make people uneasy, despite the defensive emphasis of its function.

PERSONALITY This bright young Volkoï rose very quickly in rank and respect in the Core Army - perhaps to quickly for an eight-year-old “kid”. Despite its bulky aspect, this Volkoï is essentially an inexperienced youth looking to please authority figures that it will identify as “parents” (in this case, Prosecutor Emeth). The Volkoï’s early successes were half luck, half foolhardiness but it realizes today it would probably die were it to try such crazy stunts again. Nevertheless, Tronc works itself out to meet the increasingly high expectations of its superiors. It became addicted to a mild drug and “stress reliever” without which it can barely sleep. This Guardian is more shy than introvert and would become a very loyal companion to anyone who’d offer it the gift of genuine friendship.

Special: Adrenal fighter, Adrenal crave, Tail. Echo Powers: ·Guard: Immobility (1D10),

Feel Others (1D8),

Protect (1D10). Edges: Enhanced Physical Agility (+5), Lucky (+10). Flaws: Addict (-4), Insecure (-7), Overestimated (-3). Combat skills: Balance 2, Combat sense 2, Dodge 3, Feint 1, Ranged weapons 2, Resilience 2, Melee Weapons-normal 4, Unarmed Combat 2.


Other skills: Core Army (k) 2, First Aid 1, Gymnastics 2, Hiding 2, Intimidation 4, Leadership 4, Observation 2, Orientation 2, Persistence 3, Politics 2, Read & Write 1, Survivalism 2, Weapons (k) 2. Job: Core Army soldier (3). Equipment: Vegetal flail (3D+1), stone knife (2D+2), plant cloth armor (-2), medium shield (-2), partial insect carapace (÷2), military medals, first aid supplies, 15 orpee, 122 BP.

29

Operative 006


30


THE THIRTEENTH WHEEL HISTORY OF THE CONSPIRACY THE COMING OF THE SOLEK Some 250 years ago, the stern rule of the late Empress governed the greater part of the explored regions of Kaïnas. At that time, many a courtier’s face in the throne room showed concern as a new menace threatened the Empire’s southern borders. A host of unknown sentients being had set forth from beyond the impenetrable world’s end, the Sofe, marching from the Southern Wastelands to the border provinces. Known as the Soleks, these warriors had nothing in common with the people of Kaïnas but their language, sending linguists and anthropologists into endless debates about their origins.


The Empress and her counselors did not share the scholars’ awe, concerned about the best way to contain this potential threat to the empire. As concern about the southern incursions spread to the capital, the sovereign sent her swiftest sentinels in reconnaissance as she convoked the Frilin Council to discuss about the best course of action. As they prepared for war, the high nobility ignored another pending threat that would unfold in the centuries to come… Thousands upon thousands of imperial forces spread out firmly to contain the Soleks’ march from the south. Meanwhile, a detachment of scouts was ordered to scout the Sofe’s western borders to evaluate the alien horde’s strengths and numbers. Commander Givat Hatachmoshet, stepbrother of the Empress’ nephew, was given authority over thirteen of these squadrons that were soon to fall under Kaïnas’ many dangers: in but a few weeks, five of them were destroyed by Solek marauders, four were lost to Naakinisian behemoths, two disappeared without a trace and another found madness and death at the hands of Mon’liko cannibals. Only the last squadron, the thirteenth, journeyed to its mission destination under the hulking blackness of the Sofe.

THE THIRTEENTH SQUADRON As they ventured beyond the scarred hills of the Xoks Forest to escape the wandering beasts, the wearied scouts of Squadron 13 discovered… something. Something gigantic and exalted, magnificent but terrible, the raw stuff of shadows and nightmares. Something they would not dare to speak openly of before the hour of their death, something they could never forget. Words could not describe how theirs hearts were filled with terror at the mere sight of this aberrant construction. Most of the soldiers fled or froze in shock. A few brave dared to raise their stares to the shadow it laid in the Pendulum’s light, their anguish growing as they understood the thing was neither of Kaïnas nor of Naakinis. Its form, that the scouts could only desperately describe as “a cube… but not a cube,” was abhorrent, uncanny, sinister and yet… somehow alluring in a perverse, unwholesome way. As the surviving scouts grew old and died over the years, few remembered this odd tale of a mysterious place where a blasphemous arch, a temple or perhaps a citadel rose out of the void to grab at souls. This tale could have been forgotten if not for one bold (or perhaps foolhardy) Inaïs drunkard sipping his Kioux sap in a crowded in the city of Lernaive, who’d brag of the angular “cathedral” he had discovered decades ago, during his service as an explorer for the Core’s Army. Three days before, the ageing scout had entrusted his wife to his secret, confiding that a part of his soul had died that day. He had seen the form, felt the presence of something utterly alien, something wrong. The Cube, as he had christened it, had been haunting his memory from these very days. It had had opened his eyes to the meaninglessness of all existence, murdering all bliss from his life. To ease his emptiness, he had decided to show his wife what he had brought from this wicked place, a small fragment he had taken from the Cube, no greater than a fist. As the crowd gathered around the drunkard to delight on his dreadful tale, the patrons recoiled in shock and horror from the Fragment he held up in the light. “Because of this, she went away,” he uttered, “and took with her my last breath of hope.” Later that day, the city guard found the old scout’s body hanging from the Kioux’s branches. The Fragment had disappeared, never to be mentioned nor seen again for many years.


31

History of the conspiracy


32

Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE REBEL MACHINATION

In the year 24, the Core’s crusade expanded on the construction of the Sky Trains to complete the Enclave’s defenses, strengthening its centralization of political, economic and military powers. The young state growing stronger than ever under its leader’s enlightened rule, dissident Voices grew quieter but felt a growing need to organize to defend their interests. Many among the discharged aristocrats resented the abolition of their privileges by the Core’s decrees. Moreover, the Core’s Economic Resources Management (CERM) dispossessed them of their ancestral lands for reorganization in accordance to the Geodem plan. Not all of Droliath Estolah’s opponents would accept quiet discontent. As time went by, this frustration grew in those who believed their interests weredisfavored by the new regime. Despite their low numbers, the most ambitious among them would organize in clandestine coalitions and conspiracies. For the greater part, these groups’ influence was inconsequential, their ranks easily infiltrated by counter-intelligence specialists of the Core’s Political Resource Management (CRPM). Before long, their support faded as insurrectionist and agitators were indoctrinated in “re-education camps” to insure compliance with the Core’s vision.


There was, however, one imperialist rebel more ambitious and cautious than the rest of her nostalgic brethren. Her name was Dherrica Ubik, eldest daughter of Shaar Hagai, great-grand-nephew of emperor Tasrath’s father. This young Gnath female, who had never seen the imperial age, held dear her family ’s dream of rebuilding the Empire from its ashes. She was wise, though and resourceful enough for the task at hand, but her greater asset was given her by mere chance: she had inherited the Fragment in the early year 82, which her kin had studied for generations in the hope of using it as a weapon against the Core’s hegemony. Since the day she had inherited it from her father’s deathbed along with her crown and title, duchess Ubik had sought to understand the Fragment’s powers over mind and matter. Her knowledge of the occult, fostered by her family’s long held scholar tradition, led her to explore the Frilin arts of psychology and mindwalking. How could the Fragment exert such a powerful influence on the untrained mind? How could its arcane influence over the Dream be controlled consciously? Dherrica nurtured the prospect that her understanding of its mysteries could unlock the Cube’s powers and allow her to control the Dream’s manifestations or perhaps the Odwoane masses. The power to disrupt the Odwoane workforce could land a severe blow to the Core’s economic might. The next step would be for a united coalition to reap the fruits of a carefully planned revolution… The pragmatic duchess Ubik realized from the start she could not fulfill her plan alone. When she turned 22, in the late year 93, she set forth to bring together a covenant of faithful followers among her friends and kin, then carefully contacted various groups and individuals sympathetic to her cause: a motley assembly of imperialists, anarchists, industrialists, rebel army officers, autarchic tribes, unethical scientists, free city-state agents, Inaïs and Emovan diplomats whose only common trait is opposition to the Core’s unstoppable expansion. Setting aside their differences, these disparate conspirators formed an uneasy truce to develop a new form of technology that would give them control over the Dream. The Thirteenth Wheel was born.

33

STRUCTURE OF THE THIRTEENTH WHEEL The Thirteenth Wheel operates as a networked conspiracy composed of 13 subversive groups (hence its name). It was founded in the year 94 after Dherrica Ubik, who acquired the Fragment and learned about its powers during her teens, shared her dreams of overthrowing the Core and bring back the imperial days. The maiden, who was to become a powerful Overlord Echo and duchess of the Kodesh house, realized from the start she could not fulfill her plan with the sole help of her fellow imperialists sympathizers. She set forth to bring together a covenant of faithful followers among her friends and kin, then carefully contacted various groups and individuals sympathetic to her cause. Setting aside their differences, these disparate cons-pirators formed an uneasy truce to develop a new form of technology that would give them control over the Dream. From the years 94 to 111, Ubik wove her conspiracy as an ever spanning web of intrigue around her, which she christened the Thirteenth Wheel, both an esoteric metaphor for spiritual progress and a reference to the 13th Squadron’s mythical discovery (as well as the 13 alleged members of the conspiracy). Carefully building up her allies, playing on their fears and ambitions, she guided the formation of three distinct projects to further her secret war against the Core. To protect the young cabal from its many enemies, duchess Ubik resorted to extreme secrecy, going as far as keeping the various projects in the dark about their mutual existence. Most of the groups involved in the three projects, let alone individual members, are in total ignorance of the Thirteenth Wheel’s existence and global purpose. All project and group leaders are in the know, and a few high ranking members suspect “something odd is going on” behind the scenes. The wise among them cultivate ignorance as a virtue, having learned the hard way that asking too many questions in Kaïnas could shorten an already arduous life. As for the great majority of the conspiracy’s pawns and personnel, they do not fathom the conspiracy’s name, goal or leader. Unless faced with solid evidence, most would discard any suggestion they work for any “crazy conspiracy” as ludicrous.


The conspiracy’s 13 groups operate jointly in three separate projects: PROJECT AZURE, PROJECT BRAZIER and PROJECT CASSANDRA. Although each groups has its personal agenda, goals and ideals and seeks to attain these goals through its own methods, all groups work in a temporary truce either to discover the Fragment’s secrets (the Notion, the Omnium), to weaken the Core from inside for political purposes (the Imperial Republic League, the Cartel, the Twin Voices, the Red Front) or for more pragmatic rewards such as the promise of riches or power (the Confederacy, the Consortium, the P.A.W.N.). No one knows what the Four seek in the Thirteenth Wheel, or even if they exist for that matter as they only make contact through duchess Ubik, acting leader of the conspiracy.



34


PROJECT AZURE This project is a scientific endeavor to further the conspiracy’s understanding of the Fragment’s and its Moulds’ origins and powers over eflow, the Dream and reality. Mostly supported by the Omnium and the Notion, it uses sentient captives as test subjects to ascertain their effect on the living. Its members include elite scientists from the Core and beyond, recruited by the promise of fascinating experimentation forbidden by official Core policy. The promise of major mystical discoveries drew quite a few talented Frilin mind-walkers, Yaki shamans and Emovan occultists. As weeks pass however, PROJECT AZURE’s efforts increasingly become thwarted by one major limit: all their research and theories are based on various Moulds of the Fragment, not the original. The more the scientists understand the Fragment’s capabilities, the more they pressure their leaders to work on the original material and not a mere copy. Only under extremely grievous circumstances would duchess Ubik allow anyone to behold, let alone manipulate the Fragment, that she considers her secret “ace”. Future circumstances might force her though to renounce this edge in order to fulfill the Thirteenth Wheel’s ultimate objective. An extremely secret extension of this project, OPERATION: GENESIS, is trying to create hybrids from Inaïs and Kynm’der through the reality warping properties of the Fragment. The supervisor of PROJECT AZURE is Berallite Pleselei of the Consortium.


PROJECT CASSANDRA The conspiracy’s second project is the mechanical extension of PROJECT AZURE, as it applies their fundamental research in practical fields such as sonic physics and magnetism. This project mostly involves the Omnium, the Consortium and the Red Front through its dissident prolongation in the Core Army. The goal of PROJECT CASSANDRA is to construct a workable prototype for the Psycho-Active Matrix, an apparatus intended to manipulate the Dream’s intensity, its phantoms and manifestations as well as its influence on the Odwoane masses. The possibility of controlling time and space is also studied. This group has been instructed with the more technological task of designing a mechanical apparatus from PROJECT AZUREís designs to influence the Dream’s intensity and manifestations. A secondary (but potentially hazardous) effect of their research is to deliberately provoke Dream riots among the Odwoane populations. PROJECT CASSANDRA ‘s armed chapter is concerned with grimmer activities from intelligence gathering to kidnapping, sabotage and the occasional execution of spies and witnesses. Ironically, a great majority of PROJECT CASSANDRA’s security staff and technologists (mostly acting under the orders of Core Army Volkoï officers from the Red Front) are dedicated Core loyalists, believing their experiments to be field tests of a powerful engine of destruction to be launched upon the eastern free city-states of Uchatere and Yhrne-Llemir. Would its members know the project’s genuine goals, the Thirteenth Wheel would be faced with insurrection in its own ranks. The foremost scientist of PROJECT CASSANDRA is Professor Yun from the Omnium, a Frilin psychiatrist and mindwalker.

PROJECT BRAZIER This third project is the largest of the Thirteenth Wheel’s project and involves the greater part of resources and groups. It possesses a powerful and very mobile strike force trained in urban assault. PROJECT BRAZIER could be described as the military branch of the Thirteenth Wheel, though it is much more isolated from the two other projects than the latter are from each other. PROJECT BRAZIER operatives do not attack blindly Core citizens or engage in acts of wanton destruction. Each and every one of its operations is deployed with consummate tactical planning for minute and “surgical” efficiency. Despite on-going efforts to contain its more radical revolutionary elements, the prokect has concentrated its efforts so far in weakening the Core’s economic activities, especially at the eastern front to slow the Core’s march towards the free cities’ lands. Favorite targets of these sabotage specialists include Core Army outposts, frontier settler towns, isolated iron mines and Secure Stock Orpee deposits. Doing so, PROJECT BRAZIER kills a single bird with two stones in depriving the Core in Orpee and weakening popular trust in Secure Stock’s monopoly on Orpee stocking. The project’s goals are to force the city of Oce to displace its military defense to its east and north borders (OPERATION: DURANDAL) while causing a deliberate depletion of orpee to induce famine, riots and social disorder (OPERATION: PANTAGRUEL). While the city’s defenses are spread thin, a third attack is to be laid against the reality of the city itself through the Psycho-Active Matrix, forcing the Oce governor to surrender power to the Thirteenth Wheel or have the city destroyed (OPERATION: CYCLONE). Unbeknownst to the other factions, the Red Front plans to use the confusion to launch its own military insurrection against the governor (OPERATION: EGG), an impulsive gesture from its leader General Migdal that will cause much havoc with the Wheel’s strategic plans. PROJECT BRAZIER’s main coordinator is duchess Dherrica Ubik, a powerful Overlord whom governs the Imperial Republic and is the sole possessor of the Fragment.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE IMPERIALIST REPUBLIC LEAGUE (aristocratic monarchist houses) Four ancient aristocratic families discarded by the Core’s revolution have united their forces to restore the Imperium and their cherished warrior customs and traditions. These four held positions of prestige and honor in the old imperial army and still draw many supporters from lesser houses and the nostalgic: house Kodesh, known for its unbreakable dedication to the ideals of honor; house Ha’Gardom, made up of bloodthirsty hunters of Naakinisian beasts; house Qadi, reputed for its asceticism and strange martial arts; house Merkaz, a fiercely competitive league of Frilins trained in ruthless telepathic domination. Exerting a subtle but deep influence in many rural battalions of the Core Army’s, the Imperial Republic is possibly the most influential group of Thirteenth Wheel’s Board of Leaders as its leader, a 2nd Sphere Overlord known as duchess Dherrica Ubik, has possession of the original Fragment. Aside for its considerable financial resources, the Imperial Republic is supported by a zealous militia of some 140,000 soldiers in its domains, although its authority quickly wanes within the Enclave. The faction has close ties with the Twin Voices and the Red Front, but tense relations with the P.A.W.N. They resent the Confederacy as much as they distrust the Cartel, but understand they must put aside their differences for a time to pursue their common goal of tearing down the Core.

THE RED FRONT (VolkoÔ militarist rebels) The Red Front began its existence as a protest movement among Volkoïs who desired that the Core hand them over control over their own reproduction, rather than have their numbers and education decided by the state. As years passed and it became clear the Core Himself would not relinquish this power, the protesters went more radical and engaged in acts of sabotage and vandalism. After the CPRM reacted harshly to stop this violence, the Red Front went underground and started actively to recruit new Volkoïs (especially the younger, more naïve ones) from the Core Army and the construction industry to fill its ranks. The movement gained a more formal organization after the election of its new leader General Migdal, in command of the 14th Legion of the Core Army Infantry Division of Oce under the orders of the Scourge, the Core’s most trusted lieutenant. A military mastermind, the General ordered all criminal activities be stopped by the Red Front to concentrate on building a secret army for a “coup”. In times of crisis, the Red Front could draw up battalions of up to 70,000 Volkoïs. The stagnating movement gained a strong momentum when they were invited by the Twin Voices to join the Thirteenth Wheel’s conspiracy. The Red Front co-operate with other warrior groups in military operations of PROJECT BRAZIER (mostly OPERATION: DURENDAL and OPERATION: PANTAGRUEL), but the General also plans to use the conspiracy to further a hidden agenda (OPERATION: EGG).


THE OMNIUM OF UNITY (Frilin sect of utopian mindwalkers) The quest for understanding the mysteries of the mind has always preoccupied the Frilins, but none more so than the Omnium that seeks to join all sentient minds on Kaïnas in a single collective entity. As weird and unsettling as their goal may seem, their mind-sharing experiences allows them to share great expertise in the domains of the mind, eflow and the Dream. Members of the Omnium are known to practice strange mental techniques and carry vast libraries within their minds. The possibility to study the Fragment’s properties convinced them to join the Thirteenth Wheel, although they care little for its political goals. More adept at research than field operations, Omnium scientists have been working closely with the Notion in PROJECT AZURE and provided essential insight in developing the prototype for the Psycho-Active Matrix with which the Thirteenth Wheel intends to manipulate reality and the Dream. About 350 members of the Omnium are directly or directly involved in the conspiracy, although their mind-sharing practices suggest the possibility that many more are acting undercover. Their most notorious member involved in the conspiracy is Professor Yun, psychiatrist and mindwalker in charge of the P.A.M. prototype. Pr. Yun benefits from “elder” status among the Omnium and could be considered a “critical node” of this organization, since its communal structure deprives it of a proper leader.

THE CARTEL (Independent InaÔs espionage agency) The Cartel is an underground organization whose existence is unknown even to the highest authorities of the Inaïs hearts. Its purpose is to defend the welfare of the Inaïs people against the hegemony of the “Kaïnas mindset” in general and the Core in particular. These agents operate as independent cells linked by charismatic leaders (“Linkers”): although their structure makes it difficult for them to engage in vast coordinated operations, their skills and mobility make them perfect for blitzkrieg and guerrilla tactics, such as required for PROJECT BRAZIER. Although their cause makes them circumstantial allies of the Thirteenth Wheel at best, the Cartel has long been holding relations with the Twin Voices and the Notion, and sympathizes with the Omnium’s cause. Although only five of the Cartel’s Linkers are involved in the conspiracy (led by Linker Shekinah), they can draw on resources and expertise from many other independent cells: the Cartel could draw up to 1,000 saboteurs and agents in a pinch, possibly up to 5,000 given enough time.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE NOTION (Emovan spiritual movement) The Notion is a bizarre religious movement from the Emovan depths that preaches detachment from worldly affairs to better study the mysteries of reality, the World and Aran. These mystics practice complex rituals to “navigate” between the three worlds, arguing that they receive revelations from the Voices of Below, mysterious Aran entities from the deepest abysses of the underground seas, through its gurus known as Speakers. The Notion’s participation in a political urprising would be paradoxical were it not for their great interest in the Fragment and its arcane powers. Through the sect’s relations with the Omnium, the Imperialist Republic League negotiated the Notion would be authorized to study Moulds of the Fragment to ascertain their properties in exchange for their valuable scientific knowledge about eflow and the Dream. Of the Thirteenth Wheel’s threefold conspiracy, the Notion only contributes to PROJECT AZURE, talking through its Speaker, a wrinkled Emovan female known as the Quaver. The exact number of Notion members involved in this project is unknown, but at least 70 high caliber scientists have been reported plus at least 6,000 battle-worthy supporters, mostly in the underwater city of Danaac, beneath the mighty Khaï-Bhëk.

THE TWIN VOICES (Coalition of the city-states of Uchatere and Yhrne-Llemir) The secret services of the independent cities of Uchatere and Yhrne-Llemir have long co-operated to prevent their forced integration by the Core, despite its contemporary claims of friendship. Although the eastern cities have been culturally assimilated for all practical matters, they cling fiercely to their independence. Long time allies of the Cartel in what was known as the Spectral Alliance, the Twin Voices joined forces with the Thirteenth Wheel as the Fragment gave credibility to the project of weakening the Enclave’s eastern borders. The Voices do not seek the destruction of the Core and will try to prevent a global war at all costs, knowing their more powerful neighbor would obliterate them. Their objective is to destabilize the Core’s economic system (especially the CODS), attacking it through the structural centralism that is its greater vulnerability. Through OPERATION: PANTAGRUEL, they will attempt to break the Core’s hold on orpee distribution, believing a greater dependency on external sources (such as the Inaïs hearths) would lessen its economic power and force it to compromise and put to rest its expansionism. The two most important agents of the Twin Voices involved in the Thirteenth Wheel are agents Beith Hagefen and Levana Mikveh from Uchatere and Yhrne-Llemir. It is not known whether these act independently or take their orders from Eli-Naja, the powerful Echo said to have stopped the Scourge himself from conquering Yhrne-Llemir (see MD/DS p.87).


THE CONFEDERACY (horde of Fundamentalist Yaki tribes) This motley band of brigands and barbarians was convinced to help the Thirteenth Wheel in the accomplishment of OPERATION: DURENDAL by the promise of powerful modern weapons. Nearly 28 related Fundamentalist tribes comprising a total of some 43,000 warriors have joined the movement so far, both to express their hatred against civilization and to possess the promised tools of war. Their ways are unsophisticated and their motivations primal, far from the sophisticated plots of the other factions. Despite all the rhetoric about them being equal “partners in war”, the Yaki of the Confederacy are mostly looked down as vulgar mercenaries to be used and sacrifice as needed. The Yaki see things differently, of course, and intend to part with the conspirators when the deal suits them no longer. They play dumb as it draws the “civilized” into overconfidence, but will not hesitate to betray them at the first opportunity. Though all tribes are only accountable to themselves, the chosen representative for the Confederacy is Zongo, 1st Sphere Pilot, renowned war leader of tribe Golgoth and fertile father of fifteen through his three ever-pregnant wives.

THE CONSORTIUM (independent corporate industrialists) Not all industrials benefit from the Core’s strict regulation of trade through the Geodem system. As the Core grew in size and complexity, many advocates of the free-market raised dissident voices about the CERM’s policies, claiming its centralized bureaucracy will strangle the growth of small firms and hamper innovation as well as excellence, supporting that monopolies effectively destroy competition and create conditions for inefficiency, patronage and restrict freedom of choice for consumers. The CERM did not react kindly to these academic protesters, having them put on trial, “re-educated” in the CSRM’s “social camps” or even imprisoned. The economic resistance movement was eventually driven underground, led by free-market ideologues strongly opposed to the centralized economics defended by the Core. Very small at its beginning, the movement gained in size when disenfranchised industrialists suffering ill effects from the Geodem system’s methods of selection joined its ranks in order to finance the Core’s economic implosion from within. Until the rebel economists met with the Imperialist League, their activities were mostly limited to perpetuating their ideas in secret reunions. They saw in the Thirteenth Wheel the perfect opportunity to put their plans in action. The Consortium always acts from the shadows, providing the conspiracy with massive funds, misdirecting CERM auditors, confusing the bureaucracy from within, sabotaging rival corporations from within and meddling with the Core’s Orpee Distribution System (CODS). Although the Consortium never takes direct action, it finances the armed revolt of the P.A.W.N. and the Confederacy in the hope of future returns on their investments. The faction itself numbers some 2,000 agents, with thrice as many sympathizers. The Consortium’s most influent executive is Zilch Zloty, an influent manager in the Oce department for the Secure Stock S.E.S.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE PEOPLEíS ASSEMBLY OF WAR FOR NAAKINIS (anarchist movement ìP.A.W.N.î) The leader of the P.A.W.N., Comrade Tovarich is a sarcastic crook with a silver tongue, the powers of a 2nd Sphere Truth Crafter and a strong bent for demagogy. Although he could easily have become a manager for the CSRM, the Nayan thirsted for the easier way to power than a life of bookkeeping. Over the course of many years, he set up rousing the workers’ discontent against the Core to build a powerful movement around him, projecting his sacrificial instinct in others to engage in riots, mugging, sabotage, terrorism and the occasional political murder, all the while extending the roots of his growing criminal empire. The so-called “hero of the Masses” is a master of stirring violent activism through passionate political speeches with vague catch-all worlds, evoking the “growing decay of the roots of society” and the “need for social leaders to build a better tomorrow”, since “individual interests must be set aside for collective interests”, etc. Through a vast system of underlings, Tovarich exerts considerable power to coerce corporations into racket and “cooperation”: the great majority of his minions sincerely believe in his “cause” and any direct assault on him would make him a martyr. The Consortium has been hiring his services to serve the Thirteenth Wheel in PROJECT BRAZIER, although they do not trust him and suspect the CSRM to be holding him under close scrutiny (a correct assumption). Most leaders of the Thirteenth Wheel ignore the truth of his egoistical side, but the majority treat him as an uncouth underling and give him a wide berth as long as he does not go against the greater interests of the conspiracy.

THE FOUR (Unknown) The conspiracy’s four other secret members remain in the shadows and do not address directly the Thirteenth Wheel’s board. Their only contact is through duchess Ubik, the conspiracy’s initiator and its de facto leader, which has lead other board members to believe they do not exist - despite the occasional ambiguous evidence brought forth by duchess Ubik. For the time being, their identities and purpose are not to be revealed.


CONSPIRACY PROJECTS PROJECT AZURE Allegiance: Thirteenth Wheel sub-project Leader: Pr. Pleselei, Secure Stock S.E.S. research director (Consortium)

OVERVIEW PROJECT AZURE is the first of the three underground projects supported by the Thirteenth Wheel conspiracy. Its purpose is the pursuit of scientific and esoteric knowledge related to the connection between eflow and the Dream, and to discovery of techniques to control them. Recently, the Project’s focus has moved from theoretical studies to field tests on a Mould made from a mysterious Fragment, which was supposedly discovered in the Kaïnas wastes. Its powers and origins are yet unknown, yet early results pledge astonishing prospects.

The clandestine researchers of this group conduct experiments outside the boundaries of mainstream Core research, through methods not only dangerous but sometimes outright unethical: abduction, experimentation on sentient subjects, lobotomy, fetus alteration, forced genetic manipulations, etc. No method is too repulsive for PROJECT AZURE’s tools to decipher the Fragment’s mysteries. Classifying PROJECT AZURE a “flock of mad scientists” would be an exaggeration, though members are certainly misguided if not miscreant. Individual motivations vary from the unrestricted pursuit of scientific investigation on the Dream’s properties (the Notion), economic and political imperatives (the Cartel and the Consortium) or the quest for spiritual discoveries (the Omnium). The majority of the project’s members were recruited among employees of its founding organizations (the Cartel, the Consortium, the Omnium and the Notion) was well as independent or renegade scholars from the Core Army and the CERM. Most scientists justify their actions in that results will profit the good of the many, considering “the heroic sacrifice of a few individuals” is a small to pay for “social progress”, under the comforting premise that “truly evil acts cannot result from benevolent intentions”.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook Dissidents are swiftly reminded the project’s position about desertion, or serve as tests subjects. Only a handful of project members know of the project’s genuine political purpose and its dependence on the Thirteenth Wheel. From a symbolic perspective, PROJECT AZURE could be interpreted as the “Dream aspect” of the imperialist conspiracy, in complement to PROJECT CASSANDRA’s technological focus and the military operation of PROJECT BRAZIER. The code name ‘Azure’ is a reference to the color of the Pendulum.

ORGANIZATION PROJECT AZURE was founded in the year 111 after Duchess Ubik had convinced the founding members of the Thirteenth Wheel to finance an independent research group to study the mechanics of the Dream as a tool of warfare to be used against the Core. After difficult beginnings in the first years, PROJECT AZURE’s budget was increased over 250% after showing very promising results from experiments on the Mould.

The direction of PROJECT AZURE is managed by Pr. Pleselei, Secure Stock S.E.S. research director (Oce department) and representative for the Consortium with friendly ties to the Imperial Republic. Pleselei takes her orders directly from the Thirteenth Wheel’s board of ‘the Thirteen’ and answers to no other, though funding bodies pressure her constantly for reports on the project’s profitability. Aside for the Thirteenth Wheel itself, the more influent bodies are the Consortium and the Omnium, whose objectives (Gnath economy versus Frilin philosophy) are often clashing at board reunions. In comparison, the Notion (Emovan) and the Cartel (Inaïs) are minor players as regards to numbers (but not expertise), but follow closely project developments. The Notion’s ace lies in its capacity to conduct underwater experiments and its closer contact with the spirit world. Since the early year 111, the project counts over 120 senior scientists and 200 support and security personnel scattered over the Core’s territories (with about 50% operating in the Enclave and 35% in the eastern Oce quadrant). From the beginning, all task forces have been restricted to work on one of the seven Moulds made from the Fragment instead of the original. Researchers repeatedly pressure duchess Ubik to let them study the original, a pressure to which a growing member of the Thirteenth Wheel’s board are becoming sensible.


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RESOURCES Scientists in PROJECT AZURE are few in number and low on resources compared to Core Army scientific teams, yet the patronage afforded them by the Thirteenth Wheel compensates by a freedom of action they couldn’t afford under licit Core regulations. The project’s continuation is exclusively financed by grants from its stakeholders, and under great pressure to produce tangible results in order to carry out its existence. Though its existence is unofficial (and would certainly be considered subversive by Core authorities), its supporter organizations account its activities under the official denomination of “fundamental research on eflow patterns”. The greatest part of its expenses is equipment (52%) and personnel (27%). PROJECT AZURE’s annual budget is provided as follows:

Conspiracy Groups


- 62% from the Thirteenth Wheel’s direct funding - 23% by the Consortium’s “risk management” reserve in research and development (R&D) - 16% by the Omnium members’ personal wealth - 8% by the Cartel’s subsidies - 3% by the Notion’s return on profits in industrial

applications of the new discoveries

TASK FORCES PROJECT AZURE’s activities embrace occult studies over field intervention, aside for its own defense. Its staff is mostly composed of Dream theorists, academics, scientists and paranormal specialists. While it does support a small number of escorts and warriors for protection, PROJECT AZURE is certainly no threat for any armed squad or band. The project’s purpose is the gathering of knowledge, its personnel are organized accordingly: Four special subdivisions have been entrusted with studying a Mould each, the remaining three shared among the remaining (and often less experienced) scientists:

Other scientists are scattered among matrix teams whose configuration is perpetually reorganized. All PROJECT AZURE members take precaution not to gather in large numbers and take extreme caution in all exchanges. All communications are coded, ciphers changing every 3 months. Only Subdivision leaders are instructed of the projects’ directives and trained in deciphering. subdivision members are instructed to use numbers and code names instead of genuine identities, though Frilins tend to prove uncooperative of this ‘paranoid nonsense’ and tend to employ real names in their personal correspondence, despite repeated efforts form PROJECT AZURE authorities Subdivision no. 1 (23 scholars): Led by Yucca of the Omnium, Frilin psychologist. Conducting forced psychic and to end this habit. genetic alterations with the Mould on a variety of species in a top secret Core Army facility about 135 miles north-east of Dubarim, in the west quadrant. Paul Linton (order #4667478)

Subdivision no. 2 (18 scholars): Led by Tron Mendeleïev of the Consortium, psycho-economist and chemist. Conducting magnetic and sonic experiments on the Mould and dissection on Odwoane subjects at the city of Yhrne-Llemir (3rd level). Subdivision no. 3 (23 scholars): Led by Barakka of the Notion, Emovan research manager for Ekul Dreamsuits S.E.S. Conducting underwater experiments on the Aran entities’ reaction to the Mould’s psychic emissions in a hidden base up north, in the Emovan homeland. Subdivision no. 4 (25 scholars): Led by Orpheus of the Omnium, Frilin eflow theorist. Conducting experiments on eflow patterns in a secret Frilin sanctuary at Base 4891 (Secure Stock S.E.S.), in the Oce quadrant. All Subdivision no. 4 personnel have been killed during the Yaki attack at Base 4891, except for the group’s Awakener abnormally altered by an unpredictable conjunction of the Mould and the broken Frilin pattern.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook NOTABLE INDIVIDUALS

Pr. Berallite Pleselei, PROJECT AZURE leader (Consortium) Gnath female, born year 67 (age 44) at Oce (3rd level), Secure Stock S.E.S. research director (Oce department), single. Pr. Pleselei is a personal friend of duchess Ubik and secret Imperialist sympathizer, despite her official allegiance to the Consortium. Her noble ancestry (by distant relatives) favors her support for the restoration of pre-Core aristocratic privileges. Yucca, head of Subdivision no. 1 (Omnium) Frilin neuter, born year 17 (age 94) in the western forests, psychologist and mindwalker, mentor of Orpheus (leader of Subdivision no. 4). Senior counselor in genetics military for the Core Army (2nd Division), member of the Volkoï Psychology & Evolution department. Known as a discrete researcher by its peers, Counselor Yucca’s allegiance to the Omnium is closely kept secret as its position within the Core Army provides it with significant access to resources and knowledge. The counselor’s secret is protected by many Volkoï officers loyal to the Red Front.

Tron MendeleÔev, head of Subdivision no. 2 (Consortium) Gnath male, born year 73 (age 38) at Khaï-Bhëk (4th level), magnetic engineer, married, three children. In mid-year 104, he relinquished Core citizenship and joined the ‘Startling Blazes Corporation’ of Uchatere as R&D manager. A renowned rebel sympathizer, Mendeleïev has been acting for over 12 years as an undercover agent for what was to become the Consortium. He has been fighting Core policy since the massacre of his siblings by Core Army retaliation after the violent anti-Core riots in the lower platforms of Uchatere (year 108). Known for his cold efficiency, absolute hatred for the Core and spectacular advances in magnetic technology. Barakka, head of Subdivision no. 3 (Notion) Emovan female, born year 59 (age 52) at Danaac, head of the exploration detachment for the ‘United Industrial Adjudicators’ cooperative. An absent-minded female with a knack for operating machinery efficiently even within the Dream’s worst crisis, Barakka is a meditative sort whose utter devotion to the ideals of the Notion borders fanaticism. Holding an important rank within the Notion’s secret hierarchy, she is expected to succeed the Quaver, a wise and old Speaker of the Notion, when the crone’s life will come to an end. Her rank within the Notion is that of ‘Underspeaker’. Orpheus, head of Subdivision no. 4 (Omnium) Frilin neuter, born year 45 (age 66) at Amber heart (Inaïs homeland), eflow theorist, apprentice of Yucca, head of Subdivision no.1. Leader of the secret research team at Secure Stock Base 4891, Orpheus has recently been killed by ‘accident’ after a Yaki war band’s attack on the base. Orpheus was reputed for his mathematical abilities and talent in analyzing eflow patterns. The team’s only Echo, an Emovan Awakener named Hesperid, is the Subdivision’s sole survivor and only witness of Base 4891’s ‘accident’. Pr. Yun, senior psychiatrist and intermediary for PROJECT CASSANDRA (Omnium) Frilin neuter, born year 129 before the Core (age 240) at an unknown location. Pr Yun is a secretive Frilin acting as the Omnium’s representative for the Thirteenth Wheel and leads the research team working on the Psycho-Active Matrix featured in the second chapter of the campaign.


THE CARTEL ORIGINS AND PHILOSOPHY The well-known wealth and prosperity of Inaïs society and the ten Foyers in particular is dependent on one crucial variable: the monopoly on orpee production. As generous as the Inaïs people may be, most of them do not realize this advantage to be a considerable factor explaining the tranquility and quality of their living conditions compared to citizens of the Core and the independent city-states or colonies. Living a life of art, harmony and leisure (at least from Kaïnas standards) requires one’s relative independence from economic constraints, as competition is the natural consequence of the scarcity of resources. Yet Inaïs are universally considered as charitable, compassionate and good spirited people. They do not abuse their monopoly, selling it at reasonable prices and willingly share their wealth with the genuinely downtrodden. Many Core economists have wondered how Inaïs manage to attain such prosperity without the direction of a strongly interventionist government, considering the chaos and anarchy that reigned during the Years of Chaos, before Droliath Estolah negotiated with the Frilin Council what was to become the Core. Scholars usually quote cultural if not racial factors for an explanation, but rational economists realize the impressive economic success of the Inaïs communities cannot be explained by these elements alone, as neither planned economics nor the ‘invisible hand’ of the free market seem to regulate global economics. Hence, the answer must be something else, something the CERM academics are still trying to decipher. Part of this mystery lies in the Cartel - the Inaïs approach to economic protectionism. No one can remember how long the Cartel has been in existence, although it certainly grew in importance and scope after the onset of Core’s crusade. The Cartel is a secret that must be preserved at all costs for the common good of the Inaïs people. Its existence and goals are so secretive that the organization’s true name, hierarchy and missions are known to no single individual. Its extremely decentralized activities focus on the preservation of the orpee monopoly, protection of the communities’ welfare and preservation of the economic status quo on Kaïnas.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook STRUCTURE The Cartel could be described as the darker counterpart to the Inaïs’ cheerful side. Paradoxically, its members are mainly recruited among the (rare) rehabilitated Inaïs criminals, those that do not quite ‘fit’ in society, loners and pessimists looking for another chance to serve their people in a way best suited to their talents. Cartel agents engage in acts Inaïs would find unethical, selfish or outright evil: nevertheless the preservation of their people’s prosperity and lifestyle demands they engage in espionage, intelligence gathering and even terrorist operations (material sabotage, planned economic crashes, and sometimes ‘harmonization’ of uncooperative individuals). The Cartel goes to great pains to prevent any Inaïs from guessing the truth, fearing it would destroy the beautiful spirit and liveliness of their beloved society. The great majority of Inaïs would not realize the source of their wealth comes from their monopolistic position: their living conditions would rapidly degenerate to higher levels of competition, poverty and social tensions should a significant proportion of their riches be shared with the other nations of Kaïnas. This is a burden the Cartel must bear alone, a sacrifice demanded by their love for their people.

PERSONNEL Cartel agents operate in independent cells of 10 to 20 members coordinated by a single ‘Linker’, in contact with another layer of leaders themselves related to many webs. The total number of agents is unknown, but could be estimated around 25,000 operatives if not more and thrice as many sympathizers and informers. Only a fraction of those could ever participate in any given enterprise however. Members from different cells try to keep their identities hidden from one another and hide their faces during reunions. This paranoid structure insures the groups’ secrecy and safeguard, though it poses problems of communication and coordination among cells. Some cells specialize in strictly theoretical activities (economic analysis, political counseling, intelligence gathering, etc.), some infiltrate various corporations or communities as undercover moles while paramilitary units take charge of the more ‘heavyhanded’ business. Regular training in their specialty is mandatory for all agents, taking place in isolate locations (distant caves, disaffected buildings, hollowed-out Kioux roots, etc.) owned or rented by the Cartel.


Though a handful of cells can be orchestrated rapidly for a single operation, the Cartel cannot mobilize hundreds of individuals for large-scale conflicts leaving such procedures to the ‘formal’ Inaïs military. The Cartel is not a military body, but a tactical and ‘surgical’ organization foremost, striking at precise objectives to redirect global economics in the desired direction. Given its structure, it is impossible to tell the true number of agents working for the Cartel, though the majority maintains a public front with a part-time job convenient to their underground activities (public press, sentinels, economic positions in Core territory, etc.). The group does possess considerable resources fructified over centuries of existence and will gladly use bribes, contacts, investments and rumor mongering before taking more direct actions. Murder is used as a last recourse in respect to mainstream Inaïs philosophy, but Linkers never hesitate to act when necessary. In this respect (and many others), Cartel operatives are certainly not ‘run-of-the-mill’ Inaïs. Though they may live side-by-side innocuous citizens, Cartel operatives are usually a recluse lot that keep to themselves for safety’s sake. As the ethnic diversity of the Foyers grew over centuries, a sizeable number of Nayans were invited to join as their sense of personal sacrifice makes them ideal moles and covert agents. Allegiance to the Cartel is a lifelong engagement: members that consider dropping or selling out are swiftly ‘harmonized’ by their peers. This is a rule all Cartel agents know and accept: one lives and dies within the Cartel.

RESOURCES The Cartel’s principal asset is a vast wealth collected over centuries from various side-activities and strategic alterations of the market by its preferred tactics (i.e. disinformation, blackmail, intimidation and sabotage). The organization’s global resources are astounding (possibly competing Vilnaco) but the Cartel’s structure makes it all but impossible for a single cell to control these funds. Funds available for regular expenses are available to cell leaders by a complex network of informers. The Cartel’s desire for secrecy insures the organization directly owns as little material as possible, but its numerous allies and contacts within the Inaïs hearths allow it to ‘borrow’ transportation, technical equipment, information and high-tech military gear whenever necessary.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook A strike team of the Cartel is usually made of 1 to 5 cells comprising 10 to 100 individuals working in coordination under orders from their respective Linkers. These are preferably war veterans, experienced travelers or Echoes, but managers, economists, shamans or even religious leaders often lead cells with more peaceful responsibilities. Despite the Inaïs reputation for diplomacy, Cartel operatives and leaders are no more rebuked by ‘necessary violence’ than any other commandoes and will use whatever forces they feel necessary to complete their objectives. Expect anything from the Cartel - from friendly diplomats to assassin lovers to shock troops.

RELATIONS WITH THE THIRTEENTH WHEEL The Imperialist Republic, through its leader Dherrica Ubik, made contact with Cartel Linker Shekinah of Cell Iron Reverie after the two groups clashed during the covert ‘exfiltration’ of a subversive imperialist agent in an unofficial meeting between an Inaïs diplomatic delegation and CERM representatives at Kaderun. The imperialists were attempting to disguise their spy’s exit from the CERM division under the cover of a terrorist attack, but faced opposition from the Cartel who where spying on the CERM themselves. The distrust of the initial contact evolved into an agreement of neutrality between the two organizations, whose goals converged at stopping the Core’s northern expansion project at the time.


After careful recommendation by the Cartel’s allies in the Twin Voices, Linker Shekinah invited five other masked Linkers to negotiate the terms of their participation in the Thirteenth Wheel. Despite their reluctance at sharing secrets with outsiders, the Linkers saw in PROJECT BRAZIER the possibility to strike a powerful blow against the Core’s economic structure, increasing its economic dependency on the Inaïs Foyers after the setback suffered from the Core’s exploitation of a new orpee mine. About 100 scattered Cartel agents of the six cells are aware their organization is participating in a joint coalition with other rebels, but only the six Linkers know the dark about PROJECT BRAZIER. Moreover, Linker Shekinah kept for herself the Thirteenth Wheel’s involvement in another secret scheme - PROJECT AZURE - but she does not know of PROJECT CASSANDRA nor the great plans of duchess Ubik. No members of the Cartel know of OPERATION: GENESIS, PROJECT BRAZIER’s most secret venture, nor would they approve in all likeness. The Linkers can count on their peers’ assistance should the need be, but their obsessive secrecy would rather have them know as little as possible to prevent exposing the Cartel to its enemies (or worse, to its own people). Shekinah and her cell serve as a communication node between the Cartel and the Thirteenth Wheel. She represents her organization on the latter’s board of managers.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE Linker Shekinah, Cell Iron Reverie Inaïs female, age 31 (birth year 81), born in Vlorë hearth. Shekinah is the major Cartel organizer behind PROJECT BRAZIER and a close collaborator of the Twin Voices and the Notion, with whom she has been working undercover for years. A steadfast idealist, her parents were Cartel members themselves so she has been serving the organization ever since her youth. She will stop at nothing to oppose the Core’s expansion, which she loathes vehemently, up to and including political assassination, public bombings and mass homicide. Her innocent blue eyes show nothing of the fanatic maniac inside, nor does her tall and willowy beauty, for though she has a nymph’s ethereal loveliness her mind is harsh and unforgiving. Shekinah leads the Cartel in PROJECTBRAZIER both in combat, intelligence and management, taking great risks to carry out her goals. Linker Brakha, Cell Dreary Watch Inaïs female, age 36 (birth year 75), born in Foyer d’Ambre. Linker Brakha is pretty but somewhat portly with pale greenish skin, braided amber hair, wide cheeks and heavy-set hips. Trying to forget her criminal past as a thief and scam, she serves the Cartel with unfailing loyalty but shows her fellow Linkers less confidence than would be expected. She has little trust in their PROJECT BRAZIER allies and personally sent two of its spies to the backwater town of Morduch (agents Sloane and Astarte, a.k.a. Loth and Cassiopeia) to report on Base 4891’s activities. Though external cells have been asked to de-cipher the codes used in PROJECT BRAZIER’s information exchanges, her fellow Linkers know nothing of this personal initiative. Linker Moshava, Cell Ash Scarab Inaïs male, age 35 (birth year 76), born in Namo Nitob hearth. Moshava is a handsome rebel-styled rogue with battle scars on his narrow face, the square jaw of a leader, piercing blue eyes and darkly mottled cobalt skin. Clad in strong leather, he ties his long hair in a complex knot and walks with a good measure of arrogance as befits a genuine seductor. Once a ruthless thug among the street gangs of Namo Nitob hearth, he became a more restrained fellow after his pardon, though his aggressive tendencies come up to the surface from time to time. He serves the Cartel with a passion, but many fear his wrath. Moshava’s expertise lies in explosives and sabotage operations, in which he leads his cell to oppose the Core in any way possible. Though more merciful than many, he is not above ‘civilian casualties’ in order to complete his objectives. The Pallid Wanderer, Linker for Cell Repentance Inaïs male, Ecatim, age circa 35, birthplace unknown. The Wanderer was found roaming aimlessly in the city of Deir’kierf Zechin-Tës by Cartel agents eyes wide open, a knife’s blade stuck in his very chest. Originally thought to be a newborn Judicator, he has proven in fact to be an extraordinarily resilient Ecatim, capable of withstanding astounding damage. Despite his uncomfortable eeriness, the Pallid Wanderer was given lead of Cell Repentance and ordered to investigate what transpired from the events at Base 4891 (see p.65 and p.100).


Linker Goyim, Cell Mauve Nayan male, age 49 (birth year 62), born in Uchatere. Linker Goyim is a gloomy fellow with a long neck, a fine moustache and immense eyebrows, his small round eyes gazing intensely all-around him. Strongly depressive, he stirred up his martyr nature in serving the Cartel to which he was introduced after risking his life to hide Cartel operatives on a retrieval mission in Uchatere. Goyim’s essential role in PROJECT BRAZIER is that of a fence and conveyer, transporting weapons caches to rebel sympathizers and destroying the occasional railway. His martyr instinct would have him harm as few people as possible, and his tasks leave him often tormented for days, shaken up by morality crises. Linker Mercavah, Cell Marionette Inaïs male, age 42 (birth year 69), born in Khaï-Bhëk’s third plate. This inconspicuous midget is much more dangerous than he appears, serving as one of the Cartel’s most efficient assassins and communication specialists. His discreet presence, benign look, short dark hair and spongy purple skin contrast with his unusually long fingers ending in iron nails, a sign of his hidden nature. He was thrown to the streets when his parents were ruined by an infestation of Wingwongposterdams, having to beg and steal for a living until Inaïs traders found him and brought him to serve the Cartel. Despite his unassuming presence, Linker Mercavah is cold and calculating, with more than a gist of street politics. His missions usually relate to espionage and cryptography, controlling an extended network of observers all over Khaï-Bhëk and Oce.

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THE NOTION ìReality is a misnomer for an obsolete paradigm. Thought is the essence of all. Matter is but a shell. Flesh is a prison. Understanding the Notion is the purpose of thought. Transience to Aran is the completion of existence. Anything else, love, honor, glory, even life is insignificant. One must prepare oneís life for that last journey. For this, one must seek knowledge about the three worlds and their barriers in order to overcome them. Only then will true life begin. We are the larvae for the Voices of Below that dwell within Aran. Our purpose is to evolve. We must set aside all things worldly to grow beyond flesh, to join with eternity. Progress, society, nations and ideals are foam in the waves. They are nothing. We do not seek death. Death is a lie. We seek true life. We seek the Notion.î


ORIGINS AND PHILOSOPHY The Notion emerged at an undetermined period of the early Emovan history from various mystical movements and trends derived from the Frilins’ traditional faith in Naakinis. Gradually integrating more formality in its rites and structure, as it grew more and more distant from worldly affairs, the Notion regroups secular acolytes who are basically knowledge seekers united in the common purpose of better understanding the nature of the Dream and Aran. Their spiritual research studies the migration and transience of the souls as they travel from Reality to the two other worlds, trying to make contact with entities from these unfathomable realms. They call this quest of theirs ‘the Notion’, hence their group’s name. In their quest for knowledge, Notion members have established close contacts with some Yaki Dream tribes and many Nightmare Echoes, as well as studying the Dream Keys through which Dream Shamans control the ‘Second World’. Many believe the Notion possesses far greater knowledge about Dream Keys than most Dream tribes, however it is known that the sect deliberately spreads myths and mystifications about its true nature and purpose to keep out the curious and confuse the profane. From what little is known it appears that disciples of the Notion believe the distinction between the three worlds of Reality, Dream and Aran is a lie. They would not fear the death of the flesh for they wish to join in the essence of Aran, but they fear death on the ‘Dryworld’ where they believe their souls will be forever chained. Although they usually dislike violence, the adepts consider life to be nothing but an ephemeral state and physical sensations to be false. As such they do not value life or self-sacrifice, but they do value the quest for and the sharing of knowledge. Notion members live very introspective lives and show little emotion in public, likewise not involving themselves in their greater society aside for strict necessity. They do not judge nor take interest in what others do or think, but they do respect people whose work relates to the collection or production of knowledge. To the Notion, understanding the nature of the world is the true purpose of existence for everything is ephemeral and thusly futile.

To join the Notion is a long process of underwater meditation, fasting and studying. Only genuine believers are welcome after proving their sincerity through painful ordeals over an extended period of time. The most dedicated will be accepted first as Prospects, and only given the rights of Novices after there is longer any doubt of their sincerity. Initiation ranks are marked on the skin with silver nitrate, a very corrosive acid that leaves permanent black stains. Rites of passage are said to simulate the relinquishment of one stage of existence for another. To become Initiates, the Novices are left starving without food or orpee during five days in the open waters, and then are left to the care of the Flota fishes believed to drag the ‘chosen’ back to the congregation. Many die, but enough survive in the process to warrant sufficient applicants… No member below the rank of Initiate is given vital or deeply insightful information about the Notion’s arcane wisdom: nineteen out of twenty members never get past this rank. The Notion is extremely secretive about its Dream enchantments and Keys. Those who aspire to a higher state of being must pass through an arduous process of purging, using powerful psychotropic drugs to alter their perceptions while meditating. Only when the Speaker of a Chapter dies or passes to the Dream world do Shining Ones and Underspeakers (mystics of apprentice and intermediary ranks) get to rise in the ranks. The most promising Underspeaker becomes the new Speaker to serve as the Chapter’s guru and spokesperson for the Voices of Below, mysterious entities that the Notion worships.

STRUCTURE The Notion does not follow an integrated and vertical organization pattern, as would the Imperialists or the Red Faction, but regroup in semi-secret associations under the leadership of influential leaders (often Dream shamans) integrated in a dispersed but spiritually cohesive world-spanning fraternity. The organization is led by a decentralized authority based on degrees if initiation. Local gatherings of the Notion are referred to as Chapters, obeying a strict hierarchy of ranks representing each member’s degree of spiritual advancement. Advancement in ranks goes through the acquisition of important knowledge, seniority and wining the favor of the upper ranks. It requires complex initiation rites involving fasting, branding, visions induced by drugs and solitary incursions through the Dream to bring about new revelations to


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook the Chapter’s knowledge pool. Members of ‘Illuminated’ rank or above are tested through spiritual and symbolic challenges to prove their worth of accessing the ‘Higher Worlds’ where the nature of things is more evanescent. Those above the rank of Speaker are said to roam the paths of the Dream itself, where they are believed to listen to mysterious beings known as the Voices of Below located in the Aran world. Since most material possessions cannot be carried within those worlds, Notion members show their ranks not by symbols or paraphernalia but by branding and complex tattoo patterns. These get more elaborate and intricate as members rise in the ranks. Every important Emovan community has its small Chapter of the Notion, usually a discrete underwater meeting place where adepts meditate, discuss and conduct their rites. Speakers keep very close ties with one another and manage to keep the movement united, although all have great leeway in the organization of local affairs. The mysterious Voices of Below do not involve themselves with worldly matters, only communicating with the Speakers during mystical experiences. An influent and sizeable Chapter is known to exist in the city of Oce, where a ring of four important Speakers act in unison as the heralds for the Voices of Below. Their most important ‘reverend’ is a powerful Dream creature known as a Sicrore going by the name of The Songmaker (see BS/R p.34-35). Its status is somewhat between that of Speaker and Dream Traveler, but its understanding of the Dream is widely revered. All acknowledge the Quaver’s superior wisdom as an elder and defer to her higher status, although the Sicrore is given a wide berth even by this respected elder. Since there is little in the way of underwater caves beneath the city, the Notion adepts have taken to living in tight quarters in the city’s water system, where many work as plumbers. Their unnoticeable presence in the underground serves the interests of PROJECT AZURE, a useful advantage considering the city’s strategic position. Outside Emovan communities, the Notion keeps a semi-clandestine profile to evade investigation by the authorities. It is especially careful with the Core, which it believes hostile to spiritual activities. Notion adepts in the Dryworld regroup in close knit communities for comfort and protection, to share revelations and worship the Voices of Below in secrecy. CSRM propaganda states that some Notion ‘cells’ go as far as commit kidnappings to sacrifice captives to their dark ‘gods’ but this seems highly unlikely considering the Notion’s usual


passivity. It is known however that Initiates of the Notion and those of higher rank use a special body language to communicate and that some among the adepts serve as the community’s defenders, often doubling as Dream warriors. The Notion refers to these Novices as ‘Custodians of the Waves’ and holds them in high esteem, although few Initiates rise from their rank because of their military focus. Using hidden weapon caches, foldable weapons and blowpipes, these Custodians act swiftly to protect their kind and never hesitate to pass on the ‘Kiss of Death’. Believing themselves hallowed by the Voices of Below, these assassins would sacrifice their lives wholeheartedly for their cause. Although it is certain the Notion knows much about the mysteries of the Dream and Aran, outsiders cannot ascertain the depth of its knowledge because of the group’s extreme secrecy. Those that survive and receive the approbation of their senior brethren may rise in the ranks to be taught the Dream Keys that can tame the Dream and even bend it to their wills (see BS/E p.61 for more on Dream Keys).

Notion rank Unenlightened

Comment Outsiders, people that do not follow the Notion’s ways

Children I. Prospect II. Novice III. Initiate

New members invited to join in, not yet enjoying full rights as a member These are the ‘average’ members of the Notion Members involved on special missions for the Notion, with better status and trust

Illuminated I. Shining One II. Underspeaker III. Speaker

Members undergoing the austere and challenging tests to become Speakers Apprentices to the Speaker, of which there are but four per Chapter Community leaders, of which there is but one per Chapter

Dream Travelers Speakers that have undertaken their transformation into Dream creatures

Voices of Below Mysterious Aran entities worshipped by the Notion


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook PERSONNEL

The Notion is more of a philosophical or religious movement than a formal organization per se; common members hold all the jobs found in an underwater Emovan city or community. Since almost all their activities are based underwater, members that are not Emovans are a rarity (mostly Nayans, Inaïs and Odwoanes - Gnaths, Soleks, Volkoïs or Zïns are unheard of). Nobody could tell the true number of Notion agents involved with the Thirteenth

Wheel, directly or not, but it is estimated it could call on 70 academicians and scientists as well as some 6,000 Emovan-at-arms in the Core’s domain should the need arise for aggressive action. As many Speakers are versed in the secrets of Dream traveling, distance between Chapters is not as important a factor as it appears on first glance. The Notion’s numbers are spread out across all places inhabited by the Emovan race (notably the vast seas in the far north), but many can be found in underwater Danaac, just beneath the Core capital of Khaï-Bhëk. Water Plumbers, Dream warriors and Garbage Collectors are common though, and many refrain from the social and bureaucratic domains as they rarely relate well with their usually introvert temperaments. Most senior members work as Dream shamans, physicians or chaplains for their communities but an important minority work as scribes, librarians or scientists that stock, analyze and use the Notion’s considerable pool of knowledge to further their cause. Their profiles are generally identical to Dream shamans, i.e. most are mature or older females well respected within their collectivities.

RESOURCES The Notion’s main asset is the complete dedication of its many members spread out all over the Emovan communities, for although its demographic weight is negligible at any significant place, its voice is far reaching. Aside for charity grants by its members to their Chapters, the Notion’s main revenue comes from intellectual property royalties of industrial patents developed from their research and development on the Dream and Aran, as well as collectivity funds given for their work as Dream shamans and warriors. The Notion is notably reputed for the creation and industrial secrets of a special brand of weed wetsuits, an advanced form of Dream technology developed in a distant island of the far north by a Walker named Ekul. Crafted from a rare underwater plant known as Chthonic Weed, Ekul Dreamsuits I.E.S.’ outfits are said to hold Dreamstorms at bay and channel away the darker aspects of Dreamtime. Detractors of the corporation have related isolated incidents involving abnormal ‘intrusions’ of the Aran world within reality as proof of these suits’ inherent dangerousness, without much evidence or credibility. Returns on this invention alone accounts for 36% of the Notion’s annual revenue (around 2,2 million BP).


RELATIONS WITH THE THIRTEENTH WHEEL Relations between the Notion and the Cartel have been cordial and mutually beneficial for quite a long time, as does the informal alliance between the Notion and the Omnium. Both groups work closely at the individual level in PROJECT AZURE as they share common methods and ideological proximity, believing in the relinquishment of individuality. Linker Shekinah of the Cartel knows the Quaver personally, and the latter negotiated with House Qadi of the Imperialist Republic League, through Omnium ambassadors, the possibility to study the Moulds’ secrets in exchange for their cooperation in research endeavors. Many Speakers of the Notion keep close ties with Frilins in general and the Omnium in particular, sympathizing with their quest for understanding the mind’s secrets. The Notion’s relations with most of the other groups of the Thirteenth Wheel vary from tension to indifference and relate strictly to business. Dislike arises from ideological differences as the Notion’s intensely spiritual and unbending stance does not match easily the more militaristic or economic groups of the conspiracy, and the Notion does not care about the Core, the ‘Dryworld’ nor physical reality in general. Their cooperation goes as far as their personal interest in this scheme. The Emovans’ in-depth knowledge about the Dream is deeply needed for PROJECT AZURE but duchess Ubik does not trust them and will let them have as little control as possible over operations. In this regard, the Omnium usually serves as mediator between the utopian Notion and the rest of the Thirteenth Wheel. The Notion cares nothing for the Core, the Inaïs hearths or the Thirteenth Wheel as a matter of fact. It does however seek to learn about the properties of the Fragment and its Moulds. As much as they dislike the Imperial Republic League’s secrecy about the artifact, they cooperate grudgingly to learn as much as they can about its nature, powers and origin. It is strange and perhaps disquieting to see to what lengths the Notion would go to satisfy its fascination with duchess Ubik’s Fragment. Outside the Thirteenth Wheel, Notion adepts are usually disliked as passive, taciturn and unproductive members of society. They do not involve themselves in war, trade nor politics, except when it directly concerns their personal well-being and then only with the greatest repugnance. Although they do not welcome proselytes, they preach withdrawal from worldly affairs. New applicants are thoroughly screened and the great majority of them are


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rejected, even for the simple rank of Prospect. As such the Notion’s communities are somewhat pariahs in Emovan society at large, but despite this dislike they are not persecuted in this regard. Despite this usual tolerance, it is not unheard of for Notion adepts to serve as scapegoats when Dream storms or manifestations get out of control. This has led some Speakers to cooperate with local authorities to protect their Chapter’s well being, offering their knowledge and skills regarding the Dream in exchange for peace and protection.

The Notion sees Echoes as gifted beings and holds their powers in great esteem, if not the Echoes themselves. Awakeners and Truth Crafters are especially honored and solicited to join the fraternity. Although they admire the control of Engineers over Subtle Mechanisms, the Notion’s focus is much more oriented towards spirituality than functionality. On various occasions throughout its history, the Notion has been suspected of kidnapping and indoctrinating frenzied Nightmares but nothing has ever been proven. Alliances have been concluded with the Echo faction of the Redemptors in the past to investigate common matters but the Notion does not ally with other groups on a regular basis, the Thirteenth Wheel being a notable exception. Although this is unclear as testimonies on this matter are contradictory, it seems that the Notion does not accept as true the sentience of Naakinis, a theological matter that sets them apart from the Frilins (although they hold the Echo faction of the One Mind in great respect, and tolerate well the Omnium of Unity). Instead, it seems Naakinis is considered a state of being, something related to the integration of all worlds in a single harmony. Evidence suggests the Notion acknowledges the Awakener theory about the sentience of eflow.

NOTABLE PEOPLE Barakka, head of PROJECT AZUREís Subdivision no.3 This research manager for Ekul Dreamsuits S.E.S. studies one of the Fragment’s Moulds in an isolated research facility in the Emovan homeland. Acting as senior Underspeaker for her Chapter, she is believed by most to be chosen as the Quaver’s successor (also see p.44).


The Quaver The Notion’s decentralized structure does not allow for a true leader to emerge, favoring instead the formation of independent Chapters around charismatic leaders, more or less in contact with one another, united only through their aims and their respect for the Speakers, Dream Travelers and the Voices of Below. The Quaver, however, is the most influential character and Dream shaman of the Notion to be involved with the Thirteenth Wheel. This aged and wrinkled Emovan female is afflicted by old age as to barely walk by herself, but her mind is keen and her powers great. Although she is neither Echo nor Ecatim, her knowledge of the Dream Keys is very extensive and draws respect even from experimented Nightmares. Wise but pragmatic, the old witch is preparing for her transition as Dream Traveler and training Barakka of PROJECT AZURE to take her place as Speaker for the Notion. The Quaver’s goals regarding the Thirteenth Wheel are not clear, but she takes great interest in duchess Ubik’s Mould and especially the mysterious Cube from which it is said to come. She is clearly not satisfied with only studying mere Moulds and might have plans on acquiring the Fragment for herself. She travels from community to community using ‘Dream gates’ but spends a major part of her time in the underground lakes beneath the Core’s domain.

The Songmaker The creature going by the name of the Songmaker is a Sicrore, an emaciated and serpentine being that can change its form during the Dream. Its deep knowledge of Dream Keys makes it a respected tutor for Dream Shamans, for it is known to offer assistance outside the Notion to those it deems worthy of the honor. It likes to express itself in rhymes, songs and puzzles, relishing on the wonder it inspires in the bewildered Emovans, children and adults alike. The Songmaker is thought as the Quaver’s guide and mount in the Dreamworld, although it is perhaps truer to see it as her master rather than her slave. The creature is somehow attracted to the Fragment and fears it all the same. In defense of the Notion communities, it can summon various Dream phantoms and ‘Beubs’ (see BS/R pp.36-39) to do its bidding, notably Industrial Horrors in city landscapes or Schmus in the wilderness. Cassiopeia (agent Astarte) True name Astarte. Undercover Notion spy posing as Loth’s sister, the not-so-secret Nayan paramour of Warden Palmach was recently assassinated, causing great turmoil in the small town of Morduch (see the second act of this adventure for details). She held the rank of ‘Initiate’ prior to her death. Hesperid, Notion representative to PROJECT AZURE Subdivision no.4 and 1st Sphere Awakener Deeply transformed by the accident at Base 4891, the amnesiac Hesperid roams about the inner base in a deeply confused condition. His rank was that of ‘Underspeaker’. (See p.130 for details.) Loth (agent Sloane) True name Sloane. Posing as a butcher in the town of Morduch, this Nayan is an undercover spy for the Notion at Base 4891, watching what transpires of PROJECT AZURE. Unfortunately, agent Loth has an unstable personality that is often interfering with his mission. Cassiopeia’s death has driven him to extreme desperation, and Loth will probably commit suicide unless the operatives take action to prevent this. Loth ranks as ‘Initiate’ within the Notion. (See p.130 for details.) Whog Shrog Posing as a Secure Stock guardian at Base 4891, the Emovan simply known as agent Whog Shrog was sent to observe and report on PROJECT AZURE’s Subdivision no. 4. A junior ‘Initiate’ who had just been promoted from the rank-and-file, he was killed by the mad Zïn three days after the Yakis’ attack on Base 4891 as he was trying to recover vital documents from the Secure Stock manager’s office (see Location 11 in the third act of this adventure).


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THE OMNIUM OF UNITY ìThe world of KaÔnas is a place of chaos, disharmony, despair. It has broken its unity with the wholeness of Naakinis, leeching it like a parasite, becoming a taint on its original glory. The Omnium knows the cure for this disease that plagues Our world. The mind is the primal battleground for the unconscious forces that shape Naakinis, and within the mind rests the cipher for True Progress. One heartbeat, one peace, one mind. That is Our goal, that shall be Our greatest achievement. TriangularSided Cognition establishes the road to Progressive Thought, the path that shall lead Us to the Peaceful Revolution of Enlightenment. We shall drive the Just Revolt against the Tyranny of Individualism. We have seen the Perfect Inner Light of Naakinis to which Our collective roots aspire. That shall be Our gift to the races of KaÔnas: the peaceful concord of a United World under the rule of a single, coherent and perfect Will.î


ORIGINS AND PHILOSOPHY Half sect, half political movement, the Omnium of Unity (‘Omnium’ in short) has been in existence for over 400 years, but its ideas have preexisted among a radical fringe of the Frilin mindwalkers since countless centuries. 230 years ago, the Omnium officially parted ways with the Echo brotherhood of the One Mind (see BS/E p.34) as the latter considered the ‘Omnists’ excessively radical. Few outside the Frilin species have ever heard of its existence, and even the One Mind brotherhood of Echo from which it originated tends to consider them as dangerous radical, if not outright deranged. The Omnium’s essential creed is that individualism, and by extension individuality, is the cause of all the worlds’ pains: global peace and harmony would become a reality should all differences between people disappear, all minds integrated by will or force into a single collective hive-mind, a single heart beat, a single consciousness spanning all over Naakinis. To attain this goal, the Omnium will stop at nothing and use every possible stratagem, tool or technique if it can further their cause. In this regard, individual lives and suffering are considered to be irrelevant compared to ‘collective well-being’ and ‘social progress’, and Omnium agents can become very ruthless if the need be if their agenda demands it. In the Omnium’s perspective, ‘progressive intentions’ can justify any act or crime, even genocide, since they presume the morality of an event lies not in the factual action undertaken but in the intentions that originated this act. As such, although it does not support cruelty for its own sake, the Omnium freely engages in various acts of kidnapping, political propaganda, slavery, socialism of all sorts, vivisection, lobotomy and torture to learn more about the workings of the mind and ways to destroy individuality. All gathered knowledge is to be gathered in a virtual Library lying in the very center of their hive-mind, its shelves and stories spread out across all members like a coral reef. Few in Kaïnas have surpassed their mastery of indoctrination and brainwashing techniques, for their secrets are closely guarded.

To advance in their relentless pursuit of ‘Mental Unity’, the Omnium’s researchers have perfected a psychological technique referred to as TriangularSided Cognition, a form of warped psychotherapy in which the individual gradually forsakes his identity to merge with the collective project of the Omnium. Socially oriented ‘buzzwords’ and propaganda are a strong part of the Omnium’s strategy for winning over converts through the repeated application of the brainwashing technique of Triangular-Sided Cognition, RetroProgressive Psycho-Harmonization and various other capitalized words of obscure meaning. Through mindwalking, the Frilins have extended this technique to other species in so-called ‘Seminars on Global Problems’ through which they gather new recruits and sympathizers. Although the mental conversion process can take decades to be thoroughly completed (as members depersonalize through 27 stages), Omnium members tend to exhibit very similar personalities. They are calm, rational, depersonalized, acting in subtle unison as a frighteningly coordinated ‘We’ rather than a set of independent ‘I’s. The purpose of every Omnium member is to evolve through the 27 stages of being, represented by a reversed three-sided “pyramid”. The degrees evolve in cubic fashion, each of the three stages (Euclidian, Post-Relativistic, Paradigmatic) further divided in three geographic levels (Peripheral, Median, Nucleic) that represent the member’s place within the mental Library. No known member has ever risen above the 25th degree, even rankings above the 16th degree being exceptional. The Library itself is the Omnium’s most precious secret and no member would ever willingly reveal any knowledge of it. Attempts to invade the Omnium’s hive-mind have been met with extraordinary mental defenses and orchestrated Subtle Mechanisms said to provoke madness or even the death of the offender.

STRUCTURE Officially speaking, the Omnium is an informal association of like-minded individuals rather than a structured organization per se. Its members are overall few and spread out across Kaïnas, conducting research or experiments in small ‘pods’ of half a dozen mindwalkers or so. Generally, pods are regrouped around a strong-willed guru serving as the group’s coordinator - or Mentors as they are properly called, in fashion of the Frilin tradition. These Mentors serve as nodes between the Omnium’s dispersed pods, acting in unison through their common


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indoctrination (that tolerates very little deviation from the defined norms). A significant portion of the Omnium has joined the Thirteenth Wheel to learn more about the Fragment’s potential, providing the conspiracy with their extended knowledge of psychology and mindwalking. About 200 or so members of the Omnium are actually involved in PROJECT: AZURE, although since they act and think as one it can be assumed the Omnium as a whole supports the conspiracy.

The single most influential individual in the Omnium to be involved in PROJECT AZURE is Professor Yun, an old Frilin whom has deliberately with-

held information from fellow Omnium elements for mysterious reasons. Though the Omnium would never acknowledge one among them as their leader (an act that would lend credit to the repugnant notion of Individuality), the Thirteenth Wheel has taken to treating Yun as such, an attitude that many Omnium members surprisingly espouse. The Omnium’s most important project within the Thirteenth Wheel is PROJECT CASSANDRA, acting under Pr. Yun’s guidance to create a strange

machine labeled “the Psycho-Active Matrix”. This eerie device was constructed using Weirdsmith mechanics and sonic technology to harness the powers of the Dream through repeated patterns, harnessing the uncanny energies of the Mould. The Thirteenth Wheel’s major plan for the P.A.M is to use it as a tool of war, conjuring Dream storms against the Core. But the Omnium has more insidious plans for it… The Veiled Tribunal’s operatives will encounter the mad Frilin scientist and his prototypal P.A.M in the second part of this chronicle, Station 1917.

PERSONNEL Each member of the Omnium can be thought of as a stone within the mental building that is the Library. Every part of the Library exists distinctly within each adept, with much redundancies allowed for losses of individuals, united by mindwalking skills into a single network of a communal mind where all the knowledge that an individual has harnessed and ‘converted’ through Triangular-Sided Cognition can be freely shared with all members of the same rank. Members of higher rank can always access their lower brethren’s coded data, but strict control over the access given to lower-ranked members has made the Library an impenetrable fortress for outsiders. From a mind’s perspective, the Library takes the form of the black hull of a huge pyramid floating above a gray desert - a frightening construction that somehow appears both cubical and triangular, defying the laws of geometry. Using the knowledge of the Library, any member of the Omnium can be suited to accomplish almost any task, and thusly the Omnium does not maintain task forces or specialists on a permanent basis.


Despite its apparently peaceable manners, the Omnium does not set aside violence in the pursuit of its goal. Quite the contrary, the secret organization has taken to forming an armed commando of specialized agents under the code name ‘Zeltron’. Building on the greater mental power and size of the Frilins, these warriors have secretly developed complex fighting techniques that allow them to use their greater mental abilities at an advantage - especially during the Dream. The Library serves training center for these more militant members of the Omnium, with a third group of ten mindwalkers currently undergoing training in a secret base in the north. Now that the Omnium can rely on Zeltron-1 and Zeltron-2 for its security and espionage missions, its dependence on the Thirteenth Wheel is greatly lessened. The psychic organization can now conduct ‘seek and recover’ missions or even outright carnage by itself, gradually preparing for the second stage of its master plan to force Kaïnas into a single hive-mind. Not a likely menace for at least a few decades, but the Frilins have time on their side...

RESOURCES Little is known about the true extend of the Omnium’s resources, although it is clear it cannot match the Core’s Intermediate Economic Society (I.E.S.) nor better organized fellow-conspirators such as the Consortium or the Imperial Republic League. The Omnium’s engagement in the pursuit of knowledge draws it aside from worldly involvement most of the time, but sometimes the seduction of new discoveries can lead it to interfere in the politics of nations. Over the centuries, many Frilins of high degrees have hoarded fortunes that support the group’s ongoing activities. Strategic information has also been used at times for the aggrandizement of the Omnium. The Omnium’s most lucrative activity to date is lending its research expertise to the Thirteenth Wheel to study the Mould and construct the P.A.M. The Frilins have little in the way of espionage or military power and would quickly solicit the Thirteenth Wheel’s help should the need arise for greater security.


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THE LIBRARY In game terms, the Library can be treated as a “skill pool” to which Omnium members contribute by spending skill point to ‘copy’ their own skills up to their actual level. This skill pool can be accessed through mindwalking (roll Mental Agility/Mindwalking against a DN equal to four times the skill’s point cost, e.g. learning the Engineering skill at level 3 would require a roll against a target number of 12). Failure means 1 point of mental damage (1d6 in case of a critical failure). These temporary skills remain active in the character’s memory for 6 hours per success. The maximum number of points a Frilin can ‘borrow’ from the Library at any given time is limited by its Mental Agility rating. Since only NPCs can become members of this organization, the selection of skills to which members have access at a given rank depends on the AJ’s whim. The character cost to be part of the Omnium’s Library varies is 2 per rank, each rank allowing an individual access to any 2 different skills.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook RELATIONS WITH THE THIRTEENTH WHEEL

There is no great love lost between the Thirteenth Wheel and the Omnium: both see each other as strategic assets, no more, especially considering their ideological incompatibility with almost all other members of the coalition. The Omnium cooperates with the conspirators not through bonds of loyalty but for mutual interest. The Frilin mindwalkers provide the rebels with the scientific knowledge and expertise to craft a machine that will allow them to stage their insurrection: the Thirteenth Wheel provide the Frilins with funds, the opportunity to conduct research on the Fragment’s Moulds and protection from the authorities in this regard.

Much like the Notion, the adepts of the Omnium of Unity seek ideological goals before material gain, treating wealth and status with disdain. This similitude provides sufficient common ground for these two groups to work together adequately, despite their different ideals. Unlike the Notion however, the Frilins have little place for emotional considerations in their master plan: staunch pragmatists, they will associate with whatever group that may further their own cause. As people of science, these Frilins are mostly interested in the acquisition of knowledge albeit of a more scientific nature than the Notion. Ever since it parted ways with the faction of the One Mind, the Omnium has been wary of Echo fraternities and brotherhoods, as such it does not usually combine forces with them. As a whole, the Omnium’s relations with other members of the Thirteenth Wheel vary from group to group. While they are in relatively good terms with the Notion, their relation with the Cartel, the P.A.W.N. and the Twin Voices are distant and tainted with indifference, while they find the Yaki Confederacy and the Red Front ‘vulgar’. They loathe the Consortium and most of the Imperialist Houses, at the notable exception of House Qadi to which they grant a surprising amount of respect, although this feeling is not exactly mutual. The Omnium knows nothing of the Four.

NOTABLE PEOPLE One of the fundamental notions of the Omnium is that no individual is of great importance by himself. All must be considered expandable and the network structure of the organization reflects this belief. The Omnium considers itself a single collective entity separated within multiple bodies, a form of imperfect hive-mind seeking gradual perfection in order to actually ‘become’ Naakinis. This philosophy especially appeals to younger, less individualized Frilins who rejoice in the sharing of knowledge and thought with their elders. While some Emovans, Inaïs or Nayans might be tempted by the appeal of the collectivist attitude, only creatures capable of mindwalking would have the required capacities to build the Library. Echoes are usually more individualistic as their Whisper bestows them a desire for introspection and a specific path to follow. For this reason, Mind Chemists (even Frilins) are very rare within the Omnium, although they would be welcomed to join with open arms.


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Mainstream Gnath society is at odds with the Omnium mindset and many would suspect (and rightly so) that these Frilins are involved in various illegal and unethical conspiracies and experiments in their pursuit of cognitive perfection. Among the Frilins, members of the Omnium are considered freaks but not criminals. For this reason, and to prevent any form of persecution, the Omnists bear no distinctive sign and recognize each other through secret codes and gestures. Pr. Yun, senior psychiatrist and intermediary for PROJECT CASSANDRA (Omnium) Frilin neuter, born in year 129 B.C. (age 240). Omnium mindwalker of the 25th degree. This mysterious inventor is the foremost member of the Omnium to be involved in the Thirteenth Wheel’s conspiracies. It strives to expand the Library’s existence into reality through the Psycho-Active Matrix (P.A.M.). More on this shady character will be revealed in the next volume of this campaign, Station 1917. Matrak, squad leader of Zeltron-2 and 1st Sphere Mindwalker Volkoï neuter, born in year 86 (age 25). Omnium warrior of the 8th degree. The thin, indigo-skinned Volkoï known as Matrak is a deserter from the Core Army found by Omnium sympathizers in the city of Dubarim. Matrak learned self-control over its schizophrenic hallucinations using the Triangular-Sided Cognition processes developed by the Omnium. Seeing the awesome fighting potential in the young Volkoï, Pr. Yun ordered it trained in the martial ways of the Imperial House of Qadi to serve the Omnium as a fighter and defender. This helped the Mindwalker make the best of its fighting abilities while keeping its head cool - at least most of the time. The Volkoï’s major goal is to progress quickly through the Omnium degrees to lessen the influence of psychosis and regain power over its own mind. Despite its short fuse and psychotic tendencies, Matrak proved its value as a reliable operative for combat-heavy missions.


Venenos, bounty hunter and Ecatim Frilin neuter, born in year 11 (age 90). Omnium seeker of the 18th degree. Venenos is a very usual breed of Frilin - an Ecatim gifted with lightning fast speed that surpasses by far the majority of Gnath fencers, a rare feat even for a warrior of the 4th Esat level. Despite its allegiance to the Omnium collectivity, Venenos prefers to work independently as the group’s executioner and specialized bounty hunter, although it has been known to lead war squadrons such as Zeltron-1 and Zeltron-2 from time to time. Using rare poisons to bring back captives alive is this Frilin’s specialty, be they vicious critters or combat-ready Echoes. Although more at home in the wilderness, it can operate efficiently in an urban environment if the need arises. Considered emotionless even by Odwoane standards, Venenos is an intricate calculating machine who does not let ethical or social considerations get in the way of its tasks. Mastering the techniques of hand-to-hand and melee combat, both mental and physical, it has trained the Omnium’s first frontal attack squadron Zeltron-1 and its leader Strychnine into the warrior ways of the Qadi house as well as other, more mysterious arts of war. The Frilin usually keeps its special tactical advantage secret, acting with extraordinary celerity only when its opponent last expects it. For this reason, Venenos usually prefers ranged weapons such as poisoned darts and arrows, blowpipes and nets until its opponents get to point-blank. Caught by surprise in a whirlwind of venomous blades, most are swiftly disarmed, bound and gagged to be brought back to the Omnium’s headquarters by the bounty hunter.

Strychnine, squad leader of Zeltron-1 Frilin neuter, born in year 75 (age 36). Omnium warrior of the 11th degree. What the Frilins lack in brutal strength and speed, they can make up in cunning and thoughtful planning. This is Strychnine’s motto, a dreadful specialist in ‘dirty’ warfare: booby-traps, hidden weapons, ambushes, toxic lures, assassination in all its forms are the Frilin’s preferred tools for its grim trade. No tactic is too low or dishonorable when victory at any cost is deemed the sole purpose of a true warrior. Strychnine will not hesitate to kidnap relatives or loved ones, torture, intimidate, extort or blackmail for any edge, as long as the Omnium’s goals are served. Its fighting technique is very different from that of Matrak or even Venenos, its mentor and teacher of the Qadi ways of war. Whereas Venenos would only use debasing tactics when necessary, total ruthless is by far Strychnine’s preferred method, obviously taking some form of perverse pleasure in tormenting the so-called ‘enemies of Perfect Harmony’. Despite being an undeniable asset for espionage, Strychnine is treated with mistrust by Omnium members of higher rank as they fear its taste for cruelty might become unreliable and possibly dangerous to the movement. No action has been taken so far to restrict its freedom of action, although there are persistent rumors regarding its impending ‘re-education’ through highly intensive Triangular-Sided Cognition sessions.

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BROKEN SANCTUARY SYNOPSIS Broken Sanctuary is the player characters’ first mission as agents for the Veiled Tribunal. They are sent on a fact-finding mission to a recently secluded orpee stocking facility that broke off all communications 12 days ago. Rumors have leaked unsubstantiated reports of nomad marauders in the area, making them prime suspect for the base’s silence. Secure Stock’s solid reputation for the safety of orpee deposits is at stake. Less this incident undermines the corporation’s reputation and the masses’ faith in the security of orpee stocks, the operative team is to root out the source of this misinformation. Authorities suspect that an unknown terrorist group is using this event as a cover for some global operation against Secure Stock. Insurgent elements are to be identified and reported to the Tribunal.

The first act of the adventure will lead the operatives across the wilds to the frontier town of Morduch, whose only economic activity is the exploitation of a rare medical plant growing only in the oldest marshes. The town is undergoing a local crisis as a failed assassination attempt on the Warden caused the death of a Nayan maiden, suspected to be his lover. The incident raises the possibility of mutinous activity in the area, calling for the intervention of the Core’s Army. In the second act, the operatives will explore the smoking ruins from the pulverized base, shattered by what appears to be an infuriated Naakinis beast. Investigation of the ruins will reveal strange survivors and unsettling evidence of illicit scientific enquiries, possibly sponsored by the Core’s own administration. Gradually discovering the fierce menace lurking over the site, the operatives should retreat in the lower levels of the base for security. Further exploration will uncover a secret research facility over an ancient sanctuary where forgotten Frilin secrets have been studied. Its inspection will yield confirmation of a secret and possibly seditious project on the control of natural eflow patterns. Changes to the pattern will unshackle the fortress’ supernatural threat in an apotheosis of fury. The story’s climax draws closer as unidentified special operations forces invade the base in search for the occult information. Should they survive the storming, the operatives are to return at Oce with their crucial information, or at the very least prevent them from falling into enemy hands.


SECRETS OF BASE 4891

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ORIGINS Base 4891 was constructed in the year 106 by Secure Stock local management according to the city of Oce’s directives regarding the Geodem planning system. The ‘Secure Stock’ S.E.S. corporation, originally an offshoot of the primeval ‘Orpee Anywhere’ (OA) S.E.S orpee distribution firm, is charged with the monopolistic safeguard of orpee reserves in the Core’s territories and beyond.1 Thought to be an unimportant stocking depot in a wild zone at the very limits of civilization, Base 4891 has been serving for 5 years as a front for a secret services (CPRM, 2nd Division) research facility constructed underneath the Secure Stock building, over the ruins of an ancient Frilin vault. This vault, abandoned for millennia under rubble and ashes, was discovered by chance in the 4th month of year 106 by Inaïs geologists conducting eflow surveys for the CERM. The geologists tracked the irregular eflow patterns emanating from the ground, unearthing what they thought to be a new ‘vein’ of orpee. The survey team leader, an elderly Inaïs named Burdock Riache, lost no time informing his Oce director of the “anomaly”, as the exposed sanctuary proved to be much more than a vestigial orpee streak, perhaps an ancient Frilin temple or gathering. The CERM project manager, an anxious Gnath female named ‘Liberties’ Palellee very eager for promotion opportunities, immediately informed the 2nd Division authorities in Khaï-Bhek of the discovery. The following day, Core Army sentinels were officially declaring the site a “Core Army restricted area” and sent the geologists swiftly home at Foyer d’Ambre, after generous compensation and a veiled warning to keep silent on the matter. A Secure Stock silo and accompanying fortress was constructed over the course of the next week over the excavation site, all information regarding the Frilin construction labeled as “CPRM classified”.

Note 1 : See MD/DS pp.120-121 for further information on these industries.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE CARTEL AND THE SPECTRAL ALLIANCE

For five years, Base 4891 had been mostly forgotten by all but the scientific personnel working at its mysteries and, naturally, the CPRM bureaucrats accountable for the operation’s confidentiality. As Core archaeologists and eflow theorists were examining the sanctuary’s properties, the CPRM did not suspect information about the site’s actual purpose had leaked. Be it by coincidence or the inexplicable will of Naakinis, a few among the Inaïs miners could not keep silent, and as the rumor grew it was brought to the attention of an informer for one of Foyer d’Ambre’s inconspicuous secret services agency - an unofficial organization known by a few initiates as the Cartel, whose goal is the protection of the Inaïs monopoly on eflow against the Core’s expansion.

Some time after the Thirteenth Wheel’s formation (in the year 94), Linker Shekinah of the Inaïs Cartel was invited to a joint venture against the CERM by Beith Hagefen and Levana Mikveh, undercover agents for a coalition of the free city-states of Yhrne-Llemir and Uchatere known as the Twin Voices. For over twelve years, the Linker and the spies had been cooperating on intelligence, economic and military matters in anticipation of an eventual war between the Core and the free city-states at the eastern front. Despite repeated guarantees by the Core Himself that he would tolerate the economic and political independence of the border states, pragmatists in their respective governments have been weary of any sign for an invasion, fearful that the Core’s policy on orpee distribution would eventually contradict his official speeches. This secret group was initially labeled the Spectral Alliance. Until the year 109, the Alliance’s activities had been restricted to a ring of informers and spies spread out in the Enclave, the wilderness towns and the CERM’s administration. This was to change a few weeks later when Linker Shekinah was informed by Hagefen and Mikveh that the Core was financing secret ventures to expand the Core’s Orpee Distribution System (CODS). This crucial information was brought in by duchess Ubik, representative for a coalition of Gnath imperialists (the Imperial Republic) with important relations in the Core’s administration. Whether a genuine threat or a subtle ploy crafted by the Thirteenth Wheel, the evidence convinced the Cartel to merge the Spectral Alliance with PROJECT BRAZIER, a combined organization of armed ‘resistance’ against the Core’s deploying warfront in the Oce quadrant.

PROJECT AZURE After carefully thinking out the consequences, the Cartel decided to inform its PROJECT BRAZIER allies of the information it had gathered about Base 4891 by

interrogating Burdock Riache about the talkative miners. After much debate, Linker Shekinah was to seize the opportunity to study the sanctuary’s properties. As negotiations debated the merits of taking over the Secure Stock depot or simply storming it, she proposed that the Thirteenth Wheel infiltrate Secure Stock personnel with orpee scientists loyal to their cause. Several scholars from PROJECT AZURE were identified for this operation. Scientific ability, strength of


will and uttermost fidelity were sought as critical qualities. Nobody seemed to notice how easily Professor Yun managed to propose a majority of candidates among his sympathizers in this select group of trusted researchers… Duchess Ubik lost no time integrating this scheme into her own conspiracy, merging them with PROJECT AZURE. Within this project, a subgroup of specialists from PROJECT AZURE (Subdivision no.4) were chosen to study the Fragment’s properties under the unknown patterns of the archaic Frilin sanctuary. Not the trustful kind, the duchess would not let the scientists work with the genuine Fragment; a Mould would have to suffice, at least for the time being. The possibly justified paranoia of duchess Ubik insured none among the scholars would know exactly what the Mould would stand for or come from, focusing instead on its practical applications in manipulating Dream symptoms. The conspirators’ relations in Secure Stock, the CERM and the CPRM allowed for six researchers of PROJECT AZURE to be assigned at Base 4891 to provide expertise in the evaluation of eflow patterns. Meanwhile, PROJECT BRAZIER agents maintained a discreet observation over the base at the frontier town of Morduch. For two years, PROJECT AZURE analyzed and compared eflow flux in conjunction with the Mould. Promising results being expected from recent findings, nefarious experiments were conducted upon living and conscious subjects in order to understand the relations between eflow, the Mould and the subject’s mind. After some early controversies by “mainstream” CPRM scientists, dissenters were arrested by order of Secure Stock through the influence of the Consortium and sent to Khaï-Bhek for “re-education” under charges of industrial espionage. Over the last months, the Thirteenth Wheel’s financial patronage and total discharge of ethical constraints allowed PROJECT AZURE major leaps in Frilin occultism and psychology. Progress achieved peaks undreamt of after the capture and experimentation upon a female Zïn and her captive mental Beast. Schematic models of Frilin mind mapping used in conjunction with the Mould would allow the Thirteenth Wheel to design the first prototype of a mechanical apparatus capable of controlling the Dream’s onset and manifestations over a large scale. The next step was to build the machine and test in on an experimental site… The construction site at Station 1917 was chosen for this experiment.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE ACCIDENT

Despite arousing some suspicion in Base 4891’s regular Secure Stock staff, researchers from PROJECT AZURE have been pursuing their investigations unimpeded and hoped to gain further understanding about the process by which the Zïn’s beast had been imprisoned into her mind, a technique from a forgotten age still beyond their grasp and understanding. In the 3rd month of year 111 however, a dramatic event was to occur that would shatter Base 4891 to the ground and severely hamper PROJECT AZURE’s further researches.

Orpheus and Hesperid, senior eflow theorists leading the small conspiratorial team, were engaging in the mental exploration of their Zïn captive during Dreamtime when the vanguard of the Yaki tribe of Kierc launched an attack against the base’s outer perimeter. Using a mechanical canon recuperated from a pillaged Orpee Anywhere convoy, the war band launched a blitzkrieg of bombardments on the western tower, providing a diversion for the Yaki warrior assaulting the southern gate. The howitzer shards tore up a three foot wide hole in the tower’s walls, destroying the citadel’s gunnery unit and its operators. Deep below in the sanctuary, repercussions from the impact generated a cave-in: a rain of piercing stalactites killed the Frilin scientist, severing the telepathic link between the researchers and their Zïn subject. Seconds later, falling boulders broke the pattern of the sanctuary stones. The rupture provoked a massive surge of eflow, a wave of energy that had been altered by the Mould’s emanations. The abnormal eflow patterns distorted by the Dream, combined with the violence of the psychic shock, generated something astounding: the Zïn, the Beast and the Emovan Awakener’s mind were fused as one, forging a supernatural link beyond the constraints of flesh. The incident awoke the Thing’s anger from the Zïn’s mind; the nearby presence of massive orpee stocks brought about its physical manifestation. The roused Thing burst into a rage, wrecking the underground sanctuary, furious by the pain caused by the tainted eflow. Slithering and wailing, it broke out to the surface, destroying everything in its path: the outer base, the sentinels, the clerks, and the Yaki ravagers. It left behind nothing but smoking ruins and destruction. The few survivors from the carnage scattered in nature, falling prey to predators and the many dangers of Kaïnas. A single Yaki hunter managed to crawl to the frontier town of Morduch, where she was caged and tormented by a vengeful mob of villagers.


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THE CHANGED Against all odds, Hesperid the Awakener had survived the accident. His nature, however, had endured a drastic change: the event not only had awoken the Beast unnaturally, it had severed and denatured the archaic bonds between the captive Beast and its Zïn jailer. Emovan, Zïn and Beast are now united in a symbiotic relationship shaped by the Mould and nurtured by the Beast’s ongoing pain. During Dreamtime, it roams deliriously over the base’s ruins, still fettered by the distorted emanations of the sanctuary stones, and yet incapable of bearing the pain of its vicinity. But when the Pendulum rises from behind the Sofe, the shackles of reality are strengthened, forcing the behemoth to switch places with the Zïn, leaving a confused and half-mad hunter protecting its “territory” against trespassers. She lost her last grip on sanity in the experiments, now but a shell of hunger, fear and savagery set loose on the base’s neighborhood. The Emovan Awakener also went through important changes, not only in mind but also in his body. As hours pass during daytime, he gradually rejuvenates from a 50 years old Emovan to a teen, a child and an infant, his intelligence and memory regressing accordingly. The coming of the Dream inverses the process: the toddler grows into an adult at an astounding rate, twice as fast as his daytime regression. The process is never-ending, adult every morning (with his full knowledge, abilities and Echo gifts), infant every evening. Furthermore, the symbiotic relation between Zïn, Beast and Emovan allows them to feel each other’s pain and feelings as their own, although Hesperid holds much greater control over his mind and emotions than his new kindred. This mystical relationship also provides a powerful advantage: all wounds suffered by the Emovan are transferred to the Beast, that can vaguely locate the pain’s origin and act appropriately to defend “itself”. The consequences of the Zïn/Beast’s death to Hesperid remain unknown, yet it is not impossible that rupturing their link could be fatal. The Emovan’s cyclic evolution and perpetual ache put him in a state of confusion, causing symptoms such as memory loss and disorientation. Nevertheless, the Emovan maintains enough of himself when in his adult phase to question his surroundings and wonder about what happened, as his memories are blurred with the Zïn’s and the Beast’s. He’ll certainly be looking for answers and a cure for his condition - something never seen before in Kaïnas, at least according to records.


A strange side-effect of his predicament is a shift in the eflow patterns of his Familiars. Corrupted by the taint of the Mould, the Familiars are perpetually starving for eflow and will attack any energy source in a senseless frenzy (including living beings, but preferably artifacts or orpee). Despite their low numbers, these killer devices provide the Absolute Judge with the perfect excuse for setting the suitable ambience for a grisly game of hide-and-seek in the base’s debris.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook PROLOGUE: MEETING PROSECUTOR EMETH

The operatives are called at Prosecutor Resh Emeth’s office at Oce headquarters for their first terrain assignment under the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. Unless the Absolute Judge decides otherwise, it is assumed that the Tribunal’s activities have been only been deployed in the Oce quadrant over the last 2 years. Its personnel has been recruited among elite agents of the CPRM, Core Army special forces, mercenary and private agencies for the greater part. Their distinction as specialists in their respective fields insured their qualification for Emeth’s small but efficient force of counter-espionage. The group are no rookies per se, but the agents’ field experience is uneven: some are experts in management and infiltration, others in armed intervention, intelligence gathering, terrorist investigation, wilderness exploration, military tactics or law enforcement. After weeks of intensive training and reallife simulations, this first genuine mission is our agents’ “baptism of fire”.


The Prosecutor’s office is a gloomy vault beneath ground level, lit by the orange glow of iron candelabras. A strange office it is, part alchemists’ laboratory with strange occult paraphernalia everywhere, part military command center with maps and high tech communication devices, part clockmaker’s workroom with dozens upon dozens of mechanical clocks of all sizes and forms, attesting of Emeth’s unusual hobby. The old Gnath had been collecting and tinkering with these rusted mechanisms for years, studying their minute details with the fondest patience. A monocle over his only eye, he never seems to eat, let alone sleep, his gnarled hands always mending or building something. Despite the Gnath’s unassuming appearance and kindly expression, the Prosecutor has earned the respect of his operatives who’ve heard of his many deeds on the battlefield. He can assemble top-notch weaponry in a wink, can bend metal with his delicate hands and has the best knack in Oce for uncovering terrorist machinations. All in all, Resh Emeth is perhaps the most unconventional War Engine the operatives will ever have the chance to meet. The Prosecutor is dismantling a pocket watch as he’s greeting his agents for their briefing. Not much of a socialite, he’ll disclose the latest intelligence reports without losing a minute to chit-chat:

“This was brought in this morning. Intelligence reports from the northern Oce quadrant indicates a handful of Yaki tribes have been roaming our borders. Skirmishes have been reported for against Core property and independent “Orpee Anywhere S.E.S.” convoys. Nothing unusual, of course, but there is more to this. 24 days ago, the Core Army dispatched a squadron of 3 000 C.A.S. to assess the situation. As they found little opposition, we believe these attacks to be a mere diversion in view of a more important objective. You see, the “Secure Stock” corporation holds many orpee deposits in this area. To fight for orpee is to fight for life: its acquisition is the brigands’ primary objective, its preservation is the guarantee of our own survival.

As you probably already know, “Secure Stock S.E.S.” is the one and only independent corporation authorized to stock and safeguard orpee banks on a grand level all over Kaïnas. The corporation’s safety and reputation is critical not only to our citizens’ need for orpee, but to our very society’s well-being. If Secure Stock holdings were to lose the population’s confidence, riots and violence would erupt in the outskirts, spreading to the Enclave. We remember the three Years of Chaos as a period of savagery and murder, when a third of the people died because of anarchy and orpee deprivation. Over a hundred years ago, the Core Himself laid the basis of the Geodem policy and the Core’s Orpee Distribution System (CODS), which have brought us prosperity, progress and peace. We will not tolerate any regression to those days of mayhem. Defending Secure Stock’s orpee is not just a question of protecting one lone corporation. It’s about our nation’s very subsistence, to defend the good of the many against the extremists who would take them away from us. We believe this chaos is what the dissidents aim for, what the brigands and saboteurs are trying to accomplish by venturing forth this far into Core territory. Logistic and possibly military support from organized terrorist or enemy groups is likely. Reports denote one of Secure Stock’s easternmost orpee deposits has cut off all communications with the Enclave of late. For unknown reasons, this information has been delayed to us until today. Secure Stock authorities have proved incapable of providing a satisfactory explanation for this delay. Its official accounting records are currently under analysis par CERM auditors; though no breach of legality has been found, subtle irregularities suggest Secure Stock personnel in this area are missing in action. This could be a red herring, but we cannot take any chances. Your orders are to investigate what happened to Base 4891 and report on the current situation. You are to assess the degree of this menace to the Core’s safety. If conditions allow, secure the orpee and scientific data from the base. Critical information and significant quantities of orpee must be prevented from falling into enemy hands at all costs. Survivors and witnesses are to be brought back here for further interrogation before we hand them over to the CPRM’s questioners. In this regard, you are to make contact with a CERM Auditor named Avar Seraphim in the town of Morduch, a simple walk away from Base 4891. Although his official business strictly concerns the local industry, the Auditor has been ordered to hand you over copies of secret files that have been salvaged from Base 4891’s stolen records. It is of utmost importance that you bring back these files to the Veiled Tribunal for analysis and that they fall not into enemy hands. Always remember our people’s security depend on your dedication and loyalty to the Core, agents. Be worthy of this honor.” Paul Linton (order #4667478)

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook Further questions will be answered to the best of the Prosecutor’s knowledge, although there is not much more to tell about the situation than what was told.

Base 4891: Records about Base 4891 are not available at this time as Secure Stock’s security regulations must be respected, but Palindrome from the Veiled Tribunal’s Information division will be looking into it in the upcoming days and weeks. All that is known is that this powerful citadel, located at the very center of a Kioux stump, was defended by some 20 sentinels with the usual structural defenses and security measures against raiders and wildlife. Operatives within the base are to proceed with extreme caution, as numerous traps, clockworks and snares protect the orpee stocks. The reasons for building an outpost in such a distant place are not known, although the Secure Stock representatives for the Tribunal have hinted at its natural strategic position. This base has no specific characteristics whatsoever that would make it unique or distinct, so the possible reason for an assault would be to obtain its orpee.

Orpee Anywhere S.E.S/Secure Stock S.E.S.: The Prosecutor could provide the operatives with the general information on these corporations provided in the Core Book (MD/DS, pp.119-121). The northern skirmishes: All that was noted by observers was a migration of barbaric Yaki tribes and their massive Huora mounts from the north-east to the south-west. It is assumed this movement, not large enough to be of any serious concern to the Core’s security, might be related to the recent terrorist attacks against the Core’s eastern defenses by unknown forces. The tribes might have been forced out of their hunting territories by the skirmishes or the migration of their prey. The CERM: For unknown reasons, the CERM could or would not provide the Veiled Tribunal with the standard recorded archives on Base 4891. Clerks have reported files have mysteriously been found missing and that an unmentioned authority within the Core classified parts of it as confidential. Much physical data were taken out from the offices during night shifts, apparently through legal means. Palindrome will also bee looking for further information on these irregularities. These hints of possible infiltration within the Core’s ranks warrant the intervention of the Tribunal at Base 4891.

FIRST ACT: THE WASTELANDS STATION 1789 AND THE IRON JAW INN Leaving the gloomy silhouette of Oce, the Tribunal’s operatives are to travel three days by caravan in a grim countryside of rocks, gray valleys and barren hills, with the occasional farm here and there breaking the monotony. Disembarking at Station 1789, they are to find mounts and traveling gear at the Iron Jaw inn (B.E.S.), proudly advertised by a rusted mechanical signpost: a Odwoane head whose rotating jaws chews bolts and screws at the sound of an annoying squeak. The inn’s owner is an Odwoane CPRM undercover contact named Maxillaire (‘Max’) living with his family of eight. A sure


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sign of their kinship is their unattractive small eyes, disproportionately long legs and oversized jaws. Max’s choice for a signpost is a good sign of his twisted irony. (Some customers might add his cooking is another, and that his inn’s name is well deserved.) The directives given to Max by the Veiled Tribunal are to supply the operatives with directions, adequate equipment and food for two weeks’ journey, and appropriate transportation. Unless the operatives can provide their own mounts or vehicles, they will have to settle for the Tchidoos and saddles lent by the Odwoane innkeeper. (See MD/MS p.140 for details on the Tchidoos.) These mounts are CPRM property and are to be brought back to him after the mission is completed, or will be deduced from the operative’s salary over a period of 10 weeks.

RUMORS OF INTEREST

Roll Charisma/Etiquette,Expression/Empathy or Presence/Interrogation against DN 4 for each charFew visitors travel this part of the countryside at this time of the year. As acter,each success allowing to learn one rumor.

such, the CPRM’s bonus to Max as an informer and collaborator is a welcome addition to his family’s revenue. Some socializing with the patrons could earn the operatives a few interesting rumors, should the operatives prove friendly enough and show a minimum of savoir-faire. A given rumor’s degree of truth depends on the Absolute Judge’s inclination to include these side-plots in this campaign. The hostelry’s clientele could be summarized as follows:

Gor-Teh, Imrond, Vrid and Zod: four dirty Solek traders (one female, two males and a child) traveling to the southern jungles to acquire rare medicinal herbs sought in the west. They are certainly willing to trade their wares but will not stray from their itinerary, unless paid outrageous wares (300 per week each).

Hast, Corbin and Guisarme: three young Volkoï mercenaries en route from Dubarim for a new job at Station 1917. Strong but inexperienced, they make up their lack of competence by their enthusiasm. The Volkoïs might accept to delay their trek to bodyguard the operatives up to Base 4891 for at least 150 BP each per week, as long as they can stay together.

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Yaki brigands have been sighted by Solek caravans traveling from Ulabediare to Uchatere, reactionary primitives in all likelihood. Some fear tensions between the Core and the city-states in the east might lessen security for traders and harm commerce, as well as orpee distribution in isolated communities.

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People on the eastern frontier say a war is coming up between the Core and the eastern free cities. Prices for rare goods have been coming up. Quite a few iron traders and corporations are looking forward for events to develop...

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Some crazy Emovan diviner has been claiming in Danaac that an illegitimate son of the Core Himself would rise from among the people to confront his father’s position. CSRM propaganda agents have been very busy discrediting the rumor, putting offenders on trial with charges of ‘sedition’.

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A Volkoï diviner has wandering the forests and meadows for some time, exiled from Oce after offending the governor. It is said he predicted the governor’s death at the hands of trusted advisors, something the official didn’t appreciate too much… Paul Linton (order #4667478)

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Frightening sightings have been reported in the wilderness by scouts from a Yaki Techno-tribe. They say Naakinis juggernauts would be roaming the countryside and move further east, threatening farming communities. Wanderers are advised not to stray too far from the main roads.

- People have been saying one of the Core’s orpee

mines has been blown up by terrorists. Orpee distribution could be rationed in the future. This could make prices jump and generate mayhem in the peripheral regions where all orpee is imported from afar.

- There have been claims of brass mines recently found

underneath an old Kioux’s roots, somewhere up north. Economic societies have been warring over its ownership ever since, but the governor of Vilnaco should come up with an edict. The outcome will decide how millions will be allocated once he decides which competitor will earn the contract.

Caza and Arkadi: a dour Yaki hunter from the Progressive tribe of Ta’al and his teenage son, back from an unfruitful chase and foreboding his wife’s reaction. For 200 BP a week, they would gratefully guide the operatives across the wilderness to Morduch, cutting down travel time by 20%. Venerian: an attractive Inaïs ore extractor going back to her home in Foyer d’Ambre after a plentiful year. Quite talkative, she is however uninterested in anything but going back home.

TREKKING THE WILDERNESS Beyond Station 1789 starts our heroes’ dangerous journey into the wilds of Naakinis. Three roads connect Morduch and Station 1789. The main and most direct road is said to have been ravaged by a crevice left by the passing of a Naakinis beast, and is supposedly impossible to cross. The northernmost road is an earthen trail, used by nomads and wildlife to elude the chasm. The southern road had been used by Secure Stock convoys for the last few years; it’s the easiest way from Station 1789 to Morduch patrons would recommend to travelers, though it’s certainly the riskiest regarding brigands and marauders. The further the operatives will venture away from Station 1789, the fewer fellow travelers will be met, until after the second day no friendly soul will share the earthen road leading to the lone town of Morduch. According to the Prosecutor’s indications, the town should be no more than four days’ ride from the caravan station. From valleys and plantations, the landscape soon turns into colossal forests, hills and crevices, always under the Kioux’s colossal shadows. Beyond the relative safety of the Kaïnas ecosystem lies the frightening immensity of Naakinis, nature on a titan’s scale where a feeling of insignificance overwhelms the wanderer. After a few hours’ stride in the vast majesty of the wild lands, all are humbled by the splendor of a universe of such gigantic proportions that even the Core’s greatest achievements pale in comparison, as mere anthills stand in the shadow of pyramids. The savage beauty of Naakinis is not without danger. Smells become coarser, animal cries become louder, even the grass takes on a different look in the Pendulum’s eerie blue light. Bloodthirsty beasts are rampant and nature itself can be sometimes unpredictable. The Dream itself is a third menace aside from the fauna and flora, of which isolated travelers should be wary.


Some encounters are here suggested for the Absolute Judge to introduce at his leisure between Station 1789 and the town of Morduch, depending upon which of three paths is chosen. The Absolute Judge should use these episodes with Kaïnas fauna to set a proper mood, suggesting the ever-present danger of leaving the safety of the Core’s domain. This would allow the players to gain familiarity with the most notable characteristics of the Kaïnas and Naakinis ecosystems, based on the fourth chapter of Mechanical Dream (see MD/MS p.169). Though not directly related to the story’s main plot, these encounters are an occasion for the Absolute Judge to frighten and marvel the players with the wonders of Kaïnas. It is suggested to refrain from outright killing of characters at this time, unless as a direct consequence of their foolishness. In any event, it is recommended to end the wilderness journey with the encounter with the Gota, as its dreams provide useful clues and links between this adventure and the following parts of the Thirteenth Wheel campaign.

ENCOUNTERS Wandering the wilderness outside the Enclave should be no joyride, but an invitation to caution. Predators lurk in every shadow, especially during Dreamtime when the shackles of reality are loosened and when confused prey are less likely to offer a proper defense. Nevertheless, beasts remain beasts and fear fire, deafening noise and the unknown (such as ‘special effects’ generated by Echo powers). Opposing organized resistance is the best way to convince a hungry animal to search for easier prey. The Yaki tribes’ incursion over the last weeks have driven off many a carnivore from its usual hunting grounds. Abundant tracks indicate beasts have been migrating this area recently, herbivores followed by carnivores, most if not all at the Kaïnas (Gnath-sized) and not the Naakinis (mountain-sized) scale. The AJ can feel freely to include encounters with wildlife and ruins as he sees fit, either from his own imagination or borrowed from the Wilderness Bestiary.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook Some possibilities include:

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A wandering pack of Sika (see MD/MS p.185), hungry and exhausted from their poor hunting over the last few days. Drawn by light, noise and smell, they’ll follow the Tribunal operatives’ trail and wait for them to rest, drawing closer in circles, first howling and showing fangs, then making attempts to isolate one of the travelers or their mounts in order for half the pack to shred it to pieces while the second half holds the remaining travelers at bay.

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Poisonous yellow fumes in the swamp that originate from fossil fuels of putrescent carcasses of beasts and plants, brought at the surface by borrowing Naakinis beasts in the deep underground. The smoke’s intoxicating effect can be felt after an hour or so, causing nausea and mild poisoning.

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The stinking carcass of a gigantic worm-like animal (a young Huora) blocks the road, along with the rotting corpses of a dozen Yaki warriors. Bickering scavengers (Tipits and Tchirshs, see MD/MS p.178) are disputing over the meat, infested by disgusting intestinal Etyloseeds (see WB p.25). Inspecting the corpses would confirm that Fundamentalist Yakis from the Kierc tribe are wandering the area.

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A dry riverbed covered in blood-colored, soft clay, showing crude obsidian idols in the upper rim, arranged in a spiral pattern. The ancient icons are carved in the semblance of monstrous demons (or deities?), frightening hunched figures without eyes nor arms, but a repugnant snout and worm-like tentacles. The riverbed has many natural cavities where lies a nest of Chialnics and their spawn, reading to take on intruders that profane their sacred site.


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Nearing Morduch, a large chasm some 6 to 8 yards wide and 10 to 30 yards deep. In the crevice’s eastern escarpment, a black waterfall is engulfed in a subterranean river. On the western side, a torn set of rails overcome by vegetation indicates there used to be a train station over the chasm before the ground collapsed under the water’s pressure and the underground tunnels dug by a Naakinis behemoth. Crossing the chasm is a challenging task that demands appropriate equipment or special Echo abilities.

THE MONKS AND THE SHRINE This encounter is to occur during Dreamtime, as the operatives are searching for a safe spot to sleep and spot a lamplight somewhere along the road. A sturdy stone bridge has been build across a large chasm above which stands some sort of semi-military stockade or outpost. Although the door is closed, yellow light seeps outside from the windows. Peeping inside shows four Frilins in robes guarding the bridge gate, keeping warm and safe around a campfire, chatting about theology in a strange accent. An iron portcullis prevents travelers from passing through unnoticed. The story of these four begins many centuries ago. At the end of the Soleks’ return from the Sofe, four junior Frilin monks were left to guard the bridge to their sanctuary in order to prevent its violation by pillagers. Although their temple was hidden from sight long ago, after their fraternity had been officially disbanded by order of the Empress, the Order of Harmony (predecessor to the Omnium of Unity) still held secretly to its obligation to preserve the archaic ruins. Left in peace to meditate and discuss philosophy, the four Frilin monks that occupied a small shrine on the road to what would become one day Morduch were anything but warriors. As they heard about the legends of the ‘faceless monsters’ that emerged from the Sofe to murder and pillage, they were greatly anxious for their lives and went about confining their thoughts and prayers in a bound book of Kioux leaves they named The Chronicles of Unity. Knowing they were defenseless before the marching nomads, the Frilins wrote what they could within this book so that future generations of their flock could know about the greatness of Naakinis and the sleeping power of their sanctuary, the patterns of which could harness the energies of subterranean eflow to create wonders and insure ecological prosperity. Unfortunately for the monks, they found death at the Soleks’ hands before they could lend their book to their brethren, leaving behind the abandoned testimony of their beliefs. Centuries later, the monks’ brutal death still bears a strong imprint upon the surrounding substance of the Dream. Every night where the Dream’s density is strong enough to manifest (especially in the presence of sentient creatures), ‘Dream shadow’ doubles of the monks manifest in the fog surrounding their shrine to congregate, lantern in hand, to their place of worship. Night after


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night, they live again their last moments of life unknowing of the eternal slaughter that awaits them when vague, spectral Soleks arrive on the scene to massacre them before dawn. The brutal agony of their murder will repeat itself ceaselessly until their cherished book is brought to a community of their fellow Frilins (whether of the Omnium, the Voice of One or any other Frilin brotherhood). As the operatives meet the inoffensive ‘ghosts’ at the sentry tower (i.e. their shrine), they will have no clue that they are anything but genuine living Frilins, unarmed and wearing nothing but old-fashion robes covered in blue and green geometrical symbols. Their reactions towards strangers will be friendly but cautions, unless there are Volkoïs (of which they know nothing) or worse Soleks among the group. Should even a single Solek be part of the group, the monks will panic and ring the tocsin, close the shutters and yell “the barbarians are attacking!”. Further contact will earn nothing but hostility.

In any other case, the monks are quite eager to discuss the theology of Naakinis with travelers but will refrain from revealing any information about their sanctuary. They’ll present themselves as angry Djoh, steadfast Ja’ak, nosy Vilem and slow Avrel, guarding the “sanctity of the sacred grounds against the faceless barbarian hordes from the south” (i.e. the Soleks). A friendly and somewhat facetious bunch, they’ll happily share their rations and water with travelers, eager for any news from “outside”. (This outward friendliness might seem strange in Frilins, but their anxiety makes them welcome any company - especially that of well armed travelers that could take on an eventual barbarian attack.) Some anomalies like their archaic accents and surprising lack of information about the current affairs of the world might ring a bell about something abnormal. These monks have never heard anything about the Core, pretending to keep the post since… well, a very long time. They haven’t seen “the army of the Gnath Empress” for long and their major concern is the so-called “barbarian invasion from the southern Sofe”. The Frilins act confused about the time and date and keep complaining about the cold, despite the campfire’s warmth. At first, they’ll dismiss any mention of the Core as ludicrous, but will begin to act nervously if pressed with credible evidence of its existence. Unless the operatives act aggressively, the Frilins will ask them a favor from: to take their beloved book to a Frilin community so that their knowledge is not lost forever. Weighting some 10 pounds, the old manuscript was rolled on Kioux leaves and held together in a sculpted bone tube. Written in an dated emphatic style, it consists for the most part of complicated mantras and esoteric patterns, spread out in a confused matter around historical references. Interesting pieces of information can be retrieved after spending some time over its pages. Aside for hints on the mysteries of the Frilins’ sanctuary, the book can be used to halve the required time to gain skill points in the ReligionFrilin (k) specialized skill. (Reading time requires 300 minutes, divided by the charac-

terís level in the Read & Write skill. See Exhibit 1 for essentials excerpts from this book.) If the operatives leave the site before the end of the night, the four sentries are nowhere to be found in the morning. The stockade appears much more decrepit under the Pendulum’s light than during Dreamtime. Even a superficial investigation will lead the travelers to find four Frilin exoskeletons in the chasm below the bridge, clad in tattered rags. Broken ribs and arrows show they were killed in combat (by Solek marauders).


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Staying with the monks through the night will leave the operatives helpless before a frightening scene of massacre, as the Frilins react in utmost terror at a dozen shadowy silhouettes of Soleks silently invading the outpost, slaughtering effortlessly the Frilins. The phantom Soleks, with a Reality factor of 10 at most, cannot interact with the operatives and will not even see them unless a Nightmare or Specter Echo uses appropriate powers. Immediately after committing their crime, the Soleks burn down the place and disappear back into nothingness. Only immediate action from the operatives’ part will spare the monks’ book from the flames. As the Day comes anew, the Frilin book remains tangible but looks much older and threadbare. The ghosts will not find rest until it finds its way in the hands of a Frilin community - affording the operatives their posthumous blessing that would be worth 1 experience point, something the AJ might want to work into some form of benevolent Subtle Artificial Mechanism for mediation and study. (See BS/E, p.55.)

THE GOTA AND THE SPEAKERSAYER The Tribunal’s operatives should come upon the Speakersayers’ campfire the day before their arrival at Morduch. As the Pendulum’s light slowly descends behind the dark wall of the Sofe, the lone figure of an emaciated, almost anemic Volkoï stands roasting meat atop a hill, amidst the ruins of what must have been centuries ago a military fortress of the imperial age. Its amused expression shows clearly he was expecting company for supper. His ritually scarred face, prayer beads, enormous nose-ring and pentagonal that identifies him as a professional Speakersayer (or Gotahearda), an mystical interpreter for a weird creature known as the Gota (see WB p.30 for details), gifted with ‘second sight’ to see both past and future. The mystic is smoking calmly from a long bone pipe adorned with strange geometric designs. It will greet fellow travelers with courtesy, inviting them over to share its light’s comforting security and its evening meal. For all its apparent generosity, the Speakersayer is quite secretive and will only answer questions about itself in sibylline terms. It will not speak its name or its origin but it will be very curious of the operatives’ purpose and destination, smiling and grinning knowingly at their presumably vague or false answers. Its piercing eyes give the impression of reading souls, as if it already knew the answers to their questions, but perhaps this is more show than truth. Part of the job of a good Speakersayer, after all, is making the clients believe they’ve got what they paid for… Paul Linton (order #4667478)

If the operatives aren’t familiar with the sooth-saying ability of the Gota (as is likely), the Speakersayer will explain at length the marvels these creatures have brought to the courts of the mighty and famous over history. Solitary animals dwelling in the Kioux, the Gota stare at the horizon, singing strange tunes that reveal its visions of prophecy to those who know how to decipher them. With its four eyes, it can see beyond time and space. It is said they can see within the very heart of Naakinis, from which they derive their gift for soothsaying.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook For the ludicrous fee of 100 BP, the Speakersayer will awaken the Gota from the branch on which it is sleeping to reveal the mysteries of the future. Though it might appear to drive a hard bargain, the Speaker is desperately short on currency after some unfortunate incident with an unsatisfied client at Oce, whom revealed himself to be an influential and intractable noble. Taking a vacation into the wilderness for some time hence appeared as a promising idea. (As such, the Speakersayer is ready to cut its price down by 15% per success on a Charisma/Bargain roll against DN 4.) No refunds are available: the clients pay to hear the Gota’s vision, whatever it may be, useful or not, intelligible or not. In hard coinage, please. If the deal is struck, the Volkoï will awaken the Gota. With visible effort, the skinny creature will climb atop a nearby (Kaïnas-sized) tree and dance frenetically for a while, staring oddly at the Speakersayer with its four sets of eyes. Shaking its head with air of mystery, the Volkoï will raise its arms in a dramatic motion and reveal the secret meaning of the Gota’s three visions…

The heroes could gather some clues in regard to the visions’ interpretation with a successful roll (Mental Agility/Etymology or Psychology against DN 6, with an appropriate bonus for the edge “Master of Enigmas”). One roll per character is permitted for each vision. The first vision relates to the Thirteenth Wheel’s plans for the Fragment against the Core. The second vision evokes the accident at Base 4891, the death of Orpheus and the bond between Hesperid, the Zïn and her Beast. The third vision refers to the Psycho-Active Matrix featured in the second chapter of this campaign, Station 1917.

THE GOTAíS VISIONS THE FIRST VISION: ìLooking at the south, the Gota saw a Lozenge within a Circle, but the Circle shattered when a Square broke through it. The Circleís pieces writhed in pain. The Square grew, and the Lozenge in turn began to fissure.î

Clues: 1 success: The Lozenge could represent the Enclave, the Core or the Core Himself. It could also stand for technology, modern progress or Kaïnas civilization in general. The Circle probably stands for Naakinis or the Sofe. The Square remains a mystery. 2 successes:

The Square could mean something alien, menacing to the Sofe (or more likely Naakinis). The shattering could suggest it could threaten the Core’s integrity.


3 successes: The Square would symbolize the antithesis of the Circle (the opposite of Naakinis), or perhaps a warped version of the Lozenge - an enemy government or group. Possibly terrorists. 4 or more successes: The extreme ambiguity of the first vision could suggest an upcoming event of great importance, with much impact against Kaïnas. Theologians could even theorize this vision to originate in the unconscious of Naakinis herself, sent to her faithful as a warning of terrible things to come.

THE SECOND VISION: ìLooking at the east, the Gota saw four standing, none alike the other. The first of them was neither a male nor a female, neither young nor old. The second was a youth of great age, one of the many apart from the whole. Under them stood the others, who were one and two at the same, the Sleeper and the Awakened, bound together. When the four became one the pain was unbearable, and the Sleeper awoke in a great rage. The first was no more, but they were now three, united in pain.î

Clues:

1 success: The first individual could possibly be a Volkoï, a Frilin, a ghost, a monster or an automaton. The second one (the oxymoron) might be from a species found in large numbers: a Yaki or Solek, or perhaps an Emovan, Odwoane or Inaïs. The latter two could be supernatural creatures. 2 successes: “The Sleeper and the Awakened” could possibly refer to Echoes or an Awakener’s creature. “The four became one” could suggest mindwalking or Mind Chemist abilities.

3 successes: Those “who were one and two at the same” might be a Zïn and the captive Thing in its mind. 4 or more successes: The metaphors suggest a possible psychic mind-sharing gone wrong, causing the death of the first individual (a Frilin in all probability). The last sentence suggests a strange bond was formed between the three survivors.

THE THIRD VISION: ìLooking at the west, the Gota saw a Circle within water yet not wet, where six prisoners laid in a cage with no bonds, calling to the many who act as one. Their voices were pleading, yet they tore the shadows, bound in the tangling hair of a nose-less face. Blue blood spilled over the Circle, drowning it.î

Clues:

1 success: The Circle might not be the same than in the first vision. Blue is usually symbolic for the Pendulum, orpee or eflow. The face might be a Frilin’s. A cage without bonds is certainly an allegory. 2 successes: The water referred to might be the Emovan tunnels and cities underneath Kaïnas or a subterranean lake under a Kioux’s roots. The “many who act as one” are probably Odwoanes.


3 successes: The prison is possibly psychic in nature (an asylum?) The blue blood could symbolize an orpee shortage, an eflow anomaly or a powerful Echo gift. 4 or more successes: Tearing the shadows might be an allegory for upsurges of violent Dream manifestations. The drowning by blue blood appears to symbolize a Dream Tempest caused by the prisoners’ torment. Something against nature itself is going on…

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SECOND ACT: THE FRONTIER TOWN OVERVIEW OF MORDUCH After four day’s ride from Station 1789, the operatives will come in sight of the frontier town of Morduch, a sad gathering of yellowish gray shacks lost in the middle of a fetid marsh. Home to some 850 souls, the town was built two generations at the outskirts of the Oce quadrant under the management of an obscure plantation enterprise called the Sorrow Root cooperative B.E.S. Morduch’s entire economic activity is based on the exploitation of a rare aquatic root known by various names (Root of Sorrows, the Weeping Herb, Children’s Peace, etc.). This plant, once properly transformed, is a powerful medicine against orpee-induced hemorrhages in Gnath children and reverses the symptoms of The Fall in Nayans. Root of Sorrows is extremely expensive but even limited quantities can provide the community with employment for months. The cooperative’s administration is led by Warden Tov Palmach, seconding as head of the militia. His legal authority vaguely corresponds to that of a sheriff and community leader.


Villagers not engaging in root extraction or transformation cooperative are independent hunters, artisans or work for a small enterprise (the ‘Nutcase Inn B.E.S.’) that doubles as the town’s inn, hoarding and refining iron-hard nutshells to be used as a cheap substitute for plating. The town is poor, disease is rampant, the villagers’ health is bad and child mortality is at an all-time high. An abnormal number of extractors exhibit scars, maims and infirmities, as well as primitive mechanical prosthesis in replacement for lost limbs. Their equipment is the strangest ever seen for gardeners: lightweight armors, spades, axes, saws-scythes and shields. People in Morduch are secretive, don’t talk much in public (less to strangers) and barricade themselves in their miserable shanties an hour before the Dream’s onset. The superstitious townsfolk address strangers with animosity and do not indulge outside meddling in their affairs. They do not answer questions except in the vaguest answers, though shining coins might be of some help. Strangely, villagers of all species bear a distinctive cast of homely features, nicknamed the ‘Morduch mien’: oversized teeth, small slanted eyes, hair loss and parchmentlike skin of a drab orange-brown hue. People say it’s a benign symptom of the plague that fell on Morduch some fifteen years ago, but it appears that later arrivals came to share this look after a few years. Of all the people in Morduch, Warden Palmach, Auditor Seraphim, Loth the Butcher and Tremens’ Yaki captive are about the only ones without the ‘Morduch Mien’. Morduch is not the ideal place for a vacation. Everything seems painted in a monochrome grayish yellow or brown, like the loathsome tint of tobacco stains on a cadaver’s lungs. Many buildings have been abandoned, giving away a ghost town feel. The AJ should round up a suitable atmosphere to convey a ‘film noir’ impression. Travelers caught after dark might wish to take shelter in one of these shacks as there are no inns in Morduch besides ‘the Nutcase’, and villagers are anything but hospitable. Beware, however, the frequent dream and the Odwoanes’ frenzied rampages. All Gnath houses have iron bars and shutters at windows. No door will open after dark, no matter the screaming and thumping. Do not go out at night in Morduch, less it be your last.

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Morduch’s population of 850 comes from second generation immigrants from three distinct origins: Kevoy/Set (northern Oce quadrant), Lernave (western quadrant) and Kaderun outpost (southern quadrant). These three communities mostly keep to themselves, divided among ethnic and cultural lines. Gnaths (54%) and Odwoanes (31%) are predominant, with a minority of bleak Inaïs (12%), withered Nayans (2%) and fallow Volkoïs (1%). No Solek, Frilin, Zïn or Emovan lives in Morduch, and the only Yaki is a prisoner to be executed.

The marsh around Morduch is divided in three major inhabited areas: - The South-West: About 510 people (mostly Gnaths from Kevoy/Set) live in the south-west and work mostly for the cooperative in the transformation of the Root of Sorrows gathered by Odwoanes. This section of the town is permeated by an awful acid smell from the chemical tanks used in the distillation process. Iron bars clad every window, and nobody walks the streets during Dreamtime. Places of interest include the Warden’s residence, the home the Nayan girl shared with her “brother” Loth and the Nutcase inn, managed by a creepy Odwoane named Tremens.

- The East: A tight group of 130 inhabit this place, almost all Odwoanes from Lernave. A majority of them work as root extractors, though a sizeable minority collect hard Kioux nuts for the Nutcase B.E.S. The cooperative’s headquarters are located mid-town, as are the Physician’s office and the Auditor’s chambers. An executioner’s tree adorned with the hanged skeletons of criminals stands as a grim reminder of the Warden’s justice. - The North: Approximately 210 people habit the poorer north in the stinky marsh, most from Kaderun outpost or other isolated places. Ethnic composition is mixed despite a predominance of Gnaths and Odwoanes. Coming from nomad or wilderness backgrounds, a majority are hunters and root extractors. The only place of interest aside for the villagers themselves is the Cemetery Keeper’s abode far north in the marsh, tending the graves and brewing weird potions.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE NUTCASE INN B.E.S.

Few places in Morduch will be willing to tolerate foreigners: their choices are mostly limited to sleeping outside or try the ‘Nutcase Inn’, a baroque building of gray wood adorned with countless grinning faces of gargoyles and imps. The interior of the Nutcase shop and hostelry is adorned with stuffed Gnath heads on spikes as a twisted joke, and brass cages hanging everywhere in which small animals are starved to death. The shop smells of chemicals from which the innkeeper makes and sells a dubious booze christened with the poetic name of ‘Green Agony’. The innkeeper, a gaunt and morbid Odwoane called Tremens, extends his daunting hospitality to travelers for a though price: 60 blood pieces per head, not negotiable. When he adds in a wide grin “customers had better pay their bills, or might end up on the menu”, they are left wondering if it was really just meant as a joke…

The inn’s other patrons are half a dozen maimed and sinister looking Odwoanes, root extractors or factory workers. All share an appearance of unhealthy consanguinity with the Morduch mien, a brutal stare and a total lack of humor: scarred and blind Dreiid, the leg-less Carm, the old babbler Janfen Riacos without toes nor fingers as well as the jaw-less Natiris Janech. Acting as servants are three albino moronic triplets named Lummox, Dunce and Dolt, as well as Tremens’ seven ugly and nameless kids. All are identical to their father except for height and age. Tremens’ wife is nowhere to be seen: questions about her are answered with a cold stare. As far as taverns go, the rented rooms are more like Spartan cells with iron bars, but at least they’re safer than sleeping outside. Ironically, Tremens’ clients are off-limits to his hunts and friends, though the morbid taste of his ‘living trophy room’ might deter them. His prized ‘specimen’ is Aria, a teenage Yaki hunter found at the village’s confines four days ago, who was brought to him by villagers (knowing his morbid tastes and good pay for unusual ‘prey’). The freakish innkeeper’s new ‘exhibit’ has been kept in sitting position for days, without food nor water, waiting for the first signs of starvation and despair. So far, her bio-armor and her pride have kept her from the worst, despite the Odwoane children’s cruel taunts and pokes. The Warden turns a blind eye to the Yaki’s treatment, considering her presence in Core territory as proof of her criminal partaking in the northern raids. As the Kierc Yaki tribe has been outlawed in Core territory by decree from the Oce governor, the Yaki’s captivity is legal under Core law. This situation would be embarrassing for a Judge Echo such as Cashtin Tarejin, especially considering his own Yaki origins and criminal upbringing. Nevertheless, Ariah can indeed be legally declared guilty of murder by association by the mere fact of belonging to a raider tribe… The Tribunal’s operatives might want to turn to Tremens for information, since he’s among the few willing to talk to them and he has something to sell them (of poor quality, at outrageous prices). He might provide them with rumors (more false than true), a creepy tale or two and hints of the town’s dangers. They might also want to buy off Aria (the Yaki captive) from him, though they’ll have to face his very… special conditions, like proposing a suitable replacement (one of the operatives perhaps?). Tremens doesn’t care for riches as much as for misery, and he’d only accept for payment something that would cause more pain and suffering.


Should the operatives openly cross the innkeeper, there’s a good chance they’ll fall on Tremens’ fellow hunters should they have the imprudence of spending the night outside or unprotected. The Odwoane is not only mad, he’s quite determined when it comes to enacting vengeance on people spoiling his ‘fun’.

MORDUCH’S GRISLY SECRET MORDUCHíS GRISLY SECRET Almost all the economic activity of Morduch strives from the exploitation of a rare herbal extract, that Root of Sorrows that supposedly grows nowhere else in the Core’s territory. The root’s properties are well known: used with a grounded powder properly prepared by alchemists, it eases orpee pains in Gnath toddlers and extends their life expectancy. The root extracts can also temporarily lessen and even reverse (in extremely concentrated and expensive quantities) the symptoms of the Fall in ageing Nayans. Unfortunately, the root’s extreme scarcity and the great dangers of its extraction makes its price accessible only to the very rich among the nomenclature of the Core’s Enclave. Morduch’s inhabitants have closely kept the secret of the Root of Sorrow’s extraction and distillation process so far. Unbeknownst to the CERM, the townsfolk’s secrecy is not solely justified by the preservation of their monopoly on this rare resource. Extracting the root is both painful and dangerous as it must be drawn out from the buried bulbs of the Weeping Trees, a semiconscious vegetal entity given half sentience by the underground Frilin sanctuary, whose collective soul and mind rests in the web of its yellowish knobs. Digging and uprooting the plant causes the plant to react in defense on both the Reality and Dream levels. As a squid sheds ink to protect itself, the Weeping Tree exudes a psychic mist known as the ‘Purple Curtain’, causing the surrounding vegetation to animate and attack the offenders. Many deaths each year are claimed by the sentient trees’ defenses, which explains the extractors’ use of war gear for their ‘gardening job’.


The Weeping Trees’ defense mechanisms have a more perverse and long term effect than the simple automation of vegetal sentries. The eflow exaltations of the Purple Curtain provoke a gradual degeneration of the mind and soul in both the surrounding flora and fauna, causing emotional emptiness, an eerie fascination for morbidity and mild insanity in the most vulnerable individuals (Odwoanes and Nayans are especially vulnerable, as attests Loth’s probable suicide after his ‘sister’s’ death). While this ‘Dream taint’ is supposed to drive predators away from the plant by causing the surrounding wildlife to become more dangerous, in effect it has gradually corrupted the Morduch village people into a grisly bundle of sadistic loonies and freaks. The Taint is also responsible for the ‘Morduch mien’ characteristic of most of the town’s inhabitants and its associated congenital madness. Extracting the Root of Sorrows from the Weeping Tree requires the torture and murder of a living soul, something the Naakinis believers (notably Emovans, Inaïs, Frilins and Echoes such as Judges and Judicators) would contemplate with horror. Moreover, its regular consumption provokes a growing emotional addiction manifested by early signs of callousness, malice and outright cruelty in the later stages, as well as progressive symptoms of the ‘Morduch mien’ which appear to be hereditary.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook PERFIDY EXPOSED

Every four weeks, a Secure Stock convoy escorted by Volkoï enforcers used to transport orpee from Oce to the town and back, after uploading the town’s vegetal products and discharging various commodities from the Enclave (iron tools, cloth, wine, food, etc.). Trade goods and food supplements are brought in, orders are taken for importation and accounting records are update. The convoy has been 12 days late and still shows no sign of coming; a growing tension spreads as orpee stocks are slowly depleting.

Though Base 4891 is less than two days’ walk from the town, the townsfolk know better than to ask them for orpee. Secure Stock directives are quite clear that all orpee is to be transported directly at Khaï-Bhek for redistribution, according to the Core’s Geodem policy. Under no condition will they sell any orpee to individuals or members of corporations, not even to the Core Army. In the past, a handful of townsfolk have shown up at Base 4891’s gates in a period of scarcity to ask for support. After a first warning to get away from the gates, three trespassers were shot to death by the base’s obstinate sentinels.

THE MURDER The situation wouldn’t stir such unrest were it not for a more dramatic event to break the town’s monotony: the recent murder of a Nayan girl, a crime attempt that many suspect was intented against the Warden. Things are further complicated by the presence of Avar Seraphim, a CERM Auditor pretending the Warden himself planned the whole thing to discredit him. That bureaucrat also happens to be the very informer about Base 4891 that the Prosecutor Emeth told the operatives about, the Gnath from which they are to retrieve crucial information. Spies, murderers, rebels… There is definitely something rotten in Morduch!


Fair Cassiopeia was found dead the day before the operatives’ arrival at Morduch, poisoned by the herbal tea she had drank from the Warden’s cup. A lingering rumor in Morduch had alleged Cassiopeia to be the Warden’s secret paramour, something many found shameful between an ageing Gnath and a teenage Nayan. The murder occurred sometime after the Auditor, a CERM economist, came to Morduch to investigate the cooperative’s accounting records (and unsuccessfully coerce the Warden into lending him control over the Root of Sorrows industry.) Since the town’s early days, there had been lingering hostility between the Morduch corporation and the CERM over the ownership of the industrial secrets of the Root of Sorrows and its transformation process. Wary of strangers, the townsfolk have been very reluctant to share their knowledge with the Core bureaucracy. They believe the preservation of their monopoly is crucial to their town’s survival. Forcing the cooperative to come to terms would earn Auditor Seraphim a major promotion. He had been putting the Warden under intense pressure until the day before the murder. Seraphim now sees Cassiopeia’s death as an opportunity to wrestle the town’s secrets from Warden Palmach - an ‘opportunity’ that could well rebound against him.

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Warden Palmach’s broken heart seeks to quench his pain by applying swift justice. He holds a deep grudge against Auditor Seraphim, and will certainly question any suspect strangers wandering around town at this time. Obsessed with vengeance, the Warden will focus on finding a culprit over resolving the orpee crisis. He couldn’t care less for Base 4891’s silence and holds Secure Stock in contempt for its “arrogance and coldness to the town’s misery”. The Warden has reacted in turn to Cassiopeia’s death by launching an official investigation, with the CERM Auditor as the prime suspect. Despite the stress, the latter believes this uncomfortable situation will justify the CERM’s arbitration, giving him an advantage as he’s familiar with his organization’s regulations - neglecting the fact that murders are a matter of criminal law (i.e. Naakinisian ‘natural law’) and not simply bureaucratic regulations. The townsfolk for their part have subtly threatened to destroy the Sorrow Root harvest, plantations and stocks should they loose control of the cooperative. This puts the Warden in the uncomfortable position of negotiating a compromise between the ambitious Auditor and the townspeople while searching for clues of Cassiopeia’s murderer. He desperately needs help - the kind of help outsiders (such as the Veiled Tribunal’s operatives for example) could provide.

THE HIDDEN TRUTH Sometimes rumors are based on truth… Cassiopeia was no ordinary housekeeper, but the lover of the Warden. The ageing Gnath never quite understood why such a pretty girl would fall for an old grumpy like him. Both have tried to keep their affair discreet, though not much can stay secret for long in small towns like Morduch. Despite his deep pain for the loss of Cassiopeia, Warden Palmach suspects Auditor Seraphim tried to poison him by dropping poison in his teacup. Everybody knows the Warden’s life is like a metronome’s, with strict rituals at precise hours to which all in his household are held. He drinks tea, precisely 6:20 hours after the Pendulum’s wake. The innocent Nayan died drinking the beverage intended for her lover.


The day of her death at 5:55 hours after the day’s onset, Cassiopeia prepared her sweetheart’s tea in the kitchen using prepared pouches brought in from a KhaïBhek teashop, the Crackpot I.E.S., the same tea he had been drinking for over 25 years. While the Warden was greeting his guest in the lobby, Cassiopeia dropped by accident half the teacup intended for him. She immediately replaced the pouch with another one and drank the remainder of the first teacup. Minutes later, she fell on the floor while the Warden and the Auditor were having an argument about local custom rates. Invited to report on the matter, the town’s physician found a toxin had been mixed with the tea. What evil miscreant could have committed such an act?

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook All things come together when one weights the importance of sacrifice in the Nayan mindset. Cassiopeia’s drop of the teapot was no accident. She suspected that its content had been doped, though she never suspected the drug would be lethal. The truth is, the Nayan girl was an underground agent for the Cartel, a secret Inaïs organization keeping a close eye on the Core’s policies. She and her fellow agent (a.k.a. brother) Loth had been assigned as observers at Base 4891 to report on any unusual activity. The Notion wanted spies to look out on PROJECT AZURE, without informing them however of the base’s genuine purpose. Cassiopeia’s job was to keep an eye on the Warden, to get in his confidence using a girl’s natural ‘weapons’. The agent posing as her brother was to spy on the base itself and report to authorities once a month, by using Tarraaj (winged beast, WB p.57) as messengers. Cassiopeia worked at seducing the old Gnath first with repugnance, but later with a growing fondness for the sullen soldier with a hearth of gold, to whom she meant everything. Weeks before, Cassiopeia caught wind of an insurrection planned by some villagers believing the Warden was selling them out to the CERM. She knew that stopping this attempt would only buy some time, so she set on questioning the kitchen staff and learned the Warden’s tea was to be poisoned (by a sleep drug). She thought the best course of action was to expose the nefarious deed with herself as the victim. When she spilled the tea, her sense of sacrifice (and perhaps love) took over and she drank knowingly the drug. She did not suspect Polyn Maroa, the town’s physician, had substituted a lethal venom for the sleep drug.

EVENTS GET INTO MOTION A visit to the Warden The ugly web of vengeance that entangles Morduch takes on a new dimension as the news spread that strangers (i.e. the operatives) have come to the town. As the simple visit of foreigners from ‘the outside world’ is something unusual by itself, the operatives’ arrival after Cassiopeia’s death is met with suspicion by the Warden and many others. Little time is lost before a small militia of bruised Morduchians insists to bring the travelers to the Warden’s office. Despite his loss and anger, the old Gnath does his best to maintain a polite facade to fellow ‘normals’ - people without the distinctive Morduch cast of features. The Warden’s primary suspicion is their role regarding the murder of Cassiopeia, as he believes not unlikely they could have been hired by the Auditor to do his alledged dirty


work. Especially if they seem to know or relate to him. In his mind, having secret transactions with Auditor Seraphim might be sufficient grounds for formal accusations. This is a likely event should the operatives make contact with the CERM bureaucrat to access privy information about Base 4891.

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The operatives will keep their freedom if than can come up with a believable story. If not, they will be asked to remain within the confines of the town until the situation is clarified. The Warden will only have them arrested in preventive captivity if they behave aggressively or provide him with solid grounds for their involvement in Cassiopeia’s death. Through his extended experience in Secure Stock’s security services, Warden Palmach is not gullible and will not suffer vague or evasive answers. If he comes to believe they have nothing do to with the murder case (as their awkward presence would show great incompetence for murderers), his logical conclusion will be they have come to study what happened on Base 4891. The Warden’s deep resentment against Secure Stock does not drive him to feel concerned over the corporation’s safety, but his loyalty to the Core might take over should he suspect the operatives work for enemy organizations or regimes. In his current mindset, avenging Cassiopeia’s death remains his primary concern. Should he believe them to be Secure Stock personnel or CERM agents, he will leave them alone as long as they do not get in the way of his investigation. Counterfeit papers or a convincing rant from the operatives might do the trick if done well enough.

PERSUADING THE WARDEN

Unless the Warden arrests the operatives or restricts their freedom, he will (Roll the Subterfuge skill against the Wardenís Mental offer them a deal, especially if he believes there are Echoes or Ecatim among Strength score [D12+1], up to plus or minus 2 according to them (preferably Judges or Judicators). The Warden knows some hard facts the storyís believability.) about the region and Base 4891, information he would gladly share with anyone who could provide solid proof sufficient to arrest the murderer of his ‘maid’. He will happily share his conviction of the Auditor’s culpability but he needs to find who are his associates and how they conducted their felony. His obsessive preoccupation is to bring justice to his beloved’s death - or at least his personal bloody interpretation of justice.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook MEETING THE AUDITOR

Upon learning of Auditor Seraphim’s presence in Morduch, the operatives should remember they were to rendezvous with the Gnath to learn more about the missing files regarding Base 4891. The Auditor took residence in an abandoned house in the central part of town, protected from the fury of the Dream by solid iron bars. Almost living in his luggage, the Auditor was confined to the town’s territory by order of the Warden until the investigation is cleared up. Enraged by his confinement, he violently refutes the Warden’s accusations and deliberately obstructs the conduct of the investigation by claiming the murder attempt was directed against him by the Warden’s own personnel. His accusation that the Cemetery Keeper provided the poison for Cassiopeia’s death was met with sarcasm, and none in town came up to defend him but neither to bring forward accusations (he is, after all, a stranger, but so is the Warden).


In the present situation, Seraphim’s concern over Base 4891 is secondary to saving his own skin and pursuing his personal interests regarding the root extraction cooperative. His primary assignment for the CERM is to take economic control over the Root of Sorrows’ production, cooperating with the envoys of the Veiled Tribunal being a peripheral matter. In this regard, the Auditor will gladly share with the operatives (or anyone else for that matter) his accusations about the “Warden’s conspiracy”. However, he would give his secret files to the Tribunal’s agents only if they agree to help him save his neck from the Warden’s fury... Seraphim’s role in this chain of events is not as pure as he would have people believe. His intent was to have the Warden intake an inoffensive sleep-inducing drug to browse through his cabinet and files for critical information regarding the secrets of the Root of Sorrows. However, the Auditor chose the wrong herbologist in Morduch to craft his drug: he knew that Physician Maroa hated the Warden enough to prepare a drug against him, but he did not suspect her hatred for strangers was so great that she would distillate a killing poison in order to have the Warden killed and the Auditor arrested for murder. The only thing she did not consider was Cassiopeia’s perspicacity... and the depth of her sense of sacrifice. The Physician herself will not endure strangers meddling in her affairs and might arrange for Tremens and his ‘friends’ to take aggressive action should they be too insistent. She will not testify for anyone nor will she collaborate in any way with the operatives, short of making her talk by brutal force. Such extreme acts would however result in swift retribution both from the Morduchians (who protect their doctor and informal leader) and the Warden (who needs to keep the villagers from revolting). Getting solid evidence of her guilt is not easy, but she does hold in her medical supplies various herbs and decoctions that could well be used to brew poisons. Perhaps, with some ‘tangible’ form of encouragement, the Cemetery Keeper could be convinced to testify that no one but her has the knowledge and opportunity for this crime. Another option would be to interrogate Cublar, the Odwoane kitchen servant who dropped the poison in the tea service, thinking it was “a mere joke”. But he happens to be Tremens’ nephew and the innkeeper does keep grudges. Bad grudges.

So it happens that the Auditor is accused of a crime he did not commit but that he indirectly sponsored, whose victim is not whom was meant to be, with an innocent killed and the murderer, the accuser and the accused all frustrated by the course of events. And the accused will not spill out the information the operatives need until their clear his name. What are the operatives to make out of this Gordian knot? If the operatives are to obtain this information, either they will attempt to clear out the investigation or manage to steal the Auditor’s files, in which case Seraphim will spin a yarn that it was them who accidentally poisoned Cassiopeia by attempting to murder him under order of the CERM, and that he was himself menaced to be silent under threat of death. That tale that might convince the Warden enough to have the operatives executed in the Auditor’s place. On the other hand, should the truth be known about the Physician’s role, she will either pretend that it was the Warden who paid her to have the Auditor killed or the contrary, depending on what will best serve her objectives. The pugnacious crone is determined to bring down as many foreigners as she can with her.

JURISDICTION An aspect in which the , 91’s operatives might consider would is the Warden’s legal jurisdiction and rights over Morduch as compared to their own. Characters with a little knowledge about legal matters (roll Mental Agility/Coreís knowledge against DN 6) would know the following:

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Tov Palmach’s status as a Warden is grossly equivalent to that of a small town mayor and sheriff. This double role as the sole representative of the Core’s Political Resources Management (CPRM) authorizes him to manage municipal affairs as well as conduct arrests, searches, sentences and executions in regard of these responsibilities. The Warden can also delegate his executive authority to proxies (i.e. the militia) for all matters but criminal sentences. Preventive arrests can be made for up to five days, during which the Warden is responsible to feed the captives and provide them with orpee.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook -

Civil and criminal sentences are loosely based on historical jurisprudence, based on ‘Natural Law’ (i.e. an eye for an eye). Most civil wrongdoings are compensated by fines (with judicial fares paid by the guilty party) while criminal matters are usually punished by physical punishment, amputations and branding or even public beheading for the most grievous crimes. Verdicts are to be executed five days after the sentence has been made public to allow for the possibility of appeal. Should the need arise, the Warden’s sentences can be overruled by a written order from the CPRM’s 2nd Division provided within these five days. The prisoners would have to be escorted to Oce and prosecution would then be handed over to a Judge of Naakinis, whose ruling is final and without appeal. Unfortunately, the distance between Morduch and Oce makes this eventuality unrealistic. Furthermore, the Warden has no legal power over Core Army personnel and must address all complaints in this matter directly to the CA.

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Tov Palmach was also appointed by a 3rd Division CERM decree as head manager of the Sorrow Root Cooperative B.E.S., a decision Morduchians deeply resent but have no choice to accept if they are to sell their stock of Sorrow Root outside Morduch. Legally, this gives him complete control over the cooperative’s activities: informally, he'll have to negotiate with the townsfolk or face a riot.

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The Veiled Tribunal’s agents are legally surrogates for the CPRM’s delegated responsibility in criminal and military investigation to Prosecutor Resh Emeth. Although they should preferably keep a low profile for the success of their mission, the operatives have the legal right to inspect public and private records and documents if they can provide reasonable grounds that this information represents a threat or might disclose a threat to the Core’s security. To retrieve these documents they must obtain a warrant signed by the local authorities, although the Prosecutor himself can extend written authorizations to overrule local authorities in this matter up to but not including 2nd Division authorities. Furthermore, authorities emanating from the 2nd Division of any Core department can overrule the powers of the Prosecutor or his representatives, but only the CPRM has the legal power to suspend his authorizations. The operatives cannot be arrested under accusations of violation of privacy or break-in if these acts were relevant to their mission however these legal rights do not warrant acts of murder, assault, sabotage or theft. Their powers do not extend to law enforcement neither to the execution of justice. These powers as well as all others are the dominion of local authorities, but can be overruled by the CPRM, CERM and CSRM at a whim.

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Judges of Naakinis are an entirely different matter, as the Core Himself acknowledged that Naakinisian law was to be respected within the Core. An hypothetical Judge operative could take control over a criminal procedure conducted by the Warden as long as his sentence respects both jurisprudence and Natural Law. He could also take the initiative of conducting his own tribunal to judge some matter of significance. Aside from earning the Warden’s lifelong hatred, the Judge would also be faced with the risk of his own execution by Judicators should he not respect due process or should his ruling prove unfair, exceedingly harsh or undeservedly benevolent.


PEOPLE OF IMPORTANCE (For a complete biography and game attributes, see p.132)

(For a complete biography and game attributes, see p.132)

Tov Palmach, Warden of Morduch and head of the Sorrow Root cooperative (ìThe Warden"î) A no-nonsense supervisor, Palmach was nominated Warden of this lost town 15 years ago after a long and faithful career in Secure Stock’s Khaï-Bhek security division. Power plays within the corporation’s hierarchy had him discarded for a more ambitious rival while his ashamed friends stood in silence. Such a ‘reward’ for a life of service made him very bitter, focusing on extreme mental discipline to compensate his frustration for this lack of gratitude regarding his lifelong dedication. Furthermore, the Warden never neither really got the respect he deserved from the townsfolk, most of whom considered him an intruder. His life was going nowhere until he met Cassiopeia, whose presence brought a light of hope into him. By her smile alone, she changed the regrets of an old discharged executive into the hopes of a youth. Her death broke his heart, but the Avar Seraphim, CERM Auditor (ìThe Auditorî) A small Gnath with beady eyes, a pointed chin and a bulbous forehead, Auditor Seraphim was appointed by the Oce CERM Industrial Patent Executive (OCERMIPE) after his predecessor (the regretted Auditor Token) was crushed under a falling platform at Station 1837. While the official CPRM investigation classified the event as an ‘accident’, doubts still remained as his conflicting relation with Seraphim was widely known. Born from a middle class family, this unexpected promotion gave Seraphim hopes of a brilliant career for the CERM until he faced the day-to-day paperwork of a bureaucrat. Disappointed and bitter, Seraphim is driven to escape his current position by impressing his superiors by showing an exceptional performance. After striving for over two years to convince Warden Palmach to cede control of the cooperative to the CERM, Seraphim is now faced with the consequences of his own undoing. The Warden doesn’t quite realize the present situation is about to bring his personal downfall. The Auditor doesn’t suspect the Warden had been the only barrier preventing Morduch’s more radical villagers from taking control of the


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enduring practice of martial discipline allows him to maintain a stern face. He now has nothing but vengeance on his mind, an obsession that will find satisfaction in spilled blood. The timing could hardly be worse for operatives arriving at Morduch. Not only is Warden Palmach hungry for revenge, he must also deal with the accusations of Auditor Seraphim who pretends the murder attempt was directed against him. The Warden’s outrage would know no bounds if he were to know the true role the Auditor played in Cassiopeia’s death. Relations between Morduch and the CERM have long been strained as the latter organization is longing to grasp the town’s secret regarding the Root of Sorrow. As the Auditor became more insistent, the town workers have menaced to destroy the plantation should the CERM menace their cooperative’s industrial secret. Over the years, Tov Palmach has reached a compromise with the workers that he’d protect their secret as long as they’d provide enough root to supply the demand. Auditor Seraphim however has something else on his mind: the frontier town’s resistance irritates many 3rd Division managers of Oce’s CERM branch, whom have charged him with the task of coercing the town into delivering its secrets. cooperative. Should the Warden be forcefully removed from his position, in all likeness Seraphim would be unprepared to face the likely insurrection the Physician and her supporters would attempt against the Core’s authority. As such, any victory Auditor Seraphim could gain over Morduch would be insignificant, loosing his ‘prize’ just after he had gained it. Reputed as a knave and hypocrite, Auditor Seraphim is as not callous as to actually order an assassination. He would have cancelled out the deal had he known or believed the Physician would have replaced the anesthetic by a true poison. Seraphim is much too paranoid to confide in the Warden, preferring to blame his ‘incompetence’ to provide for the security of a CERM envoy. Unfortunately for the operatives, the Auditor will always consider his personal interests before and above all: he will lend over the documents to the Veiled Tribunal’s envoys only if and when they provide him with a safe escape from Morduch. He fears the Warden might take advantage of the situation to have him executed and would rather have the CERM listen to his version of the facts than deal with the local situation. The secret files themselves have been burrowed under a large obsidian boulder about half a mile away from Morduch, in a secret location known only to Auditor Seraphim.

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Polyn Maroa, Physician of Morduch (ìThe Physicianî)


Maroa is Morduch’s only medical specialist and a respected community leader. Her personal views about the town’s prosperity involve its total independence from the Core. A fanatical xenophobe, she believes Morduch could survive as an autarchy without “these blasted foreigners stealing our people’s living”. The Physician is a caustic technician with a demagogue bent, whom does not tolerate her authority to be disputed. She is always ready to reply to arguments with one-liners such as “the good of the community must prevail on the good of individuals” or “our community’s social progress demands it”. When the Auditor paid her to brew some sort of anesthetic for the Warden, she prepared a virulent poison to get rid of ‘that pesky despot’. The Odwoane cook who dropped the toxin in the teapot did not expect

Tremens, Manager for Nutcase B.E.S.

(For a complete biography and game attributes, see p.133

the Nayan girl would drink the poison. Somewhat overwhelmed by the current course of events, Maroa will protect herself from any investigation by planting false evidence accusing the Warden, not hesitating to call to Tremens and his ‘friends’ if necessary to eliminate any meddlers. The Physician is a scarred female with a hissing voice, walking with a broken hip. She hates the Warden, the Auditor, Cassiopeia and foreigners in general with a passion, but would not refuse to pretend helping them (as she did for Auditor Seraphim) if by doing so she would better serve her purposes. Morduch’s poisoned ambience and the death of her three children has rotted her disposition over the years, leaving behind an empty shell of hatred and jealousy for other people’s happiness. She is glad to see Warden Palmach’s suffering over Cassiopeia’s death and enjoys every moment of it. Moreover, she is looking forward to frame Auditor Seraphim for the murder and revel in his moral suffering. If there’s anyone for whom she feels a kindred spirit in town, it’s Tremens - the mad Odwoane innkeeper and manufacture manager. Though some believe that insanity seeks its kind, Tremens wouldn’t hesitate a second to treat the ageing Physician as any other prey. In this particular case, empathy for the insane is a one-way street.

The ugly Odwoane works both as the manager for the Nutcase B.E.S. (specializing in the conversion of brass-hard nuts into shield casing and plating) and the town’s general store. Tremens is the perfect model of the ‘Morduch mien’. His distinctive ugliness, deranged sense of humor and oversized mouth attest of his relation to Maxillaire of the Iron Jaw inn, of which he is a distant cousin. Both of them used to delight in ‘sport hunts’ back in the old days. Despite the quality of his wares, Tremens’ presence is unsettling and not something one would welcome unnecessarily. Tremens is as crazy as Odwoanes go. His favorite pastime is starving caged animals to death, with the occasional captive thrown alive in their cages for the sake of variety. But Tremens’ got a much more grisly hobby, in which he indulges with a few close ‘friends’ when the Dream gets wild and Gnaths hide behind their locked doors. He hunts, Gnaths that is, thriving on the pleasure of their fear, driving fellow Odwoanes into murderous frenzies.


Aria, Yaki prisoner of the Nutcase inn


A young hunter from the Kierc tribe, Aria was scouting along the eastern frontiers of the Core’s domain when famine and skirmishes between the Core Army and sentinels from the eastern city-states drove her tribe south-west for hunting and looting. A fierce people, the Yaki fought all they met along their path until met by defeat at Base 4891, where they had hoped to acquire some orpee at Secure Stock’s expenses. Armed with high-tech weaponry stolen from a massacred Yhrne-Llemir division, the Yaki launched a surprise attack against the base that ended abruptly when a cannonball strike resulted in the sudden outburst of a monstrous Naakinis beast from the ground, smashing and slaughtering everything in its wake. While her fellow tribesfolk were slaughtered, the bruised Aria managed to survive for 2 days until found by an Odwoane extractor named Bradawl, who picked her up and sold her to Tremens. Loth, town butcher and brother of Cassiopeia


The Nayan known as “Loth” (agent Sloane) moved in Morduch in year 109 to work as the town’s butcher with his ‘sister’, the now dead Cassiopeia. Undercover operative for the Cartel, Loth has been ordered to spy on the secret experiments conducted at Base 4891, not knowing the PROJECT AZURE scientists he was spying were working for the same group as him. He and his ‘sister’ Cassiopeia, or more properly Agent Astarte of the Notion, were to report on any unusual activities going on at Base 4891 or Morduch. Loth’s growing fondness for his fellow operative grew into a liability when she was ordered to move into the Warden’s household and become ‘acquainted’ with him. He is still under the shock of her unexpected death and will isolate himself from any contact, refusing to speak to anyone. The day after Cassiopeia’s death (and the Tribunal operatives’ arrival in Morduch), Loth will hang himself, to be found four days later by neighbors hungry for their meat delivery. Under no condition (less of torture or mindwalking) will he let go any information regarding the Notion’s purpose and objectives in Morduch. The butcher’s workshop reeks of blood and alcohol. Its furniture is surprisingly austere, Loth’s only leisure apparently being the booze brewed by Tremens (the ‘Nutcase B.E.S.’ manager). An experienced agent, Loth left little evidence of his


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The Yaki remains stern in an aggressive state, despite her hunger and pain. Her fierce pride will not allow her to talk or negotiate with ‘outsiders’, unless she believes she can earn her freedom by force, skill or trickery. She will not hesitate a second to kill or maim anyone to cover her escape. With appropriate negotiation involving her freedom or, at the very least, a quick and painless death (roll

Charisma/Diplomacy against target number 8 for freedom and 14 for death), she could provide the operatives with useful information as the only remaining witness to the Yaki’s attack against the Secure Stock base. She remembers quite clearly the worm’s eruption after a cannonball broke through the fortress’ walls, breaking the ground from what is now a deep hole amidst the fortress. She might also talk about the deep pain mere instants before the monster was unleashed, as if all of her body’s orpee had suddenly turned foul. In any event, she will not talk about her tribe nor its numbers and will fiercely resist any attempt from a Frilin or a Mind Chemist to read or enter her mind.

illicit activities in his shop. The mere presence of an expensive Mashy (MD/MS p.140) mount and worn riding equipment, as well as the nest of large messenger flies in the barn (and appropriate writing material), might hint however that Loth happened to be much more than the humble butcher he claimed to be. Since Cassiopeia’s death, Loth has become neglectful in his duties to the Cartel. He didn’t care to examine the recent fly messenger from Oce with a small tube attached to its leg. It they bother to examine the animals at least superficially

(roll Perception/Observation or Forensics against DN 10), operatives might get to read the message hidden in the tube: ìDistant horizons are to see.î (Show players Exhibit 2.) Witty players might guess this sentence relates to a puzzle or secret code (roll Mental Agility/Read & Write versus DN 6 for a hint on this). While it may be better for players to discover this by themselves, the message is the key to Code Horizon, one of the ciphers used by PROJECT AZURE. Its meaning is to be interpreted as “Distant horizons: R to C”, meaning the letter R is substituted by the letter C, S by D, and so on). This secret code will prove useful later in this story when browsing through the scientists’ papers at Base 4891. Depending upon the players’ personal taste for puzzles, the AJ can have them decipher the letter themselves or suppose their characters do it and hand them over the deciphered letter. (The lat-

ter option takes 3 hours minus 30 minutes per success on a Mental Quickness/Read & Write roll versus DN 6, only one character being allowed to roll.)

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The Cemetery Keeper


This annoying character of questionable sanity has a bad taste for morbid puns and a cackling laughter which can be heard almost a mile’s distance. He won’t tell his own name as a form of twisted joke, but he’ll reward anyone asking with sullen puns that would make a merry Inaïs think of suicide. His “home” is a repugnant sepulcher covered in moss and refuse, with an iron gate to keep Odwoanes and critters at bay. Doubling as an undertaker and herbalist, the Cemetery Keeper spends most of his time telling gruesome jokes to a skull named Yorik. The Keeper knows the dead better than anyone in Morduch, remembering the grisly details of every death and the actual condition of every corpse in his keeping.The Keeper’s actual job is not to take care of the dead, but to clean the corpses from every useful piece of meat, muscle and bone. He sends the useful parts to Loth the butcher and keeps the rest for himself. Moreover, the Keeper plays an essential “spiritual” role: the Morduch townsfolk believe those killed by the forest will seek revenge on the living as Dream specters, so the hermit binds the departed’s souls in their skulls through bizarre and bloody rituals. “Civilised” strangers will probably find this superstititon appaling, but Morduchians take this tradition very seriously. As much as they dislike him, the townsfolk need someone to take care of that duty and would rather have the Keeper do it than themselves. If one can support his humor for a while, the Cemetery Keeper can prove a useful source of information should the operatives investigate the darks of Cassiopeia’s murder. He knows every slanderous rumor in Morduch (which he’d supplement with a bad pun), ponders about doubtful testimonies and false evidence, and could tell the following if provided with a grim enough tale as payment (roll Expression/Taletelling at DN 6):


"The Warden’s a good fella for sure, if ye like tightass despots that is’ No wonder he won’t get along with Mr. Auditor, the latter’s long been looking for his lousy job." "Accident? Yeah, sure. It’s an accident, and I’m the Core Himself, having tea with dead old Tasrath. I tell ye boy, there aren’t many in the know about poisons here, but I wouldn’t go for ‘medical aid’ in any case if ye know what I mean: That’s the kind of aid that’ll aid ye to the grave! Hehehehe!" "Sweet Cassiopeia and her ‘brother’ had an argument some time ago about her hoary boyfriend, Seems like this family’s ‘close relations’ were decomposing! Bwahahaha!" "No wonder that Loth boy’s depressed, he’s spending so much time peeping around the S.S. base, must be short on orpee. No place to go by the way, should ye wish to eat or...pee! Hohohohow!" "Ye’re wondering ‘bout my ‘Morduch mien’, boys? Ugly, ain’t it? We’ve had this face for generations, something in the food I guess. Care for some? No? Well, no wonder the Odd Ones around here are so mad! Is it really the Dream that’s killing Gnaths, or the work of some crazy nutcase? Bweehehehe!" "What’s with the infirm and the forest? Of that I can’t inform, but I wouldn’t be too curious ‘bout it, ‘cause its not far from inferred to infirm, ye know, Hehehehe!" "Say, ye aren’t with those pretentious I-know-’his pansies anyhow? ‘been lurking ‘round the base for a few days, up to no good as always’ Orpee fat and lazy, no wonder they’re hiding in their holes like worms, chant’s they got riches beyond a miser’s dreams’ Just thinking of it makes me puke! Oh wait! I just did! Hohohohow!"

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THE INVESTIGATIONíS CULMINATION Under the Warden’s leadership, the town’s militia is acting with determination to find Cassiopeia’s murderer. They will harass, interrogate and attempt to intimidate the operatives but will take no official action unless they have at least superficial evidence. Warden Palmach is resolute to find whom the killer is and make him pay dearly. He will try to convince those he would think to be Judicators or Judges to help. The Warden will even offer a public reward of 1,000 BP to have the murderer scorched alive. The common folk’s suspicion will first go to strangers, but chatter will soon insinuate the Auditor’s guilt. Distrust will gradually degenerate into fistfights and riots, with Physician Maroa holding the Warden responsible for the town’s growing poverty. Exposing Cassiopeia’s true murderer as the Physician will certainly stir up more trouble, unless solid evidence is provided. The Veiled Tribunal’s operatives might be involved in this investigation if they want both the Warden’s and the Auditor’s documentation, especially the later since they are under specific orders from the Prosecutor to recover the files. Should they help the Warden, his gratitude would be a valuable asset for though the Warden has little in the way of official power, he stills has indebted friends in the Secure Stock corporation and could provide the operatives with an armed escort to Base 4891, aside for any monetary reward he can spare. On the other hand, if the operatives do nothing, Auditor Seraphim will be held in “preventive custody” for a few days until the Physician comes up accusing the Cemetery Keeper of brewing the poison at the Warden’s request. Showing a vial of poison ‘discovered’ in the Keeper’s home, she will proclaim the Auditor had the mortician kill the Nayan girl for refusing his ‘lustful advances’. Public pressure will force the Warden to have both the Keeper and the CERM executive executed. Public lynching is likely unless a Judge, Overlord or Truth Crafter interferes to calm the crowd’s ire. (To carry on a death sentence without a fair trial is a serious crime of Irresponsibility against the Laws of Naakinis - something no respectable Judge should tolerate). In that case, the operatives might as well forget the Auditor’s files.


For his part, the Warden doesn’t suspect the Physician’s plan to deliberately provoke a backlash from the CERM authorities. About a month after Auditor Seraphim’s probable execution, a Core Army detachment will come to Morduch to take custody of Warden Palmach and his collaborators for ‘re-education’ in a labor camp. What the Physician doesn’t suspect is the CERM bureau at Oce will use the incident as an excuse to take control of the town cooperative and cede it to “Progressive Precincts” I.E.S. - a puppet corporation controlled by Seraphim’s direct superior, supervisor Nilats. Degrading work conditions will progressively lead to plantation sabotage and various ‘hazards’, until enough hostility builds for some radical extractors to burn down the marsh forest, destroying the Sorrow Root tree whose dying curse will unleash thousands of spores in the air and ground, causing a gradual spread of murderous madness over the town. Over six months to a year, widespread cannibalism and homicide will end what’s left of Morduch’s existence, leaving behind only a handful of insane murderers.

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THIRD ACT: BASE 4891 Tracking roll: (roll Perception/Tracking against DN 10, the trip taking 6 days at one success, 5 days at two, etc., down to 2 days at four successes or more.) Bargaining roll: (roll Charisma/Bargaining against DN 12, at the cost of 3 000 BP minus 500 per success, minimum 250) Convincing roll: (roll Presence/Intimidation against DN 8)

Secure Stock’s fortified orpee warehouse is about 30 hours’ (two days) travel by foot from Morduch (approximately 100 miles), connected by a vague trail covered by vines and moss. Strangers could discern enough the trail to find Base 4891 by using decent tracking skills or by hiring a guide at Morduch. Unfortunately, few Morduchians would have anything to do with strangers, unless offered astounding amounts of money. In any case, the guide would probably abandon them at the first occasion during Dreamtime unless ‘convinced’ of the merits of showing loyalty. Should the operatives ask, Tremens could propose one of his ‘friends’ at merely half the price but something sinister in his expression suggest this isn’t the brightest of ideas… The ideal option would be an escort of the Warden’ soldiers, if the operatives managed to earn his friendship. Unless the Absolute Judge decides otherwise, the group should encounter no dangerous critter too close to Morduch. Something in the town’s sickly ambience seems to drive most predators away… Getting to Base 4891 should be no joyride though: the AJ can use bad weather and dangerous wildlife as he sees fit, though minor nuisances would be preferable to keep the players’ attention focused on the citadel itself.

THE CITADELíS PERIMETER The Secure Stock A.E.S. corporation is reputed for the strategic position and defense of its fortresses. Base 4891 is no exception. Standing on a hill over the rotten stump of a long dead Kioux, the fortified warehouse lies in ruins in a desolated landscape of broken rubble, putrid mire and a poodle of artificial marshes. The terrain was apparently organized to deliberately prevent any access outside the main road. The fortress rises about 60 feet above ground level, gazing over a barren marsh about half a mile around it. It gives the overall impression of a termite hive fortified with steel and hardened Kioux resin (‘blood’). This hybrid monstrosity of industrial and insect technology is reminiscent of H.R. Giger’s nightmarish landscapes.


Base 4891 was constructed by Core architects with solidity and intimidation in mind. Volkoï workers leveled the place to improve the stump’s natural defensive position by having only a small strip of marsh-like land accessible from the south, the citadel’s three other sides too step to climb and the ground too soft and treacherous for Naakinis behemoths to thread on. Some 200 yards wide, the marsh is booby-trapped by dozens of carefully hidden mines, poisonous barbs, pitfalls and an intricate web of mechanical spring and spike traps inspired from Kynm’der technology. Only a thin road of piled obsidian, barely large enough for a motorized Vegevan, safely leads to the citadel’s gates. A ring of desiccated corpses impaled on stakes to deter brigands, complete with a clear depiction of the Secure Stock emblem, gives a finishing touch to the ominous fortification. Perhaps the most striking feature of the citadel isn’t the macabre death scene nor its ghastly outline in the evening’s twilight, but the outstanding devastation the powerful citadel suffered under the assaults of a titanic force. Walls and towers are torn apart as if by an earthquake, the gigantic stump itself smashed by sections by something the strength of a colossal Warmor machine. The awful reek of decaying carrion extends all over the clearing. A dozen dead Secure Stock sentinels and some twenty Yaki raiders are spread out across the marsh, their rotting meat disputed by buzzing clouds of crawling, flying and burrowing insects. Many hidden eyes in the shadows watch the operatives’ every move, remaining strictly neutral for the time being…

Squeamish operatives contemplating the gruesome scene risk giving in to nausea and revulsion.

Health roll: Roll Mental Toughness/Medicine or Biology against DN 8, suffering 1 temporary point of Mental damage for every point by which the roll was lost. Lost points are recovered at a rate of a Mental Toughness roll per day of rest.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE TAINT

Drawing closer to the citadel’s ruins, Inaïs and Gnath will gradually notice uncomfortable sensations in their inner physiology. For Inaïs, this feeling is mostly a slight annoyance while Gnaths will feel occasional pain strokes. The most intuitive operatives (roll Expression/Knowledge of Orpee or Science-Eflow against DN 6, +2 bonus for Gnaths) will realize something is wrong in their personal eflow circulation and that any orpee carried risks being affected as well. While this condition is clearly abnormal, it remains to be seen if this effect is permanent. The origin of this anomaly is the broken pattern of the Frilin sanctuary, but this cannot be known before actually seeing the underground stone arrangement.

In game terms, the sanctuary stones’ corruption of eflow causes a gradual taint in a character’s eflow levels and any orpee carried within 500 yards of the base. For every passing hour, orpee and artifacts permanently lose 1% of their potency (hence 1 point is lost from a 20 eflow vessel after 5 hours), while sentient individuals lose 1 eflow point every 5 hours. This effect is doubled within the citadel’s inner sanctuary. Every tainted eflow point ingested inflicts 1 point of mental damage (half for Inaïs, double for Gnaths). Should the operatives carry any Familiar with them, there is a growing risk (1% per hour, cumulative) it will become corrupted by the Taint. It will do anything to flee the area to ‘cleanse’ itself of its impure eflow, slashing at its master if necessary. Unlike contaminated orpee and artifacts, Familiars will eventually recover from the corruption after one full day per 5 hours spent within the tainted zone.

CELL REPENTANCE The Cartel’s transient headquarters at Oce were alerted by agent Loth from Morduch when an unidentified calamity destroyed Base 4891, where eflow and biological experiments were undertaken by Subdivision no.4 of PROJECT AZURE. Cell Repentance, led by a sinister Ecatim known as the Pallid Wanderer, drove at full speed across the wilderness to arrive at Base 4891, just before the Veiled Tribunal’s agents. Ironically, Cell ‘Iron Reverie’ was left in the dark about PROJECT AZURE and does not know the very people they were sent to retrieve or eliminate are part of the same conspiracy. As such, they assume any activities undertaken at Base 4891 to be the doings of Secure Stock or the Core Army.


The cellís mission objectives are threefold:

1) 2) 3)

Recuperate or destroy any and all evidence regarding the base’s research activities. Bring back alive (if possible) else ‘harmonize’ any remaining witnesses, including villagers, marauders, Core agents, Secure Stock sentinels and all other personnel. Destroy the sanctuary to prevent the Core from accessing its secrets.

The Cartel squad dispatched to Base 4891 was quick to detect the eflow anomaly and opted to observe the site from a distance until further notice. They have not yet explored the citadel in detail, prevented from entering the inner sanctum by the metal gate. They were interrupted by the Zïn when exploring the cantina (location #14), the Pallid Wanderer ordering immediate retreat after realizing their foe appeared invulnerable to their weapons. The cell leader realizes either the Core or Secure Stock itself will send agents to deal with the situation at hand, and intends to let them deal with the Zïn before taking direct action to ‘harmonize’ (i.e. destroy) all evidence and witnesses.

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The Cartel will take immediate action as soon as one or more of the following conditions happen:

1) 2) 3) 4)

The eflow pattern emanating from the Frilin sanctuary is repaired. The Tribunal’s agents exit the sanctuary along with the Emovan researcher. A full day as passed since the Tribunal’s agents have entered the base. Something abnormal warrants their attention (i.e. when the AJ decides so).

The Inaïs agents will preferably act during Dreamtime to gain a strategic advantage. All 15 of them will spread out in three tactical teams of five, moving into the ruins towards the inner base. They favor ranged weapons over melee but will not refrain from entering hand to hand combat unless their leader orders. The agents are elite infantry and will not riot, panic nor risk their lives unnecessarily. They are the Cartel’s strong arm and fierce adversaries to face, not run-of-the-mill street punks. The AJ is invited to examine the Pallid Wanderer’s biography (p.131) and the specific description of the Inaïs’ secret observation point (location #20) for additional details.

THE OUTER BASE LOCATION 1: OBSIDIAN RUBBLE ROAD The only safe path to the base’s gates is a thin road some 3 yards wide, made of piled obsidian glass shards. Mounts and beasts will not stroll the road for the obsidian shards are sharp and painful, unless their tamer is very careful and firm (roll Taming/Presence against DN 12). Vehicles using resin or pneumatic tires risk a flat (roll Drive/Agility against DN 10 every 100 yards at 10 mph, DN+1 for every additional 10 mph). Nearing the base, the path itself has collapsed in the swamp for 3 yards.


BASE 4891 OVERVIEW

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LOCATION 2: YAKI CORPSES Over a dozen dead warriors are covered by voracious vermin that could become dangerous were someone trying to deprive them of their meal. Aside for the horrible stench, examination of the corpses shows they were fighting on foot with spears, knives and arrows. About a third have been killed by artillery slugs, the rest crushed by a gigantic mass. Operatives familiar with Yaki customs could identify them as Fundamentalists from the Kierc tribe by their adornments, the same tribe Tremens’ Yaki captive belongs to (roll Mental Agility/Races against DN 6). The bodies have little of value: if the hunters had any, they wouldn’t have risked their lives against Secure Stock’s defenses.

LOCATION 3: SENTRY CORPSES There are much fewer dead sentries in the outside than Yaki marauders, what few 7 cadavers lie were crushed by a gigantic monster laying work-like tracks in the mud. Five were middle-aged Gnaths, the last two were red-skinned Volkoïs. Apparently, these defenders have fallen from the outer perimeter wall when it was attacked by a gigantic ‘Something’. Their equipment (crossbows, light armor, iron helmets and resin knives) is broken and mostly worthless.

LOCATION 4: MARSH TRAPS The citadel’s defenders have laid hundreds of traps in the marshes, some mechanical, some barbed pitfalls, most poisoned. Unless stepping carefully into the tracks of sentries or marauders, venturing outside the road is suicidal. (Roll Perception/Observation every 20 yards or risk falling into a trap.) Inspired from Kynm’der technology (see WB p.37), these traps have analogous effects: 4D6 to 3D10 damage. (They can be evaded with a successful Quickness/Dodge roll versus DN 8.) Once found, a trap can be disarmed with ease. (Roll Agility/Engineering, Repair

or Slum-Tech against DN 6.)

LOCATION 5: MOAT The moat surrounding Base 4891 is 12 feet across and 5 feet deep, filled with mud, scavengers feeding on organic waste and floating kettles of incendiary ‘Flame’ plants (see MD/MS, p.177). Using a flame-thrower or torch in the moat risks setting an explosion (size 6, 3D8 damage). On the south side, the first half of the sentry tower’s heavy cannon is rusting in the thick mud, weighting some 400 pounds. All the dead lying in the moat are Secure Stock defenders, fallen from the outer wall. If someone went through the trouble of searching through the mud for the corpses (there are 8, or parts of them), he’d find wet and torn uniforms, rusted knives and swords, some 49 BP, personal memorabilia and a shiny brass key around an officer’s neck (being one of the Orpee Deposit’s three keys). Immersed in deep slime, the sentries’ bomber (see MD/DS p.125) has been marred by a prolonged sojourn in water but could be repaired with time, tools and talent. (Roll Repair/Agility versus DN 12 after

5 daysí work, with a weekly re-roll allowed.)


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LOCATION 6: OUTER DEFENSE PERIMETER The outer wall to the fortress has partially collapsed on all sides but the west, where it has totally fallen into the crevice (location #18). Four feet thick of stone barricades and battlements did not stop whatever calamity battered its walls. The Aran Beast’s blows have severely destroyed the structure, killing 4 sentries whose bodies still lie in the open air while 8 others have fallen down into the southern moat (location #5). The sentinels have little of value aside for uniforms, leather boots, iron helmets, knifes, crossbows and bolts and as well as spare change and personal mementoes. The only real finding of interest here are 5 bomber grenades (see MD/MS p.125), two of which are duds while the rest are in good condition.

LOCATION 7: SENTRY TOWER The three stories of the sentry tower were severely tore apart by the skirmish, despite its robust architecture made from stone and resin reinforced by steel bars. Its 5 defenders (wearing standard Secure Stock uniforms) were all killed by enemy artillery, the building’s collapse or both. Little of value can be found here aside for the guards’ personal weaponry (Kioux leaf armors, iron spears, bows and arrows). The tower’s own artillery unit was thoroughly destroyed, its front half immersed in the moat (location #5). It was mounted on a complex rotating system of gears activated by manual power, weighting almost a ton by itself. A ‘slum technologist’ looking for spare parts could find some useful throngs, casings, filaments, gears, tubes and revolving chambers (roll Engineering, Repair, Slum-Technology against DN 2, with one useful part found per success). 30 howitzer makka slugs lie among the rubbish and gunpowder, 12 of which are used and empty. The sentry tower was heavily damaged by the Yaki’s cannon (at location #9), the western half of its floor totally shattered and plunging right into the crevice (location #18). Assessing the structural damage (Construction or Knowledge-Materials with Mental Agility versus DN 6) could identify that the cannon caused the greater part of the external degradation, but that the floor’s collapse resulted from a force applied from below.


LOCATION 8: STANDING TOWER Twin to the sentry tower, it stands undamaged with a functional battery on a rotating base and a guard room where the defenders used to play cards. A locked wooden chest holds of distilled Kioux sap, aromatized sap and tasty scarabs rubbed in sugar, a clean blanket and a broken timepiece with the following note crudely engraved on its back (a clue for the door mechanism in location #17): “Combine both sides but take away the above.”

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LOCATION 9: SHATTERED CANNON This heavy battery mounted on a tripod was stolen by the Yaki marauders from a caravan of Solek salt traders back from Vlorë hearth, bearing the distinct emblem of the ‘Weird Combat Gears’ corporation of Ulabediare (see MD/DS p.114). At its side rest two dead Yakis, slain by arrows and makka bullets. Bearing the marks of the Kirec tribe (see location #2), the warriors were in their midtwenties, carrying skull trophies at their belts (two are Gnaths, one is Inaïs, the other a Solek). The youngest wore three white stripes on his shoulder pads, tribal marks indicating a youth on his first trial to become a true warrior (roll Mental Agility/Races versus DN 7); the second wore boots from an army sergeant from the 12th Infantry Brigade of Yhrne-Llemir (roll Mental Agility/History or Politics against DN 6). The cannon is almost functional, with 5 full slugs left and 7 empty shells lying around, but its weight (over 300 pounds) and poor condition makes it very impractical to carry around. The cannon’s ballistic angle indicates it fired against the sentry tower (location #7); its two operators apparently dragged it along in the mud while their comrades were distracting the sentries.

LOCATION 10: ACCOUNTING ARCHIVES A small brick room filled with shelves and Kioux flesh drawers, the accounting archives are torn by a gigantic hole on the southern wall. All files were burned down when Director Chelou Zarbi realized his subordinates were about to loose the base. He died by blood loss after a shrapnel fired by the Yakis’ cannon blew out his intestines. The room is quite messy with the manager lying in a poodle of crusted blood (a skinny Gnath in an indigo uniform, some 40 years old). Nail marks on the floors indicating the Gnath died in great pains. He still wears a single key around his neck, one of the three necessary to open the orpee silo’s door.

LOCATION 11: MANAGEMENT OFFICE The pompous office once held by Director Zarbi is a mess of broken furniture, fallen bookshelves and a hill of files covered in the blood of an Emovan sentry, clutching a strange iron puzzle-box in his arms. This one was killed not by blades nor arrows, but by the claws of a middle-sized predator (i.e. the Zïn) while attempting to gather critical information. This Secure Stock guardian was a Notion spy from PROJECT AZURE (codename Whog Shrog), keeping a close eye on the base’s defense when the Yaki marauders attacked. Hiding in the cantina during the assault, he was killed three days later by the wandering Zïn when he came back to the manager’s office. Close examination of his corpse would reveal a strange tattoo on his back, depicting some kind of aquatic creature moving across three circles. The evidence he had gathered could provide the operatives with hints to the secret experiments undertaken at Base 4891 and the greater plot of the Thirteenth Wheel (see Exhibits 9, 10 and 11). As before, the AJ can have the players roll for a hint on the meaning of Code Dusk (i.e. ìT is a Q for [Code] Duskî; roll Mental Agility/Read & Write versus DN 8). He can also let the players decipher the messages if they enjoy this type of challenge, or give them the deciphered letter and have them roll to see how long it took. (3 hours minus 30 minutes per success on

a Mental Quickness/Read & Write roll versus DN 6, only one character being allowed to roll.)


LOCATION 12: ARMORY Located besides the accounting archives, the armory also suffered extensive artillery damage, being a prime target of the Yakis. In addition to the dismantled corpse of a green-skinned Volkoï sentinel whose head and shoulders were blown out, it holds 9 functional crossbows and 313 bolts, 2 pairs of large ironheeled boots, 3 medium-size light armors and 4 iron caps, 7 light shields of leather and bone as well as 13 iron-tipped spears.

LOCATION 13: GARAGE AND STALLS What used to be the base’s garage has been thoroughly destroyed by the Aran Beast, the fallen ceiling making any entry perilous and requiring climbing skills (roll Agility/Gymnastics versus DN 6, at the risk of a 5 yards fall). It used to hold a functional (though dated) Vegevan (see MD/MS p.134) and a large carfo vat (now a fetid pile of rotten excrements), spare wheels, tools, chemicals and so on. Vehicular access demanded to use a mechanical lift and portcullis powered by a carfo engine, that is now nothing more a broken set of gears and pipes. As for the stalls, the rotten bodies of six Tchidoos attest the mounts died of hunger and thirst (see MD/MS p.140). The place holds little of interest, unless an operative would be interested in mechanical spare parts.

LOCATION 14: CANTINA

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LOCATION 15: DORMITORY A common dormitory was shared by the citadel’s sentries and officers, with 12 wooden beds still lying. The western half of the dormitory has fallen into the crevice. Though its bottom cannot be seen, the noise of something thrown within indicates it to be some 60 yards deep. Shelves are filled with blankets, civil clothing, playing cards, alcohol, needles and threads, crossbow bolts and personal items (mostly love tokens of family members, trinkets, letters, amateur sculptures, etc.). Searching through the baubles, the operatives will find a weird propaganda tract hidden behind a sentry’s accounting book, damped and dirty. (Show players Exhibit 20.) The sentry, an inquisitive Gnath fellow named Silrin Koros, found the tract lying in the marshes, suspecting it belonged to one of the secretive ‘experts’ of the inner base. Flipping the pages of his accounting book, the operatives will get a taste of his contorted poetry but more importantly will see the following rhyme: “Frilin dogmatists, one-mind idealists, in Ulabediare, will find what you are.” Beneath was scratched a strange emblem that scholarly operatives (roll Mental

The cantina was spared from the devastation, once lit by carfo lamps long gone out. Its four pentagonal tables and twenty wooden chairs laid in an austere arrangement below a large representation in massive brass of the Secure Stock insignia. The only break from the gray and brown tones is the colorful flag of the Core standing in the northern corner, trimmed in gold and blue silk. Strangely, the kitchen is clean and well-ordered, and many edibles are missing (bread crusts lie on the floor, just beneath the counter).

Agility/Knowledge-Echoes or Organization versus DN 6)

Operatives with a keen eye might notice unusual sets of foot tracks across the room, wearing soft boots instead of the sentinels’ iron heels (roll

might recognize as belonging to the One Mind, a faction of Echoes located in Ulabediare (see BS/E p.34).

Perception/Observation or Tracking against DN 10; two successes or more allow to know there was over a dozen strangers, moving in line in each otherís steps).


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook LOCATION 16: ORPEE DEPOSIT

The doorway to the orpee deposit is a reinforced Sastak structure, six inches thick, protected by a strong mechanical lock opened by a coded number and three separate keys, one of which belongs to the squad leader of Secure Stock convoy, the other two kept separately by the citadel’s guardians. Breaking down the door would have been a formidable task if the walls had not been torn down by the Aran monster (Structure: 250).

The orpee contained within the silo has grayish purple stains and a strange smell not unlike rotten meat. It has endured abnormal alterations in its energetic potential, its eflow drained (or warped) by a powerful external force acting as some form of ‘eflow magnet’. (The orpeeís unwholesome condition can be assessed by a successful roll of Knowledge-Orpee/Mental Agility versus DN 4.) This perversion of nature is the consequence of the broken pattern resulting from the ‘accidental’ summoning of the Zïn’s Aran entity, whose coming depleted the silo from its eflow. Gorged on eflow, the Thing can now freely wander Kaïnas during Dreamtime, when the barriers of reality are softened, but its ‘eflow vampirism’ combined the Mould’s taint have irreversibly corrupted the orpee within the deposit. The AJ should consider this orpee useless and even dangerous for all practical purposes (treat it as 100% tainted). Some of this polluted orpee could be a valuable sample for academic research on eflow however, should the operatives take the time and trouble to find interested customers in scientific institutes or universities such as Oce’s. (To determine the sell-

ing price, roll Haggling/Mental Strength versus DN 5, gaining 400 BP + 250 per success.)

LOCATION 17: INNER GATE Beyond the cantina (location #14) lies a small stone arcade through which stands an oval metal door, constructed with the same manufacture and materials than the orpee deposit (location #16). Reinforced with Sastak, the gate is nearly a foot thick and almost impossible to break through (Structure: 120). Close examination of its surface shows blows were laid against it, to no avail. The foreign tracks the operatives might have found in the cantina appear to stop here, going back from where they came from. The doorway has no keyhole but appears to open by a clockwork mechanism, as shown on this illustration (Exhibit 12 may be given to the players). The correct number is to be shown on a rotating counter, activated by a pull on a small lever. The 12 upper circles all show a single-digit number that changes every morning at dawn.


The number within each circle is the mathematical product of the numbers in the circles above it left and right, minus the number in the circle directly above it. The correct number is 5 on Day One and 4 on Day Two, switching back and forth every day. Wrong answers ring a deep bell and block the door mechanism for two hours. Another clue can be found on the dead Emovan sentinel in the manager’s office (location #11), corresponding to Exhibits 4 and 4b ( “Remember, O kin, that what is above your left and right combine together, but that what is straight overhead above you does not give, but takes away.”) If your players aren’t fond of mathematical puzzles, simply have them roll against DN 10 until they succeed or choose another course of action. Allow for re-rolls every two hours, rising each time the difficulty by one more point. Since the numbers shown on the puzzle door change daily, re-rolls against DN 10 are allowed every new morning. Solving the puzzle unlocks the door, leading to a narrow stairway going deep underground, ending some 60 yards below under the Kioux’s stump into a large, dome-shaped cave carved in the hard root. Blowing out the door with massive explosives will destroy much of the stairway, requiring many hours of digging merely to pass through. (Roll one die of Physical Strength versus DN 5 for each

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Successful rolls (Mental Agility/Mathematics versus DN 5) would provide some clues to the solution: 1 success: The number within each circle probably results from a mathematical combination of the three circles above it. This combination is the same for every circle. Since the numbers are subject to changes, the equation must be simple. 2 successes: The only mathematical operations involved are multiplication and subtraction between the three numbers above each circle. No numbers but those shown on the door are involved in these calculations. 3 successes or more: The number directly above a circle is only involved in a subtraction. The numbers at a circle’s left-above and right-above are involved in a multiplication.

character, each success shortening the excavation time by one hour from a collective total of 12 hours).

LOCATION 18: CREVICE The western part of the base has been engulfed by a large crevice some 13 yards across. Its depth cannot be ascertained but appears very deep. Its walls are much too steep and its inside is too dark to climb it down without great risk (roll Agility/Gymnastics against DN 20 every 9 yards, +4 if using ropes; falling damage is 1 per 3 yards, +5 for the rock-hard surface underneath). The crevice is 60 yards deep and leads to the Frilin sanctum underneath.

Careful examination of the crevice (roll Mental Agility/Tracking or Investigation against DN 6) reveals the following information:


1 success: Filaments of cloth, broken bones and bloodstains around the crevice indicate many defenders fled in panic, crushed to a pulp by a massive mass. 2 successes: The crevice was caused by a gigantic worm or caterpillar-like creature (but not a Huora). The thing crawled its way out from under the base, wrecking it apart. Strangely, it did not appear to burrow under the orpee depot itself (which appears safe) but under what seems to be a dormitory. 3 successes or more: The array of corpses suggest both defenders and marauders were attacked by the entity, gone eastward. After half a mile, all tracks of the thing suddenly disappear. The tracks relate to no known Naakinis beast.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THEMAD ZœN LOCATION 19: SECRET INAœS OBSERVATION POINT

Zïn female, circa 40 years old, birth location unknown. This sad creature lost her mind to the tortures and experimentation to which she was subjected for PROJECT AZURE. Captured from the distant north by a hardened Frilin head-hunter known as Venenos and his minions of Zeltron-1 (p.63), she escaped captivity when an accident in the Frilin sanctum allowed her Aran Beast to break free. She has regressed to her most predatory instincts, behaving in all ways like an astute savage beast. Though she no longer feels pain from wounds, her carnivore instincts invite her to flee rather than to rampage when grossly outnumbered. Since her transformation in the sanctum, she has been bound in a strange way to both her Beast and Hesperid, the Emovan Awakener of Subdivision no.4. Roaming the whereabouts of Base 4891 in insane circles, she ‘switches places’ with the Aran Thing at Dreamtime, keeping a safe distance from the Emovan which she would follow instinctively, even back to the city of Oce.

The Cartel operatives have set down their camp under the sticky branches of a Doran tree (see MD/MS p.176), up a hillside some 250 yards from the citadel’s eastern side. Of the 15 agents, five are assigned to sentry duty, five more are patrolling individually around the base while the remainder sleep. The Inaïs use no fire, feeding on cold rations of cheese, bread and spicama mushrooms. For greater security, the Cartel agent have hidden each of their 8 traveling bikes (see MD/MS p.137) in a separate place within 100 yards of their camp. Each bike is protected by an explosive security system, using vegetable lighters and gas pouches from the Fuel plant. Starting the engine without the proper key ignites the explosives (4D12, size 10; roll Perception/Sabotage against DN 7 to detect and Agility/Sabotage against DN 10 to disarm). One of the bikes’ packages carries 30 pounds of high-technology explosives (enough for 4(2)D12 damage per pound), fuses and various demolitionist tools.

Attributes

Chance encounters with the Zïn before the adventure’s conclusion should be kept brief and mysterious. Its true nature should preferably be kept secret, describing it as a ‘lurking predator’ or an ‘invisible presence’. In any case, since all wounds suffered by the Zïn are transferred to its Aran Beast, a fight is very unlikely to turn to her disadvantage (much to the dismay of overexcited operatives, seeing the creature react staunchly to their fiercest blows).

Agility: Quickness: Strength: Toughness:

P/M D10/D4 D12/D8 D10/D10 D10/D6


D6 D4 D4 D10 D12

Eflow: Combat pool:

Special 7


Special/13 Special/13 8/8

LOCATION 20: ZœNíS SECRET ABODE This is where the mad Zïn hides during the day, roaming in circles within a mile of the base during Dreamtime. The lair is a simple earthen borrow atop a hill amidst bushes and scrub, doubling as a look-out over the base. Finding it per chance is quite arduous (roll Perception/Observation against DN 16, +4 if looking specifically for it). If dormant (25% chance), the Zïn would loose a combat round to fully wake-up and fight (against inferior opponents) or flee (if outnumbered). Under no circumstances will she stop to talk or negotiate; the insane creature will react to any situation with purely feral instincts.

Special: Instinct, Metamorphosis, Lifelink (all wounds are transferred to the Zïn’s Beast, see p.49). Edges: Danger Sense (+7), Discreet (+4). Flaws: Inept with Technology (-3), Mental Illness (-9), Mute (-10). Combat skills: Acrobatic Strike 2, Combat Sense 2 (+2), Counter Strike 2, Dodge 3 (+2), Feint 3, Melee Weapons 2, Unarmed Combat 4 (+2). Jobs: None. Equipment: None.


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THE INNER BASE There are only two ways to gain entry into the inner base: the first and safer way is through the locked inner gate (location #17), the second demands climbing down the crevice formed by the Zïn Beast’s eruption, at a greater peril (location #18). Both accesses to the inner base lead in the ancient Frilin sanctuary deep under the stump, onto the bare rock carved millennia ago by a forgotten science. The air reeks of the sweet aroma of decay and forgetfulness, stressed by the sad moaning of the wind swirling through the crevice down below. Its oppressing architecture is a twisted form of art nouveau style, with marsh-like vegetal overtones, characterized by the deliberate absence of symmetry or distinct angles. The inner base is some 60 yards down under the citadel, a damp vault belonging to an older epoch when the Frilins reigned over Kaïnas, long before the days of the Empire and the Core. A feeling of awe before this monument of the ancient world should be enough to make the agents uneasy, notwithstanding the disruptive energies emanating from the shattered eflow pattern.

INSIDE THE INNER BASE The Taint: As long as the Frilin sanctuary’s pattern is broken, it will radiate pulsing ‘waves’ of corrupted eflow, the effect of which is more intense in the inner base. Eflow corruption occurs at 2% per hour for artifacts and orpee, individuals losing 1 eflow point every 150 minutes (see p.99). The dreadful dead: The operatives will face numerous dismantled corpses in the secret sanctum below Base 4891. Fear factor rolls are asked for the first time they see this appalling defilement: further rolls would receive a +1 bonus for every successful Fear roll in the sanctum. Since medical specialists are more experienced with death scenes, players can add +1 to their Fear die rolls for every level their character has in the Medicine skill. The Familiars: A handful of infuriated Familiars are roaming the sanctuary, enraged by the corrupted pattern yet bloodthirsty for untainted eflow. This craze will drive them to attack all sources of ‘fresh’ eflow, from Artifacts to people, starting by those with the highest current eflow score. What little intelligence they had was striped by their current condition, although they developed a vicious cunning. For unfathomable reasons, the Familiars cannot bear to stand the presence of their creator and will keep a safe distance of two yards or more at any cost, even to the point of jumping down the crevice. Hesperid the Awakener cannot control them anymore, though in theory the Familiars could be repaired if taken outside the Base’s corrupting influence and properly ‘reprogrammed’ by an Awakener and pure eflow.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook LOCATION 21: ANTECHAMBER

The spiral stairway beyond the inner gate leads to a small and oppressing antechamber, an eerie construction without curves nor any truly discernible angles. About four yard wide by five deep, the low-ceilinged room (five to six feet) is filled with trash, useless baubles and decomposed piles of organic material. The greasy walls reflex light poorly, giving off the unnerving impression of moving through some large beast’s intestines. A bloody trail of viscera leads from the corridor beyond to the stairway’s arch, as if something had dragged an animal’s insides and left them to rot for no discernible reason.

Concealed behind the refuse, a murderous Familiar lies in wait of upcoming prey. It used to be a medical assistant to Hesperid, the Emovan Awakener acting a second in command and Notion representative to Subdivision no.4’s leader Orpheus. The sanctuary’s reverberation of the Mould drove it into a frenzy, killing laboratory assistants and spreading their blood everywhere in a desperate attempt to clean itself of the corrupted eflow by bathing in theirs. Despite its pain and fury, it cannot overcome its loyalty to its Awakener creator and will under no circumstances come close to him nor to the pattern. Since it can climb the stairs up but not down, and the steps leading from the antechamber to the above base are too steep for it, the Familiar is stuck in the antechamber. It hid in ambush as soon as it heard footsteps descending the stairs, prepared to jump at the intruders’ throats. While not a very powerful adversary by itself, the Familiar has the advantage of surprise and orientation in the poor lighting conditions. Its basic strategy is to grip at its prey's throat with its legs while lashing its face with its front ‘scalpels’, fleeing at the first wound to set up another ambush for later. Part of its medical equipment, the Familiar can emit intense heat for a few seconds (up to 253° Celsius), allowing it to evade any grasp.

MEDICAL FAMILIAR Attributes Agility: Quickness: Strength: Toughness:

P/M D12/D4 D12+4/D4 D6/D4 D8/D6

Perception:

D10


-/3 15/9 3/2


Combat pool: Soft Armor :

6 -2

Special: Heat emissions: 2D6 damage and roll against Mental Strength/Persistence versus DN 12 to grab the Familiar. Combat skills: Dodge 4, Heat attack 5 (2D6 damage), Jumping attack 3 (3D6+2). This medical Familiar is sculpted from pewter and wood in a characteristic ‘aquatic baroque’ style, which artistic operatives might relate to the Emovan Awakener’s personal clothing style (roll Expression/Art versus DN 4).

LOCATION 22: STONE STAIRWAY The sanctum’s antechamber leads to a two yards wide, deep plunging stairway carved in the solid obsidian. Its very narrow steps were intended for Frilin feet, making them hazardous to larger creatures. Walking them down without a light source is suicidal. The stairway descends in a spiral around the domed sanctum, its darkness split by a faint blue light emanating from the stone arrangements far below. One can see the mangled corpses of Gnaths and Frilins, their butchered organs spread out over half the stairway’s length. Their current state of decay suggest their deaths to be less than a month old

(roll Mental Agility/Medicine versus DN 4). Elusive alcoves with sharp edges hide in every angle, either too small and awkward to enter or leading to treacherous oubliettes, their entrance forbidden by rusted bronze bars. Only a few tunnels allow passages to rooms taken over by PROJECT AZURE’s researchers. The stairway itself ends almost 60 yards below at the sanctum’s very heart. Strange, flickering silhouettes appear to dance almost beyond sight, ghostly apparitions taking substance in the halfdarkness of the Dream. Characters running or fighting in the stairway should make a Physical Agility/Gymnastics roll against DN 4 (+ 1 per Size point above 4) every 15 yards or every time they take a wound. Failure indicates a fall from 1D8 yards, causing 1 point of damage per yard. A critical failure causes the character to fall into the abyss to his death.

LOCATION 23: THE CREVICE Despite the crevice opening up on the base above (see location #18), little light comes from the outside into the sanctuary, as if a cloud of smoke prevented its penetration. Unless a rope has been laid from the above, climbing up is practically impossible. (Roll Agility/Gymnastics against DN 25 every 9 yards, +4 if using

ropes; falling damage is 1 per 3 yards, +5 for the rock-hard surface underneath if falling from above 10 yards). Characters halfway up or down the stairs (30 yards) will notice a huge mural carved in the crevice’s bare obsidian (see location #25).


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook LOCATION 24: SCIENTISTSí DORMITORY

This ancient, circular room is demarcated by a low ceiling upon which are carved unknown mythological figures of archaic Frilin history, some benevolent, some frightening. Its furniture is austere, showing that two dozen people have inhabited this place over the last few months. Sheets are clean, except for the grossly slaughtered corpse of a Frilin clad in engineer garb, clubbed by crude crushing strength. (Roll Mental Toughness against Fear factor 5.)

Painful squeals can be heard from the doorway, leading to an Emovan clad in shredded rags, curled in a ball. This is of course Hesperid the Awakener, cursed to be bonded to the mad Zïn and her Mind Beast. His exact age and appearance will vary according to the time of day or Dreamtime, from adult at dawn to child at dusk (see p.49). Either a dirty Emovan boy or a bruised grown-up roaming the shadows, he will be deeply hungry for food and orpee, but will vomit the latter moments after its intake. Deeply confused, he will react at first with fear, trying to flee down the stairs to hide behind the sanctum’s stones (see the sidebar, Talking with Hesperid p.113). The Awakener is a key witness to PROJECT AZURE’s studies at Base 4891. Despite his faulty memories and regression cycle, he can provide the operatives with crucial information, especially in the custody of Prosecutor Emeth. Aside for this, the place holds little of interest: empty syringes, blank notes, broken quills and styluses, small to medium-sized civilian clothing, leather boots, a musty board game, dried vegetables and meat (many of which were spoiled), water supplies, dusty candy and a few newspapers from Khaï-Bhëk’s Core’s News and Yhrne-Llemir’s Popular Bulletin dated from as far as eight months ago but no more than a month. A thorough inspection will give off interesting information (roll Perception/Investigation against DN 4 for each operative, each success revealing one of the following):

-

Behind one of the beds, one of the occupants had been scratching the wall to count days (almost a year).

-

The liquid food suggests many occupants were vegetarians (probably Frilins).

-

A lingering smell attests some occupants were continually smoking a mild drug known to ease orpee pains in Gnaths. Fresh packages and ‘botches’ can be found under three of the mattresses.

-

A rough drawing was made of the antechamber’s arch, annotated with mathematical calculations regarding the reverberating properties of obsidian glass. These propose the global structure was deliberately constructed to redirect outside the eflow patterns from the stone arrangement below.

-

Oddly, there are no personal trinkets, missives nor identifications whatsoever in the dormitory. This suggests the sanctum’s staff were under strict regulations for secrecy.

-

A note written by hand on fish skin was hidden beneath a chest (show players Exhibit 19).


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TALKING TO HESPERID The ‘mutated’ Echo has been roaming the sanctuary for days in search for food, feeding on what few scraps were left over in the scientists’ dormitory where he recently took refuge (location #24). Suffering from thirst and hunger, he does not seem to languish from eflow loss, something that is strange by itself, considering his prolonged isolation. (Players might have a hint to this with a successful Mental Agility/Eflow roll versus DN 3.) Whatever his current age, Hesperid will be deeply perplexed to the point of hardly reminding his own name and presence. The younger he is, the more disoriented he will be as his regression/evolution process is gradually draining his moral and physical resilience. His memories are blurred with the Zïn’s and the Beast’s, and thus they often relate to animalistic sensations and a diffuse pain. The Emovan does remember having taken part in some form of experiment regarding eflow and Frilins, dissections and more gruesome acts. He has no memory of having Echo powers, though he might use them ‘intuitively’ and will quickly relearn lost abilities with the help of a teacher. Keen operatives will also notice he bears branding marks similar to the dead Emovan in the upper base's management office (location #11, p.104), but far more intricate in design. The Absolute Judge is free to let slip as much information about PROJECT AZURE as he sees fit at this point, although it would be preferable to remain parsimonious to keep the Thirteenth Wheel’s mystery intact for further investigation. Hesperid does remember the following bits of information: As the primary witness to the destruction of Base 4891 (the Zïn having lost too much sanity to be much of help), the Tribunal’s agents should think of bringing the Awakener back to Oce for interrogation by specialists. If there is a Mind Chemist or mindwalker among the group, the agents can attempt to enter his shattered ‘Mindworld’ to learn more, but such a task is dangerous at best since his mind, linked with the Zïn’s, is inhabited not only by terrifying apparitions but by the furious Zïn Beast. A thorough exploration and therapy inside the sanctuary would take more time than the Inaïs squad would allow before making a forced entry, though the AJ can let give away some useful clues about PROJECT AZURE and the Notion should the operatives prove ingenious enough to deserve such a boon.


-

The ancient structure is a sort of temple that was unearthed a few years ago. The vault was locked to prevent scientists and Secure Stock personnel from interacting. Nothing was to transpire about what events were conducted in the sanctuary.

-

The stone pattern has some significance to this place and is part of the reason of his presence here. There was an accidental change in the pattern that caused a lot of mayhem. Then came from nowhere something large and monstrous. The pain and confusion started from this moment on.

-

Many captives were brought here for study, though for reasons Hesperid cannot remember. They were brought here by a strange Frilin, disfigured by claw scars and a bruised eye. The scientist thinks he was a soldier of some sort. He feels as if not all the previous captives were dead, and believes one of them watches him ‘from outside’ (i.e. the female Zïn).

-

There are ‘eyes in the darkness’ inside the sanctuary, small things that crawl and scratch, but they seem to fear him. These are probably responsible for defacing the scientists’ corpses. They seem strangely familiar, but he cannot recall why nor how. The operatives could possibly realize the Familiars’ relation with the Emovan should they see a sample of his talented handwork.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook LOCATION 25: ANCIENT MURAL

From this angle some 30 yards down the stairway, the sparse lighting coming out from the crevice allows to see a huge mural carved on the abyss’ walls. In daytime, the stairway offers a decent view of its immensity: its complex designs appear to illustrate some sort of story between stylized characters. Operatives with good lighting taking the time to analyze the mural in detail should be shown Exhibit 13, and allowed a die roll (Mental Agility/History, Culture-Frilin or Races-Frilins against DN 6) to discover the following information. Alternatively, operatives with the time and skill to make a decent depiction of the mural (roll Expression/Arts versus DN 4) could earn this information by having the Veiled Tribunal’s analysts do this research for them.

1 success: The style used is quite ancient, possibly dating back over 5,000 years ago. The scene depicts religious themes related to Naakinis and the creation of the Zïns. There is also something about a war in which the Frilins faced defeat. It also suggests the stone pattern has an effect on the outside world. 2 successes: The mural suggests the sanctum used to serve for binding Aran entities into the minds of Zïns. The story narrates the sanctum’s creation, the Zïns’ rebellion against the Frilins and the destruction of the sanctuary in a war against Gnaths - in all likeness the armies of Neteien the First, a megalomaniac emperor of a very ancient dynasty (-2789 - -2729 B.C.). The stone pattern’s purpose seems to relate to the Dream, in mysterious ways. 3 successes: The mural also depicts the creation and destruction of a Frilin ‘mental city’ belonging to the One Mind Echo faction, from which the Omnium broke all ties centuries ago. Terrible experiments went on in this very place millennia ago, though it was presumably only a subsidiary site for the Frilin’s archaic experiments. The illustrative style indicates identifies the rebellious Zïn were led by the famous Tasphir against their abusive masters (MD/DS, p.47) There are also other, deformed creatures that cannot be identified. After this, the sanctum appears to have served for the creation mind-sharing pattern through a deliberate re-arrangement of the stone pattern. The manipulation of this pattern appears to exert a powerful influence over both the Dream and reality in the base’ surroundings. 4 successes or more: Subtle details indicate the sanctum’s guardians have parted with the Mind of One in the centuries after the Zïns’ insurrection to form an independent group. The attack led by the old empire appears to occur millennia later, to oppose monstrosities these fringe Frilins had been creating. Ancient imperial records recall of such a conflict between the empire and “woeful monsters of flesh and leaves, faceless horrors of the Frilins unleashed against their legitimate sovereign. But our glorious knights marched on to crush their evildoings and wicked constructs.” This sanctum appears to have escaped the pogrom, hidden from view and later abandoned by the Frilins.


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FRILIN GLYPHS


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook LOCATION 26: LIBRARY ROOM

This odd convex room was built on uneven floor with dozens of small alcoves piercing its obsidian walls. Iron gates in the walls reveal the darkness of putrid oubliettes behind which faint imploring moans can be heard. These voices only react to stimulation with menacing feral clamors. A rotting stench pervades the room. Bloody tracks (location #21) lead to the carcass of a Nayan teen, whose fatty body was grossly torn apart (Roll Mental Toughness against Fear factor 8). This gross butchery is the doing of the crazy Familiars lurking in the research area (location #27). The corpse has been disfigured beyond any possibility to ascertain his identity. In this crowded room, the Dream ghosts’ presence can be felt more intensely, as fleeting shimmer in the air like a translucent tapestry of webs. They are silent and do not appear to communicate, engaging only in a sad choreography possibly ritual in nature. Their emaciated contour suggest they might have been Frilins of long ago, although their features are marked with a deep despair. Aside for giving the creeps, these ghosts do not interact with the operatives in any way, and will dissipate if bathed in light.

The library is crowded with shelves of books and scrolls on a variety of specialized academic topics, from engineering to biology to mathematics. At least a third of them are ciphered in an unknown alphabet. Various occult paraphernalia can be found lying on tables, stools and shelves: skulls, circular diagrams, numerological tables, abacus, salts and weird herbs, dissected or whole brains and other organs floating in small ponds and vats, numbered blood samples, chemical canisters, deformed skeletons of beasts and sentient beings hanging from hooks, annotated anatomical sketches, leather manikins grafted with dead tissue, surgical instruments, colored wax, etc. Dark blue organic stains smudge a large part of the floor. (Roll Botany/Mental Agility versus DN 4 to

identify it as orpee, squashed by the furious Familiars.) A backroom behind the library appears to serve as a morgue. Vivisection tables restrain dead test subjects in various stages of dismemberment, 8 of which are Odwoanes, 6 are Inaïs, 5 are Frilins and one is a strange sort of critter. (Roll Mental Agility/Creatures versus DN 5 to identify it as a Kynmíder, a semi-sentient biped reptile described in WB p.37.) Three more corpses of Gnaths dressed in gray suits (a male and two females) lie in a bloody mess beneath the tables, as if some enraged beast had clubbed and chopped them into pieces. (Roll Mental Toughness against Fear factor 9.) Shards of broken glass and dark stains are spread out all over the floor. Operatives knowledgeable in medicine will notice most operations concentrate on grafts involving the brain and nervous system, with detached spines, disembodied mezzo-encephalons and limbic organs floating in formaldehyde (Roll Mental Agility/Medicine versus DN 4). Light burn marks indicate they were exposed to intense energetic stimulation, with various bloats suggesting the organs were subjected to electric burns. A coded research note stored in a small locked wooden chest (Structure: 8) relates important observations from PROJECT AZURE’s headquarters (show the players Exhibit 14; its decoded version is shown on Exhibit 14b). The key to Code Twilight can be found on the corpse of Orpheus, the dead Frilin lying beside the broken pattern (location #30). As before, the AJ can let the players decipher the letter themselves or have them roll (see location #11).


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LOCATION 27: RESEARCH AREA What used to be a cruciform prayer room is now filled with strange machinery of unknown purpose, most of it highly advanced modern technology: an array of large-sized Dream compasses, various eflow measurement apparatuses, a tellurian engine, a drudge for calibrating sonic activity and a host of weird technology the purpose of which cannot be ascertained. Most of it is stained with the bloody remains of 5 researchers (3 Frilins, 2 Emovans) in the usual mess. (Roll Mental Toughness against Fear factor 6.) A broken model representing the sanctum lies on the floor, smashed to bits aside a destroyed typewriting machine. Some interesting research reports can be found lying among the rubbish (show players Exhibit 15). (Characters who roll 7 or above on an Mental

TRANSPORT FAMILIARS Attributes Agility: Quickness: Strength: Toughness:

P/M D8/D4 Perception: D8/D4 D12+4/D10 D12+2/D10

D4

Agility/Engineer roll, or any other related mechanical skill, will identify the technology as top-notch Weirdsmith equipment.) Secondary Attributes WT -/4 Further murderous Familiars are lying in ambush in this room, in which they HP: 30/20 Combat pool: 4 4/4 Soft Armor : -4 have taken cover after detecting the operatives’ presence. More mobile and Size: Hard Armor: /2 stronger than their brethren in the antechamber, they are responsible for the massacre of the scientists that were not killed by the fury of the Aran Beast. Special: Normal move over any terrain. Created to transport machinery, these ugly Familiars are very strong but not Combat skills: Dodge 2, Smash 4 (4D10 damage). as fast than the one the operatives met in the antechamber. They will attack as a pack and attempt to mow down the operatives by beating them senseless, and will scatter if overpowered to launch a surprise attack later. Created for locomotion, these Familiars have no mobility restriction whatsoever with stairs or any terrain for that matter. Their exact number should be determined by the AJ according to the operatives’ combat qualities, with at least one Familiar for every combat-ready character and another for every two noncombat characters (minimum 2). A secret revolving door was hidden in the eastern wall, allowing access to an ancient sepulcher (location 29). PROJECT AZURE personnel did not find this door, its content has been left unspoiled for millennia. (Roll Perception/Observation or

Investigation versus DN 8 to find the secret door.)


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LOCATION 28: RESTRAINING VAULTS A narrow corridor some two feet wide and four feet tall leads from a tight alcove in the main stairway to a small labyrinth further down under. The total lack of symmetry and right angles in the vaults’ architecture provoke an unsettling feeling, a representation of something both alien and anomalous. In this ancient labyrinth lay arrays of claustrophobic cells and chains, hold skeletons of creatures for the most part unrecognizable, though some are certainly Inaïs and Zïn in origin. The only set of footprints in the dust, quite small-sized, abruptly stops in the middle of a corridor where lies a sprung mechanical trap and the brittle skeleton of a Frilin dressed with an iron cap and an apron engraved with a symbol somewhat reminiscent of the Core's emblem: a circle with antlers with three inner circles, the lower one also bearing antlers. (This symbol refers to the Omnium.) Millennia before, these vaults use to serve as a confinement area for the original Frilins’ test subjects. There is nothing to find here but more evidence of the darker side of Frilin culture, except perhaps for one or two still functional traps. (Roll

Perception/Observation versus DN 8 to detect them, damage in case of failure is 4(2)D6.)

LOCATION 29: SECRET SEPULCHER A soft green light emanates from this small study room, in which stands a strange cocoon-like vegetal machine. The thing is related to shining crystalline controls on the eastern wall, shaped like a sort of great flower or insect. The years have not been kind to this forgotten technology of the distant past, neither to the entity sleeping within. Any tampering with the machine will cause an awful wailing cry and the cocoon to rupture like a nut, letting out a horrible smell of decomposition. Nothing further will happen unless the operatives open the cocoon to examine its content, in which case a putrefied entity will violently lash out at them with a piercing scream. The thing will lash out in fury and die seconds later of exhaustion and shock. (Roll Mental Strength versus

Fear factor 15 for surprise or be stunned for a full round; the creature attacks but once at 4D10 for 2D10 damage.) The creature’s putrescence will turn to a bluish slime in less than hour, its decomposition brutally accelerated by its defective awakening. Four feet tall, the thing had but three fingers, an eyeless oblong face, eagle claws for feet and a short reptilian tail. Its form is neither exactly Frilin nor Zïn, but possibly an earlier prototype or an entirely different creature for that matter. The valuable knowledge it could have provided for historians and biologists alike is unfortunately lost for future generations.

LOCATION 30: BROKEN PATTERN As the narrow steps of the stairway end to a cold floor of black volcanic glass, a faint blue light reveals a mighty arch engraved in ancient Frilin style (a quaint variant of art nouveau). The arch gives way to a titanic cathedral carved in the bare rock, its many vaulted ceiling disappearing many yards above into a foggy luminescence emanating from the outside world. This ancient temple invokes respect in the beholder through its overwhelming beauty and strangeness, imposing a powerful silence all across the cave. The blue light comes from 16 crystalline stones arranged in a triangular pattern (show players Exhibit 17). Shaped like multifaceted eggs, the stones stand some 5 feet tall and weight nearly 300 pounds: the seven stones at easternmost the side of the triangle have been topped over on their sides.


Despite their magnificence, a dreadful feeling of tension and discomfort emanates from the stones. Words from a forgotten alphabet adorn the many columns and arches, forming repetitive ornaments. Beyond the arrangement of stones lies the gruesome sight of bodies merged within the sanctum’s obsidian walls, as if they had melted and half-absorbed them. The corpses, of which there are 11, are contorted in excruciating pain: Gnaths, Emovans and Frilins clad as technicians or scientists, all between ages 25 and 50. (Fear factor roll versus DN 15.) This disaster was a ‘secondary effect’ of the pattern’s eflow explosion that merged the two worlds of reality and Dream for an instant, seconds before the Zïn’s Beast ruptured the stone pattern in its fleet from the underground sanctuary.

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To ascertain the odd sensation that comes from distorted eflow emissions, roll under Expression/Knowledge-Orpee or ScienceOrpee versus DN 6. To interpret the words, roll under Mental Agility/Etymology versus DN 8: these are archaic Frilin hymns to the greatness of Naakinis, the perfection of a world united by the unity of a single collective mind and the danger to this united symphony represented by the race of Gnaths.

THE HAUNT Although the broken pattern’s negative effects have been somewhat lessened by the current stone re-arrangement, it still exerts a negative impact on the surrounding Dream substance, fueled by the angst and pain generated by the cataclysm. The sanctum’s overall Dream level is quite high (4D10) and reaches critical levels down in the sanctum, where the stone pattern still shows the Fragment’s psychic imprint (6(2)D10). This makes the sanctuary a very dangerous place, for it reacts in chameleon fashion to the emotions expressed by the sentient creatures near the stones. Since the operatives’ first reaction is very likely to be fear, the Dream will react accordingly and manifest itself through horrid apparitions, the mangled corpses pulling themselves out from the walls to melt together into a moving pool of blood, pus and organs. As it is mindless, the entity will attack the most impressionable individuals first (i.e. the character with the current lowest Mental hit points). This Dream horror takes a Reality factor (Rf) value proportional to the level of psychic anguish involved: its total Rf equals the current Dream factor plus the difference between each operative’s maximum Mental hit points and his current hit points. For example, if the current Dream value is 12 and three of the group’s operatives lost a total of 14 Mental hit points, the entity’s Rf factor will be 26. Since the entity’s nature is essentially psychic, characters fighting it will use their Mental values for statistics (Size and Wound Threshold included). All damage inflicted by the Dream Apparition is also to be deducted from


Mental hit points, although it is definitely affected by material weaponry. Operatives who think quickly will realize the Dream entity feeds from their own emotions (roll Mental Quickness/KnowledgeDream versus DN 6); they might then try to shred off their inner fears to dissipate the apparition (roll Mental Strength/Psychology versus DN 6). Each success reduces the apparition’s Reality factor by 2 points. Characters using Sastak weapons will inflict 100% physical damage on the apparitions.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook DREAM APPARITION

The Dream Apparition is a variant form of Dream Beub, a monstrosity born of the Dream’s substance fouled by negative emotions (see BS/R p.36 for details). The sanctuary’s entity is a little different from ‘garden variety’ Beubs but no less dangerous. All its attributes depend on its current Rf level. Its hit points exactly equate its Rf. The thing attacks by engulfing and does not dodge. Its mental abilities are animal-like (D4). When the Horror is finally destroyed, operatives immediately recover 1D6 Mental hit points from their feeling of relief. It leaves no trace when dissipated, and the melted corpses appear back at their original place (as they always were).

Rf level 0-5 6-10 7-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 etc.

Three corpses are lying across the stone pattern in relatively good condition, buried beneath piles of obsidian rubble. Around them stands the broken remains of a vivisection table, scientific machinery destroyed beyond all recognition and torn restraining bonds. Considering the mass of rubble all over the sanctuary, something very large wrecked havoc all over the place before climbing out of the crevice above (location #18).

The first corpse is an old and desiccated Frilin with a twisted goatee and bulging eyes, wearing ceremonial robes of blue and green and a strange headgear with five magnifying eye-lenses on rotating rods. Its frail hands hold a broken three-dimensional abacus and some sort of rotten organic matter. The corpse’s right pocket holds a small piece of paper with the key to Code Twilight (show players Exhibit 16). The dead Frilin is Orpheus, leader of Subdivision no.4 for PROJECT AZURE. (To determine the cause of death, roll Mental Agility/Medicine

Attributes D6 D8 D10 D12 D12+2 D12+4 D12+6 +2

Attack 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 +1

Armor 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -1

Damage 1D 2D 3D 4D 5D 6D 7D +1D

Cp 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 +1

Size 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 +1

Wound Threshold 4/4 5/5 6/6 7/7 8/8 9/9 10/10 +1/+1

THE STONE PATTERN

versus DN 5: the Frilin died of internal hemorrhage after being struck violently.) Lying amidst the stone pattern, the second corpse is a diminutive Emovan female whose head was thoroughly crushed by one of the fallen stones. She is wearing a skin-tight leather suit made of some sort of algae and eel skin with thin Sastak overlays. Small sapphires carved in pyramids have been grafted to the Sastak overlay. The suit's purpose is unknown, though it does not appearrelated to protection nor exploration. (Roll Mental Agility/Science-Orpee versus DN 10

to identify it as a kind of isolator from eflow energy,an unknown and very advanced technology that appears to be of Emovan design). This outfit was designed specifically for the the Notion's use by Ekul Dreamsuits I.E.S. (p.54).


The third corpse is another Frilin, standing next to the dead Emovan. Its legs were crushed to a pulp beneath one of the stones, arms crossed before its bloody face in an expression of pain and terror. This gaunt and gravely mutilated fellow wears knotted braids and a strange triangular monocle engraved with lines and geometric forms. Its wounds appear identical to the corpses of the research area (location #27). Just besides the corpse, something small and unrecognizable was savagely smashed to a fine gray powder. (Roll Mental

Agility/Science-Orpee versus DN 6 to identify the monocle as a specialized version of ëDream gogglesí used in conjunction with high tech machinery for the measurement of eflow patterns).

THE FINALE THE CARTEL IS WATCHING Managing a climatic finale adequately is a true test of an AJ’s skill. There is no optimal solution to the telling of a good story: it depends on mood, timing and going along with the players rather than sticking feverishly to the plot. Since the players’ course of action can be unpredictable, choosing the best way to end the operatives’ exploration is for the AJ to sort out. Nevertheless, a good way to preserve the sanctuary’s mystery could be to end their investigation with a ‘bang’ as the Cartel’s agents swarm on the base in a fury of crossfire, attempting to prevent the Tribunal’s agents from escaping with valuable evidence. The players will be faced with the challenge of saving their lives and safeguarding the documentation, proofs and eventual witnesses they found both outside and within the citadel’s bowels. The conclusion proposed below supposes the AJ goes along with a cataclysmic ending, which makes for a classical but entertaining show of ‘refreshing’ violence to conclude this chapter. A mere hour after the Yakis’ assault and the destruction of Base 4891 by the Zïn’s Beast, Loth the butcher sent a fly messenger from Morduch to Oce informing the Iron Reverie cell (p.49) about the situation. The cell’s leader, Linker Shekinah, realized immediate intervention was needed since the Secure Stock corporation was likely to send its own investigators to ascertain the


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CHANGING THE PATTERN The gray dust in the sanctum is, naturally, what remains of the Mould after the Familiars’ wrath destroyed both it and the Frilin. Unfortunately, neither the Moulds’ shattering nor the crystalline stones’ disorganization corrected the abnormal eflow pattern that still reverberates within the sanctuary. When artillery fire by the Yakis above caused falling stalactites to disturb the stone pattern during a delicate operation on the bound Zïn, a sudden leap of energy caused the eflow stocked within the base’s orpee to brutally awaken the Zïn’s Beast. The titanic Thing shook the entire sanctum in its desperate escape. The corrupted energy field soon drove the Familiars mad, killing all survivors save for their creator, Hesperid, who has been haunting the sanctuary ever since in search of his lost memory. The pattern’s corruption is already evident in Base 4891, but will gradually spread over the upcoming months to Morduch and beyond. Restoring the pattern to its original condition is not exactly within the executive’s mission, but it would nevertheless help out Morduch and the neighboring regions in the end. An indispensable clue to the pattern’s original configuration appears in the experimental report found in the research area (Exhibit 15). If this document was found but forgotten by the players, the AJ might remember them (by having them roll, for example, under Mental Agility/Mathematics versus DN 4 or simply hinting at the suggestion for characters with the Master of Enigmas or Memory edges.) While the actual pattern for the 16 stones is 12 rows with 4 stones in each (Exhibit 17), the original configuration had the 16 stones arranged in 15 rows of 4 stones each (Exhibit 18 - NOT to be shown to players!). Since repairing the pattern is not essential to the campaign’s completion, the players will not be allowed to make dice rolls and will have to used nothing but their heads this time!

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citadel’s condition. Since the secrecy of PROJECT AZURE was compromised, Linker Shekinah asked for the Linker of Cell Repentance to act swiftly and eliminate all traces of the experiment at Base 4891. Under the leadership of the Pallid Wanderer, 15 Cartel commandos were sent on motorized vehicles to secure the fortress and report on the events. The Cartel squad arrived directly at Base 4891 two days before the Tribunal’s operative arrival at Morduch. They took care to hide their presence from the villagers, and although the Cemetery Keeper did suspect their presence, the Morduch authorities were not informed.

Assessing the gravity of the devastation and the abnormality of the eflow patterns emanating from the citadel, the Pallid Wanderer ordered his cell to spread out and observe any anomaly in the area, waiting for the Secure Stock agents to come while trying to capture the savage ‘critter’ that attacked them in the citadel’s kitchen (the mad Zïn). Unprepared for what he found at Base 4891, the Wanderer is confused about the proper course of action and decided to leave the fortress and wait for something to happen, despite his team’s best judgment. The Cartel commandos will take great interest in the arrival of the Tribunal’s operatives and keep them under close scrutiny. Unusual events such as altering the eflow pattern, exiting the base with precious evidence, bringing out a survivor (i.e. Hesperid) from the depths or anything the Absolute Judge deems appropriate will cause the soldiers to take aggressive action against the group. If the Cartel’s agents have they way, all external observers will be ‘harmonized’ with no trace left of their remains and the base itself will be buried under the rubble of a massive explosion. The tactical and numerical advantage of the Cartel’s troopers places the Tribunal’s agents in serious jeopardy as they attempt to escape from Base 4891. Depending upon the chapter’s actual events, the onslaught could occur at the very center of the Frilin sanctum, somewhere in the outer base or in the marsh surrounding the citadel, as the green-clad masked Inaïs charge forward with rifles and bayonets. Exceptions aside, chances are the Cartel will have the upper hand and force the operatives in a defensive position. As the intruders step forward without hesitation, dodging bullets or arrows dexterously, the certainty of defeat by an overwhelming faceless enemy should give the players a genuine feeling of hopelessness, or at least to have failed in their endeavor.

THE WORM A direct confrontation with the Cartel’s 15 warriors would likely spell out hecatomb for the Veiled Tribunal’s small group of operatives, even with Guardians and War Engines in their ranks. Fate will extend them her hand in an unexpected way if they took Hesperid along with them however: whether inside the inner sanctum or emerging from the citadel, a most surprising event will happen some time after the Cartel’s operatives start to open fire against the team to shower them with bullets. The AJ should manage to set the proper atmosphere for this finale, as the operatives should see this all-around attack as nearly hopeless, taking cover behind walls, trenches and rocks as the enemy slowly closes in for the kill. Paul Linton (order #4667478)

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When all seems lost and the Inaïs are getting closer for the final assault, Hesperid comes as the first to fall from the gunfire. (If the operatives did not bring the amnesiac Emovan along with them (they left him behind, gagged him, etc., but probably did not manage to kill him in any case) he followed their tracks back to the outside world, unconsciously using (if necessary) his Echo powers to free his bonds.

The violent pain of gunshots awoke the anger of the Zïn Beast once again, drawing on its eflow resources to manifest in the physical world. This providential Deus ex Machina upsets the course of events as belligerents react in terror before the titanic monster, repulsive hybrid of worm and A direct shot from a sniper hits the Emovan square in the chest, making him squid. (Fear rolls versus factor 15.) As the Thing fall over in a surprised gasp, shaken aback by the brutal impact of the metal forwards in anger to crush the midgets it onslaught. Imagine the operatives’ surprise to realize not only that he survived deems the cause of its pain (player characthe shots, but that his body is totally unwounded, eyes wide from the shock ters included), the Emovan reacts in total and astonishment. Amazingly, the shocked Awakener quickly gets back on his stupefaction, staring thoughtlessly at the feet, unwounded although his shredded clothing leaves no doubt he was void, overcome by the Beast’s violent emoindeed shot. The repeated fire of the snipers leaves him standing in confusion, tions. He will follow anyone pulling him apparently intact with no pain nor blood loss. The Inaïs stop for an instant, firmly. About half the Cartel’s agents stupefied of his apparent invincibility. Seconds later, a mighty tremor shakes retreat in panic while the other half direct their attacks against the alien horror. Only the very ground as a powerful bellowing chills the very air with terror… the Pallid Wanderer and a handful of (Roll Physical snipers keep enough of their senses to focus Agility/Balance on the operatives as the Naakinisian beheversus DN 8 to moth manifests its rage aimlessly.

keep from falling over.) As the snipers will soon realize what is happening and react in a more orderly fashion (being combat-trained Inaïs), the Tribunal’s agents have only a few precious moments to make an escape with their own mounts (or the snipers’ motorcycles, if they happened to find them) while the Zïn’s Beast trashes the citadel and its annoying midgets. The players will hopefully remember to bring along the evidence they captured from the base, or risk facing the Prosecutor’s wrath. Should they for any reason flee on foot, the operatives will soon be caught by motorized Inaïs, first ‘average’ henchmen then the Pallid Wanderer himself who should be the operatives’ primary opponent for this scene.


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Mechanical Dream sourcebook THE CHASE

The evasion from the Secure Stock base gives the AJ the perfect excuse for a vehicle chase in the lush jungle, arranging for at least one of the snipers to fall from his motorcycle. The swampy soil of the dark forest and its gigantic shadows makes for perfect pitfalls, falling branches, ambushes, gliding rocks, high-speed maneuvers with the Cartel agents and the old hand-to-hand fisticuffs with the Pallid Wanderer. Any decent action movie could serve as inspiration for this scene. A surprise re-appearance of the Zïn Beast or a fallen enemy could also serve as a random element to keep the pace going on.

In any case, the Pallid Wanderer should manage to disappear at the end of this scene: either left for dead, caught in an explosion, fallen from a rift or whatever. The AJ should also let the heroes have a good look at their foe (and possibly get a nasty wound), to make sure they’ll recognize the Ecatim should they ever face him again…

THE RETURN HOME Since the climax of the adventure takes place during the operatives’ evasion from Base 4891, it might be unnecessary to replay the return trip from Morduch to Oce, unless they left the town in chaos or the AJ wishes to add up some spice to this story using, for example, one of the unused encounters from the second act (p.54). If they brought the mutating Hesperid, they will soon realize his eerie transformation and might freak out from his cyclic changes. If properly treated, the Awakener will make no attempt to flee since he reverts to his instinctive Emovan dependency on others during his current state of utmost confusion. The AJ could also summarize their return to Station 1789 as a silent journey through the blue-gray vegetation under the menacing presence of murmuring shadows, and from the Iron Jaw inn aboard a sturdy Yaki caravan back to the Enclave, where the Veiled Tribunal’s headquarters await them under the towering presence of the Kioux upon which the city Oce was built. There, after taking well deserved rest and having their wounds catered for, Prosecutor Emeth will meet them to hear their debriefing on what they brought and found.


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DEBRIEFING Back in Prosecutor Emeth’s workroom, the debriefing will be an occasion for the players to put together what they found in Base 4891 and what conjectures they hypothesized about the events at Base 4891. The AJ, taking on the role of the Prosecutor, should ask as many questions as warranted to clarify obscure testimonies and possibly guide the players on clues they might have neglected.

Any physical evidence they brought will be questioned and analyzed in detail, with questions asked about whatever opponents they faced, their species and suspected political allegiance, the contemporary events transpiring at Morduch, etc. The Tribunal’s Information division will be charged with analyzing in more detail the exhibits brought back by the operatives, including sketches, notes, depictions, coded words and objects. Living witnesses brought back from the citadel (the Emovan, the Yaki girl possibly even the Zïn) will be especially appreciated, as would the carcass of a tainted Familiar.

Thanking them for their discoveries, the Prosecutor will conclude with the following words:

“Judging from your accounts, the criminal activities we suspected in this sector were genuine. It appears foreign or terrorist elements have been infiltrating Secure Stock facilities. Such a feat would require the resources and abilities of an organized group, a fact that your evidence appears to corroborate. What has me concerned was that ‘They’ managed to have an official Secure Stock orpee depot built over some sort of religious sanctuary without the Core authorities knowing. What has me even more concerned were the illicit experiments going on in those places. This was no ordinary gang of anarchists. What was their purpose? How could they achieve such ominous outcomes? What went wrong, and what was this creature? We will find out what happened at Base 4891, but for the moment we have more pressing matters on our hands. This investigation is not over yet...” The Veiled Tribunal will take custody of any evidence brought forward by the operatives and start its analysis by the Information and Training divisions. By the time the operatives get back to Prosecutor Emeth for their debriefing, after taking care of their wounds and taking some rest, the Absolute Judge might want to spice up the War Engine’s debriefing with exchanges or questions about what was discovered. The depth of any details the Tribunal’s specialists could reveal is better left to the AJ’s best judgment for the adequate amount of information to be given depends on his storytelling style, the players’ subjective preference for clear or obscure endings but more so


by the further adventures the AJ has in mind regarding the Thirteenth Wheel. On one hand, if Broken Sanctuary is to be played as a “stand alone”, perhaps it would be advisable to reveal many details about what happened at Base 4981 and what kind of experiments had been conducted in this place. If the second chapter of the Thirteenth Wheel chronicle (Station 1917) is to be played as a sequel on the other hand, it might be best to keep such additional information to a minimum to allow the players to gradually discover by themselves the conspiracy’s ramifications as the global plot develops. Then again, if the AJ wishes to pursue further on the investigation of the present case, some directions might be offered to the operatives to guide them in the right track. See Loose Ends in the following pages for suggestions on how to extend this adventure for the operatives to discover more about Base 4891, PROJECT AZURE and the Thirteenth Wheel itself.

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Mechanical Dream sourcebook SUGGESTED EXPERIENCE AWARDS

While the exact amount of experience points to be given the players is to be decided fairly by the AJ, the following guidelines are suggested. Other gains are of course possible, as long as they relate to either good role-playing, excellent group play or support the overall plot. A maximum of approximately 5 to 7 points per regular gaming session is recommended, except for extra points at the conclusion of an act or chapter. (See MD/MS p.109 for details on character experience allotments.)

Act 1: The Wilderness Trek Acquiring useful information at the Iron Jaw inn: +1 to +2 Deciphering one of the Gota's puzzles (per puzzle): +1 Giving the four skeletons at the stockade a decent funeral: +1 Using ingenuity in dealing with the Sika pack, the poisoned marshes, the chasm or the Chialnics' obsidian idols: +1 to +2 per encounter

Act 2: Morduch Acquiring the secret files from the Auditor: +2 Acquiring privy information from the Warden: +1 Acquiring useful information from the Cemetery Keeper: +1 Bringing back evidence of Loth's and Cassiopeia's involvement with the Cartel: +1 to +2 Bringing back Loth alive to the Prosecutor for interrogation: +2 Bringing back the Yaki captive to the Prosecutor for interrogation: +2 Bringing Cassiopeia's true murderer to justice with evidence: +2 Bringing Tremens to justice with evidence of murder: +1 Discovering the Root of Sorrow's secret : +2 Having the Yaki captive diclose useful information: +1 Preventing Loth's suicide: +1

Act 3: Base 4891 Bringing back detailed information about the Frilin sanctum: +1 to +2 Bringing back evidence about PROJECT AZURE: +1 to +3 Bringing back Hesperid alive to the Prosecutor for interrogation: +3 Bringing back one or more Cartel agents to the Prosecutor for interrogation: +2


Bringing back one or more corrupted Familiars alive to the Prosecutor : +2 Bringing back one or more dead corrupted Familiar to the Prosecutor: +1 Bringing back the Pallid Wanderer alive to the Prosecutor for interrogation: +2 Bringing back useful information about the Omnium: +1 to +2 Deciphering PROJECT AZURE's coded letters (by hand) : +1 per letter Defeating the Dream Apparition by force of will alone: +2 Defeating the Dream Apparition by strength of arms: +1 Entertaining role-play during the motorcycle chase: +1 to +2 Giving Prosecutor Emeth a detailed briefing on what happened at Base 4891: +1 to +2 Restoring the sanctuary's original pattern: +3 Surviving a personal attack by the Pale Wanderer: +1 Surviving a personal attack by the Zïn or its Mind Beast: +1 Surviving the assault of the Cartel agents: +1

127

LOOSE ENDS Many additional adventures could be developed by the AJ through pushing forwards the investigation presented here. The operatives could manage to investigate the Secure Stock S.E.S. official records on Base 4891, facing uncooperative bureaucrats, wry managers and strong hints that influential individuals pulled some strings to have crucial information erased some days after the 'incident', but also that much evidence has been falsified ever since the construction of Base 4891. Stocks were brought mostly from Vlorë hearth to be transported to Khaï-Bhëk in respect of the CODS regulations. There are no traces whatsoever in records of the Frilin sanctum neither of anything related to the Omnium or the Notion. All information relevant to Base 4891 in the official possession of the CPRM has been classified as 'Highly Restricted' and thus cannot be retrieved except for high-ranking managers of the CPRM 2nd Division. The Prosecutor's relations with the CPRM will allow some additional facts to be glimpsed but even these contacts will be very surprised to discover all records have been cleared and replaced with false information. Their believable nature suggests however that whomever changed the files had access to specialized expertise. Pushing the red tape to its limits, the operatives could eventually make contact with an aged Gnath archive officer who might remember (with the proper incentive) that four Volkoï soldiers and an officer bearing a Core Army insignia shuffled through the archives at Oce some four years ago and took custody of many files, ordering him to forget anything he saw that day. The Gnath remembers vaguely that some of these documents contained complex illustrations of geological strata and complex mathematical patterns. Of course, the Core Army would (honestly) deny any knowledge of this. Nobody could identify the corpses of Cartel operatives even if any had been recuperated, and the improbable living captive would commit suicide rather than reveal anything about his organization. Core Army reports on the northern skirmishes would provide little information of interest at this time, as would further investigations in the ranks of the Core Army. However, the operatives might learn some more about the scientific equipment and experiments in the Frilin sanctum if they brought detailed schematics or any along with them. Laboratory samples and reports, as well as some tainted orpee could also reveal that living tissue and test subjects from various species (not all sentient) were exposed to intensive doses of eflow and tested for results; it appears from the results that many subject died or went mad from something abnormal in the eflow's rhythm, some kind of abnormal geometric pattern that spread like some form of “energetic disease”.


Although little will probably be found at this time regarding the Notion (as the Emovans keep their religiosity to themselves and this sect is very marginal), an interesting lead about the Omnium of Unity would be the One Mind, an Echo brotherhood very influential in Uchatere (see BS/E p.34). These Frilins hold dear their secrets and will not reveal information regarding their inner politics unless the operatives take great pains to convince them of this topics' importance and tolerate the very… slow… and… theoretical… conversations… and… interminable… debates… of these aged Frilins, a painful ordeal not unlike some Friday afternoon philosophy classes during summer back in your years of college (something any Gnath would find maddening). The One Mind does know a few things of interest however, and listening through all this might prove informative. Starting as an offshoot of the One Mind, the Omnium was known over a century ago as a faction of extremists who desired to create some form of mental city, a library of sorts that would hold all the knowledge of all the races for all ages. Many believed the Omnium of Unity had died long ago, for their opposition to all forms of individualism was anathema to the more open-minded Echoes. To believe this fringe sect would have gained such an influence as to censor official records of the Core administration would be ludicrous were it not for the evidence…

Broken Sanctuary


128

Mechanical Dream sourcebook APPENDIX ONE: CHARACTER PORTFOLIO

Cartel operatives

Odwoane hunters of Morduch

Villagers of Morduch

These Inaïs are the backbone of the Cartel's commandoes. Trained fighters, they behave with silent discipline and act will great tactical skill. They dress in green-gray leather armors and wear no individual distinctions, being very plain as Inaïs go. Most have dark skin, in all shades from indigo to murky green to gray.

Description: These friends of Tremens, innkeeper of the 'Nutcase', partake in nocturnal hunts for the thrill of killing dangerous prey, preferably sentient. Aside for their repugnant hobby and the common characteristic of all being Odwoanes, these folks are typical Morduch villagers with the unsightly 'Morduch mien'.

Description: These modest people clad in scruffy attire share the 'Morduch mien', an ugly cast of features characterized by oversized teeth and narrow eyes. Infirmities are common, both congenital and accidental. They work as root extractors or factory workers, hoping for the lucky find that would make them rich. Most want little to do with strangers.

P/M

Agility: D10/D8 Quickness: D8 Strength: D8/D8 Toughness: D8+2/D10+2 Wounds: 5/8 HP: 20/20 Size: 6/5

P/M

Appearance: Charisma: Expression: Presence: Perception: Combat pool: Eflow:

D10 D10 D6 D8 D10 6 ~20

Agility: D8+1/D8 Appearance: D4 Quickness: D8/D8 Charisma: D6 Strength: D8/D8 Expression: D6 Toughness: D8/D6 Presence: D8 Wounds: 5/5 Perception: D8+1 HP: 17/13 Combat pool: 4 Size: 4/4 Eflow: ~12 Special: Frenzy, Mimesis, Solidarity. Combat skills: Dodge 2, Melee Weapons 3, Ranged

Special: Children of the eflow, Eflow receptivity. Weapons 3, Unarmed Combat 2. Edge: Strong Willed (+6). Combat skills: Disarm 1, Dodge 3, Feint 2, Melee Jobs: Harvester (2) or Workshoper (2). Weapons 3, Mounted Fighting 2, Ranged Weapons 3, Equipment: short bone bow (3D8), Unarmed Combat 3. Jobs: Hired Warrior (2). Equipment: Rifle (4D12), leaf sword (3D8+2), stone knife (2D8+1), strong leather armor (-2), 50 bullets, Dream spectacles.


(2D8+2), 20 arrows, leaf leather (-1).

P/M

Agility: D8/D8 Appearance: D4 Quickness: D8/D8 Charisma: D6 Strength: D8/D8 Expression: D6 Toughness: D6/D6 Presence: D8 Wounds: 5-8/5-8 Perception: D8 HP: 14-22/14-17 Combat pool: 4 Size: 4-7/4-6 Eflow: ~12 Special: Varies among species (Gnath, Odwoane, Volkoï). Combat skills: Dodge 2, Melee Weapons 1, Ranged Weapons 1, Unarmed Combat 2.

Trossen teeth

Jobs: Harvester (1-2) or Workshoper (1-2). Equipment: Working

tools (2D8-1), leather apron (-1).

Aria of the Kierc tribe Yaki captive in Morduch Yaki female, age 15 (year 96), born in the northern wilderness, single. This young hunter had barely deserved her adult scars when her ferocious Fundamentalist tribe launched an invasion into the Core's territory to escape famine, an afflicting condition after its usual hunting territories had become the battleground for discreet skirmishes between the Core and the city-states of Uchatere and Yhrne-Llemir. Though young and athletic, the labyrinth of ritual scars that expands all over her ochre skin lessens her natural beauty. Despite her enduring fatigue, her fiery gaze characterizes her as more warrior than handmaiden. Sent as a scout with more experienced warriors, Aria panicked when the Zïn's Mind Beast erupted from the ground to rampage the Secure Stock base. While her fright did save her life, it did nothing to prevent her capture by the innkeeper's creepy friends. She is now starving to death in the Nutcase inn for Tremens' perverse enjoyment. Though she realizes her desperate situation, Aria's is too proud and too shameful of her flight to beg for her freedom, and will die of starvation if the operatives do not take her out. She feels no loyalty to anyone outside her tribe and will not hesitate to maim or kill her 'saviors' in order to make an escape back to her people. She will, however, try to avenge herself on Tremens for the torture he inflicted upon her - an initiative that might well cause in her death, considering the Odwoane's battle skills.

129

P/M

Agility: D8/D8 Appearance: D8 Quickness: D10/D10 Charisma: D8 Strength: D8/D8 Expression: D8 Toughness: D8/D8 Presence: D8 Wounds: 5/5 Perception: D10 HP: 17*/17 Combat pool: 5 Size: 6/7 Eflow: ~6 Special: Birth Armor, Tribe. Combat skills: Combat Sense 2, Dodge 2,

Melee Weapons 3, Thrown Weapons 2, Unarmed Combat 2. Jobs: Maximum Runner (2). Equipment: None. Birth armor powers: Equilibrum (1), Fasten (1), Modify. * Current hit points at 10.

Cemetery Keeper, The Gnath male, age 57 (year 54), born in Morduch. Always cackling and laughing, the old Cemetery Keeper is an unnerving character that can nevertheless become a useful contact in Morduch, if only because he is among the rare few willing to talk to strangers. People fear him, believing he can cast hexes and bring the vengeance of the dead upon the living by conjuring "Dream specters". His presence is quite disgusting thanks to his yellow teeth, his alcoholic's breath and his face deformed by the 'Morduch mien', walking on a lame knee broken long ago by a falling tree. His unkempt rags are even worse, wet with swamp slime and the viscera of dead carcasses he eats, barely cooked in his trembling shack. There is no doubt however that the worse part are his puns, so bad and repetitive they would surely kill a stout Volkoï warrior. For all the babble and bad jokes, the Keeper is a decent source of information on the town's gossip about Cassiopeia, the Warden, the Auditor and other people of interest. He is also quite a good botanist and knows the woods respectably, although he no longer strides as much as he did since his leg got smashed, a gruesome work accident he will gladly spin a yarn about.


P/M

Agility: D6/D10 Appearance: D6 Quickness: D8/D10 Charisma: D6 Strength: D6/D8 Expression: D10 Toughness: D8/D10 Presence: D8 Wounds: 6/6 Perception: D8 HP: 16/22 Combat pool: 4 Size: 5/5 Eflow: ~12 Special: Burning eflow Flaws: Compulsive Behavior (cackling, -2) Combat skills: Dodge 2, Melee Weapons 1, Unarmed Combat 1. Jobs: Doctor (2), Harvester (1). Equipment: Rusted utility knife (1D6-1).

Appendix


130


P/M Hesperid Scientist of the Notion and 1st Sphere Awakener Agility: D8/D12+1 Appearance: D8 Quickness: D8/D8 Charisma: D8 Emovan male, age 0-48 (mutating, birth year 63), born in underwater Rem. Always fascinated by the nature of life, Hesperid was undergoing a brilliant medical career in the underwater world when he first discovered his Strength: D8/D8+1 Expression: D6 Whisper, at age 32. He had already by then been involved in a variety of experiments in fundamental research Toughness: D8/D8 Presence: D10 relating to the relations between eflow and the electric nervous system, comparing sentient beings with non senWounds: Special/5 Perception: D10 tient creatures. His developing Awakener powers were a formidable asset to pursue his scientific quest, as he creHP: Special/15 Combat pool: 5 ated various Familiars to experiment upon and serve for menial labor. His curiosity led him to join the Notion in Size: 5/4 Eflow: Special Special: Amphibious, Crafter (woodcraft +1), Mutating the hope of perfecting his understanding of the Dream. Assigned to Base 4891 to vivisect Familiars and (toddler stats start at 1D2); Lifelink (all wounds are transferred to the Zïn's Beast). Echo Powers: Crafter: Natural Weapon Smith, Mold Matter (3D), Carve the Puppet (2D), Size Manipulation. Toy matter: Knowledge of Matter (4D+2). Edges: Animal Companion (Zïn's Beast, +20), Creative (+4). Flaws: Amnesia (-5), Intellectual (-5). Combat skills: Dodge 2, Melee Weapons 1, Unarmed Combat 2. Jobs: Doctor (4), Engineer (2). Relevant scientific skills vary from level 6 (Engineering) to 8 (Dream knowledge). Equipment: None. P/M

Agility: D10/D8 Appearance: D8 Quickness: D8/D10 Charisma: D10 Strength: D8/D6 Expression: D8 Toughness: D8/D6 Presence: D10 Wounds: 5/5 Perception: D12 HP: 18/17 Combat pool: 5 Size: 7/9 Eflow: ~14 Special: Sacrifice. Flaws: Mental Illness (depression; -4). Combat skills: Combat Sense 2, Dodge 4, Melee Weapons 2, Ranged Weapons 2, Unarmed Combat 2.

Jobs: Diplomat (3), Workshoper (1). Equipment: Butcher's knife (2D8), Gnath blowpipe, 10 poisoned pellets, leather apron (-1).


humanoids (notably Inaïs, Odwoanes and Kynm’der - if the latter can truly be considered sentient that is), his life was forever shattered when he was irreversibly joined with the mad Zïn and her Mind Beast, sharing their pain and emotions. Hesperid suffers from intense memory loss and disorientation as his body oscillates between youth and maturity, ageing from infant to adult to child again, barely conscious of his condition. While he lost nothing of his Echo powers, Hesperid's vast medical knowledge is lost anytime he is not back at his original age (48), his long term memories regressing and coming back along with his age. Although much of his earlier personality is numbed, the Awakener still has bewildering dreams and remembrances. It would require an experienced Mind Chemist or mindwalker to fully explore the depths of his muddled mind (p.49).

Loth (agent Sloane) Butcher of Morduch and Cartel spy Nayan male, born year 67 (44 years old), widowed. Born from a nomad family of pharmaceutics salespeople, Loth/Sloane has worked from nine years in Amber hearth as delegate for the diplomatic division of Kora Medica I.E.S. (MD/DS p.114), specializing in medical drugs. His position and contacts with the Naakinis faithful led him to sympathize with the Redemptor movement, Awakener dissenters opposing the spread of Gnath imperialism (BS/R p.19). After his wife's death in year 98 during the most violent Dream storm the city had felt in over 50 years, Loth's Redemptor friends talked him out of suicide into joining the Notion. Since then, he has been conducting a variety of diplomatic and espionage missions over the Core's territory for this secret political association. Loth is an emaciated Nayan with large sad eyes and a small mouth with thin lips (uncommon features in Morduch, and considered strongly unattractive), whose dark blue skin is mottled with grayish spots. He wears a leather cap over his oblong skull to hide his falling hair, and the bloodstained tabard expected of a butcher, knife in belt. Always the tormented one, Loth fell in love with young Cassiopeia/Astarte during their common assignment to Oce by the Notion, a feeling she would not return and considered 'unprofessional'. At the time the operatives will meet him, his depressive mood will be at critical levels and strong insistence will be needed for him to talk to anyone. After Cassiopeia's assassination, Loth will turn to suicide to escape his anguish.

Maroa, Polyn Physician of Morduch

P/M

Gnath female, age 45 (year 66), born in Morduch. Maroa (most often simply called 'The Physician') is far from beautiful, in body as well as soul. This obese Gnath's complex net of wrinkles almost hides the repulsiveness of the 'Morduch mien', and her speeches about 'village solidarity' and 'community first' do nothing to improve her image of a communalist bigot obsessed by driving strangers out from 'her' community. She lost a leg at a young age while gathering Sorrow Root, becoming the town physician's apprentice until his death five years ago, after which she took his place, healing her fellow citizens generously while spreading her anti-Core propaganda. The Physician managed to rally an important minority of villagers against 'the Mienless' in general and Warden Palmach in particular. She expects Cassiopeia's murder to be blamed on the Auditor, causing a severe crisis between the CERM and Morduch's administration. A paranoid demagogue, she might be the operative's greatest enemy in Morduch, considering her close friendship with the Nutcase innkeeper.

Pallid Wanderer, The Linker of Cell Repentance for the Cartel and Ecatim Inaïs male, age circa 35, birthplace unknown. Found by the Cartel as he was roaming aimlessly in Vilmaco, this amnesiac is gifted with a tremendous resilience boosted by his Ecatim powers. His strange condition makes him unable to relate emotionally to another being, acting not as much as a machine as a stranger completely lost in a world whose customs and conventions he does not understand. Often silent, he stares blankly at people as if he did not see them, standing creepily for hours in a fixed position. Even his team members shun him, for he is quite a sinister figure with his shaven skull, clay-like gray skin and never blinking eyes, but mostly because of the knife handle protruding from his chest, deeply thrust into his sternum. His battle prowess nevertheless makes him a formidable adversary, whom the operatives should dread. After his confrontation with the Veiled Tribunal's agents in Base 4891, the gravely wounded Wanderer will crawl back to Oce where his injuries will be tended by the crime boss known as 'The Hand' who will transform him into a hybrid of flesh and metal. Nicknamed 'the Navigator', the Wanderer who now found his calling will take on a new vocation as a defender of the city's downtrodden.

Unique Ecatim Power (Revival): The Wanderer has but one power, but a very powerful one: he cannot die permanently. Each time he dies, he will be reborn 2D8 days later with a blade protruding from his chest somewhere within 1,000 miles of the Core (usually in urban environments), having forgotten all of his previous existence. He re-learns quickly lost combat skills but loses any other acquired skills.


131

Agility: D8/D10 Appearance: D4 Quickness: D8/D10 Charisma: D6 Strength: D8/D8 Expression: D8 Toughness: D8/D8 Presence: D10 Wounds: 6/6 Perception: D8 HP: 16/16 Combat pool: 4 Size: 5/5 Eflow: ~14 Special: Burning eflow. Edges: Favor (+5), Knowledge Pool (laboratory; +4), Scent of the Sage (+3). Flaws: Dismembered (peg leg -7), Mental Illness (paranoid, -6). Combat skills: Dodge 1, Unarmed Combat 2. Jobs: Doctor (3), Harvester (1). Equipment: Caltha bola (1D8), obsidian knife (2D8+1). P/M

Agility: D8/D8 Appearance: D4 Quickness: D10/D8 Charisma: D8 Strength: D10/D8 Expression: D4 Toughness: D12+4/D10+2 Presence: D12 Wounds: 5/8 Perception: D10 HP: 40/22 Combat pool: 4 Size: 6/5 Eflow: ~20 Special: Children of the eflow, Eflow receptivity, Esat level 3. Edges: Born Fighter (+15), Warrior (+10). Flaws: Amnesia (-5), Detectable (-5), Insecure (-7), Manual Worker (-5), Mental Illness (Asperger syndrome, -4). Combat skills: Combat Sense 3, Counter Strike 3, Dodge 3, Melee Weapons 5, Parry 4, Ranged Weapons 2, Unarmed Combat 4. Jobs: Hired Warrior (1). Equipment: Leaf sword (3D10+2), stone knife (2D10+1), strong leather armor (-2), Dream spectacles.

Appendix


132


P/M Palmach, Tov Warden of Morduch Agility: D8/D10+1 Appearance: D8 Quickness: D8/D12 Charisma: D8 Gnath male, age 60 (year 51), born in Khaï-Bhëk, widow. The Warden is a tall and powerful fellow with wide shoulders and an unbelievably large head, gazing sternly from narrow eyes over a deep hawkish nose dominatStrength: D8/D12+1 Expression: D8 ing his thin lips and square chin. He does not possess the 'Morduch mien', that he considers like an almost Toughness: D8/D8 Presence: D10 immoral congenital abnormality. He was 'exiled' to Morduch in the year 95 after ending on the wrong side of an Wounds: 6/6 Perception: D8 internal war for power in the Secure Stock A.E.S. Embittered by his demotion after years of faithful service, he HP: 15/17 Combat pool: 5 rules the Sorrow Root cooperative with an iron hand, an attitude that earned him many enemies in town. The Size: 5/5 Eflow: ~14 most fanatical of these is Morduch's physician Polyn Maroa, although he considers the CERM Auditor, Avar Special: Burning eflow, Esat level 2. Seraphim, as his most dangerous foe. Cassiopeia was the only light in his disappointing life, a sweet balm on the Edges: Intimidating (+5), Strong Willed (+6). Flaws: Compulsive Behavior (avenge Cassiopeia; -5), burning pain of professional failure that is a grave humiliation for a Gnath of his age and status. This light now Enemies (-8).

Combat skills: Disarm 2, Dodge 2, Melee Weapons 3, Ranged Weapons 3, Unarmed Combat 2. Jobs: Business Lord (4), Clerk (3). Equipment: Kioux hammer (3D8+1), ornate Trossen teeth (2D8+2), strong leather armor (-2).

gone, Palmach burns with an intense desire for vengeance against both her murderers and his detractors. Although he is unprejudiced against strangers (in fact, he'd welcome anyone 'normal' under merrier circumstances), the operatives are likely to meet him in circumstances that draw out his harsher side.

Seraphim, Avar Auditor for the CERM P/M

Agility: D8/D8 Quickness: D10/D10 Strength: D6/D10 Toughness: D8/D10 Wounds: 6/6 HP: 14/21 Size: 4/5 Special: Burning eflow. Edges: Evaluator (+7). Flaws: Puny (-7). Combat skills: Dodge 2,

Appearance: Charisma: Expression: Presence: Perception: Combat pool: Eflow:

D8 D8 D6 D6 D8 5 ~16

Melee Weapons 1, Ranged Weapons 2, Unarmed Combat 2. Jobs: Clerk (3). Equipment: Ornate marble knife (2D6+1).


Gnath male, age 38 (year 73), born in Uchatere, single. A small male with beady eyes, a pointed chin and a bulbous forehead, Auditor Seraphim was appointed by the Oce CERM Industrial Patent Executive (OCERMIPE) after his predecessor (the regretted Auditor Token) was crushed under a falling platform at Station 1837. While the official CPRM investigation classified the event as an 'accident', doubts still remained as his conflicting relation with Seraphim was widely known. Born from a middle class family, this unexpected promotion gave Seraphim hopes of a brilliant career for the CERM until he faced the day-to-day paperwork of a bureaucrat. Disappointed and bitter, this Gnath is driven to escape his current position by impressing his superiors by showing an exceptional performance. Cassiopeia's death provides him with an opportunity to wrestle control of the Sorrow Root cooperative from Warden Palmach and acquire the secret of the Root of Sorrows. Depending upon their attitude, Seraphim will consider the Tribunal's agents either as assets or a liability and treat them accordingly with either goodwill or malice.

Tremens Innkeeper of the 'Nutcase' B.E.S. Odwoane male, age 35 (birth year 76), born in Morduch, widow (?) with seven children. Ugly as sin, the innkeeper of the 'Nutcase' doubles as the town's unofficial Odwoane leader and local serial killer. To call Tremens a psychopath would be an euphemism, for clearly no mind in Morduch has been affected as much by the curse of the Weeping Tree. The Tribunal's agents are unfortunately quite likely to have to deal with this shady character, much to their detriment. P/M Agility: D10+1/D8+2 Appearance: D4 Quickness: D12/D8 Charisma: D4 Strength: D8/D8 Expression: D4 Toughness: D10/D8 Presence: D8 Wounds: 5/5 Perception: D10 HP: 22/14 Combat pool: 5 Size: 4/4 Eflow: ~14 Special: Frenzy, Mimesis, Solidarity, Esat level 1. Edges: Favor (+4), Friends (+6), Intimidating (+5). Flaws: Bloodthirsty (-5), Compulsive Behavior (killing; -8), Mental Illness (-7). Combat skills: Combat Sense 3, Dodge 4, Feint 3, Melee Weapons 3, Ranged Weapons 5, Unarmed Combat 3. Jobs: Hired Warrior (2), Innkeeper (3). Equipment: Short bone bow (3D8), leaf sword (3D8), Trossen teeth (2D8+2), leaf armor (-1), quiver with 30 arrows.


133

ZÔn's Aran Beast, The Neuter Aran entity, age unknown. This immense creature, over 16 yards long and 3 yards wide, looks like a bloated spanworm of red and black shades, tentacles protruding from its circular mouth crowned by a circle of tiny black eyes. It appears to shift in mid-air while moving, causing 'ripples' in reality like the heat of a fire, although if gives off no heat. Totally animalistic, the Thing writhes in perpetual pain caused by its massive ingestion of corrupted eflow as well as the wounds of both the mad Zïn and the Emovan Awakener to which it is bonded. Sleeping within the Zïn's mind during daytime, it emerges back to Kaïnas to rampage the landside when the Dream weakens the shackles of reality, in cycle with the ageing and rejuvenation of the Awakener. Although it destroyed Base 4891 in a fit of furious rage, the suffering Beast is not malign and does not purposely try to kill people unless they are attacking the Emovan (whose wounds it feels).

P/M

Agility: D6/D4 Perception: D6 Quickness: D6/D4 Combat pool: 4 Strength: D20+20/D10 Armor: /3, -5 Toughness: D20+10/D12 Hit points: 100/45 Wounds: 20/5 Size: 30/20 Eflow: 210 000 (corrupted) Special: Likelink (endures the Zïn's and the Awakener's wounds).

Combat skills: Crush 2 (4D20+20 damage), Dodge N/A, Gobble 3 (5(3)D10 damage + 2D10 per round).

Appendix


134

Mechanical Dream sourcebook APPENDIX TWO: EXHIBITS AND GAME AIDS

Exhibit 1: The Frilin Manuscript entitled "The Chronicles of Unity"

Chapter 10, verse 12,

9.1

Yea, the Time of Creation has come! As the Roots of the World Tree go deep within the Foundations of Blessed Naâkinis, so do the Channels of Below flow in the Deep Abyss, where the Blue Light of Life glows in Strange Ways. Its Immanent Power brings Eternity to Blessed Naâkinis and shall thus awaken Our Constructs to True Life. These Superb Warriors, the Swiftest of Predators, shall not revolt against our Benevolent Yoke for their Hatred of their own Kin is too Great, and our Dedication to Us too Strong. The Burrowers shall be chained to their Minds so that they shall fight for us in both Blessed Naâkinis and Kaïnas. The Lonely Keepers shall serve Us and they shall love Us faithfully, for such is the Will of One. Pray Blessed Naâkinis, for Her Might is Unequaled! As the Ancient Ones' Crawling Servants dug the Channels at the very Heart of the Hard Soil, their Form changes in Frightening Forms. Our Servants dig beneath the Vaults and bring Power to the Burrowed Temple of the Ubiquitous Goddess. The Light of Below changed them, but Our Faithful Servants they shall remain, for such is the Will of One. Glory and Love to Blessed Naâkinis! We shall harness the Immanent Power of Eflow through the Patterns of Malleable Reality. To control the Patterns is to control Everything: Vegetation, Weather, Fauna, even Life itself. Whatever the Sanctuary reaches, the Sanctuary controls, for the Will of Blessed Naâkinis flows through its Invisible Patterns. The Channels of Below are the Gate to this Power, the Stones are the Key. To decipher their Patterns is to harness their Hidden Power. The Harmonious Synchronization of the Stones shall bring a New Era of Unity for Blessed Naâkinis as all Minds become One, for such is the Will of One.


2.62

Revere and fear, O Kin, the True Love of Blessed Naâkinis for it knows no Bounds! Fear Her Unforgiving Wrath and relish her Eternal Ecstasy, but even more so fear What lies below the Vaults! Its nature is not of Blessed Naâkinis. It is an Artifact of the Created. It is a Falsehood given a Parody of Life. It is a Simulacrum of Sentience walking Her Pure Soil. The Might of the Presence Below is Awesome, but It is Tainted by Eeriness. Its Harmony is ruptured, for It does not come from the Womb of Blessed


Naâkinis. It is Something Else altogether. Be wary of It, use its Frightening Miracles with the Greatest Caution, but let It not corrupt the Pure Mind of Unity, for such is the Will of One.


9

Hear, Yea, the Harsh Song of Verity! Meditate the Pure Vibration of Harmony of Our Frilin Emporium! Moan the Savage Cruelty of the Betrayer and his Foul Kin! May the Cursed Name of TASPHIR never be spoken again! But see! The Murderous Mammals cower like Beasts before Our Wonders! Let them fear the Pupple Curtain that punishes the Rebel and the Unfaithful. We are the Masters these Traitorous Slaves dared to disobey in a Vulgar Mockery of Our Illuminated Intelligence! The Powers of the Sanctuary are infinite, and We shall use Our Gracious Knowledge of its Patterns to torment the Unworthy. Let the Mark of Disfigurement punish the Unfaithful Keepers! May it Curse our Peasants, the Perverse Restless Ones that abandon our Domains of Beauty! May they bear upon their very Faces the Ugliness of their Betrayal for Eight times Eight Generations! Let all cower before the Harmony of the Omnium, for such is the Will of One.


4

Cry and rejoice, for the Glorious Presence of Blessed Naâkinis is among Us! The Gota has spoken the Words of Sorrow, for it has seen Our Perfect Utopia shall fall by the doings of the Restless Ones. We need not fear Exile beyond the Sofé nor the Parody that is Death. Let the Slanted-Eye Barbarians come with their Armies and their Shallow Empire. Our Sanctuary shall be hidden from their Profane Eyes, waiting for the Proper Time to awaken anew. We fear neither the Gnaths nor their Futile Insurrection. We are the True Masters of Blessed Naâkinis, for only Us know the True Mysteries of Eflow. The Old Ways shall not die, for Blessed Naâkinis is Eternal. Let Us hide the Temple of the Ubiquitous Goddess beneath the Rank Soil. Let the Weeping Trees defend it. Let Our Sanctuary repose in Silence, and the Doorway to the Chamber of the Screeching One be hidden. Let the Seal of Unity rest upon Her Temple so that Our Later Brethren know of Our Greatness and our Art, for such is the Will of One.

Exhibit 2: Key to Code Horizon

Exhibit 4: Letter from the Notion to Loth

Found in Lothís butcher shop at Morduch

Mission orders hidden in Lothís butcher shop

Distant horizons are to see.

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Harmonious salutations to you, Initiate Sloane. The Voices of Below are pleased of your faithfulness to the Notion.

Exhibit 3: Letter from Cassiopeia/Astarte to the Notion Found in Lothís butcher shop Be revered, O Quaver! You are a mother to us all. The villagers do know that there was a Frilin shelter of sorts before the construction of Base 4891. I believe the closeness of this place to Morduch is related to the 'Morduch mien' and the rampant insanity among the villagers. These people are dangerous, and some - like the innkeeper Tremens - indulge in disgusting 'sports' of murders. Not just Gnaths, but anyone who wanders outside at nightfall. The people here don't trust me - they say I am a stranger - but I did gain the Warden's trust, in that he would have me as a maid. I think he likes me. It is a sad thing to find a man of such honor and justice demoted to such an insignificant position. The Warden seems to know much more about Base 4891 than he hints. He has been keeping his files in a private cabinet, protected by sturdy lock. I haven't been able to get them so far but I keep trying. I've overheard there is to be the arrival of some CERM official of Oce - an Auditor I believe. The Warden doesn't like him, for sure. I do not know if this Auditor is the same Gnath who discovered anomalies in Base 4891's records and managed to steal the files before we could. I've also heard a Gota was seen wandering somewhere around Station 1789. Perhaps agent Sloane should be assigned to this beast to make sure nothing damageable about us transpires from its soothsayer. He has been behaving with exaggerated affection these times. Having him away from Morduch for a time could do no harm. I keep in touch.

Agent Astarte


You reports on Base 4891 are worrisome, despite the claims of the Omnium of Unity that all is proceeding according to the plans of PROJECT AZURE. We do not fully trust professor Yun and his apprentice Yucca, for despite the Omnium's claims of friendship it is clear that the Frilins have their own agenda on this matter. They seek the Mould's power to further their own misled ideology, and in this regard our alliance with them is temporary at best. There might come a time where the Notion will have to make hard choices and perhaps retract from our participation in the Thirteenth Wheel. Our ideological differences with the imperialists, the Consortium and the others are too great to bear for long. The Notion serves the Voices of Below first and foremost. This you must remember at all times, Initiate. Despite what it may appear, we have been informed that Subdivision no.4's experiments are more concerned with manipulations of the Frilin pattern than the archaic secrets of the Zïn nor, more importantly to us, to the collection of knowledge on the Dream and Aran worlds. The Omnium's deliberate distortions of the sanctuary's pattern can have unpredictable consequences that could disrupt the overall goals of the three other subdivisions of PROJECT AZURE or even corrupt the Mould. We cannot permit the Mould to be destroyed, for as you know the Quaver (may her infinite wisdom be blessed) went through great pains to convince the imperialists to make this copy for us to study. They would not let us examine the original Fragment, which we still seek, and yet we have to share it with the Omnium mindwalkers. We want to believe in Initiate Hesperid's loyalty, but even fellow Emovans are not immune to the seduction of power. Perhaps the Awakener has been lulled by the false promises of the Omnium or the imperialists, for he has not reported to us for a long time. Judge not our brother unless his actions reveal treachery, but if he did not remain true to his vows do not hesitate to harmonize him. The Notion will not tolerate interference with our plans.

Appendix


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Acting on your recommendation, we have immediately informed Project Azureís leader, Pr. Berallite Pleselei of the Consortium, about the cataclysm you reported at the Secure Stock base. On her order, the Cartel is sending agents underway to examine the situation and remove any opposition. Be careful for these Inaïs know not the meaning of mercy. Do not trust the Consortium either, for the capitalists care only for their own egotistical interests. No trace of PROJECT AZURE's involvement in Base 4891 must remain. Take extreme caution and let no information leak about your relations with the Notion. You have long been a respected believer in our cause, back to the time when you were but a lost broker in Amber heart. Your primary responsibility is to bring back the Mould to us for safekeeping, at all costs. Make contact with agent Whog Shrog at Base 4891: you will recognize him as the sole Emovan among the citadel's defenders. He will have taken custody of many secret documents that we seek. We will then take the matter in hands personally. You and agent Astarte have our full trust in this operation. Let her use of her the full extent of her influence on Warden Palmach to guarantee the mission's success. Your personal emotions must not get in the way of this. Remember, brother Sloane, that material life is but a shadow on the luminous path to our collective reincarnation in the world of Aran. May the Voices of Below lay their blessing upon you both and may you find the Notion. Underspeaker Barakka PROJECT AZURE, Subdivision no.3

Exhibit 5: Propaganda tract of the Omnium Found in Warden Palmachís personal cabinet

What is the Omnium of Unity? - The OMNIUM is not a political movement or a sect. The OMNIUM is to see the World as it truly is. - The OMNIUM shall liberate us all through the exposed mysteries of TriangularSided Cognition. - The OMNIUM refutes the propaganda of Science and Progress. History is a constructed tool of oppression. - The OMNIUM is the speck of sand in the machinery. Thought is our weapon. The Mind is our battlefield. - The OMNIUM does not war against the Core. Our war is against the falsehoods of Reality.


- The OMNIUM will change the foundations of Society. The Quiet Revolution is coming. - To close your eyes is futile. To cower in fear is futile. Lies cannot denature Truth. - True Liberated Cognition sleeps within your Mind. Free it! Free you! THE OMNIUM OF UNITY True Evolution Has Begun

Could this explain the CERM's insistence about the Root? Is the Auditor behind this or, more likely, a mere pawn? Must learn more about these Frilins. Exhibit 6: Dissertation on the Core's economy Found in Warden Palmachís personal cabinet Echoes, Orpee and Malleable Laws of Economics : Seminar on the Core's Management Practices The Old Empire' inefficiency and pervasive red tape has long been the object of criticism and public satire. From this we are to ask, what makes large bureaucracies so inefficient? The explanation lies in part in the concept of "limited rationality" - the notion that no single individual can comprehend the totality of the ever-changing interactions within a complex social system. As an organization grows, the number of inner interactions grows by iterations: as growing complexity hampers communications, it brings inefficiency and inconsistency within the system. This limitation of cognitive capacity explains the need to build groups within structures and to specialize both work tasks and their management. To address this complexity, top executives must either decentralize authority to local authorities (thus allowing for greater discrepancy between departments, despite local gains in efficiency) or recourse to standard wide-wide rules and procedures (thus bringing greater standardization, but with the disadvantages of red tape, reduced flexibility and reduced efficiency). Another consequence of the need to reduce complexity in order to manage complex systems, the segmentation of a work process into a smaller number of tasks allows for greater speed, effectiveness and efficiency (reduced specialization and greater automation cutting costs down) but often reduces global quality and communications between distinct departments. To manage efficient and quality work organization, administrators must determine how work will be specialized both vertically (for greater expertise, e.g. heart surgery) and horizontally (for greater span, e.g. generalist medicine).

137

Depending on the nature of their activities and/or their markets, organizations can be structured across functions (research, engineering, assembly, delivery, etc.), geography (north division, south division, etc.), by products (nails department, swords department, etc.) or across processes that encompass sets of complete tasks (e.g. craftsmanship from research to design to customer delivery). Since all configurations have both qualities and flaws, there is no ideal organizational model: the optimal choice depends on the organization's contingencies and current context.

ment practices through massive information analysis and control. But such awkward machinery is unnecessary when Librarians can memorize thousands of data per second, when Overlords can psychically regulate the workforce, when War Engines can harness instant motivation… I believe the utilization of several Ecatims and a respectable number of Echoes in strategic positions explains most of the Core's spectacular performance. I plan to study this phenomenon at length and shed light on the Core's secret to organizational excellence…

The principle of limited rationality explains that large organizations will be less efficient than smaller ones, despite economies of scale, because of the exponential number of interactions executive must manage. Accordingly, administrative efficiency requires either decentralization (departments thus working as semi-independent "silos", independent bodies competing for resources and autonomy within the whole organization), limiting an organization's size or activities to a single product or service, contracting out (i.e. having parts of the work done by other organizations). This phenomenon is the most common explanation for the failure of the Empire's large bureaucracy, its state monopolies and the traditional forms of planned economics.

- Bradoc Khiurec, Professor of Management for the Academy at Oce Conference held on the day before his disappearance (110/09/02)

Exhibit 7: Undisclosed CERM files about Base 4891 Found in Auditor Seraphimís personal files

Date: 108/09/07 From: E-12, 2nd Division of the Oce CERM Psycho-Economics Budget Executive (OCERM-PEBE)

Considering that the Core operates mostly through large bureaucracies and state monopolies, what then is the secret of its efficiency? What is the key that makes Geodem planning so effective? Only the Core Himself knows the truth - but we can suggest and support two hypothesis. The first half of the explanation would lie in the Kaïnas culture (Gnath specifically). Their bodies tormented by permanent pain, Gnaths have little interest in leisure and sloth - only their eternal quest for excellence can make them forget the ongoing throbbing of the orpee within themselves, which they both need and hate. This singlemindedness is an anchor to sanity in a sea of ache. Henceforth, the 'Gnath rhythm' supports and promotes social Darwinism at its best, weeding out the apathetic from the dedicated. The Gnaths' intolerance towards inefficiency combined with the Odwoanes' aptitude for routine permits an optimal combination beyond the common capabilities of mere industrial processes. The other half resides in the Echoes and Ecatims themselves. Special breeds of these are possibly the most fundamental explanation to the successful management of something as complex and yet centralized as the Core. In the late years of the Empire, many believed that 'computing machinery' would a radical effect on organizations by having them manage the complex data resulting from of social systems - a form of statistical engine, permitting even large organizations to use centralized manage-


To: I-03, 3rd Division of the Oce CERM Consortium for Improved Geodem Planning (OCERM-CIGP)

Object: Theoretical assumptions of the CODS - OCERM EYES ONLY The fundamental necessity of the Core's system of planned economics is not a wellknown fact outside the theoreticians of the Core's Economic Resources Management (CERM). Considering the need for orpee, this type of centrist system is required to provide a minimum of social order and lessen crimes that would result from economic anarchy. Inaïs do not need such complex structures and restrictions on liberties because their orpee is plentiful. They live in a 'rich people's anarchy', while the Core has to face the hard fact of organizing a more diverse society that is not as rich, requiring much more expensive military spending against Naakinis beasts (being above ground) and needing more security forces against Dream events and entities. To perpetuate their advantageous position, the Inaïs must operate some form of coercive enforcement for their cartel. We have yet to document this possibility, let alone prove its existence.

Appendix


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To compensate our higher public expenses and lesser income, the Core basically has no choice but to restrict individual, economic and social liberties to maintain order and prevent orpee crazes among the cities. No wonder the Inaïs hearths are richer and more peaceable. They are richer (from the orpee monopoly), not as ethnically diverse (greater homogeneity brings greater informal social control, reducing costs in police and Dream control), are smaller to manage (reducing administrative costs) and do not have as high security requirements as the Core does. As such, do not compare the idleness of the Inaïs to our effervescent society. Their task is easy. Ours is not. These funds, a privileged society like the Inaïs hearths would divert to its citizens, while the Core must invest in a strong military. No wonder the miners are richer and happier! This is not just a question of genetics or temperament, but a simple question of wealth. The Inaïs are rich. The Core is not. No wonder these self-righteous bourgeois look down upon the Core’s so-called authoritarianism, for it does what it must to prevent other Years of Chaos. The notion of malleable reality is something complex to apply to economics. The market is created by the interaction of people's wants and needs, the availability of resources and the astuteness of corporations to provide for these needs. The market is not an abstract thing simply for economists - it is the overall pattern of individual interactions among individuals within a society, and the market notion applies from anything to politics to love affairs. Engineers have theorized that reality is unstable and malleable, that it is given form by stability, frequency and pattern. This would explain the strong distinction between Dream and Day by the people's reaction to the Dream, a distinction reinforced by their subsequent actions, both individual and collective. The flexible reality patterns of Kaïnas would make the belief in market forces generate a great impact on economic reality. The Inaïs economy could work because their common belief in it shapes the economic reality around it, as this economic system is based exclusively on their orpee monopoly, for they lack basic industrial efficiency. Remember that efficiency is a different notion from effectiveness, as efficiency relates to the cost per unit ratio while effectiveness relates to feasibility and quality of work. As for the Core's centralist planned economics (the CODS and the CERM's Geodem classification specifically), which would be theoretically inefficient from a strictly empirical and positivist perspective, could be as efficient as they are because they "structure reality" around the belief of their performance. This subjective market is the


playground of the Conductors, but also the Truth Crafters and all Echoes that alter and craft Dream and reality. For example, fixed prices that do not account for rarity will inevitably generate resource shortages, while the monopolies protected by the Geodem system would hamper the innovation and evolution of small firms in the favor of older cartels, generating industrial immobilism instead of progress that comes through diversity. But nevertheless, the Core progresses, perhaps because its people believe it can. Because it must. If common belief in a system can truly shape reality, the Core Himself would be a powerful Echo indeed, capable of harnessing economic reality, and hence absolute social power within the Core, to his whims. Could this be why the Council of Twenty accepted his mysterious proposition? To build economic order in a society plagued by chaos? Would orpee dependency be the consequence of reality by powerful Echoes eons ago? Could the Inaïs possibly have invented such a ploy to limit the mundane power of Gnaths? Or is orpee addiction a requirement for sentience, the 'blood and soul' of Naakinis as Frilin obscurantism claims? Perhaps the addiction to Orpee was a pattern created eons ago by the Inaïs to limit the progress of Gnath society. A mere conjecture, but one that fits well with the assumption of a secret Inaïs cartel. These are the questions PROJECT BLUE DAWN is mandated to answer. In any event, we can wonder what would happen if a group or Echo of great power would challenge or attack this common belief in the Geodem system and the Core's Orpee Distribution System (CODS). If reality is truly responsive to anguish, deliberate actions to provoke orpee scarcity could generate an iterative effect of panic and widespread disbelief in the system, causing its gradual collapse from the inside... This eventuality brings to light the fundamental role of the CERM not only to the Core's economic prosperity, but also to the very safeguard of reality against the encroachment of widespread economic crises.

Exhibit 8: Further undisclosed CERM files about Base 4891 Found in Auditor Seraphimís personal files

Date: 109/02/13 From: E-12, 2nd Division of the Oce CERM Psycho-Economics Budget Executive (OCERM-PEBE) To: I-03, 3rd Division of the Oce CERM Consortium for Improved Geodem Planning (OCERM-CIGP) Object: End of PROJECT BLUE DAWN - OCERM EYES ONLY We inform you that PROJECT BLUE DAWN has been disbanded on 109/02/12 by decree of the Council of Twenty. All personnel is to be reallocated among the CERM bureaus and all information about its activities is to be destroyed. As indicated in the postmortem notes (2nd Division Eyes Only), evidence supports the existence of an Inaïs conspiracy spanning all over Kaïnas since the very beginnings of modern civilization. This secret is not known to most Inaïs. The reason for this is unclear, but there is strong substantiation to believe that Frilins are the true masterminds behind this. The addiction to orpee is universal among sentient beings. Gnaths, Odwoanes, even Kynm’ders need their weekly dose to survive. Everyone except the Frilins. This cannot be a coincidence. We take important risks in conveying this information to you and insist on your caution. Do not disclose any of this to outsiders. We wonder if the Core Himself has fallen to the lies of the Inaïs. We fear the Council of Twenty has something to do in this. Perhaps the Core Himself discovered the Inaïs' true source of power and took a part of it away to craft His ideal society. The reinforcement of the common belief in the Core is in part at least responsible for its prosperity. The Core controls the menace of Naakinis through orpee, enforcing the reality of Kaïnas upon Naakinis. Perhaps the privileged treatment of the Inaïs results from some form of power bargain with the Core's authorities. Both could have gained from such an alliance, but what of Progress? The ideals of the Core cannot be shoved aside, not even by He whom incarnates them. Through the CODS, the Core has created the greatest civilization ever to be on Kaïnas and pushed Naakinis and all other threats even further back. The Core's fight is the conquest of nature. We cannot relinquish this fight, for we must survive against all odds. By any means necessary. The peculiar ecosystem of Morduch provides further proof of this conspiracy. The properties of the Root of Sorrows suggest its nature is analogous to orpee. The


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Weeping Tree siphons energy from vaults within the deep earth, transforming it into powerful medicine. Such a powerful transformation cannot be natural. The plant's vehemence and alleged tears of pain prove the Frilins' manipulation of the flora. We believe it to be some form of unnatural sentient being, a 'biological construct' or Familiar of the Frilin reality-benders. It appears the harvesting of the Root of Sorrows somehow harms or mutilates the Weeping Tree. That is probably why the natives are so reluctant to let outsiders learn about their industry. Their characteristic ugliness is probably another facet of the warped energies pervading the place. What could possibly explain this distortion of natural patterns? Could some ancient wards or mechanisms be at work? It is recommended that the CERM conducts further experiments on this plant in order to find a cure to orpee addiction, and thusly free the Core from dependence on the Inaïs monopoly over orpee. The CODS hence would become unnecessary, except perhaps to provide the Core with control over its population. With the knowledge to suppress this addiction however, this control would be entirely within the Core's hands. The Inaïs would then no longer pose a threat to our sovereignty. In this regard, control over the Root of Sorrows cooperative in Morduch must pass over to the CERM through one of our puppet I.E.S. Professor Khiurec suggest the Progressive Precincts I.E.S. for that matter.

Appendix


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Exhibit 9: Encrypted note

Exhibit 9b: Decrypted note

Found in the management office of Base 4891

CODE HORIZON

CODE HORIZON

Fellow kin Orpheus,

Utaadl zxc Zcaspfd,

We acknowledge one of your sentinels reported tracks of a heavy rider within 150-200 paces in the base's perimeter. This Lt przcdlatsvt dct du ndjg htcixctah gtedgits igprzh du p wtpkn finding is abnormal since no nomad tribes are accounted for in gxstg lxiwxc 150-200 eprth xc iwt qpht'h etgxbtitg. Iwxh uxcsxcv this zone. Unfortunately, the Consortium confirms that tracking xh pqcdgbpa hxcrt cd cdbps igxqth pgt prrdjcits udg xc iwxh odct. down the riders' origins is a technical impossibility. These beasts Jcudgijcpitan, iwt Rdchdgixjb rdcuxgbh iwpi igprzxcv sdlc iwt gxst- of burden are far too common in the area and the Oce quadrant g'h dgxvxch xh p itrwcxrpa xbedhhxqxaxin. Iwtht qtphih du qjgstc in general. pgt upg idd rdbbdc xc iwt pgtp pcs iwt Drt fjpsgpci xc vtctgpa. We suggest you turn your attention to Morduch. An observer Lt hjvvthi ndj ijgc ndjg piitcixdc id Bdgsjrw. Pc dqhtgktg rdjas could easily be watching the fortress from this backwater ham tphxan qt lpirwxcv iwt udgigthh ugdb iwxh qprzlpitg wpbati. Qt let. Be discreet and try to find to whom he or she is reporting. sxhrgtti pcs ign id uxcs id lwdb wt dg hwt xh gtedgixcv. Considering this mole' obvious inexperience, it could hardly be Rdchxstgxcv iwxh bdat' dqkxdjh xctmetgxtcrt, xi rdjas wpgsan qt the Core's doing. We suspect one of our "allies" is keeping a iwt Rdgt'h sdxcv. Lt hjhetri dct du djg "paaxth" xh zttexcv p radht close eye on Subdivision no.4. We do not believe assertive action tnt dc Hjqsxkxhxdc 4. Lt sd cdi qtaxtkt phhtgixkt prixdc xh ctrthh- is necessary for the time being. Take no direct action unless pgn udg iwt ixbt qtxcv. Ipzt cd sxgtri prixdc jcathh hetrxuxrpaan specifically ordered to. Be prepared however to intervene should dgstgts id. Qt egtepgts wdltktg id xcitgktct hwdjas iwxh editcixpa this potential threat becomes serious. The Key for Code Twilight iwgtpi qtrdbth htgxdjh. Iwt Ztn udg Rdst Ilxaxvwi lxaa hddc shall soon follow. udaadl. United in Thought, Jcxits xc Iwdjvwi, Mentor Yucca Btcidg Jfnnl


Exhibit 10: Key to Code Dusk

Exhibit 14: Coded research notes


Found in the sanctumís library

Tea is a cue for dusk

CODE TWILIGHT

Exhibit 11: Coded puzzle hint for the inner door to the Broken Sanctuary

Colj: Mo. Yboxiifqb Mibpbibf, Molgbzq Xwrob zljjxka


CODE DUSK Objbjybo, L hfk, qexq texq fp xylsb vlro ibcq xka ofdeq zljyfkb qldbqebo, yrq qexq texq fp pqoxfdeq lsboebxa xylsb vlr albp klq dfsb, yrq qxhbp xtxv.

141

Ql: Lomebrp, Pryafsfpflk 4, Lzb nrxaoxkq Qeb xrqelofqfbp xob pxqfpcfba lc qeb zroobkq obpriqp lk bcilt xiqboxqflkp. Tb xzhkltibadb vlro obzbkq qbpq obpriqp xka illh clotxoa lk croqebo absbilmjbkqp, bpmbzfxiiv xylrq obxzqflkp fk Latlxkb xka Wfk prygbzqp.

Qeb Zlkploqfrj eltbsbo fkpfpqp vlr molsfab croqebo zixofcfzx qflkp lk rpbcri bjmfofzxi xmmifzxqflkp lc vlro bumbofjbkqp. Qelrde tb hklt lc vlro mboplkxi mlpfqflkp lk qefp prygbzq, Exhibit 11b: Decoded puzzle hint Lomebrp, qeb Zlkploqfrj xipl abjxkap ql croqebo fksbpqfdxqb qeb evmlqebpfp lc xk Fkxfp zlkkbzqflk fk qeb zxrpxifqv lc bcilt CODE DUSK xaafzqflk, x qxph tb pexii fjmrqb ql Pryafsfpflk 2. Qeb Ljkfrj Remember, O kin, that what is above your left and right com- pexii zl-lmboxqb criiv fk qefp bkabxslro. bine together, but that what is straight overhead above you does not give, but takes away. Croqebojlob, Molcbpplo Vrk, vlro jbkqlo, abjxkap vlr zlkarzq croqebo xkxivpfp lk qeb mxqqbok'p fkcirbkzb rmlk fqp fjjbafxqb mevpfzxi xka plzfxi bksfolkjbkqp. Qeb molcbpplo ybifbsbp Exhibit 12: The door's puzzle mechanism Molgbzq Zxppxkaox fp obxav ql dl colj mpvzel-sfoqrxi qbpqp ql bumbofjbkqp fk mevpfzxi bksfolkjbkqp. Qeb kbuq mexpb lc qeb Seen on the door to the Frilin sanctumís inner gate molgbzq pexii pllk ybdfk. F ybifbsb eltbsbo qexq sxoflrp mxqqbok xiqboxqflkp pelria yb rkaboqxhbk ql croqebo zljmibqb qeb Mpvzel-Xzqfsb Jxqofu. Moflofqv fp ql yb dfsbk ql obxifqv bkdfkbbofkd.

Exhibit 13: Mural depicted in the Frilin sanctum Seen on the walls of the Frilin sanctumís circular stairway

See Frilin glyphs p.115 Paul Linton (order #4667478)

Rkcloqrkxqbiv, tb jrpq abzifkb vlro obnrbpq ql bumbofjbkq rmlk qeb lofdfkxi Coxdjbkq. Qeb xrqelofqfbp exsb bumobppba x cfoj obcrpxi clo qeb mobpbkq qfjb. Vlr xob ql zlkqfkrb bumbofjbkqxqflk lk qeb Jlria xka qeblobqfzxi abpfdkp lkiv rkqfi croqebo klqfzb. Qeb axvp lc qeb obslirqflk xob kbxofkd! Molcbpplo Yboxiifqb Mibpbibf

Appendix


142


Exhibit 14b: Decoded research notes

Exhibit 15: Experimental report Found in the Frilin sanctumís research area

CODE TWILIGHT From: Pr. Berallite Pleselei, PROJECT AZURE command To: Orpheus, Subdivision 4, Oce quadrant The authorities are satisfied of the current results on eflow alterations. We acknowledge your recent test results and look forward on further developments, especially about reactions in Odwoane and Zïn subjects. The Consortium however insists you provide further clarifica tions on useful empirical applications of your experiments. Though we know of your personal positions on this subject, Orpheus, the Consortium also demands to further investigate the hypothesis of an Inaïs connection in the causality of eflow addiction, a task we shall impute to Subdivision 2. The Omnium shall co-operate fully in this endeavor. Furthermore, Professor Yun, your mentor, demands you conduct further analysis on the pattern's influence upon its immediate physical and social environments. The professor believes PROJECT CASSANDRA is ready to go from psycho-virtual tests to experiments in physical environments. The next phase of the project shall soon begin. I believe however that various pattern alterations should be undertaken to further complete the PsychoActive Matrix. Priority is to be given to reality engineering.

Vivisection of subject #08b Odwoane male, circa 17 Orpee level: 12,3 Brain resonance level: 934,2 Results: Overall reaction to the pattern #2 shows a 28.2% alteration in eflow activity with an average anomaly level of 1.2% per hour. The effect appears cumulative for this subject, within the usual range. Introduction of the Mould in pattern #2 at time 02:41:00 resulted in the breaking of Dream compasses #02 and 03 and a 354.4% rise in abnormal eflow with tellurian levels rising 67.3% up to time 02:43:32, when the recorded deviancy stabilizes. Sonic calibrating indicates only a 2.58% fluctuation during this period (standard deviation is 0.93%), while brain resonance increases by an astounding 798.7% (SD : 138.3%). Comparison with control subject #8a (Od/M/OL=18.4) demonstrates the observed effect results from the experimental variable ("MOULD"). These findings support the alternative hypothesis. Subject #08b entered the 'Frenzy' condition after 00:05:28 compared to 00:12:44 for subject #8a, confirming the rise in both anomaly level and 'Frenzy' level is positively related to current eflow level. Changes were introduced to the pattern according to the designs demanded by Pr. Yun and Pleselei. Control conditions were set up both with (type 1) and without (type 2) the Mould. Further information on biological impacts of the independent variable on neural tissues shall be provided after the completion of cerebral dissection of subjects #8a and #8b. We remind the readers' attention to the altered properties of the pattern :

Unfortunately, we must decline your request to experiment upon the original Fragment. The authorities have expressed a firm refusal for the present time. You are to continue experimentation on the Mould and theoretical designs only until further notice. The days of the revolution are nearing! Professor Berallite Pleselei


- In pattern #2, the 16 stones were set out to make 12 rows with 4 stones in every row. - In the original pattern (#1), the 16 stones were arranged in 15 straight rows of 4 stones each. Our experiments confirm that all alterations from the original pattern disrupt the sanctum's eflow reverberation, despite the fact that full control of the altered patterns remains yet to be achieved. These findings suggest that the hypothesis of a form of 'sentience' in eflow, as supported by Inaïs legends as well as the Notion, may have a basis in reality. Further research shall investigate the effect of other variations on eflow reverberation.

Exhibit 16: Key to Code Twilight

Exhibit 19: Notion tract

Found in the Frilin sanctumís broken pattern

Found in the Frilin sanctumís scientist dormitory

Why is tea in twilight? Exhibit 17: Actual arrangement of the stone pattern (pattern #2) Seen in the Frilin sanctumís broken pattern

Exhibit 18: Original arrangement of the stone pattern (pattern #1)

143

The Notion is the Notion. We hear the Voices of Below. We seek what lies beneath the veils of appearance. We are what is to be. Reality is the deceptive label of an obsolete paradigm. Truth is the constructed meaning of holistic communication. Hence, its authenticity is transcendent. Creation is the path to unchained reinvention of ecological and spiritual progress: the wheel of true flux. The times are coming for profound changes in our societies. We must question and tear down the constraining incommensurability of the Kaïnas and Naakinis paradigms to shape a new negotiated Truth from both Dream and Aran. We must join forces to reconstruct the limits of rationalist science, and open our souls to the systemic rebirth of our communities. The future is naught but our making: let us not pray for changes, but take an active hand in the reconstruction of a synergetic Reality. Join us. Join the Notion and discover the hidden Truth behind Reality.


Appendix


144

Mechanical Dream sourcebook Exhibit 20: Omnium tract Found in Base 4891ís dormitory

Do You Know What TRIANGULAR-SIDED COGNITION Can Do For You? Look up, Citizen! Do you see the condition of our World today?

War, famine and despair are rampant. Distrust and anxiety are threatening our inner security. Conflicts rise between the rich and the poor, nurturing the growing division between the powerful and the powerless. Competition and egotism are destroying the very foundations of our collective Being. That is not how the Future ought to be! These scourges are the making of the reactionary mindset of Individuality. This paradox of self-destruction can be stopped. The prospect of REFLEXIVE TRANS-INDIVIDUAL SOLIDARITY is the solution to our World's problems. The burden of individual existence can be shared through the integration of the Collective in Oneself. How is that possible? Bipolar thought is a lie perpetuated by despotic authorities to hide the Truth of TRIANGULAR-SIDED COGNITION. The frontiers between the I and the Us are the fabrication of external tyranny. The Core's ills are the consequence of this erroneous linear, bilateral thinking based on Retro-Subjective Positivist Epistemology. Provable effect is not the consequence of the cause! This is the false teaching of the bipolar academics brainwashed by illegitimate authority. Reality, Dream and Aran are but facets of TRIANGULAR HOLISM, as revealed by the irrefutable veracity of TRIANGULAR-SIDED COGNITION. Gnath language is the political tool for the false deconstruction of the World. Positivist dualism is the cognitive virus transmitted through language. The de-symbolized Word has become a tool of oppression for the people. PROTO-FIGURATIVE SYMBOLISM is the incontrovertible answer for our collective Liberty and Unity! The Omnium of Unity urges Genuine Popular Education by deconstructing the falsehoods of the bipolar mindset. We teach the masses the relinquishment of the I for the Us, the renunciation of pain through Psychic Solidarity. Technological science is a lie of the Academia. It is a tool of mind control for the perfect enslavement of the masses. This artificial empowerment is separating us from nature and the progressivism of Naakinis. Education has become a tool of mental coercion to separate the I from the Us. Absolute progressivism can only come from the teaching and sharing of TRIANGULAR-SIDED COGNITION. The masses must unite in the teaching of holistic TRIANGULAR-SIDED COGNITION and prevent the ongoing devastation of Naakinis! The Omnium is the radical alternative for the collective re-integration of the TRIANGULAR PSYCHO-COLLECTIVE in the Us and the renunciation of the artificial constraints of the I. Join us, fellow Citizen! Halt the bipolar mind-disease! Open yourself to the democratic truth of reflexive TRIANGULARSIDED COGNITION! The Omnium Paul Linton (order #4667478)

Absolute Judge: The game master, Dream, The: A strange phenomenon Gnath Rhythm, The: The fast and Oce: Eastern city of the Core, part of the Solek: or referee.

A.E.S.:

Advanced Economic Society

according to the Geodem classification.

145

Fierce being living in tribes,

of 'reality softening' during the night,

furious industrial culture and way of life

Enclave.

they emerged from the Sofe 250 years

through which phantoms, horrors and

in the Core, brought about by Gnaths.

Odwoane: A diminutive being species

ago. Their minds are impenetrable.

other strangeness are manifested.

Guardian: Echo whose powers focus

that behave as imitating automatons and

Sphere: A measure of an Echo's power,

on defense and awareness.

yield to killing frenzies against Gnaths.

ranging from 1 (minor) to 5 (prodigious).

Aran: The spirit world, another level of Dryworld: Somewhat pejorative nickreality of which little is known.

name given by the Emovans to the world

I.E.S.: Intermediate Economic Society Orchestrator:

Awakener: Echo whose powers focus

above their underground lakes and cities.


on the animation of matter and life.

Ecatim:

InaÔs: Gregarious and peaceful being Orpee:

B.E.S.: Basic Economic Society accord-

being of any race born with a single spe-

living in communities, known for their

harvested by the Inaïs, the primary

Tasrath: Last of the Gnath emperors,

ing to the Geodem classification.

cialized power that cannot improve.

love of art and peace.

source of orpee that all sentient beings

he committed suicide to escape his

CERM:

Echo: A sentient being of any race gift- Judge:

need to live.

responsibilities. His death led to the three

Acronym for the Core's

An Half-Echo', a sentient

Echo whose powers focus on

Subtype of the

Engineer Echo. A subterranean orange fruit

Subtle Mechanisms: A form of reality alteration harnessed through repeated patterns by the gifted.

Economic Resources Management, a sub-

ed with great powers, evolving in specific

judgment and authority.

Overlord: Echo whose powers focus

Years of Chaos, followed by the instaura-

division within the Core.

vocations through his Whisper.

Judicator: Echo whose powers focus on

on control and social influence.

tion of the Core (year 1).

Conductor

Eflow: A mysterious blue energy nec-

retribution and the execution of justice.

Pendulum, The: An orb of blue Truth Crafter: Echo whose powers

Engineer Echo.

essary to the survival of sentient beings

KaÔnas: The circle of light in which the

light that oscillates above Kaïnas in a

focus on emotional manipulation and

Core, The: The greatest government of

on Kaïnas, found notably in orpee.

physical world exists, often opposed to

pendulum motion.

illusions.

Kaïnas, based on a centralized system

Emovan: Amphibious fish-like being

the gigantic Naakinis ecology and scale.

Pilot:

under the control of the Core Himself and

living in large communities in vast seas

Kaderun:

whose powers focus on piloting and acro-

the Frilin Council of Twenty.

underneath the ground.

greatest cities, forming the Core's very

batics.

Ulabediare: One of the Enclave's five

heart.

Pneumatic tubes: Communication

greatest cities, forming the Core's very heart.

(Echo): Subtype of the

Core Himself, The:

Droliath

Engineer (Echo):

Echo whose

One of the Enclave's five

Subtype of the Overlord Echo

Uchatere: An independent city-state in the east, twin to Yhrne-Llemir.

Estolah, undisputed leader of the Core

power focus on machinery and patterns.

KhaÔ-BhÎk: Capital city of the Core

system using air-propelled pipes to con-

and most powerful Echo ever known.

Amber heart (Foyer d'Ambre):

and largest city of Kaïnas, center of the

vey capsule messages.

Vocation: A type of Echo called to a

Council of Twenty, Frilin: An

The Inaïs homeland, vast underground

Enclave.

Quadrant: One of the four territorial

psychological and spiritual path by its

assembly of powerful Frilin Echoes who

caves in the far east.

Kioux: Gigantic trees on which are con-

subdivisions of the Core's territory.

Whisper.

advice the Core Himself on matters of

Frilin: Sexless vegetal being with bril-

structed the Gnath cities.

Reality: The waking world, in opposi- VolkoÔ:

state, justice and governance

liant but slow minds, once masters of

Naakinis:

tion to the worlds of the Dream and Aran.

days of the empire to serve as warriors

CPRM: Acronym for the Core's Political

Kaïnas.

the circle of Kaïnas, sometimes represent-

Sastak:

against the Kinthaïs invasion.

Resources Management, a subdivision

Geodem system: Economic classifi-

ed as a sentient divinity. Also used in

crafted by the Emovans from algae.

Walker: Echo whose powers focus on

within the Core.

cation of industries and geography pre-

opposition to the much smaller Kaïnas

S.E.S.:

survival and social mimesis.

CSRM: Acronym for the Core's Social

vailing in the Core.

ecology and scale.


Resources Management, a subdivision

Gift:

Nayan: A tall being species known for Shaman, Dream: Female gifted with

focus on warfare and command.

A category comprising various

The global world beyond

a rare and precious plant

Superior Economic Society

Sexless giants created in the

War Engine:

Echo whose powers

within the Core.

Echo powers.

its sacrificial instinct, exposed with age to

ritual sorcery that relates to the Dream.

Weirdsmith:

Danaac:

Gnath:

a gradual psychological degeneration

Sofe, The: The 40 miles high wall

focus on the creation of supernatural machinery.

A vast underwater city of

The dominant species of

Emovans built underneath the Core capi-

Kaïnas, characterized by perpetual pain

process called the Downfall.

that surrounds Kaïnas, beyond which lies

tal of Khaï-Bhëk.

and an exceedingly fast rhythm of

Nightmare: Echo whose powers focus

the unknown.

Downfall, The: An irreversible form

thought and life.

on fear and the Dream.

of depression that strikes ageing Nayans.


Echo whose powers

Appendix


PLAYERS' GLOSSARY

146


Whisper: A mysterious calling that

ABSOLUTE JUDGE'S GLOSSARY

beckons the Echoes' spiritual path, somehow related to Naakinis.

Base 4891: Secure Stock S.E.S. orpee Imperial Republic League, PROJECT AZURE: The scientific Thirteenth Wheel, The: A vast The: (Also the Imperial Republic) A project of the Thirteenth Wheel, com- conspiracy formed of 13 independent

Yaki: A sentient being species living in

deposit where the Thirteenth Wheel has

nomad tribes, gifted with evolving bio-

been conducting secret experiments in an

secret society dominated by four great

posed of four independent subdivisions

groups united to oppose the Core's mili-

logical armors and giant mounts, the

underground Frilin sanctuary.

aristocratic families intent on destroying

that conduct various experiments to

tary and economic expansion. Their

Huoras.

Cartel, The: A secret organization

the Core and bringing back the old

learn more about the Fragment's nature

major asset is the Fragment, an artifact

for the preservation of Inaïs political and

Gnath empire to Kaïnas.

and properties.

possessed by Duchess Ubik of the

economic interests.

Matrix, Psycho-Active:

A

PROJECT BRAZIER: The military

Imperial Republic League that exerts

A subversive

strange machine constructed by PRO-

project of the Thirteenth Wheel that

great power over the Dream.

as slaves by the Frilins, from which they

organization of economists and industri-

JECT CASSANDRA under the supervision

aims to trap weaken the Core Army

Triangular-Sided Cognition:

rebelled.

alists opposing the Geodem economic

of Pr. Yun, scientist for the Omnium. Its

(OPERATION:

while

An alternative 'thought pattern', a form

ZÔn's Mind Beast: The monstrous

system, financing terrorist activities in

purpose is the control of the Dream and

destroying the Core's orpee depots

of Subtle Mechanisms used by the

entity captive within the Zïn's mind

this regard.

its phenomena, using the uncanny ener-

(OPERATION: PANTAGRUEL), while a

Omnium to brainwash subjects into

through the Frilins' lost science.

Cube, The: A strange gigantic struc-

gies of the Mould.

select group plan to unleash a Dream

becoming cells of a world-spanning

Veiled Tribunal, The: Independent

ture found near the Sofe in the northern

Mould, The:

Cyclone through the Psycho-Active

hive-mind entity.

counter-espionage agency mandated by

wilderness nearly 250 years ago. Its

replica made from the original

matrix (OPERATION: CYCLONE).

Tribunal, The (Veiled):

the CPRM and the 'Secure Stock' and

exact location, purpose and powers are

Fragment brought from the Cube. Four

PROJECT CASSANDRA:

'Orpee Anywhere' corporations (A.E.S.)

unknown, but a Fragment from it was

identical moulds have been made for

mechanistic project of the Thirteenth

Twin Voices, The: A secret pact of

to ascertain and oppose terrorist activity

found by miners and brought back to

PROJECT AZURE to study, one of which

Wheel responsible for the creation of the

espionage between the independent

in the Oce quadrant. Its acting leader is

civilization.

was analyzed at Base 4891.

Psycho-Active Matrix.

city-states of Uchatere and Yhrne-Llemir

Prosecutor Resh Emeth (War Engine),

Fragment, The: A small piece from Notion, The: A mysterious Emovan Red Front, The:

under the authority of a board of

the Cube brought by the sole survivor of

spiritual movement focusing on the

alliance of Volkoï warriors, with deep

trustees.

Core Army Squadron 13. Experimented

acquisition of knowledge pertaining to

connections within the Core Army, united

Yhrne-Llemir:

An independent

city-state in the east, twin to Uchatere.

ZÔn: A rare sentient predatory created Consortium, The:

Years of Chaos:

A small, cubic resin

DURENDAL)

The

A subversive

The period of

upon by one the Thirteenth Wheel's

the Dream and Aran.

to force the Core into giving the Volkoï

great strife and famine that followed

secret projects (PROJECT AZURE), early

Omnium (of Unity), The: An

race full control over their own species'

emperor Tasrath's death.

investigations show the Fragment holds

extremist offshoot from the One Mind fra-

reproduction.

a frightening influence over minds and

ternity of Echoes (see BS/E p.34) that

Station 1917: Eastern Core railways

the Dream. Now in the hands of Duchess

preaches the union of all beings in a sin-

city-station used as experimental ground

Ubik from the Imperial Republic

gle hive-mind through a brainwashing

for a Psycho-Active Matrix by one of the

League, the Fragment led to the exis-

technique known as "Triangular-Sided

Thirteenth Wheel's sub-organizations

tence of the Thirteenth Wheel.

Cognition". The Omnium conducts

(PROJECT CASSANDRA), under the cover

Four, The: A mysterious group sup-

unknown psychic experiments to further

of a legitimate Core Army operation.

posed to support the Thirteenth Wheel,

its goals in order to construct a gigantic

of which nothing is known.

Mind Library where all the arcane knowledge of the Frilin race could be stocked and used to bring about their goals of psychological domination over Kaïnas.


See

'Veiled Tribunal' below.

to oppose the Core's expansion to the east through any means possible.

Adekis tribe Aliah Apparitions Aria Arkadi Asianor, Jamir Auditor, The Avrel Barakka Carm Cartel, The Cassiopeia Caza Cell Iron Reverie Cell Repentance Cemetery Keeper, The Chargers Chialnic Code Dusk Confederacy, The Consortium, The Corbin Djoh Dolt Dreiid Dunce Emeth, Procurer Resh Essor, Jars Exhibit 1 Exhibit 10 Exhibit 11 Exhibit 12 Exhibit 13 Exhibit 14 Exhibit 2 Exhibit 3 Exhibit 4 Exhibit 5 Exhibit 6 Exhibit 7 Exhibit 8 Exhibit 9 Familiars Four, The Golgoth, Tribe of Gor-Teh Grume Guisarme Ha’Gardom, House of Hagai, Shaar Hagefen, Agent Beth Hand, The

22 18 111 84, 95, 129 74 24 93 78 44, 56, 136 84 37, 41, 45, 66, 88, 100, 108, 121, 127 49, 57, 86, 90, 93, 97, 130, 135 74 49 49, 100, 122, 131 83, 90, 96, 97, 122, 129 29 76 104, 141 39, 62 34, 39, 41, 62, 67, 135 73 78 84 84 84 7, 12, 70, 86, 92, 112, 124 14 78, 134 85, 87, 111 87, 111 68, 100 81, 111 76, 113 95, 135 135 135 136 136 137 139 140 69, 100, 109, 113, 116, 117, 121, 130 40 39 73 18 73 36 32 38, 66 131


Hast 73 Hatachmoshet, Givat 30 Hesperid 3, 44, 57, 68,80, 108, 110, 113, 122, 130, 135 Huora 72, 76, 107 Imperial Republic League, The 33, 55, 61 Imrond 73 Iron Jaw inn 72, 94, 124 Ja’ak 78 Janech, Natiris 84 Kierc, Tribe of 68, 75, 76, 84, 102, 129 Kodesh, House of 33, 36 Koros, Silrin 105 Linker Brakha 49 Linker Goyim 49 Linker Mercavah 49 Linker Moshava 49 Linker Shekinah 37, 48, 49, 55, 66, 121 Loth 49, 57, 82, 88, 95, 121, 130, 135 Lotred tribe 20 Lotred, Tribe of 20 Lummox 84 Maroa, Polyn 88, 90, 94, 97, 131 Mashy 19, 95 Maxillaire 72, 94 Medical Familiar 110 Mendeleïev, Tron 44 Merkaz, House of 36 Migdal, General 35 Mikveh, Agent Levana 38, 66 Mon’liko 30 Morduch, Town of 9, 49, 57, 64, 68, 74, 77, 79, 82, 86, 91, 98, 121 Navigator, The 131 Nilats 97 Notion, The 5, 34, 38, 50, 104, 110, 113, 120, 127, 130, 135, 142 Nutcase B.E.S. 82, 84 Omnium of Unity, The 5, 34, 37, 41, 55, 58, 77, 114, 118, 127, 134, 144 One Mind, The 56, 58, 62, 105, 114, 127 Oriam 22 Orpee Anywhere S.E.S. 6, 13, 65, 70 Orpheus 44, 68, 80, 110, 116, 120, 140 Palellee, Liberties 47 Palindrome 17, 51 Pallid Wanderer, The 49, 100, 122, 131 Palmach, Warden Tov 57, 82, 86, 89, 91, 93, 97, 132 People’s Army of War for Naakinis (PAWN) 36, 39, 40, 62 Physician, The 131 Pleselei, Professor Berallite 34, 41, 44, 136, 142 Progressive Precincts I.E.S. 97, 139 Project Azure 7, 11, 34, 41, 66, 88, 95, 104, 111, 113, 116, 120 Project Brazier 8, 35, 40, 48, 66 Project Cassandra 8, 35, 42, 48, 60, 142

147

Psycho-Active Matrix, The 35, 37, 44, 60, 63, 80, 142 Purple Curtain, The 85 Qadi, House of 36, 55, 62 Quaver, The 38, 44, 52, 55, 135 Red Front, The 35, 36, 62 Riache, Burdock 65, 66 Riacos, Janfen 84 Root of Sorrows, The 83, 86, 90, 132, 139 Secure Stock S.E.S. 6, 13, 35, 39, 41, 44, 57, 64, 70, 72, 74, 86, 97, 100, 102, 121, 125 Seraphim, Auditor Avar 71, 82, 86, 89, 91, 97, 132, 137 Shrog, Agent Whog 57, 104, 136 Sloane, Agent 49, 57, 95, 130, 135, 136 Spectral Alliance, The 38, 66 Squadron 13 31 Ta’al, Tribe of 74 Tarejin, Cashtin 20 Tchidoo 73, 105 Tchirshs 54 Thirteenth Wheel 4, 12, 30, 33 Tovarich, Comrade 40 Transport Familiars 117 Tremens 82, 84, 90, 94, 98, 102, 133 Tronc 28 Twin Voices, The 38 Ubik, Dherrica 32, 34, 40, 48, 55, 66 Veiled Tribunal, The 5, 7, 12, 16, 60, 64, 72, 87, 97, 122 Venerian 74 Vilem 78 Vrid 73 Warden, The 57, 64, 82, 86, 88, 93, 97 Weeping Tree, The 3, 85, 133, 134, 139 Yucca 44, 135, 140 Yun, Professor 35, 37, 44, 60, 63, 67, 135, 142 Zarbi, Director Chelou 104 Zin 7, 58, 67, 69, 83, 100, 108, 113, 118, 133 Zloty, Zilch 39 Zod 73 Zongo 39

Appendix


INDEX




Thirteen Wheel Broken Santuary

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