15:36 <banana> Gorton Reservoir is really a couple of separate lakes, damming the Gore before it can drain into Ashton Canal. 15:38 <banana> It's on the very edge of Hattersley, separated from the cemetery by a warren of streets; there's a badly dilapidated playground-park running up to the water, and on the other side live the other half. Or rather than living, they golf. 15:39 <banana> All this Badawi can learn by reading a map and talking to people. But it doesn't give her the lay of the land... or insight into what lies beneath the waters, what thing from the stars has hidden itself in to harass an up-and-coming b-list singer from riverine comfort. 15:39 <banana> What lurks beneath may, or may not, be extremely dangerous to a lone woman. How does she approach a situation like this? 15:43 <Quaker> Very patiently. Also, it’s fucking freezing out here. She has to wear thermal underwear under her bodysuit, and then two extra layers over that. She feels like a little sausage running around. At the moment, she’s on top of a three-story building looking over the freeway at the reservoir, with binoculars and a topological map spread out on the roof next to her. The first step is simple observation, and waiting. 15:46 <banana> From the M60, Badawi can see out over the whole golf course - 18 holes and separate clubhouses at either end. If she turns around, there are actually larger modern reservoirs behind her, but the city uses a lot of water, so the old ones are still in use. 15:47 <banana> Beyond the course is a north-south sweep of water, which extends another arm out west to the limits of her vision. It's rippling slightly in a light drizzle. 15:48 <banana> This place doesn't look supernatural; it looks perfunctory. greens everywhere, but leavened by the Mancunian grey. 15:49 <Quaker> Well, she wasn’t expecting a neutronium golem stomping around among the golf carts. She takes a thermos full of hot tea from her pack and puts it on the ledge, and settles in. 15:50 <banana> Unlike the newer purpose-built Audenshaw facility (on the east of the M60), the Gorton reservoirs are shaped by the land and the old river systems. This place was something like a swamp, two thousand years ago. The lake-like structures are separated by several road bridges into bodies of water joined by underground tunnels. 15:50 <Quaker> She spends more time looking at the water than the green. Specifically, her eye keeps returning to the portion of the reservoir which reported flooding during the last celestial event. 15:51 <banana> The sky is grey, hiding any stars that would be bright enough to shine through the weak light above. And yet - as the day darkens further, the southern end of the golf course remains... lighted. 15:51 <banana> It's not lit, there's no direction or shadows to it. But you can see the grass and the buildings and bunkers as if they were in moderate sunlight. From up here, it's uncanny. 15:52 <Quaker> By the third hour, her fingertips are numb, but her parka is rated for much lower. She rubs her gloves together every now and then. 15:52 <banana> The effect is everywhere around the southeasternmost body of water. Illumination without luminescence. The water itself is still, but the level.. rises and falls, slowly, on the order of tens of minutes. 15:53 <banana> There's a procession of cars in the caravan park to the south, making its way toward the reservoir. 15:54 <Quaker> She’ll look at the drivers, unless they have tinted windows or something. Anyone she recognize? 15:54 <banana> https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/reservoir.png 15:56 <banana> Badawi has to dial the zoom on her binoculars all the way up, and even then the vehicles making their way through what must be Hattersley's poorest slum are pretty small. She's in luck, though - three expensive-looking black cars, way out of place in the caravan park, and the people inside them look weird. Costumed. 15:57 <banana> Some of them are talking, the lips of weird masks moving, but there's no way to hear anything from over here on the wrong side of the course. (Nor, of course, is there any likelihood that she'll be caught watching.) 16:00 <banana> Looks like they're heading for a small jetty. There's the shell of a seafood restaurant there, but it's boarded up and condemned. 16:02 <Quaker> She’ll put her thermos away and climb down the stairs of the building, and leg it on a pedestrian bridge across the highway. She heads up Kingsdale Road, and then Elford Grove before she slows down and keeps to the line of the bushes lining the green above the reservoir. 16:03 <Quaker> Is anyone watching the approach to the condemned building? 16:05 <banana> The residents of the caravan park spend a lot of time outside, but they didn't go near the black cars at all. They still haven't - as Badawi can see from her new position, the limos are just sitting out in the street unmolested, even though there are some kids ON the jetty. (One of them, more optimistic than sensical, has a fishing line). 16:05 <banana> Across the road from where the quay begins is a semicircle of RVs with a group of women sat around a firepit between them; they'd have been well placed to see anyone go past. 16:07 <banana> As for the ex-chippery itself... it'd be easier to compare if she had photos, but it's possible the door's been opened. There are planks lying on the jetty nearby that might have formerly been attached. 16:08 <banana> The building hangs out over the water on one side, facing onto the quay where the shirtless kids run about getting splinters on the other. It's too intact to see inside. 16:08 <Quaker> Badawi forces her body to release some of the tension that’s been building up in her muscles, and stands up straight to approach the women. She’s just another resident out for a stroll, in a parka and boots, with a satchel across her back. 16:08 <Quaker> “Hi, ladies. Staying warm? Nice night for it.” 16:11 <banana> They pause in their discussion - something about what Jenny said or did - then the group, too, relaxes; Agostina doesn't look particularly out of place. A peroxided lady gestures at where the sun would be if not for the thin grey mass of clouds. "Be nice if they'd give us enough coal for the winter, yeah? But there's plenty of other shit to burn." 16:12 <banana> A woman in a jacket with a Tottenham logo on the back says: "You're from..?" 16:13 <Quaker> Agostina smiles. “Ah, yeah. Been there. Just got to remember to stay away from the pallets. Never know what kind of chemicals you’re breathing in with it.” 16:13 <banana> That sourceless light is back. You wouldn't notice it without the bird's-eye-view and close attention... Badawi's own hands, the street around her, they're all lit directionlessly; the burning wood in the park residents' pit doesn't cast the red glare it should, being drowned out by wan sameness. 16:14 <banana> The bottle blonde nods. "It'll give you cancer... but everything does. Hey, Peg, what were you saying about Jenny's youngest?" 16:15 <Quaker> “Oh, I just moved out to Tintwistle. Got myself a little studio for ceramics - you know, pottery? My name’s Agostina. Sorry if I’m interrupting. Bit of a walker, me. Can’t stay cooped up too long.” 16:15 <Quaker> “You all live here?” 16:17 <banana> Detained from their gossip, the women reluctantly look more closely at Badawi. Most of them seem fairly disinterested in her; the one called Peg says: "That's right. Not a very interesting place for a walk." 16:17 <banana> The one in the Hotspurs jacket: "You've company, though. Cops, the kids, health inspectors... you'd think it was Piccadilly Central." 16:17 <banana> Peroxide blonde: "Is that what they were?" 16:18 <banana> Tottenham fan: "Suits, you know, they went into Kailis. They're probably after reports of rats." 16:18 <banana> Peroxide blonde: "Who'd care, years after closed oop?" 16:19 <banana> Peg: "Rats are a problem for Andy, even if they come from Hattersley. Spread cancer, they do." 16:20 <Quaker> “Oh, is that what those limos are, the government? Kind of thought some fancy celebrity was visiting. And you’d be surprised at what you find on walks…I’ve got one eye on the ground! Heard there was some nice clay up here. Don’t know why they’d go and build a golf course on top of all that clay, though. Ah, well…” 16:22 <Quaker> “Well, sorry to bother you. Merry Christmas. I guess I’ll ask you to refrain from calling the bobbies if you see some mad woman poking around at the dirt up here, ha.” 16:22 <Quaker> “Night, then.” 16:22 <banana> Tottenham fan: "We won't be calling the old Bill on nobody. Good luck with your china clay." 16:23 <Quaker> Agostina waves goodbye and walks on. Is Kaili’s before the kids on the jetty? 16:24 <Quaker> Either way, she’ll write down the license plates of the limos as she passes. 16:24 <banana> The women return immediately to their discussion of neighbourhood concerns, but they're not totally inattentive - the faded sign on the rundown fish and chip shop does read KAILIS BROS. The building's halfway down the useless quay, with the kids at the end of it, splashing about under a NO SWIMMING sign. 16:26 <banana> By now, Badawi knows to pay attention to the water level. Its slow rise and fall, harmless but geologically improbable - the pattern has been disrupted. 16:27 <Quaker> Wait, the kids are swimming in the water at night, in winter, in the north of England? 16:27 <banana> The water's sinking farther and farther, fast enough that some of the kids who were climbing onto the jetty have further to go and don't realise why. Sounds like they're talking about going somewhere else, although their verbiage is a lot more sweary than that. 16:27 <banana> It's only late afternoon - but it IS very cold. They don't seem to care. 16:28 <Quaker> She’ll walk to the end of the jetty at first. “Oy - aren’t you lot freezing your bloody bollocks off in there?” 16:31 <banana> The caravan park kids are even younger than the Nightingale Society, but less friendly. The first reaction she gets is "Fuck do you care, bint?" and jeers follow. 16:36 <Quaker> Badawi pulls out a tenner. “I’ll give you ten quid to fuck off to somewhere you won’t catch pneumonia, you daft little creature.” 16:37 <banana> They approach warily, some dripping... then the ringleader snatches the ten bob note and dashes off down the jetty with the others following behind, screaming with laughter. They think they've pulled one over on you, apparently? 16:37 <banana> Perhaps they have, and they're actually going to go somewhere even colder. 16:38 <banana> The lightless lighting is bright, now. As if you and the broken chip shop are in broad daylight. 16:38 <Quaker> What happens to the water once they leave? 16:39 <banana> Nobody else is nearby; park residents on the street by the reservoir have left it. Coincidence? Badawi's the only one watching as the water falls, and falls, heading for half its usual level.. but in one place, it rises. 16:39 <Quaker> She’ll duck to the side of the jetty and take one of the cans from her satchel. Time to vanish. 16:40 <banana> On the other side of Kailis Bros, a sudden spike - the reservoir surges upward as if being molded. The vertical protrusion recedes, leaving a watery figure stepping out of thin air into a door on the lake-facing side of the building. 16:40 <Quaker> Invisibly, she walks back to the restaurant, keeping one eye on the water. 16:40 <banana> Did anyone describe to Badawi the naiad they met in a dream? 16:40 <Quaker> Hm. 16:41 <Quaker> They did not. Something about some kind of presence in the fake-hedge, but she didn’t get specifics. 16:41 <banana> The volume of water that's missing from the reservoir is vast, far more than you should be able to compress into a humanoid figure. 16:44 <Quaker> Badawi leans against the doorframe, looking inside. 16:45 <banana> The light bends around her, potion and will keeping her safe... if she's careful. The good news is that the interior of the building is partially collapsed, so she can see through the seating area to what was the kitchen, where a bizarre assemblage has gathered. 16:47 <banana> There are six entities who came out of the cars, sitting on the countertops and fryers, leaning in nooks where fridges used to be. They're all different - one has scaly skin, another is moist grey with a classic Roswell-conspiracy head shape; there's a feathery ethereal thing floating toward the ceiling and huge squat beings in drab spacesuits. 16:48 <banana> A lizard-man like the ones who attacked on the highway is speaking, and the undine from the reservoir listens: "-has failed us. Great One, only you're a match for these hairless apes." 16:49 <Quaker> What the- 16:50 <banana> The water-being, wetting the ground without losing its own substance, is a humanoid about seven feet tall and vaguely womanly. Her(?) eyes are points of light too intensely bright to look at directly, but her 'hair' is familiar - there's froth up there, frozen or gelled into spiky shapes. The same punk style as Reveille's. 16:50 <Quaker> She does smile at the thought of these aliens being repeatedly, personally owned by her and her team. 16:50 <banana> Epsilon Eridani: "We have one gambit before the birth of Ape Christ, as you might put it." 16:51 <Quaker> Her jaw clenches. 16:51 <Quaker> Why would you bring the baby Jesus into this? What did he do? 16:53 <banana> The stellar undine's voice is a deep trill, flowing through your bones. "We can't escalate force without betraying ourselves. But the diplomat has a reputation and a public image. She's been forced to cancel one appearance and silence rumours of flames. As harassment goes? Unspectacular. I'd like one of you to step up to this opportunity." 16:54 <banana> Plant-creature made of tentacles with bulbous ends: "Great One, your opportunities are baited with juice and conceal barbs. The Vorloth decline; be as rude as you like in your own right." 16:57 <banana> Eridani can't exactly speak dryly, but there's an acerbic tone to her voice: "The point is mean, not rude. Twice the Quotient to any of you who can upset Mary Morgan's kilter enough that she'll come to terms." 16:58 <banana> Lizardman: "As if the Bao Guai mission here were not already defunct. But perhaps something can be salvaged.. if the human coercer will use her Cosmos-given powers for good, we could at least save some from the wave." 16:59 <banana> Tentacle plant (vorloth?): "Are you volunteering, Russs?" 16:59 <banana> The scaly being steps backward and makes an arms-crossed gesture sharply across its chest. Badawi might speculate that this means: no. 17:00 <Quaker> It won’t be hard to tell Reveille that she HAS to keep doing exactly what she’s doing in ignoring Eridani’s attempts to negotiate. 17:03 <banana> Eridani: "We appreciate your collective cowardice. Self-preservation is an excellent instinct for the individual, but consider the preservation of your species, and the opportunities of a doubled electoral quotient. Has anyone in this.. restaurant.. evolved conspecific altruism?" 17:04 <banana> There's something bizarre about the tone of this whole thing. These fantastical beings, speaking fluent English in a fish-and-chip shop - the central figure, the Caleban who is in some sense a star, clearly more powerful than any of them but bantering like a noble to ambassadors - all of it about the unclear fate of your client. 17:05 <Quaker> Very slowly, so that the glow is completely hidden from view, Badawi takes her phone out and googles ‘conspecific altruism.’ 17:05 <banana> This seems to be a price the star-children pay for their powers - enmeshment in grandiose destiny. 17:10 <banana> The creature of glows and feathers flutters downward a little, hovering vaguely humanoid at eye-level to the caleban. Its voice is choral, multiple tones overlaid. Something about the shape of it reminds Badawi of a children's television programme. 17:11 <banana> "The Tra-Se-Uu do not seek violence or pain. We share <<love>> with all. Our <<love>> is universal, akin to the <<love>> of Cosmos. But we may be of use, Great One, as an... embarassment." 17:15 <banana> Epsilon Eridani, solemnly: "A worthy sacrifice. Please continue." 17:17 <Quaker> Badawi sits and listens to the aliens babble on about their insane plans. 17:17 <Quaker> She thinks about Bob. 17:18 <Quaker> What awaits them if all they can do is kill? 17:19 <Quaker> They don’t…*deserve* to die. Anyone involved in this entire job. It’s not even like the vampires, who were butchering innocents. 17:19 <banana> Tra-Se-Uu representative: "We know that the diplomat Morgan's art-foremen seek to control public relations - strictly, in the runup to our shared deadline. And Your watchful divination has informed us of her emotional priorities - she'll come out of hiding for the game." 17:20 <banana> Eridani: "Ignoring the record company's wishes in that case, yes. Probably so." 17:22 <banana> Tra-Se-Uu: "Tra-Se-Uu will be waiting at her 'board game'. We will make public demands and accusations. A spectacle, full of <<love>>. We will not hurt, not alert the <<human>> authorities, but we will follow her and keep her from knowing peace. Coming to talk with You - it will be a lesser evil." 17:22 <banana> Tra-Se-Uu: "We will unleash every gender in our arsenal." 17:22 <banana> The grey alien snort-laughs. 17:23 <Quaker> If she dies, who would look after the kids? 17:23 <Quaker> But what will she tell them when they find out what she does? 17:24 <Quaker> That she kills things? 17:24 <banana> The caleban made of reservoir-water 'blinks', her burning eyes shrinking to nothing then reappearing. "I.. do not think that will work, self-sacrificing one. But, spacedust, if it does you'll be rewarded. Sure. Give it a go." 17:24 <Quaker> Or that she tries to find ways for people to live in peace? 17:24 <Quaker> Shit, she doesn’t need the money. 17:25 <Quaker> Badawi clears her throat. “Excuse me.” 17:25 <banana> Vorloth: "Great One, you underestimate the lovebirds' capacity to embarass, or overestimate their capacity for shame. It's actually a pretty decent-" 17:29 <banana> Conversation ceases. The aliens in their spacesuits (or in some cases actual suits) swing and scrabble and float around to face the doorway. (One bulky triangular creature, like the tripod pilots, starts an arduous process of rotation that has it banging against the rack of hanging pans left behind by Kailis Bros). 17:30 <banana> The being you're taking to be Epsilon Eridani casually raises a hand, palm up, watery fingers curled into claws - water, from nowhere, drenches Badawi. Light sparkles within it... but it washes away. Her potion's strength holds, and she's wet but still just an invisible voice in the air. 17:30 <banana> Agent of Cosmos: "You are excused. Who are you, and where?" 17:32 <Quaker> “My name is Agostina Badawi. I am one of the Diplomat’s protectors. I am astral projecting my consciousness here.” 17:32 <Quaker> “Welcome to Earth!” 17:33 <banana> Bao Guai: "Asstral projection? We'll ssee about that." 17:33 <banana> Some of the alien representatives move warily out of the kitchen area, taking different paths through the restaurant toward the sound of Badawi's voice. The caleban Epsilon Eridani just takes a few steps forward to lean on the serving counter, gazing in roughly the right direction. 17:34 <banana> Eridani: "Please don't take us to your leaders. They are quite incapable." 17:34 <Quaker> “Woah. Stop moving so aggressively. Don’t you honor parleys?” 17:34 <Quaker> “That’s pretty rude, if you don’t. Even the vampires do that much.” 17:35 <banana> Epsilon Eridani raises a hand again and everyone stops moving like puppets with cut strings. There's a frozen moment before they shake themselves, gather up and remain in place.. for now. A couple of them glare in the direction of the agent or at where they think Badawi might be. 17:36 <Quaker> “I’ve come unarmed, in the interest of mutal peace and understanding.” 17:37 <banana> Eridani: "I understand your intentions. You've been engaged by Mary Morgan to deal with a problem, much as a rich human would employ a secretary to deal with correspondence." 17:38 <banana> "We must speak directly, Mary and I, but if you have information to present on her behalf... do it." 17:39 <Quaker> “You may be misunderstanding. Human beings can say they’ll work for money, but we all have our real motivations. Curiosity, for one.” 17:39 <Quaker> “Can we guarantee some conditions?” 17:39 <Quaker> “Then I’ll talk.” 17:40 <Quaker> “I’m willing to trade.” 17:41 <banana> The entity's face is quite expressive, despite being carved from flowing water; the liquid moves at a slow enough rate to overcome the uncanny valley effect, and you can see the sadness in her expression - but not her eyes; those are still unyielding and burning bright. 17:41 <banana> "There's a limited amount you can achieve. Our secrets are not for you. Please describe your conditions with that in mind." 17:42 <Quaker> “You do not attempt to harm or coerce me for the rest of this meeting. If you want something from me, you’ll have to persuade me honestly.” 17:42 <banana> The feathery Tra-Se-Uu and the martian Master are still in the kitchen, flanking their 'Great One'; the other four have taken up positions around the table-service area in the front of the restaurant, making rough quadrants. If Badawi went inside it would be quite easy for them to trap her, but she's got no reason to do that. 17:42 <Quaker> “In exchange, I promise the same. And one song. And one weakness of Reveille’s.” 17:51 <banana> Eridani: "Ah, child of Earth, you know too many secrets already. We must take your memories I'm afraid, and keep them safe for a better time. We can talk a little first if you still like; we won't end this 'parley' without warning - but that's the way it has to be." 17:51 <Quaker> “What do you think, Vorloth? Bao Guai? Tra-Se-Uu?” 17:52 <banana> The 'Vorloth' plant-being, quite close to the door, answers snappily. "If you know Mary Morgan's weakness, I assure you - we'd all love to hear it." 17:52 <banana> Eridani shoots it a glare, literally - little rays of light come from her eyes and there's a mild sizzling noise as they contact vegetable matter. The alien yelps, then smirks. 17:52 <Quaker> “How are you going to do that if Epsilon Eridani wipes my memories?” 17:53 <Quaker> “Hear what Mary Morgan’s weakness is, I mean.” 17:53 <Quaker> “Is she in charge of you all?” 17:53 <banana> Bao Guai: "You could tell us first. We'd think better of you, although you might not know it." 17:53 <banana> Tra-Se-Uu: "Naturally, we will not participate in any violent confrontation." 17:54 <Quaker> “Eridani, how much of my memory would you take?” 17:54 <Quaker> “Maybe you can take some things I’d rather forget, anyway, ha…” 17:55 <banana> Epsilon Eridani: "You seem kind, and you're involved in this thing no matter what. I intend to extract everything you heard once you stepped into that door... and yes, it's fairly clear where you are." 17:56 <banana> "By any chance would you like to come forward and make the whole thing less of a struggle for our poor Tra-Se-Uu?" 17:57 <Quaker> “Can I ask why you’re here? Officially, like?” 17:58 <banana> Eridani: "All I can safely tell you is this, child of Earth. Mary Morgan's power was given to her for a reason; she is needed; it concerns the fate of the world and your race. I am here, officially, to set her on that path that she opposes." 17:58 <Quaker> “So you’re the good guys?” 17:59 <Quaker> “That’s not what Mary Morgan said…” 18:00 <banana> Eridani: "She doesn't have the full picture and she's a little selfish. We will talk, if not sooner then at Christmas. If not talk, then a coercers' contest. It's that important." 18:02 <banana> There are others in the room. Alien, but not incomprehensible. Badawi can see what passes for faces, has been learning some of their body language, and they're opinionated creatures... for all that they defer to the caleban, they don't agree with her. You're not sure anyone other than Eridani genuinely believes it's important to bring Reveille to heel. 18:03 <Quaker> “Do you agree, Vorloth? Is it really that urgent, that you’d attack someone coming in peace?” 18:04 <Quaker> “Or you, Bao Guai? That doesn’t seem very honorable.” 18:04 <Quaker> “Or very loving, Tra-Se-Uu.” 18:05 <Quaker> “Do you all agree that we can’t just have a simple conversation, without harming each other?” 18:05 <banana> As usual, the plant with the tentacles is the first to answer. "I, ape of uncertain hair? Stereotypes aside, your species does have it, but we can't see you -" 18:05 <banana> Eridani: "Answer her if you're going to answer." 18:06 <banana> Vorloth: "My participation isn't much relevance with with the Great One here. None of us matter beside her power. If you want to leave with an unscrambled brain, RUN!" 18:06 <Quaker> “If I show you all my hair, and sing for you, will you let me go in peace, to take a message back to Mary Morgan? Or do you all think that I have to be assaulted no matter what?” 18:07 <Quaker> She’s on the balls of her feet. 18:07 <Quaker> Really? They can’t even stay for a song? 18:07 <Quaker> “I hear even the vampires will relax for a song, Eridani…you really can’t wait one time?” 18:09 <Quaker> “I’m the best there is, here on Earth!” 18:09 <Quaker> “Well…one of them, ha.” 18:09 <banana> Eridani: "As promised and not by my doing, you have now been warned. Come in if you like to sing, and we'll listen before sending you off without this burden of knowledge." 18:09 <banana> The caleban starts forward. Her motion is a walk, but when she hits the counter that separates the kitchen and the service area, she just keeps moving - pouring over the top of it, legs reforming on the other side. 18:10 <Quaker> Well, she won’t stick around if that’s the case. Badawi takes the Vorloth’s advice. 18:12 <Quaker> As she springs forward: “Benni Athletic! He’s her weakness…she still loves him, obviously - madly in love. If you were to kill him, she’d capitulate instantly. Don’t say Earthlings don’t have any honor!” 18:13 <banana> For all the star-creature's assurance, it's only so fast.. and the caravan park, with all its people watching, is just over there. Eye-beams rake in just the wrong direction, where she was last speaking rather than where she is now. 18:14 <Quaker> Have any of the cell actually ever seen Badawi run as fast as she can? Maybe Rolf, but even then, she was just moving across one room. 18:15 <banana> The street has a couple of cars now, women walking down it who were chatting earlier, even a wary beat cop on a corner. Nobody emerges from the condemned fish-and-chippery, although Badawi hears the Bao Guai lizardman's voice following her: "Thank you for the tip, human." 18:17 <Quaker> Her legs move so fast that even if they could see her, they’d have trouble making them out. It doesn’t even matter that she’s wearing boots. She sprints down the lane, past the women, past the cop, past the cars, past the highway and over the bridge. It’s so fast that the light snow seems to be standing still as she punches through it with a puff. 18:17 <Quaker> She doesn’t stop until she’s back in the Gorton Cemetery. 18:18 <Quaker> She leans against a headstone, gasping. 18:18 <Quaker> “Suzie Cutsworth…you wouldn’t be hiding here, would you?” She laughs, panting.