Session 11 Report

General Summary

Ashes of Intelligence

Report 11

Related Dates: Days 143 through 144 of 4,543,626,881

Origin: KC33345L

Destination: IV22357Z
 
Report begins...

This is the eleventh report on the activities of Subjects 4777, 4778, 4779, 4780, 4781, and 4782, along with their relationship to, and interactions with Subject 1. Data for this and all other reports on these subjects have been gathered through mostly secondary and tertiary sources, with only occasional data from the primary sources themselves. As such, these data may be subject to the degradation effects of copying from one source to the next. For full reliability percentages, see the attached charts.

Day 143 of 4,543,626,881 (23 May of 98 AF in Local Notation)

Following the attack by the "filamentron" (see Report 10), the subjects elected to spend the remainder of the night in the Firebrand Chemicals warehouse, while Subject 4780 (designated "Ackers" and referred to as such henceforth in this report) continued repair work on the maintenance robot. However, except for Ackers, all the subjects left at dawn just before the warehouse's employees arrived, and returned to their camp east of Zal. This was presumably to avoid being in the way of activities at the warehouse. When Subject 422 (designated "Arnol Federman" and referred to as such henceforth in this report) arrived at the warehouse, Ackers spoke to him, though there does not appear to have been anything of importance said between them. Once Ackers completed work on the maintenance robot, he returned to the subjects' camp. For the remainder of this day, Subject 4782 (designated "Dwin" and referred to as such henceforth in this report) began work on upgrading Subject 4781 (designated "R.A.N.C.H.E.R." and referred to as such henceforth in this report). The work was to add additional legs to R.A.N.C.H.E.R. Dwin successfully added one additional leg this day, although she arranged the position of all legs to allow for one more, though there was no time for another on this day. Also during the day, Subjects 4777 and 4778 (designated "Dante" and "James" respectively, and referred to as such henceforth in this report) went shopping in town again, this time purchasing riot shields. The subjects seem to be getting paranoid about possible attacks.

Day 144 of 4,543,626,881 (24 May in Local Notation)

Their paranoia would seem justified as around 0200, the subjects were again attacked, this time by an unusual creature that appeared to be an amalgamation of body parts from various creatures arrranged in a roughly human shape. The creature had chameleon-like abilities to blend in with its surroundings. The subjects subdued it with relative ease and questioned it. What they learned from it is unclear; however, it did lead to them deciding to see Subject 23 (designated "Nina Amul" and referred to as such henceforth in this report). Ackers left to find Nina Amul, but as she already had the subjects under surveillance, he was met by Amul Family security guards only a short distance from the subjects' camp. He then returned to the camp to collect the other subjects and they proceeded into town, taking the captured creature with them. They went straight to the Lazar's Den, a location that, unfortunately, we still do not have any access to. The subjects presumably spoke to Nina Amul and possibly angered her substantially (although it is likely she was already angry due to family events; see Report 423 in the Amul Family series). She stormed out of the Lazar's Den less than an hour later and left. A few minutes later, the subjects also emerged used tracking skills to follow Nina. They found her at the Firebrand Chemicals warehouse where she was assaulting Arnol Federman's apprentice, designated Jennifrie Maine (but usually referred to as "Jenny" and referred to as such henceforth in this report). Reportedly, R.A.N.C.H.E.R. managed to talk Nina down before she could harm Jenny. However, I suspect this is an exaggeration or misinterpretation by witnesses, as diplomacy is not one of R.A.N.C.H.E.R.'s notable skills. Along with the fact that Nina Amul has shown a particular dislike of R.A.N.C.H.E.R., it is very unlikely he would be capable of talking her down. In all likelihood, Nina Amul was on the verge of stopping herself anyway. Nina Amul told the subjects that the attack on them this night by the creature was not related to the attacks at the Firebrand Chemicals warehouse, and gave them permission to do their own investigation into the Firebrand Chemicals situation. She suggested they start by interrogating Jenny. She then left, saying she was going to talk with Subject 25, her cousin (designated "Hamida Amul"; see again Report 423 in the Amul Family series for details on this family schism). She also warned the subjects not to follow her again on pain of their deaths. The subjects took her advice and questioned Jenny. It turns out that Jenny is a spy for Subject 24 (designated "Nazim Amul" and referred to as such henceforth in this report). Nazim wanted to replace Arnol Federman with his daughter Hamida. When Subject 20 (designated Hamis Amul) refused, saying that Hamida was too young and inexperienced, Nazim arranged for Hamida's best friend, Jenny, to gain an apprenticeship to serve as a spy. But spying was ultimately not enough for Nazim. When the subjects arrived in town, he saw them as a useful scapegoat to increase activity. He ordered Jenny to sabotage Firebrand Chemicals. It turns out she was the one responsible for blowing in the warehouse's wall. She timed it for late at night when there would be minimal injuries. However, this was not enough for Nazim, who ordered her to execute Arnol Federman. He supplied her with the "filamentron", which she put in place. It was programmed to attack Federman in the morning. However, for reasons unknown to Jenny, it activated early, and attacked Ackers and the security guards on duty that night. After telling her tale, Jenny pleaded with the subjects to provide her with protection, since the Amuls would likely soon be after her. She even offered to provide them the name of the person from the Coop who had previously purchased poison from Federman--the purpose of the subjects' visit to Zal. The subjects agreed and Jenny went to check the filing cabinets for the appropriate file. While she searched, the subjects debated amongst themselves the morality of their actions and whether they were betraying Federman's trust. Jenny was unable to find the appropriate file, saying that Federman had probably stored it in his personal cabinet. However, she informed them that she had hacked the lock code and could still get the file. However, the subjects decided that they couldn't betray Federman's trust this way and decided not to get the file. They promised Jenny protection anyway, and took her back to their camp. Reports from the subjects' camp are of lower reliability as they are viewed from a distance. I mention this because the subjects apparently engaged in some uncharacteristic behaviour at their camp, but those viewing them might have mis-seen or misinterpreted them. After arriving back at camp, Ackers might have drawn a gun on Dante. This seems unlikely, but the subjects did set up a second tent, which Dante slept in, separate from all the others except Ackers. Ackers does not sleep and usually remains on paranoid watch even when it's not necessary. However, Ackers spent the remainder of the night and the entire daytime in the tent with Dante. Dante never emerged except for brief bathroom breaks, always under the careful eye of Ackers. I can only speculate at the moment, but it would seem the subjects have learned some reason to believe Dante is in imminent danger. Ackers, in his paranoia, is not letting Dante out of his sight. The other subjects were uncharacteristically subdued. Dwin continued work on R.A.N.C.H.E.R., finishing his next leg. With four legs now, R.A.N.C.H.E.R.'s movement abilities are increased. However, there was reportedly much less chatter amongst the subjects than usual. There is a high likelihood of error in these reports, however, as those doing the reports are not so intimately familiar with the subjects' usual level of chatter. It is likely that the subjects' usual level of discourse is simply lower than what the reporters consider "normal". As always, more details will be provided as they become available.