As Carpenter and Hayward enter war-torn Glottage in pursuit of a government ally, Adjudicator Shrue attends a summit intended to solve the anti-sacrificial movement spreading across the country - but finds themself aghast at the 'solutions' on offer... [2]
| ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! Beyond this point, major plot spoilers are expected. Continue at your own risk. |
Description[]
Carpenter And Hayward Drive Into Glottage[]
At dawn, Carpenter and Hayward enter Glottage. Carpenter reminisces about the last time she was here - when she was still a disciple of the Parish of Tide and Flesh. Glottage, like the rest of the Peninsula, is war torn and damaged. The centre of Glottage continues to pretend that there is nothing wrong. Hayward and Carpenter will find Shrue here.
Shrue's Day Begins[]
Shrue wakes, unhappily, to their alarm clock. As they cook breakfast, they attempt to call their family. It goes through to the answering machine. Shrue continues to spiral over their familial situation. They will be at the summit all day. They beg their partner to leave them a message. This is the only number that Shrue has been given to contact their family. Shrue leaves in their car for the summit. As they drive, we can hear the sounds of the radio and Glottage pass by.
Before The Summit Begins[]
Shrue arrives at Glottage University but the gates are closed. Shrue rings the buzzer and Carson responds. He welcomes them to what he calls ‘the God-Kiln’. Carson explains that the gates were closed due to protests. Carson tells them to head to the Bowery. As Shrue enters, we hear Carson’s voice over the tannoy again. He gives Shrue the spiel about the space. Adjudicator Cross is there as well. Shrue is advised to follow suit and help themselves to the buffet. Carson leaves to set up the Imagination Suite. Once he leaves, Shrue asks Cross if it’s impossible to get through to the H.A’s Office. They wonder if something has happened. Cross asks them what they’re doing, it is clear that they dislike each other. Shrue’s attempt at polite conversation fails. Shrue walks away and overhears a conversation between Melissa, an executive of the Church Electric, and Brand, an executive of the Slag Court. It appears that Melissa is being blamed for the disruptions caused to the power grid by the Woundtree. Shrue comments that the situation feels really weird. At that moment, Carson interrupts and tells them to grab an isotonic energy drink and head to the Imagination Suit.
The Innovation Summit[]
Inside the Suite is an Ideas Conduit. Melissa asks where Carson is, and he lies that he is in his office in Moridame and will be moderating remotely. He tells them that the Summit today is about finding a solution to the anti-sacrificial sentiment that has begun to spread. Carson describes them all. He also introduces the Ideas Conduit as Timothy, an undergrad volunteered by the University. He will generate prompts from the Maw Enthusiasis, the Peninsula’s god of inspiration, when asked.
Carson introduces the four rules. They are:
- No criticism of others’ ideas.
- Build of the ideas put forward by other innovators.
- ‘Wild and exaggerated’ ideas are recommended.
- Generate as many ideas as possible.
Shrue asks how they will know which ideas are sincere and which are exaggerated. Carson ignore their question. The last rule is that if you want to interrupt you must ask for the Interruption Cactus. They are told to write their ideas on a postcard and then pin it to the Wall of Illumination. They can grab drinks and snacks as rewards for ideas. Shrue comments that there will be a power outage at midday, and Carson retorts that they are off grid. Brand asks what happens at the end of the Summit. They are told they will have to wait to find out.
Carson plays an ad campaign that Cross has been using targeting seniors in the True East. It stars Leonard Trunce, actor and director of Carlie Cape. He advocates for signing the Vow of the Unsung Heroes. It gives the government permission to use them sustainably to a wartime god of the state. Cross says it was tested in retirement homes, with a 59% approval rate and a 4% sign up rate. However, older sacrifices are less ideal. Carson asks the group to build on Cross’ idea. Brand suggests a sacrificial annex in retirement homes. Melissa suggests defanging the Woundtree - to repurpose it. The Church Electric have been studying it and have found a legitimate use for it in the security sector. Shrue’s anger causes them to respond that this cannot be the answer. Cross proposes another idea. To find a lightning rod, to shift the focus of the issue entirely onto one person. In this case, to make Shrue the centre of the problem and get rid of them to get rid of the problem. Carson rewards Cross for this. Shrue is, rightly, furious. Melissa agrees with Shrue’s perspective on sacrifice. Carson calls this soft sacrifice.
Finally, Shrue gets to propose their idea. They wonder what happens when their stories stop working, when their words aren’t enough anymore. They’re unprepared for this moment, and unprepared for what’s to follow. Shrue tells them that their situation is too dire for them to be able to ever truly admit them. Their proposal is an immediate 30% reduction in industrial-scale sacrifice with a goal to hit a reduction of 50% by the end of the year. This is clearly unpopular with the other innovators. Carson warns them to come up with a different idea. They refuse. Carson tells them they need some inspiration and asks Timothy for a prompt. Shrue tells Carson to stop. He continues to torture Timothy. Shrue gains in anger. Carson calls for a five minute break.
The Five Minute Break[]
Shrue enters the bathroom, followed by Brand. He asks Shrue if they’re alright and tells them that he agrees with them. He offers them a drink. It’s whiskey, Shrue drinks some. He admits that he doesn’t understand why they keep sacrificing so many people when it doesn’t seem to accomplish anything. Brand admits that the board sees him as a bit of a troublemaker. He comments that he thinks someone in the office has it out for him. Shrue asks him what his people are saying about the High Adjudicator. There are rumours that he had been worshipping an illegal pleasure-god, redirecting sacrifices from the initial draft to hallow to this god into a grand sex-saint. The third effort was too successful and he’s been in a coma for a month now. Shrue asks who’s in charge. Brand suggests it could be Carson, or a general, or maybe no one at all.
As Brand turns to leave, his voice becomes distant. The mirror cracks and a Mirror-Angel swallows Brand. The Mirror-Brand pushes through the bathroom door and exits. Shrue is left hyperventilating in the stall.
The Mirror-Angel And Tranquili-Tea Seven[]
Shrue tries to leave the Bowery, but the door is locked. They can’t leave. Instead the turn and run back into the building. As they do so, another Mirror-Angel forms. We hear the Mirror-Shrue repeating their words. They return frantically to the suit and tell Cross and Melissa about the Mirror-Angel. Shrue tells them that Brand’s dead, but Carson says Brand has just rejoined them. Shrue is horrified and pleads with Cross and Melissa to believe them. On cue, Mirror-Brand transforms and kills Melissa. Melissa laughs before she collapses. Cross similarly fails to respond to the situation. Shrue grabs Cross and drags him with them. Shrue takes them somewhere with no glass and notices that Cross is bleeding. Again, Cross fails to respond appropriately to the situation. Shrue has realised the situation now. They weren’t brought here for a Summit. They were brought here as sacrifices. Brand had enemies at the Slag King’s Court, Melissa was being blamed for the blackouts by the Church Electric. It’s a war god of some kind, created to get rid of them. Shrue is still confused though. Why would they pick Cross? Cross posits that it’s because he doesn’t disagree. He’s replaceable.
Carson responds that Shrue’s wrong. The god hunting them is Old Man Mirrors. It’s a very old god of glass. What he has been testing is the isotonic energy drinks. Tranquili-Tea Seven is a drink produced by government funding and the Grindinglord. In just twenty minutes it reduces all fear and pain in its victim. It aims to make sacrifice more humane, and prevent suffering of sacrificial victims. Shrue is horrified. Carson says he wouldn’t call Cross or Shrue sacrifices, instead that this is a lesson. Cross is here because he gets drunk every night and blabs about security council meetings to his hook-ups. Shrue asks why they’re here. Carson tells them that they aim to make policy decisions that Shrue won’t agree with.
He gives Shrue a proposal. If Shrue survives this, they will be the new public face of Tranquili-Tea Seven. They will lend legitimacy to this. If Shrue refuses, Carson happily threatens to murder their family in front of them. To add insult to injury, they will have been dosed with Tranquili-Tea Seven beforehand so they feel nothing. Shrue reluctantly agrees. Carson tells Shrue that it’s past midday now. They can still hear Carson, which means that he’s on the property. Carson opens the door for Shrue and Cross.
Shrue Confronts Carson[]
After walking into the room, Shrue assaults Carson. Shrue is so incredibly angry. Carson tells them that if they had just tried the drink they’d be a lot less upset. Shrue retorts that they would be dead. Carson tells Shrue that by taking this deal they will both be protected by the Grindlinglord and awarded civilian status. They will live regardless of how the war plays out. Shrue picks up a can of Tranquili-Tea Seven and pours it on Carson. Cross and Shrue leave, and Carson calls out that he’s looking forward to CenSec next week.
Shrue's Apartment[]
Cross sleeps on Shrue’s sofa. Shrue checks on Cross, and he snores. Shrue calls their family again and tells the answering machine that if something has happened to them or the girls then Shrue will get them back. If they can’t get them back, they’ll get revenge. They’re breaking point was them. If their family doesn’t exist, if they were made up to hold over them, then the revenge will be for themselves.
Trivia[]
- Carson is an alumni of Glottage University.
- Cross has a habit of getting drunk and revealing private government information to people.