Sime~Gen Roleplaying on IRC: Snake River Dam Scenario
Episode #83: Demonic Chorus (12/10/00)
Lorizan checks a few papers, then resumes his post at his window.
Lorizan is a large unsmiling Gen with a Norwest type look to him, and he wears the uniform of the Sime Border Patrol.
Lorizan sits in a new wooden hut on the docks of the border station, taking in the papers of the people who want to go from Sime Territory to Gen... not many, as it happens.
Lorizan has various police type people to handle the dirty work, so basically all he has to do each day is amuse himself by asking startling questions to the people trying to pass through.
Lorizan thinks it's funny that they are so scared of him that they will answer just about anything, usually falling all over themselves mentally in the process.
Lorizan only wishes he was a Sime so he could zlin what they were feeling.
Lorizan glances at his partner, Chub; that's his job.
Lorizan is reasonably certain that Chub can zlin that he has entirely too much fun with his job, but most Gens (the people crossing over are almost always Gens, of course) can't see past his grim and deadpan exterior.
Chub finds their job just as entertaining as his partner, although he's just as glad at times that he isn't quite as close to some of their victims as his partner.
Plum walks briskly down towards the Palisades docks, eager not to miss the ferry.
Plum will be overjoyed to be back in Gen Territory without demons surrounding him and threatening his Purity on every side.
Chub spots an entirely too self-confident and officious type approaching, and signals Lorizan to give the full treatment.
Chub settles back to zlin the fun.
Lorizan watches Plum approach. He has never seen this man before; someone else was on duty the day Plum arrived in the other direction.
Plum totes a satchel with his personal gear, and his vestments are covered by his thick winter coat. He declined the assistance of a Sime porter to carry them.
Plum carries in his pocket a draft of his report to the Synod of the Church of the Purity on conditions at the Dam site; he looks forward to delivering it in person.
Plum is lost in a mental rehearsal of himself facing the Synod and expounding on the threat to Gen souls in the encampment.
Chub wonders what sort of questions Lorizan will ask this new victim. The guy zlins a bit uptight; maybe something about his sexual activities on this side of the Border?
Chub is as curious about the lifestyles of the prosperous as anyone.
Plum imagines himself shouting "They are building a new Pen and the Gens are willing to barter immortal life in return for the opportunity to fritter away their lives in idleness!"
Chub wishes for a moment that Sectuib Riyyh ambrov Naros were the one approaching; he'd love to hear the candid answers to some particular questions from that one.
Plum thinks his audience will be suitably impressed and will commit to the undercover proselytization plan he has formulated.
Plum tops the rise and hurries towards the boathouse. He hopes the waiting area has some heat.
Plum notices that the in-Territory Border Patrol checkpoint is manned, a sign the sluggish Demon government has been prodded into taking action about the situation. That could make his plan harder to implement.
Chub is glad of the break in the monotony of guard duty, and prepares to enjoy it to the maximum degree possible, when the wind is brisk enough to make even a Sime cold.
Chub tries hard to keep the anticipatory grin off of his face, but it's just as well for his professional dignity that Plum can't zlin.
Lorizan waits with the patience of a stone. That is to say, a stone lion.
Lorizan: [In a pouncing pose]
Plum, approaching closer, sees that one of the guards is Sime and one is Gen. He is not sure which is worse, more contact with a demon, or seeing another Gen tainted by working for them.
Plum plans to conduct a long purification ritual as soon as he returns within Gen borders to remove the impurities on his soul caused by his interchanges with the evil mutants.
Plum has noticed that, after only a few days in this nasty place, his holy force has been depleted, and his gaze of righteous wrath no longer makes the fiends cringe in fear.
Chub certainly seems less than completely intimidated.
Lorizan: Good morning, sir. [businesslike]
Lorizan: Please present your identification and border pass, as well as any supporting documents.
Lorizan: Do you have any items to declare?
Lorizan has reasonably unaccented Genlan. He obviously learned from a native in this area.
Plum is glad it is the Gen speaking to him.
Chub edges closer, ready to zlin the veracity of Plum's declaration.
Plum: I am Minister Plum of the Church of the Pure Life, returning to my home in Salmonton.
Chub's laterals flicker out of their sheaths in anticipation.
Plum shoots a glance of righteous wrath at Chub, warning him to back off.
Chub fails to do such an unprofessional thing, although he might have been less concerned with his image if the Gen hadn't been quite lowfield.
Plum looks around for the waiting area.
Lorizan holds out his hands for the paperwork and waits for Plum to answer his question.
Plum: My papers are in my coat. Is there any kind of heated enclosure? I hate to unbutton here in the wind.
Lorizan: I'm sorry sir. This should only take a minute.
Plum feels the very cold air from the Lake freeze his face and he hates to chill the rest of his still warm and well padded anatomy.
Plum sets down his satchel.
Chub eyes the satchel, wondering if there is anything interesting in it.
Plum: I am returning with only what I brought with me, with the exception of a bottle of brandy from Mr. Birch's stock, which also originally came from New Washington. I have nothing of Norwest manufacture in my goods or on my person.
Lorizan notes down the brandy on a clean form, intending to write Minister Plum's personal information down next.
Chub still remembers fondly the time he did a search of a businessGen's luggage, and discovered an interesting collection of recreational objects that the man's wife didn't know about.
Plum reluctantly undoes the buttons on his coat.
Chub notes with some disappointment that the man is telling the truth, and nods reluctantly at Lorizan.
Lorizan: Did you enter any schools, churches, synagogues, or places of entertainment while you were in Sime Territory?
Plum: I spent my time at the Snake River Dam Construction camp and in the surrounding areas. I toured some of the schools and places of entertainment, if you can call them that, established for the workers and refugees there.
Plum: I can assure you that I did not enter any Demon churches or synagogues.
Lorizan: I see... I see. [makes it sound like this is very serious, that he has been in the other types of buildings.]
Lorizan makes a few notes.
Plum wonders if the regulations have changed since he entered the country; he can't remember any regulations about schools, though he can well imagine these people would like to keep him away from their change-over victims.
Lorizan: Did you at any time exchange personal bodily fluids with any member of the opposite larity, during your stay in Sime Territory?
Lorizan's tone of voice implies that this is a routine question.
Plum's face drains of blood at the very thought of exchanging bodily fluids with a Sime.
Plum: Absolutely not!
Lorizan glances at Chub.
Plum reaches into his inner lined coat pocket to get his wallet.
Chub edges just a bit closer, eager to get in on the game.
Chub: Did the channel who took your field down give you a clean bill of health? No recreational diseases picked up in these... places of entertainment you toured?
Plum finds the pocket empty.
Plum gropes in deeper to find the wallet. He hopes it hasn't slipped through a hole into the coat lining.
Plum: [distractedly] No channel took my field down. I am a Pure Gen.
Chub blinks in astonishment at this bald-faced denial.
Plum probes for a hole.
Chub is used to evasions and excuses, but they generally don't concern such obvious matters as time of last donation.
Plum finds neither wallet nor hole.
Chub wonders if "Pure Gen" is a term used by some of those Distect types he's heard about.
Plum knows the wallet must be there somewhere. He resigns himself to removing his coat to search the lining.
Chub: So it wasn't a channel who took your field down?
Lorizan taps his pencil on the table speculatively.
Lorizan is listening in with great interest.
Plum blinks at the question. He is not sure he understood it correctly. He does not in any case appreciate being addressed by Simes in that tone of voice.
Chub notes that Plum also seems to be having difficulty producing the required papers.
Plum: No one has taken my field down. My soul is intact.
Lorizan rubs his chin. He has seldom known a Sime to be wrong about this sort of thing.
Plum starts to undo the rest of the buttons.
Plum: ~~total conviction~~
Lorizan would, of course, believe his coworker over any would-be border crosser.
Plum removes his coat.
Plum looks around for a surface on which to place the coat while he searches the lining.
Chub notes Plum's choice of phrase.
Plum: Excuse me. I am getting the papers you asked for.
Plum drapes his coat on a crate standing nearby on the dock.
Chub looks at Lorizan with anticipation: nabbing a Distect fugitive on the lam is more excitement than they've had for weeks.
Plum shivers in the frigid bone-chilling wind coming off the Lake.
Lorizan looks skeptical, himself.
Lorizan: Destination? [continues with the questions]
Plum searches the upper pockets. His draft report is still there.
Plum: Salmonton.
Chub: A town with easy access to the Border.
Chub: ~~ thoughtful ~~
Plum searches the lower pockets.
Lorizan marks it down.
Lorizan: And, this is just a routine question sir, did you at any time engage in any business relations, work or trade in Sime Territory while you were physically there?
Plum finds his spare pair of gloves, an oat-raisin bar, and his magnifying spectacles, but not his wallet... or his keys.
Plum: I was negotiating the terms of a relief project with Mr. Birch of FluCon, and the Norwest authorities.
Plum: No agreement was concluded.
Lorizan: I see. And you have a properly documented work permit for this endeavour?
Lorizan makes more notes
Plum: Of course. I am looking for it.
Chub notes that Plum is not, however, producing it.
Lorizan nods, then waits for the presentation of the aforementioned "it", as well as the previously requested "them".
Plum feels the lining of the coat down to the bottom hem all the way around.
Plum feels no bulges.
Plum examines the bottom hem to see if there is a rip there.
Chub: Is there some difficulty?
Plum: My wallet is gone and so are my keys.
Chub: How... inconvenient.
Lorizan looks at Chub for some indication of whether the man is telling the truth or not.
Plum remembers, with a sinking feeling, seeing his orange snack and the glint of what were probably his keys disappearing in a crowd of Demons. He was so distracted at the time he didn't pursue them.
Plum: They must have been stolen.
Chub: They were stolen. Of course.
Chub sounds more than a little skeptical.
Plum: That Demon with the white eyes took my orange. And my keys.
Plum: She must have taken the wallet as well.
Lorizan: White eyed demon?
Lorizan had thought he'd heard them all, but he was wrong. Again.
Chub gives this suspected fugitive full credit for imagination.
Lorizan almost cracks a smile, but not quite.
Plum: Yes! White eyes. Black hair like a mass of snakes, and tentacles everywhere.
Lorizan: Tentacled hair. [repeats]
Lorizan decides to note these things down for future reference. Just in case he has to make a deposition to the IDAS or anything.
Plum: That's right.
Plum: The very incarnation of evil.
Chub wonders what sort of hallucinogens are stashed in that satchel.
Lorizan shakes his head, but continues to write. It is good to have a lot of detail in these sorts of situations.
Plum straightens himself up.
Plum: There was a whole crowd present to witness the theft.
Chub: Ah. You can produce these witnesses, I assume?
Plum: Including Miz Sayward Mullins, FluCon Team Manager.
Chub: Miz Sayward Mullins witnessed this theft of your crossing papers?
Chub gives the man full credit for sheer gall.
Plum: Yes, I believe so.
Plum remembers that Gideon Borderer was also there. He shudders; the guilt and grief at encountering him again, like a ghost, are devastating.
Chub: You don't seem terribly sure.
Chub also notes that Plum zlins very guilty, which means he's hiding something.
Chub: Perhaps we ought to consult this witness of yours.
Chub is pretty sure that Plum is bluffing somehow.
Lorizan is puzzled by Chub's tack. The handling of paperless border crossers is properly in IDAS' realm. But maybe Chub has a plan? He watches carefully.
Plum: She was there. And you will find her coordinating the construction crews at the tunnel dig.
Chub has, of course, no intention whatsoever of bothering high-ups with a hallucinating, paperless fugitive.
Chub is interested to see what sort of reaction Plum will show to the prospect, however.
Plum: I also want to file an official report of the theft.
Chub: I see. Well, then, perhaps you can take care of that while we wait for Miz Sayward to come off duty.
Plum: I would be happy to do that immediately.
Plum: But the ferry is due within half an hour and I must be one it.
Plum: You can take Miz Sayward's deposition later, I am sure.
Chub: I'm afraid that we can't allow you to depart until the matter of your papers has been cleared up. After all, we can't have stolen papers floating around the camp.
Chub signals for Lorizan to call in the guards.
Plum: But I have a report to make to the Synod! I have to leave today!
Plum does not want to spend another instant in Sime Territory.
Lorizan: I'm sorry, sir. This should be all cleared up within two or three days.
Lorizan turns to the side window and gestures in the Border Patrol guards.
Plum stares at the approaching guards in horror.
Go on to Episode #84: An Opening for Closure
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