Infinium

[Bailey Jordan]

gloria, thanks for the info dump
and uh
idk what i want to happen, honestly
mostly because i dont know what’s actually happening and why

[Bailey Jordan]

hey uh
just bumpin this up right quick
but also, might ask someone to look into what happened to me while i was at med-r again
all i remember is sitting there
but im fucked up
so yeah, something's not adding up

[kenneth_wright]

...
(sweetly) Could we please have someone call Malcolm Maximillion to Beacon to (ahem) discuss his research methods?
Janet, I will be happy to lend my expertise on the subject of your rehabilitation in an investigation.

[Abby Peterson]

Update:
Maximillion showed up and was a narcissistic egomanical asshole. It appears to be his only setting.

I couldn't get a good read on if he was telling the truth (his tone suggested too much confidence to be a lie, but he's also demonstrated a skill at studying people and pressing their buttons - catering to my intellect could have been one such move. Did any of the Diplomatic get a better idea? Either way, from the results of the Coven's divination on Janet's activities, a large chunk of information was confirmed, but I'll let them tell it if they want, or I'll give the data Malia gave me verbally, if not.

The basic events seem to be thus:

• Janet arrives and checks in and runs some normal setup.
• Janet sits in chair and then stops remembering. This is the point where an enforced amnesia is in place, because the Paradox window opens and the tentacles comes out and it would break her mind if she remembered it.
• She comes out of it and he begins testing the results. She's no longer under a medical mental filter (yet) because he needs her at full capacity for testing.
• Another tear opens into the Paradox and she goes in to fight the beings inside of it. This is the part the Coven saw happening.
• Janet fights and goes crazy during this portion and Maximillion monitors the results and how long she lasts. The madness effect that stuck the Coven during their divination was caused by this part.
• At the end, a very wrecked Janet is pulled out and her mind is actually wiped of the Paradox fighting, as a way to keep it from being permanently damaged by the Paradox exposure. I'm no doctor, so I don't know how much of an actual solution that is, but if this pattern is the same each time, Janet has been mentally damaged several times.
• The end result of this project is a figure that is physically, emotionally and mentally stable/strong enough to enter a Paradox tear and resolve it from the inside, before it gets worse (and survive the experience).
• She is his first successful test subject. And I'm gonna bet that he doesn't fully know why.

Based on that, what Janet needs is a good Diplomat to speak on her behalf - she likely actually can't be allowed to remember things at this point without breaking her brain (and she knows that and is making her own decisions based on that) and so oversight on the program and footage by someone she trusts is gonna be the step to fight for - a recommendation had been said to advocate for Ms. Maida Sable (see here. She hates Maximillion and would know what to watch for going wrong. Unless someone has the time and energy to get on that now, I recommend that some Diplomats investigate it at the next gather and prep for having that negotiation. Maximillion may have comtempt for anyone perceived below his intellect level, but he likes his funding and if he's not lying about Janet being his only success, that means his managers won't like her walking away (which also means if the Diplomats press too hard, we might have to go rescue Janet from a clean room in a facility, so yeah...let's do this talking right).

[kenneth_wright]

As a note, one of the reasons I'm working for Med-R is to get the clearance for the Infinium uninstall file, or instructions on how to remove Infinium from those who are not directly being researched, so that our actions and data is no longer harvested without our consent. If necessary (and I really hope this will not be necessary), I can be used to act as a second option for oversight, at the cost of working directly under Malcolm's supervision (and potentially the supervision of the secret security force Med-R has), meaning whatever they are doing to Janet, I would have a direct hand in.

The memory thing sounds exactly like what Scara suffered (and is still suffering from); we were offered a chance to recover memories using a Davesh Sage ritual from the Withering Hand himself (he's still dying and regenerating painfully in an unending cycle of misery, by the way), but it would require many months of diplomatic and Arcane work to set up just for one person using just his affinity and skill. I am looking to potentially attend, learn from, and contribute to said ritual if it can help Janet, as right now the Davesh Sages would possibly only have enough power between them for Scara. I stalled in sharing this until now given how some of our number reacted the last time he was in town, even after his arm was surgically removed and detonated in a cloud of Paradox.

[Bailey Jordan]

yeah.
uh.
there's a lot i could say about this, really
mostly just thanks @ town who stood behind him ready to kill the fuck outta him if i said so
but im gonna keep working for this dude
i wanna protect town and this is the best way to do it, weirdly enough
so

[Tommy Kauffman]

I offer my professorly aid on the investigation to help give whatever diplomat wants to handle this an extra push when they try and get this handled.

[Bailey Jordan]

hey so uh
im not dead
for now
but i dont think we have much time left
i was handed a slip of paper that says ive been "recommended for final stage initiation procedure"

[kenneth_wright]

So that's why Malcolm was acting so smug back at Med-R.
Maida gave signal that she'd want to meet up later, so there's a chance we can catch her at our gathering to discuss the issue at length.

[Bailey Jordan]

yeah great.