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disco-elysium-via-polls · 5 months

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🎵 Church

Turns out the thought that helps open doors is One More Door and not Jamrock Shuffle, so...

JAMROCK SHUFFLE >> COP OF THE APOCALYPSE

3. "I lost my memory, too, but I like it. It's like I get to create a whole new me, start again from scratch."

TIAGO - "That's not really the point, ese." He frowns. "You gotta give yourself over to service... Service of the Mother, that is..."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Do you remember your name, sir?"

AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - The lieutenant is not particularly interested in this information. He's just trying to assert some control over the conversation.

TIAGO - "Tiago is my name. But those syllables don't mean much to me these days. A name isn't just your identity, but also, so to speak..."

+5 XP

"...your place among your fellows, your place in the world. I ain't got no use for such a place anymore."

"My name's Harry." (Extend your hand for a greeting.)

"My name sets me apart from my fellows. How often do you meet a Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau?"

"My name's Harrier Du Bois, and my place in the world is lieutenant double-yefreitor."

"I don't do names either. Names are *out*. I don't care what mine is."

TIAGO - "That's just the thing, homes -- none of that *matters*..." He sounds melancholy saying this, his limbs a mere shadow below the ceiling.

"What are you doing here?"

TIAGO - "This is a special place. There's a perforation in the world up there. A way out, into nothingness." He nods toward the ceiling. "This church was built around it, for purposes of veneration."

"I circle it, nurtured by the silence bestowed by the Mother. One of these days, I'll be pure enough to go drink from it directly."

"This Mother of Silence -- you mean *her*?" (Point to the window.)

"What will happen once you drink from this 'perforation'?"

"I still don't understand what you're doing in the church."

"Right. I had other questions..."

TIAGO - "No, no, no, there's a *new* god in town. And she can't be painted or sculpted, because she has no limbs or even a face. She is the end."

"She is a cavity, in the dark, beyond sense. She saved me... but I couldn't describe her to you. No one can, homes, and no one ever will."

2. "What will happen once you drink from this 'perforation'?"

TIAGO - "I will be incinerated, but not destroyed -- finally at one with the state of the world before reality began."

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - That sounds a *bit* like substitution behaviour, no? You know a thing or two about that...

"You sure you didn't just switch one drug for another?"

+1 Narcomania

TIAGO - "It's not like that at all, man. It's just faith and joyful service."

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - Too gleeful, those words -- he is lying. Not to you -- to his very own self.

"Faith is a kind of drug."

"I guess you have a point." (Proceed.)

"Let's agree to disagree." (Proceed.)

"I was being insensitive. Sorry. Let's move on." (Proceed.)

TIAGO - "I've heard that before, wey." He shakes his head. "And I know I can't convince you on the spot. But think -- when's the last time you woke up from *silent communion* with a hangover, regretting what you did last night?"

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - There are drugs darker than alcohol circling your system.

2. "I think love might have been my drug of choice. And I think I'm still hungover from it."

TIAGO - "She took you for a good spin, huh?" He looks at you gravely. "Don't worry, bro, that love is but a drop compared to the ocean of the Mother's love..."

"...the Mother will eat all of you, and never spit you out."

4. "Let's agree to disagree." (Proceed.)

TIAGO - "I know it'll take time. Don't sweat it."

4. "I still don't understand what you're doing in the church."

TIAGO - "I'm a saeraff, homes. I sing the Mother's glory."

"Can you sing for me? Sing for me something."

"It doesn't really make sense for you to sing if she's the Mother of *Silence*."

(Nod.) "Singing is good. I'm a bit of a singer myself."

TIAGO - "I ain't from no *marietti*, if that's what you're thinking. And the song I sing is silent as the Mother."

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - "Marietti" is a Mesque style of music and dance commonly seen at all manner of festivities -- especially weddings. It's delightfully quaint, owing to its peasant origins.

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - He lost his cool there for a moment. Seems you hit some nerve.

5. "How did you even find this place -- this church?"

TIAGO - "Hard to say. I think I did some construction work here, back when I still had material worries. Up there, I realized what the true purpose of the church was..."

"Been spending a lot of time here ever since. The past is nothing to me now, wey. It didn't belong to me."

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - Hmh... does it mean he witnessed the police raid?

6. "Right. I had other questions…"

TIAGO - The sinewy figure lingers on the wooden beams, blending into the shadows.

"You've been here for a long time. Did you see the police raid that took place here?"

TIAGO - "Something like that," he responds, his voice suddenly flat.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Did you witness it?"

TIAGO - "Not really, or at least I don't remember much of it anymore. The Mother's Love has done its job... That's what's so great about the Mother -- it lets you forget about everything."

4. "Some ravers want to turn this place into a nightclub."

TIAGO - "The ones in the tent outside, right? I seen 'em. Guessing they're the ones who call me a crab? Probably scared of me..."

"Wait, do they have *reason* to be scared?"

"So, what do you think? About the nightclub, that is."

"I trust you won't get in the way of some enterprising youth? Their business looks promising."

"Turning a church into a nightclub -- I have to say it's a great idea. You should support it."

+1 Lawbringer

TIAGO - "Naw, man. They look pretty funny. And I don't harm no one anymore anyway."

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - Though he used to. A long time ago.

3. "I trust you won't get in the way of some enterprising youth? Their business looks promising."

+1 Ultraliberal

TIAGO - "Wouldn't bother me none to have 'em spin music in here. I'm usually way up there, imbibing."

"Might even be nice to have some company..."

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - He said that in spite of himself. He's more attached to the human than he'd like to think.

5. "Do you know where the other spooker is?" (Point at the strange machines around you.)

TIAGO - "Other spooker? Oh, esa viejita muy estudiosa!" He laughs. "Dunno, homes."

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - Viejita is... grandma?

"Wait, so there *is* another person living in the church -- and it's a *viejita*?"

"Right, thanks. I'll see if I can find her some other way…"

TIAGO - "No, I just call her 'viejita' because of her clothes, she's actually quite young..." He scratches his head. "Or maybe not *that* young... Age is just one of the many masks we wear."

"And you don't know where she is?"

TIAGO - "That's what I said, homes."

"How can you not know that when you both live here?"

TIAGO - "Don't really follow her comings and goings. Just see her typing on her computer now and then. We've got different interests."

"So you've got nothing else to tell me? How she looks, what she does, who *is* she?"

TIAGO - "I'm afraid not, ese. You just have to wait until she comes back or..." He shrugs.

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - Or search through her radiocomputer.

"Have you by any chance heard the *viejita* say the password to her radiocomputer?"

TIAGO - "Too many times, ese. You need it for something?"

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - *Sssurveys* are a good way to fish for personal information, especially in the name of public sssafety...

"I'm doing a survey of passwords and passcodes, identifying regional trends. In the interests of public safety, of course."

"Just tell me what's the password." (Step closer.)

"Yes, it's for a first-degree murder investigation in Martinaise."

"Honestly I just want to break into a radiocomputer, see what's on it."

TIAGO - "Don't sweat it, vato. The password is 'AFTER LIFE DEATH.'"

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - That is true. But what comes after death?

TIAGO - "What'd you think of that? Makes me almost pity *la nihilista pequeña* when I hear it."

8. "Okay then, thanks." [Leave.]

TIAGO - "I think we're done here, ese." The figure crawls off into the darkness above.

+5 XP

KIM KITSURAGI - "That was... an interesting conversation."

"However, I'm still not sure how it's relevant to our investigation."

A prayer book has been left open.

Frost has drawn flowers on the glass, obscuring the view.

A figure drawn in frost on the window, depicting a deer.

MESQUE BANGER'S SILK SCARF

+1 Pain Threshold: Bangers don't cry

This huge red scarf is still dusty from lying in the church. A subtle red-on-red embroidery embellishes it with cocky roosters and Mesque floral motives.

A cracked pane of glass, colourful.

It came from the stained glass pane window. Still has letters on it, too...

A spider has spun its web around this wood-carved pillar.

MESQUE BANGER'S RED BROGUES

+1 Empathy: In someone else's shoes

These dapper snakeskin shoes have an almost invisible white-on-white flower motive sewn on the tongue. The toe caps are still dusty from lying in the church.

Well...

STAINED GLASS WINDOW - The mother of humanism stands above you -- a precious and complex wax painting on a single pane of glass. A crack runs across the length of her body, her face oval and sad.

2. [Visual Calculus - Challenging 12] Reconstruct the cracked glass.

+1 Saw missing shard with letters

VISUAL CALCULUS [Challenging: Success] - A jigsaw of broken shards falls into place in front of you: a ghostly reconstruction of the stained glass window. Before it was shattered there was an older woman beneath the younger one -- and a text, a *leitmotiv* below them both.

What shattered this mosaic?

Who is this older woman?

The motto? What does it say?

Step back.

VISUAL CALCULUS - Unknown.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - Something during the raid the lieutenant mentioned? Or just hooligans looking for something to break.

2. Who is this older woman?

VISUAL CALCULUS - The escutcheon on her throne says: Irene the Navigator. She is depicted as an older woman wearing thick rimmed eye-glasses, holding a golden *reichsapfel* in one hand and a scepter in the other. This is the queen Her Innocence Dei advised -- above, she herself is whole.

Small figures of wise men, common men, worshippers walk up the stairs to stand at her feet. Secret servicemen -- Therriers -- stand in a row guarding her. It must have taken years to produce this work in all its dizzying detail.

3. The motto? What does it say?

VISUAL CALCULUS - Below both women, in luminous blackletter: APRÈS LA VIE - MORT; APRÈS LA MORT - LA VIE DE NOUVEAU.

And then along the left side: APRÈS LE MONDE - LE GRIS; APRÈS LE GRIS - LE MONDE DE NOUVEAU.

+5 XP

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - AFTER LIFE -- DEATH; AFTER DEATH -- LIFE AGAIN. AFTER THE WORLD -- THE PALE; AFTER THE PALE -- THE WORLD AGAIN. This is the great leitmotiv of humanism, a summary of the effect of the discovery of this isola -- the Insulindian -- on human thinking. A tremendous sea change akin to finding life after death...

4. "Lieutenant, this used to say: 'After life, death -- after'..."

KIM KITSURAGI - "...death, life again," he nods. "After the world, the pale; after the pale -- the world again."

"This exaltation is common in Dolorian sacralism. In the early years it was even incorporated as the RCM's slogan. No more, however."

"Why?"

"What is the motto now?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "It was deemed *subservient* to use a strongly Moralintern-related motto. We're already suspected of bootlicking. The sentence was also seen as... too feminine. It was a macho thing."

"What is the RCM motto now?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "'Justice, Union, Prudence, and Force'."

"Cool."

"Not very feminine."

"I like the other one better."

"I like this. Puts the fear of god back in the f****ts."

+1 Communism

KIM KITSURAGI - "So do I."

5. Step back.

STAINED GLASS WINDOW - The mother of humanism towers above you -- a wax painting on a cracked pane of glass. Nothing has changed in her expression.

Now, let's break in to a computer.

MAINFRAME - Machine's keyboard is still illuminated, revealing virescent PLAY and PRINT buttons.

2. Press PLAY again.

MAINFRAME - The speaker comes to life, static seeps through the machine's planar magnetic driver. An old lady greets you, her voice sounds a hundred years old...

EAST-INSULINDIAN REPEATER STATION - "Good morning, Fortress Accident on Saint-Brune, this is the East-Insulindian Repeater Station 1. Please repeat, is this the personal log?"

"Let's try this again. I think I may have the right password for the personal log."

EAST-INSULINDIAN REPEATER STATION - "Good. Please repeat the password."

"After life death."

EAST-INSULINDIAN REPEATER STATION - "Good, I've unlocked the filament. After ending the call please press PRINT to access the filament."

+5 XP

"Fortress Accident, is there anything else I can do for you today?"

3. "Thanks, but I'm finished with this call." (Press OFF/SILENT.)

EAST-INSULINDIAN REPEATER STATION - "Good bye, Fortress Accident," she says as her voice disappears into a whirl of static.

MAINFRAME - The machine's keyboard is still illuminated, revealing virescent PLAY and PRINT buttons.

3. Press PRINT.

MAINFRAME - The printer prints out a long text document with dated paragraphs. It looks a bit like someone's journal.

4. Read the printout.

MAINFRAME - The first entry, made on the 4th February '51 by an unknown author, is short and concise:

"Arrived at the church. The door was boarded up, so I used a crowbar to get inside. Looks like the place has been deserted. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I'll ask around. Need to figure out how to get the electricity in."

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant leans closer, scouring the printout over your shoulder. Just as you finish reading he looks up, muttering under his breath:

"Fourth of February? That's over a month ago… Whoever set up those machines has been here for quite a while."

"Do you think this log might be connected to the case?"

Read the second entry.

Let go of the printout.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Our case? No, I don't think so. It must be some local..." his eyes wander to the various machines around him, "*eccentric*."

2. Read the second entry.

MAINFRAME - "6th FEB, '51: Had a little chat with the local fishermen. Said I shouldn't go near that place, that the church was *spooky* and ridden with *narcotics*. It's a little spooky, alright. Still haven't figured out the electricity."

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - See? Even one of the spookers themselves says it's unnerving.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - What was that about narcotics? This could prove to be interesting.

"Wait, *narcotics*?" (Look around the derelict building.)

Read the third entry.

KIM KITSURAGI - "I doubt that we can find any. It's just idle fishermen's gossip to scare away the kids." He looks at the stained glass window.

"Nothing *spooky* about this place either, it's just abandoned. And cold. And in an awful part of town..."

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - Then why doth the lieutenant protest against spending time here? So often?

Read the third entry.

MAINFRAME - "7th FEB, '51: Finally got the electricity in! Next on the agenda: a new antenna. I'm thinking ESKER series? Something advanced."

"Why would she need an antenna?"

Read the fourth entry.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Why would anyone need *any* of this equipment here?" He steps on a wire running on the ground, inspecting it with his boot.

Read the fourth entry.

MAINFRAME - "8th FEB, '51: Bought the antenna, had some problems setting it up, called Simo for help. Heard the others are back to *making art* (drinking somewhere out of town). Sulisław started a rock band again, Lexie has been seen asking money from strangers..."

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - Artists, yet again!! Harassing citizens, stealing badges, 'occupying' public spaces with 'installations' like the one here...

MAINFRAME - "But at least the artists have their act together -- they're qualified labour, they can get work anywhere: graphic design, ads. The programmers are doing fine too, I mean, they're programmers. The writers, though... they're fucked."

"I just have to find out what caused that data loss and be done with it. Still don't understand how it managed to wipe out the backup when the backup *wasn't even connected to the front*. I know, I know... everyone thinks it's impossible; they say I must be lying. I'm here to set it right."

"A data loss?"

"Artists, programmers, *Lexie* -- who are all those people?"

Read the fifth entry.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Seems like something to do with radiocomputers -- unfortunately, I don't know enough about them to understand what the author is saying."

"Something about the backup data getting destroyed… and how everyone thought it was the author's fault." He adjusts his glasses. "Let's just keep reading."

2. "Artists, programmers, *Lexie* -- who are all those people?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Her friends, colleagues?" He shrugs. "She must be quite educated if she knew how to set up all this machinery."

3. Read the fifth entry.

MAINFRAME - "12th FEB, '51: Brought some food from the grocery store. Apparently there's a strike going on in the harbour. Definitely not happy to see the Martinaise people again. Everything's now set up in the church, going to start working tomorrow 8 AM."

KIM KITSURAGI - "The strike..." He strokes his chin. "We're nearing the date of the murder."

"Keep reading, I'm interested now -- I want to know what's that radio anomaly that sent this person here in the first place."

Read the sixth entry.

MAINFRAME - "25th FEB, '51: I've been sending data up to Lintel for a while now, trying to recreate the data loss, but nothing. Didn't even feel like logging in the disappointment. But I did discover a curious *audio-spatial* anomaly at the back of the church. I've named it *the swallow*. (It swallows sound.) Need to get some mics."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Is she talking about...?" The lieutenant looks to his right, toward the silence.

Read the seventh entry.

MAINFRAME - "28th FEB, '51: Yes, the first recordings confirm that the swallow is real and I'm not just losing my mind. It's a pillar of silence with a diameter of approximately three meters. Seems like the higher I go, the less I record. This might be a coincidence. Or it *could* be connected to the data loss that led me here."

KIM KITSURAGI - "The pillar of silence! She *is* talking about the silence... Is she suggesting it's more than just an architectural quirk?"

"But what could it be?" (Look at the water basins behind you.)

Read the eighth entry.

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant doesn't answer. He follows your gaze, studying the basins. The water shines in them. No ripples.

2. Read the eighth entry.

MAINFRAME - "MARCH, '51: Some kind of young *discomen* have appeared next to the church. I've been trying to record the silence to find the epicentre, but now it turns out I've also been capturing the future of dance music, one neo-disco song over and over again..."

"Fortunately, the song is so monotonous I was able to devise an algorithm to factor it out. The other day one of the discomen came in. Before I could even say hello, she got scared and left. Good, I don't want anyone distracting me from my work."

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - That discoman? Must be Acele.

"She must be describing Acele."

Read the ninth entry.

KIM KITSURAGI - "The girl on the ice? Sounds like her, yes."

Read the ninth entry.

MAINFRAME - "MARCH '51: A new 2m AUX cable, noodles, crackers, Ping-Ping energy drinks, water, TOOTHPASTE, gum, also some canned air..."

PERCEPTION [Easy: Success] - Your reading is interrupted by the sound of the church door opening.

SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - A strange woman makes straight for the radiocomputer.

"Breaking into my radiocomputer, I see." She glares at you as she holds down the OFF button for several seconds. The machine reboots.

INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - Yes, you *are* breaking in. But not into *her* radiocomputer. You're a master circuit-bender.

KIM KITSURAGI - "I do apologize for the intrusion, madam. We're with the RCM, you see."

#disco elysium #kim kitsuragi #harrier du bois #tiago #yvonne #soona the programmer

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