Posted by: Thorn
An associate of mine in ERLA passed along an interesting memorandum he found while conducting due diligence on an Atlantean Foundation transaction. It details their research into the manatech engineering programs in Albuquerque, specifically one that is directly linked to the current artifact fever.
// upload memo attachment :: user Thorn :: 05/02/73 //
Memorandum: AF13135
Subject: SpiriTech Progress Report
As per recent discussions, special assets ascertained that SpiriTech is moving with extraordinary speed on their manatech research into the items we have been pursuing. In spite of your concerns, the influx of Ute magicians into the corporation’s ranks and some breakthroughs in Pueblo’s spirit relations have unlocked some of the more complex aspects not only of those pieces but also of pieces that we have heretofore been unable to procure.
Current discussions with Project Clarke’s director, Dr. Renee Suarez, have indicated that SpiriTech has access to much more comprehensive information on a significant cache of artifacts than we previously imagined. The source and value of this database is unknown, though plans are in motion to gather copies of that information via multiple independent channels.
Given their current progress, it is imperative to ensure that the program continues unimpeded. Obtaining exclusive rights to the materials is easily within our capabilities, especially given the Mojave situation. If necessary, I would request approval of additional resources in order to see this through to completion.
// end attachment //
This was interesting enough, but at the same time I received information from independent intelligence sources within the Magical Security Task Force that the TRC and the UCAS military have a mutual interest in the development of manatech
in Albuquerque. SpiriTech is not the only firm working in this area—Phoenix Biotechnologies is also competing with SpiriTech.
>. Of.course.it.is ..Most.manatech.breakthroughs.come.from.an.
interface.between.science.and.various.biological.resources,.such.
as.Deus’.astrally.sensitive.leeches ..Current.manatech.research.
is.working.to.replicate.various.types.of.magical.effects.that.are.
innate.to.paranormal.animals,.which.begs.the.question.of.what.
abilities.are.tied.to.these.artifacts .
>. The.Smiling.Bandit
>. PBT. has. been. in. contact. with. Genetique,. and. both. corps’.
researchers. have. been. shuttling. back. and. forth. between.
Tenochtítlan,. Calgary,. and. Phoenix .. Aztechnology. must. have.
something.quite.valuable,.but.extremely.perplexing.to.bring.in.an.
old.rival.like.Phoenix .
>. Glasswalker
>. They.possess.the.remains.of.Dzitbalchen .
>. Man-of-Many-Names
Those sources have also informed me that their interest lies in a specific set of artifacts that, physically, carry navigational symbolism. That fact makes a lot of sense given the correlation between symbolism and function—specifically when applied to astral space. I am not an astral specialist, but I know that there have been numerous attempts over the years to successfully map and navigate astral space and the metaplanes. Every attempt to do so has met with resistance, complications, or outright disruption, even when the work is being done by ostensibly benevolent groups like the Astral Space Preservation Society. Given that one of the pieces that has passed through more hands than a Bangkok whore is the Sextant of Worlds and another is Shantaya’s Compass, there is some credibility in that idea.
>. The.Sextant.of.Worlds.has.one.major.drawback.in.that.it.carries.
the.taint.of.death.and.chaos,.as.events.in.Caracas.and.elsewhere.
RIVER CITY SHOOTOUT ...
want this information wiped from the Earth and will insist that the runners do just that, no matter the cost.
PLoT PoINT oNE
The runners are asked by Mr. Johnson to meet in a deserted office park over the weekend. The offices are empty and up for sale, and he uses the privacy of the location to make his pitch. He offers the runners a rather substantial amount, almost twice as much as they usually earn per run, to engage in a major destructive action
ovERvIEW
Some people see magic as an aspect of science, something measurable to be controlled and manipulated similar to any other form of matter or energy. One such group works on manatech at SpiriTech, an Albuquerque magical research and applications firm.
Using copious amounts of data provided by an anonymous client, they have been attempting to replicate the artifacts as high-end manatech. Their work, however, has upset and intrigued a number of organizations and individuals. Some want the manatech for their own purposes, but others want to destroy the prototypes and materials because it is too dangerous or simply beyond the province of most people. While the Atlantean Foundation knows of this research and may even be behind some or all of it for their own purposes, there are others who are very much devoted to keeping this under wraps and everyone in the dark. One such person is Samantha Villiers, who already tried to destroy some of the artifacts in Déjà Vu (see p. 90). Others are far more mysterious and secretive. It is not clear who is hiring the runners, but they have.shown ..If.someone.could.replicate.it.without.those.effects,.
the.resulting.item.would.be.extremely.valuable .
>. Frosty
>. So.is.that.it?.It’s.just.to.explore.the.metaplanes?
>. Kane
>. Imagine.being.able.to.map.the.routes.to.all.the.most.dangerous.
planes;.the.homes.of.the.most.dangerous.things.imaginable,.like.
insect.spirits.and.shedim ..That.kind.of.information.is.priceless ..It.
is.at.least.worth.the.price.of.killing.anyone.who.stands.in.the.way.
of.those.to.whom.that.information.matters ..So.yeah,.that’s.it .
>. Winterhawk
If my source knows this, then it is likely that others do as well. After all, the MSTF has become little more than a haven for spies and thieves representing the Tírs’ magical institutions, NAN, security corporations, and the UCAS government to masquerade as a magical defense force. In fact, I know that the activities of Felicia McGuinness, the expediter who’s been in the UCAS for a while, are being monitored by at least five different organizations.
Of course, being a Tír na nÓg assassin makes that hard to do with much consistency. Since this first came to my attention, I did spend time doing my best (we have a history, Felicia and me) trying to learn more about whom she was seeing. As it happens, she was meeting with General Benjamin Miller.
>. I’m.surprised.Miller’s.security.let.you.get.close ..He.can.practically.
smell.adepts.like.you .
>. Kay.St ..Irregular
>. An.FBI.agent.shadowing.McGuinness.for.me.did.that.bit.of.dirty.
business .
>. Thorn
Those two met just once in DeeCee. The rest of the time she was meeting with a civilian contractor working for Miller on covert intelligence missions as well as the DIA. It makes sense since this operator has a long history with Miller, but working in the private sector with multiple clients affords them some deniability.
As far as I could tell, there is no connection or program within the DOD that explains why these two are connected. Granted, the UCAS has enough problems with metaplanar threats that it would see such tools as immensely valuable in dealing with insect spirits or the shedim in DeeCee. None of the other components of the UCAS government, however, had any idea of this until recently.
Meanwhile, the technology focus Albuquerque is known for has buried most interest in this field. Besides that, the nature of local corporations being part-owned by the PCC itself means that going after SpiriTech or PBT (though PBT is an extraterritorial AA corp, the Corporate Council is still a minority shareholder) means picking a fight with the PCC on their turf. Given that the NAN Truth Dancer representative, Robert Loreto, is a Pueblo competition operative, the SecForce is sure to know about this sudden interest and should be expected to take precautions accordingly.
>. “Competition.operative?”.Seriously?
>. Pistons
>. The. Competition. Awareness. and. Management. Office. is. a.
special. offensive. counterintelligence. program. that. operates.
independently. of. External. Affairs’. intelligence. division. and.
answers.to.the.Kachina.Society .
>. Fianchetto
Inc oming . . . .
Urgent.Message . . . .
THE oTHER MILE-HIgH CITY
Like.Denver,.Albuquerque.has.an.average.elevation.
of.more.than.1 .5.kilometers.above.sea.level,.with.some.
locations.substantially.higher ..This.and.its.mountain.
desert.climate.are.likely.to.be.substantially.different.
than.players’.home.setting.(such.as.Seattle),.making.
physical.activity.more.difficult.for.those.unaccustomed.
to.the.environment ..To.reflect.that.fact,.the.gamemas-ter.may.consider.applying.a.–2.dice.pool.modifier.for.all.
Body-related.tests.related.to.strenuous.activities.(e .g ..
Running.Tests) .
RIVER CITY SHOOTOUT ...
period of time that they can destroy everything they are hired to destroy without having SpiriTech and the Pueblo Security Force come down on their heads. As the runners prepare to make their move, a team of Telestrian-hired runners, led by a Telestrian mid-level exec, is planning on extracting as much of the data and materials as possible. Over the course of gathering information on the sites and making plans of attack, there should be an opportunity for the runners to observe that there are others interested in the same matters. In fact, Telestrian is not the only other party. The Atlantean Foundation is interested in their research, and may even be the source of their information, and they have a team of Mystic Crusaders keeping watch on SpiriTech’s progress. There may even been multiple Crusaders working undercover within the program, which would make killing it a bit more difficult. Aztechnology is also keeping the program under surveillance for its own reasons, and they definitely have people undercover within SpiriTech.
If the runners are able to uncover this information, they will have to take it in account when planning their attack.
Aztechnology is not welcome in the PCC, but the runners themselves aren’t exactly a benevolent presence. Indeed, some of these infiltrators are on the hit list, and there is a question of how to deal with them in a way that does not raise suspicion on anyone else’s part before the runners make their full move. This requires quite a bit of legwork and judgment on the part of the runners to determine how best to accomplish this mission.
PLoT PoINT THREE
No matter which method the runners choose, the Telestrian runners are able to strike at both locations simultaneously.
They are after information on the Aztechnology application of paranormal biotech, and they have no qualms about using lethal force against anyone who gets in their way. Ideally, they should hit the sites about when the runners make their initial strike. At the same time that everyone is doing their job, SpiriTech security will be doing theirs, trying to stop both teams of runners while calling for backup from the PSF. This means having to get through the security systems, breaching passive magical security including wards and a rather extensive spirit presence, especially at the SpiriTech headquarters. Many of these spirits are either free or are very familiar with the magicians on campus and will come to the aid of the people under attack. Of course, some will just wander off, and some bound spirits that go free (due to a summoner’s death or other causes) may turn out to be hostile to SpiriTech and anyone else nearby.
If the Mystic Crusaders and/or Aztechnology respond to the attack, it is in the guise of a heavily armed PSF Quick Response Team. The SecForce response is threefold. First, they send in aerial drones that patrol the entire sprawl. Second, they send in combat spirits accompanied by astrally projecting SecForce magicians. Finally, they arrive at the scene physically and in force.
Their regular officers are better armed and armored than most police elsewhere, and a high percentage of them have military/
paranormal experience from serving in the wilds of California. It will not be long before PSF also responds to the runner’s actions with military force in the form of one or more QRTs arriving in a in Albuquerque, PCC. He wants the runners to break into and
destroy all of the research, prototypes, and people associated with an astral-navigation project within SpiriTech’s Manatech Division.
They have been working on a research project with information gathered from some unknown source on certain telesma with which the runners may be familiar, along with other materials.
In addition, PBT has been covertly working with Aztechnology on this manatech project thinking that they can only replicate the effects with certain biological resources, i.e., dragon parts.
SpiriTech has been working with PBT on the project without knowing about Aztechnology’s involvement because the telesma have displayed an unknown reaction to the dragontech, which intrigues Aztechnology.
It should be made clear that SpiriTech takes its name literally. It was formed by a group of physicists, engineers, and theoretical magicians who wanted to integrate magic and technology to improve technological processes and outcomes.
There is measurable science to magic, and by exploring and quantifying it they believed they could further the advancement of thaumaturgical science and applications for the Pueblo Corporate Council and its customers. The company has a dual focus, in that it acknowledges that important breakthroughs sometimes come from non-traditional research outside of the lab, and there is a shamanistic aspect of their work where they cooperate and engage with spirits as equals in order to understand and appreciate the facets of magic that have not been quantified within multidimensional quantum physics.
This is perhaps why this manatech project has been foisted upon this small, A-level corporation. Their plans to meld and integrate magic and technology into functional manatech are far more focused on end results than projects being carried out in their Denver offices, but they also have the opportunity to explore the functions and meanings of the items they are trying to replicate, both individually and as gestalt magical devices. Their relationships with spirits and metaplanar exploration have allowed them a more detailed study of the metaphor of magic than others have been able to accomplish.
PLoT PoINT TWo
The raid requires the runners to strike at two separate targets almost thirty kilometers apart. The SpiriTech headquarters is in the Sandia foothills above Tramway and Paseo del Norte in a large adobe-style building that is in fact a massive bunker of integrated magical, physical, and Matrix (this is PCC after all) security. There is another site within the heart of the city, the University of Pueblo Advanced Materials Labs on the south campus near the UPCC sports complex with their arenas and stadiums, which makes it pretty public. The UPCC labs are where SpiriTech and associated university researchers have been constructing prototype simulacra of the artifacts individually, in an attempt to combine their possible functions into one magical object. Given the intensity of the work and the complicated science with which they are working with, UPCC is the only location with the nanotechnology construction abilities needed to build these prototypes.
The mission requires the runners either to hit both simultaneously or to carry out the jobs within a short enough
RIVER CITY SHOOTOUT ... to it. They aren’t going waste their lives for it, but the runners may
not have seen the last of them.