Page 129 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

CHAPTER FIVE: TO HELL AND BACK

grand machine either orchestrating or opposed to the wave of Conspiracies
abnormal behavior, and piece that together with stories about
lost time, beggars who claim to have once been millionaires, The conspiracies tend to take a more direct approach
and biomechanical fiends spotted near the homes of subur- against demonic forces.
banites whose personalities have recently done a 180. They’ve
observed that some of these “demons” appear to be working in Aegis Kai Doru
concert and others don’t. They speculate that there may be a We doesn’t necessarily hunt demons. Some change form, yes, so
war coming, and they’d very much like to know what the sides they might be skin-changers. Others manipulate mind and chance.
are. Unfortunately, Cataclysmicists just aren’t sure what that Witches? Arguably. But these creatures are usually found on the fringes
war is all about or who’s involved. where we’ll be confronting our ancient enemies. I figure there are bigger
fish to fry. Except…
The Union The Aegis Kai Doru has one definitive incident in its his-
Funny thing is, I kind of believe the greater demons. Oh, sure, tory that seems to confirm the stories the greater demons tell.
a borderline-malevolent God’s a bit too much to swallow. Doesn’t it One that forces them to eschew the theological term “demi-
seem like the world’s stacked against the little guy? Like all this NSA urge” and fully embrace the word the demons themselves some-
wiretapping and drone bullshit has taken on a life of its own, like the times use: God-Machine.
powers-that-be aren’t just protecting themselves, but preserving the very Over two thousand years ago, astronomers in Corinth cre-
idea of power? Yeah, it does seem like that. Shame the creatures ped- ated a wondrous device. They may even have been members
dling that line are such bastards themselves. of the Aegis Kai Doru, attempting to re-contact the supernal
Home First cares about NIMBY. They worry about the de- realms so long dominated by the evil of the witches. But they
mons who wander into their neighborhoods, their workplaces, made a devil’s bargain. These astronomers bartered for the se-
and even their damn schools. A kid on drugs is urged on by crets of the Machine.
something even worse inside him. That new legislator with the So they built their device, their wondrous marvel of gears
made-for-TV grin wants to use his eminent domain to turn a and wheels that could not only predict the movement of the
soup kitchen into a shopping complex. These are the things the stars in the heavens, but command them. They labored day and
Union watches out for. Striking back is harder than it looks, night, learning the secrets of the heavens, so that they might
though. How does a hunter fight the voices in somebody else’s call down the power of the supernal and become sorcerers
head? Invite a member of the Long Night to try an exorcism? themselves once again.
Call the number on that business card you shouldn’t have kept The Aegis Kai Doru eventually recognized the threat. They
and opt for surgery? There aren’t any easy answers, until some- incited a mob to attack the academy where the device was be-
body goes really wrong, of course. When a hunter finds out her ing constructed, but they were too late. The device had been
neighbor’s not himself anymore, that he’s one of them.... Well, disassembled and loaded on a ship, bound for a fortress where
then it’s time to take care of business. it could be defended from the jealous mortals who would soon
Suppose the man in the too-sharp suit was telling the truth. The be ants beneath its creators’ feet.
world of flesh and metal was made to oppress the working man. Lack- In response, the Aegis Kai Doru hired Aegean pirates, who
eys were only allowed to breed so far as we’d mine uranium and burn ambushed the ship carrying the machine between Crete and
coal. Well, no reason to assume he was really on our side. Might have Peloponnese. The Aegis intended to capture the mechanism
any number of reasons for saying what he did. But if this thing’s really and take the scholars prisoner, maybe even find some value in
that big, that organized.... Sort of makes the General Strike sound like their unholy work. But the captain of the ship sank it himself.
a good idea, right? Start taking a hard look at shutting down the system Out of conscience or spite, none can say.
that was made to keep us all down, body and soul. Hell, he offered to So, while demons themselves remain a debatable topic
help. Why not make a deal? among the Aegis Kai Doru, the existence of the Machine they
For the Union, it’s hard not to think those kinds of once served is not, especially since members of the Scroll re-
th
thoughts without getting Political. A lot of the banks and those trieved parts of the mechanism throughout the 20 century.
three letter agencies are really monsters themselves. After all, Thankfully, there aren’t enough parts left to reconstruct the de-
weird things happen to anyone who pries into their business. vice, which may be a good thing. However, the Scroll would like
Smart people. Good people. Sometimes they turn up dead. to ensure what the machine’s capabilities were and are, even if
Sometimes they end up…turned. Or, at least, it seems that way. it’s too dangerous to activate in full. Teams who work on recon-
Hunters find it hard to tell what side somebody’s on, even if structing it do so in complete secrecy — just in case.
there are only two. There is Them, the machine, maybe the The Temple keeps a wary eye; the device’s remnants are nom-
machines. Then? There’s Us, the normal folks, the ones who inally under their guardianship, and they suspect connections
need to take action. Doesn’t really matter whether the Union to other artifacts in their collection. These suggest the so-called
is talking about angels that have poisonous lips or drop hints God-Machine may form a missing link between the supernal and
about the creatures that send out phony foreclosures. Doesn’t the material. The Sword, meanwhile, would very much like to
matter if the machine’s left hand doesn’t always know what its get their hands on a fully-reconstructed model. To them, that
right hand is doing, because both hands are stealing. mechanism is a weapon that could be a means to sever witches
Time to show ‘em what we do to the hands of thieves. from their power. For what would diviners be without their stars?

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