S059_The_Diet_of_Demigods

S059_The_Diet_of_Demigods October 28, 2018 Sunday The CWA are still protesting, Cyberpunk continues to plague them with false calls, fritzing out the cameras of reporters who cover the event. Cyberpunk has random NPC #137 taking care of his 10 year old sister, a hired babysitter (nanny or Au Pair). Kismet is in her dorm room and the absence of her spectral roommate had become more noticeable. She decides to head over to the Coffee Bean where her Uncle Edgar Cizko works as a barista. She finds him leaning on his elbow at the counter telling a group of customers about how he was a star with his guitar mastery playing with great musical artists to adoring masses. When some guy asks why no one had heard of him if he was such a star Edgar has an answer. ‘It’s because of my size! America media has a bias against me because I’m short. I should get a lawyer and sue for discrimination!’ He spots Kismet and excuses himself from his fans letting his coworker, Joey, take care of them. ‘Kaitlynn what brings you by?’ He serves her the peppermint latte she asks for while he does his best to evade her questioning about his guitar playing too. He blames her parents for not telling her more about him. While she is talking to him she becomes aware that something is wrong. Her mental awareness picks up on an active use of mind control on him. She knows his ego signature, it isn’t his. Besides he lost his powers when the tumor was removed, this is something … different. He tells her he feels fine, he was a powerful telepath and remains an expert in psychology in the science of mental powers, so he would notice if someone was trying to influence him. Kismet assures him that she will keep an eye on him to make sure everything is okay. Edgar remarks that it would be nice if she were available more, such as meeting his partners who are developing the mobile app Pocket Counselor. He suggests that if she is too busy to met with the software developers (he provided the therapeutic portion of the application) she could just give him a check for $50,000 and it would be a done deal. Kismet says she couldn’t do that. Her parents and the lawyers who monitor her trust fund would hit the roof if she didn’t do her due diligence. He encourages her to make time for the meeting soon. She focuses on her mental awareness on the buzz of mind control on her uncle but can’t sense where it is coming from. It is like someone spilled a bottle of perfume on him but she can’t find who poured it.   Meanwhile Deslee Saietta calls Cyberpunk and invites him over. He teleports to her house and she leads him to the Great Room. She tells him to take off his clothes. Taken aback Cyberpunk asks why? She smiles and tells him she just wanted to know how guidable he was. He does not undress. She tells him that she in debt to the Brooklyn Brigade because of what they told her about DEMON banishing the Long Island branch of her family, and she hates being in anyone’s debt. To balance her ledger she tells him that there are two members of a group of vampires called Raven coming for Paladin. Cyberpunk tells her they already know that. ‘I have one of their names so I guess you don’t want it.’ Cyberpunk wants the information, Darius Vonner is one of the Raven members who is coming for Paladin in person. Cyberpunk asks how she came by the information and she tells him that her powers are greatest in the realm of dreams. In the physical world she is not powerless but she is a thin shadow of her dream self. She got the information from the dreams and nightmares of policemen. She provides the names of 6 uniformed officers, 3 detectives, and 1 undercover cop. They are all in the service of Vonner. Cyberpunk tells her that her powers could be a great boon to the Brooklyn Brigade. It would give her a place to go so she could escape her big, empty, house. Shaking her head she tells him that house will not be empty for long. Other members of the family would come and fill the house in a matter of time. During their chat Deslee tells him that the Saietta family are all demigods. Their progenitor was a god which makes all his children demigods. Cyberpunk tells her that if she wanted to be a part of the Brigade she would also have to stop eating people.    Deslee gave him an icy glare and her voice dropped to a hiss. ‘If we could stop don’t you think we would have centuries ago?’ Cyberpunk was shocked. He asked her to explain what she said. ‘I’ve said too much already. I think we are done.’ As she asks him to leave she tells him he can come back anytime, the house is awfully big and empty. He leaves her and gives Kismet a call. They rendezvous. She wants to compare his list to the list of missing policemen that Paladin compiled. Cyberpunk also gains access to the police department computers to get more information on the suspected corrupted cops. At the super-secret base they discover that none of the police appear on both lists. The officers on Cyberpunk’s list range from good to average quality. While none are ‘hero’ cops they are all considered to be solid peace officers. They average between 10 to 15 years of service each. None of them are partnered with each other. None are assigned to the same sections of the city. They all are members of the police union and a few do go to the same bars.   Kismet suggests putting a pin in this for now. She makes an appointment with Lt. House (of PART) for 10AM tomorrow. They also find the name of the head of internal affairs, he is Inspector Carlos Rodriguez. Kismet and Cyberpunk have a discussion about Deslee working for the Brooklyn Brigade. Kismet is not in favor of it.   October 29, 2018 Monday 10AM Kismet heads to Lt. House's office. House is not thrilled when he learns the reason for the visit. Kismet tells him about the 10 names that have been linked to the vampires of the city. When he learns that the names were provided by a member of the Saietta crime family he is incensed. Kismet tells him she is suspicious of the names for many of the same reasons, and that informant provided the information out of some sense of honor (being indebted to the Brigade) but they are worth checking out. He agrees to discreetly check into the list.   Paladin talks to Kismet and Cyberpunk. When he learns that the Saietta ‘demigods’ need to consume human flesh rather than just wanting to he is disturbed. If they can’t stop eating man-flesh then they need to be destroyed. He wants to know what methods the Saiettas have used to stop eating people and he wants to know their family history. Cyberpunk insists that they (the Brigade) find a substitute that the Saiettas can live on. Since Cyberpunk has a ‘relationship’ with Deslee Paladin sends him to talk to her and get the information he needs.   Cyberpunk calls Deslee to make sure it is okay for him to pop over. They meet in the great room. She offers him something to eat, he says as long as it isn’t meat. She goes to the kitchen and gets a bowl of apples. They talk and munch on the apples while playing a game of billiards in the game room. He accuses her of being like the vampires. He is surprised when she readily agrees. She tells him that gods of many pantheons, such as the Aztecs, required human sacrifices. Her family, her pantheon as it were, needs sacrifices. They take them by consuming them. The portion of life essence they need is in the flesh (and blood) of those that they consume. Some of her family needs sacrifices much more frequently than others do. Some can go years between sacrifices. She does not need frequent sacrifices and can even stretch that out by feeding on the dreams of sleeping victims. While that does to kill it always causes insanity afterward. He asks her about her family history, such as why were the Saiettas left behind when Azor took his followers and the Blood with him to his paradise dimension. She says that the Blood snubbed her branch of the family, probably because of the diet they needed. The Blood does not have the need for sacrifices like the Saietta and Nocturnals do. She does not know why. He asks if there are any Blood on Earth. She says there are but they don’t socialize with the Saietta, they continue to snub us. Well, there is one who does but you don’t want to meet him. His name is Okor, He who Affrights. He is evil. He kills for the pleasure of it, by the tens or hundreds if he gets a chance. He came to Earth because it was here that Azor became a god. Affrighter wants to discover how he did it and repeat the process. Deslee shudders at the thought of what Affrighter would do upon the earth with the full power of godhood at his disposal. She tires of answering questions and Cyberpunk heads back to the Bunker.   Cyberpunk reports what he learned to Paladin and Kismet. Cyberpunk suggests using a kind of summoning to contact, commune, and question Azor. Paladin shuts the suggestion down hard. Paladin says 'summoning evil never ends well'. While the group is debating there is a knock on the door. A woman in a purple bikini top, brief-tight jean shorts, and sneakers is standing there being heckled by the CWA crowd. The woman says 'I understand that you have been looking for me'. It is Avengelyne! Cyberpunk invites her in and closes the door. [End Game about 1PM in the afternoon]