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Probably not about you.

A convenient framing, allowing him to foment his own distrust at... apparently everything.

Money now, problems later.

Free money, no downsides detected.

She only said she's in charge of the magazine -- not the subeditor, nor the building.

Probably covering for her. Possibly in denial about her subordinate's incompetence.

Just because the words formed in your head, does not mean you had to speak them.

Just what the assignment called for. Some Big Thinking.

That's the polite way of saying 'astronomically'.

There seems to be no creditor in this man.

How weird, right?

You can bet that EMTERR developed a thought-free process for this.

Exploitation money. Reserved for those willing to undergo serious bodily harm for what they do.

RADIAN is an audio engineer. That scene you walked in on looked nothing like his line of work.

Conclusion: You are speaking to a phantom.

Perhaps, but behind it all there is something else, far simpler -- the power to pay someone to have a medical emergency for your viewing pleasure.

Prognosis: almost identical to the one Dr. Gonza gave you. Either they are onto something or these men have the same kind of brain parasite.

Payment. The price of Ramses' nervous system.

Sniff test determines you may be dehydrated.

No boots in the house. A tidy, meticulous occupant.

You can feel your own sanity pulling away from you, as though on the cusp of a black hole, stretching, spinning...

There is no correlation between mental petitions and the fusion of distant bodies. Praying is a recursive loop.

His information was good once before. There's no reason to think it won't be again.

He's not seriously suggesting...

A cost-benefit analysis. The probability of determining the why of him is near zero. Conversely, the utility of him is high.

In other words, he was in three places simultaneously, each separated by thousands of kilometres. A physical impossibility, unless...

He can't be serious. The gastrointestinal system isn't designed to make those kinds of call.

The dialectic assumes a predictable trajectory. It does fail to account for one thing.

Making inroads with his persona. Competent in-theatre, at least for this period of play.

Now speaking proudly of the stock he earlier disparaged.

Uncannily precise.

First obstacle avoided in what is evidently a labyrinth of personal ethics.

You would not put it past this man to have a prop dog bowl to hand.

What the fuck...

Septimus and KALEIDOSCOPE, fascinating taste in men. Preliminary analysis: self-destruction.

She is principled, skilled, self-sacrificing -- and the worst has already happened to her. Bring her in.

This needs a specialist, or at least someone specialist adjacent. A doctor might be a good first bet.

The implication is that you'll know it when you see it. Extremely ominous.

Your brain is constantly churning out natural neurochemicals, it is basically made of drugs. Who are you to say no?

That is definitely, 100% a real condition.

You did, and it did. Does that mean...?

Unfortunately, in the midst of all his ramblings, he has discovered a point.

This checks out. PSEUDOPOD didn't look like he'd be popular with... anyone. A lead, at last!

He's been waiting his entire life to hear your words.

The second time is, somehow, worse than the first.

Presumably for the benefit of the wire you're not wearing.

In this context, 'jealousy' translates to gross violations of medical and or human decency.

The spoils of working for EMTERR.

He seems to be perplexed by his own question.

That's not a denial.

309 skill checks - ZERO PARADES field manual - Page 6 of 7