Part 38: 18:21-20:09: Anodic, Anodyne

Chapter 38: 18:21-20:09: Anodic, Anodyne



ARIST: [Medium: Success] You are already beginning to regret entering the crowded tent full of youths.





ARIST: [Medium: Success] Talk to the leader. That’s probably the one who greeted you earlier, right?




ANDRE: His grip is strong, sweaty, and warm. He’s trying to project and inspire confidence. “This is my posse: Noid…”



ANDRE: “…and Egg Head.”




ANDRE: “We have many in the pipeline, officer.”



ANDRE: “You see, we’ve been all over Jamrock North, prospecting for real estate to establish a new venue in…”
EGG HEAD: “Also for talent!”
ANDRE: “Yes, thank you, Egg Head. And, while there is no shortage of raw, unfettered talent spinning tapes in Jamrock, we’ve had rotten luck with the real estate part.”
NOID: “Place is a shithole.”



ANDRE: “Which brings me to the problem of occupied ecclesiastical property. I bet you’ve noticed the derelict hive of *narcomania* on the coast?”



ANDRE: “I’m talking about the church. And I’m not exaggerating! Even a place of spiritual refuge can become a magnet for all sorts of *dopeheads* and *burnouts* if left unattended…”
EGG HEAD: “Dopeheads!”
NOID: “Burnouts!” He angrily spits on a screw, then starts cleaning it.
ANDRE: “Well, I’m sad to say, that’s exactly what happened. Sad because we were just about to put Martinaise on the map with one of the maddest dance clubs in Jamrock—no, strike that—in Revachol…”
EGG HEAD: “Strike that—the world!”
ANDRE: “And sadder yet because the dopeheads and burnouts holed up in there are *the worst* kind.”
COMPOSURE: [Easy: Success] He leans back a little, watching you with a steady, serious gaze, letting you imagine just how bad those ‘dopeheads’ and ‘burnouts’ really are.




ANDRE: “I was hoping you would be the judge of that, officer. All I can say is, their spookiness is the kind that keeps us from restoring this church into a community centre. And a place of spiritual refuge.”
NOID: “Also, they don’t heat or clean the building. Shit’s gonna collapse.”
EGG HEAD: “People just wanna spin tapes without them spookin’ it up! Place has bad sines! No one can dance like that.”
ANDRE: “Thank you, Egg Head.”





ANDRE: “Oh, so you met her? Good, good.”
EMPATHY: [Medium: Success] He’s not as glad as he would like you to think. There’s concern in his voice.

LOGIC: [Medium: Success] He doesn’t know what she told you. This is a man who’s desperate to control the message. But that just leads to the obvious question: what doesn’t he want you to know?

ANDRE: “I did ask Noid to install a measure against more drifters wandering in. It’s a temporary fix. Just something to contain the situation.”



ANDRE: “Of course. Noid, give the officer the key.”




ARIST: [Easy: Success] Cool Cop time!






Oh, what? You got a bogus fake health point back from the check failure, but then you took unhealed damage one text line later? Gaaaaaaaaaame!

ARIST: [Legendary: Failure] He hit you in the *eye*! He ruined Cool Cop! He’ll pay for this!



NOID: “Man, I’m super sorry. That was totally my bad, I got overexcited. Threw them too hard. I’m sorry.”



NOID: “I really am sorry man, just take this, okay?” He pulls out some black paper from his belt-pack.





NOID: He is shifting in his spot uncomfortably, still feeling sorry for the mishap.




ANDRE: “”I’m super sure they’re alive. I mean, c’mon! I’m at least 90%… maybe 85% sure they’re still alive.”




ANDRE: “I don’t know…” He pauses to think. “What does anything mean, really?”



ANDRE: “You’re right. It *is* nonsense. Total garbage. I knew you’d see through it, you’re one smart cop!”





ANDRE: “Well…” he leans in for emphasis, “there’s also *the machinery*…”
INLAND EMPIRE: [Medium: Success] This machinery is of the deeply mystical variety.
ANDRE: “When I first scouted the place, back in February, it was abandoned. Empty. Took some time getting the crew together, so about two weeks ago we came here hoping to set the stuff up. Suddenly there are all these strange *machines* lying around in there.”
NOID: “One of them has wires running into bowls of water. Wires. Into *water*. Never seen anything like it.”
EGG HEAD: “Andre, tell him about the feeling!”
ANDRE: “Oh, and it felt like there was some *thing* in there with us, watching us from the dark…”
EGG HEAD: “No! The other one.”
ANDRE: “Uhm, which other one? I’m not as in tune with my emotions as you are, Egg.”
EGG HEAD: “Felt like silence! Awful silence…”




ANDRE: “Sure, why not! Yeah!”



ANDRE: “What Noid said!”
LOGIC: [Easy: Success] So brown and older? Ruby might have dyed her hair? Though it seems like a stretch at this point.



ANDRE: “Like… you aren’t *alone*, you know?”
NOID: “It wasn’t quite *human*—if you know what I mean.”
RHETORIC: [Medium: Success] *Not human*? As in a ghost? *Do* you know what he means?



ARIST: [Impossible: Failure] CRAB MAN!

ANDRE: “Yeah, you know. The way it was climbing up and around the ceiling. Like a crab.”
NOID: The other one agrees. “It was stalking Acele. Exhibiting ambush behaviour.”



ANDRE: “Yeah, totally. I mean… I didn’t *personally* see it—Acele was alone that time, but I believe her. If she comes out running and days there’s a crab in there, there’s a crab in there.”
REACTION SPEED: [Medium: Success] So he hasn’t even been in there lately? Is he afraid?
NOID: “You should ask her about it—but be nice. Don’t tell her you don’t believe in the crab.”

ARIST: [Impossible: Failure] But I *do* believe in the crab!

INLAND EMPIRE: [Challenging: Success] The implications of this are… too numerous to consider. Proceed with caution. Learn all you can before entering that dark building.



ARIST: [Impossible: Failure] Shut up, you!!!



ANDRE: “Well, honestly, I can’t. But I am.”



ANDRE: “Hey now!” He furrows his brow. “I’m 70% sure they’re substance abusers.”




ANDRE: “Oh yeah, that’s a Meteoran name for the Founding Party. Thought it’d be cool to use it.”



ARIST: [Challenging: Success] Don’t ask about Meteo. He’s gonna think you’re a huge loser if he knows you have no idea what Meteo is. Whatever that is.





ANDRE: “Totally.” There isn’t a trace of doubt in his voice.
EGG HEAD: “The Perikarnassian Chruch is about *love*! Anodic music is about *love*! I got love for my Perikarnassian posse, *love* is the relay out of death! WE DANCE!!!” He violently shakes the tape player, to see if he can break it. “Love is HARD CORE!”
NOID: “Unity.”
ANDRE: “UNITY!”
EGG HEAD: “Make some noise for my Insulindian posse!” He turns the volume up, then looks at you with a knowing nod. As if it’s obvious you will now break into dance.




EGG HEAD: “Your posse’s like your people, man! Like you got your cop posse—you look out for each other and you party together. That’s a posse!”



ANDRE: “Are we?” He looks at you mysteriously.



EGG HEAD: “Oh yeah, it can!”



EGG HEAD: “YEAAGH! Yakokataa—the place to be!”
EMPATHY: [Medium: Success] He seems ecstatic that you share his vision of Perikarnassianism.
NOID: “Do it for the masses, do it for the crew.” His friend forms a fist with a screwdriver still in his hand. Approvingly so.
ANDRE: “I didn’t want to say it, but it *was* pretty lame of you to imply otherwise. Anyway, you got more questions?”
EGG HEAD: The one with the large head is still looking at you, nodding his head, waiting for your body to start moving…





ANDRE: “Oh?” He doesn’t know what to say. “It’s the one they sell at the fuel station.”



ANDRE: “It does, doesn’t it?”



ANDRE: “Ether? I don’t smell ether. Do you, Noid?”



ANDRE: He sniffs the air, then shrugs.
LOGIC: [Medium: Success] It doesn’t take a forensic scientist to guess it’s drug-related. They look and act like the kind of guys who’ve done their fair share.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT): [Easy: Success] Unlike the girl outside, however, the boys’ breathing is regular, their jaws stay put and their pupils aren’t dilated. So they’re not under the influence *currently*.



ELECTROCHEMISTRY: [Easy: Success] ‘Sup?



ANDRE: “Oh! The old ‘Ultra’… we… uhm…”
DRAMA: [Medium: Success] He’s like an actor looking to the souffleur for his line.



ANDRE: “Yes!” He nods energetically. “That’s all Nosaphed’s doing. Without the Nosa I’d be drowning in shit right now.”




We immediately down that Nosaphed to heal our illegitimate 1 point of health damage.





LOGIC: The gist of it is: they want to turn the church into a club, but a suspicious element has overtaken the building. It’s very important to understand what the *gist* of things is—always consult the gist before making up your mind. This is going well. Plus—and it has to be considered—you can’t invent the future of dance music in this smelly old tent. Imagine if you had the church! That settles it—analysis complete, their story checks out.



ARIST: [Challenging: Success] You can’t possibly be this stupid. Ugh.




ARIST: [Medium: Success] Okay, whatever you do, *don’t* start talking to the big-headed oh goddammit.



INLAND EMPIRE: [Medium: Success] ...as though you’re supposed to be sharing some tremendous, evangelical secret…






ARIST: [Challenging: Success] You are clearly not equipped to deal with this at this juncture. Just talk to the last-and-somehow-least-weird one.








NOID: “It is cool. But it’s also more than that. *Much* more.”




NOID: “He defeated History. We are living in the age of History, and in the eyes of History we are always already dead. How can we ever smile, then? Because History is a lie, and so are its deaths… The present moment and life are the hard core. The hard core expels death.”

ARIST: [Medium: Success] That’s some hot nonsense.







NOID: He cringes. “Weird stuff. Specialized. There was a data processor and some sort of long-wave machinery.”



NOID: “Nothing’s wrong with it. It should definitely be researched. You can still do sick shit with it, though.”



NOID: “Most of it doesn’t exist, but there’s also stuff that isn’t *allowed* to exist because the moralists think it’s too *dangerous* for the plebes.”



NOID: He picks up some sort of widget. “The hard core aesthetic is esoteric. It is not meant to be discussed with the law at this moment.”





ARIST: [Challenging: Success] Well… you should probably just try to figure out this Egg Head situation, huh?







And repeat. 19:30.




DRAMA: [Medium: Success] This young man adds a capital *G* before the *H* in his *YEAGHs* and *AAGHs*. This produces a guttural, *Gottwaldian* accent and makes him sound more animal, more *in it*.



EGG HEAD: “You know about him…” He moves his mouth, but sound doesn’t come out. His eyes are the size of saucers. Looks like you’ve rendered him speechless.



ANDRE: “Good, good.”



19:34. I’ve already started to skip paths I did not deem sufficiently interesting to show here. But don’t worry: we’re gonna see most of it.





EGG HEAD: “The Y to the E to the A to the A to the A to the A to the A to the G to the H to the hyphen mark… YeaaaaaGH!”




19:36.







ANDRE: “Wow!”
NOID: The skinny wraith looks at you with some disbelief.
EGG HEAD: “So am I! SO AM I!” He begins to shake his head so everyone would understand.
ANDRE: “Oh! Andre almost falls over backward from the realization. “Is *that* why they call you Egg Head, because…”
EGG HEAD: “Eyck-Head to the mega! The K became the G! The boy became the man!”



19:38.








EGG HEAD: “Yekokataa is a hard core place!”



19:40.










19:41.







EGG HEAD: He furrows his brow as his very large head traces the sublime invisible movement of the music in the very real air of the stuffy tent…




EGG HEAD: “But is it? I mean, really?” He tilts his head to the other side, like an owl.




19:43.










19:44.










19:45.











ARIST: [Easy: Success] OH MY GOD, THANK FUCK, IT’S OVER. I would have helped, but I think I blacked out somewhere around the eleventh “hard core!”

If it wasn’t clear what that even was, we needed to navigate the maze of Egg Head’s dialogue tree to find the absolute dumbest, most inane response possible and then turn it around on him at the perfect opportunity to break out. It’s… a lot.

SHIVERS: [Medium: Success] The skin on your back is crawling. For a second you can’t even hear the music any more. There is a hawthorn tree on Rue de Saint-Ghislaine, right next to the canal.



EGG HEAD: “There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m still in love with the hard core.” He turns pensive all of a sudden. “Sometimes I just feel like anodic music is in its infancy, you know? For example, take this Arno van Eyck jam I’ve been pumping for the last month… and will continue pumping for the rest of ‘51… Isn’t something holding it back? From being hyper?” He thinks for a moment, then his expression clears… “It’s like it’s only *ultra*.”



EGG HEAD: “It is, isn’t it?!” He nods in agreement. “I knew it!”




EGG HEAD: “Whaaaat?!” He looks at you with customary amazement. “Guys, there’s something happening in his head!”



EGG HEAD: “Oh yeah! He’s DOING it!”



ENDURANCE: The abstract shapes swelling in the foreground have done so in vain. This is a core matter. The answer, in the double-kick that moves the millilitres through your mind. The dark thud is the source of all rhythm, the inspiration behind mathemathics…








NOID: “He’s not a communnist. That’s just something he likes to yell. He picked it up from a tape-jockey at The Paliseum… *she* was a communist though.”

ARIST: [Challenging: Success] You sense… an opportunity.



EGG HEAD: “I can be a communist! He nods. “If you want that—do you want me to be a communist?!”
NOID: “Please don’t turn him into a communist.”



ARIST: [Easy: Success] Sounds like a tie, so… dealer’s choice!



ARIST: [Easy: Success] Fuck yeah.

NOID: “Don’t be a lunatic. Of course he isn’t. Germaine here just yells random things. Odds are, sooner or later one of them will come off as thought reading.”
EGG HEAD: “Yeah! REVACHOL IMPERATIVE!”






EGG HEAD: “D’accord hard core! Germaine Egg-Head.”









EGG HEAD: “I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about anodic music, I’m just the party boy. I get the people going and say it’s hard core…”




ANDRE: Basically what you need to find here is a tape with some banging music on it, so that Egg Head could use it to remix van Eyck’s jam.”
NOID: “Yeah. Maybe that streethawker across the pawnshop has some tapes to sell? That’s just an idea.”



EGG HEAD: “Oh, I know! I know this! I can tell you where it is!”
ANDRE: “Saint-G is the boulevard before the canal bridge. The one that takes you to the Whirling-In-Rags and the Industrial Harbour. It’s got the lanterns and the…”
EGG HEAD: “I knew that! I could have said that!”
ANDRE: “And the mosaic sidewalk.”




ANDRE: “Anyway… That’s all yours to figure out, copman.”



ARIST: Huh? What tape?



ARIST: Oh, lord no. Why are you doing this!?







ARIST: [Easy: Success] Nothing else to do in here right now. You should leave. Kim’s been waiting out there for almost two hours.



“That was really stupid, Kim. You have *no* idea.”
ARIST: [Challenging: Success] Actually, he probably does. Why else would he not make any effort to go in with you?