Interrogation - Part I

[Charybdis]
OOC: My 8th grade students know... It was one of their vocabulary words this year... :)

Here it is. Intrepid: adj. resolutely fearless; dauntless

[Charybdis]
OOC: That's right-- A gold star for Perry for the day :)

OOGM: grin

Hmmm, okay, where was I. Oh yes.

Night rolls on in the fair city of Vancouver and our intrepid heros have made their way back to the Vancouver Police Department which serves as Michnelion's base of operations. Here we fine his resolute and ever patient (almost) Servant Detective David Ross awaiting his return.

[Charybdis]
OOC: That parenthetical "almost" was for Jezreel's benefit, wasn't it?

[OOGM: I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you. :]

[as the group enters the building, having arrived, amazingly enough, at approximately the same time]

"Ah!" excalims Ross, "oh, my. Uh, Neelon," says the human to the Elohite, "who are all these people??"

"They kinda showed up," says the Chief Detective. "You already know Jezreel and Adam, this is Kalamiel . . .

She nods politely, but keeps one eye on the unconscious guy... just in case.

". . . Xery . . ."

". . . and this guy here is a little hell-sworn we picked up after he took a nasty spill off the top of the building."

"That's my fault," says Adam, smiling.

"I see," says the human detective.

OOC: Kalamiel attempts to resonate him.

[Kalamiel, Resonance roll TN=10 5, 4, CD2]

Past week:
Most honorable thing: helped explain the nature of heaven and hell to a recruit for Heaven, from a human perspective.
Most dishonorable thing: Has failed to call back his girlfriend.

OOC: The cad! =)

Jezreel stands silently through the introductions, not really having anything to add. After Adam's comment, she glances back and forth between Michnelion and Adonikam. A bit hesitantly, she asks, "So where are we going to... question... it?"

"The interrogation room," says the Elohite. "This way," he says as he walks down a hallway.

Kalamiel trails along behind, mentally preparing her questions and wondering if this poor soul can be saved or not. "He's not completely lost... I can feel that." she thinks.

Jezreel follows Michnelion down the hallway, watching where they are going so that she can find her way back and just seeing if there is anything interesting to distract her thoughts from what's about to happen.

Passing by Detective Neelon's office, Jezreel's eye catches a glimpse of the computer which she and Damien had been drooling over before.

Without consciously thinking about it, Jezreel smiles at the sight of the computer. Now *that* would be a system to work on... Then remembering that Damien had had almost the same reaction, her thoughts shift to him. She spends the rest of the trip down the hallway wondering if he's alright and how he's handling the shock of his introduction into the War.

The interrogation room is brightly lit and somewhat inviting until Detective Ross turns the dimmer down, turns on a bright lamp, and lights a cigarette. Adam rolls the undead off his shoulder and into a rather hard old dirty wooden chair that Michnelion managed to pull from the darkness in one of the corners.

[Michelion]
"Jezreel, I'm assuming that you'll be resonating on him, if that's fine with you."

[Jezreel]
"Yes, sir," Jezreel says, watching the set-up with just a little trepidation. Then she suits actions to words and invokes her Resonance.

[Jezreel, Resonance roll TN=7 2, 3, CD4]

"The intent of this will be to extract information from the subject, including whatever information our Resonances can lift from his soul. Please keep in mind that he will probably have to be eventually destroyed but that he is also still human in the strictest sense of the word."

[Jezreel]
Jezreel just nods; she remains a bit wide-eyed...

Kalamiel murmurs, "Handcuffs for him would be useful... to preserve our freedom of movement."

Detective Ross gives Kalamiel a funny look. "You'll find handcuffs in top drawer of the file cabinet to your right."

She gets the cuffs and calmly affixes them to the man by both arms and ankles using the rings in the floor for violent criminals. "I don't want him to try anything stupid. He's down to his last chance."

[Detective Ross]
"The most important thing to this is that no one do or say anything to contradict anyone else, otherwise the mood will be lost. Got it?"

[Jezreel]
Jezreel nod again. "As long as you're not planning to lie to him," she clarifies though.

"Jezreel," says Michnelion calmly, "We are not restricted as you are and so must obtain truth by whatever means we have. Although I understand that you hate falsehood as much as Fury would hate to be bound and gagged, I request that you accept all statements we make as possible truths, however remotely possible."

[Jezreel]
Jezreel looks at once both troubled and confused. She is silent a long moment before she speaks again. "Possible truths, sir?" she says, "That sounds like something my Father would say." Then realizing how insulting that must sound, Jezreel flushes a bit, but she does not retract her statement.

She breaks eye contact for a moment then takes a long, shuddering breath before meeting the older Angel's eyes again. "I will try," she says slowly. "And I will watch and learn."

"Kalamiel, Adam," says the elder Elohite, would you mind waking up our guest and stick close to him so he doesn't get hurt? Oh, and Fury, could you get the door, please? Detective Ross, are you ready?"

Kalamiel holds onto the hellsworn's hand and nods to Adam, "I'm ready."
[Re-resonate while touching him to get the big bonus to the CD. Spend one essence as well.]

[Kalamiel, Resonance roll, TN=13 2, 3, CD5+1, Disturbance 1]

[Perception rolls to notice it
Fury 3,6,CD4 - failure,
Jezreel 6,4,CD4 - failure,
Michnelion, 6,1,CD3 - success,
Ross, 1,3,CD5 - success]

[John OOC: Now _that's_ humorous!] =)

The two detectives both glance at Kalamiel simultaneously, glance at each other, then go back to what they were doing before.

[Jezreel]
Seeing the two detectives glance at Kalamiel, Jezreel does as well, trying to see what caught their interest, but when she can't make it out, she shrugs and goes back to her anxious waiting...

Jezreel takes a long slow breath, then nods again. "Ready," she says...

Kalamiel gets a very surprised look on her face and then she looks very, very sad and shakes her head. "This is not going to be easy. This man truly believes that Heaven, and religion, have twisted society into the state it is in today. He gave up any chance of an afterlife to combat what he views as the 'angelic menace'. In a very literal sense of the word, he's a humanist and is doing what he can to remove an oppressive and restrictive regime that removes freedom from mankind."

[Jezreel]
Jezreel's expression is both confused and troubled by this, but she does not comment as she is really not sure how to shape any question about this bizarre idea.

[Kalamiel]
She smooths his hair with one hand gently. "Such noble ideals, but so twisted. If he could be turned to the right, he would be a great asset in the War... despite his condition."

[Jezreel]
Jezreel merely nods here, trusting that Kalamiel knows what she's talking about...

Michnelion's face remains relatively expressionless in typical Elohite style. "Hrm, while there are stories of undead renouncing their loyalty to Hell and acting on selflessness for the rest of their unnatural lives, those are said to be just stories. That and no undead can even enter the afterlife, which means for an undead to serve Heaven can make them perhaps the most selfless creatures of all. More than angels, in my opinion. However, its far more likely to encounter a Bright Lilim than a Renounced Undead.

Kalamiel nods in agreement, "All true, but any undead that turned from Hell would try to keep very quiet. Saminga is a jealous Prince and powerful enough to find former minions... if he knows they still exist." She continues to look at the captive. "I imagine there are more undead than we suspect, who have escaped their handlers even if they haven't turned to Heaven."

[OOC: ]

Fury, Kalamiel, Detective Ross and Michnelion see that their captive's eyes are beginning to flutter.

[OOGM: I'm guessing that only Ross, Michnelion and Fury will recognize this as a sign that he's coming to (or already has), since Kalamiel is more plant focused, but correct me if I'm wrong.]

[OOC: Plant-focused she may be, but she's dealt with people for a couple of centuries... =) And the way Malakim 'deal' with people frequently involves conking them on the head. Heh. The exact details of _how_ conscious the guy is are probably lost on her, though.]

[OOGM: Right, gotcha. So, Kalamiel would recognize it, sorry I keep forgetting about the centuries on earth thing.]

[OOC:IMO, due to the nature of Novalis' Word, around half of her time is spent with people or people/plant interactions. The 'peace' aspect of Flowers, after all. Unlike Jordi, she's doesn't reject humanity. If Jordi were to expand his Word similarly, he might have a lot more humans trying to understand their own animal backgrounds and drives... perhaps even incorporating something like 'mental health' or 'self awareness' into Animals.]

[OOGM: another conversation for another thread, imho.]

Jezreel listens politely to the discussion between her elders, but not having any experience whatsoever with any Undead other than the brief glimpse she's just had, she doesn't really feel she has much to add to the discussion. In fact, the mere presence of the unnatural thing is making her more than a bit uneasy, and she eyes it warily...

Ross leans over and gives the man a shake on the shoulder. "Hey, buddy, wake up," he says a bit menacingly.

The undead apparently wakes, startled. "Wha . . . where am I?" he says groggily.

[OOGM: Charyb, the effects of Jezreel's successful resonance roll will start to take effect now, CD4, I believe.]

Jezreel shakes her head at the Undead thing's attempt at deception, but does not interrupt as Michnelion starts to speak.

[Michenelion, Resonance Roll 3,6,CD2]

Michnelion lifts the head of the lamp and shines the bright light in the man's face. He states in an impassive, almost frighteningly distant voice, "Welcome to a strong-hold of Judgement. I hope that we can make this as painless as possible for you, but we need to ask you a few questions in regard to tonight's activities."

The man pins his eyelids tightly together, "Judgement, as in Judgement Day?"

"In a manner of speaking. It is not _the_ Judgement Day, but rather _a_ judgement day. Yours." Kalamiel pulls up a chair and sits next to the bound man. "I am your Advocate. It is my duty to try and save you." She pauses and lets him think about this for a moment and then continues, her voice calm but terribly earnest, "_I_ believe you can be saved, that you are a good man doing what he thinks is right. I believe in you."

Ross takes a long, slow, drag off his cigarette and blows a cloud of smoke through the room, filling the silence that follows . . .
[OOGM: GM Fiat]

Michnelion awaits the man's response, but the man says nothing and merely regards Kalamiel with a look of resistance and stern disbelief.

Jezreel hesitates before speaking, unsure of exactly how much participation Michnelion actually wants from her-- not sure if he expects her active involvement or if he just wants her to play lie detector. But since the Undead thing's attempt at concealing its alertness has not only offended her preference for Truth but also her dislike of secrets, and since it doesn't contradict anything that the elder Angel has said, she decides to be up front with it. Perhaps confirming the thing's fears might loosen its tongue.

"It's no use attempting to hide things from us," Jezreel says firmly. "I know, for example, that you were awake before the good detective woke you up and that you were hoping to learn more about us by pretending to be asleep. I also know that you suspect we are Angels. You're right," she says forcing herself to meet the Undead things eyes. "And things would go much easier for you if you cooperate."

The young Seraph glances for a moment at Adonikam, half wondering if what she's just said is completely True, but then nods to herself realizing that dying is not the worst of what could happen to it today if it fails to cooperate. Jezreel nods to herself, content that she's spoken correctly. Then she glances at Michnelion, to see how he reacts to her interjection, trying to decide if he approves or objects so that she can tailor her actions for the rest of the interrogation accordingly.

"And who are you," asks the undead, glaring at Jezreel, "the local girl scout representative?"

Jezreel catches Michnelion's eye, but he seems to neither approve nor object her actions.

Jezreel takes a breath and tries to decide how best to answer this Undead thing, but before she can, Detective Ross begins his rant.

"No," spits detective Ross, his tone surprisingly hostile, "she's one of the mighty Seraphim, closest to God's holy presense, top of the celestial ladder, and you'd better wise up to it real quick. You want to do this the hard way we can."

Jezreel shrugs slightly and nods, to confirm for the Undead thing what Ross has told him about her, that despite her childish Vessel, she is indeed a Seraph.

"But," says Michnelion, waving Ross silent with a movement of his hand, "there are easier options."

[OOGM: Feel free to jump in here, guys. :]

Kalamiel nods, "Yes, there are. I hope you believe me when I say that I hope you walk out of here free and unharmed, able to continue your life, perhaps even to help us serve humanity for I know you are a good man." She stares him in the eyes, "I _know_ what sacrifices you have made and the mistakes as well. You believe that humankind are being twisted and used by celestial creatures, and in this, you are correct. But you mistake the source of the illness."

The undead seems to be listening, but with a look of stubbornness upon him.

She pauses a moment and then seems to answer an unspoken statement. "Religions were an invention of Heaven, true, but only to help humanity, not to hinder or harm. Just as a good tool can be used for wickedness, so Hell turned this noble idea around inflicted ages of pain and suffering with it."

"Oh, really," says the undead, obviously not too impressed.

[Jezreel's resonance]
[He seems to stubbornly cling to believing that he's in the right. It seems that he believes Kalamiel to be lying, or at least grossly misinformed about the truth of the matter. He believes that religion and therefore Heaven is in the wrong and that Hell is the right, for providing humanity the tools it needs to fight against the brain-washing effects of religion.]

The Malakite puts a palm flat on his chest, "Hell exists to pervert all that is good and wondrous in the world. They promised you power to fulfill your most noble, albeit misguided, intentions. They twisted you and in doing so inflicted a terrible, terrible Need upon you." A look of sadness touches her face, "Did you know it can be removed? That you would never have to fear taking the life of another because the hunger drove you to it? Hell prefers you stay as you are that you might spread misery and death even without their direct guidance. If you live long enough, they wish you to grow as callous and jaded to human life as they are."

[GM]
[OOGM: Uh, Charyb, John is playing Kalamiel, Chris is playing the ever quiet and observant Fury :]

[Charybdis]
OOC: Uh... um... sorry... Now how did I get that confused in my head?... Um... Sorry...

The young Seraph nods in response to Kalamiel's explanation. Then she decides to answer the undead thing's original question. Jezreel may not directly be one of Litheroy's Angels, but she does Serve Revelation at least for the time being, and she shares his principles. And though Jezreel knows this thing is their enemy, she can't see where an honest answer would hurt in this case.

"I am Jezreel," she says, as if that should explain everything. "And who are you, sir?"

The undead rolls its eyes, "And why should I tell you, I'm just another member of the 'flock' to you guys, I may as well have a number. Soul number 1023435795," he says sarcastically. "Why should you give a damn about me, I'm just the Enemy. And Hell does not strive to pervert all that is noble and beautiful. Have you ever enjoyed Mozart, marvelled at the work of Picasso or Dali? Hell stands for the individual against the blind, ignorant masses of sheep in this world. Hell is about ideals and personal achievement. Mozart was a drunkard and a womanizer and Picasso and Dali were both completely self-absorbed, all selfish men who produced brilliant works of art."

The young Seraph stands in stunned shock that he should say such a thing. The fact that he really believes all this makes it more horrifying to her, not less. The analytical part of her mind starts trying to work out what must have happened in his life to make him have such a twisted concept of Heaven, even as the emotional part spins in turmoil.

"Humanity created religion, not Heaven. Heaven just exploited it for its own ends, to lure souls up to Heaven to do God's work; well I don't wanna do what your God or anyone else's God wants me to do, I do what's best for humanity, Freedom from Heaven and eventually Freedom from Hell. You struck the first blow when you threw Lucifer out of Heaven for disagreeing with God, God-forbid that anyone disagree with Him." v [Jezreel's resonance results]
[He believes all this to be true and states it to more fully flesh out where he stands in the matter at hand.]

He spits on the floor.

Ross gets up to his feet, but Michnelion motions for him to sit down.

Jezreel takes a long, slow breath, trying to decide how best to respond to all of this. Finally, she says, "You have asked me several questions, sir, many of which I do not honestly know the answer to, but let me do the best that I can. First off, you ask me *why* you should tell me who you are. The answer to that one is simple. My mother has often told me that it is easier to treat someone fairly when you see them as a person, as an individual, rather than as some faceless part of a group. This is a failing that we Celestials share with Humanity. Now, I am trying very hard to see beyond the obvious, to see you as an individual rather than as simply an abomination against Creation, but I would find that much easier to do if I had a name to call you rather than thinking of you as 'the Undead thing'."

"Your statements about religion I cannot really address. Truthfully, I don't know whether religion was created by Humanity or Heaven. That's a question my mother suggested that I was not ready to ask. And the other Angels I have asked about it have told me that the Symphony is remarkably quiet on the subject. I don't know, sir, why it is that you hate religion so much or why you feel it is merely a tool for brainwashing, but I ask you, does religion really do more harm than the Demons you Serve? Can the Church really practice anything more loathsome than forcing you to kill merely to maintain the semblance of life as Hell has done do you? And do you really have the freedom you seem to hold above all if you must not only Serve Hell but give up both body and soul to their dark purpose? It would seem to me that you have merely traded your fear of one master for the certainty of another, and destroyed your soul in the process."

"Now, to the matter of Mozart, Picasso, and Dali," Jezreel gives a pleasant smile, "Here, I can answer with a little more experience. Have I ever enjoyed their work? The answer is a wholehearted yes. Of course I have. Even as I have sighed with pleasure to stand in the gentle caress of a spring rain, or laughed in wonder at the play of light and shadow in the woods, or sighed with awe at the marvel of a sunrise, I have touched the Symphony anew through their eyes, and I have found it invigorating, soul warming, and beautiful. I am a Servant of Creation, sir, and I know it's wonders intimately. And while I know little of the personal lives of the artists of whom you speak (I am not old enough to have had the pleasure of meeting them in person), I can tell you that the essence of their art comes from having touched the Symphony and reflected it back to the world. They were able to create such beauty in spite of, not because of, their failings." She shrugs. "Eli has never been terribly judgmental. He is happy to share Creation with any who can appreciate it. And these men cannot have been wholly selfish if they could reach outside themselves to see the Symphony so clearly."

Jezreel stands tall and says, "I am Jezreel, Seraph of Creation, daughter of Dodai, Mercurian of Children, and Cosam Seraph of Lightening." And for a change, she does not cringe or look away when mentioning her Father. "Brought forth from the Symphony by Creation himself and placed in the Service of Revelation that I might show to humanity the joy of Creation. And I ask of you again, sir, that I might understand you better. Who are you, sir, and why do you hate religion so?"