Keyes Lab Memory Gems

Document

Max writes: These are the memory gems we've recovered so far.

Gem 217

(A scientist is briefing a meeting...) "Quarsis is an illithid elder brain. Some call them the Patient One, because they're known or suspected of executing plans that take decades. We extrapolate that Quarsis wants to master ceremorphosis on dragons, believing that this will allow the illithids to reclaim their empire. They had some initial success: they created drathids through the ceremorphosis of dragonborn. Quarsis may have secretly been guiding the Brotherhood of the Shroud in their experiments with adintech on fey."

Gem 317

(A scientist is recording a voice memo…) "They have taken the primary airlock and the decontamination station. We have sealed the modules but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes… drills, drills in the deep. We cannot recall the sub. The silver moves in the dark. We cannot recall the sub. They are coming."

Gem 805

A scientist is writing a report on a computer...) "Quarsis wanted Adinzar built, because it would draw out the Wyrm Princes of the Celestial Circle to stop our lord, the Grandmaster Nicol Bolas. Quarsis used reverse psychology: they ensured that Gerzil learned of adintech and learned that the illithids believed it was too dangerous to pursue."

Gem 464

(A scientist is writing notes on an iPad...) "The Circus Divergia is finding and kidnapping seed bearers. Theory: this is why Bree Ambersheaf cut ties with the Circus. Theory: This is the work that Ambersheaf's son, Ordin Zarn, participated in, when he was tricked into serving the Circus while seeking his father."

Gem 988

(A manager is recording a video memo…) "Quarsis may have taught the Reaver Combine how to steer Adinzar with lures. Quarsis' motive in doing so remains unclear."

Gem 427

(Two managers are talking in an office…)

First manager: "So the Reavers want to get to Earth, to get to Cryos. But Earth is hard to assault, because they have so many Unbound and fairly-advanced tech and magitec. And the Rational Ascendancy would view Reavers as a categorical threat."

Second manager: "Right. So, let's game it out. Suppose the Reavers pose as Planters. They offer to protect Earth and the other worlds of the Closeness from Adinzar. Earth gives them something modest…"

First manager: "Yes, yes! This is good. Suppose it was just one city. But they can deeply infest it and prepare to move out from there to conquer the planet."

Second manager, shaking his head: "It would only work if the Rational Ascendancy felt truly desperate. We need to recommend that our agents seed distrust of all insectoids, both Planters and Reavers, and that they promote the idea that the Rational Ascendancy doesn't need to take the bargain."

First manager: "Hmm. Yes, I'm with you. Maybe we can get a majority of the Council to put their trust in that new team that Nails is putting together."

Second manager: "Oh, that's good. Especially since the Master has an agent already embedded in that team."

Gem 389

(A scientist is writing a report on a computer…) "General Zel seemed to have worked with Gerzil the Pernicious, an ice devil. We believe that Gerzil arranged the raid on Quarenzend, then used what they stole to develop gems of soul burning, also called bloodstones. This gave Zel what Mephistopheles wanted: a claim on the souls of arcanists who create and use bloodstones. As a bonus, the devils also get to harvest the souls of many others involved in the bloodstone trade. Our lord discerned this plan, and sought to out-maneuver all others in shaping the bloodstone market. Combined with his hold on Amonkhet and its abundance of lazotep, our lord could finally amass the power he needed for his much-deserved ascendance."

Gem 388

(A scientist is briefing a meeting...) "We believe that our lord discovered some of what Quarsis was doing. The Grandmaster played along, thinking that he could outmaneuver Quarsis. We know that our lord is almost unequaled in his strategies and discernment. But it's difficult to avoid an uncomfortable possibility, that our lord didn't count on the Amonkhetians rebelling and turning his command chamber into a trap."

Gem 164

(Two scientists are talking in an office…)

First scientist: "But what I can't figure out is why our lord added Adinzar to his plans. He already had everything he needed for the invasion of Ravnica."

Second scientist: "Unless he knew something we don't, or maybe foresaw something, about how the invasion would go. He must have seen the need for one more super weapon. He is the Grandmaster, after all. We can't hope to comprehend his strategic genius."

Gem 993

(A manager is talking with a scientist in an office…)

Manager: "Alright. You're saying that the Grandmanster's agents were sent to secure a source of spirit-bonding magic, because Amonkhet lacked anything comparable."

Scientist: "Correct. We think they may have stolen magitec from a Tanyth Aramont shipyard, possibly even kidnapped some personnel."

Manager: "The elven empire enslaves spirits in their ships?"

Scientist: "Oh no, no... Certainly not the major houses that supply the Navy. Like Skyguard? They're too proud and quote 'honorable' unquote. With their approach, it's all about sealing covenants with spirits: a little bit of bargaining, a little bit of holy nonsense. But... Hmm. There are rumors of a house selling ships with enslaved spirits. The agents wouldn't have needed to kidnap or turn one of those shipwrights. Hell, the right shipwright might have been drawn to the scale and innovation of the Black Pyramid."

Gem 113

(A manager is recording a video memo…) "We're confident that the technique of creating bloodstones was taught by the devils' agents. Recall that Mephistopheles operates out of the Citadel of Mephistar in Cania, the 8th layer of the Nine Hells. One of his more trusted aides in Valgoth Zel, a pit fiend. Zel is the General of a Sword Legion, and his name translates as Exquisite Vengeance. We believe Mephistopheles tasked Zel with devising a new plan to harvest the souls of arcanists."

Gem 445

(A scientist is writing notes on an iPad...) "Our lord found one of the seed bearers of Amonkhet, on Amonkhet itself. This was critical to subverting the gods to his will. Our lord hopes to achieve the same outcome on Almudena Santisteban, once we find it."

Gem 387

(A scientist is briefing a meeting…)

Scientist: "The Axis of Elusive Truths runs through each world. Our lord sought to use the Axis to help power his ascendance. But the Covenant of Chain Breakers locked the Axis and hid the keys among mortals. We're calling these keys 'world seeds.' Without a key, a mortal can only observe the Axis."

First manager: "And you believe that the Rational Ascendancy found the seeds for the worlds in the Closeness, and that's how they were able to channel the Axis to power the Breakwater."

Scientist: "Yes, that's our theory. It's also how they were able to amplify the Breakwater into the Palisade."

Second manager, smiling: "And now they're burning out their own systems. When Palisade fails, and it will fail, the worlds of the Closeness will have to reckon with more contact with the rest of the multiverse."

Scientist: "Yes. The question remains: What orders did Nails give Fletcher and her team? Are they genuinely going out to preserve the Breakwater, or does the Phoenix Group want it to fail?"

Gem 164

(A manager is talking with a scientist in an office…)

Scientist: "Thus, we are forced to conclude that there is no single Black Pyramid. Our lord Nicol Bolas is within. We can't avoid the uncomfortable probability that he is trapped. Yet he's still influencing matters within the Pyramid."

Manager: "Alright. We also know that the Pyramid itself is alive. It's the pinnacle of adintech."

Scientist: "Correct. And we know that adintech hides a dark appetite for consuming souls and growing stronger from their torture and annihilation...

Manager: "Yes, yes. And that appetite is unmasked and raw in the Pyramid, as you said. It pretends to be the ultimate living archive, but it actually just wants to... eat."

Scientist: "Right. But we believe there is a third mind at work in the Pyramid. And the conflict among these minds--"

Manager, interrupting: "Explains it's erratic behavior."

Gem 548

(Two scientists are talking at a table...)

First scientist: "I think Quarsis is responsible for teaching some demon lords about Strain. Then the demons would surreptitiously promote the spread of adintech, to increase Strain."

Second scientist: "That fits with our theory on the Circus Divergia, that demon cultists are embedded in the troupe. It's a pity that our own agents were purged when our lord was trapped."

Gem 490

(A manager is recording a video memo...) "Gerzil seemed assured that when the time came, the devils could defeat the team. I have a theory that he knows something about Raptor Blue that others have missed. One of them must be especially vulnerable to Cania's influences."

[Max: The time-stamp is partly corrupted, but this seems to be approximately Dec 5, 2017. That's a few days before Raptor Blue killed Mr. Smith in Chicago.]

Gem 777

(A scientist is meeting with another scientist…)

"The Society of Sensation will never let the Circus Divergia be dismantled. I'm confident that Gerzil is counting on this. It makes the Circus a reliable, resilient tool for spreading the manuals. What I can't figure out is the Simic Combine angle. They respect the Rakdos' artful experimentation, but disdain their chaotic disorganization. Why would they collaborate on the Circus?"