16598/Interlude: Is Science just magic in disguise

Interlude: Is Science just magic in disguise
Date of Scene:	30 October 2024
Location:	Club Lux, Melville
Synopsis:	THe skull, a plan, some information and some examination -- between a meet-n-greet and a crossroads.
Cast of Characters:	Sinister, Constantine, Phantasm (Drago)

---

Sinister has posed:
St Mary's clinic -- New Jersey.

It's a place that's been visited before a couple of times, by various associations. It's one of those places that is above board above ground, is questionable below it. It houses one of Sinister's labs, you see.

In this particular case, it's one of his infectious disease facilities. Yes. It's in the middle of a densely populated area. He's not precisely the most morally caring individual that ever lived.

But it also has containment facilities that SHIELD would be proud of, that Tony Stark might be mildly impressed over. Doctor Nathaniel Essex might not be a billionaire philanthropist playboy, but he is a genius in his own, sociopathic way.

Coffee tables really aren't good places to store demon skulls, you know. Even if they do belong to the devil. So this is where invites were sent, passcards were given.

And it's where the man's typing at a computer, whilst the skull floats in a containment vaccuum, being scanned by tiny floaty bots.

Constantine has posed:
Suddenly, John Constantine. Although he carries his access card, it's only hanging from the lapel of his trench coat and showing the backside, something nobody cared to check or correct. John is exceptionally not smoking, remembering how many nozzles are ready to ruin his day anyway if he tries.

"Nathaniel," he says for greetings before doing a beeline for the skull itself.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick's not entirely sure why he got a pass card. He didn't really go to college. A class here and there and private instruction don't count. And even if that did somehow count, it wasn't of the science variety.

But perhaps he's there to serve as an excuse for answering the dumb questions that others want to ask but don't.

Or there's someone on the invite list that Sin doesn't want to be left alone with.

Either way the musician finds himself coming by the clinic. The passcard, combined with some general prodding to the right direction gets him where he needs to go.

Reaching the room, pale eyes look over to the floating skull. Then to John and the Doctor. "Evening."

Sinister has posed:
"Thank you both for coming..." Sinister leans back from his typing, hits 'enter' rather hard and folds his arms loosely over his chest as the vacuum the skull rotates and floats in, gets ever so slightly cloudy for a moment. The smile is lingering as he turns his head to glance to the door, regarding both men. The ruby diamond in his forehead is prominent at the moment and oh-so-slightly glowing, indicative of some kind of focus occurring at the moment. Perhaps. Or he installed a flashlight in it, who knows?

"I got curious, to a degree. Topology, morphology, anatomical adherants and dissonances... for all intents and purposes, the skull would pass for human. Makes a fellow wonder, truly.."

The cloud in the vaccuum clears with a reddish tint around the edge apparently pushing it inwards to a collapse.

"Apparently, Azazel's been visiting, so... I figured it would be prudent also, to make sure contingencies exist."

Constantine has posed:
"Good evening, Nick." The magician rises his flask as a salute and takes a swig. He returns his attention to the skull's containment.

The frown on John's brow slightly deepens. "The undead belong to something between the demonic and the dreaming realm... you could say south east of faerie. To acceed Earth and get mundance adjacent, they need something that relates to consience. It's not possession, it's more like a corrupted sympathetic incarnation." While he speaks, John's gaze move from Nathaniel to Nick, equally.

"Not that it matters a lot... just keep in mind that what's magic isn't real per se but also it's because it isn't real that it matters the most, which makes the weird shit possible, not that most people can see or cope with it. Azazel appeared somewhere?" The question popped out at the end of his speech as he catches up with what's being said.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the skull gets clouded over, he looks to it once more briefly before looking back over to Sinister. Consider the portion about the skull passing for human, there's little surprise.

Considering a portion of his own being comes from one of them, he'd assume they'd be able to have SOME degree of similarity to humans. Even if it's a temporary thing.

Lux would probably not be as popular if Lucifer made his appearances with a T-Rex head or walking around as an eye filled feather ball.

Although.

The mental image of a Lucifer with extremely tiny arms roaring at club goers as they flee the premesis, while odd is mildly entertaining, triggering a slight smile.

As John's question comes up, the mental image fades. "Yeah... He kind of swung by as I was packing up from rehearsal."

Sinister has posed:
And because Nick usually has the mental shielding of a transparent piece of tissue paper, Sinister is left staring at the skull as Constantine explains the metaphysical direction of undeath, his eyes going a tad round and spaced out. A flutter of blinks ensues and he casts a look to the young rocker.

"That was not helpful. I'm now picturing Lucifer attempting saurian whiskey pouring and cursing all the powers that be to the seventh layer of Hell. That is a mental image I did not need," though there is the very hint of a smile on his lips, oh-so-fleetingly.

His throat is cleared and there's a nod. "Apparently so, he visited whilst Nick was in rehearsals, offsite and out of generalized protections. There appeared to have been a small metaphysical tragedy, also, if his account is correct. I doubt that it was permanent though, Angels are notoriously hard to kill."

The Skull thunks down and the vaccuum jar opens with a soft hiss of in-coming air, looking ever so innocuous otherwise. The enter key is hit on his computer again also, bringing up an AI image. It appears to be a very handsome looking male human. Ish. Because they know that it's not a human. "He was a looker once."

Constantine has posed:
John stifles a grunt as he considers both sides of the discussion and decides they are not an equation, even if stretching it. "How are you alive, Nick?" he first asks. "Killing the divine, now you're drifing outside my wheelhouse. Do we want to kill Azazel? Do we even know what Azazel or the undead parasite want? Could be enough to give them what they want and then, I don't know, get them lost somewhere far far away. A binding contract would work."

John looks at Nick intently. "How the bloody Hell are you alive?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
To the admonishment, Nick looks over to Sinister. "Probably not helpful." Nick agrees, "But it was funny..."

When the image is brought up, Nick looks to the visual while listening to Sinister's description. "Well... when in human like form, when have you seen an ugly angel?"

The glance is given once more to the image. "...Although when I ran into him he was piloting a middle aged female housekeeper for most of it. After he popped out it was more smoke and shadow with a bit of a shadowman face."

Perhaps that is enough to explain how Nick's alive. Perhaps not.

"He mentioned being surprised I ended up with the dragon's tongue and wanted to get a look at me. We talked a little bit. I get to call him Bobby now and he didn't outright reject the idea of listening to offer."

He frowns, "No killing. I think he just doesn't want to go back to where he was being kept."

Sinister has posed:
"From what I recall, what was done to him was horrific. Spreadeagled, blinded, crushed beneath a rock so heavy that he could not move and sealed forever in the dark, beneath a mountain, never to see the light of day again. There were bonds too, which apparently faded over time... and they threw every sin that they could upon him before they condemned him. He's the very first scapegoat."

Sinister offers that, then adds rather quippily. "I often wonder how Nick is still alive, he has the worst and best of luck. In his friends and his enemies alike, but I think he has a hand in the elasticated string theory of existence."

There's a consideration of the image, a shrug and a mild face pulled, the man DOES have a point.

"I don't know if he's parasitized, John. I don't have anything fleshy to test and the bone marrow is utterly degraded. I tried a tooth enamel scraping, but that too, rebelled against my drills and when I empowered it, I had about as much success as when I extracted Lucifer's DNA. I had a lot -more- of that, too."

Constantine has posed:
The British man's pout shows his insatisfaction. "So that's Azazel's skull and what's roaming about is some kind of ghost?" He takes a sip of whatever alcohol his flask carries, something high proof, on the industrial cleaner side of spirits, by the smell of it.

John passes a hand through his hair. That changes the topography of his dischevelment a little. Are you into free-willed zen gardens? "Can't get the DNA of a wish, Doctor. The divine, they are pure wish. The stronger ones, they are self-wished, too, at least that's the main theory. It's like the Big Bang of the magic world, if you want. That's what makes them hard to kill, they are close to the Dreaming. Now the undead is eating from that divine, licking it from the inside like a lolipop. I'm no fan of Lovecraft, let the King in Yellow be a bedtime story... we better bloody hurry."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick's lips part ways to try and protest the comment made but...well.

"You make it sound like I don't train or practice at all." He finally decides upon for a defense.

Nick blinks to Constantine's comment about not being able to get DNA from the divine.

"I'm not sure about that. He's done it before." Nick comments, looking over to Sinister before looking curiously to John. "...You bring up the Dreaming a lot. Would they be drawn towards products of that?"

Sinister has posed:
"Mmmm. It probably does argue with itself, negative plain energy and supreme zero-point." Because of course Sinister would science it, it is how he understands it all. There is a nod to Nick, a small one at the observation. He did. But then he did extract it from an avatar. This, the bone remains, might not be that, which does change the equasion somewhat.

The inquiry though, has him listening keenly.

Constantine has posed:
John makes a sour face. "I'll take you there, someday, maybe. True undead, not animated corpses or strong psychic impressions... they're after the living, usually. Eating from emotions or flesh or blood, whatever's the product of being alive. This is somethin' else. You did however established a rapport. Giving it a name was clever, because no one from the magic side will offer their real name. So..." He pauses, considering the skull in its tank.

"I say the easiest way to lure Azazel in is to have you, Nick, holding the skull at a stone throw distance from lava or something powerful." He looks to Nathaniel. "Whatever happened to the cube? That's scary enough."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
To the offer of being brought over, Nick shakes his head. "Probably don't have to if it's already dream related." Nick comments. , cracking a small smile to the mention of giving another name to Azazel as it runs in a similar theme to another story told to him by Leo.

To the mention of having him putting the skull near a form of destruction, he frowns slightly. The 'something powerful' seems a bit more enticing in comparison.

He looks over to Sinister. "Where was that place we ended up at the night that guy came into the club with that key?"

Sinister has posed:
"The cross-roads. It's a nexus realm, as I'm given to understand it and can be reached just about from anywhere with the right words, gestures, intent..." pause "...probably timing, also." Sinister frowns a measure. "Asrael implied that Azazel had achieved this state on his own somehow. I wonder if that's actually the case now. Hmm. Oh..." he glances at Nick then, then with a sigh, stares at the computer again.

Various news reports are shown, the ones he'd been sifting the night before, from various obscure regions of the planet. Mysterious disappearances. Mysterious deaths, sometimes enmasse with no active signs of disease or illness associated with them. Artifacts missing from vaults, reliquaries and other things. The only thing that connects them are obscure orders and well... conspiracy theories. At least a couple of articles reference so-called Sin-eaters.

Constantine has posed:
John approves to Nathaniel's description. "There's many a door from here to Faerie, if you have the gift and from there you can go... anywhere. Astral projection is another way. The Crossroads... it's like a tiny bit of each place, touching at an infinitely small point that's stretched out infinitely. 'cause it's a projection of the collective intent of having a choice in where you want to go. You can also dream of it or... one guy I met, Yamamoto, he drank his way there. Tricky, coming back when you run outta juice."

"Seems though that Azazel can go as he pleases. Or 'they' please, if it's two in one. If we track'm, we're easier to ambush. If we lure'm, we may have a moment of surprise. I'm not a big fan of the undead realm or... divine regios either. But Nick's the closest thing we have to a connection so I guess it's up to you, Nick." John snaps his fingers and a flame pops from his thumb... only now he remembers: NO SMOKING. He shakes his hand, putting the fire off.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Crossroads seems easiest." Nick comments, "Seems like we've all been there. Reasonably neutral area. We can generally agree he had a shit deal last go around- "

He pauses as he watches John get ready to light up only for the magician to flame out, so to speak.

"Also the point's to start a dialogue. Not piss him off right from the get go."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister gives a vague smile, likely because of the approval. And for the snubbing of the flame -- there's oxygen in the walls here, it IS a clinic.

"Well, John, please do examine the skull, do what you have to do to gain a sense from it. We do need contingencies, just in case is does go completely south."

The inlaws do like to give second chances, or at least enough rope to hang themselves by. "I am going to run what little I managed to get from a tooth through the mass spectrometer, to see if any information does come from it. Nick... this might be a stretch, but I did hear your song the other day. I keep an ear out, most of the time..." he smiles wrily as he heads toward the door to the clean room and the mass-spec "...Azazel was an Angel once. Sometimes, a prayer for the damned might even be /helpful/." And with that seed planted, he gives a small nod and slips inside the lab space.

Constantine has posed:
John breaks out a pendulum, gold or gold plated. "Time to test shit, Nick. You know the expression, when shit goes south?" He kneels and chalks cardinal points on the sterile tiles. "First, I'll just call his name, see how the pendulum goes and then we ramp it up. We'll even try you singin' a song. Either way, keep an eye on where the thing swings, in case I miss it."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick does not deny Sinister's observation about the inlaws. "What can I say?...Sometimes Second chances are the game changers." He comments, giving a small smile, "While I could guess, I'd hate to know where I would have ended up without mine."

The mention of the song causes for Nick to glance up, looking to the doctor once more. "...He seemed to think it was an appropriate choice as well." The musician states, probably revealing a bit more about the exchange than he did verbally.

But yes. Maybe a few more of those made might help."

With Sin making his way to the lab area. Nick glances back over to Constantine, listening to his suggestions on things to try. "Alright." He agrees, stepping over to observe.

And possibly spit out a rhyme later.