Coil
Two timelines. One choice.
Seems easy on paper. It's not the flashiest of powers.
But with someone of my intellect, it doesn't need to be.
Charlatans used to use sleight of hand and misdirection to pick the right card every time.
Tattletale was both the easiest and the hardest of my pets to control.
I do look forward to the day I can pick the timeline where she bleeds out, betrayed as I finish extracting the last useful information out of her smug little brain.
But for now, I'll bear her little rebellions.
Because I have a problem.
Someone is interfering with my timelines.
It was subtle at first, A timeline terminating before it should have leaving me in a tricky situation with work.
Then a timeline terminated while I was tracking the mayors niece. She seems to be a prime tinker or thinker trigger.
I do so love to grow my collection of pets.
Then the situation came to a head.
A new tinker has been making waves. I had high hope for this one's intelligence given the quality of his gear, but he registered with the useless idiots at the PRT, showed them powerful tech without reservation, and then walked out adamant he was remaining independent.
Usually, an imbecile like that would be putty in my hands. His personality analysis had him down as "Heroic, but proud, possibly slightly narcissistic at least in how he looks and acts, and obsessed with the idealism connected to traditional heroism."
So, I looked for the usual levers I use to manipulate the heroic ones.
They don't exist. He doesn't exist.
Tattletales analysis was useless and say what you want about that girl but usually her power is always at least somewhat useful.
"He's deeply conflicted in personality," "His actions and intentions don't match each other," "He isn't a tinker and isn't a thinker."
Clearly must be a higher tier thinker than my Tattletale. It's well known that high-level thinkers interfere with other high-level thinkers.
So I assumed he was the one interfering with my timelines.
The next time he appeared in the city I ordered him followed.
Inconclusive. He walks through doors and vanishes popping up a few minutes later in another part of the city…
I find out just before he meets with the PRT for the first time he's seen most often in Merchant territory so I arrange for a tip to be passed to one of Skidmark's lower level thugs.
It hits gold. Skidmark has had a recent tenant of one of his men followed, apparently suspicious of him already.
I have the identity.
Whoever blanked this man out of the systems is good. He literally does not exist.
No resource I throw at him can find a single trace of his existence. I called in a favour with Accord and even his contacts at watchdog could gain nothing.
For a short while I consider that he's a Kings man, or possibly even a Yangban plant. He's too convenient and too happy to help. I've made a career out gaining the trust of the PRT and he manages it in a day.
Skidmark tries to capture him. Skidmark ends up in lockup. I arrange for Skidmark to get out in exchange for a future favour. Skidmark doesn't take my help, already made his own arrangements I find out later.
I'm loathe to waste a good possible resource, or a potential new pet. But the interference with my timelines cannot be abided. Every time he disappears and reappears somewhere else in town, my active timelines drop.
I am ready to give the sniper the order. He's signing autographs after trying to prevent Skidmark's escape. His faceplate is open, and he is a sitting duck.
A gun is put to the back of my head in both timelines.
"Calvert, I've been nurturing this little plant since the start of last week. If you interfere with his growth, you may find yourself pruned."
I freeze. I cannot take any chances with this one.
"You said you wouldn't interfere with the bay."
"To keep this one playing the game, I would become god empress of the bay if I had to."
There are many people I am willing to ignore or work around.
This isn't one of them.
"I can't use my power in areas where he uses his mover teleportation power."
"Neither apparently can the Simurgh. Three known Simurgh plots have resolved without a single death that we can track, the only thing they have in common is that they spent time in the bay in the past week."
Now that's extremely interesting.
"So what do you want me to do? You won't let me kill him, and while he's in the bay, my own plans are on hold."
"Test him. Step further into the background and manipulate ramping threats against him. Don't let him rest for a minute. This one grows in a crucible. Forge him. He has a good heart, but he is painfully naïve about the world around him. And I cannot keep deflecting and absorbing issues for him now some of my other projects are looking to be viable. His charmed and 'coincidental life' comes to an end from Saturday. You will be taking over my job of maintaining his growth."
"Where's the benefit for me?"
"You mean other than keeping your eyeballs in their sockets?"
"I've been working on taking over this shithole for years. Being allowed to live isn't going to be adequate compensation."
"The Bay is off limits for as long as he calls it home. But we could be persuaded to assist with your… ascension in another area, should this one end up where we need him."
"And adequate monetary compensation too no doubt."
"Of course, we will even call all of your favours complete."
Well, that's an offer I can't refuse.
I drop the sniper timeline and in the base timeline I turn to the bitch behind me.
"We have a deal."
She nods and disappears into a portal.
I pick up my phone and dial Tattletale.
"Offer Archon recruitment. If he refuses, burn me as a contact and try to join him. worse comes to worst, I'll arrange a public crime to draw him out and you can let him turn you."
"Boss no offence but have you been drinking."
"No but I've been made aware that being on this ones good side is a good idea for the immediate future. I'll need someone on the inside and if you don't think you can do it. Analyse him and find someone who can. I'm putting my operation into temporary dormancy while I work on a special project. Don't worry, you and your little weekend scouts will still be paid."
"Ok Boss, uh do you have a job for us?"
"Raid Empire and ABB holdings, I'll triple anything you steal on an ongoing basis if you aren't detected at all. I want them riled up but not pointed at you."
"Ok Boss, we can do stealthy. Later."
Cheeky little bitch hung up on me.
I'll make her pay for that in a later session.
Notes:
You may have noticed a certain amount of serendipity follows Archon, at least for a while. Certain thinkers can follow up with Archon as long as a forge roll hasnt occured recently.
I honestly think had i rolled BlankII up to now i would have just abandoned the story. I found myself getting more and more scared of the prospect of another forge roll utterly invalidating plot points.
Things are now starting to come to a head and i'll be going more into the manipulations behind the scenes in future chapters.
Suffice it to say, things will soon get very interesting.
I hope youl ike my take on Coil. I've read so many Coil demolished fics that i wanted to write somethign a little different. I hope i captured his creep factor well. He really creeped me out the first time i read worm.
Luckily after this point, Blank wont be able to derail the story so i dont need to fear rolling it so much.