text: [Themes: Espionage, supernatural]
  
  > Look around
  This spacious gallery is empty, though murmurs of conversation from
  the room to the west echo throughout the chamber. High, narrow windows around the circumference of the room cast orange light on the marble floor. An ornately carved archway leads east, next to which is a conspicuous black keypad. Plainer exits lead north and south.
  
  An ornate chandelier hangs from the ceiling. A leather briefcase, shining brightly with spiritual energy, has somehow managed to hook itself onto it in my absence.
  
  > Go west
  Humans flitter across this wide hallway, clumping into and breaking
  out of knots of intense, whispered intrigue. A table next to the
  double doors to the west is laden with delicate champagne flutes,
  which some of the humans stalking around the room are also
  brandishing. Nondescript oil paintings hang at regular intervals
  around the room. A small hallway leads south, and a wider passage
  leads east.
  
  There's a set of open double doors here leading west.
  
  The burglar stands off to one side of the room, looking around carefully.
  
  The reporter surveils the crowd.
  
  The brute lounges against one wall.
  
  > put the explore and slowly on the burglar
  explore intent: I give the explore intent to the burglar, taking the take intent in exchange. It now intends to greedily explore the area. slowly manner: I give the slowly manner to the burglar, taking the greedily manner in exchange. It now intends to slowly explore the
  area.
  
  The reporter makes some notes.
  
  The burglar wanders off to the east.
  
  > Go east
  This spacious gallery is empty, though murmurs of conversation from
  the room to the west echo throughout the chamber. High, narrow windows around the circumference of the room cast orange light on the marble floor. An ornately carved archway leads east, next to which is a conspicuous black keypad. Plainer exits lead north and south.
  
  An ornate chandelier hangs from the ceiling. A leather briefcase, shining brightly with spiritual energy, has somehow managed to hook itself onto it in my absence.
  
  The burglar wanders off to the west.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  The burglar wanders in from the west.
  
  > put the take on the burglar
  I give the take intent to the burglar, taking the explore intent in exchange. It now intends to slowly take something valuable.
  
  The burglar's eyes alight on the briefcase.
  
  > wait for a while
  Time passes.
  
  The burglar takes out a grappling hook.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  The burglar throws the grappling hook up to catch on the chandelier.
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  The burglar starts carefully climbing up the rope. After it gets a few feet up, however, the rope starts swinging wildly, and it climbs back down and reconsiders.
  
  > check your inventory
  Intentions:
  the explore intent
  the open intent
  the drink intent
  the select intent
  the read intent
  the block intent
  the defend intent
  the serve intent
  the wait intent
  the sell intent
  the buy intent
  the warm intent
  the clean up intent
  
  Manners:
  the greedily manner
  the seriously manner
  the aggressively manner
  the generously manner
  the recklessly manner
  the lazily manner
  
  Codebooks:
  three confidential codebooks
  three secret codebooks
  
  Other possessions:
  a detector
  an intercepted communiqu??
  the almanach
  a candle
  
  > put seriously on the burglar
  I give the seriously manner to the burglar, taking the slowly manner
  in exchange. It now intends to seriously take something valuable.
  
  The burglar starts carefully climbing up the rope. After it gets a few feet up, however, the rope starts swinging wildly, and it climbs back down and reconsiders.
  
  > put recklessly on the burglar
  I give the recklessly manner to the burglar, taking the seriously manner in exchange. It now intends to recklessly take something valuable.
  
  The burglar quickly climbs up its rope without regard to its wild swinging back and forth. It grabs the briefcase and quickly swings
  back down.
  
  > put open on burglar
  I give the open intent to the burglar, taking the take intent in exchange. It now vaguely intends to recklessly open something.
  
  The burglar struggles with the lock on the briefcase.
  
  > put seriously on the burglar
  I give the seriously manner to the burglar, taking the recklessly manner in exchange.
  
  The burglar struggles with the lock on the briefcase.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  The burglar struggles with the lock on the briefcase.
  
  > put aggressively on the burglar
  I give the aggressively manner to the burglar, taking the seriously manner in exchange.
  
  The burglar struggles with the lock on the briefcase.
  
  > go to the west
  Humans flitter across this wide hallway, clumping into and breaking
  out of knots of intense, whispered intrigue. A table next to the
  double doors to the west is laden with delicate champagne flutes,
  which some of the humans stalking around the room are also
  brandishing. Nondescript oil paintings hang at regular intervals
  around the room. A small hallway leads south, and a wider passage
  leads east.
  
  There's a set of open double doors here leading west.
  
  The reporter makes some notes.
  
  The brute lounges against one wall.
  
  > put the explore on the brute
  I give the explore intent to the brute, who now intends to explore the area.
  
  The reporter makes some notes.
  
  The brute trundles off to the east.
  
  > go east
  This spacious gallery is empty, though murmurs of conversation from
  the room to the west echo throughout the chamber. High, narrow windows around the circumference of the room cast orange light on the marble floor. An ornately carved archway leads east, next to which is a conspicuous black keypad. Plainer exits lead north and south.
  
  An ornate chandelier hangs from the ceiling.
  
  The brute trundles off to the north.
  
  The burglar struggles with the lock on the briefcase.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  The burglar struggles with the lock on the briefcase.
  
  The brute trundles in from the north.
  
  > get explore
  I extract the explore intent from the brute.
  
  The burglar sees the brute and flees to the south, clutching its briefcase.
  
  > put the explore on the brute
  I give the explore intent to the brute, who now intends to explore the area.
  
  The brute trundles off to the south.
  
  > Go south
  This stuffy closet is filled with a variety of stark metal equipment, undoubtedly very important and very dangerous to humans. A maze of wiring creeps over the walls, sinking into the further recess of the complex. There's an electrical hum throughout the room and a faint metallic smell in the dusty air. The single exit from the room leads north.
  
  A large steel cage blocks access to high-voltage equipment.
  
  The brute trundles off to the north.
  
  The burglar tries to figure out the combination on the locked briefcase, but it isn't having much luck.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  The burglar tries to figure out the combination on the locked briefcase, but it isn't having much luck.
  
  > wait for a while
  Time passes.
  
  The burglar tries to figure out the combination on the locked briefcase, but it isn't having much luck.
  
  The brute trundles in from the north.
  
  > get explore
  I extract the explore intent from the brute.
  
  The burglar looks up from its briefcase and sees the brute. Thinking quickly, it slips the briefcase through the bars of the cage and wanders nonchalantly north.
  
  > put take on brute
  I give the take intent to the brute, who now intends to take something of value.
  
  The brute's eye catches on the briefcase in the cage.
  
  > wait a while
  Time passes.
  
  The brute reaches for the briefcase, but the bars are too close together.
  
  > put open on brute
  I don't have the open intent in my possession. I last saw it in the burglar's possession.
  
  > go north
  This spacious gallery is empty, though murmurs of conversation from
  the room to the west echo throughout the chamber. High, narrow windows around the circumference of the room cast orange light on the marble floor. An ornately carved archway leads east, next to which is a conspicuous black keypad. Plainer exits lead north and south.
  
  An ornate chandelier hangs from the ceiling.
  
  The burglar looks around with an appraising eye.
  
  > get all
  aggressively manner: I extract the aggressively manner from the burglar.
  open intent: I extract the open intent from the burglar.
  
  The burglar looks around with an appraising eye.
  
  > go to the south
  This stuffy closet is filled with a variety of stark metal equipment, undoubtedly very important and very dangerous to humans. A maze of wiring creeps over the walls, sinking into the further recess of the complex. There's an electrical hum throughout the room and a faint metallic smell in the dusty air. The single exit from the room leads north.
  
  A large steel cage blocks access to high-voltage equipment, as well as the leather briefcase.
  
  The brute's eye catches on the briefcase in the cage.
  
  > put open on the brute
  I give the open intent to the brute, taking the take intent in exchange. It now vaguely intends to open something.
  
  > look at the cage
  I suppose it's here for safety, what with the "danger, high voltage" signs, but it'd also do a bang-up job as a dungeon cell.
  
  In the steel cage is a leather briefcase.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  Intentions:
  the take intent
  the explore intent
  the drink intent
  the select intent
  the read intent
  the block intent
  the defend intent
  the serve intent
  the wait intent
  the sell intent
  the buy intent
  the warm intent
  the clean up intent
  
  Manners:
  the aggressively manner
  the seriously manner
  the recklessly manner
  the slowly manner
  the greedily manner
  the generously manner
  the lazily manner
  
  Codebooks:
  three confidential codebooks
  three secret codebooks
  
  Other possessions:
  a detector
  an intercepted communiqu??
  the almanach
  a candle
  
  > put take and aggressively on the brute
  take intent: I give the take intent to the brute, taking the open intent in exchange. It now intends to take something of value. aggressively manner: I give the aggressively manner to the brute, who now intends to aggressively take something of value.
  
  The brute reaches for the briefcase, but the bars are too close together.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  The brute hurriedly grips two bars, one with each hand.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  bars, and it soon has bent them enough to grab the briefcase.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  The brute clutches the glowing briefcase.
  
  > put open on the brute
  I give the open intent to the brute, taking the take intent in exchange. It now intends to aggressively open the briefcase.
  
  The brute, grunting, rips open the locked and glowing briefcase.
  Seeing the launch codes, it touches a concealed earpiece and makes
  some sort of report.
  
  > get the codebook
  (the top secret codebook)
  I pick up the top secret codebook and page through it. The cipher on the communiqu?? is at an extraordinarily high classification level, and even the top secret codebook doesn't cover all of it. I can still decipher some of its header information and basic format, though. This particular cipher is used in very rare circumstances to give immediate orders to agents in the field when a completely secure method of communication isn't available. It's effectively one step below a one-time pad, used when logistics or circumstances prevent that from being an option, and it's almost as secure; this code isn't one that I'm going to be able to break on my own. Its use by the Other Side suggests that there was an urgent, probably unexpected order they had to give to one of their agents. The mere presence of agent isn't a
  huge secret; neither my side nor my opponents are naive or arrogant enough to think that we're the only one in this business. This coded communiqu?? suggests, however, that the agent was doing something that would cause a serious escalation if we found out about it???violating one of our treaties, for example, or taking direct action against one of our agents.
  
  With the part of the cipher in the codebook, I can decrypt the rest of the communiqu??:
  
  Confirmed neutralization of Krait. There is no significant opposition remaining in the target area. The action has been authorized. Assist the delegations and ensure that the conference concludes successfully as quickly as possible. Cardinal is standing by. We will act immediately on the broadcast.
  
  This is definitely cause for alarm. If only I knew something more
  about this "Cardinal," then maybe Whiptail and I could figure out what to do about it. That takes priority over finding the rest of the codebooks; there's now a clear, imminent threat to us.
  
  The brute mutters something into its earpiece.
  
  > look up cardinal in almanach
  I search through the almanach and find the sparse entry for Cardinal. It's listed as operating under the Advanced Research Directive, but there's no further description; it doesn't even indicate whether Cardinal is the name of an angel, or a highly classified research group, or a codeword for a specific project. The only other
  information provided is a reference to a node on the Other Side's communications network: LN-199. That could be anything from a data
  feed with public information to the personal line of the director of the research department. Whiptail would probably know how to get more information on it.
  
  The brute mutters something into its earpiece.
  
  > get all
  open intent: I extract the open intent from the brute, along with the aggressively manner.
  aggressively manner: I already have that.
  
  The brute mutters something into its earpiece.
  
  > go north
  This spacious gallery is empty, though murmurs of conversation from
  the room to the west echo throughout the chamber. High, narrow windows around the circumference of the room cast orange light on the marble floor. An ornately carved archway leads east, next to which is a conspicuous black keypad. Plainer exits lead north and south.
  
  An ornate chandelier hangs from the ceiling.
  
  The burglar looks around with an appraising eye.
  
  > Go west
  Humans flitter across this wide hallway, clumping into and breaking
  out of knots of intense, whispered intrigue. A table next to the
  double doors to the west is laden with delicate champagne flutes,
  which some of the humans stalking around the room are also
  brandishing. Nondescript oil paintings hang at regular intervals
  around the room. A small hallway leads south, and a wider passage
  leads east.
  
  There's a set of open double doors here leading west.
  
  The reporter makes some notes.
  
  > go to the north
  The hotel's lounge is a maze of overstuffed leather chairs. Next to each one is a narrow table with an ashtray and an occasional discarded newspaper or magazine on it. A trolley with drinks sits at the ready against the far wall. Passages lie in all four cardinal directions. In addition, an ornate, sweeping staircase leads upward into the part of the hotel for guests. While the human guests are of little interest,
  my predecessor also kept a room here on one of the upper floors.
  
  The tourist sits off to one side.
  
  > Go east
  This gallery is a small, stark alcove adjoining the lounge to the
  west. The walls are bare and white, and the carpet is a deep brown. An exhibit at the far end of the room shows off a few brightly colored pieces of pottery, protected by a velvet rope in front of the display.
  
  A bell with a large crack is displayed on a plinth here.
  
  > ring bell
  I ring the bell, producing an uncanny tone.
  
  > read almanach
  I skip to a random entry in the almanach and read it aloud. Going through the minor biographical details of a functionary who seems to have done nothing but attend meetings for seven consecutive millennia is tedious, but it should be sufficient for the ritual.
  
  > Light candle
  "I quickly invoke the ritual again and conjure up a hazy image of Whiptail.
  
  "Hey, Sidewinder. Did you have any luck with the thing that definitely wasn't a thaumatic force dampener?"
  
  "Things have escalated here. There's more involvement from the Other Side than I suspected, and I'm dealing with a hostile operative." The portal isn't a secure line, so I can't go into the full details, but I give him a summary of what I read from the intercepted communiqu??.
  
  Whiptail snaps to attention and looks at me sharply. "Do you need reinforcements?"
  
  "There's no one else nearby. That's the only reason I'm here in the first place. What I really need is information on this Cardinal that's in the communiqu??."
  
  "Do you know anything about them?"
  
  "Very little. I don't even know if Cardinal is an asset, or an angel, or a group of angels, or a project codeword, or what. I suspect it's that it's the superior officer of that hostile operative I ran into, but that's just a guess. Can you get me any intel on them?"
  
  "It would be tricky; if you're right about this operation being more serious than we expected, anyone involved in it is going to be well-protected. I could start organizing an infiltration team, setting up a cover???"
  
  "We don't have time for that. The summit is going on right now; I need something faster."
  
  "I could try to tap into their communication network."
  
  "We don't know whether Cardinal's even an enemy operative. If they're not even an angel, then we're a signatory to treaties that would restrict-"
  
  "Sidewinder, I'm a demonic scientist. I break the laws of physics
  every day; do you think I care about breaking the actual law?" He shrugged. "But we'd need physical access to some sort of relay in
  their network, and that has the same problem as a direct assault."
  
  "Wait, I've seen something like that here." I describe the telex in Kingfisher's office to Whiptail.
  
  "Perfect! I've got just the thing." He begins digging through the drawers of his desk, casually tossing discarded bits of machinery over his shoulder into the mass of spare parts piled around his office. He then emerges into my field of view triumphantly holding a tiny metal flange.
  
  "Here, this should work," he says, showing me the object and then passing it off to a subordinate. "I'll arrange a drop at your location and send this to you. Use it to tap into that angel's telex. You'll need to locate Cardinal's line, but it should handle the decryption
  for you."
  
  "Thanks, Whiptail. I owe you one." I pause and reconsider. "That was just a turn of phrase, and as such it does not constitute a legally binding notice of obligation or commitment, whether implicit or explicit, for services that may or may not have been rendered, in part or in full, throughout the execution of actions that would be considered in a court of law to follow from the commission of either party's normal duties, nor to actions in preparation for such actions; and any such assistance does not require either party to guarantee continuation of prior assistance, nor further effort toward establishing new assistance, except as it falls with the usual and established ambit of their duties acting as officers of the demonic intelligence services, as well as organizations controlled in whole or in part by the aforementioned services, their delegated agents and recognized attorneys-in-fact, their usufructuary interests, and any subsidiaries or similar organizations in which they have a controlling interest."
  
  I don't have time to give the full disclaimer (footnote 9), so I quickly shut down the portal.
  
  > Footnote 9
  (9) ...the full disclaimer: You can never be too careful. As
  I know from personal experience (albeit on the other side of things), making a deal with a devil???even an inadvertent one???never ends well.