PRP: DYLF: All Faith Cremation

[Philip Crosen]

So, Philip walked about, immersed in his Sybil`s Sight. He still wasn`t sure going in the front door later was the right thing to do. After all, would the real information they needed, like security camera logs and a comparison of whether a given corpse actually passed through there or was just made to appear that way really be released to random people coming in the front door? People lacking courage did occasionally linger and procrastinate before entering this type of establishment to gather courage before entering as it seemed like he was currently doing, he thought. But they did usually enter. There was no procrastinating in front of the door and then leaving. So he knew he`d have to enter at least initially, through the front desk. And then perhaps come back later after hours to get access to restricted files? Or he could try to cajole someone into helping him access those files anyway by talking to the front desk somehow? He was unsure. But after that thought process, he did feel secure enough to scrutinize the outside before going in. So he focused his Fate sight on anything and everything that might provide insight and peel back the layers.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-08 06:56:33	[03] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to scrutinize(Int. 3+ Occ. 1) (10 Again)	1, 10, 10, 6, 2, 10, 4	3 successes

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-08 06:56:33	[02] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to scrutinize(Int. 3+ Occ. 1) (10 Again)	5, 2, 4, 8	1 success

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-08 06:56:33	[01] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to scrutinize(Int. 3+ Occ. 1) (10 Again)	4, 9, 10, 7, 8	3 successes

Witch, where are you? This is important. He thought, somewhat annoyed that she still was nowhere to be seen, between bursts of concentration while attempting to peel back the layers and arrive at the truth. Still frustrated at his failure the day before, he was determined to prove himself that day.

[ReubanBrightwood]

And prove himself he does as Philips intense scrutiny yields up information from the enshrouding, resonance. His sight pulls and prods catching the whiff of smoke for mage sight is so much more than eyes and eventually through means of supernal workings allows Philip to know that the most powerful resonance present on the building reads as Inevitability For one to whom fate is much better understood, an intrinsic part of the self and soul the subtle nuances are well known. This carries none of that a grim fact. A statement. A declaration.

A man passing by pale, gaunt with heavy shadows under his eyes stops by Philip briefly as Philip gives the building this intense stare, but says nothing only offers him a thin if empathic smile, before moving into the building himself.

[ReubanBrightwood]

Xisdor Philip Crosen Bump

[Philip Crosen]

Philip was puzzled. His Sybil`s Sight scrutiny of the exterior revealed some disturbing clues. The most pervasive was the air of inevitability that sorrounded the place. But what did it mean? Was it inevitable that bodies passed through there, sure. Apparently it was also inevitable that whatever they were searching for had come to pass. And was it inevitable that he ended up where he was and discovered what he did? Of course. But this inevitability wasn`t part of a self or soul, it simply was. The subtle nuances to the contrary being well-known to Philip. `It` had declared that `it`, or whatever `it` was, existed, or had come to pass. Almost as if to taunt him with this declaration or statement of fact. As if to say: `So, now you know this is tied to inevitability, now what? What`s up with that?`
He paid no mind to the person who approached him, being completely absorbed in his scrutiny and Mage Sight for a long time as he peeled back the layers of the veil. Clearly, more research would be needed after all. And on that note, a decent place to get it next might be the front desk. He could always attempt to hack into security cameras or records later, although he knew it would be an almost impossible herculean-level task, given his lack of extensive knowledge of low-level coding. But for now, the front door was the way to go. The garden too, would remain an option for later also. But before he went in, he`d have to get his story straight which wouldn`t be easy. After all, he`d have to find a way to get access to the information he needed to continue the investigation while not revealing his identity, staying forgettable and also not breaking the Lex Magica. In his head, he decided to go with: `Friend of a distant acquaintance of Mothisa Sudarata who had been very moved by the story of her passing, so he wanted to know where her urn was being kept, to pray for her.` Although he knew actually saying that would be much, much harder and trickier and came with any number of risks. The least of which from cameras and the people in the place that might remember his face.

Nevertheless, armed with this new information he turned around in a direction he saw no one looking, briefly composed himself as if to gather his final courage, and ended his mage sight. Witch was still nowhere to be seen but he expected her to recognise his car from the night before, so was confident she`d know he was somewhere there, when and if she arrived even if she didn`t immediately see him. So he strode forward and entered the building, subtly making a mental note of any cameras that were obvious to see as he went in the door to speak with the people at the reception. At the front desk he smiled as he, dressed in his business suit and armed with his backpack, gave an at least somewhat imposing figure, despite usually not doing so. He still wasn`t sure if he was doing the right thing. After all, the receptionist might be in on some of the strange things happening and if that was the case, he could act much more directly against them without offending the Lex, he hoped. Further more, he figured his scrying did give off a pretty good show of grief, so it wouldn`t immediately be obvious he was a supernatural investigator, after all. So he introduced himself to the receptionist with a friendly, but slightly distant gaze.
"Good afternoon, I`m an acquaintance of Miss Sudarata and I heard of her story and I heard this was her final resting place. So I came here to pay my respects after all the hooplah of the campaign mounted to mourn her. Seriously, that was such a disgrace!
he said annoyed and angry, somehow managing to make that seem genuine because he genuinely believed the agency went too far to mourn her and had turned the situation into a circus for their ratings. After all this had had an effect on his work, to his considerable chagrin because several of his clients became distracted by the situation several times, leading to unproductive sessions he was only able to salvage through magic, which he was still seething over. He then added:
"After all, she passed out of this world way too young.", turning into his aloof and deadpan expression he used for serious discussions, inwardly because he wanted to get down to business, continue his investigation and obtain the information he wanted. This unintentionally caused him to give off an additional air of sincerity outwardly.

[ReubanBrightwood]

Philip is greeted with a modestly sized but well appointed foyer. A plain wood desk houses a sectary and signs above various doors indicate areas of the building such as viewing and preparation areas for various religions including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and others.

It'll be a wits+composure check to look for cameras

Philip waits behind the man who entered ahead of him for a short time while Janice. as her name badge reads, the sectary an older women whose dark hair has lost its lustre and shows more then a few grey strands, takes his details and in short order has him sit on one of the few chairs dotted around while she sends some instructions through a desktop computer to have him taken care of.

As Philip comes forward

If your being imposing it sounds like your angling to use your presence so that'll be a presence+subterfuge check

She eyes him with a neutral glance. Its readily apparent she deals with a lot the bereaved but seems to feel little for them personally. 'That's one of our high profile clients. I'll need you to sign in and see some ID. Can't let just anyone through you know. We get some real strange types wanting to see the remains of dead celebrities.' She air quotes celebrities. Pushing across a clip board of term and conditions for Philip to sign.

And finally a wits+empathy to get a deeper read of this women. And if you want to a wits+intelligence to give the terms and conditions a read over

[Philip Crosen]

Keeping a look out for cameras, he pondered his need to hack them should the situation turn south.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-12 16:02:10	Philip Crosen rolls 6 to Perception (Wits 3+Comp. 3) (10 Again)	4, 5, 4, 9, 6, 8	2 successes

Above all, Philip knew he needed to get out of having to show his ID so he went up to her and said, "Well miss, I`m not just anyone."

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-12 15:57:52	Philip Crosen rolls 4 to be imposing(Pres.2+ subterfuge. 2) (10 Again)	9, 9, 10, 1, 7	3 successes

he said, while looking at her and attempting to guess her disposition.
Her request is reasonable, certainly. But is she bluffing or can I convince her somehow to get me the data and not identify myself?
he thought, uncertainly, greedily trying all he could to have his cake and eat it too, while not appearing overly suspicious.
If necessary, by way of magic, though I have to be careful. After all, this is quite a difficult balancing act.
he thought, somewhat worried. After all, if push came to shove he might actually have to again ask fate to give him an additional shove as well, by shifting the odds in his favor even more. An option he internally cringed at using.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-12 16:08:22	Philip Crosen rolls 2 to read person (Wits 3 -1 (untrained in empathy)) (10 Again)	9, 1	1 success

But on top of technological and magical answers, he was secretly hoping to have a legal out as well. So he did his due diligence, reading through the terms and conditions on the clipboard like a high-profile lawyer while maintaining his outwardly imposing demeanor.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-12 16:15:47	Philip Crosen rolls 6 to understand contract (Wits 3, Int. 3 ) (10 Again)	8, 5, 2, 5, 2, 9	2 successes

[ReubanBrightwood]

The names Crosen, Philip Crosen --- or that should be how Philip introduces himself after such a smooth series of of suave displays of skill.

Walking up to the desk he notes with subtle ease the Camera over the main entry way that would record people coming or leaving and a second that leads into the area labelled crematorium. It seems they have Onsight incineration capabilities and want to know who comes and goes from that area. No other cameras that he can see.

His powerful command of the room gets an eyebrow from the sectary. Not because she doesn't by it. Philip reads the slack facial muscles the lack of movement in her chair as ... disinterest overall. As long as she can check the boxes and say she did her job she doesn't seem to care much. She certainly doesn't seem the time to stop or pursue if he chooses to march off. And the sectary doesn't ask for his ID again. He has made it clear it is not worth the trouble it could cause. Her focus is on the waiver, as long as that signed she has a name she can file.

The contract is waiver for damages, behaviour respect for the dead and wishes of the family, no theft etc. In short If Philip breaks, or steals anything he is liable. He agrees to respect any wishes of the dead made known via will e.g. Religious customs. And to abide any wishes of the family should they be made known. He is also agreeing not to broadcast this publicly or use the grief of passing for personal or public gain.

[Philip Crosen]

Despite being imposing, having a decent cover story and managing to avoid having to show his ID, he knew he couldn`t get around signing the waiver. Her facial expression made it clear she just cared about protocol being followed and getting out of dodge, but that she did at least take that seriously, at least to a point. So, in that sense she seemed to behave like any disgruntled and slightly apathetic office employee would. So he signed the waiver quickly and messily as `F. Reggie`, an alias he`d used several times successfully before, despite knowing the risk document forgery could pose. He then impatiently handed her the clipboard back, like a lawyer who wants to get down to business, brooking no delays to his mission.

With that said and done, he turned his thoughts to the video feeds and waiver. They might have to be disposed of and/or corrupted respectively. At the very least, he made a mental note he`d have to double-check that institution`s file retainment policy, to ensure no trace would be left before long.

Did the waiver mention anything to him about file retention generally and/or deletion/destruction of the waiver and/or video feeds after a specific time? Such as for privacy reasons or anything of the like?

He might have to have her carelessly throw away the waiver by shifting the odds in this way, and corrupt the video feeds to erase any knowledge of his visit outside of high-level mind, time and perhaps spirit magic. Or, he could just leave well enough alone, and hope the video feeds would be erased or overwritten before long and the waiver eventually shredded. This worried him slightly.
What would Witch do, here? Would she care about the video feeds? Am I doing a good enough job?
he thought, unsure he`d covered all his bases. But for now, there wasn`t much he could do, and using his rote to shift the odds towards rendering his signature unreadable or destroying the waiver so soon after his signature, was obviously out of the question. So, he gave the secretary a questioning look, as if to ask:
Are we done? Can you show me the data now?

[ReubanBrightwood]

Great question . Yes with his suxx he would have read it will be securely held in house for a year after removal of the body and or remains he was viewing. After which documents will be disposed of. It didn't specify how.

With plausible deniability covered the sectary seems to loose what little interest she had in Philip Responding to his look with. ' Wait over there someone will be with you shortly.' From his read of her he does get the feeling she is glad to have him moving along, imposing as he came across it didn't seem she wanted to dally with their dealings.

And in short order a middle aged, slightly plump man with wiry dark hair and brown eyes approaches Philip. He wears a black of the rack suit and thin black tie. Appropriate colours for his profession. He maintains an air of gentle dignity. 'Right this way Mr. Reggie.' It seems there might also be an e-mail trail he will need to deal with if he wants to blitz all signs of his presence here. Philip will note he is being escorted prior to the gaunt man who came in before him. The benefits of a stern professional demeanour no doubt.

The plump man will start to lead Philip towards the door marked Hinduism -- Storage, preparation and visitation. 'We were expecting someone to come collect her soon.' The man seems to want to make conversation. 'Its rather unusual for the body to be cremated and the ashes not collected immediately you know.' He isn't smiling the place to somber for such a display, but he does carry a pleasant almost soothing air to his person. 'Are you family?'

[Philip Crosen]

As he walked, he became increasingly paranoid. After all, there were multiple individuals in this instituation, who might also leave a digital paper trail about him, in addition to the waver, if the secretary writing on her computer was any indication, not to mention the way she took the details of the gentleman who was at the desk before him. Obviously, this digital paper trail had to be cleaned up because it might otherwise become immortal. And one year of time in which his forged signature existed in their files, as stated in the waver, was quite a risk. On top of that, he saw no information in the waiver regarding the security cameras, which made him nervous also.

The gentleman was nice enough though, and what he`d said got a raised eyebrow of curiousity and concern from Philip.
"That`s strange, why would no one pick them up? I mean, there was a service for her here, with her family in attendance. And you too perhaps? I take it? I mean, if no one picked up her remains?"
Out of courtesy he gave the gentleman part of the same cover story he gave the secretary:
"No, in fact I`m just a distant former acquaintance of hers who was touched by her story and wanted to pay my respects."
Inwardly the gentleman`s revelation had his mind racing with possibilities:
Did her family not care? Is it even Mothisa they cremated? How perfect then, that I read it`s almost impossible to get DNA traces from cremated remains! And why would the agency go out of their way to make such a show only for no one to collect the ashes?

Can he attempt to use Life 1 to see/detect whether (when and if he actually gains access to the) usually lifeless and DNA-less remains of this cremated individual exists enough DNA left in order to attempt a DNA trace of the individual whose remains these are, despite usually being almost impossible with cremated remains?