To meet one of the Outcast leaders

The outcasts lead Lux through the underground tunnels with a little less confidence and certainty than Atara showed; they’ve been away for years, after all. Finally, they come to a large chamber that’s obviously an important part of the Great Machine’s inner workings. The stone walls are lined with a particularly complex array of braided-up metal wire, and large panels covered in brass levers and gauges stand in a circle around the centre.

Generic Generator: What evil plans do the outcast leaders have for Atara and Lux?

What it does: [KD] Transform (technical) | How it looks: [3D] Large (technical) | How significant: [4] About average

A device to turn them into mind-controlled thralls

Pacing Move: [1] Foreshadow Trouble

They’re preparing to use the device on Atara.

Detail Focus: What is the mad scientist behind the machine like? | [KH] Dignified (social)

In the middle of the room, Atara sits restrained in a large, almost throne-like chair. A strange semi-circular metal construction is fitted onto the chair’s headrest, encircling Atara’s head like a halo. Her eyes are closed, and Lux can’t tell if she’s conscious.

A slender, well-dressed woman with light brown hair stands next to what seems to be a control panel for the mechanism. She turns as the three outcasts approach her, with Lux in tow.

“Rina,” Avin says, “we brought the intruder.”

“Good, good.” The woman called Rina moves closer to Lux, nodding slightly as she inspects her prisoner. “Just as they said: an obvious fiendish bloodline. Seeing how you react to the process should be most enlightening.”

“What ‘process’?” Lux asks, already sure she’s not going to like the answer.

“I am so very glad you’ve asked!” The woman beams broadly. “I’ve spent years working on this design, and there’s been almost nobody to talk to about it. Of course, without access to the machinery down here, it was simply impossible to put any of it into practice. But now – now I get to demonstrate it to you in extensive detail.”

She places her hand on top of Lux’s head. “You see, what this machine is designed to do, is to scrub away every trace of annoying ‘free will’ and ‘personality’ from this pretty little head of yours. Once its work is done, you will be entirely obedient, passive, biddable.”

Lux can’t suppress a gasp of revulsion. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Olan turn pale. Even Radan wears a look of unease.

“You’re out of your fucking mind,” is the only reaction she can come up with. Rina just laughs.

“We’ll see whose mind is intact when all this is said and done, hmm?” She moves over towards the strange throne where Atara is seated. “You’ll have to wait your turn, though. Atara, here, is going first.” She laughs as if at a witty joke. “It makes sense, really. She and the others are already mindless slaves to a machine. We’ll just be putting that loyalty to better use.”