The Love and Lust Department

After one very long night of cleansing the nigh-infinite Oldest House of its various paranatural vermin (Emily's explanation about paranatural time dilation not width-standing), the Bureau's surviving staff have very carefully mapped out a nice clean schedule.

First, a few days of much deserved, much needed rest for everyone.

Second, scheduling mandatory therapy. The FBC had to outsourced a lot of manpower from independent psychological help due to the sheer number of people that needed it after surviving a hive mind brainworm killing their coworkers.

Third, reorganization. The Hiss invasion had caused a rather big mess in the Oldest House and everything was everywhere. Files, audio-logs, paper-clips, old and new altered items, they were all over the place and with Ahti still gone on his vacation, staff were literally on their hands and knees picking up sheets of paper that were in **** need of sorting.

Emily was given the prestigious title of Head of Research and she was supposed to be filing papers and assisting in reorganizing the Research Sector. Giving out orders to managers and middle managers and interns on what goes where and things that need immediate attention.

Or at least that was what she should have been doing. Instead, she was spending all of her time with Jesse.

Jesse Faden appreciated the company. She always liked being around Emily. She added a much needed enthusiasm and confidence that made Jesse feel less ill-equipped about her job as Director. Jesse had been Director of the Federal Bureau of Control for about two and a half weeks and she had no idea what she was doing. Sure, you see glowing red floating monsters with guns, your first instinct -- to shoot them in the head -- is usually right. Having lived paycheck to paycheck her whole life, she didn't know anything about budget-balancing or network deployments or maintaining compliance with external regulations and internal policies. She wouldn't even know how to write any of that down without at least a dozen spelling-errors.

Currently, much to the ire of Dr. Underhill, Jesse, Emily and a group of low-level researchers were emptying out the dying mold's threshold. With the mold now under control and receding back to the eldritch pitch from which is sprang out of, Bureau staff had slowly removed every desk and chair and power-cell they had brought into the opening to study it.

The control points within the thresholds were removed and repurposed into a new control point just outside where the elevator once was. Jesse cracked her knuckles and slammed her palm on the center of the control point. Concrete blocks that formed the threshold receding within it, going from a frankly hazardous hole in the floor back into a mundane hallway across from the cafeteria. The various research staff and rangers applauded, both amazed by their director's impressive ise of power and grateful that the first-floor bathrooms were within reach again.

"I never get tired of that," said Emily, giddy with excitement and trying to find free-space on her paper to jot down more notes.

While most the Bureau have been trying to wind down the last few weeks (or as "wind down" as you're allowed in the Oldest House), Emily wanted to spend this time getting to know Jesse. More specifically, the exact limits of her parautility. Though, yeah, she also wanted to know Jesse better. There is only so much PCP files can tell you compared to just asking her.

"Hey Emily," asked Jesse, suspicious. "What's 'Love and Lust'?"

Standing in what was originally the blocky wall of the threshold's entrance stood an entrance to a different section of the House, the words 'Love & Lust' written on the roof.

"The Love and Lust Department!" Emily exclaimed. "It's another section of Ritual Division. A building shift must have carried it down here before the Threshold opened!"

Okay, but what is it?

In her peripheral vision, Polaris' crystalline swirling told her that she should go down there. That there was something she needed to see or do.

"Hey Emily, what's down there?"

"Huh? Oh! Love and Lust. Yeah. There are some paranatural phenomena that respond to certain carnal acts in relation to the human brain. A sort of neurological-hormonal trigger that magnetizes and activates certain paranatural phenomena in relation to certain activities in correlation to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs."

Jesse blinked, not having understood a word of that.

"They study sex and how it relates to certain paranatural phenomena."

"Really?" Jesse laughed at the thought.

Emily blushed, holding her clipboard closer.

"Yeah! Humans have always correlated the act with some forms of magic or divine insight!"

"What?! Love and Lust is back!"

Up walked Langston, just as surprised at their find.

"I thought this place disappeared for good! You know, I tried getting transferred here a bunch of times before they put me in charge of the Panopticon. Never could get in though."

"For the last time, Langston," said Emily, exacerbated. "Bureau resources aren't to be used for recreation. Especially that kind of recreation. Love and Lust are strictly research oriented."

"Yeah, sure. Research gets to have all the fun."