Milton and Miles meet with Allen, with Magda outside just in case this is all a trap. It isn't, and she's pretty bored. Over dinner, Milton with his sharp sluagh eyes notices that Allens clothes aren't really clothes (they don't have seams and stitching!). Allen and his people apparently intend to open up diplomatic relations with humanity after the turn of the millenium, but think that KOT will be a big threat to that. Allen seems personally repulsed by the thought of one part of the government undermining the rest like that. Later it comes out that the aliens have a "weakly subdivided experience space" and mostly understand what all the others are doing. There are a very few who aren't connected to the experience space - criminals who are kept contained. The aliens also abhor violence.
Allen also shows them pictures of the KOT base in New Mexico on a piece of paper which responds to his thought. They can't take it with them, though, because the paper is a citizen! Allen also says that the KOT department is using technology similar to the fae's own technology. No one corrects him and says magic, but the fact that Allen sees KOT technology and fae magic as the same is disturbing. Milton wants to do some tests of the effect of the alien propulsion system on computers, and they arrange to do a test the next Saturday out in the Berkshires. Allen also learns that the fae (who he thinks of as extradimensional aliens) have a government themselves instead of all being one group mind, and determines that he should speak with a leader. Milton promises to see what can be done.
Miles and Milton emerge from the restaurant unharmed, and a discussion ensues with Magda about the whole surreal experience. The next day Magda goes and briefs the Countess, who wants someone to make sure this isn't a pooka trick before having a diplomatic meeting. Victor is suggested as being hard to trick.
Meanwhile Dill teaches his lab ferret, Jaques, to surf the web, and receives some revisionist history from Quux (chief nocker at Radcliffe). Dill doesn't open the fomorian containment unit and take out some as a sample, though, having just been burned by the demon yeast. Which, by the way, is buried in holy ground and hopefully will never be heard from again.
Desiree has gone out of town to visit the court of the Berkshires, but everyone keeps busy during the next week. Dill grows some Black Orchids for Miles who makes a super-strength love perfume from their essence. Dill also experiments with Jaques' brainwaves, and gets permission to come along and meet the aliens on Saturday.
Eventually Victor is asked to look over the alien when it seems
that there won't be a better candidate. He believes that it is an
alien, but can't tell anything else about it, because their group mind
is hard to penetrate.
Victor thinks the appearance of aliens is part of the logical
progression: fomorians give way to fae give way to angels and demons
who in turn are supplanted by aliens. Of course, Changelings have
stepped outside of that process by blending with humans. Miles isn't
sure if he believes this or not - for one thing, it means that the fae
didn't exist until people dreamed them up, which is strange.
On Saturday a lot of computer equipment is hauled out to the Berkshires and set up with the help of a generator provided by Dill (well, by the Baron, really). Dill and Allen have a very strange conversation in which neither understands the other really well. Then the test is done, and as the saucer approaches Milton gets some very strange data over the line from the test computers - random bits of their insides seem to squirt out over the wire, until the presence of the ship causes them to shut down. As it retreats they have a similar period of confusion while restarting. Milton thinks he can work with that.
In preparation for Allen's meeting the Countess, Miles tries to enchant him - which works, Allen can see both pieces of the bidimensional beings known as fae, or at least that's what he thinks is happening. Unfortunately, this experience can't be integrated with the rest of the experiences, and Allen suffers a disjoin of his experience space. He is a criminal now, and very distressed about it. The other alien who is there puts him to sleep by giving him a paradox to think about. Our heroes promise to see what they can do about removing Allen's memories of the incident to allow him to be reintegrated. The other alien will take over Allen's human identity for now, so now he's Allen. Dill gets a sample of alien flesh during all this confusion from the downed Allen... who knows what he'll do with it.
Player Notes: