Outside, afternoon

[witchfinder_general]

It's not even a week since Father Harman has seen the last infected person, so he feels he ought to wait at least until Monday before going home. However, spending the last week and a half mostly at the library has been very fruitful, but he feels he needs some fresh air and movement.

So, despite the occasional rainshowers, this afternoon finds him walking around the lake, with occasional inroads into the forest, or on the mountainsides. It's all not really that large, but it affords him some hours to ramble, think, and enjoy God's creation under an open sky. Yes, even though this is the magically created outside of a bar situated beyond time, space, or even reality, Father Harman still counts it as God's creation.

Everything is. Except, maybe, vampires.

Comments

[witchfinder_general]

"We already had the Code Five, and we needed to tell the lady the truth in a hurry," Father Harman says. "I neutralised it, as one of us would have had to do in any case."

[street_sparrow]

"Ah, so you didn't capture it just for that. That makes more sense... so you showed her what happens when they're neutralised, to prove it wasn't human?"

[witchfinder_general]

"Precisely," Father Harman says. "Of course, if there ever was the need to convince some elected official quickly, that is what we'd have to do."

[street_sparrow]

"Or take him along for a demonstration when you go on an operation", Gavroche suggests.

[witchfinder_general]

"A minister or MP who has started asking questions about our funding?" Father Harman says, doubtful. "Maybe even the Chancellor of he Exchequer, if we ever get a competent one? Not very likely. Their Security would have kittens."

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche snorts.

"True. But they wouldn't much like you bringing a Code Five to them, either."

[witchfinder_general]

"We'd invite them to our office, and do it there," Father Harman says. "Nice controlled environment, still impressive enough, especially if the two-way mirror shatters again. We have funding for another one."

[street_sparrow]

"Did that happen during the neutralisation, or did the Code Five do it?"

[witchfinder_general]

"They explode when they are neutralised," Father Harman says. "A fiery spectacle. Always."

[street_sparrow]

"...yeah, that'd be something to convince anybody."

[witchfinder_general]

"And then, a little bit of brownish ash is left," Father Harman says. "Nothing could prove better that this was not human."

[street_sparrow]

"Not if they watch it start to finish, it's true."

[witchfinder_general]

"That is rather the point," Father Harman says. "They'd be a bit startled, but at least they'd have answers."

[street_sparrow]

"And be well and truly in your corner, I'd hope."

[witchfinder_general]

"I do hope so," Father Harman agrees. "Otherwise, it would have been a waste of a perfectly good pane of two-way mirror."

[street_sparrow]

"Yeah, and they can't come cheap."

[witchfinder_general]

"No, they don't," Father Harman says. "And while we do have solid funding so far, I don't hold with wasting tax money like that when we could spend it on actual science."

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche nods.

"I can see how it'd be useful to have one, though. For observation."

[witchfinder_general]

"Yes," Father Harman says. "One. We have that. We even have a new one after I neutralised that Code Five. But I wouldn't like to keep breaking them."

Pause.

"We're not sure the Code Fives can't see through it in some way or another. They interact with light differently than we do."

[street_sparrow]

"Have they ever said anything about the people on the other side?" he asks, interested.

[witchfinder_general]

"Yes," Father Harman says. "That last one we were keeping hold of addressed us directly, as if it knew who was on the other side of the pane."

[street_sparrow]

"Then maybe they can see through. Or it was just very good at guessing or bluffing."

[witchfinder_general]

"We had no way of telling," Father Harman says. "We could have done more tests on the one we had, but neutralising it in order to show that lady whose help we needed was more important."

[street_sparrow]

"Yes", he agrees. "And it would probably be too much of a risk to bring one back for study."

[witchfinder_general]

"We would have to have blood first," Father Harman says, "and it seems they can make theirs flow at will. We have never managed to draw blood from a captive Code Five the way you would from a human; on the other hand, they can intentionally injure themselves and bleed freely when they need it for a regeneration. Once we manage to get hold of some viable blood from a fully fledged specimen, we might bring some back to study them. We most likely will."