Aliens atmosphere processing plant. Matrix Revolutions machine city. Dieselpunk. This is more reference gathering and scenario design than anything else. Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049.
Play: Hamlet. Courage in isolation and in a morally grey area. Remember- Clarissa is a government agent. There are rules, at least for now.
Spread "Mentoring" through here. I don't know when you're re-reading this, but I eliminated "Mentoring" and decided to spread it through all the Act I scenes with cultists.
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Final step before initiation. The potential is hungry, but must show they are useful to the cult and not another mouth to feed. The mentors connect with her (the touch and strange feeling she had in the private show) and determine her mission, which reflects her dominant element, Air: infiltration, stealth, stealing. It is no accident that this is her mission.
What are we doing here? Clarissa can't just get into the cult. She needs to show two things, 1) that she can follow orders and 2) that she is useful to the cult and not just another mouth to feed. The cult gives her the task of spying on Hilam's tralaticon reclamation operation. That's great- half junkyard, half recycling facility. Malfunction Junction would be great reference. Anyway, the cult in some ways operates like Fight Club- the left hand does not know what the right is doing.
New idea: Clarissa cannot even get into the cult area until she proves herself. She meets no one and a message is dropped off at her little hole in the wall. There is a little note from Tanya (maybe with some little inside joke or sign that it is really from her) saying that she went through the same process and this was how it is.
Clarissa is required to sneak into Hilam's tralaticon reclamation operation and steal a pair of his reading glasses. The moisture on them will tell the Pool about him.
How does Clarissa get the glasses? I want it to be Air related. Hilam is a gangster and has a lot of violent people surrounding him. A frontal assault video game style is suicide- even a whole Sweep Team with planning would be lucky to escape without casualties. She could pose as an inspector (too official? How would she explain getting credentials?), could show up asking for a job (the mob doesn't work that way though), or sneak in as a service worker for cleaning, food, or something like that. She could also do a straight up infiltration. She could get picked up by one of the gangsters, pretending to be interested in him. What if she contrived to deliver a legitimate package to the facility? Or to repair or deliver a new piece of equipment? A rep from a well-known machining company? Perhaps she is a pretending to have a lead on some tralaticon that's up for grabs? Does she know one of the gangsters from the Dis scene and approaches him about doing some work? I like the Gittes approach. Walking in legitimately, but leaving with things you should be have. Remember Air. She could "go up." This is a huge operation that I imagine there are crains and whatnot in the facility. Perhaps she could do some kind of infiltration that way.
Clarissa decides to infiltrate the the reclamation facility via a construction crane or high building next door (Air) and time it with the arrival of the night cleaning crew. She ambushes and ties up one of the workers and uses the disguise to enter Hilam's office. She ends up stealing his reading glasses, which are visible from a pocket in a jacket draped over his desk chair. There are several items (like a fountain pen) on his desk that will do, but she doesn't want to get the cleaning crew punished. Hilam is ruthless and something obviously stolen will bring a reprisal.
Clarissa asks Tanya what she had to do at some point. Tanya blushes and doesn't like it, it is against the rules to talk about your missions with those not directly involved or a superior, but she eventually confides that she had to pretend to work at a brothel frequented by certain government officials and steal a specific key from him. Why and what it was for she did not know. The cult, by the way, does not allow pregnancy right now and the Pool is able to "cleanse" or "flush" such distractions away. After the Apocalypse it will be otherwise: children will be encouraged (read: mandatory) so that the Pool can start influencing them from the womb and produce new generations of slaves. Compare to the power generation in the Conduit Plants.
Tanya looks up to Clarissa the way Clarissa looks up to Pali?
Make sure Handler is met before she does the task. The stakes need to be reinforced.
Clarissa decides how she is going to provide some value to the Servants to get into the cult. This is a major decision because she can either do it ruthlessly or compassionately. Perhaps she can choose to help or hinder someone and it comes back later somehow. The Servants do not ask questions about someone's background, only that they come forward into the future with them. This seems stupid until Clarissa realizes that the Pool is sentient and can delve into someone's mind.
Handler also comes into the picture. He can't believe her luck and lets slip that things are looking grim in the Teams right now, catching himself before revealing Pali's death. "There have been losses." Or some such line needs to be in there so the reader knows he knows about Pali, but chooses not to tell her. "Security through vigilance" is their parting phrase. He impresses on her the importance of this mission and perhaps hints at immediate elevation to the Sweep Teams if she is loyal and effective.
Future References:
I'm thinking of Chinatown when Gittes coughs to cover stealing the list of land buyers at the records office.