Disco Elysium Wiki
Advertisement
Disco Elysium Wiki

Lieutenant double-yefreitor Harrier "Harry" Du Bois is the sole player-controlled protagonist in Disco Elysium.

Background[ | ]

LIMBIC SYSTEM – It was *him*. *He* is the infernal engine. He never stops. He only gets worse.

Harrier Du Bois was born in ‘07, the last year of the Commune of Revachol, before the Coalition's attack, at a time when the Antecentennial Revolution was still going strong. He was born on the ground floor of Revachol's Old Military Hospital in The Pox during a snowstorm.[16][21] As a child, he suffered a bout of partial infantile paralysis caused by polio, and though he would for the most part physically recover from this condition, it gave him a permanent twinge in his jaw that affects pronunciation of certain words.[22]

In his adolescence, Harry was a member of a street-gang comprised of eight delinquents from Faubourg and North Jamrock calling themselves The Fifteenth Indotribe. Of all the former members, Harry is the only one who still lives.

Harry's twenties coincided with "the New", a time of excess and opulence trigged by an economic upswing in both the Coalition of Nations and Revachol, and leading to the birth of a new music genre, disco, of which Harry himself became a fan. He became especially fond of the Revacholian Disco superstar Guillaume Le Million, whose stage persona and mannerisms he would try to emulate, leading to him adopting The Expression.[23]

Prior to joining the RCM Harry was a high school gym teacher[24] in Grand Couron.[25] He met Dora Ingerlund, his future fiancée, while the two waited at a bus stop.[26] She inspired him to join the Revachol Citizens Militia at the age of 26. Over his 18 total years of service[27] Harry solved 216 cases[28] with a total of only 3 confirmed kills,[29] an extremely low number for a member of Precinct 41.[30] His impressive ratio of solved cases placed him above 90 percent of officers in the entire RCM,[31] and he reached the rank of lieutenant along with two additional offered promotions, which he declined, instead being granted the title of lieutenant double-yefreitor[32] and retaining his position as head of the Major Crimes Unit in Precinct 41's C-Wing.[33] Despite his statistics, Harry's intense caseload[34][8] is implied to have only been made possible through the liberal use of stimulants[35][36] and other drugs, namely alcohol,[37] which led to instability and unpredictable behaviour while on the job. During a recent case, titled "THE UNSOLVABLE CASE", Harry had a drunken outburst where he rendered a man unable to walk after beating him with his ledger,[38] and some time prior to this he both missed a shot aimed at a fleeing suspect, who he hit in the pelvis, and physically held a woman in his apartment against her will. He is also generally known, feared[39] and even suspected to be one of La Puta Madre's peones by the public.[10] Harry's erratic behaviour drove off many former members of Precinct 41, including Guillaume Bevy,[40] but he was not disciplined due to his otherwise exceptional work,[38][41] and was even offered a promotion (which he declined) during this period.[42]

Approximately six years[43] before the events of Disco Elysium, Dora left Harry and moved to Mirova.[44]

Some time in the past, Harry purchased the horrific necktie,[45] which he gradually started to project a hyperactive and self-destructive personality onto, compelling him to dress in increasingly "disco" clothes,[46] and forget his problems through drinking and substance abuse.[47] Jean confirms that Harry has hallucinated his tie talking to him prior to his amnesia.[48]

Directly preceding the in-game events, Harry and the Major Crimes Unit were called to Martinaise to investigate a report of a hanging. When they arrived, Harry drove off the rest of the unit, screaming at them to "fuck off" because they were "cramping [his] style. He was the "Detective God." The rest of his tirade were variations on "Fuck everything. All will burn. Detect or die!".[49] He then went on a several-day suicidal bender across the district. He harassed the patrons at the Whirling-in-Rags, waving his gun in their faces and making graphic suicide jokes.[50] He trashed his room and broke the Whirling's taxidermy skua, finally driving the waitress Sylvie Malaìika to resign on the spot just to escape him.[51] He sold his gun to Bird's Nest Roy,[52] wrecked his Coupris 40,[53] and on the final night before he lost his memory, he could be heard in his room at the Whirling screaming "I DON'T WANT TO BE THIS KIND OF ANIMAL ANYMORE"[54] while listening to The Smallest Church in Saint-Saens on loop.[55]

The definite cause of Harry's amnesia is unknown, though he theorizes that it may be a side effect of pale exposure stemming from the two-millimeter hole in the church.[56] Joyce Messier believes that Harry must have been affected with a severe case of encephalopathy caused by his binge-drinking,[57] and Jean believes it's all an act,[58] however, Kim and Trant Heidelstam do not believe this to be the case, and Judit Minot confirms that Harry has had previous amnesiac blackouts in the past.[59] Upon failing a red Shivers skill check in the church, Harry appears to suffer a seizure, during which he experiences deja vu,[60] and then blacks out for thirty minutes.[61] After waking up, Harry tells Kim that he believes it may be related to his memory loss, and Kim agrees that it seems likely.[62]

Appearance[ | ]

Harry sports a greasy,[63][64] unkempt mullet and mutton chops[65] by default -- which he may choose to shave off after gaining access to the shack in the fishing village on Day 3+. His nose is red and bulbous, and beneath his facial hair, his face is swollen due to his copious consumption of alcohol.[66][67][68] Harry's jaw is crooked from contracting polio as a child,[22] and he has a dimple on his chin.[69][70] Should Harry choose to take on the task to turn back the wheels of time as part of the fascist political vision quest, he will appear slightly more put-together, with slicked back hair and (if he has not shaved) neater facial hair.

Harry is described as being "sturdy"[71] in contrast with Kim. Notes from art director Aleksander Rostov describe Harry as having a "kinda flabby chest but strong arms" and "long thin legs & bulky torso" on his concept art.

The back of his right hand is scarred,[72] and both are covered with cuts and gashes from fighting. Harry's fingertips are also heavily discoloured from smoking.[73]

Though he is able to pick up or purchase a variety of clothing, his default attire consists of a green suede blazer adorned with RCM watermarks across the back and the right sleeve, golden brown, flare-cut trousers, white satin shirt, and a horrific necktie.

Trivia[ | ]

  • Prior to the events of the game, Harry was shot at four times, and hit twice.[74] His RCM Patrol Cloak is stated to have three bullet holes, meaning that he was likely wearing it when this happened, and that while the third shot was close enough to go through the cloak, it did not enter his body.
  • As part of RCM training, every officer has to pick a civil specialization; Harry chose building safety regulation.[75] Whilst answering a call alone for a domestic disturbance he found a tenement building on the verge of collapse and organized an evacuation of all residents.[76] However, the building never fell, and he is disturbed by the idea that people still live there despite the fact that it could collapse any day.[77]
  • As a child, Harry had an interest in being a poet, and studying entroponetics.[78] Attempting to present a theory about the 2mm hole in the church for Soona reveals that Harry retained his interest in the pale as an adult, and previously theorized with friends about its origin point.[79]
  • Harry framed his patrol uniform and hung it on his apartment wall.[80]
  • An Endurance check indicates that Harry has a poor diet, described as "greasy meals scarfed down between shifts", which, combined with his alcohol intake, has left him with bad gut health.[81]
  • The "Yefreitor" portion of Harry's rank is likely taken from the real-world Soviet military rank Yefreytor (Ефрейтор, from the German Gefreiter), which was the highest enlisted rank in the Soviet armed forces.

Gallery[ | ]

References[ | ]

  1. YOU – Invent a name for yourself.

    CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Failure] – Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau.

  2. YOU – "Operating a radio is easy." (Speak into the microphone:) "Come in Delta-Ten, this is Firewalker, copy!"

  3. YOU – "This is what I am now, Kim. What I was always meant to be."

    KIM KITSURAGI – "And what is that? A walking mask?"

    YOU – "I am Icebreaker."

  4. ESPRIT DE CORPS – To his left, his partner Emile Mollins whispers: "You heard what happened to Tequila Sunset? In Martinaise?"

  5. YOU – "What's a shitkid?"

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "You. *Shitkid* -- that's you."

  6. YOU – "I wanted to know if you got my badge's description right in your report. Could you read it to me -- name, rank, date of birth?"

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "What? What is it?! He's still on the line?!"

    JULES PIDIEU – "He wants to verify the information on his badge."

    MACK TORSON – "But of course, it says Dick Mullen -- High General of the Revacholian Cavalry Force."

  7. CHESTER MCLAINE – "... new heights even for Captain Sober!"

  8. 8.0 8.1

    TITUS HARDIE – "She said you have a funny taste in clothes." He scoffs. "And that you won't *stop*."

    ENDURANCE [Challenging: Success] – Never -- not until the case is solved. And then the next case. And the next...

    YOU – "Won't stop?"

    TITUS HARDIE – "Until you *have* something on her. She said she's heard of you from Jamrock. That you're a human can-opener. That you play suspects against each other. Open them up, like cans."

    INTERFACING [Challenging: Success] – And then when they're all empty, just move on. Unto the next can. Don't look back -- unless there was something you *missed*.

  9. YOU – "Is that true Kim? Am I a can-opener?"

    KIM KITSURAGI – "You are... insistent." He nods.

  10. 10.0 10.1

    YOU – "What do you mean... La Puta Madre agent?"

    RUBY, THE INSTIGATOR – "Yes -- you." She looks at you quizzically. "Everyone says you're his peone. His 'Human Can Opener.'

  11. RUBY, THE INSTIGATOR – "You know what I did. I fucked him over." She pauses. "And now I have Harry Can-Opener in my lair. Fucking Titus..."

  12. YOU – "Is that... my name?"

    MAN WITH SUNGLASSES – "No, Harry... it's *not* your name," the man scoffs. "Your name is Baron Von Kikkenberg -- cool guy."

  13. ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN – "You're the son of the World again. Harrister -- a ceaseless agent picking up litter and old newspapers, collecting your little bubble gum wrappers and idiotic picture post cards. Meanigless, meaningless keepsakes."

  14. ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN – "It's the *world*, Harry-boy. And you're *made* of it. Every day you're out there you make more of yourself from it. I'm afraid you can't be *unmade* now."

  15. PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT – “EYES ON THE BALL, DINKY WINKY!”

  16. 16.0 16.1 Date of Birth Generator
  17. BADGE: LTN-2JFR DU BOIS – It looks like you had quite the charming face -- way back then. Your hair is brown and slightly curly, your eyes seem more clear somehow.

  18. YOU – I wonder what *I* look like up on this edge.

    SAVOIR FAIRE – From the eyes of a seagull: a nest of brown hair not worth the fifty foot dive. From a pedestrian on the dock: a rugged man staring out to sea, mere feet from fatality. From a guest on the balcony of the Whirling-in-Rags: a silhouette imposing enough to be seen at a distance.

  19. BADGE: LTN-2JFR DU BOIS – The man keeps winking at you with his green-grey eyes. The photo is old, no doubt about that.

  20. FELD LADDER – In addition, the first rung is going to be *tough* to reach. It's, what, three metres above ground, and you're -- 180...?

    YOU – One-eighty seems about right.

  21. YOU – I was born in a hospital where people usually go to die.

  22. 22.0 22.1 Bringing of the Law (Law-Jaw)
  23. ENCYCLOPEDIA – Out of the dazzling swirl of disco music, in an open air *boîte de nuit* somewhere in Revachol West, Guillaume's blond mane appeared on the screen. He sang some bullshit. Then he made *The Expression*.

    YOU – So I adopted it? Why?

    ENCYCLOPEDIA – Everyone loved it. Maybe you thought some of the stardust would rub off on you? Maybe it did? Either way, it's all gone now. Only the grimace remains.

  24. KIM KITSURAGI – "I am sure it has. In the time we've spent together, I must have covered 30 kilometres. He has a *track and field* approach to police work."

    INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] – Isn't that odd? How *can* you run so much?

    ENDURANCE [Medium: Success] – Why not? You're a powerhouse.

    PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Medium: Success] – It's about DEDICATION, son. That and you're *probably* a gym teacher. Only a former gym teacher can think these thoughts and drink so much.

  25. JEAN VICQUEMARE – "Yes, you *taught gym* in Couron. I believe that's the term? Taught gym at a high school. You were a high school gym teacher."

  26. DOLORES DEI – "The coolest..." She closes her eyes: "With your leather jacket and your boot cut pants. Smoking in the bus stop. I wanted you to be the rest of my life that day. And you were -- some of it, at least. You were my first. My first kiss, my first time to have sex."

  27. KIM KITSURAGI – "The first row represents your years of service. *Eighteen* years? Okay -- not bad at all. What did you do before you volunteered?"

  28. KIM KITSURAGI – "This next row -- the one that wraps all the way around -- is your number of closed cases. *Closed* is good. it means finished. You've got, let's see..."

    KIM KITSURAGI – "Wow, more than 200!

    "YOU – "Two-hundred sixteen, to be exact."

  29. KIM KITSURAGI – "Right. Those are your confirmed kills. You've got precisely *three* perforations there."

  30. KIM KITSURAGI – "For an RCM officer -- especially Precinct 41, which is in the Jamrock Quarter -- it's rather... tame. I mean that in a good way."

  31. KIM KITSURAGI – "It's *quite* a lot, even for someone who's been on the force for nearly two decades. Usually clearing more than 10 cases a year puts you in the 90th percentile of *all* RCM officers."

  32. YOU – "Rank: LTN-2JFR?"

    "KIM KITSURAGI – "Lieutenant double-yefreitor."

  33. YOU – "You mentioned a 'task force'?"

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "Yeah -- Major Crimes Unit, under Lieutenants Du Bois and Vicquemare -- ring any bells?"

  34. KIM KITSURAGI – "Huh?" He raises his nose from his notes. "Two *complex* cases to undertake is a lot, yes. You *really* have to push yourself. I would not suggest it. Lest you start making mistakes."

  35. ELECTROCHEMISTRY – Speed is a potent central nervous system stimulant. It kept you propped up all day yesterday despite your debilitating hangover. How else did you think you even got up from this floor?

    ELECTROCHEMISTRY – It's power, man. It's professionalism. It makes you feel like you're young again and ready to *detect*! Ready to go to war against the world!

  36. ELECTROCHEMISTRY – Don't be silly. There was no vow. You were high on speed. That was the only reason you got up. You can't *detect* without it, it's that simple.

  37. YOU – Open the bottle.

    ELECTROCHEMISTRY – There's a satisfying pop as the cap comes off, and the hair on your back rises like an army at attention. You've been here before. Welcome back, detective. You're home now...

  38. 38.0 38.1

    DAMAGED LEDGER – He must have it confused with the *property* he likes to damage. But the joke's on him -- you're drunk out of your mind on Potent Pilsner. You slam the hardened plastic board in his face. Then you proceed to beat him unconscious with it.

    DAMAGED LEDGER – In the process the ledger sustains damage. The compartment within -- reserved for permeable documents -- is jammed shut. You stop your assault on the now unconscious Burke to open it, but are unable to do so. *The officer began to cry*, reports Leslie, who at this point is tending to Burke.

    HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] – Kill them. They broke it.

    DAMAGED LEDGER – *He came at us* -- *And at us* -- *I think he was trying to kill Burke-o*. While trying to kill Burke-o, you slowly come around. The permeables' compartment is open. You've smashed it open on poor Burke'o's kneecaps. The good news is, Burke can't walk anymore.

    DAMAGED LEDGER – Can't get out of his apartment. An invalid. With Burke to tend to, Leslie cuts back on the indecent exposure. Maybe he flashes his genitals to Burke, who knows, but both drunks are off the street. The complaints stop, the unsolvable case is solved.

    DAMAGED LEDGER – Which is also why the officer responsible (narrowly) escapes a disciplinary hearing. The end.

  39. YOU – You should be a cop, Titus."

    TITUS HARDIE – "When are you gonna get it through your dumb head?" He scoffs. "I already *am*, I just wasn't sure you were."

    ESPRIT DE CORPS – And he still isn't. People aren't afraid of good cops in the way Ruby was afraid of you, he thinks, then turns back to his men.

  40. YOU – "Yeah, um -- first, who's Guillaume Bevy?"

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "Oh, that's an interesting story, actually!" He's not smiling. "Guillaume Bevy is a police reporter who joined our team. He was really good. Then he left, because he lost faith in your ability to lead the unit."

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "Other people have left too. Good, smart people. People we won't get back. Only me and this *really patient* patrol officer are still here. And Trant -- because I'm *forcing* him to stay."

  41. YOU – "So what do you say? Wanna take this hot shit back?" (Point to yourself.)

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "I don't *want* to. But you discovered a new species. And solved the murder..." He shrugs.

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "So I *have* to. Jude?"

    JUDIT MINOT – "Honestly -- anything that ends this *trial* is okay with me." A quick nod.

    ESPRIT DE CORPS [Challenging: Success] – But he's been drinking, she thinks. This is exactly how he gets out of this every time. It's bad for him, but...

  42. YOU – "Date of issue: 7th of November, '50..."

    KIM KITSURAGI – "Four months ago? Seems like a new document was recently made. One is handed to you as part of a promotion, or... if you lose the old one.

  43. YOU – "When was this?"

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "God, I don't know..." He thinks. "Six years ago? She was way before my time."

    VOLITION [Medium: Success] – Six years and you haven't gotten over it, what the hell is wrong with you?

    YOU – "*SIX* years?"

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "Yeah... Or seven? You're not doing too good there. It's an old-man thing. Two *old-years* equals one normal year. That -- and Dora Ingerlund really tore you a new one. A big one."

  44. DOLORES DEI – "I'm going to Mirova. To live there -- in Graad. It's one million kilometres away, Harry. Might as well be another lifetime."

  45. BEAUTIFUL NECKTIE - One day a sad man walked into a clothing store. He looked really down. Like he hadn't had fun in years. He needed someone to show him how to rock and roll again. Joopson AS catalogue no. J327 shone on the tie rack, trying to get his attention. The sad man picked it up and put it on. He looked at himself in the mirror. Didn't smile.
    YOU - Nothing will ever heal me, but at least I'll have a funny tie.
  46. BEAUTIFUL NECKTIE - And from that moment on -- we rode together. The rest of your clothes were still *normal* back then. But we took care of that soon enough.
  47. YOU - Did we... have any fun?
    BEAUTIFUL NECKTIE - Truthfully? Not a lot. I did everything a multi-patterned necktie can do to help a man. I mean, I tried to get you to do *all* the fun things: Drink beer, drink wine, drink cider, go to parties with young people around and drink beer *and* cider; do drugs too, so you don't fall asleep... You had *some* fun. But not enough to heal you.
  48. JEAN VICQUEMARE - "The tie's talking again -- that's it. No more phasmid-talk. There's no PR-value in delirium tremens."
  49. JEAN VICQUEMARE - "You told us to fuck off. You said we're *cramping your style*. You're *Detective God*. Fuck everything. All will burn. Detect or die!"
  50. SYLVIE MALAIIKA - "You were waving it around in everyone's face, begging them to describe it. You said it 'calms you'. And then you started making suicide jokes. It got pretty *graphic*."
  51. YOU - "You mean me? You needed to get away from *me?*"
  52. BIRD'S NEST ROY - "You were adamant about getting rid of it, officer." He hesitates. "Said you were *undeserving* of a service weapon of the Revachol Citizens Militia."
  53. IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "When we finally got there you were sitting on the beach, crying. You said that your badge and uniform were in the car. It was too late to get in there though, the carriage had sunk too deep."
  54. KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "There was. I think you screamed that you... didn't want to be 'this type of animal' anymore. I may have misheard, but it was sort of memorable."
  55. KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER) - "A slow, sad song started playing. Like organ music, on repeat. That went on for quite a while. Some of that time you were yelling along to it."
  56. YOU – "It might have something to do with an anomaly in the church. A two-millimetre hole in the world."

  57. JOYCE MESSIER – "Ah, yes -- the *episode*. Sounds like an acute case of encephalopathy now that I think of it..." She puts down her thermal cup and looks at you.

  58. JEAN VICQUEMARE – "Or perhaps it can be cured with mesmerism? But then I think: No, that's unlikely. He's probably just an *asshole*. A drunk asshole who *pretends* to have amnesia to get out of shit."

  59. TRANT HEIDELSTAM – "As displayed in your interactions with him here and previously, at the bar, and -- I don't want to be a 'snitch'," he makes air quotes, "but also mine with him before, when Harry did not seem to know who I was... It's all very interesting."

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "Interesting?"

    TRANT HEIDELSTAM – "Yes. Interesting. I have my theories, but I would like to hear Harry's thoughts first. Harry," he turns to you, "what do *you* think happened to you? Neurologically? Psychologically? And -- why not -- *socioeconomically*?"

    YOU – "I made it all up. It was a fantasy, a stupid joke. I know what I am."

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "And what is that?"

    YOU – "A drunk and a loser."

    KIM KITSURAGI – "That is what I thought -- at first. That it was a fantasy. But... I've seen him work. It's not. He really is experiencing something out of the ordinary. He really does not remember."

    JEAN VICQUEMARE – "Lieutenant, I'm sorry, but you've been *bewitched by the shitkid*. It happens. I know it's hard to accept, but he made it all up -- because he's a psychopath. It's a simple explanation."

    JUDIT MINOT – "Detective Vicquemare... he *has* blacked out before. We should take this seriously."

    YOU – "I have?"

    JUDIT MINOT – "Yes, a couple of times. After some of the more... serious benders." She pauses, remembering. "One was after the Two Drunks case, the other when we looked into that mural."

  60. SHIVERS [Easy: Failure] – Music pounds through the hall of an old stave church on the coast of Martinaise. Several figures are lost in the beats, their bodies pulled this way and that by sound. One of them, an officer of the RCM, suddenly stops. He appears disoriented, then starts shaking -- violently, no longer in rhythm with the music.

    SPINAL CORD – The beats that had you all fired up just a moment ago now seem overwhelming, nauseating. They shift and multiply like pieces of coloured glass in a kaleidoscope.

    SPINAL CORD – You're gripped by panic, alongside a dizzying feeling of deja vu. Then everything goes silent.

    YOU – I feel like this has happened before.

    SPINAL CORD – Could be. It was almost like the utter unpleasantness of the experience was breaking through the barrier of your recent memory loss...

    LOGIC [Medium: Success] – Maybe your memory loss was caused by something like this.

    YOU – What happens next?

    SPINAL CORD – You'll lay here in complete darkness for a while, far away from everything and everyone.

    SPINAL CORD – Then consciousness will slowly begin to return. It won't be fun.

    SPINAL CORD – But you already know -- it rarely is.

  61. YOU – "How long was I out for?"

    ACELE – "Thirty minutes or so." She raises an amused eyebrow.

  62. KIM KITSURAGI – "Has anything like this happened to you before?"

    YOU – "Maybe this is what happened to me when I lost my memory..."

    KIM KITSURAGI – He nods. "That seems likely. Can you stand?"

  63. SHIVERS [Easy: Success] – A small piece of paper dances above Martinaise -- above slow waves crashing the shore; and the war torn houses and the new *batiments nouveau* alike; above you, looking up to the grey sky with your hair greasy and wet...

  64. SHIVERS – Your hair is an oily mess flecked with ash from neighbouring coal plants. Smoke stacks rise somewhere in the distance.

  65. ANNETTE – Annette looks at your shaved, prickly chin. It distinctly contrasts with the oily mutton chops that surround it. "Maybe I can tell you about some of our books instead?"

  66. MIRROR – Where to even begin? There's the bloatedness, then the swollenness... It's like there's an upholstery of alcohol underneath your skin.

    YOU – "I'm sure everything is fine." (Touch your nose.)

    MIRROR – "It's not, your nose feels like a balloon in the middle of your face. It hurts when you honk it -- doesn't appear to be a particularly small nose either. Not with all the drinks it's *absorbed* for you."

  67. WASHBASIN – The water reflects back a vague image of your clean-shaven face. Despite the bulbous nose, unkempt hair and persistent swelling, you look... a little younger, maybe?

  68. WASHBASIN – The water reflects back a vague image of your face -- nose bulbous and red, hair unkempt, wrinkles lining the eyes and forehead. The 'stache is gigantic.

  69. LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST'S WIFE – "You're a handsome man, officer, with your moustache and your chiselled jaw. And that silly dimple on your chin."

  70. MEASUREHEAD – "YOU EXHIBIT FORWARD PROJECTION OF THE JAW -- INDICATIVE OF SCHIZOPHRENIA AND SEXUAL INACCOUNTABILITY. FROM A PURELY AESTHETIC STANDPOINT, THE DIMPLE IN YOUR JAW MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A BABY. THIS IS NOT CRANIOMETRY, JUST AN OBSERVATION."

  71. SHIVERS [Medium: Success] – In the middle of a broken plaza, illuminated in a cone of light, two men, one slim, the other sturdy. They are on the city stage, but only one of them knows his lines...

  72. VISUAL CALCULUS – A fine web of scarring covers the back of your right hand, but none of it is recent.

  73. YOU – Take a look at your hands.

    PERCEPTION (SIGHT) – She is right -- your hands look even worse than hers, with tiny cuts and gushes covering your skin like a spiderweb. Your fingertips have become an ugly shade of brown.

    VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] – These are the hands on someone who's smoked for at least twenty years, as evidenced by the discolouration of fingers. Marks on your skin may point to past quarrels.

  74. TITUS HARDIE – "You know what I think?" He raises his finger. "I think he was shot in the head as a kid. And his brain grew around the bullet."

    ENDURANCE [Legendary: Success] – It *is* possible to live with an injury like that. Makes you touch the back of your skull, wondering if there's one in there?

    PAIN THRESHOLD [Medium: Success] – No. You'd remember that. You've been shot at four times. Hit twice.

  75. DAMAGED LEDGER – *While* you're taking a piss, you see a big crack in the wall. In the outer wall of the building. You can *feel* the cold air blow in. You take the elevator down, look up -- a big crack runs on the outer wall of the whole building.

    DAMAGED LEDGER – Right from the foundation -- up to the eighth floor.

    YOU – The tilt is beyond the point of maximum deviation from the gravity bearing perpendicular. This means that the building is falling -- and will fall no matter what.

    DAMAGED LEDGER – That's right. They trained you for this in cop school. Everyone has to pick a civil specialization so they can keep the city running: fire safety, first aid training, and so on. You took *building safety regulation*. And it tells you that this one -- is coming down.

  76. DAMAGED LEDGER – The drunk in the hallway. The girl in the elevator when you were going up. The youths on the stairs, laughing, smoking. The couple next to the apartment -- who made the call. They're all going to die.

    DAMAGED LEDGER –   But, you see, it's *freezing* outside. And there is no municipal government in Revachol. Nowhere to put these people. Two hundred people can't go to their *aunt's for a couple of days*. And above all -- there is no one to *tell* the building is coming down. No authority but you.

    YOU –  I’m gonna have to find my captain somewhere, first thing tomorrow. Maybe even *tonight*.

    DAMAGED LEDGER –  Bad, bad thoughts go through your head. So what you do is -- you call your partner. JV (only initials available) is up. He comes immediately. He didn't take building safety, but he believes you. He brings five more officers. Together you knock on *every door* and explain the situation.

    DAMAGED LEDGER –  The load bearing perpendicular. The maximum deviation. All of it... Some people believe you. Most don't. Some you have to *forcibly* remove. Some even pull guns on you. It takes 20 hours to evacuate the whole building. 200 people stand outside in the cold. Children cry.

    DAMAGED LEDGER –  Your captain puts them in a half-burned building 10 km South. It's got black mould and no roof, but hey -- it's better than death.

  77. YOU – And then what?

    DAMAGED LEDGER –  And then the building doesn't come down. And it still hasn't. That was 52 days ago. BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT. The point is -- it *will* come down.

  78. ICE CREAM MAKER – Turning the crank feels oddly satisfying, like stirring your childhood dreams... In the distance you hear water dripping.

    INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] – It's all gone now. You never became a poet or an entroponaut.

  79. LOGIC – These thoughts formed in you somewhere, in a long forgotten discussion. Behind a kitchen table, in the evening light.

    INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] – Drinking coffee and smoking. With a friend.

    ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] – And a woman, she was there too. Her hair smelled of shampoo and she was smoking.

    YOU – "Soona, it is the origin point of the pale."

  80. ESPRIT DE CORPS – Somewhere in a dank rental apartment, two police officers stand in the dark. [...] His partner, Sundance Fischer, looks at the patrol uniform he's wearing -- then at an identical suit framed on the wall. It's blue and covered in dust. "Let's get the fuck out of here," he turns to Williams, "he hasn't been here in days."

  81. YOU – Why is my gut in such bad shape?

    ENDURANCE – Could it be an underlying condition aggravated by years of greasy meals scarfed down between shifts? Or the litres upon litres of hard liquor guzzled on an empty stomach?

Advertisement