Vapula, Elohite Archangel of SCIENCE!

"The world is - oh, the world is to be cherished. Cherish it, fix every good thing in your memory and Heart. Never forget anything worthy about it."

Vapula has a Plan.

That's all that anyone knows, really (if anyone does know more, he or she isn't talking). Since his elevation several centuries ago, he seems to be less interested in fighting what passes for the War today in favor of … something else. Precisely what it actually is remains a mystery. Many Archangels on both sides have sent spies to find out the answer, but they’ve never been able to infiltrate Vapula's organization. To an angel, they get a certain distance inside - then defect, rebuff all links to their former master or mistress, and throw themselves wholeheartedly into whatever it is that the Archangel of SCIENCE! is trying to accomplish.

That would be bad enough, but the look of simultaneous fear and hope on the new converts' faces is worse. Much, much worse: it seems almost a carbon copy of the expression on Vapula's.

Dissonance

         

If you want to serve this Archangel, you had better mean it: Servitors of SCIENCE! suffer dissonance whenever they let a new piece of machinery or scientific mystery go by unanalyzed. They don't have to solve it right away, but they have to keep on plugging until somebody comes up with a solution.

Organization

There are, apparently, two sets of hierarchies in Vapula's service. The first is larger than the second, and is not particularly noteworthy in its organization. These angels spend their time working on the corporeal plane watching over the development of human science and technology, as well as trying to prevent mortals from blowing themselves up. They are unique among Servitors in that they do nothing involving the ethereal or celestial planes: their entire purpose is tied up in earthly duties.

The second organization is smaller, odder... and much more secretive. They spend their entire time within Hades, and never ever leave it: in fact, most don't even leave the Cathedral. This seems to be completely voluntary on their part, but it's hard to tell: very few of these Servitors have ever tried to either defect or seek service with an Exile, and none have ever succeeded. Angels will pass from the first organization to the second, but never the other way around.

Servitor Attunements

All Servitor Attunements are officially "partially restricted" unless stated otherwise: other Choirs may duplicate the abilities, but do not receive the gadgets associated with the Attunements.

Seraphim

These are Vapula's pure researchers: they can immediately tell if an experiment or theory is based on honest data. They receive clipboards that serve as a level/1 reliquary and give Fast-Talk/3.

Cherubim (Restricted)

Cherubim of SCIENCE! can automatically detect humans that have any scientific skill of 6. Any successful rolls made to protect that person have a +2 to the check digit. They receive a reliquary/3 (tobacco pipes) that can only be used to power the Ethereal Song of Might.

Ofanim (Restricted)

This Choir can use their resonance to cut in half the time it takes to conduct an experiment. They also receive fuzzy dice that act as a level/6 reliquary, but the Essence stored can only be used for the Songs of Motion.

         

Elohim (Restricted)

A Power of SCIENCE! can cause others to look at things objectively (Celestials get a Will roll to resist, if they so choose). They receive brooches that act as relics, providing the Ethereal Song of Harmony/3.

Malakim

On a Perception Roll, a Malakim can find or make a functioning weapon out of anything, the utility of which being dependent on the check digit. A 1 means (for example) that the angel can tinker with a nail gun and give it better range, while a 6 means that there's enough parts lying around the stable for a fully-functional armored car. They also receive either a padded rattan (a form of bamboo) sword or a fiberglass bow. While they look cheap, they're actually level/3 relics: the sword uses the same statistics as a Long Sword and the bow causes damage equivalent to a Carbine Rifle. The above Malakite Attunement does not apply to these relics.

Many, many Servitors of SCIENCE! take this Attunement.

Lilim

Lilim add their Celestial Forces to any Computer Operation roll. Lilim of SCIENCE! may also, on a Perception roll -2, determine whether or not a currently online user is a Celestial, Ethereal or knowing servant of "higher powers". They receive glasses that give a Knowledge/3, determined at character creation. This Knowledge skill will always be related to science, technology or "geekdom".

Lilim tend to be highly popular at science fiction conventions and scientific conferences.

Kyriotates (Restricted)

Kyriotates are Vapula's engineers. They can possess a piece of machinery for up to ten minutes. While there, they can cast the Corporeal Song of Healing on the machine without penalty. Also, the act of merging with the machine gives them a +2 to their next roll to repair or maintain it. Kyriotates don't get artifacts or reliquaries, but they are all taught the Corporeal Song of Healing at level 3. The Scottish accent is optional, but would make a good Corporeal Discord.

Mercurians

Mercurians are Vapula's social scientists and statisticians. They always know if a survey or study is biased, in any way: with a Perception roll, they can even determine what the results should have been. They receive a talisman that gives them Dodge/4: for some reason, it's usually in the shape of a fedora.

Servitor Attunements

Haywire

This Distinction allows an angel to temporarily imbue a technological device with Songs, Attunements, and skills. Once a device is created, the angel may not create another until it is destroyed (on rare occasions, it actually lasts a week, whereupon it breaks down anyway). Cost to create is 2 Essence, plus 2 times whatever Essence would be needed to fuel Songs: half cost to operate each day. Once created, the device may be used by anyone willing and able to pay the Essence. If no Essence is paid, the device remains inert (and will still break down within a week).

All Servitors of SCIENCE! must take this Attunement upon character creation.

 

Synthesis

The angel has the ability, once per day, to convince a group of scientists or engineers (maximum of 5 for every Ethereal Force of the angel's) to actually listen to each other, instead of just repeating their own positions over and over again. This condition will only last for an hour, but if the ideas are sparking by then, no one might notice.

Distinctions

Vapula isn't too keen on the old naming styles.

Adjunct

Treat as the same as the Canonical Vapula's Infernal Knight of Combustion Distinction.

Professor

Just "Professor". Holders of this Distinction will never have their academic or scientific credentials challenged. Unfortunately, this Distinction does not actually grant any scientific or academic skills, but Vapula never gives it to any angel who doesn't have an appropriate Knowledge/6 anyway, so that's not much of a problem.

Mentor

These angels can see the most obvious flaw in a scientific (hard or soft) theory, engineering design, sociological model, etc. If they make an Intelligence Roll at -2, they can even come up with the most efficient way to fix it.

Seat

This is independent of the other Distinctions: in fact, it's only given out to those not in Vapula's service. The only noticeable effect is that, while in celestial form, the angel (or human!) has a subtle designator on him or her that only Servitors of SCIENCE! can see. Vapula's Servitors will henceforth treat that individual as one of their own, under any and all circumstances.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why Vapula gives out this Distinction - and he gives it out in waves. There's even a rumor that not all of the recipients are Exiles.

Higher Distinctions

The Archangel of SCIENCE! has several higher Distinctions, but they all exist in his second organization. These angels never leave his Cathedral. On rare occasions, they will speak to others, but never face to face.

Relations

Vapula is a definite enigma in Exile politics. It's not that he hasn't got an agenda: he does, but nobody really knows what it is. Some things that should concern him, don't: some things that shouldn't, do. He'll trade favors in a second, but his peers have learned to just ask for his support and find out what he wants in exchange, rather than try to set up a complete deal. It saves time.

However, he does have his allies. His 'son' Nybbas and his mentor Raphael are two of his staunchest supporters, and he and Baal have long since come to an understanding with each other. Vapula and Haagenti also get along quite well - the Archangel of SCIENCE! envies his colleague the energy that the latter may safely express. Other than that, Vapula makes it a point to stay on good terms with the other Exiles, with the exception of David. For some reason, Vapula holds the Archangel of Stone in profound contempt.

Among the Exiles:

Allied: Dominique, Nybbas, Raphael

Associated: Baal, Haagenti

Neutral: Everyone else, except

Hostile: David

Among the Host:

Allied: None

Associated: None

Neutral: Beth, Israfel

Hostile: everyone else, except

Enemy: Asmodeus, Demogorgon, Jean

Among the Others:

Allied: None

Associated: Gabriel, Fleurity, Mariel

Neutral: All others, except

Hostile: Jordi

Rites

These aren't meant to be literal.

: Build a better mousetrap.

: Inspire someone else to build a better mousetrap.

: Think totally out of the box and come up with a non-destructive way to make mousetraps obsolete forever (+3 Essence).

 

Chance of Invocation: 3

Modifiers

+1 A better mousetrap

+2 A schoolroom of kids enjoying a science exhibit

+3 A prototype of a new machine or device

+4 The final draft of a well-written, hard science fiction novel

+5 Anything personally owned by Nikola Tesla

+6 The instant of a human scientific or technological breakthrough

History

Vapula started his existence as an Elohite of Knowledge, long after the Revolution. Like most new Elohim, he was predisposed towards specialized obsession: his own Superior attempted to lose herself in scholarship, but Vapula couldn't follow her down that route. He needed to do, not do research. The Elohite tried many potential fields for obsession before he found that scientific and technological research was the only way for him to satisfy his craving for something, anything to base his life around.

Then ... it became more than that.

Vapula (now the Angel of Science) had been examining the records behind Janus' violent 'escape' of some centuries back. Vapula had a teasing suspicion that looking into this was necessary. He was right. After a mere few centuries (during which time Vapula became the Archangel of SCIENCE!, a Word that he knew would deeply offend Jean), the Archangel discovered what Janus did and where he went. More importantly, he discovered how to follow.

Today, the Archangel is the unhappiest angel in Hades, and possibly the most well-adjusted: he has Hope, now, and that's a cruel thing to bear in this universe. Every spare resource and moment is spent on creating and expanding a Cathedral that can stand the final unraveling of the Symphony itself for a brief time. If - when - it happens, Vapula is certain that he can transport it and its contents to the same place that the Traitor went all those centuries ago. The Archangel of SCIENCE! has no idea of what would be on the other side, but it can't be worse than the destruction of everything.

But he can't hope to cram the entire universe into his Cathedral. He can't even hope to cram in all of Hades. How can he choose? How can he hope to ever rest, with the ghosts of everyone he couldn't shoehorn into the lifeboat waiting behind his closed eyes?

But how can he not try to save as many as he can?

Personality and Outlook

Vapula is sometimes morbidly certain that he's the only sane Archangel left in the universe. The frightening thing is that he may be right.

This isn't a criticism of his allies, or even a condemnation of The Other Side. Celestials in general, and Superiors in particular, have been most directly affected by the gradual destruction of the Symphony: the fact that so many can still function at all is a testament to pure willpower and determination.

But willpower and determination won't save the universe, in the end. Nothing will. The personification of God Himself died. Everything else since then has been a meaningless set of struggles as the ship sinks. If the Archangel of SCIENCE! had no other option, he'd be out there trying to hold back the silence as best he could. Unfortunately, he knows that there's an escape route - so he has poured his life into trying to get as many out before the end.

Vapula is extraordinarily controlled, even for an Elohite Archangel. He allows himself to never lose himself in the ecstasies associated with serving his Word. He doesn't have time for that. Every second that isn't being spent in trying to expand his Cathedral (called the Laboratory in public, but the Lifeboat by those in the know) is a second that will mean the death of an innocent later. He refuses himself joy, he refuses himself sorrow, he refuses himself everything that will distract him from his purpose.

Except the guilt, of course: it's too useful as an impetus for more labor. If - when - the day comes where Vapula has to herd those entities chosen to escape (and that set of choices rakes him with constant pain), the Archangel will not see how many he saved. He'll only see those that he couldn't. And he knows that his finest creation - Nybbas, Archangel of Communication - will be at the forefront of that cavalcade of ghosts. Vapula would have given his seat to Nybbas - still will, up to the moment that the hammer goes down - but his son would hear nothing of it.

Saving some when all hope is gone is worth it. Vapula is sure of this. He also knows that only a Superior could hope to translate the refugees safely away from their doomed home. But there will always - always - be the guilt. So be it. There will also be revenge. After all, Vapula plans to go where Janus did. He looks forward to finding the traitorous Archangel of the Wind.

The ghosts would expect nothing else.

Role in the War

For the most part, Servitors of SCIENCE! are trying to keep the status quo, as best they can - whether they know it or not. Vapula keeps knowledge of his ultimate purpose to those firmly under his supervision, but many of his corporeal agents suspect that they're being used to slow down the end by whatever means necessary. To their credit, they accept this: Servitors of SCIENCE! will sacrifice themselves with a calmness impressive to a Michaeline. Their primary mission is to protect human technological and scientific institutions from the Host's influence, but Vapula will use them anywhere needed.

There is a special signal that every Servitor of Vapula knows, by the way. They have never seen it activated, but they know it nonetheless. If it ever goes off, they are instructed to drop whatever they might be doing and immediately - immediately - return to the Laboratory. They are also told that they can bring one entity with them: anyone they choose - even angels from the Host - but only one. They aren't told why, but Servitors of SCIENCE! are, most emphatically, not stupid. There will be a great deal of emulation of Vapula's Choice - and the heartbreak involved - upon the Day.

Superior Opinions

Andrealphus - "Harmless. Futile. Let he and his lose themselves in their delusions."

Asmodeus - "He really should have sought the rank of Superior. He'd have a marginally greater chance to work out what I'm up to."

Beleth - "Fear? I'm supposed to feel fear? I had that sensation burned away from me a century ago. I can feel rage and the first hints of despair, but fear is a meaningless emotion to me these days. So it goes."

Beth - "She doesn't hate me: well, maybe she does, but she will not move against me, or I her. The stakes are too high for that. I will fulfill the conditions for this neutrality, and gladly.

"I swear it, Beth."

Christopher - "I take her seriously, unlike her 'colleagues'. That's why my Servitors don't take her supposed harmlessness into account when they oppose hers. 'Innocence?' Try ignorance ... and I have no time for ignorance."

Demogorgon - "It's too much to hope that he can be killed soon, but he must be kept down, like any other agent of decay."

Eve - "She's highly symbolic: Eve personifies not only the Host's wrongheaded notions about humanity, but also their incredibly bad track record at running simple, straightforward sociological experiments. Archangel of Nature? More like Archangel of Working With Bad Data. I suppose that it didn't start out as her fault, but I wouldn't let my name be attached to such sloppy thinking..."

Gebbeleth - "There is no mystery. There is no hidden secret. There is just all of us, fighting to hold back the remorseless end. Let him take his comfort in his illusions, though, save where they affect what I must do to make sure that hope not perish as well."

Iblis - "Glory is a drug, and Iblis is an annoyance. On the other hand, the desire to ignore the needs of the group in order so that one may look good is precisely the attitude that we want to foster among the Host, so he should be encouraged in his folly. Just keep his grandstanders out of the labs."

Israfel - "She sees, but will not tell me. Maybe she will, someday, but until then do not interfere with her. Respect her pain."

Jean - "The fact that he made a bad choice in the beginning does not excuse his blind following of that choice. If he would only try."

Kobal - "Why is he even up there? Based on his past performance, this is probably good for Hades, but unless he's deliberately indulging in sabotage, Kobal's continued allegiance to Lucifer makes no sense at all. Keep his Servitors away from the labs, too."

Laurence - "A posturing fool that has defined himself into a corner. Frankly, he's pathetically easy to work around."

Malphas - "I've worked out six different ways to explain why there's more than one Malphas. One of those ways later turned out to be impossible, one I would have detected, one - thankfully - is apparently not the case (Earth's Moon didn't explode, after all) and the other three are just strange. Other than that, we don't exactly publish in the same field."

Marc - "Novalis insists that he wasn't always like this. I find that difficult to believe. He's worse than the others; they at least made a moral decision, even if it was the wrong decision to make. Marc just went down the path of least resistance."

Zadkiel - "Someday, I will very probably turn to her and say, 'Watch this.' Petty of me, I suppose, but she's earned it by being such an meaningless annoyance."

 

Baal - "He has gone through despair and reached the other side. Fascinating. Baal will support me, if only because he must grasp at any straw at this point."

Blandine - "'What happens to a Dream deferred?'"

David - "Stone is broken, and will not accept it, or try to repair the damage. A figure worthy only of contempt: the others have spent too long coddling him, rather than trying to wake him to his duty."

Dominique - "She is blind, and yet still has tears. Some days I find that reassuring: others, I would take on her sorrow myself, if I could."

(sidebar)

Vapula has always - always - supported Dominique, from the moment that he became an Archangel. Aside from Nybbas, she is the only one who Vapula always has time for, and one could count on one hand the number of times that the Archangel of SCIENCE! has publicly disputed with the Archangel of Justice.

Normally, this might indicate a certain amount of romantic involvement, but that's not either Superior's real style - besides, Vapula doesn't act like a lover towards Dominique. He acts more like a Servitor (or at least former Servitor): deeply respectful, oddly formal and unconsciously subordinate. Raphael is treated almost exactly the same way, making it almost as if the Archangel considers his Word to spring equally from Knowledge and Justice...

(/sidebar)

Eli - "I would have liked to work more closely with him, but he's too distant. Watch Eli like a hawk. Watch the pain on his face. If it ever reaches a certain point - and you'll know when, trust me - run."

Haagenti - "He was born too late, from everything I've heard about the old days. You can see his earnest wish to be able to fly free without having to worry about breaking reality itself. I hope that I get to see him released from his self-imposed chains someday."

Lilith - "This is why I don't support experimentation on life forms, save at the direst need. The Eden Experiment was a botch from start to finish, with bad protocols, a fuzzy hypothesis and no safeguards against contamination. Lilith's refusal to participate should have told everyone involved everything that they needed to know about humans and free will. Her actions since then have just demonstrated why humans were deemed special in the first place."

Malphas - "And here we have the other Malphas. As long as he - they - are careful not to interfere with my people and their tasks, I leave him strictly alone. Besides, the conversation that I had with one of them once actually managed to reassure me, briefly. If only he hadn't come back the next day and argued the exact opposite point with equal fervor."

Novalis - "She was soft, once? Amazing. Also, you would think that an Archangel associated with plant life would have drinkable coffee in her Cathedral."

Nybbas - "I couldn't do what I need to do without him. He is my mainstay, my staff, my finest creation. But he will not follow me to the end. It was not a good world that I brought you into, my son, but know that I will always be proud of your attempts to save it."

Ogiel - "He's much cleverer than he looks, but there's nothing left for him but revenge. I wish him a full dish of it."

Raphael - "She is what produced me. That I have gone down a different path is immaterial. We might, someday, talk further about that. I look forward to it."

Uriel - "Purity? It can't exist in the natural world. It certainly doesn't exist in the Marches. And if it could exist in the Celestial plane, none of us would be where we are right now. However, the quest for Purity is a laudable one, and so Uriel is hardly a pointless entity."

Others:

Vapula has quite a few links with certain of the 'Other' Archangels. For the most part, it's professional courtesy: Fleurity is a tireless researcher into improved healing techniques, and Mariel has access to priceless sociological, historical and anthropological data. Vapula also keeps an eye on Gabriel, both because of her old role as Inspiration and because, apparently, the Archangel of SCIENCE! sees her as the celestial equivalent of a canary in a coal mine...

Beelzebub - "A fascinating evocation of what, by now, is a semi-mythic creature in celestial lore. Amazing that he's managed to survive as long as he has, considering that most angels consider him either an abomination or a blasphemy."

Fleurity - "Actually, he can be quite useful. He's more than happy to help in the testing of any kind of medical technology or procedures - and his Servitors have their own independent research going. We occasionally have a joint conference."

Gabriel - "I watch her as closely as I can. She may be the first and only warning that I have."

Jordi - "Insane, from everything that I've seen. Assuming that the rumors are true, I wonder how long it will be before he cracks from the strain? Or worse, the earth itself? Assuming that this hasn't already happened, of course. "

Mariel - "I will remember. I really won't have much choice, will I? I'll find myself wishing for the mercy of oblivion, I suspect, but I will remember anyway. It's the only thing I can do."

White Star - "I look at him, he looks at me, and the only thing that we share is the realization that we're working from completely different viewpoints."