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>LAST TIME ON DROWNED QUEST REDUX
After 30 threads of investigation, you present an irritated Real Ellery with your brilliant hypothesis: that, as a freelancer for Headspace, he helped to develop something that caused locitis. Because of his inside knowledge, Headspace's Management saw him as a potential danger and forced him into secret exile-- by threatening Madrgal's life. Now locked inside, time-dilated, and depressed, Ellery undertakes guerilla missions to euthanize locitis victims-- the people trapped in whitespace-- one by one.
You're nigh-entirely correct (as one might expect from an ACE DETECTIVE), and Ellery, worn-out, fesses up. He tells you more about locitis: that it isn't a disease at all, but severe side-effects from the way that Headspace manses get installed. Essentially, devices like the E.Z.-M.A.N.S.E. don't implant a manse into somebody: they create a metaphysical copy of somebody, implant a manse into the copy, swap the two, and destroy the original. Except... the originals aren't being destroyed. They're being imprisoned, en masse, for Law to be siphoned out of them. This is Not Good.
Oh well. You demand that Ellery help you out with your [SUNSTROKE], and he refuses, claiming to know nothing about it. You attempt to Advanced Gaslight him into helping, which freaks him and everybody else out, then commune with him in an attempt to escape the flak. Ellery catches you before you can get too far, but you slip out of your mind cage and find yourself in a sort of metaphorical junk pile, wherein you locate a sun! Which you promptly swallow, despite Ellery's protests, have some perfectly normal visions, and wake up to everybody staring at you... Richard included.
He's gotten the bright idea to appear in front of company, and you're forced to explain the snake/dad thing before getting out of there. Back in real life, you explain the Ellery situation to Gil, who doesn't seem too happy with your new plan to blow up Headspace. Your attempt to explain turns into an embarrassed downplaying of your breakdown last night, which Gil attempts to get you to open up about. You clear the air about the "licking incident," and discover that the sun-swallowing is causing Gil's blessing to light up a whole bunch. Whoops. You also tell him that Richard is nice now and drag him to your manse to demonstrate.
In your manse, Richard is indeed weirdly nice, though Gil still refuses to let him examine his new goo body until you provide moral support. Richard declares a clean bill of health, and Gil agrees to let you slice him open-- but you freak out over the prospect of harming him, and Richard has to help you make the incision. You discover that the beetles are still intact inside Gil's goo body, which soothes Gil enough to let him revert, magyckally, to a swarm of beetles.
