C-PIP03 (Feb 7, 1996)
Puzzle
Danny, Homer, George, Gomez.”
Research | 1 Word
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: They're all fictional characters. Where are they from?
Clue 2: Full House, Simpsons, The Jeffersons, Addams Family. What do these four characters all have in common?
Clue 3: To quote C-PIP02, 'which Division in particular' would fit the bill?
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Papa
Explanation: These are all fathers in different shows. Danny from Full House, Homer from The Simpsons, George from The Jeffersons, and Gomez from Addams Family.
Summary of Receipt
62 concludes that the portal in the Pyramid is being studied by two Division Papa agents, Carl and Phillip (aided by the researchers). While Division Papa isn't too threatening (and has allegedly accomplished nothing in the past), they still need to figure out how to shut it down. There are four options she suggests: use a cursed artifact lent from Mr. White (though it would be, well, cursed); call in a friendly customer or other powerful entity, either Mr. Frederick - if he can be persuaded to leave the Hotbed - or one of 17's contacts; make a human sacrifice (last resort, obviously) or invert the Pyramid (yes, the physical building) upside down, destabilising the portal and sucking it into the Otherside. So, yeah, not looking too good.
Transcript
RECEIPT #003
FILED UNDER: CAFE-PIP
DATE: 2/7/96
EMPLOYEE #62
After doing some further investigation, it’s clear that the portal in the Long Beach Pyramid is being studied by Division Papa, led by Agent Carl and Agent Philip. It’s still likely that their end goal would be to stabilize this portal and net the Agency another means of transportation and control over the Otherside. However, it being Division Papa could indicate that their presence in the Pyramid is more speculative or pseudoscientific in nature. Of the divisions we could’ve been up against, Papa is by far the least threatening of the bunch. Papa’s work is often the butt of many jokes among the other Divisions.
Still, we can’t just leave a portal of this size open in Long Beach. And, while Papa has historically never accomplished anything, we don’t want whatever Philip and Carl are working on to be their first success. So, I’ve thought up four possible options for dealing with the portal.
1. Utilize a magical artifact. Recently we’ve gotten in touch with Mr. White and have helped him out numerous times, so I’m sure he’d be willing to lend us another of his cursed wares to deal with the portal. The one that comes to my mind is the Bone Hourglass which we could use to rapidly speed up time to seal the portal “naturally.” But it’s still a cursed item and using it would rapidly age whoever uses it. 2. Enlist the help of a powerful entity. I can’t personally think of any customers who’d be available and willing to close this portal, but I’m sure #17 has to have someone in his contacts. I suppose Mr. Frederick could if we could convince him to leave the Hotbed. 3. Make a sacrifice to the portal. #71 mentioned that he read of a ritual in some apocryphal text that outlined the process of sealing gateways to the Otherside via a human sacrifice. Apparently, if a human crosses into the Otherside via an unstable portal, there’s a good chance the portal will rapidly destabilize. It’s not ideal, but I suppose, as a last resort, it’s a decent option. 4. Invert the Pyramid. We could “overcharge” the portal and have it suck itself and the entire Long Beach Pyramid into the Otherside. I think the university would be pretty upset with that, and #53 would have a hell of a time shilling that coffee.
I’m not sure what the best option would be, and to be honest, none of them are that great.