[The cover shows paper cut-outs of the Morning Stars between a
flickering fire and the wall of a cave. The cut-outs look like
their normal selves, while the shadows are distorted into the
superhuman "powered up" forms. A shadowed hand withdraws to
off-screen, as if its owner has just placed the paper figures.]

____________________________________________________________________________
.|, COHERENT COMICS PRESENTS An ASH Universe Story
--+-------------------------------------------------------------------------
'|` SHADOW GIRLS #6 - Outside The Cave
copyright 2022 by Dave Van Domelen
____________________________________________________________________________

The Morning Stars

Tetra-Red Xueli "Julie" Li - The Leader
Hexa-Blue Tamica "Tammy" Sullivan - The Brains
Octa-Green Dhriti "Tee" Singh - The Fighter
Dodeca-Yellow Jessica "Jess" Davies - The Scout
Icosa-Pink Olivia "Liv" Stuart - The Heart
Black Opal II Madelyn "Maddie" Chin - The Mentor...under protest

============================================================================

Dig Site 32 Item Inventory - Page 12
Date: 28 August, 2024
Item 32-012
Classification: Human Remains

Item 32-012 recovered from excavation of the collapsed utility tunnel at
grid (23,19,-05), believed to have collapsed in early 1998 during an
unreported superhuman conflict. (See page 1, Item 32-000.)
Extensive damage makes positive identification difficult, but contextual
clues (Items 32-012-a through 32-012-g) suggest the remains are of the
superhuman vigilante known as Professor Shade, who normally operated out of
Boston but was known to visit Manhattan on occasion. Estimated date of
tunnel collapse is within seven days of the last reported sighting of
Professor Shade, but no records are available to indicate why he was in
Manhattan on the date of the collapse.
Minimal data available suggests that Professor Shade was not registered
with the Department of Super-Human Affairs, and while it was thought likely
he had supernormal powers involving shadows and general physical enhancement,
it was also plausible that all his observed feats were due to clever
application of low-level supertech. Item 32-012-d seems likely to have been
the source of some or all of his abilities.
Due to lack of information about the subject we cannot positively
confirm that this was the real Professor Shade, and not one of his allies, as
he was rumored to employ a team of unpowered assistants. However, if he or
any of those allies survive, they have not been active in any way that we are
aware of.

Dig Site 32 Item Inventory Page 14
Date: 28 August, 2024
Item 32-012-d
Classification: Artifact
Tentative Subclassification: Mystic
Tentative Subclassification: Divine

Despite extensive damage to Item 32-012 and most other items found on
that subject, Item 32-012-d showed no signs of damage, which in itself is
strongly suggestive of Violation effects. Standard hazardous materials
protocol followed in retrieval and examination.
Item is a form of jewelry known as a pectoral, set with five gems in the
shape of the five platonic solids: a red tetrahedron, a blue cube, a green
octahedron, a yellow dodecahedron, and a pink icosahedron.
Preliminary archaeological analysis is inconclusive, as the style does
not clearly belong to any known historical culture. It has elements of
pre-Hellenic Greek design, but could plausibly be Mesopotamian as well. This
ambiguity is consistent with the hard to place nature of other known divine
artifacts.
The pectoral itself is an irregular but roughly rectangular shape 17.3cm
wide and 10.2cm tall, with a chain 36.1cm long connecting the two upper
corners. It appears to be made of bronze, but the lack of damage suggests it
may be "orichalcum," the general term for a wide variety of magically
enhanced bronze or brass alloys.
Initial study resulted in what one investigator termed, "weird vibes,"
and the item has been remanded to the study of Professor Upgrade.

* * * *

[April 21, 2025 - The Scott Building]

"...most of the latest batch is interesting to your historians, but
that's about it," Kay Cameron aka Professor Upgrade swiped through a few
pages of the report she was summarizing for her patron, the King of Shadows
and ruler of the Manhattan Autonomous Zone, Rex Umbrae. She was an
unremarkable-looking woman in her indeterminate post-middle-age, at least
until you noticed the fervent glint in her eyes. "Fortunately, I'm not here
to completely waste your time, as I've finished my analysis of the Professor
Shade artifact your teams dug up last year."
"And?" the hulking product of Khadam's genetics labs arched an eyebrow.
"Short form, meh."
"Too short. Please elaborate."
"Okay, you talked me into monologuing. Hopefully you read my progress
reports so a lot of this will be summary, but indulge me," Upgrade tapped on
the screen to bring up various images of a glittering bronze necklace set
with five colorful gems. "The pectoral was almost definitely the source of
Professor Shade's powers, and I believe I've constructed a plausible timeline
of its origins, starting in the muddy and god-bothered land of ancient
Greece. Probably their mythical age, circa figures like Hercules and Jason,
where the actions of the very real gods make a royal hash of scientific
archaeology and causal timelines in general. Human technology did NOT do
faceted gems like these," she pointed at the geometric solids, "until much
much later. The gems were probably direct creations of a divine entity, or
one of their favored servants. The archaelogy team thinks it was probably
dedicated to the goddess Arete."
"I can't say I recall her having a presence in the Godmarket," Umbrae
noted.
"As far as anyone knows, she didn't. Not every god participated, either
due to a too-weak position or personal reasons," Upgrade shrugged. "And keep
in mind that Shade was active well before the Godmarket, so he found the
pectoral either by sheer chance, or because Arete guided him to it during the
years when the gods were mostly being subtle...aside from Set, anyway.
Arete's generally the goddess of...hm, not perfection, but of being an
exemplar. The best you can be. It would make sense that an artifact of hers
would provide the user with overall enhancement, but the shadow powers don't
really fit her portfolio. My initial hypothesis was that the shadow stuff
was gadgeteering trickery, but our test subjects confirmed that the artifact
itself provides those powers, so maybe Arete has a side that didn't make it
into the myths."
Umbrae frowned slightly. He did recall the parts of Upgrade's reports
that mentioned what had happened to some of those test subjects.
"Merely handling the pectoral did not have any effect, at least not in
the short term. It had to be worn next to the skin for at least a few hours
before its effects began to manifest. Unfortunately, it also bonded to the
skin, and passing it to another test subject required removal of the skin
itself. Subsequent test subjects were taken largely from the ranks of the
Cybernostra and their wannabes, since they'd be okay with some body
replacement at the end of a trial."
The screen now showed a series of scan results that were essentially
meaningless to a non-specialist, although Umbrae recognized some of them as
"para-quantum" scans, one of the current avenues of research into trying to
find an objective measure of Violation effects. He wasn't sure it was any
more reliable than TwenCen "lie detectors," but Upgrade put great stock in
them and seemed to get results.
"Female test subjects exhibited a greater response to the pectoral than
male, which would track with mythical sources saying Arete favored girls to
men...not in that way, just a patronage sense. Matronage? Whatever.
However, even in the younger women where the effect was strongest, it was,
um, unimpressive compared to what even basic subdermal cybernetics can
accomplish. Either Professor Shade was a special case, or made the most of
very little actual power. So I went looking more closely into the scans, and
if you look more closely here," she pointed at one of the squiggles, "you
might be able to see what I found."
"For the sake of argument, assume I am unable to make that
interpretation. And I believe this has reached new content since your last
report?"
"Ah yes, right. I guess it's really only obvious in hindsight. You
see, the pectoral's para-quantum signature is actually adjoint to the
signatures of the gems, countering their unreality dimensions."
Umbrae nodded. "I think I see where you're going with this. The
pectoral was designed to *contain* the power of a goddess, to block it. What
one might do if they wished to destroy the gems, but didn't dare risk the
wrath of a goddess."
"Yep!" Upgrade beamed, with the clear joy of a mad scientist finally
conversing with someone almost on their intellectual level. "So I removed
the gems."
Umbrae stiffened. "That...sounds...unwise. Might that not attract the
attention of Arete?"
"Do you take me for a hack, like that suck-up Doctor Developer? First I
replicated the hyperlattice of the pectoral itself for a containment cage, so
that the gems would remain neutralized as far as the outside world was
concerned. And yes, I extended the five-branes properly."
If Upgrade had not survived the end of the Godmarket, there were times
Umbrae wasn't sure she was a baseline human. This was one of those times.
Paranormal or not, though, she was definitely a Mad Scientist.
"Once I removed them via remote waldo, I carefully scanned them again.
They were not connected to any higher dimensions, or attempting to 'ping'
them. While they match characteristics of crystallized ichor seen in other
divine gems, they are no longer an active part of the goddess. They could
probably be made to reconnect, but it would take an act of *knowing* will.
Needless to say, I did not tell any of the test subjects any of this, in case
they prayed to Arete and brought her calling. If we decide to use these, and
I can't really see a good use case, we need the user to believe they're from
some entirely different god."
"Godly power, and you can't see a use for them?"
"I decided we needed someone really loyal to test a bare gem. Your
wife's Hangman friend Monica volunteered."
"Ah. That would, I suppose, explain her new arm?"
"Precisely. Once the red tetrahedron touched her flesh...and she didn't
have much REAL flesh left before her latest replacement...it immediately
bonded. Not the slow process of the pectoral. She gained significant
enhancement, including a sheath of dark red shadow that tests showed was
highly durable. It was quite promising at first."
"And then the price?"
"She became increasingly obsessed with justice. Or, perhaps Rightness
would be a better way of describing it. She started to express a desire to
get back out in the field and 'clean up the scum.' Now, that's basically her
day job, but I know you don't let fanatics into the Hangmen."
"Indeed. They need to know when to look the other way, and I grant them
a great deal of latitude for that purpose. So, you think the gem was
changing her personality?" Umbrae frowned.
"It was making her over into a goddamned superhero, Rex. I had to
activate the failsafe and blow her arm clean off. The gem was fine, and
she's okay now, but she says she sometimes still feels it. The gem, not her
old arm. Oh, I did risk one more male test subject, but the gem just refused
to do anything for him, I guess that was a secondary purpose of the pectoral,
to subjugate a female power to a man. Anyway, if you want to create a
divinely powered superheroine team, each of whom could probably go toe to toe
with you in a fair fight, go ahead and use 'em. I've put 'em back on the
pectoral and sealed the whole thing in a Paraday Cage for now."
"You just made that last term up."
"I *invented* that last term," Professor Upgrade smirked.
Umbrae thought for a moment. "Very well, I defer to your judgement.
Keep them secure. I agree with the motive you presume for the pectoral's
maker, destroying them outright would be a bad idea, but for now we can make
sure no one accidentally acquires them. Much of our archeological effort
under the island is about securing and containing dangerous relics and
technology rather than using it, after all."

On 1/16/22 1:33 PM, Dave Van Domelen wrote:
> [The cover shows paper cut-outs of the Morning Stars between a
> flickering fire and the wall of a cave. The cut-outs look like
> their normal selves, while the shadows are distorted into the
> superhuman "powered up" forms. A shadowed hand withdraws to
> off-screen, as if its owner has just placed the paper figures.]

oooooooh, good vibes

> The Morning Stars
>
> Tetra-Red Xueli "Julie" Li - The Leader
> Hexa-Blue Tamica "Tammy" Sullivan - The Brains
> Octa-Green Dhriti "Tee" Singh - The Fighter
> Dodeca-Yellow Jessica "Jess" Davies - The Scout
> Icosa-Pink Olivia "Liv" Stuart - The Heart
> Black Opal II Madelyn "Maddie" Chin - The Mentor...under protest

Roles! :D

> Dig Site 32 Item Inventory - Page 12
> Date: 28 August, 2024

Oooo, it's been a bit.

> Item 32-012 recovered from excavation of the collapsed utility tunnel at
> grid (23,19,-05), believed to have collapsed in early 1998 during an
> unreported superhuman conflict. (See page 1, Item 32-000.)

! :o

> Extensive damage makes positive identification difficult, but contextual
> clues (Items 32-012-a through 32-012-g) suggest the remains are of the
> superhuman vigilante known as Professor Shade, who normally operated out of
> Boston but was known to visit Manhattan on occasion.

Oh, shiiiiiiiii

> Minimal data available suggests that Professor Shade was not registered
> with the Department of Super-Human Affairs, and while it was thought likely
> he had supernormal powers involving shadows and general physical enhancement,
> it was also plausible that all his observed feats were due to clever
> application of low-level supertech. Item 32-012-d seems likely to have been
> the source of some or all of his abilities.

Oop, there it is.

> Due to lack of information about the subject we cannot positively
> confirm that this was the real Professor Shade, and not one of his allies, as
> he was rumored to employ a team of unpowered assistants. However, if he or
> any of those allies survive, they have not been active in any way that we are
> aware of.

Ohhhhhhhh shit.

> Despite extensive damage to Item 32-012 and most other items found on
> that subject, Item 32-012-d showed no signs of damage, which in itself is
> strongly suggestive of Violation effects.

Indeed!

> Item is a form of jewelry known as a pectoral, set with five gems in the
> shape of the five platonic solids: a red tetrahedron, a blue cube, a green
> octahedron, a yellow dodecahedron, and a pink icosahedron.

There it is

> It appears to be made of bronze, but the lack of damage suggests it
> may be "orichalcum," the general term for a wide variety of magically
> enhanced bronze or brass alloys.

I see, I see!

> Initial study resulted in what one investigator termed, "weird vibes,"

X3

> and the item has been remanded to the study of Professor Upgrade.

That's a good name.

> "...most of the latest batch is interesting to your historians, but
> that's about it," Kay Cameron aka Professor Upgrade

....that's a *suggestive* name. :o

> I've finished my analysis of the Professor
> Shade artifact your teams dug up last year."
> "And?" the hulking product of Khadam's genetics labs arched an eyebrow.
> "Short form, meh."
> "Too short. Please elaborate."
> "Okay, you talked me into monologuing.

X3 <3

> "The pectoral was almost definitely the source of
> Professor Shade's powers, and I believe I've constructed a plausible timeline
> of its origins, starting in the muddy and god-bothered land of ancient
> Greece. Probably their mythical age, circa figures like Hercules and Jason,
<snip>
> The archaelogy team thinks it was probably
> dedicated to the goddess Arete."

Hmmmmm, interesting

> Arete's generally the goddess of...hm, not perfection, but of being an
> exemplar. The best you can be.

Innnnnnteresting.

> Umbrae frowned slightly. He did recall the parts of Upgrade's reports
> that mentioned what had happened to some of those test subjects.

Oh dear.

> "Merely handling the pectoral did not have any effect, at least not in
> the short term. It had to be worn next to the skin for at least a few hours
> before its effects began to manifest. Unfortunately, it also bonded to the
> skin, and passing it to another test subject required removal of the skin
> itself. Subsequent test subjects were taken largely from the ranks of the
> Cybernostra and their wannabes, since they'd be okay with some body
> replacement at the end of a trial."

Ohhhhh dear o3o;;;;

> "Female test subjects exhibited a greater response to the pectoral than
> male, which would track with mythical sources saying Arete favored girls to
> men...not in that way, just a patronage sense. Matronage? Whatever.

Suuuuuuuuure

> However, even in the younger women where the effect was strongest, it was,
> um, unimpressive compared to what even basic subdermal cybernetics can
> accomplish. Either Professor Shade was a special case, or made the most of
> very little actual power.

Hmhmhm.

> You
> see, the pectoral's para-quantum signature is actually adjoint to the
> signatures of the gems, countering their unreality dimensions."
> Umbrae nodded. "I think I see where you're going with this. The
> pectoral was designed to *contain* the power of a goddess, to block it. What
> one might do if they wished to destroy the gems, but didn't dare risk the
> wrath of a goddess."

Oh, shit. :o I see.

> "So I removed
> the gems."
> Umbrae stiffened. "That...sounds...unwise. Might that not attract the
> attention of Arete?"
> "Do you take me for a hack, like that suck-up Doctor Developer?

Interesting. X3

> If Upgrade had not survived the end of the Godmarket, there were times
> Umbrae wasn't sure she was a baseline human. This was one of those times.
> Paranormal or not, though, she was definitely a Mad Scientist.

:3 Heck yeah.

> While they match characteristics of crystallized ichor seen in other
> divine gems, they are no longer an active part of the goddess. They could
> probably be made to reconnect, but it would take an act of *knowing* will.
> Needless to say, I did not tell any of the test subjects any of this, in case
> they prayed to Arete and brought her calling.

Naturally. o3o;

> If we decide to use these, and
> I can't really see a good use case, we need the user to believe they're from
> some entirely different god."

Oh dear. I see where this is going.

> "I decided we needed someone really loyal to test a bare gem. Your
> wife's Hangman friend Monica volunteered."
> "Ah. That would, I suppose, explain her new arm?"
> "Precisely.

D:

> "She became increasingly obsessed with justice. Or, perhaps Rightness
> would be a better way of describing it. She started to express a desire to
> get back out in the field and 'clean up the scum.' Now, that's basically her
> day job, but I know you don't let fanatics into the Hangmen."

Oh dear. That doesn't bode super well for our girls.

> The gem was fine, and
> she's okay now, but she says she sometimes still feels it. The gem, not her
> old arm.

jeez.

Oh, I did risk one more male test subject, but the gem just refused
> to do anything for him, I guess that was a secondary purpose of the pectoral,
> to subjugate a female power to a man.

D: Yes, I see.

> Anyway, if you want to create a
> divinely powered superheroine team, each of whom could probably go toe to toe
> with you in a fair fight, go ahead and use 'em.

Ohhhhh dear.

> I've put 'em back on the
> pectoral and sealed the whole thing in a Paraday Cage for now."
> "You just made that last term up."
> "I *invented* that last term," Professor Upgrade smirked.

X3

> "Any luck on the Hero of New York project, love?" Maria slinked into
> Umbrae's working office.

Here we go~

> "I've just dumped the files to
> your internal server, but here's the precis: our archaeology teams found an
> artifact connected to the goddess Arete, which can give impressive powers to
> women, but bonds permanently *and* infuses them with a sense of justice. It
> was a few years ago, so I didn't immediately think of it yesterday. If we
> finesse it correctly, we can create an entire superhero team, and I think
> it'll give me the hook I need to get one of the Hellhound ladies back in the
> game to ride herd on the new heroes."