Conferring with Papa Legba

Friday, July 20, 1973. Roger stops in at Livermore before heading out to tail Mitch. There he finds Genevieve.

Roger: Hey, uh, I’d like to chew the fat with you a little bit …

Viv: Hey Roger! What can I do for you?

Roger: I kind of have a proposal. I know that we haven’t worked on this kind of stuff before together, um, and I don’t know that I’ve done this with anybody that much, but I have questions I want to ask. And I can’t be the one to ask them. So I’m hoping that I can have somebody have a conversation, uh, with my loa that isn’t one of my usual people. I mean, you know, usually I get the gang together and we talk about these things but this kind of thing, there may be questions you wanna — or that we need to ask — that are not, uh, kosher for the rest of the San Francisco crowd to know about. So what I was hoping is you and me could sort of, you know, confab, you know, have a bit of a talk out. Figure out what we want to say. Then I’ll bring up Papa Legba and we will see … we’ll see what he will tell us.

Viv says she’d be honored to help and thanks him for coming to her. Roger says the key part of this will be coming up with the right questions because there are spirits out there in the world, big spirits, that he is not familiar with and has no background on. He needs help from his guardian, Papa Legba, to guide him in his dealings with the new spirit that has manifested itself — Agent 00 — and to understand why Papa Legba would have opened the Way for such a being. Viv, who has been taking notes, says that asking why Papa Legba opened the Way for this new loa is a great place to start. Roger comments on the fact that Viv is writing things down and Viv explains a bit about her methodology:

I'm blending the psychological with the more esoteric so what we can — right now — triangulate in on what you're trying to know. And it will help me to have a few key points written down so that we can move across like, OK, is the primary concern, “is this is safe for you?” or is the primary concern, “what larger thing is this coming from?” or “what is it attached from,” or “what is it derived from?” or is the bigger question, like, “where are these currents?” And once we know that, then we can roll with it.

Roger jokes about lying down on a couch and Viv laughs, saying he’ll only need to do that if it’ll help him. Roger says he’d rather pace. He explains that his concern is the motives of these big spirits with whom he isn’t familiar. What are their intentions? Are they the heralds of some dark night looming on the horizon? Because if so, he’d like to know that so that he knows he’s in for a fight. Viv asks him to elaborate: does he suspect that some of these new spirits are related to History B? Roger says he doesn’t know. He feels that the loa are truly ancient spirits that feel like they are of this world, but he cannot be sure, given his SANDMAN training. He worries that just as History B is sort of a dark analogue to our history, so too may History B have its own loa. Still, he insists that he knows that Papa Legba and his loa are humanity’s allies, “our saviors.”

Viv asks if they should go find a crossroads. Roger laughs and says they have options. They could go to his altar and do the “full deal,” but that will take time. Alternately, they could do a mere “inquiry,” possibly even on site somewhere. Viv says she will naturally defer to his expertise, calling Roger the “spy who works in many worlds.” Roger says let’s give it a shot with an inquiry. Even though there’s a community, or neighborhood, element to summoning the loa, he may be able to do something now if the milieu are right.

After considering a few possible locations, Roger leads Viv to the Rooster House — not inside, of course, but nearby. With Viv watching, Roger enacts the rituals and prayer-chants to summon Papa Legba, sipping from a flask of rum, pacing in a small circle outside the House. After a few minutes, Viv notices a physical change in Roger. He looks visibly older, and now has a limp. One of his eyes closes, while the other widens, giving him a cyclopean affect. A beat later, Papa Legba doffs his invisible hat and speaks in a French-Creole accent:

Papa Legba: Ah! Madame docteur. Oh, forgive me — we have not been formally introduced.

Viv: My name is Genevieve. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Papa Legba: Ah! You are a savior of people, I think? I understand from my loyal mount that you have been, ah — a healer? But also a world builder. I find you fascinating to meet! May I kiss your hand?

Viv: You may. (extends a hand)

Papa Legba: (taking her hand, he brushes it very gently) So! I am here. I am standing on the Way. I am on the Threshold. What do you seek?

Viv: We have many questions for you about what is happening right now in San Francisco and the realm of the spirit. And, also: thank you. Thank you for this contact. I feel very honored to be here. Roger told me not to but I do. I do feel honored.

Papa Legba: (laughing) Ah, well! Of course! For me to have a pleasant conversation with an intelligent woman is absolutely my pleasure. So if you feel honored, I feel even more than! But you say, you have questions? About the stirrings? I am the Opener of the Way. I am the Guardian of the Threshold. If things are crossing, I should know. So: what do you want to know of them?

Viv: Yes. We want to know what is … well, that’s start small and then get bigger. Roger wanted to know about his new guest — the Agent — and what is was that opened the way for him.

Papa Legba: Hm! Well! That is funny. You who were there when that very alien some … one … when that crude, ah, doorway was ripped open. I think you know that is … that is not how we would wish to have the Threshold crossed. That was a breach. And as to where that thing comes from … well, that I actually think your friend would know more. But I can certainly, ah, try to look and understand more about this spirit and, if you must, I can contact it. Contact him! Oh, it is definitely a him. Ho-ho-ho!

Viv: If we could start with from where he’s derived, I think that would be very useful to know.

Papa Legba recoils a bit, and stumbles around. He knocks on walls where there are no doors, but Viv hears the sound of a door knocking. He then explains that Agent 00 was created in the moment at the St. Francis Hotel, the product of a thousand nerds’ beliefs catalyzed by Archie’s meme, the Atlantis Rising LARP. Of course, the archetype of the “Secret Agent” is not new — it goes back decades to the adventure novels of the Victorians at least — but this manifestation is new, and certainly far newer than the ancient spirits that the enslaved Africans brought with them from their homelands along the Middle Passage. He also reveals a secret: that the movie Live and Let Die did not exist before Westercon, nor was the actor Roger Moore intended to play the role of Bond. Both were retro-created as a product of URIEL’s actions. (Roger = Roger Martin, Moore = E.L. Moore).

Viv asks if this new loa could be yoked. Papa Legba explains that he does not think Roger can do so, nor Viv. “He just needs to know what the patterns are, what will smooth over the bumps that will make the way of the existing spirits more, ah, better.” He also cautions that Viv’s new “boss man” is causing changes, weaving new stories, altering destinies with his esmology. Whether that is for good or ill remains to be seen. Either way, Papa Legba believes that the Agent is ultimately on the side of the angels, motivated as he is to “save the world.” Viv asks if the esmology that her “boss man” is engaging in is capable of building protocols that would prevent future intrusions by spirits into the realm of human thought, or must there always be such intrusions — something tainted by the Anunnaki. Papa Legba says there must always be a crossing, but cautions that not all crossings are prompted by the Red Kings. On the other hand, all crossings, all incursions, risk drawing the Enemy’s attention.

Viv asks if there are any other chevals, like Roger, who are not here for the best benefit of humanity. Papa Legba says, yes, the veil is thin in many places, and in many folks. He has seen such thin places but would only share his knowledge of them in exchange for a boon. The secrets of the thin places are powerful, and all who know those secrets must need be bound to the utmost secrecy. For him to tell her of these thin places, Viv must swear to keep them secret — and must vouch for any to whom she tells the secret that they will keep the secret too. If any break that covenant, a curse will be laid upon them and upon Viv. So powerful is this secret. After weighing her options and confirming that this would be for the best benefit of all living beings, Viv agrees. As Papa Legba prepared to make his exit, Viv asks one final question: is there anything that he would like her or Roger to know?

Papa Legba laughs: “Tell my petite écolière I have her question.”