Susan Xocho ( ToO, pg 233) has been a quietly growing influence within the pop music industry, having moved into the music video industry in the early 1990's. She has been active in all popular genres, having worked on video choreography for Destiny's Child, The Black Eyed Peas, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Bjork, Radiohead, Eminem, Jay-Z, Drake, and up-and-coming R&B performer Cassilda Ythill. As time has gone by, Xocho has become more attuned to the influence of the King in Yellow, who she perceives as a figure she calls the All-Encompassing Love.
Through her influence, Hastur imagery has begun to subtly pervade much of the pop music zeitgeist, and is only subconsciously registered. Many of those who perceive its influence are misguided and drowned out by conspiracy theories about Illuminati Satanic imagery in pop music. There are few people who manage to be knowledgeable about the cultural and proto-cultural hues of the Vibe while also remaining sane, while also spending time watching pop music videos. It is a subtle and pervasive threat that Delta Green is almost completely unaware of.
Cell J suspected something back in August 2001 when Xocho was just starting out and choreographed a video for Charnel Dreams called Zothique Romance, which was a little too obvious with the Mythos references. The Cell were in the midst of an investigation when they came to the attention of Robert G. Ashe, the Bishop of the See of Flesh ( ToO, pg. 188). After they reportedly spent an evening on surveillance, their SUV was found empty and upside down on a southern Californian beach, covered in blood and ichor. Before another investigation could be carried out, sudden political and existential changes distracted A Cell enough that the wole matter was forgotten.
But not all of Cell J perished. Agent JERRY (Martin Laurence Wentz, US Postal Service) was coming back from a convenience store with coffee when he discovered his Cell and their vehicle had vanished. He would have been attacked himself if Stephen Alzis hadn't pulled him through an open door and brought him to New York City. Alzis patiently explained the rest of the Cell were dead, and if he wanted to get revenge the best way was going after Xocho directly. Why did he do this? Who knows. Maybe he didn't like the competition. Maybe he didn't like the video. He also gave the agent a copy of The King in Yellow, unabridged.
JERRY went rogue and took over his old Cell's Green Box, withdrew all his savings, stopped going to work and stopped communicating with A Cell and his estranged family. He began to stalk Xocho, taking photos and sneaking into her house to steal personal items. He began to keep a video diary, his growing understanding of The King In Yellow keeping pace with his obsession with each new Xocho-produced video.
In 2005, JERRY broke into Xocho's house with the intent to kill her, and was shot by a security guard. He was arrested and charged with burglary, assault and attempted murder, based on the evidence police found in his car parked nearby. He never told investigators about the Green Box or Delta Green, and his claims that Xocho was an agent of the "Yellow Mask" were ignored, and he was eventually imprisoned.
In 2015, Xocho's pop culture standing is much higher. Along with her video work for hit shows like True Detective and Man in the High Castle, she has been acclaimed for her direction on Cassilda Yhtill's controversial music videos (the most recent of which was a surrealistic torture-porn opus acclaimed by critics as a progressive riposte to Rihanna's Bitch Better Have My Money, told from the perspective of the victim).
JERRY's payment on the Green Box locker have long gone overdue, and the contents were recently auctioned off. When the new owner went through the material he realized he had found the locker of the notorious stalker Martin Laurence Wentz, and immediately notified the media. Soon, online media outlets were buzzing about the bizarre collection of photos, personal effects and bizarre ranting. Of particular interest were references to Disney Channel child actor Angel Walker, who would grow up to be Cassilda Yhtill (Xocho had been grooming her for a long time).
More alarmingly were the references to cults, monsters and government agents gone rogue, as well as weapons. Along with JERRY's obsessive material, the evidence and materials from Cell J's previous operations in the late '90s were still in the locker. The problem is, Delta Green doesn't know exactly what was left there and how damaging it could be.
The Cell is instructed to debrief Agent JERRY, while taking over an "official investigation" into the materials in order to eliminate or sanitize anything that could jeopardize or expose the Program (or the Group). Complicating this whole operation is the avid interest in the story among Yhtill's seemingly endless hordes of fans, as well as her personal media label Xanthous and pushy social media "investigators".
This operation could easily be the beginning of a campaign dealing with the Secret Senate, and thereby the Cult of Transcendence in general, as well as the Fate. The details of the rest of the Delta Green materials are left up to the imagination of the Keeper: they could be cold cases, red herrings, valuable information, or mind-shattering forgotten horrors depending on the needs of the campaign.
Credits[]
The Xocho Locker was written by David Tormsen for the 2015 shotgun scenario contest.
Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are © David Tormsen, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.
The Xocho Locker is not available here under CC-BY-SA.