Picky Eater Investigation - Wed, Oct 23, 2019

• The team previously flew north together, landing at Ithaca–Tompkins International Airport, and drove into a quiet college town that feels at odds with the recent violence.
• The public narrative is already locked in:
  • A “disturbed loner” broke into a sorority house, killed three freshmen, fled, and died when police caught him.
  • Officials insist there is no ongoing threat and everyone should move on.
• Delta Green (MASTICATE) has orders to dig deeper.
• The shooter is known to police as Bradley McKay, but Delta Green identified him as Finn Smith, one of the former Cornucopia House children.
  • The Handler emphasizes that when a survivor of the Skoptsi predation resurfaces, the unnatural is usually close behind.
• The team’s initial open-source digging (attributed in the recap to “Justin”) found only shallow campus chatter:
  • Names of the dead, pity for families, and a vague “incel weirdo” consensus.
  • Basic details about Bradley McKay do not line up: missing student records, fuzzy history at Cornell, and an “unfinished” file.
• At Ithaca PD, the team dealt with Detective Jim Hertz, who resented the federal takeover but turned the case over.
  • The file reads like an open-and-shut lone shooter narrative from an underfunded department eager to close the case.
  • The team’s impression was not a deliberate cover-up, but corners being cut according to local priorities.
• The recap lists key physical evidence presented by CSI Anne McKenna:
  • Rifle: looks like an AR-15 but isn’t; stamped “CAR” with no registered manufacturer; chambered in an ammo size that shouldn’t exist; serial number too short to trace; appears factory-made anyway.
  • Phone: cracked Samsung with blood; contains a side-loaded app called Picky Eater that routes everything through itself.
    • Cached sites that don’t exist; IP addresses that aren’t real.
  • Photos on the phone: graphic images of sorority women skinning a man alive at a party.
    • Facial recognition identified Emily Galperin, Sarah Donovan, Ashley Holloway, and the victim Avery Bell.
    • However, Avery Bell is alive, and the women have solid alibis for the times the photos were supposedly taken.
    • No evidence of editing; the room in the photos is wrong but close from certain angles.
  • CCTV footage of McKay’s rampage:
    • He keeps checking his phone, searching for something he never finds.
    • He appears confused and angry, raging against perceived injustices others don’t believe in.
• The Handler frames the current state: the team has evidence, witnesses, and loose threads that Ithaca PD left hanging, but “none of it will stay still for long.”

Establishing the immediate timeline and what the team did the previous night

• The Handler confirms it’s late on the first day in Ithaca (around 9–10 PM the previous evening).

• The team collected the phone and laptop from the police and returned to the hotel to begin analysis.

• Justin spent time trying to repair the laptop and concluded he’d need a new power supply, to be picked up in the morning; he couldn’t progress further that night.

• The group discusses leads visible on the Handler’s list (referenced as being on the main Foundry screen), including:

  • Visiting McKay’s dorm room (the team agrees this should happen sooner rather than later).
  • Contacting McKay’s adoptive parents (not local; believed to be in Maryland).
  • Tracking down McKay’s online “incel contact” who supplied the tech (name confirmed: Robert Wallace).

• Frank Booth (Brian) mentions that he already sent the name of the supplier/contact to AUSA Antonia Pitzerelli.

Clarifying the shooter’s online contact and the tech pipeline

• The Handler confirms:

  • The shooter’s online contact is Robert Wallace.

  • They connected via 4chan boards; the team has McKay’s message history on the phone.

  • Wallace appears to have sent:

    • The Picky Eater software and instructions.
    • A crude, soldered-on chip associated with the laptop modification.

• The Handler recalls details of the hardware:

  • The chip was a hodgepodge-looking, crude component soldered to the motherboard.
  • The laptop was largely encrypted/inaccessible without the chip, though the team could pull some logs and infer that deeper message history existed.

Justin’s initial technical work on the phone: Computer Science check

• Justin attempts to understand Picky Eater’s inner workings and makes a Computer Science check (result: 15, not a standout success).

• Over several hours of analysis, Justin forms a clearer picture:

  • Picky Eater seems to serve as:

    • A photo manipulation application.
    • A web aggregator.
    • A plugin for browsers and for Tor, which Justin finds odd (if it targets Tor users, supporting less-secure browsers is strange).

  • The app has severe system impact:

    • It drains the phone battery rapidly.
    • It appears to peg the device at 100%, consuming all system resources constantly.
    • Justin suspects it is constantly rewriting the firmware.
    • He concludes it behaves like “highly sophisticated firmware” but also shortens the device’s lifespan and makes it hard to use.

• The team checks the CCTV footage for operational practicality:

  • McKay had the phone plugged into a power source early during the rampage.
  • Later he disconnects it while still checking the screen.
  • The group notes a visible USB cable from a coat pocket into the phone.

• Because the team has McKay’s belongings, they check the pockets and find:

  • An oversized high-capacity battery pack (one of the “big long-lasting” ones).
  • The battery pack is at 0%.

McCarter’s occult scan of the message history

• Matthew McCarter (Robert) wants to read the message history to look for occult references and makes an Occult check (success: 2 under 47).

• Result:

  • McCarter finds no occult symbolism in the messages.
  • The messages are “chock full” of objectionable ideology.
  • Wallace is engaged in similar incel/anti-woman rhetoric, but McCarter can tell Wallace is pushing McKay toward more extreme views.

• The team asks about Wallace’s status/role:

  • Wallace is not a moderator; just another board member.
  • They “glommed onto each other” due to shared frustration and worldview.

• The Handler explains the contact timeline:

  • Earliest messages go back to late 2017 / early 2018 (when McKay was a high school senior).
  • A saved message from August 2018: Wallace says he’s sending a chip and Picky Eater; it will “open your eyes.”
  • Their open correspondence tapers off; by early 2019, they are largely not in contact.
  • The group suggests they may have moved conversation inside Picky Eater, but they do not have evidence of that in the accessible message history.

Endurance checks after working late

• The Handler calls for CON × 5 checks to see who got enough sleep:

  • McCarter succeeds (10 under 50).
  • Justin succeeds (success indicated).
  • Philomena and Frank explicitly do not do this; they let “the nerds” handle the late-night work.

• Outcome: Justin may be a bit tired, but functional; the “nerds” can keep going.

Morning logistics: power supply pickup and plan to hit McKay’s dorm

• The group plans to go to the dorm in the morning; Justin needs to pick up the ordered power supply.

• The Handler confirms:

  • It’s late October.
  • Justin pre-ordered online and simply picks up the part at a big box store (joked about as Best Buy), and returns quickly.

• The group decides the dorm search is priority.

Arriving at McKay’s dorm: confirming camera coverage

• As they approach the dorm, Frank wants to understand the camera situation, specifically because they previously noted a lack of footage of McKay leaving.

• The Handler describes:

  • Two ground-floor entrances with good CCTV coverage.
  • McKay’s room window is covered by a camera.
  • If he slipped out, he’d likely need to go through another student’s room/window; not impossible, but seems difficult.

• The team gains access without a major confrontation:

  • The room is still effectively held as part of the case (not “released” to new occupants), but it’s not theatrically taped off.

Searching McKay’s dorm room: general condition and initial impressions

• The dorm room is a single (no roommate).

• The Handler describes the decor as stereotypically “insecure young man trying too hard”:

  • Posters of Al Pacino/Scarface and women making out (as described).

• The desk shows where the laptop used to sit:

  • Mouse pad, mouse, cables, and space consistent with a laptop setup.

Bookshelf investigation: discovering an “off” copy of The Catcher in the Rye

• The team turns to the bookshelf; Frank receives a +20% bonus on the relevant INT × 5 check because the novel is commonly read in American high schools.

• While skimming the books, a specific item stands out:

  • A worn paperback copy of The Catcher in the Rye attributed to “J.F. Salinger.”
  • The team recognizes the author should be J.D. Salinger, and the mismatch is a major red flag.

• The book appears physically consistent with an older paperback printing (like a high school copy handed out repeatedly), but the content is wrong in pointed ways:

  • A paragraph (highlighted in red) depicts a scene where a pimp tells Holden Caulfield to “take the red pill.”

  • Another highlighted passage blames Holden’s sister for his brother Allie’s suicide.

    • The team recalls Allie died of leukemia in the original story, making this another clear divergence.

  • The altered passages cast women/female characters more as villains, and the “red pill” language aligns with the ideology seen in McKay’s message history.

• The team checks publisher details:

  • The publisher matches what Mark reads from Wikipedia: Little, Brown and Company (no obvious “weird publisher” flag is found).

Verifying the rest of the bookshelf

• The team splits the books into stacks and spends hours comparing details:

  • Checking for highlighted passages.
  • Looking up titles/authors/years.

• Outcome:

  • As far as they can tell, only the J.F./J.D. Salinger discrepancy stands out.
  • No occult books are found.
  • There are some books consistent with typical incel/conspiracy-adjacent reading (e.g., “pop” conspiracy theory material is mentioned), but nothing else appears to be a “wrong reality” print.
  • A history textbook is present; quick checks (table of contents and surface details) show no major divergences.

Physical room search: looking for anything else unusual

• The team searches drawers and the wardrobe/cabinet area.

• They do not find a portal or any other dramatic anomaly.

• The room yields one additional practical clue:

  • A soldering iron is found tucked in a desk drawer (not frequently used).
  • Folded printouts are present—Wallace’s instructions for installation (including soldering guidance and install directions for the chip/software).

Financial trail attempt: checking McKay’s accounts from the phone

• The team considers looking up credit/debit history for bookstores or odd purchases.

• Instead of running it through FBI channels, Justin tries the faster route:

  • He plugs in McKay’s phone (battery was dead; it charges enough to boot).
  • McKay’s bank site is set to auto-log in.

• Findings:

  • McKay has a credit card (likely provided by parents).

  • There are not many charges.

  • The last recorded charge is November 2018.

    • He did not use the card for about a year.

  • There are no big cash withdrawals that suggest unusual spending.

  • His balance is increasing because his parents are still making deposits (large deposits consistent with tuition/housing schedules).

Decision point: nothing else in the dorm beyond the anomalous book and install evidence

• The group concludes the dorm room is largely tapped out:

  • The only notable anomaly is the altered Catcher in the Rye copy.
  • The install equipment and instructions support Wallace’s role in providing the tech.

• The team decides to move to the sorority house.

Sorority house visit: comparing the photos to the real interior

• The sorority house is just off campus.

• It is no longer actively held as a sealed crime scene:

  • Police already collected evidence; the house is being cleaned and repaired by maintenance crews.
  • The team flashes badges and is allowed in; workers pause while the team investigates.

• Frank’s goal: find the room(s) in the photographs (especially where the staged “flaying” imagery appears).

• The Handler clarifies the spatial weirdness:

  • Some public rooms (foyer and living room) resemble angles seen in the photos.
  • However, when the team moves deeper and checks the rooms depicted, they are not the same as in the photographs.
  • The photos feel like an “imagining” of the house interior from certain vantage points—close enough to recognize partial features, but wrong on direct inspection.

• A key anchor detail persists:

  • A fireplace appears in the photos.

  • The team can see a fireplace down a hallway from the living room and identify it as the same fireplace, yet:

    • Its position/details don’t match the photo.
    • The room is clearly not identical despite the shared feature.

Target list and identifying witnesses

• The team pivots to the individuals identified in the photos:

  • Emily Galperin is a sorority member but does not live in the sorority house; she lives in a dorm.
  • Sarah Donovan and Ashley Holloway are not sorority members (they rushed as freshmen but did not join).

• The team decides to track down Emily Galperin, specifically to access her dorm room (and, repeatedly, to see if McCarter’s “sense” triggers anywhere).

McCarter’s “sniff” investigations and growing frustration

• At the sorority house, McCarter attempts to “sniff out” the unnatural in the room that corresponds to the photo.

• Outcome:

  • He smells nothing that triggers his reaction.
  • He becomes increasingly agitated and frustrated because he believes something should be present, yet his ability is not firing.

Interviewing Emily Galperin at her dorm

• After some coordination/phone tag, Galperin meets the agents at her dorm room and lets them in.

• The Handler describes Galperin:

  • About 20 years old, apprehensive.
  • She says she already talked to police and didn’t know the shooter.

• Setting:

  • She lives in a double with a roommate; the room looks as expected for a college dorm and is messy.

• McCarter again prowls the room “like a hound,” sniffing for the trigger.

  • Despite the agents keeping her occupied, nothing triggers; he gets no “hit.”

• Galperin’s statements (unprompted / easily prompted):

  • She didn’t know McKay and never met him (as far as she knows).
  • Police told her he had photos of her on his phone (which she found deeply creepy).
  • When told the photos depict her murdering/torturing someone, she reacts with apparent shock and confusion.

Human checks during the Galperin interaction

• The Handler calls for Human checks to read Galperin’s reaction.

  • Frank succeeds (roll shown as 34, success).
  • Justin rolls poorly and fails.
  • Philomena has two rolls appear; the Handler uses the first one (82), which fails.

• Based on the results:

  • Frank judges Galperin’s shock as genuine, not guilty shock—more like “what did this sicko intend for me?” rather than “they know my secret.”

Direct question: Avery Bell

• Frank asks Galperin if she knows Avery Bell.
• Galperin says she does not know anyone by that name.

Concluding the Galperin lead

• The agents decide not to push further; Galperin appears shaken and confused.
• The team disengages from the interview and moves back toward focusing on the laptop/Picky Eater.

Back to the hotel: regrouping and next investigative steps

• The team returns to the Holiday Inn Express.

• Justin takes the new power supply and begins restoring the laptop:

  • He had previously pulled the drive and mounted it externally; now he reassembles the machine.
  • He discovers the laptop’s BIOS firmware is “jacked,” requiring time to repair, but he knows how to do it.

• The rest of the team discusses calling McKay’s adoptive parents while Justin works.

Calling McKay’s adoptive parents: establishing background

• The Handler names the adoptive parents on the spot: Mitchell and Annabelle McKay.

• The agents identify themselves as FBI investigators; the parents go on speakerphone.

• Mr. McKay’s first question: Why is the FBI involved now?

• Frank frames the inquiry as a connection to other individuals in the country that requires investigation.

• Key background details from the parents:

  • They adopted Bradley when he was very young (stated as just shy of three years old).

  • He went through a severe traumatic experience as a toddler.

  • They report that he was not talking when they adopted him.

  • They were told he might not remember clearly, but the effects of trauma would persist; they describe “developmental issues” they tried to help him work through.

  • They characterize him as:

    • Isolated, with trouble with aggression and hostility reactions to attention.
    • Having difficulty making friends; later he had “friends online,” which they initially thought was positive.
    • Spending a lot of time on the internet as he got older.

  • Pets:

    • They have cats.
    • Bradley was not aggressive toward animals; as he got older, he seemed indifferent to the cats.

Human checks during the parents call

• The Handler calls for Human checks (speakerphone, so everyone can roll).

  • Frank rolls 66 over 65, described as a critical failure by one.
  • Philomena succeeds (she explicitly celebrates success; the Handler’s interpretation confirms she reads something Frank misses).

• Interpretation:

  • Frank, on the critical failure, reads them as grieving parents and feels bad; he believes they had no idea and were simply overwhelmed by “lost in the internet.”
  • Philomena notices that when the conversation reaches recent timeframes (after Bradley went off to Cornell), their answers become vague and inconsistent.

Parents’ inconsistency about Bradley’s whereabouts

• When asked about the holidays (Christmas 2018), the parents contradict each other and themselves:

  • One says he came home; the other insists they went on a ski trip and he was there.
  • They revise mid-sentence and seem unsure, though they try to sound confident.

• Philomena’s read: they aren’t exactly sure where he was, and their certainty collapses when pressed for specifics.

Other questions asked of the parents

• The team asks if they know Robert Wallace:

  • They say no.

• Philomena asks a reality-check question:

  • “Who wrote The Catcher in the Rye?”
  • The parents initially look confused, then answer J.D. Salinger, indicating they are aligned with the agents’ baseline reality on that point.

• The team asks about Bradley getting into Cornell:

  • The parents give a clearer, detailed story here than they do about recent holidays.

  • They describe it as a point of pride:

    • He was excited to attend an Ivy League school.
    • He put in effort, had good grades, and worked hard to get in.

  • The contrast stands out: pre-Cornell memories are clearer than post-arrival details.

Returning focus to Justin’s laptop work: the machine comes back online

• Justin succeeds in getting the laptop up and running.

• Immediate observation: like the phone, the laptop shows heavy power draw:

  • The prior power supply likely got fried.
  • Justin monitors draw; it’s unusually high; fans run hard (described as “aircraft carrier fans”).

• On boot:

  • The desktop is cluttered with files.
  • A Microsoft Word document is visible, titled “Fighting the Matriarchy.”
  • A folder exists named picky_eater_install.
  • The Picky Eater icon appears as a smiley face barfing and the software appears to start immediately on startup.

Browser history and network anomalies on the laptop

• Justin checks browser history:

  • There are many entries and some recognizable site names.
  • But when he inspects deeper (cache/IP associations), the IPs are not legitimate.
  • Almost nothing in the browser history is actually accessible (results in “server not found” / dead ends).

Reading the Picky Eater installer documentation

• Justin finds a readme/instructions inside the installer materials.

• The readme is not a deep technical breakdown, but it states:

  • Picky Eater does nothing without the accompanying hardware.

  • It provides crude directions on where to solder/attach the chip to the motherboard.

  • The instructions look like a good way to fry the motherboard, yet McKay apparently managed it.

  • Picky Eater is described as:

    • A filter and aggregator of web content.
    • A tool that learns from search patterns and reading habits to find “the most authentic and true sources” for what the user wants.
    • A protective layer akin to a VPN that keeps traffic secret.

  • The document does not identify an author, but it provides an email address for requesting:

    • A flash drive with the software.
    • A chip/hardware component.

Attempting to contact the Picky Eater source

• Justin uses a burner email and attempts to contact the address, expressing interest in “selling” Picky Eater.

• Result:

  • The email bounces immediately.
  • The domain appears not real.

Planning a social-engineering approach to Robert Wallace

• Justin suggests that agents with stronger social skills create an account on the board where McKay and Wallace interacted and attempt to contact Wallace using his known username.

• The Handler notes:

  • Justin has a username for Wallace.
  • However, Wallace’s traffic/activity on the board appears to have stopped.

Using Picky Eater’s search engine

• Justin opens a browser and finds Picky Eater has its own search engine.

• He enters a search intended to locate or reproduce the violent photo content:

  • He searches for “Avery Bell” and “torture” (in the context of the torture/flaying photos).

• The Handler ends the session on this hook:

  • The outcome of that search will be determined next session.

Session close

• The team agrees they are likely in the “wrong dimension” / reality mismatch is a recurring theme, but no direct resolution occurs during this session.
• The Handler checks in briefly on player enjoyment and then ends the game with the cliffhanger of Justin’s Picky Eater search results to come next week.