The Implacable Detective

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"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.

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"She has an interest in the far reaches of the Neath, and a firm commitment to ending banditry and criminal activity wherever she may encounter it."[1]

The Implacable Detective is one of the most prominent investigators in London, known for her relentless pursuit of the truth, her uncompromising moral code, and her attention to details.[2]

Implacable

"If you're getting nowhere, just keep snooping around the suspects and wait for someone's nerve to crack. That one's resolved more cases than I care to admit."[3]

The Implacable Detective is a formidable, aged woman with sharp eyes and an iron will. Well-known in London’s underworld, she has earned the respect of even the most hardened criminals.[4] Among her many adversaries, The Cheery Man holds her in particularly high regard. They occasionally face off over chess.[5]

Unlike many in the Neath, she upholds a rigid sense of justice, resisting the corruption that permeates nearly every institution in London—including her own.[6] The flaws of London's Constabulary weigh heavily on her, filling her with shame.[7] And so, when necessary, she occasionally sidesteps the law to uphold the justice it fails to deliver.[8]

The Detective is the pioneer of the Implacable Method,[9] and her most famous teaching is the Implacable's Lesson: "It's better to swallow a single hard truth than a thousand soft lies".[10] She gives the occasional lecture to constables, aspiring detectives and interested Londoners.[2]When cases turn physical or particularly dangerous, she relies on bodyguards for support.[11]

The Detective has a near compulsory habit of handing out business cards[12]: to allies[13], to enemies[11], to people who already has her business card(s).[14] She’ll even slip them into the most unlikely of places.[15] Regardless of how someone acquires her carte de visite, it serves as an open invitation—to get casework or simply to challenge her to a game of chess.[16]

Esotric Associations

The Detective doesn't just apply her investigative skills to uncovering crimes, but also in uncovering the Neath's deeper mysteries as well. She is a prominent member of The Dilmun Club, a secret society of intellectuals with the common goal of finding immortality. The Detective has extensive knowledge on more clandestine activities of various members of the club, seeing as she keep dossiers on everyone.[17]

The Club's pursuit of immortality is primarily centered on reaching its source: The Garden. However, in the past, the Detective explored a different path to eternal life.[18] Her research delved into cartography—not just the mapping of places,[19] but of the self as well.[20] This journey took her to Hunter's Keep,[15] where she obtained several Stone Tentacle-Keys.[21] [1]Eventually, though, she abandoned her research, deeming it 'too unlawful' to continue.[22] The Detective feared it might unlock a monstrosity within mortals.[23]

The Detective is also a member of The Candlefinder Society, a group of the five greatest detectives in London. She often meets with them to talk shop and collaborate on cases.[24]

London's 1895 Mayoral Elections

In 1895, three main candidates vied for the position of Lord Mayor of London. Among them was the Implacable Detective, the last to announce her candidacy, running under the slogan: "The Only Logical Choice". True to her profession, she conducted rigorous background checks on all her campaign patrons and managers. She also laid the groundwork for what her campaign ominously dubbed: "The Great Prosecution". While she garnered a respectable level of public support, her hardline stance on crime and corruption drove many Constables to abandon her in favor of rivals, particularly Feducci. [25] Throughout her campaign, she also enlisted the aid of a group known as The Stereoscopists—mysterious figures with an uncanny connection to mirrors and to whom she owed a debt.[26] Supporters of her campaign were given a hat made by them.[27]

As the results of the 1895 Election was announced, The Detective seemed unfazed when Feducci was picked as the new Mayor.[28] However, it’s clear she still harbors a grudge against him for winning.[29]

The Past

In her youth, the Implacable Detective served at The Magistracy of the Evenlode, where all recruits underwent its rite of passage.[30] In the abyssal depths of the Magistracy, she encountered The Light-in-Exile—a meeting she buried deep in her memory, shrouded in shame.[31] Yet, even after leaving the Evenlode for London, the past lingers, its shadow haunting her still.[32] She now feels it's imprudent to keep secrets like this to herself.[33]

Inspiration in Fiction

The Implacable Detective stands between a Sherlockian Great Detective and the Little Old Lady Investigates character trope popularised by Miss Marple. Though her appearance and certain personality traits align more with the latter, her pioneering scientific methods and professional investigative credentials firmly place her in the realm of the former.

References

  1. ↑ Invite the Implacable Detective to your Board, Fallen London
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Attend a class given by the Implacable Detective, Fallen London
  3. ↑ Attend a class given by the Implacable Detective, Fallen London
  4. ↑ The Implacable Detective, Fallen London "The Implacable Detective is a fixture of London's underworld"
  5. ↑ He's not alone, Fallen London
  6. ↑ The Implacable Detective's Campaign, Fallen London "At the first evidence of corruption, [constables] are allowed to make a case for themselves […]. Very few pass.
  7. ↑ Speak to the Clay Showman, Fallen London
  8. ↑ Turn to the Implacable Detective, Fallen London
  9. ↑ The Implacable Method, Fallen London "The Implacable's practice is systematic and elegant: it consider all possibilities, eliminate all errors, and isolate the truth"
  10. ↑ The Implacable's Lesson, Fallen London
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 What?, Fallen London
  12. ↑ Implacable Detective's Business Card, Fallen London "Almost any contact with the Implacable Detective will give you one"
  13. ↑ Deliver the file to the Implacable Detective, Fallen London
  14. ↑ Meet with the Implacable Detective, Fallen London
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Look for something cartographic, Fallen London
  16. ↑ Dangerous pastimes, Fallen London "I understand you're engaged on other business just now. But perhaps you'd care for a game of chess?"
  17. ↑ Discuss the Dilmun Club (Loyalties 2), Fallen London "I keep dossiers on everyone in the Dilmun Club"
  18. ↑ Listen to the Implacable Detective, Fallen London "I conducted research earlier in my career – at a more naïve period – into a hypothetical mechanism for achieving biological immortality"
  19. ↑ Sell the right-hand side to certain parties, Fallen London " The Implacable Detective's chart cabinet is rather impressive. You wonder that she has time for matters geographical when she's usually after some Flit-villain"
  20. ↑ Discuss the Implacable Detective's map, Fallen London
  21. ↑ Meet with the Implacable Detective, Fallen London
  22. ↑ Listen to the Naturalist's proposition, Fallen London
  23. ↑ Ask about her reservations, Fallen London "The Stone Tentacle-Key can unlock the heart's secret chambers. Imagine the monsters inside"
  24. ↑ Have a look at your fellows, Fallen London
  25. ↑ The Implacable Detective's Campaign 1, Fallen London "The numbers of Constables in her ranks have halved. Some have defected to Feducci's campaign, while more have been dismissed by the Detective herself."
  26. ↑ Choose a Target: The Implacable Detective's Campaign, Fallen London
  27. ↑ A Corinthian Belfry Hat (action), Fallen London A label behind a tiny hand mirror reads: 'A Gift from the Honourable Company of Stereoscopists.'
  28. ↑ Have a word with the Implacable Detective, Fallen London The Detective smiles as you approach. […] "Sorry about that. Never got the hang of vol-au-vents. Oh, don't look so downhearted. So we didn't win? That doesn't mean it was all for nothing." […] "The work continues."
  29. ↑ Persuade the Implacable Detective, Fallen London "This is an old grudge, from when Feducci became mayor and the Implacable Detective only won increasing obscurity"
  30. ↑ The Light of the Lure, Fallen London "This is the traditional rite of passage. All the new recruits must do it"'
  31. ↑ Flee from the light, Fallen London "File these recollections with the other unsolved cases, which have been marked 'solved' […], and never re-open them"
  32. ↑ Break the surface (Flee), Fallen London "[…] she was writing about her own shame. The Constables are worse than the […] Stags. Sending her to confront that creature."
  33. ↑ Discuss the Dilmun Club (Loyalties 4), Fallen London "Perhaps I'll regret telling you. [...] But I fear a greater regret: keeping it to myself."
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