Editing The Implacable Detective

{{Character
|image1 = <gallery>
DetectivePoster.png|Campaign Poster
Oldwoman.png|Business Card
</gallery>
|caption1 = 
|location = Concord Square<br>[[Ladybones Road]]
|allegiance = [[The Constables]]<br>[[The Dilmun Club]]
}}<blockquote>''"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."''<ref name="lesson">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Invite_the_Implacable_Detective_to_your_Board|Invite the Implacable Detective to your Board|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>The '''Implacable Detective''' is one of the most prominent investigators in [[London]].
==Perseverance, Even When the Law Fails==
<blockquote>''"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."''<ref name="lesson2">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Attend_a_class_given_by_the_Implacable_Detective|Attend a class given by the Implacable Detective|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>The Implacable Detective is a formidable, aging woman of [[Elder Continent]] descent<ref name=":5">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/His_enemies|His enemies|Fallen London|}} ''"That old bird, the one with Continent blood. She don't give up once she's started. She's all right for what she is, though."''</ref> with sharp eyes and an iron will. Well-known in [[London]]’s underworld for her relentless pursuit of the truth, her uncompromising sense of justice, and her attention to detail,<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Attend_a_class_given_by_the_Implacable_Detective|Attend a class given by the Implacable Detective|Fallen London|}}</ref> she has earned the respect of even the most hardened criminals.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Implacable_Detective The Implacable Detective, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Implacable Detective is a fixture of London's underworld."''</ref> She staunchly resists the corruption that permeates nearly every institution in London, including her own;<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Implacable_Detective%27s_Campaign_1 The Implacable Detective's Campaign 1, ''Fallen London''] ''"She has a coterie of former detectives investigating her staff. At the first evidence of corruption, they are allowed to make a case for themselves in a private meeting. Very few pass."''</ref> the flaws of the Constabulary weigh heavily on her,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_to_the_Clay_Showman Speak to the Clay Showman, ''Fallen London''] "''"THANK YOU. WE ARE NOT USED TO JUSTICE FROM THE LAW." The Implacable Detective's eyebrow twitches, but she keeps quiet."''</ref> and when necessary, she occasionally sidesteps the law to uphold the justice it fails to deliver.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Turn_to_the_Implacable_Detective Turn to the Implacable Detective, ''Fallen London''] ''""The joy of taking cases outside of official channels," says the Implacable Detective brightly, "is that we are allowed a little more latitude in the pursuit of justice." Mischief tugs at the sadness in her eyes."''</ref> Among her many adversaries, the [[Cheery Man]] holds her in particularly high regard,<ref name=":5" /> and they occasionally face off over chess.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/He%27s_not_alone_2 He's not alone, ''Fallen London''] ''"A calm-faced, dark-skinned elderly woman in a walking-dress of antique cut sits across from him. Between them lies a chess set."''</ref>
[[File:Scrutinizer.png|thumb|Sagacious.]]
The Detective is the pioneer of the Implacable Method,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Implacable_Method The Implacable Method, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Implacable's practice is systematic and elegant: consider all possibilities, eliminate all errors, and isolate the truth."''</ref> and her most famous teaching is '''the Implacable's Lesson''': ''"It's better to swallow a single hard truth than a thousand soft lies''." She gives the occasional lecture to constables, aspiring detectives and interested Londoners.<ref name=":0" /> When cases turn physical or particularly dangerous, she relies on bodyguards for support,<ref name=":1">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/What%3F What?, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Implacable Detective isn't much in a fight, but she surrounds herself with ring-fighters, Clay Men and other sturdy sorts."''</ref> and she has gained a reputation for subcontracting her investigations,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Argue_with_the_Implacable_Detective%27s_supporters Argue with the Implacable Detective's supporters, ''Fallen London''] ''"You demand to know why a woman notorious for subcontracting her cases is positioning herself as the saviour of London justice. You wonder why she seems to be relying so much on failed constables."''</ref> likely due to her age.

The Detective has a near-compulsive habit of handing out her business cards:<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Implacable_Detective%27s_Business_Card Implacable Detective's Business Card, ''Fallen London''] ''"Almost any contact with the Implacable Detective will give you one."''</ref> to allies,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Deliver_the_file_to_the_Implacable_Detective Deliver the file to the Implacable Detective, ''Fallen London''] ''You've gained 1 x Implacable Detective's Business Card''</ref> to enemies,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/What%3F|What?|Fallen London|}}''You've gained 1 x Implacable Detective's Business Card''</ref> to those who already have one (or several).<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Meet_with_the_Implacable_Detective Meet with the Implacable Detective, ''Fallen London''] ''You've gained 1 x Implacable Detective's Business Card''</ref> She’ll even slip them into the most unlikely of places.<ref name=":2">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Look_for_something_cartographic Look for something cartographic, ''Fallen London''] ''"And what's this? When you unroll another map, a cobwebbed card falls out."''</ref> Regardless of the method of acquisition, it serves as an open invitation — to get casework, or simply to challenge her to a game of chess.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Dangerous_pastimes Dangerous pastimes, ''Fallen London''] ''"I understand you're engaged on other business just now. But perhaps you'd care for a game of chess?"''</ref> In addition to her work with (and occasionally against) the Constabulary, the Detective is a member of the '''Candlefinder Society''', a cohort of London's greatest investigators.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Have_a_look_at_your_fellows Have a look at your fellows, ''Fallen London''] ''"...the greatest detectives in the Neath. The Honey-Addled Detective, glumly swirling a glass of sherry. The Implacable Detective, [...] deep in thought. The Banded Sleuth, a tiger [...] The Urchin Detective, who takes up the task of keeping the conversation going..."''</ref> She often meets with them to talk shop and collaborate on cases.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Discuss_some_minor_cases|Discuss some minor cases|Fallen London|}} ''"Pickpockets and second-storey men. Dubious wills. Insurance fraud. Most of you only consult on such small cases, but it's still worth discussing the basics. The Implacable Detective goes on about how you can discern someone's mood by the shapes left behind in cigar ash."''</ref>
==Solving the Neath's Deeper Mysteries==
{{Spoiler}}<blockquote>''"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."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sell_the_right-hand_side_to_certain_parties|Sell the right-hand side to certain parties|Fallen London|}}</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Glowingeyes.png|thumb|[[The Light-in-Exile]]]]
The Detective uses her investigative skills to solve crimes, but also to unravel the deeper mysteries of the Neath. She is a prominent member of the [[Dilmun Club]], a secret society of intellectuals with the common goal of finding immortality. The Detective keeps dossiers on everyone in the club, and thus has extensive knowledge of its members' more clandestine activities.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Discuss_the_Dilmun_Club_(Loyalties_2) Discuss the Dilmun Club (Loyalties 2), ''Fallen London''] ''"I keep dossiers on everyone in the Dilmun Club."''</ref> These days, the Dilmun Club focuses on its search for the [[Garden]]. But in her younger years, the Detective once inquired into a possible path to immortality<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Listen_to_the_Implacable_Detective 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."''</ref> through cartography: not just the mapping of places,<ref name=":3">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sell_the_right-hand_side_to_certain_parties 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."''
</ref> but also of the self.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Discuss_the_Implacable_Detective%27s_map Discuss the Implacable Detective's map, ''Fallen London''] ''"These blank spaces... they're fears. Her fears. [...] Changing her heart? Admitting that Concord Square is broken beyond repair? Confronting her own culpability? Impossible. But this – the route on this map – proves that it's possible."''</ref> This journey took her to [[Hunter's Keep]],<ref name=":2" /> where she obtained several [[The Stone Tentacle-Key|Stone Tentacle-Keys]], strange devices that reshape destiny.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Meet_with_the_Implacable_Detective Meet with the Implacable Detective, ''Fallen London''] ''"She opens the pouch. Keys clink onto the table. "I've been saving these. For today, apparently.""''</ref> Eventually she abandoned her research, deeming it 'too unlawful' to continue;<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Listen_to_the_Naturalist%27s_proposition Listen to the Naturalist's proposition, ''Fallen London''] ''"They deemed it 'too unlawful' to pursue. Too unlawful! Can you imagine? If you dig it up, I guarantee you'll find it educational."''</ref> she feared a single mistake might cause unfathomable psychological agony in a subject.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_her_reservations Ask about her reservations, ''Fallen London''] ''"The Stone Tentacle-Key can unlock the heart's secret chambers. Imagine the monsters inside. One misstep, and the Far Shore itself would be mercy. For what? Even if you survive, only the abyss would harbour you."''</ref>

Many decades ago, the Implacable Detective served at the [[Magistracy of the Evenlode]], where all recruits undergo a mysterious rite of passage.<ref name=":4">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Light_of_the_Lure The Light of the Lure, ''Fallen London''] ''"This is the traditional rite of passage. All the new recruits must do it. There's nothing to worry about (they said as they snickered) and they don't even expect you to succeed. Nobody does. But it will teach you something important, which you might have trouble learning otherwise."''</ref> In the abyssal depths of the Magistracy, she encountered the [[The Light-in-Exile|Light-in-Exile]] — a meeting she buried deep in her memory, shrouded in shame.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flee_from_the_light Flee from the light, ''Fallen London''] ''"Don't acknowledge it. Look somewhere else. Pretend that the Law's central pillars don't extend [...] into a nightmare. File these recollections with the other unsolved cases, which have been marked 'solved' for convenience, and never re-open them again."''</ref> Even now, she resents and fears the realization that the Constabulary, and with it all enforcement of the law in London, is irreparably corrupted.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Flee_from_the_light|Flee from the light|Fallen London|}} ''"They must know what happened anyway. That's why they sent you down there, isn't it? To put you in this position, where every handshake, every promotion that follows, flounders in your memory like a landed fish gasping for life."''</ref><ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Break_the_surface_(Flee) Break the surface (Flee), ''Fallen London''] ''"I thought she meant something else by 'Shame' in her notes. But she was writing about her own shame. The Constables are worse than the Young Stags. Sending her to confront that creature. No wonder she ran. No wonder she's still running."''</ref> She thinks it imprudent, however, to keep such a secret to herself.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Discuss_the_Dilmun_Club_(Loyalties_4) Discuss the Dilmun Club (Loyalties 4), ''Fallen London''] ''"Perhaps I'll regret telling you. [...] But I fear a greater regret: keeping it to myself."''</ref>
==The Election of 1895==
<blockquote>''"We need to take a firmer hand with the law. So many of our finest minds end their careers mired in poverty or honey. I intend to spend money cleaning them up and putting them back on the streets. They need help."''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Learn_more_about_the_Implacable_Detective%27s_platform. Learn more about the Implacable Detective's platform. ''Fallen London'']</ref> </blockquote>
[[File:Hatbelfry.png|thumb|A Corinthian Belfry Hat]]
In 1895, the Implacable Detective was one of three candidates for [[Mayor of London]], running under the slogan "''The Only Logical Choice''."<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Choose_the_Implacable_Detective_as_your_candidate_2 Choose the Implacable Detective as your candidate 2, ''Fallen London''] ''"She was last to declare, because she wanted full dossiers on her opponents before she'd enter the ring. Her slogan is "The Only Logical Conclusion.""''</ref> 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 dubbed "the Grand Prosecution:" a thorough survey of London's justice system and the Constabulary, intended to unearth rampant corruption.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Implacable_Detective%27s_Campaign_1|The Implacable Detective's Campaign 1|Fallen London|}} ''"Intriguingly, she has ordered campaign staff to begin a thorough report into the inner workings of the city justices, courts, and constabulary in preparation for 'the Grand Prosecution'. No other aspect of civic governance has received anywhere near so much attention."''</ref> 

While the Detective 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]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Implacable_Detective%27s_Campaign_1|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."''</ref> Throughout her campaign, she also enlisted the aid of the '''Honourable Company of Stereoscopics''', a mysterious and possibly [[Parabola]]-linked group to whom she owed a debt.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Choose_a_Target:_The_Implacable_Detective%27s_Campaign|Choose a Target: The Implacable Detective's Campaign|Fallen London|}}''"The Stereoscopics just showed up one day [...] They say they helped her once, when she was about to lose a case. She could never bear to lose. They want her help; a flawless mirror delivered somewhere."''</ref> As a token of support, her backers received a distinctive hat crafted by the Company.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Corinthian_Belfry_Hat_(action) A Corinthian Belfry Hat (action), ''Fallen London''] ''"A label behind a tiny hand mirror reads: 'A Gift from the Honourable Company of Stereoscopists.'"''</ref> The Detective seemed unfazed when Feducci's victory in the election was announced,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Have_a_word_with_the_Implacable_Detective 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.""''</ref> but she harbors a grudge against him for winning.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Persuade_the_Implacable_Detective Persuade the Implacable Detective, ''Fallen London''] ''"This is an old grudge, from when Feducci became mayor and the Implacable Detective only won increasing obscurity."''</ref>
== Cultural Inspirations==
The Implacable Detective likely takes primary inspiration from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Marple Miss Marple], the archetypal "little old lady" investigator in Agatha Christie's mystery novels. However, some influence from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes Sherlock Holmes] can also be seen in the Detective's pioneering scientific methods and professional investigative credentials.
==References==
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