"Well, if he doesn't want me until noon tomorrow and I can't yet meet with anyone who can whitelist Iomedae I can answer questions that are interesting to you. Though if someone who can do that might be available I would like to... check."

"Yeah. I'll get on that. But first I will show you computer chess."

Caiden sits Blai in front of a computer, calls up Chess.com, and says, "see, you can get the computer to play against you."

Blai does not know how to operate a computer, but once he figures out how you click on things, he is soon absorbed in playing chess against one of the chess.com bots.

And Caiden is off to call in favors and subtly bring up blackmail material until someone rearranges their schedule to screen Blai. 

Jane joined the Commission on Demonic Affairs fresh out of Miskatonic with a dual major in management and History with a concentration in modern non-human relations. The Commission, for reasons she quietly assumes are magical given what they do, has not changed its name from the late 1600s even as relationships with non-human and non-earth persons have warmed substantially. These days it's really more about oversight and safety: labor regulations and whistleblowing opportunities for ponies, being an honest broker when Miskatonic and the cops and the feds all want something (or someone), monitoring the more active sorcerers without offending them, consulting for the rest of the government on anything from "is it safe to build underwater here" to "can we use magic to do this? should we?" (almost certainly someone can; you probably don't want to pay the price and almost certainly don't want to take the risks). 

Caiden is not a headache. He cares about people, never forgetting either side of the relationship, and the last time her office got a complaint about him it was because he'd burnt books that were illegal to possess, even in Louisiana. Also he has a very cute smile: that helps. Particularly when he needs someone to certify someone from an entirely new church. It's fine, she can handle it, and he really didn't need to bring up the assistance she'd gotten for her last promotion. Glowing letters from across government are helpful in their line of work, and it wasn't like she had explicitly asked him for that mild embellishment of being in the room and helping when the event happened. So it's all good. She can come by this afternoon. If he wants to owe her, she can come by this evening and talk the guy through the process before an official interview tomorrow. She'd been planning on lobster rolls tonight.

"I'll ask him."

He trots over to Blai. "I have a question for you."

"Just a moment -" He's found out how to make the games faster. He loses this one and doesn't start another right away. "Yes?"

"Commission on Demonic Affairs-- don't look at me, I didn't name it-- says they can do an interview this afternoon, or they can do one tomorrow afternoon and the interviewer can swing by this evening to walk you through the process and make sure you don't say anything you don't mean."

"Do I seem likely to make some kind of misstep without that walkthrough?"

"Not sure. You're from a very different culture and I don't know what you don't know."

"I don't think I'm likely to say things I literally don't mean but I could be - impolitic? I don't know how much these things tend to turn on that."

"Jane's an honorable person, I don't think she'll try to trip you up on purpose."

"Then I'd like the sooner interview."

Then Caiden will leave him to play computer chess until interview time. 

Jane tells her boss that she's been asked to do an emergency interview for someone who showed up as a result of a summoning but seems to be trying to cooperate. He knows Caiden Callahan, right? Boston PD, survived that case three years ago with the mass summoning attempt. And she's caught up on the rest of her work. 

After the '63 incident the Boston elite strongly indicated their preference that most Mythos storage and activity be somewhere other than downtown, so she has to schlep out to Braintree on the red line. At least it's not a long walk: she needs the heels, at her height. Metal detector, Elder Sign check, chat with the receptionist at the front desk for three minutes (talking about the weather or your family, while it may not be enjoyable, turns out to be a surprisingly effective check, and she's not going to bully her way past it), directions, and she's walking into the interview room with her laptop bag in one hand and a folder in the other. This isn't going to be particularly easy, but she can hope.

"Jane Donahue, Commission on Demonic Affairs: pleased to meet you." Normal social rituals are important. 

"Select Blai Artigas, cleric of Iomedae. Thank you for coming by."

"Thank you. From what Caiden tells me you're a new arrival to earth and doing your best to be helpful, so I am pleased to welcome you. I understand you're applying for a license for the Church of Iomedae to handle Mythos knowledge and artifacts in Massachusetts, with you as its current sole representative?"

"- that's actually somewhat beside my main aim here, I don't know if I would be particularly good at interacting with the artifacts or anything like that. I am given to understand that it is currently illegal to worship Iomedae or use magic granted by Her. She is a Lawful god and I am a Lawful person and I do not intend to violate this prohibition while it stands, but it prevents me from doing a lot of useful things that are routinely usable without driving anyone insane. It has not even been made clear to me if there is anywhere else on this planet I can physically travel to where it will be legal for me to pray for and cast spells, perform healings, or use my domain powers. It's not even obvious if it would be legal for me to ask Her to withdraw my powers so that she has more to spend elsewhere in creation, should I be trapped here for the foreseeable future and obliged not to seek contact with my goddess."

"So, using magic is not illegal by itself: there are too many sorcerers who would react badly to that. Worship as a purely mental action that does not cause observable effects is also not illegal, so if withdrawing her powers from you did not make your limbs fall off or age you rapidly or lose your eyesight, that would be allowed. However, teaching others about Iomedae, possessing written documents about Iomedae and her rituals, engaging in group rituals, causing consensual mental damage via exposure to the Mythos, or financially benefitting from magic including casting spells as part of employment is illegal. Furthermore, if anything does go wrong as a result of your magic use not having a responsible organization is much more likely to result in your rapid execution. If you are just doing magic solely by yourself, for no benefit or harm to anyone, without teaching anyone or studying from any non-exempt mythos texts, you don't have to register. But we designed the process during the 60s to better accommodate friendly churches: I really think that this will be the best way forward for you. Caiden mentioned a book that you had when you arrived, and this would almost certainly be required to get it back without a specialist verifying that it contains no harmful knowledge, which would take much longer and be more expensive. But if you don't want to continue, I have no intention of making you."

"- it is gratifying to know that prayer that does not grant spells is permissible and that private casting is as well, if I understand you correctly. Some spells I possess are recyclable indefinitely and I would not need to re-prepare them to use them for myself. I don't know if that is enough for it to be worth Iomedae's investment to continue to empower me as Her cleric but, should I explain the situation to Her and find the magic withdrawn, this is known to be survivable without any such obviously deleterious effects.

"I am not familiar with how you are using the word 'Mythos'. There are spells that negatively affect the mind but very few of them are impairing beyond a few minutes, and even so, refraining from those specifically would be much less limiting than refraining from spells that, for instance, cure blindness, or provide me with breathable air in smoke or water, or allow me to carry heavy objects more easily, or stabilize a dying person. I do not generally perform magic that calls for group ritual. I am not presently qualified to teach anyone about Iomedae even with my holy book, for personal background reasons, but don't know if you mean to include just mentioning that She exists and has Her basic traits. I cannot teach anyone to perform my divine magic; cleric spells are granted by gods and Iomedae is vanishingly unlikely to choose any clerics on this planet for the foreseeable future.

"I would like my holy book back and to be able to support myself and Good causes with spellcasting, if you think that is possible to arrange."

"It makes sense that you are from a different planet and would not be familiar with our categorization scheme. Human minds are not well-equipped to handle many Activities, Concepts, and Experiences that human science currently struggles to understand. This centrally includes all magic, observing some entities in various states, exposure to certain works of art, and certain explanations of facts about the broader nature of the universe and the species within it. Witnessing magic is not particularly likely to cause serious harm, but using it or studying it generally will. It is possible that the magic that you have access to operates differently, but our commission will be very skeptical of such a claim: there have been many sorcerers who insisted that they had some technique such that they were unharmed, and they have a higher murder and suicide rate than average, at least of those we track. Iomedae is what we would call a mythos entity, though from what you have said it seems she is a relatively benign one, and if you were summon any servants of hers that would also count."

"If you have a conversation with me or Caiden to convey basic facts about Iomedae, that is permissible. If you try to convince others to worship her, speak about how others may worship her, or do the equivalent for performing rituals of her, sacrifices to her, or similar, that is not permissible without permission. You're an unusual case," like most of them" so some of our normal rules and regulations aren't going to fit you quite smoothly, but we can do our best to work through the process together. Once that's done you'll be eligible to get your book back, and the Boston Police Department will be authorized to ask your for assistance and offer payment for consulting services, same as they are allowed to do with other Authorized Mythos Institutions. You're not just restricted to working with them, of course: Miskatonic would almost certainly pay handsomely for spellcasting. Working in a hospital might not be viable, so stabilizing the actively dying will not be of much use, but curing blindness would be very helpful to many people and would be legal activity."

"Since it seems like you want to begin..."

She takes out her laptop and starts filling in the form. "You're the only member of your church in Massachusetts that you are certain of, yes?"

"That's correct."

"And Iomedae, the Church of Iomedae, and you the representative intend to follow the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States of America? You also have to swear under penalty of perjury that your organization does not now, nor has it within the past century, regularly practiced human sacrifice, intentionally exposed unwilling or unwitting humans to harmful Mythos effects except lawfully or in cooperation with law enforcement, or plotted or worked towards the overthrow of the government of the United States."

"I intend to follow those laws, though I do not know them all and could be mistaken about whether that will be possible. The church of Iomedae does not now and has not within the past century practiced human sacrifice. To the best of my knowledge the church has no specific knowledge that the United States exists and has not attempted and will not attempt its overthrow. If Mythos effects include all magic, then the fact that, on my planet, magic is routinely used in self-defense, warfare, espionage, et cetera, including between humans and human countries, might qualify as exposing unwilling humans to harmful effects, but the church and its members would do so according to the conventional Golarion rules of engagement that they advertise themselves as abiding by, following applicable treaties to which the relevant organizations were signatory and accepting surrenders where possible and abiding by strict standards for the treatment of prisoners and so on."

"For your information, use Mythos artifacts and magic in war is legally controversial, having been banned by some international agreements, though the US government currently reserves the right to do so in the future while stating it does not employ Mythos effects. But I am going to mark that down as lawful use for the locality in question, which is all this one needs."

"For this one, I'm supposed to verify to my satisfaction that your Mythos artifact handling procedures meet all requirements for anything you want to handle. The easiest solution would be for you to say that the Church will follow instructions and procedures from a government entity, which can include the Boston Police Department, for all Mythos artifacts and media or equivalent procedures of greater safety, that anyone in the church handling them will receive training from said government entity on safe handling, and that we will go over the results in two years when the license gets reauthorized. Does that work for you?"