Bob, Butters, and the White Council...

[LordDresden2]

It strikes me that there might eventually be an issue with Butters and Bob playing Batman, and that's the Council.

Remember, Luccio told Harry that they knew about Bob, as a former assistant-spirit to Kemmler.  She also said that the Council had a 'destroy on site' order out for Bob, because he was too dangerous to be allowed to run loose, and in fact that he had been destroyed.  In fact, of course, Justin had taken the skull from Kemmler's base and Harry had inherited him.

But now Butters is out there using Bob to energize various magical weapons and tools, and using them relatively openly.  If the Council notices that Butters is suddenly wielding devices using way more magical energy than he should be able to manifest, someone might get curious as to how the former medical examiner is suddenly tapped into so much power, and if they took a closer look and realized how he was doing it, then suddenly Harry and Butters and the Chicago Alliance have Trouble with a capitol T right here Lake Michigan City.

I wonder if anybody's thought about that risk...

[Mira]

It strikes me that there might eventually be an issue with Butters and Bob playing Batman, and that's the Council.

Remember, Luccio told Harry that they knew about Bob, as a former assistant-spirit to Kemmler.  She also said that the Council had a 'destroy on site' order out for Bob, because he was too dangerous to be allowed to run loose, and in fact that he had been destroyed.  In fact, of course, Justin had taken the skull from Kemmler's base and Harry had inherited him.

But now Butters is out there using Bob to energize various magical weapons and tools, and using them relatively openly.  If the Council notices that Butters is suddenly wielding devices using way more magical energy than he should be able to manifest, someone might get curious as to how the former medical examiner is suddenly tapped into so much power, and if they took a closer look and realized how he was doing it, then suddenly Harry and Butters and the Chicago Alliance have Trouble with a capitol T right here Lake Michigan City.

I wonder if anybody's thought about that risk...

If and when they find out someone isn't going to like it you can be sure of that..  Someone on the Council will want to confiscate him, some will want him studied, some will want him destroyed, and others will want to use him themselves.

[Snark Knight]

The entire reason Butters and company have had to step up so openly is that the Council doesn't have assets on the ground in Chicago. Now that Harry's back, they'll have an even better excuse to continue ignoring the Fomor push on the city. Also given that the senior Wardens are under the impression Bob was destroyed in Kemmler's lab rather than taken by Justin, there's plenty of room for them to remain ignorant unless Jim chooses to write some coincidences to make Bob coming to light into a subplot.

Another angle that I think might be riskier than Butters' gear is that Evil Bob is still out there. If some of his schemes get on the Council's radar and they trace the deception about him being destroyed back to Justin, it's a short jump to Harry.

[KurtinStGeorge]

The entire reason Butters and company have had to step up so openly is that the Council doesn't have assets on the ground in Chicago. Now that Harry's back, they'll have an even better excuse to continue ignoring the Fomor push on the city. Also given that the senior Wardens are under the impression Bob was destroyed in Kemmler's lab rather than taken by Justin, there's plenty of room for them to remain ignorant unless Jim chooses to write some coincidences to make Bob coming to light into a subplot.

Another angle that I think might be riskier than Butters' gear is that Evil Bob is still out there. If some of his schemes get on the Council's radar and they trace the deception about him being destroyed back to Justin, it's a short jump to Harry.

My guess is that at some point Harry will need some outside help to deal with Evil Bob and that help might have to come from the Council.  It's one thing for Harry to try to explain to the Council that Bob purged himself of Kemmler's knowledge and influence; it's another for Harry to simply say, "I first saw this disembodied skull with Corpsetaker (or Corpsetaker's shade) and I thought it looked very much like the skull Justin kept in his lab, with similar designs and sigils carved into it except Justin's skull didn't speak or float in mid air."  Harry wouldn't even be lying. (Probably) The first time Harry saw Evil Bob was when the disembodied skull was working for Corpsetaker and I bet the first time Bob spoke to Harry was after Harry had killed Justin and left his master's lab a smoking wreck. 

[Snark Knight]

It would still prompt questions of, if they knew Justin had stolen the skull, why it didn't turn up in the wreckage after Harry defeated him.

[peregrine]

Did the whole council have a "destroy on sight" order for Bob, or just the Wardens?

[Mira]

Did the whole council have a "destroy on sight" order for Bob, or just the Wardens?

The Wardens do not act unilaterally, the original order had to have come down from the Council, or at least the Senior Council.

[Quantus]

They arent going to execute Bob on sight, they'd need to actually recognize him as the same Spirit that belonged to Kemmler, and he currently looks, acts, and I daresay his energy Feels substantially different.  And now he has the very real and truthful defense that HE is not that Spirit, not anymore. 

So the only way it's going to get pushed is if somebody traces the Skull back to Kemmler via Harry and Justin.  Which in retrospect might well be another reason he wanted a spare skull.  Otherwise the more likely public explanation is that Butters got it from Marcone's organization.  It would have started appearing post BFS-founding but while Harry was good and dead. 

[LordDresden2]

They arent going to execute Bob on sight, they'd need to actually recognize him as the same Spirit that belonged to Kemmler, and he currently looks, acts, and I daresay his energy Feels substantially different.  And now he has the very real and truthful defense that HE is not that Spirit, not anymore.

Makes no difference.  Remember, the Council is not about justice, but restraining power and maintaining public safety.  They don't want Bob destroyed (and they think he has been destroyed, remember) as a punishment, they want him destroyed as a preventive measure.  Too much knowledge and power with too little restraint.  That's true whether he's good, bad, or neutral.

[LordDresden2]

The entire reason Butters and company have had to step up so openly is that the Council doesn't have assets on the ground in Chicago.

For the time being, yes.  But eventually they'll have agents in place again, probably a resident Warden (Chicago's a natural place for a ranking Warden in North America), and Harry being THE Warden means that they'll eventually be focusing a lot of attention in that area.  Which means somebody may start hearing some odd stories...

Another angle that I think might be riskier than Butters' gear is that Evil Bob is still out there. If some of his schemes get on the Council's radar and they trace the deception about him being destroyed back to Justin, it's a short jump to Harry.

True enough, and possibly a real risk.

One possible 'out', that the Council might accept (under the right circumstances):  Harry could claim that he's holding Bob prisoner in his capacity as THE Warden, letting him operate on limited parole.  It's the sort of useful fiction that the Council might pretend to believe if it was politically convenient to do so, and Harry appears to have Bob on a tight leash.

[Quantus]

Makes no difference.  Remember, the Council is not about justice, but restraining power and maintaining public safety.  They don't want Bob destroyed (and they think he has been destroyed, remember) as a punishment, they want him destroyed as a preventive measure.  Too much knowledge and power with too little restraint.  That's true whether he's good, bad, or neutral.

Makes no difference:) They dont want bob dead because they've deemed all Spirits of Intellect to be a Dangerous thing in and of themselves.  They want NecroBob destroyed because that one, specifically, knew and did things that were "appalling" according to Luccio.  They dont just go execute every Spirit of Intellect.  So they'd have to first have a reason to think that Bob is the same one that Kemmler "twisted", before they'd bother. 

[Mira]

Makes no difference:) They dont want bob dead because they've deemed all Spirits of Intellect to be a Dangerous thing in and of themselves.  They want NecroBob destroyed because that one, specifically, knew and did things that were "appalling" according to Luccio.  They dont just go execute every Spirit of Intellect.  So they'd have to first have a reason to think that Bob is the same one that Kemmler "twisted", before they'd bother.

That depends on how unique Bob is in the first place, until the advent of Evil Bob and now Bonny he might have been the only one outside of the Archive.  So it might be a destroy first and ask questions later type of thing.  Or lacking imagination, which many Wardens and Council members do, they may not realize that a wacky kid wizard can change the personality of the spirit by naming it "Bob" and imprinting his teen aged over productive hormones on it, changing it..  They may not conceive of the idea that the evil part can be suppressed at all by the holder of the skull.  Finally they would not be able to fathom the idea that that spirit because of the last two holders of his skull would successfully rid himself of the evil persona, but more dangerously unwittingly create an evil twin in the process.

[Quantus]

That depends on how unique Bob is in the first place, until the advent of Evil Bob and now Bonny he might have been the only one outside of the Archive.  So it might be a destroy first and ask questions later type of thing.  Or lacking imagination, which many Wardens and Council members do, they may not realize that a wacky kid wizard can change the personality of the spirit by naming it "Bob" and imprinting his teen aged over productive hormones on it, changing it..  They may not conceive of the idea that the evil part can be suppressed at all by the holder of the skull.  Finally they would not be able to fathom the idea that that spirit because of the last two holders of his skull would successfully rid himself of the evil persona, but more dangerously unwittingly create an evil twin in the process.

Oh, We've been told since way back that there are others SoI out there so I wasnt really thinking on that side. But you are right we only know specifically of the three (including the alluded Athena).  My thought was that a) Bob and Necrobob look, act, and feel different, and b) Bob can always very truthfully claim that Evil-bob is the one they really want.   And now he also has C) He's the side-kick of a full-time Knight of the Cross, which if not exactly unassailable protection, is still a better bargaining position than if he were owned by an ex-cop or a Polka-meister or a freakin' scary Warlock-Knight of Evil Fairies. 


Side topic:
Per WOJ, beings like Bob are incapable of Changing their own Natures (the whole Free Will bit) but they can still Change with enough exposure to Mortals.  Once upon a time Bob could not so much as perceive Faith or Angels or anything on that side of the spectrum.  But playing magical Jarvis for a Knight of the Cross might just be the sort of thing to move his needle, no?

[peregrine]

The Wardens do not act unilaterally, the original order had to have come down from the Council, or at least the Senior Council.

Yeah, but my thought was whether or not the entirety of the council was responsible for destroying Bob, or just the Wardens.

[Quantus]

Yeah, but my thought was whether or not the entirety of the council was responsible for destroying Bob, or just the Wardens.

Well, given that the order theoretically went out during the gathering of their cumulative strength to fight Kemmler, it might have gone out to the bulk of the Council as well as some key allies.  On the other hand, the presence of said "Key Allies" might have been enough to warrant the "Clean-up" being managed solely by the Wardens.  They'd have expected lots of Dark artifacts and knowledge and probably would fully trust all of the extended alliance.