The Hunter Out of Time

a scenario for Call of Cthulhu
by Christian Conkle
e-mail: conkle@mecha.com
http://www.mecha.com/~conkle

(Time: Febuary, 1922. Place: Forestview Asylum, Vermont)

Scenario: Dr. Phillip Heinrich Gauss has studied victims of a peculiar amnesia. After extensive interviews and research, he has come upon the startling realization that they are possessed by otherworldly entities from beyond time. Using notes gleaned fr om the translation of the Eltdown Shards, he feels he can artificially create an occurence of possession. His motives are unclear. Perhaps he can cure his patients if he fully understands the circumstances, but he makes no secret of the fact that he hop es to use the limitless knowledge gained from his own possession for professional advancement.

On a cold Febuary weekend he invites several friends and professional colleagues to hear his theories and view his newly completed asylum, Forestview. He will debate with any dissenters then allow them all to stay in the asylum overnight as the roads are too icy to drive home on.

That night, he will approach each guest individually and invite them to aid him in an experiment to reproduce a possession in his laboratory. He has constructed a device to help summon the time travellers. He needs several minds to be linked together to serve as a psychic beacon for the travellers or his mind will be lost in the infinite void.

During the summoning, all of the participants are granted a view of ancient earth 250 million years ago. Unfortunately, the experiment goes awry and the participants make contact with a Hound of Tindalos. The vision drives Gauss mad, one of the partic ipant's minds is accidently transferred with that of a Yithian and, finally, the Hound begins it's journey to hunt down and devour each of the participants of the experiment individually. Only the Yithian mind can save the remaining witnesses if they can be assimilated into Earthling culture in time!

Event 1: The Trip. Each character receives an invitation to visit Forestview Sanitarium in Vermont, run by Dr. Phillip Heinrich Gauss, a noted alienist. If they don't have a car, transportation will be provided to them in the form of a car and driv er. As they make their journey, it begins to snow heavily. Travel becomes difficult (A few driving rolls may be necessary to stay in control, if a car goes off the road, only use it to point out that driving is becomng treacherous, the car can be pushed back onto the road and the journey can continue). Forestview is deep in the hilly woods of Vermont. Along a forested country road, there is a cobblestone driveway to the right that leads up a hill into the woods with a small iron sign indicating the arrival to Forestview. The little side road goes through the woods for nearly a quarter of a mile and through a short tunnel to the grounds of the magnificient asylum.

Event 2: The Tour. The group is met at the turnaround by Randolf Cole, one of the orlderlies of the asylum. It is getting dark (around 5pm) and the lights are on, casting an eerie yellow glow on the wintry grounds. The snow has covered everything, providing a hushed silence that should be emphasized by the Keeper with long periods of quietness. The Asylum is a large brick building resembling a library or shool or an English manor. Two stone lions sit atop pedestals along the sides of the steps le ading up to the main entrance. Faux battlements adorn the top of main building and tall windows line both wings. Across the grounds are snow-covered hedges and small trees. A large wrought-iron fence stretches across the entire front of the grounds. T he forest encircles the grounds, completely separating the asylum fromt the outside world. Once inside, the visitors are greeted by Dr. Gauss and are given a tour of the facilities. They are shown the dining hall, the patient's common room, the observa tion room, the orderly's station, the fountain and pillar outside the back of the asylum. They are taken by the patient's rooms to be introduced, individually, to each one (There are currently 20 patients, but only three are important to this scenario):

Christopher Humphrey, the student (see NPC's), "Why am I being held here! I have important work to do! I am running out of time!"

Derek Sable, the black field worker (see NPC's), "They will find us! We are unprotected here! They know we are not safe! You must take care!"

Doreen McCulloch, the middle-aged housewife (see NPC's), "You fools! He has no idea what he is doing! Gauss will kill us all! He is dangerous! You must flee!"

Upon ariving at the library, Gauss prepares everyone a brandy and has Nurse Stewart bring some dinner. He explains his intentions for the asylum, to cure people afflicted with a strange sort of schizophrenia he calls Peaslee's Syndrome, whereby they beli eve they are from another time. The malady comes on suddenly and without warning causing catatonia followed by amnesia. The victims have to be taught basic motor skills such as speech and walking but they learn quickly and re-adapt to their amnesiac sit uation usually with a completely different personality. This period is followed by a wanderlust and an incredible thirst for knowledge, history, and current events. The victims often leave home entirely and travel the world, recording everything they come across in journals, often written in some form of code. After a few months or years of this behavior, with the victim inexplicably disappearing for weeks at a time, the victim suffers another period of catatonia then reawakens to their former personality, seemingly as if no time has passed since they went away. After that happens, the victim's life returns to a relative sense of normality.

His goal at Forestview is to study people with this particular form of ailment and perhaps help cure them. If a cure cannot be found, and one hasn't yet, then he can at least provide them with a restful place to stay while the affliction runs it's course (Any successful Psychoanalysis roll at -20% plus a successful Idea roll will reveal he is partially lying. He has no intention of finding a cure, he is making too much money keeping the patients here pretending to help them. He is, in fact, using th em as guinea pigs for his research. Gauss will deny this, of course, and will vehemently defend his ideas (Debate, Oratory, or even Fast Talk rolls can be made). After a debate or discussion, he will amiably defer any further discourse to a later date, citing the late hour. Unfortunately, the weather has ruled out any possibility of going home now, so some of the vacant rooms will be made up for their comfort. A Snowplow has been called but it will not arrive until morning.

The orderlies, Randolf Cole and John Parker, show each visitor to their rooms, patient rooms whose unconfortable beds have been dressed and turned down. Each room is rather small and spartan. An overhead electric light, controlled from the outside, is t he only source of illumination. The doors may be locked from outside, but the orderlies insist that they will remain open for their comfort. Otherwise, the rooms are somewhat stuffy and bare. It is late and a good time for sleep.

Event 3: The Proposition. (For this event, take each player aside to a private location, each character is in seperate rooms and shouldn't overhear Gauss's secret request, each player will have to opprotunity to make their own decision) Soon after th e guests go to bed, Gauss approaches each one individually to offer them a proposition. He reveals that he has indeed been doing research on the patients, but no patient has ever been harmed or mistreated in any way. He has, however, come across an amaz ing discovery. The notebooks of each patient encountered, the notebooks in code, are all in the same code! They are all inexplicably linked!

It is his contention, based on his study of the translations of the ancient Eltdown Shards, and the writings of Professor Wingate Peaslee of Miskatonic U., that all of the patients are being possessed by otherworldly intelligences! That their minds are s omehow being transferred with beings from some other world for unknown purposes! Perhaps they are simply explorers, which would explain their thirst for contemporary knowledge and history, or, more sinister perhaps, they are scouts of an iminent invasion of the minds of humanity! He knows they are helped by a cult of Earthling followers! That is why he has spirited them away here. Forestview is remote and secluded and safe from their helpers... and their enemies.

It's true, the people possessed by these entities are hunted by an unknown group. He knows little of this group save their symbol: a dot with three curling lines radiating outward like tentacles scrawled in yellow paint. From captured devices belonging to his patients, he has constructed what he believes is a mind-transfer initiator! He plans to use it to initiate his own mind transfer! To send his mind to the land of these alien beings, to learn more about them, and to protect Earth (Psychoanalysis rolls reveal there is more to his story, he plans to learn what he can and make a bundle off of the knowledge). He needs several minds to initiate the transfer, to act as a psychic beacon so that his own mind will not be lost in the aether. He needs the investigator's help, if they are willing to give it. They are to meet by the entrance to the boiler room in one hour. If not, just remain here and sleep, they will not be bothered, but they will have no part in this amazing exploration either. It is their choice.

(Special Note- Allow each player to make a choice, those who agree can continue the next event, those who opt out must wait in another room until they are needed in Event 5. Separating the players keeps the suspense up as no one knows what is happening t o the other player or character. It also allows them to make a decision without the kibbitzing of the other players.)

Event 4: The Experiment. After an hour has passed, each guest who chooses to help in the experiment meets at the large locked metal door to the boiler room. After a few moments, Gauss opens the door from inside and invites them all downstairs. The basement boiler room is hot and muggy and dark. It is filled with the sounds of the thrumming furnace. On a wood table in the center of the large cellar among the reams of shuffled papers and rolled parchments, is a tall cylindrical mechanism with many wires and knobs. Large thick cables, attached to wing nuts on the mechanism, snake out across the floor and are connected to a knife-switch on the furnace/generator.

Gauss explains that the mechanism on the table is the mind transferrence initiator and it use electricity generated by the furnace. When activated, most power in the asylum will dim temporarily. He instructs each participant to don a special headpiece w ith small wires attached to the mechanism. These will precipitate the psychic linkage. Once all of the devices are suitably adorned, he will step near the mechanism, adjusting knobs and flipping switches. He checks to see if everyone is prepared, and tells Randolf to throw the switch.

The room goes black but is soon illuminated by a vibrantly glowing swirling mist eminating from the mechanism. It surrounds and envelops the participants, replacing the dim glow of the cellar walls with a panoramic vista of pre-human Earth. Before them lies a vast stone city, built not of blocks or walls, but spires of stone risen from the very bedrock itself! The spires are spotted with black windows and ledges and balconies. The sky is a hazy pinkish color and a calm green sea stretches forth to th e horizon. Amphibious creatures flop languidly on the shores of the alien sea. Strange palm-like plants sprout from cracks in the black rock (a successful Botany or Biology roll will recognize the plants and animals as belongingto the Pre-Cambrian perio d of Earth's pre-history, a Geology roll will recognize the landscape as that of Earth of the same period, the city is unrecognizable, an Idea roll may establish that the entities are not from an alien world at all, but may, in fact, be from Earth's lost history).

Gauss is giddy with excitement! He begins exclaiming that he's done it, he's done it! Suddenly, all of the participants see waddling up to them on a single large sucker encrusted base, a conical lifeform about 20 feet hight with two sinewy arms snaking out of it's apex. It is a member of the Great Race of Yith (0/1D6 SAN loss). It is seems startled by the appearance of these trespassers and begins making shrill whistling noises and honking sounds. Others begin to emerge from the spire-like structures (additional SAN loss).

Suddenly, through a series of several strobe-like flashes of light, the scene changes to a different landscape entirely! After a few moments of disorientation, the party sees a landscape of barren grey ash. All around are large geometric stones and what appear to be grotesque statues of alien monsters and creatures. Large twisting spirals of black marble curl up to the inky black sky above. All light comes from a dim grey sun above. This place seems totally alien, and somehow, very sinister.

Just as the party begins to look around and acclamate themselves to the new environment, a swirling mass of vapors effuse from a nearby rock, heralding the approach of a malignant HOUND OF TINDALOS! (1D3/1D20 SAN loss)

The loathsome creature considers each intruder carefully, making what appears to be eye contact with each. It exhales a throaty snarl, extending a long ribbed tongue or glossus dripping with a putrescient ichor from an orifice at it's tip. It lunges men acingly at Dr. Gauss, who goes mad, ripping the headpiece from his cranium and breaking the psychic link.

All of the participants now find themselves alone in a dark cellar. The thrumming of the generator has stopped, leaving them all in eerie silence.

(Special Note- Now is a good time to take a break and secretly select either a random player or one you consider to be the best role-player and inform them that they are to be possessed by Yakthoob, see NPC's, a member of the Great Race of Yith. The play er may have a description of the Great Race, provided later, and must read it carefully for the effect to work. The player's character must assume a new personality after a period of catatonia and amnesia. The other players must not know this, they must figure this out on their own. When I ran this adventure, Dr. MacTavish was the one chosen to be the victim. His player was warned ahead of time and given details about who he was to play. He agreed and didn't let the other players in on a thing. It t ook them forever to realize that he was a Yithian. It was great!)

Event 5: The Visitor. Aside from the obvious shock and horror of the experience, no one is physically damaged. However, there are two apparent casualties of the encounter. Dr. Gauss has gone into a state of catatonic shock, drooling and babbling un controllably, and one of the visitors is apparently in a similar form of shock, looking around dumbfounded and amnesiac, unable to walk, talk or control themsevles biologically. The shocked participant eventually becomes attentive and begins to be able t o awkwardly stand and walk. After a few moments of overhearing speech, the victim can communicate in a broken and limited vocabulary. The victim will be disoriented and confused but will otherwise have no knowledge of their identity or proper modes of b ehavior. Everything will be new to them. The orderlies will take Dr. Gauss up to his room to rest. He will be of no help to anyone now.

Anyone who chose to sleep though the experiment is awakened by the orderlies and asked to join the group.

Any competent psychoanalyst (successful Psychoanalysis roll) will reveal that the victim is suffering from the same malady that has afflicted the patients at the asylum. If confronted, the victim will deny at first, but after feeble arguments will reveal that it is true. He admits, in broken english, that his name is Yakthoob, a member of the Great Race of Yith (+2% Cthulhu Mythos). The creature they encountered is called a Tindlosi, it will return. Soon.

(Special Note- This is a good time to role-play any unforseen insanities that may have occured during the time exploration. The orderlies and the nurse will have to split up from the party to attend to the other patients and Dr. Gauss. Dr. Gauss' room s hould be left alone. Dr. Gauss must be alone to rest or something like that. When I ran this adventure, Bob Thorn was driven mad by the vision of the beast. He became psychotic and paranoid. He was convinced that the other members of the party were ou t to get him, to feed him to the beast. After attacking and injuring one of the orderlies with a shovel, he was confined to his room. He devised a clever escape and was soon roaming the building causing havoc, sneaking out through the coal chute in the cellar, etc. His player was particularly clever and an excellent role-player.)

Event 6: The Attack. Two hours of silence and waiting pass. From Dr. Gauss' room one can hear Nurse Stewart scream in horror. Upon racing to Dr. Gauss' room, they see sickly green vapors swirl about the corner of the room and the gruesome Hound-thi ng with it's tongue orifice attached to Nurse Stewart's forhead. It is draining her of her essence, leaving her a husk. It has already killed Dr. Gauss, who currently lies on his bed, wrinkled and brittle. If attacked in any way, the Hound simply vanis hes into it's corner unharmed, leaving a swirling mist in it's wake.

Yakthoob may describe the ecological habits of the Tindlosi to his companions (+2% Cthulhu Mythos). It has merely left this plane to digest it's meal. It will return to get the rest, and no one who makes eye-contact with it is safe! He figures it will be two hours before it returns. Two hours to devise a plan and to construct the only weapon known to be able to permanently harm a Hound of Tindalos: A Yithian Lightning Gun!

Event 7: The Plan. It will take 1-6 hours to construct a crude but working Lightning Gun (1d6 hours) out of pieces of the generator (which means no heat), a dismantled electroshock applicator (in the observation room), an alternator and voltage regul ator from the car (which means no transportation), lots of wiring (downstairs), and a strong source of electricity (again, downstairs). (Construction depends on successful Electrical Repair and Mechanical Repair rolls with a secret modifier of -1d20% to simulate the Swiss Cheese Brain effect of Yithian time travel, otherwise an additional 1d3 hours will be necessary for repair and an ADDITIONAL skill roll to rebuild it properly ).

(A true lightning gun does 1d10 damage per charge and has 32 charges. Damage can be done a little at a time or all at once for 32d10 points of damage! The crude simulacrum created by Yakthoob will also do 1d10 damage per charge, but will only have 3d6 c harges, determined secretly by the Keeper, before the electric generator blows up.)

Event 8: The Return. Without warning, the Hound will return, whether the group is ready or not. When it re-appears, it will attack the closes individual (roll Luck scores, the largest difference of failure loses). It will continue attacking unless injured. If injured, it will return to Limbo for 1-3 hours (1d6/2) and heal (1d10 damage per trip). There are only 6 hours until dawn, as dawn approaches, it's attacks will become more frequent, returning every few minutes. Within 2 hours of dawn, it w ill no longer have the capacity to heal itself and will continue attacking until either it is dead, it has killed everyone who has seen it, or dawn breaks, driving it back into the distant corners of time. If the beast is killed, it will explode, sending pieces of it's blubbery grey flesh flying about the room, covering it with slime. If dawn breaks, it will leave, but will return someday, somewhere.

Event 9: The Rescue. The next morning, the snow-plow arrives, announcing that the road is now safe to travel. Assuming that the car is now undrivable, they will offer to give every survivor a ride back to the nearest town.

The Aftermath: Yakthoob discusses his situation at length with the other lucid inmates. They inform the guests that they are going get in touch with members of their cult on Earth. They will all be safely returned to their own times and the displac ed minds will be none the worse for wear. They thank the group for any assisstance they may have rendered and offer warning: Beware the Yellow Sign! (This adventure leads right into the sequels The Horror at Black Rock and the Mystery from the Depths)

Alternate Outcomes: If the group decided to try to make a getaway in the car, the snow would have made travel impossible. The car could not even make it down the drive without hitting a tree and becoming inoperable. If the group had decided to flee on foot through the forest, they would have been safe. The Hound could not have manifested itself there. If they run from a manifest Hound, it simply slowly follows them until they tire out from exhaustion or cold, then devours them (raise difficulty of Resistance vs. Constitution by 1 every minute, each failure means the Hound gains 6 units). Once outside the Hound flies quite fast (at 41 units per round), able to chase any car or prey. The Hound cannot cross a curved or organic line, therefore it is contained in the circular meadow of the grounds of the Asylum. However, in the cold Vermont night, the prey will die soon (1d6 damage per hour unless protected, even then 1d6 damage per night). If the group survives until dawn, they are safe. The Houn d returns to it's time at dawn (but the players don't have to know that, a truly ruthless Keeper would keep the Hound coming back forever until killed, I didn't feel like running a Tindlosi campaign at that time however).

Forestview Asylum

1. Entrance and Reception
2. Dr. Gauss' office
3. Orderlies' station
4. Library
5. Common room (patients)
6. Supply closet
7. Stairs to roof and basement
8. Patients' rooms
9. Orderly's room
10. Dr. Gauss' room
11. Orderly's room
12. Orderly's room
13. Dining hall
14. Kitchen
15. Observation room
16. Common room and classroom
17. Fountain and Pillar

Dr. Phillip Heinrich Gauss, noted Alienist.

Str=12 Con=15 Siz=14 Int= 18 Pow= 18 Dex=17 App=11 Edu=18 San=44 HP= 13
Skills: Biology 70%, Credit 65%, First Aid 90%, Latin 55%, Medicine 80%, Pharmacy 89%, Psychoanalysis 95%, Psychology 90%, Occult 25%, History 70%, Philosophy 70%, Debate 45%, Mythos 30%.
Damage Bonus= +1d4
Fist 55%, 1d3+1d4
Dr. Gauss is a noted psycho-analyst who has always had a special interest in history and philosophy. He pretends that his reasons for his asylum and his experiment are noble endeavors that need to be done for the greater good of society and science, but he secretly only wants the fame and status that will come from such an enormous breakthrough. He is an amiable gentlemen of German ancestry but born and raised in America.

Nurse Louise Stewart, Head Nurse.

Str=14 Con=15 Siz=17 Int= 14 Pow= 9 Dex=10 App= 8 Edu=12 San=45 HP= 16
Damage Bonus= +1d4
Fist 60%, 1d3+1d4
Nurse Stewart is a moose of a woman. She must deal with uncooperative patients every day and has created a gruff cynical exterior to deal with the world. She is definitely someone to have a conversation with.

John Barker, Orderly.

Str=18 Con=18 Siz=18 Int= 8 Pow= 7 Dex=12 App=13 Edu=12 San=35 HP= 18
Damage Bonus= +1d6
Fist 70%, 1d3+1d6
Sap 30%, 1d8+1d6
Orderly Barker is a large man with few words. He's a former wrestler in college.

Randolf Cole, Orderly.

Str=18 Con=18 Siz=18 Int= 6 Pow= 6 Dex= 9 App= 9 Edu= 8 San=30 HP= 18
Damage Bonus= +1d6
Fist 70%, 1d3+1d6
Derringer 20%, 1d6
Randolf Cole is, bluntly, a brick. He's not very bright and dropped out of school. He's had a few unsavory jobs since then and has wound up here with Dr. Gauss.

Doreen McCulloch, Patient.

Str= 4 Con= 4 Siz= 8 Int=40 Pow=14 Dex=10 App= 6 Edu=4 San=70 HP= 6
Doreen McCulloch was a middle-aged housewife from Massachussetts who had the misfortune of being the receptacle of a Yithian mind transfer. She left her family and home and travelled to Europe. It is unknown how she managed to get to Paris with no money , nor how she received new clothes and a false passport. She was deported to America and institutionalized by her family. She was moved to Forestview at Dr. Gauss' request. Doreen knows what is happening and detests Gauss for keeping her here. She wil l be belligerent and unresponsive.

Derek Sable, Patient.

Str=13 Con=16 Siz=14 Int=30 Pow= 3 Dex=12 App=18 Edu= 8 San=15 HP= 15
Derek Sable was a share-cropper in Mississippi. One day, he fell into a catatonia. Soon afterwards, he disappeared from the hospital under mysterious circumstances. His travels have led him to Easter Island, Polynesia, Tibet, and Japan. He was found i n Seattle and brought back. He was institutionalized by his employer and moved to Forestview at Dr. Gauss' request. He shows a remarkable intellect and an affinity for languages. He is aware that the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign must be closing in on him. He fears for his life here.

Christopher Humphries, Patient.

Str=10 Con=11 Siz=10 Int=30 Pow= 3 Dex=15 App=12 Edu= 13 San=15 HP= 11
Christopher Humpries was a geology student at Miskatonic University. He was a Senior when he suddenly left school and took up an interest in anthropology. He began to travel the arctic studying various indigenous peoples and their beliefs. He had amass ed a great body of knowledge when he was recognized by a fellow student in Toronto. Not being recognized, the student notified his parents who had him found and apprehended. After institutionalization, he was moved to Forestview at Dr. Gauss' request. There are 17 other patients at Forestview but most are in a state of catatonia or are unresponsive.

Yakthoob, Yithian Engineer.

Yakthoob is a member of the Great Race of Yith who fled their dying world half-a-billion years ago. They accomplished this by disincorporating their minds from their bodies and transferring them with those of the inhabitants of Antedilluvian Earth. Thei r new bodies were cone-shaped with four sinewy appendages at the apex. The uderside was lined with suction cups that allowed locomotion. Two claws allwoed for strong, but clumsy, lifting and a set of four small suction cups provided manual dexterity. F our glossy eyes placed on a round appendage allowed full 360 degree vision. The eye-stalk was lined with feelers for tactile manipulation and to hold small items for cloer inspection.

The Great Race were nearly immortal and their technologically advanced civilization flourished on Earth for nearly 350 million years.. Their race died along with the cataclysm that destroyed the dinosaurs and most life on Earth. To escape this catastro phre the Yithians, who had long ago mastered the ability to transmit their minds through time, exchanged places once again. This time they exchanged with the beetle-like race that will succeed mankind, leaving the original minds to perish in the past.

The Yithians were able to transmit their minds forward into time for relatively brief periods, barring the death of their bodies back in the past. They would exchange minds with a random, unwilling host for 5 years or more. While in the future, the trav elling Yithian tries to learn everything they can about history, culture and science. This new lifestyle often disrupts the former one of their hosts. The Yithians care little for that when knowledge is at stake. They are highly intelligent, however, a nd know that it is wise to assume the identity of their host and to keep their knowledge a secret lest they endager themselves or their safe return. The visiting members of the Great Race have throughout history maintained a small secret cadre of attenda nts who, in exchange for bits of insight and technology, aid the Yithian in assimilation and eventually prepare them for their departure and return of the amnesiac host.

Yakthoob is by no means an extraordinary Yithian. Although his knowledge of technical matters dwarfs even the most advanced human technology, he is but a minor technician in the city ov C'L'Shiak on the northern sub-continent. He has complete understand ing of the Electric Lightning guns used in the subjugation of the Polyps and mind-transfer devices. He has never had the urge to extend his mind into the future, preferring instead to live in the Permian Period of 250 million years ago. At this time, th ere were two continents. There were no flowering plants as of yet. The Serpent Man Kingdom of Valusia was at it's height in what is now called the Mediterranean. The only animals were primitive lizards, amphibians, myriad fish life, and other aquatic l ife-forms. Yakthoob is only two-thousand years old, relatively young for a Yithian, but his wisdom and knowledge is incomprehensible to a terrestial human.

Unfortunately, Dr. Gauss' experiment has yanked Yakthoob out of his own mind and thrust him into that of an unwitting participant in his experiment. Yakthoob is confused and disoriented upon his arrival. The new brain, biologically speaking, is severely limited. After a few hours of assimilation, Yakthoob will be able to recall some of his technological understanding and memories. He will not have the same mental faculties as he once did but he will be able to remember only fragments.

The host mind, on the other hand, is equally disoriented and confused. They, too, must acclimate themselves to their new biology and environment. However, they will find the problem inverse. Their mental faculties and powers of comprehension have incre ased a thousandfold. They will be able to learn things and comprehend knowledge their pitiful previously human brain could not begin to grasp. However, when the transfer is over and Yakthoob returns to his own time (barring any unforseen inury or death, of either party, resulting in a permanent transfer) Yakthoob will bring back all he has learned as a human, while the host mind will lose all knowledge that their weakly human brain could not comprehend or assimilate, which is 99.9%.