You tried your clairvoyance only. It took you 5 tries to get anything to work but eventually you were able to look past the brick wall to find your crated gear.
A Novel World (Kelly returns, if Graeme's still willing to continue.)
(59 posts) (5 voices)-
KellyKeck
MemberOh, let's make it my cousin Joe who's the Irreverend.
Artistic and literary violence, huh? I always did figure that if everyone had the same faith and there was no religious violence, they'd just find something else to fight about. It's not believing in different things that's bad--it's killing people who disagree with you that's the problem. Along what lines does that artistic and literary violence tend to fall? (I ask partly out of sheer curiosity and partly because it might be wise to know if carrying around a copy of Faust, popping off with a Shakespeare quote, or expressing my intense dislike of Faulkner or most modern art is going to make me a target for some kook.)
There are still a few non-GSD Protestant churches of some description in London, right? (On a related tangent, what day of the week is it?)
Yes, I'm very relieved not to find names of other friends among the dead and wounded. Can I find any info on where in England Matt returned to when he was injured?
It also occurs to me that I'm going to need a place to stay at some point, which eventually entails finding a way to earn some money. How much cash do I have stashed in my bag?
If I've got the starting cash to pull it off, it might be better to find a small apartment or rent a room from someone than hit a hotel. Especially since, if I recall correctly, most hotels want a valid credit card, even if you pay with cash or check, so they can add additional charges if you order room service, stay past check-out, or trash the room.
So, once I get my research done, I'll grab a local paper and check the classifieds for anybody looking to rent a room or looking for a roommate. I'll also see if the library has a bulletin board where people can post that sort of thing. If that yields nothing, swinging by a college or university might, as usually things like that would be posted on a bulletin board in the quad.
My cover in the last world was as a grad student--do I have anything to back that up in this world--say maybe a college ID? Like the passport, it's going to have the wrong date, but that's more easily explained as a typo. I can see not bothering to get your school ID corrected if no one cares and the typo is amusing (oh, yeah, I'm a lifetime student...I don't even graduate for another twenty years). An error on a passport, though, makes travel problematic and would be more likely the sort of thing you'd notice and immediately get straightened out.
Sat Sep 12 2009 2:15 pm # -
Blue Canary
MemberBeing a British spy, you got in the habit of carrying around a nice wad of cash to get you out of jams. You've got 1000 pounds plus another 1000 Euros.
You have all the identification you required for your cover. It also occurs to you that your double is only presumed dead.Looking into the artistic violence, you find an article, "Young surrealist had been killed – stabbed to death by a gang adhering to a radical school of French impressionists." It turns out that about 4 years ago a law was passed that legalized surrealism.
On the literary side, the troubles exist around who actually wrote the Shakespeare plays. There are 3 notable factions, the Baconians, the New-Marlovians, and the EDVEOs who promote Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford.You check the classifieds in The Owl (the newspaper) and find several apartments in good downtown locations for about 800 pounds a month. You also notice that people are looking for good homes for pet dodos. Oddly, a job ad is circled in red pen with the note: "Perfect for you! -luv Dad"
It says:
"Enraged by forgotten apostrophes? Tired of Baconian vandalism in your library?
Take a walk on the Wilde side! The London LiteraTecs are looking for literate men and women to stand against the tide of fraud, copyright infringement and bad puns.
Apply at the Special Operation Network headquarters."Tue Sep 15 2009 4:35 am # -
KellyKeck
MemberI was going off in multiple directions of research at once, so I'm not surprised a couple things got missed. Two questions I still want to find the answers to:
There are still a few non-GSD Protestant churches of some description in London, right? (On a related tangent, what day of the week is it?)
Yes, I'm very relieved not to find names of other friends among the dead and wounded. Can I find any info on where in England Matt returned to when he was injured?
I do realize my alternate is only presumed dead, possibly alive. The concept of impersonating her occurred to me very briefly. But I'm figuring that since she's military, claiming to be her is likely to get me sent "back" to Crimea. And while I admit that I'm toying with the notion of going there and trying to find her, I'd like it to be more on my own terms than that. Visiting Matt is probably a first step in that direction, but that will wait til I'm a little bit settled.
I'll write down the contact info for both the apartments and the job, smiling a little at the fact that a job has been circled for me. He's right, it is perfect. Well, except for the fact that I occasionally enjoy bad puns.
I seem to recall having brought a cell phone. I don't suppose I have any signal or service. (I'm guessing no, but I'll try it anyway.) If it doesn't work, I'll hit a pay phone. One nice thing about the 80s, cells aren't ubiquitous yet, so there should actually *be* pay phones. Back home, if your cell battery dies, good luck finding one.
I'll call up the apartment listings, trying to make an appointment to check places out. If the cell's working, I'll give that as a number where I can be reached. If I can't make it work, I'll explain that I really don't have a good contact number at present, but will call them back if there's a better time.
If I manage any appointments to check out places today, I'll do that. If not, I'll visit the Special Operation Network headquarters. Either way, I'll duck into the library restroom to make sure I look presentable, even putting on make-up and that sort of thing, maybe change clothes depending on what I was wearing when I versed.
Once I feel I look like someone you'd want to hire or rent an apartment to, I'll check out public transportation schedules & maps to figure out how best to get to the Special Operation Network Headquarters. I'm probably more likely to arrive in the same presentable state if I'm not walking all over. I miss my car. Eric or the Reptile House guys better be taking good care of it.
Tue Sep 15 2009 11:11 am # -
Blue Canary
MemberYes, there are non-GSD churches around, especially Protestant.
It is Thursday.You do not find Matt's current address in the library, nor is he in the phone book.
No signal on your cell phone, but ample pay phones - some even in the traditional red phone boxes. You arrange to see several flats but none that day. The earliest they can arrange it is tomorrow and the next day. They don't have any problem with you phoning them back later.
You have decent clothing from your time as a spy so that isn't a problem. You clean yourself up in the library washroom and head down to SpecOps HQ. You know your way around London so it is an easy matter of catching the Tube and walking the short distance to the large building that houses it. It is an old stone building, originally built in 1614. It has been modernized and had additions but the entrance hall retains its Baroque magnificence. You climb up the huge stair and pass massive carved columns into the vaulted chamber. A shiny marble mosaic of the SpecOps crest is set into the floor. People in uniform, in business suits and regular clothes scurry here and there. You are bumped into by a woman carrying a large penguin. She excuses herself and hurries on. There are brass elevator doors at one end of the hall and a large reception desk with several people working and a waiting area.
(GE (Matt)=21, GE (Flat showings)=18)
Thu Sep 17 2009 3:18 am # -
KellyKeck
MemberWhich of my IDs do I have documentation that I'm a grad student? Just Nikita, or all of them? (I'd think Kathryn would've been likely, since that was the one with American passport, and I'm sure I still have an American accent.)
When I get to the Spec Ops building, I'll go up to the reception desk and tell the receptionist that I'm here about the job posting in the paper. Right about now it occurs to me that some of my library time could've been spent putting a resume together. Oh, well.
Wed Sep 23 2009 9:44 pm # -
Blue Canary
MemberOk, we'll use Kathryn as your grad student ID.
The woman is wearing a snappy SpecOps blue uniform with a large number 34 in a crest on her shoulder. She smiles prettily at you and hands you a stack of forms to fill out in triplicate. She indicates a small waiting area where other people are bent over short coffee tables or twisting sideways to use the magazine table to fill out their forms. There is a spare seat between a gigantic man in tight-fitting clothing and a woman dressed in a long dirty cardigan, yellow Wellingtons and a large hat covered in bright imitation flowers. She smells strongly of cheese.
Fri Sep 25 2009 3:27 am # -
I don't think you were ever in NagaWorld--but you have been in some very weird places otherwise.
--M. J. Young
Fri Oct 2 2009 4:00 am # -
Blue Canary
MemberI believe Kelly has been to NagaWorld. I remember her trials with clair-psi skills and telekeneting her backpack around. She also has psionic blaster and drill listed in her equipment.
You fill out the forms, pressing hard for the carbon paper to print the multiple copies underneath. After filling out the personal information sheets you arrive at a short answer section. It has several questions that you have to answer:
- If you were a book, what would be your cover?
- Define 'Dust Jacket'.
- In 30 words or less, tell us your opinion of daffodils.
- Who wrote the Shakespeare plays?
- What is six times nine?
- Describe your recurring nightmare, dream or daydream. Your answer must contain the word 'raffish".
- You are alone in a dark library, or perhaps a book shop. It smells of dust and mildew. There is a tallow candle nearby. Do you:
- a. Smash the window and run screaming into the foggy night.
- b. Light the candle and pretend your 8 foot shadow is Dracula.
- c. Undress and lie on a pile of open books to feel the cool caress of vellum on your skin.
- d. Light the candle and prowl the shelves to determine if the books are organized alphabetically, by subject or with the Dewey decimal system.
- e. Carry on to the kitchen for the glass of water and return to your studies
- f. Other (please specify)
- Describe yourself in your favourite form of short verse? Haiku, Limerick, Quatrain, or Epigram.
- Vampire is to garlic as librarian is to ____________.
- Please write your theory in the space provided below. Use additional sheets if required. Music can be requested for interpretive dance.
Sun Oct 4 2009 5:35 am # -
I apologize; I ought to have checked. I make it a rule not to start online players in NagaWorld, but apparently I broke that rule for her. And yes, I too remember her learning her telekinesis there, now that you mention it. She went from there to Starship Destiny to Why Spy, and then someone else took over her game, and I do not have records since then.
--M. J. Young
Sun Oct 4 2009 9:12 pm # -
KellyKeck
Member1. If I were a book, my cover would be embossed leather, probably green or purple.
2. A dust jacket is the protective clear plastic cover on a book, usually hardbacks. It helps rescue the book if some klutz spills soda on it.
3. I like daffodils, though I'm more partial to lilies.
4. I'm fairly well convinced that Shakespeare wrote the Shakespeare plays.
5. The question's odd, but since you so implore
I'll tell, and six times nine is fifty-four. Yes, I answered a math question in a rhymed couplet. I don't think it scans as perfect iambic pentameter, but maybe I'll get points for effort. Or weirdness. Weirdness seems to count highly.6. Off the top of my head, I don't remember what raffish even means. Don't suppose I can get a roll? Ed level, or whatever you think is appropriate.
7. f. Light the candle, prowl the shelves for things to read. Read Shakespeare or Spenser until the candle *almost* burns out. (*Almost* because I need light long enough to put the books back where they go.)
8. Blah. I'm lousy at poetry, and I can't even remember the verse forms for an epigram or a quatrain. Well, when all else fails go for random imagery.
Candles and incense.
Chocolate and too much coffee.
Dreaming, pen in hand.9. Bookworms. (The literal, not the metaphorical description of a person who reads a lot. Librarians: *human* bookworms :: Vampires: Pretty girls named Mina)
10. A brontosaurus is narrow at one end, thick in the middle, and then narrow again. If Monty Python doesn't exist in this universe, I'm out of luck on this question. Even if, it's an awfully obscure joke.
Fri Dec 11 2009 6:23 pm # -
KellyKeck
MemberWow, this feels like the GREs all over again. I'll describe my recurring nightmare, the one where I'm running away from something or backed into a corner, open my mouth to scream, and it's barely audible--a choked little whisper, no matter how hard I try to yell. And will try to work raffish in in a fairly generic way--to bluff that I don't remember the definition.
The "Create Story" skill most likely applies here. I don't think I have a specific skill for bluffing or BSing, though the fact that I have an undergrad degree in English should attest to the fact that I can BS. :)
Sun Dec 13 2009 8:46 pm # -
Blue Canary
MemberI really have to apolagise for my extended absence. I was travelling around a lot for most of December and then the start of a new term in January has had me extremely busy. I am struggling to get a conference paper together.
Anyway, yes, Create Story would work (even if it is a bit of a cop-out ;) ). I'll give you +20 sit-mod for your English degree. You have a 43+20=63% chance of success but I rolled 91.
You write out the story of your nightmare but 'raffish' is giving you trouble. The niggling sensation that you should know what it means is distracting you and the cheese-smelling woman is sitting very close and has suddenly developed a serious case of the hiccups. You end your story with "...no matter how raffishly I try to yell."
You turn in the form at the desk. The woman looks it over briefly - her mouth locked in a weird twist as she does so. She rolls her eyes up to look at you over the paper.
"Yes, thank you. We'll be in touch, I'm sure." she says emotionlessly.
Wed Jan 20 2010 5:15 pm #
Reply
You must log in to post.