It's Monday January 1, 1923, News Year's day, all of you are currently the British Museum, at the opening of a new room, containing the Maudslay Collection, an exhibition of ancient stone sculpture from the early Maya tribe of Southern Mexico and Central America.
As you start to look around the room, you all accidently run into Prof. Smith and each other.
Here what you know about your friend Prof.Smith.
Prof.Smith
Billie isn't ready to circulate at the reception quite yet. In her view scheduling an opening on New Years Day is a beastly thing to do, terrible manners or at least a lack of compassion on the part of the planners. Also, Robert is late so she's forced to remain near enough to the entrance to see him when he arrives.
She takes a pill case from her handbag and opens the lid, taking out two white tablets. After popping the tablets into her mouth, she washes them down with a sip from the champagne flute she's holding. Hopefully some more aspirin will help with the thudding in her head, courtesy of the hangover she has from the previous night. If not, maybe the champagne will help. Hair of the dog and all that she thinks to herself. As she continues to sip and idle, Billie occupies herself by calibrating the precise amount of anger to rain down upon Robert for keeping her waiting.
As you waited at the enterance, a man come walking right at you, it's Prof. Smith.
Prof. Smith: Miss Shen! It's nice to see you here, how have you been?
Here is how Professor Smith look.
Prof. Smith
Montague walks into the room taking in everything with a casual glance. He fills the doorway with his large frame ducking slightly out of habit as he enters though the door is large enough to admit him without doing so. A thin haze of smoke fills the air, and the low murmur of conversation provides background noise punctuated by the occasional laugh.
The familiar scent of Balkan Sobranje is detected from an area to his left and he looks over to see his partner in stinky tobacco Professor Smith talking to an obviously Oriental woman.
Billie looks over toward where she heard her name and sees Professor Smith approaching. She smiles at him in a pleasant, friendly way and moves to help him close the gap between them. When they are close, Billie lays her hand on his forearm and greets him.
"Professor Smith, it is so good to see you. I'm well, thank you for asking. I believe it has been long enough since we last spoke to mention I have started, and now finished, medical school without repeating myself to you."
"How have you been these last few years?"
Billie is a little surprised the Professor took the time out to stop and chat. She's not surprised he remembers her, though she was his student for only one course. People do tend to remember her. Rather, it's because they were only casually acquainted and that was back in 1916. He must surely have more pressing matters, and closer friends, to attend to.
Prof. Smith:"I've discover a breakthrough, that's all I can say for now, if you wanted to know more you can come to my Lecture, which occur on the evening of January 3rd, at the Imperial Institute in Kensington, which you, Mallin, and Ragnarov are invited to, there will be a dinner at the lecture, so don't eat dinner beforehand."
As Prof. Smith turn around, he see Montague.
Prof. Smith:"Oh perfect, Ms. Shen, I would like you to meet a friend of my, Mr. Montague, he is also invited to the lecture."
As the group are making pleasantries Dr. Asbjørnsen enters the room, in stark contrast to Montague Asbjørnsen is dwarfed by the scale of the doorway. He briskly hobbles through relying heavily on his cane. When he notices Prof. Smith he gives a nod to him and continues into the room at first in search of the Maudslay statues.
Prof. Smith:"Dr. Edvard, glad to see you still alive, will you also be attending at my lecture?"
Dr. Edvard You don't find Maudslay statues but a framed photograph of a lonely ruins, and a Limestone lintel depicting bloodletting rite and human sacrifice.
Ynja had been having a conversation with one of her old clients who just happened to be at the opening as well. Why Billie had asked her to come to this meeting of old men she did not know. Not unless they were heading out on the town later with some dusty Oxford types. She ended the conversation and looked around for her flatmate and stopped dead in her tracks. A man had come into the room, a giant of a man, good-looking and young. A smile crossed her face and she made for Billie.
"Billie"
She indicated Montague.
"Do you know his name, I would like to meet him"
At 6'2" Ynja was shorter by just under half a foot, Her nordic blue eyes took him in.
She pays no heed to Dr. Asbjørnsen or Prof Smith as she does not know them.
Her accent is American and she notes the two other men there.
She is tall, Blond, with Blue eyes, And her clothing has the more modern american look. But what makes her our more is her hight, standing some 6'3" and she is very much interested in the taller priest now standing before her.
Montague's clerical collar is evident as he turns to offer his hand to the dimutive woman.
"I am Father Montague. It is indeed a pleasure to meet you".
She looks on as the tall priest offers his hand to Billie.
"It seems he likes you Billie", and is that a French accent?
she takes a step back and looks him up and down.
"Eh bien, je vous prie de boire un grand verre d’eau"
Montague's eyes travel over to the new arrival, and he quickly has to avert his eyes upward to meet hers. "Ah. Another new arrival. As I said. I am Father Montague, and I would name myself a tall glass of holy water".
He blushes a bit as he answers the forward young woman.
She smiles at him and her blue eyes glint for just a moment.
"Je suis désolé juste moi, et j’aime le retour. je suis Mlle Ynja Eva Ragnavold, Père Montague"
Then she takes in the two old Gents
"Billie, what's with the gents, you know them?"
She seems to be a little protective of Billie as she says this, wondering if the old dusty gents were giving her unwanted attention, Father Montague may have come over to save her as well.
Tall, Hansome, and Shiverous. What a waste, the Calthic church strikes again., why arr all the good ones taken.
As Edvard returns from his foray none the wiser on the photograph but interested none the less he shuffles back to Professor Smith and responds in a near perfect facsimile of a British accent "I wouldn't miss a lecture from the famed"he adds a touch of friendly pejorative spice to the word "J.R. Smith for the world. How have you been old man?"
He then turns to the rest of the small crowd and addresses them as a whole but primarily to Ynja
he then stumbles over to Montague who completely dwarfs his hunched 5'2" figure and says "Doctor Edvard Asbjørnsen, how do you do?" as he transfers his cane to his left hand and reach his arm up for a handshake.
She was relieved the old gent was not a dirty old man.
Her directness kicked in again.
"A Doctor? you and an academic doctor or a medical one."
she tagged on.
"Sorry, name, I always forget that, Ynja Eva Ragnavold, but everyone just calls me Ynja"
Billie tells Professor Smith she will do her best to attend his lecture the next evening, then barely has time to greet Montague before Ynja comes buzzing in on them with a million questions and painfully obvious devices on Montague.
Fortunately Billie also spies Robert finally arriving. Quickly wishing the Professor and Montague a good evening, she grabs Ynja and pulls her along as she leaves to greet her escort. Along the way she informs Ynja that Professor Smith is "an professor whom I took a class from as an undergraduate a few years back" and lays down the bad news.
"That baby grand is both French and a priest. You know what that means, he's almost certainly Catholic. There's no road that ends with you as a 'Vicar's wife', and no fun to be had along the way to nowhere either. Better you don't waste your time on him."
By the time they reach Robert, Billie has to decided to let Robert off the hook and be nice.
"Robert! I'm glad you're here. This reception has been a real flat tire . You must save me from the dreadfulness."
She extends her hand for Robert to take, which the young man grasps then bends to kiss. Billie pretends to like it, but honestly Robert is a potato who tends to err in favor a grand gestures because he thinks they're terribly impressive.
After taking some minutes to look around the exhibition, Billie decides it's decidedly not interesting.
"Well, that's all of it. We've looked at everything and I'm afraid the evening is ruined if this is the sum of it. Robert, you must take us dancing now. It's the only way to salvage all the trouble I went to dressing up."
This really was the plan all along, a quick stop at the exhibit, then on to dancing. If she had skipped the exhibit and told Robert directly that they were going dancing Robert wouldn't have said no, but he would have whined for a while before saying yes. His whining can really be unbearable, so Billie finds it better to trick him instead of listening to it.
She grins at her flatmate as she goes on about the unreachable Prest.
"Billie! All I said was hello, even a Flapper Gal like you knows I don't go a buckarooing with every fine man I meet. Mind you I would not mind him taking my confection."
She whispers the last part in Billie's ear.
while Billie waits for her guy. She looked around the exhibition, she always had an interest in this kind of stuff. But she preferred Native American stuff.
Once he comes, she greets him as well.
And heads off into the night with them.
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Montague is a bit bemused by the attention. Though not shy he is a bit socially awkward as he doesn't have much experience outside of religious and spiritual conversations.
He is saved from his blush deepening by the arrival of the older professor. He reaches to take his hand with both of his giving his best smile and greeting.
"Ah! Dr. Asbjornsen is it? A great pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Father Montague... but you can call me Monty if you please".
He then turns to the "debating" young women in their small group.
"It would be a shame to leave without getting to know each other better. Perhaps we could walk with the professor through the displays, and he could give us one of his fascinating stories about each"?
Billie rolls her eyes at Ynja claims of innocence.
"You can't fool me. How you say something matters as much as what you say."
As Montague's words the tall American stops in her tracks and back tracks to the tall priest. Taking his arm she smiles up at him.
"Well now I am will if you are"
she says with a grin.
Montague is a bit bemused by the attention. Though not shy he is a bit socially awkward as he doesn't have much experience outside of religious and spiritual conversations.
He is saved from his blush deepening by the arrival of the older professor. He reaches to take his hand with both of his giving his best smile and greeting.
"Ah! Dr. Asbjornsen is it? A great pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Father Montague... but you can call me Monty if you please".
He then turns to the "debating" young women in their small group.
"It would be a shame to leave without getting to know each other better. Perhaps we could walk with the professor through the displays, and he could give us one of his fascinating stories about each"?
"Enchanted Monty" Edvard responds taking in the hulking figure, he then continues "Edvard is fine as well, though I never mind the honorific."
He then turns to Ynja and explains "An academic doctor, I'd never subject a patient to hands as sloppy as mine." he finishes with a chuckle "I study languages of all types."
"Yes, Monty's right, we should at least humor the old man's passions" Edvard says sarcastically looking at Professor Smith who looks to be at least a decade his junior.
"Greetings all..." says the man with a British accent. "I'm a...friend of Bllie's. Harry" He lights a cigarette. "I do odd jobs"
Unused to such intimate contact... especially from an attractive woman, Montague starts to pull away, then realizes that would be rude, so while he doesn't return the enthusiasm he at least bears it.
"Yes... Let's see the exhibit".
Billie watches Ynja peel off to join the boring exhibit gawkers. She has no democratic impulses when it comes to night life so she barely misses a beat continuing toward the exit. With a wave backward she says "Right, as you wish. I'll call you at home later when we land on a spot in case you decide to join us."
She does pause a moment when Harry Mallin appears.
"Well hello Harry." Billie's greeting drips with sarcasm.
We're friends? That's ambitious of you. Did my father put you back on the payroll? You never seemed the intellectual type to me so I'm having trouble understanding what other reason could possibly account for us occupying the same room again after after so much time has passed."
Seeing Billie not like Harry, Ynja pulls Harry Montague and
Doctor Edvard away from him and Billie going at each other.
"Best keep out of that one"
Then as the walks she asks.
"So Doctor Asbjørnsen, thats dutch right? My family is from Sweden originally. I hope you don't mind me calling you Edvard. And I would love to take up Fathers Montague's offer of a tour of the exhibition if you don't mind"
As she holds Fathers Montague, arm she says.
"I think it best that you know farther that you and I are some what in the same line of work. I don't main souls, That I will leave in you hands, I means in the powers beyond. See I ply my trade as a mystic. A reader of tea leaves and starer into crystal balls the works. I bet a hundreds of year ago your forbears would have burned me as a witch. Truth is, its all just flim flam. See I tailer to rich old ladies looking for lost cats or where their dead husbands left the share certificates. You know in both cases I just tell them to ask the neighbours. Nine times out of Ten they will know."
She says this dead pan..., then busts out laughing at her own joke.
After seeing the exhaustion, Ynja will head home.
to up with Billie, next day, See a client then head with Billie to the lecture.
It's now Janurary 3rd, Lecture Day, The Dinner is about to start, what are all of you doing?
Ynja is a little worried about this Harry guy showing up again, so she goes agent ready. who ever he is he seems to be after Billie.
So she stays close to Billie as they take their seats. Carrying her handbag with her.
Montague pulls out the chair of any ladies sitting close to him then settles himself for dinner. If he is asked to give blessing, he will... otherwise he gives a quick quiet low prayer before dining.
Ynja is a little worried about this Harry guy showing up again, so she goes agent ready. who ever he is he seems to be after Billie.
So she stays close to Billie as they take their seats. Carrying her handbag with her.
When Ynja mentions Harry Mallin the next day, Billie fills her in on how they're acquainted.
"My father hired Mellin back when I first arrived from Shanghai a few years back. I was told the reason was to provide security. He wasn't exactly a bodyguard, constantly within a couple of feet of me day and night, sitting beside me in classes and such. But, he was always around checking up on me."
"I don't doubt he was really hired for that, but I know my father well enough to be sure he was also spying on me and reporting back. I wouldn't be surprised if he was reading through my journal and any correspondences of mine as well. Who knows? Maybe he was even checking into the backgrounds of friends I made."
"It was an unpleasant several months of ghoulish behavior that I had to put up with. I was very pleased to see him go at the end of his contract. Since he showed up again out of nowhere last night, I have to assume my father has hired him to snoop again."
Running around the apartment with just her slip on she says looking for the right clothing.
"Well lets get ready, the man give me the he-be-ge-bis to be honest. Glad you don't like him as well. Just in case Ill go equipped Also Father Montague will be there, Ill try and snag seats next to him. Now hurry on get ready.'
She ended up in her Nicer Blue slacks outfit, Flat Boots, topped off with a hat and winter coat. London was always so wet and cold even in summer the nights where chilly. Looking her self over in he mirror. She nodded,
"That will do nicely, my good sir"
She says in a fake brit accent,
Edvard arrived to the lecture quite early to try to get to chatting with the other academics, always interested to learn more about any subject. by the time the dinner is getting ready to start he has been there for nearly 3 hours helping as best he can with set up and talking the ear off of whatever poor intern was nearby.
When seating begins he sits near to the new acquaintances he met yesterday but not too close, keeping a person or so between himself and Montague.
She does pause a moment when Harry Mallin appears."Well hello Harry." Billie's greeting drips with sarcasm.
We're friends? That's ambitious of you. Did my father put you back on the payroll? You never seemed the intellectual type to me so I'm having trouble understanding what other reason could possibly account for us occupying the same room again after after so much time has passed."
"Aye he did. Can't have too many friends!" Harry smiles with the cigarette in his mouth. "Surprise to you, but I've actually read a few books! I enjoy a good Dickens novel!"
Going back a touch I suppose
"So Doctor Asbjørnsen, thats dutch right? My family is from Sweden originally. I hope you don't mind me calling you Edvard. And I would love to take up Fathers Montague's offer of a tour of the exhibition if you don't mind"
"Yes, grew up just north of Aalborg in the west. Of course Edvard is no problem usually my students either call me that or Dr. A." he says before they go to tour the halls
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"Doc A it is then"
"Good to see you again Doctor A, you said last night you where from Aalborg, that the place with the crooked houses right. Never been but it sounds nice"
Then as they took in she says to everyone around her.
"You know I'm more a kind of grilled raw stake girl, but this here roast beef you English have, well it's Mighty testy."
for the dinning hall thinking IMAGE HERE is this right GM?
The Lecture Hall is fill with the typical Banquet food you expect, Cheese, Fruit, Nut, and Crackers, with Raw Slice Meat. There're about 3 dozen other people in the Hall, mostly the Academic and Scholarly type, but some of them look to be some sort of businessman.
Montague eats & drinks.
"Doc A it is then"
"Good to see you again Doctor A, you said last night you where from Aalborg, that the place with the crooked houses right. Never been but it sounds nice"
"It's a pleasure to see you as well. Yes, the older houses around the city just started leaning over time from the high winds. Most modern ones won's suffer the same fate though! I haven't been back myself in almost," Edvard pauses a moment to think before continuing, "God, nearly 40 years. Some of the old ones I remember have probably fallen by now. I really should get back out there again soon."
as the room fills Edvard grabs a few crackers and a bit of cheese, he'd never been a heavy eater and as his age began to wear him down what little apatite he had before had dwindled. However, his appetite for conversation had followed an opposite trajectory which he demonstrated in the incessant chatter he made conversating with each new guest as they arrived learning their area of specialization, noteworthy research and where they were based.
But as you're enjoying the Banquet, a man in a suit call for everybody attention. As he introduced this night speaker, Dr. Julius Smith. Smith go on about the clever deceit and his cleverer exposures of Charalatan and Pretender, from Medium to Fortune Teller, you hear laughter from the crowd.
Prof. Smith:"There prove to be, however categories of repetitious phenomenon offering no simple elucidation. I refer to the 'poltergeist', to the 'traveler' who suddenly find himself dozen or thousand of miles or years from where he stood moment before, and to the 'haunting'. My presentation concern the last. I say 'haunting' and not 'ghost' or 'spirit' because alone of such ephiphenomena, haunter can be building, lanterns, coach-and-four, sword and so on. And I say 'epiphenomena' because thr haunters are not linked with specific observers, and the haunting presumably occurs with or without witnesses, as we shall see. Thus perception of such an event is secondary to the event itself. The essential characteristics of haunters are simple: The person or thing must have existed, must have disappeared in some sense, and then must reappear once or many time. The location of the phenomenon may stay the same, or may change; that which may be partials and insubstantial, or be solid and real-seeming as any member of to night illustrious gathering. No other conditions are needed." Dr. Smith then project slides of three haunting in detail—a Breton fishing boat, a Norwegian women, and a London Hansom Cab. Each incident was studied and photographed simultaneously from at least three positions, allowing accurate scaling of the apparitions. The good doctor is able to demonstrate several characteristics shared by the three.
•The Three apparitions do not coalesce from point, as most tale describe, but slowly emerge slowly emerge whole from invisible plane, as if passing through, what Smith term 'curtain of perception'
• Each is Semi-Transparent.
• Each apparitions glows.
• Each apparitions seem to be moving at a slower rate than normal movement.
• Historically each apparitions was held to have disappear, not killed or destroyed, but this observation isn't true for every apparitions.
•Touchable apparitions are rare.
• Such apparitions seem to not be uniformely perserved.
Prof. Smith:"It's my belief that such haunters represent clue concerning a natural universe much larger and much stranger than we imagine. The wall of what we perceive as normality have a subtle flexibility. If we're energetic, we may one day be able to move up or down time, or travel globally with minor effort, or perceive that which at present lie beyond our sense. What wait beyond remain a supreme question which, at the present, each must answer for himself."
Ynja asks a question
"You said Historically each apparitions was held to have disappeared I ask, dose this mean that all apparitions have an origin before in time of observation. And that none do so in the opposite time direction, where the observation came before the disappearance. If this is true can one assume, That the subjects that form such apparitions are being moved in space AND time? in a forward progression only. Which begs the question Dr. Smith and pardon my American, the ones that get off the Trollycart. what did they say happoned when they where in this apparition movement state?"
Ynja asks a question
"You said Historically each apparitions was held to have disappeared I ask, dose this mean that all apparitions have an origin before in time of observation. And that none do so in the opposite time direction, where the observation came before the disappearance. If this is true can one assume, That the subjects that form such apparitions are being moved in space AND time? in a forward progression only. Which begs the question Dr. Smith and pardon my American, the ones that get off the Trollycart. what did they say happoned when they where in this apparition movement state?"
Harry takes a bite of beef.
"Aye Ynja. Cooked is the best way to eat meat if you ask me!"
- - -
"I've seen some strange stuff. But different kinds of spirits are something to be seen. Do we get a demonstration Prof. Smith>"