Chapter 15
What Is An Oroborous But Biting One's Own Tail?
The storm had picked up strength now in the grey of afternoon and the company in the parlor could hear the wind whipping the trees outside and sending gusts howling down the chimney. The massive fireplace logs which made up the fire weathered this assault and burned steadily on, albeit with occasional flare-ups of wind-induced fireworks.
Jack stared hard into the leaping flames and at last began his tale.
'My Uncle Daryl knew the man who was after you and Alice at the theatre. They met many years back at college. The man's name was John Flubber.'
'Actually...'Aleister roused himself at last, feeling more
comfortable around Emmeline without her rebar in hand no doubt, '...believe it or not, his family name was Flaubert.
His ancestor who immigrated from France had changed it, Americanized it as many of our emmigre' relations did back then, to Flubber. Rather an odd move.'
Jack actually smiled then. 'Yes. I had a college pal whose family was from Italy. His ancestor changed a perfectly nice Fellini into Fellin once he gained this shore. 'Felon', is rather a step down from Fellini, over here...but I digress.'
He stood then and wandered somewhat about the parlor, eventually homing in on the cognac again. He held the decanter out toward the party, eyebrows raised. 'Why not, Jack...'Aleister gave in, not a trial for him. 'Alice?'
'Perhaps just a wee tot,'Alice stared at the floor, pensively.
Where was all this going, she wondered? So much of the past now coming to light. She wasn't sure she wanted this. No, not sure at all.
'...Emmeline?' Jack enquired, not looking at her.
'A very small drop, perhaps, Jack, thanks.' Em felt sure that at last, some definate answers were forthcoming as to the mysterious circumstances in which they now found themselves, so far and away from all that was familiar. Or sane.Although she rarely partook of strong spirits, and certainly not in early afternoon;she felt that, much like when St. Bernards rescue a snowbound traveler with a bracing shot of brandy, so she too seemed to be waking up in an odd sort of way due to smoothly smoldering firewater.
Handing glasses all round, Jack remained standing at the mantle, gazing into the fire. 'Anyway. And yes, Aleister knew them both, at school then.'
'I was but a Freshie, while they were the BMOCs and Seniors, of course,'Aleister admitted. 'But, as Flubber was in science and engineering, I followed his work with enthusiasm, back then.' He took a hefty sip.
'And what did your Uncle Daryl major in, then?' Emmeline enquired, hoping to keep this disclosure going.
'Drama!' Jack looked out the windows at the storm. 'Oh, yes. Alot of it. He was an actor and playwright. All this...'he gestured around them, '...the spoils of his efforts on and about the stage. Oh, he was a success. In some areas.' Jack began to pace about the room, holding his glass tightly. 'So, it would seem at first, that those two would be unlikely to meet and become close, with such divergent interests. But they both had one thing in common, and later, something else, which brought them together and finally split them apart...' He stopped at the French doors and gazed out at the treetops swaying in the gloom.
'Those two were latter-day...alchemists, I guess you would say. Daryl was an amateur magician and loved to put some of his tricks into his plays, which was behind his success later.
John bethought himself a rennaisance man and that alchemy was simply a necessary part of being someone posessing the Wisdom of the Ages...' Jack took a drink and continued.
'Anyway, once Daryl witnessed some of John's engineering feats, he convinced him to help him rig some rather amazing magic tricks that were pretty spectacular, I gather...'
Aleister made some noises somewhere in between a snort and a laugh and a coughing fit. 'Oh, spectacular doesn't begin to cover it. They kept the fire department rather busy, let us say...They gave the saying 'brought the house down' a near
literal meaning.'
'Yes. Well, you would know, Al.' Jack started pacing again. Was there some hidden animosity betwixt Jack and Aleister, Em wondered?
Jack sighed, and continued,raking a hand through his hair, 'So. While John studied some of the more obscure areas of scientific study, encluding researching Dr. Stein's and your father's notes and findings, Uncle Daryl decided he was going to study Real Magic. And not just stage maneuvers.'
Jack stopped pacing. 'And here is where the trouble began. Of course.' He sat down next to Emmeline then. 'Somehow...between the two of them, they managed to create a new timeline. What we now call the Null Zone. It's...a field outside of Time, proper. It's not a parallel reality, it's some Where different. And one can act upon it, while within it, and so effect changes in the present, the past and, even in the future.'
Aleister cleared his throat then,'This was an outgrowth of your own father's research, Emmeline. I...I'm not sure how much you know of your father's, work...but, my dear...he was desperate to somehow--'un-do' the past, and to change the tragic events that led to your mother's death.'
Emmeline looked at him. 'I suspected as much. I suppose you know that I was in the carriage with her, during the accident that took her life. I was just 11 at the time...I know, he was simply not the same man without her, to put it mildly...He had a breakdown of sorts, then.'
Jack reached out and touched her shoulder in sympathy. 'He must have loved her dearly.' Em nodded, looking into her brandy glass.Jack continued, softly, 'Well, whatever drove him on, it paved the way for our own work which came later. He never did succeed in finding a way to act upon the past. But we did. And, we are hoping, that in so doing, we will affect the future as well.'
Alice spoke up then. 'I often thought Frank was playing with fire, in all that...' Just then, a spark popped out of the logs and dashed against the firescreen sending small showers of sparks into the air, with hint of traces. The company looked at one another then.
Emmeline pressed on,'You mentioned something that eventually drove Flubber and your uncle apart, Jack?'
'Yes.' He took a sip of cognac. 'A woman.'
'Ah.'Emmeline was intrigued. Wasn't it always?
Aleister spoke up then,'Morgana Carlysle.' His eyes took on a dreamy gaze into the past then,'A gorgeous redhead, much like our Em here,'he ventured back into his old rascally persona then, and continued,'An actress, of course, and she was paired with Daryl in several of his productions,naturally. He made sure of that! He wanted to be her leading man both on and off stage, though. He was not so victorious in his off-stage pursuit of her many charms. There were not a few rivals for the fair Morgana...'
'...and I assume, one of whom was Mr. Flubber?'Em could see where this was heading. She thought.
'Oh yes. But, what Daryl didn't realize, at least, not at first, was that in his own quiet way--well, 'quiet' compared to Daryl's flashy persona--John was also intent upon Morgana.
Rather more so. Obsessed, you might say.'
'Oh, dear,'Emmeline felt a hint of dismay upon this revelation.
Jack continued tentatively on,'John had been pursuing Morgana even while she was treading the boards with Daryl. Of course they knew about each other's interest in her, but well, John was becoming rather...unstable. He had been experimenting with the new timeline, and using himself as test subject. Not, as it turned out, a very sound idea.' Jack sighed heavily. 'Anyway, one night, he'd brought Morgana into the lab he kept in the basement of the old house that he rented with several other grad students. He had shared some of what he'd been working on with her. In fact, only she and Daryl knew about John's timewalks. But he'd convinced her that the timeline was perfectly safe. He'd done it, and he'd made it back fine, hadn't he? and all that...well, anyway, he told her he would take her to Paris. In the 1800's.'
Alice smiled ruefully. 'I've heard something of the same line myself.'
Aleister looked over at her. 'Not something many girls can admit, either then or now, my dear Alice.' His tone was concerned, though.
Jack had put his glass down and had leaned over, elbows on knees, staring at nothing, seemingly. Emmeline prodded with,
'And then what happened, Jack?'
'Morgana went with John, timewalking.' He finished the liquor in his glass and set it down at last. 'She never returned.'
Emmeline looked at him, reaching out she touched his arm gently. 'Oh, my...do you know, what became of her?'
Jack actually laughed, a little. 'Yes! Actually! According to Flubber, they made it to the Paris Opera House, in 1869. For a production of Mozart's Magic Flute. It was a full house. Morgana was thrilled, delighted, exultant! She felt she was in her element, at last!' Jack looked at Emmeline. 'She slipped away from Flubber, and ran off. He never was able to locate her. Now or then.'
'Oh, Jack! So, is she, still there, do you think?'Emmeline could only imagine the whole scene...the beauteous redhead intent on her own thrilling escapade;how well she understood what must have posessed this woman of the future...people never really change, fundamentally, throughout the many ages. Em decided then and there that she had found a sister under the skin, indeed, in Morgana. She had escaped her time-traveling-obsessed, meddlers-cum-suitors to pursue her own line of adventure. She was free of them all. Still!
Jack sighed. 'Who knows? No one does. One may assume, that she is.' He leaned his head in his hands and raked back his hair in characteristic gesture, then sat back on the sofa cushions.
'Naturally, when John had to finally give up and return to his present time, without Morgana, all hell eventually broke loose! He couldn't, of course, make his time-walking publically known. Morgana had 'gone missing'. John and Daryl were suspect, of course. But Daryl was at a play of his that night, which had given John free rein to do as he would with Morgana, knowing his rival was erstwhile occupied. Although there was no evidence, and no proof that could be brought against John as having anything to do with her disappearance,
popular opinion was against him and it created a permanent stain on his character. He no longer was given grants, and later he left the college in disgrace, and went underground. Daryl of course was furious, enraged, and I believe, even tried to well...put an end to him. Suffice it to say, they went their separate ways, my Uncle Daryl went on to success as actor and playwright, and Flubber, into obscurity, and madness.'
All was quiet then, until Aleister bestirred himself to enquire of Jack, 'Don't you have that old scrapbook of Daryl's still?'he turned to the ladies. 'There's some photos of Morgana, with Daryl. Possibly John as well...'
Jack went to the secretary desk in the corner and rummaged about the lower drawers, at last drawing forth a large book with papers protruding from the edges. This he took to the sofa and sitting between Alice and Emmeline, opened the book to a playbill
pasted within. A photo of a tall, angular man who did in fact resemble Jack, next to a lovely woman with long titian tresses, were billed as 'Daryl Van Horn and Morgana Carlysle as Nick and Margueritte in Van Horn's "Fallen Angels", at the Orpheum Theatre'
'Oh, Jack,'Emmeline's curiousity was peaked, '...you do favor your uncle, somewhat! And, yes, Morgana is indeed a beauty. It's easy to see how she inspired such passions in men, at least...may we--?'
'Of course,'Jack turned the pages and they perused the past in poster-form. 'There are few actual photographs,'Jack said,'Daryl seemed to favor collecting only the playbills from his productions...
although...yes, here's one of Daryl and John, this was when they were still working together on Daryl's magic act.' Jack pointed out a DIY flyer. 'Gods...I never really noticed this one before. Rather prophetic, as it turned out...' The bill announed 'Magic and Mystery of the Enigmatic East! Maestro Van Horn will amaze and amuse with feats of fantasia--witness the Incredible Disappearing Woman!'
'Oh, my.'Emmeline looked at Jack and Alice. 'This was just an act, then, wasn't it?'
'Yes, yes, had to be,'Jack frowned at the poster,with a photo which although rather small, showed a man on either side of the trim figure of a woman with two Tesla coils flanking the stage. 'The Tesla coils were just for show of course. I'm sure the 'disappearance' was due to some boxlike contraption with a false floor. Bloody Daryl...' Jack shut the book and stood up, stuffing it back in the drawer.
The afternoon had worn on into encroaching twilight and the storm had died down somewhat. The winds no longer raged, but dark clouds were amassed still in a portiere against the remaining light. Hence, what had begun as an afternoon's intrepid congress had now become the evening's enterprise.
The company was feeling rather somber and sober, despite the copious cognac conferred upon all by then. Such a tale indeed!...a cautionary one, perhaps...
'So...this John Flubber, is the same person who is now, interested in Alice and myself then, Jack?'Emmeline grasped that much of the situation rightly.
'He is John Flubber no more, however.' Jack made a sour face.
'He calls himself 'El Juan Flubber'--he has delusions of grandeur, and, well, simply delusions in general! There is nothing left of the earnest young engineering student.
'I'm afraid Jack has the right of it there,'Aleister added.
'But we needn't fear his reach here. This is the one place that he cannot approach. Daryl Van Horn made sure of that.'
'Oh?'Emmeline asked,'How so Jack? Is the property encircled by some futuristic weapons of defense?'
Jack regarded her silently for a moment. 'Oh, no Emmeline.' he said, 'Futuristic, not at all. Our borders are defended by something well understood in the past, much more so than nowadays. We are protected here, by Magick.'
. . . . .
don't want a dollar
don't you give me no dime
all i want is
you bring back
that lil girl of mine...
i can't let her go
lord no i can't let her go
won't somebody please help me find her
i can't let her go...
greg allman
high water risin risin nite & day
all the gold and silver been stolen away
dance with who they tell you to
or you don't dance at all
it's tough out there
high water everywhere
i'm no pig without a wig
i hope you treat me kindi
it's breakin up out there
high water 'everywhere'
i'm preachin the word of god
while puttin out your eyes
thunder over Clarksdale
everything electric blue
i just can't be happy lord unless
you're happy too
it's tough out there...
high water everywhere.
bob dylan high water
you gotta fan it and cool it
honey til the cows come home...
--wille & the wheel
Monday, April 25, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Chapter 14 - Emmeline Awakes
Chapter 14
Emmeline Awakes,
and Finds All Is Not As It Seems
Jack reached out to steady Emmeline, putting a hand on her shoulder when she slumped down upon the hard bare floor.
'I'm really not surprised, you know,'she surprised them all by saying. ' I rather suspected my father was up to much the same thing...'
Jack stood, and lifted her elbow enquiringly. Em sighed and allowed herself to be hefted upward. Alice and Aleister approached tentatively.
Em looked about her appraisingly. 'So then,' she said, 'When are we?'
Jack shouldered the responsibility of Bearer of Great Tidings. '2076.' he made it sound almost real.
'I see.' Emmeline calculated it all, rather rationally, she told herself. Jack wasn't interested in you at all you idiot, she rationated. It, you, were just A Grand Experiment in the Name of Science. Just as you were for your in loco parentis
mad scientist pere.
'Emmeline...'Aleister started toward her-
'Doctor.' Emmeline held up her hand, palm outWard. 'Should you attempt to drug me or poke me with a syringe, or even offer me TEA I shall be emboldened to use some very unladylike kung fu upon your person and I do not wish to be forced to do so.' Em had adopted the Horse Pose and was ready for action. Or as much as one could be when hobbled by a corset and bustle . However she made up for this by laying hands upon a stray bit of rebar nearby with a rather menacing tip.
Overall, she managed to command a rather d'Artagnanish stance
facing off against the good doctor.
The doctor turned and wisely, quietly retreated.
Emmeline straightened, now looking at the ground or merely hanging her head. And sighing.
'Alice?' she asked.
Alice also cast her eyes downward, before raising them to meet Em's now gimlet gaze. 'I used to...travel, with Frank. At Times,'Alice admitted to her friend.
'My father knew Frank.'Emmeline stated this as a fact. But she had only just become certain of it now.
'Yes.'Alice confirmed.'They sometimes, worked together.'
'Did they ever...was I ever present, during any of their...
experiments?' Emmeline finally admitted what had been hovering over her like a homing bat of late.
'Yes.'Alice looked at Emmeline. 'But I didn't know about it at the time. I only discovered it later, Em.'Alice held her hands tightly on her lap as if fearing they'd fly away.
'it happened so long ago...i didn't want to upset you, if you weren't aware...' Alice sighed, unsure. 'I thought I was sheltering you from something you did not need to know.'
'Oh, Alice...' Emmeline began pacing. 'I don't know...i don't know...in your place, what I would do. But, Alice--although I may have been quite young at the time, I do not appreciate not knowing.' She looked at Alice then, dead on & eye to eye.
'Duely noted,'Alice got the hint.
'So. 2076.No wonder I feel rather beside myself, as it were...well. What happens Now?' Emmeline wasn't one to waste Time.
Jack was somewhat amazed at Emmeline's acceptance of the whole bewildering business.But he still went carefully into uncharted waters...'Things are at a crossroads, at this point in Time.'he admitted gently.
'A Nexus point?' she asked, arching one brow.
Jack nodded. 'Exactly so. What Frank Stein and your father began, we now have extrapolated into a more streamlined timeline for quicker, more reliable and less unsettling access into other eras...'
'...slowly, now Jack...'Parsons kept his eyes downcast and his voice low.
'You haven't opened the trunk.'Emmeline observed.
'No,'Jack replied, 'It's entirely up to you.'
'Nice to know something is...'Emmeline muttered to herself.
The worst of all this, for her, was feeling so out of control, out of the information loop. This was not her world any longer. For an independent person, this sat not well with Miss Page.'Let's get it over with,'she sighed.
'...I...don't suppose you have the key?' Jack was just asking.
Em shook her head. 'Lost, years, ages ago...literally.'
'Well, it's old enough...'he strode over to the antique in question and asked, 'May I?' as he held a hand out for the rebar still clutched by Em. She handed it over and he worked it in through the rusty handle on the lock. 'This should do it,'and put his back into muscling the oxidized relic into giving way; which it did with a groan and finally clanked open free of the trunk's hasp. 'Well, Em? Will you do the honors?'
Emmeline sighed and approached the old monstrosity without enthusiasm. Dredging up memories of a past she wished only to forget was one of the more onerous tasks she'd been fanageled into here of late. Just do it and have done with it, she told herself; adding the disheartening observation that she obviously had very little say in her bloody life anymore...
Oh well!She set her features into a hard line. If she kept her thoughts, and her mouth in check, perhaps she'd soon be free of her captors, as she now perceived her erstwhile friends, and once back in her own time, she'd hightail it.
They'd never be able to find her, once free...
So, feeling much better after making that decision at least, she brushed back her straying curls and lifted the creaking lid, turning her face away from the dust and smell of mold within.
As Jack now helped hold the lid open for Em, Aleister and Alice inched over to take a look inside. 'I don't really recall much, if anything, of what would be in here,'Emmeline
mused. 'Perhaps gloves would be best?'
Jack went to open a metal drawer and pulled on a pair of supple leather gloves, and looking questioningly at Em, she nodded, and he prepared to 'go in'.
What looked like gears, tools, and sundry odd bits of metal were removed to find underneath, some old leather-bound volumes which proved to be notebooks. 'May I?' Jack asked, as he reached for the topmost journal. Em nodded, thinking: as though I have any real say over anything here now!
Aleister was at his side and they both were intent upon the
pages. 'I can't tell at first glance what we have here, Al,'Jack ventured, thumbing through the volume in hand. 'But,
it's best that it's here at least, until we know more.' He closed the book and dove back into the trunk's labyrinthian
and musty puzzle. 'More volumes of notebooks...wait, here's something at the bottom, maybe...' He sorted the bits and pieces and papers out of the way and discovered a heavy metal
box on the bottom of the trunk. Hefting it out, it was, not surprisingly, locked.
'Ulf!'Em waved a hand at the dust.'Would you gentlemen mind if I excuse myself from this exhuming of the past for now? All the dust and must is making me quite dizzy...'
'Emmeline, of course!'Jack was at her side, and tucking the box under his arm, took her elbow with the other and proceded to escort her out of the lab. 'Close that up, will you Al? I think we've seen enough.' Aleister closed up the trunk and he and Alice followed them out and as Jack locked up, the company headed back upstairs with The Box.
. . . . .
Back into the parlor they rallied as Jack set the box upon the credenza and gestured for the ladies to be seated.
'Is there any of that cognac available?' Emmeline uncharacteristically enquired.
Jack flickered a quick glance at Aleister, and then taking a snifter for Emmeline, and himself, poured for them both and
strode over to Em, offering the libation with a bow. 'Thank you.' she took a hefty swallow and sat back upon the sofa's cushions, still holding the glass and gently setting the brandy to circulate with a meditative motion of her palm.
Jack took a small sip, and, not knowing what footing he was on at present, decided to remain silent.
'So.'Emmeline began,'Now that you have what you came for, what are your plans, and how soon may we return home?' Em cut to the chase.
Jack cleared his throat,'...that, may not be a good idea just yet.' He took another sip and rubbed his forehead as if trying to force his thoughts in order.
'Oh?' Emmeline took another swallow. 'Just how long do you propose to hold us here, Jack?' Her usually mellow voice was no longer recognizable from the curt and no-nonsense tones she now used.
Realizing that Emmeline had become adversarial rather suddenly, Jack was caught off-guard.
'Did you think I would never recover my senses at all, then?' Em smoothly enquired, her voice dripping with honey and irony. 'What did you expect? That we would simply be your willing accomplices in whatever grand foray you happen to have in mind for us all, for whatever purpose?'
Jack looked to Aleister, who sat stroking his goatee, and had, oddly, decided to keep mum, for once. Al spared a glance and an elevated eyebrow at Jack, then stared back at the fire and recommenced his whisker-stroking.
Finding no help from that quarter, Jack stood alone then,wondering if he'd perhaps given Em leaded instead of unleaded, inadvertently of course! 'Emmeline...I, I am truly sorry that we had to do what we did, the way we had to do it. That is, to have taken you, and Alice, so...'
'...ambushed, and abducted,' Emmeline supplied.
Jack winced, twisting his mouth into a quick grimace. He looked up at the ceiling and finding no help from on high, he blustered on. 'Yes, alright. It would seem so.' he took a swig of cognac. 'But, oh, Em...we did it only due to the emergency at hand. We had to get you and Alice out of there and away from...harm.'he ended.
'Yes, so you say.'Em kept rotating her cognac methodically.
'Emmeline...luv, do you recall, back at the theatre, I was telling you that we were being followed?' Alice spoke up.
Em frowned into her glass. 'You said that some man had been watching us, so you thought.'
Jack took up the thread,'Yes, the person following you was the one who was responsible for the sigils in our yards. He is not to be trusted, and not someone you would want to meet.' He wasn't sure how much to tell Em. Keeping secrets had made her angry, but neither did he wish to frighten her out of her wits. Well, she didn't seem scared now, but she was obviously feeling less than friendly toward him. 'If we hadn't...taken you both then, he would have.'
Emmeline heaved a heavy sigh,drank off the remainder of her drink and stood. She leisurely walked to the decanter and helped herself to more cognac. 'So. When are we going to learn who this mysterious menace is, and what the bloody hell is this all about, Jack?!'
Three pair of eyes looked up at the heretofore sedate and
proper library lady. Then Alice and Aleister looked to Jack.
'Your call, old boy,'Aleister mumbled quietly.
Jack walked over to Em, and gently took the hand not currently holding either a drink or weapon. 'Very well. We'll
tell you. I'm sorry it had to come out like this. I had hoped for a gentler approach to disclosure. But, you no longer trust us, and this pains me. I do not blame you at all.'he looked up at her then. 'But, whether you will believe me now or not, all we have done has been necessary, and Emmeline, it probably has saved your life.'
He then led her gently back to the sofa and sat beside her.
'Alright. I suppose we'll have to begin at the beginning. Long before I ever thought to be involved with it, or anything to do with my family.' Jack looked at Emmeline. 'You aren't the only one discomfited by familial recollections.' He finished off his remaining brandy, and set down his glass.
'Yes,'he continued in a weary voice,' it's my late Uncle Daryl we all have to thank for this fine mess. At least the part that involves us in particular. Everyone comfortable? It's a tale neither short and certainly not so sweet...'
. . . . .
Hmmm...what goes on here, then?
So Jack, Al & Al all seem to be on the same side vs. Emmeline? or so she surmises...or has this a reach far beyond Time itself--are we all merely pawns in the game of life, as Mongo postulated in Saddles Ablaze? And Jack using Em to gain access to her father's files?--just as Dr. Parsons is perhaps using Alice in his search for the secrets of Frank N. Stein! Holy Mel Brooks! Stay tuned, same batime/batchannel for the next installment of
Emmeline Page, Revolution Solution Librarian!
Emmeline Awakes,
and Finds All Is Not As It Seems
Jack reached out to steady Emmeline, putting a hand on her shoulder when she slumped down upon the hard bare floor.
'I'm really not surprised, you know,'she surprised them all by saying. ' I rather suspected my father was up to much the same thing...'
Jack stood, and lifted her elbow enquiringly. Em sighed and allowed herself to be hefted upward. Alice and Aleister approached tentatively.
Em looked about her appraisingly. 'So then,' she said, 'When are we?'
Jack shouldered the responsibility of Bearer of Great Tidings. '2076.' he made it sound almost real.
'I see.' Emmeline calculated it all, rather rationally, she told herself. Jack wasn't interested in you at all you idiot, she rationated. It, you, were just A Grand Experiment in the Name of Science. Just as you were for your in loco parentis
mad scientist pere.
'Emmeline...'Aleister started toward her-
'Doctor.' Emmeline held up her hand, palm outWard. 'Should you attempt to drug me or poke me with a syringe, or even offer me TEA I shall be emboldened to use some very unladylike kung fu upon your person and I do not wish to be forced to do so.' Em had adopted the Horse Pose and was ready for action. Or as much as one could be when hobbled by a corset and bustle . However she made up for this by laying hands upon a stray bit of rebar nearby with a rather menacing tip.
Overall, she managed to command a rather d'Artagnanish stance
facing off against the good doctor.
The doctor turned and wisely, quietly retreated.
Emmeline straightened, now looking at the ground or merely hanging her head. And sighing.
'Alice?' she asked.
Alice also cast her eyes downward, before raising them to meet Em's now gimlet gaze. 'I used to...travel, with Frank. At Times,'Alice admitted to her friend.
'My father knew Frank.'Emmeline stated this as a fact. But she had only just become certain of it now.
'Yes.'Alice confirmed.'They sometimes, worked together.'
'Did they ever...was I ever present, during any of their...
experiments?' Emmeline finally admitted what had been hovering over her like a homing bat of late.
'Yes.'Alice looked at Emmeline. 'But I didn't know about it at the time. I only discovered it later, Em.'Alice held her hands tightly on her lap as if fearing they'd fly away.
'it happened so long ago...i didn't want to upset you, if you weren't aware...' Alice sighed, unsure. 'I thought I was sheltering you from something you did not need to know.'
'Oh, Alice...' Emmeline began pacing. 'I don't know...i don't know...in your place, what I would do. But, Alice--although I may have been quite young at the time, I do not appreciate not knowing.' She looked at Alice then, dead on & eye to eye.
'Duely noted,'Alice got the hint.
'So. 2076.No wonder I feel rather beside myself, as it were...well. What happens Now?' Emmeline wasn't one to waste Time.
Jack was somewhat amazed at Emmeline's acceptance of the whole bewildering business.But he still went carefully into uncharted waters...'Things are at a crossroads, at this point in Time.'he admitted gently.
'A Nexus point?' she asked, arching one brow.
Jack nodded. 'Exactly so. What Frank Stein and your father began, we now have extrapolated into a more streamlined timeline for quicker, more reliable and less unsettling access into other eras...'
'...slowly, now Jack...'Parsons kept his eyes downcast and his voice low.
'You haven't opened the trunk.'Emmeline observed.
'No,'Jack replied, 'It's entirely up to you.'
'Nice to know something is...'Emmeline muttered to herself.
The worst of all this, for her, was feeling so out of control, out of the information loop. This was not her world any longer. For an independent person, this sat not well with Miss Page.'Let's get it over with,'she sighed.
'...I...don't suppose you have the key?' Jack was just asking.
Em shook her head. 'Lost, years, ages ago...literally.'
'Well, it's old enough...'he strode over to the antique in question and asked, 'May I?' as he held a hand out for the rebar still clutched by Em. She handed it over and he worked it in through the rusty handle on the lock. 'This should do it,'and put his back into muscling the oxidized relic into giving way; which it did with a groan and finally clanked open free of the trunk's hasp. 'Well, Em? Will you do the honors?'
Emmeline sighed and approached the old monstrosity without enthusiasm. Dredging up memories of a past she wished only to forget was one of the more onerous tasks she'd been fanageled into here of late. Just do it and have done with it, she told herself; adding the disheartening observation that she obviously had very little say in her bloody life anymore...
Oh well!She set her features into a hard line. If she kept her thoughts, and her mouth in check, perhaps she'd soon be free of her captors, as she now perceived her erstwhile friends, and once back in her own time, she'd hightail it.
They'd never be able to find her, once free...
So, feeling much better after making that decision at least, she brushed back her straying curls and lifted the creaking lid, turning her face away from the dust and smell of mold within.
As Jack now helped hold the lid open for Em, Aleister and Alice inched over to take a look inside. 'I don't really recall much, if anything, of what would be in here,'Emmeline
mused. 'Perhaps gloves would be best?'
Jack went to open a metal drawer and pulled on a pair of supple leather gloves, and looking questioningly at Em, she nodded, and he prepared to 'go in'.
What looked like gears, tools, and sundry odd bits of metal were removed to find underneath, some old leather-bound volumes which proved to be notebooks. 'May I?' Jack asked, as he reached for the topmost journal. Em nodded, thinking: as though I have any real say over anything here now!
Aleister was at his side and they both were intent upon the
pages. 'I can't tell at first glance what we have here, Al,'Jack ventured, thumbing through the volume in hand. 'But,
it's best that it's here at least, until we know more.' He closed the book and dove back into the trunk's labyrinthian
and musty puzzle. 'More volumes of notebooks...wait, here's something at the bottom, maybe...' He sorted the bits and pieces and papers out of the way and discovered a heavy metal
box on the bottom of the trunk. Hefting it out, it was, not surprisingly, locked.
'Ulf!'Em waved a hand at the dust.'Would you gentlemen mind if I excuse myself from this exhuming of the past for now? All the dust and must is making me quite dizzy...'
'Emmeline, of course!'Jack was at her side, and tucking the box under his arm, took her elbow with the other and proceded to escort her out of the lab. 'Close that up, will you Al? I think we've seen enough.' Aleister closed up the trunk and he and Alice followed them out and as Jack locked up, the company headed back upstairs with The Box.
. . . . .
Back into the parlor they rallied as Jack set the box upon the credenza and gestured for the ladies to be seated.
'Is there any of that cognac available?' Emmeline uncharacteristically enquired.
Jack flickered a quick glance at Aleister, and then taking a snifter for Emmeline, and himself, poured for them both and
strode over to Em, offering the libation with a bow. 'Thank you.' she took a hefty swallow and sat back upon the sofa's cushions, still holding the glass and gently setting the brandy to circulate with a meditative motion of her palm.
Jack took a small sip, and, not knowing what footing he was on at present, decided to remain silent.
'So.'Emmeline began,'Now that you have what you came for, what are your plans, and how soon may we return home?' Em cut to the chase.
Jack cleared his throat,'...that, may not be a good idea just yet.' He took another sip and rubbed his forehead as if trying to force his thoughts in order.
'Oh?' Emmeline took another swallow. 'Just how long do you propose to hold us here, Jack?' Her usually mellow voice was no longer recognizable from the curt and no-nonsense tones she now used.
Realizing that Emmeline had become adversarial rather suddenly, Jack was caught off-guard.
'Did you think I would never recover my senses at all, then?' Em smoothly enquired, her voice dripping with honey and irony. 'What did you expect? That we would simply be your willing accomplices in whatever grand foray you happen to have in mind for us all, for whatever purpose?'
Jack looked to Aleister, who sat stroking his goatee, and had, oddly, decided to keep mum, for once. Al spared a glance and an elevated eyebrow at Jack, then stared back at the fire and recommenced his whisker-stroking.
Finding no help from that quarter, Jack stood alone then,wondering if he'd perhaps given Em leaded instead of unleaded, inadvertently of course! 'Emmeline...I, I am truly sorry that we had to do what we did, the way we had to do it. That is, to have taken you, and Alice, so...'
'...ambushed, and abducted,' Emmeline supplied.
Jack winced, twisting his mouth into a quick grimace. He looked up at the ceiling and finding no help from on high, he blustered on. 'Yes, alright. It would seem so.' he took a swig of cognac. 'But, oh, Em...we did it only due to the emergency at hand. We had to get you and Alice out of there and away from...harm.'he ended.
'Yes, so you say.'Em kept rotating her cognac methodically.
'Emmeline...luv, do you recall, back at the theatre, I was telling you that we were being followed?' Alice spoke up.
Em frowned into her glass. 'You said that some man had been watching us, so you thought.'
Jack took up the thread,'Yes, the person following you was the one who was responsible for the sigils in our yards. He is not to be trusted, and not someone you would want to meet.' He wasn't sure how much to tell Em. Keeping secrets had made her angry, but neither did he wish to frighten her out of her wits. Well, she didn't seem scared now, but she was obviously feeling less than friendly toward him. 'If we hadn't...taken you both then, he would have.'
Emmeline heaved a heavy sigh,drank off the remainder of her drink and stood. She leisurely walked to the decanter and helped herself to more cognac. 'So. When are we going to learn who this mysterious menace is, and what the bloody hell is this all about, Jack?!'
Three pair of eyes looked up at the heretofore sedate and
proper library lady. Then Alice and Aleister looked to Jack.
'Your call, old boy,'Aleister mumbled quietly.
Jack walked over to Em, and gently took the hand not currently holding either a drink or weapon. 'Very well. We'll
tell you. I'm sorry it had to come out like this. I had hoped for a gentler approach to disclosure. But, you no longer trust us, and this pains me. I do not blame you at all.'he looked up at her then. 'But, whether you will believe me now or not, all we have done has been necessary, and Emmeline, it probably has saved your life.'
He then led her gently back to the sofa and sat beside her.
'Alright. I suppose we'll have to begin at the beginning. Long before I ever thought to be involved with it, or anything to do with my family.' Jack looked at Emmeline. 'You aren't the only one discomfited by familial recollections.' He finished off his remaining brandy, and set down his glass.
'Yes,'he continued in a weary voice,' it's my late Uncle Daryl we all have to thank for this fine mess. At least the part that involves us in particular. Everyone comfortable? It's a tale neither short and certainly not so sweet...'
. . . . .
Hmmm...what goes on here, then?
So Jack, Al & Al all seem to be on the same side vs. Emmeline? or so she surmises...or has this a reach far beyond Time itself--are we all merely pawns in the game of life, as Mongo postulated in Saddles Ablaze? And Jack using Em to gain access to her father's files?--just as Dr. Parsons is perhaps using Alice in his search for the secrets of Frank N. Stein! Holy Mel Brooks! Stay tuned, same batime/batchannel for the next installment of
Emmeline Page, Revolution Solution Librarian!
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