A grand old adventure in a brand new tradition.

[alonelythought]

The light is so bright that at first Tesla thinks he is having one of his episodes, that the crackling flare of color is in his mind only, but he sees his hand against the light, not through it, as he throws it out in a reflexive bid to break his fall. Muscle memory kicks in then, weeks of practicing with the automaton and testing the limits of the

Comments

[war_rani]

The Rani is not out often. In fact, she's been so locked-down in the basement of the Main Gauche that most of its residents may not know that she exists. But every once in a while she needs to go out, either to collect specimens or dispose of them, or because the biodiversity of the apartment complex tends toward the sort of creatures (i.e. sentient and therefore annoying) she really can't stand

[alonelythought]

Turning to survey again this new Chicago, Tesla finds himself confronted with what by all appearances seemed to be a woman in trousers. Remarkable. He smoothes his hair back as best he can, and, keenly (horribly) aware of the woman's extended hand as well as the cuffs of his sleeves flapping obscenely like a common man's, clasps his own hands behind his back and nods gravely to her.

"Good morning, Miss. Perhaps you could direct me to the mayor?"

He finally notices that rather than offering her hand in greeting, however, the woman is holding something. Clears his throat. "Ah, no, no thank you."

[war_rani]

English. Unsurprising for the region, though it's still not her favorite language.

She finishes her scan, lowering the DSACA. "I don't keep apprised of the local politics," she says, with the air of one who resents having to actually talk to people. "You've fallen through a Rift in Time and Space and landed in a universe which is not your own. You cannot go back or you will be destroyed. There are numerous places established by the residents of this world which will provide food and shelter."

Then she turns to walk away, clearly considering her civic duty done. It's not that she doesn't consider the possibility that the man may have additional questions, it's that she doesn't care.

One may wish to stop her. She's not exactly good at this whole "meeting new people" thing.

[alonelythought]

"Yes, I had suspected as much." So he has succeeded, in part, in taking a spacetime shortcut from his beloved New York to Chicago--it is simply not the right Chicago. No matter. He'll just have to reconstruct the teleportation device from memory (easily done), return to his laboratory, recalibrate the original, and try again. Oh, but he hasn't the resources in this universe. No matter. He'll just have to prevail upon the local community to contribute to the advancement of Science, find a new workspace, reconstruct the teleportation device

[war_rani]

Oh, the Rani hasn't really got far. She's actually examining some oddly-discolored moss on a tree just a bit down the street, with a squirrel chittering happily and climbing down the bark in short bursts toward her. Her dog is looking up at it placidly, and turns to look at Tesla when he draws near again. She lets out an inquisitive "Byawp?"

The Rani looks up as well, absently keying something into her DSACA as the squirrel pauses, evaluating the newcomer with dark little eyes. The Rani exhales, clipping the DSACA to her belt again.

He's human. She already knows that. The fact that he doesn't seem bothered by his predicament makes him slightly less uninteresting, but only that. "Do you need something?"

[alonelythought]

He notices the squirrel before he sees the woman, and mutters to himself, "One could use a squirrel cage, yes," until the Rani's question breaks into his reverie. "Do I...? Mm. Mm. Yes: gloves, one pair, grey suede; cufflinks, one pair, silver, plain; an updated encyclopedia; this year's almanac; today's newspaper; laboratory space, at least 1200 square feet; contact information of the local steelworkers' union; a stationery set, plain; a fresh pot of Colombian coffee, strong." Then remembers that this is not one of his harried assistants and adds, "Thank you."

[war_rani]

The Rani watches him, a vague - vague - sense of amusement beginning to rise out of her universal annoyance. "You're a scientist?" she asks, not that she has much faith that this little race will ever produce a specimen worthy of the name. Still, she can respect the drive to attempt it, even if she ridicules the faith they have in their own intellectual ability

[alonelythought]

"Yes. My name is Nikola Tesla. And you are...?" He keeps his hands behind his back; introductions so often come with them the threat of the handshake, though the woman seems to be more interested in capturing small animals than in indulging in that terrible ritual. His eyebrow rises minutely when the squirrel is rendered unconscious.

"I would be much appreciative if you did so. As for my work, I often concentrate my efforts in..." he pauses for a breath, glances from the squirrel to Rani's face, and finishes mildly, "electrical engineering." His own world was not ready for the scope of his experiments, and he has no reason yet to opine that this world has a stronger constitution.

[war_rani]

Electrical engineering. He might as well have introduced himself as part of the Commission on How To Create Fire.

"The Rani," she says. "Genetic engineer."

She steps toward the street, locates a taxi, and waves to it imperiously. The driver draws up, eager for more business, before noticing the squirrel and the large white dog. But by that time the Rani has already opened the door and stepped in, and Specimen 139 has stepped demurely in after her.

"Come on."

[alonelythought]

For the first time Tesla looks at the Rani and actually sees her, as though she may as well have been a clever automaton before. Genetics is something, at least, in which he has a passing interest "Has this America caught on to eugenics yet?"

Oh good lord. Does she actually expect him to ride in one of these things? Evidently so. And if even the dog can do it...

He slides cautiously into the automobile after her, mindful of his fingers and toes. He fishes his handkerchief out of his pocket and, keeping it between his palm and the handle, closes the door after him. Thank God he had one available, though he will have to burn it later. He folds the thing gingerly and slips it back into his pocket.

[war_rani]

The Rani gives the cabbie brusque directions, and he starts off with a shrug. It's Chicago. He's seen weirder things climb into his car.

"Not so far as I'm aware. I'm not American. I ended up here after falling through a similar Rift while on field assignment from Gallifrey."

She watches him handle the door, and pulls one more thing off her belt.

One thing about the Rani: her hygene is impeccable. She deals with chemicals and mutagenic agents; it has to be. The latest belt-thing is a small canister mostly full of an unidentifiable blue liquid, with something resembling a spray dispenser on one end. She holds it out.

"Vapor sanitizer."

[alonelythought]

"Ah. I myself was born in Croatia, though I have recently attained American citizenship." He sits up a little straighter as he says the last part, though his brow furrows when he recalls that his citizenship papers are in his own world.

"This 'Gallifrey,' I do not believe I have heard of it." He shifts uncomfortably, remembering also that the only other world he has encountered even slightly was home to winged demons and smelly meat-roots. He tries surreptitiously to spot any odd protrusions at the Rani's shoulder blade region. "Is it very different from this world?"

Tesla eyes the cannister with avid interest. A portable sanitizer? No. Too good to be true. "How does it perform its function?"

[war_rani]

And he can surmise that Gallifrey is another world. Fascinating. He goes up another notch in her estimation, which puts him head and shoulders above most humans and still near the bottom of the ladder when it comes to Time Lords

[alonelythought]

Much more advanced. Niko suspects with increasing confidence that his own world might be something of a backwater in the grand scheme of things. What he is beginning to think of as "his" Chicago has been known as the White City, but this version, though it retains a good number of familiar architectural touches, seems somehow... shinier. Not to mention these automobiles--so sleek, so plentiful on the streets, not to mention indestructible, if the cabbie's haphazard maneuvers at this velocity is any indication.

Nik feels a little hollow inside. Back home he was too far advanced beyond his contemporaries for comfort. Could it be the reverse here? How much will he have to study before he catches up?

He forces him to focus again on the subject at hand: a portable sanitizer. An intelligent portable sanitizer. Again, the implications are... "Remarkable," he says calmly. "I assume there have already been steps toward reformatting it for biological warfare?"

[war_rani]

Biological warfare. That speaks volumes about the man and his assumptions. "My species moved beyond biological warfare centuries ago," she says. They moved on to temporal warfare - annihilating their enemies so that they had never existed. "No scientific establishment on this planet has had access to my equipment, and I don't plan to turn it over to them."

Around this point the cabbie decides that the sooner he can get these people out of his car, the better, and really guns it toward Cicero. He'd just stop and tell them to get out here, but the woman looks rather unfriendly and the man was just talking about biological warfare.

The Rani seems supremely unconcerned.

[alonelythought]

Almost about to crow elation at the thought of a society having moved beyond warfare entirely (sometimes Niko hears what he wants to hear), the Serb sobers abruptly. This Rani character doesn't smell like a flyingmeatrootdemonthing. Then Niko remembers a curious signal he received once, a signal he hadn't been able to source, a signal that was seemingly broadcasted from the very heavens... A simple enough message: One, two, three.

"Your... species? I apologize Miss, for here I was under the assumption that you are another mere mortal such as myself. Are you, then, from..." he points to the ceiling of the car as his voice drops to a whisper, "out there?" Spacemen! Martians! He knew it!

His excitement is dampened somewhat when the vehicle he retroactively regrets boarding careens around a corner, flattening Nik against the window. He mutters against the glass with as much dignity as he can under the circumstances muster, "Sir Driver, kindly keep in mind that your cargo includes live passengers, not rutabagas."