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[studiesemerald]

It's been a few weeks since Moriarty has been up and about among his fellow Mansion residents. As it happens, today finds him cheerfully wandering around the library, flipping through seemingly random books at an alarming pace. If asked, he would respond that he is attempting to find possible explanation for the divergence between his own history

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[doctor_pascal]

Here's another nerdy bookworm, very absorbed in a book about oneiromancy and mediation of spirits.

He has a wide selection on his table, though, including works by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and a treaty on the treatment of post-traumatic disorder and shell shock.

He could be disturbed, though. Pascal is a friendly fellow (and has met Moriarty in the past.)

[studiesemerald]

Moriarty very nearly bumps into the table.

"Oh, dear! Ah, Dr. Rougon! Might I ask what all of this is...for?"

[doctor_pascal]

He looks up, it takes him a moment to place the mathematician. "Ah, Monsieur Moriarty. Just Pascal, please." He smiles, offers a handshake. "I suppose it would be my current project, yes?"

[studiesemerald]

Moriarty sets down his own books and warmly shakes Pascal's hand.

"How fascinating...not to mention rather eclectic, if I do say so myself. Might I inquire as to the subject of this project?"

It can't be much weirder than anything Moriarty's researched.

[doctor_pascal]

"Oh, a little project to try and bring together my field of research and my associate's," Pascal explain. "I am considering the use of magic in the healing of the human body and mind - though I am nowhere close to any clinical attempts of any sort."

[studiesemerald]

"Really? Have you discovered anything interesting so far?"

[doctor_pascal]

"Several concepts certainly deserve to be considered," Pascal replies, carefully. "But I can't quite claim a discovery as of yet."

[studiesemerald]

"I am afraid it is much the same with my own research."

[doctor_pascal]

Pascal tilts his head, intrigued. "Oh? May I ask what your current focus is?"

[studiesemerald]

"The arrival of the Royal Families in my world, among other things."

[doctor_pascal]

"Ah, yes. The Royal family." Gah. "How has your investigation been so far?"

[studiesemerald]

"Excruciating."

He makes a face.

"The men who thought to set down these events were needlessly poetic and long-winded."

[doctor_pascal]

"I see," Pascal replies, thoughtfully. "How old is the chronicle?"

[studiesemerald]

"The original story was recorded in Arabic some time in the 730's. Thought the ravings of a madman, the narrative was generally ignored for some time. After Her Majesty's actual arrival and ascent in the mid-1000's, however, it was translated into Greek and Latin, with numerous additional material and commentaries. By the 16th and 17th centuries, copies began to be published in the vernacular. This particular edition seems to be from the late 1550's. A wonder it survived, really, but one wonders if Mr. Dee had to insert his own superstitions into the analysis."

[doctor_pascal]

Pascal chuckles a little, amused. "Superstitions, really?" You're investigating beings with an octopus for a face, isn't anything free-game? "Of what sort?"

[studiesemerald]

"Oh, just little odds and ends...mostly attempts to flatter Her Majesty and crush his own rivals. The usual political tricks of those who claim to be psychic yet lack the aptitude."

The flattery, Moriarty thinks, is rather pointless when one's ruler can actually read--and, in some cases, control--minds, but that hasn't stopped centuries of ministers, consorts, and would-be nobles from trying.