[Mattie feels the ground give way under her feet, panic closing off her throat as she begins to fall, scrabbling uselessly at dirt and brush
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Willful children who know their own mind and rail against their unlawful incarceration strike a particularly familiar note with Godric. You could say he has something of a soft spot.
"Calm yourself," he begins gently, judging by her dress and manner that she'll be unfamiliar with the technology she's about to face. "You're in no immediate danger."
When Mattie discovers the tablet, she'll see a pale boy who looks not much older than she, but a closer inspection often tends to throw that observation into doubt. He doesn't behave quite like a 16-year-old boy from any era.
Mattie turns quickly at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, halting with a startled expression when faced with a still-empty room. Being far from dim-witted, however, she hesitantly follows the sound until it leads her to the tablet.
She's just not sure what to make of it, though. So she clasps her hands behind her back and eyes the image in front of her suspiciously.
"That is quite a statement coming from a devil in a mirror, sir. If you release me immediately, I will consider forgetting I ever saw you and will not send for a clergyman to perform your exorcism."
Mattie likely doesn't belief she's really speaking to a devil, but she tends to fall back sharp and clever words when in uncertain situations. This time her tone lacks a touch of its usual bite, however -- maybe the reassuring gentleness is working against her will, or maybe it's the influence of seeing a face familiar in age if not in gender.
For a moment, Godric smiles widely, amused. He's been called many things over the centuries, but 'devil in a mirror' is new and strangely appealing. Something to do with the common myth that vampires have no reflection, perhaps.
"If I had the power to release you, I would do so, but I fear I am as trapped as you. The image you see is no trick or magic, but merely the communication device we're all given upon our arrival in that room. I see you upon mine as you see me upon yours, but neither of us is in fact inside the device."
That coaxes a tentative little smile from Mattie in return, and she relaxes just a very little bit. His words make sense, even if what they imply seems impossible (and a little frightening).
"I do not see how a...'communication device' allows you to see through to another's face." It's not an accusation, more like a request for more information. (Granted, a request shaped very much like a somewhat childish demand.) "And I do not see how I can have fallen down a hole and come up in a prison instead."
Those are for storybooks, not practical young women like Mattie.
"It is only technology, simply beyond what you know. That same advanced technology has allowed our captors to bring us here, from wherever we might have been before. You fell down a hole; I was on a roof, in Dallas." He neglects to mention he had died before arriving in Taxon, or that he's from a different time; there are only so many shocks a single person can absorb at once. One thing at a time.
Well Dallas she's heard of, so at least there's some common ground there. "What do they want? I cannot stay here, I must assure that Tom Cheney is dead of his wound or taken before a judge to be hanged and then I am expected home."
A fierceness creeps into her voice that wasn't present before. Captivity can be damned, Mattie has unfinished business.
Bloodlust is also something Godric is familiar with, and he regards Mattie steadily and without judgment, nodding once.
"What is your name? Mine is Godric." There's something to his tone and body language that suggests he isn't ignoring her question, but the conversation they're about to have will be more comfortable if they're on more familiar standing.
"More than a year now. There's a city outside that room you're in, designed for us to live in, but inescapable. And escapes have been tried. We hear from our abductors from time to time, but they are unreasonable."
He observes her a moment, wondering at the wisdom of telling her everything, but knowing it's ultimately impossible not to do so. "Would it frighten you, Mattie, to know that our captors are not of our world? That we are, as far as we know, no longer on Earth?"
He hopes it doesn't, but for all her apparent strength, Mattie is a young girl from Yell County, Arkansas, in what looks to be the late 1800s or early 1900s. Godric doubts she's ever concerned herself with matters beyond her home, much less her planet.
Well that's a strange and unexpected bit of information, and Mattie finds it difficult to maintain her composure. The idea of places outside of her own world is just fantasy, and fantasy has very little place in the lift of Mattie Ross.
"But I cannot..." She swallows hard and glances away, looking very young for a moment. "I have fifty dollars and a California gold piece. It belonged to my father but I believe he would not begrudge me parting with it in such circumstances. Perhaps if they cannot be reasoned with, they may be bribed."
Her words sound plaintive even to her own ears, but Mattie even imagined such a situation, let alone having to face it by herself.
Godric shakes his head, sympathetic to Mattie's desperation, but unwilling to let her entertain fantasies of her own making.
"If they craved money, they would simply have taken it. They easily have the power." He shifts in his seat, bringing attention to the fact that up until now, he's been strangely still. Most people would fidget.
"If it's a comfort to you, the people here are often returned to their place of origin, with no time having passed. Should you escape this place eventually, Mattie Ross, you'll find your life unchanged, and find Tom Chaney as you left him, though I am at a loss to say how it's possible."
Mattie isn't pleased at all to hear her captors wield such power. Things are looking only more and more distressing, and were she alone, she might already let herself indulge in a moment of tears.
"How can you know?" She takes a deep breath to steady herself, grasping onto the distraction provided by arguing and questioning. Godric can't possibly know how grateful she is inside for his willingness to put up with it. "Unless they send word to say so, and if that is true then why do they not send help as well?"
"Sometimes they return. They tell us they had no memory of being abducted once sent home, but upon returning here, they often remember everything, and can tell us what occurred in their lives since we last saw them. No one knows precisely how it all works, but these are the truths as we know them."
Godric is accustomed to these questions by now, and resolves again to compile a guide for newcomers. Too many things are often lost in translation when it isn't written down.
"I'm sorry I can't return you home, Mattie, but I can tell you how to leave that room and find your way in the city."
There's little argument Mattie can offer against that, and she feels certain Godric isn't lying to her.
"I am relieved to hear that there is a way out, even if it will only lead me further into this place. If you will point me in the proper direction, I will be much obliged."
"If you lift the tablet -- the communication device -- and bring it with you, a door will open. It will lead you to the stairs into the Sanctuary. From there, you have your choice of where you might go. There are temporary rooms to be found in the Sanctuary, or in hotels. You may claim an empty house if you please, but you may wish to wait until you're more familiar with your surroundings."
There are many more things to explain, such as the bracelet and how currency works, or the hatches, and he has every intention of getting to them in time. A place to settle simply seems the most important to finding one's feet, and he's fully prepared for Mattie's shock when she sees the very eclectic -- but at least partially modern -- city of Taxon.
Mattie considers this information, along with what she's gleaning from others talking to her, and begins to formulate a plan of how to proceed. Of course, she's sure there will obstacles (including the other residents of this place, some of whom seem to have very set ideas on how she should proceed), but Mattie tends to get her own way in the end.
"A gentleman has proposed to meet me outside, I suspect because he feels I am not capable of finding my own way. But I suppose it will be helpful for someone to point me in the direction I may best proceed." She pauses, and lets some of that (slightly defensive) pride slip away. "Perhaps I may seek your guidance as well, on occasion?"
"Calm yourself," he begins gently, judging by her dress and manner that she'll be unfamiliar with the technology she's about to face. "You're in no immediate danger."
When Mattie discovers the tablet, she'll see a pale boy who looks not much older than she, but a closer inspection often tends to throw that observation into doubt. He doesn't behave quite like a 16-year-old boy from any era.
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She's just not sure what to make of it, though. So she clasps her hands behind her back and eyes the image in front of her suspiciously.
"That is quite a statement coming from a devil in a mirror, sir. If you release me immediately, I will consider forgetting I ever saw you and will not send for a clergyman to perform your exorcism."
Mattie likely doesn't belief she's really speaking to a devil, but she tends to fall back sharp and clever words when in uncertain situations. This time her tone lacks a touch of its usual bite, however -- maybe the reassuring gentleness is working against her will, or maybe it's the influence of seeing a face familiar in age if not in gender.
Reply
"If I had the power to release you, I would do so, but I fear I am as trapped as you. The image you see is no trick or magic, but merely the communication device we're all given upon our arrival in that room. I see you upon mine as you see me upon yours, but neither of us is in fact inside the device."
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"I do not see how a...'communication device' allows you to see through to another's face." It's not an accusation, more like a request for more information. (Granted, a request shaped very much like a somewhat childish demand.) "And I do not see how I can have fallen down a hole and come up in a prison instead."
Those are for storybooks, not practical young women like Mattie.
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A fierceness creeps into her voice that wasn't present before. Captivity can be damned, Mattie has unfinished business.
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"What is your name? Mine is Godric." There's something to his tone and body language that suggests he isn't ignoring her question, but the conversation they're about to have will be more comfortable if they're on more familiar standing.
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"Mattie Ross," she answers, after a moment spent scrutinizing the boy's face. "From Yell County, Arkansas. How- how long have been captive here?"
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He observes her a moment, wondering at the wisdom of telling her everything, but knowing it's ultimately impossible not to do so. "Would it frighten you, Mattie, to know that our captors are not of our world? That we are, as far as we know, no longer on Earth?"
He hopes it doesn't, but for all her apparent strength, Mattie is a young girl from Yell County, Arkansas, in what looks to be the late 1800s or early 1900s. Godric doubts she's ever concerned herself with matters beyond her home, much less her planet.
Reply
"But I cannot..." She swallows hard and glances away, looking very young for a moment. "I have fifty dollars and a California gold piece. It belonged to my father but I believe he would not begrudge me parting with it in such circumstances. Perhaps if they cannot be reasoned with, they may be bribed."
Her words sound plaintive even to her own ears, but Mattie even imagined such a situation, let alone having to face it by herself.
Reply
"If they craved money, they would simply have taken it. They easily have the power." He shifts in his seat, bringing attention to the fact that up until now, he's been strangely still. Most people would fidget.
"If it's a comfort to you, the people here are often returned to their place of origin, with no time having passed. Should you escape this place eventually, Mattie Ross, you'll find your life unchanged, and find Tom Chaney as you left him, though I am at a loss to say how it's possible."
Reply
"How can you know?" She takes a deep breath to steady herself, grasping onto the distraction provided by arguing and questioning. Godric can't possibly know how grateful she is inside for his willingness to put up with it. "Unless they send word to say so, and if that is true then why do they not send help as well?"
Reply
Godric is accustomed to these questions by now, and resolves again to compile a guide for newcomers. Too many things are often lost in translation when it isn't written down.
"I'm sorry I can't return you home, Mattie, but I can tell you how to leave that room and find your way in the city."
Reply
"I am relieved to hear that there is a way out, even if it will only lead me further into this place. If you will point me in the proper direction, I will be much obliged."
Reply
There are many more things to explain, such as the bracelet and how currency works, or the hatches, and he has every intention of getting to them in time. A place to settle simply seems the most important to finding one's feet, and he's fully prepared for Mattie's shock when she sees the very eclectic -- but at least partially modern -- city of Taxon.
Reply
"A gentleman has proposed to meet me outside, I suspect because he feels I am not capable of finding my own way. But I suppose it will be helpful for someone to point me in the direction I may best proceed." She pauses, and lets some of that (slightly defensive) pride slip away. "Perhaps I may seek your guidance as well, on occasion?"
Reply
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