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