Zac's legs felt frozen to the floor as he took in the site of the skeleton. He grit his teeth and put his hand to his mouth, willing Nate to get out of the way, even as the reporter in him noticed his hand going to his pack. He felt sick to his stomach, but stopped short of throwing up.

[OOC: Zachary O'Conner rolled 3,9 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+3)9. Vigor. Whew. ]

((OOC: The action is in Black Jack and Nate William's court now.))

"Mrs Fairchild, I have no desire to make a commotion in your establishment. Perhaps you can ask this spectre to leave your establishment." Jack said as he watched the spirit carefully.

Mrs. Fairchild doesn't reply to Black Jack...she's too busy glaring at Roger, who has just begun laughing.

Nate, about to spring whatever half-formed plan he'd concocted, watches as the spiky apparition suddenly splits apart into long bars of shadow that resemble nothing more than spindly fingers. He slips the grip of the pistol he was about to pull back into his pouch.

Roger continues laughing, a deep chuckle that could put any melodrama villain to shame. He waves his fingers in front of the lantern once everyone's attention is on him.

"Shadow puppet." he says, grinning at Zachery. "Nothing more substantial than a trick of the light mixed with theatrics and your own gullibility. But you really should have seen the look on your face as it sprung forth from nothingness! If I had an Epitaph camera, I wager I could have sold the plate for a substantial sum!"

Mrs. Fairchild continues to glare at him. "...are you quite finished, Mr. Sebastian?" she says, her tone indicating he'd better be.

"Just a demonstration, my dear, of the power of suggestion." Roger replies glibly. "Young mister...O'Connor, was it? Mister O'Connor, you wanted to know if there were a scientific explanation for ghosts, as opposed to spiritual. There is, but I fancy it's not the explanation you were hoping for. The truth is, if you go poking around for ghosts, you are apt to find all sorts of things you can mistake for ghostly activity, and miss the reality of the situation. This is true of many other things in life. Don't look for facts to fit some preconceived notion...look at the evidence first, and then draw conclusions. That's the basis of actual scientific inquiry."

He sits back in his chair and shuffles his deck. "Anyone for another game?"

"Roger, you near to frightened the living daylights out of me!"  Janet picked up her cards.  "Here you go.  So now you're playing with a full deck!"


07:23, Today: Janet Weiss rolled 5,10 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+4)10. Knowledge: Occult.

"Oh, I haven't been playing with one of those in quite some time, my dear." Roger grins.

11:16, Today: Black Jack Boudreaux rolled 3,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5.

Jack laughed, at no moment had he ever showed the slightest fear of the spirit "I can always appreciate a good joke, but my old Grandma taught me never to play cards with an illousionist."

In reply to Black Jack Boudreaux (msg # 192):

"Oh, but it's like playing against any other sort of cardsharp or hustler." Roger replies. "Once you know the trick, it's easy enough to play around it. Although, if you don't fancy a game, I could always use the cards a different way. Say, to tell you your fortune?"

Zac smiled weakly, he was all for a good joke, but this seemed more than a simple lesson or joke, "You make a good point, sir, if slightly over playing it," he said with some soreness in his voice still.

"Yet, I have seen things that were not mere shadow puppets, nor explained away as easily as a gullible reporter or trick of the light. I neither believe nor no not believe in ghosts. But I have experienced things I cannot explain or rather the explanations do not always feel sufficient. You offer one explanation, quite dramatically, " if rudely, he thought to himself, "I only wonder if the Professor could offer... others."

"Still,"he offered somewhat conciliatory, "that was quite an impressive and realistic trick."


[OOC: 15:02, Today: Zachary O'Conner rolled 1,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1. Knowledge Occult. Ouch. That's pretty rough.]

"Well.."

The Professor pauses before replying


20:32, Today: The Professor rolled 1,9 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+5)11. Knowledge occult.

PM

"Clearly what we witnessed was more substantial than a simple visual perception trick. Oh, such techniques were involved, no doubt, but the fact that the entity interacted with the three dimensional space around it suggests that it was formed of Aether. For the layman, Aether is the substance that exists in between the three dimensional space that you or I exist in.

Congratulations, Mr. Sebastian, on your demonstrated ability to manipulate the Aether in such a skilled manner. I only wonder where your apparatus is hidden, as such a feat would require an investure of large quantities of energy."

Roger smiles. "Well, that, I'm afraid, I cannot share with you. A magician never reveals all of his secrets, after all. It tends to ruin the illusion. But yes, I admit to a tiny amount of aetheric manipulation in my impromptu production. Are you, perchance, versed in the ways of the New Science?"

"New Science? It is really just Science isn't it? Science is all about understanding the new.  Anyway, yes...I am a Scientist...to answer your question."

"Well, of course all scientific progress is directed toward understanding and exploiting the new. But I'm talking about those branches of inquiry that seek to bridge the worlds of academia and the occult, to find rational explanations so seemingly 'supernatural' occurrences. That field is oft maligned by those who have limited imagination, though I don't see why. It's adherents of this branch of the sciences that most often espouses Aetheric Theory, which prompted my question."

"A true Scientist would not discount the evidence of so called 'supernatural' events. They are simply labeled occult or supernatural because we have yet to fully understand the Scientific underpinnings of the phenomena.  Much like early man who thought that lightning was Zeus throwing thunderbolts, those who say that Science has no place exploring the occult are locked into an unsophisticated way of thinking."

"Professor, you are a man after my own heart." Roger says. "Will you sit and have a drink with me? I feel this could be the beginning of a remarkable and intellectually stimulating friendship."

He heads over to the bar and pours two glasses of brandy. Mrs. Fairchild, meanwhile, takes Nate's bags and heads upstairs to show him his room.

Roger holds a glass out for the Professor. "Tell me, sir. Are you familiar with cartomancy? The reading of Tarot cards and such to divine the future?"

The Professor accepts the drink from Roger, warming the glass with his hands as he replies, "I know of it, but I know little of the occult theory behind it.  Why do you ask?"

"Because I practice it, and if you are interested I can perform a demonstration, but I wanted to gauge out your opinion of the practice first." Roger says, taking a sip. "I dabble in the art of gambling as my primary means of support, but I've always been fascinated by the interplay of cards, fortune, and fate. If you are game, or wish to learn more of the subject, I can show you some of what I have learned. If, on the other hand, you are skeptical of the practice, or one of those closed-minded debunkers of mediums, then no demonstration I provide is likely to change your mind. So which is it?"

Jack had no interest in having Roger involve himself in his future.

"I'm not skeptical that you have the ability to manipulate Aetheric forces. I AM skeptical that you will simply be looking at the realm of probabilities without manipulating them. If you give me your word that you will simply be an observer or a messenger in this process, then I woul love to see a demonstration."

Zac watched the interaction between the Professor and Mr Whateley. He was coming to the conclusion that Mr Whateley was not someone to be trusted, whether it was the odd feeling he gave off, his "shadow" puppet trick, or lying about the nature of his trick, he was not sure.

It seemed the professor had a similar feeling. The young reporter reached into his pocket and opened his notebook. He wrote the word, AETHER, then underlined it, with a small circled question mark. Beside that he wrote and arrow and "Ask The Professor."

Roger laughs. "You have a high opinion of my talents, Professor! I'm magician and a card sharp, not some dread wizard down from some tower, weaving hexes and blights. Besides, it's the past and the present I read with clarity. The future is always vague and uncertain. I can answer questions about where you've been, but as for where you're going...I can only provide signposts." He shuffles his deck. "Still, if you must have my word that I will not tangle the skein of fate, you have it. It's an easy one to give, since I couldn't break it even if I were inclined to."

"Well then Mr. Sebastian.  Show us your demonstration then."

This thread is now closed. Please resume posting on the Chapter 3.1: Hickok's Revenge thread.