"You are familiar with Mary Shelley Sir? Yes, well given that there are other such abominations out there I get the impression that this is just the surface of the water we are looking at."

He leans in as they shake hands and says in a whisper, "It took a full strength punch from me and only seemed to get mad. Perhaps the animal parts are a disguise or a minority of the creatures being."

He turns and addresses Ms. Sanderson, "As you wish m'lady."

He returns to where he was sitting only to notice that the chair he left so quickly had broken into pieces. He picks his small notebook and writing utensil up off the ground and then heads to the back and stands against the wall. He gives a grin and a nod to anybody who tries to make eye contact with him, but leaves it at that.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Thu 27 Aug 2020.

Once matters settled some, Sil took a position near the General and waited for his nod before proceeding.

"There is at least one more thing. The comment from earlier, " she said, "was whether the explosion brought the subject from elsewhere." Her gaze lingered on Angok. "You may all now have a new appreciation for that theory. Ten years ago, Dr. Schiller theorized a new kind of physics and posited that a large enough burst of energy could warp space and time. His work was buried in the literature, and the General's efforts to locate him have proved unsuccessful.

Dr. Rushmore, Dr. Young, and I have extended the math and we believe that Herr Schiller omitted a key component:  a catalyst is necessary. With the right catalyst and the right energy, a portal is, " she looked at the General, then back at the crowd, "plausible. However, the catalyst would not have any of the properties of an element discovered so far on Earth, nor have we been able to pin down its properties.

Like most science, this is only a hypothesis. Our understanding could prove incredibly wrong, and there is much that we cannot explain without firsthand examination of the blast site."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:12, Thu 27 Aug 2020.

 As Ms.Silina explains the concepts of portal technology, the medic moves to aid Arthur. The woman is small but strong enough to guide him back to his chair with her support. The brown haired woman had a simple french braid for her curly hair and a soft demeanor to her eyes, she leans close and says something soothing in his ear that anyone not standing directly by would miss, and lays a gentle hand on his forehead, "calmado"

 The Captain waits until Sil had said her piece and begins again, "my aide will give you all the information you need for embarkation on the Mauretania tomorrow. You'll receive these maps," he holds up a carefully folded map, "once land is reached."

 "Each of you has special gifts," he says with raised eyebrows looking at his water glass on the podium, "that would make most men weep. It's important that you know each other. So that you can utilize these strengths cohesively as a unit, and cover each other's weaknesses. It may seem improper to force you to show the rest of us your natures, but I assure you that this is necessary, but still, I leave it to your discretion if you should decide to come up to demonstrate your abilties to your fellow expedition members. I'll take that as a sign of your willingness to join this endeavor."

 "Before I give the floor to each of you, I also wanted to urge caution against trusting those you find along the way. Your teammates may be the only ones you will be able to trust on this journey. There are doubtless many who would try to do you and our mission harm out of some greedy appetite or another. So keep your wits about you."

 He steps down and takes a seat next to his aide to gather paperwork and distribute the maps and itinerary for the multi-legged journey. "As a precaution, we'll want to keep tabs of this information so please don't take them with you when you leave.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:45, Thu 27 Aug 2020.

Everything happened so fast, that it is only when the large mr. Asar speaks to him that Hiram realises the madness is over, and that he had reacted in the most natural way for him: The moment the beast started rampaging, hiram had flown over the back of his chair and down on the floor, putting as many people and pieces of furniture between himself and the danger.

Getting up of the floor, he takes in Asar's words about Mary Shelley, and more alarmingly so his second muttered sentence. Oddly enough, despite still being afraid, and despite having shown a decidedly cowardly display, he finds himself reassured slightly by the weird calm they all seem to be showing. It only reinforces his belief that they are largely qualified for this sort of thing as opposed to himself, and somehow that helps. Perhaps he can be of use in this obviously monumental happening, without having to be a much better man than he really is.

Giving Asar a low thank you and a grateful, if somewhat shaky smile.
He tries to wrap his head around everything the General and his aide is explaining, but his enthusiasm drains yet again when they mention revealing the group's "gifts".
It's one thing for them to see him as a coward. That is something he owns up to, and at least human. The rest... are things he'd rather forget if he could.

It is no secret to anyone with basic observation skills that the scruffy man is intensely against baring himself like that, as he hunches into himself and a nervous shaking tic shows itself. Mostly he simply tries to seem smaller, perhaps hoping that he will go unnoticed.

Nic almost let out a small chuckle at Ms. Sanderson's words, but instead just hid a smile. Not because he thought her incapable, but that she might perhaps be a bit arrogant to think she would be the overall guiding hand they needed. But for all he knew, she might be, so he held his peace for the moment. I suppose we'll see later if she's 'all hat and no cattle', or something more. She certainly has a high opinion of herself.

He glanced over at one of the other man that had moved quickly, but not towards the creature. He idly wondered if the man was cowardly or very smart.

He stood and walked over towards the man who had stood up, gone pale and then just...stayed standing, and looked...confused? Dazed? Terrified? He placed a gentle hand on Ace's shoulder. "You alright there?"

Soon after, the General was talking again and Nic listened.  He gave a slow nod to the General. "Fine. Sir." It sounded like the slightly-forced politeness of someone who wasn't fond of the military. "I'll go on the expedition. My survival skills, at least, might come in handy."

He was not in a hurry to discuss his...'gifts'...as the General had called them. He shook his head slightly at the idea that everyone picked for the mission had...abilities. That was a scary and sobering thought.

“That...thing! It tried to take over my mind I believe. It was a terrifying experience, but yes, I believe now that I am free, I am hardly any worse for the wear. Thank you.”

Art made sure that he had truly and fully regained his composure before continuing. Walking front and center, Art addresses everyone in the room at once. “To compensate for my poor showing, I think it only fair to reveal my abilities first in order to make recompense.” Art placed a finger to his temple and the notepad that he had left on the table seemed to open up on its own and the pencil beside it began to scribe in the notepad. Telekinesis, the movement of objects merely by thought.”

Art removed his finger from his temple and the pencil laid back down on the table next to the notepad. He gave everyone a moment to take in his display before revealing his second ability. A small shimmer of light encircled Art’s body. “Normally the effects are invisible, but I wanted you to see what was happening. A field of force has surrounded my body like a shield. It provides a level of protection greater than even that of iron, I believe.”

Angok had been about to rush to the aid of man attacked by the strange creature, but was no match for the speed of the large man nearer the front of the room. Shrugging, he turned to Dr. Short, "That man is very fast. That is not normal here, yes?" he asked, and was quickly answered with an affirmative nod. When the general asked everyone to come up to the front, he looked around, noticing a reticence from the others.

With another shrug he started walking purposefully to the front of the room, and once there he turned to the assembled group "I am not from here," he said, without further elaborating on what he meant by 'here.' "I am a hunter by trade, and can withstand the claws of a...I think the term is wolf with little effect. And I can do this," he says as his clothes fall to the floor and where he was standing now hovers a falcon. After a moment, the falcon disappears and is replaced by a grey wolf. Finally the wolf disappears and standing, completely naked and unashamed, is Angok. for a moment he stands there, until his eyes catch something towards the back of the room and he reaches down and begins to pull his pants back on. "Oh, and I have been there," he says as he points to the area of the Tunguska explosion on the picture projected on the wall, "after the explosion."

Sil had taken a seat.  "Exquisite, " she applauded Agent Ace.  "Is there a diminution with distance, similar to physical fields, or do you have a full effect anywhere in range?"

When Angok demonstrated his gifts, Sil sat up. "How does that work?  There is no conservation of mass. Did you see a portal?" Regarding matters of decency, perhaps her eyes stayed focused firmly on his.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:58, Thu 27 Aug 2020.

Ms. Sanderson cleared her throate to gain the attention of the others. ”I have no such bright physical accoutrement to show what I can do. I can hear the way sound bounces off objects, and my mind creates pictures of things the sound touches. I also have a...kind of...intuition about danger. My unconscious mind sees tiny clues I cannot consciously see, and I feel a kind of...buzzing...in the back of my skull. It draws me in the proper direction and increases or decreases with the level of the danger. Physically I am tougher then iron. Bullets will embed themselves in me but do no real damage, at least those of pistols.” She challenged them with her eyes to deny her or claim she was lying. Her fingers wrapped around the hook handle of her umbrella, preparing to back her boasts with it’s rapier edge if necessary,

Nic let out a sigh. People were actually talking about and showing off their...abilities. He had hoped that it wouldn't be a thing they would do. But he couldn't just, in all honestly, say he was a good chap to have in the wilderness when the General said that they all had 'gifts'. And they were supposed to work together, watch each other's backs and whatnot.

When he spoke, his voice was quiet, and he neither got up from his seat, nor looked at anyone. "I was there. Many miles away, of course, or I'd be dead. But the day of the explosion, I was...sort of within visual distance, though that's a broad thing to say. It was visible for...who knows how many miles. Far away but close enough, closer than I'd want to be." He idly scratched the back of his neck and put his hands in his lap. "Something...hit me..." He made a small noise. Bitter amusement? "Knocked me right out, actually." He shook his head.

"I woke up about a month later. And since then..." He seemed hesitant. "I heal faster and...can control, and..." He seemed to search for a word, "...shoot...light."

He didn't look up, his hands were tightly clasped, as if to stop himself from doing something. "I'll give you a small demonstration. Please don't panic."

And all the lights in the room went out. They stayed off just long enough to prove it wasn't a fluke, but came back on but a few seconds later.

Seeing the others talk of their abilities, things Hiram would never expect to see outsider of folklore and legend, he cannot help but cringe a bit. He does not want to speak of his own gifts. They represent the darkest parts og his life, and the less said about them the better.
But these People are going to be his companions on this expedition. Shameful or not, he cannot bear the thought of putting others in danger through ignorance. That'd make him not a coward, but something far less.
So with a deep breath, he picks up after the man Who controls light.
"I... I can eat anything." He stammers "As in, I can ingest anything at All, be it rocks, rubbish or poison, and not only survive with no ill effect but gain nourishment from it. I found this out the Hard way. In a desperate time... furthermore I can mimic the properties of animals. grow gills under water for instance. You could perhaps say I adapt to hardship."

Hiram auses Them, uncertain whether he should mention his last gift, or curse as he considered it. But the door is open, and All must Come out. "I... can also fly into a... rage. A defense mechanism. making me like an animal in mind, feral and violet. but frighteningly strong. I would rather not talk about how it came about." he finishes, his face paling and his now shaking hands quickly shoved into his coat pockets at the memory.

 The General nods to each in turn, his aide taking notes and checking the dossiers. He is doubly amazed at each person's display and is often seen with his mouth agape and seemingly speechless, only to quickly resolve into a wry smile and another nod of encouragement.

 After that the room had descended into a dull roar of several talking groups of staff members conversing about a combination of logistics, possible support avenues and international law hurdles to overcome pertaining to the expedition. When Penny Roberts rejoins the room, she looks disturbed by the incident with the beast, and it casts a shadow over her demeanor. She does her best to hide it but for a few minutes at least, it's plain that it is preoccupying her.

 Beyond that there is little for the group to do but watch slides depicting the legs of their journey which would take them five days to cross the Atlantic on the huge Mauritania ocean liner, four to cross Europe by locomotive train and another six from Moscow to Ilyansky on the new Transiberian Rail, to a small lumber town just past Krasnoyarsk. From there the motor wagon piloted by their porter would take them about 140 km over two days to Vanavara trading post inside the blast zone. The epicenter of the blast would still be 40 km north...they would reach it on the 18th day barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Talk of logistics detailed their spending monies, any accommodations and supplies that could be gleaned on short notice and the possibility of sleeping in tents in Siberian wilderness in December. The gear would have to reflect that. So $106 USD was the figure they came up with to give each of the expedition members. They also adjusted for special requests regarding gear at this stage.
(Worth about $3000 in 2020 adjusted for inflation)

The only support the team would have is a single British zepplin, The Guiding Light. Which in extreme circumstances could be called in to extract the team, but pickup would take four days later from a call on the radio-kit that Mr.Tesla had been commissioned to build over the last month. Reports would signal their progress via the Brits.

To overcome the issue of international borders and treaties, the group would have to get special permission from the Russian diplomatic embassy to disembark on behalf of a foreign government, let alone the nine other countries they would pass through. The red tape would be too much time wasted even for British Intelligence on short notice, so all identification would have to be replaced with new alias and real names not to be used outside the country. To that end each of you should take up a nick or handle for each to use in place of names.

 They go round the room starting with the first to answer...
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:56, Fri 28 Aug 2020.

Asar moves from group to group of those that are making discussions. If he can help with a suggestion, he does, and includes some things they need for the trek. However, between groups he seems to be looking down at the floor a lot missing Penny returning. He still has his journalists notebook and pen, which he uses to jot things down. However, he drops it while on stage at one point.

After Penny does return, it doesn't take long for him to notice her and give her a warm smile. If she responds he will head over to her and ask her if she needs any assistance or a hug.

Earlier

Miss Silina had given a short statement on her abilities. "The main things are that I can project what you might call illusions. I can manipulate sound in a similar fashion. I have a vivid memory of what I see and hear. All I have to do is close my eyes, and I can see an entire world that is interactive -- call it a personal illusion if you like, but it helps me remember and test theories. I've been working on the math I mentioned for the General for the past year. You should know that I'm not very tough and not great in extreme temperatures. I'll be honest--I'm out of my element in Siberia. I will be relying on you."

After

Miss Silina approaches Adam.  "It's quite the crowd here today."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:09, Sat 29 Aug 2020.

Asar:
 Penny ends up bumping into Asar during the meeting and as it adjourns with the promise of everyone to meet at the pier in the morning at the specified meeting place. She takes the opportunity to give him a warm smile and a light touch on the arm as a sign of her friendliness. She is curt and professional however when she disagrees with some of his suggestions, yet she yields to things he says that make sense and seem appropriate.

 "Interesting afternoon I'd say," she replies flatly when some of the people begin to file through the exits yet she hangs back to speak with Asar, "I hope you've enough time to say goodbye to the people you're close to. If you've seen what I've seen then you'd know that you might meet your match out there." She sighs and folds her arms in a moment's contemplation.

---

---

---

Sil Silan:
 Adam watched as a few began to file out, and he turns as Sil approaches to see the bleary eyed look on his face. His fingers brush across his face and to wipe away the sleep that had built up, but he smiles as she approaches, "yeah, it's been an eye opening day I'd say. Oh, I almost forgot, I found something for you."

 He withdraws a piece of paper from his coat pocket in the trifold format, like a letter. When she opens it reads:

Dear Ms.Silina,
 We write to inform you that you are the recipient of our first honorary Masters of Arts in the areas of Linguistics and Cryptography, to formally recognize your level of expertise with matters of such important repercussions for the future. We are interested in speaking to you regarding a teaching position should you be free to pursue such a path in your professional career. Our language arts program would be enhanced by your involvement greatly. In either case, we hope you enjoy the accolades that you so richly deserve and that you are working so hard to attain.

Best Regards,
Alfred Edgar Burton, Dean of Institute
Massachusets Institute of Technology

 Adam smiles as she reads the paper and his smile continues to grow as if he might be unable to contain it. "Martin who keeps watch on your residence got the letter with the morning's mail for you. He set the rest by your door."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:04, Sat 29 Aug 2020.

A somewhat blank expression comes onto Asar's face as he remembers meeting his match in the past. However, it is quickly replaced with a smile and a gleam in his eye.

"Meeting my match certainly may happen, but I am confident that whatever we meet will not be a match for the combined team. I already have some ideas on how we can effectively utilize our abilities in ways that will amplify our effectiveness, at least in theory. I will have to run them by Sil, to let her do calculations. I think there will have to be some experimentation between members of our group to properly gauge effectiveness for her to calculate. I hope we have time and space for such."

He blinks twice when she suggests he needs to say goodbye to anybody. He had assumed she had read his file and knew that he had no one here in America or in Britten. Then again perhaps this was her way of suggesting that he should have someone to say goodbye before he departed. Someone to come back alive to. A slight tilt of the head in her direction, with a slight lean to get closer and he all but whispers, "There is no one here that I am close to yet. However, I would be open to have someone to say goodbye to in the morning."

Nic put in the requests for what he thought might be useful for the travel in Siberia. Since they had the night, he made a quick stop to get some things for himself. He took an hour to write out two letters, which wasn't his strong suit and had several false starts despite him talking through it to himself for a while first.

One was for his friend:



The other for the doctor:


After sending them off, he went to get a bite to eat and a little drinking, but not much. He didn't want to be hungover or out of sorts the next day.

Sil read the letter out loud, then read it again silently to be sure.  "Adam, this is huge! A Masters!  And they want me to teach.  I could work on the syntactical framework for a universal translator. I'm certain one day we'll be able to build one and bring down barriers between nations. I could also meet other scientists, some of the brightest minds in physics and introduce some of my better students from the college and give them opportunities."

She took in his bleary looks.  "Are you getting enough rest? What does the General have you doing?"

Asar:

 Penny's face looked like the clouds had parted, she smirks at Asar as if reading his mind, "I've been waiting for an invitation all afternoon, I read your file but it didn't mention any...entanglements. Honestly I didn't think you'd be so direct, but I wouldn't mind dinner and we can see how we fare..."

 She brushed a lock of hair from her face and gives him a warm, if not entirely blushing grin and a patter of eye lashes for garnish.

Luminary:

 The night passes uneventfully after your letters and dinner. The local drinking establishment, O'Rourke's Spirits, was not crowded on the Wednesday evening and so it was mostly relaxing and contemplative. His sleep however was restful for the most part, though the sliver seems to call out in your dreams to it's brethren...or it could be the whiskey didn't sit well with you.

 Soon you awaken however to the sounds of the city coming to life and the first day of the beginning of your journey.

Sil:

 Adam chuckles when Sil Silan begins plans for the next leg of her career almost immediately. He is a very good natured lad, encouraging in almost every way, it's clear he wants Sil to succeed. "I'm so happy for you, and what a surprise, eh?"

 When she mentions his tired looks he nods whispering, "gangs in the city are vying for territory and power plays right now. We got a tip that a few goons learned about the event and our interest. We've been trying to track down any leads or tails that might be attempting to infiltrate your mission."

 "I'm fine though, it's nothing. Let's go out to celebrate your new prospects!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:08, Mon 31 Aug 2020.

Asar returns the smile and then says, "And I am the one being direct now is it? Well then, I was really hoping that we could have those extra tins of crackers and peanut butter. I know there is not a lot of....special nutrients, but the two pack natural oils, muscle nutrients, and calories that will directly effect the survival of the team if we get stuck in winter. I don't doubt that I could get to civilization just myself, but I a concerned about those less physically fit despite how intelligent or talented they might be. What is that term for getting money when something goes bad and you have made payments...insurance? Call it an insurance policy."

Once they have discussed such minor issues as logistics and set about a final decision he asks her what kind of food she likes and where it can be obtained. Meanwhile, he has been looking about the room taking mental note of where and who people were at various moments in time. Sil seemed exited, but he was more concerned with his future sparing partner Ms. Sanderson. There were so very few woman warriors in his experience, he wondered how her lower center of chi could be used against a tower opponent like himself.

In reply to Sil Silan (msg # 37):

No diminution exactly. Just completely ineffective out of range. Range limit seems to be line of sight. I can move something that I can only see with the aid of a telescope, but I can’t move anything that I can’t see. Not even up close in the dark.”/Purple>

Art listened to the conversations of the others and tried to chime in when he thought of anything helpful. <Purple>“We will have to see just how my force field effects others and maybe set aside some time to practice protection drills.”

Once they were informed that they would need to provide an alias, Art thought about it for a moment. “Lessee. I am Art Adams, what would be wildly different from that? Oh, I got it. How about...”“Jack Kirby!?”

She lifted a brow at the demand for a Nom de Guerrero. ”Ms. Sanderson is my war name, sir. My real shall remain hidden from all, even you.”

 After that the meeting adjourned and the General promised to have the majority of the supplies ready by morning. The small army of accountants available to the Bureau had already begun to calculate the expenditures and had given everyone their checks for the trip.

 The Pier would have the Mauritania ready in the morning...

--- End thread ---