Patchwork Universe

Dr Jewel · Posted: 18 Feb 2004 01:59 pm Post subject: The very odd couple

Dr Jewel picked her way across the field, sticking to a gentle pace to ensure that the man in the diving suit could keep up with her. She did her best to avoid tree branches and bushes because she was sure that she upset him every time she walked through one. Although, as she privately admitted, coming to terms with that aspect of things was also a personal difficulty.

"It's all pretty flat around here, Doctor." She said out loud. "There's a couple of gentle hills to the east of Maypole Hill. Or perhaps I should say that there used to be. I haven't been over to the east side of the village yet. I know that there's another layer of mist off to the north though and it looks very uninviting."

She paused to take stock of her surroundings.

"If we head that way," she pointed, "you'll get to see the western edge of the village before we reach the dig site. We'll miss the High Street, but there's a couple of side roads and a pub called 'The Lamb and Fleece' that my team treat as a local. Plus, I dare say, some of the villagers will be wandering in and out."

Dr Jewel Hart glanced again at her companion.

"Or perhaps you'd prefer to give the village a miss right now ?"

Dr. William T. Odom · Good Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 63 Location: The Museum

Dr. Odom looked a little wistful at the mention of the pub. He had not thought to bring and currency with him, however, and if Dr. Jewel's behavior was any indication he doubted very much if he would be able to drink anything served to him. Still . . .

"I would like to get indoors for a spell before we see the site, if it's all the same to you. I have only been out of the Museum twice in the last seventeen years. Once was to assist in unloading a new find and the other was yesterday. The goings-on at the site sound as if they could be very unsettling and I would like to spend a few moments with a roof and walls between me and . . ." Dr. Odom waved a hand at the sky and the open land. His voice was a little more high-pitched and hurried than it had been in the Museum, even when he had begun to accept Dr. Jewel's declaration of deceased status. He tried to unbow his shoulders, lift his head a little in the heavy metal helmet, and straighten his legs and back. "This is not an . . . ah . . . a familiar set of circumstances and anything we could do to take it a step at a time would go a long way toward making the trip more bearable."

Looking back, Dr. Odom marveled at how much smaller the museum looked from the outside, judging from the wall of mist.

"Have you checked the south or east?" he asked, trying to lose his tension in other comments Dr. Jewel had made. "This wall to the north. Is it as . . . well, regular as that in front of the Museum appears to be? I don't get down by the front door often. I wonder how long this mist has been here."

Dr Jewel · Posted: 19 Feb 2004 02:02 pm Post subject:

"The mist to the North is particularly uninviting." Dr Jewel replied. "I think it gets very thick very quickly and, somehow, I wasn't keen on walking through it. I'm not entirely certain of how long it's been there as I've been staying in either the site or the village. However, I'm pretty sure that it can't have been there a week ago. As far as the rest of the area is concerned, I haven't checked either the south or the east at all yet. However I could easily go and have a look later on before it gets dark."

They were getting closer to the village itself and Jewel could see people in the distance. She wondered whether they would react at all to Dr Odom's outfit or even acknowledge his presence. On balance she decided that they would; it was simply their disembodied state that the villagers were, understandably, in denial about. She then turned to look at Dr Odom, trying to assess the extent of his agoraphobia.

"I think we could pop into the Lamb and Fleece." She finally remarked. "I could probably talk Henry, the barman, into letting you pull your own pint to save a certain amount of... trouble. I'll explain away your outfit as some sort of charity event - if you're happy with that ?"

Dr. William T. Odom · Good Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 63 Location: The Museum

"My outfit?" Dr. Odom blinked a few times in surprise while that general region of his face tried to remember how to frown in perplexity. "I know the belt doesn't go with the suit but the one in the display was rather badly damaged."

Dr Jewel · Posted: 20 Feb 2004 02:57 pm Post subject:

"I meant more the whole 'diving suit miles from the sea' side of it." Dr Jewel said hesistantly. "But then, they're used to us bringing in unusual equipment. Probably won't even ask. And I think that the belt goes fine."

Dr. William T. Odom · Good Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 63 Location: The Museum

Fortunately for Dr. Odom the cigarette was in his hand rather than his mouth. because when he nodded his acceptance and understanding (an understanding he felt was not entirely justified) the heavy glass faceplate swung forward on its hinge and clapped loudly against the helmet rim in front of his face before swinging open again as he jerked his head back in surprise. In an instant it was over. His composure returned. He kept his eyes fixed on the village and away from the threatening emptiness overhead.

Dr Jewel · Posted: 23 Feb 2004 02:36 pm Post subject:

Dr Jewel Hart led the way to the Lamb and Fleece. They passed a couple of villagers, both of whom stared with some surprise and much amusement at Dr Odom, and Jewel nodded cheerfully to both.

The pub looked just as it always did. The hanging baskets on the front white wall contained a mixture of tulips and daffodils, still in the process of opening. The sign appeared freshly polished depicting a field of white sheep. The front door stood open, much to Jewel's relief.

The barman looked up as they walked in. There were only five customers, three on stools at the bar and two tucked away on corner tables. The three at the bar looked up with amusement and two of them sniggered.

"This is Dr Odom." Dr Jewel said briskly. "He's helping us today and brought special equipment."

"Looks uncomfortable." The barman wore a broad grin. "And heavy. But I'm sure a pint or two would make it easier to bear. What can I get you ?"

"Just a coffee for me." Dr Jewel put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a set of coins.

She put a couple of them down on the bar and they dropped with a definite 'chink' which suggested that they might really be there.

"What can I get you Doctor ?" She asked.

Dr. William T. Odom · Good Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 63 Location: The Museum

Responding to the villagers' amusement with a weak smile, Dr. Odom hid his struggle against the urge to order a large whisky behind his struggle with the latches on the helmet. He lifted it off, placed it carefully on the bar, and smoothed his slightly damp hair. He studied the decore with a methodical sweep of his eyes, as if cataloging the room, and breathed deeply of the odors peculiar to a public house.

"I think a small lager or shandy should be enough," Dr. Odom answered. Perhaps the barman's confused expression was only in Dr. Odom's imagination, but he explained, "I would rather not hurry out of this suit if I need to use your conveniences."

Dr. Odom began to fashion yet another cigarette with moist, unsteady hands. Standing in a miniscule building -- but, at least, indoors -- a mile that seemed like twenty, across open ground, from the Museum, in the company of seven people who, according to one, were dead, on the way to see some sort of animated corpse, Dr. Odom stopped worrying about the past day's tobacco use.

Dr Jewel · Posted: 24 Feb 2004 11:13 pm Post subject:

The barman turned to the coffee machine and spent a minute moving his hands over it. He then turned back to the bar and placed nothing upon it with the sort of flourish that led Dr Jewel to believe her drink had been served.

In contrast, the half-glass he fetched down from the curved shelf above the polished bar was real. As was the lager he proceeded to fill it with. He then failed to pick up the offered coins, but rang the till up and dropped nothing into it.

"I don't imagine that you get many orders for coffee." Dr Jewel surreptitiously scooped her change back into her pocket as she spoke.

"True enough." The barman acknowledged with a smile. "A pint of ale or a double gin and tonic is more to the taste of my locals."

"Somehow, I thought that might be the case."

Dr. William T. Odom · Good Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 63 Location: The Museum

Dr. Odom prodded an ashtray to test its reality before tapping his cigarette against the rim. He reached for his glass with equal caution. He ran through the last few seconds several times before asking, "Dr., is there a pattern to the incidence of . . . ah . . . metaphysical incongruities, I suppose, for lack of a better term, that I might expect to encounter?" He had turned his attention to Dr. Jewel but kept half a wary eyes on his glass as if expecting it to sink through the bar.

Dr Jewel · Posted: 27 Feb 2004 07:04 pm Post subject:

"From what I have seen both here and at the site, it seems to be based on how much the person in question feels that they own the objects." Dr Jewel replied in a quiet voice. "For example, in my bag I have my notebook, palmtop and smaller tools. Plus the clothes I am wearing and a small amount of money. But I can't pick up anything else.

"My team still carry some of their tools around, some of the commuters carry books, and the postman has his bike and his bag. The barman can serve us a beer, but not a coffee. Altogether it appears to be a question of familiarity.

"What do you think ?"

Dr. William T. Odom · Good Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 63 Location: The Museum

After considering Dr. Jewel's answer, Dr. Odom admitted, "That makes far more sense than anything that occurred to me. I had been trying to sort out rules for some complicated system of taking turns or the electrical conductivity of the materials or something. I suppose I just forgot about Occam's razor. It's your property, you can control it."

Dr Jewel · Posted: 29 Feb 2004 11:38 am Post subject:

Dr Jewel smiled slightly.

"What I would like to know," she said quietly, "is whether ownership can change. It is unlikely to for all these people who are going about their daily business, but maybe it can for me."

She sighed and glanced down at table top.

"Although I do not really understand how... permanent my state is. Perhaps if and when the dig is finished, that will be the end of things. Perhaps I need to travel and find something to reverse the curse. Perhaps there is no end at all.

"The arrival of the mist and the Museum have been very convenient for me. So much so that I wonder if that was the cause. I will be very interested to see what lies south and east of here once we finish this morning's investigation."

Dr. William T. Odom · Good Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 63 Location: The Museum

Dr. Odom's spine stiffened and his shoulders squared at Dr. Jewel's wistfulness. His own difficulties with the overhead void suddenly seemed inconsequential compared to the situation in which she found herself.

"My dear lady, I'm afraid I have been very selfish. Here am I, worried about the sky, something every child in the nursery knows is out there somewhere, while you must live . . . um . . . under the highly unusual burden of your current condition. The resources of the Museum are at your disposal, and should we survive to return I shall immediately grant you a position of Guide, at the very least, so that you may have access to our facilities without paying admission." Dr. Odom lifted the helmet from the bar and settled it on his shoulders. After half a dozed attempts he managed to fasten it to its collar. "I swear to you that I shall do everything I am able to help you find a solution."

Lifting his glass for a final swallow, Dr. Odom bashed the glass against the bottom of the rim of the front of the helmet. Startled, he examined the glass for chips. Finding none, he bowed forward over the glass and raised it, his arm and his head as a unit to drain the glass. The faceplate banged his knuckles painfully as he straightened his back and lowered the empty glass but he showed no sign of it.

"If you are ready, Dr.?"

Dr. Odom wondered if Dr. Jewel could walk through walls, and if holding a door would be an insult. Fortunately the door was still standing open and they were able to leave without him having to resolve his dilemma.

Dr Jewel · Posted: 02 Mar 2004 03:41 pm Post subject:

"Thank you, Dr Odom." Jewel responded quietly. "I really appreciate all the help you've given me already. It's very kind of you to offer even more."

She glanced around as they emerged into the sunlight. Looking towards the village, she could just about make out the new sign standing proudly on the green. She frowned, considered commenting, then thought better of it. There would be plenty of time to take a look later.

"This way." She said, gesturing southwards down the road.

Beyond the last houses was a farm track, leading southwards with a hawthorn hedge on each side.

"The site is about three minutes away." She said. "The track's been reasonable dry, but watch out for ruts. When we get there the basement itself is likely to be empty or nearly so. It's lunch break time for my team."