Play@YSDC

David Rittenhouse Laboratory, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
2:25 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969
Professor Anthony Scott was in his classroom in David Rittenhouse Lab, lecturing for Calculus II. It was the summer session, and thus not as busy as during the spring and fall semesters, but there were still dozens of students enrolled in his class. Calculus was always an important course for a number of majors in the sciences, especially physics. A good number of students had skipped today's lecture, as the weather today was nice, but it would cost them in the end when it came time to study for exams. Many of the students that were present were getting antsy since the lecture was due to end in five minutes and they were anxious to leave, but they were still well-behaved.

Anthony was also distracted, as his cousin and namesake had called him the night before and told him that he was worried about his daughter Kathleen. She was a graduate assistant in the Law department, and her father was apopleptic about her constant acts of rebellion. Lately she had started dating another graduate assistant who was not only fifteen years her senior, she was a woman as well! Her parents were utterly scandalized.

Anthony wrapped up his lecture and dismissed the class.
"Remember folks just because this is Calculus II doesn't mean you can forget Calc I, refresh yourselves on the double integrals before the exam; and look over the next section on infinite series i hope to cover that next class. As always if you have any questions, come by my office I should be there till 5:00 tonight. Now go enjoy the nice weather. See you guys next class."

OOC,Anthony will wait at the front of the class gathering his things till all of the students have left, giving them a chance to ask questions.

Professor Anthony Scott did not have to tell his students twice. Some of them had already put their books and papers away, and the rest rapidly followed suit. None of them stopped to ask any questions, as they all wanted to enjoy what was left of the bright summer day and were grateful to get out a little early. Within a couple of minutes, the lecture hall was deserted.

Anthony had finished gathering his own things by 2:30, when class would normally have ended. As he was about to leave, two people came to the door. One was an attractive woman in her thirties, slim and with long, dark hair. Just behind her was a man in a wheelchair, about thirty years old. "Professor Scott?" asked the woman. "I'm Assistant Professor Nancy Remington, and this is Jerome Padgett. We work for Dr. Gregory Anderson over in the School of Medicine. We were hoping to talk to his son Brian, but I see everyone has already left. Was he in class today?"

OOC,[b]Anthony[/b], roll Idea.

"Let me think...No I don't recall seeing Brian today. It could be the lure of today's weather was just to much for him to resist."
Stopping to think a moment Anthony remembers seeing Brian around campus with a girl.
"Now that i think about it I do believe that he has a girlfriend... What was her name? Miss Walters,... yes, Mary Walters. He could be with her."
"I can check with the secretary to find out which dorm she's in."
Anthony walks towards the door and gestures down the hall.
" It's just down the hall here."

"That would be very helpful. Thank you, Professor Scott."

Jerome goes with Anthony down the hall to check with the secretary.

Nancy accompanied Professor Scott and Jerome to the Math department's main office down the hall. Estelle, the tall, blonde secretary, was busy typing at her desk.

"Hi," said Nancy. "I'm Assistant Professor Nancy Remington."

Estelle smiled. "My typewriter's a Remington too," she said. "Maybe you're related."

Nancy chuckled politely. "We're trying to find a student named Brian Anderson who's enrolled in Professor Scott's Calculus II class. Or possibly his girlfriend, Mary Walters. Do you have an address for her?"

"We don't have that information here. You'd have to check with the Registrar's Office."

"Please, could you call them and ask? It's important that we find out quickly, and I wouldn't want to inconvenience my friend here by having to take a trip down there." Nancy indicated Jerome.

"Well...I don't know. I'm very busy."

OOC,Either of you may roll Credit Rating or Fast Talk to try to convince her. [b]Nancy[/b] will have a chance too even if you both fail.

"Please?" said Nancy, giving her best smile.

"No offense, but I don't know you from Adam," said Estelle, her fingers racing across her typewriter's keyboard. "Look, I have a ton of paperwork to do for the department head, and I have to get it all done by five."

OOC,[b]Jerome[/b], you still haven't tried a Fast Talk roll. You may do so now if you wish.

"Estelle, this is very important, and time may be of the essence," begins Jerome. By the time he finishes, she is convinced.

"Well, since you put it that way..." said Estelle, smiling at Jerome. She picked up the phone on her desk and dialed the Registrar's number. After a moment's pause, she spoke into the mouthpiece. "Hello, Rita, this is Estelle over in the Math Department. I need to locate a Miss Mary Walters and a Mr. Brian Anderson. It's important. Do you have an address on them, or better yet know what classes they're in today?" A minute passed. "Okay, thanks, Rita. You're a peach!" She hung up. "Miss Walters has a history class at 4:00 in Logan Hall, room 202. There's plenty of time to get there before class starts. She lives in the girls' dorms, in room 87. Brian Anderson lives in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house. He's in the same history class as Miss Walters, too."

"Thank you," said Nancy. "If he skipped this class, I wouldn't count on him being at the other one, but Mary Walters might be there."

"Thank you," replies Jerome, "you've been a real help to us."

After a moment, he says to Professor Scott,
"I suppose we'll head over to the history class next. We have plenty of time. Professor, did you ever notice anything about Brian's other interests than Calculus II? I understand that he was just one of your many students, but I probably know even less about him than you do."

"I'm sure I can, Mr. Anderson," Anthony says,"but lets walk and talk and let good Ms. Estelle get back to work. Thank you again, Estelle."

"Any time, Professor," said Estelle as Nancy, Anthony, and Jerome left her office and returned to the hall.

Anthony Scott,I was going to ask you to roll Psychology to see what you know about [b]Brian[/b], so I'll count that as your Psychology roll - and it's a very good success. [b]Brian Anderson[/b] is not a good student. He isn't all that bright, and he doesn't put out much effort. He often skips lectures, as he has today, and he is barely scraping by with a low C average. In fact, he has had to repeat Calculus II this summer because he failed it in the spring semester. He also seems to be a very troubled and disturbed young man, and one that probably uses drugs judging by his behavior.

"Let's enjoy the day," said Anthony as they headed towards the door, "and I'll tell what I can about Brian."
As they walked out into the afternoon, Scott told them what he could about Mr. Anderson's son.
"Brian isn't really doing well in my classes, in fact this is the second time that he has had to enroll in my course. I really do believe he could make it through my course with a decent grade if he would only apply himself. He just really seems to be having motivation issues, he's just not trying. If he would just come to class he'd be fin but it seems like he would rather skip -- like today. And..."
"and...well... I think Brian might be involved in other thins as well. He always seems troubled and distracted when I do see him. He just doesn't seem like he's doing well, I think he may be involved with drugs."
"I'm sorry to paint such a dreary picture of your son, Mr. Anderson. I just think that he is a troubled young man and just needs someone to talk to him, and set him on the right path."

"I'm sorry for the confusion - I'm Jerome Padgett, one of Dr. Anderson's colleagues. He's back at our laboratory. I appreciate your honesty about my coworker's son. While I respect Dr. Anderson a great deal, we share worries about Brian, and what you have told me will help me to try to help him."

"We have well over an hour before that history class starts," said Nancy. "We might as well make some use of the intervening time. We could check out the frat house where Brian lives, or go to Mary's dorm and see if she's in. We could also report back to Dr. Anderson with what we've found so far and get his input."

"We shouldn't go back to Dr. Anderson until we have something definitive to tell him. I think going to the see if he is at the frat house might be a good bet. For all we know he could have been there all this time, and if not, someone else might know where he is."

"Well if you would like, I can show you the way to the frat house. I am curious about what Brian has been up to today," says Dr. Scott, "The frat house it over this way." Anthony points in in the direction of the fraternity house's location.

Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity House, University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2:45 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969
Nancy and Jerome followed Professor Scott to the Alpha Episilon Pi house, a three-story building with ivy-coated brick walls. Nancy placed the plank she was still carrying over the front steps so that Jerome could wheel his way up, then picked it up once he was at the top of the stairs. She opened the double front doors, and the three of them entered.

The lobby was lavishly decorated, with mahogany paneling. A lounge was on the right, with comfortable-looking leather chairs and couches. Photographs hung on the wall, most of them black and white, but a few in color. On the left was a narrow staircase leading upward, and there was a door at the back.

A young man with straight brown hair reclined in one of the chairs, wearing a navy blue blazer and black slacks. He was reading a book, but he looked up when he saw the small group enter.

"Excuse me, but do you know someone named Brian Anderson who lives here?" asks Jerome.

"Yes," said the youth, standing up, "he's one of the brothers here at the fraternity."

"Is he here?" asked Nancy.

"I don't think so, but I can ask around. What's this about?"

OOC,[b]Jerome[/b] and [b]Anthony[/b], roll Credit Rating or Fast Talk, whichever is higher.

"I'm Dr. Scott from the science department. We need to talk to Brian and he was missing from class today. He's not in trouble we just need to talk to him," says Anthony.

"Okay, Professor," he said. "I'll see if I can help you track him down. I'm Ralph Scarpetti, by the way." He shook Anthony's hand. "I'm a senior. Brian is set to go into his junior year if he can get some decent grades this summer. His best friend here is Gary Brown, a sophomore. If anyone knows where he might be, it's Gary. Let's see if either he or Brian are in."

Ralph led the way through the door at the back, into a large lounge with more doors leading out of it. There were a pool table, more chairs and couches, writing desks, bookshelves, paintings, and windows through which the bright summer sunlight streamed. A few frat brothers were present, two of them playing pool and another pair studying.

"Anyone seen Brian or Gary?" asked Ralph.

"Yeah, Gary's in the kitchen," said one of the pool players. "It's a good thing you came when you did, he's about to leave for class in a few minutes. Haven't seen Brian since this morning."

"Okay, thanks." Ralph led the group to a door on the left, beyond which was the frat house's kitchen.

Right before they reached it, a man in his late teens with black hair emerged with a bottle of soda in his hand and a backpack on his back. "Hey, Ralph," he said.

"Gary, I was just looking for you. These are Professor Scott and his colleagues."

"What can I do for you?" he asked them.

"We've been trying to find Brian. We needed to tell him something important. He isn't in trouble, but we would appreciate if you could help us find him," explains Jerome.

OOC,I'm guessing that was a Fast Talk roll. You should specify what you're rolling against in the Note section on Invisible Castle, as well as the number you need.

"Sure, I'll help you," said Gary. "I've got a class at three, so I'm in a hurry, but if you walk with me we can talk on the way." He led the way back to the foyer.

"When did you see him last?" asked Nancy, following him.

"Let's see, it was at lunchtime. He seemed kind of preoccupied, like something was on his mind. He left at 1:00."

"Gary, did Brian happen to say where he was headed?" asked Anthony.

"He didn't say exactly where he was going," answered Gary, "but he did mention something about thinking of going to church. I remember that because it was unusual for him. He was raised Catholic, but he's not a religious person at all. I don't think he's ever gone to church as long as I've known him."

"Then why would he go to church?" asks Jerome, while he tries to remember what churches are on or near the campus.

Gary shrugged. "I don't really know," he said. "Kind of threw me for a loop too." He led the way across campus.

Jerome was sure that there must be a few Catholic churches in the vicinity of the campus.

OOC,[b]Jerome[/b], roll Know to know where they are. [b]Anthony[/b], you can roll Know too.

Anthony knew the locations of four Catholic churches within a few blocks of campus, but it would take some time to check them all.

"It looks like we have some scrambling to do to find him," says Jerome. "Can you tell us anything that might help us figure out which one he went to?"

(By the way, I rolled a 20 for Know on I.C., but I had to click off quickly, and now I can't find it again. I don't think it matters with Anthony having thought of the churches.)

OOC,That's okay. You're right, it doesn't matter.

Gary shrugged. "Sorry, I have no idea," he said. "Like I told you, I've never known Brian to go to church. I have no idea which one he'd go to."

"Maybe we can split up and cover more ground," suggested Nancy. "If we split into two groups, we can cover more ground that way. We can meet up a little before 4:00 at Logan Hall, before that class starts. Even if Brian doesn't show, maybe we'll find Mary there. I know you've got your own class to get to, Gary. Professor Scott, you've done a lot to help us out, and I thank you. If you're not too busy, could you please help us canvass the churches in the area? Then Jerome and I could go together. I'll understand if you can't, in which case Jerome could manage on his own."

"I want to thank you both for the help you've given us," says Jerome to Gary and Professor Scott. "Gary, perhaps if you meet Brian you could tell him we wanted to talk with him? Other than that, I won't bother you any more about him - I know you have to get to class."

"Professor Scott, we've used a lot of your time in an issue that doesn't really affect you. Unless you feel concerned about your student Brian, I don't see why you would continue helping us. Of course, we would appreciate the extra set of legs and eyes if you feel like helping search the churches."

"There aren't enough of us to hist every church. To increase our odds, we should split up as much as we can. I can get around fine carrying the plank."

"It's been my pleasure to assist you Mr. Padgett, and I must confess that I am becoming concerned about Brian myself. I would like to accept your offer to continue helping you in this matter," says Anthony.

"It seems to me that Brian isn't really looking to be around a lot of people right now. It might be best to check the smaller churches first, Brian might be more willingly to go someplace with less people."

OOC,If the search takes Dr. Scott longer than his usual work day he will need to stop somewhere to call home and let his family know he will be late.

OOC,[b]Anthony[/b]'s work day usually ends around 5:00 and he has no other classes to teach today, so that won't be an issue for him yet.

"Yes, thank you both," said Nancy. "You show a great deal of dedication to your students, Professor Scott."

"I'll be sure to let Brian know you're looking for him if I see him," said Gary. "I hope everything's okay with him." He checked his watch. "Well, I've gotta go. Don't want to be late for class." He jogged off, taking a swig of his soda as he ran.

"Okay, we'll want to meet back up at Logan Hall outside Room 202, where that history class is. Let's try to be there by 3:50. Maybe we can talk to the professor before class."

Jerome, Nancy, and Anthony divided up the churches amongst themselves and headed off in their separate directions. After checking each church, looking around, describing Brian, and asking people if they'd seen him, they came up empty. Nobody had noticed Brian at any of the four churches.


Logan Hall, University of Pennsylvania
3:50 PM - Wednesday, July 16th, 1969
The three of them met up again in the second floor hallway of Logan Hall, outside Room 202. The previous class had let out a few minutes ago, and nobody had arrived for the next class yet. They compared notes about their fruitless search.

OOC,[b]Jerome[/b] and [b]Anthony[/b], roll Idea.

(Wait - three of us checked four churches and got back on time? Fine with me.)

"I have an idea," says Jerome.

OOC,You had almost an hour. Even in just two groups, each group could have spent 20 minutes at each church and still gotten back in time. Each one is only about five minutes away from both the campus and the nearest other church.

Jerome realized that if Brian didn't go to one of the churches near campus, perhaps he could have either gone to one near somewhere else he wanted to be or to a church that had some particular significance to him.

A man with short brown hair, about thirty years old, entered the hall from the stairs with a book and a pile of papers under his arm. He wore a typical professor's outfit, with a tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows, and he wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. He walked directly toward the door of Room 202.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you have a student named Brian Anderson?"
Jerome politely inquires of the man.

"Yes, I do," said the man. "He's in my next class. It starts in about ten minutes. I'm Assistant Professor Calvin Sheridan. Why do you ask?"

"We wanted to speak to him about an important matter. We tried to meet him at one of his classes earlier today, but he wasn't there so we are hoping he will show up to your class."

"Well, you're welcome to wait and see if he shows up," said Calvin.

"What about a Miss Mary Walters?" asked Nancy.

"Yes, she's in my class too."

"Can you please describe her, so we'll recognize her if she arrives?"

"She's about five foot five, 130 pounds, black hair, very pretty. I can also point her out to you if that's not good enough."

"That would be excellent Mr. Sheridan, and I hope you don't mind if we pull her aside when she arrives. We just need to speak to her briefly it should only take a moment," Anthony told Calvin.

"Sure, no problem," said Calvin. "She usually gets to class a few minutes early anyway." He went into the classroom and began to set things up for his lecture.

Five minutes later, students began to trickle in. A girl matching the professor's description of Mary was one of the first to arrive.

Anthony walks up to Mary Walters and says, "Miss Walters? Hi, I'm Dr. Scott, I teach in the Mathematics Department, and this is Mr. Padgett and Miss Remington. We were hoping to talk with you for just a moment."

Mary paused. "Sure," she said. "How can I help you?"

"We're trying to find your boyfriend, Brian Anderson," said Nancy. "He's not in any trouble or anything. We work with his father, and he sent us to tell him something."

"Well, he's in this class too. He should be here in a few minutes."

"He skipped his last class."

"I don't think he'd skip this one. We're in it together, and I'm sure he wants to spend time with me. What's the message? I'll pass it along to him. If he doesn't show up, we have a date tonight at eight."

"It's a private matter."

Mary frowned. "Something's night quite right here. Brian and I don't have any secrets from each other, and it's strange that you insist that he's not in trouble. That makes me think that he is. What's really going on?"

"Well, we don't really know," says Jerome.

"He has done, or might have done, a few things lately that could get him into trouble, and by trouble I don't necessarily mean trouble with the authorities. As colleagues of his father, we wanted to speak to him so that we can know why and help him."

"In that case, I need to talk to him too," said Mary. "When you do, I want to be there. Is there any other way I can help?"

"The most important thing is for us to meet him and talk to him soon. But I don't really know him, so I wouldn't mind hearing what he's like."

"Well, he's very devoted to me," said Mary. "I think he's in love with me, though he's never said so to me. He's not the brightest of students, and to be honest he doesn't try all that hard. I'm trying to tutor him - that's how we met, in fact. He can be emotional sometimes, but he tries to hide it."

"I see," says Jerome, who is increasingly feeling that Brian isn't the kind of person he would like.

"Well, hopefully we will catch him. A friend of his that we met thought he might also go to a church, even though he didn't normally attend one. In case he doesn't show up, do you know if there is any church he might prefer going to?"

Mary shrugged. "I have no idea," she said. "I've never known Brian to go to church. Of course, I've only known him for the last couple of months. If you'll excuse me, class is going to start in a minute." She headed into the classroom, which had now filled up with more students. Brian was not among them.

Frustrated, Jerome stares into space for a moment.

"Alright, it looks like we can try every church in the town, or we can go back to the lab. How many churches are there in walking distance of the university, anyway?"

"I'm sure there's quite a few," said Nancy. "There were four Catholic churches within a few blocks, but if you expand the radius to about a mile or so out that number will increase dramatically. If you also include churches of other denominations, it'll take forever to check them all, and there's no guarantee anyone at them would remember him if he did show up there. It's possible that Brian is just late to class, so one of us should stay here. We could also talk to Mary again after class lets out if he doesn't show. It should end at around 3:50." She looks at Anthony. "Thank you again for your help. Don't feel obligated to stay with us if you have other things you need to do."

OOC,[b]Jerome[/b] and [b]Anthony[/b], roll Idea.

Jerome thinks hard.

OOC,Note that I edited the time mentioned in the post above. The class is due to let out at 3:50, not 4:50.

Jerome could not think of anything new, but Nancy came to a realization. "Didn't Mary say she had a date with Brian tonight at eight?" she says. "If Brian doesn't show up, we can ask her where it is when class is over. He's not likely to stand her up unless something's really wrong."

[spoiler-button],Doesn't Jerome have a Know of 99, making that roll of 93 a success?[/spoiler-button]

"I suppose that would work," says Jerome, "although I feel like there should be something we could try instead of waiting around for the class to end."

Anthony tries to think if there is any plan of action for them to take while waiting for the class to end.

OOC,The 93 would have succeeded if it were a Know roll, but this was an Idea roll. Since [b]Jerome[/b] "only" has an 85 Idea, the roll failed. Fortunately, [b]Nancy[/b] succeeded at her Idea roll.

Nancy shrugged. "We can start checking out some of the other nearby churches," she said, "but without more to go on that might be a waste of time. You two could also go back and check in with Dr. Anderson while I wait here. We can meet up again when the class ends and talk to Mary then."

"I doubt we will find much, but I would hate to waste time sitting around," says Jerome.

Before anyone can realize the irony of his statement, he continues, "I'll go check back with Dr. Anderson, and maybe see if he knows of a likely church. Professor Anthony, you could check nearby churches, and bring Brian here if you meet him."

"Sounds good to me," said Nancy. "I'll wait here in case Brian shows up, or in case you two don't get back by the time class lets out. We'll all meet back here around 4:45 or 4:50. Is that okay with you, Professor Scott?"

"That's sounds like a good enough plan to me. I'll go start checking those churches, hopefully we have a little bit of luck this time."

OOC,Anthony will check the churches in an expanding manner starting with the closest ones first going to as many as time permits.

OOC,[b]Jerome Padgett[/b] is returning to the following thread and should stop reading the current thread at this point. [b]Anthony Scott[/b] remains in the current thread.

Thru These Architect's Eyes

Anthony walked to the nearest church that hadn't already been visited that he thought was likely to bear fruit: an Episcopal church a couple of blocks from campus. It was the closest Protestant denomination to Catholicism that there was, and was essentially an American branch split off from the Anglican church. He climbed the dozen or so wide steps to the large oak double doors and entered. There were several worshippers sitting in the pews, and a white-haired priest was behind the pulpit delivering a sermon on the evils of drugs.

Anthony takes a seat at the back waiting for the priest to conclude his sermon. While he waits he glances around to see if he can spot anyone else who could possibly answer his question.

Nobody else in the church looked familiar or caught Anthony's attention. The priest went on for a long time about the subject. Finally, at around 4:30, he began to wrap up. "And remember, it says in the book of Revelation that the sinners would not repent of their sorceries," he said. "That may seem like an odd word, but the word in the original Greek is 'pharmakia,' which means drugs. Even 1900 years ago, this plague of drugs that has befouled the modern world was foretold. Drugs such as opium have been around for a long time, but it is only in recent years that the drugs has become so prevalent, and new kinds of drugs are being invented all the time. Parents, watch your children and get to know the signs. Warn them of the dangers of drugs, and stay involved in their lives. Good afternoon, and God bless you."

When he stopped speaking, members of the congregation began standing up. Some talked to each other, and others started filing out the front doors.

Anthony makes his way towards the priest.
"Excuse me father, but could I have a word with you?"

"Of course, my son," said the priest in a kindly tone of voice. "How may I be of service?"

"I am Dr. Scott, i teach at the University. I am looking for a student of mine, Brain Anderson. He has been absent from a number of activities and i am concerned for his well being."
Anthony describes Brian to the priest.
"I believe he came to a church I am just unsure of which one. If you have seen him that would be a great help for me."

"No, I haven't seen him," said the priest, "but I have heard of him. A young member of my congregation, a student at the University, has had his life nearly destroyed by drugs - drugs he bought from this Brian Anderson. He started off with marijuana, and later he tried heroin. He quickly got addicted, and it's proving very difficult to help him."

"I am truly sorry to hear that. I hope the best for the young man and hopefully if I can find Brian I can help him in some way. Forgiveness is for all, is it not? You haven't seen him, but perhaps you could help me find some place to look for him. It appears that he is avoiding human contact right now. Maybe you know of some small church where he would feel comfortable. It might be a smaller out of the way church?"

"Thank you for your concern, my son," answered the priest. "I too hope that Brian Anderson repents and finds God's peace. It certainly sounds like he needs it. I wish I could help you, but I've never actually met him and wouldn't know which church he might feel comfortable in. Perhaps you should ask those who know him best. I'm sorry I could not be of more help."

"Thank you. If you hear anything please let me know."

Realizes what time it is Anthony heads back to meet Mr. Padgett.

"Of course," said the priest.

OOC,[b]Alan[/b], you're moving to the following thread.

After Today