IC-Prologue-Thru These Architect's Eyes(Jerome Padgett only)

[Mr. Handy]

John Morgan Hall, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
2:00 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969
Jerome Padgett was in the project's laboratory in Room 110 of John Morgan Hall, doing some routine checks on the equipment in preparation for this weekend's experiment. With him in the lab was Assistant Professor Nancy Remington. The slight psychology professor was in her thirties, with long dark hair and attractive features. Though she was shorter than him by a few inches, she towered over him since he was in his wheelchair. Throughout their work together, Jerome had found her to be very competent and knowledgeable. Dr. Gregory Anderson, the project lead, had chosen her well.

The man himself walked into the lab. He was a tall and confident man in his late forties, with brown hair just starting to turn gray and a full beard and glasses. His expression now was one Jerome hadn't seen before. "I was just inspecting the supply of Morpheus," Dr. Anderson said. "There's a dose missing. I brewed up ten doses this past weekend. Nine is all we need for the experiment, but I had prepared an extra one just in case. I'll make some more tomorrow night so we'll have an ample reserve, but this has me concerned."

[Mi-Go Agent]

"I wouldn't be surprised if a student found it, or even drank it," says Jerome.

"It is fortunate that there we haven't seen any serious side effects yet, not counting that one case. With a little luck the worst that will happen will be a night of strange dreams for a random person, and unless we have the incredible bad fortune to have that same person sign up for the study, no harm done. I'll search the lab to make sure it wasn't misplaced."

He begins to wheel around the lab, looking carefully for any container that might hold the missing dose.

[Mr. Handy]

"You may be right," said Dr. Anderson. "I hope you are. It's possible that someone came by and took the Morpheus for personal use. However, it's also possible that someone has taken it for another purpose. This could be a case of academic or industrial espionage. The formula for Morpheus is a closely guarded secret. I haven't even entrusted the two of you with it. Whoever has the Morpheus may intend to analyze and reverse engineer it, or sell it to someone else who can. One dose in the wrong hands by itself will cause little harm, but if someone can learn how to make more of it, it can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. We're going to need to step up security to make sure no more of it goes missing, and if possible track down the dose that did. Did either of you see anyone else in the lab today?"

Jerome began to search through the lab to see if the Morpheus was still present while the professor spoke. Each dose was eight ounces of a brown liquid, and they were all stored individually in stoppered flasks. The flasks were kept in the refrigerator, and when he looked inside he could tell that there were only nine of them there rather than ten. He looked in the vegetable bins, but there was nothing in them, either - not even vegetables. Other than the flasks, the fridge only contained chocolate milk (for the control group), juice and soft drinks, and breakfast and snack foods.

"Your son Brian was in here this morning," said Nancy Remington. "He was looking for you. I told him you were in your office upstairs, and he left. Other than that, nobody."

Jerome hadn't been present in the lab when Brian had come by, and he hadn't seen anyone else in the lab.

OOC,[b]Jerome[/b], roll Spot Hidden as you search the lab. Also, roll Psychology.

[Mi-Go Agent]

Jeromedoes not notice anything particularly unusual.

However, when he hears Dr. Gregory mention the chances of spying, his demeanor changes.

"Spying would make a lot of sense under these circumstances. We need to start locking up the samples, and perhaps trying to investigate what university personnel might have gotten close enough in their daily rounds to sneak in. Someone other than Brian could have snuck into the lab. Also - please don't take this the wrong way, Doctor Gregory, but how well do you trust your son?"


[Spoiler-Button]This is his Psych roll: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2036386/[/Spoiler-Button]

[Mr. Handy]

"I can't believe my son would do this," said Dr. Anderson. "I've always reared him with strict discipline, and he knows the consequences. He might not be the smartest kid, but he's not that foolish. I agree, we definitely need to put a lock on the fridge and have one of us in the lab at all times from now on. I just worry that we may be closing the barn door after the horse is gone. We also need to track down the horse rustler and, if possible, retrieve the horse. I'd also rather not involve the police. It could lead to bad publicity. I think we can handle this in-house."

Nancy also began a survey of the lab, looking for any kind of clues about the theft, but she came up empty too. "I wasn't in the lab all the time," she said. "I left for lunch, and nobody was here then. Anyone could have walked in and taken it."

Gregory Anderson's frown deepened. He too started looking around, and his powers of observation had not declined with age. When looking in a cabinet containing empty flasks, he noticed something odd about one. "This flask's got a little water at the bottom, and some droplets on the inisde. It's been rinsed fairly recently." He poked around some more. "There's a thermos missing from the supply cabinet."

"Someone poured the Morpheus out of that flask and into the thermos, then rinsed the flask out and put it back with the empties."

"Precisely." Dr. Anderson nodded. "That clinches it, then. Whoever took the Morpheus most likely did not want it for personal use and knows it needs to be kept cold until it's ready to be consumed." He sighed and paused deep in thought. "Nancy, you said earlier that Brian asked where I was, and you told him he could find me in my office?"

"That's right."

"Son of a...Brian never did come to see me. I haven't seen him all day, nor have I seen any messages from him! I didn't want to think it was possible...Tell me exactly what happened when you saw him."

"It was around 11:00, maybe a little after. He looked like he usually did, with that brown jacket he always wears and his backpack. He seemed confident and upbeat, but he always does. I remember I was going over the interviews from the last experiment, particularly the accounts Emily Simmons gave of her dreams. I was a little distracted, but I saw Brian come in and asked what he wanted. You know, he was standing close to the fridge. After I told him you were in your office, he just left. Then I went out to lunch about half an hour after that. The question is, where is Brian now?"

"I know his course schedule. He's got Calculus II right now with Professor Scott." Dr. Anderson checked his watch. "It's 2:20 now, and the class lets out at 2:30. If you hurry, you can get there in time. Nancy, I'd like you and Jerome to head up the investigation. Recover the Morpheus and bring it and Brian back to me, but be discreet. I'll handle the security arrangements."

[Mi-Go Agent]

"We don't know for certain it was your son, Dr. Anderson," Jerome replies, "but we can go talk to him."

Jerome wheels off with Nancy to meet Brian.

[Mr. Handy]

"The classroom is in Room 105 of the David Rittenhouse Laboratory," says Gregory Anderson. "I hope it's not Brian who's responsible, but if it is him at least that limits the possible damage. You'd better leave now if you're going to get there before class lets out. Good luck!"

"Okay, let's go," said Nancy. She rushed off with Jerome as he wheeled himself through the corridors of John Morgan Hall to a side exit. The wide plank he had improvised as a wheelchair ramp was leaning up against the wall nearby, and Nancy put it in place on the steps so that he could roll down them and outside. She picked up the plank and carried it with her as she hurried with him to the Rittenhouse Lab at 33rd and Walnut streets.

OOC,[b]Jerome[/b], roll DEX x 3 to see if you get there before class lets out.

[Mi-Go Agent]

Unfortunately, Jerome isn't able to make it.

[Mr. Handy]

Nancy was only a short distance ahead of Jerome. They reached Rittenhouse Lab, and Nancy laid the plank over the stairs so Jerome could wheel himself up and follow her inside. They made their way to the lecture hall in Room 105.

OOC,Please join the following thread in the link below, already in progress. You may read the first couple of posts if you like.

Day In Day Out

[Mr. Handy]

John Morgan Hall, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
4:20 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969

When Jerome returned to the lab, he saw that a new deadbolt lock had been installed on the lab door. The door was open; however, Dr. Anderson was inside and working. He smiled when he saw Jerome roll inside. The fridge now had a lock too, a heavy steel padlock that kept the door securely closed.

"Any luck?" asked Dr. Anderson.

[Mi-Go Agent]

"No," says Jerome.

After a pause, he continues, "Brian has missed two different classes. We talked with his calculus professor, who is worried about him. His girlfriend didn't know where he was, nor did his friends at his fraternity. Nancy is waiting to intercept him if he shows up to a class late. The only real hint was that he might have gone to a church, but we looked at all the nearby churches and had no luck. I suppose if he had taken the drug and was experiencing effects, it might put him in the mood for spiritual guidance. On the other hand, he could have gone to a church for a completely different reason. I've been told he was never particularly religious, but is there any church in particular that he might have gone to? One he might have had some emotional or sentimental or practical attachment to?"

[Mr. Handy]

"That is worrying," said Dr. Anderson, his brow creasing in thought. "I can't think of any churches in particular, at least not around here. He grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.. The church where he was baptized and had his first Communion is over 100 miles away. I hope he hasn't actually split town, but I wouldn't go racing off to Maryland on the basis of what we know now. So you've met his girlfriend, Mary Walters? She's actually signed up to participate in the study this weekend. She probably found out about it from Brian originally. As for Morpheus inducing a spiritual experience...well, in the first round of the experiment one of the students did recall seeing a godlike figure in a dream, a young-looking man with a thick head of hair and a crown made of poppies. He was constantly smiling and could only be described as beautiful, but he looked more like a Greek god than any image of the Judeo-Christian deity."

OOC,[b]Jerome[/b], roll History to see what you know about Greek mythology that might be relevant.

[Mi-Go Agent]

Jerome recalls something similar, although he doesn't say anything. His skeptical mind decides it must have been a coincedence.

[Mr. Handy]

Morpheus sounded vaguely Greek, but Jerome couldn't quite recall anything about it other than that it was the name Dr. Anderson had chosen for the herbal cocktail he had developed.

"Do you have any other leads?" asked Dr. Anderson.

[Mi-Go Agent]

"I'm going to meet Nancy at 3:45 and see if she found anything out. He has a date with his girlfriend, Mary, at 8:00 tonight, so I think we can intercept him there. The fact that Brian has dissapeared at the same time the drug went missing certainly seems to indicate he was involved, making him our best lead right now, although I still would not rule out other explanations."

[Mr. Handy]

Dr. Anderson nodded. "Sound reasoning," he said. "I seriously doubt Brian would miss his date with Mary if he can at all help it. He's crazy about her. Go meet Nancy and see what she knows. If there's nothing new, you both can take the rest of the afternoon and early evening off and get yourselves some dinner, but at 8:00 you should both be there to see if he shows up for his date. If for any reason he isn't there, you should call me at once. And if he is there, I'll want to know what he has to say for himself. I'll be at home." He gave Jerome his home phone number.

[Mi-Go Agent]

"We might spend more time checking churches before eight, and we should consider what to do if Brian did not intentionally steal the sample. By the way, it really is not good laboratory technique to store the Morpheus next to food. I' was going to say something about that before."

[Mr. Handy]

"Well, I have been keeping it on a different shelf," said Dr. Anderson, "and the flasks are sealed tight, so there should be no risk of contamination. Getting a second fridge would be tough on the budget, but if you think it's necessary I'll look into it. You can do whatever you think is best between now and eight, but again, don't feel obligated if there's nothing productive you can do with the time. Randomly checking churches without specific information to go on is liable to be an exercise in futility, but it's up to you. You've put in a lot of hours for us, and I'm very grateful. What do you mean by the possibility that Brian might not have intentionally taken the sample? There is the outside chance that someone else is responsible, but whoever took it clearly meant to do so."

[Mi-Go Agent]

"That is sort of what I mean. It is possible that someone other than Brian took the sample, and it is possible that Brian took it without knowing anything other than that it is in a flask. It is too late now to buy a new refrigerator, especially since we don't know if we will have to draw on our funds to recover the Morpheus.

You know I don't like wasting time, but you are probably right about the churches. If Brian does not show up again, I'll see you tommorow."

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, and good luck," said Dr. Anderson as Jerome rolled out of the lab.

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

After Today