OOC,I goofed with the time again. I think the site outage in June threw me, and by the time it came back up I'd forgotten the correct time of day. The class ran from 4:00 to 4:50, so it's an hour later than I thought. I've edited my earlier posts so that the timing makes more sense.
Logan Hall, University of Pennsylvania 4:50 PM - Wednesday, July 16th, 1969 Professor Anthony Scott arrived outside Room 202 of Logan Hall shortly before the end of class, where Assistant Professor Nancy Remington was still waiting. Jerome Padgett wheeled up a couple of minutes later, just as class started to let out.
"Brian was a no-show," Nancy told the men.
Mary emerged from the classroom in the rush of students, most of whom were done for the day and were heading off to dinner or some other activity. She went over to the three of them. "Okay, now I'm really worried," she said. "I can't understand why Brian didn't come. What sort of trouble is he in? What is it you're not telling me?"
"I don't know how long you have known Brian," says Jerome, "but his behavior has become more erratic recently. We suspect he may have begun committing thefts, and there are other things about him that I don't want to say out loud because they are only suspicions and they could tarnish his reputation. If we can find him, talk to him, and convince him to talk to his father, maybe we can help him before he gets in trouble with the authorities."
"I haven't known him all that long," said Mary. "Just a few months. I met him at an anti-war protest. I knew he was a little troubled, but I had no idea he could be involved in anything like that. Yes, of course I'll help you find him. Like I said, we have a date tonight at 8:00. It's at Lenny's Bar, on South Street near Rittenhouse Square." She gave the address, which was about a mile and half east of the campus, on the other side of the Schuylkill River. "I'll be meeting him there. Maybe he'd skip class if something is wrong, but I can't see him missing tonight."
"Thank you. We will try to meet him there. Let me apologize in advance for interrupting your date. I really don't know what will happen when we meet him."
"Nope. Have a nice day, and don't worry too much - Brian might just be a bit misunderstood," says Jerome, hoping his words will encourage her but hating himself for saying them.
"I truly do hope that he shows up for his date this evening. I must admit I am beginning to become worried for him."
"Now, Mr. Padgett my growing concern for Mr. Anderson and my own curiosity urged me to ask you what else you know about Brian and his recent activities? I get the impression that there is more here than you have told me," inquires Anthony, hoping that he does not come across as too demanding he gives a friendly grin. "I am just wishing that this will all have a happy ending if at all possible."
Jerome pauses. He doesn't want to explain things, but he especially does not want Mary overhearing.
"Why don't you come back to where I work, Professor Scott? I can explain things to you there, and there is a slight chance that Brian's father will not have left yet, so you could talk to him personally."
"Okay, I'll see you there," said Mary as the two men left with Nancy Remington. They made their way back across campus to John Morgan Hall, where Dr. Gregory Anderson had his lab.
John Morgan Hall, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania 5:00 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969
Dr. Anderson's lab was in Room 110 of John Morgan Hall. Nancy, Jerome, and Anthony Scott approached the door, which had a dead bolt lock. It was open, and Dr. Gregory Anderson was inside, just putting on his coat and getting ready to leave. 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, and he bore a worried expression. The lab looked like a standard science lab, but it had a Westinghouse refrigerator that was locked with a padlock, several cots in the back, and a television set.
"Ah, good, you're back," Dr. Anderson said. "And who is this gentleman?"
"This is Professor Anthony Scott," said Nancy. "One of Brian's teachers."
"A pleasure to meet you, sir." He stuck out his hand.
OOC,[b]Anthony Scott[/b], roll Psychology to get an impression of [b]Dr. Anderson[/b].
"Thank you for your help trying to locate my son, Professor Scott," said Dr. Anderson, returning his handshake. He was slightly lacking in physical strength, but he made up for it with a formidable mind. "Is there anything new you can tell me?"
Professor Anthony Scott,[b]Dr. Anderson[/b] was clearly showing a lot of worry. He was worried about his son [b]Brian[/b], of course, but there seemed to be something else weighing heavily on his mind. [b]Anthony[/b] also got the impression that this was a man who played his cards close to the vest, always eager to seek out information but rarely divulging it himself.
"I would love to tell you that we have made a lot of progress, but I have discovered very little that could help,"said Anthony. "Though i must say if i was told exactly what was going on I would be able to better help you, and please don't insult me by asking what I'm talking about. I know there is something your not telling me, and i would like to know what that is."
"I want to help. I'm just asking that you help me help you."
"My assistants have already tell you all you need to know to find Brian," says Dr. Anderson. "There are personal matters between my son and I that I'd rather not discuss with someone I've just met, as much as I appreciate your efforts. It's not something you need to know."
OOC,[b]Anthony[/b], if you want to press the matter, roll Persuade.
"I understand that sir, and i do wish to respect your privacy. I just think that the better I understand what Brian is going through the better I will be able to help find him. Who knows maybe once we find him I can help him through it," replied Dr. Scott.
Dr. Anderson nodded. "You may be right," he said. "Okay, I'll tell you. I'm conducting a psychological experiment involving sleep and dreaming. I've developed an herbal compound I've named Morpheus, which I believe can be used to induce lucid dreaming - that's when you know you're in a dream and you can control the world of the dream. We have reason to believe that Brian may have stolen some of it this morning. I do not want to involve the police. I'd prefer to find my son and get to the bottom of this before he gets in trouble."
OOC,[b]Anthony Scott[/b], roll History to see what you know about the name Morpheus. [b]Jerome[/b], if you haven't already attempted this roll you may do so too.
I made the roll in a former thread and got "Morpheus sounded vaguely Greek",which I had sort of realized already. Surely Jerome, who is Dr. Anderson's colleague and should have equal clearance, could just ask the doctor at a quiet moment why he choose the name? (If there is a chance, of course.)
Hmm, Morpheus I feel like I've heard that before, thinks Anthony but soon the thought passes from his mind.
"I see. That's quite incredible." Anothony is genuinely intrigued by this drug, though he quickly overcomes his academic curiosity and refocusses on the task at hand. "His friends have mentioned that he has gone to a church. We searched the ones near campus to no avail. Do you have any idea where he would go if he was in trouble, someplace where he felt safe?"
Jerome Padgett,Yes, of course you can ask him. I do remember now that you rolled before but failed narrowly.
"I wish I did," said Dr. Anderson. "If he hasn't gone back to the frat house where he lives, I can't think of any place. He has been troubled these last few years, and the two of us are not as close as we once were. I don't know of any churches nearby that would be important to him. I think Mr. Padgett asked me the same thing earlier, before he met you. I suppose great minds think alike. Is there anything else?"
"There is little else that I can think of at the moment. Thank you, Dr. Anderson, and I really hope we find your son soon," replied Anthony.
OOC,Anthony is curious whether Dr. Anderson is more concerned about his son or about finding this morpheus. I assume he would need a psych roll to read him.[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2172410/]I rolled a 36, a success.[/url]
Turning to Mr. Padgett, "If there is nothing else for the time being, I will return to my office. I am still interested in helping find Brian though, so I would love to tag along tonight. If that's alright where and when should I meet you?"
Professor Anthony Scott,You already succeeded at a Psychology roll when you met him, so you didn't need to roll a second time.
It was hard to tell for [b]Anthony[/b] whether his son or the Morpheus was more important to [b]Dr. Anderson[/b]. The two seemed inseparablely related to him, as though he were convinced that finding one would mean finding the other.
OOC,If you're both leaving, let me know if there's anything you'd like to do between now and 8:00. It's about a 10-15 minute drive from Penn's campus to Lenny's Bar, so you'll have to set aside time for that. You'll also probably want to eat dinner, which will take 30-60 minutes (not counting travel time), depending on what you're having. It's 5:00 now, so that leaves around 2 hours to spare not counting these activities.
OOC,Depending on how Jerome replies, Anthony will gather things up at his office and then head home for dinner, assuming he lives close enough to do that.
"We'll meet at 7:50 outside Lenny's Bar. See you then," says Jerome.
As soon as Anthony leaves, Jerome also starts to leave work for dinner. He casually asks Dr. Anderson as they are both on their way out, "By the way, why did you name the drug Morpheus?"
Jerome intends to get some dinner and show up at Lenny's at about 7:45, giving him five minutes to survey the place alone and make sure Brian does not come too early. Depending on Dr. Anderson's response he might do something else. If he has nothing else to do, Jerome has technical journals to read - keeping up with the cutting edge of science isn't easy.
Jerome Padgett,"It's a mythological reference," said [b]Dr. Anderson[/b] with a twinkle in his eye as he locked up the lab, after [b]Professor Scott[/b] had left. "Morpheus is the Greek god of dreams. Rather fitting, don't you think?"
OOC: Let me know if this changes your plans, or if you're ready for me to move things forward.
"Sounds good, I'll see you then," says Anthony as he headed out.
Anthony heads towards his office. He plans on gathering up his papers and calling his wife before he heads home for dinner with his family and hopefully he can get some work done before tonight's rendezvous.
OOC,Yes, there's enough time for [b]Anthony[/b] to go home to the suburbs for dinner and come back, as you've got three hours. Rush hour traffic is going to slow you down on the way out, but coming back there will be no problem. I'll bring him in soon, but [b]Jerome[/b] gets to the bar a few minutes before he does.
Nancy left the lab too and went her own way, as did Dr. Anderson after he finished locking up. Jerome and Anthony left separately for dinner.
Lenny's Bar, South Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 7:47 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969 Jerome rolled up outside Lenny's Bar, not far from Rittenhouse Square. As he arrived, an aging biker with one eye emerged from the bar, got on a 1960 Harley Davidson, kicked it into life, and rode away eastward on South Street. Peering inside through the window, Jerome could see a black man in his thirties standing behind the bar. A group of hippies were sitting in a corner booth at the back, and a few other customers were seated at a table. There was no sign of anyone matching Brian's description, at least not from out here.
Jerome waited around and watched for a few minutes, but did not notice anything else. Then Nancy Remington arrived, followed shortly afterwards by Anthony Scott. They joined him outside Lenny's Bar and looked in the window.
OOC,[b]Anthony Scott[/b], you may roll Spot Hidden too now.
A short young man in his twenties, no more than five feet tall, walked past the group and into the bar, taking a seat at a table. He didn't look anything like the description of Brian Anderson, and none of them recognized him.
"Did you see that guy?" asked Nancy, indicating the man who had just entered the bar with her chin. "I saw him standing across the street, watching us. I think I saw him earlier, too, back on campus. You're right, we did get here a little early, so I wouldn't expect to see Mary yet."
"I'll keep an eye on that guy. It could be a coincedence - I can't think of why someone whould be following us - but I'm feeling nervous tonight. If we want to be less obtrusive, we could get a table."
OOC,[b]Anthony[/b], you are moving to the thread linked below. Please stop reading the current thread at this point, but you may read the new thread from the beginning, as the first post has a description of the inside of the bar. [b]Jerome[/b] remains in the current thread.
"Okay, thanks," said Mary. "I'll go on in and wait for him there." She walked into the bar. As she did, the short young man left the bar and crossed the street, where he got on his bicycle and pedaled away.
Invisible Castle is down. I tried using YSDC's dice roller, but it apparently does not save and link like Invisible Castle. I got a 96, but I can't verify it - as if I would want to.
As Mary spoke to the bartender, she began to look more and more concerned. Finally she shouted "What?!" loud enough for even him to hear. She shook her head, distraught.
Jerome continues to wait patiently until 8:05. Mary's problems may be interesting if they have a connection to Brian's, but unless he finds evidence of this, they are not his.
