IC-Chapter 1-Red Money(Terry Williams only)

[Midnightlight]

OCC,IC is down,but I rolled a 60 on my calculator. And I finally figured out how to use the spoiler button! =D

Terry's foot caught the door just before he was about to let it close and lock. Did he forget about something? He went over mental notes he made in his head, thinking for a second.

[Mr. Handy]

Terry realized that there was one other way someone might realize he had been here - the notes he had stolen from the filing cabinet. Dr. Anderson was still carrying out the experiments, and it was quite probable that he would review the notes he had already made. If he did that, he would be certain to realize that some were missing. Replacing them would be easy, though he couldn't be sure he would put them back in the proper order. However, the notes could be important, and it might be beneficial to keep them. But what if there was a way he could both keep the notes and put them back? This building housed a major department of a prestigious university. There had to be something around here that was capable of making copies.

[Midnightlight]

Terry had a feeling that it was a bad idea to let anyone even know he was there, but he was already running fairly late as it was. If he needed to find a copy machine, it would be a while to find something like that, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea to take just the notes on the experiment.

He wasn't sure if someone would notice if the notes were missing, but decided that it might be best just to take them anyway. Leaving them was something he didn't want to do, after he had come all this way. Besides, perhaps he could offer the notes along with the samples as an added bonus. He knew he wanted it after all of the trouble he went through for it.

Letting the door close slowly behind him, he started to sneak downstairs, notes and samples in his bag, content with the fact that he had not alerted anyone. In fact, it was rather strange that he didn't run into anyone at all. It had been creepy, but he continued on anyways.

[Mr. Handy]

Terry locked up the office and crept downstairs without incident. The building was still deserted, but it probably wouldn't stay that way for long. By the time he got back down to the lobby it was close to 5:00 AM. The moonlight streaming through the front windows was now accompanied by a faint pre-dawn glow from the east.

[Midnightlight]

Terry continued to sneak, opening the front door, and making sure it was locked before leaving the campus behind him. He was almost positive he could rest easy now that he had a sample with him. Heading home, he took off his mask, and headed into back alleys and avoided being on the main street. He did not want to be seen at all, and with his bag, he looked like someone just getting off night shift.

[Mr. Handy]

Terry's Apartment - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
5:30 AM - Thursday, July 17, 1969
Terry made his way home and arrived without incident. The sun hadn't risen yet and the moon was still visible, but the sky was starting to lighten a little. It would be dawn before long.

[Midnightlight]

OCC,Can I do an Idea roll? I did one anyways, just in case I could. 1d100 → [52] = (52)

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Sure, you can make that Idea roll, but what exactly is it for?

[Midnightlight]

OCC,On what I should do next, I suppose. I mean, if I got a sample, If I turn it in, the adventure will be over like that. Or, maybe not. I want it to drag out, I suppose.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Oh, the adventure is far, far from over. This little caper was just a warm-up to get your feet wet. You realize that the sooner you turn over the samples and notes to [b]Jimmy[/b], the sooner you get paid. However, your curiosity is piqued, and you could spend a few hours giving the notes some serious reading. Once you turn them in, you'll no longer be able to do so. You could also find a way to make copies of the notes first, so that you can study them at your leisure. The university would have copying machines, of course, but using them could be problematic. Businesses may have them too, but it might not be so easy to use them. Now that daylight is coming, breaking into a place to use a copier would be difficult. You could copy the notes by hand, though that would take quite a while. Or you could photograph them, but you have no experience developing film - nor do you actually have a camera. There were plenty of stores that would develop it if you could get one, though. It also occurs to you that [b]Jimmy[/b] may actually have copying machinery if he engages in document forgery in addition to his work as a fence. [b]Jimmy[/b] probably isn't awake yet anyway, though it's doubtful he'd mind being awakened once he saw what you brought him.

[Midnightlight]

Terry locked his door, placing his bag on his desk. He took out the two thermoses, and placed them both in his fridge. Making sure everything was safe and sound, he pulled out the notes, and began to read them, looking into them for a little more detail. He skimmed the notes, looking for the interesting accounts of the test subjects. He remembered there was one about walking on the moon, and one about infiltrating the Kremlin, as well as one about walking around Philadelphia at night. Looking for these parts, he intended to read them and learn more about the experiences, for it seemed like this kind of thing was the stuff of science fiction.

[Mr. Handy]

From reading the accounts, Terry came to realize that Morpheus was intended to enable someone to take control of their dreams to some extent. Not only that, it seemed that the intention was to use it to visit locations in the real world while dreaming, and to observe without being observed. The test subjects are never referred to by name, but rather by a number from 1 to 6. The first round of experiments had lasted 3 nights, over the July 4th weekend. The first night, the subjects were instructed to dream about exploring Philadelphia, apparently to get them acclimated to the process and start off simple. The second night, the students were told to dream about being in Moscow and to attempt to infiltrate the Kremlin. They were told to look for any documents and photographs they could find about a certain phrase in Russian and remember what they could, but Terry didn't know the language and was unlikely to be able to translate the Cyrillic letters by himself. On the third and final night, they were told to dream about being on the moon.

Subjects 2, 3, and 5 had various random and unrelated dreams - when they could remember them at all. It seemed likely that they were the control group. Subjects 1, 4, and 6 were able to follow their instructions. On the first night they did dream about walking around Philadelphia. Subject 4 went off by himself (at least, the student is presumably male from the context, but with the sexual revolution one can never be sure) and spent hours watching women undress and bathe in bathrooms while they were completely unaware of him. Subjects 1 and 6, oddly enough, were together in their dreams, and both of them recalled the same experiences. They spent their time visiting various tourist attractions: the Liberty Bell, the house where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and Betsy Ross's house were the ones they remembered.

On the second night, all three subjects split up in Moscow and were able to just walk past the Kremlin guards without being detected. Subject 6 was the only one who found papers with the specified Russian phrase, in a highly secure room underneath the Kremlin, but did not know the language and was unable to translate them. There were, however, a few accompanying photos of Russians sitting cross-legged in what looked like a trance state. Subject 1 did know Russian, but was unable to find any relevant documents.

On the third night, the three subjects successfully dreamed about being on the moon and again split up. Subjects 1 and 4 just walked through a barren wasteland without incident, but subject 6 encountered a flying monster that was described as "like a dragon, with scaly skin and huge wings." The monster saw the student and swooped down to attack, and that's when she awakened.

By time Terry finished going over the accounts in detail, it was close to 9:30 AM. He was feeling peckish - and more than a little disturbed by what he had read.

OOC,[b]Terry[/b], roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1, so you lose no Sanity if you succeed and only 1 point if you fail. You may also roll Other Language: Russian if you wish to attempt to translate the phrase, but the base skill is only 1%.

[Midnightlight]

OCC,Sorry. I wasn't able to login for some reason. 1d100 → [71] = (71) Sanity roll. So I suppose I'm a little disturbed by the readings! And I failed the Translate Russian. =P 1d100 → [45] = (45)

Terry couldn't believe what he was reading. Perhaps it wasn't...expected. Could something like this even exist?

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Don't worry about it. You're way ahead of the other characters in the timeline anyway. They're all still on Wednesday night.

Terry had never seen or heard of anything like this before. Shared dreams? Visiting places in the real world within a dream without being seen? Was that what happened, or did they just dream it? Just what did he have in his refrigerator?

[Midnightlight]

Terry opened his fridge, and pulled out one of the Thermos out. He opened it up, and sniffed the contents, then closing the lid, and staring intently at the Thermos.

"What the hell is this about?" Terry spoke to himself.

Terry briefly considered drinking some of the stuff, tempted by the idea of controlling his own dreams.

[Mr. Handy]

Terry realized that he could drink one of the doses, as it would still leave him with one. However, he was likely to get paid more for turning in two doses, and he did not fully know what the drug would do to him if he consumed it or what the long-term effects might be. Ultimately, the choice was his.

[Midnightlight]

After being tempted for a moment, and mulling over his decicions, he placed the thermos back in the fridge, and closed it. Making sure his door was locked, he set his bed, and decided to sleep until about 3:00, setting his alarm to go off at the exact time. Placing the notes in his journal, he laid down in bed, and slept.

[Mr. Handy]

Terry soon drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the night's excitement.

When he awakened, it was not to the sound of the alarm - he had woken up on his own. Instead of in his familiar, humble apartment, he found himself in a luxurious bedroom. He was in a king-sized four-poster bed with silk sheets, and he was wearing white silk pajamas. The nightstand was made of mahogany, as was the door leading out. A smaller, white door was on one of the side walls. There were also an ornate dresser and a large television set. Sunlight was streaming in through the drawn curtains covering bay windows in the wall behind him. A gold chandelier hung over the center of the room.

[Midnightlight]

Terry closed his eyes for a second, then opened them, stunned at his surroundings. The feel of the silk against his skin was surely something he had not felt very often. Standing up, he examined everything in close detail, but it seemed to be all too much.

"This can't be real, can it? Or am I still sleeping?" he thought to himself. Reaching over to feel the bed, he found himself somewhat compelled to go back to sleep.

But then his eyes spied the mahogany dresser, and any compelling reason was gone, replaced with a sense of adventure, and exploration. He walked calmly over to the dresser, and opened it carefully, unsure of what he would find inside.

[Mr. Handy]

Terry found that the top drawer of the dresser contained several ties as well as elegant underwear and socks, all neatly folded. There were also a few pairs of gold cufflinks and belts with golden buckles. The other drawers contained various other articles of clothing, primarily shirts and pants. All of the clothing was stylish, clean, expensive, and put away neatly.