Play@YSDC

Posted: **Mon Feb 27, 2017 9:58 pm**

You jump back in the car and head east and then north. You are getting used to the different faces of the city by now. The brilliant Hollywood and the darkness of its shadow. The huge estates with view on the ocean, and the dirty house of a sister remembering a dead brother. Everywhere, the long boulevards and the palm trees, the salty touch of the breeze and maybe, just maybe, the far sound of crashing waves.

Now you're about to see yet another face of LA. Born in the twenties, the UCLA is still a young, albeit rapidly growing, institution. An institution quickly gaining a certain reputation, too, as it has been recently defined "the worst hotbed of communism in the U.S.". Built around the original Royce Quad, where the first buildings were completed (the College Library, the Physics-Biology Building, the Chemistry Building, and obviously Royce Hall), it already counts several thousands students - and more each year.

For some of you, this might feel like being back into a familiar environment. The chattering of the students, running late to lesson, sometimes kissing each other quickly in a corner. There is movement, and activity, and talking, and debating. This is, indeed, how an university should feel, at least while it's still young and unbridled.

You remember Job, back in Joy Grove. He was a student here, once. Then he fell from grace. The memory snaps you back to reality. You're got something important to do here, and not much time to lose. You might not be in imminent danger, but the enemy knows you're getting close, and is already moving. You don't know how many resources this organization... this cult... has at its disposal, but you should certainly act fast, while the giant is still half-asleep.

And right now, you are on the traces of someone who certainly was, and possibly yet is, an important part of that group, maybe even a leader. Will he be able to shed some light on your enemy? On what happened back in 1924, and since then? As your steps take you through the Quad, you start feeling a familiar excitement... now it's time to find your prey.

Posted: **Tue Feb 28, 2017 5:53 am**

"Perhaps we should start at the main office," suggests Holly. "We can find out his schedule and where his office is. It might be best to pay a preliminary visit to his office when we know he isn't there before we speak to him."

Posted: **Tue Feb 28, 2017 10:10 pm**

Clarence Lanalor

"Good idea Holly," Clarence says with a smile.

"We should maybe also scope out the Maths department to see where the so-called prodigy did his stuff before he fell from grace."

Posted: **Wed Mar 01, 2017 7:25 pm**

It's not hard to find a university directory inside Royce Hall, and you quickly locate the office of Professor Ayers, G., Room 27 inside the Human Sciences Building. You stop a student to ask where it is, and you get directions to a neoclassical building inside the main campus.

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2017 4:21 am**

"Maybe we can find a course schedule while we're at it," suggests Holly. "It would be good to know when he has a class to teach, and if possible when he holds office hours."

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2017 9:12 am**

You look at the course schedule for the semester, but can't find any course teached by Professor Ayers.

Posted: **Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:38 am**

"He may just be doing research and not currently teaching anything," says Holly. "Let's just go to his office, then. What's our story if he's there?"

Posted: **Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:19 pm**

You follow the directions to the Human Sciences Building, then up to the second floor to find room 27. On the door, though, you don't find the name you expected, but an unknown one - Dr. Miles Roman.

Posted: **Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:24 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher stops in front of the door, "Well, that's odd..." Christopher says as he double checks the number "... we didn't take a wrong turn, did we?" he shrugs and raps his knuckles on the door, "Might be a shared office..."

Posted: **Tue Mar 07, 2017 5:54 am**

"Maybe he moved to a new office," says Holly. "If so, Dr. Roman will probably know where to find him. We can't be the first to come here looking for Ayers."

Posted: **Tue Mar 07, 2017 9:57 am**

A moment after Christopher knocked, you hear a voice from inside: "Come in!". You open the door and enter a large office, with a library on one wall, a desk suitably placed under a big window, there's even a couch with a couple of armchairs in one corner - although they look cheap, and have definitely seen better days. Two paintings, reproductions in the style of the Italian Renaissance, give a touch of colour to the room. All in all, it looks like a nice and well-ordered working space.

A tall, skinny man, with black hair and beard, blue eyes, is sitting at the desk. He has a book open in front of him and seems to be taking notes while reading it. He looks at you, and quickly stands up, saying: "I'm sorry, I thought it was a student visiting. Good morning, I'm Miles Roman. How can I help you?"

Posted: **Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:44 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher takes the other man's introduction to step up to the desk and offer his hand... "Dr. Roman, please excuse the intrusion... my colleagues and I were looking for Dr. Ayers, but this isn't his office?" he asks, shaking the other man by the hand.

Posted: **Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:34 pm**

"You wanted to meet with Dr. Ayers?", he asks surprised, then seems unable to control himself and starts laughing, only regaining his composure a few seconds later. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. God. Ayers... they still haven't corrected that. Unbelievable. Well, so, Dr. Ayers. He hasn't been a professor here for years. Or to be more precise, I think he technically still is a professor, but the fact is, he has left more than a decade ago, to go digging somewhere in Africa, and no one has ever seen him since".

Posted: **Wed Mar 08, 2017 3:57 am**

"Do you know where in Africa his expedition was, or who might know?" asks Holly. "Was he actually lost?"

Posted: **Wed Mar 08, 2017 6:30 pm**

He shrugs: "Considering how long he's been gone, it would be a surprise, let's say, to know he's back. But I don't know what to tell you, honestly. You should check out at the History Department, on the third floor. They should know more than I do".

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:26 pm**

Christopher Fontana

"Well, we won't take up more of your time Dr. Roman, thank you for your help."

... [once we're out of the office] ...

"The History Department secretary should be our next port of call, with any luck she'll have been here long enough to remember Ayers."

Posted: **Wed Mar 08, 2017 10:24 pm**

Clarence Lanalor

"I think he was on the level in what he said." Clarence says with a wry smile. "Well on to the history department I guess. I think the stairs are this way." I point towards the central/nearest staircase

Posted: **Thu Mar 09, 2017 5:23 am**

"Agreed, let's go," says Holly, heading for the stairs.

Posted: **Sun Mar 12, 2017 2:48 pm**

You walk up the stairs to reach the third floor, walking along a silent corridor to reach a door with a plate on it, saying "Department of History, Secretary", and under that, "Samantha Burnish". You knock on the door, and after a couple of seconds a woman comes to open and welcomes you in. She looks to be past her fifties, wearing simple black clothes, auburn hair turning white and a friendly expression on her face.

When you ask about Ayers, she seems to be a little surprised and says: "Yes, I remember Dr. Ayers. He left more than 10 years ago... 1925... no, no, it was 1924. I arranged his trip to Ethiopia. He went to participate in a digging expedition, something about his research work, whatever it was. Should have been a semester or two of leave, but he never came back in the end. These professors, they can barely find their way around the campus without help, one would think they should know better than traveling on the other side of the world, but no, they never do", she says, emphatically.

Posted: **Sun Mar 12, 2017 5:09 pm**

"Thank you," says Holly. "Do you know when in 1924 this was, and where in Ethiopia his expedition went? Or are there records here of it? Was Dr. Ayers actually lost on the expedition?" She has a strong feeling that he went to Ethiopia shortly after the deadly shootout in August 1924.

Posted: **Mon Mar 13, 2017 3:45 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher smiles at the secretary's comments; "So, you're saying that Dr. Ayers didn't return ... that's very unusual isn't it? I mean you'd know if Dr. Ayers was on extended leave or has taken a sabbatical? After all Dr. Ayers is still listed as part of the faculty..." Christopher asks amicably.

Posted: **Mon Mar 13, 2017 9:38 pm**

She replies sternly at Christopher: "Well, mister, it's those folks at the central administrative office that must update the records. That's not my job, no sir. And if they think fine to keep Professor Ayers on the records, well, that's not my problem either", she moves around a stack of paperwork and slams it on the desk with just a little too much strength.

"He left... let me think... it was June 1924. I just arranged the transfer to... what was it... Massaua. Professor Ayers didn't want to disclose any additional information on his travel plan with little old me, but I guess Dr. MacDunn would know, being his boss. I don't know what happened to him since then, but maybe he liked it there and decided to change life. Who knows? I don't think he's dead, though. Or at least the news never reached here".

Posted: **Tue Mar 14, 2017 4:46 am**

"Thank you," says Holly. "Where can we find Dr. MacDunn?"

Posted: **Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:00 pm**

"Well, Miss, I'd start in his office, end of the corridor on the right. But you'll have to get on his good side if you want to get more than a grunt or two from him", she says matter-of-factly, "You aren't gonna find many people more full of themselves than a white-haired academic fellow", she adds disapprovingly, then quickly, towards Christopher, "Meaning no offense, mister".

Posted: **Thu Mar 16, 2017 3:32 am**

"Thank you," says Holly. She glances at Chirstopher to see if his hair really has turned white. She hadn't noticed, but after everything that had happened, she wouldn't have been surprised.

Posted: **Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:28 pm**

Clarence Lanalor

Clarence feels somewhat uncomfortable in these surroundings what with his not being too academic himself.

"Well we already met with one academic, and he was nowhere near as full of himself ma'am, though I do admit he was a fair bit off being white-haired just yet"

Posted: **Thu Mar 16, 2017 9:40 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher chuckles "No offence taken, I assure you. You have been very helpful we shall try our luck with Dr MacDunn."

OOC: There's something odd here, why is Ayers still listed as being with the faculty, surely he'd be removed (from directories) at the very least.?

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2017 10:17 am**

MacDunn's office is close nearby, identified by a bronze plate saying "Dr. Hamish MacDunn", and below that, "Head of the History Department". You knock once, without getting an answer, then a second time, and finally an annoyed voice answers from inside: "Yes!". Taking that as a "Please, come in", you open the door and walk into a small office, filled with books and paper. Everywhere you can turn your eyes, there are either books, or notes, or folders, sometimes even piled up on the floor. MacDunn himself is barely visible behind a pile of big books, sitting at his desk, probably reading or writing - hard to tell. Surely, he doesn't seem particularly interested in you, as he only casts a quick glance before returning to his work, saying only a curt: "Good morning. Why are you here?".

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2017 4:41 pm**

"Good morning, Dr. MacDunn," says Holly. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but we won't take long. We'd like to ask you some questions about Dr. Ayers and his expedition to Ethiopia, and you are the most knowledgeable on the subject."

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2017 6:38 pm**

Clarence Lanalor

Clarence will spend 1 point of reassurance in support of Holly's question.

"Yes good morning Sir. We will take up as little of your valuable time as we possibly can, and of course anything you tell us will be handled in the strictest confidence Dr. MacDunn."

Posted: **Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:26 pm**

MacDunn looks up from his work and stares at you intently for the first time: "Strictest confidence? What do you mean by that? And who are you? I know the records would need a little updating, but that's just bureaucracy. The educational activities have been proceeding without interruption anyway".

Posted: **Mon Mar 20, 2017 6:34 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher smiles, making the connection ... "Please,Dr. MacDunn, we only want information on Ayers, we have no interest in possible irregularities in your department." Christopher says, stressing the 'we' hoping that MacDunn will get the implied inference that 'others' would be, it he had to be more 'blunt' then so be it. "I'm sure you can tell us about the man, yes?"

Posted: **Tue Mar 21, 2017 4:15 am**

Posted: **Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:26 pm**

MacDunn clears his throat and says: "Well, yes, Dr. Ayers. I remember giving him leave to go to Africa for a year, to pursue a dig in some ancient site he was interested in. Provided he could find an outside donor to finance the trip, obviously. He left alone, if I remember correctly, or at least, no leave was granted to any graduate student to go with him". He scratches his chin for a few seconds before continuing: "He sent reports for a time, I think. I didn't have a chance to read them, unfortunately, but they should be filed away somewhere. Yes, surely", he nods absentmindedly.

Posted: **Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:18 pm**

Clarence Lanalor

Clarence hides a slight smile as he asks;

"You say these reports are probably filed away somewhere. Would it be possible to peruse these, there may be some vital information contained in them which could be of great help us."

Posted: **Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:10 pm**

MacDunn says: "Well, yes, I believe it should be possible. Especially if everything we said will remain... strictly confidential, as you said. Mrs. Burnish should know where to find Ayers old stuff, you can ask her to show you".

Posted: **Fri Mar 24, 2017 3:24 am**

"Thank you for your help, Doctor," says Holly. She turns to her colleagues. "Shall we go see her now?"

Posted: **Fri Mar 24, 2017 3:41 pm**

Clarence Lanalor

"Yes Sir, thank very much for your assistance. Personally I don't know how you manage to cope with this much work, I take my hat off to you, or I would if I were wearing one." clarence adds with a smile.

Posted: **Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:56 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Once he and the others are in the corridor .. "I don't know if either of you realise why MacDunn became more amenable... the man's crooked, he's still claiming funding for Ayers... I've heard of something similar in other establishments, it would probably be quite a scandal is we 'spilled the beans'. he shakes his head and continues back down to re-visit Mrs. Burnish.

Posted: **Sat Mar 25, 2017 4:24 am**

"Ah, that explains it," says Holly. "As long as they cooperate, we don't need to do anything about their petty crime. We've got bigger fish to fry."

Posted: **Sat Mar 25, 2017 4:32 pm**

You head back to Mrs. Burnish's and she grumblingly ("Well, guess he'd be too busy wasting his time on those dusty books of him to take you in person, eh?") takes you to a small room in an under ground floor where Ayers's stuff is stored, in half a dozen big cardboards boxes with his name written on, scattered among dozen more boxes with other names on them. She leaves the door open and says: "Good work. Please warn me when you leave, I need to close it again", before leaving.

The boxes are full of books and notes and folders - quite simply, kilograms and kilograms of paper. A quick survey of the books reveal no occult or strange stuff, or at least, nothing that one wouldn't be able to find on any university library. Apart from that, there are lesson notes, personal notes, letters, half-finished scientific papers, and other stuff. You realize you once again have long hours of searching and sifting ahead of you, and with a long sigh of resignation, you get down to it. Christopher looks in depth into the books and the academic material, while Holly looks at his letters and Clarence searches through his personal notes and notebooks.

It takes you more or less three hours to complete your work.
Holly discovers that, unsurprisingly, Ayers had epistolary exchanges with many History professors inside and outside the country. Most of them looks absolutely ordinary, but two letters manage to catch your attention, firstly because of their content, but also because they seem to be part of a much longer correspondence, and the other letters appear to be missing. They were sent from a Professor Bartolo Acuna. Yet more informations on the matter seems to emerge from some notes discovered by Clarence on a worn-out blue notebook.
Clarence also discovers the paperwork related to the trip to Ethiopia. The man seemed truly headed for Ethiopia, or otherwise he spent incredible effort and time to fake a significant amount of paperwork. According to what you find, Ayers left Los Angeles in late June 1924, that is, some weeks before the dramatic incident at the farm.
Christopher's analysis of Ayers's deranged work shows a man truly believing in the existence in this universe of all the pagan Gods and entities he speaks about. His work seems to be mainly focused on the old God known as Gol-Goroth, but it later seems to expand to include a second entity identified as The Liar, or The Liar from Beyond.

Letters to Acuna,[i]March 1922[/i] Dear George, I am very interested in those similarities you mentioned between the African and South American cults that are the focus of our individual researches. Indeed, it is hard to understand how they could have come in contact, if not by believing the two continents to have been, in a remote past, united – and then, how old were these cults at the time of their destruction? Millennias old, or more likely, even more than that. The mind cannot really grasp such a concept without bordering on madness. I have found the veneration performed through orgiastic rites to be, in fact, a pillar of the ancient cult in Ethiopia, and there is a clear similarity with the rites you mentioned from the South American cult. Still, the Revelations make no mention of this entity you named, Gol-Goroth. Rather, an entity called simply The Liar is identified as the God being adored. I suspect those two might be the same, as the similiarities are too striking to simply dismiss, especially for what regards the continuous mention of Mouths and their bodily fluids. It would be of great interest analyzing the differences and investigate their origins. I will presently read the Revelations in more detail, strong with this new knowledge you have provided me with. Yours Sincerely, Bartolo Acuna [i]January 1924[/i] Dear George, your last letter brought great news, indeed. To think you could so quickly find a person of means, and interest, for funding my venture, after my many failures. Thank you, thank you so much. Of course I would be happy to have you accompany me, along with any of your students who might be interested and brave enough to face the wilderness of Africa. I have started preliminary contacts with local authorities, and I think we shall be able to obtain the necessary authorizations in no time. You should start arranging for the voyage to Massaua, where we will meet. From there, we will head inland to Dallol. I will send you confirmation shortly. Until then, I will continue my work on the Revelations, as there are still a few chapters that – I feel – might reveal even more surprises. We will have time to discuss the matter when we meet in person, hopefully soon. Yours sincerely, Bartolo Acuna

Posted: **Sun Mar 26, 2017 3:09 am**

Posted: **Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:13 am**

Posted: **Sun Mar 26, 2017 7:41 pm**

"Hey, look at this!" says Holly, pulling out the poster and showing it to the others. "This is Olivia Clarendon, before she was famous. The Woman in Black was one of her old silent films. There's her signature, and she's thanking Dr. Ayers for 'all the help.' I wonder how he helped her. Now we know something to ask her if we ever get the chance to talk to her. And these letters are interesting. I wonder who the E. was he was planning to ask for funding. The only person with that initial who involved in this that I can think of is Edgar Job, who used to be a student here, but he didn't strike me as rich or influential."

Posted: **Sun Mar 26, 2017 8:53 pm**

"What was that hispanic sounding name again that started with an E ... Echevaria, it could be him I guess." Clarence adds. "Yes Ramon Echevaria, now he certainly had enough financial clout behind him."

Posted: **Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:09 pm**

"Oh, of course!" says Holly. "Yes, that's got to be it! How could I forget?"

Posted: **Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:23 pm**

Clarence laughs, the first real laugh he's had for a long while now.

"Well this case is certainly a lot more complicated than the usual cheating wives or husbands I'm used to dealing with, so letting something slip your mind for a moment is nothing to be ashamed of Holly, no ma'am." Clarences face suddenly takes a serious mein. "In fact it shows me something that I think we are all in danger of forgetting - just how human we are, able to make mistakes and carry on because we are all working together as a team." Clarence's face takes on an even sadder look as he turns away from the group.

With his back to Holly and Chris he says, "You know, I am not used to working as part of a team, always working alone, me against the world. Well this little jaunt has shown me how much stronger we all are for being part of a team, and I'm not sure I want ..." He leaves the sentence hanging in the air as he stares down the corridor.

Posted: **Mon Mar 27, 2017 1:15 am**

"Thank you, Clarence,"says Holly, relaxing. "Go on, finish your thought. I think you're saying something important."

Posted: **Mon Mar 27, 2017 8:15 pm**

Clarence's shoulders slump a little and he says in a low voice;

"All this wasted time, chasing after some pipe dream ..." Then he paints on a smile and turns back to Holly and Chris ,,, "Nah, I was just thinking out loud Holly. Right where to next?"

Posted: **Tue Mar 28, 2017 3:17 am**

"While we're at UCLA," says Holly, "we should see what we can find out about Edgar Job and his time here, and if there's any connection between him and Dr. Ayers."

Posted: **Mon Apr 03, 2017 10:07 pm**

"Yes. That was the Mathematics department if I remember right?" Clarence's eyes regain a little of their focus as he get's back on the case once more. He turns back to Holly and Chris.

"Any idea where the Maths department lies? Perhaps we could impose on Mrs. Burnish as we have to tell her when we are done here anyway."

Posted: **Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:04 am**

"Good idea," says Holly. "Let's go."

Posted: **Tue Apr 04, 2017 7:07 am**

OOC: Just waiting on carnage_lee as there is a spend he can do, then I'll move on.

Posted: **Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:23 am**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher places a reassuring hand on Clarence's shoulder "Don't worry... we'll see this through." he briefly locks his gaze with the other man.

"Gosh, I'd forgotten that Job was a student here... stands to reason that they must have had some interaction. It's not too big a stretch of the imagination to think that Ayers with his occult interests was the person that introduced Job to Echevaria." Christopher rubs his chin, obviously thinking about something; he picks up some of the paper "hmm... yes this does 'ring bells'..."

OOC: ooc, sorry to hold you all up - I'll take the Occult spend (I guess for the 'Gol-Goroth' connection?)

Posted: **Wed Apr 05, 2017 7:13 pm**

Posted: **Sun Apr 09, 2017 11:34 am**

You inform Mrs. Burnish that your search is complete, then follows her instruction to reach the Math building, just one of many similar buildings that were built - or are being built - inside the campus. The atmosphere is quieter here, and you see less students wandering around, or studying under the spring sun.

OOC: How do you want to proceed?

Posted: **Sun Apr 09, 2017 2:00 pm**

"We should go see the head of the department really, to see what he remembers of Edgar. Either that or he will be able to send us in the right direction of someone who was here back when Job was." Clarence offers.

Posted: **Sun Apr 09, 2017 5:08 pm**

"That sounds good to me," says Holly. "Let's go."

Posted: **Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:56 pm**

The head of the Mathematics department is an old professor called Arnold Miller, snow-white hair and a penetrating gaze, with a slow way of talking that gives you the impression every sentence has lasted minutes. He listens to you with interest, his curiosity piqued by your strange request. Still, without prying too much, he gives you access to the department archives.

Edgar Job was an undergraduate from 1918 to 1922, even before the Department moved to this building in the new campus. There are not many informations on him regarding this period, except a few documents reporting his grades - which were mediocre.
On 1923, he was admitted to a graduate program of mathematical study. His advisor was a professor called Stuart Tichener, who appears to still be teaching at the UCLA. Job's traces in the university's records disappear the following year.

Posted: **Mon Apr 10, 2017 6:02 pm**

"We need to go talk to Professor Tichener next," Holly says to her friends.

Posted: **Mon Apr 10, 2017 7:53 pm**

Christopher Fontana

"Professor who..." Christpher folds the papers that he had filched from Ayers effects and places them in his pocket. "Ayers seems pretty definite in his scorn for Gol-Goroth, the entity that Echavaria's cult worshipped; he states that there was some other entity 'behind the scenes'. Christoper shakes his head "I have investigated many strange and paranormal occurrences and all could be explained but this investigation we are involved in... it has a different feel." Christopher is quite shocked and worried, he has read and re-read the passages; something in them chills him. Ayers seems so rational 'talking' about these so called 'entities' as if they were real.

"So why did Ayers hook up with Echivaria?" he shrugs.

Posted: **Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:12 pm**

"Maybe to get more information," says Holly. "Maybe to try to convince him of his errors. Maybe he believed once and later changed his mind. Unless we can find and talk to him, or find more of his writings on the subject, we can only speculate. Professor Tichener was Edgar Job's academic advisor. If anyone will have any further information about him, it'll be him."

Posted: **Tue Apr 11, 2017 4:28 pm**

Christopher Fontana

"Yes, you're quite right ... let's find Job's professor and see what he has to say." Christopher replies

Posted: **Sat Apr 15, 2017 11:14 am**

You quickly discover that Professor Tichener is holding lesson right now, and you wait for him outside the classroom. Once he's finished, he accepts to talk with you as you walk back to his study. He walks slowly, straight, hands behind its back, looking around the campus like a ruler over his domain. He speaks of Job with an ill-concealed distaste: "Yes, I remember Mister Job, unfortunately. I remember, in fact, all my students", he clicks his tongue, "Mr. Job looked promising, indeed, a very hard-working lad. Passionate. But he turned out to be a failure. He couldn't keep up with the advanced subjects and started falling behind, spending nights of work to come up with abstruse solutions that would quickly fall apart and be proven wrong. As time passed, his desperate need to be better than he actually was made him grow hostile and resentful. In a way, I feel pity for him, but I'm afraid he was never cut for numbers. Obsessed, but not capable".

Posted: **Sat Apr 15, 2017 2:25 pm**

"Have you any idea what became of him after he left here Professor?" Clarence asks

Posted: **Sun Apr 16, 2017 12:24 am**

"Did Mr. Job ever show any interest in or aptitude for other subjects?" asks Holly. "Perhaps history or archaeology?"

Posted: **Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:44 pm**

Professor Tichener frowns as he speaks, as if mildly annoyed: "I know he got himself into some trouble, but luckily he managed to avoid dragging anyone else from the University into his mess. God knows we already have our troubles with our... revolutionary thinkers", he says the words as if tasting something bitter and disgusting, "from the less scientific departments. God knows we should shut them all down and make some cleaning, if you get what I mean", he shakes his head before continuing, "I cannot recall Mr. Job showing any interest in subjects apart from mathematics. As I told you, he was quite... obsessed".

Posted: **Wed Apr 19, 2017 3:47 am**

"Did he have any friends?" Holly asks. "Maybe someone who shared his obsession?"

Posted: **Wed Apr 19, 2017 5:04 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher is less that impressed with Tichener's summation that Job was a failure, as far as he was concerned it was a teachers duty to help their students ... he could imagine that the real reason Job grew resentful about his 'lack of talent' was Tichener's dreadful attitude. The more he thought about it the more it made sense that Job linked up with Echevaria's cult ... probably via having contact with Ayers.

"Do you know if Edgar had any contact with Dr. Ayers?" Christopher asks, somewhat coldly.

Posted: **Wed Apr 19, 2017 7:36 pm**

Tichener slightly raises an eyebrow: "Who is this Dr. Ayers? I'm not familiar with the name, surely he is not a professor from my department". He pauses for a second then continues: "I don't remember Mr. Job hanging around with other students, but many years have passed, so I can't tell for sure".

Posted: **Thu Apr 20, 2017 3:06 am**

Posted: **Thu Apr 20, 2017 8:31 am**

Posted: **Thu Apr 20, 2017 5:10 pm**

Clarence Lanalor

"Excuse me professor, you said a few moments ago that you felt pity for him, and suggested that he showed a lot more promise than he was able to produce, what with his work becoming ... what was it you said again ... more abtruse and that he turned out to be a failure and unable to keep up, I think you added. This coupled with whatever trouble he was involved in must have been a disappointment to you, after all a worthy professor such as yourself must have viewed Job as something of a stain on the good name of the campus, the department if not the entire university. How did that make you feel about him?"

Posted: **Thu Apr 20, 2017 5:43 pm**

"Could we review his academic records?" asks Holly. "It sounds like something changed during his time here. Seeing where his grades and performance turned might help pinpoint what happened."

Posted: **Sun Apr 23, 2017 2:47 pm**

"Surely you don't expect me to remember where a decade old records are stored. Talk to the department secretary and see if she can help you", he replies curtly. "Look, I don't know the reason for your sudden interest in Mr. Job's history, but sincerely, he was just a student like I've seen dozens in my years as a teacher. I had forgotten all about him until five minutes ago".

Posted: **Sun Apr 23, 2017 3:49 pm**

Clarence Lanalor

OOC: Assess Honesty on Titchener. He said before that he remembered ALL of his students, now he's claiming to have forgotten him until we turned up - probably clutching at straws here but hey!

"Why thank you very much for your valuable time professor, you have been most helpful to our enquiries." Clarence says trying to smooth his ruffled ego a bit.

Posted: **Sun Apr 23, 2017 4:13 pm**

Posted: **Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:48 pm**

"Yes, thank you, Professor," says Holly. "We'll go seek out the department secretary."

Posted: **Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:26 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher is very pleased to be leaving Titchener's office and won't bother to offer his thanks.

"Someone with attitude like that has no place teaching.." he says crossly once outside the room.

Posted: **Wed Apr 26, 2017 3:43 am**

"You're right," says Holly. "I think his treatment of Mr. Job was one of the reasons he ended up joining that cult."

Posted: **Thu Apr 27, 2017 8:45 pm**

It's a quick trip to the secretary office inside the Mathematics department building, but it doesn't seem like it will be easy to access to the records you're looking for. Apparently, these documents were originally stored in the old University building, before the move to the new campus. During the move, most of these documents were just gathered in unlabeled cardboard boxes, and never properly reorganized. You get the feeling no one is willing to go investigate that mess and find them for you.

OOC: Here we go. Sorry for the wait, but I'm pacing this topic with the other one.

So, 1-point spend in any ability you can use to apply pressure and force the secretary to dig up the old stuff for you.

Posted: **Fri Apr 28, 2017 2:58 am**

Posted: **Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:38 pm**

Posted: **Wed May 03, 2017 7:55 am**

You pressure the secretary, threatening to go over her head, and she finally accepts to help you. Digging up the old documents take a couple of hour, but she manages to find everything. Job's grades were good in the beginning, but got worse over time. He failed a few exams, but repeated them until he managed to pass them. As Tichener said, he surely didn't lack dedication. In fact, he seemed to be following a large number of courses, perhaps even too many, up to the first half of 1924. He then disappears completely from the records. Anyway, judging from what you can see, it doesn't look like he was a brilliant student.

Posted: **Thu May 04, 2017 3:12 am**

Holly reviews his transcript, looking to see what electives he had taken, particularly in history or archaeology, in the hopes that there's some connection to Dr. Ayers.

Posted: **Thu May 04, 2017 9:02 pm**

From what you can see in the documents, Job only followed Mathematics and Physics courses.

Posted: **Fri May 05, 2017 2:36 am**

"There's nothing in here that suggests any connection to Ayers," says Holly.

Posted: **Fri May 05, 2017 5:20 pm**

Christopher Fontana

Christopher shrugs, "That's as maybe.. it's possible they met through an acquaintance it's plausible that Job was friends with a student that was in one of Ayers' classes.. or simply bumped into Ayers on campus ... that's not something we are going to be able to prove either way of course. I don't think we are going to find anything more here and time' is moving on... and so should we. We only have a limited amount of time until Pizner makes bail or he gets word back to Walker or Trammel. I vote we go to our rendezvous* point and wait for Ian and Cameron."

Posted: **Fri May 05, 2017 7:19 pm**

OOC: Well, you can head back to the hotel, as it's late afternoon anyway. Since the others are closing up in their thread as well, I'm going to open the new IC thread shortly.

Posted: **Sat May 06, 2017 2:21 am**

"I agree, I think we're done here," says Holly. "Let's go to the hotel and meet up with the others."

Posted: **Sat May 06, 2017 5:25 pm**

OOC: If not it would be an easy job to move to another hotel

Posted: **Sun May 07, 2017 9:04 am**

OOC: You already had booked rooms in two different hotels, and abandoned the one discovered by Pizner. You can book rooms in yet another hotel if you want.

Posted: **Tue May 09, 2017 5:19 am**

Posted: **Tue May 09, 2017 8:33 am**

OOC: Continues here: viewtopic.php?f=352&t=6011

Play@YSDC

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