V:tR Atlanta – Anderson

[Aerodynamik]

Thread Rules:

Here are the basic rules for how the thread is going to work.

Rule #1: No other players in the V:tR Atlanta Campaign are allowed to read this thread, unless their characters are physically in the same place as William. For example, if all three characters find themselves in a certain building, then all three characters will post on the same thread (it will make more sense when it happens), and when they split up again, they will post back on their own thread. Until then, though, no other players are allowed to look at this thread.

Rule #2: Out of Character dialogue, questions and rolls are to be handled in a clearly label spoiler. Example:

OoC
Here's where the Out of Character text would go
Rule #3: Because dice rolls in V:tR work differently than in many other games, please make sure to use the [rollv] tags when rolling dice instead of just the [roll] tags, so that we can count successes.

Rule #4: This is more of just a heads-up than a rule, but I wanted to let it be known that I've decided to divide game-play up into 'chapters', to allow for better storytelling, and also so that characters will have time between chapters to upgrade their characters and such.
Anderson (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=283483), Chapter 1 – ...With Surgical Precision

Night 1, October 27th 2010

Atlanta is an old city. It was around during the civil war, you know. General Sherman took it and burned it to the ground. But sometimes, it seems like the ghosts of the men who fought and died during the civil war are still around, hanging around their old haunts even as the city has grown up around them. Atlanta is an old city.

It’s cold tonight, and raining. Clouds have covered the moon, but that doesn’t make it any more dark. It’s never dark in a city like this. A city like this never sleeps. The pitter-patter of the raindrops against the window has a hypnotic effect, and Anderson finds himself staring absently out of his office window at the people scurrying along the street below, trying to avoid the rain. He shivers.

Behind him, the door opens and a nurse peers into the room. William doesn’t notice her, and she clears her throat to get his attention.

“Dr. Anderson?” He turns to face her. “It’s Mr. Cargill again,” she says. “He’s waiting for you in the lobby,”

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson stares out the window at the gloomy, cloud-covered sky. Rain again tonight. I wonder why it feels so much like I'm back home again? When the nurse clears her throat, Anderson quickly turns around and listens quietly to her announcement. "Thank you, Vanessa, I appreciate the warning. I suppose I'd best hurry, then. Wouldn't want to make the shareholders unhappy, would we?" Anderson nods to her, a clear sign that she can get back to her work, and heads for the elevator to the lobby. He walks quickly and gracefully, a habit of long hours spent on the self-defense courses that gradually grew into his passion for martial arts. When he passes one of his colleagues he nods or offers a quick greeting as he hurries to his meeting.

Well, I wonder what Cargill wants this time? As he enters the elevator the Doctor quickly wracks his brain, recalling the list of symptoms he's been idly putting together during the increasingly frequent meetings. Minor dysrhythmia, irregular and laboured breathing, pallid skin characteristic of severe vitamin D deficiency. Lacking other symptoms of Anemia; all symptoms point towards leukemia or advanced heart disease. As he steps out of the elevator into the lobby, Dr. Anderson is ready with a well-practiced smile. "Mr Cargill, so good to see you again. What is it that I can help you with today?" His immaculately maintained (and entirely for show; he'd never operate in it) white lab coat and tie are perfectly characteristic of the Surgeon's well-cultivated air of professionalism.

OOC:

I've got the NWoD core rulebook now, and I've got quite a bit of progress done on my sheet. I just have a few questions for you:
1: Would it be acceptable to take Fighting Finesse applied to unarmed Brawl use rather than Weapons? The way I'd envisioned his fighting style is rather similar to Holmes' in the new Sherlock Holmes movie, if you've seen it. He uses his medical knowledge to strike weak and vulnerable points with... Surgical precision (oh god, that pun is going to happen way too many times, isn't it?).
2: Would it be okay to start with a 2 Dot First Aid Kit? I do have Resources 2, if that helps.
3: For later; the WoD core book says that unliving creatures like Vampires are immune to Lethal damage, treating it as Bashing instead (until they take enough Bashing to move it to Lethal, of course), but the Resilience discipline allows downgrading Aggravated to Lethal damage. Would the Vampire then automatically downgrade it to Bashing, or would it stay Lethal?

[Aerodynamik]

"Ah, Dr. Anderson," Cargill says. He extends an old, weathered hand for William to shake. It trembles, and, like the rest of the man, seems to be the very picture of unhealthiness. He's stooped, and his pallid skin is covered with liver spots and wrinkles. Even his speech seems sickly. It's wet sounding, as though he has something stuck in his throat, and there doesn't seem to be any rhythm to it. It shifts back and forth from slow to fast like some sort of strange see-saw.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on successfully removing that girl's tumor the other day, I was very pleased to hear about that. The poor thing. You have to wonder how she even got cancer in the first place," he sighs. "I suppose, though, that even the best of us fall ill sometimes, isn't that right?"

OoC:
The answer to your first question, about weapon finesse, is that even though it's probably not intended to be used that way, you can use it for unarmed.

The answer to question two is yes, a two dot first aid kit is fine.

The answer to question three is that I don't know. I'll have to look it up, but I would imagine it would stay lethal.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson nods, shaking the old, sickly man's hand while reflexively feeling for his pulse, a genuine smile creeping onto his face now. Yes, it truly was an impressive feat, some of his best work. He always felt good after a successful operation, a high most people associate with sex or drugs, but this one was a truly virtuoso performance. "Of course, Mr. Cargill. Her parents were quite pleased to hear about it as well; apparently, Fort Worth General gave her a poor prognosis when she went to them; I'm just glad we could help. She still has a long road ahead of her, but our initial expectations are quite high." The Surgeon can never help bragging a little in situations like these. After all, what's the harm in taking a little pride from saving a life? "Of course we do, Mr. Cargill, of course. Nobody gets a free pass from the perils of life. It's part of what makes us human, after all." With than, he steps back and looks expectantly at the wealthy investor. "Of course, you aren't here just to talk about recent history, are you?"

OOC:

1: Alright, excellent. With that done, I'm ready to send you my sheet. I'll PM you post-haste.
2: Good.
3: I actually managed to answer my own question; it's only firearms and other impact damage attacks that Vampires downgrade from Lethal to Bashing. There's no situation where Resilience could downgrade damage from Aggravated to Bashing.

[Aerodynamik]

"Very astute, William," he says. "That is, of course, correct." He coughs wetly into his sleeve. "I actually have a business proposition that I would like you consider, and I thought that perhaps we could discuss it during dinner–" he stops himself. "After you've finished your shift, of course." He smiles, and there's something... not quite right about it. As though he's... hungry. Probably nothing, though.

OoC:
Made an empathy check for you there. That's pretty much how perception checks are going to be unless you're actively looking for something. You either notice something or you don't, but if you miss it, you won't know there's something that you missed. (Did that make sense?)

[DaedalusMkV]

Ah yes, now we're getting to the meat of it... Rattling cough. Tuberculosis? Accounts for pale skin and laboured breathing, wouldn't cause dysrhythmia. Nonoperable; no need to see me. Curious. William nods carefully, his face barely registering the stream of thoughts and diagnoses that he almost reflexively makes. "Of course, Mr. Cargill. I couldn't well refuse such an august personality as yourself, even on such short notice. Do you have a location in mind?" The surgeon makes a show of checking the time, though he knows quite well how much time is left in his shift. "I would be happy to meet you as soon as I can."

OOC:

Yeah, the ST making the Passive rolls is laid out explicitely in the rulebook. It significantly speeds up the game, too, so it's pretty much essential. I certainly don't see anything wrong with it.

[Aerodynamik]

"Brilliant," Cargill shakes Anderson's hand again, more vigorously this time, causing his drooping jowls to tremble as he does so. "Thank you so much for indulging an old man like myself in his little trifles. I've reserved a table for us at La Antica Posta, an Italian restaurant. I've heard it's quite good. They're not usually open as late as when you get off of your shift, but I was able to pull a few strings." He chuckles to himself at that last part.

"Well that was all really," he says, letting go of Anderson's hand. His grip really was surprising tight, for someone of that age and apparent health. "I suppose that I could have called you to talk to you about all that, but I really prefer a more personal touch, don't you? Besides," he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small cell phone, "I never could figure out how to operate one of these infernal contraptions."

[DaedalusMkV]

"Yes, of course Mr Cargill, I'd be delighted. I do appreciate your making concessions for my schedule." He suffers through Cargill's handshake, well used to the primitive posturing that so many powerful people seem to engage in while shaking hands, though he somewhat surreptitiously stretches his delicate fingers afterwards. Seemingly weak pulse, and erattic. Dysrhythmia extremely likely, pending confirmation, but subject's physical strength and endurance rules out sufficiently advanced Leukemia to account for all symptoms. Heart disease? Perhaps looking for a heart transplant? As usual, he doesn't show much indication of his constant inner monologue. "Ah, I'll admit I've never had much trouble with technology. Still, there's very definitely a lot of benefit to personal meetings. Indeed. Well, if there's nothing else for the moment, I do believe that I must return to my work. There is still much to do. I look forwards to your proposition, Mr. Cargill." That said, the surgeon nods to the elderly businessman and turns to head back towards the elevator.

[Aerodynamik]

The doors close behind Anderson as he steps into the elevator, the cold steel of the box enclosing him. The elevator muzak plays gently over the speakers in the background. Ah, the elevator. The short trips between floors were some of the few times during the day that allowed a pause from the hospital's hectic schedule.

The muzak grinds jarringly to a halt. There's a tinny feedback noise, and then some hushed whispering before a woman's voice begins to speak into the PA.

"Dr. Anderson, please report to the Emergency Surgical Unit immediately," there's a tense pause, before the voice repeats itself. "Dr. Anderson, please report to the Emergency Surgical Unit immediately."

Announcements requesting the presence of this doctor or that aren't uncommon, but there's something different about this one. There's an underlying presence of fear underneath the voice's calm exterior. Something's wrong.

The elevator doors open. It's the right floor, coincidentally.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson frowns at the announcement. What? I haven't been called to the ER in six months. This has to be serious... As soon as the elevator door opens, Anderson sets off at a run towards the surgical unit. When he wants to the doctor can really move, and he sets a blistering pace as he weaves through the other hospital personelle. As he reaches the desk, he calls out to the nurse in charge of the area. "What's the situation?" he asks tersely, as he reaches into his pocket for a pair of surgical gloves and begins shrugging out of his tailored lab coat, exposing the standard hospital-issue scrubs underneath.

[Aerodynamik]

"Okay," the nurse say as she moves into step with William as they run towards the ER. "We found this guy lying just outside one the buildings side doors. The nurse stepped out for a smoke and she just found him lying there outside the door. I mean, it didn't look like he had been moved, so he must have been attacked just outside the hospital... He's got severe lacerations all over the body, and I know it doesn't make any sense, but it looks like they came from a large animal. There's severe trauma, and he's bleeding terribly. We've already got a couple of surgeons in there, but our usual vascular surgeon is out, and we need you to fill in for him."

[DaedalusMkV]

An animal attack in downtown Atlanta? Strange. Dr. Anderson grimaces as he finishes pulling on his gloves, then grabs a surgical mask and cap from the box in the ready room. "Well, at least he's got to be fresh, if you found him right outside the door. Lucky him." He enters the operating room, takes a single look at the savaged patient and the doctors clustered around him, and immediately sets to work. "Let's get this done fast. With that much blood-loss, he could go into cardiac arrest at any moment. Is the patient sedated?" Anderson is very much in his environment here; he immediately takes charge of the situation and smoothly begins cleaning and closing the patient's wounds.

OOC and rolls:

I'll admit, I'm not familiar enough with surgical procedure to actually role-play the details of this. I suspect it's the same with you? Either way, I think we shouldn't go into too much detail here.

Rolling Medicine for my first Extended Action, to save time in the future. Surgery is Dex+Medicine, plus my Skill Focus and the +3 from full hospital access, meaning I have a pool of 13 dice. Looks like a lot of Lethal wounds for me to deal with...

[roll0]

EDIT: Wow, that's some very nice rolling. I count 6 Successes, plus a 10. I'll post again for the 10-Again.

[DaedalusMkV]

More rolls:

10 Again Roll:
[roll0]

EDIT: No Success there. That's a total of 6 successes on my first go, then, which does make for an Exceptional Success.

[Aerodynamik]

It's difficult going, but Anderson manage to stop a fair amount of the bleeding. Many of the blood vessels are beyond immediate repair, and the best he can do is clip them to stop the bleeding, hopefully the usual vascular surgeon can do transplants to fix them later. However, many more vessels are repaired and restructured than those he has to ligate.

The patient is still loosing blood fast though, even though he's stopped as much bleeding as he can really see at this point. He needs to figure out where he's bleeding, and fast.

OoC:
Make a Wits+Medicine roll.

(There won't be much more surgery-roleplay, I promise. But since I already went to all the trouble of going to look up how vascular surgery works, I figured I might as well use some of it, right?)

There's a -3 dice pool for any rolls made during the surgery, due to the extreme difficulty (for medical rolls, this would cancel out the +3 bonus for working at a hospital.) I subtracted the three rightmost die rolls on your last roll. Still though, five successes is an exceptional success.

Also, sorry for not posting yesterday. I had a deadline to hand stuff in to my editor by, and I had to hurry to finish my writing to meet it. I met it, though, which was good.

EDIT: Also, oops. I didn't mean to write that in the second person. Fixed now.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson quickly looks over the patient, as well as wracking his memory for any small details he may have noticed but didn't correctly address at the time. Damn it, we're so close now. What could be wrong...

OOC:

It's okay, I totally understand. RL comes before PBP, every day of the week. This is still the fastest, most reliable PbP I've had the pleasure of participating in since X-com Total War died. (I'm still kind of sad about that...)
Rolling Wits+Medicine. I'm not sure if my Skill Focus applies here; if not, ignore the last die.

[roll0]

Edit: Oh good, that's where the 10 shows up. If it applies, just roll a d10 for me. It's not worth double-posting for a potential possible benefit...

[Aerodynamik]

OoC:
Well, thanks I appreciate that. This is my first time doing PbP, so we'll see how this goes.

Also, 10 again!
[roll0]

[Aerodynamik]

OoC:
How droll. Ten again, again.
[roll0]

[Aerodynamik]

Eventually, Anderson stumbles upon an area where blood still seems to be pooling. It's counter-intuitive, there doesn't seem to be any real damage in this area. A search of the area reveals, however, that the posterior intercostal artery has taken damage. It's nothing big – just barely a pinprick, but it's enough. He's bleeding quite a lot. The wound is spurting, even.

He should probably fix that.

Roll two tests this time. I'm eager to get back to plot related things instead of all this faux-medical BS that I've been doing. (I mean, seriously, if anyone who actually knew anything about doctoring read this, they would have a laughing fit.) One roll should be a Wits + Medice + Specialty, the other should be a Wits + Composure.

[DaedalusMkV]

Curious... This shouldn't be causing the amount of damage that it is. Anderson examines the strange injury for a moment, then turns to his anestesiologist. "You haven't used any anticoagulents have you? No, I thought not." Ignoring the conundrum for a moment, he quickly sets to saving the patient's life.

OOC:

Well, it looks like our friend is the victim of a vampire attack, yet the Vampire chose not to hide the incisions, or was incapable of doing so. Curious indeed. Not that my character would think of that, of course.

Wits+Medicine w/ Specialty:
[roll0]
Wits+Composure:
[roll1]

[DaedalusMkV]

OOC:

Dear lord, that's a silly number of 10s. Let's see...
2 10 agains on Wits+Medicine:
[roll0]

And one on Wits+Composure:
[roll1]

Okay, that's technically another 10-again on the Wits+Composure, but I have 5 successes there already. If it matters, roll it for me.

So, Exceptional Successes on both rolls. Wow. Way to go, Dr. Anderson.

[Aerodynamik]

Anderson quickly sets to stopping the bleeding. A difficult task that he somehow manages to make look easy. He notices something strange about the wound, though. It appears deliberate, as though someone specifically nicked the artery. It's not even close to the area where the rest of the damage is. Though... that doesn't really make any sense, does it? Was he attacked by a wild animal and did someone come along later and do this separately? Surely, that couldn't have happened.

Whatever the reason, after the bleeding is stopped, the rate of blood loss drops to almost nothing. After a grueling, difficult, two and a half hour surgery, the patient's life has been saved.

OoC:
Actually, the posterior intercostal artery is in the chest, along the ribcage, in a place that would be horribly difficult to get your fangs into. Uh, sorry. I might have wanted to mention that.

Also, Anderson seems to be the most insanely lucky surgeon ever. Seriously.

[DaedalusMkV]

With a sigh of relief, Anderson steps back from the operating table. "Alright, everyone, we're done here. Send the patient to a recovery room, and make sure he's under constant monitoring. His condition's still fragile. Good work." With that, the now exhausted surgeon strips off his bloodied gloves and leaves them in the biological waste disposal bin, then heads off to get out of his sweat-laden and bloodied scrubs and have a long-overdue shower before his meeting with the enigmatic Mr. Cargill. After a moment of consideration, he pauses to speak with the nurse. "Um... Marie? If you wouldn't mind, there were some definite oddities with regards to my patient's wounds. Some of them didn't seem to be made by claws, and several certainly didn't fit the pattern of an animal attack. If you would talk to the police for me, tell them that there's a possibility that this was a deliberate assault? I'd feel better if someone was looking into this. My shift is ending now, but feel free to give them my number." Without even waiting for a response, the doctor heads off again.

OOC:
Nah, it's all skill.

Interesting, though. That definitely means that he was injured deliberately, and in such a way that it would be very difficult to recognize and treat him. I guess this was a test, either from Cargill or someone like him...

[Aerodynamik]

After a quick shower, a short walk and an elevator ride down into the lobby, Anderson finds himself once again in the presence of Mr. Cargill. The man is an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in a five thousand dollar, dark gray, pin stripe suit. It's past midnight, but he seems just as awake as if it were noon. He doesn't seem to sleep, does he?

He looks up as the doctor approaches. "There, you are, William," he says. "I was beginning to wonder whether you had stood me up. Your shift ended nearly twenty minutes ago, did it not?" He shakes his head. "But no matter. You're here now, that's what's important. Come," he motions for Anderson to follow him, "I've got a car waiting outside."

OoC:
Sorry for the delay in posting. We're getting ready for vacation, and I've been really busy. I'll also probably have limited internet then, too. But I'll post as much as I can. Sorry in advance for any delay.

[DaedalusMkV]

"My appologies, Mr Cargill. I was called into a difficult operation; we finished only moments ago." Anderson's tone isn't particularly appologetic, though his tiredeness certainly carries through to his voice. "Please, lead the way." With that, the surgeon settles in behind Cargill and follows him to the car.

OOC:

Not a problem. Given how busy I am right now, I don't mind that this goes a little bit slowly. Have fun on your vacation!

[Aerodynamik]

Cargill leads the doctor out to the pick up and drop off area, where an old, black, early sixties model Bently waits. A chauffeur holds the door open and he enters the cab of the car, sliding over and allowing Anderson to take the passengers side back seat.

"I am glad you were able to join me on such short notice," the old man says. "I really do–" His cellphone rings, interrupting him. "Ah. Excuse me– I do so hate these confounded contraptions." And he begins to speak into his cellphone, quietly and quickly, leaving the doctor with nothing to keep himself occupied with save the small leaflet lying upon the black leather upholstery in between the two of them.

OoC:
Really sorry about the delay. I mean, really. My vacation was planned down to the minute. (It was less a vacation than a strict work regimen during my break where I drove all around Dallas and occasionally got to see a few friends.) But I'm back now, so... It's no big deal, right?

[DaedalusMkV]

"My pleasure, Mr. Cargill." The doctor doesn't bat an eye at the luxurious car, or the chauffeur waiting for them. While he's certainly impressed by the display of wealth and power, Anderson's seen plenty of similarly ostentatious vehicles; a side effect of working primarily on the rich and famous. When Cargill receives the call, Anderson nods calmly and politely motions to take it. As the call continues, Anderson quickly picks up the leaflet and flips through it, more to stay awake than anything.


Not a problem, as far as I'm concerned. I can wait a week or two for a game as good and reliable as this one.

[Aerodynamik]

Upon closer inspection, the glossy booklet reveals itself to be a program for an opera:


The Devil and Kate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALlQHLw5ZYg&feature=related)
Written by Antonín Dvořák
Preformed by the National Czech Opera Company

CONDUCTOR: Jan Chalupecký
DIRECTOR: Marián Chudovský
STAGE AND COSTUMES: Adolf Born
CHOREOGRAPHER: Daniel Wiesner
CHORUS MASTER: Milan Malý
DRAMATURGY:Pavel Petráněk
The opera is presented in the Czech original, with English super-titles.

CAST:

KATE /KÁČA: Jana Sýkorová, Jana Štefáčková
THE DEVIL /MARBUEL: Jiří Sulženko
JIRKA: Tomáš Černý, Jaroslav Březina
LUCIFER: Bohuslav Maršík
THE PRINCESS: Jitka Svobodová
KATE'S MOM: Libuše Márová

The Atlanta Opera is proud to present, 'The Devil and Kate,' The famous opera by Antonín Dvořák, as preformed by the National Czech Opera, who have flown into the united states for one, special performance.

SYNOPSIS

ACT 1

On a summer evening, Jirka, slightly intoxicated, begs to be excused from further dancing outside the village inn, as he will be in trouble with his employer, the Princess's Steward, if he does not return to his work. Kate then appears with her mother, and Jirka leaves with some of the musicians. Kate wants to dance, but her mother doesn't want her daughter to embarrass herself. Infuriated, Kate says that she will dance with a devil if necessary. Suddenly, a mysterious hunter appears, asking about the Steward and the Princess. He sits down with Kate, engages her in conversation, and asks her to dance with him. She accepts, eventually collapsing with exhaustion but nevertheless exhilarated. Jirka returns, furious with the Steward, who shouted at him for bringing the musicians with him, then beat him, dismissed him and told him to go to Hell. Meanwhile, the hunter has persuaded Kate to go with him to his splendid dwelling. He stamps on the ground, and the two of them disappear into the earth amid thunder, lightning and smoke. It is apparent to all that they have gone to Hell. Jirka, having nothing to lose, consoles Kate's mother by agreeing to follow the pair and rescue Kate, and the Act ends as he jumps into the new hole in the ground.

ACT 2

In Hell, some Devils are playing cards for money. The Guard announces the arrival of Lucifer, who asks whether Marbuel has returned from Earth. On discovering that he hasn't, Lucifer asks to be informed when he does appear, and departs. The Gate-Keeper explains to the other Devils that Lucifer had sent Marbuel to see if the Princess and her Steward are ripe for Hell yet, as Marbuel is–

"Ah, Dvořák," says Cargill, looking over at Anderson where he sat reading the booklet. "My favorite composer." The doctor hadn't even realized he was off the phone. "I swear, the man couldn't create a bad piece of music even if he tried. Are you a fan of the Opera, William?"

OoC:
Wow... that's a lot a text.

By the way, the link there at the top is to the orchestra playing the opera's overture. It's the same group of players in about the same time period as this game is being run, so it should sound almost exactly the same as the performance Cargill went to. Neat, huh?

I've never even really listened to Opera before. I was just thinking about what Cargill would have been doing before he came to get you, and it struck me that he might have gone to see an opera. Two hours later, and about a billion tabs worth of research into opera and classical music later, we have this.

Yeah, I do way too much research for this. What can I say? I'm a stickler for accuracy.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson looks back up, putting the leaflet back on the seat. "I'll admit that I've never had much to do with the opera, Mr. Cargill, outside of a few Wagner productions I attended in my University days. While I've always been an afficionado of Classical music, particularly the Romantic period... Tristan and Isolde, produced by our University Orchestra and Dramatic Productions team in 2001 was the last Opera I attended. Decent work, though the percussion failed to capture Wagner's style... Ah, while I've always enjoyed Classical music, the rest of the Opera experience has never been to my tastes. I'd much rather attend a concert, you understand." When he's tired the surgeon tends to ramble a bit, and considering his nearly photographic memory this rambling can go on for a very, very long time. He remembers to stop talking eventually and awkwardly closes his mouth to give his wealthy companion time to reply.


That is a lot of text...

Now you've got me doing it too. I spent quite a while trying to find a Wagner opera running in Vancouver between 1998 and 2002 before finding out that no such thing happened until 2008, far too late for Anderson to have attended it. So, you get a made-up amateur production by University Students. Sue me. Also researching classical music, particularly the Romantic period, to find something that would appeal to him. Before you know it we'll be writing novels instead of RP posts. :smallwink:

Just out of curiousity, how are the other players doing? With no OOC, I have no idea if the rest of this game is working out as well as this part.

[Aerodynamik]

"A man after my own heart, I must say," Cargill replies. "Most people nowadays couldn't really enjoy classical music if their life depended on it. They have music like the... uh... what are they called... 'Arctic Monkeys' or somesuch. Not real music at all." The car stops smoothly, and the chauffeur gets out and opens the door again. Cargill steps out onto the sidewalk. "Coming, William?"

OoC:
Well, if it makes you feel any better, I had to fudge a little too. I mean, it was a really production, but it never traveled outside of the Czech National Theatre, especially not to Atlanta.

But, um, in terms of the other players, they're games don't seem to be going well. They sort of... dropped out. I've posted the last reply on all of their threads. I might message one of them to ask them what's going on, but the other I'm just going to let go. I might try and get new players. I... might not. We'll see.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, one of the players make have taken it quite literally when I told him that he was dead. I meant 'hey, you're a vampire now,' not 'game over.' I mean, I dunno, I thought I was being clear about what was going on. Maybe not.

DOUBLE EDIT: Now that I think of it, he's probably pretty mad at me about that. I'd be kind of upset if I got killed off in the first page-worth of posts. :smalleek:

TRIPLE EDIT: So to sum it up, no. Not going nearly as well.

[DaedalusMkV]

"Hmm? I can't say I dislike modern music either, Mr. Cargill. I can appreciate the rhythm and melody of the Beatles just as well as the intricacies of Mozart. There's something to appreciate in every genre, even if you don't like the genre as a whole." When the car stops, Anderson slides across the seat after Cargill and steps out the door. "Lead the way."

OOC:
I'm sorry to hear that. Well, as long as you're willing to keep running it for me I've got nothing to complain about. Also, wow. :smalleek: That's pretty harsh with the dead thing; you'd think he'd have been expecting it given the nature of the game, but there are a lot of non-native English speakers on the boards who might not understand the subtext very well. Maybe just send him a message laying it out, to avoid the possibility of misunderstanding?

[Aerodynamik]

"The Beatles? I would hardly lump them in with 'New Music,'" says Cargill. "But never mind that. Come." And he motions for Anderson to follow him as he enters a nearby building.

While the outside is on the slightly shabby side, the inside of the building has a wonderfully elegant quality. In the center of the room, a single table sits, illuminated in a pool of candlelight. Cargill sits, motioning for Anderson to follow.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson sits as well, sliding his chair into place with exaggerated care, then looks at Gargill again. "Alright, I think it's time to get to business, Mr. Cargill. You've been awfully enigmatic so far, and as interesting as the small talk has been I'll admit I'm quite tired. I'd prefer to deal with your proposition as soon as possible, enjoy... What sort of food do they serve here, anyways? You never did say. Regardless, I'd like to get our business out of the way." Anderson is blunt, either not bothering or just not remembering to be as courteous and discrete as he had been earlier in the night. He watches the old businessman, trying to gauge his reactions and figure out exactly what it is that Cargill wants, and why he's spent so much time trying to get it.

[Aerodynamik]

"It's Italian. I think I said before," the old man says. He sits back in his chair. He looks older, now, and more tired, but there's a spark in his eyes that's different now. Before, he was a loquacious and jovial old man, but now he's changed. He's tired, but something has awoken a fire in him, and there' something in his eyes that has changed. Anderson has never seen this side of him before.

"My proposition is that I want you to come work for me," He says, leaning back in his seat, eyes full of heat. "I maintain a private facility, where we study a rare, but extremely dangerous disease, vivus morte. While there are ways to over come a few of the symptoms, we don't have a cure for all of them." He pauses. "We need a new mind, a fresh pair of eyes, to help us take a second look at the situation. What we need is you," he says.

He stops for a moment, as a waitress comes to hand out menus and take drink orders, to let this sink in.

OoC:
He did say before. I know that it may well have been a roleplaying thing, the good doctor is obviously tired, and a bit fed up with our mutual friend's jabbering. He may have forgotten. But I'm just saying. He did say before.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson thinks back, then replies "Perhaps you're right, it's been a long day."
Anderson is shocked by Cargill's proposal, and remains silent as he takes a menu from the waitress, though he speaks up long enough for a drink order. "Hmm... I'll take the House Red, please, and some water as well if you don't mind." Then he turns to Cargill, an odd expression on his face, "A research post? You said you're studying... Vivus morte? Living death, I believe that translates to? I've never heard of such a condition, Mr. Cargill, so it must be obscure indeed." The surgeon stops talking again for a moment, frowning in concentration. Vivus morte... I must be sure to do some research, whether I take the job or not. Anderson looks back to the elderly businessman, then continues his reply. "Diagnostic medicine is something of a hobby of mine, as you well know, so I must admit I find your offer intriguing... But I have a very prestigious position with a respected institution now, Mr. Cargill, and I well expect to be made Head Surgeon within a few years. I have no desire to jeopardize that, you must understand." When the waitress returns with his wine, Anderson stops again and sips it carefully, then nods and smiles at her to show his appreciation. "So, I'll need to know a little bit more about the position before I take you up on your offer."


In retrospect? Yes, he did. Normally I'd have checked the thread before posting that, what with the Eidetic Memory and all, but the good doctor is quite off his game at this point and he's making slips he normally wouldn't.

[Aerodynamik]

At the mention of the doctor's plans for the future, Cargill's fire sputters and dies. He's slumped in his chair again, and old. So very old.

"Well," he coughs into his sleeve, "It's a strange disease. Its symptoms include a weak, erratic pulse, partial failure of the digestive system, and, strangely, cessation of the bone marrow's ability to produce red blood cells under it's own power. Someone who had it would require blood transfusions quite frequently."

A short pause as Cargill sips his wine. He seems to enjoy it, but it also seems like it doesn't entirely agree with him.

"Look, I don't want you to make a snap decision like this, William, of course I don't. I just want to consider it. Think about it, and maybe some time on your next night off, you can come to my lab and we can discuss it more, once you really see what all we're doing."

The waitress returns to take the pair's orders.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson sits through Cargill's symptom list, his tired mind racing again. What an odd condition... It fits Cargill's symptoms perfectly, of course. Cessation of red blood cell production and digestive issues... Definite resemblence to Leukemia, but treatability with blood transfusion is an odd factor. Such conditions should lead to rejection of donated blood... Interesting. The surgeon sips thoughtfully at his wine as he analyzes the information he's been presented. When the waitress arrives, Anderson hands her his menu. "I'd like the baked three-cheese lasaugna, please. Could I bother you for a glass of water as well? Thanks." After she leaves again, he turns back to Cargill. "I'll admit, it does all sound fascinating. I do have saturday off; perhaps we can undertake this venture then?"


Sorry for not putting anything up yesterday; I had two exams today, and conditions were not favourable for non-school-related activities. I'm back on the wagon now, though.

[Aerodynamik]

"Brilliant then, William," Cargill replies. "Would it be all right if you visited during the evening? Seven, or eight o'clock, perhaps? We're going to be very busy during the day, and I would hate to have to cut your tour short because something came up." He takes a bite of his veal, and almost seems to wince as he swallows.

OoC:
I totally understand. Exams trump games, any day.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson smiles at the waitress again as she brings his pasta. "Thank you. I'm absolutely famished..." As soon as she leaves again he digs into the food with gusto. It's been altogether too long since his last meal, and as delicious as the food here is his hunger outweighs any desire to savour it. "I believe that I can make that work, Mr. Cargill. As long as I am not inconveniencing your group by coming after working hours." Anderson continues attacking his Lasaugna, but a though occurs to him... Busy at work on a saturday? Odd indeed for a research institution. Perhaps it's part of the nature of this... Vivus Morte? I can't imagine why, though...

[Aerodynamik]

"No, of course you're not imposing," he says jovially. "My entire team wouldn't need to be there for me to give a tour." He chokes down another bite of veal and grimaces. "Delicious," he says.

OoC:
Gee whiz, sorry about the delay. I've been busy.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson nods politely, carefully ignoring Cargill's obvious distress in eating the food, as he quickly wolfs down the last of his lasaugna. "Then it would be my pleasure, Mr. Cargill. I'm always interested in a fascinating condition such as this." He pauses to sip from his wine again, then continues, "I don't suppose you could give me any more information, so that I could do a little bit of research of my own in the mean time? I very much prefer to go into this sort of venture as well-educated as I can." That said, the surgeon leans back and relaxes a bit. It seems to him that everything has been said now, all the facts on the table. He doesn't truly intend to take up Cargill's offer, but curiousity and a willingness to go out of his way for wealthy investors will see him through at least this far.


Not a problem. It makes me feel a bit less guilty when I take a break for a day or so. It's a nice pace, really, predictable and regular but slow enough that I don't feel obligated to rush posts through.

[Aerodynamik]

Cargill nods, takes a final bite and then pushes the plate away. "Of course," he says, "I'll send it to your work e-mail immediately." He wipes his mouth on a white linen napkin and sighs.

"I do apologize, William, but truthfully I'm feeling rather ill, I may have to cut this visit short." One of the chauffeurs appears behind him. "Once you're finished eating, Anton here can drive you wherever you need to go."

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson nods politely as Cargill makes his excuses. "Of course, no problem at all. I suppose that I will see you on saturday, then. I assume you'll provide me with the location of your institution?" After Cargill leaves, Anderson finishes the last of his wine and turns to the Chauffer. "Alright... Anton, yes? I'm ready to go now. We're heading for 1231 Barnes Street, if you don't mind." On the way to the car, Anderson does his best to start a conversation. "So, what is it like working for Cargill? He seems to be fairly... Eccentric, at times."

[Aerodynamik]

The pair enters the car and Anton begins to drive to the address. The car passes through the bright lights of downtown. The city is alive, even at this ungodly time of night.

"Cargill is good," he says slowly in a thick eastern European accent, struggling around the foreign syllables. The hulking man's english isn't the best.

OoC:
My first thought was 'His house number is really 1231? Really?'

And then I google mapped (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1231%20Barnes%20Street%20atlanta&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&gl=us&resnum=1&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl) it. And there's a house there at 1231 Barnes Street. Was that one of those things where you actually looked up an address where it would make sense for him to live, or was this just a happy coincidence?

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson nods to the driver in response, but doesn't make any effort to continue the conversation. He stays quiet for the rest of the trip home, quietly thinking to himself and trying his best not to fall asleep. Once the car arrives at his destination he nods to the driver. "Thank you, Anton."

Inside, Anderson stays up only long enough to lock the door and strip out of his clothes. He's asleep within minutes of hitting the bed.


The power of Google Maps, my friend. I spent five minutes looking for a residential area reasonably close to both Piedmont and the public transit lines, which I did. Luckily enough, said maps have block numbers and I just picked an address in the area. Google: Making my life easier while taking over the world.

Do you want to skip forwards to saturday, now?

[Aerodynamik]

OoC:
Yep, that's the plan. Can't post a thing just yet, but I'll do another post soon, starting Chapter Two. Remember how we've got chapters, as a formatting thing? Originally it was designed like that so that no one player got to far ahead of the others, chronologically. I'd tell that player to hang tight for a bit and then when all players would start each chapter at the same time. But, uh, since you're the only guy who's still playing, I'll probably only use them for convenient time skips now.

[DaedalusMkV]

Sounds good to me. No rush, really. Can i haz XP, plz? :smallwink:






A joke in bad taste? Perhaps, perhaps.

[Aerodynamik]

Anderson (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=283483), Chapter 2 – Vivus Morte

Night 4, October 30th 2010 (Saturday)

The rest of the week seems to pass in a flash, and it's Saturday before Dr. Anderson even has time to turn around. Cargill's e-mail in which he details the symptoms of 'living death' never arrives, a fact which Anderson probably isn't as surprised about as he should be.

It's sunset, and Anderson is walking back to his house from the nearby Publix Grocery. The trees that line the street are golden leafed and children run back and forth along the street, some dressed as wizards and werewolves, excited about Halloween coming the next day. His phone goes off and he answers it. It's Jolene, one of the nurses from the hospital.

"Hello, Dr. Anderson?" she says. "I hope you don't mind me calling on your day off, but we've found some footage on one of the security cameras that may relate to that man you saved a few days ago. You said you wanted me to let you know if anything came up."

OoC:
I've hijacked the plot here a little bit, hope you don't mind.

Also, take five XP.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson smiles nostalgically at the kids in their costumes. Really, it doesn't matter if you're from the west coast of Canada or the southeast United States, children are all the same. When the phone rings he quickly picks it up and answers. As Jolene speaks, the smile quickly disappears from his face and he returns to full alertness. "Yes, of course. I'm on my way now, Joline. Thank you for informing me. Did you ever contact the police about the event?" Even as he talks, the surgeon methodically calls up the victim's injuries in his mind and walks quickly back home to drop off the groceries and pick up his car.

Alright, 5 XP it is. I'll figure out what, if anything, I want to spend it on and let you know in my next post.

Out of curiousity, I guess Publix Grocery is an Eastern chain? We certainly don't have them here in Western Canada, and I haven't seen any in Montana, Nevada, Washington, Oregon or California either.

[Aerodynamik]

"Well, it's nothing really urgent. I mean, the police have already seen it and you don't have to come in unless you have a strong desire to watch fifteen minutes of a really blurry figure attacking a man in the alleyway next to the hospital. I know it's strange, but whoever attacked him is really out of focus the whole time. No matter where they are in the frame, or what they're doing, you can't make out anything about them, aside from their basic shape."

Anderson unlocks the door to his house, phone pressed against his ear as he continues to listen. "But that's not even the weird part. The weird part is that they're like an animal. They're running on all fours, and they rake this guy across the chest with their hands and they start bleeding, like he's got claws. Whoever it is, they're totally going to town on this guy, clawing him and biting him and stuff, like they're a beast. And then they stop, stand, and take a scalpel out of their pocket. They bend down to where this guy is lying on the ground and bleeding out and they cut him with it, just once. Then they kind of dust themselves off and walk away, just as normal seeming as you or me."

Anderson is in the kitchen, still listening. He puts the bread and cereal away in the cupboard, the bananas out on the counter. He turns to the fridge, to put away the eggs, and is shocked by what he sees.

A note, written upon a paper towel has been pinned to the freezer door, stuck there by one of his own kitchen knives, embedded at least an inch thick in the door. It reads:

'If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from Cargill.'

Jolene is still on the phone "Doctor? Are you still there?"

OoC:
Well, I didn't see them. until I moved out a little further east. They seem to start in Tennessee and go east from there. There certainly aren't any in Texas, where I used to live.

Truthfully, I'm not a big fan of them, but according to google maps, there's one, like, two blocks from his house. I decided that even if he wasn't a big fan of them either, he would likely shop there for convenience's sake.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson listens raptly as the nurse speaks, thoughts of groceries and children largely forgotten. The injuries were indeed remarkable, but the cause of them... This is more than he had ever bargained for. "Yes, sorry. I'm still here." The surgeon temporarily puts the mysterious message out of his mind. "Blurry, you say. Is the camera out of service, or is the attacker the only one who's out of focus? Never mind, your tone made it pretty clear it's the latter. That certainly matches the injuries I saw, but... I can't imagine how a person could have caused those bite wounds and lacerations. You'd have needed fangs and claws for that, not fingers and teeth. It sounds like our mystery assailant is some kind of yeti." The grim joke doesn't hold much humour to it. Between this news and the strangeness with Cargill, Anderson is definitely a bit out of his depth. "I suppose we'll have to leave it to the police, then. Still, such a strange situation... I'm sorry for going on, Jolene. Thank you for informing me." After a quick farewell, he hangs up the phone and files the details away for the moment. One thing at a time, after all.

When he inspects the note, Anderson is careful not to touch the paper or the knife. Well, I wonder... What have I found myself involved in? It seems that I need to be careful after all. This vivus mortus, I need to learn more. He quickly walks through the house, checking for any other signs of a break-in, then call the police to report the incedent. That done, he heads upstairs and boots up his computer and logs on to a major medical database; between now and the police's arrival, he intends to learn everything publically known about the Living Death.


Alright, I've chosen to spend 2 XP to put a single dot into the Fighting Style: Kung Fu advantage. I'll save the other 3 for the future. I'm guessing we're running things a little slower than planned right now? I'm actually quite enjoying the pacing right now. It feels like everything keeps moving, but I never feel rushed.

[Aerodynamik]

A quick look through a few of the medical databases that he knows of reveals nothing. As far as the online medical encyclopedia is concerned, there's no such thing as vivus morte. Anderson is partway through his research when he is interrupted by a knock on the door.

OoC:
Well, yeah. Originally, you were a vampire at some point during night one. But I kind of rethought that when I was thinking about what a realistic reaction for Cargill would be, knowing his backstory and motives. And so you're not (yet). So, I think things are happening a little slower than I originally anticipated, but I think I agree with what you said about things moving along at a rapid clip.

Also, a computer use roll:
[roll0]

Yeah, no successes. Oh well.

[DaedalusMkV]

As the fruitless search goes on, Anderson becomes more and more frustrated. Nothing is this obscure. There's no mention of it, no reference to symptoms, not even the slightest hint that the condition known as vivus morte exists at all. Add break-ins and death threats to the mix... There is definitely something wrong going on here. When the knock on the door comes, Anderson quickly logs off his computer and jogs down the stairs to open it.

Sorry about the delay. I planned to post last night, but kind of forgot.

[Aerodynamik]

Anderson reaches the door and opens it to find a burly police officer on the other side. He seems tired. "Sir, we received a call from this address about half an hour ago. May I come in, please?"

OoC:
Lateness is never a big deal. (As evidenced by the fact that it took me a couple of days to get back to you.)

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson swings the door open and gestures inside. "Of course, officer. There was a break-in here, not too long ago. None of the locks are smashed or the windows broken, so I don't know how exactly they got in." The doctor begins leading his visitor to the kitchen. "As far as I can tell they didn't actually take anything, so it wasn't a robbery. All they did was leave me a little... Surprise." He gestures to the fridge, the knife and note still embedded. "I didn't touch it, of course."

[Aerodynamik]

"Hmm," the officer examines the knife embedded in the freezer carefully. "You said that there were no signs of forced entry, huh?" He looks at you blankly.

"Who's Cargill?" he asks.

[DaedalusMkV]

"Well, I don't know if they forced their way in or not. They didn't smash anything, at least as far as I saw, but maybe they picked the lock or something? Breaking into people's houses isn't exactly my specialty." Anderson is getting a little bit more agitated now; he really wasn't expecting this degree on nonchalance. "As to Cargill, he's an investor and businessmen, one of the major backers of the Piedmont hospital. He's been consulting with me on a strange medical condition, but he doesn't seem particularly dangerous." Of course, Anderson is starting to have his doubts about that particular fact, but now is neither the time nor place for him to speak up about them.

[Aerodynamik]

"All right Mr. Anderson, I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. There's not much I can do with this. If this was small time gang activity, they wouldn't be nearly so neat about it. There'd be broken glass all over the place, a smashed doorknob, whatever. But this...? I'm going to dust it for prints, but I can't make any promises that they'll bring any results, and even if they do, I can't make any promises that the evidence will lead to anything. I can post an officer to keep an eye out in this area tonight, but that's about it." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry there's not more that I can do, sir."

He finishes up with the prints, and starts to leave. "I guess in the meantime, maybe you should stay out away from this Cargill fellow. If he's got enemies like this, maybe he's not what you think he is."

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson nods to the policeman, grimacing slightly. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. There's not much to go on, is there? Well, thank you for taking the time to come here, Officer, no matter how much you can do to help. I'm not sure that I can avoid Cargill, but I can assure you I'll keep a close eye out." The surgeon walks his visitor to the door, then closes it firmly behind him. What have I got myself into? Anonymous "warnings" from burglars and deliberate and very strange murder attempts in the parking lot. What do I do now? Anderson checks the time, trying to figure out how much more time he has before the scheduled meeting with Cargill, as he sits down on the recliner in his living room for a few minutes to think. Well, whoever is behind all this... They won't find me as helpless as they think.

[Aerodynamik]

Anderson checks his watch. It's about half an hour before he's supposed to arrive at Cargill's facility. If he's to leave, he may want to get ready to go soon.

As he considers this, his phone begins to ring. He shifts in his chair and pulls it from his pocket, checking the Caller ID. Speak of the devil, it's Cargill.

OoC:
We're almost to page three. How exciting.

Also, does Anderson have a car? Or does he just take the subway everywhere?

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson waits until the phone rings three times, then picks it up. "Hello, Mr. Cargill."

Sorry... There's only so much I can do with answering the phone.

Indeed, almost page 3. That's not too shabby, given there's only the two of us.

I would assume that Anderson does have a car, given that it's not like he doesn't have more than enough money to afford one, or any reason not to. Just assume he prefers to take the subway to work, and tends to avoid driving when he can.

[Aerodynamik]

"William, my boy," says Cargill over the phone. His voice sounds distant. "I was just in the neighborhood and was wondering if you wanted me to go ahead and pick you up on my way back to the lab. I know it's a little bit before when we agreed to meet, but I thought I would ask anyway." He pauses, waiting for a reply.

OoC:
Yeah, I wasn't expecting some amazing role-playing, I just wanted to make sure you weren't about to chicken out and not even answer the phone.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson flashes back to the note on his fridge; he may not be able to afford to displease Cargill by blowing him off completely, but he has no intention of putting himself completely in the old man's power at this point. He responds quietly, letting a little bit of the fear and frustration he's been feeling creep into his voice. "I do appreciate the offer, Mr. Cargill, but I'm afraid I've been delayed a little bit. There's been a break-in at my house, you see, and I've still got a few things to finish up on here before I can head out. If you give me the address of the lad, I should be able to make it there close enough to the planned time not to be a bother, as long as I hurry." It's broadly the truth, if a bit misleading.


Not sure if I have to roll for that or not. As I said, it's basically the truth,
but not quite. I'll just roll a Manipulation check just in case I need it. Anderson's pretty bad at lying, though...

[roll0]

[Aerodynamik]

"Your house has been broken into? That's terrible. Was anything taken?" he asks. His voice echoes strangely over the line.

OoC:
Being this bad at lying is going to be a problem. I mean, only one die?

[DaedalusMkV]

"Oh, certainly, but it could be much worse. They didn't take anything I can't live without." Except my peace of mind... Anderson thinks to himself. "Regardless, I've had the police in and they're doing what they can, so you needn't concern yourself."

It's not that big a deal. Most of the time I'll be using other tactics to deflect away from that; I can use Persuasion, which he is much better at (4 dice), to simply move past conversations or convince people that the truth isn't a bad thing, or Socialize to sidestep the question entirely or lead conversations to safer topics if I don't want to talk about something, or just do what I did in this case and twist the truth a little bit, so that even if they realize I'm not being entirely honest it's not all that big a deal.
Also, being useful is a very good way to avoid a lot of bad consequences, and I fully intend to ensure that everyone (and everything) realizes that Anderson is. Even Vampires benefit from doctors and plastic surgery, and I have vague intentions of Anderson turning into what basically amounts to the (neutral) doctor of the supernatural community, treating anyone who needs it in exchange for money, favours and/or blood and trying to get a clinic declared Elysium.

[DaedalusMkV]

OOC:

Oops, I forgot some rolls. I need to do:
Wits+Empathy: What's Cargill thinking right now? (What sort of general emotional state is he in, primarily, but let's see how many successes I can accumulate. Including the skill focus, I've got 7 dice.)
[roll0]

Manipulation+Socialize: Trying to lead the conversation away from the break-in and back to the meeting at the lab. Three dice here.
[roll1]

[Aerodynamik]

"As long you're sure you're all right..." Cargill says. He sounds worried. "Well, please let me know if there's anything I can do to help. If you're worried about a repeat break in, for example, I can get you a room in a hotel I own.

"Also, don't worry about our appointment, you can take as long as you need to arrive, it's no trouble."

OoC:
Sorry for the delays. I was very busy this week, and then I discovered Spiral Knights. Haven't played an MMO in a long time that I actually liked, much less got addicted to.

[DaedalusMkV]

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Cargill. The police have promised to have a few men watch my neighborhood for the next few days, and I think I'll see what I can do about a security system in the meantime; I don't suppose you have any reccomendations? Regardless, just tell me where to go and I can meet you at the research facility." Anderson waits for a moment, reaching across his desk for a notepad and pencil. Now then... How secretive are you, Cargill?

OOC:

No big deal. I've been sick for most of the past week, so it's not like I was in a real hurry to move things along.

[Aerodynamik]

"Well, we... Our situation is a little strange. Let's meet in front of the Rowen Kolonski building Downtown. The address is 133 Peachtree Street. If you want to take the MARTA, It's barely two blocks south of the Peachtree station. We can walk from there. It's not even a block away."

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson scribbles the address onto his notepad, then puts it into his pocket. "Alright, Mr. Cargill, I'll meet you there as soon as I can. Thank you." He hangs up the phone and lets out a sigh of relief; even at night, downtown will be quite busy. He'll be able to deal with whatever might happen there. He goes upstairs to wash his face and hands and changes into more formal clothes, a nice shirt and good dress pants, before grabbing his coat and heading out the door towards the MARTA station east of his house, feeling a lot better about his whole situation. While this vivus morte situation is still very odd, at least his questions will soon be answered.

[Aerodynamik]

The MARTA train is packed full, as would be expected on a weekend night. There are gangsters in thick coats, business men going out to party on their night off, and quite a few people going to early Halloween parties. One woman, maybe in her early twenties, is dressed as a bumblebee, the bright yellow of her costume contrasting oddly with the homeless person who has fallen asleep in the seat next to her.

After what seems like an eternity, the train arrives at the Peachtree station. Anderson steps out into the crowded streets and walks the few blocks to the Rowen & Kolonski building. It towers over head, and amidst the glut of people passing on the sidewalk, Anderson spots Cargill, who waves at him.

"Ah, William," he says. "There you are." He seems jovial, although also very tired.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson steps forwads and holds out his hand. "Mr Cargill, I must appologise for the trouble. I didn't intend to keep you waiting." He smiles faintly, relieved that the mysteries will finally be resolved, one way or another.

[Aerodynamik]

"It's no problem William, I had just arrived myself," Cargill says. "Now, If you'll follow me, it's just over here." He begins to walk away down the street, Anderson following. They cross the street to the parking garage next door, where Cargill leads them to an elevator. He takes a key from around his neck, puts it into the lock next to the button marked for basement and turns. The lift begins to descend, slowly.

OoC:
Okay, this is weird. I would have sworn that the building at 133 Peachtree was the Rowen Kolonski building. I remember thinking that their names were both spelled kind of funny. But according to Google maps, the building is the British Consulate-General Building. But that's where I looked it up before, where it said it was something different. It's very strange, and instead of thinking that Google might be wrong, I'm starting to question my own sanity.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson follows a few steps behind Cargill, and as the old businessman reaches for the key he begins to grow concerned. This is entirely wrong; while a research lab might not advertise what exactly it's working on, no legitimate facility would ever conceal itself like this. Nobody would ever invest in an orgainzation unwilling to announce its' presence, which means that this is either a government project or a criminal enterprise, and Anderson is being lied to. For a moment he's tempted to bolt from the elevator, but in the end he's quite confident that he can deal with one old man. Nonetheless, he's completely alert now. "Are you sure this is the right way, Mr. Cargill? This... Isn't quite what I expected."

That is wierd. Google Maps does have the occasional issue (It has, on occasion, given me incorrect directions and it often seriously misplaces its dots for businesses, though my personal favorite was when it decided that a major road in Calgary was actually a small backroad almost 100 kilometres south of the city limits), but I guess the only way to really know is to see it with your own eyes. Either way, we're definitely into the thick of it now. Anderson's now quite jumpy, and the only reason he didn't abandon the whole enterprise was his slightly overinflated ego.

[Aerodynamik]

"I would hardly forget the way to my own laboratory," Cargill says. "Don't be ridiculous.

"I know the locale may seem a little strange, but there's a perfectly reasonable explanation, I assure you." The elevator hits the bottom of the shaft with a dull echo-y thud, and the doors open. "That's an explanation for another time though. Follow me please."

The room on the other side of the elevator doors is a big, open space, floors and walls made of concrete, filled with lab equipment. Huge refrigerators for samples, operating tables, ultrasound machines, CAT scans, high-powered electric microscopes, tissue analysis units. Every few feet along the wall there's a window with the blinds pulled shut, sunlight filtering in. This makes sense until Dr. Anderson realizes that not only are they underground, but it's night time. Maybe there are lightbulbs behind the blinds, simulating daylight? That has to be what it is.

"What do you think," Cargill asks, gesturing at the maze of high powered lab equipment that lies before them. "It's not much, but it does what I need it to."

OoC:
Yay! It only took us three months to get to the exciting part.

In other news, I will be so glad when you finally meet some other characters. I'm excited to finally get to write about someone who's not Cargill.

[DaedalusMkV]

The doctor stares at the equipment for a few seconds, quite shocked. Incredible... This equipment alone is worth millions, and the facility itself and the researchers' salaries as well... someone is sinking a fortune into this facility. Anderson does his best to get his emotions under control, then directs his attention to Cargill once again. "You do seem to have an impressive facility here. This lab rivals anything we have at the hospital, and Piedmont is first-class..." He looks around again, then blinks and turns back to Cargill. "I must ask, though: What are the operating tables for? This is a research facility, and you seemed quite certain the vivus morte condition was currently incurable. Are you performing biopsies in close proximity to the testing apperati? This doesn't look like a cleanroom, either..." Anderson seems quite offput at this possibility; such procedures could easily cause false results in their findings, not to mention the potential for infection or other contamination to the patients.


Indeed, I have to agree wholeheartedly. Has it really been that long? *checks* Wow, it has.

[Aerodynamik]

"We have a clean room in the back, of course," he says. "We just don't have room in it to store the equipment in it. It's too small, and you have no idea how hard it is to get a construction crew down here to expand it. The elevator is far too small to fit much in the way of construction materials." he chuckles to himself at this, and begins to lead Dr. Anderson through the mess of lab equipment for the tour. "Also, about the biopsies– While we understand that the disease is incurable, we're trying to learn how to combat the symptoms, and the deeper understanding of the virus that is provided by biopsies allows us to do this." He stops for a moment, going over to a tall instrument with a huge silver cylinder on it. "Here, look at this– have you ever seen an electron microscope up close before?"

[DaedalusMkV]

"No, I don't suppose I have. I've never actually had cause to use one..." Anderson steps forwards and bends down slightly to get a better look. "You've certainly got quite the facility here, Mr. Cargill. It must have cost tens of millions to set all this up." He straightens up for a moment, then seems to notice something and turns quickly to Cargill. "Did you just say that it was viral? Strange..." That doesn't match with the observed and stated symptoms of the condition, at all. Anderson had been quite certain that it must be a genetic condition, especially when informed of the difficulty in producing hemoglobin, whether inherited or the result of cellular mutation. A virus simply shouldn't be able to cause the symptoms described... Certainly not without killing the victim. "You know, I never did receive the detailed information you promised me. I don't suppose I could get a copy of your research notes?"


I had a reply all typed up last night, but due to perennial internet problems lost it when my connection up and vanished after clicking submit. Of course, because of said perennial problems I'm in the practice of copying every post I make before submitting, just in case that happens, so I thought it was just a matter of waiting for the connection to restore itself, then hitting paste and trying again. So, unsurprisingly, the computer took that opportunity to overheat and reset itself for no easily determined reason. :smallfurious: Stupid internet...

[Aerodynamik]

Cargill sighs. "Okay. I'm sorry, but I think this charade's gone on long enough. I'm going to tell you the truth." He pauses for a moment. "We should probably sit down, this is going to take a while." He walks across the vast empty space and pulls two chairs over to the space next to the electron microscope.

"William," he says, "before I tell you anything else, I just want you to know that I am a man of science, as you are, and while some of the things I am about to tell you seem strange or impossible, I have tested every other explanation, and while I do not understand the causes, I do understand that these things, these symptoms that I am about to tell you, are real."

Dr. Anderson begins to speak but Cargill interrupts. "Please, just let me speak. I know that you'll have questions, but it will be much easier if you save them until the end." He takes a long, shuddering breath before beginning.

"All the things I told you about Vivus Morte are true, in a sense. It's very rare. It almost completely shuts down all major organs in the body. It requires blood transfusions weekly in order for the patient to survive. It's spread virally, although I'm currently unsure whether or not it's a true virus. One thing I haven't told you yet is that it's old.

"It's been around for a long time; the first documented cases are in Egypt, I think. Of course, even as advanced as the ancient Egyptians were, they were still unable to recognize what it was, and they claimed it was a curse. Outbreaks of the disease spread throughout the old world from Egypt until almost every country had at least a few dozen cases, and the common word for someone who had contracted vivus morte among Europeans became 'vampire.' Most people who have it today call it vampirism, which is really what it is.

"It's symptoms fit with the usual descriptions of vampirism. Susceptibility to daylight and fire, drinking blood– or a need for blood transfusions anyway, frequently taken through the mouth– and also death. Although, obviously not real death. I am still here talking to you, after all. The stories of the vampires having fantastic strength and power over the beasts, these thing are true as well 'symptoms' which are present is some, but not all cases."

"Some of it is definitely supernatural, or magical, if you will. I won't deny that. But I believe that with modern scientific techniques, I could develop a better understanding of how it works, and possibly develop a cure. When the ancient Egyptians called it a curse, they weren't too far off the mark. I have had this dissease for far longer than you can comprehend, and I am ready to be rid of it."

He stops. "I'm sure you have questions." He folds his hands in his lap.

Sorry about two things: A) Sorry about the lateness of my reply, I was busy graduating from high-school. B) Sorry about the metric crapton of exposition and not letting you respond, but I wasn't sure how we would get through this bit if I didn't just have him tell you to shut up so he could do all of his expositing in one go as opposed to dragged out across the next several weeks with pacing that would make a snail look fast.

Also, yes. The internet can do some pretty lame things sometimes.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson's face grows whiter and whiter as Cargill's monologue goes on, and when finally given a chance to speak he bursts out, "You must be joking! I can understand why a condition like this might have inspired the Vampire myths, but how can you expect me to believe that a disease can grant magical powers!?" He shouts the last two words, angry at being duped by a clearly delusional old man. "I expect next you'll tell me that you can turn into a bat and fly away, or that you don't cast a shadow." He sighs, a little bit calmer now. "I can see that you're dedicated to this, Cargill, so I'll take a look at your research findings. But please, don't waste my time with fairy tales."


Congrats, and good luck with finals. I remember my last few weeks of high school; It's kind of funny, all those people I spent years around, leaving for new places. You just don't have the same connection to your classmates in Uni as you do in HS, maybe because there are usually fifty of them and you only see like three of them again.

No problem on the exposition. It's not like Anderson believed a word of it anyways. :smallamused:

[Aerodynamik]

"William," says Cargill, obviously annoyed by the doctor's disrespectful outburst. "I want you to look at this and tell me that there's a reasonable scientific explanation for it."

he holds up a pale, veined hand for the doctor to examine. It's still for a second, and wholly unremarkable. And then it changes shape.

It seems to happen both in slow motion and extremely quickly at the same time. The fingers lengthen, sharpening themselves into points as the skin turns dark and rough. Soon his whole hand has changed, and a large, jet black claw sits at the end of his thin, weak arm.

Thanks. I've already attended a college class as part of a dual enrollment program, and I totally see what you mean about that.

And yeah, Cargill was unsure how Anderson would take this. He's pretty eccentric, and not very social. No contact with anyone who hasn't also been dead for years and years might do that to someone.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson stares, his mouth hanging slightly open. "Well. That is odd... Alright, fine. I'll give your 'supernatural' theory a shot, though I have nowhere near enough evidence to discount anything yet. Let's see that research data..." Meanwhile, the doctor begins to put two and two together. An attack by a hunched-over humanoid figure, leaving terrible claw wounds, and a small, surgical strike made deliberately afterwards to ensure that saving the victim would be as difficult as possible, and now Cargill can grow claws on his arms. There's no way this is a coincedence.


Rolling in advance:
Investigation+Intelligence w/ Skill Focus, working on making his way through any information provided as quickly and effectively as possible and finding any salient points: [roll0]

Medicine+Intelligence: For everything else related to examining the disease, if required.
[roll1]

[Aerodynamik]

Facts and ideas rush through Anderson's mind as he hurries to make sense of the new information.

The claws – The person who attacked the man outside the hospital had them, as does Cargill. They look to be about the right size and shape to have caused the wounds, assuming enough force was put behind them. Could Cargill have exerted that much force? It's unknown. Are claws like these a common thing among the 'vampires'? Also unknown.

The surgical incision that was made – Cargill did indeed seem to have a fair amount of medical experience, a fact which was previously unknown. However, the incision could have been made by anyone who had been shown a diagram and had a few chances to practice. It wasn't rocket science. If it was botched, after all, the person was already grievously wounded anyway.

...If Anderson could get a chance to see the video, depending upon how blurry it is, he might be able to tell whether the attacker was Cargill or not, based upon body language at least, if his face wasn't recognizable.

"Here they are," Cargill says, returning from around the corner. "These are the research notes, like you asked. However, I must say that a further discussion might reveal more about the condition that just pouring over the notes would. There are a few basic assumptions which I haven't actually included in the notes. The notes tend to focus upon the causes of the disease, rather than the symptoms and culture surrounding it, which are just as important, for now anyway, as your understanding of the causes." He places the notes in the doctor's hands, and Anderson can feel that they're warm and slightly damp. Freshly printed.

One factoid/investigation snippet for each success.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson takes the notes and begins skimming through them, trusting to his excellent memory to absorb as much data as possible and actually analyze it later. "That's entirely fair. If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it if you'll run me through the basics of the condition; how is it contracted and what are the basic symptoms you alluded to earlier? I'll certainly need as much background as I can get on this to make a proper assessment." The doctor certainly doesn't trust Cargill much at all at this point, but his curiousity has definitely gotten the better of him; here is a grand medical mystery to solve, and he always did love a good mystery. "I can already deduce some of them, I think, but it's best not to make any assumptions at this stage."

[Aerodynamik]

Cargill grins, and then gets down to bussiness.

"Let's start with how the disease is spread: through blood transfusions. The virus– assuming that this condition is truly a virus– is spread when infected blood comes into contact with a body that is devoid, or very nearly devoid of white blood cells. Nearly any amount of immune system function can kill the virus in the early stage.

"Now, the symptoms are many and wide-ranging. Probably the most prominent of which is the necrosis and preservation of the majority of the organs in the body. Most of the tissue in the body is killed outright, and then prevented by the virus from decaying. I currently don't understand how the body continues to function after the death of these organs. The common explanation among people who are symptomatic of the disease is that it's magic, although that's what they say about everything. I can't come up with a better one."

He stops for a second and blows his nose into a damp handkerchief before continuing.

"The symptoms vary, but always also include strong aversion to fire and sunlight, and a requirement for oral blood transfusions. In layman's terms, the infected have to drink blood to survive.

"Side effects also seem to vary based upon the specific strain of the virus, but include many things typically also though of as supernatural– The ability to dominate both human and animals, amazing strength, speed and stamina, the ability to go unseen, and the ability to change the shape of one's body. There are many, many more, and as I said, they generally vary based upon the strain of the virus.

"Any questions so far?"

OoC:
Go team info-dump!

Also, I hope you don't mind this scientific deconstruction of what is, at least according to the rulebooks a completely magical condition. This is how Cargill sees it, not necessarily how it actually works.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson nods along with Cargill's short speech while he skims the medical reports, doing his best to assimilate the data he;s being presented as quickly as possible. "You say that any healthy immune system would prevent transmission of the virus? Does that mean that it is primarily threatening only to immuno-compromised individuals or is there some way of circumventing this restriction?" He thinks for a few more moments, then continues, "Have you isolated the system that prevents tissue decay? Assuming that the condition somehow preserves nervous system function as well, it's likely that whatever causes that is also the primary vector for the other symptoms, and our best hope for treating it." He pulls a notepad and pen out of his pocket, prepared to note down his observations for Cargill's researchers to examine.

OOC:
Why on earth would I? It's exactly how I intended my own character to view Vampirism, and this is pretty much what I expected. No, I like this. It'll make his eventual transition into Vampire society even more amusing not having so much as a hint of the superstitions surrounding it explained to him. In short: good job, keep it up.

[Aerodynamik]

"The first question is an easy one– or, relatively easy, anyway." Cargill wrings his bony hands together. "Typically, the decision to infect an individual is deliberate, and as so, certain preparations are made to allow the disease to survive, and not be killed by a healthy immune system.

"Typically the process involves draining the subject of all of it's blood, thereby removing any white blood-cells, and before the patient dies giving them a transfusion of the infected blood, which contains the virus. The subject cannot produce new white blood cells at a high enough rate to combat the virus before it shuts down the means of production, and the person becomes infected. Although, theoretically, yes, and immuno-compromised individual could undergo the process without draining them of their blood."

He stops for a moment to blow his nose into a silk handkerchief, which he takes from his breast pocket. "Currently however, I haven't determined the cause of the preservation of the tissue, likely because of my current lack of test subjects. There are only so many tests that one can preform on one's self. There are few who would submit themselves to my testing, seeing as most believe it is a purely 'magical' condition. I currently can't refute them entirely, and even if I did, most of the infected would be loathe to give up their old beliefs.

"That, in fact, is the main difference between 'vampire' society and our own. The preservation of our internal organs leads to an immense slowing of the aging process, meaning some of the infected live for centuries. Most of them would refute anything that went against their traditions, traditions which they themselves have abided by for most of their lives. The few who I have revealed my work to have only confirmed this. The only way to get results is to have a test patient, and the only way to get a test patient is to get results, which will prove once and for all that I was correct to those who would deny the truth unless it stares them plainly in the face. A 'Catch Twenty-Two,' if you will.

"This is where I was hoping you might be able to help me."

[DaedalusMkV]

"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. I've had to deal with a few superstitious fools refusing treatment for no good reason, I suppose that a culture of such people would seriously hinder treatment... Though, are you certain of those lifespans? It seems... Odd, that a virus would be able to preserve unliving flesh that long. No matter. I don't see how I can help you obtain new test subjects, though, unless you think I can help pursuade some of these..." He sighs, "Vampires to participate in clinical tests?" Anderson seems hesitant at this; Cargill, with all of his money and power, seems to be far better positioned to do so than Anderson, reknowned surgeon or not.


Sorry for the long delay. I've been working altogether too much this week, and the rest of my time has been spent with friends IRL. I also kind of forgot about this for a couple of days... I'll try to keep these big gaps to a minimum if I can.

Either way... The plot thickens! What sort of dastardly scheme could Cargill be planning? :smallwink:

[Aerodynamik]

"Well, I was hoping you could help me with a number of things, one of which was, in fact, helping me to recruit more test subjects. The other one, of course, was utilizing your talents as a surgeon, as well as your general medical knowledge to help me preform tests.

"As to the recruitment of test subjects, what I was hoping that you would do would be to simply bring some 'fresh blood' into the situation. The kindred – that, by the way is the 'vampires' tend to call themselves – are a very small community– virtually every member has at least heard of every other member. The community is also rather stagnated. The members feel that if they've dealt with someone before, and the results of that interaction went a certain way, all future interactions with that person will go similarly." He sighs. "To be blunt, the first time I tried to develop a cure for the condition, it went very poorly, and no-one is willing to give me a second chance. But if it was you and not me doing the convincing, things might go differently. I was hoping that you would at least give it a try.

[DaedalusMkV]

Anderson stops to think for a moment, still shuffling through the papers in his hands. "Are you sure? If these people are as insular and reactionary as you've said, I doubt that they would even listen to an outsider, much less agree to the kind of tests you're talking about." He looks around the room for a moment again, then continues, "I mean, I suppose I can give it a try, but I'm just saying that I don't expect any real results..."

[Aerodynamik]

"Well, as you know, that's only a secondary objective. The main one is, of course, and will always be using your rich and varied skills as a doctor to aid me in my research– I've been so busy lately, it's been hard for me to keep up with modern medical techniques. If you manage to secure more patients after your initiation into kindred society, then that's a happy bonus for us. If not, then we'll make do anyway."

OoC:
Work. I have a lot of it. Apologies for the delay.