ic Earth Victoriana: The Face of Politics

[trollthumper]

Cannonade realized that Ned was leaving the park at great speed, and quite possibly plummeting to Earth at greater speed. And while he was a hard head, he probably wouldn't survive an uncushioned fall onto hard brick. "One minute," he said to the cops before taking off at great velocity. While Ned had the advantage of distance, Cannonade had put more force into his legs than he had into his blows. He managed to catch Ned in mid-air, touch down gracefully on the brick road, and tore back into the park. He dropped the unconscious Ned before the cops, catching his breath.

 

"Sorry, gents," he said, trying as hard as he could to sound native. He presented his badge. "This troublemaker was planning on sabotaging the MP's speech and sending things into a right mess. But he's taken care of now. May have been a bit loud about it, but still." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Putty dribbled off the goons face, revealing a ruddy complexion of a country tough, one of Ned's boys for sure. What surprised Carrie was his strength. True, Neds gang tended to be strong and tall farm labourers, handy with a hammer or cudgel to wreck the machines of industry. But this guy - he felt like an Olympian. If it wasn't for Carries skill in manipulating joints and proper grips and holds, he would have flung her off like a gadfly. 

 

"Officers! This woman is my bodyguard!" said a huffing Lord Pennyworth, waving at the crowd, always keen to drum up a little more popularity with heroics, even by proxy. 

 

"What we have here is the mystery behind all these crazed speeches and political nonsense! someone has been impersonating us! it is Treason, Sir! Treason of the highest order!" he said, hands clutching lapels in indignation. 

 

"Thats all very well and good sir" said the head Copper, an older man who looked like he had been dished a little more brains than the regular bobby. "But where are the originals? dead? captured? we need answers!"

 

Ned groaned, his nose a bloody mess on his face. 

 

"We shall have our day! brothers! sisters! the common man will never be...hey? where did they go?" mumbled Ned, voice fuzzy  from concussion, under the grip of the three Coppers who had redirected their attention from Cannonade to the head Luddite. 

[Aoiroo]

Carrie kept her position seated on the Luddites back with his arm in a lock,

"Well ask him then, I'm sure he'll be a well of information once he stops seeing stars."

Looking down at the previously fake Pennyworth she adjusted her grip,

"You may need a couple guys over here to take him in as well. He's pretty strong, and I don't mean in relation to me, in the, you lot may get knocked on your bums if you don't be careful. So handcuffs? I didn't pack any in my suit cause I didn't think they'd be quite so public. Thank goodness the good men in uniform are here, otherwise, I might of had to carry him to the yard myself, or asked my associate here,"
She gestured to Cannonade,

"Though in that case he would not been concious."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Handcuffs were part of the Coppers artillery in the war against crime, and were dutifully applied. 

 

"Your nicked, sunshine!"

 

Was apparently part of the artillery too. 

 

Ned was indeed seeing stars, and had a glazed look in his eyes, as if not quite with it. After the blow Cannonade had applied per cranium, this was not altogether unexpected. 

 

"What happened? What happened? I had it all planned out, perfect! we were going to make England better again! for the people! no more machines stealing the jobs for the honest hard working man and woman! Comrades! Let us return once more to the green lands of England and reap reward form the soil and the timber, once more we can...

 

His voice faded in and out of a half coherent spiel about workers rights, peppered with the occasional valid point and lucid reasoning. 

 

And, amidst the diatribe of concussion, some gems. 

 

"...it was Doctor DeRombert! the Frenchman! He gave as the putty...he warned it had side effects...were we undone by the Frenchman? Treachery! Infamy! Infamy! They have all got it in for me!" he started rambling, becoming increasingly paranoid and incoherent before lapsing once more into a fitful sleep. 

 

"Doctor DeRombert?" said Pennyworth. "Why it cannot be! he is French, that is true and uncontested...but he is an eminent scientist! an honorary member of the Royal Society for Metaphysical Engineering!" he said, indignant and shocked. 

[trollthumper]

Cannonade looked around, checking for some sign of where Ned's entourage might have retreated to. There was a chance they were long gone by now - or perhaps blended into the crowd - but it wouldn't hurt to try to put some sort of trail together. But while he was doing that, it became clear that Ned was wiling to help lay out a trail of his own. Once he was done rambling, that was. 

 

God, this guy really doesn't know when to shut up, does he, he thought, listening as Ned carried on until he got to the part about the Frenchman. "It could be that the good doctor's picked up some more mercenary habits... or that he's been trying to work his way in so that he has greater access to vulnerable information. Either way, I think we should pay him a little visit." 

[Aoiroo]

"Well better call ahead then, and probably leave the crowd,"
She gestured at the onlookers and took a few steps behind the curtain as she pressed the button on the medal to call up Harriet.

"Hey, Harriet, are you at the Royal Society today?"
She listened quietly for a second before replying,

"Well is some bloke named DeRombert there today?"
She paused and pulled out a watch,

"Well, I have a vested interest in meeting him, and yeah, it has to to do with them again. No you don't have to go get him, just tell me if he's there, we'll be there in like, twenty or so."

She clicked the com off, before walking over to Ned,

"If you would be so kind gentlemen, I would love if you could bring him along. You can keep him in the car, but I'd like to speak to this Frenchmen myself to start at least."
She looked at Joe,

"You wouldn't mind watching them would you? I doubt they'd put a toe out of place with you around."

[Supercape]

GM

 

...A short steampunk car ride later...

 

The Royal Society for Metaphysical Engineering, Greenwich. 

 

Atop a green hill, at the centre of a green park, stood the fabulous Royal Society for Metaphysical Engineering. A magnificent redbrick building, elegant, refined, and just the right side of being overstated. The observatory was first class, the halls and rooms and endless books filled with learning and invention, bristling with possibilities. It was here that Ms Wells had developed the fabled Brit Machine, and first brokered contact between Earth Victoriana and Earth Prime. Or, as this dimension would call it, Earth Prime and Earth Colonial. 

 

Doctor DeRombert was indeed French, from the Univesity De Paris, perhaps the foremost university of this dimension outside Cambridge and Oxford. The relationship between the French and the English was one of brawling cousins. They were both pretty much on the same page, but with different text. 

 

He was a tall, thin man, with an elegant black haircut and an elegant black goatee. His eyes were piercing green and he had a mixture of snake like charm and magnetic good looks that had made many a student swoon. 

 

"Oui Oui! what is all this commotion! I am at work!" he spat indignant at the intrusion. 

 

The Society Bursar, a Mr. Wellington, a portly, jovial man of balding head, flushed cheeks, wide grin, and portly fumes (from his much known love of raiding the port cellars of the institute) stood up to his full five foot five in defiance without replying. He had dutifully acted as hospital host, guiding to the Natural Sciences department and its fumes, courtesy of never ending chemical experiments. 

[Aoiroo]

"Yes, I would imagine you are."
Carrie took a step from the guide and moved around the work area examining experiments but not touching them.

"Toiling toiling, lots of work to be done. Lots of things to do, lots of money to do it with. Or maybe,"
She turned and raised a glance at him,

"Not so much?"
Her voice pitched a little high with sympathy. Picking up something that looked fairly standard in either dimension as harmless she turned it in her hand,

"Politics, politics, so many here I'm sure. Favored departments, better funding. Ms. Wells a friend of mine had some trouble with that early on, before more of her accomplishments became known."
Turning her head to the guide she said very politely,

"Thank you very much for showing me here, but I would like to talk to Dr. DeRombert privately."

[trollthumper]

Joe, meanwhile, was content to hang back and take care of crowd control. Not that the crowd needed much control - Ned was still unconscious, which was good, because it kept him from talking. And the other Puttymen didn't seem to have much of a plan, now that Plan A had been sufficiently routed. Still, there was always the chance of a Plan B. And besides, Carrie was much better at this infiltration stuff than he was - his usual route of getting information was to be the bull in a china shop, which was probably a bad plan in a place full of advanced, potentially mad, science.

So he stood firm, watching over the guards, the subdued Puttymen, and the stunned Ned, checking for the first sign of movement.

[Supercape]

GM

 

At the Royal Society for Metaphysical Engineering...

 

The snivelling aid bowed far to deeply and retreated. "Of course of course, we aim to please! the faculty has an open door policy to investors and esteemed individuals, please please, we are at your service!" he garbled, stepping backwards out of DeRombert's laboratory and carefully shutting the doors as he left. 

 

"Well, well, what is your business here, madame?" said DeRombert, not quite meeting her gaze. He tried to snatch away the bubbling glassware that Carrie had picked up. 

 

"I am in the middle of some very important experiments. No contamination can be allowed! Pfah! This is the world of scientists, madame! the female cranium, with all its particular and charming arrangements, is not suited to science. It requires a man's cool detachment! I have no idea how that charlatan Ms Wells managed to hoodwink the Society into accepting her. Her feminine wiles must have played havoc on some true genius, causing his heart to overcome his mind! Pfah! No such guile and womanly sensibilities shall affect my head!" he declared, tapping his steep cranium proudly. 

[Aoiroo]

"Really now, are you saying she faked her inventions?"
Carrie glanced over at him,

"That she fooled the society into thinking that they worked, that she doesn't have hand drawn, signed blueprints of said inventions, patents for their production, and hasn't had several of the higher scientists watch and evaluate her work?"
Walking over to her she looked him in the eyes, her face blank,

"That would be quite a trick, to think that she somehow seduced the laws of physics to bend to her mechanisms, and wiled her trackers and long distance mechanisms into working in very unusual circumstances."
Tucking her hair behind her ear she looked at his chemical things,

"I guess it'd be easier to swallow as a specialist in a different field. You don't understand it, so clearly it must not be true, especially if it was invented by a woman."

[Supercape]

GM

 

DeRombert glared at her ferociously, turning purple with rage. Being defeated in a battle of tongues with a woman was more than he could bear or tolerate. The veins on the side of his regal head throbbed. 

 

"Outrageous! Outrageous! You know nothing, Madame! " he squealed. "How dare you question me? Me! Doctor DeRombert! Creator of the chemical marvels that will change the world!" he shouted. 

 

"You may laugh and mock with your feminist ideals, your women's vote and such horrors, but you will not laugh soon! No! I have created a miracle of science! The world is at my fingertips!" he said, shouting and laughing at the same time. 

 

He whirled round, breaking open a bubbling pot, and dug his hands in. When he brought them out, a grey ooze, like liquid concrete, was clumped in each hand. 

 

"DeRomberts Putty!" he proclaimed laughing loud with rage. 

[Aoiroo]

Carrie looked at him,

"When in the world did I attack your creations."
She shrugged her shoulders,

"When did I say you were any less smart, you can be a genius, you can be excellent at your field, but what difference does it make if Harriet is excellent at hers?"

She walked past him looking at the window.

"This is impressive, lots and lots of uses for this, but why does that discount Harriet's creations? Harriet isn't a chemist, she likely couldn't of made this, so what's the point in looking down on her? It's not like you could of made the Brit Machine, it's not your field, not your specialty, no one can be good at everything, no one should be good at everything. If she happens to get more attention right now, it's only because of the expectations that she'll fail simply because she's female."

She paused, and glanced at the putty over her shoulders.

"If you guys just stopped and treated her like an equal, wouldn't that just mean everyone would get the exact same amount of credit regardless of their gender and not gain more or less because oh my gosh, a women made this, so it must have more attention."

Edited May 7, 2014 by Aoiroo

[Supercape]

GM

 

Dr DeRombert stopped dead in his railtracks to fury. He frowned deeply, full of irritation with himself that the purity of his vision had been derailed. 

 

He garnered some defence of his position, although it was plain that he was not fighting from high ground - either tactically or morally. 

 

"Madam, are you some kind of doctor? it is quite plain and true to all learned fellows that the fairer sex, whilst undeniably with charms and talent of the feminine variety, simply do not have the brains to reach the more venerable layers of academia. Whilst I cannot deny that the female brain can, to an extent, be educated, even the most cursory reading on phrenology will soon reveal the superior intellect and perception of the male cranium!" he said, as if the tautological arguments were perfect. 

 

"As for this.." he continued almost offering her the putty. "The science behind this is, I am sure, beyond you. This marvel not only mimics any flesh, it is a most excellent tonic for the body! it infuses most advantageously to the cardium and nerves! And not only that, not only that...." he paused melodramatically. 

 

"But it is symbiotic with mental and cognitive process, madam!"

 

"Why do you think it is called DeRomberts putty? because it is putty? No! Because its use makes men putty in my hand! putty to the superior brain of DeRombert!"

[Aoiroo]

"Are you neurologist? Have you done any particular studies to prove this theory of yours? I'm all ears professor, what sample size did you use? Did you account for variables like social ranking and level of education? Did you hold tests about additions of new knowledge than test retention? What proof do you have that the women mind is inferior professor DeRoberts, I'm sure a scientist would approach this in a logical and practical proceedure before making such a claim."
She looked at the putty,
"I don't deny I wouldn't be able to create this, but I'm not a chemist Dr DeRobert, and you're a brilliant chemist but you're brain is no more superior for it, it's focused well educated and specialized but I'm quite capable of several things you are not in a specific focus even if I'm not capable of creating this. Now if you are controlling people that is a large moral implications since it is considered forced coerian and can be thought of as assault."

Edited May 11, 2014 by Aoiroo

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Neurologist? Confounding variables? Test Retention?....why.,..I...it's plain common sense...I...I mean...it is self - evident that the female...uh...that is...the art of Phren...I mean the science of Phrenology...it clearly shows..."

 

"Pfah!" he spat out, livid at the questions. 

 

"I don't need to debate such nonsense with you, madam! I have developed a medical wonder! An artificial flesh! An elixir! A way to control...I mean...direct...I mean...guide....humanity and Europe to a new age. Why, but for some minor side effects such as psychosis and death, my putty is perfect!" he finished, bursting with rage. 

 

"What right have you to come in here and question me, Madam! Why, if you were not a woman, I would strike you, most hard!"

[Aoiroo]

"It is not common sense, it is a skewed misconception with no scientific merit. Until such a time actual science is done to prove such a claim it is no more viable academically than levitation. You're a scientist, your theory is based on a science that has had no real testing materials other then the liberal application of a hammer. Have you tested if a large enough number of women given the same education has a man as to whether they are actually deficient? Have you come up with an actual hypothesis more then just this is how it is because that's what society says. That isn't science, it isn't even any type of sense at all. How much can you possibly know about a women's mental capacity if you've never seriously looked into it? You may be a chemist, but you aren't a scientist good sir, science isn't taking the word of the world at face value simply because it suites you, it's asking why something works, why is does the apple fall from the tree, why does a larger surface area make something more boyent,"
She moved over to the vat of putty, she didn't touch it,

"Why does this substance create such severe concequences? If you call this perfect, if you call this finished then you are wrong. This is brilliant, but if you made it safely removable without any side effects it would revolutionize, well everything that has to do with appearance. The perfect tonic for old age, for those who wish to look young not because they are ashamed because of society, and theatre, this would be brilliant on stage, to create that perfect image so that actors would rely more on their skills then their appearance. You want to control people with this? Why is that necessary, why is it even a part of the formula? If you make the world give you what you want what good is it? You've already earned everything just with the cosmetic advantages of this subject, if you make them given you praise then it's as hollow as the untested unquantified nonsense you spout of male superiority."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"It is perfect! Perfect I tell you!" ranted Doctor DeRombert, steam pouring from his ears. "The world has no time for refinement anyway! Look around you! Luddites! Womens liberation! Only England and France can stop the masses from succumbing to madness!"

 

"The world is on the brink, and I will pull it back! Order! Unity! France and England, merged as one! And it will not stop there...Germany, Russia...even the halls of the Vatican itself! The world must have one government...or war...famine!" he shook his head. 

 

"No, no, the time for the Putty is now. The poor Luddites pounced on this like fools, never knowing it was I who was pulling their strings! If I can achieve the domination of them in but a few weeks, imagine what I can do with months or years! All politicians can be replaced by my puttymen!"

 

"And you will not stop me!" he concluded, advancing towards Carrie with a handful of putty in each hand...

[Aoiroo]

Carrie took a step to the side just in the scientist's raving blind spot, then keeping her posture speared him in the chest to throw him off balance and grabbing the underside of his leg with one of her arms which she pushed forward to throw him off balance and make him land ass first on the floor. She than grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto his stomach and promptly sat on him, hooking her left leg under his holding both of his wrists against his back with her hand reaching into her coat and bringing the medal to the side his face was facing on this side of the floor,

"My name is Caroline, I am an agent of her majesty the queens governments and therefore I am arresting you for conspiracy, aiding in kidnapping of several influencial figures, unethical experimentation of a neurological agent on human subjects, and mental assault. You may have an attorney and council, you may curse at me if you wish, but if you try to break from this hold, I will knock you into the floor until you stop moving and cite it as an necessary act to prevent resisting arrest. Any questions Dr. DeRombert?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

Doctor DeRombert was clearly surprised at Carries moves. He was actually a capable fighter, it seemed, perhaps a military background. What was more surprising was that the man, past his prime, had the same exceptional strength of the Puttymen he had fooled into his service. A strength of a man half his age, and an exceptionally strong man at that. His limbs did have a horrible wiry power in them. 

 

His surprise was born of both Carries agility and her gender. His fury was born primarily of the latter. 

 

"Her majesties government? Some kind of spy?" he spluttered. "One of M's little toys, no doubt! I know of him. One of the finest minds in the empire. If only he put his brain to science!" he said through gritted teeth. 

 

"No doubt you learned some Bartitsu, some cheating Japanese trick, no doubt! very well, if the government wants me, I will come quietly..." he said, angry and humiliated, gazing daggers at Carrie all the while. 

[Aoiroo]

"No one likes a sore loser, and for the record, this is mixed martial arts and kick boxing,"
Carrie moved the medal to her mouth and clicked the button to transmit to Joe's medal,

"Hey, you can head on in, I've apprehended Dr. DeRombert. He got quite worked up there, but I was right, the fact that I was female stopped him from trying a direct confrontation so I pretty much got the gist of what he was talking about. You want to carry him out?"

[trollthumper]

There had really been no movement on Joe's front. Not that he hadn't been trying to find it, of course - he'd been casing the park for quite some time, trying to flush out any possible secondary ambush by lurking Puttymen, backup Luddites, suspicious-looking trees, anything at this point. He was doing all this while keeping a very close eye on the subdued aggressors, in case they just happened to have something up their sleeve. But that would've required them not being as dumb as they looked - which wasn't in the cards.

It was kinda a relief when Carrie dialed in. "On my way," he said. "Don't think these guys are going anywhere."

[Supercape]

GM

 

M had arranged a mutually convenient meeting point. As it so happened, London Bridge. He was waiting in a magnificent black taxi, the classic that both heroes were familiar with in their own Dimension's London, albeit one with steam pouring from its exhaust and a few copper and brass tubes whistling away. 

 

"Ah there you" are he said gruffly and shortly. He did not seem in a particularly good mood. He had two burly coppers by his side, with neat blue uniforms and copper plated stun rods at their belt, the origin of their name. It appeared the devices were powered up by a rotatory handle, then good for a nasty shock. 

 

"Got Ned Ludd, I hear" he said, nodding at Cannonade. "And this Dr DeRombert fellow...well, well. Interesting. I will enjoy his company" he said bleakly to Carrie. 

[Aoiroo]

Carrie got into the car cab and sat with her legs crossed as she looked at M,

"He's quite a stubborn one. Tried to talk him down, but it was like talking to a wall. Luckily his moral compass however screwy stopped him from actually attacking me directly. I would of continued to try but it was quite evident near the end that he wouldn't consider a peaceful form of negociation."

Leaning over she put a fist on her face and said,

"Plus, he pulled a cliche and told me that I couldn't stop him."

Letting out a breath she leaned back up and stretched,
"M, question of interest, how much of the general public actually know about your agency, because DeRomberts and Pennyworth certainly knew, or at least knew enough to ID me as an active affiliate, and the later was drunk at the time. I was under the impression that this was a secret agency."

[Supercape]

GM

 

What was it?

 

Both Cannonade and Silhouette had been around the Puttymen now. They had seen how it worked, and examined it. 

 

Was it a slight softness? a slight bubbling? or a flux? it was hard to be sure, but easy to suspect. M, and his men, were not the real M and his men. Their faces were made of putty. 

 

Perhaps too, it was the smile on Doctor Romberts face as he met with M. 

 

"Its a well kept secret" replied not-M to Carrie. "I am sure nobody could penetrate our organisation!" he said, a smile on his lips. 

 

"Well then, I best take in the good doctor for interrogation...and you can be on your way...with the King's thanks, of course!"