Fourth Howl [Audio, late Monday night]

[professorwolf]

[After a little thought on how best to say this without letting the Outer Authorities know too much, Lyall finally makes an announcement. He feels it's something everyone ought to know, and he'll be happy to field questions, but still: it's a bit vague. It's also very late, but he's nocturnal, anyway. What did anyone expect?

Despite the usual tiredness, though, he actually sounds light-hearted for the first time in days, to anyone who's been paying attention.]

This is Randolph Lyall.

[Yeah, officially dropping the Professor at this point....]

Chime is alive. Apparently that ship has more uses than we thought. Please reply encrypted if you wish details, or find me at the hospital. I'm afraid I can't send a mass message with any kind of locking protocol on it, but this seems rather important.

[Understatement of the year. He disconnects after a moment of trying to decide whether he should include a farewell. In the end, though, it just seems silly.]

Comments

[jimkirk]

[ Jim never misses a beat ]

Well, I'm not exactly supposed to talk about it but...yeah? Kinda. I mean, someone from the future who knew someone with my name whose past is totally different...

[ he stops ]

Wow, that sounds really nuts, huh?

[professorwolf]

[Lyall shakes his head, not that Jim can see it, but still. The droll amusement is evident in his tone.]

Not any more so than everything else that has been happening here. There was, at one point, three separate versions of the same individual. Odd, is it not?

[jimkirk]

Three versions?

[ Two was bad enough. ]

From different times, or what?

[professorwolf]

Parallel universes of some sort. One was from a world where he was utterly unique, one was from a world where he was one of a group, and one was female. Quite different, really, but still essentially the same person shaped by different circumstances.

[jimkirk]

[ now he's picturing female Spock. Which, no. Full stop no. ]

Jesus. This is pretty complicated.

[professorwolf]

Yes, it rather is, and I am hardly the best to try and explain it, either. I come from Victorian London, and everything I have learned about so-called modern technology and understanding has been since my arrival here.

[jimkirk]

Victorian London? Man. That seems like ancient history to me!

[professorwolf]

I would assume it is. It seems like it is for a number of people here, as well, and if not ancient for all of them, at the very least old.

[He sighs, but it's more wistful than annoyed. He rather hopes, if they ever do get home again (and that's a big if), that he manages to hold onto his immortality long enough to see some of the things the future has in store.]

[jimkirk]

I guess I don't know where everyone comes from. A lot of people seem outdated to me. But Victorian England, man.

I bet this place throws you for a loop, huh?

[professorwolf]

It did when I first arrived. I like to think I am more settled now. I've been learning all I can-- if we ever manage to return, I know several inventors who will be very interested in what I've seen.

[His tone is dry. Lyall doesn't know that he'd necessarily share what he's seen... but he would be happy to gloat a little.]

[jimkirk]

[ He thinks of how older Spock taught Scotty...uh, his own equation? Okay, that was a headache. ]

Yeah, man, you could probably really wow some people, huh?

[professorwolf]

I imagine so. Of course, we will have to manage to return first.

[And he's not holding his breath for that one.]

[jimkirk]

Yeah, there's that. Well, hey, there's a lot of brainy people about. Eventually, we'll have to figure something out.

[ Jim doesn't believe in losing, but even he's not entirely sure they'll manage to get home. He's gotta try to hold on to that hope, though. He's gotta. ]

[professorwolf]

Eventually. We can certainly hope for it, given, yes, the number of brainy people about.

[Lyall decides not to get into what detail he knows about that ship, and just how badly damaged it is. Being negative at the moment not only isn't going to help anything, he's just not in the mood, either.]

You are with the group who opted to leave, aren't you?