2013.07.07 - From the Past

It was a typical day in the big apple. The summer sun was still high enough in the sky that the shadows had not yet overtaken the streets. Even the street lights hadn't switched on yet. Pedestrians were numerous, coming and going, and getting on with their lives. The only person seeming not in any hurry to get anywhere near as some could tell was a man in a long silver/grey trench-coat, and fedora hat. He was sitting on a bench at a bus stop, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and actually reading a newspaper. John Carmichal looked to be about 40 years old, but in his old-fashioned dress, and the total lack of evidence that he was carrying so much as a cell phone, or MP3 player completed the look, if his interest in the printed word of the newspaper hadn't already done that. An unkempt, dirty looking man staggars close to the man on a bench, and slurrs "scuse me buddy...got any change?" to which the man merely looks at him, and says "Sure, buddy....have some soup on me." and then flips him a single coin. A quarter tumbles through the air, to be caught by the beggar, who looks at it with disdain, glances to his "benefactor", and snorts "Generous...thanks..." and wanders off muttering "cheapskate..." If the man in the fedora hears him, he makes no response, merely reading his paper quietly.
Today, Jocelyn had decided she wanted to go out for a meal. Her treat. Which may have struck Cessily a little bit odd, because the times Jocelyn was paying for a meal could be counted on one hand. Perhaps with only a couple fingers. But Jocelyn had insisted, and so they had a nice meal at a decent restaurant. However, Jocelyn had avoided the issue of why she was paying for the meal in a slightly cryptic and evasive manner that wasn't normal for Jocelyn.
Now, however, the two were walking along the streets with the rest of the pedestrians, not far from where John Carmichal was. Jocelyn was dressed casually, in a tank top and shorts. "So, Cess. Have an odd question for you. How, exactly, did you end up choosing which college you were going to?" the girl asks.
The decency of the restaurant explains Cessily's outfit, a rather eye-catching red sundress with a matching pair of wede sandals. She's smiling, despite all of Joce's circuitousness. "Odd?" she asks, sipping her soda. "Why is that odd? Seems legit to me. Empire State has a really good set of programs, honestly. Professor Grey went there, you know," she points out, "and....I'll be honest, part of it was money," she says with a faint shrug, as if it's disreputable to admit that.
At first, John doesn't even notice the two girls, until the same homeless guy who had panhandled him starts whistling at them. He turns his head taking them both in, his eyes, naturally first going to Cessily, not only because the red hair and matching dress is a stunning combo, but, well, her skin is silver. Hard not to notice. His eyes then move to her companion, and he just shakes his head a bit, and tries not to smile too broadly. He wasn't used to women dressing so scantilly. Granted, the flappers of the 30's showed off almost as much skin, but boy-howdy, skin was everywhere nowadays. It was scandalous. He glances around seeing the various passers by, and his face shows an obvious decision. He'd never get up to speed if he didn't start making acquaintances, and what could go wrong with saying hello to a couple of hot tomatos? He stands up, tucking his paper away, and saunters into pedestrian traffic slightly ahead of the two women. After a few steps, he slows, and turns, and speaks "Pardon me, dolls, I don't suppose you two know of a good gin joint in this neighborhood? I've been out of town for a ....while, and none of my old haunts are still around." he says "Help a fella out?"
Well, as Jocelyn only owns a couple dresses, she didn't want to wear them to the nicer restaurant. Mostly because they would make her be rather overdressed for the meal. So better 'tourist casual' in her mind. Plus it made her less of a target for pickpockets, thieves, and other types. "College is expensive," Jocelyn agrees. "Ridiculously so. The numbers, they make my head spin when I look at them". Because, well...expensive!
She's about to say more, maybe something about why she'd been so evasive, when John approaches. The girl, being rather observant, noticed the man approaching them. He was familiar, from last night, and the teen nudges Cessily discreetly in order to draw her attention to John. Then, he speaks.
Dolls? Only gangsters she knew in Detroit used the term dolls anymore, and almost all the time it was in jest. Jocelyn is a little startled by it, though she doesn't let it show. "A bar? Sorry, can't really give you a great idea of which ones are good and bad. I'm underage," Jocelyn tells the man. Even if the tall girl may look like she's over twenty-one, she was in fact nineteen. She thought. As long as no more false birth certificates show up!
"I don't think numbers should /have/ that many zeroes," Cessily says. "So that was part of it," Cessily explains, gesturing with her free hand. "I kind of...threatened my parents that I'd apply to UO and move back home and....that got it. Layer in some work study and scholarship and....there you go," she says.
Cessily double-takes at the man. "You're...asking us for booze money?" she asks, surprised by the sheer directness of such a request.
John offers his most disarming smile to Jocelyn, and winks "I wouldn't have figured you for less than 19, dollface. Unless the drinking age went up...did it go up?" he asks as it dawns on him that it might well have. Of course, in his day, drinking age wasn't generally even established, but was unofficially 18. Many of the boys who had gone off to war were younger than that, in 1941 after all. He doubletakes at Cessily "What? No..no..." he says and begins laughing softly "I have plenty dough, sweetheart, I was just wondering where a palooka like me might go to wet his whistle is all. Like I said, I've been out of town for a while, and..." his eyes grow distant as he looks around before shrugging a bit "things have changed so much I almost feel like I'm on another planet or something, like one of those kid's serials from the talkies." he says "Sorry, I probably shouldn't be molesting you two dames, but I saw you yesterday, with the red headed giantess yesterday, and thought maybe you could help me out." he says.
"The age for drinking is twenty-one," Jocelyn informs the man, a little surprised he doesn't know that, but the way he talks seems a little...odd. And Jocelyn has had more than a few encounters with time travelers. Seems Cessily gets to actually join her for one of those encounters for a change! Or maybe it's just someone who was frozen in ice or something? Jocelyn isn't sure.
"Yeah. I think times have changed a little bit. If this was my hometown, I could probably point you to a few places, just on reputation," the woman offers.
"I thought I recognized you from yesterday," Jocelyn adds. She does laugh, however. "I'm used to being called the redheaded giantess, honestly," she points out.
"Uh-huh," Cessily mutters, wearing her skepticism on her sleve. "Money but no iPhone?" she asks, raising a red brow. She looks up and down the street. "If you were doing that you'd be in big trouble," she says. "But...there's Barrow's pub over on Hudson, I like that one. Macao over on Canal if you like portugese food, of all things..."
The look of blank confusion on John's face shows, before he even speaks that he has no idea what an iPhone even is, but he covers convincingly, so he speaks "Oh, my uh...iPhone, right, I have one, I just don't walk around with it." he says "Barrow's pub, alright, I'll have to check that out, thanks, dollface. Say, can I ask you a question? I don't mean to be rude, but...you're definitely the most striking young lady I've ever met...are you..what I mean to say is, are you from another planet or something? I mean, you know, like Lucy Jupiter always said she was..." he says referencing what may now be a completely obscure 1940's golden age hero.
Well, that's the first time anybody's ever called her 'doll face', except for that one Freshman production of Guys and Dolls. "Then what's the point?" Cessily asks directly, looking confused. Because she is. This guy is definitely /off/, she just can't put her finger on it. "I...." she stels what she hopes is a discrete glance at Jocelyn, then looks back to the man. "I'm a mutant," she says.
Having no idea what or who Lucy Jupiter was, Jocelyn watches and listens. Though the bit about the iPhone not being carried with him makes no sense, even to a techno-idiot like Jocelyn. The point of a mobile phone was that you carried it with you. However, when Cessily mentions that she's a mutant, Jocelyn then waits to see how the man reacts. That would tell her a lot about who this guy was, in her mind.
John's face goes blank for a moment, before he smiles and nods "Well, of course you are...goodness but I must sound like a complete palooka right now." he says tipping his hat back, and looking duely embarrassed. "Listen, I've taken enough of your time. I promise you, I'm not some lunatic, thank you very much for your help..." he says "My name's John, John Carmichal, if either of you ever need a gumshoe look me up..." he says "my iPhone number isn't listed yet, but I'll have an ad in the rags with my office hours pretty soon. It was a pleasure meeting you..." he tips his hat, and pauses, looking around aimlessly, as if he knows he should go, but has no idea where to go at this point, or what to do with himself.
"At least you didn't say robot," Cessily says. Alien? Well, better than robot. She gets robot the most. "You're a private investigator and you don't cary your phone?" she asks. That in retrospect may have been a mistake. Don't engage the crazies, she'd been taught.
"John Carmichal," Jocelyn says, deciding to risk something. It may or may not be accurate, but hell. Jocelyn was nothing if not blunt. "If I can ask you a simple question. When are you from?"
Because when you've met people from the 25th and 30th centuries and time traveled into the future yourself, thinking someone might be from the past based on certain factors like how they speak? Not exactly far-fetched, at least for Jocelyn.
John laughs softly "A robot? That's good, who would ever make a robot as pretty as you?" he asks "That's just silly." he says and then stumbles around as he's asked the first hard question by Cessily "Uhm...er..." he says, and then Jocelyn pipes up, and an almost relieved look crosses his face. "Alright, you may not believe this, but I've been dying to talk to someone about it..." he says "I honestly don't know what happened, but one day, it's July 5th, 1951, and the next, it's July 3rd 2013...." he says "I'm not sure of anything anymore..." he says and looks apologetically at Cessily "I don't have an iPhone..." he admits "Heck I don't even know what an iPhone is..." he says "I've been at the library the last couple days, trying to wrap my noggin around all this stuff.." he says "but the truth is, I'm lost. I don't understand half of the things people even say to me...." he admits, and sighs heavily "It's like something out of one of those kiddy pulps, I tell ya..."
Cessily shifts her stance, crossing her arms and looking hesitant and tense. She shoots yet another look at her friend. "Thanks," she says, brushing her hair nervously, then tucking her arm back into the crossed position. "I believe it, "Cessily says directly. "It's a thing that happens. That Booster Gold guy is from the future, I think," she says. She's seen him on TV, after all.
"I've met Booster, and some of his teammates. Booster is from the twenty-fifth century. The others, I think the thirtieth, from what I remember," Jocelyn comments easily. She looks completely unsurprised by the man's explanation. "Come on. We'll find a bench and chat a bit. An iPhone is a type of portable telephone. Most people have some form of portable telephone these days," Jocelyn explains to him. "As to what has changed, I suspect a good stop would be the local library. Check out some history books, catch up on the news, that sort of thing," the woman offers to him.
John smiles gratefully at both women as they don't react as if he's a nut job. "Wow, I was expecting you to call the men in white coats." he says "Sure, let's sit a spell..." he says listening as Jocelyn explains cell phones to him. "Oh..." he says "That's pretty amazing actually..." he says "I've been at the library for the last few days..." he says "but it's a lot to take in..." he says "I mean, Korea was just starting last I recall, I almost re-upped so I could go over there, but..." he shrugs "But then so much changed, all the wars, all the capes...I mean we had a few in my day, but holy cow, there's a lot of black masks now." he says "It's just so overwhelming." he says "Though I did hear Captain America was found alive, so that was reassuring." he says "Did anyone else make it this long?" he asks, walking toward a nearby bench.
Cessily's surprised by Jocelyn's statement and then she just rubs her eyes quickly, making a face. "He was frozen," Cessily says, "I'm...not really clear on the details. I don't think they advertized it. There are some legacies running around," she notes, "The children or sidekicks of heroes you might recognize. I guess mutants weren't really a thing in your time?" she asks. Part of her's still wondering if this guy is just crazy, but he's sounding less and less crazy as they talk.
"Don't really know who all is a legacy hero and such from your time, to be honest," Jocelyn admits as they walk. "I think mutants are a relatively recent thing. Basically, mutants, like the two of us, are people who have jumped the evolutionary ladder a bit, and have various abilities. Most of us are good, law-abiding citizens. Some aren't. Just like anyone else who has superpowers. Most are good, but there are villains out there". Jocelyn is figuring that it's reasonably safe to tell this guy she's a mutant. After all, Cess told him as such.
John smiles at Cessily "well, I can't say I recognize the term to be honest." he says "if there were mutants running around, they were either keeping a low profile, or none of the capes that were active knew or acknowledged it." he says and shrugs. "I mean, if you see a guy flying through the air, you don't stop to think 'boy, I wonder if he's a mutant'...you just think "Wow, that's just the bee's knees...." I mean, unless he's some sort of lowlife who just robbed the local bank..." he says. He looks at Jocelyn then and smiles "So you're one of these mutants too? Does that mean you've got some kind of special abilities?" he asks "I mean, she's obviously not, you know, like me...but I wouldn't have pegged you as anything but a scantilly clad bunny. That's one thing I'm still having a hard time getting used to...the way you girls dress. I'd think your parents would have a fit, you showing off so much skin." he says.
Cess couldn't /help/ telling him. He'd asked and was she going to lie? She could have, but to what end? "No, nobody talks like that anymore, so....we pretty much don't," Cessily says with a faint smile. The smile's wiped away fairly quickly, as Cessily's shoulders hunching in and she frowns deeply, her brow knitting too. "Mine do," she says flatly.
"Don't have parents," Jocelyn says with an easy shrug. "And this isn't all that much these days. Trust me, plenty of girls wear far less," Jocelyn offers with a shrug. "And yeah, I'm a mutant. You can't really tell who is a mutant solely by looks. I mean, that fuzzy green guy might be some sort of alien or other superpowered type," Jocelyn adds. "But, yeah. Things have changed. Prices have changed, attitudes, that sort of thing. And by the way, 'doll' and 'dame' have fallen pretty far out of favor, to be considered by a lot of people to be borderline insults. Just so you don't get into trouble," Jocelyn tells the guy.
John just sits there mulling this over "Well, that seems silly..." he says about words being redefined to be insulting, when, at worst they had always just been considered somewhat uncouth. At best they were just the way people spoke. "But thanks for the warning..." he says and looks to the two women. "I want to thank you both again for taking the time to bring me up to speed on this stuff." he says "I don't know anyone around town anymore, and..." he says "I never really thought about how lonely it is when you're completely cut off from everyone and everything you know...." he says "until now that is." he says "I guess I'll have to work on getting up to date with things..." he says lighting himself a lucky strike filterless cigarette, and taking a deep drag on it. "I'm not even sure I can be an effective dick, given how out of date my knowledge and methods will be...." he says sounding a little dejected.
"You should probably update your license," Cessily advises. "See if you were declared dead, all that stuff. You might need a lawyer or something to sort all that out." Cessily curls in her lips. "You...do know those cause cancer, right?" she asks, gesturing towards his cigarette.
"And if you had money in a bank account somewhere, you might be able to get that back if you go through the lawyers. The interest is probably pretty impressive by now," Jocelyn tells the man. Which would probably help him with getting his business going again. "I'm not sure which government branch you'll need to go to. If you go to the library, some of the research librarians can probably help you navigate the computers to find that sort of information out," the teen suggests.
A nod is given about the cigarette. "One of the medicinal advances that has occured. Cigarettes, it has been determined, can make a person get cancer". Pause. "Which is a terminal disease in many cases that can't always be cured. You might consider cutting the habit out," Jocelyn offers.
John looks between Cessily and his cigarette, and back again, blinking, and then just laughs "Wow, really? Is that why everyone has been giving me the stink-eye? I thought it was strange. Used to be considered a sign of maturity, and sophistication. Next you'll be telling me meat & potatos give you heart disease, and sunlight's bad for the skin..." he says skeptically. He smiles at Joce though and nods "I know about cancer, dol..." he cuts off "cutey..." he says since neither of them had introduced themselves yet. "The government was doing all kinds of test with the A-bomb after Japan..." he says lightly. "As for being declared dead..." he says to Cessily "I checked that first...I am. Officially anyway..." he says "but I don't know if it'd do me any good to get it ironed out...I mean, nobody I knew is even still alive, so what would be the point?" he says "I can't work...who wants to hire a dick whose entire experience is over 60 years out of date?" he asks. "Besides, you probably have robots, and super-advanced automats that can do that kind of work nowadays, right?"
"Surprised it's just that," Cessily says. "It's banned indoors, all acros the city," Cessily advises. "How do you know?" Cessily asks, curiousity getting the better of her. "No, we don't. I don't know," she says with a faint shrug. "Things are different but not, I suppose. If it's sixty years..." Cessily thinks doing some math. "It's possible. If you had...kids, I suppose," she says tantatively.
"Robots haven't taken over most jobs. There is some automated assembly of some things, but most jobs are still handled by humans," Jocelyn assures John. "Sorry, history isn't my best subject. I wasn't sure when cancer was actually discovered". Medicine wasn't Jocelyn's strongest subject. Ironic, given she was a healer. She shrugs a little. "You might try family of people you knew? Some of them might remember stories about you or something then. They might be able to help you get started, find you work, things like that. The economy isn't very good right now, so it's hard for most people to get work," she admits. "Well, decent paying work".
John's face falls a bit at the mention of children, but he covers it up quickly "No, no children..." he says "My Rosie...my wife was killed in 1949..." he says "never married again after that." he says, and looks thoughtful about family of his former acquaintances. The truth was, after Rosie had died, he hadn't really been all too social. "Maybe I'll try looking them up." he says "that's good information." he says distractedly. "You know what I could really use?" he says "Someone with the know-how, and interest to give me a hand." he says "I should hire a secretary..." he says "I have plenty of money, so that isn't the problem. I just...." he shrugs helplessly "I just have no idea what to do with myself. I honestly don't have to work probably ever again..." he says.
Cessily opens her mouth, then closes it, then lookst to Jocelyn. "I'm....kind of wrapped up at the moment. I'm actually already doing that, sort of, so Ic ouldn't. Maybe you, Joce?" she suggests. "Or are you totally tied up too? I could ask around. Really you'd want to find somebody who specializes in people with your....issue, but I'm not sure who that'd be."
"Well, I just took on my first client as a bit of a personal trainer. That's why I sprung for food," Jocelyn tells Cessily with an easy grin. "But as long as Mr. Carmichal can be somewhat flexible with his hours, I can certainly help him get up to speed," Jocelyn says as she considers it.
John looks between the two women, blinking. He hadn't been offering them the job, but he certainly wasn't about to turn down whatever sort of help he could get. "I..uh..yeah, I mean it isn't like I have an office, or heck even a license as you pointed out." he says "Right now I'm still just trying to get my feet under me." he says "I haven't even found a decent place to hang my hat yet." he says "Just been staying in a hotel in Hell's Kitchen..it's my old neighborhood." he says "it has really gone downhill." he says idly. "Anyway, if you're interested I can pay you...." he says "and you can set your own hours..." he says "at least until things can be established..." he says "if that's, acceptable to you miss....?" he says.
"Hipsters will do that," Cessily says with a slow nod towards John, smiling a bit. She tilts her head. "That all sounds very very rough. Maybe you should sign up for some computer classes at the library too. Once you figure out how to use the internet you can do a ton."
"Stream. Jocelyn Stream," the woman says. "We'll give it a go, see if it works out. Though I would appreciate it if you didn't go telling everyone I'm a mutant," Jocelyn adds with an easy smile. She liked being able to go undercover when she needed to. She suspected that John would understand that. "Do you prefer Mr. Carmichal?" she asks. She also suspected she'd need to invest in some actual office clothing at some point. Somehow, a tanktop and shorts didn't seem like they'd work for this job. Oh well.
John offers his hand to Jocelyn, and smiles "Great, and no, of course not...." he says about telling anyone she's a mutant. "I'll make you a deal, I won't go telling people my girl friday's a mutant, if you don't go telling people I was born in 1910." he says and smiles at Cessily "And yeah, that's good too...learn to use a computer..." he says "What's the internet, though?" he asks. He looks back to Jocelyn and nods "Mr. Carmichal's fine when we're in public, in private you can call me Johnnie." he says "if you want." he says "or boss in public, that's fine too." he says and shrugs. "Maybe tomorrow or whenever you're available, you and I can go to the library, and I can start learning about this internet thing." he says "is that like a switchboard or something?" he asks. "If you want I can even pick you up..." he says "or you can just meet me at the library...."
"Ah, a meeting of the minds," Cessily says with a faint smile. "It's like a library in a box. That's not a building," Cessily tells him."It's amazing. And strange sometimes. And twisted. But also super suerp useful. It'd be great for finding an apartment or clients," she notes. "Joce can walk you through all that." She says, and looks at her friend, "And you need to watch more Mad Men," she says with a wink.
Jocelyn gives John's hand a shake. She's got a good, firm grip the older man will likely notice. "Fair enough. We'll also have to work on the language a bit. Your language is a bit dated, so I might have to ask you to clarify meanings sometimes". Or Jocelyn would have to watch some older shows. Maybe she'd ask Doug for recommendations. On second thought...
"That works for me, the name thing. I'm not a computer expert, but I can at least get through the basics these days. I spent a lot of time in the Detroit streets and not in the computer labs". She gives a grin to Cessily at the Mad Men statement. Clearly, she'd have to watch it. And find out what it was!
John clearly does appreciate the handshake, smiling. "Right...well, if I get kind of carried away, just stop me." he says smiling "Jocelyn Stream..." he says "Miss Stream, you're clearly more knowledgable about computers than I am." he says "So any help will be grand, and I'm a quick study. Just show me how to make it go, and watch me do the lindy..." he says smiling. He looks to Cessily and chuckles uncertainly "Are you making a crack about me sounding insane?" he asks about her reference to "Mad Men", having never actually seen anything recognizable as a tv show in his life. He looks back to Jocelyn, and pulls out a small pad of paper, and a pencil. He writes something on it, tears it out and holds it out. "This is the hotel I'm staying in, under the name Snuffy Stirnweiss." he says "I'll leave word with the front desk to send you up, if you come by." he says.
"Wha?" Cessily asks the timelost man, "No, no, it's a TV show. ABout the fifties and sixties. It's....really not a good model for behavior, honestly. Heck, you should watch it as a counterexample," she tells them both. "Because you can't treat secretaries like people did back then now. How you ever got away with it..." she shakes her head and shrugs, then breaks out giggling at the fake name.
Oh goodness the name. Jocelyn laughs a little. "Well, that's certainly a good cover name for this time," the woman says easily. "Listen, I need to get moving," she offers. "Cess, you need to get back, or you staying around awhile longer?" she asks. Jocelyn does take the piece of paper offered. "A pleasure to meet you, John," she adds.
Category:Log