Hmm, I don't think I have a scientist, exactly, in my repertoire. Let's fix that.
The scientist "These are nice rooms." Danits, who was chancellor to Prince Narodskiy, turned his head taking in the details of the room and the furnishings. This was Stan's workroom, the other two were his bedroom and a small bathroom whose pipes froze in winter. He preferred the bath-houses anyway, but it was a minor annoyance that something that Danits would consider a sign of luxury was so hard to enjoy. The room had wood-panelled walls and a serving girl had laughingly told Stan that it had been a bedroom too before someone had been murdered in it. There were two large wooden desks, solid wood from the nearby forests put together by actual craftsmen on which were a large collection of glass bottles containing chemicals, and some other glassware that would eventually contain those chemicals. At the moment there were no experiments running, and Stan couldn't tell if Danits was disappointed or not. By the large window that looked out on to the side-lawn and the forest beyond was another table, this one equipped with a rickety stool that had probably been put together by the previous occupant of the room, and there, in the good light, were the papers that Stan was writing. His correspondence, with scientists across Europe, was also there, bundled neatly in a large wooden box. Danits sniffed. "But what is that smell?" There was an acrid aroma lingering in the air that felt as though it was somehow cleaning your nose and throat out when you sniffed it, and made you recoil a touch. "Ammonia," said Stan. "I was preparing the cleaning solution for the maids earlier." "Ah," said Danits. He nodded solemnly, his long face and pointy chin with its wispy goatee dipping towards his chest and back. "I have heard very good things about this cleaning solution. So good that one might think to ask a priest if it is a miracle. I am told that with it rooms take half the time to clean that they used to. The Prince is very happy, as the kitchen has been producing food of better quality, which they put down to having to spend less time cleaning, and the majordomo is happy because his neverending list of things to be done might finally have an end. I personally doubt that he will reach it, but at least he now only complains about a finite list." "Thank-you," said Stan, uncertain if there was praise in that speech or not. "But... for all of the blessings that this ammonia brings us, is that sufficient for a Scientist to have such pleasant surroundings? Such a large income from the Prince, annually?" Ah, here is was, thought Stan. The real reason for the visit. "The Prince would like to see some more Science, he says," said Danits, his voice changing tenor slightly as though to suggest that Danits had tried -- and failed -- to convince the Prince otherwise. "Something to entertain him, he says. Something that will amaze his visitors and, perhaps, even, attract the attention of the jaded heads of European empires. Or, failing that, an archimandrite or two." Stan swallowed. Danits was, to him at least, an open book, and this casual addition of church leaders to the list was clearly the purpose of this visit. Do something to impress the men of god was the instruction here, and that was not a triviality -- at least, not if he wanted to avoid those same men of god to start investigating him at the blood-and-bone level to find out how he did these things.
Greg - we were supposed to go to Science World in Vancouver this day but had to change plans and will go another time. So, at some point, you'll be given another prompt to revisit... Stan and his suddenly pressurized environment.
Quite enjoyed this peak into this new setting, by the way. And the slow reveal of the purpose of the visit.
2 comments:
Hmm, I don't think I have a scientist, exactly, in my repertoire. Let's fix that.
The scientist
"These are nice rooms." Danits, who was chancellor to Prince Narodskiy, turned his head taking in the details of the room and the furnishings. This was Stan's workroom, the other two were his bedroom and a small bathroom whose pipes froze in winter. He preferred the bath-houses anyway, but it was a minor annoyance that something that Danits would consider a sign of luxury was so hard to enjoy. The room had wood-panelled walls and a serving girl had laughingly told Stan that it had been a bedroom too before someone had been murdered in it. There were two large wooden desks, solid wood from the nearby forests put together by actual craftsmen on which were a large collection of glass bottles containing chemicals, and some other glassware that would eventually contain those chemicals. At the moment there were no experiments running, and Stan couldn't tell if Danits was disappointed or not. By the large window that looked out on to the side-lawn and the forest beyond was another table, this one equipped with a rickety stool that had probably been put together by the previous occupant of the room, and there, in the good light, were the papers that Stan was writing. His correspondence, with scientists across Europe, was also there, bundled neatly in a large wooden box.
Danits sniffed. "But what is that smell?" There was an acrid aroma lingering in the air that felt as though it was somehow cleaning your nose and throat out when you sniffed it, and made you recoil a touch.
"Ammonia," said Stan. "I was preparing the cleaning solution for the maids earlier."
"Ah," said Danits. He nodded solemnly, his long face and pointy chin with its wispy goatee dipping towards his chest and back. "I have heard very good things about this cleaning solution. So good that one might think to ask a priest if it is a miracle. I am told that with it rooms take half the time to clean that they used to. The Prince is very happy, as the kitchen has been producing food of better quality, which they put down to having to spend less time cleaning, and the majordomo is happy because his neverending list of things to be done might finally have an end. I personally doubt that he will reach it, but at least he now only complains about a finite list."
"Thank-you," said Stan, uncertain if there was praise in that speech or not.
"But... for all of the blessings that this ammonia brings us, is that sufficient for a Scientist to have such pleasant surroundings? Such a large income from the Prince, annually?"
Ah, here is was, thought Stan. The real reason for the visit.
"The Prince would like to see some more Science, he says," said Danits, his voice changing tenor slightly as though to suggest that Danits had tried -- and failed -- to convince the Prince otherwise. "Something to entertain him, he says. Something that will amaze his visitors and, perhaps, even, attract the attention of the jaded heads of European empires. Or, failing that, an archimandrite or two."
Stan swallowed. Danits was, to him at least, an open book, and this casual addition of church leaders to the list was clearly the purpose of this visit. Do something to impress the men of god was the instruction here, and that was not a triviality -- at least, not if he wanted to avoid those same men of god to start investigating him at the blood-and-bone level to find out how he did these things.
Greg - we were supposed to go to Science World in Vancouver this day but had to change plans and will go another time. So, at some point, you'll be given another prompt to revisit... Stan and his suddenly pressurized environment.
Quite enjoyed this peak into this new setting, by the way. And the slow reveal of the purpose of the visit.
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