Memory 3: The Ones Who Record History
Mar. 26th, 2019 08:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wontforbidtherainThey are in a small house's living room. Cat is looking at the books (literary classics, philosophy, esoterica) and the paintings (amateur works by a C. Trumbull). There are a number of people assembled — Cat will recognize most of them from her first memory (Mister Spector, Mister Day, Cat’s brother, the woman who is not her student). A Japanese-American young woman (addressed as Miss Koto, so Cat assumes this is the Neko Koto mentioned in a previous memory) comes out of the door to the kitchen and asks if the professor has anything for guests.
A woman — the professor — grumps about having people over not being a thing she does, and that they need to stop inviting people to her house. She addresses one of the men as Mister Spector, and asks if he’d take her word that she doesn’t represent a political entity of interest to him, nor does she have any relevant political opinions. He tells her that he can’t just leave it at that.
She asks him what he knows about Earth’s history and future. He mentions that he knows that the Marshes’ religion has prophecies, but his includes others.
The professor grumbles and asks Cat to explain, calling her ‘Miss Marsh’. Cat tells Mister Spector that humans weren’t the only species to walk the Earth. He indicates her and says he knows that; she corrects him and tells him that she’s human, just a subspecies of human.
Cat tells him that at least six more intelligent species will call Earth home, and the next one will be insectile. The six are recorded, but there will be others who visit, or who never develop writing or agriculture. And that Professor Trumbull (she of the house and the paintings) is a member of a species, the Yith, that keeps the records of Earth, past and future.
Neko comes back with the tea, Mister Spector wants evidence, and Trumbull provides — she first promises not to make any changes other than what come from giving new information, and then Spector seems to spasm, and suddenly Spector’s face is the one looking arrogant and amused, and Trumbull’s face is looking gobsmacked, if only for a moment.
Subsequent conversation indicates that Trumbull swapped bodies with Spector, and that Spector is seeking Russians who have an interest in the ‘lesser version’ of that spell. Trumbull is helping because she finds it petty to use the spell for other ends. Global conflicts of the 20th century are transitory to her.
Spector notes that he can see why Cat was reluctant to explain. Cat demands answers from him about what he had done — he left for private errands and then their party was ‘besieged by soldiers’ on their return. (From where?). Spector notes he did call for help following up some leads, but he got another faction from the federal government barging in on his business. His faction seeks a better relationship with people with experience in magic; the other faction agrees ‘the purges of the ‘20s were a mistake’, but that they needed to reinvent magic from the ground up.
Trumbull and Cat both agree that is bloody stupid, with Cat being a lot less amused by it. Spector apologizes for dragging them into departmental politics, and notes that officially they are on the same mission, but that the sheer lack of subtlety means that any ‘body snatcher’ or ‘spy’ or ‘traitor’ would be long gone. Spector wonders if they are there to practice something in the field, or if they also want some of the ‘old fashioned (magic) resources at Miskatonic.
There’s a bit more discussion about plans, before it gets to be dinner time. No one wants to eat with the other team, so Spector offers to get groceries so the rest of them can cook, since Trumbull doesn’t keep much in the house.
What Cat Learned
- She's human, but different enough that Spector called her non-human, and Cat's feelings were 'I am tired of people making that mistake, even people I know and like'.
- A name: Marsh. From the context, it is her family name, not her given name. So she won't be leaving Cat behind quite yet. The habit of everyone addressing each other by last name is quite irritating.
- A face for Neko. Cat also is pretty warm to her: Neko is Cat's adopted sister.
- More context on both Trumbull and Spector. Trumbull is apparently a bodyswapping historian that may be from the future. Spector works for the government, and is investigating bodyswapping because of something to do with the Russians.
- Cat has a little better idea of why she doesn't trust Spector: she doesn't trust his government. Something happened right before that memory that really upset her, and it had to do with this other team. Also Spector's comments about 'purges' and views on magic use give some context to a lot of things, while leaving a lot unsaid. She understands that this is why she was cagey with Mister Day, and why she doesn't trust Spector, but not what happened.
- Forbidden magic. The Yith don't like bodyswapping when done by other people.
- Future history (and implication of past history). Which is apparently connected to the religion she practiced but does not remember.
A woman — the professor — grumps about having people over not being a thing she does, and that they need to stop inviting people to her house. She addresses one of the men as Mister Spector, and asks if he’d take her word that she doesn’t represent a political entity of interest to him, nor does she have any relevant political opinions. He tells her that he can’t just leave it at that.
She asks him what he knows about Earth’s history and future. He mentions that he knows that the Marshes’ religion has prophecies, but his includes others.
The professor grumbles and asks Cat to explain, calling her ‘Miss Marsh’. Cat tells Mister Spector that humans weren’t the only species to walk the Earth. He indicates her and says he knows that; she corrects him and tells him that she’s human, just a subspecies of human.
Cat tells him that at least six more intelligent species will call Earth home, and the next one will be insectile. The six are recorded, but there will be others who visit, or who never develop writing or agriculture. And that Professor Trumbull (she of the house and the paintings) is a member of a species, the Yith, that keeps the records of Earth, past and future.
Neko comes back with the tea, Mister Spector wants evidence, and Trumbull provides — she first promises not to make any changes other than what come from giving new information, and then Spector seems to spasm, and suddenly Spector’s face is the one looking arrogant and amused, and Trumbull’s face is looking gobsmacked, if only for a moment.
Subsequent conversation indicates that Trumbull swapped bodies with Spector, and that Spector is seeking Russians who have an interest in the ‘lesser version’ of that spell. Trumbull is helping because she finds it petty to use the spell for other ends. Global conflicts of the 20th century are transitory to her.
Spector notes that he can see why Cat was reluctant to explain. Cat demands answers from him about what he had done — he left for private errands and then their party was ‘besieged by soldiers’ on their return. (From where?). Spector notes he did call for help following up some leads, but he got another faction from the federal government barging in on his business. His faction seeks a better relationship with people with experience in magic; the other faction agrees ‘the purges of the ‘20s were a mistake’, but that they needed to reinvent magic from the ground up.
Trumbull and Cat both agree that is bloody stupid, with Cat being a lot less amused by it. Spector apologizes for dragging them into departmental politics, and notes that officially they are on the same mission, but that the sheer lack of subtlety means that any ‘body snatcher’ or ‘spy’ or ‘traitor’ would be long gone. Spector wonders if they are there to practice something in the field, or if they also want some of the ‘old fashioned (magic) resources at Miskatonic.
There’s a bit more discussion about plans, before it gets to be dinner time. No one wants to eat with the other team, so Spector offers to get groceries so the rest of them can cook, since Trumbull doesn’t keep much in the house.
What Cat Learned
- She's human, but different enough that Spector called her non-human, and Cat's feelings were 'I am tired of people making that mistake, even people I know and like'.
- A name: Marsh. From the context, it is her family name, not her given name. So she won't be leaving Cat behind quite yet. The habit of everyone addressing each other by last name is quite irritating.
- A face for Neko. Cat also is pretty warm to her: Neko is Cat's adopted sister.
- More context on both Trumbull and Spector. Trumbull is apparently a bodyswapping historian that may be from the future. Spector works for the government, and is investigating bodyswapping because of something to do with the Russians.
- Cat has a little better idea of why she doesn't trust Spector: she doesn't trust his government. Something happened right before that memory that really upset her, and it had to do with this other team. Also Spector's comments about 'purges' and views on magic use give some context to a lot of things, while leaving a lot unsaid. She understands that this is why she was cagey with Mister Day, and why she doesn't trust Spector, but not what happened.
- Forbidden magic. The Yith don't like bodyswapping when done by other people.
- Future history (and implication of past history). Which is apparently connected to the religion she practiced but does not remember.
