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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 3711906" data-attributes="member: 16069">Turn 8: Secrets and Lies.“Well, well- what have here?” The Gnome calls out from the back of the chamber.“My name’s The Professor.”“And I’m Auntie Edie.”The two share a look and a smile.“And why, might I be so bold, are you here?”“We’re here to close you down.”The Professor replies.“For good.”Adds Auntie.The Gnome chuckles and smiles.“May I ask why?”The Professor thinks about it.“May I take a seat- it’s a long story.”The Gnome motions- yes.The pair find an upturned wheel barrow and do their best to perch on it.“We’re from the past… you see.”“A parallel-wotsit.”“Thank you Auntie, a parallel dimension. Only our home, Earth, doesn’t care so much for its aged- its senior members, we’re expendable. And so, courtesy of a machine called the Wednesday Device, we, groups of old-folk that is, are sent tumbling through the time and space-continuum to complete designated missions.”The Professor smiles, lights a cigarette.“And so, if you’d be so kind, we’d like to take the mine, the Silver.”The Gnome looks a little confused.“The Wednesday Device? What is…”“It’s a sort of time machine, invented by a mad-man, an English eccentric, Professor Yaffle, a genius who spent every hour tinkering and scheming on one hair-brained idea or another, much to the chagrin of his family.”The Professor looks uncomfortable for a moment.“It’s called The Wednesday Device because it only works on a Wednesday, which, I’ll admit, is a little odd. It was designed to alleviate our, that is Earth’s inhabitants, suffering. You see we’ve not been taking care of our planet, there are shortages- water, food, air; that kind of thing. The Device however proved to be less of a boon than expected.”Silence reigns.“I’m listening.” Auntie looks at The Professor, there are parts of the story that she’s still not clear about.“Well the Device was working fine until a bunch of people failed to return, they were using young men and women at the time- sending them into the future, bright young things fit and healthy and clever. They were ‘Making our Future’, or so they said. Anyway, they sent other groups- they didn’t come back, nobody came back. The whole operation ground to halt for a year or two- until they invented these things.”The Professor points at the floating camera/recording device.“They call them Sensechal’s, an ancient word meaning- the Lord’s representative, which seems to me a little grand, but at that time my fa… Professor Yaffle, that is had grown conceited- enamoured with his own genius. He wouldn’t speak to anyone unless it was about his precious Device, or the future, or himself- he was a cold man, hard to like… nearly impossible to love.”The silence returns, Auntie squeezes The Professor’s shoulder.“Where was I… Oh yes, the first Sensechal was sent forward in time and came back, much to everyone’s surprise with a blank screen- Earth simply wasn’t there. That was in 2027, Wednesday 7th of April to be exact- the time code on the Sensechal read…”“Wednesday 8th of May 2041. The day the world will end.”Auntie finishes The Professor’s sentence then stares into space, wipes a tear from her eye.“Yes, yes it was… or rather is. As you can imagine there was panic, when it finally got out- wars, hoarding of resources, a general breakdown in society. There were lots of deaths- lots of them, needless, a third of the Earth’s population wiped out in the next three years. Leaving, I may add, a massive number of senior citizens, like us. Things went from bad to worse, more wars- nuclear explosions, the planet was coming to a close- and we were making it come true- the end of the world. Governments failed, countries collapsed back into the dark ages- madness gripped the planet.”The Professor and Auntie inch closer together, till they’re touching.“Then on Wednesday 3rd of October 2035, with less than six years to go- in a fit of madness brought on by the death of his father, Professor Yaffle’s son broke into the now sealed Wednesday Device and sent himself forward to Wednesday 15th of May 2041, a week after the world’s end.”The Professor grins, chuckles.“And ended up here, or rather on your world, this world.”He simply states, and looks around. With a semi-triumphant surge he continues-“And hope grew, snowballed. Governments were formed, advances were made, and lists were drawn up- things that we needed to find, to prolong our existence, we are, it seems, at last, changing the future. There were no more young people to venture ahead and so here we are, the old and infirm, it seems the responsibility is ours once more. The camera is there to watch over us, to broadcast our heroic successes’ to the huddled masses back on Earth, after the event of course, they’re good at editing out all that would cause suspicions to arise. You see our ‘Timeline’ is somehow linked to this place, parallel worlds, this magical realm and our lonely, once green, planet, there the same place- somehow, we call this place Oerth. And so, here we are.”The Professor levers himself upright, stretches, clicking bones protest.“Here to ask for the Silver, we need it- it seems more than you, and if you will not give freely, then to take it.”Auntie shuffles upright, points the Heckler at the nearest Zombie.“Sorry. No hard feelings.”The Gnome grins, jumps down from his desk at the rear of the chamber and shuffles a way forward, still protected by his Zombie servitors.“I don’t know about your story, it’s a little far-fetched. As to the Silver however it’s not mine to give.”He grins.“What?”“I’m just the hired help around here; you’ve been through this place, the Outsiders rule here, and HIM- Gannu. He lives below with more of his ratty friends. My job… well my job is to get the Silver out, use my staunch minions to make him money; my job is also to make sure that no-one gets past here. So…”The Professor and Auntie sag- there’s more to come.“So, if you’d like to just put that… that thing down. Then we can get on with the process, I’m sure you will be happy here, and the future, well there’s really no need to worry. The Undead can live forever, in one form or another, and I’m sure I can find some little jobs for you to do.”Narzy grins- hands out, gesturing towards Auntie’s Heckler.“If you’d like to hand that over madam, then you can, perhaps, have a nice little rest. Now won’t that be lovely. No more struggling. No more worrying. No more…”Auntie grips onto her Heckler.“Who are the Outsiders?”“You’ve met them, I should imagine- the Wererats, Gannu’s followers. They live below- hundreds of them. And now, please for your safety, surrender.”The Professor palms something into his hand.“I’m sorry we can’t do that.”“Shame. ATTACK.”Narzy’s Undead servitors lurch forward.The Professor skittles the grenade into the midst of them.“Duck, madam.”FWOOOOOOOMThe room lurches left then right, loose stones tumble from the ceiling- smoke billows out bringing stinging grit and flying debris.The Professor stands there his suit covered in dust, eyes opening and closing, ears dripping blood.Auntie huddles in the corner, staring hard, waiting for the smoke to clear.And when it does they’re all gone, as is most of the room- it’s unrecognisable, fires burn left, right and centre. Narzy is beyond dead, a flaming skeleton, the Zombies the same except for one Ogre which lurches and dances on the floor, still burning bright.The Professor shakes the dust from his suit, coughs a while.The Professor turns to Auntie.“We’re still here then, he wasn’t lying to us- we have to go below, madam. This Gannu fellow.”Auntie nods, reluctant.“I’m getting tired, and I’m short on ammo. I hope this will be over soon.”The Professor nods, “I’m out of grenades too. I’m sure it’ll all be over soon.”And sotto voce adds, “One way or another.”Next Turn: The end is nigh.</blockquote>

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