InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Eat at Joe's"

Arcturus Black (arcturusfirst) wrote in compass_network,
@ 2021-12-28 10:59:00

Entry tags:

!open, aphrodite, fitzwilliam darcy, sookie sully, ~arcturus black

[Backdated to a few days after portal opening]

Now that there are reports of an epidemic I hope people here will better understand why I do not drink the water. The cholera is a very unpleasant way to die.

I write, however, to ask for the advice of those who have lived here much longer than I. I understand that there is a doorway through which I can reach Paris. If I did this, and I took passage to Britain, and went to my parents, would I be able to stay there? I could not tell them who I am, because in 1832 I was not yet born, but I know enough to pass myself off as some distant cousin.

If I did all this, would I be left in peace, or would the doorway cruelly pull me back when it closes?

ADDED LATER:

After consideration I would like to ask if anyone would make the journey with me. I will pay for the cost of your travel, and for your time and inconvenience should you wish it. It is necessary that you are a fellow who possesses magical ability of some sort, and both knowledge of the customs and etiquette of Britain at this time, and a willingness to follow them. Please do write if you are willing. - A.C. Black

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arcturusfirst
2021-12-28 09:40 pm UTC (link)

Thank you, I appreciate that you explained it, even if the answer is not quite what I hoped. They will be there, though. Mr Enjolras is a Frenchman, and I am an Englishman, but we are from the same planet, and not so terribly far apart in time from each other as the two of us are from most others I have met here.

I think I shall go. I would like to see my family, even if I cannot stay. Your concern is very kind but the phone would cause all manner of trouble were I to be seen with it at home, not to mention that it would not work in 1832. I shall be quite alright. Paris cannot be more dangerous than London, and I know how to defend myself should any of the lower orders try to rob me.

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sookie_sully
2021-12-29 07:21 pm UTC (link)

You're both from a version of Earth. It doesn't mean they're the same Earth. I've seen many doors to different Earths that were similar, and yet not completely the same. The smallest difference can change many things.

I've used my phone through the door before. Others have too. It's a good way to keep in touch with the station. Depending on how long you stay, you may be returning to cold weather here, or other circumstances that you'll want to know about.

There's no harm in an extra hand if you do need to defend yourself, and you may appreciate having someone else there as company. If you ask around, I'm sure you'd find volunteers.

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arcturusfirst
2021-12-29 07:39 pm UTC (link)

I expect you mean people tampering with the timeline. That can have some...dramatic effects. Yet if it were altered so that my parents were no longer where they should be, they would no longer be my parents, and I would cease to exist. That is the danger of meddling with time. As I am still here, it stands to reason that they are still there.

~~Then you clearly have not been to a time before the invention of~~ Let us say that there are cultural reasons why it is far better that I do not bring it.

The journey would be more enjoyable with company, it is true. Very well. You are not the only lady to have advised me of it. I will set out an advertisement, and if someone with the necessary qualities steps forward, I will be glad of his company, but if not, you will understand why I go alone.

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sookie_sully
2021-12-29 11:06 pm UTC (link)

I mean parallel worlds and universes. There are a number of alternative planet Earths, that are similar but not identical. I've visited a few. You are from an Earth. Others are from different Earths. 1832 on one Earth might be very different from 1832 on another Earth.

You can keep it hidden if you're concerned about affecting the culture. That's what I do when I visit versions of Earth that don't have smartphones or that don't have them yet.

No one has to be alone on this station, even when they're through the doors.

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arcturusfirst
2021-12-29 11:30 pm UTC (link)

There is only one universe. It is right there to be seen, in the Latin. It includes all the planets and even strange realms out of time. Finding other planets and calling them Earth is perhaps something that people might do in their travels, or it might be a...translation problem. If we discovered men living on Mars and learnt that in their language they called it 'earth' we would not be surprised when we visited that it was not the Earth we knew!

It is more that I would be breaking a custom of my people to bring it, and I am not the dishonorable sort who would do that covertly.

Perhaps not, but sometimes a fellow would prefer to be alone, and there is no harm in that.

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