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[A face comes into view, an older gentleman, wearing a white lab coat over a flannel shirt. He's studying the screen with one part curiosity, one part confusion, and one part terror.]

[He clears his throat.]

Ah, hello. My name is Doctor Walter Bishop. I just arrived here, and I'm not quite sure where I am. I know I'm in Saeng Seong, but I ... I seem to have gotten turned around. I was heading toward the apartments, but now I'm in a market of some sort.

[It's hard to place his accent, though there are hints of Bostonian and possibly London.]

I would very much like to find my way home now, if I could find someone who will stop trying to sell me things long enough to point me in the right direction.

[His tone is full of annoyance, but it drops away to leave him vulnerable again. His eyes dart from the screen nervously, then back.]

Yes, I would very much like to go somewhere quiet now.

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[Ashe doesn't know yet about September's acquaintance, so she mostly sees an Einsteinean type looking like he is fighting an anxiety attack as hard as she can.] Okay. Okay. [She picks up her communicator, red hair pulled back messily and potting soil smudged on her jaw and burgundy t-shirt.] Dr. Bishop, my name is Ashe and I was brought here as well. I'm going to suggest that you take several deep breaths. As the gentleman said, it sounds like you're in the marketplace, and it's very easy to get turned around.

I've spent a lot of time there and can probably figure out your location with a few landmarks. What's the last really weird thing you saw for sale?

Ashe... Ashe! What a lovely name. I...oh.

[Walter turns away from the screen to survey what's nearest.]

There's a ... a woman selling beads. A skeevy looking man with ... are those penis bones? I do believe that's the largest I've seen of that species.

A woman with two little girls, not sure what they're selling. And a food cart (is it a cart?) with a man selling dubious looking chunks of meat with fried onions and rice and I haven't had anything to eat since I was performing the autopsy on a woman with Epidermodysplasia verruciformis. It was so far along...

[pause]

Oh. This is where Peter usually interrupts me. I think it may have been the man selling penis bones.

Thank you! Oh yeah, ok. Bead shop, food cart--OH YEAH that place with the giant whale's dick!

...sorry. [Ashe has few unexpressed thoughts.] No, that's fine, my boyfriend runs around writing everything down about everything he sees, so I've gotten used to people being very detail oriented. To help you make sense of your environment, Mom's a local acupuncturist who is teaching her kids, and I think that might be shawarma. Or something similar.

Regarding food, my fridge is full, and I just baked bread. I'll make you eggy toast or something. As for my interest, I'm a professional first responder, a healer, and kind of everybody's den mum when they let me.

Just keep in mind that the environment here is largely not hostile, and neither are the people. I'm on my way. Just keep an eye out for a big yellow dog and a redhead in a purple coat.

No, no. It's fine. It is a whale's penis. Amazing how large it is, yes?

[He seems cheered a bit with something to focus on.]

Did you know indigenous peoples of the far north use penis bones for clubs and for sled runners? Very useful! Although I see no need for one... here...

Oh! I love eggy toast, and warm milk with a touch of honey. I used to make breakfast for my son, and he usually wanted ketchup on his. A horrible addition, but he wouldn't eat it otherwise. And french toast...

[He's not going anywhere, not while he's yammering on about food.]

Well yeah. Whales and dolphins are ridiculously hung even for their size, and got all the accessories. If you talk to a whale or dolphin spirit and it's male identified, you bet they'll find an excuse to bring it up. It's not to be gross--they're ridiculously proud of it.

[...so apparently he's not the only ridiculously eccentric person in this conversation.] The Inuit are badasses of extreme survival. I studied with them for a season and believe me, you will learn more about inventive uses for what you've got around than you imagined possible.

[Good, engaging him intellectually seems to be calming him down. Also, who doesn't like talking about food?] It's a good, simple protein hit. And yeah, I was going to suggest chamomile with milk and honey after this mess.

[A faint bark echoes over from somewhere nearby, audible through a brief break in the local noisiness.]

[Walter doesn't notice the barking, as he's focused with laserlike intensity, at the screen.]

You're in communication with spirits? Souls? How fascinating! I studied the hypothetical existence of the soul while I was at Harvard, but I found no true evidence that such energy leaves the body at the point of death. Even so, I did think it could be proven. I never finished the study, unfortunately. It was a very busy period for me.

[Oh, how he wants to revisit this work now!]

Oh man. Here unwilling or not, sometimes I really, really love this place. Yes, actually, Doctor, I am a practicing shaman and medicine woman on top of the degree. I like to hit problems from all angles, you see. And yes, I'm perfectly willing to talk openly about it now that I am in a place where it is relatively safe to do so.

Only certain scientists have been able to begin to quantify the spiritual. It can be done, but on my world that research was faced with violent resistance. Also, to fully grasp it, you have to activate parts of your brain that don't normally function.

[Shuffling.] Going to be a delay of a few minutes while I get over there.

It's difficult to balance both spiritual and scientific thought. I admit, I'm a scientist first, but I try to keep an open mind. And when it's not open enough, I use a crowbar.

[He chuckles.]

Science and religion have always been at odds, where I'm from. When I was an undergrad at Harvard, we would challenge the theology students in some really heated debates. I never understood such blind faith, but there's always something out there, right beyond reach.

Oh. All right...

[Walter pauses, his train of thought derailed. The world rushes back, pressing into him.]

I'll be right here.

Well the thing to keep in mind is that many of the things considered "magical" now will eventually be quantified and understood by science. Think about germ theory for a moment. In the Middle Ages, no one knew that garlic, for example, was a natural antiseptic, because they didn't know about microbes. They believed that it had magical or divine properties which warded off the evil spirits that caused disease. That was untrue, but they were right about the fact that garlic works against contagion. All they got wrong was the process. And it took science quite a while to determine what was actually happening, and why it worked. The truth existed before science found it.

There's no particular reason why religion and science can't coexist, especially since they're ultimately addressing different things entirely. The problem isn't science versus spirituality, faith, or ethics--it is science versus dogma.

[He's alone for all of ten seconds before a huge, blond, fuzzy dog with snow on his paws ambles in, snuffles around, then comes over and sits down next to him, proceeding to beat his tail against Walter's ankle.] *Orr!*

[Ashe can't run as fast as Dog, and so is calmly following his messy trail in the snow toward the bazaar.]

Of course they will be. Magic is only science we haven't figured out yet.

[Walter sounds a bit gruff at that, though he bounces back. He seems to have a very wobbly grasp of his emotions.]

I've always considered myself an athiest. There's still a leap of faith there that I've not been able to grasp.

[His mind doesn't work that way, but he does try to understand. His brain is simply wired with logic.]

But I think it's--oh! Hello there.

[Dog gets a smile and a skritch]

Faith does not work for everyone. It relies purely on emotion and imagination, and doesn't anchor itself in anything outside that and the culture built around it. Intuition, on the other hand, is a developable skill. It is simply difficult to grasp because it's part of the brain that we aren't used to using.

[Ashe laughs.] Well as far as I can tell there's no celestial babysitter out there. Whether there is divinity, well...that depends on your definition.

[Dog leans into scritchies happily and paws at Walter for attention whenever the chaos around him starts to distract him again. Furball knows his stuff as far as comfort is concerned. Eventually Ashe comes in with snowflakes in her hair, stomping more of the stuff off her boots.] Oh hey! How are you holding up?

[And this is where Walter's beliefs get a bit tangled up.]

Without imagination, science wouldn't have budged. I can't tell you how many times I've trusted my gut instinct because I didn't see what I knew in some abstract way to be right.

[Walter chooses to let the comment about parts of the brain going unused.]

Hello, ah. Hello! You're Ashe, yes? I'm Doctor Walter Bishop. I'm most pleased to meet you.

[He pauses.]

I said that already, didn't I?

This isn't ah... the place... I'm-- oh, hello again, pup. You have a very friendly dog!

[Walter seems no worse for wear, and greatly calmed, though his face is still lined with worry, eyes darting around and unable to settle on anything for very long.]

Oh, imagination is an awesome tool. But when you're off theorizing, having some kind of anchor in what you already know is key.

[It's a fairly short walk over, especially since the huge dog spirit broke trail. He meanwhile spends his time gently bugging Walter for attention to distract him from the overwhelming crowd.]

Hi Doc! [She comes over for a handshake, all smiles. The dog gets a scritch.] Oh, he's not my pet. He's one of my allies. He's a manifested dog spirit.

[She figures that should get his attention.] You want to get out of here?

[Walter shakes her hand, relaxing a wee bit from the contact. He's a tactile person.]

M-Manifested dog spirit?

[Yes, that certainly got his attention. If he weren't a wreck, he'd have given it more thought. There would be time later to sort this all out.]

Yes, please. I need to get out of here.

Explanations once we get you someplace calm with a hot drink in your hands. C'mon. [She takes his hand and leads him the hell out of there, as quickly as he seems able to comfortably manage. They come out into a snowy, gentle hill leading toward some high-rise apartment buildings. The dog bounces ahead of them, barking and taking time out to play in the snow.]

The existence of extra-neural consciousness can be proven, but the problem is that that proof is experiential. It's not something you could codify for others in scientific terms. Yet.

[Walter is walking fine, if not a wee bit slow. He's dressed for a Boston winter and the cold doesn't bother him.]

Have you ever heard of fringe science? I spend my time researching the experimental and the hypothetical. People think I'm crazy more often than not. The world is incredible! All you need is an open mind, see what is, then reverse engineer the truth.

Sometimes you need a crowbar to open your mind, but that's easily solved.

[He's calmer while walking, head down and watching her feet as he follows, talking.]

Edited 2014-01-16 17:41 (UTC)

I have! In fact I ran into some people who were involved in it. I always wish I could have worked with them, but unfortunately back home divisive politics are the order of the day.

[She chuckles gently and shakes her head.] You're an inch from Awakening if not less. I have a feeling this conversation is going to get really interesting.

I prefer the warm fuzzy approach to a crowbar, but since I'm often completely unsubtle there's sometimes not much difference, I'm afraid. I'm in that tower over there.

They aren't given much credence in my world, but many of the important scientific discoveries were made by looking beyond the known. Depending on the politicians in office, you might have a job looking into things like that. I spent quite a few years when I was younger working on projects for the government.

[Walter looks up for a moment.]

Awakening?

[Lead on, he'll follow.]

The problem is that on my version of Earth, both science and government have been corrupted to such an extent that they're actively working to suppress creativity and imagination....

...whiiich would be part of why I am not all that terribly upset to be dragged away from it all. [She scruffles Dog's head and half-turns to keep talking to him as she walks. Having no one to go home to but Gaia Herself probably helps.]

Awakening is basically the epiphany point--it's when you finally realize the full extent of your potential and start to truly access it. [Dog brings her a fallen branch and they play tug-o-war with it briefly.]

Bastards! OH--no, no... I didn't mean you, miss.

[Walter's nervously apologizing to a woman he nearly toppled while not looking where he's going.] I'll... yes, of course. I... goodbye.

[He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his overcoat and hunches his shoulders.]

Religion and science and government should never be near one another. Only leads to trouble and the fall of civilizations! [He lowers his voice.] I didn't mind working for the government at one time, but I was young and hadn't yet been exposed to a more pure form of mind altering substances.

[ahem!]

I still did contract work for them after that, but only for the research funding. They never got the truly good stuff.

[He's quiet for a moment, thinking. When he speaks again, he is grave.]

Oh, I hit the epiphany point a long time ago.

Edited (because tense shifting ) 2014-01-25 05:11 (UTC)

[She notices how distracted he is and smiles a bit, walking back to slip her arm through his for both reassurance and to...well, keep him out of trouble.]

I agree most of the time. Everyone knows what happens when religion and government hop into bed with each other. But I try never to deal in absolutes. That sort of thinking is part of the whole problem.

[At the mention of mind altering substances, she snickers.] Oh yes, well, I did tell you my job. Although with one notable exception most serious entheogens in shamanic work are of the "oh, hey, I'm vomiting" variety.

[A look of regret as she pats his arm with a purple mitten.] They're trapped in a web of bureaucracy and rules. They each contribute to trapping themselves and others, but they don't know or understand how to stop.

[She smiles and peers at him.] Oh...almost, I can see that. But I don't think you fully understand yet just how much power you have to take advantage of the things you're discovering.

[He raises his eyebrows, then gives her a small smile.]

Some of them are worth the vomiting. There wasn't anything for it, though. I did isolate and purify many of the active agents in different entheogens, making them a bit less nauseating. All my notes and samples are ...

[He stops before he says 'in my lab' or 'at home'. He frowns at himself and his shoulders tense further.]

[Walter doesn't comment further on the epiphany, his own, or her suppositions. His frown deepens and he closes up, leaving an uncomfortable silence between them.]

[She grins briefly.] Got to be careful when you supercharge those sacred herbs. Last time I did that with Yaje down in the Amazon, he left me in a remote corner of the Yukon, in the spirit world, in somebody else's clothes.

[Her smile fades as she sees his mood shift. She pats his arm.] Hey. Hey. Science guy. Look. We just met, but let me give you some advice. You can't give in to despair here. You have to live under the assumption that all of this is temporary."

"Everything is temporary. It's a double edged blade." He doesn't loosen his shoulders or turn to look at her. He's too tall to be a turtle. Otherwise, he'd resemble one.

He keeps walking, having no idea where they're going or where she's taking him. He's lost in his own thoughts, trying to tell himself everything would be fine.

"Peter's likely annoyed, looking for me right now."

Edited (wrong icon, derp) 2014-01-30 18:58 (UTC)

"I know. But I do believe it can work in our favor sometimes." She notices his turtlishness and smiles a little sadly, leading him on. "It's not much farther now."

She crunches along, occasionally throwing a stick for Dog. "Given that there's no reason you couldn't be returned to that point in spacetime, there's no reason he'd have to wait very long."

1.0 : video

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[hi sorry for lateness, I do live!]

[that's ok, I ended up in the same boat]

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