Earth - 19: Gotham by Gaslight

[Stray_Dog]

Gotham City was once a small hamlet just a stone's throw from London, but in recent years it has become the center of a great intellectual revolution. Science and mysticism mix, creating a technology birthed of brilliance and powered by steam. In an effort to demonstrate to the world the wonders that are in store, Gotham is playing host to a special expo showcasing the creations of the most brilliant minds of the time.

Where there is light, however, there will inevitably be darkness. Jack the Ripper, who haunted London in the year 1888 and vanished without a trace has returned. Scotland Yard is perplexed and an investigation is underway.

It is the year 1899 and we stand upon the precipice of great change. As this millennium draws to a close we are able to look back at our accomplishments as a people, and as the new begins we should look onward and strive to reach ever greater heights.  

[DrAshFjorde]

The papers where calling him The Shropshire Slasher which brought a smile to his face because of the fact that he didn't live in Shropshire, just made his first couple of kills in Shropshire. He in fact lived in Wiltshire.

He also found it funny that the bobbies and Scotland Yard were chasing their tales as to who he was because of the way he did his killings.

Musing, he thought of how sometimes he killed woman of the evening. Sometimes it was opera goers. Other times it was people of dark skin. Sometimes he took trophies, which he either burned or tossed into the river later on. A couple of time he took money, none of which he kept. One time, for a lark, he took the knickers off some elderly gent. But, throughout his spree, one thing that was always consistent, which bothered him only a bit, was that he used a straight razor to make his killings.

As he set down the paper and picked up the book on anatomy he'd nicked from a shoppe, he could remember where and didn't really care where, he reached for the straight razor and flicking it open and close, he began to browse, wondering were he should strike next.  

[Stray_Dog]

Gotham Square was more lively than it had ever before been. At one end of the square was an area where folk were engaged in dancing. Lights on strings stretched from pole to pole for as far as the eye could see, lighting up the streets like daytime. Couples, fellow scientists, children and adults alike all wandered between the many dozens of booths where scientists displayed their creations. Some sought only to show off, some to make a quick buck, while others were there hoping to generate interest from investors who might provide the means to make theirs the next household name.  

[Wanderer Ankh]

A man by the name of Connor Hawke watched the people walking past, slightly disappointed. Here, he had a mechanical woman, an nobody seemed to want to stop and watch her move. He tightened his scarf a little around his collar and fidgeted to keep himself warm while he waited.

Finally, after nearly half an hour of waiting, somebody finally stopped to watch his wonderful woman. "Sire, watch as my mechanical woman dances for you." He started her up, listening to the beautiful sounds of the clockwork gears turning and water being turned into steam by the miniature generator in her chest. She wouldn't run for very long, because it was night, and she needed solar energy to continue making the steam.

Mellema straightened up slowly and began to move about the space that had been cleared for her. Her movements were jerky at first, but after about thirty seconds, she became fluid in her motion, performing a belly dance for the man. After ten minutes of dancing, she shut down.

"I hope you enjoyed my creation and her dance. Tell your friends," he told the man and set about getting Mellema ready for her next performance. Her dance had attracted the attention of some of the other men-folk, and Connor looked out at them. "Give us a few minutes and she'll be ready to dance for you again."  

[NuSith]

Always on the look out for a new mechanic of great talents to take on his task, Mr. Harper made his way through the expo and lookred at several steam machines, but none interested him. they were far too bulky for what he required.
His eyes settled on a dancing mechanical woman and he closed the space to the booth. standing there a moment he couldn't help at smile over the details.
When the man announced that she would be ready to dance again soon Roy raised a hand.
"Pardon me.. Your work is amazing. May I ask if you are able to make moveable protesthetics." He rolled up the sleeve of his right arm to show a metal and wood fake limb. "I can pay well." He offered.



The expo drew a lot of attention, and this was a great place to watch his target. A wealthy man who was rising to the ranks and higher standing in Gotham, he was on the list.
Eyes narrowed under the dark hood as he stalked his target from a good distance. From here it would only take one throwing knife to drop the man, but this was too public. What he was to do was for no eyes.
The young assasin made his way quietly through the crowd, his gaze still on his target. His featers hiden by the hood he wore and his name unknown to most, but whispers of his aquired title were considered to be a scary bedtime story. Tallon was in the crowd one moment and gone the next. His target he would snatch up when no one was around.  

[Wanderer Ankh]

"Actuating prosthesis, sire? The whole of this magnificent beauty before you is as near a prosthetic as I can create." He turned to look at the man who had asked him such a question and saw the arm, forgetting Mellema for a moment and examining the prosthesis. "Who made this for you, sire?"  

[NuSith]

Roy smiled. "A boy who was traveling through. He does amazingly small work. I guess having small hands will help with that." He smiled. "He hasn't been through again latley so I'm looking for anyone else who can create me a new one. Just in case I break this. I do a lot of physical work."
Roy rolled up the sleeve more. "He did a great job. It's sturdy and all, but I worrey about it. I think one of the pistons is lose up here." He pointed to where the bicept was.  

[Wanderer Ankh]

Connor listened to what the man was saying. His arm was adequately built, but Connor could do so much better. "If you wait until after the exposition, sire, I might take you back to my home wherein I do all my work."  

[NuSith]

Roy nodded. "Sounds wonderfull. This was built by a young boy. I would love to run into him years down the road and see what he can do." He smiled wide. "I'll meet up with you later then."  

[Barbara Gordon_Batgirl]

The hat was lowered over her face as she wheeled her crate filled with inventions to the expo she was running far beyond casually late. The little trinkets she had worked on over the past year were to aid in the capture of criminals. It was a gesture of love really as she finally arrived. Her hair had been tucked up into her hat as she looked for a place to set up. Allowing the dollie to sit straight she pressed a button on the crate the sound of the machine whirling into life as the crate unfolded revealing it wasn’t a crate but a portable display.  

[Stray_Dog]

Eyes hidden behind smoky glasses, a seemingly vibrant and lively youth walked along through Gotham Square admiring the sights that the expo had to offer. It was quite rare that he would risk venturing out into the streets and mingling with normal folk like this, but he couldn't stand staying cooped up at home and missing such a rare and wonderful event. Indeed, the vibrancy and liveliness that he displayed were entirely a result of the wonders around him, and from his movements it was plain to see that the chill of winter did not bother him.

As he went from booth to booth he came across one that particularly intrigued him. He arrived just as the artificial woman was finishing her dance, and in amazement he approached the stationary woman. Holding his hat in one hand and extending the other to her he very softly said, "Hello, my name is Adam."  

[Wanderer Ankh]

Connor looked at the man who had just introduced himself to his creation. "Sire, er, Adam, she is but a machine. My Mellema is unable to answer unless she is running, which she will be able to once more shortly." He went back to getting Mellema ready. He turned her on and once she got started, he spoke to her. "Mellema, this man would like to meet you, please greet him."

Once again, the clockwork gears began spinning and clicking and whirring, and she stepped forward to look at the man. Her mouth even moved as she spoke, which was a marvel, nobody had ever seen anything like that before. "Hello, my name is Mellema, what is yours?"  

[NuSith]

Making his way through the crowd the small boy was well bundled from the cold. The bag he carried was almost as big as he was.
His bright blue eyes darted from one booth to the next before settling on the portable booth a young woman was running. He looked at the gadgets she had in wonder. His small fingers traced one of the devices she had.
"Interesting." He said. He pulled his scarf down from his mouth and smiled at her. "It can be made smaller and more compact if you use watch gears." He sugested.




Roy looked over at the young man introduceing himself to the mechanical girl. "truley amazing." He smiled. His eyes settled on Connor. He really hoped the man could make a better arm for him.  

[Stray_Dog]

Adam looked to the creator, embarrassed by his blunder. "Oh... For a moment I thought...." For a moment he thought perhaps she was like him. Never had he imagined that something capable of such grace could be bereft of life, of heart and of soul. Still, even as he watched the creator activate the mechanical woman, it was easy to again forget that she was without life. He allowed himself the fantasy.
He gave the woman a deep bow and said again, more confidently this time, "I am Adam. Enchanted to meet you, Mellema." Even if she did not live, such a convincing simulacrum of a woman was a truly astounding feat, worthy of praise.  

[Achikah]

It had been a very long day and now a very long walk, but the lass wandering through the wilds was hoping the night would grant her a bit of solitude, and so far it didn't disappoint. A streak of luck had already befallen her, for Gotham had shimmered like a beacon nearly the whole way from her home. With the gate now in sight, she was finally beginning to see the end of her journey. Trudging onward, she carted a once spry, now deceased, buck upon her shoulders hoping to fetch a few coins for a days work. It wasn't a grand size, quite modest really, but given her cart was buried by snow and frozen to the earth, fetching a large target would be problematic at best. Besides, with the fight it put up both in tracking and slaying, it was a worthy advisory.
Now crossing the thresholds of the town, the mound of fur began encroaching on the festival, or what she believed it was. She wasn't foreign to the lighting or technology of the city, just without it, but still they managed fill her with a sense of wonderment as she passed beneath them. At one point, she witnessed a mechanical woman dancing to the rhythm of the night and smiled to herself. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't intrigued by display, in fact, she'd say it was nothing more than a tall-tale if she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes. However, her shoulders were growing tired and she was sure she was beginning to smell as foul as the carass atop them so she began walking once more. It wasn't long until the butcher stand she had been seeking was in sight. Approaching, she laid the corpse out for the man to examine.
"On the meager side, ain't she," the butcher stated as he poked around the entry wound upon the beast's chest. "What kind of round?"
"Arrow, sir," she replied calmly, her eyes moving to catch brief glimpses of the celebration. At this, the man looked up to examine her but quickly gave her a nodded as he reached under his booth.
"Here," he said, tossing a small bag of coins beside the kill. "For both the hide and meat." The girl turned back, snapping out of her trance and eyed the spoils. It was less than expected, but with her usual proprietor out for the night's events she accepted. With the pouch now tied to her waist, she began to wander amidst the people until she came across the center of the festivities once more.
It was like scene right from wonderland. Music bellowed throughout the cobblestone roads as various couples danced about in joyous splendor. In awestruck wonderment, she lowered her hood to gaze upon the miraculous scene, the glowing orbs above even brighter than the stars themselves. Her gaze then turned to the earth and booths around her. To further add to stranger nature of tonight, she watched as one unfolded right before her eyes. She debated for a moment, but finally gave into her curiosity and moved over to newly formed booth, scanning the tables contents with great fascination, as did others quickly, a man even began offering suggestions to make the already tiny object even smaller! After a quick browse, she offered the owner a polite smile before moving back into the crowd to explore some more.