2025-02-18 - Of Journals and Devices

[TXT to Waverly] Rowan: Hey, Estella! I do remember you. What are you researching here?

[TXT to Waverly] Rowan: I'm performing here, yes. And I can meet up, when would be a good time?

[TXT to Rowan] Waverly: A device that I think an old relative of mine might have been involved with.

[TXT to Rowan] Waverly: Any time. I'm mostly around the resort except when I'm out exploring the park.

[TXT to Waverly] Rowan: A device? Here?

[TXT to Waverly] Rowan: Ok, well, I'm usually performing (he gives a bunch of times and days) but outside of that works. I'd have to be able to change before we meet.

[TXT to Rowan] Waverly: How about tomorrow around 11am? That's before your shows start in the evening and I'll buy you lunch at Paradise Pizza?

[TXT to Waverly] Rowan: That should work. Meet you there?

[TXT to Rowan] Waverly: Meet you there!

11am isn't -that- early. At least Rowan doesn't have any morning shows, but it does mean that he has to be prepped to go pretty much right from lunch to get in costume. It means, of course, that the whips are tucked into a bag for better, and discreet, transport.

Arriving at the resort, he's dressed in his usual Grunge-Goth clothes of blacks and greys, his curly hair freshly washed and prepped, as curly hair needs, to try and last through the day. Over the grey and black, in deference to the fact that it's still Winter, even if it's not terribly cold, he has on what looks to be a waxcloth, double-breasted, hooded frock coat in black with a burgundy/wine colored lining that peeks out at the collar, inside the hood, and button-lining. In his fingerless-gloved hands is a travel mug, likely full of hot tea.

Paradise Pizza is a fairly brightly lit establishment with windows looking out onto the pool area of the resort. Waverly is another dark spot in the otherwise bright atmosphere. She is dressed in a black turtleneck and black jeans with black laced shoes, and even a black cardigan on. Her hair is pulled up into a neat bun, and she looks a little like a very young librarian but not all that different than when Rowan last saw her.

She offers him a small smile when she sees him and lifts one hand to wave in greeting. "I ordered some cheese bread," she says. Because who doesn't like cheese and carbs? She hopes he doesn't mind cheese and carbs.

Rowan might be taller...maybe a little less baby-faced as he was in High School, but otherwise also looks much the same, aside from the vampire fangs that show when he offers his old classmate a grin upon seeing her.

"Oh, thanks! Cheese bread is great." It's early enough in the day that he'll just stick to water for something to drink. "So, tell me about this research you're doing? What sort of device? The park isn't that old..."

Waverly smiles as well and then she tilts her head just a little when she sees the fangs, expression curious. "Are those for your show? Or are they...?" she trails off a little. She's seen plenty of people with changes since she's come to the park. But they are always fascinating.

When the cheese bread arrives, she has an iced tea to drink, and the waiter also brings Rowan a water, setting it down in front of him before wandering off to take care of other guests.

"No, the park isn't that old. But the device is." She pulls out a couple of notebooks that sit on the seat next to her and she sets one on the table. It looks old and the handwriting within has been faded with time. The edges are worn. But the image on the page is of a spherical device of some kind. It's in black and white, but there are notes scribbled around it that mention "blue light" and "lightning charge?" with a question mark on it. It is contained within a housing around it that seems to have been screwed and bolted on around this crackling energy in the middle.

"These are old notebooks that belonged to ..." she trails off, frowning slightly. "Someone in my family. A long time ago. I think. And I think it might be here."

Rowan's tongue runs across the fangs lightly before he shakes his head, "They're real. I don't have a hunger for blood, so there's at least that," he quips, trying to make light of it because what else are you going to do? "I woke up with them on New Year's Day."

Taking a sip of the water and forgoing the cheese bread for a moment, he leans over to look at the old notebooks. "Wouldn't you think they would have found it when they did all the construction, though?" Unless it was on one of the islands that people just didn't inhabit. "What do you think it is? Wouldn't the energy drain be noticed?"

Estella laughs just a little bit when Rowan says that he doesn't have a hunger for blood. "That's fortunate, because I only ordered cheese bread." She's clearly joking a little, too. "That's fascinating," she says, studying him for a moment longer, but not wanting to be impolite about it. "I've discovered that I can create lights," she says, "Physically nothing unusual has happened to me. Yet." She doesn't seem to rule out that something could happen.

"Yes, I would have thought so. And maybe they have and are hiding it? Or maybe they have and relocated it? Or.." Estella says with a little wiggle of her fingers over the pages. "I don't know. That's what I'm hoping to find out. There's.. for some reason it seems so familiar, the journals, the device."

"I don't know. The notes refer to it as a 'siphon' sometimes, but I don't know what it's siphoning or for what purpose," Estella says thoughtfully. "If it were using electricity, yes, I'd think so. I guess it depends on how much it is using."

Yet. "This is the first physical thing that's happened to me. I know others have more obvious physical changes." Rowan finally takes one of the pieces of cheese bread and rips a little bit off to eat, "I can do a few other things too, but they're not really obvious." Not like fangs or lights.

His dark brows draw down some, "Do you think that 'they'..." maybe those who built the park or own the park..."Know what it is? And what other sort of energy could it be siphoning? I mean...I know other energy exists, I guess..." Isn't that what science class was for?

Estella nods when Rowan says he can do some other things that aren't as obvious but she doesn't pry, at least not yet. Instead, she focuses on his question. "I don't know," Estella admits. "I have no idea how I would approach them to broach the subject. I've spoken to the park's PR department, which is who they usually send people to first. But they don't seem to know anything." She sighs just a little bit. Then she asks, "Do you know anyone who might know more? You work here.. can you think of anyone we could talk to?" She looks a little bit hopeful.

"I'm not sure. Maybe some sort of cosmic energy? Some sort of rays? Something from solar flares from the sun? I'm.. really not much of a scientist," she admits, looking just a little bit sheepish.

Rowan picks at one of the bits of cheese bread with his black-polished nails for a moment as he listens. Dark brows furrow when she asks if he might know someone she could talk to, "It may surprise you," is offered with a bit of a wry smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, "I'm not really 'in' with the cool kids. Turns out High School isn't that different from Real Life sometimes." He finally looks back up, "If there -was- someone who might be more in the know, I don't think I'd even know it was. And I doubt they'd know me. I work here, but...so do a lot of people." He looks back down at the cheesebread and sighs, "I'm sorry."

"If this was a book," he finally offers after a moment and a pinched-off piece of the snack, "I'd say it was Magical Energy...however that is meant to be described. A Portal to another dimension where there's magic. Or, if you want to believe the comic books, it's something that's awakening latent mutant abilities."

Estella gives Rowan a warm smile and shakes her head, "Oh, it's okay. I just thought you might know someone from work in the directory or something. I can continue to pursue it in other ways." Then she gently says, "You know, being part of the cool kids is highly overrated, I think. I prefer being one of the nerds."

"Mutant abilities," Estella says as she thinks that over, studying the open notebook in front of them. "I guess that's one way of looking at it." She's definitely not arguing one way or the other. "Some sort of magical or mystical energy that's coming from.. somewhere." She then says, "Oh, I've heard the term siphon used once or twice in here. Maybe that's what it is? Some kind of siphon?"

"Except, it's even weirder than that," Rowan leans forward a little, "It's like...-everyone- is a weirdo or a nerd. So you think you should be able to find your people easier, right? But no...it's still the same, only just flipped. I mean, I guess I should take some pride in the fact that I'm too weird even for the weirdos..." he gives another little smirk before taking another bite of the cheese-bread.

"And siphoning from where? And can you get overloaded with the magic? I don't really want to turn into a Vampire. I do kind of like hanging out when it's sunny." The blood thing? Eh.

Estella smiles and shakes her head a little bit at Rowan. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit. There's a lot of people here. Maybe you just haven't found your specific brand of nerd." She takes a bite of her own cheese bread after dipping it into some garlic butter sauce and sighs contentedly. Warm cheesey garlicky buttery carbs.

"That's what I am really curious about. If it is some kind of siphon, what is it siphoning and where is it siphoning from? But so far, all I have are the notes and the possibility that it's here," Estella says. "I'd really like to study it myself, if I could manage to see it." Then she admits a little more quietly, "And figure out if it has anything to do with .. you know.. my whole.. situation."

As for getting overloaded with magic, her eyes widen a little. "I hope not. Have you noticed any more changes since New Year's? Like.. it's not .. progressing, is it?"

Rowan pops the rest of the cheese-bread he had in his hands into his mouth to prevent any more commentary about finding his right kind of nerd. The other subject is easier, anyhow.

"Your situation with the lights? Or is there more to the situation?" since she mostly mentioned that and doing the research. "Do your notes say where the thing might be located?"

He'll shake his head when she asks about his own magic progressing, "No, but I do find I have a craving for really rare roast beef." Dark eyes blink before he grins, "Kidding. No, I haven't noticed it getting -more-."

"I mean my.. the whole.. amnesia thing," Estella says with a small smile. But then she nods toward the journals and says, "It was on a ship, headed north to Sault Sainte Marie. To a new lab there. But I heard rumors that people have been looking for it here, that they think the ship might have gone down in the waters off of the islands."

She points out an entry in one of the journals. "This is one of the last entries."

October 8th, 1871 - Tonight, I will be speaking in front of the press, a panel of my fellow academics, and some brilliant students about The Looking Glass. I believe that if we can gather enough interest, that we can get the funding to begin the development in earnest once we set up the new laboratory. The ship is due to leave in two weeks. We've already begun to load the cargo hold with all of the equipment that we'll need when we get there and all of my various projects. My wife has felt uneasy all week. She keeps saying she wishes that we could leave early. I'm not sure why the sudden case of nerves has come over her. But she and my daughter have both been restless. I am at a loss how to reassure them. This is not the first time that we've uprooted and begun a new. I doubt it will be the last. But this time we have several investors and interested parties willing to help fund this work. We should be optimistic! Perhaps once we are on the ship, they will feel more at ease.

Estella laughs just a little bit and says, "I also have a craving for rare roast beef, but I think that's just because I like sandwiches."

"I mean," Rowan grins a little brighter, "Rare roast beef really -is- the only way to go it." But then he's looking at the journal entry.

"1871? Really? And is this referring to the 'Alice In Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass' book?" He reads on. "Were the wife and daughters on the ship that went down? And it was going across the lakes? Wouldn't thy have found something like that by now? I mean, it's been," he pauses for a moment, "Over a hundred and fifty years."

Roast beef cravings aside, Estella slowly works her way through some cheese bread as they pore over the journal together and discuss its implications.

"So, from what I've researched, there's over 60 known wrecks in Lake Michigan alone, and everything I've read says there's probably a ton more in the Great Lakes that just haven't been explored. Mostly because they're in water that's too deep for recreational divers. You need like special training to go down and look at them," Estella says as she folds her arms on the table in front of her. "So it's possible it's just one of all the ones that haven't been found.. or if it was, it hasn't been explored."

"Seriously?" Rowan blinks. "I mean, I know the lakes are big, but...I guess I never figured that. You always think of bigger ships sinking in oceans. And if there are so many, why wouldn't they go looking for them with the special divers? Don't they have like...sea drones now for that sort of stuff?"

Dark brows draw down, "So...how would -you- get there if it's at the bottom of the lake? Since you said you wanted to see it..."

Estella nods, "Yeah, I was surprised at how many of them there are, too. But I guess like, they're big enough that they get rough weather just like anywhere else. Some parts worse than others." As for why they haven't all been explored, that is not a question she can answer. "Probably. Maybe it's just expensive? Or maybe they're busy using them to look for treasure out in the ocean instead?"

Blowing out a breath of a sigh she says, "That.. I don't know. I was kind of hoping that someone else was already going there somehow and I could.. hitch a ride? Or watch the cameras? Or.. I don't know. See it if they bring it back up to the surface?"

Rowan gives a little shake of his head, "I think that if someone was bringing a hundred-and-fifty year old boat from the bottom of the lake, we'd know about it. There would be equipment and scientists and reporters and stuff, and I haven't heard about that. Maybe..." His brows crease again, "I wonder of some of the folks with water powers could do something? I don't know if they could swim that deep or not, but...maybe?"

Estella nods slowly and says, "I don't think I've heard or seen anything either." Though when he suggests that perhaps someone with water powers could possibly do something she smiles a little hopefully. "Maybe! Or the ones who can turn into sea creatures. The ones that can dive deep."

"There are people who can turn into sea creatures?" Rowan asks, a little surprised at that. "I mean, I knew there were people who could breathe under water. One of my roommates can do that. Sea creatures like what?" He feels so out of the loop!

"I've seen people turn into a bunch of animals," Estella says with a small smile when she has a bit of information that Rowan doesn't about the magic. "I saw some people turn into wolves. And I heard that there were some who could turn into seals, or even dolphins."

"But seals and dolphins are mammals. They still need air. Can they dive down that deep?" Rowan looks at the cheesy bread as if deciding if he wants to take another. "People turning into wolves..." maybe the vampire thing isn't that much of a joke in actuality?

"Oh, yes, they can dive very deep. Dolphins can dive even deeper than seals can, I'm pretty sure, out in the ocean," Estella says as she plucks another piece of bread and breaks off a section to dip. "I would love to be able to turn into an animal. Maybe a bird. Something that could fly. I think I'd like to fly." But then she pulls her attention back to the conversation at hand. "The other option would be some kind of submersible but I doubt the park has one of those."

Rowan huhs quietly and finally pulls off another piece of bread, but he doesn't eat it immediately. It also gets picked at. "I think I'd want to be a cat. A big cat." But then again, he's always liked them. "I don't think the park has a submersible and even if they did, I doubt they'd let random people use it. I don't even know if anyone has an undersea drone...that might also be something really sciency and special. But maybe the people who can turn into dolphins then? Although they'd just be able to report back what they saw, right?"

"Yeah, probably not," Estella says. "I'm hoping that if I keep talking to PR enough times that they'll eventually send me to someone who can help me." She shrugs her shoulders though and says, "If not, then maybe I'll have to find some other way of figuring things out." But she nods and says, "I figure anyone who could get down there could maybe take some sort of a camera and take some pictures. Or at the very least tell us if there's anything down there."

"As a dolphin?" Rowan has to ask. "I mean...maybe if you attached some sort of GoPro or something that takes recording? But...without hands, how would they operate a camera?" At least he's pretty.

There's a shake of his head, "I doubt PR is going to cave. For starters, it's not really harming anyone and it's giving the place even more validity as a 'Magical Destination', right? Even if, apparently, you lose the powers and eventually forget once you leave the island. So why would they try to do something that could get it to stop?"

"Well, no, as a diver though you could also attach a camera to a dolphin. Someone else would just set the camera to record and it would just record whatever they saw," Estella says with a little smile.

"Well I'm not trying to make it stop. I just want to understand what makes it go," Estella explains. "I don't want to move it or do anything to it. I just want to study it."

"That makes a lot more sense," Rowan admits with a little smile of his own. "I don't see why you couldn't, but I don't think that the Park Execs are going to offer support. The lake isn't roped off or anything, right? They don't own it..."

He looks at the cheesy bread again for a moment before he offers, "Sounds like you may need to be the dolphin to be able to get close enough?"

Estella smiles a little wryly and says, "Well, I don't have the ability to become a dolphin, so I don't think I'll be able to go that route. The best I can hope for is to light the darkness at the bottom."

She takes in a deep breath and then lets it out with a little smile. "Well, either way. I'm glad that we've gotten to catch up. I'm planning a trip to Sault Sainte Marie. Maybe we'll be able to find something there. Maybe we'll find the lab. Maybe not. But it's worth taking a look." She then settles back in her seat, tucking away all of the notebooks.

"Maybe next time, I can catch your show on the Boo'edwalk."