Earth Victoriana: The Brit Machine (IC) (GM)

[trollthumper]

Cannonade stepped forward to put some distance between Ms. Wells, the machine, and the gang of Luddites. "Look, I know what you're going through, and this ain't gonna help," he said to the workers. He looked to the people around him -- a few other heroes, some he knew well, and people from an alternate dimension. He decided it was worth the risk, and slipped off the helmet.

"I work the line too," he said -- not as Cannonade, but as Joe. "I've been there. I've had friends who've lost their jobs 'cause the bosses wanted to bring something new in. You wanna lash out, you wanna strike. And they give you a target -- either it's the machine, or it's some other bastard in your position. They're not the problem, all right? They're a distraction. The bosses -- the ones who won't find a way to work you in, who'll toss you in the pits 'cause it'll save him some coin? They're the problem. You wanna make a difference? You ain't gonna do it by smashing a machine. They can always fix a machine. You do it by making sure they won't throw you aside. You organize, you make your voices heard, you shout to the bosses, Parliament, whoever'll give you the time of day. You show 'em the worker's indispensable --not something to be replaced by the machine, but the most essential part of it."

[Heritage]

Tiny little Grim accepted Carrie's offer and alighted gently on her lap, weighing hardly a thing as she neatly folded her wings; she was still pretty nervous, but excited to see what this other version of Earth looked like. The amazing yet terrifying machine made all kinds of crazy sounds and soon it was apparent they were somehow moving.

But then things went horribly awry and there was (to Grim at least) a massive explosion that sent her flying through the air; it took all her skill to dive and dart out of the path of huge chunks of iron flipping end over end through space.

Despite the status of Miss Wells' contraption, it appeared as though they'd arrived, judging from the adorably scruffy street rats Edge was offering food.

Huh, I guess he does his own version of conjuring; I think that's new.

Not to be outdone, Grim flew around the boy's heads, creating warm scarves and jackets for the wee lads.

"There, that should keep out the chill; you kids need shoes, too?"

But then the surly laborers showed up with implements of destruction, eying the dimension hopper with ill intent. Then this Cannonade guy did a surprising thing, unmasking himself and attempting to appeal to their hearts and minds.

Wow, so very eloquent!

But just in case the ruffians weren't feeling very reasonable, the changeling flew to hover just above and behind Cannonade's left shoulder, ready to lend her tiny fists to the struggle.

[Supercape]

GM

The leader of the Luddites was clearly impressed by Cannonades speech. "Well said sir. You are truly one of the Luddites. Here, take arms and join us. "

He pressed into Cannonades hands a sledgehammer and a slightly grubby, unprofessional pamphlet produced by one Mr. Ned Ludd, proclaiming on the cover that all newfangled ind'stry was the enemy of the common man!

One of the grubby men over the shoulder of the leader gawped at Grim, whispering "its a faery, lads! come to help us smash the... the...ind'stry..." he pronounced the word with some difficulty.

[trollthumper]

Cannonade looked down at the pamphlet. That's... really not what I meant at all, he thought to himself. Then again, this place might've had a different take on Ludd and the Industrial Revolution. If a time machine brought me here, who's to say there aren't mindless automatons driving workers out of jobs? May want to do some research, though -- there's a difference between saying "Our jobs are being sent to India" and deciding the Indians are responsible.

"I... will consider this," he said to the Luddites. "Thanks."

[Supercape]

GM

"That's the spirit Comrade. Its contraptions like this blasted thing here..." he pointed his finger at the sorry looking contraption that had taken the heroes to this dimension "...that are robbin' us common folk of honest livin'"

He paused, his eyes glazing over slightly. Whilst he was clearly the most eloquent of the mob, it was plainly the case that he was still not a particularly open minded individual, and his prose was derived concocted from memorised slogans and speeches rather than his own creativity.

"Whilst we broadly support 'is madjesty and the glorious british empire and 'er faithful colonies, 'pon which the sun never sets..." he looked around at the mob who nodded approvingly. "We do 'ereby protest in the most forceful" and here the mob grinned and hefted their sledgehammers "of manners to the widespread and in'dscrimnate use of mechanics and associated contraptions and devices, whereby they notwithstanding are pale im'tations of human artisanry, and thereby and wherewithall are deprivin of honest livin and abject poverty and thuslike and soforth etceterah etceterah..."

He smiled at Cannonade.

"What say you, comrade?"

[Aoiroo]

Carrie waited for a second to listen and decipher what exactly it was they were saying before walking over to them herself,

"I'm sorry to butt in, but what you're saying doesn't make any sense. I'd like to say first off that this particular machine has absolutely nothing to do with you guys losing your jobs in the first place. It's just a fancy steam carriage for petes sake, the only thing it's putting out of work are the horses."

Glancing over at the contraption she let out a breath,

"Second off, the advancement of industry doesn't mean the lack of need for human workers, far from it. After all, it's you workers who build the machines in the first place. Those machines need parts, a lot of which are too small and delicate to be crafted by other machines, they also need someone to take care of them, to repair them. If you can learn how to work the machines, how to keep them running because they will break if you give them the time and the chance, you can make yourself tons more money then your old jobs."

Taking a breath, she glanced down at the sledgehammers before saying,

"You can't bring about change by simply breaking things, you have to make change by adapting too it. With what your doing now, your old bosses can just point at you and call you ruffiens and have you locked up at Scotland Yard."

[Heritage]

"its a faery, lads! come to help us smash the... the...ind'stry..."

Grim rolled her eyes at these poor clowns; clearly the early labor reformers were not the most educated.However she was once again impressed by the verbal skills of her fellow...uh, was Carrie actually a heroine? Miss Wells seemed to think so, based upon her wind-up science stuff. Anyways, it didn't look like the unwashed Luddites were buying it; they were pretty well brainwashed with half-memorized propaganda leaflets from the sound of it.

With a whoosh and a swirl of mist, the shapeshifter resumed her full size (still smallish, but no longer wee) and stood at Cannonade's side, arms folded defiantly across her chest.

"You can't bring about change by simply breaking things, you have to make change by adapting too it. With what your doing now, your old bosses can just point at you and call you ruffiens and have you locked up at Scotland Yard."

The petite brunette nodded; she took a deep breath to speak, and as she did so she literally grew a foot, and her face took on the stern countenance of a zealous suffragette.

"She's right; do you want to end up in prison, where you can do nothing? I'm sure your life sucks, but if you're in jail, who's gonna bring home the food to your wife and children? Who's gonna shovel coal into the furnace when it gets cold? Who's gonna pay the rent that keeps you from living in the street, wandering through the snowdrifts while your children's teeth are chattering? Is that worth the thrill of smashing some machinery?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Hey, you know, it doesn't help if you look like bullies," Mark added, thinking about how his dad had taught him to handle Commies! Walking over to the men, he went on to say, "She's just a defenseless woman with a broken machine, and you're six strong men with hammers, all of you in the prime of your lives and peak of your power. If people see you breaking her machine, all you'll do is show them that the Luddites are thugs and bullies who pick on people smaller than they are. I'll tell you what," he added, "if you do want something productive with yourselves, why don't you do this?" He reached behind himself and produced a bag the size of his head. Mark wasn't a creative man: it was a black sack with a white pound sign on it. "Look, this is full of silver," he said, opening the drawstring bag to show the cut ingots inside, "and there's plenty for all of you. Now you can all pay your rent! Or even better, why don't you take this money, pool it together, and _buy_ that factory?"

[Supercape]

GM

Reason, it seems, was not the Luddites strong point. Talk of economic viability and prosperity, the realities of labour and industrialisation all went straight over their heads. For it was much simpler to trust in slogans and sledgehammers. And, particularly in the case of sledgehammers, it was more satisfying.

However, it was clear that the thought of Scotland Yard and imprisonment did have an impact. A few worried mutters about the reality of the situation spread through the mob.

The miraculous appearance of a bag of silver and a shapechanging fairy made life even stranger for them.

"Wotcha reckon of that, then Bill?"

"I reckon me and the mrs. will eat well tonight!"

"Its magic!"

"The faeries have come to smash the ind'stry!"

Their leader was trying to appeal for calm, but between the glamour of silver and the threat of the law, the cause was lost. They were already scrabbling for the money and dispersing. He gave one more look to Cannonade before following them.

"Workhouse rally tonight, Gutter Lane... come join us!"

And with that, he was off!

[Aoiroo]

Carrie watched with a sigh as the sledgehammers were off with there bribes. She took a few seconds to watch them vanish into the distance before she looked at the group around her and then at the machine. Her eyes especially met with Cannonade who was still missing his helmet.

Well, one problem solved, a million more to come. This is clearly not over if rallies are still being held for this anti-industry movement.

Turning from Cannonade to Edge and Grim, she said,

"I think it would be a good idea if we tried to blend in a bit better from now on. You can keep your faces covered if you like, I personally don't care about what's under the masks, but staying dressed as you are will be troublesome in the long run for the both of you since I doubt those workers will keep there mouths shut about the 'faeries that have come to smash the ind'stry' and the gifts they give."

Letting out another sigh, she turned and headed over to Ms. Wells who had been rather quiet during the whole incident,

"Well, we stopped the luddies or whatever it is you called them from making it worse, but the machine still looks pretty busted up from the trip over. Do you have an estimate about how long it might take to fix it?"

[Supercape]

GM

"Sterling!" replied Ms. Wells. "You simply must get blend in a little better!"

She started to bring out an elegant purse then took a look at Edge. "Yes, well, I am sure you have the means to purchase some suitable tailoring. There so happens to be a formidable tailor just across the street from here. A Mr. Tweed, nonetheless. I suggest you take a look at getting yourself some suitable attire, whilst I attend to the Dimensionobile, and see what needs to be salvaged. "

[Heritage]

The leather-clad faerie waved a hand nonchalantly.

"Hey, blending is what I do best, guys!"

A swirling cloud of mist obscured Grim for a few seconds, and when it parted she'd clearly shifted back to her old less-imposing self while adopting a more fitting appearance for their new locale, complete with lace-up boots and a small purse.

"See? I could pass for a local!"

She looked thougthfully at her fellow dimensional travelers.

"Y'know if you want to save some cash, I'm sure me and Edge can cough up some more appropriate duds for everybody." Then the changeling's brow furrowed with concern as she leans closer to the luckwielder. "But be careful with the money-making, sport, because you might have done more harm than good. Any legitimate buisness is gonna think those scruffy guys stole all that tinsel, which could land them in the slammer or drive them to a fence to try and pawn it, which opens up a whole 'nother kettle of fish." She shrugged. "I'm just sayin', these things have consequences."

[Aoiroo]

Walking back she gave Grim a once over at the new attire before looking at her watch,

"It is very nice looking yes, the lace really compliments your features but you might want to keep it toned down a bit more. If we go to that rally, which we really probably should since it might get out of hand, you'll want something a bit less delicate. Plus, your with your adversion to iron, maybe a material like wool or something a bit thicker then lace might be better. How does that work anyway, is it through touch, or just proximity?"

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a note book and and a pencil and started to flip through the pages as she started to doodle.

"I was actually thinking about that, please don't make more silver out of thin air like that, you depriate its value that way. If you want to help the poor while you're here, those sandwiches you made will never lose their value."

As she continued to scribble she took a few minutes to erase some things before tearing out the page, and handing over a picture of some standard boots, darkly shaded trousers under a lighter shaded long sleeve collared shirt, a long jacket, and a old style cabby cap to the man in the blue costume.

"If you don't mind taking a commission, I'd prefer muted colors, browns and greys, and the jacket to be made out of wool since it is quite cold out here."

[trollthumper]

"I'll take whatever you'd see in a factory," Cannonade said. "Think I'm gonna need it."

He looked down the road where the Luddites had gone, and shook his head. "There's always the middle man to blame," he said. "I wanna see this Ludd. See if he's actually got a point, or if he's just blowing smoke up everyone's ass."

[Avenger Assembled]

Edge stared at Grim as if she was speaking Martian when she talked about actions having consequences. When she was done, he added, "No, see, it's OK. That's why I didn't make them fake pounds or anything, because that would be counterfeiting. But everyone can use precious metal! It's a universal currency." With that, he snapped his fingers and was briefly colored with a swirl of black bubbles. When he was done, Mark was dressed in a good copy of Sidney Paget's Sherlock Holmes, who was the only Victorian character Mark could identify by sight. Adjusting his Inverness cape and deerstalker, Mark slipped his pipe into his breast pocket. "What's next, guvna?"

[Supercape]

GM

Ms. Wells looked at the four heroes. Cannonade and Silhouette now looked reasonably attired for working men and women. She raised her eye slightly at Edge and Grimalkin, but it was passable.

"Excellent!" she clapped politely.

"Now then", she said, patting her pockets gently "I am afraid will all of that explosion and what not, and dimensional disruption we encountered, the vial of freezonium has dissapeared. Lost in the dimensional nexus, no doubt. "

The perceptive would have noticed her distress despite her calm reserve.

"That puts us, as they say, in a little bit of a pickle. The first thing we need to do is get this contraption to the institute of metaphysical engineering as quickly as possible to start repairs. I can organise a tow from some other horseless chariots at the institute. "

"Meanwhile, the temperature in London continues to drop. Faster than when I left, according to these reasons, and by the hour. It is possible you may be able to help. Indeed, I think you must be able to help. First, we need accurate readings!"

She passed each of the heroes four copper tubes, filled with mercury, with a whistle, compass, and dial at the top. She gave a brief explanation of how to use the devices, apparently some sort of peculiar amalgamation of compass, thermometer and a few other peculiar things. "With these, we can triangulate the source of the cold. You all need to take one corner of London, and meet back here as soon as possible. Actually, as its getting a bit nippy, we can meet in that establishment", she continued, pointing to a rather rustic looking pub, the Cross and Bow "its a bit dingy, but warm and safe. "

"Now then, quick as you can, each of you choose a corner and off you go!"

[Heritage]

"It is very nice looking yes, the lace really compliments your features but you might want to keep it toned down a bit more. If we go to that rally, which we really probably should since it might get out of hand, you'll want something a bit less delicate. Plus, your with your adversion to iron, maybe a material like wool or something a bit thicker then lace might be better. How does that work anyway, is it through touch, or just proximity?"

Grim frowned slightly at the young woman's reaction to her outfit; maybe she was drawing too much on pictures of her relatives from the old country? Still, she liked the look (based on her reflection in a pub window) and was relucatant to change it.

"Actually the thickness of material makes no difference either way; cold to doesn't bother me anymore, but the touch of iron pretty much melts anything I make anyway."

The faerie paused as she glumly surveyed her environment; there was far more wrought iron about than in even the oldest neighborhoods in Freedom.

"Besides, the clothes I'm wearing are...uh, well they're made out of me, for lack of a better word. Nothing to get between me and and the ol' pig iron. And even if it's just within a few feet of me I start to get a little faint."

She slowly shook her head as her gaze continued to fall upon this version of London as she muttered to herself.

"Yep, not the best mission to volunteer for, Grimmie..."

Taking the odd little device from Miss Wells, Grim held it arms length as she trudged onwards through the cold.

"Okay, I call the Tower of London!"

Ducking into an alley, she shifted into her pixie form and flew through the air, high above the city and its oppresive tangle of black twisted metal, clutching the now very large copper device with both arms. She always wanted to see the Tower, but the main reason she picked it was because she was fairly sure she'd be able to find it.

[Aoiroo]

Carrie couldn't really say anything to Grim about the outfit, other then maybe that this whole thing was a pretty darn bad situation for her. Well, at least she couldn't feel the cold, Carrie was glad for the costume change since she was certian she might get hypothermia if she stayed in that wet hoodie. Looking at Ms. Wells she wondered how many layers she had on to not be shiving in that skirt right then, but that wore off when she gave them the tubes to basically loiter about London with. Looking around she glanced at the streets,

"Umm, could you perhaps call me a cab or something of that nature, if this needs to be done in the utmost speed I don't think simply walking would get things done at an acceptable pace."

That and if it really is getting colder by the minute, I don't want to dottle.

[trollthumper]

Cannonade grabbed one of the tubes. "All right," he said. "What corner do you recommend? And, uh, there any other... 'talented individuals' in this universe? I just wanna know before I go leaping across rooftops."

[Avenger Assembled]

"You know, I can probably make more of that freezonium for you," said Edge, taking out his pipe and blowing soap bubbles with it. "Unless of course it has properties unique to my own dimension! My God! A sort of aetheric...well, I don't actually know. I'll take the South Side!" he called. Mark quickly flagged down a cab and jumped inside. "Cabbsy! Take me to the highest place in South London and I'll pay you five full quid!"

[Supercape]

GM

Carrie couldn't really say anything to Grim about the outfit, other then maybe that this whole thing was a pretty darn bad situation for her. Well, at least she couldn't feel the cold, Carrie was glad for the costume change since she was certian she might get hypothermia if she stayed in that wet hoodie. Looking at Ms. Wells she wondered how many layers she had on to not be shiving in that skirt right then, but that wore off when she gave them the tubes to basically loiter about London with. Looking around she glanced at the streets,

"Umm, could you perhaps call me a cab or something of that nature, if this needs to be done in the utmost speed I don't think simply walking would get things done at an acceptable pace."

That and if it really is getting colder by the minute, I don't want to dottle.

Ms. Wells gave Carrie a dazzling smile and a few high denomination notes. "Well, perhaps you could take Camden Market. I understand they have some good clothes shops there. Might have something for your..." she looked Carrie up and down "umm... eccentric ladylike tastes."

And as luck would have it, two cabs had indeed pulled up by Ms. Wells, at her beckoning.

"You know, I can probably make more of that freezonium for you," said Edge, taking out his pipe and blowing soap bubbles with it. "Unless of course it has properties unique to my own dimension! My God! A sort of aetheric...well, I don't actually know. I'll take the South Side!" he called. Mark quickly flagged down a cab and jumped inside. "Cabbsy! Take me to the highest place in South London and I'll pay you five full quid!"

"You got it, Mister!" replied the cockney and rather rustic looking driver, as he cranked up his cab. "Cor blimey, its a cold one for summer innit! I'll take you to Greenwich Observatory at Black heath. Should be right blistering up there. Good view. You take the weight of your plates. You ain't from round here are you? Texan are you?" and with that, the cab started off with a juddering pace, blowing steam of its bonnet as it did.

"I'm afraid the Freezonium was unique to your dimension!" called out Ms. Wells as Edge took off.

Ducking into an alley, she shifted into her pixie form and flew through the air, high above the city and its oppresive tangle of black twisted metal, clutching the now very large copper device with both arms. She always wanted to see the Tower, but the main reason she picked it was because she was fairly sure she'd be able to find it.

Flying through the streets of London was a bitter cold experience. But it was a good view, the architecture showed up magnificently through the snow, with islets of steam melting away patches here and there. The huge complex of the tower of London was easy to see for Grim. As she fluttered through the stone walls, all but impossible to see, a strange voice wafted, zephyr like, from an ornate barred window "fey creature, from the burning world, avalon, avalon, away with the iron and steel, come hither and sing of the divine?"

Cannonade grabbed one of the tubes. "All right," he said. "What corner do you recommend? And, uh, there any other... 'talented individuals' in this universe? I just wanna know before I go leaping across rooftops."

"Oh not in your sense of the word" replied Ms. Wells. "Some of our scientists, like myself, are very talented at using ethereal energies and whatnot in most spectacular and innovative ways of course. Always new stuff to be learned. And as for what corner, why don't you take speakers corner at Hyde Park? its just over that-a-way... can't miss it..."

And indeed he couldn't as within a few bound he had reached the large and glorious park, green and not white all over. Despite the still dropping temperatures, a small crowd had gathered at speakers corner. A flamboyant character in a naval captains suit was addressing the scruffy looking workers, and Cannonade recognised a few luddites amongst them.

"I say to you, fellow workers, that it is the devil's work, this cold. Yes, the devil's! by which I mean, the devil of the indust'ry the machines... for they keep the simple and godly man from nature's work..."

[Aoiroo]

In the cab that was warm in part because of the protection from the wind as well as it's own heating unit (thank god those had been invented here), Carrie more or less watched the alternate world go by. She could think of one of several altercations that made the world go in this direction instead of the standard flow of history she knew. The aspect of visiting essentually a steampunk based dimension would of been tons more thrilling if it didn't seem so bloody miserable. She knew in her home dimension there was tons of horrible things she simply wasn't in a position to change anything, but here. Looking down at the copper tube she let out a breath though she knew in theory what was happening the dynamics hadn't been properly spelled out and the end game was still a bit foggy. At least for now she should do what she can to help and if that meant hanging around a bunch of shops filled with cool old clothing she would do it.

I don't know what's weirder, that I'm actually doing something that'll help people on a larger scale then just drug busts or that it's actually attached to an activity I'm going to enjoy.

As the cab came to a halt and she opened the door her mind reeled as she pushed out and ran to the nearest door,

On second thought, the weather is the strangest thing about this situation. What sort of energy imbalance could of messed up the weather this badly?

[Supercape]

GM

Camden Town: Silhouette

Carrie stepped out into Camden town Market, a thriving, bustling centre of commerce. Despite the cold, all the vendors were out, set out by the waterways (Which had all but frozen over). Her copper tube was whistling and blowing and making whirring noises as the cogs spun endlessly.

It was indeed blisteringly cold. Seeing Carrie dressed in the somewhat unusual attire, a friendly clothes salesman, a pleasant looking middle aged woman started plying her wares good naturedly "Good afternoon madam, terrible weather innit? I can see you are a woman of refined taste, yes indeed! I have a fine selection of Russian furs come in... just the thing to keep the chill out!"

As she was talking to Carrie, a small urchin started eyeing up the furs behind her back...

[trollthumper]

Cannonade stood at the rear of Speaker's Corner, trying not to be noticed as he held the calibrator up. More fire, less facts, he thought to himself. They've got a raw deal, that's sure... but I need to see what going on in the factories to see how I need to talk to 'em. Figure out what the bosses are doing from the floor, see what these machines are.

[Heritage]

As PixieGrim braved the icy winds high above the city, she could almost feel the cold penetrate her tiny bones, which really made her feel bad for all the other folks who weren't made of glamour. But the sight of the Tower really took her breath away; so much history, drama and bloodshed infused into those venerable stones!

I have to come back here some day when I'm not saving a parallel world from frostbite.

"fey creature, from the burning world, avalon, avalon, away with the iron and steel, come hither and sing of the divine?"

That voice! So strange the way it tugged at her heart. It reminded her of the ethereal quality everything had when she crossed the veil over in Faerie, which gave her pause. Not every fae creature was fair and good, as she'd discovered; some had hearts as black as frozen blood.

Cautiously she flitted closer to the barred window, clutching Miss Wells' odd device like a copper club as she did her best to stay an arm's length away from the foul black metal.

"I am fae, true enough. I'm called Grimalkin, the Mistress of Mystery. Who are you, who sings of distant Avalon?"

And why do I always end up talking like this? :roll: