Roleplaying
2004 Archive
2005 Archive
Seminars
| When: | 6 November 2004 ("Tears of God" Plot Event) |
| Who: | Adlai (as Adam), Elizabeth, Esrom, Genevieve, Jezebel, Nicodemus (NPC), Megumi |
| What: | The University is in an uproar as students hold a protest against a major donor, one Nicodemus Lyman IV, due to persistant rumors about his mob ties. Nicodemus confronts the protestors and attempts to sway them to his side. |
The University - Austin
The campus of the University of Texas at Austin stretches over several square miles. The most striking area of the campus is the clock tower, which looms over the rest of the campus and glows depending on when the school wins a victory in something it considers important. The West Mall is also another large part of the campus, housing the school's Union and having an open grassed area in front of it with enough trees to give it suitable shading.
The southwest corner of the campus is where the Harry Ransom Center is. A massive library and archive area that has several rare books and artifacts that make it of special interest to Yves. Finally, the last place of major interest is a Tokamak reactor buried deep beneath the Math and Sciences Building; the reactor a source of constant interest by both servitors of Jean and Vapula.
The University campus is in an uproar.
Or, more accurately, the student body, the generally active and interested parties they are, is in an uproar. For a long time, Nicodemus Lyman IV has been donating money to the University. However, there has also been many nasty rumors about the man, not about his semi-active local political career, but rather involving ties to the mob. Thus, the student body is out in arms, as he had been here, meeting with the school president, and they are making their displeasure known with chanting and poster-board signs with such slogans as 'NO MORE DIRTY MONEY' and 'NICO GO HOME'.
Megumi is here.
And Megumi is part of the Protest!
She has a very large sign, waves it around often, and holds it up high! She even goes so far to chant along with the students! Surely she can't be the instigator of this mess, right?...But she doesn't mind helping it along. Not at all. "NO MORE DIRTY MONEY!" She yells, "WE NEED NO-NICO!", she about faces and tries to egg the students on, "NO MORE DIRTY MONEY!" She shouts again, "WE NEED NO BLOOD MONEY!"
Elizabeth's quiet Saturday of research has been interrupted by the protest outside. With a sigh, she walks onto the scene from the general direction of the Rapaport Building to see what all is going on.
Esrom lights up a cigarette as he walks toward the library, where he was planning to do some research for a seminar he's giving at the rehab center tomorrow afternoon. The commotion catches his attention and he drifts along the edges of the crowd trying to figure out what's going on.
Adam is wandering around in the crowd. He does not chant, but he is handing out water bottles and energy bars to those who are to keep them going. Periodically he sweeps the crowd with his eyes. Otherwise, he simply gives encouragement to the crowd.
Esrom leans against a bench taking a long drag of his cigarette, still watching the crowd. New to the area, he's unsure what the fuss is about or who this Nico the crowd's chanting about is. He looks around trying to find someone who seems relatively rational so he can get the scoop from them.
Esrom heads over to a young man who appears to be an interested observer as opposed to an actual protester and asks what is going on. The young man, barely looking at Esrom, gives him a quick synopsis of the situation.
A few minutes later, there is an even greater commotion near the building entrance that the gathered protesters were surrounding, as the target of their anger and scorn finally appears. Impeccably dressed and carrying himself with an aura of confidence, Nicodemus exits the building, smiling pleasantly in the face of adversity. Even as some of the students begin shouting at him, Nicodemus steps forward, raising his hands. His voice, a resonant tenor, cuts through the raucous cries as he calls out, "Please, please, there's no need for this anger towards me!" This causes a mixture of responses, some of them calming down, others shouting even louder. still others shout at the others who are shouting, shouting at them to stop shouting so they can hear what he has to say more easily. Yep. Students.
Elizabeth spots Megumi and makes her way through the crowd towards the girl. "Hey there, Megumi. How did you get mixed up in this?" she asks quietly, her suit and briefcase marking her out from the crowd as no student.
Megumi takes a water bottle from Adam and offers it to Elizabeth as she appears, quieting down for the moment to speak to her buddy! "This guy's a -mob boss-," she informs the teacher, "He funds the school with blood money. He probably wants to turn us all into gangsters or something.", not that Megumi has anything againts gangs. Megumi shouts, "There is too! You can't lie to us!", she looks back to Elizabeth, "Want to join in? I could get someone who is tired of sign holding to lend you theirs."
Esrom gets comfortable on the bench, placing his materials beside him. He thinks to himself he might as well stick around and see what this guy has to say...but not too long. He really needs to get cracking on his presentation. Adam hands out the last of his watter bottles and all but four of his energy bars to a number of students nearby Megumi and Elizabeth. The last water bottle goes to Megumi and he starts looking around to find another refill station. "Yeah," he chimes in with Megumi, "The guy is supposed to be real scum."
Elizabeth chuckles, accepting a swig of water from the bottle Megumi hands her. She passes it back to Adam saying, "No thank you, Megumi. It's flattering that you thought of me, but I work for the University. It would be unprofessional for me to get involved. Not to mention that I'd like to get tenure someday, and protesting against major donors is a lousy way to do that." She smiles wryly.
Esrom pulls out his crumpled pack of cigarettes and fires up another as he waits. He scans the crowd, looking for any signs of organization, anyone who seems to be leading the charge. To get a better view, Esrom sits on the back of the bench instead of the seat, hoping to get a grasp of the situation.
A student near where Nicodemus is standing cries out, "NO MORE DIRTY MONEY!" at the man, causing Nico to turn towards the student, pointing one long, neatly-trimmed finger. "What are these accusations of 'dirty money'? I assure you that I gained my money as honestly as anyone else here has! My money is clean, and I simply wish to give something back to the community that has given me so much." He gestures with powerful motions as he speaks, every movement given with the purpose of enhancing his words, puncuating and emphasizing. "This University produces some of the best and the brightest students out there, and that is something that this city, no, this country needs. All of you here, you are here to learn, to advance yourselves in your chosen fields, am I right? I, too, chose to apply myself to my tasks, working hard to get to were I am today: a successful man of wealth, working to ensure that others get the same opportunities I have been given!"
Some of the students are cowed from this speech, stepping back as some others take their place, closing up the lines as if the man was a target, and the protestors surrounding him on a battlefield. Megumi's efforts are not in vain either, as shouts of 'BLOOD MONEY!' and 'NO MOB ALLOWED!' ring through the air.
There are plenty of stretches of sidewalk that are friendly to those who seek to draw on them, and as s uch, the University has become a favorite place for Genevieve to come to draw. Carrying a backpack, and humming to herself, the short clerk blends in pretty well with the student populace. However, the podium, and its sounds of strife, causes her to weave a bit closer. She squints her olive colored eyes slightly, and looks over those gathered, as if trying to spot any familiar faces. There are a few from that bonfire that she helped grouse a few of the sororities into setting. She clings to the fringes of the crowd for now, just trying to figure out what about the rather typical Texan businessmen has the student body so riled up.
Megumi chews at her lip, "Oh? Well, that would be unfortunate, I was considering taking a class in economics when I dropped on by. At least one, otherwise I may as well be a hobo when I get out of college.", she hesitates, "A major donor? Hoho, but it's vicious money, taken from the innocents, surely you see that. The Students here wouldn't have leapt to the cause for no reason.", she looks back to Nicodemus and watches him before shouting out again, "Your lies won't work on us, no matter how sugary or sweet you speak it!", she steps backwards and as if in thought, takes a moment to herself to consider things.
"...I think!" She shouts after a few moments, "I think you should tell us what you -really- feel about the student body! Go on, tell us! Everything! I bet you just see us as future goons!"
Genevieve's gaze sweeps towards the female that seems to be heading up the protest. Tilting her head to the side, she creeps up a bit closer, eyes wide. A faint "'scuse me, pardon me..." can be heard from her, as she wrings her slender hands, chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully. "So, where does it come from?" she asks to no one in particular, just some of the others that may happen to be near her.
Adam heads back to the closest refill station. By refill station in this case we mean the truck of some volunteer but it is a station nonetheless. By some coincidence this brings him right by Nicodemus and the shouting student. Adam gives a wide grin and hands the guy an energy bar. He makes a most un-gothlike face in the direction of Nicodemus and begins to wind his way through the protest crowd back to Elizabeth and Megumi, handing out pseudo-food and water along the way.
Roll by Elizabeth: (5) (2) (4)
Elizabeth is standing near Megumi, listening quietly while the teenager shouts. She purses her lips, frowning at the little contretemps between the irate student and Nicodemus. As Megumi opens up with her new tirade, Elizabeth steps back a little, as if to dissociate herself from Megumi's ire. The problem with backing up in a crowd, of course, is the other people. As she moves, she accidentally backs straight into Genevieve.
One of the hazards of being short, it would appear, is that you don't quite come up to eye level to most. And of course, being behind others doesn't help. With a somewhat distracted gaze upon the black haired fellow passing out refreshments, she makes a rather nice trampling target. With a whumph, and 'aieeek!' she half-tumbles back, arms pinwheeling. This apparently is common enough for her to have long ago abandoned getting indignant over the matter, and she chirps out, "Oh, hello, missus." She cuts herself short enough to cover the fact that the name's been forgotten, and asks Elizabeth directly, "Do you know where the money came from? I don't think I came soon enough to hear what he said. And why are students so pissed off about it, anyway?" She faintly rubs the section of her forearm that took the brunt of the collision.
"I don't know, and I don't know," Elizabeth answers Genevieve promptly. "Mr. Lyman-" She jerks her thumb to indicate the businessman. "-claims that he came by it honestly. The students have yet to produce any specifics on the matter, nor any evidence. The rumors around campus have it that he's got mob connections. Are you okay there? I'm terribly sorry about running into you so literally."
Adam is on the spot! He slings the knapsack around that holds the various supplies and taps Megumi on the shoulder. "First aid kits are standard out here, too," he says cheerfully as he pulls one out. "Are you alright?" he asks.
Genevieve rocks back and forth on her heels some, and half-shrugs, eyes bright. "You'd be surprised how often that actually happens," she says dryly, before squinting some. "Well, the students look pretty normal, not necessarily fringe elements, could be something to it." She shoves her hands in her pockets, and then blinks some at the black haired, what she would guess to be student's, offer. "I think I'm okay for now. But... You never know what the future might bring?" She gives a faint smile, corners of her purple lip-glossed lips quirking up. "Might I have one?" she pops up from behind, trying to take his attention from Megumi for the nonce.
Adam laughs. "Oops," he says in reply, "I have been out here a bit too long I guess." He smiles down at Genevieve and pops open the kit. "What do you need?" he asks quickly, trying to cover up the gaffe.
Esrom stretches his legs and stands. He gathers up his belongings and scans the crowd one more time, his gaze falling on the young woman who confronted Lyman. He marvels at the convictions of the young...and wishes he still felt that fire burn so hotly. It seemed nowadays he did things merely because he had to, not because he wanted to anymore.
Esrom walks over to a bulletin board, takes a flyer out of his notebook and hangs it up, sighing. The lack of volunteers and funding at the center was already a source of frustration to Esrom, despite his relative newness. "Hopefully someone will give us a call," he thinks out loud.
Nicodemus nods to Genevieve, smiling with perfect teeth as he replies, "I own portions of several major businesses of the area, employing many people in gainful work, businesses that may end up employing these very students, or possible even yourself, should you choose to. Jobs which stimulate the economy and produce valuable goods for our modern lives. All of this information is availble for those who wish to perform the proper inquiries." He turns to Megumi as she calls out her challenge, and... Something seems to change in his stance as he chuckles, looking her in the eye as he replies, "All right. Well, a few of you all I care about, but the rest I don't really care about, unfortunately. Like you, for example." He points at Megumi. "You're a rather interesting person."
Genevieve casts a quick glance towards the frustrated Esrom, gaze falling upon the stranger for a moment, before snapping her gaze back towards the helpful supplier. "Weeeeelll..." She hums for a bit. "Excedrin? Those are good for pain, PLUS they have caffeine in them!" Her eyes glint merrily, even as she laces her fingers together and rocks back and forth. She sends a sly wink towards Elizabeth, before the words come out of the speaker's mouth. She quirks a brow at the shift, and then blurts out, "Don't see candor like THAT everyday..." The response from the other students, however, is probably less generous. Boos ring out, and a few pieces of balled up paper and empty paper cups begin sailing towards the podium.
Elizabeth blinks at Genevieve's words and says, "There's caffeine in Excedrine? I din't know that." Then Nicodemus speaks. She raises her eyebrows and mutters to Genevieve, "My, that's impolitic. If this gets reported accurately, it may cost him some of his reputation." She turns, and peers back at Nicodemus again.
Roll by Elizabeth: (2) (5) (1)
Roll by Elizabeth: (3) (1) (6)
Adam agrees with Genevieve, "Excedrin it is," he says as he pulls out a small paper packet and a water bottle. "Water and medicine free," he tells her with an almost but not quite solemn demeanor. He shrugs a bit and comments, "He is also not saying anything in particular. No shining demonstrations of his commitment on his supposed defense."
Genevieve finally gathers herself enough to glare daggers at the stage, before muttering a 'Yeah, it does' to Elizabeth. "And you're right. Wonder if he has Turet's or something?" She continues to rock back and forth on her heels, eyes still wide in a vaguely winsome expression, as if half on the alert for a riot. However, she gives a delighted squeak, and scoops up the offerings. "Why thank you! Are you with the student union, mmm?"
Megumi didn't really expect it to work out like -that-. Well, she did, sort of, but in a way, completely not. She erks a little and tries to hide behind Elizabeth. "He's pointing at me...", she hisses fearfully. She looks to Adam and says, "I'm not hurt, but I better take one. Just in case.", she hesitates and then tries to hide some more behind Elizabeth, "He probably wants to beat me up, don't let him, 'kay?"
Roll by Megumi: (1) (6) (6)
Roll by Elizabeth: (1) (6) (1)
Nicodemus ceases pointing, gesturing again to hold his hands out even as the crowd begins turning against him. "But wait! That is simply what some would have wished me to say. No, students, what the world itself beats into your skulls day in and day out, telling you how worthless, how ignoble, how useless and futule your efforts are. But if so, why would you be here? No, this is an important place for all of us, especially those who wish to avoid being told exactly what I just said. Then why complain, when someone gives of their own money to help the University? The money I donate helps to keep the equipment here maintained and new, helps to pay the salaries of the professors, helps to make more opportunities available for /each/ of you than would have otherwise been there."
Roll by Elizabeth: (3) (1) (6)
Roll by Adlai: (6) (2) (3)
Elizabeth says briskly, without looking away from Nicodemus, "Nonsense, Megumi. He may indeed be angry with you, but he would be a fool to try actually beating you up." She does, however, permit the teenager to hide behind her, patting the girl absently on the shoulder.
Roll by Elizabeth: (2) (4) (6)
Roll by Megumi: (4) (2) (2)
Adam smiles back at Genevieve and tells her, "You have it. I am Adam. What is your name?" He laughs a bit with a smile at Megumi, and hands her an excedrin. "Hang on to it," he says to her, "I do not think you will need it but we have plenty to spare."
Genevieve's mouth pops open, perhaps surprised at an actual introduction. "Oh, hi, mista Adam..." She doesn't seem aware of all the struggle of wills. Another glance is sent towards Elizabeth and Megumi, before she nods, and says, extending a slender hand to provide a vigorous shake when she makes proper contact with Adam. She ducks a flying wad of celery.
Megumi hides! But she does hold up her anti-Nicodemus sign unsubtly into the air above Elizabeth's head. For a moment, and then it pulls down. Somewhere along the line, she grabs the Excedrin, "Do you think he's not strong enough to merit bandages and stuff? Maybe he's gotten arthritis in his old age.", she isn't tall, so she doesn't have to duck flying food that much. Still, she internally applauds Nico's words. Even if they might make this more difficult. She takes in a deep breath and adds to Elizabeth, "Just how much does this guy donate anyway?"
Roll by Nicodemus: (5) (2) (3)
Adam lithely dodges out of the way himself. "Hey! You know, just because we are handing out food or almost food anyway does not mean you can throw them at us!" he yells, before grinning broadly at Genevieve. "What is your name, miss?" he asks, "I do not believe we have been introduced." His hand meets that which is proffered and he shakes firmly.
The celery flies right at Nicodemos, surely to strike him right in the face. However, with a swift motion, he catches the celery from the air, tossing it aside towards a nearby waste receptacle before continuing. "You, students of the University of Texas, have nothing to fear from me. I intend for this campus to grow and flourish with both my contributions and the contributions of other, similarly concerned people. Simply apply what you have learned. Look at the facts, and act on them according to your own findings." He straightens his tie, and smiles to those assembled, before proceeding forward. "For now, I will leave you all to continue in whatever manner you wish. Farewell, students. Hopefully, next time we will meet with a better understanding." Nicodemus strides forward, heading directly for the parking lot. The protesting students nearby don't appear to be interested in blocking the man, and begin melting out of his way. He does, however, stop for a moment to glance at Megumi, before proceeding onward.
Genevieve dips her chin slightly, before cheerily responding, finally, after the second prompting, "Genevieve DeLancie. Maybe I'll get to Paris one of these days. For now, I satisfy myself with working at the petshop at the 360 and drawing. Was planning on doing some of that," she hefts her satchel, and the click of wide pieces of chalk jostling against each other can be heard within. "What do you think about this situation? Think he's just covering his tail now?" She looks dubiously towards the now withdrawing man, humming to herself as she furrows her brow.
"I don't really know, Megumi," Elizabeth mutters absently at the teenager as she watches Nicodemus head off towards the parking lot. "You could probably ask at one of the university offices; they might tell you. Or-" She brightens. "Why don't you go ask Mr. Lyman right now, while he's still here? You could ask him how much he gives, and where the money comes from."
Roll by Elizabeth: (6) (6) (6)
Roll by Elizabeth: (4) (1) (4)
Roll by Adlai: (1) (2) (2)
Roll by Megumi: (6) (5) (1)
Elizabeth staggers suddenly. Perhaps some in the crowd has jostled her, for she slips and falls, hitting her head on the ground with a muted thud.
Adam finds it easy to talk to Genevieve. "I hope you do, I hope you do. What do you hope to do in Paris, artwork?" he asks, distracted from the events. "Hmm?" he asks her. "Eh, big money is all dirty money," he says with all of the arrogant assumption of the high moral ground that any college student would display. He blinks as Elizabeth hits the floor and curses, "Oh, shit." In an instant he is kneeling beside her and checking her for injury.
Megumi says, "Well that sounds like an-Elizabeth!? Are you okay!?", oh no! She ducks down and will offer Elizabeth a hand...if she's concious-looking. Either way, she tries to shove the Excedrin in Adam's hands. She's not sure what it does, but it -should- help Comas, right?
Genevieve mmms. "Sightsee, some of it. Maybe be nice enough to change some of the local's perceptions of Americans. You know, the usual. There's a lot of inspiring places there," she nods, as if possibly viewing it as some kind of pilgramage. And then, Elizabeth does go down. "Aw, crud, someone with a cel phone?!! Call an ambulance!" She stands on tiptoes, her arms windmilling frantically before she takes a half-step to the side, allowing some room to the frantic shift in attention from the magnate, perhaps allowing him some time to take his leave in peace.
Elizabeth is decidedly pale, but conscious. Her eyes do squinch closed momentarily, but that's more a reaction to pain. As her eyes open back up, she sits up gingerly, rubbing her head. "Dammit," she says loudly. "That hurts." She blinks over at Adam as he kneels to assist her.
Adam nods down to Elizabeth. "You are awake," he says a bit unnecessarily, "Are you feeling nauseous or disoriented, or just hurt?" he asks as he takes the Excedrin from Megumi and pulls out another water bottle. "I have headache medicine here. If you wait about a minute I can dig through the bag for Alleve," he tells her.
Genevieve looks tremendously serious for a moment, before rolling around the name, "Lyman," to herself, as if making a remarkable attempt to save the name to memory. Wringing her hands slightly, she frowns some, but keeps her distance, knowing full well that dealing with the unwell should be left to experts.
Nicodemus stops as Elizabeth falls to the ground, looking over with an expression of mild concern. He steps over to the fallen professor as the typical Ring Of Student Gawkers begins to form around the injured. He nods to Genevieve, pulling a cellphone and pressing some buttons on it as he replies, "I'll call them." He holds the phone up to his head, speaking quietly into it for several seconds before snapping the device closed. "An ambulance will be here shortly for you, Miss. Get well soon."
Elizabeth looks at Adam blankly, accepting the water bottle and taking a quick drink. Refereshed, she looks around at the student gawkers and glares, waving them away irately. "What is this, a sideshow?" she says loudly. "I fell down. It happens." She doesn't respond to Nicodemus.
Megumi stands up! Time to be a hero! "Come on, come on, we threw plenty of food around for one day, she probably fell on some celery or something.", she spots a stick and lifts it up, "See?", she flicks it away, "She'll be fine, I'm sure of it, it would take more than a stick of celery to defeat Elizabeth. Perhaps a Celery Golem, but not a single stick, oh no.", she looks back to Elizabeth, "Do you need a day off..? I can tell the Principal.."
Adam stands up, and offers Elizabeth a hand up. "For the most part, hitting your head on the concrete is usually considered somewhat serious. I am glad you are unhurt, though," he tells her.
Elizabeth accepts the hand up and says loudly, "I need to go back to my office now. If you will all excuse me." One hand still rubbing the back of her head, she stands up and waves around at people before picking up her briefcase and heading back towards the Rapaport Building.
Genevieve narrows her eyes, and breathes out a puff of air, causing her chestnut highlighted bangs to flutter slightly. "Right, time to do some reading up. There's more than one person out there that'll want to know about this." She seems to be mostly murmuring to herself, and seeing Elizabeth's catankerous rebuttal of assistance, she mmms to herself. "Gonna have to go somewhere else to draw, most of the space is going to be taken up by protesting and counter protesting, I bet..." A faint quiver of a shrug escapes her, and her mouth draws up into a yawn as she stretches arms decadently. "And late, too. Bet there's some good star-gazing if I walked out for a wee bit."
Adam waves to Elizabeth. As she is doing well, he returns to Genevieve. "Hey, before you go, I would like to see what you draw. Can I have your phone number?" he inquires.
Megumi oohs, "Counter-protesting, that'll be fun to see.", she bobs her head to Elizabeth, "Take care, Elizabeth, and be careful.", she yawns a bit and adds, "I believe I'm going to go to the bathroom.", and thusly, she too walks off. Towards the bathroom. What will she do there? What will become of her? Only time has the answers to these questions, my friends, only time.
Genevieve blinks in outright surprise as the question catches her off guard. "Urm, sure? But I'll warn you, most of it's just camera photos of some of the stuff I did before it got rained or trampled on. I kinda like the temporariness of it all." She flashes a grin, and then rummages around in her satchel, before pulling out a tattered scrap of paper, and scrawling on it. "Here, maybe we can meet at a cafe or something, and I can show you a book. I do like talking about it." Another tinge of color wells up under her freckles, before she says, "Afternoons and evenings are best, work and all..." She casts another slightly worried look over her shoulder as she watches Elizabeth wander off, and then looks down at her boots as she plods along.
Adam takes the paper, folds it up carefully, and puts it into his wallet. "Thank you, Genevieve," he says with a broad grin. "I will be sure to call tomorrow. Good-bye."
Nicodemus blinks as Elizabeth stands and begins walking off. It doesn't seem to phase Nicodemus much, as he opens up the cellphone and makes another call. No sense calling the ambulence if the patient isn't going to stay put. The call canceled, Nicodemus nods to the others. "Since she seems well enough to get out on her own, I suppose it will be her perogative if she needs medical assistance. Farewell." He heads off then, amidst the milling and somewhat confused student crowd, back to the parking lot. Time to go.
A faint "I, er... okay, welcome," chirps out from Genevieve, before she finally skips off along the well-lit streets to the northwest.
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