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Post by 0 on Jul 22, 2017 17:25:38 GMT
He heard those dreaded words:
"Walsh, I have a special mission for you."
"Coffee, sir?" he asked, hopefully, following the chief into his office.
"What?
No.
That's what interns and volunteers are for.
"No," the chief continued, reshuffling some papers on his desk, "central just wants each district to send someone to investigate the black rain."
He tapped on the window behind him, where said rain was falling at a lazy drizzle.
The summer rains this year had been leaving black marks, as though God himself were shaking his faulty ink pen around.
Far as anyone knew, the rains held no other special properties, and the source had yet to be determined.
Walsh had no idea how one would expect enforcers to solve the problem -- shouldn't this job be left up to the meteorologists or something?
"And I'm the lucky man," Walsh said.
His eyes fell on the desk, noting a pile of card-sized papers, each with the name of an enforcer or officer who worked under the chief.
The chief seemed to notice the man's trailing eye, quickly drawing papers over the cards as he said, "You're the lucky man."
Walsh sighed.
"Any leads?"
"None."
Of course.
"I'll be off, then," Walsh said, the chief calling after him with a wish of good luck.
As Walsh got into his patrol car, he tried to think of where to start first.
Well, he did have that moment's thought on meteorologists...and there was a local radio station in their district that held a weather report -- why not there?
He drove off to the little building with the radio tower attached to it, parking in a side street just behind the small lot, which for some reason was filled that day.
Usually, they only had a few cars in the lot at the time, but today it was not only packed full, but there were even people outside, lined up in front of a stand.
Walsh walked out, hands halfway in his pockets as he began to approach the front door, which was partially blocked by the stand.
One of the two working the stand noticed him, and he heard, over speakers attached to a microphone, "Hey, wouldja lookit that!
One of our local officers."
Walsh supressed a wince.
He'd been trying to be subtle about it, but apparently going unnoticed wasn't on his queue for the day.
In his uniform, he looked like an ordinary police officer.
He waved a dismissing hand as the man working the stand tried to wave him down, and disappeared into the building.
The receiving room was very small, and the receptionist glanced up at him with a bored look, before turning back to some magazine she was reading.
"Is Ben Sneeze here today?" he asked.
"Flu," she answered curtly, turning the page.
There was a moment of silence as Walsh thought.
"What's his address?"
"What for."
'Well, I have reason to suspect that he has information pertinent to the black rains we've been experiencing here.'
"I need his meteorological expertise," he told her, and she gave him a weird look.
Close, but not quite.
She pulled out her phone, one of those big things with a screen on them that you were supposed to touch, and she showed it to him.
There was a display showing a detailed weather report for today and tomorrow, and the next five days after it.
"There," she said, and he had the slightest inkling that she was teasing him.
Well, it wasn't as though he had a way to force her to give him the address.
He'll just have to think of something else.
Thanking the woman, he turned away.
Removing himself from the building, he was met again by the boisterous man at the stand.
"Come on, fella, just a minute of your time!" he urged.
Walsh's eyes drifted to the sign above the stand, which read 'CHILDREN'S SOUP KITCHEN FUNDRAISER,' whatever that meant.
He dug into his pocket, pulling out a few bills from his wallet, and dropped it in front of the man, hoping that would be enough to satisfy him.
As he walked off towards his vehicle, the other man made a few teasing words, before returning to calling out names and numbers from those in the small crowd.
Walsh sat back in the car, listening to reports on the enforcer radio while he tried to think of where to go next.
They had some parks in their district, a few of which held man-made lakes.
He turned the key in the ignition.
He didn't have any better plans.
Gray clouds rolled through the sky, spitting black rain over the city.
Oak and pine rustled in the growing wind.
The sidewalks that wound their way through the park were stained with splashes of what appeared to be ink, more so than the other areas Walsh had visited thus far.
It seemed the worst of today's rainfall had just passed here.
The man's heels clicked against the concrete path as he walked across the small dam, peering down into what was really more a pond than anything else.
Geese drifted lazily across the still waters, feathers looking like they'd just been in an oil spill.
The water in the pond looked fine to him, but, then again, it always looked dark, and at that time was busy reflecting the surrounding area anyways.
He turned around to gaze at the drain behind the dam, where water was rushing out so that the pond wouldn't overflow, although it was technically already a meter above its limit.
The draining water was frothy and almost white from where it poured out, but further along he could see that the shallow run was stained with waves of black.
Walsh dropped down from the dam, stepping close to where the water was being drained.
He pulled out a small jar, filling it with the water.
Now, if only he were a scientist who had some equipment to analyze this.
...Although, that had probably already been done by now.
Regardless, he turned the jar around in the air, examining the liquid in the dim light that managed to pierce the rain clouds.
...
...
Besides its color being only somewhat off, he couldn't make out anything of note.
Pushing the jar back into a pocket on his belt, he made his way back up the dam, crossing his arms as he looked out over the park, completely at a loss as to what he should do next.
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Administrator
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Aug 6, 2017 22:26:03 GMT
Walsh wasn't the only one investigating the black rain here.
A squirrel monkey in a lab coat climbed from the dam, and loped past, carrying carefully a vial of the strange liquid. The animal handed the vial to a strange man so old looking he looked like he should be frail by now who examined the vial under a lens before putting it in a box with five others. Five black liquid samples, set in a white box, taken from multiple locations and carefully labeled.
The man remained crouched, writing a label on the one he had just taken from his animal intern.
He spoke while he put everything away, a growly hoarse sort of voice."I thought you'd have a Forensics team for this stuff. They're usually the ones with the chemi-do-dads." Forensics usually had to do with crime scene testing, but they should have the technology to easily get a read on the black liquid which plagued the drinking water. The clear sharp eyes of the old man could see that the officer he'd found on the dam was more likely to be at a crime scene than taking water samples too. He pegged the younger man as the type who was more likely to use technology than to know all the ins and outs of how it all worked, a bad choice to research the ongoing black rain problem.
"Or, you could just send a query to the dot-Gov. research branch. They know somethings by now by sure, so why have they not been telling you?" He closed up the white plastic box with a definite click, and swung the thing over his shoulder via a strap like a purse.
Still crouching he held out his arm, and clicked his tongue a few times. Holding its tail high, the small squirrel monkey jumped climbed onto the same shoulder on which the strap rested. Only then did the gnarly man stand up using a polished wooden walking stick to help support his weight. He withdrew a sliver of fruit from his front pocket and handed it to the monkey who grabbed the food with greedy fists, and nibbled the morsel happily.
The man transferred the handle of the walking stick to his other hand so he could hold out his bony wrinkled hand to the officer present, with a smile which was missing a few teeth. "Roginald Stewart, independent researcher. Abe's my intern." The monkey chittered in an animated hello.
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Post by 0 on Aug 7, 2017 3:52:14 GMT
Walsh lifted a brow when he saw a monkey in a lab coat lope past him, carrying with it a vial of the odd fluid.
He blinked his eyes several times as he watched where it went, wondering whether he'd managed to accidentally find a hallucinogenic property in the black rain...somehow -- it wasn't as though he'd injested it or anything.
...On purpose.
He mildly rubbed at his ears and nose, just in case some of the water had been washing into his system through them.
The monkey slipped over to an old man in a lab coat, which seemed to put everything into context; he assumed the stranger to be from some kook lab looking to profit off the inky liquid.
Not that he would have any idea how that would work.
Walsh was still a bit frozen in disbelief of the trained monkey when the man began to speak.
"You're thinking of the districts closer to central," he answered, squinting at the smaller primate.
The district he worked in was rather close to the city limits of the capital; in some places it was almost like a small town, if small towns could sit right up against a very big city.
Theirs didn't get all the fancy gadgets and gizmos that the guys closer to the central district did, probably in part because there'd never really been a big need for them out here.
Dot gov research branch?
Walsh had never heard of that, but, then again, he wasn't one for using computers, and had little clue as to what the old man was referring to.
The chief might know, but if there was nothing of import on there, he wouldn't have been notified...right?
His brow furrowed as the man made a clicking noise, the monkey responding by crawling up to his shoulder.
He began to walk towards the stranger as he stood up, cane in hand, and offered out his free hand with a smile and introduction, followed by the monkey chittering at him.
Walsh held out his hand to take the man's own, shaking it before he let that hand's fingers crease into one of his pants' pockets.
"Officer Walsh," he returned, glancing once again at the monkey.
"You have a license for it?"
Such a pet as a monkey was a rare thing to come across around here.
Even rarer was for one to be let off a leash, something he knew would require its own special licensing in addition to the exotic pet license.
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Administrator
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Aug 8, 2017 20:00:41 GMT
Oh, the districts closer was it? "Shame on them for leaving you so short changed. There's no excuse for it. in this age of information, they could properly train and equip someone for ya guys easy peasy." The scientist scolded, knowing full well that the officer was not the one to chastise if there were truly problems with the system. Of course he also knew it wasn't his place to usurp the chain of command. The suggestion to streamline the systems and how ought to come from someone within.
"unless...they don't mind when you fail." The man in the lab coat tilted his face upwards slightly in an excited knowing expression. No he wasn't going to tamper with anything himself. This was just a thought, one which could sound true to one with enough disillusionment about the way things happened to be to think critically of the state.
The elderly man let his hand fall from the handshake, now using both gnarled hands to hold himself up with the sturdy walking stick.
"Of course Abe is licensed. I've had monkey lab interns for years already." He rummaged around, his box with one hand, pulling out a compartment of documents from the bottom. There were quite a few random seeming forms of scientific lingo, and there, the proof that he was allowed to own a monkey was right there and present. In the thin stack of papers. "He's chipped too, so you can see for yourself if you have a chip reader." By chip, the old man meant the basic tracking chip used on many pets lest they end up lost or missing. Some contained more than tracking information. The owner's license information was practically embedded in that thing. Bothersome as it might be to be so easy to locate all the time, the assistant was worth the trouble.
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Post by 0 on Aug 8, 2017 20:20:25 GMT
One of Walsh's brows ruffled at the old man's words.
Honestly, he liked not having to deal with all the newfangled technology, and he suspected if someone who was proficient in those things had to become a part of the district's force -- well, he was sure that pretty soon him and others like him would be old news.
Outdated.
He wasn't sure what to make of the failure comment, wondering faintly if it was supposed to be an insult at his abilities, or some sort of threat.
Thinking it was probably nothing truly noteworthy, he forgot about it soon enough.
He leaned over to peer into the compartment of documents, eyes skimming over the certification for his odd intern.
He stepped back and waved his hand dismissively, telling the scientist, "That's quite all right."
His chip reader was back in the patrol vehicle, and there was no reason for him to suspect that the license papers were lying.
His gaze cast over the puddles on the sidewalk, a lick of the rain dripping from his hair onto the concrete.
"Do you know anything about the black rain, Mister Stewart?" he asked, not exactly expecting some random "independent researcher" to know more than what the government did (which he didn't much know what that was himself, but he assumed it wasn't much at all, lest the old man's words hold more truth to them than he would have liked), but still hoping that perhaps he'd be able to point him along to a better lead.
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Administrator
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Aug 12, 2017 13:55:59 GMT
The elderly man dipped the end of the walking stick into the puddled black liquid, drawing out a line of the tainted water across the ground. He keenly examined this trail, even though it was nearly indistinguishable from the damp ground around it. "Almost a perfect match to H20, it is. "He crooned. It freezes the same, boils the same, doesn't burn and is perfectly drinkable and yet...it doesn't work. I give it to a test mouse and it dies of dehydration as quick as the mouse I give no water to whatsoever. I've looked at it under the atomic microscope too. It looks almost like empty space where a molecule should be at. So I call it anti-H2O. Our water ranges to as much as 25 percent of these at most and the rest normal H2O so it's still drinkable but... It's infectious. I've been taking carefully measured tests I have. Taint the water with a fixed percent then measure again at fixed intervals. I swear the anti-molecules are growing in number! Fortunately the rate is slow. Else we'd all be gloriously dead already."
"I've figured out how to separate the two... All I need now is a way to reverse or at least stop the multiplication of these phony H2O..." He muttered at the end, almost as though talking to himself instead of to the officer. There was a fine chance that he had either lost the guy with his ramble-like presentation of the facts he had observed. That or he was coming off as a complete wackjob.
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Post by 0 on Aug 12, 2017 16:11:51 GMT
Although he was a bit taken aback by the sudden ramble at first, Walsh was soon listening intently to the observations he was being given.
He whipped out a notepad from his jacket and hastily started jotting down the gist of what he was being told.
Far from being a scientist himself, he didn't know what to believe and what not; it all sounded like mumbo-jumbo to him, but, for all he knew, it could all be very important stuff that no one else knew about, could help lead to fixing to the problem.
He was sure the guys back at central, with their better equipment and bigger staff (not that he knew the other man's resources, he simply assumed that an "independent researcher" [with his monkey sidekick{s}], as he called himself, would not possess very much), would know more than this fella, probably had the old man's observations figured out long before he did.
Unfortunately, the behavior of the strange water was not of importance to the officer; his job wasn't to find out what the black stuff was, but where the rain was coming from.
"Is it a natural occurrence?" he asked, wondering if perhaps it was one of those every something-or-so odd years things, or whether factories or vehicles had polluted the air and water enough for it to somehow become this "anti-H2O".
Subconsciously he pinched the skin around his throat, as though his body were now paranoid that he was becoming dehydrated.
Perhaps getting a bit ahead of himself (he was eager to close the case, and having finally found what may be his first lead...), he pressed soon after the question by asking, "Do you know where it's coming from?"
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Administrator
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Aug 12, 2017 22:31:00 GMT
Oh did he know. The bigger question was would he be believed. Cause the evidence he had found sure pointed to a conclusion that might not even sound scientific.
He paced a bit as he spoke, nervous habit to keep moving and not stay in one place for too too long. "Exact point of entrance, time and date? Not that much no but..." He tapped a finger in the air, as if searching the atmosphere for a phrase. "I suspect it came from beyond... outside of this plane" Well now they'd surely call him crazy. Lots of people denied the possible existence of anything outside the measurable universe. Yet he had reason to believe he had evidence, even if it made sense to none but himself.
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Post by 0 on Aug 12, 2017 23:21:10 GMT
Walsh continued to note down what was being said.
When the man spoke of another plane he lifted a brow, but let the words slide across the paper anyways, adding a mention of the name he'd been given.
The hell did he mean by "another plane"?
As in an airplane?
One of those contrails conspiracy theorists, was he?
After a split second it clicked to him that it sounded like something supernatural.
He resisted the urge to arrest the man on the spot, as this was still his only lead thus far.
Hopefully the name wasn't a pseudonym, but surely the old man wouldn't be so careless as to let these things slip.
His muscles tensed as he took another look of the stranger, memorizing the details of his face and body as best he could, just in case the man managed to slip out of sight.
"Really now," said Walsh, having to force only half of the disbelieving sarcasm into his tone.
Part of it remained real as he technically didn't know much about other planes; he wasn't trained for such high level beings, and as such had mostly come to believe that anything supernatural was generally just some invader from another land, or simply a human being gone awry.
"And how would one reach this plane?
Don't suppose it lands at the airport, does it?"
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Administrator
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Aug 13, 2017 1:57:44 GMT
The old man laughed. Ah yes, he'd pegged it. Walsh wouldn't be the type to believe. "You funny young man. Central as you call it should at least have some records of the huge electromagnetic field that opened up earlier this year. I heard the capital took a big ol' hit that day. We didn't see the anti-water anywhere before that." He was citing a correlation not causality. Yes he knew the difference. "And there is...." He almost was hissing his swiftly spoken words for a moment, slurring them in a kind of excitement that came from sharing information for him.
Instead of continuing his list of proofs, he straitened up as much as his crooked back would allow and pulled a device from a pocket. "You know, lets just see if we can find your proof." He flicked it on and it crackled like a radiation detector, numbers and figures flashing on the digital screen built in to the device. "Course we won't find some hole with the anti-H2O pouring out but maybe something interesting." It was unfortunately a bit of a rabbit trail to chase after some evidence which may or may not be in the area, but thats how Mr. Stewart worked much of the time, thriving in being able to jump on any idea at any time.
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Post by 0 on Aug 13, 2017 16:28:58 GMT
Walsh gave an unassuming stare to the old man when he was laughed at, a familiar look that any crazy man might receive from an overhearing passerby.
The electromagnetic field, as he called it, did not spark any memories in the man's brain as it should well have done.
He'd heard bits and pieces of this battle and phenomenon before he was transferred here.
He still reme-- he didn't let the memory go any farther than that.
He had some possible evidence to listen to.
His muscles twitched as the stranger pulled a strange device out of his pocket, one hand instinctively reaching for the pistol and taser at his side.
His eyes scanned the device as the man swung it around, glancing at the digital screen built into it.
All right, he thought, I'll humor you.
He wondered what could possibly be found with the device, and would follow after the man at a careful distance, one hand hovering close to his belt, legs ready to chase after him should he bolt off somewhere.
If not whatever cloud, hole, or "plane" the rain was pouring out of, then what-- tracks to follow towards their source?
He didn't have a clue what to expect here, and a good part of him wondered whether the man was intentionally wasting his time, or just plain mad.
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Administrator
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Aug 14, 2017 21:43:02 GMT
The old man swung the archaic handheld device around in a wide arc which prompted the monkey to jump off and run off somewhere. Roginald was not worried about where the intern might roam. The monkey was well trained and knew to stay close.
The old man listened to the pops and clicks from the device stopping it where it sounded the strongest. "Aha!" He waved it in the air triumphantly before beginning to hobble in a direction away from the damed up water.
The old man was incredibly slow, using his walking stick to support himself with every labored step.
A trip that would have taken a short time for a healthy young man began to lengthen, and still there was no sign of the evidence the old man claimed was to be found. At least the sounds from the device seemed to be getting louder. That meant they must be getting closer too.
The old man found a slightly overgrown brick wall marking off one area of the park from another. He used the wall for support, leaning his walking stick against it.
He scanned parts of the wall with the device. The sounds it made seemed loudest around a crack cutting through some of the bricks near the bottom of the wall. It didn't look like much.
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Post by 0 on Aug 14, 2017 22:27:52 GMT
A brow raised as the device was swung around, and his eyes followed the monkey when it jumped off and ran somewhere else.
Although the sight still irked him a little, he'd already seen the papers, and could only hope the wild animal didn't turn up someone's face in its jaws.
A small, perhaps sardonic smile lifted his face for a brief few moments when the stranger shouted triumphantly, dashing off like a snail on the trail.
Walsh followed the old man with what could have been incredible patience.
He was itching to get this over with, and didn't expect much at all to come from it, but the elder clearly could not walk very fast.
He doubted this was all just an act, and, supposing that he could risk it, allowed a polite few more feet of distance between the old man and himself.
He let his eyes wander the park's landscape, observing the quiet scene that surrounded them.
The trees rising overhead as they stepped down the dam's slope, rustling in time with the ripples across the water.
It calmed his nerves, and he began to recognize one of the reasons why someone might actually want to get into this investigating business.
It was still, however, all just a little too slow for him.
Walsh stood still as the man began to scan a brick wall, crossing his arms when it seemed as though they had finally reached their destination.
"Well?" he said, eyeing the crack in the masonry that the device seemed to be beeping loudest towards.
He hoped the old man wasn't about to ask him to stick his finger into the hole, 'cause he sure as hell wasn't going to do that!
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Administrator
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Aug 15, 2017 19:23:32 GMT
The old man fingered the outside of the crack, carefully supporting himself as he lowered himself to a level where he could look at it closely. He was very glad the did not end up losing his balance along the way down. A fall could be disastrous for old joints like his.
The hole stank, though thanks to its size it was not a particularly strong stench. It was too small to actually put a finger in, though its length made it seem bigger to look at. "This yess." he murmured, carefully fingering the ground for anything to test the hole with so that the officer might believe him. There wasn't much near to work with unfortunately.
The researcher fumbled with his white box, opening another hidden compartment holding an assortment of metallic tools. It was almost like he had raided a surgeon's table considering the odd shapes and sizes of some of the tweezers pliers and knives. He had at least one tool narrow enough to slip into this fissure in the wall.
One should be enough, so he prodded the hole to see what he could get out.
It took a few pokes, but soon he smiled, able to tell by touch that he had found something worth while.
He began to work the tool out, but it was accompanied by a billowing of a smokey dust which sent the old man into a coughing fit.
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Post by 0 on Aug 15, 2017 20:35:50 GMT
His muscles crawled watching the old man lower himself down, some part of him sensing that even the smallest of falls could end up breaking several bones for the stranger.
Absentmindedly he stepped forward, tense, preparing to catch the man should it happen, even while knowing that he probably wouldn't be quick enough.
Luckily he didn't have to worry about it for long.
When another sealed compartment was revealed on the white box, he eyed the box of tools with all of its various pointy bits.
What would any of these have to do with studying rain?
He couldn't imagine what sort of research would require so many knives, save for dissection.
He revoked one of his steps forwards, a little bit of suspicion rising in his gut once again.
Although the man himself looked frail, he could have any manner of dangerous devices stored within that box.
Even a toddler could seriously injure someone just playing with a weapon.
He watched as Mr. Stewart poked and prodded the hole, waiting to see him pull out a dead bug.
Instead, a small column of smoky dust billowed out, almost as though from a tiny steam train.
Both eyebrows lifted now, and with much sarcasm he commented, "You've found the dust bunny's burrow."
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