Welcome.
I'll consolidate some more chapters fairly soon.
But here's the latest single chapter. Just below the orange antimacassar.
Otis and Evan - Chapter 9 - Time Cell
...
"Otis," I said as I finally scooped up Kelly and began scratching behind the ears, "It feels as if we are not alone."
"And what, brother Evan, say you we should do about that?"
"Take Kelly," I said handing the surprisingly patient cat to Otis and then I turned back to where I had been down on my knees silently mouthing, "Here kitty kitty" only moments earlier. This was the door. Somebody is, make that somebodys are, afoot. I raised my hand to the door.
"Ask them if they've seen a kitten," said Otis, "Go ahead."
I knocked softly. No answer. Just as well. I started to turn back to Otis, where Kelly was teaching him some of the finer points of feline/human boundaries, when the door opened. It was an uncommonly attractive girl, woman, about my age. Attractive for this era. And the next, and the next... "Hello, may I help you."
I stood there trying to come up with believable words when Otis walked over, "Otis Ferg here ma'am. My brother and I were taking Kelly here for a walk when that cat's ears started doing the kitten twitch. Happened right by your door. See Kelly was at the captain's window and saw the kittens being thrown in a sack and drowned by one of the waiters. The glass was too thick for even Kelly. Here Evan, Take Kelly."
"That poor cat," said the young woman.
"Yes. But then there was a rumor that one of the kittens had escaped."
"Not too bad," said a woman in a voice that sounded not too unlike that of Control, Otis's go-to back on the home-ship world, "Though I think you might have extended your cover longer if you had made the idea come from a story or an article rather than a rumor. Too convenient. Come in so we may discuss this further."
"Otis I think we'd better." The beautifully crafted female was pointing an impressively machined and engraved gun at a place where I didn't want to get shot.
"Put the cat in the bathroom and close the door," said the woman who wasn't pointing a weapon at my junk. "And put that silly gun away Merrydew. Gentlemen I am the Countess and this is Miss Merrydew. Welcome to the time cell. Here it is safe to talk of whens and hows. Or at least it's safer than not talking about them."
"What about the wheres and whys, Countess?" I said.
"And the whats," said Otis, "Don't forget the whats."
Merrydew giggled and said, "Countess, this is a pair of rank beginners if ever I saw one. Gentlemen, where you are from is purely relative to where you are at present."
The Countess said, "And a, "Why" is purely subjective. Which leaves..."
"The who and the what, of course," said Otis.
"Again, not productive," said the Countess, "Who is easy enough. It's us. You two men and us two women. The name each of us calls him or her self may be subject to change. As for the 'what,' the question is not if you've got any 'what.' The question is do you have enough 'what' to get you to the right someplace at the right sometime. And of course if you had enough 'what' to get you where you ultimately want to be, you'd already be gone."
"I suppose then you'll want to know when we're from," I said.
Merrydew gasped and said, "Of course we would never ask when a traveler is from! A time cell is a place of peace and repose."
"They don't know that Merrydew," said the Countess, "This appears to be their first trip through time. Am I correct gentlemen? Leaving out any awkward details of your choosing, if you'd like to compare war stories sometime, cool. But for now, did you have a specific time in mind as your goal? Or was it to get as far as you could in the future and hope that time travel would have gotten started by then?"
"The latter, I fear, Countess," Otis said with his flirt on.
Two can play this game I thought. I said, "So Miss Merrydew, I presume you and The Countess are our missing dinner companions."
She said, "I'm sorry we missed dinner, though with the size of helpings in 1907, Lunch had a stick-to-the-ribs quality of its own."
"It's my mal... my seasickness," said the Countess. "Nothing the ship's doctor prescribes seems to help."
"Did the doctor prescribe cannabis?" said Otis.
"No," said the Countess.
"Then Dr Otis here may have just the thing. We're having a pipe and hashish delivered for Kelly's enjoyment. I don't think she'd mind if some human's joined in."
"She'd better not mind after all I've been through for her," I said.
A reproachful "Meow" came through the louvers of the bathroom door.
Soon enough, the five of us were walking down the corridor to the cabin registered to Otis Ferg and Evan Ferg. The cabin at the door of which was waiting Jerry holding two wicker hampers and next to him, Alphonse standing over a silver domed tray atop a mid-sized mahogany cart.
"Countess," said Otis, "Please enter the door upwind of the tray. Jerry will you get the pipe started and see that the Countess gets the first hit. Alphonse would you keep the food out in the hall for a moment, until we can get the Countess good and ripped."
Soon enough, the Countess herself invited Alphonse to bring in the cart. "I'll wait a bit before I try eating anything, but after smoking on that pipe, the savory food smells aren't bothering me -- at the moment. Come here Kelly kitty."
Kelly looked up, made notes for future reference, and then went back to nuzzling my cheek. Perhaps because it was my turn at the pipe.