Pasha, an Avatar story.

[Toliman]

Kea tìkin

[archaic]

Part 63

Spoiler: Unwell.

"Good evening Chris."
"Yeah, evenin' Paul."
"Pass phrase?"
"First day back after sickness."
"That's lame."
"Mmm, I'm not gonna argue."
The buzzer sounded, Chris stepped inside, a few moments later, he stepped into the Security suite.
"You look ruff."
"He's right, even by your standards you look ..... well .....  a bit peaky!"
"Thanks!"
"A good look for Halloween, mind."
"Bit late for that though."
"True."
"Err, so, you missed Poker Night‽"
"You heard."
"Yeah, the rumor mill grinds out all the juicy stuff round here."
"It says a lot about the place, that me missing Poker Night, counts as 'juicy gossip'."
"Juiciest we've had in a good while."
"So what's your excuse?"
"I went and spent Christmas day with family, and by the time I left I was feeling a bit under the weather, and by the time I got home, I was not feeling too good."
"Anything specific?"
"I felt like complete crap, how specific do you want?"
"Headache? Nausea? Vomiting?"
"Diarrhea? Fever? Sneezing? Load of itchy red spots?"
"That's a rash thing to say."
"It was, wasn't it."
"Headache, really bad one, nausea, fever, shivering. Went to bed around eight thirty, didn't get up till gone two in the afternoon on boxing day. I did call and say I wasn't going to make it in."
"But you're better now."
"Hell no! But sitting at home feeling miserable, ain't going to make what ever it is go away. So, I thought I might as well come in and earn some money while I was feeling like death."
"And infect all of us into the bargain."
"Yeah, well, it's so hard to know what to get you guys for Christmas, so, Happy Christmas, and an infectious New Year to you all!"
"Hand over, same poo, etcetera, etcetera."
"Yeah, so, laters!"
"Bye then!"
"Bye!"
"Bye!"
A few moments later, the buzzer sounded, but before Chris could answer it, the door opened as Paul and Francis left the building. Chris hit the button anyway."
"It's probly the black death, from the look of 'im."
"Yeah, but I've got to sit with him for eight hours, I'm going to catch whatever it is that plague boy's carrying!"
"Well, it's been great knowing you, I hope the after life is kinder to you, than this life has been."
" 'Great's pushing it, but yeah, that."
"Thanks a bunch, ya piss taking sods."
"Have fun with Typhoid Mary!"
"Mmm."
It was a while before Dino's voice appeared in the security suite.
"Evening."
"Watch ya Dino."
"So, I hear you're practically dead."
"The rumors of my death have been mildly exaggerated."
"And?"
"I've been to the Quack, she gave me some antibiotics. They're some pretty hard core industrial strength ones."
"On you're way to work?"
"Nah. Boxing Day, mid afternoon."
"So you should be OK then?"
"I'm safe, I feel like hell coz of the side effects of this stuff."
"Experimental slash drugs trial?"
"Nah, I think they're old stock, from back before blue whales went extinct."
"I ..... see!"
"Take before January first, nineteen eighty seven."
"Bollocks!"
"Come and look, if you don't believe me!"
Dino came and looked.
"You wrote that in pen!"
"Yeah, but you're in now, so you're exposed to it now."
"You bleedin' git! You selfish, rotten, miserable great bleedin' git!"
Chris leaned back, spread his arms along the back of the bench seat and smiled smugly at Dino.
"Everyone needs a hobby."
"Screw you."
"I haven't touched the tea makin' equipment."
"Well, thank f' ..... hang about, how do I know if I can believe you?"
"Well, ultimately of course, you don't. You're move."
Dino gave Chris a seriously murderous glare, Chris smiled back, still just as smug.
"Why don't you bugger off and get Pasha. Err, hang on, you don't wanna give 'er something. I mean, millions of American Indians died by the thousand, coz of diseases and s*** Europeans took with 'em. Small pox, measles, and all that."
"Well, it's either something I ate, or it's something I've inhaled."
"Snorted?"
"Inhaled. So, Pasha doesn't eat what we eat, so she can't catch it like that, and I dunno if you're noticed, but she doesn't breath the same air we breath."
"So, yeah, the rebreather, I kinda noticed that."
"So how exactly, is she going to catch something?"
"Well, she better wash her hands before she goes back in her hutch. Better have a good wash all over, in fact. Err ..... How often does she wash? No offence."
"Hands, every time she goes to the loo. Everything else, no idea. She does make a point of using the loos with the spray, rather than paper, mind you."

EDIT;- spelling.

[Toliman]

Good work

[archaic]

Part 64

Spoiler: Beaded arm band for Chris.

"Gud ivenìng jentelmen."
"Good evening Pasha."
"Yeah, evenin', Pash."
"I miss yu, yu nt hìr."
"I was ill."
"Thìs they sed."
"Yeah, sorry, but I could barely get out off bed. I'm not all good now, but I couldn't stay away any longer."
"I hope he don't give it to you ..... "
"Ay nt thìnk yur ìll things wurk 'n mì. "
"I hope not."
" ..... Kinda hopin' he don't give it to me either, as it goes."
"So, what did you get for Christmas?"
Pasha opened a pocket on the side of the suitcase her rebreather was built into. The zipper didn't appear to challenge her the least. She took out several strings of beads, a pad of paper, a large faux fur pencil case, three wood puzzles and three metal puzzles. She lined them up carefully on the table. She looked pleased with them.
"That's a good haul."
Pasha handed a string to Chris, and another to Dino, before tying one string around her arm.
Chris did his best, but Pasha clearly had way more practice at tying a knot with one hand. Dino tried, but quickly found it impossible.
"I give up, how'd you do that?"
Pasha untied her arm band, and then re-tied it carefully so Dino could watch, he tried again, and failed. Pasha re-untied it, and re-retied it, one step at a time, pausing between each step so Dino could copy each step. It still took two attempts.
Dino now duly resplendent, both now turned their attention to Chris, who gestured to the beaded arm band already on his arm.
"You ain't that smart, what's the gag?"
"I tied an elastic band into it."
"Show uncle Dino."
Dino held out an expectant hand.
Chris slid the arm band off, and before handing it over, demonstrated it's stretchiness.
"Wise arse." Dino, lowering his empty hand.
"I'll figure out how long it needs to be later, and I'll tie it properly."
"Uh-huh."
Chris slid the band back onto his arm.
Pasha opened the pad of paper, and turned over several pages. She opened it fully at a picture showing a group of blue stripey faces, all with large yellow eyes.
"Family, mom, dad, Srì'etxì, brother." Pasha pointing to each as she named them, she sounded deeply sad, perhaps  even heart broken.
"They're not bad! Did you do any drawing on Pandora?"
"Kehe, ìì now. Ay not dr'r on Eywa'eveng."
"Well, that's really pretty impressive for a beginner."
Pasha sighed deeply, and turned the page slowly. Revealing a blue figure sitting on a thing that looked a little like six legged horse.
"Pa'li, Srì'etxì sì."
"Your brother?"
Pasha nodded. They looked at the  picture for a while, before Pasha turned the page again. This was a picture of a blue fiure next to what looked kinda like a dragon, Pasha had gone a bit wild with the coloring, a riot of blues, turquoise, green, with purple, black, very light gray and yellow markings on the wings and head.
"Dad, Tawsrewyu sì."
"Tawsrew ..... "
Chris got no further, as Pasha turned and hugged him. She cried into his shoulder solidly for more than twenty minutes, and held on tightly for maybe another twenty minutes after that.

[Toliman]

Again nice work here. Need to be appreciated!

[archaic]

I'm sorry, I failed again, I can't stop yawning and I can't keep my eyes open any longer, I'll try to get the next piece ready for tomorrow evening.
Txon lefpom ma ay'eylan.

[Toliman]

That is ok, everyone can be tired... I am too tired to now

Txon lefpom ma 'eylan and good luck with next writing, you doing it very well!

Txon lefpom ma ay'eylan.

"Txon lefpom ma ayeylan" or just "Txon lefpom ma eylan" is right, if you want to say "good night, friends"

[archaic]

Part 65

Spoiler: Earth is not home.

Pasha reached into a pocket on the other side of the rebreather suitcase, she took out several books. She placed them on the table, two on drawing, one on water color painting, one was a collection of amusing cartoons - which looked extremely well read, the last was all blank pages, presumably intended for drawing in, this looked new, and expensive.
"That was from me."
"Pushed the boat out a bit?"
"Nah, it was in lost property. No one's claimed it, it was handed in by one of the builders, before we opened to the public. I contacted him after the three months, he didn't want it, in fact he'd forgotten all about it. I took it home, coz it looked to nice to chuck out. I ain't got a use for it, and, well, you know!"
"Mmm, nice gift. I'm feeling a bit bad, I haven't got you anything. Sorry, I'll ..... " But Chris was interrupted as Pasha held up a finger.
Pasha took out another book, and placed it on the table. It was Tao Te Ching, by Lao'tse.
"Oh yeah."
"Änd ..... " Pasha held up her rebreather "Lu txantsan! Nìtxan! Pest krìsmäs prezent ev'r!!!"
"I never thought of it like that."
"Ìrayo nìtxan. Thänk very much yu ..... ìì, kehe ..... Thank yu much, thank yu veri much. Srak?"
"Err, yeah, 'thank you very much' is correct."
"Txantsan."
"So, another picture tonight?"
"Sra ..... ìì, yes, ay piktyu'r."
Pasha opened the pencil case, it wasn't just colored pencils now, a ruler, protractor, small french curves, compass, selection of regular pencils, eraser, a ballpoint pen that could write in black, blue, red or green, and much else besides. Which, oddly, included a small clear plastic pot.
Pasha turned to a fresh page in her drawing pad, took a light brown pencil and started to make bold vertical strokes, after a few, she turned the pad to an angle so it was easier to make the straight lines. Chris and Dino watched as it evolved. The vertical lines met at right angles with a brown line across the page near the bottom, below which was shaded in. Then the tops had curves added, so now they looked like trees, or perhaps the tops of Gothic arches or pillars, again in brown. A series of diagonal lines became something that looked a little like a spiral staircase, then a raised platform, with fire coming out of it. Pasha populated the scene with rather crude figures. Next to be added were a lot of things that neither Chris nor Dino could guess at. Neither were sure if this was a real place, or it was from Pasha's imagination. Pasha added detail to the trees, including someone climbing one of them. She continued to add and improve details for some time. Finally she was happy with it, sighed deeply, and turned the pad around so that her audience could see it the right way up.
"Kelutrel lu. Olo. Ylltxep, meyk fud ht. Aysangeksyìp. Snayì. 'Ewrang." And many others, with Pasha pointing to various items within the drawing as she spoke.
"That's home, isn't it? Where you lived before ..... "
Pasha nodded.
"Srane, hom lu. Trayb. Fämìli."
Pasha took a deep breath, lifted her face mask and wiped away the tears. This wasn't easy for her, there was no doubt of that. But perhaps this was therapy, of a sort.
"You miss them, don't you."
Pasha reseated her face mask and nodded, before hitting the purge button.
"Nìtxan ..... " she said softly " ..... Nìtxan." she sighed deeply, and it was a few moments before she added "Rrth ntx hom."
"Is there anything you like about Earth?"
"Ìì, yu, p'kxrr sì."
"Us and poker, nothing else?"
"Ìì ..... kehe. Nga, p'kxrr nìaw." she looked at the collection of stuff that had been her Christmas presents "And thiz, obvz."
"I see you've been learning new words, while I've been off sick."
"Srane, they tich mi bäd wrdz."
"Bad words?"
"Bllx, kx'kx, rrs, that kaynd'v wrdz."
"Oh, I should have guessed."
"Zinobayologi tim yuz bäd w'dz tu."
"Candice an' that lot?" Dino, sounding unsurprized.
"Srane."
"Well, I guess if I worked for Warren, I'd use some pretty bad language 'n' all."
"Yeah, I've met him, not the worst I've ever met, mostly just a complete waste of space."
"Yeah, a real oxygen waster. But, as I understand it, now Candice has put him in his place, he's been less of a micromanaging 'A' hole. But, back at the beginning, I've heard they 'ad a few run ins."
"Wouldn't exactly shock me. Mind you, that Candice strikes me as someone who can be a right stroppy old moo, when she's in the mood to be."
"Mmm, I thought the same thing."
"D'you know it's gone midnight?"
"No, but if you sing it, I'll hum along."
Dino pointed to Pasha, now fast asleep.
"Tea?" Dino whispered.
"With lunch?" Chris whispered back.
Dino returned with a double thumbs up.
"Tea room?" Dino whispered.
Chris gave him the OK sign and slid to the end of the bench, and followed Dino to the kitchen.

[Toliman]

Very good, as always

[archaic]

Part 66

Spoiler: Regional semi finalist.

"You think we gave her the right presents? I hadn't seen that many tears in a while."
Chris considered for a moment.
"Well, she's only been around for three weeks, it already feels a whole lot longer. She needs us. Christ knows what horrors she's seen, I can tell she watched the members of her family die trying to rescue her, and I know she blames herself, that's as plain as the nose on you're face. But she need to come to term with those horrors, and none of us are councilors, and I know she's gonna have to get a lot more fluent with her English before she can have those kinda conversations. With anyone."
"Sweetner?"
"Nah, I already sweetnered." Chris sighed "If those drawings help even the least, then you guys got the right presents. I know that much. I can see it's tearing her apart, but maybe she needs a little tearing apart before she can put herself back together and move on. And I think she knows that. Or at least believes it. Look I know she's not human, and I wouldn't begin to know how to help a human child get through what she's gone through. I wish, I wish, more than anything else right now, I could help her better than I ..... Look, it's not just Pasha that runs out of the right words, I'm so far out of my depth, it's ..... I don't even know what it is ..... You know I'm winging this. The rebreather was hard enough, turns out, that was easy bit."
"Regrets?"
"No. Absolutely not. Worries, yeah, by the boat load ..... But I know one thing, she needs help more than anyone I've ever known. And I know something else. She won't get it, not stuck in a glass case like the rest of the junk round here."
"You know what you sound like?"
"What?"
"Like a concerned parent."
"Hah! Parent, we're not even the same species! Besides, I'd be a lousy parent, dad wasn't exactly a lot of use, and everyone says I'm just like him, so ..... Pasha can think herself lucky I'm just a friend."
"You'll be forbidding her to see boys, before you know it."
"Bollocks."
Chris glared at Dino as they had lunch in silence. Finally Chris swallowed his last mouthful.
"I'm going to make the tea." He stomped off back to Security.
Dino tilted Chris's mug a little to see if it was empty, it was almost half full.
"An' I thought workin' 'ere, was gonna be dull." Dino, softly to himself.

Chris came back a while later with two fresh mugs of tea.
"Cheers. Err, I noticed you didn't finish the last one."
"Nah, well ..... there was a dead fly in it."
"Oh." Dino hadn't seen it, and was pretty sure this was a lie anyway. He let it go.
"So where were we?"
"Parents."
"Oh ..... those."
"And how your father wasn't all that you might've hoped for?"
"Now there's the understatement of the year. What about your's?
Dino sighed deeply.
"As good as that eh?"
"Well, dad ran off with moms 'alf sister, he's two years older than mom, and seventeen years older than Rachel. Then after four years, dad comes back, Rachel kicked him out, can't think why. Not. So, so not."
"And it was all sweetness and light, when he came back?"
"Err, no, apart from those four years 'e was shacked up with Rachel, my whole entire child hood was one long shouting match."
"Ah."
"Yeah, if shouting 'n' 'ollerin' was an Olympic event, 'e'd've been a regional semi finalist."
"So, not a gold medalist then?"
"Nah, requires commitment, and whenever that reared it's ugly head, dad went down the pub."
"Nice."
"Mmm. So, yeah, I reckon your not doin' so bad so far."
"I am not Pasha's parent. Period."
"So, I think we'll re-visit this the next time you ground her, or make her sit on the naughty step."
"Next time!? I've never grounded her, or made her sit on a naughty step!"
"Give it time mate, give it time."

"Morning Dino,
"Mark."
"Stepped out to enjoy the view before it gets too hot and sticky outside?"
" 'Hot and sticky.' " Dino sounded deeply sceptical.
"I saw the forcast earlier, said it was gonna hit thirty nine degrees today!"
"Thirty nine what?"
"Degrees!"
"Fahrenheit?"
"I don't know what that means."
"Markus Dagby, you are the biggest fibber I ever met!"
"Alright! Alright! You got me! I know what Fahrenheits are."
"And the weather forecast?"
"No, that was one 'undred percent. It's for to day 'n' all. Thirty nine centigrade, round about thirteen hundred."
"And what part of the globe did it refer to?"
"Ah, yeah, now, well, thing is, you see, err."
"Not London, that's for sure!"
"Oh yeah, it is for London!"
"Bollocks."
"Nah, it is, just not this London."
"Of course. So, which of the many other places dotted about would it be, then?"
"Belize."
"Belize?"
"Belize."
"Belize?"
"Yeah. And if you say Belize again, I shan't make you any more tea, for the rest of the year."
"And what if I said 'bellies'? "
"I shan't make you drinkable tea for the rest of the year. I'm goin' inside. To get out of this unbearable heat."
"Obviously."

Mark found Chris on a pic nic blanket, set out by the door to Maintenance. Chris handed him a mug of tea.
"Cheers, life saver, I bloody well need this, it's ruddy freezing again this morning."
"Mmm, you look half frozen."
"At least half."
"Pitty it's the good half."
"Yeah, and Happy bleedin' Christmas to you too!"
"Humbug."

[Toliman]

That is good reading

[archaic]

Irayo.

 

[Toliman]

Kea tìkin

[archaic]

Part 67

Spoiler: Torture Chamber.

"Morning Dino."
"Kyle."
"Stepped out to enjoy the view? Or just indulge your frostbite fetish?"
"You're funny ..... " Dino, with bone dry sarcasm.
"I am, aren't I."
" ..... but not in a good way."
"I take it Pasha's asleep on the bench seat again?
"Yep."
"I don't blame her, the floor of her hutch doesn't exactly scream 'comfort', does it."
"Err, no. 'Dungeon' yeah, or maybe even 'torture chamber'. But 'comfort'? Hell no."
"It's the sorta holding chamber you'd expect to be dumped in, if you was abducted by aliens."
Dino gave him a mildly disappearing look.
"How long've you been working on that?"
"I plead the fifth."


"I have a proposal."
"Chris, you know I like you, and I've always respected you, but I don't feel I'm ready to take our friendship to the next level."
"You should, it's the best offer you're likely to get." Kyle, encouragingly.
"He's right. Chris, it would be my honor. When's the big day, I have dresses to buy, bridesmaids to wrangle, a best man to break in, flowers to arrange, and a church to hire, the Vicar, the reception, and catering, and invites! Where are you taking me on our honeymoon? I need to  know, I need to know!!! Unless it's a surprize. It's Bognor, isn't it? The B 'n' B where we first met! How wonderfully romantic! I'm right, aren't I? Will there be rose petals strewn across the bed with abandon like there were so long, long ago, and yet it still seams so fresh, like it was only just this last summer!" Mark, getting carried away.
Dino tried hard not to laugh, and almost succeeded. He turned away, and put his fist in his mouth.
"So, how do you two fancy swapping shifts?" Chris, unimpressed.
"Heartbreaker." Mark clapped the back of one hand to his forehead and, almost fainted, he sounded utterly crushed, devastated even.
"You want our nights, fifth to the eighth." Kyle, smiling.
"You knew?"
"We kinda guessed you'd want 'em. Plus Francis already asked."
"We'd guessed you'd ask, long before Francis actually did."
"You got over that fast."
"And the answer is?" Chris, flatly.
"A reply or response to a question or inquiry. Or, the solution to a problem or equation." Mark, less than helpfully, and with a wry smile.
Chris decided the best approach, was to simply out stare him.
"Yeah, OK, so, uh, we, we agreed." Mark, having cracked surprizingly quickly.
"Awesome!"
"You do know you can't work every night shift for the rest of your life, don't you?"
"Yeah, but Pasha's already had three nights without me around."
"Ay häv, it ..... Ìì ..... Omätìkayä llweys theyr, nv deyz of."
"Or nights."
"Kehe. Ìì, srane?"
"Morning Pasha."
"Morning Pash."
"Gud Mrnìng Mark, Kayl sì."
"So, who wants to hear a Christmas Cracker Joke?"
"No!" Chris and Dino, in perfectly bored soundiing unison.
"Great! So, how many paranoid conspiracy theorists does it take to change a light bulb?"
Chris and Dino looked at each other, there was an air of mildly bitter resignation.
"We don't know." Dino said in a way that hinted they didn't really want to know.
"Well, you would say that! Wouldn't you?" Mark, with a fair impression of agitated paranoia.
"I got a lame one, but aunty Aida got 'Help! I've been kidnapped! Am being forced to work in a Chinese Christmas Cracker factory!' "
Chris and Dino pretended to laugh out loud.
"That's the best one I have ever heard! Literally, ever!" Dino, wiping away the tears, or at least pretending to.
"I have to agree, that's awesome!" Chris, also wiping away imaginary tears.
Pasha was genuinely laughing.
"It wasn't that funny." Mark, pretending to be deeply hurt.
Pasha pointed to Chris and Dino.
"They tu! They f'ni."

"Morning Jean, fancy meeting you here!"
"Morning Geof, stress free journey in?"
"Not too bad, no real hold ups today, how was yours?"
"Yeah, not too bad either, pretty nippy though."
"Mmm, definitely a cold one this morning, a fair bit of frost near me.."
"Me too. Shall we?"
Jean hit the buzzer.
"Good morning, New British Museum, this is security, Marcus Dagby speaking, how may I help you?"
"Morning, Jean Mistry, Xenobiology."
"Good morning, Geof Carrillo, also Xenobiology."
"I see you're both booked for ..... right now as it happens."
The buzzer sounded again and the door unlocked.
"Can I tempt you both to a tea?"
"Oh yeah!"
"Not 'alf!"
"See you both in security in a moment, Tea coming up."
"Superb!"
"Can't wait!"

"Two teas, I'll let you add the fake mile, and genuine sweetener."
"Nice one!" Geof, adding a splash of milk to both teas, and sweetener to just one.
"Ooh! I needed that." Jean after taking her first sip "That's propper tea."
"Mmm. I must come here more often."
"Speaking of coming here more often, I hear a rumor you two went to the Crown and Flint."
"We did."
"It's all true."
"How was it?"
"Nice, really nice!"
"He's underselling it, it was superb!"
"Yeah, OK, atmosphere was great, food was amazing, and the assorted artifacts, were, many and varied."
"There is a story that one of your colleagues has a connection to at least some of the said artifacts."
"Scott, his mate's got a Themic Eclectica Emporium. Or 'Junk Shop' as the rest of us like to call it."
"That's true, we do, 'Themic Eclectica Emporium', bit pretentious."
"Themic Eclectica Emporium?"
"It's too expensive to be a thrift store, not expensive enough to be an antiques store."
"Actually, I think he may have retired now."
"You know a lot about it?"
"Yeah, well, funny thing about workin' four on four off, is the four off. World and his wife think you're available for borrowin'. "
"That's true, that is."
"Yeah, we've all been borrowed at some point to carry the other end of something at some point."
"You get paid for this?"
"You get fed, and the old bugger knows some surprisingly decent eateries."
"He does, don't 'e."
"Mmm, nowhere posh, mind."
"Err, no, posh they ain't, but decent grub."
"Characterful."
"Yeah, that's a pretty fair description, at least most of 'em."
"And the rest?"
"Mixed bag."
"Mmm, Marcello's is pretty nice, you could take kids in there and not be worried."
"Took me somewhere once, I forget where, they had the bailiffs in, thought they were going to close the place down. They already take the tables and chairs, so we had it to go. Later we heard, after we'd gone, someone turns up with a knife, and stabs both Bailiffs."
"Oh god! What happened?"
"Well, we heard both were rushed to hospital, one was declared dead on arrival, the other died in surgery."
"Oh god!"
"That's horrible, were you OK."
"Yeah, we weren't involved. Police tracked us down, asked us a bunch of questions, but we didn't see anything. We just confirmed a few things they already knew. Yes the bailiffs were there, no the guy behind the counter wasn't being aggressive, all seemed pretty amicable when we left."
"Tell 'em the punch line."
"Punch line?"
"Yeah, well, the best bit is ..... Now it's a crime scene so no one can remove gods and chattels to cover outstanding debts etcetera. The guy behind the counter was the owner, and he claims to have bee psychologically traumatized by witnessing it, he claims and gets a load of compensation, pays off the original debt with it. And buys some better tables and chairs."
"Nah, he got a whole refit out of it!"
"Did he? I didn't know. 'Ere how d'yuo know?"
"Yeah, well, I know the place, it's round the corner from my nan's old flat!"
"It's a small world."
"Not bleedin' likely, It was me what took 'im there in the first place."
"Ah."
"Yeah, Nan used to take us to Gustav's when ever we wen't round to visit."
"Nah, it weren't called Gustav's."
"Proper name's the Lazenby Court Cafe, it's just all the locals what called it Gustav's."

[Toliman]

Oh, very good work Read and now I really should go sleep, too late here

[archaic]

Irayo, txon lefpom ma eylan ulte.

[Toliman]

Kea tìkin

[archaic]

So, yesterday was a bust.

   

[Toliman]

Hope that today it will be better.

[archaic]

It is. A little.

Part 68

Spoiler: Road vehicles.

"Good evening, New British Museum, this is security, Paul Ellings speaking, how may I help you?"
"It's me yah dozy sod."
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid that's not one of the official phrases."
"I'm bloomin' freezin' out here! And it's just staring to rain."
"I see, and the pass phrase is?"
"The sooner I get in, the sooner you get home. If you're lucky, you might get to the station before it proper pee's it down!"
The buzzer sounded, the door opened.
"Same poo different day, wish us luck!"
"Yeah, whatever."
Dino felt the side of the kettle with the backs of his fingers, it was recently boiled, and half full. He made two cups of tea. He'd barely put them on the table when Chris appeared.
"They held the door open for you, on their way out?"
"It's like you're psychic."
"Well, I am a medium. Does that count?"
Chris gave Dino a raised eyebrow look, it eloquently expressed his opinion that this was BS.
"I am! It says so in the back of my shirt!"
Chris smiled, and rolled his eyes.
"Figures."
"So, what we going to do tonight?"
"Invent a time machine, and go forward and find out what the lottery numbers are gonna be."
"OK. And what'll we do after lunch?"
"Alright! Alright! I confess! I hadn't thought it through that far."
"Could go forward, and collect the winnings early."
"Done."
The took a sip of tea.
"Life saver."
Another sip of tea. The sat in a warm comfortable silence, and sipped their tea.
"So, Pasha?" Dino, looking up from a now half empty cup.
"Give it a few years, and I could see her inventing a time machine!"
"I wonder, what she'd do with a time machine?"
"Create a paradox."
"Go back and stop herself from getting picked up?"
"S'what my money'd be on."
"W'tx 'taym mäshin'?"
"Evening Pasha."
"Yeah, evening. Err ..... So, err, time machine, err ....."
"S'gonna be a tricky one."
"Yeah, err. So, a time machine, it's like a train, it ..... you don't know what a train is."
"Start with a ox cart, and work your way up."
"Gimmie a mo', lets see what the museum's got to offer. S'gotta 'ave summut relevant."
"Well, I hear there's a creationist exhibit, so yeah, I guess that's all the bases covered.
"Why did the chemistry student put a cloth over both his bottles of lye?"
"Dunno, why did the chemistry student put a cloth over both his bottles of lye?"
"He wanted to cover all his bases."
"I don't get it."
"I wouldn't worry about it ..... I was just stalling for time, really."
"Nice. So, find anything?"
"Yep! Let's go."
"To the Batmobile!
"What, ev, er."

They arrived outside the exhibit, on one side of the wide walk way, was the History of Land Transport, starting with rudimentary prehistoric dragged sleds, not unlike American Indian travois. A recreation was just visible from the walkway. On the other side was the Batman exhibit, a huge amount of material. There was even a full sized mock up of the Batmobile, also just visible from the walkway.
"You knew, didn't you?"
"Maybe." Dino tried to look innocent, which wasn't a huge success.
"So, shall we?"
"Sure, we're here, might as well."
They started with the drag sled, and worked their was to the auto mobile. It wasn't easy. As usual, everything that could be, was powered down. They trekked to the Automobile Section, one of the larger exhibitions.
"This place is huge!"
"I've never seen so many cars! I never knew they made so many!"
"Ay n't n'tx'stänt."
OK, so, cars have wheels."
"Wilz."
"Yup."
"And so do buses and trucks."
"Yes, thank you Dino."
"And motorbikes."
"Thank you Dino."
"And mobile home."
"Thank you Dino."
"Come to think of it, pretty much all road vehicles had wheels."
"Pretty much?"
"Caterpillar tracks?"
"Whatever. So, wheels allow a vehicle to move along the ground."
"Forwards, backwards, left and right."
"Err, yeah."
"Remind me why we're looking at cars again?"
"We're building up to time machines?"
"Oh yeah."