Second Dawn: Haley Jean Cole

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This is a reference document for the LARP The Second Dawn.

Haley Jean Cole Player: Xephyr Z Vacuum Tube Inventor Age: 29

Additional Information (read first): Black Science, Seerstones

Background: Eureka! You have finally done it. Your discovery could change the world. You’ve found a way to use crystals and vacuum tubes to communicate over long distances. It sounds unbelievable – but it actually works. You grew up as a strong believer in Natural Theology – that all material contains information. That’s when you got your idea. It must be possible for one piece of material to transmit information to another, and that one to another, and thus be able to transfer information from one place to different place far away! That’s what got you started on this project. It’s been a long decade of work, but you finally have your prototype built. It actually works by transmitting these waves - known as radio waves - through the air, and on the other end a crystal vibrates and receives the sound. You’re planning on doing a demonstration of it tonight. You’ll need to find the proper volunteer for this. You want to put on a good show – everyone knows that science is no small part presentation. You could just have yourself go into a different room and talk into the transmitter, but that would be terribly dull. You want to get a real presenter, a real ham. Someone that can tell a good joke, or a story that keeps everyone on their toes, or a haunting song. Maybe all three! And then you’ll put them in one room, and get a crowd of people in the other, and everyone can marvel at being able to hear them through your radio! This demonstration is especially important to you because you’ve thought of a great way to use this new communication device. Right now the only way to get in touch with someone who lives far afield is through the post, which is slow and by no means reliable. Your radio doesn’t transmit over infinite distances, but with enough power, it should be able to go for dozens of miles or more. If you could get relay stations set up all over the country, you could have nigh-instant communication between here and Appalachia, here and Charleston, Minneapolis, even the Maple Kingdom. To do that, though, you’ll need the government to get involved. You’ve made some vacuum tubes, but you don’t have nearly enough for such a large scale project. Additionally, you’d really need these radio stations to be manned, or they won’t be of much use. Hmm, actually, that’s another project idea, an unmanned repeater radio. That’d be an excellent link, really cut down on the manpower needs. In any case, you don’t have that yet, so for the moment you’d want people on both ends of the radio. Also, the more people that agree to adopt this the better. If the Eastern Union government adopts your radio idea, you’ll at least have them, but it would be far better to get the Maple Kingdom, the Plains States, and the Appalachian Confederacy on board as well. For that matter, why not get El Dorado, those mysterious people that just flew in on a Zeppelin. You’re not sure exactly where their town is, but if you could figure it out you could try to set up some sort of permanent communication so they won’t be so isolated. You feel very lucky - you already have a contact in the Union Government. The Premier of Congress, a Socialist, asked you (through a messenger, of course) to do a job for Her. She has asked you to do a bit of investigation for her. She’s worried that the Second Dawn project might not be as well designed as it should be. She told you about budget cuts and safety cutbacks. Also about how the Tinkers have been jealously guarding the design plans, so there have been no outside checks to their work. Finally, she told you about how much of the construction itself is being done by unskilled grunts. It does sound rather worrisome. You’ve been excited about this Second Dawn project from the moment you heard about it, but you hadn’t realized it was so plagued with safety issues and had such a lack of oversight. You should try to get onto the ship itself to see if its design and construction are up to snuff. Finally, there is the issue of the satellite. Are its communications really going to be black science in disguise? Will they be able to penetrate the Shroud? You can’t imagine how the satellite could ever do anything of that sort, which is another reason why your vacuum tube radio is such a good idea. Why send up a space satellite when we can do the same thing perfectly well here on Earth? Frankly, that satellite is just a problem. That’s why you talked a Tinker (some poor slob who was embarrassed that he couldn’t fix something himself) into building you a seerstone that’ll make the satellite fail. If you can find a way to get its logic onto the satellite, then it definitely won’t work, so everyone will be forced to pay attention to your radios instead. In any case, the Premier of Congress has assigned you a partner for this job, a construction worker named Russ O’Malley. You’re a bit nervous about meeting him, you’re quite used to working on your own. Also, you really don’t think he’ll be able to understand half of the technical aspect of this investigation. Nevertheless, hopefully it will be useful to have a second pair of ears and hands. Especially since the Premier of Congress has actually given you a second thing he would like investigated: The Church of the Celestial Host. They are a secretive cult who believe that they get messages from space. It’s possible they actually do, and this is one of the things the Premier would like you to look into. He’d like any information on them at all, since so little is know about them. You wouldn’t be surprised if they’d be completely unwilling to give information to an outsider, but you’ve got a great idea. They are always looking for new converts so perhaps Russ -- or you, you suppose - could pretend to convert and learn their secrets that way. You suspect they are just a cult of loonies, but even crazy people often have some kernel of truth they are building upon.

	You learned that as a kid – lots of the people you grew up around would be considered crazy by Eastern Union standards, but in your opinion, they are a lot more sane than some of the folk out here.. You were born in the Appalachian Confederacy, and that’s where you learned something that people don’t seem to understand here: that people can and should do things themselves- including science.

That brings you to the one thing you are worried about tonight: Jefferson Lee Wharton. The two of you were romantically involved for a while, and it ended rather awkwardly. Three years ago, the two of you went to the Plains States for him to meet with one of the politicians up there. This turned about to be a powerful woman named Cordelia Wayne, who was then the warlord of Minneapolis but has come to be the leader of all the Plains. It was clear from the moment you saw them together that Wayne had a thing for Jefferson. When you looked at them together and thought about it, you realized what a good match they would be. You decided it would be wrong of you to stand in their way, so you decided to make things easy for Jefferson. You left him - disappeared into the Plains. A nice man named Edward Dockrill helped you with this. He was a rather dull sort, but good hearted. He put you up for a while, and actually even fronted you the money to get your first vacuum tubes! But you quickly realized that you just couldn’t do your work in the Plains - the raw materials you needed just weren’t readily available. So a few months later you moved out to the Eastern Union. Edward was sad to see you go. You think perhaps he might have been sweet on you a bit – but he wasn’t your type, so you didn’t really think twice about moving east. You haven’t seen Edward since but are looking forward to seeing him tonight. You can catch up on old times, let him know how your research has gone, and thank him for all the help he’s given you. Jefferson, on the other hand, you feel very conflicted about. You actually miss him a great deal and would like to be with him again. But you feel too awkward around him to approach him and let him now. And you’re also not sure what did or didn’t happened between him and Cordelia. You suppose you’ll find out tonight, but it really makes you feel so flustered inside just to think about.

Roleplaying Notes: You’re an inventor at heart, a techie who loves to hear about new ideas and discoveries. You are enthusiastic about your work, and about science and technology in general. You are independent and refuse to be put ‘in your place’ by anyone. You’re very smart and naturally curious. In your investigations with your partner, think Mulder (him) and Scully (you).

Goals: 1) Convince government officials to adopt your vacuum tube radio technology. 2) Work with Ryan O’Malley to investigate the Second Dawn, the Church of the Celestial Host, and other useful dirt. 3) Come to some sort of resolution with your former lover, Jefferson Lee Wharton. 4) Sabotage the Second Dawn’s satellite.

Opinions: Second Dawn: Humans going into space again is incredibly exciting! You sure hope the safety cuts rumored by the Premier aren’t going to crash things. Though you do hope something is wrong with that satellite. Tinkers: A little too insular. You’d like to befriend them and bounce ideas back and forth, but from your time here in the Eastern Union it’s become clear that they are not interested in outsiders. There could be so much more scientific development if they were freer with their knowledge. Eastern Union: You enjoy living here and having a repair shop, but are not so tied to the Eastern Union you’d be unwilling to leave. Appalachian Confederacy: You have a great fondness for your home and your people. Plains States: You’re glad you’ve had a chance to visit there, but you don’t think you’d like to live there. El Dorado: A Zeppelin! You have some airship designs in your notebook but you never thought of filling a giant balloon with a lighter-than-air gas. Where’d they get that gas? You’d like to talk to their inventors and see what other marvels they have designed. Black Science: The ancients had technology and power beyond your ken, and brought alarming destruction to themselves. Some things should not be delved into. That said, certainly some of the things labeled “black science” by superstitious people are perfectly harmless. You’d like to punch the next person who calls your radio “black science”. Space: Religion You follow Natural Theology, the belief that all matter contains information. That has been part of your motivation to build these radios- information leads to thought, and more information in the air will make the air more alive again. Space: There must be someone still living up there; they’ve just been stuck beyond the Shroud all this time, just like you here on Earth.

Key Information: •You need to find a volunteer to demonstrate your vacuum tube radio tonight. Preferable someone or several people who can impress a crowd; your demonstration needs to be awesome! •When you first got the idea, you scoured old libraries and shady markets for Ancient texts on aerial communication. You found some things that explained the theory, but the Ancients did it all with items you’d never heard of, like “transistors.” A passing reference to vacuum tube radios started you down this road, and you did all the practical invention yourself. •You are willing to join the Church of the Celestial Host and become one of their Star Brothers to find out their secrets, if necessary. •The best way to get the Union government to produce and use your radios would be to convince the Ministers, or one of the presidential candidates in the upcoming elections. •You’ve gotten a seerstone that supposedly contains some logic that will make the satellite fail. You want to get that logic onto the satellite, so people will focus on your radios instead.

People you know: Jefferson Lee Wharton, Ambassador from the Plains States (Albert L): Your former lover. A clever man, and always supportive of your projects. You miss him, but feel very awkward around him. Edward Dockrill (Dan S): He was there for you when you needed help and has become a good friend. You’re looking forward to seeing him tonight and catching up with him. He’s risen in the political ranks - he’s the ambassador’s assistant now. Russ O’Malley (Santo S): Your new partner – you’re meeting him tonight. Hmm, he looks like a dumb worker type who doesn’t think about anything other than breakfast this morning. You hope this works out. Eleanor Truman, Premier of Congress (Alison H): You are working for him to investigate the Second Dawn and the Sky Brotherhood. He’s a Socialist and President Grant is a Capitalist, but you’ve never really cared either way about Union politics. You haven’t met him personally before, but tonight you and he will both be at the party. Candace Glenn Hood (Marsha M): Jefferson’s cousin. She’s a spelunker, which means she goes around to ancient sites and finds old tech. She’s definitely picked up a few odds and ends for you over the years. She may be mad at you about the whole Jefferson thing, you’re not really sure. Rawle James Kershwin (Sean C): You don’t know him really well, but he was a blacksmith up in Appalachia. You’re surprised to find him all the way out here, he always seemed like the type to stay home with his family. It’d be great to talk with him – someone from home with whom who you don’t have any old baggage. Rutledge the White (Michelle B): El Dorado seems to have really amazing technology, and she seems to be their high priestess? Perhaps you can set up some sort of idea exchange with her. Erin Clarkson (Lauren A), Daniel Rutledge (Constantine H): Other people from El Dorado to talk with about life and technology from their land. That Zeppelin is really inspired! Daniel flew the Zeppelin so may be the more technically inclined of the two. Isaiah Whittaker (Joey B): The head of the Church of the Celestial Host, most senior of the Star Brothers. You need to find a way to learn his secrets. They may actually have some information about what went on in space. Artair Tinker, Minister of Sciences (Jed S): He may be a good one to talk to about adopting vacuum tubes, although he may be biased against you as a non-Tinker. Malamhin Tinker (Abrihette Y): A Tinker on the Second Dawn’s engineering team, maybe you can convince her to let you onto the ship? Ceallach (David B) and Niallaghas (Aaron B) Tinker: More Tinkers, you’d love to show off your radio to them. Jonathan Grant, President of the Eastern Union (Ted M): The Second Dawn project is about to be completed. He may be looking to start another large project, and you have just the thing for him – vacuum tube radio across the entire Union! The Union is quite large and it would definitely be useful for it to communicate with the southern counties. Charles Bazett, Minister of the Borders (Paul E): The tack to take for the Minister of the Borders is probably border security – relays at our borders to guard against outside threats. Margaret Eisenhower, Minister of the Interior (Abbie P): She’s probably more concerned about things running smoothly inside the Union. This could assist with trade – it’s easier to move goods around if you know where they are needed. Kara Atkinson, Minister of the Army (Hillary K): She’s probably concerned with military strength. If the Union had radios they could stay in instant contact with their troops all over the country. If they also set up relays further afield, they could alert the government when an invasion was about to happen. Probably very relavent, given the state of things with the Plains. Luther Gaines, Minister of the Watch (Kyle R): He probably thinks radio is black science. You’d like to give him a piece of your mind about banning useful technology. Conrad Gaudet, Ambassador from the Maple Kingdom (David C): The Maple Kingdom is full of Gaians and is very anti-black science. Very important to convince him that your invention does not fall into any of the black science categories. Walter Palmer, Ambassador from the Plains (Ilya M): The Plains encompasses a huge amount of land and could really benefit from adopting radio. They’re really militarizing right now, so they probably want to hear about the military applications of vacuum radio. Of course, you probably shouldn’t give it to both the Plains and the Union. Eugene Kennedy (Simon M): Rumor has it that this young man, the son of the Chief of Staff, has joined the Star Brothers!

Ratings: Pilot: 0 R: 0 D: 1 G: 1

Nametag Symbols: A, I

Attributes: Physical: Defense 3 Pool Rating 2 [] [] Mental: Defense 4 Pool Rating 4 [] [] [] [] Social: Defense 2 Pool Rating 3 [] [] []

Recoveries: -Observe someone acting excited or intrigued by vacuum tube radio (+1 point, 3/hour) -Discover something that Premier Truman might find interesting or important (+1 point, 2/hour) -Stand up overtly for your independence or curiosity (+1 point, 2/hour)

Abilities: Penetrating Insight, technobabble, convince, fisticuffs, oratory, suspect, hack, repair, harmless mountain folk, diversion

Items: Babbage, red seerstone, molded plastic piece, radio transmitter, tube-and-crystal receiver, glassy bundle

Repair Activation Cost: 1 Mental Requirement: A quiet place to sit and work for 5 minutes. System: You are able to fix most items with the “Broken” quality. Unless noted otherwise, you may simply cross out the “Broken” word when finished. Note: In order to repair any high-tech item (use your judgement), you must possess a “Glassy Bundle” item. That item is not consumed; you just use a few filaments from it.