Look to the Future Part Three: February 11-12, 1926

Vivian, Johnny, and Ron get dressed up and go to an evening performance at the Boston Conservatory. Afterward, Vivian is introduced to the director and his wife and makes important society connections, while Ron and Johnny overhear two matrons of the upper-class twit variety discussing a small flying machine called a “drone.” This drone was apparently purchased by one matron’s husband, who is a member of Look to the Future. The matron flew it briefly in Boston Commons, which resulted in a grainy picture and a sensationalist story about the machine appearing in the Globe.

While the three of them are out, Mikhail gets a call from Stephen Clark, who expresses a renewed interest in seeing and helping his brother, James. Mikhail and Stephen discuss paperwork, visitation, and James’ aftercare once he leaves Bellevue.

Stephen further remarks that he has found a painting of Ron among his new collection. He describes the painting as: Ron, apparently injured, lying on a white table in a white room. A man in a conical hat and a man with black hair stand over him. The  black-haired man holds a wavy bladed knife. In addition, a third person, a chubby man in spectacles and holding a cane, looks on from a distance.

Mikhail, concerned about this, informs Ron once everyone comes back from the conservatory. In the middle of his story, Mikhail realizes that the man in the picture might be Carl Stanford.

Ron seems largely unperturbed by this story, and asks if anyone wants to go with him to the Game Preserve. Everyone but Vivian, who is a classy lady, decides to go.

Carl Stanford. Gone, But Never Forgotten!

The Game Preserve

The night starts out pleasant enough. After everyone gets drinks, Dr. Black seats himself at the Blackjack table and wins a few hands. Meanwhile, Judge Putnam sits down at a poker table with a bunch of the local toughs. Using Psychology, he proceeds to strategically lose to the other players for several hands, all the while assessing their strengths and weaknesses and insinuating himself into their good graces with his usual charm. When he eventually leverages his information to a substantial win, the rest of the players aren’t even mad! They simply insist on him paying for a round of drinks for the table.

Kane, Mikhail, and Johnny relax at the table with Ron, until three Irish toughs start shooting dirty looks in Ron’s direction. Johnny attempts to prevail upon Ron to let it drop, but Ron refuses to do so. He sits down at the table with the three toughs and engages in frosty dialogue with them. This is not improved when Aoife—behickeyed and flustered—comes in and starts being friendly with Ron.

The conversation rapidly deteriorates from there. Aengus, one of the three men, happens to be Aoife’s brother, and insinuates that, since he told Aoife to stay away from Ron, that Ron must have done something untoward to get her to sleep with him. Things get so bad that the three Irishmen and Ron all agree to step outside to settle things. Fortunately for Ron, everyone else in the group follows after him to help even the odds.

And a good thing, too. The fight ends with Mikhail sitting atop one of the Irish boys, Ron shattering Aengus’s jaw, Ron dropped unconscious on the pavement, and Dr. Black attempting to apply ether to a still-flailing Aengus. Judge Putnam and Johnny manage to de-escalate the situation to the point where both sides are willing to take their wounded and leave. As the fight breaks up and the group leaves the Game Preserve, Johnny warns the Irishmen that, “if Ron sees you again, he’s going to kill you.”

Back at the Safe House

Vivian is bemused and unsurprised when Ron is brought into the house unconscious. Dr. Black tends to him and gets him up and awake, but Ron is only sort of lucid and in a lot of pain. During all this, the still nameless caretaker ambles into the house to see what’s up. He mocks Ron to his face—to the delight of everyone else in the group—and tells Johnny that he has a list for him of good Greek places in the area.

After all this excitement, the group decides it’s more than time for bed.

Friday, February 12, 1926

Judge Putnam has the idea to show up at the Look to the Future building prior to the Saturday meeting, to see if the group can gather information. He says that, if asked, they will act very eager to join the group and insist that they had gotten the date wrong (Friday instead of Saturday).

Ron, who is still in a lot of pain, begs off, and has Dr. Black take him to Mass General. He is diagnosed with a concussion and is given morphine tablets. This does little to take the edge off of his rage, either at the unnamed caretaker or at the Irish boys at the Game Preserve.

Kane, meanwhile, goes to his failsafe apartment and tries to use his occult knowledge to ward it against supernatural attack. This seems to work.

Look to the Future

In order to make it seem as though they are not all one group, Judge Putnam and Mikhail form one team, while Johnny and Vivian form another. They approach the Look to the Future building, which is located on Boston Harbor, and note its strange, lozenge-like architecture. Johnny notes that the building is reminiscent of a pillbox, with one entrance and no windows.

While looking around, Johnny and Vivian discover a pedestrian trail that leads off through the middle of a vacant lot. They decide to walk in that direction to see what’s there, while Mikhail and the judge enter the building.

The Lot

Vivian and Johnny encounter a dark-haired man who is standing in the field and, apparently, arguing with himself. The man is startled to see them and apologizes for his somewhat erratic behavior before introducing himself as Bryan Slim, one of the organizers of Look to the Future. They exchange pleasantries, and Johnny and Vivian feign distress and embarrassment when they realize that the meeting is actually on Saturday. Bryan Slim tells them not to worry, and that he would be happy to give them a tour of the facility right now.

Bryan Slim, President, Look to the Future

Inside the Building

Judge Putnam and Mikhail enter the Look to the Future building to find it laid out much like a church, with numerous benches for seating and a raised platform with a podium at the far end. There are also six gentlemen of North African descent, dressed in olive drab clothing, standing at key positions around the room. One of them approaches the judge and Mikhail and tries to explain, in broken English, that the hall is currently closed.

In an attempt to remain in the hall for as long as possible, Judge Putnam very politely, but very insistently, begins to ask questions of the guard, purposely peppering his speech with very complex words that non-native speakers wouldn’t know. This baffles the guard, who calls over a second guard. The two of them converse in Turkish and attempt, with little success, to get the Judge and Mikhail to leave.

At this point, Bryan Slim enters the building with Vivian and Johnny. He speaks to the guards in Turkish and dismisses them back to their posts. At this point, Johnny introduces himself and his girlfriend, Vivian, to the Judge and Mikhail. The four of them express “sincere” bafflement that they have all somehow arrived on the wrong date.

Bryan Slim escorts them to the front of the room, where display cabinets have been arranged in front of the stage. He says that these cases contain valuable artifacts pulled from the future by his colleague, Lostalus Black, and that they are available for purchase to interested parties. Looking over the case, the group sees that these items are all exorbitantly priced, with nothing offered for sale for less than $20.

While Bryan Slim talks, Vivian notices that all six guards are carrying concealed pistols, and that there is a very plain, industrial door at the back of the stage that is locked. She and Mikhail also look around for any signs of theatrical machinery that might allow Look to the Future to pull off their stunt with stage magic. Other than controls for the lights, they don’t see anything of note.

Bryan Slim proceeds to show off and demonstrate the following:

• A 20 oz plastic bottle of Coca Cola.
• A pair of tinted, bifocal sunglasses with those springy frames.
• A Rubik cube.
• Pots and pans similar to the one owned by Rothschild.
• A Tamagotchi.
• A drone.

Mikhail purchases the Tamagotchi and the judge spends $200 on the drone. Bryan Slim thanks them for their interests and their purchases and expertly shoos them out of the hall.

Judge Putnam's Newest Toy

The Return

Everyone returns to the safe house. The players take turns flying the drone until it runs out of electricity. Ron sucker punches Doctor Black for unspecified reasons, then announces his plan to take vengeance on the caretaker. Everyone else talks about what they learned at Look to the Future and discusses their plans for Saturday.