Case #49: Video

[19centconstable]

[George makes his way through a dark hallway, his comm held in front of him, filming and illuminating his face as he walks. The result isn't quite night vision, but it's similar. It is 2am, and George speaks gravely, but excitedly.]

My name is George Crabtree. I have always believed in ghosts, because my aunt once...well, it's a rather long story, involving my uncle and a jacket, and I will recount it some other time. I am currently aboard the...spaced station whose name I can not pronounce, which appears to have gone into some sort of lock down. Approximately one hour ago, I found myself plagued by a feeling of unease, and a series of unexplained voices, so I have set out on a quest in the hopes of capturing what I have heard on my communicator. I am joined only by my fellow Barge inhabitants who chose to disembark at this port, although I am not entire sure whom that is or where they might be. I can only hope that they do not creep up behind me in the dark, as that would be terribly startling. Nevertheless, I vow to spend the entire night traversing these highly active paranormal hallways. With any luck, I will capture some sort of irrefutable evidence of haunting, and in the process have a rollicking adventure. ...Perhaps, some kind of "ghost adventure"...

[George smiles at his own ingenuity, but a sound from off-screen causes him to freeze, and breathlessly ask:]

Ohmygoodness. What was that?


[George is wandering the station's hallways. Feel free to contact him via comm, or run into him in person and become part of his raw, extreme, Barge Adventures. TALKING LOUDLY.]

Comments

Video

[nolongerhollow]

Cold. Savage with emotion. They are...well.

They are the reason I am hurrying so.

I wish I could tell you that all spirits of the dead are as Kardec and the Spiritists describe them, but in truth some are as savage and cruel as I once was. Or mad. If we are fortunate the spirits of these strange nonhumans are relatively enlightened.

Video

[19centconstable]

I'm not sure that I can blame them. Finding one's self dead must be disturbing.

Video

[nolongerhollow]

It is. Believe me.

[Footage of him flying through a darkened hallway]

If you seek to contact them I shall stand guard in case anything goes wrong. Is that fair?

Video

[19centconstable]

...I'm so sorry. I hadn't meant...

[George freezes again.]

...Is anyone in here?

Video

[nolongerhollow]

No, no, it is fine. It is a fact of my existence. It troubles me not after so long; the deaths of others weigh far more heavily.

*sniff sniff sniff* I think I may be coming up on you.

[He lowers the communicator volume politely before calling out]

Hello?

Video

[19centconstable]

[George still jumps.]

Mr. Dracula: there you are. Did you encounter anything?

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

[Dracula lands in a faint swirl of wind and his eyes flash brief silver.] Not yet. But...

[He straightens and closes his eyes, engaging his other senses. There was something...not quite audible...tickling at the edge of his conscious awareness.]

There's something--

[He opens his eyes and shakes his head, vaguely frustrated.]

It is as if whatever it is is so weak or blocked by something that even my senses cannot quite make out what is going on. But in any case I agree with you. Something is here.

[spam]

[19centconstable]

[George squints into the darkness.]

Is there any way we might give them strength?

[Yell indiscriminately at the ghosts?]

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

According to Kardec they gain strength from different energies. Light, heat, electricity, magnetism. [He keeps trying to focus his senses but he just can't pick up on anything clearly.]

Re: [spam]

[19centconstable]

[Yelling indiscriminately at the ghosts it is. George calls out:]

Are you there still? Can you give us a sign?

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

[Dracula is focusing on faint sounds when George starts yelling, and he squawks and jumps a good two feet in the air. Then checks his communicator, hoping he hadn't left it on an open channel.]

Oh...lovely.

[spam]

[19centconstable]

Did you hear something?

[Besides George yelling?]

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

[Dracula sticks a finger in his ear and wiggles it.] Might have heard Narvin snickering just then. [He turns off the communicator.]

[spam]

[19centconstable]

Really? What do you suppose he finds funny about ghosts? They don't seem like a laughing matter to me.

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

Oh no, that...had nothing to do with the ghosts.

I imagine it is very lonely for them. At least we have bodies and can be seen and heard.

[spam]

[19centconstable]

[George gets squinty with thought.]

But surely they can see and hear each other?

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

I do hope so. It would be rather horrible otherwise.

[spam]

[19centconstable]

Imagine: being a ghost haunted by another ghost.

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

Perhaps it is that a man is haunted in death by those he wronged. [Dracula is a little sobered at the thought.]

Have you made a study of Kardec?

[spam]

[19centconstable]

[George shakes his head.]

I'm afraid I haven't. What is it?

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

Allan Kardec, a Canadian actually, is one of the founders of Spiritism. He wrote several books on the subject of a Christian-oriented way in which to contact spirits and investigate their manifestations.

[spam]

[19centconstable]

I'll certainly have to look into that. Have you made study of it, then?

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

There are copies of The Spirits Book and The Medium's Book in the Library. I read a great deal, you see. [He jumps slightly, eyebrows rising into his hairline.]

That was neither of us.

[spam]

[19centconstable]

I will follow your lead, then. What should we do?

[spam]

[nolongerhollow]

I dare say that they will be more interested in you than another dead person. We could attempt to communicate by asking them to, say, cause a light to turn on or off, or to make a certain number of taps on the wall to signify yes or no.