The_Guild	It is a cold night. Dreary and wet and raining. It's late fall, but the snow hasn't started falling in the city. Trees are bare, their spindly branches grasping at the frigid drops of rain as they patter down. It is, all and all, a dreary night.
Alice	[am I outside? am I in my apartment?]
The_Guild	[Outside] ... The streets are made darker by the rainy slickness that coats all surfaces, absorbing more light than it reflects. Even the streetlights seem dimmer, the misty halo around them serving only to mute their light, rather than accent it... Not surprisingly, you are the only one on the street at this time of night. With the rain coming down, the sane creatures of the world are at home, snug in their beds. Only the ones being coerced by evil men would be out walking the streets at this time. And so you are.
Alice straightens her worn trench coat and wipes the moisture from her head. Her motions are slightly ungainly as she is stiff with the cold and her muscles hurt.
The_Guild	... Ahead you see a man step out of an alley and pause within the faint pool of light cast by a nearby streetlamp. His hands are shoved deep into the pockets of his trenchcoat, and with his collar turned up and the brim of his hat pulled down low, you can't make out any features... but he turns to face you, and you know he's waiting for you.
Alice absently moves a hand into her right deep pocket and checks on the condition of the small pistol she routinely keeps there. She is nervous, despite the chill of the night, much of the moisture on her head is the sweat of fear. She removes her hand from the pocket, still casually, and approaches.
The_Guild	The man doesn't move as you approach, until you reach the edge of the circle of light, when he shifts his stance slightly. "Alice Whitehouse," he says, his voice low and gravelly. "A moment of your time."
Alice nods and moves in more closely. "How can I help you?"
The_Guild	His mouth barely moves when he speaks, though that may just be the shadows cast by his hat. "I come bearing gifts of gold and freedom. I have a job to offer you."
Alice 's face darkens. She is angry with herself already. She have a protocol which she follows in situations like this and in her nervousness she has broken it...
Alice	"May I ask how you found out about me?"
The_Guild	"You're a valuable asset in the business you're in at the moment. No matter how underappreciated you may feel, an entire branch of criminal livelihood rests in your extremely capable hands. My superiors and I wish to aid your escape from these influences."
Alice	"Escape? My inquire into the nature of your business. I can assume that you would be able to help me leave this city? Where are you based? I have alliances and contacts in this city that would not like me to suddenly vanish."
The_Guild	The man turns away. "Let's talk about this over coffee." He begins to walk away, down the street toward Lou's Diner.
Alice nervously follows.
The_Guild	The walk is a short one, Lou's Diner only being half a block away. The man enters but does not remove his hat or coat despite their obvious sodden state. If anything he pulls his cap down lower over his wide nose. Sliding into a ratty booth seat, he motions briefly for you to take the seat across from him... As soon as you sit down, the waitress appears at the table with two cups of coffee, the one she sets down in front of you has the exact number of sugars and creamers on the side that you like.
Alice	[How many people are here so late? Did he place us near anyone else?]
The_Guild	Aside from the waitress at the counter (and maybe a cook in the back), there are only three other people here - a pair of teenagers chatting in the corner, and a fairly large man taking up a stool and a half at the coffee counter.
Alice does not make eye contact with the waitress, letting my wet hair obscure my face from her. Similarly, I make no effect to see the face of the man in front of me.
Alice adds the sugar and creamer and takes a small sip of my coffee.
The_Guild	The man takes something from his pocket - a PDA, you recognize - and flips it open. Tapping out a few commands on it, he offers it to you. On the screen complex schematics for some sort of device are displayed in great detail. "Tell me what this is before I'm done my coffee and you're hired."
Alice	I quickly start paging through the displayed images. [What is it?]
The_Guild	[I'll let you know.]... As you flip through the design drawings, the man continues to speak in his gravelly voice. "This job will take you far away from this place, and this life. I won't guarantee that where you will go will be much better, but I will guarantee that you won't have to face your next Mafia encounter alone. Your intelligence won't be abused by petty crooks trying to make a quick buck. In fact, compared to this place, you might He takes a sip of his coffee. The device is nothing you've ever seen before, though several separate components seem vaguely familiar... .
Alice	everything after "you might"
The_Guild	"You might actually start finding things challenging again."
Alice	I start trying to mentally remove the components I don't understand and guess at their functions given their inputs and outputs. [Can i guess at a general function?]
The_Guild	"You can say no at any time and there will be no repercussions, nobody trying to blackmail you into doing just one more job. Your potential criminal record will be deleted, and you would start over fresh."
Alice 's eyes never leave the device. "Delete my criminal record? Are you government?"
Alice quickly pulls out a chinese take out menu and starts scratching equations across the back in an unusual shorthand notation.
The_Guild	They seem to be complex diagnostic components... like MRI, only with extra sensors added. It'd probably give you the most complete image of an object possible. Other parts seem like transmitting modules.
Alice	"Digitizing and analyzing the composition of an object and transmitting it" I whisper to myself. How much information is it storing about the object?
The_Guild	Another sip of coffee. "We aren't government, though we do have connections. Your government wouldn't have authority over your movements if you accepted our position."
Alice	"The nature of the work would be similar to what I am doing now? Or would it be of a more research oriented nature?"
The_Guild	"It would be a combination of both. Our research facilities are top notch, and you're more than welcome to join our researchers. But the position you would be filling - due to your unique life experiences - would be more along the lines of fieldwork."
Alice 's mind is running on the problem but her mouth is operating on it's own. "You do realize that I have no credibility in the academic world?"
The_Guild	Sip. "That holds no bearing on our decision to recruit you. Your academic world is astonishingly closeminded."
Alice	[How is the coffee cup's level?]
The_Guild	[Less than half. He takes big sips.] Sip.
Alice	I let the rest of the world fade into a background noise and mentally shift gears. I put down the PDA and deal with the images purely in my memory. Unconciously, I relax my guard as I let myself deal with the problem.
The_Guild	The man watches silently as you drift off into calculation land. The images from the PDA flicker by in your eyes, pieces of puzzle falling into place. Scanning something, anything with such completeness that you'd be able to reproduce it if you had the right tools. High bandwidth transmission, architecture so advanced as to make any dataflow seem virtually instantaneous.
Alice	"I think...."
The_Guild	Sipslurrrp. "I'm done."
Alice	"I think this is a dream from a brilliant dreamer." ... "This is science fiction, it breaks too many rules. Information theory, quantum chaos theory, thermodynamics... But everything that it breaks isn't really right to begin with..." "This device is how you came here today I think."
The_Guild	Thin lips and a small mouth twist into a smirk. "A technical schematic of shank's mare?"
Alice	"Perhaps I am wrong then. I just feel that this device is not simply something which someone imagined. The fine details are too exact. There is positional information, trivial things like cooling and maintenance. Stuff you put on after you build something."
The_Guild	"I'm done my coffee though, your time is up." He takes some rumpled bills out of his pocket and scatters them on the table... The schematic is exactly that. Not just transmission, but reception as well, and not just from another device, but from anywhere.
Alice	"It's a transporter with an almost infinite range on both ends... and I want to see it!"
The_Guild	He pauses, his back to you. Finally, he raises a hand, motioning for you to follow him. "I have someone for you to meet. Keep the PDA, consider it a gift."
Alice	I pocket the device in the pocket with my gun, keeping my hand near my gun. Alice let her guard down and is not happy about it. Then I follow.
The_Guild	The rain is coming down harder than when you'd gone in, but there is a taximeter cabriolet sitting by the curb, and the man you are with is holding the door open for you.
Alice	I step inside and move over to make room.
The_Guild	The ride is short, and the cabbie is paid as you step out into the rain. This part of the city, if anything, is even more run down than the last, which seems hard to believe. Several of the streetlights are out entirely, and there are piles of trash in the streets... The man steps up beside you and motions with a nod of his head to the doorway before you. The number 12 is over the door, but no other marking, other than a trashed out callbox.
Alice	I am very unhappy now. This is the sort of place where people who know to much get executed... or people who knew too little.
Alice approaches the door
Alice	"Knock?"
The_Guild	The man leads you inside and up a flight of creaking, crumbly stairs, to a door with a small wooden plaque on it which reads "Vincent Quicksilver, Private Investigator." Beneath that, someone has carved in with their knife, "Ov Mi Ass!"
Alice	[btw, do I remember how to get back home from here? generally Alice has a very good head for directions (internal metrics)]
The_Guild	[Yeah, it was a short drive, you're probably only a few streets away.]
Alice	[okay] "Is this where we are headed?"
Alice motions at the door
The_Guild	"It is. Allow me."
Alice	"My apologies about my earlier vagueness when you asked me to answer. I unfortunately have a slight tendency to wax poetic when I am dealing with something paricularly elegent."
The_Guild	He pushes open the door, and a cloud of smoke rolls out of the room. Inside is a small bachelor pad, bare except for a desk and chair, a couch, and a zonked out guy lying on the couch, still in his ballcap and shades. A full ashtray lies near his hand. The smell is definitely not cigarette smoke though. Someone's been dipping a bit too much into the marijuana.
Alice	[Does he look like he is going to reply to my last statement of let it hang?]
The_Guild	[Oh, sorry. :) ] "Elegant? Not particularly. Your own "academic world" is only a few years away from a basic version, assuming they make the right leaps."
Alice	"You expect to much of us. Is this Mr. Quicksilver?"
The_Guild	"I am Vincent. This is Rob. Rob, wake up." On his way to the chair behind the desk, he gives Rob a quick kick to the ribs. Rob wakes up with a start, jumps to his feet, weaves unsteadily, then sits back down.
Alice remains standing.
The_Guild	Rob looks at you blearily, his mouth hanging open slightly as he wipes away the sleepdrool which had accumulated. "Hey, who's this? Have a seat, you're makin' me nervous. You don't want me nervous."
Alice	I move towards the sofa and have a seat.
The_Guild	The sofa is lumpy and partially broken, and the arm on your side has a dangerous tilt to it, but it's actually quite comfortable. ... Vincent: Still not having removed his coat or hat, he watches you. "Rob is a brilliant man, aren't you Rob? Tell her about some of the dreams you've had." Rob: "Yeah! Yeah! I have the WIERDEST dreams man... lady! Like, there's these guys, or things, or something, with four arms, and they type really fast and they do this thing like WHA CHA! WHA CHA!" He demonstrates some interesting karate moves. "But then they come across these OTHER guys who've got, like, NO MOUTH and it's so wierd 'cause you know they're talking but how can they? And then..." .
Alice	[btw, I also kept my coat on and my hands in my pockets.]
The_Guild	[No problem.] Rob rambles on for sometime, his voice eventually losing the spastic teen lingo and becoming simply a list of oddities, short stories and impossibilities. He lies back into his seat on the couch and his hands fold into his lap, and he just talks. And talks. And talks.
Alice	I look over at Vincent and cock my head at him.
The_Guild	Vincent looks back, his small mouth expressionless. "Listen to him. It won't make sense now, but it will make sense in the near future."
Alice continues to listen and memorize
The_Guild	And Rob keeps rambling in his monotone voice, about lizards in cages and fire demons and elves and humans fighting. Eventually the excitement comes back to his voice, the craziness becomes more apparent but only long enough for him to roll and smoke another joint, after which he simply drifts back into his monologue. Abruptly, as the sun comes up, he stops. Seconds later, his ramblings are replaced with a light snoring.
Alice	[How much of this is stuff he can't seem to express properly?]
The_Guild	He always seems quite confident in expressing it, except where the concepts seem to be beyond the words he knows, in which case he'll speak gibberish for several seconds before switching back to english... but even the gibberish seems to have a linguistic pattern to it.
Alice	While I am memorizing, I start breaking down the gibberish phonetically and morphologically to try and distill some ideas about its basis.
The_Guild	There's no language that you can recall that it might be based on, though there are several regular sounds he makes that wouldn't even be considered in the capacity for a human to make.
Alice	Okay, I continue to listen and contemplate the shape of mouths (or head whistles) which would make those noises.
The_Guild	Noises? What noises? For some reason, it's difficult to remember exactly what those noises were... your mind, as great as it was, simply could not grasp the memory of that sound.
Alice	That worries me. A lot. It would be visible on my face. Did the PDA I was given have a recorder built in?
The_Guild	It does. Recording the next instance of gibberish and replaying it doesn't seem to help though. For several seconds, the recording simply becomes static.
Alice	Okay, I continue to record anyways but also try and concentrate on remembering, trying different tricks like phonic breakdown and even comparing the sounds to song tunes.
The_Guild	Vincent notices your distress. "Don't concentrate too much on it. This place prohibits certain forms of communication, so your physiology isn't designed to accept it." Finally, Rob falls silent, save for his snores.
Alice nods worriedly. Things screwing with her mind leave her shaken.
The_Guild	Vincent stands, having not moved the entire night. "That was Rob."
Alice	"An interesting man. I will admit that some of what he said disturbed me greatly. How much of it is real?"
The_Guild	"Sadly... all of it."
Alice	"Interesting. And the parts which affected my memories?"
The_Guild	"It's the other way around, actually. You are native to this Realm, so your mind rejected the parts which were not copacetic with it's universal understanding." "There will be time to relearn what you missed. That was a tiny sample of a much larger storehouse of information."
Alice	"Ah I see. Well I can see that you know me fairly well."
The_Guild	"It is a facet equal in all Realms." "We have one more place to go. You don't have to sleep." Strangely, you suddenly feel as if you don't.
Alice	... "No I meant that you know how to get me to work for you. You are offering me the only two things that I reall care about. Information and escape."
The_Guild	"A coincidence, I assure you. We deal in information, and escape is a prerequisite for the job."
Alice	"Indeed? Well then, where are we headed next?"
The_Guild	"Downtown." ... When you get outside, the sun is shining. It's still very early in the morning, but a cab is sitting, waiting outside the building for you. You and Vincent climb in and the cabbie (a different one this time) pulls away from the curb. The address Vincent gives is one of the tallest banking towers in the city - 12 Aaronplex drive.
Alice	[Have I been able to make out more about Vincent?] [Can I remember him or his agency from the phone books?]
The_Guild	[You've seen the lower half of his face, straight brown hair over the edge of his collar, wide nose, small mouth, caucasian, big hands with clipped nails. Not his eyes though. He keeps his hat pulled down and never really looks at anything straight on.] [Vincent Quicksilver, Private Investigator - (739) 472-2982] [No ad or anything, just a single line.]
Alice	[How is my glass eye doing? They tend to get irritated if you leave them in too long.]
The_Guild	[It was irritated due to the smoke, but when Vincent stood up, the irritation kinda faded... or you forgot about it... or something. It feels fine. You actually feel kinda refreshed, like you've got your second wind or something.]
Alice	I relax and enjoy it.
The_Guild	... You enter the building through the revolving door into the refreshingly clean lobby of Deiter Executive Resources, one of the foremost corporate loans companies in the world. At the desk in the middle of the lobby, beside the metal detector arch leading to the bank of elevators, sit a pair of security guards. Vincent leads you toward the elevators. "Don't worry about security," he mumbles as you cross the coat of arms e ...emblazoned boldly across the floor.
Alice	I nod very slightly and carry on.
The_Guild	Of course, when you pass through the metal detector it beeps loudly. The security guards stand up, but Vincent jingles his pockets. "Just our keys," he says, and keeps walking toward the elevators. The guards look at each other and then shrug and sit back down.
Alice makes a little mental post it note of that event.
The_Guild	You take the elevator to the twelvth floor, and walk down the empty hallways of the early hours corporate giant. He stops at a door labelled "Custodial Supplies."
Alice	At this point I am not surprised and wait for him to act.
The_Guild	But he motions this time for you to open the door. "I can only show you the door. You have to walk through it yourself." With a faint smile, he extends his hand to you. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Alice. I look forward to meeting you again in the future."
Alice	I shake his hand. "Indeed, this has certainly been an.... eye opening experience. Thank you."
The_Guild	"You're welcome." With that, he turns and makes his way back to the elevators, turning a corner and disappearing from your sight.
Alice	I open the closet door and set inside.
The_Guild	Perhaps it's unsurprising, but instead of a closet, you step into an ornately posh office, carpeted in deep purple with deep burgundy wallpapering on the walls not covered in overflowing bookcases. And the bookcases are more than overflowing, for there are stacks of books teetering in every corner of the room, piled high on the big desk and in the seats of overstuffed easy chairs set in visitor's spots. ... There are no windows, no source of illumination of any sort, but the room is still lit evenly to a level conducive for reading - easy to distinguish details, but not so harsh as to strain the eyes. Taking advantage of this ideal lighting is a man dressed outrageously as a swashbuckler, large floppy hat and billowing sleeves all... He sits with his feet propped up on the only corner of the desk devoid of paperwork (and only because it has been swept to the floor, it seems), and in his gloved hands he holds what looks to be a quite simple-looking file folder. He browses the contents with a look of bemused interest on his face. He is sandy haired and clean shaven, his face tanned and smiling as he looks at you with twinkling brown eyes. "Well hello there."
Alice	"Good morning."
The_Guild	"It's nearer to 8 in the evening here, my dear. You've come quite a long way in quite a short while."
Alice	"Here? Well that does give a new meaning to jet lag." ...
The_Guild	The man stands, putting the folder down and causing a small avalanche of paper which he ignores. Weaving his way around the piles of books, he extends his hand to you. "I am Emissary VonExis. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Whitehouse."
Alice	I shake his hand. "Thank you. I am afraid I am a little at a loss for words. This has been a somewhat eventful night for me."
The_Guild	His grip his strong, his smile is wide but his eyes are understanding. He cleans a chair of it's books and deposits them after a moment's consideration atop another (already tall) stack of books. "Please, have a seat," he says as he navigates his way back to his own chair. "We can speak more freely here than Vincent could in your world. I understand you were distressed about your inability to grasp the Uu'gum-toteh ton tongue?"
Alice	"Yes, I must say that was the one thing that really disturbed me tonight. I'm not used to things I can't remember. It would be like finding part of your body had just vanished to you. Or perhaps you do understand, for all I know, everyone thinks like me here."
The_Guild	"Did you understand the explanation that Vincent gave you, though?"
Alice	"Basically, yes. The fundamental basis of my "Realm" makes it impossible for me to comprehend certain ideas. In fact, that idea I also don't like much but I can accept for now."
The_Guild	"Any Realm is built around certain rules which, if broken, can cause the collapse of that Realm and the demise of it's inhabitants. Generally the creator of a Realm will build in failsafes such as the inability to comprehend such... not impossibilities, really, but contradictions, in order to prevent this toppling..." I" "If you were to take the knowledge that those passages in Uu'gum-toteh contained and make it widely available in your Realm, the inhabitants themselves and their newfound beliefs would cause the Realm to contradict it's basic tenets. Once that happens, there's very little anyone can do to prevent the Realm's downfall.
Alice 's eyes unfocus for a few seconds.
Alice	[She is building everything she just understood into her world view. This is a pretty major thing for her cause everything in terms of laws and rules so she is basically working out new temporary law and which rules have been violated.]
The_Guild	"Any more questions before I make my big introduction?"
Alice	"That would make information flow very important indeed. What exactly is the Uu'gum-toteh?"
The_Guild	The swashbuckler smiles handsomely, his amusement obvious. "I can't tell you, 'exactly.' Not in this tongue. Suffice it to say, the Uu'gum-toteh are a people composed of energy who live in a Realm entirely unlike yours. Space, time and dimension are almost dimetrically opposite of what we normally perceive. It is a very precise language for describing that 'other side' of things, though."
Alice	"I will have many questions later, more than you are likely going to be willing answer. Perhaps then it would be a good idea if you moved onto your introduction."
The_Guild	The swashbuckler stands, motioning to the door as he moves toward it, which is again closed. "Please. This is the last door you will pass through in your old life. From here on in, you are a part of our family."
Alice reaches down towards the handle, pauses for a fraction of a second, and then turns it and opens the door.
The_Guild	The chamber beyond is immense, reaching out into the distance in all directions, the ceiling above a huge glass dome which shows a varicolored sky dancing with all shades of subtle pastel hues. Huge pillars stretch up, each one intricately carved in unique designs and decoration. The walls are draped with giant tapestries, each one depicting a different abstract scene of peace and prosperity... This room, too, is lit from an unidentifiable source, dimmer than the office but still bright enough to make out several people moving through the chamber, many carrying clipboards or the like. A group of silent men wearing grey pass nearby, disappearing down one of the several corridors branching off of this central hub...
The_Guild	The floor is tiled and smooth and slightly reflective, not a speck of dust tarnishing it's burnished beauty. Your eyes can pick out subtle differences in the hues of each tile, one connecting to another... until you realize that they are guideways, paths that lead to this corridor or that... A flicker in the corner of your eye catches your attention, and you notice a trio of well-dressed women walking toward you. One of them passes casually through one of the pillars as if it weren't there, and none of her companions blink an eye. The swashbuckler steps up beside you, sweeping his arm out wide to encompass the scene. "Welcome to The Guild."
Alice	Again, Alice pauses, for a minute at these sight and her eyes unfocus. Then she smiles. "Thank you."
The_Guild	The trio of women pass by and the swashbuckler sweeps his hat off, dropping into a low bow. "Ladies," he says, "Pleasant evening we're having, is it not?" The ladies laugh and wave coquettishly, then continue on their way, whispering among themselves. The Emissary chuckles to himself. "Ah, they love me."
Alice	"I can see that you are well known and thought of here. Can I enquire into the nature of your position? Emissary can have a great many meanings."
The_Guild	"Of course! I, as I mentioned, am an Emissary," placing a gentle hand to your back, he leads you into the chamber. "An Emissary is just that, an envoy from The Guild to a selected dimension in which we've decided to establish a presence. I am an ambassador, as it were."
Alice	"To only one dimension or are you responsible for several? Are you the Emmissary for my dimension?"
The_Guild	"Only one dimension. In addition to Ambassadorial duties, the Emissary also coordinates any and all Guild resources allocated to the dimension. Your dimension does not have an official Guild presence, and therefore does not have an Emissary."
Alice	"But your recruiters are busily at work everywhere searching out promising candidates?"
The_Guild	The Emissary smiles, shaking his head. "In dimensions where we have no official presence there will almost always be Travellers, agents who monitor the progress of inhabitants, and help in correcting major contradictions. Occasionally the Travellers will find someone - like you, for instance - whose abilities and skills may be of use to The Guild. In your case it was a simple decision to recruit you..."
Alice	"Ah, yes I see. I guess I am good material. Good mind, hard worker, likely to be loyal, can vanish from my world without leaving a trace, and you can basically pay me by offering me the job."
The_Guild	"Your level of intelligence was, I am sorry to say, a liability to the balance of your Realm. With no reciprocated counterbalance, in the end your contributions to the world could have tipped the scales in one direction or another, to the point of disasterous collapse. I am glad you've decided to join us." "You're here for 'the good of all Earth,' you could say."
Alice	"I am glad you offered me the job rather than simply removing the problem in a more.... direct way."
The_Guild	He leads you down a corridor on the far side of the central chamber. After several turns, you come to a corridor with pale walls, lined with abstractly soothing paintings.
Alice	"Though to be honest, my love of my home dimension could hardly be said to be great. Leaving gives me a sense of relief rather than homesickness."
The_Guild	The swashbuckler chuckles. "We try to avoid the 'direct way' most of the time. It's a shame to waste such a beautiful mind." Turning another corner brings you under a white marble arch. As you pass beneath it a faint tingling rolls up your spine. Beyond that is a short corridor with white walls, lined with plain white doors with sparkling buttons embedded in the walls beside them.
Alice	"Though I imagine you realize this, I am carrying a weapon right now. Is there a protocol I should follow with it?"
The_Guild	"I'm glad that you won't miss your home. There isn't really any way to calculate just how far you are from it right now. Oh. Were there any personal effects that you wanted Vincent to send to you?"
Alice	...
Alice 's face darkens. "No, just leave my doors open and let the rats take what they want. Everything important I carry on me."
The_Guild	Emissary VonExis nods, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That life shall be washed away like mud, shall drift away like a dream. It doesn't matter where you're from or what you've done, you belong here and nowhere else." "As for your weapon," He steps forward, turns to face you, spreads his arms wide. "There's a reason weapons are allowed. Go ahead, shoot me."
Alice reaches into her pocket and pulls out a snub pistol. She aims at his leg and fires.
The_Guild	BANG! Your hand goes rubbery as the gun jolts oddly in your hand. The spent bullet dribbles uselessly from the end of your gun, falling to the floor at your feet. Emissary VonExis bends to pick it up. "Telekinetic Dampeners prevent ballistic weaponsfire and most melee combat...." "... and Aural Equalizers prevent most offensive magics."
Alice	Rubbing my hand, "Seems effective. I guess at some point I will need to see the big list of dos and do nots."
The_Guild	Waving away the curious onlookers poking their heads out a couple doors, the Emissary grins. "That will certainly be available to you. Now, this," He indicates the white hallway you are standing in, "is the infirmary."
Alice	"Ah, the madatory physical. Making sure you didn't just buy a half dead race horse."
The_Guild	He chuckles as he opens a door for you, motioning for you to enter. "You've got it. Actually, these guys will buy just about anything. All alive, half dead, all dead, makes no difference. I'll wait out here."
Alice enters the infirmary
The_Guild	The room is, for all intensive purposes, a doctor's office. The little table in the middle of the room is just about big enough for one person to lie on, and you figure that the cupboards and drawers around the room are filled with the accoutrements of a regular infirmary. A moment later, there is a young woman in a grey robe standing beside you.
Alice	[Teleported?]
The_Guild	[Appeared. Teleported, uncloaked, abruptly created by some wanton god...] [Yeah, teleported.] She is young, with pretty long brown hair and warm grey eyes. She smiles at you. "Hi."
Alice	"Hello"
The_Guild	"I'm Hlemstr Igaru, your Shargat for today. Could you have a seat up on the table, please?" She bites her lip nervously, motioning with a slim hand toward the table.
Alice	"Sure, but you will have to excuse me but I am very new. I only just arrived here about 10 minutes ago so I may have some questions."
The_Guild	"That's okay. I'll answer what I can. Torasin will answer what I can't." She looks toward the door, then back at you. Abruptly she leans forward, "So you're from Earth? What's it like to not have magic?"
Alice	"Boring I imagine, mundane by definition. We have found ways to live without it. I am probably not a great person to tell you of the wonders of earth."
The_Guild	"Really? Oh. Oh, I'm sorry...." She looks down, embarrassed. "I'm..." She trails off. Finally she looks up, her eyes impassive. "This will only take a second."
Alice	"It is fine if you want to talk, I would appreciate hearing more about this place. I am... sorry if I seem bad tempered but I have not had a good decade."
The_Guild	"It's alright. It wasn't right for me to ask. Look at me for a second?" And it literally does take a second. She stares at you, then goes to one of the cupboards and pulls out a small bottle. "As long as it doesn't interfere with your work, your addiction is yours to deal with as you want, it will stay between us, though nobody here should judge you for it anyway..." She shakes out a couple pills into your hand. "These are Toxnix, they'll kill off those Earth bugs you brought with you, and boost your immune system against bugs that you'll encounter here in Shar Torin."
Alice	"Thanks. Will I have difficulty acquiring the basic materials for the production of my... fix?"
The_Guild	"It won't be hard, no. I'll have whatever you need brought to your room for you in the next day or so."
Alice	"Thank you. I carry a certain amount of me. Will I be able to do something about my eye at some point?"
The_Guild	"I could do something about that now, if you'd like."
Alice	"Now? No thank you. It is a decision I will need to think about. Could you just tell me of my options?"
The_Guild	"Options? You can get a new one. Either grow one naturally, or we could enchant one or build one for you. It really depends on what your first assignment is, what you'd be allowed to take with you."
Alice	"Okay, thanks. I will think about it. Is that all?"
The_Guild	The brown haired girl smiles and nods. "Yep, that's it! You're free to go! It was nice meeting you, I hope I see you again!" [Did you take the pills?]
Alice	I swallow the pills, "Thanks. See you again." Then I turn and leave.
The_Guild	As you turn to close the door behind you, you notice that she's already gone. The Emissary is leaning against the wall, waiting for you. "All healthy now? Good! I'll show you where you'll be staying. You must be getting tired."
Alice	[Am I?]
The_Guild	[The pep that you had has got up and went, especially since you took those Toxnix.]
Alice	"Thank you, yes. I haven't slept in quite a while. What is the approximate time here? How long are the days?"
The_Guild	"For your convenience, we run on 24, 28 and 36 hour clocks. The only difference is the number of minutes in an hour." The Emissary grins, leading you back out the way you came, but takes a different turn.
Alice	"So some people lead.... slower lives than others?" Alice is getting a bit dopey.
The_Guild	"In many dimensions, that's the case. Shar Torin - this dimension - has equalized it's timeflow to the most accomodating pace for most of our people and visitors." You reach an archway in the wall labelled "Hub 14", which Torasin steps through. You enter a circular room whose walls are lined with similar arches all the way around, each one with a different legend above it.
Alice	"Ah, I see. So we are not talking about parallel running time streams in one location. That would have made me need to stop and think for quite a bit."
The_Guild	"It kept me up for a few nights trying to adjust to it too." The archway he leads you through is labelled "Kalarta." The hallway you enter is carpeted in a blue so dark it is almost black, and the walls are a sort of shale blue. The hallway extends off in the distance in both directions. Torasin leads the way down the hall.
Alice	"Well I can't complain about the furnishings. Will i be able to travel much in this dimension? Is the atmosphere breathable, etc?"
The_Guild	"Yes, it is. Shar Torin is unique in that it tailors itself to the perceptions and comfort of each person. The demon we saw earlier for instance, Reg'mokot, would perceive the dimension's temperature and atmosphere to be the equivalent of his home dimension, though they would be immediately toxic to most other people here." Here you are.
Alice	"Facinating" *Yawn* "Thank you. Will someone be around in the morning? All I really need for now are is a decent library so I can catch up on my reading."
The_Guild	"Here you are." Torasin stops before a door, K19 says the small plaque. He motions for you to enter. "I do believe that the door is already set for you. If you need any more assistance, ask any of the clerks in the large Chamber we came through and they'll be able to direct you to where you want to go. You can get to the Chamber through any Hub. The library is easy to find. Hub 14 to Hub 8 to Hub 1 to The Library."
Alice	Now weaving slightly with tiredness. "Thank you again, I hope to speak with you again soon, Emissary VonExis. Good night."
The_Guild	"Good night, my lady. Sleep well. I will see you again soon." With that he bows and sweeps off jauntily down the hallway. Your room is kind of plain after all the other opulence you've seen around here. A comfy bed, a small desk, a closet and a set of drawers.
Alice	I enter my room, pausing to stop and think about everything I have to assimilate. "Tomorrow morning.... It can wait for tomorrow. One night of mild confusion won't hurt much." I collapse into the bed and fall deeply asleep