Paradigm City - Fan Fiction - The Whole Family

Paradigm City - A fan site dedicated to the anime series Big O

The Whole Family

Chapter 6

A red sun rises over the horizon on Paradigm City, as Tim watches tirelessly from his place on the balcony column. A shadowy, black sphere floats next to him at shoulder-height. "She's getting just a little too close then?" he asks the strange orb.
"Yes, she has already gathered 86.7% of the total guests in just 111 hours and 25 minutes," replies a quiet, echoing voice from within the centre of the globe.
"That's an average of one guest every," he chews some air in his cheek, pondering, "16 hours, 42 minutes, and... forty...five seconds I believe, isn't it?"
"Correct, Tim." The orb shakes slightly, a humorous attempt at nodding.
"So, if I want her to play my RPGs, I'm gonna have to slow her down for about 2 days. You got any ideas, Mata?" He raises his eyebrows at the tanned bald figure in the sphere, a dim blue star shining in his forehead.
"Perhaps you could shift her attention onto other aspects of her day."
"Such as?"
"In the past 21 days, she has gone shopping for edible supplies approximately 1.5 times. She has also visited her piano tutor 7 times. It would be well advised to use one of these activities as a base for diverting her from her search for the final two guests."
"Okay, well, I guess I could start by causing a much more rapid decay in the supplies already here so she'd have to go shopping more, and perhaps I could somehow persuade Instro to double her lessons until Christmas, which shouldn't be a problem. Thanks a lot Mata." Mata bows his head, and the sphere fades further from view until it has completely vanished. A broad smile etches its way across Tim's face.

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Dorothy walks along the corridor and steps into the elevator, which just barely manages to contain her weight. She motions for it to take her to the ground floor, and sure enough the doors close and the lift descends into the darkness between the floors. She stands like a sculpture, perfectly still as the dead, almost rigormortic. A black emanation suddenly bursts from the corner, waving in all directions, until it dissipates and reveals the familiar form of Tim from within it. "So, how goes the searching Dorothy?"
"Very well, Tim, I have already invited the majority of the guests in a proportionally short amount of time." Tim nods along sarcastically.
"Well, since you're doing so well. Would you mind doing some more shopping, the supplies here aren't going to last till the party, not to mention the end of the week."
"All right, I will do so after I am done inviting everyone so as to purchase the accurate amount." Tim sighs in her easy escape.
"Okay, and what about your lesson with Instro today. Isn't that in a few hours?"
"Yes, I will be seeing him before I look for the remaining guests." A smile appears once more on Tim's face.
"That's good, I'd hate to think that our little bet had disrupted your regular routine," he comments with a deeply hidden glee behind his dark blue eyes. The elevator stops at the ground floor, and Dorothy exits soon after the doors slide open, bidding Tim farewell as he continues to smirk behind her back.

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"Good afternoon, Dorothy," welcomes Instro as R. Dorothy enters through the bar's door, the clock chiming a prompt 2 o'clock to her right.
"Good afternoon, Instro," replies Dorothy. She sits down at the piano, and raises the cover to reveal the elegant form of the ivory keys, upon which she has played countless symphonies in Instro's presence. "What would you like me to play today, Instro?"
"Perhaps we should practise your Beethoven's Fifth again, I noted that you were still rather textbook when you played it last week." Dorothy reaches down into her basket and pulls out the music notes for Beethoven's Fifth, then places them on the piano stand, awaiting her prodigious sight to read them. She places her hands on the beautiful keys, Instro awaiting her almost flawless music.
"We'll see how you play," resounds a voice in Dorothy's mind. To her horror, her fingers take upon a life of their own, playing a song that she has never heard before, and worse still, she begins singing along with it.
"I live for electric piracy; it's my new religion
High technology, 1-28 bit encryption
In just another minute, I'll be bigger than god
Intelligence is supreme
I bow my head, I pay my time
To the church of the machi-" Instro grasps her hands before she can play another note, clearly outraged that she would play such a song on his piano.
"Dorothy, just what do you think you're doing?!" he screams at her, clutching her hands with intense rage.
"I did not mean to play that Instro, it wasn't my fault, that was not the music I was intending to play."
"Regardless of what you were intending to play what you played was not Beethoven's Fifth. If you are serious about taking lessons from me then I will have to triple your lessons simply to drown out this disobedience to your tutor, young lady!" Instro's voice has changed to something much different, a tone that does not lie happily in his throat, one that struggles to escape his lips, and one that he surely wishes he were not using.

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Dorothy wanders to the shops having completed playing Beethoven 23 times for Instro as penance for her outburst earlier. She passes an alleyway, and for a brief moment glances down it, whereupon she sees the same shadowy emanation that appeared in the elevator, and which quickly dissipates from view having been spotted by its quarry. She frowns, but continues to the shops to do her shopping, having lost more time than she can already. "Why would he do that?" she thinks, weaving through the afternoon crowds. She honestly cannot decipher his reasoning for causing an increase in her piano lessons, and then it dawns on her, he wants to decrease the amount of time that she has free to search for the guests so that he can win the wager. She frowns once more, but must continue on to purchase the items that the household requires, whilst simultaneously remembering that she bought the exact same items less than 48 hours before. "Twice a man can participate in this genre," she thinks to herself as she collects the oil for herself and Big O from the bemused vendor, who had once again foolishly offered to have it delivered for her.

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A knock arrives at the door of the Speakeasy, and the usually stoic bartender leaves his post temporarily to answer the door. He opens it to reveal a young brown-haired man, wearing a courier's uniform. "I've got a delivery for a 'Matthew Torolon and a 'Matthew Tantalite,' are they here?" The bartender studies the names a second time, then peers to the back of the building, he calls to a grey haired old man with a hearing aid reading a newspaper, who compliantly gets up and signs for the Torolon package, then returns to his seat. He opens the attached letter, which reads:
"Dear Big Ear; you are cordially invited to the Christmas Celebrations of the Roger Smith Household on the 25th of December. It will begin promptly at 18:15 PM. You are required to bring a gift for the family, and the attire is casual based. I patiently await your reply, R. Dorothy Wayneright." He smirks at the invitation, before reading the additional letter: "Enclosed you will also find a similar invitation for Matthew Tantalite, who I am told is also known as 'Mata' and who is supposedly living close to you. As I am currently too busy preparing for the Celebrations, I humbly ask that you deliver this invitation to him as well. In advance of your reply, thank you Big Ear." The old mechanical man sighs, then folds his newspaper and leaves the dimly lit bar.

NO SIDE - 02:08:35

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