From: mdhangton@gmail.com
On Friday, October 17, 2014 7:31:31 AM UTC-4, Jymesion wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Oct 2014 23:38:00 -0700, Kay Shapero
>
> wrote:
>
> >In article ,
>
> >noreplies@jymes.com says...
>
> >>
>
> >> If I keep thinking about this, the fact that I'll never be able to
>
> >> work it into a story is going to become an ache. :)
>
> >
>
> >And I'm beginning to hope you do work it into a story because I'd love
>
> >to see the rationale... :)
>
>
>
> From my point of view, the necessary rationale isn't the clothing,
>
> it's why someone would establish a convent.
>
>
>
> I have a time-traveler story that's stalled because he planned
>
> meticulously, and I can't think of anything to throw at him that'd be
>
> a real threat.
>
>
>
> (This "time travel" is going to parallel universes which are exactly
>
> like ours except they're at a different date.)
>
>
>
> He's an observer for an institute/authority/bureau which publicly aids
>
> historians/researchers (but the big money is in dumping hazardous
>
> waste on worlds where life never developed).
>
>
>
> His sideline is stealing art/artifacts and selling them to rich
>
> collectors. He's set himself up in mid-14th Century England as a
>
> super-wealthy foreigner sitting out a war at home. This gives him a
>
> base from which to run his clandestine operations.
>
>
>
> He gave the king a sort of pre-fab Kentucky Long-Rifle factory. The
>
> local earl got enough cement to patch up his fortifications. A
>
> monastery received picture books (birds of the world, how the body
>
> works, etc.)
>
>
>
> To get on the good side of a bishop, he paid to have a cathedral
>
> finished. To keep up his public image, he's endowed several churches
>
> and a hospital. (Gold and silver aren't a problem -- he raided an
>
> Incan storehouse.)
>
>
>
> Setting up a convent would fit in with his philanthropy. Pink
>
> representing the body of Christ justifies the clothing. Being
>
> outrageous is expected of him (he is foreign, after all. Very, very
>
> foreign).
>
>
>
> If there was a decent reason for him to establish a convent, it'd be
>
> wide open. Neon pink robes, dark sunglasses, and jodhpur boots for
>
> everyone! :)
>
>
>
> The only remaining question is: why do it?
>
>
>
> He's too busy for it to be a whim. Even in a world where the king
>
> packs a Walther PPK and the sisters in the hospital have been taught
>
> germ theory, there's a limit to how much oddity the locals will
>
> accept, so why push it? It's quite unlikely he included neon pink
>
> fabric in his initial supplies, and moving any quantity of goods
>
> carries significant risk.
>
>
>
> Everything else he's done had a direct purpose -- he needs to be in
>
> the good graces of the king, the bishop, the earl, the priests, and
>
> the people in general. It doesn't matter whether they're nice to him
>
> because of what he's given them or because they want more: the
>
> important thing is they tolerate/accept him so he can get on with his
>
> own business without interference.
>
>
>
> Establishing a convent doesn't fit the pattern. In fact, I suspect
>
> other convents in the area wouldn't want him meddling in their
>
> business.
>
>
>
> Also, he didn't put any stipulations on anything else he's given away.
>
> It'd be out of character for him to suddenly decide to make a needy
>
> convent change their ways if they want help. Since he made it clear at
>
> the beginning he's only going to be there ten years, I imagine they'd
>
> resist significant change when they're going to be abandoned soon.
Once upon a time, I knew a graduate student about a year from writing up. He
met a guy in a bar who offered him $3000 to teach him to set up a PCP lab.
I don't think I'll type the whole story, but let us say, he ended up doing a
bit of time.
Why did he do it, and why so close to graduation?
What he told me was that he really didn't know why.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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