Agent 89
King
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2009
- Messages
- 978
Joseph sat at a table in one of the many street cafes in downtown Quebec, his feet resting on the table top and a notepad in his hand. Under the brim of his hat, his eyes followed the rush of people moving up and down the street. He had arrived the opening day of the Montreal Expo to find the city packed, the local Québécois vastly outnumbered by foreign visitors, tourists from the four corners of the earth. His days had been spent visiting the various exhibits and sitting in these French-style cafes, struggling to pump out articles to wire back to his newspaper in Berlin. He had particularly enjoyed the exoticism of the Andean pavilion, which stirred a sense of adventure within him, but he had been unable to translate those feelings into words. The editors were already hounding him for more stories, as every paper in Europe was rushing to showcase the grandeur of the Exposition.
As his eyes swept the street, he glimpsed one of the new Swiss luxury cars, likely owned by a member of the burdening American millionaire class, speed around the corner and left off a sharp honk before grinding to a halt in front of a Bedouin tribesman leading a camel. The Arabians had brought several of the beasts from the Middle East and had taken to riding them around the city, much to the annoyance of everyone else. The motorist continued to honk, but was unable to displace the camel and its handler, who let fly a string of curses in Arab. Chuckling, Joseph turned back to the empty page before him. Just as he was preparing to really settled in and write, a familiar face detached itself from the crowd and walked towards his table.
Joseph, my friend, the man said, pulling up a chair. Where have you gotten yourself off to? I havent seen you since we landed.
Oh, Ive been here and there. Not that youd have time to notice a mere journalist, he joked I expect youve been keeping yourself busy. The word is that the German pavilions still undergoing last minute touches.
Give me time Joseph. I am trying to display the wealth and glory of the worlds largest empire after all. Anyway, you must be busy yourself. I havent had a chance to see any of the other exhibits yet, but I hear the Expos coming together nicely.
Its wonderful Max, breathtaking. If only I could write about it. Four different universities and a PhD in literature and I cant seem to put together words worth a danm. This is practically the only decent thing Ive written. With that, he pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and slid it across the table.
Not bad, Max nodded after scanning the page. I didnt recommend you for this job because you couldnt write. You just need to get into the swing of things. Luckily I have a surprise for you.
With that, he stood off and motioned for Joseph to follow him into the crowd. Squeezing their way through without being swept away in the current, the two reached the curb, where Max signaled the German diplomatic car that had been waiting for him. Once they were inside, the car speed off towards the limits of the fairground, a massive park on the city limits that housed pavilions from the dozens of nations at the Exposition. Eventually, they pulled up in front of the German exhibit, a large orderly pavilion which was all but deserted, in sharp contrast with the throngs of sightseers who had packed the pavilions along the car ride. Yet even as they emerged from the car, Joseph could make groups of visitors making their way across the lawn, some walking uncertainly, others running, but all to some point behind the pavilion. His curiosity aroused, Joseph was prepared to follow the crowd, but instead Max motioned him forward towards the entrance of the still unopened pavilion. The man at the door recognized Max and waved the two of them in. They entered a side hallway that seemed to circumvent the main hall, and were walking for what seemed like a quarter hour before they reach a door at the other end of the building.
Stepping out of the hall, Joseph froze for second as his eyes adjusted to the light and took in the scene before him. There, not a hundred yards away from the building, hovered a zeppelin, descending slowly towards the ground while a growing crowd of onlookers gathered around. Joseph had taken several flights in Germany when they had first became popular after the war, so he knew that the airship before him was not a full-fledged passenger zeppelin. And yet what it lacked in size it made up for in grandeur. This had been perhaps the last thing he had expected to find in Quebec.
How? was all he could mutter at first. I dont remember there being a zeppelin in storage on the ship, and you couldnt have had time to ship one over since we landed.
Max smiled and began walking towards the monstrous ship, just beginning to make a landing, Joseph in his tow. Youre missing the obvious answer my friend. We flew it over.
You mean across the Atlantic? Joseph stuttered. Impossible. Its never been done.
Exactly. Its never been done, and now were the first to do it. This is just a test run, you understand, for the real thing, but it still has the dramatic effect. Just think. By the end of the decade DELAG will be running flights from Europe to America as easily as the shipping companies do. All the same luxuries in a fraction of the time. Its the future of travel.
Just as the two reached the edges of the crowd, the zeppelin came to a rest on the ground and a ladder was lowered from the hatch above. Max pushed his way through the crowd and passing by the guards pulled Joseph along with him to the bottom of the ladder where a middle age man in a uniform was finishing the decent. As his boots touched the ground, a cheer erupted from the crowd and Max rushed forward to shake his hand.
Joseph, this is Dr. Eckener, Captain of the ship and president of DELAG. Dr. Eckener, this is my young friend Joseph Goebbels.
OOC: Hope you don't mind me using this event TLK, but it seems reasonable that it would happen soon considering the progression in RL.
As his eyes swept the street, he glimpsed one of the new Swiss luxury cars, likely owned by a member of the burdening American millionaire class, speed around the corner and left off a sharp honk before grinding to a halt in front of a Bedouin tribesman leading a camel. The Arabians had brought several of the beasts from the Middle East and had taken to riding them around the city, much to the annoyance of everyone else. The motorist continued to honk, but was unable to displace the camel and its handler, who let fly a string of curses in Arab. Chuckling, Joseph turned back to the empty page before him. Just as he was preparing to really settled in and write, a familiar face detached itself from the crowd and walked towards his table.
Joseph, my friend, the man said, pulling up a chair. Where have you gotten yourself off to? I havent seen you since we landed.
Oh, Ive been here and there. Not that youd have time to notice a mere journalist, he joked I expect youve been keeping yourself busy. The word is that the German pavilions still undergoing last minute touches.
Give me time Joseph. I am trying to display the wealth and glory of the worlds largest empire after all. Anyway, you must be busy yourself. I havent had a chance to see any of the other exhibits yet, but I hear the Expos coming together nicely.
Its wonderful Max, breathtaking. If only I could write about it. Four different universities and a PhD in literature and I cant seem to put together words worth a danm. This is practically the only decent thing Ive written. With that, he pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and slid it across the table.
Fronted by a traditional garden, the Japanese pavilion contrasts the differences between the Japan of the past and the Japan of the present. Sleek Mitsubishi fighters share a roof with displays of ancient samurai and Japanese culture. Everywhere, the ingenuity of the Japanese empire is trumpeted, from the famed Tokyo System to elements of regional industry and science. Despite the official emphasis on todays modernized Japan, visitors are still most attracted by reenactments of tea ceremonies and a demonstration of a duel between two warriors. The exhibition was not without its troubles, as a group of Chinese nationals briefly clashed with several military pilots before order was restored by local security. Still, those who visit find it hard to completely forget the headlines of Japanese aggression in the East, even in the face of such a monumental display.
Not bad, Max nodded after scanning the page. I didnt recommend you for this job because you couldnt write. You just need to get into the swing of things. Luckily I have a surprise for you.
With that, he stood off and motioned for Joseph to follow him into the crowd. Squeezing their way through without being swept away in the current, the two reached the curb, where Max signaled the German diplomatic car that had been waiting for him. Once they were inside, the car speed off towards the limits of the fairground, a massive park on the city limits that housed pavilions from the dozens of nations at the Exposition. Eventually, they pulled up in front of the German exhibit, a large orderly pavilion which was all but deserted, in sharp contrast with the throngs of sightseers who had packed the pavilions along the car ride. Yet even as they emerged from the car, Joseph could make groups of visitors making their way across the lawn, some walking uncertainly, others running, but all to some point behind the pavilion. His curiosity aroused, Joseph was prepared to follow the crowd, but instead Max motioned him forward towards the entrance of the still unopened pavilion. The man at the door recognized Max and waved the two of them in. They entered a side hallway that seemed to circumvent the main hall, and were walking for what seemed like a quarter hour before they reach a door at the other end of the building.
Stepping out of the hall, Joseph froze for second as his eyes adjusted to the light and took in the scene before him. There, not a hundred yards away from the building, hovered a zeppelin, descending slowly towards the ground while a growing crowd of onlookers gathered around. Joseph had taken several flights in Germany when they had first became popular after the war, so he knew that the airship before him was not a full-fledged passenger zeppelin. And yet what it lacked in size it made up for in grandeur. This had been perhaps the last thing he had expected to find in Quebec.
How? was all he could mutter at first. I dont remember there being a zeppelin in storage on the ship, and you couldnt have had time to ship one over since we landed.
Max smiled and began walking towards the monstrous ship, just beginning to make a landing, Joseph in his tow. Youre missing the obvious answer my friend. We flew it over.
You mean across the Atlantic? Joseph stuttered. Impossible. Its never been done.
Exactly. Its never been done, and now were the first to do it. This is just a test run, you understand, for the real thing, but it still has the dramatic effect. Just think. By the end of the decade DELAG will be running flights from Europe to America as easily as the shipping companies do. All the same luxuries in a fraction of the time. Its the future of travel.
Just as the two reached the edges of the crowd, the zeppelin came to a rest on the ground and a ladder was lowered from the hatch above. Max pushed his way through the crowd and passing by the guards pulled Joseph along with him to the bottom of the ladder where a middle age man in a uniform was finishing the decent. As his boots touched the ground, a cheer erupted from the crowd and Max rushed forward to shake his hand.
Joseph, this is Dr. Eckener, Captain of the ship and president of DELAG. Dr. Eckener, this is my young friend Joseph Goebbels.
OOC: Hope you don't mind me using this event TLK, but it seems reasonable that it would happen soon considering the progression in RL.