[color=662d91][b]Robert House – Lucky 38 Hotel & Casino[/b][/color]

Thomas descended the stairs down to the bottom floor of the Penthouse, and to his surprise he found yet another large monitor much like the one in the El Dorado: once again House’s picture was displayed on screen. He could only assume this meant that, far from the screen being a long-distance method of communication, it was perhaps House’s only method.

“I’d hoped to meet you face to face this time Robert….but then I assume this must mean that the method of your survival past the war was not...ideal. If there ever can be such a thing in the first place. What happened to you Robert?”

Mr. House faintly chuckled behind the monitor. “If such a thing… ‘face-to-face’… was possible, I would have preferred it. A meeting of old-world minds such as this has more bearing on the world than the middling, short-minded ones below could possibly know. But this is the best I can do.”

Jane rolled in from the hallway, holding a platter bearing two glasses of champagne. Clearly, one was meant for Dr. Milburn, and the other a forlorn symbolic gesture for a man who had not been ambulatory in two centuries. Harrowing echoes of crooning—Dean Martin, in particular—resonated from the other room from a weak speaker. Mr. House seemed to have at least temporarily dodged Thomas’ questions pertaining to his own longevity. “Step out to the windows, Thomas, and take a look.” The lights of New Vegas, from the highest precipice, were exhilarating and blinding to behold from above. “This is what happened to me. I’ve stayed breathing through the centuries to create [i]this[/i].”

House slightly dimmed the lights in the penthouse, giving the sense that he’d planned this meeting to be more of a quiet reunion than a summit. “You might ask – what was the use of wiping the dust off what many consider to be a relic of old-world vice…but you were a bright contemporary of mine. I am sure that you’ll come to the same conclusion as I have. For you to have gone for centuries unnoticed—and I do mean completely unnoticed—shows a difference in stroke. I will be the first to admit that I am far less subtle. This city is the greatest forge of wealth that has ever existed in this new world.”

Robert then pivoted Thomas’ question into reverse. “Your means of longevity, unless my terminal eye is mistaken, is unbelievable. I will put aside my pride for but a moment and admit that it outclasses even mine. Whatever you are building for yourself…between this, between -teleportation- of all discoveries…it is impressive. It is on coincidentally perfect time that our worlds have discovered one another.” He chuckled. “And I see that you have brought someone else to my home, as well. An -Irish- woman, from the looks of it. My curiosities aside, I do hope that she is finding everything to her liking as well. You will be in possession of the most lavish accommodations in New Vegas during your stay, I can assure you.”

This entire evening was a bit of an odd and almost out-of-character gesture; Robert House had become so comfortable and relaxed—so confident in the future of his slice of the old world—that tonight, he’d allowed himself a quiet, casual reminiscence with an old friend.


[b][color=9e0b0f]Kate Rowsell – Hawkshaw Apartments, New Vegas[/color][/b]

[i]“…Vegas is a paradise, and rightfully the greatest city in all the wasteland! Yet I do think, that our little church does provide a certain service this city needs, yes...craves! We do so gladly, and for those who cant afford it, free of charge. Nobody needs to feel lonely, for there is a greater community around us all, even if we cant see it!..."[/i]

The static-molested words reverberated through the apartment. Kate turned off the television and sank into the shining purple armchair next to her bed. They’d even found their way onto the only bit of public-access television that gave her any sort of amusement or relief anymore. They were everywhere. The Church of Starry Glory seemed to have closed in on her from every direction. Not because of any shortcoming or bit of malevolency. They seemed like fine people. In fact, they might have been her last chance. She finished the colorful cocktail she’d brought to her room and stirred the naked ice with her finger. 

Kate seemed to have had a good run, but it was fading. She was losing. New Vegas, underneath the lights and the splendor, was a vacuum. It had taken everything special and irresistible about her and commodified it until she’d hardly recognized her own reflection. She stood, set the empty glass on her bed, and slowly walked to the balcony, dragging the bottom of her bed-wrinkled glittering party dress along the carpet with her. The Hawkshaw Tower stood on the opposite side of the Strip from the Lucky 38, a recent renovation and addition to House’s unstoppable momentum. The shining jewel of New Vegas was swelling. It coated everything in its path with shining old-world glamour until what had stood before was no more. She stared at the impossibly tall and luscious Lucky 38. This could not be her last stop. She had to find [i]something[/i].

[color=9e0b0f][b]Church of the Starry Glory, Westside[/b][/color]

Westside had been greatly renovated since 2281, but it was still without a doubt the poorest sector of Vegas proper. She looked like a fish-out-of-water in her comparatively high-society attire—a long white dress and a high volume of jewelry—but nonetheless, she’d come to this place with purpose. There stood the ‘church’. It was not as gorgeous, clean, or irresistible as anything on the Strip, but she welcomed this detail. Still, the place did not look in the least place inviting. The dust-ridden steps bore no guardsman nor devoted admirers. There was only Miss Rowsell and the door.

Kate slowly ascended the steps and after almost an entire several minute of staring at the behemoth of a door, she knocked. She waited.