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A Serpent In Versailles

Page history last edited by Michael 7 years, 11 months ago

back to Confronting the Master or the Index

 


 

Friday, April 7, 1933

 

     Back at the Hotel Majestic in Rome, Qua Lin Worthington, Captain DeLacy, Bill Davis, Clive White, and Miss May spent the evening examining the strange items liberated from the Frangipane villa.

 

items taken from the Frangipane villa in Rome

  • the Efreeti canopic jar:  about a foot tall, made of black stone, perhaps onyx or malachite. No longer sealed, but the lid has been replaced. 

  • the Book of Knowledge:   see note below.

  • emerald earrings and a pendant:  the 5 carat earrings are each worth $11,000; the pendant at least $180,000. As a well-matched set in color and cut, they're worth at least a quarter-million dollars (or £70,000 for British folk). As a comparison, the UK "Secret Service" annual budget (MI-6, MI-5, and some other agencies) in the early 1930s (historically) was only £180,000.

  • three rings:  these had been levitating and spinning. Very magical.  

  • a mounted tapestry:  made in the Sidhe style, but mounted in a frame.

  • three pages of illuminated manuscript:  from the Book of Kildare, with a style very similar  to that seen in the Book of Kells.

  • a articulated metal head:  constructed from pieces of greyish metal and yellow soapstone; it is magical, and waxes rhetorically at night in a deep voice.

  • a carved jade "yin" figure:  Approx 4" in length and made of a very pale green jade, this piece turned DeLacy briefly into a Japanese gentleman. Very magical!

  • a medieval clock:  apparently not magical

  • a key:  apparently not magical

  • a nine barrel pepperbox pistol: large, shiny and very "steampunk" with fold-up front and rear sights and a inset in the butt for some sort of attachment; apparently enchanted in some manner 

 

     Mrs. Cullin and Mr. Willoughby were at the San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital -- Nora was in a coma from burns and magical problems, Fred Willoughby still had some untreated burns on his hands (and a stab wound in a kidney). Qua Lin had gone to the hospital with them, but returned to the hotel after making sure they were comfortable.

 

The sale of beer became legal in 19 of the states of the United States, for the first time since 1920.

In Germany, the process of removing Jews from various professions and occupations began.

 

Saturday, April 8, 1933

 

     This was Lazarus Saturday.

     Algernon DeLacy placed an international telephone call to "Her Ladyship" Ceiteag Inghean in Paris -- but she was unable to come to the telephone. Instead he spoke with Deargh Ranulfson (the "leprechaun"), who claimed The Lady would not be available for some time.

     Miss May woke up in her closet, after having disturbing dreams. When she came down to breakfast, Qua Lin Worthington prescribed tea and breakfast, and then took her back upstairs for an examination. A bite mark on the back of Miss May's knee, and a circular tattoo on one shoulder, were found by Qua Lin. Our Heroes were disturbed by this; another mark was found on Miss May's other shoulder, as well. Qua Lin thinks the marks on the completed tattoo may be in the Enochian language (or at least the Enochian alphabet). Bill Davis was sent out to pharmacies, to purchase a collection of surgical tools, painkillers, and other items for examining/treating/removing these disturbing marks. Qua Lin was unable to ... heal? ... Victoria May. Bill Davis used a snakebite kit to "suck the venom" out of the bite mark.

     After a few hours of examination and treatment, Qua Lin realizes that the two shoulder-tattoos might be the roots for angelic -- or demonic -- wings.

     Bill Davis and Captain DeLacy searched Miss May's room, and found strange small, vaguely oval-ish "foot" prints on the window sill.

     Miss Worthington and Captain DeLacy visited Nora in the hospital; Clive White visited Willoughby with a newspaper and a drink. After learning of the future indignities in store at the hospital, and confident of Qua Lin's abilities, Willoughby checked himself out of the hospital and returned to the Hotel Majestic, bound for bed and bath. His hands were covered in petroleum-jelly soaked gloves.

     DeLacy called his Parisian contacts again, to advise that the situation was urgent (though he did not discuss any details on the telephone). Ranulfson offered to travel to Rome immediately. DeLacy also sent a letter to his superiors in London.

 

Franz van Papen, Vice Chancellor of Germany, and Hermann Göring arrived in Rome (by train) for talks with Mussolini and the Pope.

They stayed at the Hotel Excelsior -- only a block or two away from Our Heroes.

 

Sunday, April 9th, 1933

 

     This was Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Processions, church services, and other religious events were common for the next seven days.

     Ranulfson arrived in Rome, and brought tea and sandwiches to Nora Cullin in the hospital; she had awoken from her coma that morning, feeling weak, ill-rested, sweaty and grimy. She noticed there was a light, silvery anklet on her right leg, and could not remove it; Ranulfson could not even touch it. The doctors had felt she was close to death during the night!

     Ranulfson then went over to the Hotel Majestic to meet the rest of Our Heroes, and broke some bad news: 

 

  • Romanescu may not actually have died! Unless the ashes were scattered into running water, he would regenerate; this process would take more than seven days, but less than seven years. 

  • Ferracutus was actually the battle axe, possibly of a Belgian origin and believed to have been constructed for Herbert II of Vermandois circa 925. The axe is likely to possess another carrier soon.

 

    While the Heroes were still stunned by these revelations, Mrs. Cullin stumbled into the hotel room -- she'd walked the two miles from the hospital, dressed rather shabbily and incompletely. Since she was somewhat woozy and not entirely coherent, she was taken to her room, cleaned up and put to bed.

    Miss May refused to allow Ranulfson to conduct a full, detailed examination of her body for any other bites or strange tattoos (especially not the base of her spine!). The leprechaun decided, based on the tattoos and the bite marks, that a strange spider-like supernatural creature had entered her room during the night, through an open window. His opinion is that the attack, or the effect, may have a Vandal origin -- perhaps the bite from a crab from the Black Lakes, Under the Mountain. There was probably going to be a third tattoo, at the base of her spine; the attacker(s) may have been interrupted in their work, and only succeeded in creating one sigil.

    Ranuflson suggested that Miss May and Mrs. Cullin should go Under the Hill for "Healing". He wasn't sure that Victoria May could actually go Under the Hill through the Sidhe gates he is aware of though.

    Bill Davis and Clive White tried to open the Book of Knowledge, unsuccessfully. They conducted thorough examinations of the other items stolen retrieved from the Frangipane villa. They try removing the anklet from Mrs. Cullin's leg, without success; DeLacy's hands are freeze-burned by just touching it! They even tried cutting the anklet with the orichalcum sword, but that left a scratch on the sword's blade.

    The morning newspapers reported that four policemen and three prisoners had been killed at the police station on via Guido D'Arezzo during the night. One policeman was missing; socialists were being blamed by the authorities. Our Heroes decided that Ferracutus was on the loose again ... 

    In the afternoon, DeLacy visited a weird agency contact at the British Embassy, asking for help or information, and passing along news. Nora Cullin and Willoughby went to Lictor airport to move her airplane, and to look for signs of villainous activity. There was a large, new long-range airplane bearing an "HV" registration code (for the Vatican) and with the markings of the Amministrazione per le Opere di Religione -- the Vatican bank.

    By the evening, Our Heroes had all returned to the hotel; Clive White cut the hinges of the Book of Knowledge, which started to smoke and showed signs of self-destruction. Before slapping it shut again, he saw that the pages were mis-matched; the hinge pin was replaced.

 

Monday, April 10th, 1933

 

     Willoughby spent much of the day working with the Italian police (mostly members of the Polizia di Stato); he arranged for Marco, a skilled safecracker and lockpicking expert, to be sent along to the hotel. Our contact in the police was Commissario Capo Sebastiani. After Marco managed to open one lock, Miss May worked on the other lock, and managed to open the book.

 

The Book of Knowledge

     A huge tome, bound in wood and leather, with brass hinges and a lock. The markings on the outside are only visible with DeLacy's mica goggles, and read, "ðy wisdom-boc" in Old English script. It's printed on papyrus, sheepskin, human skin, parchment, and rice paper. The first page reads, “The Collected Spelles & Cyrses of Don Sebastian de Francisco.” The next page is leather, with stick writing (Ogam) and drawings of strange creatures.

     The book has about 100 pages, with 37 drawings and maps. The writing on the human skin is possibly Mayan. Some other pages have hieroglyphics, or Chinese characters.

 

 

     Miss May then took pictures of all of the pages (oddly enough, she was prepared with the equipment for photographing documents).

     Bill Davis spent much of the day doing library research, and learned that the "yin symbol" was actually the Jewel of Benevolence of Yasaka -- a magatama, one of the three Japanese Imperial regalia, supposedly lost in 1185 AD at the end of the Battle of Dan-no-Ura.

 

If an Italian library is to be trusted, this discovery could call the symbolic legitimacy of the Japanese emperor into question.

 

     The soapstone head seemed to be Mesoamerican, and ranted during the night in a very deep voice.

 

In Rome, Mussolini met with

Hermann Göring (minister without portfolio, Minister of the Interior for Prussia, and Reich Commissioner of Aviation)

and Franz von Papen (Vice Chancellor).

 

Tuesday, April 11th, 1933

 

     Neither Nora Cullin nor Victoria May felt rested after a night's sleep, and had uneasy dreams of voices urging them to travel to Paris ... or the East. They indulge in a lot of coffee.

     The police alerted Frederick Willoughby that they might have located Ferracutus's hiding place. They brought us in motor cars to a villa outside of Rome, on the banks of the Tiber. Police and militiamen were engaged in a furious firefight with the villa's occupants. One weapon being used against the police was an obsolete multiple-barrel manual repeater (a Gardner gun), in some large caliber; it was mounted on a wheeled carriage, and fired from inside a garage.

     Our Heroes, in their boiler suits, snuck around to the river bank and into the gardens. There we were mistaken for fellow fighters by the communists who were present. We quickly rounded up the revolutionaries, freed some captured policemen, and turned the communists over to the police, who immediately shot them. Within the house was a printing press, a lot of revolutionary literature, and some counterfeit money and identity papers.

     In the end, the police had been convinced that Ferracutus was present due to a group of woodcutters -- bearing axes -- returning to this villa from their work.

     Upon our return to the Hotel Majestic, we realized that all of our rooms had been searched -- though nothing too incriminated or valuable was found by the police. At dinner, there is a long discussion about resurrection.

 

In Rome, the Pope met with Hermann Göring and Franz von Papen.

There is no record of what was discussed.

 

Wednesday, April 12th, 1933

 

     At breakfast, we were informed by Commissario Capo Sebastiani that a small steamer, the SS Vasilissa Polikós ("Polar Queen" -- homeport Piraeus, Greece) had departed from Civitavecchia (the seaport closest to Rome) during the night, chartered by an Asian man and two women. The description seemed to match that of Tamerlane, perhaps, and the two female sorcerers in the Dread Master's group (Eugenia and Margarita).

     Willoughby asked the Commisario Capo "if a fat pederast (Bakari) and his collection of bum boys had left by train?" Why yes, in fact a private railway coach had been chartered and attached to an express train bound for Austria yesterday morning. As the day went on, it became clear that Romanescu's surviving partners were slipping out of the country, no doubt using their powers to confuse the authorities (and us) as to which directions they were taking.

     The Finn was able to blend in and drop out of sight; a man with a large axe, accompanied by two women, had just arrived at Marseilles.

     We sent a signal from the British embassy to have the Royal Navy intercept and deal with the Vasilissa Polikós. Given the deteriorating health of Mrs. Cullin and Qua Lin Worthington, we decided they needed to meet with outre specialists (nicknamed the "French Laundry") in Paris. Our Junkers trimotor was prepared for a flight the next day. 

     By the evening, the firmest information available was that Bakari Thuthmetra had doubled back from the Austian border, and was arriving in Venice. We decided to send Clive White there to conduct reconnaissance; he left at ten minutes to midnight, on the direct sleeper train to Venice.

     Tenebrae services were held in Catholic churches after sunset on this day.

 

Thursday, April 13th, 1933

 

     This was Maundy Thursday; the only Catholic Mass celebrated on this day was the Mass of the Lord's Supper, in the evening. The bells of Catholic churches would be silent from this evening until Easter, the altars were stripped bare, and all crucifixes and statues of Jesus were covered.

     With Frederick Willoughby at the controls, all of Our Heroes except Clive White took off a bit after dawn (6:02 a.m.).

 

     Note that Willoughby was at the airfield about 5 a.m. to conduct the pre-flight checks, warm up the oil system, etc.

 

     The flight to Paris was 685 statute miles, and took 8 hours of flying; we arrived at Le Bourget airport mid-afternoon, refueled the airplane, and checked in at the Hotel George V. 

 

 

     Captain DeLacy contaced Franseza Emilion-Cassone and Muriel Silvane, of the French Laundry, and arranged appointments for Nora Cullin and Miss May to see a medical specialist the next day.

      Meanwhile, Clive White rode first-class Italian trains:  from Rome to Bologna, where his sleeper was connected to another train, and thus onwards to Venezia Santa Lucia railway station. He arrived at 10:28 in the morning, after breakfast in the dining car, and before noon was in a room at the Hotel Danieli, overlooking St. Mark's Basin, and thumbing through a new copy of Baedeker's Northern Italy (15th ed.).

 

Engelbert Dolfuss, Chancellor of Austria, met with Benito Mussolini in Rome.

 

Friday, April 14th, 1933

 

     This was Good Friday; it was difficult to get a meal in Italy. Clive White quite enjoyed the spectacle and processions on the Plaza San Marco, and  spent the day investigating the ancient palazzo where Bakari was probably staying.

     Bill Davis and Fred Willoughby flew the Junkers trimotor from Paris to the Aeroporto di Venezia - Lido (near Venice) ... another long flight. After refueling and servicing the airplane ("Best to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, old bean") they took a vaporetti to the Hotel Danieli, very tired and ready for a bath, meal, and bed.

     "What do you mean it's a fast day? White, find us a Chinese restaurant or something."

     Meanwhile, in Paris Mrs. Cullin and Miss May visited an obscure and anonymous medical clinic; Captain Delacy and Miss Worthington came along for moral support. Dr. Richard Masson examined Nora and Victoria, and besides some obvious advice ("You should take these vitamins, smoke plenty of cigarettes, and exercise more") could provide no curative treatment. The strange tattoo-like symbol on Miss May's back had metallic filaments extending into her flesh and bones; Dr. Masson recommended that she not allow any further bites. An attempt to surgically remove the tattoo fails, since it was far too entwined in Miss May's flesh. The anklet on Nora was apparently created to weaken the victim's will and subjugate them; binding (another) soul into it would perhaps help control or thwart it. The doctor's best advice:  take the patients Under the Hill for examination and treatment by the healers there. He prescribed palliative medicines for Miss May:  Luminal tablets ("Preferably taken with a postprandial glass of wine"), and stimulants (presumably cocaine injections, since amphetamines aren't yet available in pharmacies) to wake her up in the mornings.

 

Phenobarbital

  • Used in the treatment of seizures and epilepsy, insomnia, and anxiety. 

  • Causes decreased consciousness, dizziness, unsteady gait, slurred speech, hypnosis and sedation.

  • It has a long active period; one dose a day should be sufficient, and can remain in the body for several days. Oral tablets begin to take effect 10 minutes to one hour after ingestion.

  • Alcohol increases the sedative and depressant effects of this drug.

  • The brand name Luminal is used by the Bayer company. 

"Take it for life!"

 

... and the cure.

 

     Franseza took them to lunch (well, for good Catholics this was a fast day) and tried to persuade the ladies that soul binding would solve their problems. Afterwards she took them to the French Laundry's library, and showed Victoria May a book written in Occitan (aka langue d'oc, which developed into modern Provençal dialect, and is closely related to Catalan). The book contained a picture of a scantily clad woman lying on a bed, with a large spider or winged crab on top of her; the creature's eyes resembled the tattoo on Miss May's back.

 

Hmm, not quite right, but it's a spider on a lady on a bed ...

 

     The book's text described the spider as a servant of a particular sect of evil sorcerors and demon traffickers -- the Lichtori di Contini e Quadi.

     Another image in the book showed three young women in loose robes, seated on chairs, with anklets which were emitting glowing lines. A man with a pointed (wizard) hat stood nearby, next to a disembodied head. The text for that image mentioned, "... and the head told the story of how to attain great wealth, power, and everlasting life." Franseza stated that a sorceror or demon could draw life force from Mrs. Cullin through the anklet; Qua Lin pondered this, in relation to her own bracelet, and urged Victoria May and Nora Cullin to go Under the Hill.  

     Our Heroes felt their hopes dashed, especially since the medical experts in Paris disclosed they had no experience at all with anything of this sort, as any such knowledge had been suppressed centuries ago.  In the evening, Bill Davis, Algernon DeLacy, and Nora Cullin attended Good Friday services at the 11th Century church of Saint-Pierre de Chaillot, only a block away from the hotel.

 

Saturday, April 15th, 1933

 

     This was Holy Saturday; canonically, Easter began at sunset. It was another fasting day for Catholics.

     In Paris, arrangements were made for a trip Under the Hill. Some shopping was done to repair the damage done to our wardrobes during our hunt for Romanescu (most shops had been closed the previous day). Around sunset, after a light rain, the skies cleared, and Captain DeLacy asked Muriel Silvane to bring himself and the ladies to the portal leading Under The Hill. This happened to be in the Bosquet de la Colonnade, in the gardens at Versailles... here's an overhead view.

 

the colonnade is 35 yards across, and about 500 yards from the palace

 

     Mlle. Silvane did some ritual spell-casting (not too showy, apparently, as there were tourists present), and the fountains lit up. About ten seconds later there was a bright flash of light off to one side, under one arch, and a fat man appeared, with two wolves. A few seconds later White, Willoughby and Davis appeared on the opposite side of the colonnade.

 

Meanwhile, In Venice

 

     After sunset, the Easter Vigil began at Catholic churches; many people were away from their homes. Davis, who had been left to watch the suspicious palazzo rented by Bakari, heard screaming children, and summoned Willoughby and White to break in. Once inside we heard cries and moans from below (strangely), and followed stairs down into an ancient passageway through the Venetian bedrock (with a few more modern electric bulbs). This led to a terrible chamber, with half-a-dozen giant hanging cages holding young boys, a pile of children's corpses, and a central table where Bakari himself had just drained the life force (and blood, apparently) of another boy.

     Bakari took off immediately into another tunnel, with surprising speed, and we followed. Our first shots missed, due to a cleverly-angled mirror fooling us. After only a few yards of pursuit, there was a flash of light, and we found ourselves in an outdoor area, lit only by a few electric lamps and surrounded by a colonnade; Bakari and some large wolves were ahead of us. This was, in fact, at the Colonnade in Versailles, by some strange coincidence!

 

     Note that while Venice and Paris are in the same time zone, sunset occurs earlier in Venice.

 

At the Colonnade

 

     The large wolves were attacking some random passers-by; Bakari was hustling to one of the other arches of the colonnade, no doubt to prepare his escape. Normal weapons had little effect on Bakari, but the wolves reduced in size as they took damage -- in the end they were revealed to be small cocker spaniels enlarged by a spell. Clive White's magic wand, and Bill Davis's ray gun, were the most effective weapons; while Bakari attempted to cast the spell which would open a portal, he was quickly dispatched in a few moments.

     Victoria May and Nora Cullin thought that they might be hallucinating.

     The villain's final demise was suitably disgusting -- he exploded in a rain of gore and innards! Only his rubberized rain cape and 15" antique butcher's knife remained. Clive White was heavily pelted with the greasy guts ...

     After a couple of minutes, Our Heroes were able to figure out which arch held the portal to Venice; several -- perhaps all? -- of the arches contained portals to other places. Mlle. Silvane and Nora fainted at the effort of opening portals, but Clive White was able to open the portal to Venice for about 30 seconds. Bill Davis, Clive White and Fred Willoughby returned to Venice through the portal, the remains of Bakari were mostly shoveled into a fountain drain by DeLacy, and the rest of the party left before the police arrived.

     Some of the other portals we saw led to such places as the summit of Tengri Khan; and a sandy area near a body of water (possibly Thebes or Harrar).

     Once Muriel Silvane had recovered, she realized that the Versailles portals were a security risk (since Romanescu's compatriots clearly knew about them). She opened the portal leading Under The Hill. Qua Lin Worthington and Nora Cullin entered the portal, but Victoria May was unable to pass through. The marks on her body seemed to light up and begin to burn her as she tried to enter the archway there.

     Back at the Hotel George V, Victoria May slept well. Exhaustion? Luminal? Or perhaps the death of Bakari?

 

Back In Venice

 

     Willoughby, White and Davis released the remaining youths (Italians, Turks, and Arabs), and tended to their injuries. The servants who had been engaged with the rented palazzo were found dead, murdered by Bakari or his minions. A few artifacts were found, including a diary or journal in some Stygian language. A couple of Bakari's evil minions had escaped, including Gertrude Matilda (Bakari's procuress) and a "companion that lisped".

     The children were turned over to the Carabinieri, and Our Three Heroes returned to their hotel, for hot baths and disturbed sleep.

 

Sunday, April 16th, 1933

 

     This was Easter Sunday.

     DeLacy phoned Ranulfsson for help in getting Victoria May Under The Hill. As a full Sidhe, Ranulfsson believes he could escort her through a High Sidhe portal. He agreed to do so for the price of a single kiss. DeLacy and Miss May traveled to England by train and boat, and proceeded Under The Hill.

     The crew in Venice flew back to Paris, arriving in the afternoon and (once again) servicing and refueling the Junkers trimotor. None of their friends were there, but perhaps some notes as to their whereabouts had been left. This will be discussed when next Our Heroes gather.

 

Monday, April 17th, 1933

 

     Fred Willoughby typed up a report to his "special" contact in Whitehall, regarding the events of the last three weeks. Our Heroes were at:

 

  • Under the Hill in Britain:  Captain DeLacy and Miss May

  • Under the Hill in France:  Miss Worthington and Mrs. Cullin

  • Mr. Davis, Mr. White and Mr. Willoughby:  Paris, France

     

Tuesday, April 18th, 1933

 

epilogue - Paris

scene: a luxurious room in the Hotel George V

 

     Clive White was seated sideways on a comfortable chair, with his legs over one arm of the chair; he was fiddling with his pipe, tobacco, and matches. Fred Willoughby was packing his last suitcase, clearly preparing to travel.

     "I say, old boy, is this trip really necessary?" asked White. Willoughby was distracted for a moment, searching for his keys, but soon replied, "I do need to put in appearances at the legation; perhaps these queer chaps in DeLacy's organization appreciate what we're doing, but the Foreign Office has really no idea."

     White frowned, "But couldn't you just chuck it all ... turn in your commission, or whatever? Then you wouldn't have to visit beastly Bucharest."

     "It's not all that bad, White," Willoughby replied, "at least after winter. And I hear the golf course will have a complete 18 holes this spring."

     He continued to fiddle with his pockets and luggage, and upon closing his last case, said, "In any case, I suspect I will still be sent hurrying from pillar to post by these mysterious folk in Whitehall, even if I resign. And what's worse, still badgered by this Romanescu fellow whether I resign or not, since we've made an enemy of him."

     Squinting, he told White, "Keep an eye on Bill Davis, will you? We don't know where or when Romanescu will ... hmm, reform ... but it might be important that he did kidnap Davis and Qua Lin before, in Bucharest."

     Placing his hat upon his head, he said, "As long as I can travel on a diplomatic passport, these European policemen will think twice before giving us the third degree, or tearing our luggage apart looking for guns and subversive books." White frowned but said nothing.

     At a knock on the door, Willoughby said, "Come in," and two bellhops entered; they quickly gathered up the luggage and headed out.

    Hopping to his feet, White grinned and held out his hand; "Well, I shall just have to content myself with April in Paris!" They shook hands, and Willoughby followed the bellhops out the door. White stood, puffing his pipe for a few seconds, and then started, "Oh! I've just remembered something ... " and walked out into the hallway.

 

fade to credits

 

     Willoughby boarded the Arlberg Orient Express at the Paris-Est station at 7:55 p.m., bound for Bucharest. The fare, including meals, was about £25. The Junkers trimotor is parked at Le Bourget airport, serviced and fueled.

 

Wednesday, April 19th, 1933

 

     Our Heroes expect to be resting (and taking checks) until about Sunday, April 23rd, 1933.

 

President Roosevelt took the U.S. off the gold standard, forbidding the export of gold.

 

Thursday, April 20, 1933

 

     Willoughby arrived in Bucharest at 7:06 p.m., on the Orient Express.

 

Amelia Earhart flew Eleanor Roosevelt (and other guests) after dinner from Washington D.C. to Baltimore and back, piloting an Eastern Airlines "Condor".

The First Lady briefly took over the controls (she had a student pilot's license).

 

Friday, April 21, 1933

 

The American naval airship USS Macon is launched.

Rudolf Hess is appointed Deputy Fuhrer of Germany.

 

Wednesday, April 26, 1933

 

The Gestapo is founded by Hermann Goring, as the secret police of the German state of Prussia.

 

Friday, April 28, 1933

 

First day of the Roman festival of Floralia. While it hasn't been celebrated for well over a thousand years, this date is somehow important.

 

Sunday, April 30, 1933

 

The Austrian Parliament holds a fifteen minute session (the last until 1945), in which a new constitution is enacted, allowed the government to rule by decree.

 

Monday, May 1st, 1933

 

     In a previous time-loop, Mr. McCracken, Mrs. Barnato, Miss Cullin, Miss Worthington, Mr. Davis, and an entourage boarded two chartered sea-planes in San Diego, for a flight to Managua, Nicaragua. 

 

onwards to The Moravian Mystery

Comments (2)

Michael said

at 5:30 pm on Feb 6, 2016

I brought that topic up with Kevin at the time of our Ukrainian adventures, it's not clear that it's happening quite the same in the Pulp world. It certainly wasn't widely known of at the time. I brought it up with Kevin mostly in relation to the security (or lack thereof) on the Dniester River. Apparently the "planes releasing poison" was part of the Pulp version of the Soviet crimes against the Ukrainians. http://asmrb.pbworks.com/w/page/86809654/Research%20Station%2051#SaturdayOctober11932

Kirk said

at 4:46 pm on Feb 6, 2016

Hi Michael - have you made any reference to hunger and cannibalism in the Ukraine? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor

Beastly business.

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