episode 3
The human body can get used to alot, and by the second round PPD and the Guest were mentally prepared for the chaotic speed, the tight straps, the intense G forces, the churning stomach and finally passing out. It almost sounded like an anesthetic trip that leads to a person waking up with a completely new look. Maybe a plastic surgeon's dream?? They say down in the beetle faced, solar paneled train and strapped themselves in. The Guest was mournful to leave Kashmir, she was besotted by the sight of the mountains, but Stratford upon Avon, and the Bard, was just all too tempting. "Here goes!" she said excitedly to PPD, grabbing his pinky finger again for emotional support.
"Aargh, you almost broke it last time round!" scowled PPD.
"You aren't a pianist," stated the Guest. "It is expendable in your case. Your index finger is for PR's, you thumb is for turps, your middle finger is to express yourself in certain situations, your ring finger is for your wedding ring and your pinky finger is mine to break."
PPD frowned. He still had to come to terms with being nine-fingered for the course of this time travel!
The train lurched forward and they filled the air with chortling screams, as they spiralled into the Black hole. This time PPD managed to stay awake. He saw electrons orbit around him, and flicked protons and neutrons around in the nucleus, like carrom coins on a carrom board. It was magical! To be so tiny, to be so in touch with atoms and their even tinier subordinates. He looked at the Guest. She was reduced to a tiny cell, her nucleus an inky black ball, her helical dna and rna churning inside it, while the two X chromosomes flashed a neon pink. He reached out and touched her mitochondria. She blew him a bubble of ATP and he felt the energy set his nucleus aglow! Life at cellular level was something else! Truly magical!
PPD and the Guest woke up when the train crashed into a small parish in a rainy town in England. He climbed out and laughed when he saw the Guest.
"What's your problem?" she asked, irritated.
"Have you seen yourself?" he asked.
He took out his pocket mirror (yes he carries a pocket mirror!) and flashed it before her.
"Aaaaaargh!" she shouted!! "Hahahaha," laughed PPD, uproariously.
"Well, when you point one finger at your neighbour, there are three more pointing back at you!" she told him curtly.
She deflected the mirror onto him.
"You look like a serial killer," she said.
PPD looked at himself, humbled.
"Anyway, let's head for the show," he said pulling her in the direction of the dirt road. The marketplace was crowded, as hoardes came into Stratford for their weekly shopping. The butcher hung up carcasses of meat, while the potato farmer shouted out his wares from his cart. PPD and the Guest held onto each other's pinky fingers tightly so as not to get lost in the crowd, or sink into the marshy bog that was a sorry excuse for a road!
A poorly signposted tavern had a scrawl on it "William Shakespeare's play: 2 guineas" which led the duo down a musty passage into a globe shaped theatre. The amphitheatre style seating meant they could grab seats right in the front, but the sad fact was that there were barely 15 people in the audience. "A bit of a 'iny flop show, eh?" said a fat man with a bulbous red nose next to them, acne rosacea at its worse! "Hic, i can't see any sign of actors 'ere."
"I'm sure it will be a treat!" said PPD, being his friendly gracious self.
"Oo's ever 'eard of bill shakespear??" said the drunk.
The Guest started to smile. She had an inkling you see, that this bill shakespeare was going to be someone to remember!
"What are you grinning like a blinkin idiot?" asked the drunk man.
The Guest frowned. Before she got into a spat with him, PPD stepped in. "My name is....ummm....OB Smith," he introduced himself. "And this is "Aailene," gesturing to the Guest.
"Nice to meetcha" said drunk man, taking off his cap. "Chris Marlowe is me name."
The Guest felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine!! This was all a dream come true.
Amongst alot of chaos and excitement, the play started and after 2 hours of holding their tummies laughing, PPD and the Guest didn't want to leave.
"Come with us to the pub eh?" asked Marlowe. "We might catch that bastard Bill there after the show."
The Guest looked sufficiently intrigued, but PPD knew she wasn't someone who could hold her ale. "I think we will be off," he told Marlowe, and the pair headed for the market.
"Let's not leave right away!" pleaded the Guest, thoroughly enjoying the town. She pointed at a sign saying "Heretics and Witches burnt here for 3 guineas."
A dishevelled man stood in a corner saying "the Earth is round", while people started at him in anger.
"Hey that's Galileo Gallili" said PPD excitedly.
"So you want to get burnt on a stake with him??" asked the Guest. "I think we should get out of here!"
The mob around Gallili seemed to increase by the minute. PPD and the Guest saw the angry twisted faces of people around them. "Let's run!" he shouted. They made a dash for the nearest railway station, running as fast as their legs could carry them. The crowd seemed to increase by the second!
They slumped onto their seats on the beetle train!
"Phew that was a close call," panted the Guest. "I'm beginning to hate your ideas more and more!" grumbled PPD. "Well we witnessed history in the making!" said The Guest, grinning broadly from ear to ear. "I can't wait to see what happens next!"
----------to be continued.