Eric Jablow
2007-06-17 21:43:10 UTC
Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane have had an
unsettling encounter with vampires and with Faith, a
Slayer. Now, Daria is looking toward Faith's
organization, the WCI, as a possible source of income.
After all, she is a struggling college student, and
presumably Quinn gets more than her share of the
Morgendorffers' financial support. Daria, however, is
not a creature of impulse; she does her homework.
Some of the background and insertions into canon are
completely made up. We've never seen djinni and
efreeti in the series, and the incident from the summer
between Seasons 6 and 7 is purely fiction. I would
like to recommend the novel "Declare", by Timothy
Powers. This is another take on it.
The Buffyverse is the possession of Joss Whedon and
Mutant Enemy. The Dariaverse is the possession of
Glenn Eichler and MTV.
Inspired Conversations
by Eric Jablow
"Hi, Mom."
"Hello, Daria. How are you, Sweetie?"
"Fine, Mom. How are things at home?"
"Quiet. It's a bit lonely here without the two of
you. It will be nice when the two of you are back."
"I shouldn't say this, but it will be nice to be back
too. How's Dad?"
"He's out reliving his youth playing 9-ball."
"You're working on a brief?"
"Actually, we just settled the Glicksohn case. I'm
taking the night off."
"You're a softy at heart."
"Even I know how to relax, Daria."
"I spoke with Quinn yesterday. She's doing pretty
well."
"We're proud of both of you." The phone was silent for
a moment, and then Helen Morgendorffer continued, "Are
you alone?"
"Yes, Mom."
"I looked into the organization you asked about, and I
find it quite disturbing."
"Oh?"
"I'm not sure you should get involved with them at
all."
"What did you find out?"
"I checked with the Ohio state government; WCI is a
non-profit corporation chartered there in September of
2003."
"Go on, please."
"'WCI' is short for 'Watchers Council International',
the successor organization to a British non-profit, the
'Council of Watchers'. The name is only the first
disturbing thing about them."
"I'm beginning to get the idea."
"The stated purpose of the organization is antiquities
preservation; they're very reticent about the type and
location of the antiquities. They don't seem to have
any contact with the public about them; their asset
list does not include any museums or schools."
"Non-profit organizations have to be about some public
purpose, right?"
"Right. This WCI doesn't seem to have any public
presence at all. They don't have a web site. A Google
search shows nothing. They don't do any fundraising,
but the financial papers they filed show assets of
cash, appraised values of antiquities, and properties
in Europe and the United States totalling 27 million
dollars."
"How did they get approved?"
"I don't know. I have a scan of their last annual
report. It's only two pages!"
"You're sending me all this?"
"Certainly. I'll log on to work after this call and
send you what I found."
"What about the officers?"
"Again, there aren't any biographies of the officers;
all I have are the names. It looks like a very closely
run charity; the board has only five members. The CEO
is an Alexander L. Harris. There's nothing about him."
"I think I spoke with him."
"The Treasurer is a Willow Rosenberg. No data."
"Hmm." Daria remembered Faith mentioning a 'Willow'
who favored clunky boots. It was nothing to mention
yet.
"The Chairman of the Board is a Rupert Giles, a British
national."
"That must be rare for a US charity."
"The other members are Ms. Elizabeth A. Summers;
Mr. Robin Wood; Dr. Charlotte Meara, OBE; and Father
Brian Abernathy, S.J."
Daria had overheard Faith's cell phone call; she isn't
surprised to hear the name 'Robin,' though she's
slightly relieved that it's attached to a 'Mr.' "OBE?"
"Order of the British Empire. The British give out
that level of honor like candy. She's a professor of
linguistics at the University of Glasgow."
"What about the others?"
"I don't know anything about Summers and Wood, but I
searched the Catholic Church's web sites for Abernathy.
For some reason they've become a lot more transparent
in the last few years." Daria grimaces as Helen
continues, "He was the pastor at the Church of Our Lady
of Perpetual Hope in Sunnydale, California."
"Sunnydale. Didn't that town get whacked in an
earthquake? I wonder if any of the others come from
there."
"Are you sure you want to meet these people?"
"Well, at least I'll get a Melody Powers story out of
it."
"I've never been able to keep you from doing whatever
you wanted, or to get you to do something I wanted.
But, if you're going to meet them, you'll need a
lawyer. Send me a check for one dollar as a retainer."
"Gee, Mom. Do you think that's necessary?"
"I think it might be."
---
"Xander, that is the last straw!"
"Willow, it worked."
"You nearly got Annette killed. You nearly got
yourself killed!"
Andrew sits at his desk at the Slayers' headquarters in
Cleveland watching the two friends argue; occasionally
he looks at the computer screen and clicks the mouse.
"Look, we got rid of--"
Willow shouts him down. "You do not mention this to
anyone. You do not get any of the glory for this
stupid act of yours. When are you going to stop trying
to commit suicide?"
"I was trying to help."
"Do you know what your death would do to me? To all
the Slayers?"
"It wouldn't do a thing."
"Ask them. They depend on you."
Andrew looks at the screen, whistles, and types
something in. "Guys, somebody tried to Google us this
afternoon."
Xander asks, "They got to our trap page?"
"Yes. They didn't get to our internal site."
"Willow, who was the last person to Google us?"
"Someone from Riley's group. I sent him a nastygram."
Andrew adds, "And he got out of the hospital in less
than a week."
"So, who tried to track us down," asks Xander.
"I'm trying. It's not an anonymous account. Got it.
The domain is registered to a law firm: Vitale, Davis,
Horowitz, Riordan, Schrecter, Schrecter &
Morgendorffer."
"Morgendorffer--that's the girl you're heading to
Boston to see."
"Right. Wilow, don't send another nastygram. It's
only fair. We check her out--her parents check us
out. You know, someday we'll have to go public."
Both Willow and Andrew blurt out "No!" Andrew adds,
"We have to be the silent guardians of humanity,
selfless and ready for battle."
"Oh, and the world's doing really well with that sort
of attitude."
"You're not talking about vampires and demons, are
you."
Xander and Andrew stare at each other, and Willow
interrupts: "Guys, we aren't here to worry about
politics. Xander, go to Boston. But you're taking a
bodyguard with you."
Xander says, "What?" A man walks into the room.
"This is Roger Bloom, one of my apprentices. If you
aren't going to be careful, you are going to be good."
"You didn't get a Slayer to guard me?"
"There are only three Slayers who won't go along with
any of your mad schemes, and they aren't around.
Besides, you won't want to put Roger in danger. And,
having a woman accompany you might cramp your style."
The ensuing fight lasts two hours.
unsettling encounter with vampires and with Faith, a
Slayer. Now, Daria is looking toward Faith's
organization, the WCI, as a possible source of income.
After all, she is a struggling college student, and
presumably Quinn gets more than her share of the
Morgendorffers' financial support. Daria, however, is
not a creature of impulse; she does her homework.
Some of the background and insertions into canon are
completely made up. We've never seen djinni and
efreeti in the series, and the incident from the summer
between Seasons 6 and 7 is purely fiction. I would
like to recommend the novel "Declare", by Timothy
Powers. This is another take on it.
The Buffyverse is the possession of Joss Whedon and
Mutant Enemy. The Dariaverse is the possession of
Glenn Eichler and MTV.
Inspired Conversations
by Eric Jablow
"Hi, Mom."
"Hello, Daria. How are you, Sweetie?"
"Fine, Mom. How are things at home?"
"Quiet. It's a bit lonely here without the two of
you. It will be nice when the two of you are back."
"I shouldn't say this, but it will be nice to be back
too. How's Dad?"
"He's out reliving his youth playing 9-ball."
"You're working on a brief?"
"Actually, we just settled the Glicksohn case. I'm
taking the night off."
"You're a softy at heart."
"Even I know how to relax, Daria."
"I spoke with Quinn yesterday. She's doing pretty
well."
"We're proud of both of you." The phone was silent for
a moment, and then Helen Morgendorffer continued, "Are
you alone?"
"Yes, Mom."
"I looked into the organization you asked about, and I
find it quite disturbing."
"Oh?"
"I'm not sure you should get involved with them at
all."
"What did you find out?"
"I checked with the Ohio state government; WCI is a
non-profit corporation chartered there in September of
2003."
"Go on, please."
"'WCI' is short for 'Watchers Council International',
the successor organization to a British non-profit, the
'Council of Watchers'. The name is only the first
disturbing thing about them."
"I'm beginning to get the idea."
"The stated purpose of the organization is antiquities
preservation; they're very reticent about the type and
location of the antiquities. They don't seem to have
any contact with the public about them; their asset
list does not include any museums or schools."
"Non-profit organizations have to be about some public
purpose, right?"
"Right. This WCI doesn't seem to have any public
presence at all. They don't have a web site. A Google
search shows nothing. They don't do any fundraising,
but the financial papers they filed show assets of
cash, appraised values of antiquities, and properties
in Europe and the United States totalling 27 million
dollars."
"How did they get approved?"
"I don't know. I have a scan of their last annual
report. It's only two pages!"
"You're sending me all this?"
"Certainly. I'll log on to work after this call and
send you what I found."
"What about the officers?"
"Again, there aren't any biographies of the officers;
all I have are the names. It looks like a very closely
run charity; the board has only five members. The CEO
is an Alexander L. Harris. There's nothing about him."
"I think I spoke with him."
"The Treasurer is a Willow Rosenberg. No data."
"Hmm." Daria remembered Faith mentioning a 'Willow'
who favored clunky boots. It was nothing to mention
yet.
"The Chairman of the Board is a Rupert Giles, a British
national."
"That must be rare for a US charity."
"The other members are Ms. Elizabeth A. Summers;
Mr. Robin Wood; Dr. Charlotte Meara, OBE; and Father
Brian Abernathy, S.J."
Daria had overheard Faith's cell phone call; she isn't
surprised to hear the name 'Robin,' though she's
slightly relieved that it's attached to a 'Mr.' "OBE?"
"Order of the British Empire. The British give out
that level of honor like candy. She's a professor of
linguistics at the University of Glasgow."
"What about the others?"
"I don't know anything about Summers and Wood, but I
searched the Catholic Church's web sites for Abernathy.
For some reason they've become a lot more transparent
in the last few years." Daria grimaces as Helen
continues, "He was the pastor at the Church of Our Lady
of Perpetual Hope in Sunnydale, California."
"Sunnydale. Didn't that town get whacked in an
earthquake? I wonder if any of the others come from
there."
"Are you sure you want to meet these people?"
"Well, at least I'll get a Melody Powers story out of
it."
"I've never been able to keep you from doing whatever
you wanted, or to get you to do something I wanted.
But, if you're going to meet them, you'll need a
lawyer. Send me a check for one dollar as a retainer."
"Gee, Mom. Do you think that's necessary?"
"I think it might be."
---
"Xander, that is the last straw!"
"Willow, it worked."
"You nearly got Annette killed. You nearly got
yourself killed!"
Andrew sits at his desk at the Slayers' headquarters in
Cleveland watching the two friends argue; occasionally
he looks at the computer screen and clicks the mouse.
"Look, we got rid of--"
Willow shouts him down. "You do not mention this to
anyone. You do not get any of the glory for this
stupid act of yours. When are you going to stop trying
to commit suicide?"
"I was trying to help."
"Do you know what your death would do to me? To all
the Slayers?"
"It wouldn't do a thing."
"Ask them. They depend on you."
Andrew looks at the screen, whistles, and types
something in. "Guys, somebody tried to Google us this
afternoon."
Xander asks, "They got to our trap page?"
"Yes. They didn't get to our internal site."
"Willow, who was the last person to Google us?"
"Someone from Riley's group. I sent him a nastygram."
Andrew adds, "And he got out of the hospital in less
than a week."
"So, who tried to track us down," asks Xander.
"I'm trying. It's not an anonymous account. Got it.
The domain is registered to a law firm: Vitale, Davis,
Horowitz, Riordan, Schrecter, Schrecter &
Morgendorffer."
"Morgendorffer--that's the girl you're heading to
Boston to see."
"Right. Wilow, don't send another nastygram. It's
only fair. We check her out--her parents check us
out. You know, someday we'll have to go public."
Both Willow and Andrew blurt out "No!" Andrew adds,
"We have to be the silent guardians of humanity,
selfless and ready for battle."
"Oh, and the world's doing really well with that sort
of attitude."
"You're not talking about vampires and demons, are
you."
Xander and Andrew stare at each other, and Willow
interrupts: "Guys, we aren't here to worry about
politics. Xander, go to Boston. But you're taking a
bodyguard with you."
Xander says, "What?" A man walks into the room.
"This is Roger Bloom, one of my apprentices. If you
aren't going to be careful, you are going to be good."
"You didn't get a Slayer to guard me?"
"There are only three Slayers who won't go along with
any of your mad schemes, and they aren't around.
Besides, you won't want to put Roger in danger. And,
having a woman accompany you might cramp your style."
The ensuing fight lasts two hours.
--
Respectfully,
Eric Jablow
Respectfully,
Eric Jablow