Last one, I promise!
Oct. 30th, 2010 04:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
giefuThis was the most fun to write. For the prompt 'evil/mad science' the secret origin of one of my oldest characters, Penny Dreadful the Victorian Steampunk mad scientist.
Dear Mr and Mrs Dedlock,
When you admitted Penelope to the Fairbright Academy For Young Ladies I promised you that we would try and mould her wayward mind to its proper course. You assured me that the very latest in chemical science was keeping her docile, and that the unhappy incidents of the past six schools she had attended were over. It was hoped, as I am sure you remember, that your daughter would have a productive future with us. It is with great reluctance and not some frustration that I inform you that we have failed. Last night, Penelope climbed to the top of the chapel tower and set what I can only describe as a golem upon the staff and several pupils. Five people were injured and considerable property damage was sustained. You shall, of course, receive the bill in due time.
How she constructed the golem is unknown, although some of the other pupils have reported to me that Penelope had been hoarding mashed potato for some weeks before the incident. Our cooks work hard to make their meals both nourishing and cheap, yet I do not find it difficult to believe that she could acquire such a large quantity. Funding, alas, is not what it was. Post-mortem investigation showed that the creature was powered by a home-made lightning-rod-and-battery assembly that our science professor was extremely impressed by- he asks me to inform you that Penelope has a certain low cunning and savage intellect that, properly channeled, might lead her to a productive career as a laboratory assistant. Failing that, I would suggest you expose her to scientific pursuits as little as possible as they have clearly driven the poor thing out of her mind.
We should, I admit, have seen something of the sort coming. Penelope, as you know, has a history of spiteful and destructive outbursts and she had not had one for a while. Foolishly, the staff and I believed that our influence was prevailing upon her to act in a more civilised manner. We now see that she was simply devoting all her mental energies to planning this outrage. What provoked it remains a mystery. Penelope had been socialising well with the other pupils, even engaging in their little games. More than once she had been late to classes, only to be found locked inside a cupboard after a spirited game of hide and seek- or so the other girls informed us.
Penelope, alas, will not be drawn on why she attacked the school. She has been placed in detention for the foreseeable future, is supervised for all her meals, and since the incident with the spoon is not allowed any cutlery. I am hoping that this letter finds you soon and urge you both to return from Patagonia to relieve us of her care. I do not know how long we can contain her.
Yr. obt. servant,
Cecily Fairbright
Headmistress, Fairbright Academy for Young Ladies
Dear Mr and Mrs Dedlock,
When you admitted Penelope to the Fairbright Academy For Young Ladies I promised you that we would try and mould her wayward mind to its proper course. You assured me that the very latest in chemical science was keeping her docile, and that the unhappy incidents of the past six schools she had attended were over. It was hoped, as I am sure you remember, that your daughter would have a productive future with us. It is with great reluctance and not some frustration that I inform you that we have failed. Last night, Penelope climbed to the top of the chapel tower and set what I can only describe as a golem upon the staff and several pupils. Five people were injured and considerable property damage was sustained. You shall, of course, receive the bill in due time.
How she constructed the golem is unknown, although some of the other pupils have reported to me that Penelope had been hoarding mashed potato for some weeks before the incident. Our cooks work hard to make their meals both nourishing and cheap, yet I do not find it difficult to believe that she could acquire such a large quantity. Funding, alas, is not what it was. Post-mortem investigation showed that the creature was powered by a home-made lightning-rod-and-battery assembly that our science professor was extremely impressed by- he asks me to inform you that Penelope has a certain low cunning and savage intellect that, properly channeled, might lead her to a productive career as a laboratory assistant. Failing that, I would suggest you expose her to scientific pursuits as little as possible as they have clearly driven the poor thing out of her mind.
We should, I admit, have seen something of the sort coming. Penelope, as you know, has a history of spiteful and destructive outbursts and she had not had one for a while. Foolishly, the staff and I believed that our influence was prevailing upon her to act in a more civilised manner. We now see that she was simply devoting all her mental energies to planning this outrage. What provoked it remains a mystery. Penelope had been socialising well with the other pupils, even engaging in their little games. More than once she had been late to classes, only to be found locked inside a cupboard after a spirited game of hide and seek- or so the other girls informed us.
Penelope, alas, will not be drawn on why she attacked the school. She has been placed in detention for the foreseeable future, is supervised for all her meals, and since the incident with the spoon is not allowed any cutlery. I am hoping that this letter finds you soon and urge you both to return from Patagonia to relieve us of her care. I do not know how long we can contain her.
Yr. obt. servant,
Cecily Fairbright
Headmistress, Fairbright Academy for Young Ladies
