Lewis meets Hastie

Jekyll1886: Lewis waited until Dr. Lanyon's last appointment of the day had come to an end. Then he approached the door and gave it three soft raps.

'''Hastie Lanyon:'''  *Hastie had been drowsing in his chair before being woken abruptly by the sound of someone knocking on his door. He quickly straightened his clothes and made a futile attempt to shake the sleep from his mind.* Come in!

Jekyll1886:  "Good evening, Dr. Lanyon," he greeted, entering. "Sorry to disturb you. My name is Lewis Weir," he explained, proffering a card, "and I've a matter of some import to discuss with you, if you've the time." The card read: '''Dr. Lewis B. Weir Transcendental Metaphysicist '''and, below this, listed an address on Hanover Street.

'''Hastie Lanyon:'''  *Hastie inspected the card before looking back up.* Welcome, Dr. Weir. What matter would you discuss with me?

Jekyll1886:  Weir shut the door for privacy before continuing. "It's regarding Dr. Helen Jekyll," he explained, lowering his voice. "Or, more specifically, her Hyde. I understand she's apparently caused quite a bit of trouble for you and some of the lodgers, yet matters remain essentially at a stalemate, with no real solution in sight. I believe I may be able to help you remedy that, if you'll allow me. The situation dovetails nicely with my area of expertise, you see; I would find it a fascinating case study. Let me also assure you that I am the soul of discretion, should you require it."

'''Hastie Lanyon:'''  *Hastie's eyes darkened when he named Helen.* This is a confidential matter, doctor. May I ask how you got hold of this information?

Jekyll1886:  "Through an acquaintance of mine in another dimension, oddly enough. I understand your quite natural concern, but, rest assured, he's told no one else in this realm about her case, so you needn't worry on that account. I'm the only one who knows."

'''Hastie Lanyon:'''  Another dimension, you say... *Hastie rubbed at his eye, mildly exasperated but not entirely surprised.* If what you say is true and your intentions are fair, why should I trust you with this? Especially considering I am capable of handling this with the resources I already have at hand?

Jekyll1886:  "In that case, you have my apologies, Dr. Lanyon. Perhaps the information I received was in error. I certainly don't mean to 'step on any toes,' as the saying goes. If you have a workable solution which will allow everyone involved to live their best lives and become self-actualized without harm to anyone, including Hela herself, then I've no desire to get in your way. I humbly ask your pardon; I simply thought I might be of some assistance to you, and that I might be allowed to study at least one Jekyll & Hyde in return;" a quaver crept into his voice, "I've devoted my entire life to gaining a better understanding of the phenomenon." He looked crestfallen, but tried to hide it, blinking hard in order to stifle what threatened to be tears. "I..." he pressed his lips together, "I apologize for the...show of emotion," he managed, trying to collect himself. "I know it is...unbecoming. This matter is very important to--it's...very personal; I lost--oh, I am so terribly sorry." He closed his eyes and shook his head, overcome for a moment and embarrassed for it, struggling mightily to rein in the wave of disappointment and despair which threatened to swallow him under. He breathed in deeply, then out slowly. "Right. Sorry," he apologized, on a more even keel now, his tone leveling out. He shook his head. "Let's try that again, shall we?" He looked Hastie square in the eye, serious as a funeral. "I can tell you won't be satisfied with anything less than all the answers, and rightly so. Believe me--or don't, as you will--when I say: I truly wish to give them to you. However, there are certain laws of time and space which I must not violate, no matter how tempting it may be. The Butterfly Effect, causality, that sort of thing--and a terrible price to pay, should I stray from the narrow path. Just know that I am supposed to be here. To help. It will cost you nothing; I don't require lodgings, and I have a regular source of employment. Lending my expertise to the Society, for the benefit of many of its members, is exactly what needs to be done; otherwise..." he trailed off. "Let's just say there are over 223,000 different ways this place could go to Hell in an eyeblink. I'm here to prevent approximately 34,000 of them. More to the point..." He lowered his voice, wistful sorrow and fondness permeating his gaze as he looked at Lanyon, "I'm here to keep you safe, Hastie. Never doubt that." '''Hastie Lanyon:'''  *Hastie tilted his head slightly.* Keep me safe? *He rose from his chair behind the desk and walked over to Lewis.* Where do you come from? How is this personal to you?

Jekyll1886:  "I...my dimension had a Hastie Lanyon. He was my dear..." he considered his words, "...friend. He didn't look exactly like you, but he acted much the same. The trouble is...my realm also had a Henry Jekyll. And an Edward Hyde. You--he, my Hastie--ran afoul of him. And...and I lost him. We all lost him--that other you. And it cannot be undone. Laws of time and space." He shook his head sadly. "Imagine my hope...and then dismay...when I learned there were other dimensions, other versions of you...only to find out nearly all of them met tragic ends. You're the only one who has a shot, Hastie. And it's a 'maybe' at best; my presence here muddies the waters until the future is a clouded thing, death and life equal possibilities for you. Which, granted, beats certain doom...but it's still no guarantee."

'''Hastie Lanyon:'''  *It took Hastie a moment to consider what he had just been told. It would make sense, wouldn't it? For some poor bastard from another dimension to die... But certainly he wouldn't?* If... what you say is true, and I... What course of action would you recommend, doctor? Jekyll1886:  "Let me try to help some of the Hydes & Jekylls come to terms with their condition. Hela's--or Helen's--state is particularly worrisome; in all the scenarios my acquaintances have run, if you die, it's usually at her hands. That said, trying to kill her sometimes results in your death as well, inadvertently." He shook his head. "Allow me to treat her. She's priority patient number one; if I can't help her find balance, you might not be the only one she takes with her."

'''Hastie Lanyon:'''  You would let Hela live? She cannot be reasoned with, she would destroy Helen.

Jekyll1886:  "To let Hela live is to let Helen live. She may not have listened to the reasons other people have used to try to sway her, but self-interest can be an excellent motivator, I find. If that doesn't work, there are...other methods. But I must admit to a little confusion regarding your assertion that Hela would 'destroy' Helen. Could you be more specific in what exactly that entails, and how you think it would come about?"

'''Hastie Lanyon:'''  Hela breathes chaos and destruction, do you really think she would let her very essence go for "freedom"? I, for one, have a very hard time believing she would. Helen, on the other hand, would lock herself up and throw away the key to keep Hela from coming out. That isn't a life worth living. I... I just want her to be able to live freely.

Jekyll1886:  Weir knew what he'd told Lanyon was a lot to take in. He wanted to give Hastie as long as he needed to process it.

Obtained From
Lewis RP contd