No One's POV
Zacharov was at the controls when Seulgi hit the recall signal. As he had promised her, he widened the wormhole from microscopic to Normal size. Then he sent the basket down. A minute later he could see the gondola coming back with Seulgi in it. Her normal scowl had been replaced by look of intense anger.
"So... you were gone almost the entire night. You had fun... Yes?" He said hoping the look was just Seulgi being overly grouchy.
Seulgi quickly got in his face and narrowed her eyes, "Fun... NO! You need to check your machine. It was a bit off."
Zacharov backed up with a worried look, "OFF? By how much?"
The Korean rebel huffed and hardened her Jaw, "3 years and 5 months. So instead of the rather festive May 12th, 1937, I got into the rather terrifying, October 9th, 1940. Which as it happened to be— was during the London Blitz. So I got to see a German air raid first hand and let me tell you. NOT FUN. Not fun at all. I even got to see some poor bastard they were pulling out of the rubble on my way back. He didn't look too good. Normally i'd loved to see a dead body. But because of my long night, I couldn't even enjoy it. I spent the entire night sleeping, rather uncomfortably I might add, in a corner of an underground station. and I'm tired, my back hurts and I'm hungry as hell on top of it. So No, I didn't have any fun!"
Zacharov turned white and took a rather nervous sip from the cocoa nut he was holding, "Oh... my I'm so sorry! I... I... need to check the calibration."
Seulgi nodded and grabbed the bag of her modern clothes that was in the corner, "Yes... you do that." She said in a rather chilling voice, followed by an equally chilling glare. "Now, I'm going to change, go home, take a shower, eat, down about 10 aspirin and half a bottle of bourbon. Watch Camren videos or Fifth Harmony takeovers, or whatever. Then go to sleep, bye..."
Zacharov felt terrible, not to mention he was half scared out of his wits, "Uh... take the next week off with pay while I fix this."
Seulgi just grunted and left the room. For the next week, Seulgi relaxed and attended her classes as normal. Though her thoughts remained on Irene, she pushed asides any thoughts of her eventual trip to the 1800's.
She returned to the lab a week later to work. No trips had been planned so Seulgi figured she would just run errands, as she did normally.
"So did you get the thing fixed? Because the rather unerving buzzing which is the sound of a few hundred German Heinkel bombers headed in my direction, is not one I care to hear again." She said abruptly, as she walked into the lab.
Zacharov stood up and handed Seulgi a small box, "Yes. A circuit board had failed, causing the calibration to drift. I need to watch that in the future. I also took the time to install a secondary backup. I feel very bad for what I've done and I've gotten something to hopefully make it up to you. Here."
Seulgi looked at the box and opened it. Inside was what looked like a small but old ticket. Pulling it out, Seulgi could see it was well preserved and unused concert ticket.
"You've mentioned that you like Siouxie and the Banshee's a lot. So I found this on ebay and ordered it for you."
"Hell Yeah, it's probably my favorite band, period." She then read the ticket.
Siouxsie and the Banshees's
8:00 PM. August 25th, 1981
Hammersmith Odeon, London England.
"Oh... Cool. Thanks." Seulgi said as she looked back up at Zacharov. "I'll have to frame this and put it on my wall."
A rather puzzled look suddenly came across Zacharov's face, "It's an unused ticket."
Seulgi rolled her eyes, "I'm not blind. I can see that."
Suddenly Zacharov stepped back and gestured towards the equipment behind him, "You don't see my dear. You have an unused ticket and I have a TIME MACHINE!"
It took about a half second for Seulgi's mind to connect the dots. At which point her eyes opened wide, with a long audible gasp. Looking down at the ticket, Seulgi's hands began to shake.
Realizing she now could see her favorite band off all time in their prime, Seulgi had a mini freakout, "Oh... oh my God. I can... I can see Budgie. I can see Siouxsie. Not the old Souxsie. But the New Siouxsie, when she was new and not old and broken up like today. Oh my god. 1981, that's Juju. I can hear night shift. Oh my God I can go... I can see Siouxie and the Banshee's!"
"Well Technically, you already have. In fact I have the machine ready to go. You're dressed in all black as normal, so if you're ready. You can go now. I even have some pound notes from that time you can spend. Here they are."
"ARE YOU KIDDING!" Seulgi snapped as she grabbed the pound notes, "This is Siouxsie. I can't just wear any black outfit. Oh my God. I have to rush home and get my best Goth outfit." With that, Seulgi ran out the door and returned just over 5 hours later.
He knew not to say anything but Seulgi appeared much like she did before. She was wearing Black leather boots, tight black legging's over a black and green plaid skirt. She had on a black lace top and leather jacket with a long necklace with a strange Goth Type design. Her hair was done and she looked very much the goth. "Let's go. And if you dump me in the blitz again, I'm going to hurt you."
Zacharov was pretty sure that Seulgi wasn't kidding.
Zacharov, made sure he had the date and would place her in London with plenty of time to reach the venue. With that, Seulgi was sent back. Arriving in 1981, she found the place to be a record store again. She exited the store and made her way to the concert venue.
Soon she was standing on Queen Caroline Street in front of the Hammersmith Odoen theatre. Looking at her watch, she could see it was just after 7:30 pm and people were filing into the venue.
For a moment, Seulgi marveled at the concert goers. There were a few small groups standing outside smoking. There were some with spiked hair, some with new wave hair, sticking out in every direction and many with very classic punk look. Some were dressed very Goth like, but in an earlier style. Seulgi felt like a sleek deadly panther in the middle of a gaudy flamboyant zoo. No one however seemed to notice the Korean rebel in her 21st century Goth outfit.
Seulgi looked at the ticket in her hand and grinned, "Holy fuck, I'm here!"
With a building sense of anticipation, Seulgi walked in, handed her ticket to the usher and found her seat. Much to her surprise, the seat was a rather good one about 16 rows back from the stage. She wondered briefly if the people next to her knew the original ticket holder. If they asked she'd just say she saw the empty seat and moved forward. She realized she couldn't admit to having the ticket if they did know the person.
Still, Seulgi was beyond excited, as the venue filled up and behind a curtain a few guitars could be heard as they were tuned up. The whole thing was like a dream. But at 8:00 sharp, the curtain rolled back and the stage was flooded with a red light.
An instant later, the band members seemed to come out of the darkness and began to play. With an approving roar of the audience, a young, vibrant and mysterious looking Siouxie Sioux began to rattle off the first lines of 'Red Light'.
As the lead singer casually strolled across the stage, Seulgi literally had to pinch herself. But it was all true. She was now seeing her favorite band of all time in its prime. By the time the band hit the second song; 'Halloween', the crowd was into it.
The thing that struck Seulgi was how young and vibrant they looked. Full of raw energy, they powered the way through song after song. Siouxie stood there with a wild look in her eyes that were heavily covered in eyeshadow. Seulgi was spellbound, by her raw sexuality. For a brief time, even Irene faded from her mind. Seulgi may have been in love, but she was still very human.
Seulgi also paid particular attention to guitarist John McGeoch, who was in the band at the time. She was amazed at his talent, yet couldn't help but feel sad that he would eventually have a nervous breakdown and leave the band. Even more sad, Seulgi knew that the man on stage, playing with such dedication would die in his sleep at the age of 48 in 2004. She found the sound of his playing to be immensely bittersweet.
Partway through the 3rd song which was 'Hong Kong Garden', Seulgi remembered that her ex Krystal, was an even bigger Siouxie fan than she was. For a moment She pictured the look of near insane jealousy on her face if she learned that Seulgi was here this night.
Seulgi could only laugh and then shouted out, "Krystal, eat your fucking heart, you worthless whore!"
To Seulgi's dying day, this concert went down as the very best one she had ever seen. From 'Night Shift', to 'Voodoo Dolly' to the final song of 'Spellbound'. Seulgi was completly blown away. Of course she couldn't really tell that she was there. How would one explain how they attended a concert that took place 13 years before they were born. But still, Seulgi utterly enjoyed every single second of it.
The whole thing with Irene had been weighing heavily on her mind and the concert was just what she needed. By the time she walked out, she felt like she was walking on a cloud, at least for a short while.
Upon coming back, the Korean rebel profusely thanked Zacharov for the opportunity to see such an incredible show. A few weeks later, after finding another unused ticket online, Seulgi went back in time to see David Bowie on May 12th, 1973 at Earl's Court during his Ziggy Stardust tour. Again she was totally blown away.
Having a unique opportunity, Seulgi scoured the internet for one show she was dying to see. Finally she found it.
Zacharov even help her buy the ticket from the collecter as he still felt very guilty about the Blitz incident. The next day, Seulgi went back and was one of the 72,000 fans attending the Live Aid concert at Wembly Arena on July 13th, 1985. There she saw, U2, Adam Ant, The Who, Ultravox along with the other artists that performed that day.
But for Seulgi, the best part was seeing Queen, with Freddie Mercury fronting the band in all his glory. She simply couldn't pass up a chance to see Freddy, that would be criminal. As Queen played, Seulgi was in awe as she watched Freddie strut across the stage belting out 'Radio Ga Ga'. He acted as if he owned the stage and seeing the audiences wild reaction, he most certainly did. Next to the Siouxie and the banshee's, seeing Queen was the best show she'd ever seen.
The date for her to go back to 1869 was set for June 3, one week after her last final exam. Ironically that day was also Irene's 168th birthday. As it had been explained that for each day she spent in the past she'd lose one day here, she'd need some free time. Also she needed time to prepare.
Besides classes and working for Zacharov, Seulgi threw herself into her preparations. She read up on history, slang, dress, and politics of the era. She downloaded a number of history and reference books onto her kindle so she could consult them. She even scanned in Irene's journals and had them transferred to her kindle. Using her acting skills, she made a character with a background.
Her character was Seulgi Kang from Los Angeles. The daughter of a well off horse trader who recently passed away, she had decided to sail around the world. Her character was pretty much herself with a few modifications.
Seulgi consulted the teacher that taught costume design at her college in help on designing some 1869 clothes. She said it was for a play she was in the process of writing.
Knowing that Irene loved to ride and her character was the daughter of a horse trader, Seulgi even took riding lessons on the weekend.
Seulgi in addition to that, scoured antique shops for things her character would need. A comb, toiletries, etc. That and she went through old coins shops to find some money from the period. Zacharov did help with some of the expenses.
As the days got closer and closer, she got more anxious. To relieve some of the tension, she made some other trips back in time. One of the things she did was see several silent movies that in the modern day no longer exist. There are many films that over time had been lost for one reason or another.
The very first one Seulgi saw was called "London After Midnight." It was a 1927 film horror/mystery film starring Lon Cheney Sr. In this case, Seulgi wore some appropriate 1927 clothes, went back in time and saw the movie. She even covertly videotaped it with her iPod.
A while later, the British Film Insitute was shocked to have someone covertly mail them a DVD copy of the film. Along with DVD's of at least 20 other lost films from the silent era. It created quite a stir, but no one was ever able to figure out who had those films in their collection. Not to mention they were baffled by the superior quality of the footage.
Finally, Seulgi finished her first year at school and the summer break was due to begin. Seulgi despite her other activities, she managed to get an A average.
That last week was torture for her, waiting to see Irene. But she finally made it. All arrangements were made. She had told her family she would be backpacking through europe and out of touch. She arranged for Zacharov to get her mail and pay her few bills.
On June 3rd, 2018. Seulgi Kang stood in Zacharov's lab all ready to go. She had 2 authentic looking bags. One contained her clothes which consisted of; 2 simple dresses and one night shirt, plus authentic undergarments. She also had a plain pair of 1869 shoes. All her clothes were perfect replicas.
The other bag had her toiletries, a 1863 copy of Richard the III, a 1860 copy of 'Tales of the Grotesque' and 'Arabesque' by Edgar Allen Poe with her iPhone X, iPod, kindle and a solar charger. While the phone itself would be useless, some of the apps could be useful. The modern items were hidden in a carefully constructed false bottom of the bag.
Seulgi outfitted herself in what she described as Traveling clothes. They consisted of 1864 Model US Army issue black Cavalry boots, a pair of plain black pants. A simple white shirt and with a brown leather vest. Her hair was tied back and on her head she wore a Civil war union Forage cap, otherwise known as a kepi. Over that she wore a blue Union army Great coat. Hardly things a woman would wear, but she was no ordinary woman.
Her character's father served in the US civil war, thus Seulgi used her "Father's" things to travel in.
Lastly she had her Pringles hidden underneath her tops and her family's wallet sized picture in her back pocket.
"Do you have the watch, so you can recall the wormhole?" Zacharov asked as he warmed up the machine.
"Yes, plus to activate the emergency. I press the red button 3 times."
"So which exact date do you want?"
"April 29th, 1869."
"Why that date, specifically?"
Seulgi smiled, "As it turns out, in the Journals Irene mentions that one of the servants who worked at the inn. A girl named Cecilia, quit on that day. They didn't find a proper replacement for at least 3 months. So guess who's going to show up the day Cecilia quits, looking for a Job? It will give me the perfect way in. Plus it will give me just over 2 months to do my work."
"And you brought the other things from the box, the journals etc..."
"Yes, in this plastic tub. Why?"
"An experiment. If you change history, those items may have never ended up in that house, thus you never got them. They may simply vanish. However I think that if they are in close proximity to the machine, they will be shielded. I will keep the tub here safe and sound."
"What about you? What if you forget?"
Zacharov pulled out a small thumb drive and handed it to her, "Keep this and if I don't remember give this to me. It has a video I recorded explaining what's going on."
She carefully stuck the thumb drive in the secret part of her bag and threw her stuff in the basket. Then she crawled into the basket herself.
Zacharov hit a few more buttons and the machine warmed up, "Okay, you will arrive at 6:00 AM on April 29th, 1869. That will be one hour before the factory that this place once was, was opened for the day. You're lucky this building was built in 1863. The place will be empty and no one will see you arrive. As I said, I will keep the worm hole open, but in a microscopic size. No one will even see it. I'll make sure I'll monitor the machine at all times. I have a remote that can tell me what's going on. Are you ready?"
Now feeling giddy and nervous, Seulgi nodded, "I'm ready!"
A second later, Zacharov hit a button and the machine started to make a loud hum. Then Seulgi could see the worm hole open beneath her, "Good Luck!" He shouted.
"Thanks!" Seulgi said as she felt the basket begin to lower.
Seulgi couldn't help but grin, "Irene, here I come..."
•••
The three concerts that Seulgi attended was all really took place on the dates and venues listed. With the Siouxie and the Banshee's show, they did in fact play the songs she mentions on that night. I took the liberty of looking up the setlist for that night.
The comment about the gituarist for Siouxie and the Banshees, John McGeoch was very true.
Here's a question. If you could attend any 1 concert that took place in history, which would it be? It's a hard question as there would be so many to chose from. That said, I'd love to see Britney Spears 'Dream within a dream' concert tour in Las Vegas because why not? I mean I'm also a Britney Army and she was my first wife so...