The Curse of Taloncrest Manor

Prologue, Part 3: The Doctor Is In

-1903-

It was a rather slow day at the Taloncrest estate. Thomas was chatting with Bart in the living area when out of nowhere, the doorbell rang; a new person had arrived at the mansion. 

When Bart answered the door, he was greeted by a middle-aged man who almost matched him in height, wearing a long white lab coat, brown slacks, and black business shoes. He had also pulled up in the driveway with a car carrying a lot of laboratory equipment. 

"Umm....hello there. Who are you?" Bart asked the newcomer, rather confused about the latter's presence. 

"Apologies for coming on such short notice, my friend. I shall explain everything, but first, would you mind too terribly allowing me in? It's rather cold out here, I must say," the mysterious man said. 

Bart and Thomas walked with the man to the kitchen. While Bart and the guest sat down, Thomas was ordered to prepare three cups of coffee for the group. "So what brings you here, stranger? Was there something you require? There wasn't really much going on here today anyway....if you're here for the parties I'm known for throwing, I'm afraid you just missed one. The next one is in five days' time." Bart began. 

The guest laughed. "No, don't worry, you needn't trouble yourself with that. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Geoffrey Lockwood. I am....mostly somewhat of a shut-in to the folks who live in the town just down the road. I used to spend the bulk of my days toiling away in my house--which, in turn, used to double as my lab--but after a while, I ran into a few....complications," Lockwood explained. 

"You see....I have dedicated my life's work to the pursuit of robots; specifically, human-like androids. The reason for this is that I believe that, if fine-tuned well enough, they can eventually be mass-produced and made to perform various tasks in order to improve overall quality of life. I also used to dabble in mechanical inventions, and have created a large collection of cybernetics, which I have brought along with me."

"The reason I have decided to attempt to change my base of operations is because I have been receiving a lot of complaints from the townspeople about my experiments. Some say that I was causing too much noise, others cast suspicion on me and my methods, reasoning that they were 'unethical', and even others were overly wary of my specimens, stating that they were dangerous and posed a risk to the well-being of the town's residents."

"Through your luxurious, party-filled lifestyle, you've likely touched the hearts of many more people than you know. I first heard about you from a group of people chatting in the marketplace during one of my walks. A secluded mansion, far away from everyone else, and an incredibly large venue to boot? It is much bigger than my old house, to say the least; more room for swinging elbows, if I do say so myself."

"Anyway, my proposition is this; I wish to take up residence here. I will make sure not to bother either of you--I only ask that I am able to convert the basement into a larger laboratory space for me to perform my work. In return, if you find that you are not interested in any of my studies, I can still be of use to you, if not solely for my medical knowledge. Wouldn't you agree that you could use a physician to be on call for you at all times? It would be quite a hassle to travel so much....what say you?"

To say that Bart and Thomas were on the fence about letting this newcomer live in the mansion would be a gross understatement. "Right....will you excuse us for a moment?" Bart asked Geoffrey. "Of course. I'll be waiting right here! This coffee is amazing, by the way," the doctor said with a smile. 

Bart and Thomas retreated deep into a nearby hallway. "I'm not so sure about this individual....what if his antics cause the same problems in here that they did out there?" Bart asked his butler. "Hmmm....a convincing point....but let's not forget what this man claims to be capable of. Cybernetic enhancements, androids, robotics....he seems to be eons ahead of his time. Besides, he has promised to not get in our way. And to be honest, Master, you could use a doctor at your side. I myself am quite lacking in the way of medical experience, and you admittedly do party a lot. Who's to say all that drinking won't get to you one day?" Thomas debated. "And....he may be able to cure any headaches you may have, since Melody has unfortunately passed."