Member-only story
Magnus had lived a strange and eventful life for a scientist who worked in a museum. He had dated a dark elf death priestess, nearly been eaten by a dinosaur, and had once persuaded five men armed with swords not to kill him by convincing them they didn’t exist; which goes some way to explain why having a dead folksinger appear in his apartment at 3 a.m. didn’t send him into cardiac arrest or even shock.
“Phil Ochs? What can I do for you? Coffee or tea?”
“Man, you are unflappable.” the tall thin man in dark sunglasses regarded him, we assume: the sunglasses were very dark,
“On the contrary, I am highly flappable. It’s just my standards for the disconcerting have been raised by recent events. You don’t seem likely to try and kill me in the next five minutes, so no need to panic.”
“Well in that case I’ll take coffee.”
Magnus pressed a button by his bedside and the sound of a coffeemaker coming to life hummed and gurgled in the background.
“Hi tech” Phil said grinning.
“I am a scientist” Magnus said, as he needed to remind himself of that from time to time, given the crazy turns his life had taken. “Also” he held up a stump where he used to have a hand “with only one hand I have needed to customize my apartment somewhat.”
