WARNING: This game is the ancestor of the Clerical Error game written more recently by Kathleen De Smet. The newer game has undergone heavy revision. If you read this game you will both spoil some secrets and end up with some wrong information.
The original character concept for Lucia was a passionate singer who had cheated on her husband with a friend. Lucia was meant to personify the sin of lust. We had a difficult time coming to terms with what it meant for her. We wanted her to be so full of passion that it consumed her and yet not entirely in a directly sexual way. In the end Lucia's form of lust was not only frequent sex, but also constant attention and adoration. She wanted to be the center of everything. We went through several not so great drafts before Kathleen re-wrote the whole thing in a much better voice. We all agreed that her version was far less stilted and sympathetic to poor Lucia.
Very early on we considered having a gender-swapped version of the romantic triangle, but ultimately we decided that would be too much work to write.
Lucia's important item was her little pink book. Katie really came through on this one. She got an actual little pink address book on sale from the book store where she works, and filled in dozens of names, numbers, and amusing notes. A number of players were awfully amused to look through that book. Katie used the names of characters from books and comics as the entries and generated all the phone numbers with d10's while she was on a long car trip. Many of the entries even had "notes". I think some included just text and others had numbers. The one I remember most said something like "cellist, hands". Heh.
Since Lucia's husband Prem was a Sikh, Katie wrote a summary of information about Sikhism for Lucia's player. This information is appended after Lucia's full description. Katie also wrote a summary for Prem's player, which is longer and has a good deal more information. We also had a little bit of a snafu in that Prem's last name had to be changed to Singh; since Sikh men traditionally take that last name as a sign of the equality between all people. His original last name (as you can see in Lucia's concept paragraph) was Vaniprenta.
Friday's Lucia.Lucia's original concept paragraph:
Lucia / Lester Horn
Growing up in a mid-sized Midwestern town, Lucia has always been somewhere between an irrepressible flirt and a femme fatale, which made her very popular with the boys but won her no friends among the girls. One boy in particular, Evan Jellison, could not stay away from her, so they were best friends throughout school. They even ended up going to the same university and remained friends. Evan introduced her to his new roommate, Prem Vanipenta, who had just immigrated from India. Lucia liked him right away because he had enough dignity not to chase her like a love-sick puppy, even though she could tell that his desire for her was no less than Evan's. He presented a challenge that she set out to conquer. Within months they were inseparable and giddy with love. Once they had graduated college, they were married. Then he went into medical school and she went to grad school to pursue a masters in music and for a few years everything went swimmingly. Then, after she had graduated and found a job as a lounge singer, Prem went into residency. Lucia became increasingly upset that he worked so hard and such long hours and seemed to have little time or energy to spare for her. The arguments and tears happened more and more often until they weren't even sharing a bed anymore. Suddenly Lucia was entirely bereft of the things she needed to make her feel like her: attention, sex, and love. But if Prem was unwilling or unable to provide those, she knew where she could get them: Evan Jellison. So she showed up at his office one day and invited him out for coffee. His puppy-dog love was just the salve she needed for her hurt feelings, and she started seeing him several times a week. Finally one night, when she hadn't had sex in two weeks, she could no longer resist taking Evan to bed with her. She was so passionate she nearly left him senseless. They continued this whirlwind affair for over a year until finally Prem graduated from residency and started working as a full doctor. Very suddenly, his hours improved so he could lavish his wife with the attention she craved, and she no longer had any need of Evan. She broke off their relationship and has tried to avoid seeing him as much as possible since then. That was a year and a half ago. 1980's.
Lucia's final character story (as given to players):
Lucia Horn, age 31. 1983
My friends tease me for being an outrageous flirt, and I guess it's true. I collect the affections of men like charms on a bracelet. No matter where I am, I will always have the attention of every male in the room. Just knowing their eyes are on me, even if I never approach them, makes me feel like a queen. I don't know if I could live without that sensation. Even now, married though I am, I treasure my little pink book of phone numbers. Whenever I feel lonely or out-of-sorts, I'll flip to a page and call up an old friend or lover. Their affection is a comforting balm for any sadness I have.
The person who comforts me best has always been Evan. We've been friends since we were children and we went to the same high school and college together. He's like a brother to me. Evan even introduced me to my husband.
Prem was his college roommate, just recently immigrated from India. We met at a college house party where I was flirting my way through a small crowd of darling fraternity boys when Evan dragged him over to me. Prem was a very handsome young man, wearing a neatly wrapped turban and immaculate dress clothes. An utter gentleman, he bowed over my proffered hand and coolly proclaimed himself delighted to make my acquaintance. Most men at this point would have smiled and joked with me, tried to impress me with their career or wit, or even used a hackneyed pick-up line, but not Prem. He merely nodded gravely and listened to my prattling conversation. I found myself in the unusual position of trying to impress him. I was witty and winsome and pulled out all the stops to get a reaction out of him. I knew he was attracted to me, despite his cool demeanor, because when I "accidentally" pressed myself against him at one point, I felt his pulse quicken and saw his pupils dilate. But still he restrained himself and treated me with a kind of dignity I had never experienced before. With shocking clarity, I suddenly saw an alpha wolf surrounded by puppies. I knew I had to have this man.
It was not easy. For weeks, I pursued his company at every opportunity and worked all my tricks on him, but he was slow to thaw. What seemed to please him most, however, was intellectual conversation. So I cultivated an interest in his studies (medicine, specifically radiology) and read articles in his journals to give me something to discus with him during parties. There wasn't much at that point I wouldn't do to lure him to me. Finally, three months later, came the inexpressible moment of triumph: he asked me out on a date, dinner and a play.
How to describe the following months? My feet never touched the ground. I had found the perfect man, a brilliant, attractive doctor who presented a challenge but always treated me like a goddess. How could I not love him passionately? The only thing that could have made me happier when he proposed a year later was if he had done it a little less clinically. I always tease him that a little romance won't kill him, but he never changes.
Saturday's Lucia.Prem had a Plan with a capital P, so we didn't get married until I had graduated from undergrad and was entering the Master's program for music. He was well into medical school by then and so busy he barely had time to eat or sleep, let alone socialize. That didn't bother me, though, because I was too. Between the singing practicum, theory classes, and vocal performances, I was booked constantly for the next two years. Prem and I would only see each other at the breakfast table and during study breaks on the weekend, but we made the most of those few hours together.
I became much less sanguine about Prem's hectic schedule when I got my Master's and he entered residency. One of us needed to make some money so we could eat, and since there weren't any steady singing gigs to be had, I was forced to take a dull secretarial position. My life down-shifted drastically, from full and fast-paced to an empty snail's crawl. Prem continued on as he had before and I felt left behind. I began to feel the lack of his attentions like I never had before. I tried to explain that I needed more of his time; I needed him to understand how I felt, but he just saw my pleas as childish. He kept saying I should be more self-sufficient. It was like a slap in the face and I responded that he was too cold to be human. That was the beginning and the theme of all our vituperative arguments. The more we fought, the less time we spent together. Even when we had time together, he would spend it on the couch rather than in my bed.
The climax of our conflict came on our two-year anniversary. Prem finally did take an evening off to take me out to dinner, but instead of any hint of romance I got a lecture, as if to a child, about how I had known this was how it was going to be and that the situation would not change until he graduated in two years. He had the gall to say that I just had to put up with it. How could he expect me to survive two years of being alone, in a dumpy job, without any human comfort? I was too angry to even speak, but he didn't notice. He just shifted to talking about his latest radiology case and never even wished me a happy anniversary.
But for all my anger, I did love Prem. I tried to do as he asked. My little pink book got a lot of use over the next few months. Evan, my old high school friend, even made it into my speed-dial. I would call Evan up any day of the week and we'd go out for coffee, maybe a movie. It was such a relief to talk to someone who had time for a real conversation. We started seeing each other more and more frequently. One night we were at his place watching a movie, snuggled under a blanket together, when he surprised me with a kiss. I had always known that he wanted me, but I never imagined he'd have the guts to act on it. I lost myself in that kiss. I couldn't help it; it had been so long since I had been properly kissed and it felt so good. With all the passion built up inside me, there was nothing that could stop me at that point. Evan and I made a mess of his living room.
Nights like that became fairly common and the highlight of those sad years. I knew it couldn't last, but the affair was exactly what I needed. I was bolstered by and insulated in Evan's adoration, which allowed me to give Prem the space he needed. It worked like a charm; Prem and I stopped fighting and he could finish residency in peace.
True to his word, Prem graduated in 1981. He had his pick of positions and I encouraged him to choose one far away. Before we left, I broke it off with Evan; he was upset, but it was something that I had to do in order to get on with my married life. I knew Evan too well; he wouldn't risk hurting me even if it meant having to let me go.
Soon Prem and I were starting a new life in Chicago. There were lots of clubs and it wasn't hard for me to find a steady singing gig. Money was no longer an issue; I was so glad to be done with the 9-5 workday. Prem finally had time and energy to spend on me, so I have never been happier. The last two years have been the best of my life. We've bought a house and I'm now trying to convince Prem that children do fit into his grand Plan.
Why you are here:
You and Prem are traveling to a Radiology Conference in Richmond, VA. You are going to check into the Marriott to rest before the conference begins tomorrow morning. You plan to do some shopping and sightseeing while Prem is at the conference.
Sunday's Lucia.Tips:
Lucia is a professional singer and an extremely passionate person. It is 1983 and shoulder pads are in. Lucia is a fairly fashionable, flamboyant person, so go nuts. We will supply you with your little pink book and all other props that your character would carry. We are going to ask everyone to empty their pockets at the beginning of the evening, so you might not want to bring stuff you don't trust us to hold for you.
Prem is a Sikh. We've attached some information about the Sikh religion that Lucia would know. Please forgive us if we have missed any important details that would offend actual practicing Sikhs, and remember that the info is from Lucia's point of view.
Sikhism:
Sikhism is a small religion based in the northern part of India. They don't like the rest of Inda. The Sikhs believe that every religion is partly right, but that only they truly understand God. Everyone else believes in stories because they cannot quite grasp the truth about God. Prem claims that they don't look down on other religions, but they do believe that other religions are immature. The Sikhs don't cut their hair, but Prem does trim his beard weekly. His hair really never has been cut and is quite long, but he wears it up in a turban every day, so you doubt that anyone really knows that except you and perhaps Evan (because they were roommates). Prem wears an iron bracelet all the time. It is to symbolize that he is a Sikh. There is a holy book, like a bible, called the Adi Granth. It's a thick heavy book and Prem keeps a copy in your living room. Occasionally he "asks it's advice", which seems to involve opening it randomly and reading a line or two. He doesn't do that very often, though. You know that Prem will want to raise your children as Sikhs, but as you aren't very religious this doesn't really bother you (on a child the long hair might, but that's an argument you don't feel like having yet). There were some Sikh aspects to your wedding, but nothing that made a big difference. Prem has never tried to convert you and doesn't bring it up very often, so you don't know that much more. You assume there aren't really any rituals or services or anything since Prem has never performed or attended any.
