it’s a fake. If it’s a real, physical creature, the two most popular theories are that it’s some sort of prehistoric creature or a really big sturgeon. If it’s a delusion, then we may be able to put it down to the power of suggestion; people see a floating branch and think it’s a monster. Third, it could be a fake, a joke, a fraud.”
“You said four categories,” Sam said.
Riga leaned back in her chair. “Fourth: it’s a real creature of the imagination, a moment in time when something shifts and a branch reveals itself as a monster. Carl Jung explored this in his writings on UFOs, theorizing UFOs were either objects manifested or projected by our unconscious or real objects that people projected their unconscious content upon.”
“So we’re back to seeing a log and thinking it’s a monster.”
“No, we’re back to seeing a log and gaining a new and very real view of the world.”
“Great. Let’s do it again.”
Riga blinked. “Again?”
“You were a little stiff. This is a conversation, not a lecture.” He gave her a tight smile. “Don’t worry about it. This was your first time out. I’d have been shocked if you’d nailed it.”
Riga nodded, glum.
They did it again.
And again.
By the fifth take, Sam was genuinely smiling. “Terrific! Think you can give us a quick history of Tessie?”
“Sure.” Riga’s jitters had been replaced by annoyance. She didn’t understand why the fifth take had been any better than the first one. She forced a smile and reminded herself that the client was always right. Usually.
“Great,” Sam said. “Where’s the map?”
Pen raced forward, nearly tripping over a cable in her excitement. “I’ve got it!”
“Thanks, Pen,” Sam said absently. He unrolled the map on the square, wooden kitchen table, lifted a hand and the map rolled back. “We’ll need some paperweights,” he said.
“What about this?” Wolfe hefted Brigitte onto the table, the muscles in his arms swelling to Pen’s unabashed admiration. “If we shoot from this angle like so,” he made a box with his thumbs and forefingers, “the camera will just catch the edge of the claw.”
Riga inhaled sharply. Brigitte’s talons lay flat now but they’d been curled upon the mantel.
Sam laughed. “You’re going to get that gargoyle into every shot, aren’t you?”
“It could be a great running gag,” Wolfe said, his hazel-colored eyes intent. “Something for the Internet discussion boards.”
Sam nodded, considering.
“But impractical,” Riga said. “Aren’t we going into the field? She’s heavy.” She heaved the gargoyle off the table and placed it on the counter, turning Brigitte so her tail faced the living room. Brigitte’s claws made vengeful scraping sounds upon the countertop.
“Point taken,” Sam said. “No more gargoyle, Wolfe.”
When Pen and Ash had arranged the lights to Griff’s satisfaction, Riga began, bending over the map. “The first recorded sighting of Tessie was in the 1950s, when two off-duty police officers reported seeing a large, black hump rise out of the water, here.” She pointed with a sharpened pencil. “They claimed the object kept pace with their speedboat. Since that time, there have been fairly regular reports, at least once a decade, of a long, serpent-like creature seen in the lake. In the 1980s, two fishermen spotted it near Cave Rock, here.” She pointed. “A few weeks later, divers reported a serpent shooting out of an underwater cave, and finding fin-prints left in the silt. And then, of course, there have been the recent sightings in the last month.” Riga was inclined to discount these. The uptick in sightings when a TV crew was in pre-production for a show on Tessie was most likely due to the power of suggestion, or to attention seeking.
“Where were those sightings?” Sam said.
“The first was just north
“You said four categories,” Sam said.
Riga leaned back in her chair. “Fourth: it’s a real creature of the imagination, a moment in time when something shifts and a branch reveals itself as a monster. Carl Jung explored this in his writings on UFOs, theorizing UFOs were either objects manifested or projected by our unconscious or real objects that people projected their unconscious content upon.”
“So we’re back to seeing a log and thinking it’s a monster.”
“No, we’re back to seeing a log and gaining a new and very real view of the world.”
“Great. Let’s do it again.”
Riga blinked. “Again?”
“You were a little stiff. This is a conversation, not a lecture.” He gave her a tight smile. “Don’t worry about it. This was your first time out. I’d have been shocked if you’d nailed it.”
Riga nodded, glum.
They did it again.
And again.
By the fifth take, Sam was genuinely smiling. “Terrific! Think you can give us a quick history of Tessie?”
“Sure.” Riga’s jitters had been replaced by annoyance. She didn’t understand why the fifth take had been any better than the first one. She forced a smile and reminded herself that the client was always right. Usually.
“Great,” Sam said. “Where’s the map?”
Pen raced forward, nearly tripping over a cable in her excitement. “I’ve got it!”
“Thanks, Pen,” Sam said absently. He unrolled the map on the square, wooden kitchen table, lifted a hand and the map rolled back. “We’ll need some paperweights,” he said.
“What about this?” Wolfe hefted Brigitte onto the table, the muscles in his arms swelling to Pen’s unabashed admiration. “If we shoot from this angle like so,” he made a box with his thumbs and forefingers, “the camera will just catch the edge of the claw.”
Riga inhaled sharply. Brigitte’s talons lay flat now but they’d been curled upon the mantel.
Sam laughed. “You’re going to get that gargoyle into every shot, aren’t you?”
“It could be a great running gag,” Wolfe said, his hazel-colored eyes intent. “Something for the Internet discussion boards.”
Sam nodded, considering.
“But impractical,” Riga said. “Aren’t we going into the field? She’s heavy.” She heaved the gargoyle off the table and placed it on the counter, turning Brigitte so her tail faced the living room. Brigitte’s claws made vengeful scraping sounds upon the countertop.
“Point taken,” Sam said. “No more gargoyle, Wolfe.”
When Pen and Ash had arranged the lights to Griff’s satisfaction, Riga began, bending over the map. “The first recorded sighting of Tessie was in the 1950s, when two off-duty police officers reported seeing a large, black hump rise out of the water, here.” She pointed with a sharpened pencil. “They claimed the object kept pace with their speedboat. Since that time, there have been fairly regular reports, at least once a decade, of a long, serpent-like creature seen in the lake. In the 1980s, two fishermen spotted it near Cave Rock, here.” She pointed. “A few weeks later, divers reported a serpent shooting out of an underwater cave, and finding fin-prints left in the silt. And then, of course, there have been the recent sightings in the last month.” Riga was inclined to discount these. The uptick in sightings when a TV crew was in pre-production for a show on Tessie was most likely due to the power of suggestion, or to attention seeking.
“Where were those sightings?” Sam said.
“The first was just north
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