Character Motion Mapping: The Archive Whisperer
0Alice Faraday loved her work as a librarian in one of New York’s prominent archival institutions. It didn’t pay much, and every year it seemed like the pay got smaller while the bills got bigger. But the time she spent indulging her deep love of old books and her ability to satisfy her intense curiosity about the way the world worked was more than enough compensation. Her days were mainly engaged in cataloging and managing the library’s collection, which was often monotonous and laborious, with many days just slipping between nine and five without anything happening at all. But in that monotony Alice began to notice patterns. Her academic background in mathematics had equipped her with the eyesight and insight to be able to spot what others could not. She began to see repeated patterns in the numerical symbols and cryptic marginal notes of the ancient books she handled. She began to wonder if there were connections between these symbols from which we might solve a lost equation. That in the darkness of the archives there was an ancient illuminating switch just waiting to be flicked. She dealt in truth, not speculation, and it was always hard for her to bridge the two. The scientist in her had brought her up to believe that whatever she first thought always defaulted to wrong. She loved the application of old language, and reveled in dropping it into conversation with her friends on the rare nights she allowed herself some time away from the books.