Rise To Stardom - Chapter 124

Chapter 124: The Forgotten Genius
(Two weeks later…)

Why did Kiera Snow even bother travelling with The Curator?

Sure there was the bootstrap paradox incident and the fact that he had a time travel machine but still, considering the past few incidences that had happened, she more than anyone, knew that there would be a few, frankly perilous events if she travelled with him.

Yet, she still did.

Was it because of the excitement?

The thrill?

Adventure and wonder maybe?

Or, was it because, everything she ever wanted, was tightly packed into one neat bun that she just couldn’t resist?

Which exactly, was it?

The answer however, was far simpler than most would’ve expected.

Kiera Snow, added to all the hypothetically speculated reasons, simply needed, inspiration.

Tons and tons of inspiration.

She was an aspiring novelist through and through and even The Curator, hinted at the fact that there were other reasons as to why she wanted to travel with a mad man like him.

Considering, that even when Kiera was in college, people thought she spent most of her time reading in the library, the only exception was Beatrice, her closest friend, who knew that Kiera was actually writing her very own novel.

And lo and behold, Kiera had also found her muse.

A truly, brilliant specimen, of a muse.

The Curator himself.

All of this was subtly brought up in the third episode which had already being shot but, was touched on properly at the end of the fourth episode which had also being shot.

The duo after resolving a certain supernatural incident where an organization on earth, run by certain extra-terrestrial beings, began trapping humans into digital media as a form of capitalist punishment for a twisted agenda of theirs, both, had a pretty interesting discussion upon returning to The Index;

–

CURATOR

“Typically no one travels with a mad man and a time machine who suddenly popped up a few times, out of the blue…”

“Sure we have a mystery regarding us that needs solving but, unless you’re probably just as crazy as I am and I highly doubt that, there’s something more to your willingness to come along, isn’t there?”

“Kiera Snow. Brave and brilliant, Kiera Snow. What are your motives, really?”

KIERA

“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t have one?”

CURATOR

“That’s rubbish!”

KIERA

“Fair point.”

“Tell you what though Curator; I’ll tell you my actual reason for coming along, if, you tell me, who you actually are.”

“Who are you, really? Where did you come from? What set you on this journey of yours and where exactly, are you going? Also, what is your name? Your actual, name?”

CURATOR

“Hmmm… Unfair tradeoffs so no.”

KIERA

“Guess we have more mysteries on our hand then…”

CURATOR

“I guess we do…”

–

That said, due to helping out tremendously alongside The Curator in resolving the incident of humans getting trapped into audio digital media appliances, The Curator had given her a spare interspatial key to access The Index whenever she wanted.

To a certain extent, it was his way of protecting her whenever he wasn’t around and also appreciating her efforts in resolving the incident.

As of today though, Kiera had informed The Curator that she needed a bit of break from the travelling and wanted to go back to her normal life for a few hours.

Of course, The Curator wasn’t too bothered about this, especially since it wasn’t the first time someone he was travelling with had requested of such.

They could always leave or come back as they pleased, granted he had given them an interspatial key.

Still, after the first scene of the fifth episode had shown all that, currently, The Curator, now alone in his library and time machine, behaved like his normal, actual self, all of the chaotic, youthful side of him, stripped away in the absence of his companion.

Although The Horologium was sentient enough to converse with The Curator through her beeps and pendulum swings, especially since she was the ‘sexy, brilliant dame’ that maintained The Index, even she knew she couldn’t really elevate his spirits half the time.

She did try though, whenever she felt she could.

But, for the most part, she also knew, that going on an adventure, was one of the best ways to get him up and about again.

And frankly, she wished for him to go on a solo adventure of his own.

It had been a bit of a long while since he had done that…

{The Curator – Tenth Season | 23rd April 2020 | Act 5 | Scene 2 | Take 1}

Walking about The Index aimlessly, the lonely hybrid, had a pretty jaded expression on his features.

The Index and The Horologium, wondrous as it was, offered no real human interactions to keep him active or engaged.

He had also, pretty much, read all of the books in The Index.

Yet, all of a sudden, The Time Machine vibrated for a hot second, its holographic pendulums halting in an instant.

Almost immediately, a certain book, flew off one of the shelves and straight into The Curator’s hands, due to the phenomenon.

Glancing over to The Horologium, eyebrows slightly arched, The Curator, flipped the book over.

Seeing the book’s cover, the jaded expression on the alien’s features, morphed into a bit of a sad smile as he spoke out loud;

“This, is the tale of a man, whose story, begins, at the very end.”

“Alternating Current. The invention that revolutionized what electricity could and should be…” the alien continued his monologue, an elderly expression of sadness still present on his visage.

“He’s The Forgotten Genius, you know…” he glanced over to The Horologium as he continued;

“But we know him, don’t we? And he’s an absolutely, brilliant man, and an even more, brilliant inventor.”

“Which is why, both he and his best inventions, are always the target for the darn Kalis…” The Curator, closed the book with a tired sigh.

“Doubt they’d try anything stupid while I’m around but, we probably should pop in, just in case…” he muttered to himself audibly.

Placing said book, back into its spot, the alien, walked across the library, moved towards where his wardrobe was and picked up his signature blue, Belle-epoque, long coat.

Buttoning up the coat, putting on his construct gloves, The Curator, twirled around, heading straight to the Horologium with a light smile.

“Alright sexy. Guess we’re going to Chicago, Illinois, 1893.” The Curator pulled down the lever of the time machine with a hopeful expression.

“Cut, Print. Check The Gate.”

…

…

…

Having read through the contract that was sent over, a certain, elderly, A-lister actor who was known for a certain iconic role, mused to himself;

‘$1,500,000… It’s quite a massive sum for a few appearances in just one episode…’

‘Hmmm…’

‘I really don’t want to disappoint Jon but, this honestly feels like a cheap, cash grab move…’

Sighing tiredly, the actor then muttered out loud while gazing at the ornately designed ceiling of his mansion;

“What to do… what to do…”

Glancing over to the envelope on his table though, one that had come with the contract, the actor, sighed and just decided to at least, check what was in it before he decided what he would do.

Just as he was going about this though, two other actors, both at different times, had the exact same thoughts as they were also offered a similar contract from Jon…

* * *

(A week later…)

“It is my greatest honor to meet you all.” Kyle spoke genuinely, a strong hint of deep respect in his eyes as he stared at the trio before him.

Each and every single one of them, were elderly in their own right and were aged 65 and above, save for one of them who was currently aged 40.

Yet, seeing how sprightly they were, despite their ages, made Kyle realize that each and every one of them, was just so glad to be on set.

“I was originally planning not to accept the offer from Jon but, I have to say young man, you’re doing a fantastic job!” Collins North, the legendary 5th Curator, pulled Kyle in for a tight hug.

Sure his shoulder length, dark-brown, wavy bob hair, should’ve had interspersed strands of white but, after the make-up and stylist team did their mojo, he looked 20 years younger at the moment.

Not even a single wrinkle could be spotted on his visage.

His warm eyes, were jade green, and his cleanly-shaven face, showcased his defined jaws. He was also on the slightly bulky side of an average build and slightly shorter than Kyle.

He had a sort of wild yet composed vibe to him that was really hard to place a finger on.

Kyle on the other hand, was a bit flabbergasted for two reasons.

One, why did a man of such age, have such strong arms?!

Secondly, he’d never expected Collins North to be such a happy-go-lucky individual in comparison to the often-times, brooding role he played as the 5th Curator.

Sure enough, he understood that an actor’s actual persona and the role they played as their characters were two entirely different things but still, this was quite the shocker.

Lastly, what sort of magic did Jon perform for the trio to be so receptive towards him?!

The young man had next to no idea, especially since he had been expecting all three to not really think the best of him.

Unknown to Kyle though, Jon hadn’t even persuaded all of them one bit before they agreed to take up their mantles as their respective roles for a day.

All the Executive Director had done, was simply send a clip of Kyle’s audition to them and a few scenes from the first episode, along with a frankly unexpected, bogus amount of money in their contracts upfront.

That was literally all.

Yet, upon seeing the clips, all three, frankly forgot about the contract and simply accepted the offer for one, sole reason.

To act on set with the young man whom had got them all excited for the show in a very long while, long after they had all retired from said show.

They were that impressed and drawn in by his acting.

“Collins, you’re suffocating the young man.” William Lewis, the actor who played the 6th Curator, tapped his friend on the shoulder.

His jet-black hair was well-kept in a swept-back hairstyle that was slightly messier than usual and his dark-blue eyes reflected a hint of resignation as he shook his head with a tired sigh.

He was more of a cool individual, period.

That said, Collins was quite fond of doing this to actors he was really proud of.

William even remembered him doing the same to him after he had a hit series of his own after his run as The Curator wasn’t well received.

As for Brad Beckham, the actor who was going to be playing the role of the great engineer and futurist, the man, simply watched the other three with an amused gaze.

“A very young yet extremely old Curator huh… Jon certainly chose one heck of a talented young chap for the role…” he muttered to himself as he stared at Kyle who actively breathing after being released from Collins grip.

Brad was the youngest of them so, unsurprisingly, there was no need to spend much time de-aging him for the scenes they would be shooting today.

They would however, need to spend a crap ton of time later to considerably age up the Serbian-American actor for another scene down the line.

His dark-brown eyes were warm and observing, his face had a prominent nose, a well-kept mustache and high cheekbones and his dark-brown hair, had a simple, side-parted, classic gentleman cut,

All of this, added a sort of intellectual yet receptive vibe to him.

“All right everyone. Do the necessary. We’re taking it up from the third scene in five.” Tiana’s cool voice soon cascaded through the set.

“Kyle. One take.” Tiana pointed to him with a trusting gaze from afar and the young man nodded with a hint of pride in his eyes.

Almost everyone on set, gave him the exact same gaze so Kyle was honestly, very proud of himself at the moment.

Jasmine who was also sitting on the sidelines today, especially since she was only going to appear towards the end of the episode, gave the young man a thumbs up from afar too.

A month and a few weeks of constantly shooting and he had already earned some of the reputation he was hoping for with his role as the titular time traveler.

The young actor was equal parts grateful for and proud of that.

As for Collins, William and Brad, they were evidently surprised but also impressed by the fact that everyone on set, seemed to have so much trust in their lead actor.

In their books, that was the makings of a successful venture.

That said, after a 2 hour-plus flight the day before, everyone was now situated at the site for Colombian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois which had occurred decades back.

After getting the go-ahead from the necessary officials a week earlier due to Jon and Barry doing their jobs as the Showrunner and the Producer respectively, the entire set had been restructured to make it look as close to 1893 as possible, back when the actual fair happened.

So, watching as Kyle and Brad, along with every other extra on set, took their positions, Tiana, ensuring all was as it should be after making the necessary checks, ordered;

“Start.”