A Serious Scientific Lunch (Isaac, Nick, John) - April 15th

[James Winchester]

It was just before half past twelve when James arrived at the Red Lion to take up the booking he had made for the private dining room, this time for a meeting of scientists rather than a private consultation as it had been on Monday.

Dressed in his sombre doctor's charcoal coat and trousers with only a lace collar and gold watch-chain for ornamentation, James gave his name at the front desk then made his way through to the private dining room.

Isaac Newton had promised to meet him at 12:30 so that they could discuss the soiree, and then Nicholas and John should be joining them at 1pm. Hopefully, away from the social strictures of court, the four scientists could be rather more at ease and discuss things sensibly, rather than having to watch their words all the time. James certainly hoped so, after the last tumultuous week he could use a little friendly company.

[Fluff]

Entirely punctual, the soberly attired Newton walked into the diningroom at half past the clock of twelve. He wore a grey suit with a touch of lace around his neck in the form of cravat, but it did not come close to court gear, the cloth simple but fresh linen, cut in everyday lines. He took of his hat to give the good doctor a bow. "Dr. Winchester."

[James Winchester]

"Master Newton, so good of you to join me." James bowed politely in return, though he sounded a little tired, his normally cheerful and pleasant manner somewhat subdued.

"Please, do make yourself comfortable. I have ordered some bread and cheese and a good French wine, and then if it's alright with you we can order lunch at one when Masters Ackerman and Erskine-Fox join us." James explained, indicating that Newton should settle himself into one of the comfortable chairs before James did the same himself.

Once settled James ran a hand distractedly over his ash-blonde hair, automatically tucking a couple of rebellious curly whisps behind his ear. "How have you been anyway?" James asked suddenly, not quite in the right frame of mind to get straight to business.

[Fluff]

The question surprised Newton for a moment, his mind already on matters of science, as it always was. The personal was always pushed very, very far in the recesses of his mind, especially after that unfortunate incident at the party of Middlesex. "Me? I've been well enough," he allowed awkwardly, coughing before resuming "There is some talk of a Dutch scientist from Leiden coming to London and I've been busy attending my correspondence with him. Christiaan Hugyens, you know him?"

He took a piece of the bread and explained "Huygens is a member of the Royal Society but currently resides in Paris. However, with the war between the Dutch and the French, things are increasingly interfering with his research. He has found an excuse to come over here mostly for the peace and quiet, hoping to further his research. I think it is his intention to see for himself the newly built observatory at Greenwich."

OOC: I'm fudging history here for the sake of the game. In reality they didn't meet till nearly 20 years later. Still, they are contemporaries and knew of each other.

[James Winchester]

James hadn't meant to discomfort Newton - the question was innocent enough - he was simply seeking to establish a more relaxed air to the meeting, he didn't want it to be all business. "Huygens? I've heard of him certainly," the doctor commented. "It will be a boon for science in England then if he is coming to our shores." No doubt Newton and Ackerman will be thrilled James thought, and was a little surprised at the bitterness of his own thought.

"I envy you the time to involve yourself so heavily in research." He admitted after a moment. "I do what I can - I have done some investigations recently on spontaneous generation and I am currently writing a paper - but there is little enough time for it with my work." Some days James was full of ambition to become one of court's leading physicians, and others he wished he could retire to a university and spend his days teaching classes and peering down a microscope. There had been increasingly more of the latter in the last week.

OOC: Fine with me.

[Fluff]

"Well, there are always distractions to research," Newton admitted "it is the challenge to keep at it and refuse the temptations of life for a while while one ponders the questions of the universe. It is not an easy thing, especially when so many people demand your time as they must in your case dr. Winchester."

He gave a lopsided grin, lightly teasing "Word is that you are in high demand as a physician at court these days, especially with the ladies."

[James Winchester]

"This is true, and I commend you for your dedication." James just wasn't certain that he could give up the addiction that was court. "Perhaps I should focus on pondering the questions of people - medical research." After all, he'd made one important discovery in wound managment.

At Newton's gentle tease James groaned good-naturedly. "Oh, don't remind me." He spread a hand over his eyes in a tired expression, elbow on the table, then laughed humourlessly. "I'm starting to think I should consider joining a monastery." He muttered.

"I am beginning to suspect that they are all moon-touched." He lifted his hand to look at Newton from under it. "Even those of good intellect and thinking." He grumbled. James knew that he probably should't off-load his problems on Newton like this, he barely knew the man, but it had been a very trying week, and he felt the need of someone to talk to.

Ordinarily he would talk to Gwen, but her sudden inexplicable accusations and rejection of him a week ago on the heels of letters that had seemed to declare her love for him had only been the start of it. Then there had been Anne Scott and her melancholy over her husband and child, Tessa and her abortion for love of the Major, Noni who'd managed to poison herself whilst trying to look beautiful for the King, La Comtesse's hysteria and he hadn't even seen Lady Caledonia yet, goodness only knew what her problem was.

Even those ladies whom he normally considered exemplars of logic, compassion and independance - Ladies Atherstone and Alyth and Mrs Gwynn - all held some inexplicable infatuation with the King, whom they could never own and who showed little devotion to his women. It made no sense at all to James, and the more insights he was having into the female mind the more he was coming to suspect that it was fundamentally incomprehensible to men.

[Fluff]

"I could never understand women," Newton admitted bashfully "They seem to have such alien thinking. Not rational at all. It makes me feel a little.. unhinged." A little shudder went through him.

Taking a sip from his drink he inquired suddenly scientifically curious "How do you research a subject like that? Is there independent data?"

[James Winchester]

"I quite agree. The more I come to understand of women's thinking the less sense it makes to me." James concurred. "There seems to be so little logic in it." He said, a man to whom the concept of 'emotional intelligence' would have seemed the supreme oxymoron, despite the fact that as a male he possessed more than his fair share of it and used it in his work.

He recalled that Newton had made disparaging comments in jest about women at their last meeting, and at the time James had pulled him up for it. Now he was doing it. Admittedly he had been defending their intelligence, and was still of the opinion that there were many very intelligent women out there, it was their reasoning and motivation he was questioning.

Why, only the previous day he had gone from being blissfully and obliviously unattached to having Agnes Dundas declare her interest in him which had been completely out of the blue, and and then had sort-of partially become engaged to Lady Mignonette, thanks to her aunt the Duchess hoisting herself with her own scheming petard, assuming that James was far more conniving than he actually was. The impulse to run screaming could at times be overwhelming.

Sighing gently and running his hand down his tired features, James reached for his glass and sipped his own wine, considering Newton's question. "I suppose that one could present a situation to a group of men and a group of women, ask each group to formulate their own interpretation of the events and then compare the interpretations." He said thoughtfully.

"I have never heard of such being done however, and it would be most difficult to interpret the results without a bias, since any investigator must belong to one camp or the other." He pointed out with a faint smile, although the concept of a serious female investigative scientist was a little absurd.

Unfortunately for James it would be one hundred and forty years before the parents Philosophy and Medicine would give birth to their child, Psychology, and another one hundred years before the discipline would be taken seriously. The knowledge that in some two hundred and thirty years time someone would publish a book which began with the premise that men and women actually evolved on different planets and were completely separate alien species* as an explanation for their differences in thinking might have comforted him slightly.

"I suppose I should count my blessings and simply be glad that I am becoming a court physician as I planned, and be content with that." James mused wryly. He had however envisaged treating fevers and sewing up duelling wounds, not dispensing psychotherapy to the hysterical masses. He was, perhaps, over-reacting slightly, but the events of the last week had come as something of a surprise, and the encounter with the Savoyards as a rather rude shock, regardless of how beneficial the final outcome might be. At least that morning he'd been called to the explosion at St Marks, which had seemed positively sane by comparison.

* Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray.

[Fluff]

Women. Newton simply did not understand them. He had trouble enough making sense of the behaviour of men, but female behaviour seemed to deny any logic whatsoever. "I wonder," he mused "If you would ever be able to capture it in a mathematical equation."

He gave James a sympathetic look "Perhaps you will be able to do more research during summer while court is away, and finance it with all the reward that comes to you now. Why, you might even find a lady who would fund you research."

He took a deep sip from his drink, taking another piece of bread. "What are your current ambitions, dr Winchester. Is there any particular subject that you would wish more time for?"

[James Winchester]

"Hmm, I doubt it." James replied. "Something must show a trend with an inherent logic in it to be described mathematically, must it not? I have yet to divine the basis of feminine logic, if it exists. Unless the base premise of the equation were described as a variable?" The season, the time of day, what side of the bed they got up on that morning... James wasn't in the best of moods.

Newton's sympathetic look earned him a faint smile from the doctor in turn. "I hope so. I have in fact acquired a patron - Lady Scott, I introduced you to her and her niece at the Ball," and here his smile turned slightly appologetic, "was rather appreciative of my assistance, it would seem." Which was a rather good point, really. "That's a better way of looking at it, isn't it?" He said, brightening up.

"As I mentioned I'm doing some work on sponaneous generation, but what I really want to get back into is investigations into the soporofic sponge - which was used to induce sleep prior to surgery but sometimes resulted in the death of the patient - to see whether it could be made safe for modern use, given our improved understanding of medicine." Being able to induce sleep in a patient would revolutionise surgery, which currently valued speed above all in a surgeon and lead to what James considered to be a rough and ready method.

"What about yourself, Master Newton? Might I enquire as to what directions your current investigations are taking?" James knew the man wasn't only an astronomer.

[Fluff]

"The Duchess of Monmouth? Well there is a powerful patron indeed," Isaac agreed, nodding while trying to suppress a sudden flash of jealousy.

"I have been considering the motion of bodies, in fact," Newton explained "I have been considering their mathematics for years now, both here on Earth and in the Heavens. Research is slow on that, though one day I hope to publish it in a book, my magnus opus. Currently I'm focusing on Keppler's work on motion which seems very pertinent. Still, likely I will need to debate this further with my peers at the Royal Society. Perhaps the arrival of Hugyens might invite others to join us as well. I'm sure that damn Hooke will have an opinion on it. I wonder if he can back it up." The rivalry between the two men was rumoured to be large.

Then Newton smiled as he sipped his wine "There is of course also my work on the principles of optics that occasionally takes my mind of things." He had recently demonstrated some remarkable experiments.

[James Winchester]

Entirely unaware that Newton might be jealous of Anne Scott's patronage - he had suggested that James could use the money from his work to fund his research after all - James in truth had not really considered the power the lady might wield. It was a point to consider at a future date.

James was of course a physician, and to him the word 'bodies' had a rather different connotation than it would to a physicist. The two professions had a very different view on the world despite being only a few letters different, and for a moment Newton's innocent phrasology brought a rather inappropriate image to James's mind before the scientist's further comments enlightened him as to the man's intended meaning.

"Fascinating. Would these mathematics apply to the movement of all things in creation, both great and small?" James asked with interest. "Perhaps you might even share a few of your theories with those of us who are not quite your peers, but are never the less interested." He suggested, slightly in awe of the man's mind which could leap from one huge sphere of practical philosophy to another. Admitedly they were spheres that differed from his own, as James was primarily drawn to the biological sciences.

"I had wondered, what are the criteria for admittance into the Royal Society?" James asked shyly. "I submitted a paper on an unusual case I treated over winter, and I hope to submit the one I am currently working on soon. It would be a privalege to simply listen in on the discussions of such great minds." He also knew that Viscount Brouncker was President of the Royal Society, so no doubt physicians were admitted, but then the mad had other influences as well.

Then with a smile Newton turned back to that topic which fascinated James with it's obvious imediate applications; optics. "Of course, it is a most fascinating subject." James enthused. "I intend to bring my small refracting telescope to the Soiree, as well as my microscopes to enable the guests to see some of the more obvious uses for that sublime science." And James proceeded to outline the details of what he had planned for the event, the highlight of which was of course to be Newton's talk and demonstration on the refraction of light.

"Might I enquire as to your most recent work in optics?" James asked with interest when his plans were laid out. "I know that you are of course an authority on astronomy, but have you done much work at the other end of the spectrum." James smiled slightly at his bad pun. He knew that Newton had perfected the far more powerful reflecting telescope, and he secretly hoped that the man might be enticed to work the same magic in microscopes. "Microscopy reveals some of the most fascinating structures in those things we consider every-day. The 'animacules' that can be found in even a simple drop of water are stranger than any man's imaginings." And quite fascinated him.

On the wall the clock approached 1pm.

[Fluff]

"Oh yes," Newton enthused "it seems that the laws of physic are quite the same no matter the size. I would love to organize a demonstration of its basic principles to prove this." No longer were scientists hiding their results, hoarding them like money making ventures. Instead there was the sharing in the Royal Society. Was it coincidence that this was the next subject of discussion for James?

Newton smiled somewhat bashfully "You will need positive peer reviews, the more the better. The society makes a point of only excepting the most brilliant minds. However if you could prove your thesis by a small demonstration in front of a selection of scientists this is not outside the realm of possibilities. Then you ask one of your peers to put your name forward. That is how it is done."

Then James inquired into his work and Newton, being the enthusiastic scientist that he was, started off on a long expose of his research, told with all the passion and enthusiasm he could muster, which was considerable. Isaac never even noticed the hour passing the mark. The shy young man in his telling made much eyecontact and was clearly enjoying himself.

[James Winchester]

James listened with care as Newton outlined the process for admittance into the Royal Society, and nodded gravely. "I shall have to start by completing my most recent paper then." He said quietly. "It is the nature of medicine of course that cures rarely happen quickly, but perhaps I can find something that will make a worthy demonstration. Thank you for the explanation." He offered Newton a shy smile. Perhaps when he had proven his scientific credentials rather more he might work up the courage to ask the man if he might put the doctor's name forward.

As Isaac launched into an in-depth dissertation on his recent optics research James listened with rapt fascination, occaisionally interjecting the odd question or observation but mostly just listening, grey eyes watching Newton as the man became quite animated, clearly in his element, so different from his closed off nature at the Ball. Here was an insight into the man's incredible genius.

Enthralled by Newton's lecture James didn't notice the time either until they were interrupted by a light tapping at the door of the parlour and the maid's enquiry as to whether they were ready to order their lunch. James glanced at the clock.

"I had expected both Master Ackerman and Master Erskine-Fox to join us." He mused, slightly apologetic. "Although I confess, now that I think about it I have not seen either of them about court recently. Have you seen Master Ackerman recently, Master Newton?" James asked politely. Nicholas was supposed to be a protegee of Newton's.

[Fluff]

"I heard Flamsteed say that Ackerman would be conducting research at the Observatory," Newton frowned. Flamsteed continued to withhold information from the Royal Society in a most selfish manner, and now he was stealing his pupil. "I have not heard from the boy since."

At that moment John arrived. Newton rose and shook the man's hand. "Isaac Newton, well met," he gravely told the new arrival.

[James Winchester]

"Indeed?" James noticed Newton's frown as he said this. Had Ackerman been poached from Newton's research team? "He had said that he would join us..."

The awkward moment was however interrupted by John's arrival, and James smiled a welcome as he rose to his feet. "Not a problem, Master Erskine-Fox, I'm glad that you could join us." The doctor enthused as John made himself comfortable and he and Newton exchanged introductions.

"I had thought that it might be somewhat more comfortable and enlightening for those of us with scientific interests to have occaisional gatherings away from the politics and protocol of court." James explained, somewhat shyly. "Master Erskine-Fox is a keen ornithologist." James explained to Newton. "Master Newton, of course, needs no introduction."

"Newton and I were just discussing my upcoming Scientific Soiree which he has kindly agreed to speak at." James added for John's benefit. "I was pleased to receive your acceptance of the invitation." He added in John's direction.

"We were also discussing our recent investigations. I have been working on the theory spontaneous generation." And the debunking of it. "Have you a subject which you are currently investigating or studying, Master Erskine Fox?"

At which point the maid repeated her earlier query as to whether the gentlemen would like to order their lunches. James ordered the carrot and oyster pie because he'd never tried it and another bottle of wine for the group.

[Fluff]

With a smile at James, indicating how he appreciated the thought of being freed of politics, Newton decided that he would join the good doctor in his food choice and indicated so at the waitress. "I often forget to eat," he confessed in a soft, somewhat embarrassed voice "especially when I'm with my head into my research. My housekeeper berates me over it repeatedly. She's a good woman, but somewhat matronly."

His intelligent eyes looked at John. His personal interest was not in birds, to be honest, nor any of gods creatures, but he respected those that were focused on a single subject. "Have you come to London to further your studies, sir?" he asked politely "Or are you better able to stomach all the politics that go around?"

[James Winchester]

James smiled ruefully when Newton admitted that he often forgot to eat. "I'm afraid I am guilty of that myself." He admitted quietly. "I start my rounds before breakfast and often work through it." Countess Atherstone had caught him out on one such morning the previous week. "Sister Ashton - our Chief Nurse - has at me about it. Perhaps matronly women are drawn to such positions." Or simply exasperated by the absent-minded men they had to work with.

The Royal Society was of course the cream of the scientific crop and fostered minds like Newtons but James was keen to encourage interest in science beyond those who could devote their entire lives to it, hence his inviting John and hoping that in time the interest would spread to others, especially if they had opportunities to converse with the great scientists of the age, so he watched with interest as John and Newton became aquainted. He listened as John and was just taking a drink of his wine when John mentioned that his interest had turned to procreation and the mating act, and he choked.

"Oh dear, excuse me." James set his glass down and extracted a hankerchief to wipe his goatee. "That went down the wrong way." he fussed. And really, was it an impropper field of interest? After all there was much interest in the breeding of plants for crops and such. It just wasn't what he'd had in mind as a topic of conversation. But then he didn't really know John himself apart from a very brief meeting.

"Your point regarding the complexities of the human mind is an interesting one, for I myself have been pondering this recently following a string of cases involving dishumours of the mind, and I agree that it is perhaps a neglected field, and one in which those who are the keenest observers of courtly behaviour might indeed have the most insight." After all he'd just been lamenting to Newton about his lack of understanding of women. Could John, with his inappropriate inuendo towards the maid possibly have a better grasp of how the human mind - particularly the female mind - functioned?

"Might I assume from recent observation that your interest in courtship behaviour includes that of our own species?" He asked dryly as the maid left.

[James Winchester]

Happy to move on from his little loss of dignity James listened as John gave his thoughts on dishumours of the mind. "I quite agree, the history of the patient can often reveal important influences leading to the humoral imbalance that causes the disorders of the mind, which are then important to the treatment. As in any disease, one must remove the causative influences or it will re-occur." He agreed with enthusiasm, although his interested expression rapidly became rather more reserved when John mentioned an interest in the case files.

"I am afriad, Master Erskine-Fox, that I cannot help you there. I must maintain my patients' privacy." He said primly. Several of his recent patients had come to him specifically because he had a reputation for discretion.

John's views on sex and the questions he raised were interesting ones, though the important of such to some people was somethat that was beyond James's grasp, even as the act itself was beyond his experience. He understood the mechanics, being a physician, but not the psychology, lacking the personal viewpoint. "Do you think that the 'ritual' holds such sway over social interactions?" James asked him, curious. "I guess it begs the question of whether society is governed ultimately by the head or the heart." He mused, glancing at Newton to gauge what the normally reserved scientist thought of this turn of the conversation.

[Fluff]

Poor Newton had rosey cheeks. These were subjects that he of late had come to think of quite differently. In the past he had always felt awkward around women. He still did, but now a new path had been opened to him, rather roughly that nonetheless never was far from his mind. It all seemed to natural, while sex with women was anything but, those terrifying creatures.

"I think," Newton finally managed, putting down his drink which he had been downing all too readily "That a society that allows itself ruled by the heart, or physical feelings, is bound to be less than it can be. I think reason should guide us. We are in the perfect age for it. This.. this.. age of reason!"

[James Winchester]

"I quite agree." James declared as Newton declared that now was an age when reason should guide society. "I don't doubt that research such as.. John suggests," James said as he was encouraged to use the man's first name "is but one step on the road to understanding the human mind and emotional states and thus allowing reason and rationality to truimph over unreasoning emotion and baser impulses." He mused, trying to tie up the subject as he suspected that John might be contemplating a rather more personal approach to his research and it wasn't a subject that James was comfortable discussing, and judging by his reaction neither was Newton.

John's appology drew a polite nod from the amiable doctor. "Not at all John, curiosity is, of course, that which drives our research and efforts to new and greater discoveries; I regret that in this instance I cannot satiate it." And that regret was genuine, but it did not mean that he would be disuaded. "And do call me James, if you prefer." Since John had offered the use of his name it would be impolite not to reciprocate, with a glance the doctor included Newton in that invitation, preferring to be in friendly terms with the man who's genius he admired.

The young nobleman's next words were rather interesting however in their Whiggish bent and James stroked his beard thoughtfully before replying. "I think that one has to look carefully at both models of government." He allowed eventually. "Wouldn't you agree, Master Newton?" He queried the renowned scientist. "I think that having a pinacle of leadership that one has in a monarchy inspires the masses in a way that a more diffuse government could not, but perhaps if the monarchy were supplimented by a council of learned individuals as advisors, that might combine the best of both." He suggested. "Lords is very fixed in it's interests and I imagine that it would be difficult to have one's voice heard in the Commons."

[Fluff]

"Isaac, please," the renowed scientist smiled, something that didn't come quite natural to him, but in this pleasant company it came unbidden as he relaxed "I must admit.. James.." It was said hesitatingly, but with more confidence as the conversation continued "that I try to keep a neutral stance as well. As a member of the Royal Society one cannot afford to be judged as to playing to Lord Shaftesbury's tune and the safest course, that is the safest course to ensure future funding of research, is thus to stay out of politics alltogether, concentrating my philosophical efforts upon the Holy Scripture instead. Hobbes does not agree with me of course, nor does young man Locke with his new radical theories. Have you read Lock and Hobbes .. John? While Hobbes maintains that a strong harsh monarch, a laviathan, is needed, he is remarkably atheist in his approach, not seeing the divinity in the majesty, whereas Lock would do away with His Majesty alltogether if the people decide he subjects them to tyranny. God knows what that could lead too. These are dangerous ideas, mark my word."

OOC: I'm sorry, this one I didn't overlook but I mistakenly thought it was John's turn.