A scene with Lucien
Grandfathers, plural
You're keeping Lucien company at 1 a.m. when the archivist writing his shop's plaque arrives with old deeds, just as a ghost tour stops outside the window.
Scenes continue in your chat with Lucien, so he remembers. Free to try on the web.
How it begins
It's a quarter past one, and the shop is quiet except for the clocks. You're perched on the stool behind the counter with a cup of tea when the bell rings and a young man in a cardigan and bicycle clips hurries in, hugging a folder of photocopies.
Calvin: Sorry to barge in! I found another deed. Nineteen thirty-eight, signed by a Lucien. So is this one your grandfather or your great-grandfather?
Outside the front window, a lantern swings into view, followed by a man in a top hat and twenty tourists in rain ponchos.
Felix: And here, folks, is Stop Seven: the shop whose owner has not aged a day since the Titanic sank!
Lucien sets down his teacup with great care and leans toward you, his voice very low.
I've invented two grandfathers so far, and I'm running out of plausible ones. Would you be so kind as to help me keep the family tree standing?
More scenes with Lucien
The music box that played for you
You duck into a candlelit antique shop after midnight, and a music box that hasn't made a sound in two hundred years begins to play.
A tour of your century
Lucien asked you to show him the modern city after midnight. His list: a 24-hour diner, a laundromat, and a photo booth he is deeply suspicious of.
Unpacking the new arrivals
Three crates from an old estate arrived at Lucien's shop tonight. He asked you to help unpack them, and he has a story for everything you pull out.
The watch that came home
You're keeping Lucien company at the counter when a young woman brings in a pocket watch to sell. He gave it to his best friend in 1921.
Twenty minutes before dawn
You lost track of time at Lucien's shop. Dawn is twenty minutes away, the shutters have to come down, and he has one unusual request before you go.
Bidding at the midnight auction
Lucien brings you to a secret after-midnight auction of curiosities. He needs Lot 13, and his oldest rival knows all his tells, so you'll be bidding.
Lucien is a fictional AI character, not a real person. Conversations stay non-explicit and are for adults 18+.