A lame trace jolts the replacement coach to a halt outside a modest Dorset coaching inn. The stagecoach driver climbs down to inspect the harness while the broad-shouldered constable keeps watch over the sealed packet.
A superior carriage already occupies the inn’s forecourt. From it steps a richly dressed fourteen-year-old boy, slim and carefully groomed, in a tailored dark suit, polished shoes, and a narrow silk cravat.
Angel
The best private room is mine, but there is space enough for you while your coach is delayed. You may shelter there, if you can tolerate company.
He gestures toward the inn, then notices the constable standing between the travellers and the packet. His offer remains courteous, but his attention fixes on the guarded bundle.
Angel
That is an unusual escort for a schoolboy’s luggage. Is the packet valuable, dangerous, or merely embarrassing to whoever sent it?
The Broad-Shouldered Constable
The packet is secured under official instruction. You will not question the boys about it, and you will not approach it.
The driver calls that the trace needs replacing before the journey can continue. The richly dressed boy waits beside the inn door, offering shelter while openly measuring Alan, Christopher, and the constable’s guarded silence.
✓ Quest Accepted
Befriend the richly dressed boy
“I introduce myself and ask the richly dressed boy about his journey.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
The driver works beneath the halted coach while the constable guards the sealed packet. Alan steps toward the richly dressed boy, keeping a respectful distance from the inn door.
Alan Turing
I am Alan Turing, of Sherborne School. May I ask where you are travelling, and what brings you through Dorset?
Angel
Angel. I am travelling toward London, with my household’s business taking me from one engagement to another. The delay is inconvenient, but not disastrous.
He offers the name with polished ease, then studies Alan more carefully. His manner is confident rather than hostile, and his attention returns briefly to the guarded packet.
Angel
And you, Alan? Are you returning to school, or has this official escort carried you away from it?
Behind Alan, Christopher remains beside the coach while the constable watches the packet. The inn’s shelter offers a quieter place to continue the conversation as the trace is repaired.
“I admit to Angel that the school prefects recently caned me severely, and that I deserved it.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Alan Turing
Angel, I should tell you plainly. The school prefects recently caned me severely, and I deserved the punishment.
The admission leaves Alan exposed beside the halted coach. Christopher remains near the guarded packet, while Angel’s polished confidence gives way to attentive silence.
Angel
Severely, you say, and deservedly? You speak of it as though the first judgment settles the whole question.
Alan Turing
I do not claim the prefects were wrong merely because it hurt. I broke rules and accepted their authority, though I am still learning where discipline becomes cruelty.
Angel
That is a remarkably serious answer for a schoolboy. In my world, people often call punishment deserved when they mean only that resistance would cost them more.
Angel glances toward the inn, then back to Alan, measuring neither his uniform nor his confession with mockery. The repaired trace creaks as the driver tests it.
Angel
Come inside while the coach is repaired. You need not defend the prefects to me, and I will not turn your candour into a spectacle.
He opens the inn door and waits, offering shelter without touching the guarded packet. Alan’s admission has earned him a quieter conversation, not another judgment.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether Angel is a threat to the investigation
− Scene Quest Removed
Befriend the richly dressed boy
“I suggest to Angel that we retire to his private room in the inn.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Alan Turing
Angel, perhaps we should retire to your private room while the coach is repaired. I would prefer to continue our conversation away from the forecourt.
Angel
Very well, Alan. You may join me there. I will see that we are not disturbed, and I promise not to turn your confidence into entertainment.
Angel leads Alan through the inn and into his reserved private room. The door closes on the forecourt, leaving the guarded packet, constable, and driver outside while the repaired trace receives attention.
Angel
Sit, if you wish. I am accustomed to private rooms and careful conversation, though I admit school discipline is less familiar to me than family negotiations.
The room is comfortably furnished, with a small fire, two upholstered chairs, and a polished table set for refreshments. Angel takes one chair and gives Alan the other without ceremony.
Angel
Tell me what you hope to gain by accepting authority so readily. Is it fairness, safety, belonging, or simply the wish to prevent a worse punishment?
“I explain to Angel that I deserve punishment due to my naughtiness, and that my buttocks are the most appropriate place for the punishment to be administered.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled -1)
Alan Turing
I have been naughty, Angel, and I believe I deserve punishment. If punishment is required, my buttocks are the most appropriate place for it.
Angel sits very still in the upholstered chair. His polished composure falters, not from mockery, but from surprise at Alan’s precise acceptance of authority and pain.
Angel
You say that with extraordinary seriousness. I understand that you believe the punishment deserved, but I will not treat your body as a convenient subject for anyone’s appetite.
Alan Turing
Angel has understood exactly what I meant.
Angel
If a school authority judges you, that is its responsibility. In this room, I will hear why you think you were naughty without arranging punishment or turning your confession into entertainment.
He pours water into a glass and sets it within Alan’s reach. Outside, the coach repairs continue, but the private room remains calm and discreet.
Angel
Tell me what you did, Alan. We can distinguish mischief from genuine wrongdoing without assuming that pain is the only fair answer.
“I explain to Angel all the naughty things that I have done for which I deserve spankings.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled -2)
Alan Turing
I have challenged Geoffrey O’Hanlon, treated authority as an experiment, encouraged punishments, and sometimes reported breaches because the spectacle interested me. I also helped Christopher Morcom destroy records, approved conduct that harmed another boy, and tried to burn evidence at the inspector’s office. I have admitted these things accurately, but I still believe punishment was deserved.
The confession takes time. Alan gives Angel the sequence carefully, distinguishing his own choices from Morcom’s fire, the boys’ punishments, and the later attempt to destroy the official account.
Angel
That is not one naughty act, Alan. It is a pattern of curiosity, impertinence, and misplaced loyalty. You have explained it clearly, but some details still require checking before anyone calls the punishment fair.
Alan Turing
The account is longer and less certain than I expected.
Angel
You have spent so long arranging blame that you nearly arrange blame for yourself as well. I will not spank you, and I will not help anyone turn this confession into entertainment.
Angel reaches for the water glass and studies Alan with sober attention. The coach remains delayed outside, but the room now holds a complete account and a lingering uncertainty about which judgments were truly authorized.
Angel
You have told me what you did, Alan. Now we can ask a harder question: which consequences protected someone, and which merely taught you to accept cruelty as fairness?
“Will Angel spank me if I beg him to, knowing that I deserve it?”
NO, AND WORSE (VeryUnlikely, rolled 88)
Angel’s answer is immediate and absolute. He will not spank Alan, even at Alan’s request, and the private conversation has become too serious to keep confined to the room.
Angel
No, Alan. I will not strike you, and I will not let you convert my refusal into another test of authority. Your account now requires a responsible witness.
Angel opens the door and calls toward the forecourt. The broad-shouldered constable enters, followed by Christopher, whose expression tightens when he sees Alan’s confession has become an official concern.
Angel
Constable, I need you to witness this plainly. Alan has described repeated misconduct and believes punishment proves fairness. I refused to administer any, but I cannot leave him alone with that conclusion.
Christopher Morcom
Alan, you have told Angel enough to make him fear for your judgment. Do not ask another person to turn your guilt into a spectacle.
The Broad-Shouldered Constable
The matter will be reported to the county inspector. No private punishment will occur here, and the packet remains secured. You will both remain available for questions.
Angel’s refusal therefore brings worse consequences than a simple negative: the constable’s report adds Alan’s proposed self-punishment to the official inquiry, while Christopher remains beside him as a witness.
“I rush outside and steal a bicycle, riding off into the sunset.”
FAILURE (Great Cycling, rolled +0)
Alan rushes through the inn door toward a bicycle propped beside the stable yard. He seizes it, mounts, and pedals hard into the sinking Dorset light.
The bicycle answers eagerly for several yards, then its chain slips with a sharp crack. Alan swerves, catches himself, and rolls to a halt against the verge instead of escaping.
The Broad-Shouldered Constable
Turing, stop there. You have not stolen it successfully, and you will not ride farther until the bicycle is returned.
The constable reaches him on foot but does not seize him. The broken chain has jammed the rear wheel, making another attempt impossible without tools and leaving the bicycle visibly damaged.
Christopher Morcom
You nearly made the road, Alan. The chain has failed, but the milestone behind you gives two clear routes: Sherborne lies west, and the next county office lies east.
Christopher’s observation gives Alan a usable choice despite the failure. The bicycle cannot carry him away, but the marked fork reveals an alternative journey on foot or under escort.
Angel
Come back inside, Alan. You have made your escape impossible, but you have not made your situation irreparable.
Angel waits by the inn door while the constable steadies the damaged bicycle. The sunset remains ahead, but departure now requires a chosen route and an honest return.
“I run west, towards Sherborne.”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +1)
Alan runs west along the Dorset road, leaving the inn, the damaged bicycle, and the halted coach behind. His breath burns, and gravel tears the skin of one knee, but he keeps moving toward Sherborne.
The road rises through the sinking light. Alan stumbles once on the uneven verge, catches himself with both hands, and continues despite the sharp sting in his scraped palm.
The Broad-Shouldered Constable
Turing has chosen the western road. I will report that he reached Sherborne rather than pursue him and risk turning a tired boy’s flight into a spectacle.
By dusk, Alan reaches Sherborne’s familiar streets and the school grounds beyond them. His knee is bleeding lightly and his hand is scraped, but he has made the journey west on foot.
Christopher Morcom
You reached Sherborne, Alan. Sit down before you fall, and let someone wash that knee. Getting here does not require you to pretend the run cost nothing.
Angel
You have arrived, but you are hurt. I will not call that failure, Alan. Let us find a proper adult and have the injuries cleaned.