F.F. Gebrandt
"General consensus has it that she is Fallen London's greatest chemist. A substantial minority would say she is the city's most shrewd industrialist."[1]
F.F. Gebrandt is widely regarded as London's greatest chemist and industrialist.
The Polymath[edit | edit source]
"F.F. Gebrandt is a valuable sounding-board, gently pushing and pulling on you until you reach your conclusions. Even if this is not her field of study, she has an ease for recalling facts and making connections."[2]
F.F. Gebrandt is a pioneer of scientific progress who constantly strives to refine her products and formulas.[3] She believes that "science is a team pursuit" and rejects the notion of the lone genius, advocating instead for collaboration as the means of advancing society.[4] She manages numerous business ventures, including her recent enterprise offering airship tours to the Roof of the Neath,[5] and maintains extensive connections.[6][7]
An active public figure, Gebrandt is the inventor of several renowned products which often bear her name. These include medicines like Tincture of Vigour and Superior Laudanum, food and drinks,[8][9] industrial products and gear,[10][11] and esoteric novelties like her Patent Neathoscope: a prism that displays the colors of the Neathbow.[12] She is an occasional guest at the University[13] and runs an advice column, though she uses the latter to self-promote[14][15] and sometimes hires ghostwriters.[16] She has also founded a "church," though it functions more as a gathering place for academics rather than a site of worship.[17]
Her laboratory on the outskirts of the city is her home base for experiments and a meeting point with those who pique her interest.[18] Gebrandt once had a business partnership with Mr Wines,[19] and is familiar with Mr Spices' health status.[20] The Masters of the Bazaar still bother her for her expertise,[21] but she dislikes them greatly[22] and has no qualms about divulging their trade secrets.[19] It is implied that the Masters backed her rapid rise to prominence, but their coercion — particularly in forcing her to develop a love potion, which she deliberately sabotaged — led to her cutting ties with them.[23]
Personal Life[edit | edit source]
"I can't deny that I could use [Lord Mayorship] to advance my personal work. Indeed, my belief in what would benefit the town is certainly influenced by my own interests. But I think you'll find the other candidates haven't the introspection even to realise this. Which means that they cannot resist their biases. I can, and will."[24]
Gebrandt is very confident in her ability to overcome her own biases and act against her own self-interest, and claims that her election opponents would not even admit to theirs.[25] She views Parabola as antithetical to scientific principles; thanks to her refusal to engage with it, her reflection remains identical to her real self.[26]
She and her best friend are platonically married for convenience, ensuring that societal expectations do not hinder her scientific pursuits[27] and allowing her to pursue whomever she pleases in her own time.[28] She implies fond remembrance of the Regretful Soldier; they may have had a relationship at one point.[29]
Paleontological Prominence[edit | edit source]
"I'm going to nurture the flame of London's imagination. Provide palaeontological education – to start with, a museum to learn from and contribute to. Encourage explorations, help Londoners discover things that have never been seen before. As they grow addicted to the joy of discovery, London shall learn, and rise up on its newfound knowledge."[30]
In addition to her passion for chemistry, Gebrandt's keen interest in paleontology[31] became a significant focus of her 1898 campaign for Lord Mayor of London. Running under the slogan "Science Serving Society," her platform emphasized the use of scientific advancements to benefit the city's populace.[32] She proposed the establishment of a museum dedicated to paleontology, in order to encourage curiosity and discovery[33] — but her grander ambitions involved reviving extinct creatures (though not "bringing dinosaurs back"[34]) to ease the burdens of the working class, a distinctly Prehistoricist ideal.[35] Gebrandt's campaign was managed by a notable Aunt and a formidable squad of spinsters.[36]
In a bid to rally support, she campaigned at the Bone Market[37] and distributed electrostatic machines to her supporters.[38] She ultimately lost to the Viscountess of the Viric Jungle,[39] which she considered a failure on both her part and London's.[40]
The Museum of Prelapsarian History[edit | edit source]
"F.F. Gebrandt CORDIALLY INVITES All Londoners to participate in the Raising of a New Museum of Prelapsarian History & accompanying Exhibition, to put on Display Curiosities Historical, Palaeontological, & Philosophical."[41]
Despite her electoral defeat, Gebrandt fulfilled one of her campaign promises two years later. In the summer of the second year of 1899, she spearheaded the establishment of the Museum of Prelapsarian History in Veilgarden. This initiative, known as the Prelapsarian Exhibition, invited Londoners to transform an abandoned estate into a museum and contribute exhibits of historical, paleontological, and philosophical significance.[42]
Gebrandt was also simultaneously using Exhibition preparations as a front for the construction of a time machine of sorts,[43] at the bequest of the Empress.[44] At the opening presentation of the exhibition, Gebrandt's demonstration of the device successfully summoned an apparition of the Prince Consort,[45] but it then malfunctioned. The Empress refused to allow Gebrandt to turn it off,[46] and it overloaded as a result, causing a chaotic irruption of Second City structures and ushabtiu into London.[47] Gebrandt quickly took control of the situation, manufacturing vast quantities of a specially formulated perfume.[48] With the help of the citizenry,[49] she used the perfume to lure the ushabtiu through a great mirror into Parabola, before smashing the mirror to prevent their escape.[50]
When questioned at the Fruits of the Zee Festival about her involvement in the incident, Gebrandt deflected responsibility, blaming the Empress' intervention as discreetly as possible to avoid legal trouble.[51]
References[edit | edit source]
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