Madame Zostra

Character Sheet

You were born Edna Finkelstein in upstate New York. Your father was a rabbi and your mother was a rabbi's wife. You grew up a nice rabbi's daughter, along with your two brothers and one sister. You went to a nice, small Jewish school in the area.

You liked being Jewish well enough--you liked learning about the Torah and the Talmud and all that. You liked your friends in your school and you liked going to synagogue on the holidays.

But you always felt that there was something else out there. Something spiritual, something, outside the world you know. But there was nothing your teachers or the rabbis could tell you about this or what you should do about it.

So you ignored it.

You continued to learn about Jewish law, thought and all of that. But for some reason, it didn't seem as important. Which meant that you didn't get very good grades. Your parents weren't very happy about it, and you couldn't explain why you didn't really care, so they just tried to get you to work harder.

So you trudged through school for a while. You didn't have very many friends and classes weren't very interesting.

You liked walking out in the fields and woods around your house. It made you feel connected somehow. Made you feel free. It was the closest you'd ever gotten to spirituality.

You got your parents to agree to let you go to a secular school in the area. They weren't so happy with you going to a non-Jewish school, but you told them that you wanted to 'expand your horizons' and see what the world has to offer.

So you went to a little liberal arts college near home. You majored in English literature and you had a good time. You loosened up a lot, learned about the world outside Judaism.

And then you started going out with Derrick. He was your first non-Jewish boyfriend. He was a new age type of guy, he had a pentagram necklace, wore all natural clothing and he was a vegan. You weren't used to this kind of thing. It was new and interesting.

Derrick told you all about the spirituality of nature and things like that. You liked the idea that everything in the world was filled with some sort of energy. That the soul was an eternal, ethereal thing that would outlive this world.

You started looking into more modern approaches to spirituality. Every thing you read made more sense than the ancient stuff you learned with Judaism.

What interested you most was the idea of the afterlife. Judaism's view on the afterlife was a bit limited. There wasn't much about it. It made more sense that spirits stayed around, that they would try to talk to the living if they needed to. What they needed was people to help them do that.

You wanted to be this person. You knew that the best service you could ever supply to the world be to help those that have passed on. You know that the feelings of connectedness that you used to have when you were younger was just the world and the spirits trying to contact you.

So you opened a little shop in town. You told people that they could contact the afterlife and their loved ones. There was a nominal fee, of course... you had to pay rent.

But people didn't really come to see you. It was probably your image. People don't go to little Jewish women when they want to contact the world beyond. They go to Caribbean priestesses or gypsy women.

So you started going as Madame Zostra. People loved it, and they loved the ambiance. They were coming for closure and you gave it to them. You usually had to interpret what the spirits were telling you, but they talked to you. You just don't really understand what they're saying. They talk to you in the motion of the trees and the whistling of the wind. Everyone can hear it, but they don't all listen.

You became quite popular in your little town. It was a few years ago when a talent agent from Gold Standard Entertainment came to talk to you. He told you that his company wanted to represent you and let you reach more people. He didn't seem like he believed in what you did, but it seemed like an interesting idea, and the money he was offering wasn't that bad either.

So you signed on with Gold Standard. They wanted you to move to the Boston area, and you didn't mind that too much as you didn't have much of a connection to New York ever since your family stopped talking to you.

You had people call in to talk to you, and for a slightly larger fee, come in and have their palms read, or get a tarot reading. You became the expert of all things spiritual.

You liked working in Boston. You liked having an organized, central office which helped with your accounting and contacts. It was also nice to be able to meet other people who also worked with Gold Standard. There are a lot of famous and interesting people. There are some performance artists, some movie makers, and even some street performers.

But there was one person who caught your eye. A writer, you think his name is William. You passed him in the hall one day while you were going to see your supervisor. He's got an aura like fire and ice. He's like the night... like the storm at the heart of the sun. You've never met someone like him before. You just wish he knew who you were.

As you kept working, you found that more people were interested in finding their own futures than finding out about their lost loved ones, but you still held the ability to talk to those who have passed on... it just cost more.

For example, there was this one guy. His name was Darren. He was one of your first customers when you moved to Boston. He told you that he had just graduated from college and he wanted advice on his business and his love life with his girlfriend. You always gave him positive reinforcement (you found that's what people want more than the truth). You told him he would he would live to an old age, that he and his girlfriend Jessica would be happy together, and so on. He told you later that talking to you really helped him. So he called again. And he would keep calling you and talking to you on and off for a long time. He was a nice kid. A little insecure, but nice. Then he stopped calling. You don't know why.

But his girlfriend also called. She told you that her boyfriend told her about you, but she didn't really talk about him other than that. She would talk a lot about materialistic things, like wealth and her job. She would also talk about romantic issues as well, but usually in the general sense. She didn't refer to her boyfriend by name usually. You could tell something was up, but you didn't press, not even after he stopped calling you. It wasn't the thing to do.

People like that called a lot. People wanting to talk about their love lives, their jobs, their pets. People always thought about themselves. Every once in a while you wish you could go back to your little storefront and help people talk to their deceased loved ones. You still do it every once in a while, but it's not like you're going to make that much money if you just do that. And seriously, the money's good.

Lately, though, there's been something going on with the accounting at Gold Standard. Your agent hasn't been able to tell you anything, but something is seriously going on. He said something a while ago about a mix-up in the accounting division, but something's up. You can feel it in your bones. So you're on your way to talk to your agent in the Gold Standard building in Cambridge. You'll get something out of him.

A lot of people accuse you of making things up as you go along. They just don't understand the craft. It may seem like you're making it up to the casual observer, but it's really the subtle currents of the spirit world that guide your hand to the truth. It may feel like you're making it up, but you're being pushed by a power greater than yourself.

Last Thoughts Before Game Start

Huh... not only do you walk on a train to find two of your regular callers, but the head of your company... interesting.

Maybe the spirits have pushed you all here for some reason. Interesting.

Who You Know on the Train

01. Jessica Hawthorne – A frequent caller to your show. She wonders a great deal about matters of the romantic and financial nature— it’s always about either boys or money.

02. A good-looking young man who seems to be accompanying Jessica. Perhaps he's one of the boys she's asked you about.

03. A young man who gives off the distinct impression of being very uncomfortable in his own skin. He certainly has some awkwardness about him.

04. This man clearly models himself after the private detectives in the movies. You can relate to a love of the picturesque.

06. William Hughes - The entrancing writer whose aura speaks to yours in a way you've never before experienced. You simply must make yourself known to him and see if this connection may lead somewhere.

07. A young professionally dressed woman. Your empathic instincts tell you that she has had to deal with some troubling times of late.

08. One does not have to be gifted to tell that there is some great weight burdening the soul of this poor boy.

09. There is something dangerous and intimidating about this intense man. Perhaps it might be best to stay out of his way.

10. This man may be trying to keep himself inconspicuous, but of course he cannot hide himself from your perceptions. He has an air of importance about him that isn't really concealed by his efforts.

11. An imposing, tough-looking man who looks as if he is short-tempered and used to getting his own way. You dislike this sort of person, as they are always the least receptive to the art.

12. Phillip Zabrensky – He’s only just started calling you, but since then he’s asked you a great deal about his new job. He’s an accountant, and apparently he works for Gold Standard just like you do.

13. Solomon Gold – Oh, goodness, that’s the CEO of Gold Standard Entertainment, your boss’s boss. He’s the head honcho, so be on your best behavior and make a good impression.

14. There seems to be a street person who has made himself comfortable on the train. You feel for such an unfortunate soul, but you are still somewhat put off by his unkempt (and unwashed) presence.

15. The conductor of the train. It is plain that she is suffering under a great deal of stress right now.