Artful Dodger: London

A Story by Abishai100

Two MIT professors travel through time and land in 1800s London and engage with Fagin-orphans for a tale of diamond-distance.

A time-travel story inspired by Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens). Enjoy!

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Amlan and Leia wanted to walk through the time-machine device they'd secretly been working on at MIT for the past 3 years, using a special time-wormhole spacetime electromagnetism folding technique to arrive at 1800s London, where they'd become costumed/masquerading street-artists assimilating into the world of Oliver Twist.

AMLAN: We'll have 2 years in 1800s London before we have to walk back through the time-gate, Leia.

LEIA: This feels dangerous...and worthwhile, Dr. Amlan.

Now, the two daring humans are in 1800s London where they're assimilated into the world of Oliver Twist, trafficking the old British streets as costumed thespians mingling with the orphan-club marshaled by the somewhat cunning old man Fagin. Amlan/Leia present themselves to the Fagin-orphans as saints of London-city design.

AMLAN: I'll disguise myself as the street-urchin pickpocket-coach, Artful Dodger!
LEIA: I'll become a thespian portraying London milk-maids in the streets, friend of the Fagin-group.

Amlan/Leia train the Fagin-orphans on how to use theater-performance routines (choreographed!) to peddle with copper-pans for money from passerby intrigued by their 'fresh' brand of traffic-theater. This becomes a rather fruitful enterprise (and adventure!) for the time-traveling Amlan/Leia.

Artful Dodger steals a fancy diamond-ring from a corrupt aristocat-baron's estate in 1800s London by pretending to be a postman-messenger (young man) who seeks a sketch-drawing of the estate's 'infamous' European jewelry and successfully swaps the jewelry with replica-toys (custom-made to look identical from previously-taken photos during a previously-scheduled jewelry photo request!).