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Lucy Woo
Fictional Character
Curious Notions
POD: August, 1914
Type of Appearance: Direct POV
Nationality: United States (Alternate 3477)
Date of Birth: c. 2080
Occupation: Shoe-maker, office clerk
Parents: Charlie;
unnamed mother
Relatives: Michael (brother)

Lucy Woo (b. ca. 2080) was the denizen of an alternate wherein Germany won World War I and went on to conquer Europe, develop the atomic bomb, and defeat and occupy the United States in 1956. Lucy was born in the late 21st century, and grew up in a United States that had long been under the Kaiser's heel.

Lucy was an American of Chinese descent. However, her family - like most Chinese-Americans in this timeline - were strongly assimilated, had stopped speaking Chinese several generations prior, and had only a vague interest in the Chinese culture. Having lived in America for some 250 years, they in general preferred to think of themselves as "Americans like everybody else." And like other Americans on this timeline, Lucy spoke an English strongly influenced by German, and could correctly pronounce such German words as "Felgendarmerie."

Lucy lived in San Francisco with her parents and her younger brother, Michael. Due to the impoverished conditions fostered in its territories, most Americans were forced to work to subsistence level. Lucy had dropped out of school to work at a shoe factory by the time she was 16. Her father, Charlie Woo, ran an electronics shop.

Unknown to Lucy, the company Crosstime Traffic, an organization based in a timeline different from hers, had established an outpost for commerce in San Francisco. Using an electronics shop called "Curious Notions" as a front, two Crosstime Traffic employees, Lawrence Gomes and his son, Paul, sold electronics that were quite obsolete by their home's standards, but extremely advanced by the standards of the alternate.

Lucy's life intersected with Curious Notions and the Gomes when German authorities inquired into the store. In a panic, Paul Gomes claimed that the items they sold had come from China. His father then provided the German Feldgendarmerie with a list of local Chinese merchants culled from the phone book. Charlie Woo was one of those listed. He was arrested by the Felgendarmerie.

Panicked, Lucy demanded that the Gomes do something to help her father. Although Lawrence Gomes was hesitant, Paul decided to take action, and was able to get Charlie Woo released.

However, now the Woos came to the attention of the Triads, the local Chinese gangs, long thought to have been exterminated by the Germans. One of their agents, a jeweler named Stanley Hsu, approached Lucy about learning the true nature of Curious Notions and the Gomes. Lucy made an attempt, but was unable to get the truth from Paul. However, the Triads saw to it that Lucy was given a better job as a clerk in the shoe factory.

When the Feldgendarmerie decided to shut down Curious Notions, they arrested Lawrence Gomes, but Paul escaped. Lucy was able to offer only minimal help, until, at Paul's insistence, she put him in touch with the Triads. Paul offered them the truth in exchange for their aid in releasing his father. In the meantime, through their conversations, Lucy began getting a sense of the truth about Paul and his father. The Triads arranged for Lawrence Gomes' release, but Paul went missing, and Lucy had no means of contacting him.

Even though Paul had been contacted by another Crosstime Traffic employee, Sammy Wong, he was captured by the Germans. Lucy was also taken into custody as a bargaining chip. Wong gassed the police station, putting everyone inside to sleep. When he woke Paul, Paul insisted Wong also rescue Lucy. Now that the Woos were targets of both the Germans and the Triads, Paul convinced Wong to help them migrate to the home timeline. Despite the bureaucratic mess that it would entail, Wong agreed.

Lucy and her family quickly settled into their new life. Lucy and Paul began a romantic relationship.

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