Tiny Little Robots [Open]

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

Wyn is Not Happy. Her best-friend-from-the-future is onboard the ship, which is nice, but something clearly goes horribly, horribly awry. Since he won't tell her what's wrong (thanks, Caden!), she's got to do something to take her mind off her questions. The little scout robot idea she's had bouncing around her head sounds like a good plan, but she doesn't quite have the parts she thought she would (thanks, Julian!). So basically, Wyn is glaring staring at her notebook, twirling what looks like an eyeliner pencil between her fingers and trying to come up with a workaround that doesn't involve ridiculous amounts of magic.

... well, she might not have much of a choice on the magic thing, but she'd prefer to avoid writing with her eyeliner if at all possible. She's got priorities.

Comments

[staturity]

Wyn was right. Cassie found a section of the ship dedicated to weapons not as creepy as other areas of the ship. She wondered what that said about her.

"What are you working on?"

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

Wyn would say that it just means Cassie's got more sense than most people. "Er. Right now, I'm trying to get an array sketched out, but mostly what's happening is I'm discovering that eyeliner is very much not meant for writing with." Wyn says, giving the black pencil a disapproving look.

[staturity]

"You could go to the sensoriums. I think you can get a pen there that will work on paper and have what you write stay... huh. I'm not sure. I wish I could help you but all I have are my DS and cell phone." And a picture of her dad.

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"It's all right. I think I might have found someone on board with an actual pen, so all I have to do is wait for him to show-- you said you had a DS?" Wyn says, putting her notebook down. Yeah, that might be a stare of laser focus aimed at Cassie.

[staturity]

"Yeah, I've been waiting to cannibalize it. No point in wasting it by just toying around with its insides." She noticed that determined look. "You need it?"

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"Not at the moment, no. I think I can compensate for what I'm missing with this--" she taps the page she's been writing on "-- but I'm kind of jealous you got to keep your DS. I got a shirt, the notebook, and a... glowy magical battery-rock-thing."

[staturity]

"Oh it doesn't work. Well, it probably could but I don't want to waste the batteries." Cassie took out her DS from her plantsuit pocket (and that never got any less creepy) and offered it to Wyn. "What's this glowy magical battery rock thing?"

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"Exactly what it says on the tin." Wyn says, fishing in the inside pocket of her flannel shirt. "Oh, come on, it's in here somewhere. Technically, it's a repository for the bleedthrough from badly-contained arrays, but they make good batteries if you can't actually do magic." She offers the newly-discovered small white rock in exchange for the DS with a cheerful smile.

[staturity]

"What's an array?" Cassie looked closely at the object. "Huh."

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"It-- glow, dammit, you're not helping me make my point here." Wyn starts, giving the rock in Cassie's hands an irritable look. A warm glow immediately starts to emanate from the small rock. "There we go. Anyway, um, an array is kind of like a magic circle used to direct the flow of magic into doing what you want it to. Containment circles are supposed to keep it focused inside the array, although I haven't met a sorcerer yet who could do a decent containment circle for love or money."

[staturity]

"So it's like a light switch for magic? Or a circuit breaker. I don't know that much about magic but my friend uses it."

And what a weird rock.

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"Circuit breaker's a good analogy, yeah, although it's not perfect." Wyn says thoughtfully. "And I understand the theory behind it, at least in my world, but I've not got the spark so I think I'll just stick to robots."

[staturity]

"Robots are very, very cool." And she should know. She was dating one. Sort of. "You know how to build one? Or less sophisticated technology but still pretty advanced?"

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

Wyn grins at that. "So cool, aren't they? And I mean, I don't know when you're from or what your definition of 'advanced' is, but I'm pretty reliably ahead of my world when it comes to robot-y things. ... well, mostly through magitech, but still. Unholy abomination or not, it works."

[staturity]

"Weeeell, I'm from the same universe as Tony Stark and he's created a suit of armor that lets him fly and blast people and all kinds of stuff. And then there's my boyfriend who's a sentient suit of armor from the 40th century. But I can't really make anything. I tried to make a tiny walking robot once and it uh, didn't go well. We don't combine magic and technology the way it sounds like you do. Except maybe Doom."

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"... is Doom his actual last name? Because if it is, that is probably the best-suited name for mad science I have ever heard. Ever. Much better than, say, Callahan." Wyn asks, focusing on what is possibly the least interesting bit of what Cassie has said. "And you said you're dating a suit of armor from the 40th century? I'd ask how that works, but I'm torn between wanting to know and kind of not wanting to know at all."

[staturity]

"It is his last name. Uh..." Cassie blushed. "He can take on forms. Look like anyone and uh, if you're thinking about that," And her cheeks turned even redder. "We haven't gotten that far." And probably weren't going to any time soon.

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"I was thinking about that, a bit, but it was mostly more along the lines of how it works on his end. Sentient doesn't mean emotional, and usually it doesn't." Sure, there are ways in which it could work. They involve the consciousnesses of dead people and/or the judicious application of magic to whatever needs sentience. Cassie ruled out the second option, and Wyn's really not a fan of the first.

"... and now that I've thoroughly embarrassed you, I should probably introduce myself." she continues brightly. "I'm Wyn, resident mad scientist and easily-distracted person."

[staturity]

"He definitely has emotions. And I'm Cassie also known as Stature. I can grow and shrink."

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"I believe you; it's just not something that comes up often." Wyn says, raising her hands slightly in the universal 'no offense' gesture. "And is that a superhero codename?"

[staturity]

"Yeah, it is. Guess you're not from a world with super heroes?" Which was really weird to imagine.

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"Mm... we've got fictional ones." Wyn says thoughtfully. "Most people with the spark are trying to stay under the radar as much as possible, and the Peacekeepers end up taking care of anyone who decides otherwise." There might be little, almost-inaudible quotation marks around 'taking care of'. Wyn and the Peacekeepers do not get along.

[staturity]

Well that sounded familiar. "So the spark is... what? Magic?"

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

"Essentially. I mean, technically I've got the spark and I can't do magic, but for the vast majority of people that's exactly what it means."

[staturity]

"...Huh. So most everyone where you're from can use magic? And you can combine that with technology to make some pretty cool things like automatons?"