trans_9 | It's five o'clock somewhere!

Everything was new here, everything interesting, that Daniel found himself absorbed with practically everything he came across. Everything here could point to who built this ship, who occupied it. Anything could tell a story here. While he'd set out with the intention to find something like a library or computer database, Daniel ended up hopping the first train and taking it for a ride. Just for the hell of it, and partially to see where he'd end up. Jack would've killed him if he'd been here to see it.

It dropped him off at what looked like a medieval tavern. It was one of the last things he expected to find out here. This place felt more like a massive city than a ship, but it still felt like an extremely advanced technology behind the ship. The tavern felt out of place, but aside from some strange details (the dragon at the entrance for example), perfect preserved. Daniel meant to go in immediately. He really did. The outer decorations alone just happened to grab his attention for the past fifteen minutes before he managed to tear himself from them.

Daniel came up to the bar finally. Aside from actually finding a database, he couldn't think of a better way to get information.

"Hi, I'm new here--" he started to say. The archaeologist meant to introduce himself, ask about the tavern's exterior first, but paused instead. The man behind the bar looked like something right out of Dungeons and Dragons. It wasn't that Daniel hadn't seen his share of non-humans, because he had, but there was a difference between something obviously alien, like Jara, and something that looked like an honest-to-God dragon man.

Daniel trailed off feebly and tried not to stare. "...I was wondering what you could tell me about this place..."

The dragon on the roof really was impressive, though it didn't do justice to the actual dragon it was supposed to represent. That one had gone down in a blaze of glory, though. Literally.

Used to the reaction of the human in front of him, Kang leaned forward so that he didn't tower over him and smiled. Unfortunately, a smile on him tended to show off some very sharp teeth. "What all do you want to know? Name's Kang, by the way." He spoke fluent Common, almost identical to English, and with a bit of an accent due to his having a snout.

Kang had a very... healthy smile. That was one way to put it. Daniel gave him a small smile back. He did seem friendly enough.

"Daniel," He replied. The fact that he spoke what sounded like nearly fluent English was something though. Jara had a general grasp of it, although a broken one. Most of the people they'd encountered so far through the Stargate had a language that evolved from roots on Earth, which made sense. He got the feeling Kang wasn't Earth. "I just wanted to ask about this place. And that decoration you have outside. What's the story behind it?"

He also caught that wall depicting a battle between looked like like more of Kang's kind, a dragon, and another faction. "And that mural over there too. It's beautiful.

"Well met," Kang said. Daniel would be right about his not coming from Earth; it was just a coincidence that Common sounded so similar to English. He didn't think much about himself, since there was also the coincidence of elves, dwarves, dragons, and especially humans, on other worlds in other universes. "...that'd be a long story. I'd have to explain the origin of my kind in order for it to make sense. I'm not adverse to telling it, though, if you want to hear it."

An explanation of the artwork and a creation myth too? Daniel was wondering at his good luck. Not that he had a problem with it. Usually he had to dig through mounds of historical documents and folk lore or try to cajole it in bits and pieces out of the locals if there wasn't a written word. You rarely got someone willing to just sit down and explain it all.

He'd have to find other sources too, but it wasn't a bad start.

"Sure. I'd love to hear it." He looked around for something to write with, habit, then remembered the Omnicron. "Would you mind if I took notes?"

Edited 2011-04-06 23:09 (UTC)

"I don't mind," he shrugged. He'd actually been thinking of checking to see if there were any records somewhere on the ship (the Tower was his best bet), and if not, writing up something himself. He didn't like the idea of his kind's history, no matter how short it was, being forgotten.

"Do you want a drink while I tell you?"

Daniel grinned and got out the Omnicron. Typing on this thing was going to take some practice. It wasn't going to be nearly as fast as just taking down a hard copy.

Kang, if nothing else, was so amiable and easygoing that Daniel suspected he'd get spoiled rotten if he hung around him too long. He might get so used to having someone be so open about their customs and beliefs and folk lore, that the next time he came across anything different, he might be in for a surprise. Not everyone appreciated their practices and history written down.

Now that he thought about it, he was thirsty. "Sure, I'd like that," Daniel paused, remembering. "...I'm sorry, I don't have any money on me."

Not that he knew what they even used on this ship. He got the feeling that US currency wasn't going to work out here. What system did they use? Did they even use banknote or hard currency or did they use a credit system based on what you contributed? Maybe they bartered? It could even be a gift economy.

What it all all came down to was the most important question: Was Daniel going to find himself washing dishes all night or even a week or month in exchange for this story? The answer was yes, he was prepared to, because he really, really wanted to know. The thirst of knowledge was one of his biggest strengths and sometimes Jack's pain in the ass, and he couldn't pass up the chance to learn something new.

Edited 2011-04-08 04:30 (UTC)

At that, Kang laughed, "Drinks are free. We don't have any currency, and not much in the way of personal possessions, so I don't see the point in charging." Money wasn't all that important to him. That didn't mean that the drinks would continue to be free if they had an actual economy, though; if there was a profit to be made that didn't screw everyone else over, he was going to make it. He realized that they only worked if money was spent.

"I've got ale, wine, mead, hard cider, and vodka. If you're not fond of alcohol, there's also fruit juice, water, and regular cider." He grabbed a clean mug.

That got Daniel's full attention. No currency at all, not many possessions, no charge?How did they manage? Maybe it was a pay-as-you-go system, a good faith kind of deal that didn't have to involve money. It could be services or other items in exchange, but unlike a barter system, not necessarily expected in return. Economy wasn't his focus of study, but it had plenty to do with how a social unit developed, grew, and sustained that growth.

It was probably better that he avoid alcoholic drinks right now. Daniel was also very aware at that moment that he didn't have anyone to drink with. Drinking alcohol be yourself was mildly depressing. He wasn't fond of beer, but Jack, just with his company, somehow made it more tolerable when they hung out after a mission. "Do you have coffee?"

He hoped he did. Coffee would get that caverns out of his system. Daniel tapped the Omnicron. They could carry on the history in a bit, the economy here was something more immediately relevant.

"So how do you manage all this with that kind of economy?" He waved an arm at well, all this. "How do you get your supplies? How do you avoid the demand for goods completely overwhelming the supply, if they're completely free?" It sounded like it was based on good faith and everyone only taking what they needed, but as the universe had shown so far, it was a pipe dream. Everyone was different, with different agendas, needs, and personality quirks. Greed and ambition were facts of life.

Edited 2011-04-08 05:19 (UTC)

"No coffee here. I don't have a coffee maker, and no spells to heat things up with," Kang shrugged. "It'd look a bit out of place in a tavern like this, anyways, don't you think? This is a piece of home for me, and I want it to stay looking that way."

Pausing, he tilted his head to one side slightly. "Mostly, we just help each other out because we're all stuck together with limited resources. Some of the others will barter, like Daja. As for supplies, every now and then we get some time on a planet to restock. We never really know when, unfortunately." It was rather annoying, really.

"There's also edible plants in Hydroponics, and a few people working on growing crops. I have someone growing grain and wheat for me; I'm trying to get whiskey. Another friend of mine, a wizard, has a spell that can replicate drinks, keeping the tavern running. There are some animals in Hydroponics, too, but Stacy won't let us kill them," he snorted, obviously displeased.

Daniel looked sheepish. He was right, it would've looked out of place, he didn't exactly see a socket anyway and who was he to intrude like that? "You're right, sorry. Water's fine."

Everyone in the same boat, huh? He could see that working, but on a massive scale? Judging from what Kang was saying, this place shouldn't be able actually support itself on that system. He didn't know the population size yet, but the ship looked utterly massive, and a few people working Hydroponics couldn't provide for everyone. And everyone working perfectly together sounded unlikely, And having a good faith slash barter that depended also on the off chance they might land on a planet willing to supply them? Not only were they banking on actually finding enough planets and supplies in time, they had to contend with the planet's population as well. There had to be something more to it.

"She's probably very fond of them." He never thought he'd be talking about a ship as person, but never say never, right? "Even if this system works on board, I'm not clear on how you manage to trade with these planets. What if they have a currency system that won't integrate with yours?"

More like "when" than "what if". Daniel wondered at the spell bit. He didn't believe in magic himself. It was a matter of perspective. People tended to refer to technology far more advanced than their own or more advanced than what they could comprehend as magic. What must Ra's ships have looked like to the Ancient Egyptians? Even something as simple as a flashlight or gun could look like magic. There wasn't any such thing as magic, in his experience, only what they didn't yet understand.

Edited 2011-04-08 05:49 (UTC)

"I did install electricity, but only for the lights. Candles weren't going to last forever, and humans can't see as well in low-light as I can," Kang said, glancing at one of the fixtures. It was designed to look like a wall sconce, so it didn't stand out as 'modern'. He filled the mug with water from a barrel and set it down in front of Daniel.

"I don't know, but it's annoying as all hell. She gives us all the required currency when we make planetfall so that we can buy what we need. I tend to stock up on meat and drinks, myself." He had very simple needs in life. Seeing the look on the human's face, he grinned and ventured a guess, "...you don't believe me about the spells, do you? You're not the first."

"Thanks."

Daniel cradled the mug. It wasn't the same as nursing a beer or coffee, but it was habit to wrap both hands around it. He hadn't noticed the electric lights. They'd done a good job making them look natural. Subtle, modern, and it still kept with the original look. He was impressed.

The archaeologist turned back Kang. That was interesting about the currency. How did Stacy know what to use for each planet? How not to flood their economy and crash it? He'd have to find a way to ask Stacy about that one.

Kang turned the subject towards somewhere Daniel wasn't ready to tread down with someone he'd just met, especially when he was a complete outsider himself. The topic of magic, incantations, spells, was going an area that, on some planets, was a touchy one, especially if magic had a deep-rooted place in a society. Challenging beliefs formerly thought to be universal truths tended to get messy. Just ask Galileo.

Kang was so sure of himself, of his magic, just like everyone else he'd encountered who'd believed in it. It seemed to matter in his day to day life. Maybe he should let it go, except Kang had addressed him very directly on it. He couldn't think of a way to politely excuse himself yet.

Daniel chose his words carefully. "Not really... Spells are rituals that help us understand and influence the world. They have their function in a culture," he wondered whether he should go on. He had asked for his opinion. Daniel risked the truth. "Anything that looks like magic is really an explanation for what we don't yet understand, some technology that is so advanced that we don't comprehend what we're looking at or a biological process that isn't yet understood. Or it could be a natural phenomenon that we're observing through a flawed lens."

Edited 2011-04-08 06:52 (UTC)

Kang listened, growing more amused, and when Daniel finished speaking, he reached into a cloth bag at his waist and pulled out a small piece of moss. Holding the moss in his hand so that it stayed visible, he pointed at the mug in the human's hands, chanting words in a completely different language (for some reason, Stacy never translated the Krynnish language of magic). As he said the last word, the moss abruptly vanished, and the mug began to give off a bright light.

"Magic may not be real on your world, Daniel, but it is on others, including mine. The existence of my race is due to magic."

Sure enough, Kang held out a piece of moss and chanted. Something that was viewed to hold a power and a magical language to supposedly focus the power, or, Daniel thought of Kendra's prayer in front of the Hammer's door, to activate it. Some things never changed.

Daniel watched quietly as the mug turned a beautiful light blue. The moss vanished. Consumed after one use perhaps or converted.

It could be anything. Nanites or something else, perhaps just naturally given off by the moss, and reactive to those words, maybe even their frequency or timbre? Maybe, (actually, pretty likely) Kang's species had organs humans didn't have, maybe even able to produce sounds outside of his range of hearing. Maybe they even formed a symbiotic relationship. He didn't know. This wasn't his area at all. It was Sam's. Sam was rubbing off on him, but these were still just guesses. She'd have a better idea here.

There were some things Daniel believed couldn't be explained. That gut feeling back on Cimmera for one, the connection he felt with Sha're. Maybe those things did have some explanation but maybe they weren't ever going to get their answers, maybe not in any of their life times, and that in itself did require a leap of faith. Stuff like that is what drove them, endlessly searching for answers. It came down to perspective. Humans were still a very 'young' species.

The display didn't really prove anything, other than an interesting show of something of his home and his beliefs. It wasn't Daniel's place right now to try and shake his world view here. They'd interfered in cultures before, but Daniel really preferred avoiding contamination of a culture's natural development, if possible. Magic was a way for Kang to navigate his world, and while Daniel didn't think it existed, there was nothing wrong with others thinking it did. It wasn't like they were being enslaved by false Gods.

Besides, it'd be boring if everyone had the same belief system.

Daniel smiled politely. He touched the mug tentatively. It didn't seem hot, but it was still glowing.

"That's very impressive. What do the words mean?" he asked. The interest was sincere.

Edited 2011-04-08 08:58 (UTC)

It was true that draconians had an organ that other species didn't. It was what allowed them to cast magic, and made them do what they did when they died, though most of them weren't aware of said organ.

Maybe Light wasn't the best spell to use, but most of the spells that Kang knew were offensive rather than defensive or benign, and he didn't want to hurt anyone or destroy anything in the tavern. Daniel's reaction wasn't what he was used to when people that didn't believe in magic saw it first hand; it seemed much more polite, as if the human had seen something similar that wasn't magic, and didn't want to ruffle any feathers by proving it wrong. The bozak mentally shrugged, not wanting to argue it himself, and watched as the glow began to fade, "You're not in your universe anymore. You'll learn after a few days on this ship. You'll learn more than you ever thought was possible. I would keep an open mind if I were you."

He shook his head, "I can't really translate it in a way you'd understand; it'd be pure gibberish to anyone that isn't a caster."

Edited 2011-04-08 19:30 (UTC)

Could he read his mind or something? Daniel wasn't even sure where that had come from. He'd asked for his opinion the first time, but Daniel also hadn't shot him down when he did the display, instead he'd admired it. He was trying to learn about his culture here, even the magic within the context of Kang's society, and he hadn't tried to further argue it or push his own view on him, instead just asking him more about what was behind it.

He hastily double-checked, worried. Daniel was pretty sure he hadn't been overtly disrespectful or anything, much less had it written on his face. Jack was a far better poker player, but Daniel had picked up a few things on the job. One of them was playing the polite guest. It was a little something you picked up when trying not to piss off your hosts. Sometimes you'd run into food or customs that didn't agree with your stomach or were too strange for words. Some people were starving and still offered their hospitality to honored guests, and well, even if the food tasted awful, you had to just run with it rather than complain or offend them.

Maybe he was saying that because Daniel hadn't reacted in surprise or awe. Where he came from, for all he knew, Kang could be someone important, like a shaman. He might've been the anomaly here. Oops.

"I see," Daniel shrugged. He wouldn't mind trying to learn about the language, and in his opinion, any language could eventually be cracked. Given that you had something to compare it to. He probably wasn't going to find a Rosetta Stone for that language.

It was best, for now, to turn it back to the original subject.

"So you were saying about the wall over there and that door..."

"Should I start from the beginning, or are there any specific questions you'd like answered first?" Kang asked, picking up on the subject change.

That was a loaded question. Daniel was just happy to get information at all, and giving him a choice was like asking a kid if he wanted an ice cream store or a candy store.

Daniel decided after a moment that context would be better. "The beginning, please?"

"Alright. My kind were created from stolen dragon eggs that were warped with magic, roughly forty-six years ago. We were created to be shock troops in a war, a war we ended up losing. I'm not too upset by it; everyone was too busy bribing and backstabbing to gain power instead of focusing on winning the damn thing. The humans treated us like shit anyways," Kang snorted. It was obvious he had personal experience. "After the war, most of us went to mercenary work and banditry, but I took my regiment up into the mountains to keep us all alive. Our 'allies' left us to be hunted down by the elves and the Whitestone Council."

Daniel took some notes. A lot to go on and not nearly enough context. What war, against who?

"Why would you alter dragon eggs in the first place? Why not just use them?" Daniel tripped on the word. It was one thing to talk about it as mythology, another to assume an actual species.

Kang's wings rustled, "It was the eggs of the metallic dragons, Takhisis's enemies; the chromatics follow her. She told the metallics that if they swore not to get involved in her newest war to take over Krynn, that they'd get them back safely. They should have known she was lying." His voice was a bit bitter; there was no love lost between draconians and their dragon parents. He pushed the thought of Crucible to the side.

"And, she wanted shock troops. Something smart and strong enough to fight better than goblins and ogres, but still tractable."

That certainly hadn't happened, though.

Made sense, he guessed. Although it didn't seem nearly as efficient for a disposable shock troops, not if dragon eggs were already hard to come by. Maybe understanding the context would be better.

"Can you tell me more about Takhisis?

If Daniel didn't believe in magic, Kang highly doubted he'd believe the next bit; this could possibly get interesting. "Takhisis is a goddess, very powerful and ambitious. The most powerful in the dark pantheon, in fact. She'd made attempts in the past to take over, but never succeeded, largely because of the metallic dragons countering her own and the fact that her followers tend to lack discipline and are more interested in destruction and thievery, and gaining power." Among other things. The camps of the Dragonarmies had not been pleasant places.

Evil turns in upon itself. That had been the reason for the fall of Neraka.

She kind of reminded Daniel of a Goa'uld. The God and warlording over her armies and her rivals. Although it was surprising to hear she didn't have an iron grip on her armies.

Daniel had to ask. "If her armies are so undisciplined, how'd she even get to be the most powerful of the pantheon in the first place?

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