It's the only way to be sure [Open]

[facepunching.livejournal.com]

So many people had recommended the Media Library to Soren that it ended up being one of the first locations on-ship that he paid a visit to. As promised, there was plenty of information to be found in convenient, electronic format.

Convenient for everyone who wasn't essentially from a medieval time period and thus had no framework for understanding computers, let along databases.

Losing patience, Soren began mashing the controls on some kind of instrument panel, and was rewarded with a moving picture featuring humans being menaced by floating tin plates, a woman singing about less-than-optimal romantic encounters, and some sort of storybook featuring a blue-skinned 'space explorer' and his evil nemesis (both with rather improbable hair).

"Infernal machine," he hissed, hitting the table with one small, bony magefist. "I'll show you a bad romance."

As far as he was concerned, the future should be destroyed. With fire.

Comments

[facepunching.livejournal.com]

"Books?" That piques his interest. "What sort of books?"

[vissernone.livejournal.com]

"All sorts of books. I'm a bit of an aficionado. Mostly fiction, poetry, memoirs, that sort of thing, but if it has the printed word I'll give it a look." She winks. "And I know where all the real libraries are."

[facepunching.livejournal.com]

"Oh?" Soren leaned forward ever so slightly. "And what would someone have to do to inspire you to impart this secret to them?"

[vissernone.livejournal.com]

"Generally I require a toll and bribery, but since you made jokes about blowing people up I can let you in on it for free." She smirks. "Most of them are personal libraries owned by friends, although they're incredibly comprehensive. If I ask I could probably show you my friend Goliath's."

She still wouldn't feel comfortable inviting herself over to Lex's or into the TARDIS.

[facepunching.livejournal.com]

"I'd appreciate it. I was beginning to think I'd have to serve the rest of my time here staring at one of these panels. They may be efficient, but they lack the feel of real paper." Actual books. Imagine that.

"I should talk about explosions more often, clearly."

[vissernone.livejournal.com]

"Not to mention they'll give you a migraine if you stare at them too long." She curls her lip and shakes her head. "I don't like to be a romantic, but there's something intangibly wonderful about actual ink and paper and binding."

[facepunching.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I agree. Electronic copies may be 'convenient', but they'll never replace reading by firelight and turning the pages by hand."

He pauses. "By the way, I've heard a little about these devices called Sensoriums. Do you know anything of them?"

[vissernone.livejournal.com]

She perks up. "I use them pretty often. They're a way to create scenarios that you can imagine. For example, I like to go conjure up beaches and gardens and my tactical officer simulations. Some people use them for combat training. And most people use them to make the food taste better, so there's that."

[facepunching.livejournal.com]

"Would it be possible to read books in these Sensoriums with information from this library?" That's what Soren's really after. He doesn't know if it can actually be done, but if it can, it'll save him a lot of eyestrain.

[vissernone.livejournal.com]

She nods. "You can. And if you're feeling particularly imaginative, you can literally bring the books to life. I've re-enacted quite a few famous scenes in there. But yes, save yourself the headache if you can."

[facepunching.livejournal.com]

He smiles and stands. "Thank you, I think I'll do just that."

Luckily, he's got a map that should tell him where the Sensoriums are.