Hello. This is Salvio Pizzicagnolo. The Seneschal. We have-- that is, I would, um--
Are you very busy? With--a particular... I do not see that you have put in for anything mo-- um, this is not meant to critique or imply anything of your work, capabilities, or--or anything of the sort. In the least. I am-- Your assistance is, is what I am inquiring after.
I have finalized something amazing. You can be first to see it, if you like. Them. They are a book--several books--and you can write a message in one, and the message appears in another. And then, you can answer that message from the another.
That's, uh-- Base Operations will be distributing these for testing, so that is the part that I will need assistance with. Though I am not certain that, um, the merit will be see by the whole of the Inquisition... perhaps these will go unnoted. But if they are of interest then we should see that Base Operations is adequately staffed, to distribute.
[ Already she's getting up and heading towards the office since she really wasn't doing anything important. Just reading, and that feels way too much like homework she's too old to be doing. ]
Wait, let me try and get this: you write a message in one book, and that message appears in another book for another person to read.
[ And then the light bulb turns on over her head. ]
Oh my God, did you just invent social media? Do you realize how starved I've been for Twitter? I mean, no, you wouldn't. You have no idea what I'm-- but yeah! Yeah, I'll totally come help you with handing them out!
Well, I did not-- I mean, I have worked on it. It was molded, after-- There was a book, or is a book, that is, it remains--The Emergent Compendium. You have heard of it?
[Hopeful, but mostly doubtful. He is talking to a Rifter, after all. Which, speaking of, uh--]
It goes by another name, where you are from?
[Just a guess. Twitter is way less official a name, but...]
[ Is this a famous book in Thedas? Is she a noob for not knowing this? ]
Well, it's not a book. We have these... devices. Sorta like crystals but we can read things written on them. And we would send written messages or pictures out into the world on them where others could see and comment on them. Or, well, we did. That all stopped with the whole plague thing, walking dead deal I told you about.
[ Which is always a cheery topic of conversation; she knows. ]
Anyway, nearly there. These towers need elevators, man.
[Of course she doesn't know the Compendium, what a stupid-- never mind, moving on.]
I beg you forgive the obvious question, but--an elevator, this would elevate? I believe the dwarves have-- Um, but, you are very lucky, to have had such--devices, before. The ease of communication is one I can only imagine. Well--of course, now it is more imaginable, yes, but before--
Do you know very much, of these devices? I should like to make notes, to see if there is any-- I suppose they were, um, not enchanted or otherwise ench-- uh, enhanced.
Yeah, an elevator goes up and down to different floors so you don't have to take the stairs. But I mean, it's fine. I'll just get killer calves from all the stair climbing.
[ She's in way better shape since the zombie apocalypse started. ]
Oh, they were like... technology. Not magic. But, um, I can show you?
[ And with that she walks into his office and closes the little locket around her crystal. ]
Hey. So... it's dead. I mean, it wasn't alive or anything, but the battery's dead.
[ She pulls an iPhone out of the pocket of her jacket, smiling a bit wistfully at it. Her parents got it for her for Christmas, because like hell she could have afforded it on her own. But it has all those pics of her family, and of Mike, that she can't see anymore. ]
I honestly don't know how they worked. Guess it has to do with electrical impulses running through metal or something? Sorry. But yeah, you could read the messages on this screen here. It lit up bright enough to read. I dunno why I still carry it around. It's useless now. Just... hoping for a fresh battery to fall from a rift, I guess. Kinda stupid of me, I know. But if you wanna look it over, you can.
[Salvio, from his usual nest of paperwork, reaches for the object with bemused interest. It is strange to behold, like a stone that has been perfectly cut and highly polished.]
If you should find a fresh and living battery-- [battery? is he using that correctly?] --it would be useful, again?
[Read messages by the light of the screen, which looks nothing like a screen to Salvio. He is back far in his memory, a sieve and a running stream, a merchant who was killed by bandits and fell from his horse, spilled a thousand tiny emeralds in his fall, and everyone in the village was pressed into searching, even the children and the goats. Screen, behind which a woman pulled off her robe, her shadow against it, and Salvio turned from the doorway and fled, his sandals slapping at the stones. Screen, between the beds of the infirmary.]
It is normal, I think. To carry such--trinkets. As a comfort. Um, do you mind, if I look--even if it is not living, and is technology--it is still interesting, to me. It was for reading only? There were no pictures?
Yeah. Like it can't connect to the outside world because you need these towers to transfer the signal, but I could show you what's stored on it if I get a new battery.
[ So many times Tessa forgets where she is, and what words wouldn't make sense to the people here. It hasn't been as hard as she thought to adapt to the lifestyle itself -- no tv, no plumbing, what have you -- because she didn't have that back home either, but no one here knows what Twitter is, or Netflix, or a mobile phone. Or if they do, they're a Rifter like her. ]
Sure. Here, let me take the case off for you. [ With a slight smile, she takes the phone back to pop off the decorative case, then the back of the phone itself. Then she slips out the small rectangular battery and holds it up before handing the phone back to him first, then the battery. ]
This is the battery. See the little metal things? They touched those metal things on the phone and gave it power. And there were pictures. you could point this -- the phone -- at someone and capture their image. I have pictures of stuff on here from before all the zombie shit started. Like my family and Mi-- my friend, Mike. Wish I could see their pictures again.
[What the shit it's all coming apart in her hands. Case, which gives her two pieces, one smooth polished rock and then a piece that resembles a peculiar and geometric shell--and then she slides off the back of the rock, and Salvio's brow furrows. It's not that he's unfamiliar with complex machinery, objects with many parts and interlocking pieces--it's just bizarre watching her slip apart this thing.
All the same, he leans forward to examine the little metal things when she points them out.]
I see. [That is, he is looking, and trying to comprehend. It's not incredibly complex, but still.] The image, when it was captured--it could be stored? That is the trouble with the, um--I mean, one of the troubles--the images, in the Compendium, they are there and then gone again. I have replicated the, the ability to place the image, in the books, but they do not last. A day is the longest that I have been able to preserve. I should like to isolate some of it. I see it would be useful.
If you had a living battery again, those pictures. You would be able to see them? They have lasted through its death?
[ It's not something she even really thinks about: laser cutting precision and robot hands putting these little bits of tech together so they're smooth and sleek. The way things fitted together in her world was so precise and formed to be the exact shape that was most useful. Until it slipped out of a pocket and broke. That's why Tessa's glad her pockets have zippers. ]
Yeah, it stores it. It has this little memory card thing here [ She points out the tiny SD card, though she doesn't take it out, just to insure it doesn't go flying and she loses it. ] that stores the images. So if I get a new battery, they'll still be here.
[ Photos "lasting through death" is a nice way to put it, and though she's smiling faintly, there's a furrow to her brow. These photos are all she has left of her family because they've died. Mike's still out there somewhere, but Mom, Dad, and Kelsey can only last through death if she gets a new battery. If she doesn't, well then they're really gone for good. ]
I'll bet the rift will be an asshole and drop a ton of batteries and none of them will fit this phone. That would just be the way, wouldn't it? [ She lets out a weak laugh. ] Anyway, I wish looking at this could help you out with making the images in the books last longer, but you're talking about magic, right? I don't think any of this phone stuff can help you. I don't even know how it all works.
[--With some awe, and entirely to himself, before Salvio realizes he has said it aloud. He had leaned forward to get a closer look at the memory card (what a good name, though Salvio knows nothing of poetry he still appreciates the simple beauty--a card, on which a memory is etched), but now he sits back, with some embarrassment.]
It-- Uh. Yes. We can, uh, put out a notice, to those members of the Inquisition, that--that travel to close rifts--to watch for the batteries. A small space on the cart could be spared, if great economy is used to pack the supplies. [This is him, trying to be nice. After a beat, though, his practicality wins out, and he revises:] A very small space.
[Anyway.]
It is helpful in that it, you know, shapes the thoughts. The Compendium is the nearest that we have to your phone. I am beginning to understand that for Rifters--some Rifters, and I cannot say how many for certain, I have not--taken any surveys, or--but uh, for some Rifters, objects like the phone and the battery--they are common. I am talking of course of magic, but, uh, even the ideas that are shared. They might help.
Ooooooooor I could always go with to help close them, and then search for the batteries, allowing a very small space for them on my person.
[ God, even when being nice he's so practical it makes her eyes want to roll back into her head. ]
I've never seen you get so excited about anything before. This must mean a lot to you, huh?
[ Granted, it's a whole new system of communication, so she can understand where it's coming from. It's just from what she knows of him so far, he tends not to like... things outside the norm. He prefers the status quo. ]
Oh. Uh, yes. If you were not available, of course, we could--um, but your, the, proposed, would-- yes.
[An obvious solution. How good that she thought of it. As to her observation, Salvio flushes a little, and pushes himself out of his chair with great purpose and intention. Which results in a sort of half-stumble, but he's pushed in close enough that he catches himself against the table.]
I-- uh, well, it is an innovation. They are, that is. One that could truly-- Well, I would not overstate the importance of m, [no, too personal, he hastily corrects mid-noun] the work. But I see that they could be useful. I think.
[ Tessa's eyebrows lift, but she says nothing. She gets the feeling that asking if he's okay or joking that he's drunk will lead to a lot of stammering and whatnot, and she'd like to spare the both of them. ]
I'd say there's still room for a lot of innovations here. That is, if you guys wanna catch up to my world. But this is a good start. And yeah, totally useful. In my world, people got out of the habit of talking to each other on the phone. We'd just write texts instead.
[Salvio, busying himself with turning around to fetch down one of the books in question for her, is struck by that remark, enough that he turns around to look at Tessa again.]
'Texts'. As in, written-- What of conversation?
[Is there truly a world out there where everyone just writes to one another?]
Ehhhh, see, that's the thing. Like, conversation still existed, sure. But a lot of people were just getting in the habit of firing off quick messages to people -- these texts. And they'd do it all day. So it was like a whole conversation without having to devote part of your day to sitting down and just talking all at once. It had its pros and cons. I think we were getting more lazy as a society, but it's not like I wasn't texting or posting to social media too. I'm not gonna judge.
--ideal, in some ways. I am, uh. Better with the written. With writing, I mean. Not as a poet would be, but it is-- More time to think. And to read back on what was said, so that if there is any question--
[His gestures is meant to convey easy: a close sweep of the hand, scooped up.]
And for record-keeping, of course. What is spoken, it can be transcribed, but it is--interpreted, often.
[Salvio shoots her a look, as surprised as he is wary as he is-- well, touched, sort of. And also mildly horrified that she made the offer so directly, one connected to what is, probably, one of his larger flaws.
The cocktail of emotion results in a rush of blood to his head, and a twitch of his lips as he tries to smile and then not smile but then, impossibly, uncertainly, smile again, a little.]
That is. Generous, of you. I, uh. Conversation would take much--much longer, and your, uh, you would run dry on patience. But thank you.
[And now he really does not know what to say or do next. Awkwardly, Salvio rests his hands on his desktop for a beat before he thinks a hurried oh, and pulls away as sharply as if he'd been burned.]
I just want you to be comfortable, you know. [ She gives a shrug, trying to be casual about it. ] I'm totally weird and awkward, but I think that's true of everyone and it comes down to whether you feel comfortable with it or not. And I'm like... seventy-five percent cool with my level of weird. So, it's cool, okay? Whatever you wanna do.
[ Though she can't really say for sure there won't come a day where her patience doesn't run out, but that would be down to a bad mood and not really her in general.
The offer reminds her that they sort of got off track with her phone and talking about her world, and then talking about him talking, so she laughs and rubs her hands together. ]
Oh, right! That's why I came over here. Yeah, let's see what you got.
No really what is feeling comfortable, it sounds suspicious. Salvio doesn't dare say that he is most comfortable when he is alone, so Tessa's very presence makes him uncomfortable, because people don't like to be told that, and actually, as presences go, Tessa is not the worst. Certainly she is confusing and distressing in her own ways. But perhaps it is her very profestation (is that a word that translates?), I just want you to be comfortable that deems her not the worst?
Salvio then realizes that he has been staring at Tessa for a few seconds more than what is, probably, comfortable for her. His brain restarts.]
Uh-- [Quick, he turns before she can see the flush on his face.] --yes, um, the-- books. You are not--totally weird, you--
[No, no; stop right there. Salvio grabs the topmost book from the stack and turns on his heel, holds it out to Tessa with jerky movements, like a clockwork figure that has gone slightly askew.]
Here. This is, what I got. Have.
[Dark blue, leather, the book has been bound with careful stitching. If she were to hold it up and peer at the spine, she might just see a faint green glint, somewhere way, way down there. Magic? Crystal? Who can say.]
Or perhaps a nice future where you don't have to be in charge of people and can just sit in a back room alone, recording things for posterity. Tessa certainly isn't the one to run the intervention, especially when she just got finished telling him that people in her would would text to each other all day instead of talking in person. People in those days could have accused her of being a hermit and she couldn't have denied it.
Which is funny, since he's staring at her now and she's considering picking up the hermit lifestyle again. Did she do a stupid Rifter faux pas? Why's he just... staring? Should she shoot him awkward fingerguns? That's her go to when she feels like she's said something stupid.
Oh, the book. She shows a touch of surprise at his confession, but takes the book before he can have an aneurysm at having his own opinion. ]
Ooo, fancy. [ Tessa runs fingertips across the cover. ] Really well made and everything. Now is this the original, or one of the copies you made that you wanna hand out?
One of the copies. The original--the Compendium, that is--I have it locked, in one of the cupboards, but, um--
[Many of the cupboards have locks, but the locks are not often employed. Salvio can only dream of an office where the cupboards are locked to prevent unnecessary viewing of files. Sensibility and good practice keeps the cupboards unlocked, for transparency. No one can accuse you of embezzlement if your records are there for the viewing.
It is a rare honor, therefore, to use a lock. Salvio fumbles at his worktable and unearths a small box. He presses his fingertips to its sides, and with a soft click, the lid springs open, revealing the key. This, he carries to the cupboard and opens it.
The Emergent Compendium is a large, thick tome, with a solid cover of cloth and board and a red gemstone embedded in its center. A pair of straps are stretched over the dense pages, as if to keep its vast knowledge contained. Salvio hefts it in his arms and turns to present it to Tessa.]
[ Tessa has only seen fancy books like this a couple of times before, back during that one year of college she did. One professor was adamant that they use book sources from the university library, and she spotted some old dusty tomes there. None with a gemstone on them, however. ]
So you copied its magic or whatever to make these?
[ She glances down at the book she's still holding before looking back up at him. Magic is still sort of a scary unknown to her. She doesn't shun it or anything, but she has a healthy wariness about it. Even so, she's curious about this book. Which is weird, considering the pool of books she's read is pretty shallow. ]
What's it say inside? Does it connect to another book like it?
[The most mild of corrections, because he knows what she's getting at. With some reverence, he looks down at the cover of the Compendium.]
It says--well, many things. Inside. The pages are ever-changing. The theory is that it is connected not to another book--but to an entire library, unseen, from which a wealth and variety of knowledges might be contained or divined. Pictures, even.
I, uh--I can show you?
[Invitingly, he lifts the book, as he crosses back toward his work table. Quite overrun with forms and parchment and ledgers and things, but--after tucking the Compendium safely to his chest with one arm--Salvio clears a space, gently.]
I am hesitant for too many to see, but--then again, it is not up to me what knowledges and, and the like, might be shared.
[ Tessa wonders if that's an easy thing for mages to do or something only a really talented one can pull off. But he seems so focused on the book itself that she decides she can ask later. ]
Yeah, totally! I think it'd be really cool to see some random bit of knowledge.
[ Though honestly, her real interest comes from the fact that this just reminds her of the internet. That this book is connected to a library feels like Wikipedia. But she can recognize that here in this world, it'd be a bigger deal. ]
So any clue why it's always changing? Like it's a big book, right? Are all the pages filled at once, then they all change at once?
[Cool is not a new word or a concept to Salvio, but not one he frequently uses himself. For Tessa's sake, he musters a,] Yes.
[Warm, but with no attempt to repeat the cool. It would only sound stupid from him. Carefully, he sets the Compendium in the space that he has cleared. Carefully, he begins to undo the straps that bind it.]
Its magic is inscrutable. The pages fill in order, as if it is an unseen hand writes in it--but the pages, they empty, as quickly as they fill. Words appear and then disappear, and are replaced by new words. Or drawings. Sketches. Things-- Ah, and mostly they are rendered in a code, of some sort. The words, that is. Phrases. The drawings remain drawings. Um, here--
[He smooths open a page and steps back to give her a better view. On the parchment page of the book, lines of text fade in and out in quick succession: !pbafO leT, vlY qxeQ !alebY, and then, the line after it, LifxE qfeP L, and the line below that, bE qlK. An illustration of a dragon in flight filters in, almost obscuring the last letter of the last inscrutable phrase.]
[ Okay, now she's definitely interested. Why's it in code? Is this some mage far away trying to spread forbidden knowledge that the Chantry doesn't want to get out there? Or is this book only for "intellectuals?" ]
Oh my God, you'd have to be quick to copy this down and give it another look.
[ She tries to figure it out, but she's not even sure where to start and it's already fading away. She does note the letter L all on its own and she points to it as the ink fades. ]
Hey, that's an I. Or an A. Ooooor, I could be completely wrong. Like I shouldn't even be able to read stuff here, but I can. Have you had any luck working out the code?
[ She glances up at him after the momentary distraction of the dragon. ]
[Salvio tips his head to see the L, when she points it out. He catches the tail end of its shape, before it fades from sight.]
It-- No, I have not. Uh, that is, I have not--made particular study of the, um. The code. It is but one theory, as I say, and my interest--my skill, what, little there is, it is not, uh--not to do with code.
[He sneaks a glance at Tessa, with wishy-washy hope.]
[ She smiles apologetically, shaking her head no. ]
I think if I tried, I'd just end up confusing myself. It's still pretty interesting, though. And I'm sure you could get somebody to sit and copy some of this out to give to a... code breaker, I guess they're called.
[Salvio is already nodding, rapidly, before she's even finished that thought. Yes, of course. Yes, it was a stupid question. Yes, he really knew better than to hope for that coincidence to be at all true.]
Yes. Yes, I thought-- ah, we are of. Similar mind, then. [Too weird? Okay, whatever, just keep it moving--] I had thought to contact the, um. Scoutmaster. To see if there might be someone with that specialty, that she is aware of.
[Beleth Ashara, the money-waster. Salvio looks down at the Compendium, which is rapidly spilling out another line of encoded text, obeqiJ oriV obeqiJ oriV obeqiJ oriV obeqiJ oriV.]
[ Okay, dude, she gets it. You agree with her. That's cool. Don't pull a muscle in your neck, okay? ]
Yeah? Is there some sort of story there, or you just being protective over the book?
[ Forces Division for life, yo. She doesn't know what goes on in the other divisions, really. She just picked Forces because it seems focused on the tasks she could do.
She follows his gaze down to the book. Hey, these words are repeating. Too bad she doesn't even know where to start. Why are the capital letters at the end? Is this backwards? What could be said that's just two words repeated over and over? Weird. ]
Well. It is a rare book. To be sure. But the scoutmaster would not--of course, she would not willfully or, you know, willingly, purposefully--harm it, or.
[He frowns, and then covers that frown by rubbing his fingers briskly over his upper lip, working that disguise.]
It is not a story. The scoutmaster is a fine leader of her, her assigned members of the Inquisition, they do fine work under her, she is fairly organized by all accounts. And she is... generous, with resources. By the books, I mean, this is from the ledgers, and-- I have no grudge, of course. No complaint. Merely a... caution.
Anyways, it hardly matters. If the code were deemed to benefit the Inquisition--if there was some merit, to be found, in the breaking of it, or some--knowledge, that it conceals, for as of now, we can only guess--well, then, of course, the Compendium would be entrusted. To the Scouts. For--research.
[ She lifts her eyebrows, but doesn't interject. She can see how someone making a lot of requests for resources from him would be a strain. Sort of one of those "Oh, it's you again," deals like back when she was a waitress and the same people were constantly beckoning her over for more drinks, more Sweet 'n Low, another napkin for Little Jimmy because he drew all over his with ketchup. Yeeeeah, it'd be obnoxious. ]
Right. It'll be in good hands. They wouldn't be scouts if they couldn't do all that sneaky stuff well. And you do wanna know what the book's really saying, don't you? I know I'm curious as all get out.
[Salvio looks back at the Compendium. Upon its pages, a sketch of a tower is flying by, lines whipping up a structure of a size that would be staggering to behold in reality. Pointed spires at the top, like a crown. A moonlit night--and then it is gone, fading away, replaced by a jumble of letters. He runs a thumb along the bottom of the page, reverently.]
Yes. I will admit to-- curiosity. It is a marvel, if nothing else. To learn more of it--well, that would be significant. For the Inquisition. Deeply significant.
[ She honestly can't think of another person who would look down at a book this way, not to mention the way he's practically fondling the page. He's exactly the right person to have control of it. ]
It's gotta be important if it's all in code, yeah. Will you let me know what you find out, if the scouts take a look 'n at?
Yeah, totally. I'll send you really bad doodles of me doing my job as a status update. Little Tessa sweeping. Little Tessa taking inventory. It'll be so impressive.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sending crystal.
Are you very busy? With--a particular... I do not see that you have put in for anything mo-- um, this is not meant to critique or imply anything of your work, capabilities, or--or anything of the sort. In the least. I am-- Your assistance is, is what I am inquiring after.
Thank you.
no subject
[ That was a lot of words, dude. But she likes you, so it's all good. ]
Yeah, I'm free right now. What's up? Need me to come in?
no subject
I have finalized something amazing. You can be first to see it, if you like. Them. They are a book--several books--and you can write a message in one, and the message appears in another. And then, you can answer that message from the another.
That's, uh-- Base Operations will be distributing these for testing, so that is the part that I will need assistance with. Though I am not certain that, um, the merit will be see by the whole of the Inquisition... perhaps these will go unnoted. But if they are of interest then we should see that Base Operations is adequately staffed, to distribute.
no subject
Wait, let me try and get this: you write a message in one book, and that message appears in another book for another person to read.
[ And then the light bulb turns on over her head. ]
Oh my God, did you just invent social media? Do you realize how starved I've been for Twitter? I mean, no, you wouldn't. You have no idea what I'm-- but yeah! Yeah, I'll totally come help you with handing them out!
no subject
[Hopeful, but mostly doubtful. He is talking to a Rifter, after all. Which, speaking of, uh--]
It goes by another name, where you are from?
[Just a guess. Twitter is way less official a name, but...]
no subject
[ Is this a famous book in Thedas? Is she a noob for not knowing this? ]
Well, it's not a book. We have these... devices. Sorta like crystals but we can read things written on them. And we would send written messages or pictures out into the world on them where others could see and comment on them. Or, well, we did. That all stopped with the whole plague thing, walking dead deal I told you about.
[ Which is always a cheery topic of conversation; she knows. ]
Anyway, nearly there. These towers need elevators, man.
no subject
[Of course she doesn't know the Compendium, what a stupid-- never mind, moving on.]
I beg you forgive the obvious question, but--an elevator, this would elevate? I believe the dwarves have-- Um, but, you are very lucky, to have had such--devices, before. The ease of communication is one I can only imagine. Well--of course, now it is more imaginable, yes, but before--
Do you know very much, of these devices? I should like to make notes, to see if there is any-- I suppose they were, um, not enchanted or otherwise ench-- uh, enhanced.
no subject
[ She's in way better shape since the zombie apocalypse started. ]
Oh, they were like... technology. Not magic. But, um, I can show you?
[ And with that she walks into his office and closes the little locket around her crystal. ]
Hey. So... it's dead. I mean, it wasn't alive or anything, but the battery's dead.
[ She pulls an iPhone out of the pocket of her jacket, smiling a bit wistfully at it. Her parents got it for her for Christmas, because like hell she could have afforded it on her own. But it has all those pics of her family, and of Mike, that she can't see anymore. ]
I honestly don't know how they worked. Guess it has to do with electrical impulses running through metal or something? Sorry. But yeah, you could read the messages on this screen here. It lit up bright enough to read. I dunno why I still carry it around. It's useless now. Just... hoping for a fresh battery to fall from a rift, I guess. Kinda stupid of me, I know. But if you wanna look it over, you can.
no subject
If you should find a fresh and living battery-- [battery? is he using that correctly?] --it would be useful, again?
[Read messages by the light of the screen, which looks nothing like a screen to Salvio. He is back far in his memory, a sieve and a running stream, a merchant who was killed by bandits and fell from his horse, spilled a thousand tiny emeralds in his fall, and everyone in the village was pressed into searching, even the children and the goats. Screen, behind which a woman pulled off her robe, her shadow against it, and Salvio turned from the doorway and fled, his sandals slapping at the stones. Screen, between the beds of the infirmary.]
It is normal, I think. To carry such--trinkets. As a comfort. Um, do you mind, if I look--even if it is not living, and is technology--it is still interesting, to me. It was for reading only? There were no pictures?
no subject
[ So many times Tessa forgets where she is, and what words wouldn't make sense to the people here. It hasn't been as hard as she thought to adapt to the lifestyle itself -- no tv, no plumbing, what have you -- because she didn't have that back home either, but no one here knows what Twitter is, or Netflix, or a mobile phone. Or if they do, they're a Rifter like her. ]
Sure. Here, let me take the case off for you. [ With a slight smile, she takes the phone back to pop off the decorative case, then the back of the phone itself. Then she slips out the small rectangular battery and holds it up before handing the phone back to him first, then the battery. ]
This is the battery. See the little metal things? They touched those metal things on the phone and gave it power. And there were pictures. you could point this -- the phone -- at someone and capture their image. I have pictures of stuff on here from before all the zombie shit started. Like my family and Mi-- my friend, Mike. Wish I could see their pictures again.
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All the same, he leans forward to examine the little metal things when she points them out.]
I see. [That is, he is looking, and trying to comprehend. It's not incredibly complex, but still.] The image, when it was captured--it could be stored? That is the trouble with the, um--I mean, one of the troubles--the images, in the Compendium, they are there and then gone again. I have replicated the, the ability to place the image, in the books, but they do not last. A day is the longest that I have been able to preserve. I should like to isolate some of it. I see it would be useful.
If you had a living battery again, those pictures. You would be able to see them? They have lasted through its death?
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Yeah, it stores it. It has this little memory card thing here [ She points out the tiny SD card, though she doesn't take it out, just to insure it doesn't go flying and she loses it. ] that stores the images. So if I get a new battery, they'll still be here.
[ Photos "lasting through death" is a nice way to put it, and though she's smiling faintly, there's a furrow to her brow. These photos are all she has left of her family because they've died. Mike's still out there somewhere, but Mom, Dad, and Kelsey can only last through death if she gets a new battery. If she doesn't, well then they're really gone for good. ]
I'll bet the rift will be an asshole and drop a ton of batteries and none of them will fit this phone. That would just be the way, wouldn't it? [ She lets out a weak laugh. ] Anyway, I wish looking at this could help you out with making the images in the books last longer, but you're talking about magic, right? I don't think any of this phone stuff can help you. I don't even know how it all works.
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[--With some awe, and entirely to himself, before Salvio realizes he has said it aloud. He had leaned forward to get a closer look at the memory card (what a good name, though Salvio knows nothing of poetry he still appreciates the simple beauty--a card, on which a memory is etched), but now he sits back, with some embarrassment.]
It-- Uh. Yes. We can, uh, put out a notice, to those members of the Inquisition, that--that travel to close rifts--to watch for the batteries. A small space on the cart could be spared, if great economy is used to pack the supplies. [This is him, trying to be nice. After a beat, though, his practicality wins out, and he revises:] A very small space.
[Anyway.]
It is helpful in that it, you know, shapes the thoughts. The Compendium is the nearest that we have to your phone. I am beginning to understand that for Rifters--some Rifters, and I cannot say how many for certain, I have not--taken any surveys, or--but uh, for some Rifters, objects like the phone and the battery--they are common. I am talking of course of magic, but, uh, even the ideas that are shared. They might help.
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[ God, even when being nice he's so practical it makes her eyes want to roll back into her head. ]
I've never seen you get so excited about anything before. This must mean a lot to you, huh?
[ Granted, it's a whole new system of communication, so she can understand where it's coming from. It's just from what she knows of him so far, he tends not to like... things outside the norm. He prefers the status quo. ]
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[An obvious solution. How good that she thought of it. As to her observation, Salvio flushes a little, and pushes himself out of his chair with great purpose and intention. Which results in a sort of half-stumble, but he's pushed in close enough that he catches himself against the table.]
I-- uh, well, it is an innovation. They are, that is. One that could truly-- Well, I would not overstate the importance of m, [no, too personal, he hastily corrects mid-noun] the work. But I see that they could be useful. I think.
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I'd say there's still room for a lot of innovations here. That is, if you guys wanna catch up to my world. But this is a good start. And yeah, totally useful. In my world, people got out of the habit of talking to each other on the phone. We'd just write texts instead.
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'Texts'. As in, written-- What of conversation?
[Is there truly a world out there where everyone just writes to one another?]
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[Well. She said she wasn't going to judge, so.]
--ideal, in some ways. I am, uh. Better with the written. With writing, I mean. Not as a poet would be, but it is-- More time to think. And to read back on what was said, so that if there is any question--
[His gestures is meant to convey easy: a close sweep of the hand, scooped up.]
And for record-keeping, of course. What is spoken, it can be transcribed, but it is--interpreted, often.
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You know, you can take your time with me, if you need to get your thoughts in order. Like I can wait while you think out what you wanna say.
[ Instead of trying to say the first thing that pops into his head, then amending it, then amending it again. ]
But it also sounds like these books will be good for you too. You can take your time.
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The cocktail of emotion results in a rush of blood to his head, and a twitch of his lips as he tries to smile and then not smile but then, impossibly, uncertainly, smile again, a little.]
That is. Generous, of you. I, uh. Conversation would take much--much longer, and your, uh, you would run dry on patience. But thank you.
[And now he really does not know what to say or do next. Awkwardly, Salvio rests his hands on his desktop for a beat before he thinks a hurried oh, and pulls away as sharply as if he'd been burned.]
Oh--the books. Do you wish to see--? Now--?
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[ Though she can't really say for sure there won't come a day where her patience doesn't run out, but that would be down to a bad mood and not really her in general.
The offer reminds her that they sort of got off track with her phone and talking about her world, and then talking about him talking, so she laughs and rubs her hands together. ]
Oh, right! That's why I came over here. Yeah, let's see what you got.
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No really what is feeling comfortable, it sounds suspicious. Salvio doesn't dare say that he is most comfortable when he is alone, so Tessa's very presence makes him uncomfortable, because people don't like to be told that, and actually, as presences go, Tessa is not the worst. Certainly she is confusing and distressing in her own ways. But perhaps it is her very profestation (is that a word that translates?), I just want you to be comfortable that deems her not the worst?
Salvio then realizes that he has been staring at Tessa for a few seconds more than what is, probably, comfortable for her. His brain restarts.]
Uh-- [Quick, he turns before she can see the flush on his face.] --yes, um, the-- books. You are not--totally weird, you--
[No, no; stop right there. Salvio grabs the topmost book from the stack and turns on his heel, holds it out to Tessa with jerky movements, like a clockwork figure that has gone slightly askew.]
Here. This is, what I got. Have.
[Dark blue, leather, the book has been bound with careful stitching. If she were to hold it up and peer at the spine, she might just see a faint green glint, somewhere way, way down there. Magic? Crystal? Who can say.]
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Or perhaps a nice future where you don't have to be in charge of people and can just sit in a back room alone, recording things for posterity. Tessa certainly isn't the one to run the intervention, especially when she just got finished telling him that people in her would would text to each other all day instead of talking in person. People in those days could have accused her of being a hermit and she couldn't have denied it.
Which is funny, since he's staring at her now and she's considering picking up the hermit lifestyle again. Did she do a stupid Rifter faux pas? Why's he just... staring? Should she shoot him awkward fingerguns? That's her go to when she feels like she's said something stupid.
Oh, the book. She shows a touch of surprise at his confession, but takes the book before he can have an aneurysm at having his own opinion. ]
Ooo, fancy. [ Tessa runs fingertips across the cover. ] Really well made and everything. Now is this the original, or one of the copies you made that you wanna hand out?
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[Many of the cupboards have locks, but the locks are not often employed. Salvio can only dream of an office where the cupboards are locked to prevent unnecessary viewing of files. Sensibility and good practice keeps the cupboards unlocked, for transparency. No one can accuse you of embezzlement if your records are there for the viewing.
It is a rare honor, therefore, to use a lock. Salvio fumbles at his worktable and unearths a small box. He presses his fingertips to its sides, and with a soft click, the lid springs open, revealing the key. This, he carries to the cupboard and opens it.
The Emergent Compendium is a large, thick tome, with a solid cover of cloth and board and a red gemstone embedded in its center. A pair of straps are stretched over the dense pages, as if to keep its vast knowledge contained. Salvio hefts it in his arms and turns to present it to Tessa.]
This is the original.
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[ Tessa has only seen fancy books like this a couple of times before, back during that one year of college she did. One professor was adamant that they use book sources from the university library, and she spotted some old dusty tomes there. None with a gemstone on them, however. ]
So you copied its magic or whatever to make these?
[ She glances down at the book she's still holding before looking back up at him. Magic is still sort of a scary unknown to her. She doesn't shun it or anything, but she has a healthy wariness about it. Even so, she's curious about this book. Which is weird, considering the pool of books she's read is pretty shallow. ]
What's it say inside? Does it connect to another book like it?
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[The most mild of corrections, because he knows what she's getting at. With some reverence, he looks down at the cover of the Compendium.]
It says--well, many things. Inside. The pages are ever-changing. The theory is that it is connected not to another book--but to an entire library, unseen, from which a wealth and variety of knowledges might be contained or divined. Pictures, even.
I, uh--I can show you?
[Invitingly, he lifts the book, as he crosses back toward his work table. Quite overrun with forms and parchment and ledgers and things, but--after tucking the Compendium safely to his chest with one arm--Salvio clears a space, gently.]
I am hesitant for too many to see, but--then again, it is not up to me what knowledges and, and the like, might be shared.
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Yeah, totally! I think it'd be really cool to see some random bit of knowledge.
[ Though honestly, her real interest comes from the fact that this just reminds her of the internet. That this book is connected to a library feels like Wikipedia. But she can recognize that here in this world, it'd be a bigger deal. ]
So any clue why it's always changing? Like it's a big book, right? Are all the pages filled at once, then they all change at once?
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[Warm, but with no attempt to repeat the cool. It would only sound stupid from him. Carefully, he sets the Compendium in the space that he has cleared. Carefully, he begins to undo the straps that bind it.]
Its magic is inscrutable. The pages fill in order, as if it is an unseen hand writes in it--but the pages, they empty, as quickly as they fill. Words appear and then disappear, and are replaced by new words. Or drawings. Sketches. Things-- Ah, and mostly they are rendered in a code, of some sort. The words, that is. Phrases. The drawings remain drawings. Um, here--
[He smooths open a page and steps back to give her a better view. On the parchment page of the book, lines of text fade in and out in quick succession: !pbafO leT, vlY qxeQ !alebY, and then, the line after it, LifxE qfeP L, and the line below that, bE qlK. An illustration of a dragon in flight filters in, almost obscuring the last letter of the last inscrutable phrase.]
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[ Okay, now she's definitely interested. Why's it in code? Is this some mage far away trying to spread forbidden knowledge that the Chantry doesn't want to get out there? Or is this book only for "intellectuals?" ]
Oh my God, you'd have to be quick to copy this down and give it another look.
[ She tries to figure it out, but she's not even sure where to start and it's already fading away. She does note the letter L all on its own and she points to it as the ink fades. ]
Hey, that's an I. Or an A. Ooooor, I could be completely wrong. Like I shouldn't even be able to read stuff here, but I can. Have you had any luck working out the code?
[ She glances up at him after the momentary distraction of the dragon. ]
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[Salvio tips his head to see the L, when she points it out. He catches the tail end of its shape, before it fades from sight.]
It-- No, I have not. Uh, that is, I have not--made particular study of the, um. The code. It is but one theory, as I say, and my interest--my skill, what, little there is, it is not, uh--not to do with code.
[He sneaks a glance at Tessa, with wishy-washy hope.]
I don't suppose that you....?
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I think if I tried, I'd just end up confusing myself. It's still pretty interesting, though. And I'm sure you could get somebody to sit and copy some of this out to give to a... code breaker, I guess they're called.
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Yes. Yes, I thought-- ah, we are of. Similar mind, then. [Too weird? Okay, whatever, just keep it moving--] I had thought to contact the, um. Scoutmaster. To see if there might be someone with that specialty, that she is aware of.
[Beleth Ashara, the money-waster. Salvio looks down at the Compendium, which is rapidly spilling out another line of encoded text, obeqiJ oriV obeqiJ oriV obeqiJ oriV obeqiJ oriV.]
If I can trust in her. That is.
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Yeah? Is there some sort of story there, or you just being protective over the book?
[ Forces Division for life, yo. She doesn't know what goes on in the other divisions, really. She just picked Forces because it seems focused on the tasks she could do.
She follows his gaze down to the book. Hey, these words are repeating. Too bad she doesn't even know where to start. Why are the capital letters at the end? Is this backwards? What could be said that's just two words repeated over and over? Weird. ]
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[He frowns, and then covers that frown by rubbing his fingers briskly over his upper lip, working that disguise.]
It is not a story. The scoutmaster is a fine leader of her, her assigned members of the Inquisition, they do fine work under her, she is fairly organized by all accounts. And she is... generous, with resources. By the books, I mean, this is from the ledgers, and-- I have no grudge, of course. No complaint. Merely a... caution.
Anyways, it hardly matters. If the code were deemed to benefit the Inquisition--if there was some merit, to be found, in the breaking of it, or some--knowledge, that it conceals, for as of now, we can only guess--well, then, of course, the Compendium would be entrusted. To the Scouts. For--research.
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Right. It'll be in good hands. They wouldn't be scouts if they couldn't do all that sneaky stuff well. And you do wanna know what the book's really saying, don't you? I know I'm curious as all get out.
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[Salvio looks back at the Compendium. Upon its pages, a sketch of a tower is flying by, lines whipping up a structure of a size that would be staggering to behold in reality. Pointed spires at the top, like a crown. A moonlit night--and then it is gone, fading away, replaced by a jumble of letters. He runs a thumb along the bottom of the page, reverently.]
Yes. I will admit to-- curiosity. It is a marvel, if nothing else. To learn more of it--well, that would be significant. For the Inquisition. Deeply significant.
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It's gotta be important if it's all in code, yeah. Will you let me know what you find out, if the scouts take a look 'n at?
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[Yeah, there we go.]
And you, um. You will take one of the books? To, to experiment with?
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[ Wow, first? That perks her up a bit. ]
Yeah, totally. I'll send you really bad doodles of me doing my job as a status update. Little Tessa sweeping. Little Tessa taking inventory. It'll be so impressive.