space oddity

[rockeye_stonetoe]

One day in fairyland, there is an immensely bright flash of light a about a mile above the ground. Something like a metal house is suddenly flying through as if it came through a portal, faster than all but the fastest fairies.

It's flying, not directly down, but still very much towards the ground. It does not take long for it to stop flying and start carving through earth and trees. Eventually it runs out of momentum near a certain lake. The thing seems to still be in one piece, which is rather miraculous considering the two miles of destroyed trees behind it.

After a few minutes, a mortal covered in unusually bulky clothes emerges from the thing. All that is visible is his face. He starts inspecting the outside of his space oddity.

Comments

[rockeye_stonetoe]

The apellodyne says something, pauses, then nods. It worked. Promise will find herself slightly taller, a little paler, and significantly better at the kind of concentration that lends itself to sorcery.

[imeanforever]

Well, those are all acceptable side effects.

She doesn't fix her ears. But she thanks the apellodyne in fairy lights.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

The apellodyne bows respectfully and retreats to her room.

Nick is grinning at her. I'm glad I could pay back my debt of freedom at last. He holds out a little silver coin. Where I grew up, a gift of silver is the traditional way of congratulating someone for a significant achievement, or to welcome someone returning home. This isn't quite the same, but please take it.

[imeanforever]

It's not the same? Is it not silver? she asks, taking the coin.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

I meant it's not quite the same situation. Though technically this is not pure silver either. It's about 95% silver, an alloy that will not corrode as easily.

He flips the coin in the air, looking thoughtful.

By the way, I learned to transmute water into deutritium fuel yesterday. The same stuff you made for me. Is a transformation usually that easy to learn? I suspect I had an easier time of it than normal, since I have an understanding of what the stuff actually is on a subatomic level. It occurs to me that if you had the same understanding, maybe some things would be easier for you. Some science lessons might help you find new ways to apply sorcery.

[imeanforever]

Maybe. Transmutation isn't a particularly difficult application of sorcery and you do have your sensory advantages on the ship, but knowing more about the substances can't hurt.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

Does that mean you're not interested in getting a few science textbooks? Oh, and where might I find books on sorcery?

[imeanforever]

I would like the books. Sorcery books can be found in any respectable library. I have some, which you may copy while you're here but not take outright.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

I would appreciate it. I just need to see each page once to fully copy them. I'll get you a pad with some books on it in exchange. It will take an hour or two to change it from a communicating device to a library device, though.

[imeanforever]

You can't render the science books in paper form?

[rockeye_stonetoe]

Ironically, enough paper to print all the books I'm thinking of is more expensive than a library device, so I don't have enough in my ship right now. If you want me to print them I'm going to have to chop down a few trees and render them into paper. Maybe have you transmute ink as well.

[imeanforever]

I have ink and paper. I'm just concerned your device would break in some way before I could scribe everything on it out myself.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

I'll have you know my devices are very reliable! He laughs, inaudibly. But I understand. The thing is 'all the books I'm thinking of' are enough to fill a library themselves if they're actually printed out. I'll pick and choose, cut the number down.

[imeanforever]

I can expand my tree. How many books are you thinking of?

[rockeye_stonetoe]

The Standard Science and Engineering Library is 6732 volumes. Most are very long and complex and tedious but useful for specific applications, some are simpler and shorter, meant for children or new students.

[imeanforever]

It will take me a few days to grow my tree quite that large. ...And I'd like the tablet too in case it doesn't break and I have to move again.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

Do you have enough paper and ink for all those physical books? Just getting the tablet is easier, and I build things tough. The noisemaker didn't break once in nearly a century, did it? Neither did the communicator. That's enough time to copy it all out if you really want to. And I'll probably be trying to find you again in another 70 years.

[imeanforever]

I don't have it all now, but I can make it. My method of copying is probably slower than yours.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

Yes, it probably is. Would you mind if I read your sorcery books now? I'll print mine as quickly as you can deliver paper and ink. I'll send a remote-controlled cargo trolly to that clearing near your house, easier to move things that way.

[imeanforever]

Sounds good to me.

Promise delivers sorcery books and paper and ink, and she coaxes her tree taller and roomier.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

Nick reads sorcery books.

After just half an hour of this, he makes frustrated gestures at one of the books and fairy-lights at Promise, Fairies really don't do organization at all do they? There's useful information here and there, but no table of contents, no indices, no cross-referencing, no editing of any kind. I'm going to have to write a parsing program just to process these into usability!

[imeanforever]

Some of them are better than others, but there's no systematic sorcery-teaching book-editing arrangement.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

And if everyone's a self-taught expert in their field, it's too much to hope that there's been any kind of systematic investigation into what sorcery is truly capable of, isn't it? That's the reason I'm able to have so many devices, you know, someone figured out the deep rules far beyond the obvious ones by looking at ordinary, naturally occurring mortal things like fire and rocks and growing plants and thinking very carefully about what it all means. And I've just convinced myself to do science to magic. What a preposterously stupid idea, since it means I'll have to stay in fairyland where sorcery actually works.

[imeanforever]

Well, with all these books on how science goes - which to go by your reaction are better organized and better written than sorcery books - perhaps I'll just do it myself.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

This area isn't very crowded, and I have armor and weapons and a ship. I think I'll come back and stay for a few years after you de-age me and I leave to drop off my apellodyne and anyone else who doesn't want to risk being vasallized or be stuck in a ship for years on end back at their homes. I'd understand if you wanted me to be somewhere else. That big old cruiser would probably attract the wrong kind of attention eventually.