letter to cam #17

[thisvorlunatic]

You would not believe the month I've had.

I really did mean to get back to you within a few weeks of my last message, but circumstances intervened. On the other hand, it seems to have worked out all right this way, because there's an Ash and Stars tour coming up and I'm not dead yet. How would you like to attend a concert in addition to raiding the comm nets?

Comments

[thisvorlunatic]

"Beats me. Why would you want one that tiny, unless you had an external vid plate or some kind of projector, but surely you also need data storage and... security... oh, I bet it's the cipher circuits," he says, with an open-handed gesture of realization. "Yeah."

[from_scratch]

"Aha. Does that mean I shouldn't materialize my computer here?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Well, if someone with the right equipment stole your computer they could almost certainly get it to divulge its secrets unless it's rigged to melt if tampered with or something similarly exciting. On the other hand I don't think it's terribly likely for you to be assailed by a cryptographically inclined pickpocket. Up to you."

[from_scratch]

"Well, it isn't designed to melt, but it is designed to require a mental fingerprint through my brain implant. Demonic computer security."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Yeah, that's the sort of thing that can almost certainly be dodged if the security involved is eight centuries old, even if it's a different universe's version of eight centuries old. I'm not a cipher tech myself but I'm familiar with the practice."

[from_scratch]

"Right. Hello, enormous hunk of plastic." Cam sits. Hello, comms.

[thisvorlunatic]

The interface is reasonably easy to figure out. The holographic display is vivid, colourful, and sharply detailed, but confined to the area directly above the large flat horizontal panel which is probably what Miles was referring to when he said 'vid plate'.

There is so much media to raid.

[from_scratch]

Raid raid raid!

[thisvorlunatic]

Miles sits nearby and offers occasional commentary whenever Cam comes across something he recognizes.

[greatcomposure]

And Cordelia makes off with the ...chair... and leaves them to it.

[from_scratch]

"How long until the concert?" asks Cam.

[thisvorlunatic]

Miles checks a timepiece.

"Three and a half hours, of which half an hour will be taken up by getting there."

[from_scratch]

"In the cunning little vehicle out front or some other way?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"It's called a lightflyer, and yes, that."

[from_scratch]

"Are there also heavy flyers?"

[thisvorlunatic]

Snort. "Not by that name. Roughly speaking, 'lightflyer' is a category of personal flying vehicle that takes at most a handful of passengers and can't operate outside atmosphere."

[from_scratch]

"Makes sense."

Mediaaaaaa delicious mediaaaaaa compiled as a list of lists of lists.

[thisvorlunatic]

"I used to race them in a highly irresponsible fashion when I was younger, before I grew up and found more productive ways to risk my neck."

[from_scratch]

"Like visiting explosive universes and similar?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"That too. I'm also a courier for Imperial Security, which, as a job, is about ten parts fairly boring travel to one part excitingly classified near brushes with death. Suits me pretty well."

[from_scratch]

"I'm glad you've got something that suits."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Handling all the interdimensional nonsense suits me pretty well too, but it's easy to burn out on. That's more or less what happened when I came back from my magic-getting trip. Had to crawl into a hole for a couple of weeks and then go get shot at in the service of the Imperium before I felt like myself again."

[from_scratch]

"Oh dear. Well, at least you're recovered."

[thisvorlunatic]

Shrug. "It happens. I'll try to take it a little easier this time. And then five disasters will happen at once and I'll try to solve all of them, because that's just the sort of person I am and apparently also just the sort of multiverse it is."

[from_scratch]

"My offer to help you in ways besides making zorkmids remains open."