jumped without a jump drive

[rockeye_stonetoe]

Nick, in a full environment suit like any sensible person would wear in untamed wilderness, is overseeing a small swarm of robots harvesting various useful plantlife from the uninhabited parts of a sparsely settled planet, when something suddenly comes tearing through the undergrowth towards him and it's not showing up on scanners-

He raises his hand-phaser, notices it has a mirror for a face and hesitates a little too long. And then he is in a clearing, cut off from his ship and 'bots, with all available sources of data telling him he just went through a jump.

What.

Comments

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Speaking of the armory, is there anything that could use joining while I am already here?"

[segreant]

"I checked; someone did break a staff recently but the sword was fine and it's already been attached to a new staff. You could still fix it for next time someone needs one, though."

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"I don't plan to be here too often, alas, and I only have the one joiner. I'm working on improving the city. Once I'm selling everyone electric light I can move on to clean water, medicine perhaps. I still want to leave eventually but hopefully I can leave behind enough education to spread useful things around the world."

[segreant]

"That sounds nice."

Here is the office. They sit down to wait.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

Nick looks distracted. Waiting is only really boring if you don't have a database of movies in your eyelid.

[segreant]

Kaja just sits patiently.

Eventually the door opens and in they go. Kaja relates the plans. The Bright Sister thinks the best place for the generator will be in a specific dormitory, which Kaja says she will show Nick, but otherwise has no modifications to suggest to the plan.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

Nick would like to demonstrate the radios first. He offers a hand-sized device to the Bright Sister. After a quick explanation of how they are controlled by pressing some little buttons, he speaks into the one he is holding and his voice comes through clearly and obviously from the other one.

Then, it's off to the dormitory with some equipment.

[segreant]

Kaja goes along to make it clear that he is authorized and show him where things are.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

The work will take a while, and a paladin's strength would be a handy shortcut. Not that Nick is particularly weak for a non-paladin.

Batteries are furnished and explained. A dozen radios are produced. "If you want any more I'll need two silver apiece for them, the materials are expensive. The radios will operate properly anywhere within 400 miles of the compound, or within 50 miles of each other elsewise. I make no guarantees for greater distances."

[segreant]

"Do they need maintenance besides the batteries?"

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"No, but eventually they will break and I will need to fix them. I give them at least three years as long as you don't treat them too roughly. It would be a while teaching someone to repair radios themselves."

[segreant]

"All right. Thank you very much."

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"You're welcome."

So Nick goes back to being a utility company. He builds a crude printing press while continuing to work on the big generator and investigates which books would profit best from being printed in this way. And he starts advertising that he'll take apprenticies who want to learn the ways of chained lightning.

[alicornucopia]

The most popular books around here seem to be Precepts of the Winter Light, an almanac, an epic poem called The Morning Sword, and the collected plays of a playwright from the capital city of this country.

There are a few enterprising young underemployed persons who'd like to check out his offer.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

The enterprising young unemployed people get interviewed. He looks for two people who are literate and decent at arithmetic, or who at least seem clever if they aren't.

And he asks around, tries to find out if anyone owns the almanac or the Morning Sword. He knows where to ask about the Precepts of the Winter Light. He makes his way back to the paladins' compound once again and seeks out Kaja.

[segreant]

Only one of his applicants (besides the moneylender's grandson) is both literate and capable of arithmetic, and seems to have been fired from her previous job due to being an obnoxious person. She does, however, own The Morning Sword and is willing to lend it conditional on being employed. Another applicant knows where to get an almanac and makes no such condition of its loan.

Kaja can be found in the cafeteria at this time. "What is it?"

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"I made a machine that can produce many copies of a book much more quickly than writing it out by hand. I would like permission from the Bright Sister to make many copies of the Precepts of the Winter Light in this way. I would sell them for two or three copper each, barely more than the cost of paper and ink."

[segreant]

"...I think you're confused about how our religious hierarchy works. You don't need anyone's permission to do that as long as you don't change anything in the Precepts."

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Then I will stop bothering you. In my world copying books is incredibly easy, easier than a printing press, even. So intellectual property- er, ownership of ideas, is taken very seriously. I thought it best to ask."

[segreant]

"We don't own the Winter Light's ideas. We just follow them."

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"I'll be sure not to change the precepts, then. How are the radios treating you?"

[segreant]

"We've given them out to the mayors of towns too far to easily send runners. So far all we've gotten is two false alarms and a lone zombie, but it's still better to know about those sooner than later."

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Indeed. Fare well."

Back to town. He can put up with obnoxiousness. He'll pay the obnoxious person the same as the moneylender's grandson and teach her things alongside actual work, with the warning that if she is careless or steals anything she is out.

[alicornucopia]

She is not careless and doesn't steal anything, she just keeps winding up in interpersonal conflicts with the other employees.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

...After a while of this, Nick starts giving her jobs that don't involve much cooperation.

The printing press is completed, and hardback copies of the Precepts of the Winter Light, that almanac, and the Morning Sword are sold at three copper each.