Delightfully Strange

[magictechsupport]

At the end of the universe,

A man steps into a bar and looks around. "Huh, nobody told me they installed a break room here."

With Slayer Juliet.

With Kappa's Dagna.

With Eclipse!Bell.

Comments

[magictechsupport]

"Glad to be of assistance. I'll want to go home and sleep in a few hours, but there's time, and we'll be able to talk through the link crystals, later."

[all_the_thoughts]

"Plenty of time!" beams Dagna. "So, do you want a tour of the castle? A tour of my workshop? Both?"

[magictechsupport]

"Workshop first. New magic systems are always fun."

[all_the_thoughts]

"I agree! Well, here's what I'm working on this week..."

Ancient runestones, which she is analyzing to try to reverse-engineer the manufacturing process in case she can derive any useful techniques. And over here is the equipment she designed and built for refining, purifying, and stabilizing silver lyrium, starting with blood samples from a carrier of the symbiote; the tiny, luminous silver-white crystals produced by the apparatus are approximately ten times as magically powerful as an equivalent mass of ordinary blue lyrium. Don't open that barrel, it's got red lyrium in it, has to be lined with lead to keep the song from leaking out...

[magictechsupport]

He pays close attention. And takes notes. And thaumoscopes at things, explaining how he arrived at this or that insight about Lyrium.

Good, proper investigation about something that he hasn't seen before and doesn't have a deadline about. This is... Fun. Who knew.

If he's right about how the purifying apparatus works it could be greatly improved with some of his potions gear. Which is clean, efficient, and best of all automated. He'll have to fetch it and visit again tomorrow.

[all_the_thoughts]

Dagna takes some notes too, when he comes up with new information or even just interesting perspectives on things she already knew.

She happily goes into detail about the theory behind the purifying apparatus; this part works like this and that part works like that and his potions gear sounds like it might really help her out, he should totally bring it by sometime, what a great idea.

[magictechsupport]

Nerdy discussions are so fun, aren't they?



This is rather outside his field of expertise, though, and sooner or later he runs into the limit of his patience for figuring it out. At least for today. He'll be sure to give the Research department a copy of all these notes and see what they can make of the Lyrium samples, but shouldn't we tour around a little more for now?

[all_the_thoughts]

"Sure!" she says agreeably. "So that was my workshop, and I think that way is the wine cellar but I've never been, and if we go back up the stairs," she starts back up the stairs, "I can show you the throne room, which is very pretty."

[magictechsupport]

He follows. "I've never much liked wine, but new places are fun. Is it possible we'll encounter anybody important and if so are they likely to object to me?"

[all_the_thoughts]

"Oh, we might, but I'm sure they won't, all this otherwordly stuff is very exciting news."

[magictechsupport]

"I wouldn't want to have caused a diplomatic incident, is all."

[all_the_thoughts]

"It'll be fine!" she assures him.

Back at the top of these stairs, down the short hall, and through a door into... yep, that's a throne, and this is a throne room. The throne is currently empty, however, as is the rest of the room.

Huge stained glass windows behind the throne paint its surface in coloured lights. Banners hung from the high ceiling depict unfamiliar heraldry. There is an interior balcony at the opposite end of the room, overhanging the entrance, and the chandeliers glimmer with lyrium-based light-stones. It's all very medieval, but still gorgeous.

Dagna shuts the door they came in, off to one side of the imposingly large throne, and beams proudly at the chandeliers.

[magictechsupport]

He takes pictures, and recordings of the thaumoscope's output. "It's a less technological aesthetic than I'm used to, you can see how much effort went into it all. The lights, I bet they'll keep shining just about forever, right?"

[all_the_thoughts]

"If I made them right, they should!"

[magictechsupport]

"Built to last. I like when people do that. So much neater."

[all_the_thoughts]

"It's more satisfying than making something that's going to break."

[magictechsupport]

"Not as profitable, though. I detest the concept of planned obsolescence. It's a giant scam that accounts for fully a quarter of my work."

[all_the_thoughts]

"Planned obsolescence?"

[magictechsupport]

"They design things so that they will almost definitely break in however many years. So whoever bought it has to buy a new one, and the company makes more money. Especially if it's something relatively cheap, and not a fancy expensive tool like thaumoscopes. I'm not actually sure how extensive this strategy is, but I'm pretty sure it happens at least a little."

[all_the_thoughts]

"That's terrible," she says indignantly.

[magictechsupport]

"I know. The Higher Ups are much more willing to do terrible things if non-terrible things aren't making enough money. And then they get yelled at and boycotted for doing terrible things and shape up. And then they decide they aren't making enough money again. It's sort of cyclic."