Video

[heart_wrenching]

[ Even after the video starts, the image is mostly obscured, the figure still way too close and fiddling with her device. ]


Is this really broadcasting now? Amaaaaazing. I can't even see the microphone or camera! It's almost unbelievable.


[ When she finally sits back the area around her is a mess. The tables are strewn with tools and machine parts, knobs, springs, coils, piping. If one looks carefully, one may be able to spot a number of control panels suggesting she has possibly dismantled every major appliance in the home. Like ya do. ]


Well, hello! I'm a new imPort, my name's Winry. Winry Rockbell. And . . . does anyone out there know how to build a "microwave"? Well, rebuild, technically. The locks and turntables are pretty straightforward, but then there's all these wires . . . who knew electricity was going to be such a big deal, anyway?

Comments

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor is very much a soft touch with his pitch. ]

Hm. That's probably wise. You can always change your mind later. I will say that my company is hiring and attempts to provide an alternative to registration, and we are specifically looking for a mechanic capable of repairing the artificial intelligence we have on staff, so keep us in mind.

[heart_wrenching]

[ She picks up on the tone shift, but then- blinks! ]

Sorry, your artificial what?

[vorbarra]

She's... something like a human made entirely out of machine parts, to put it simply.

[heart_wrenching]

Human, made entirely out of machines . . . ?

[vorbarra]

Yes, and she's a little concerned about where to go for repairs if she gets damaged. Standard healers won't work.

[heart_wrenching]

"She" . . .


I! I'd love to meet her! At least!

[vorbarra]

[ He smiles slightly. ]

She goes by Tex if you want to look her up later.

[heart_wrenching]

I will!

[vorbarra]

... We're here.

[ Or perhaps they've been standing there gushing about robots for five minutes, who knows ?? ]

[heart_wrenching]

Oh! Oh wow!

[ Presumably it is a stately building, as Libraries are wont to be. God, even the joints on the doors look at least a bit advanced from what she's used to. Temporal culture shock sure is a thing. Well whatever, she's going to stroll right ahead, and grab the door for them both. ]


Oh wow.

[vorbarra]

[ It's undoubtedly at least large, with Heropa such a hub of activity for the past several decades. And temporal culture shock is totally a thing, as absolutely every Barrayaran-galactic interaction would demonstrate.

Gregor can't help smiling a bit as he trails after her. ]

You can take out twenty books at once, [ he informs her helpfully. ] Per person.

[heart_wrenching]

So that engineering section-

[vorbarra]

Is this way. [ Leading over... ]

I don't think you can quite gut it with twenty, but you can make a dent. [ It's not far from the entrance-- there's a row of stacks devoted to physics, mechanics, and engineering. Gregor comes to a stop at the end of the aisle. ]

[heart_wrenching]

[ OH MY GOD SHE HAS NO IDEA WHERE TO EVEN START. wow look at these row-end displays truly a modern convenience. ]

"Everything You Never Learned About Internal Combustion," "Robotic Kinesthetics for Dolts," "How Things Function: Aeronautics."

You said . . . you said twenty, right?

[vorbarra]

... I'll help you carry them.

[ Not that Gregor's ever served as someone's pack mule in his life, but he enjoys new experiences. ]

[heart_wrenching]

Oh! I couldn't ask you to do that!!

[vorbarra]

[ That just makes him mind even less. A tiny smile. ]

That's why I offered, so you wouldn't have to.

[heart_wrenching]

Well- let's just see how many I get...

[vorbarra]

[ Tolerantly, ] We'll see.

[ Gregor is shockingly patient, though; he's perfectly content to stand there and skim through some titles himself in vague interest as she makes her selections. Gregor has enough schooling to have a passing understanding of what he's reading, but anything in detail or too technical totally loses him. ]

[heart_wrenching]

[ WELL SHE'S GOING TO GET RIGHT INTO IT, looking at first for more general texts, though there are a few more specific ones especially on medical tech that are going into her short list. There is also a lot of excited conferring with Ed. ]

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor might wander away and pick out some books of his own during this, though he doesn't go very far. He ends up in an armchair near the physical sciences section, reading a book of French literature (in French). ]

[heart_wrenching]

[ Well by that time, a walking pile of books is heading towards him wobbling as it goes. ]

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor shuts his quickly, setting it aside and reaching out to take some off the top of the wobbling stack. ]

Here, let me--