crystal

[undergrunn]

( Behold, a new voice on the crystals. Soft, good-humoured, with an accent that sounds Scandinavian / relative equivalent. The crystal catches a quiet breath of laughter before she speaks. )

I don’t know if you’re really lucky to have an engineer turn up, or if I’m really unlucky that I need to figure out the machinery.

I mean, learning about the infrastructure of a city in a whole different world isn’t even a “once in a lifetime” kind of opportunity, and pretending I’m some sort of genius at kinetic motion just because I know some mechanisms from home would be pretty fun, but…

Wow.

( Maybe that sounds a little weightier than her first "wow.")

Oh, I'm Abella. Riftwatch, you’re gonna have to have a lot more ramps by the time I’m done with you. Somewhere has to accommodate wheelchair users, even if it’s some kind of fairy tale world.

( Hmmm. )

Wait, can you just make them float, here? (More softly, ) Flying wheelchairs would explain the lack of ramps. I mean, this crystal thing is remarkable, so... let me know if I don't need to think about the ramps.

Comments

[laruetheday]

Don't know if you've seen the giant rock pile near the harbor, but one of our towers is a total loss and another one is non-usable. There's an elevator in the central tower that works if you can't handle stairs. Right now we need the Eyrie fully repaired and a functional residential tower so we're not all freezing our asses off in a couple months.

[ "Before anybody even thinks about adding ramps" is not said out loud but definitely implied in her tone. ]

[grindset]

A civil engineer? That would be a first... and unusually well timed, at that.

[dissolving]

Make hauling a bit easier,

[ does he agree with clarisse? yes. does he feel a little compelled to stick up for the new guy? also yes. it'd be handy to bring handcarts down the occasional, interior steps. and they're already rebuilding —

(one more wish for their infinite list. what's the harm in that? gotta have something to get you through.) ]

What brings it to mind?

[succise]

Is there something in the rift you come through that makes you all act like this?

public > private

[youwonscience]

Hey, I'm Cosima. I head up the Research Division; I'm the provost, if you hear anyone referring to me that way, but Cosima is fine. Sounds like you've got a lot of ideas and energy, which is great. Stop by my office when you can, we'll talk.

[An addition, private, after a moment of thought:]

Everyone here's been through a lot, in general but especially recently. Easy to get their backs up, you know? For what it's worth, the Gallows is so cheerfully named because it used to be a prison. So like, everything we've been able to add to make it more livable, from the elevator down, has been retrofitted to a place actively hostile to accessibility. Maybe helpful context for making sense of the parts that aren't rubble.

[Her tone is businesslike, but not unkind. She genuinely thinks it might be helpful for Abella to know.]

[cozen]

Hello, Abella. I’m Bastien.

What is your world like? Is it one of the ones with the computers?

[thereneverwas]

No, no, think about ramps. By all means think about ramps.

[wheelchair schmeelchair, let's talk trebuchets]

[brennvin]

( The vaguely happenstantially-familiar accent has Astrid perk up a little when she first hears this voice over the crystals… until it becomes exceedingly clear that this is in fact a rifter, not someone from the Frostbacks, and Astrid has no idea what they’re all talking about (schematics? engineering? what). But she barrels cheerfully into the conversation regardless: )

Heyo Abella, I’m Astrid.

I’ve not seen a wheeled-chair before but it sounds like an interesting idea, for the folks who need it. In the mountains, if a bear chews off your legs then you’re just sort of— Not fucked, the community takes care of you obviously, but it would have been nice. If they could get around on their own instead of always needing a stretcher or carrier. There was one fellow we called the Boneless and he could still fuck you right up with a sword but it must’ve been hard, most days.

[allthatgleamsisgold]

Such floating devices are not uncommon in my original world, and that sort of magitech could, theoretically, be adapted here.

I don't think it something unwise to consider, given the protracted nature of this war.

[bouchonne]

I've a deadly important question for you.

[ This voice sounds very much like it's coming from a man who has never asked an important question in his life. ]

If we build these ramps, and have chairs with wheels on them, can we then ride those wheeled chairs down the ramps for fun.