[VIDEO]

[mementodagger]

[He's been trying to avoid this, especially since the COMP link buried in his flesh freaks him out as much as any ghost. But now his closest friend, the only person he knows and trusts, is missing and he feels utterly helpless to do anything about it. Feeling helpless makes him rather cross.]

Hope I'm bloody doing this right.... Zael? If you can hear me, give me some sign. It's been three days, you can't be gone for good. I swear, if you've left me in this place alone....

[He takes a deep breath.] If anyone on the rescue team finds a man named Zael, have him contact me as soon as possible. [In the meantime, Yurick is going to go blow off some steam by burning something down.]

Comments

[mementodagger]

[Yurick makes his way over, looking a bit apologetic and very glad to see his new friend.]

Sorry I kept you waiting. I asked them to notify me after two hours but then it took them an hour to find me in the reference cellar. They were very helpful, though.

[otakuro]

[...Atsuro decides that questioning the competency of the library staff was probably kind of mean. Either that or Yurick was just quick good at playing hide and seek.]

No problem. I don't think I've been here long, anyway.

[If he has, his attention has been absorbed long enough that he hasn't really noticed.]

You're not gonna bring anything home?

[mementodagger]

[More like he was so buried in books they failed to notice him right away. He looks ever so slightly dusty. And really, they were late coming to get him so the search only lasted about twenty minutes. He has no concept of time when he's reading.]

No, most of what I was interested in couldn't be removed from the building. But they did give me this, whatever it is. [He holds up a flash drive.] They said someone who knows "computers" would know what to do with it. And I was told that some of the information I want is available on the network.

[otakuro]

Oh!

[Atsuro gasps lightly as he spots what Yurick holds in his hands.]

That's... an adamantium crystal drive! It's rare to come across one of those. We'll need to organize an outing to the seventeen Energy Crystals scattered around the city to charge it up - then we can activate its Hidden Technology Powers by using the Laser of Infrared Beaming to etch the right glyph into the crystal.

It shouldn't take much longer than half a year, all in all.

[mementodagger]

...............

[Whut?]

H-- half a year...?

[Those blasted librarians didn't say anything about any of that!]

[otakuro]

...Well. There are seventeen of them.

[A short pause.]

No, I'm just joking, it will take about 30 seconds.

[mementodagger]

[It takes about five seconds for realization to hit. Yurick's jaw drops and he gives Atsuro's shoulder a light shove.]

Suddenly you decide to be a pain in the arse? Oh, I'll get you back for that!

[Really, he looks serious, but the humor is showing in his pale blue eye. Had Atsuro tried that before Yurick started opening up, he might've ended up with a bad case of hot foot.]

[otakuro]

Hey, I'm just helping you appreciate the miracle of technology! Think about what all the things we might've had to do to get this information.

[Atsuro is a helper and he denies any accusations to the contrary.]

[mementodagger]

I would appreciate it just as much with a quick demonstration, you know.

[He shakes his head in mock disappointment.]

I'm amazed they can fit so many books on this tiny device. And such things are commonplace here and in your world? It must be a fascinating place.

[Even if the people there dressed oddly, if Atsuro was any indication.]

[otakuro]

[Atsuro's wardrobe is flawless OK]

It's not a book, per se. We can fit information onto the device - in this case, it just happens to be the words in the book. Text doesn't take up much space at all.

[mementodagger]

[It's got nothing on Yurick's mix of fantasy and Wild West. Dem boots, man.]

Just how many books does this hold, then...?

[He turns the drive over and over in his fingers, the little 12G marker on one side meaning nothing to him.]

[otakuro]

...It depends on how many books people put in them.

12G means 12 gigabytes of information. The average book is... I guess if it's a long book, maybe a megabyte? There are 1024 Mbs in a Gb, so let's say a thousand.

[Atsuro pauses.]

Enough words for 12,000 books?

[mementodagger]

[Yurick fumbles the flash drive and almost drops it, catching it before it can hit the ground.]

T-- twelve... thousand?!

[He stares down at the tiny thing in awe. If his world had such things, it would be an enormous boon to scholars.]

Your technology is truly mind-boggling, Atsuro.

[otakuro]

Haha, you don't have to handle it so carefully. These things are pretty tough. ...I put mine through the laundry once and it still survived.

Technology is pretty incredible, isn't it? The level here is even more advanced than in my world. Things like the COMP - the one the city gave us - still aren't possible.

[mementodagger]

I just wish they didn't have to bury it in our flesh for it to work. [Yurick shudders.] Some mornings I'm still half-asleep and when I see it in the mirror I try to rip it out.

[He gives the flash drive to Atsuro for safekeeping and glances along the street.]

Well, perhaps we can discuss this further over supper? I might have to start looking into getting one of those blasted computers and I'm certain I'll need your help with choosing one.

[otakuro]

The nanomachines are a little... strange. You stop thinking about it after a while, though.

[Truth be told, Atsuro rarely used the city-provided COMP if he could help it, as it was, in as eloquent a manner as he could describe it, 'super creepy'. He pockets the flash drive.]

I'm not sure what restaurants you go to that sell computers on the side, but maybe we should take those things separately. Anything you prefer eating?

[mementodagger]

[Yurick snorts lightly at Atsuro's quirky sense of humor. He figures he'll get used to it soon enough. He has to, he needs the other boy's guidance... and his friendship.]

Not particularly, though I admit a weakness for seafood. I suppose it reminds me of my childhood home.

[otakuro]

Seafood...

[...Truth be told, he didn't actually have seafood often. It didn't tend to be in his budget.]

...Hey! Have you tried sushi before?

[Not that good sushi was, either.]

[mementodagger]

[That nets Atsuro a curious look.]

Sushi? I'm not familiar with the term, no. But if it's got anything to do with fish, I'll gladly eat it.

[Though where he comes from, when it's too hot to cook, his people use local citrus to produce something much like ceviche. Normal weather allows for traditional roasting, frying, or baking. Smoked fish is saved for colder months and times when the catch is lean. But basically his people lived on fish and the occasional chicken or game bird. Beef is almost unknown unless it's dried or traded for from mainlanders.]

[otakuro]

...It's raw fish.

[He pauses for a moment to allow that to sink in.]

It's delicious, I promise. And it's all clean, too, so you don't have to worry about getting sick. It's a delicacy where I come from.

[mementodagger]

[It's actually not a surprising concept. Sailors without any way to cook their catch at sea would often filet a fish just pulled from the sea and suck down thin slivers. Not only did it sustain them, it also provided moisture when the rain barrels were low.]

Ah. Well, we don't call it that, but it's more common where I come from than you might think. Not a delicacy, though, it's more of a necessity.

[He folds his arms, nodding.] I'm curious to try it your way.

[otakuro]

Oh, the country I come from is a group of islands, so we eat a lot of fish, too. I think it just became a delicacy over the years because you could charge more for it.

[Atsuro grins as he glances around at their surroundings.]

Let's see... I've only been to a few places, but...

[mementodagger]

It seems all worlds are driven by greed. My comrades only ever wanted a simple, comfortable life without struggle. Excess carries its own problems.

[Shaking his head, he follows Atsuro's gaze. He still hasn't gotten used to all the lights and strange signs on equally odd buildings. Will he ever be able to tell what's a restaurant and what's something far less innocuous?

He really doesn't want to think about that evening he wandered into a dark, loud place filled with scantily clad women and quickly blushed his way right back out....]

[otakuro]

Greed makes the world go round. ...Nowadays, we call it capitalism, though.

[Having betrayed his communist colors for the sake of a joke that Yurick wouldn't even understand, Atsuro finally settles on a decision.]

We'll go to this one place I tried a few months ago. I think it's pretty good for the price. This way. ...Maybe.

[Atsuro waves Yurick down the street.]

[mementodagger]

[Yeah, that crack went right over Yurick's head. Fortunately, hunger makes it easy to shrug things off. He follows Atsuro, trying and failing not to look like a total tourist as he takes in the sights.

Neon seems to both fascinate and alarm him.]

It's incredible how many forms light takes in this world. Those look like spell trails, frozen in time.