thebastion | Day 137

Entry tags:

Day 137 | Open

Who: Colin and anyone curious about what he's doing.
Open: Open
When: Day 137, around midday
Where: Northwestern Bastion, open ground
What: Colin's surveying for a new building
Format Can match.
Warnings: Colin's deeply engrossed in his survey. He may be more of a socially impaired derp than usual.

[Colin has been positively hyperactive today. He wolfed down his breakfast like a man possessed, snagged a couple of fruit to eat in the field, and made sure to get his chores done far ahead of schedule. After that, he grabbed several wooden stakes and set himself to the task of analyzing the ground beneath his feet. Unseen, his eye has been taking detailed measurements of all of the buildings in the Bastion, and he's been setting out the stakes to mark an outline of a new building. Anyone feel like approaching him?]

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To put it bluntly?

There may be explosions.

[Colin grins as he works.]

Actually, there are DEFINITELY going to be detonations. But in the event that they exceed my control, I don't want to damage anything else.

Don't worry, though, there's going to be sufficient soundproofing that nobody will notice the intentional ones.

[ Bluntly is her middle name. She laughs at his certainty. ]

I wouldn't be worried so much about hearing as I would be about feeling it. [ The way he describes his explosives is like they'd just be a minor inconvenience. It's a strange thought. ]

Now I get why you want good, solid ground.

Something that can absorb a blast is of paramount importance.

Somethign that can support the foundation is also going to be very important, especially once I get my generator set up.

I'm confident that the monument can handle the calculations, but I don't like leaving something so important to technology that I don't know. "I'm sure it's fine" has gotten way too many people killed in the course of history.

[ "I'm sure it's fine" is something Viola would say. Good thing this isn't her project. ]

I dunno if you can find something that sturdy anywhere on the Bastion.

Quite the contrary. Once my shop's set up, I'll be able to MAKE stuff that sturdy. And then some.

[Yes, Colin is never at a loss for confidence.]

How? Are you planning on summoning the ground or something?

[ The more wild Colin's ideas are, the more skeptical Viola becomes. She's never been the most imaginative thing. ]

Summoning the ground? No, no... not yet anyway. Eventually, my shards WILL go towards expanding the landscape around here.

But if I can get a nanotics lab up and running, I can cultivate the land like you wouldn't believe. Easier farming, more sturdy foundations, worthwhile roads...

[Colin grins at the thought.]

Just the thought makes me almost giddy.

[ That one eyebrow that went up is still there. ]

Nano-ticks? [ The thought of ticks makes her skin crawl. ] Ticks usually aren't that helpful with farms and foundations.

No, no. Nanomachines. The science is called nanotics.

They're machines that are so small that they can't be seen.

They can be used to alter structures on their basic level. It's... hmmm...

... Okay, let's try this. Got a knife, or any sort of blade? Try to cut my skin. It's been augmented by nanomachines. That's the best way I can show you what I mean.

[He turns to face her fully, and holds arm out to her.]

[ Colin, you are so fucking weird. First of all, you might as well be speaking Ura for all Viola understands. And now you want her to cut you? ]

Are you insane? I'm not going to cut you, even if you are infected with tiny machines.

Edited 2013-12-18 07:17 (UTC)

It's not an infection. It's a form of passive armor.

[He draws his hand back and shrugs.]

If you don't believe me, that's fine. I lose nothing that way. The point is, my skin has been altered with synthetic materials to make me resistant to slashing and penetrating. I can still be hurt, but it's harder.

I can also lift almost a ton without much difficulty because of these augmentations.

[ Okay, that's an explanation she can understand. "Augmented" sounds an awful lot like "infected," and spilling tiny machines out of your blood would probably be unpleasant at best. ]

I didn't know machines could do all that. [ She offered. ] I thought all they were good for was breaking down and getting smoke all over the place.

Without proper maintainence? Yes, that's accurate.

Properly used, however, machines exist to make tasks easier.

Your bow, for example? Could you throw an arrow anywhere near as hard as you can shoot with your bow?

Of course not. [ Where is he going with this? ] But a bow isn't a machine. It doesn't need to burn wood or coal to make it work. It doesn't have gears and cogs and stuff.

But the principles are the same. It's something that lets you do what you can't do on your own.

[With a stake in hand, Colin crouches and doodles a quick bow in the dirt]

With the simple properties of tension and compression, the force you can project is magnified significantly.

Now, using systems of cams, pullies, and sights...

[Colin continues sketching in the dirt]

We can amplify your draw strength, your firing distance, and your accuracy. Drastically, with more advanced mechanics.

[He looks at her and raises his eyebrow quizically.]

Are you following me, or have I lost you?

Edited 2013-12-19 09:32 (UTC)

[ Viola knelt next to Colin, carefully studying his drawings. She didn't understand what most of his terminology meant, but she knew what he meant about draw strength and firing distance. ]

[ She looked up from his drawings to meet his gaze. ]

I think so. You're saying my bow is a machine, kind of, because it helps me do something that I wouldn't be able to do by myself. [ Her brows furrowed. ] But I thought my bow was just a tool, like a hammer or a knife. Machines move on their own without you having to do anything to them.

Technically true, but not exactly.

You're describing an automated system, something that works without external influence once it's started. I can make those too, but those are advanced principles.

For example... What would you say if I told you I could build a bow that you could draw and fire with any one finger on your drawing hand?

Mind you, I'm not a bowyer, so it wouldn't exactly be the most GRACEFUL of system at first... But with enough mechanical enhancement, the job can be done.

[Oh dear, now you've started his brain working.]

Additionally, with a smart sight, you could paint your target so you knew exactly where your arrow was going to land, regardless of how far and taut you drew the string. That would actually be fun to build, now that I think about it...

[ Slow down, Colin, slow down. She was barely keeping up with you to begin with. She tries to interject once or twice, but eventually settles for waiting for him to finish. ]

I'm not entirely sure I'm following you, but if it's a bow, I'm pretty sure I can shoot it.

[Yep, you just got Colin'd. It's a common ailment afflicting anyone who interacts with Colin for any length of time. Sorry, Viola.]

I'm going to have a couple of projects to work on when the workshop's up and running, but I bet I could whip something up pretty quickly...

If you're interested, I mean. You're certainly talented enough with a bow that I don't think you technically need further mechanical aid. But I could definitely offer some enhancements. Just about anything you want improved, I could find a way to make it work.

[ It hurts the mind. She's going to have a definite headache soon. ]

I dunno what I'd want for improvements, honestly. [ She offered an apologetic shrug. ] I haven't met a monster I couldn't beat down with my bow. [ Then she paused, thinking. ] Except maybe that Lunkhead.

Armor penetration, then.

I can get Stewart the design for some armor-piercing arrowhead models, and maybe come up with a bow design that can better project the force...

Uh... sorry.

[He smiles sheepishly.]

You put any sort of project in front of me, and I take off on it. I really get into my work.

[ She smiles. ] Nothing wrong with loving your work.

I could definitely use some new arrows. Maybe even a variety of different ones. [ That could be promising. ]

I'll do up some sketches this afternoon, then. We've definitely got the materials to build most of what I know.

What kind of material would you use to pierce armor? Wouldn't everything be too heavy?

You can actually do it with any metal, if you've got it in the right configuration. The trick is delivering enough force in a small enough area.

There are advanced patterns, and better metals as well, but simple steel, or even iron will be sufficient so long as you've got the talent.

The trick is you can't half-ass it. You've gotta have the force to do it.

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thirdoutofthree - 2013-12-30 09:28 (UTC) - Expand

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freedom_engineer - 2013-12-30 10:17 (UTC) - Expand

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