thebastion | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Colin Starfury, any meddling kids
Open: Open as the plains
When: Day 267, late morning and early afternoon.
Where: The Farmland
What: Doing another survey for more development
Format: Anything, can match
Warnings: Colin IS a warning

As far as plans went, this wasn't how Colin had wanted to spend this week. There were a lot of things that needed doing even before the plight of the Ura reared its head. But Colin was an engineer, and he knew well that the universe had plans of its own and it really didn't care one little bit of the plans of individual people.

The day before this had been spent doing research, and helping Rob build his new cart. That had taken a fair amount of time on its own, but it was work that needed to be done if they wanted to set up a supply line. Now that the transportation was done, it was time to set up the facilities that would give them the supplies down the line.

So here he was, setting out more stakes and flags, taking more measurements, and generally making it apparent that SOMETHING is going to be going up in this area soon. And if the layout of the flags and stakes are any indication, it's going to be something BIG.

Anyone care to bother the engineer at work?

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"Hydroponics," Colin confirms, giving Rob a nod of acknowledgement. "And mineral storage facilities to ensure that the farming can go on without much need for outside assistance for a while."

He eyes the sandwiches, and he smirks then. "Feeding an army?" he asks with a teasing voice. "Or just forget to eat breakfast?"

"I don't remember if I did or not. I doubt this would feed an army though, unless they're Lilliputians."

Excuse him while he takes a bite.

"Hey, don't knock Lilliput," Colin says. "They can take down giants, after all."

He doesn't mind Rob eating. It does give him an opportunity to get back to work. "I'm hesitant to spend shards on another building, but our need is rather pressing. I just hate to get used to the monument saving our ass. Someday, it's going to crap out, then we're gonna be in trouble. Too many people are used to it."

"Already crapped out once. That was a wakeup call for how much it's been doing for us. Still trying to think of something to get that'd keep this place from coming apart if that happens again. Makes me wonder though; how long do hydroponics hold up in a power failure before you start losing stuff?"

"It won't run on Bastion's power," Colin says, smirking. "I can whip together a minor feeder fusion reactor that can power the whole place and then some without too much trouble. As for the Bastion itself... that's another matter entirely."

Colin doesn't look terribly pleased at that thought. He's been running over scenarios and repairs in his head ever since it happened...

"'Whip up' and 'fusion reactor' aren't phrases that should ever go together. But anyways yeah, that'd make another low-power situation more enjoyable, even if it doesn't solve the Bastion power problem. My question with that though, is, uh, what happens if after you build it you, uh, don't survive being eaten by another giant lizard? Something like a reactor you probably don't want unskilled people trying to fix if something goes wrong."

"You may not believe it, but where I'm from, fusion is simple," Colin says. "Many homes have fusion generators in the event that the power systems go on the fritz. They're not difficult to maintain. Sure, the layman probably can't build them, but they've been simplified through the decades. I can leave a manual in Caelondian, English, and Japanese that would detail how to fix it."

He smirks even wider then. "But no lizard is going to be my end. You don't need to worry about that," he says proudly.

The corner of his mouth quirks up slightly. "I'm not."

Exactly what part of that he isn't worried about is left up to the reader's imagination.

"I'm thinking I should try and avoid illustrative examines with you though. Basically my concern's an over-reliance on technology that only a handful of people really understand and requires the Monument to power or make replacement parts for. Putting each egg in its own basket is fine, but giving all those baskets to one or two people gets you right back where you started: relying on highly-advanced machines to ensure our survival with the only backup plans being several tiers lower in effectiveness. The ideal would probably be stuff that someone who can't read anything we write can look at, watch in action, and figure out how to build another one, but that's probably too optimistic, and for increasing our food production quickly this is probably necessary, but still..."

He trails off, hoping that he got his general point across without Colin getting mired in specifics.

"There's only so much tech we can hold back on before it starts negatively impacting us," Colin says. "And I'm going to try to teach people how to handle this stuff. We don't exactly have people who can fix even basic tech, after all. It doesn't matter if I build a fusion generator or a gas generator. The problem is finding people willing to learn."

Yes, he's a little irritated about that fact...

Rob shrugs and finishes chewing before responding. Also, the next time that Colin glances over the sandwiches will be nearly gone already.

"Not everyone is smart or technically inclined. Might just have had the bad luck of ending up with mostly people who aren't."

...Did he just imply...?

"Most. Not all of them seem so inept, though," Colin says, smiling. "Sadly, none of them have expressed any interest either."

He may have, he just may have. Colin's certainly putting it out there.

Rob misses Colin's implication just like he missed his own.

"Might just be that they don't think it's something they can do. I mean, I know I haven't talked to anywhere near everyone here, but aside from the two of us, how many people here have experience working with more advanced technology?"

"More than you might think," Colin says, smiling and looking in the direction of the Golem trundling around near his workshop. "Paar has the mind for it, he just doesn't have the experience. Ghaleon's got a good mind, from my understanding, it just went a different route. Honestly, it's not so much about brains as it is about training. Sure, some people just won't get it... but engineering is a skill. With proper education, and a willingness to stick to the lessons, anybody could learn it."

"Anyone can learn just about anything, but some people will just never be as good as others at certain things even if they learn. Some people have affinities for different areas too and wouldn't automatically consider other things as being things they'd ever be good at, regardless of the reality. And then there's the idea that because it's complicated it must be too hard for you to understand. Not always true, but people tend to think that way for some reason."

Second-last sandwich half on its last bite. Already. Somehow.

"Speaking of learning stuff though, I kinda figured you'd be asking for my help building the hydroponics, but I guess you meant setting it up and monitoring it once it's made?"

"Well, given that we're in an end of the world scenario, it's not as though we can really be choosy about it either," he says. "Seriously though, we've got a major drain on skills here. Too few people here doing the jobs that many people could be doing, but they're not willing to learn. Until it's too late."

He starts to shake his head, then he pauses. "Well, the monument is going to be doing most of the work, but we've still gotta set it up here. The main thing I wanted is for you to learn what it's like completed, because we're still going to need to build these out on the Skyway if the Ura decide to remain out of there as a group," he says, frowning. "That won't be an easy job. Plus, we're going to need a road to the cannery from here, because harvesting this won't be pleasant if we have to carry it all there by hand. This was never going to be a simple job."

"Seeing it completed is different than building it, but from what I do remember having read building it isn't too hard. Getting the materials to build another one and transporting them to the Ura sound like the harder part. Hm. Roads are kind of pointless here but you're right, that particular one would probably be useful if this place starts producing heavily enough. Making one wouldn't be hard but it'd take a lot of work. Might be worth looking into if we can come up with a steady supply of materials to make cement. Don't remember what goes into it but that's easy enough to learn. We've got the carts, though if we stumble across a truck that'd be handy, assuming we can fuel it. Maybe convert it to electric and put solar panels on the hood? We probably don't have the capability to make something that complex right now though. Powered vehicles are really a luxury for this situation; so long as we can make a road that's smooth and flat transporting stuff will be a lot easi-"

He suddenly stops. It's pretty obvious something just occurred to him. Especially when that gleam appears in his eyes.

"A railway. Make a form and cast scrap metal into rails, lay them down between here and the cannery. It'd be way easier to pull carts on such a smooth surface. Or! One of those... what are they called... handcars! Where you have a couple people pumping a big lever to move the cart, and then attach another one to it to move stuff quickly. Wait. Of course! We have an endless supply of wood! We can make a small steam engine! Would wanna find a way to filter out the soot so the air quality doesn't take a hit, but that's probably doable. Hell, eventually we could extend the track from the Skyway entrance to the dock. That'd pretty much cover all the places we'd need to move big loads to and from."

He pauses to take a breath and try to get a handle on the thoughts tumbling through his head. Probably the time for a sanity check before he devotes too much thought to this.

"What do you think?"

"A carbon screen is relatively easy, though I'm not sure we have the right tech available to put it together. A hand cart could definitely do the job, but we'd still need to find enough metal for the rails and the wheels. To say nothing of the rail spikes. That's a good thought, but it's also very hard work. Would you be up to it, you think?"

Colin isn't terribly worried about the line of thought. Just seeing Rob using his brain and coming up with ideas was a promising sign. If he thought for a minute that they could get the parts for a magnetic rail, he'd be on that in a heartbeat, but even what the have is pushing their luck against disbelief rather solidly.

"I'm all for a good, useful project," he adds, smiling. "I just wanna make sure it's not something I'd be doing alone."

Rob having ideas isn't the hard part. Him being able to and having the drive to make them a reality is where the challenges start. Fortunately he's aware enough of that that Colin isn't likely to end up inheriting some random project from him.

The materials issue brings Rob back down to reality, and forgetting something like that is exactly why he asked Colin for a sanity check.

"Materials are probably the limiting factor, yeah. I don't have an inventory of everything we have, but I haven't noticed any big piles of metal kicking around, and we'd need a lot for a railway. I think some railways were originally made with wooden rails? But with that kind of work I'd rather end up with a cart that could be used anywhere instead of a stop-gap measure. I'd have to read up more on how to actually build a steam engine, too. I mean, I know how they work, but I think I've read somewhere that they can explode if they aren't built right, so I'd want to make sure I knew what I was doing first."

He frowns, mostly in thought but a little in disappointment too, as he realizes that his idea isn't as immediately practical as he thought it was.

"I guess this is something that'd have to wait until we can come up with a big stockpile of metal to work with. I'd have to read up on some stuff. ...It might actually be worth me getting the Monument to make another one of your pads for myself. With all the stuff I should look into you'd never see yours again if I keep borrowing it. And yeah, you've got enough to do already. I can't just dump more work on you."

Another thoughtful pause.

"We still have the carts, so we're okay for the moment at least. Though actually... there any chance you could add a loading dock to this place? With one of those little ramp things that lets you load onto trucks that aren't at the same height as the floor? That'd make getting stuff onto the carts easier on this end. Maybe a spot where we could attach a station platform too if we ever end up going the railway route? If you can fit them in without messing up the main point of the building, of course."

Colin lets Rob talk, lets him explore his line of thought in words. Only when he's done does he finally speak up.

"Nobody said it's an impossible project, just a time-consuming one. There's LOTS of metal out at the scrap yard just waiting to be hauled back for a purpose," he says, smiling. "Don't give up on it, you've got a good idea. Now you just need to refine it and make it work. Find the best project you can come up with, then start looking for ways to make it easier. That's engineering in a nutshell."

He strokes his chin in contemplation, and he nods. "I think I can get a loading dock put in here pretty easily," he says. "Only didn't bother with it because we didn't exactly have many vehicles. But yeah, adding a loading dock to the store room should be easy enough."

He smirks then, and he nods as he reaches the final point. "A pad would be a good purchase for you, and not just for work," he says. "Access movies, music, some games, planners, calculation equipment. It's an all purpose device. Very useful."

Map marker added: Scrapyard.

Colin is to blame for anything and everything that happens due to Rob learning this.

"So we do have access to scrap metal? That's convenient. Except for lugging it back here. Still need to do research first. On a bunch of things. A pad would be pretty useful for future research and note-taking. Need more shards first though."

"You wanna come with me next time I head out there, I won't turn down another hand. I usually go with a couple of people to drag back good salvage. When I can wrangle Paar, I bring back heavy stuff," he explains, and he smiles. "There's also lots of shards out there. Lots of Caelondian tech had uses for it. They're practically lying around, if you don't mind them being dirty. Just don't go alone. Lots of stuff makes their homes out there. Very defensible terrain, lots of squirts and gasfella. They're used to me, so they generally leave me alone."

Rob blinks and looks a bit awkward for a moment. Just like in World of Warcraft, he normally solos here. Unlike in World of Warcraft, he's not a max-level Hunter with a giant wolf companion here, so going into higher-level areas alone hasn't been a reasonable option so far.

"I-If you're okay with me tagging along, sure. Any particular day you were planning on heading out?"

"I typically go out there three or four times a week, actually," Colin says. "I'm definitely heading out tomorrow, may even head out today if I can get my work done here in a timely manner. I always need more supplies."

Rob's solo adventurers would worry Colin if he knew about them. The buddy system exists for situations exactly like they're in now...

How exactly did Colin think Rob's been able to afford the things he's made so far? Rob's been playing it as safe as he can considering the circumstances, and as a result has come away with a small trickle of shards and countless bruises. With his newfound unwillingness to go for the easy pickings of Squirts he was going to go farther afield anyways, so this is timely.

"I don't think I'll be finished much before nightfall, so I'll have to pass on today, but I'm okay with tomorrow, if you are."

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