![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
audio; march 7th
[The recorded voice that addresses the crew through the MID is affable and slightly apologetic.]
Hello everyone. This is Alan Bradley speaking. I have a couple of questions for the crew, and I think I might as well use this opportunity to introduce myself to those I haven’t met yet: As I said, my name is Alan Bradley, and I’ve been assigned as one of the ship’s MID Technicians. I’m afraid I don’t have any particularly interesting abilities outside of computer programming, but that should be enough for me to do my job here. Some of you may have already met Sam Flynn, my godson from back home, as well as Tron and Rinzler, two, ah, programs that I’ve written. [Is that how he’s supposed to introduce them? It’s quite clear from the misgiving in his tone that he isn’t completely sure. He isn’t even certain he can correctly refer to them as two programs if you want to get technical, but explaining that would be far too involved for a simple introduction, so he’ll have to settle for the potential inaccuracy.] If you ever need to contact me, I’m always available at my personal inbox. [A slight chuckle.] I guess we all are since these things are strapped to our wrists.
Introductions aside, I was hoping someone could tell me who I should see about getting a new pair of glasses? Mine seem to have been lost as I was coming through the portal here. And seeing as my job on the ship will probably require spending most of my day staring at lines of code, I’d like to get a replacement sooner rather than later.
Speaking of my job here, I’m also looking for suggestions for programs people would like added to their MIDs, or improvements made to the interface. I’ll admit, the technology here is quite a bit more advanced than what I usually worked with back home, so anyone with more technological know-how is welcome to offer guidance: other programmers, engineers, AI… I’d be grateful for any advice.
Just leave a reply if you want to get in touch. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Hello everyone. This is Alan Bradley speaking. I have a couple of questions for the crew, and I think I might as well use this opportunity to introduce myself to those I haven’t met yet: As I said, my name is Alan Bradley, and I’ve been assigned as one of the ship’s MID Technicians. I’m afraid I don’t have any particularly interesting abilities outside of computer programming, but that should be enough for me to do my job here. Some of you may have already met Sam Flynn, my godson from back home, as well as Tron and Rinzler, two, ah, programs that I’ve written. [Is that how he’s supposed to introduce them? It’s quite clear from the misgiving in his tone that he isn’t completely sure. He isn’t even certain he can correctly refer to them as two programs if you want to get technical, but explaining that would be far too involved for a simple introduction, so he’ll have to settle for the potential inaccuracy.] If you ever need to contact me, I’m always available at my personal inbox. [A slight chuckle.] I guess we all are since these things are strapped to our wrists.
Introductions aside, I was hoping someone could tell me who I should see about getting a new pair of glasses? Mine seem to have been lost as I was coming through the portal here. And seeing as my job on the ship will probably require spending most of my day staring at lines of code, I’d like to get a replacement sooner rather than later.
Speaking of my job here, I’m also looking for suggestions for programs people would like added to their MIDs, or improvements made to the interface. I’ll admit, the technology here is quite a bit more advanced than what I usually worked with back home, so anyone with more technological know-how is welcome to offer guidance: other programmers, engineers, AI… I’d be grateful for any advice.
Just leave a reply if you want to get in touch. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Video
video;
I’d appreciate it. Am I right in assuming that this is going to take some trial and error? [He doesn't mind if it does. Trying on a few pairs of glasses is a small price to pay for actually being able to see clearly again.]
no subject
[He's used the omni-tool to make replacement lenses for his rifle scope a few times though. How much more difficult could it be?]
no subject
no subject
[Initiating operation: Get Cozy with Rinzler's Dad.]
no subject
Alright. [He wonders, vaguely, if members of the alien’s species also wear glasses. It seems like it might be difficult seeing as the being in the video does not seem to have ears. He smiles slightly at the mental image.]
What time would work for you?
no subject
[Turians might have worn glasses at one point, but these days in-utero genetic corrections were all the rage.
Imagine Nihlus in big cat-eye sunglasses though. Imagine.]
video -> action; (thank you for that mental image)
[In two hours time, Alan arrives at the agreed-upon place. There aren’t many people milling around, but even if there were, it’s not hard to identify the being he had spoken with over the MID. Alan approaches, doing his best not to appear fazed by the alien’s appearance; it’s one thing seeing him through a tiny screen and quite another to come face-to-face with someone who doesn’t resemble anything Alan has ever seen on Earth.]
Hello. You must be the engineer from the network.
action; (you're welcome! :P )
Technically, I am the Ingress security guard from the network, but I like to think I'm a bit overqualified.
[He offers Alan a smile and a hand to shake.]
I'm Nihlus. It's nice to meet you.
no subject
Alan. Though you probably remembered that from the network post. [Alan returns the smile -- strange that the expression should be so recognizable in such an alien face.]
So, how does this “fabricator” of yours work?
no subject
[Nihlus holds up his right hand letting the tool's orange glow engulf his arm.]
And you need some omni-gel.
[And in his other hand, he holds up what looks sort of like a package of cream cheese.]
It gets a bit weird after that, but at least we're probably not going to be transported into another universe again.
no subject
I hope not. I’m just getting used to this one.
[Alan remembers his prescription and digs it out of his pocket.] I’m afraid I’m no optometrist either, but I know I’m nearsighted. [He passes the paper to Nihlus.] I can’t tell you what all of the letters mean, but the two numbers represent how much correction each eye needs. Sorry I can’t give you anything more detailed than that.
no subject
The 'PD' number is probably pupillary distance. Everything else... hm. I would assume the numbers are meant to measure dioptre.
[It's been a while since he's had to use metric. Assuming it was metric anyways.
As he ponders this, he tucks the omni-gel back into his pocket for the time being.]
Would you be so kind as to look straight forwards and hold still for a second?
no subject
He obliges the alien’s request, though he does momentarily glance back at the “omni-tool” on his arm. With a name like that, Alan assumes it has some means of measurement.]
no subject
[Holding the omni-tool up about a foot away from Alan's face, Nihlus activates a quick scan. A stream of light flashes outwards and maps out the planes of the man's face.]
There we go. Thank you.
[He brings up the scan and starts roughing out the shape for the glasses.]
By the way, I met Rinzler at the local museum. He brought up a rather interesting difference between his and my definition of 'program'.
no subject
No problem. Little bit like getting my picture taken. [Hopefully the fact that he blinked won’t be as much of a hassle in this case.]
[He isn’t quite expecting the shift in subject, nor the information that comes with it. It’s still jarring to hear of other people’s apparently reciprocal conversations with Rinzler when Alan can barely get the program to look at him on a good day.] Oh? What difference was that?
no subject
Why is that?
[The eyeglass frames were starting to look like something from the 70's. Nihlus pauses a bit, tilting the rendering platform slightly so that Alan could see it and give an opinion.]
no subject
[Alan smiles almost apologetically.] I know it’s a lot to take in. If I hadn’t seen the proof with my own eyes, I’m not sure I would have been able to believe it myself.
no subject
[That IS interesting though. And it would explain why Rinzler had been so annoyed when he'd asked for the clarification.]
So is it just in certain systems or is it a more generalized phenomena?
no subject
I don’t see why it couldn’t be possible on any system; there wasn’t anything that special about the server I programmed Tron for. [Alan’s smile grows rueful here.] It’s certainly made me think about my former job as a programmer in a different light.
no subject
[Not to mention all the ethical problems that would have popped up, especially considering the fact that the system was something as standard as Alan described.
He thins out the frame of the glasses a bit more and pops the omni-gel out of his pocket.]
How did you first establish communication with them? Or did you only find out here?
no subject
I met them here: Tron, then Rinzler. [He doesn’t mention that it was someone else who made first contact before him; his memory of Flynn and the questions that linger after his death are still too raw to discuss with someone he’s just met.] The Ingress must have pulled them out of the system and onto the ship. I never would’ve known otherwise. [He can’t completely keep the sorrow out of his voice here. It isn’t that there was no way of knowing -- it’s that the people who did know had chosen to keep it from him.]
no subject
He considers going to find them after this chat, but dismisses the idea after a moment. Not his immediate area of interest and there was plenty of time to puzzle things together without straining things unnecessarily.]
Do you have an any information on what their culture might be like? I'm quite curious because Rinzler scanned me during our meeting. I wasn't sure if that was a standard greeting with them.
[Unwrapping and popping the block of omin-gel into the rendering field, the Spectre watches it form the specified outline, making sure there there'd been no error in the rendering. The final result was a thin, gray plastic frame, the left over gel reforming into a block. There was no actual glass yet and no folding hinges, but it was a prototype.
Nihlus plucks it out of the field and hands it to Alan.]
Try that on?
no subject
[Alan watches the gel take shape on omni-tool with interest. The process reminds him somewhat of how a Grid baton could form physical objects from a coded template, though the baton hadn’t seemed to require a physical substrate such as this “omni-gel.”
Alan takes the rudimentary glasses frame from Nihlus, taking a moment to examine the material. It feels like any other plastic, far from the doughy mass it had been formed from. Nihlus hasn’t quite reached the really difficult part of making the prescription lenses, but Alan is already impressed with the tech nonetheless. After the brief inspection, he tries on the not-yet-glasses.]
Seems to fit.
[Satisfied, he takes off the frame, his gaze returning to the omni-tool.] Is that common technology where you’re from? [It’s certainly more advanced than what they have outside the Grid on Earth, though that seems to be a pretty common theme here.]
no subject
[He lets Alan keep hold of the glasses for the time being as he brings up the prescription again. He's not sure what OD and OS are, but sphere, cylinder and axis were all familiar. There was also ADD, but that box was empty.
Metric? Probably. He'll have to convert it all to Standard.
They recognized you even though you've never met before? Is it something to do with you being their creator?
[As Nihlus talks, he brings up the specialty program for his sniper scopes and starts inputting the numbers for OD, pausing now and again to mentally check his conversions.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)