tushanshu | 005

[The feed opens on Temeraire's apartment, which looks a great deal gaudier now thanks to the recent yard sale and the salvage found in Sinbrilee. Rich tapestries hang from the railings surrounding the central open space, and piles of interesting metal are neatly arranged within sight. Temeraire, for his part, seems oblivious to his growing hoard; he looks determined, if not a little worried.]

I am not going to ask you if you have found any turtle eggs; it is better, I think, if that is kept a secret. If--our enemy does not know who has one, it would be stupid to tell him; if he already knows, there is no point in telling him again, and refreshing his memory. Nor do I need to tell you how important they are; that, I think, is obvious enough.

[He shifts a little, looking down for a moment and collecting his thoughts before he begins again.] Turtle eggs are not the same as dragon eggs, of course, but I should think there are enough similarities to offer some advice, and if you have never taken care of eggs before, there can certainly be no harm in what I am about to tell you.

It is best to keep your egg warm at all times. At Loch Laggan, we used old Roman bath-houses, such as you might have seen in Sinbrilee, but covering your egg with blankets may suffice. Care must be taken so that the egg does not grow too hot, and the temperature should be constant throughout. Pray do not jostle your egg, or move it overmuch; it is very uncomfortable, and you run the risk of cracking the egg.

Dragon eggs harden, just before they hatch, and I cannot say the same will be true for these eggs, but it may be something to look out for, all the same. I do not think it will be very long before they do hatch, if they are already beginning to communicate from within the shell: half a year at the most. But since they can hear us, it is therefore very important that you speak to your egg, or play music to it, or read to it: anything which you yourself might like to hear, if you were cooped up in a small room with nothing to do, and could not come out for a very long time.

And of course you will feel very protective of the egg, and you ought to, but it is also very important to remember that it is not your pet, nor some unthinking beast; if your turtle does hatch, pray give it an opportunity to choose its own name before offering your own suggestions, and do not take advantage of it. If you do, I shall find you, and I shall sit on you, and it shall be very unpleasant for everyone involved.

[Pause as he realises, perhaps a little belatedly, that he might have crossed a line there. Hurriedly he adds:] And if you have any further questions, you may of course ask me--or any of the other dragons here--at any time, [and cuts the feed.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Every sentient being requires an education; he who thinks but does not learn is in great danger, as the Analects say.

[He leans forward, tail twitching with interest.] Oh, I have heard of quantum mechanics, but no-one has of yet explained it to me. Are you a physicist yourself, Mr--?

Ah... Right, I can agree with that. I'm just a little unfamiliar with thinking of turtles as sentient.

[Well, he's been found out. Bruce gives a hint of an awkward smile, uncomfortable with the recognition.] Nuclear physicist, [he clarifies.] Bruce Banner. Doctor. [The utterly unaffected way he says that makes it clear Bruce isn't expecting respect for his title or anything like that, he just might as well set the record straight from the outset.]

Do dragons usually care about quantum mechanics?

Oh, a doctor! That is very important, is it not? [He tilts his head slightly, though the expression on his face is as much one of curiosity as it is one of respect.] Well, it is very nice to meet you, Dr. Banner; my name is Temeraire.

That I cannot tell you, I am afraid; as far as I know, it does not exist in my time--or if it does, I have not read about it, yet. But we are all of us very good at maths, and my own curiosity is quite piqued.

I don't know how important, [he prevaricates, still smiling awkwardly.] It's the highest educational degree, anyway. It's... nice to meet you, too. [If he has to meet a dragon, at least it's a well spoken one.

Now he's starting to feel speciesist for not realizing dragons might be good at math. He'll just diplomatically not mention that assumption. Instead, his speech noticeably smooths out as he starts talking about his field.] Quantum mechanics has some pretty abstract math associated with it. It tends to deal with probabilities rather than definite values... Sort of like trying to explain the facts of reality that we can't know for sure, because they're happening at such a small scale, atomic or subatomic.

Atoms! [Showing his timepoint, oh dear.] Oh, yes, I have heard of Mr Dalton's theory, if only in passing; I understand it has been much expanded upon, particularly in the twenty-first century. So you study how atoms work? I should like to hear more about it, if you have the time.

[That is definitely showing his timepoint, which leaves Bruce in the altogether new position of being the one from the future. He's nonplussed for a moment, and then recovers.]

I study the nuclei within the atoms, [he clarifies.] Where most of the mass is. They're actually not entirely indestructible when you start getting into nuclear reactions. [That had been one point of Dalton's theory, that all atoms were indestructible.]

I guess I wouldn't mind if you wanted to know more. I can't exactly lend you a physics textbook here. [If there are any, they aren't in English.]

Oh, I would. It has occurred to me that with an egg to care for, and read to, we may as well both take advantage of the fact that I have two centuries' worth of learning to catch up on. I have heard the basics from some of the other foreigners here, of course, but I see no reason why we should stop there.

[That, and most of his study buddies so far, while very intelligent, have been high school students.]

[You can't really do better than having Bruce Banner teach you physics.

Wryly,] Those were a pretty important two centuries for science. That's a tall order. But I could teach you while we're, uh, egg-sitting, and that way they'll have... company. We can alternate eggs.

[Bruce is enough of a sap to not want to leave his egg without external stimulation now that Temeraire's pointed out they can likely hear and understand their voices. Teaching basic physics to a dragon he's less enthused about -- all that talking and interaction is not his favorite -- but he might as well if he's going to be there anyway.]

[He brightens immediately at the suggestion, cheerfully oblivious to Bruce's discomfort.]

Oh, that is a grand idea; shall we make a regular thing of it, do you think? Once a week, perhaps? I should not like to bother you overmuch.

[Besides, Temeraire is more than likely going to do enough talking for both of them.]

[Bruce feels a little churlish for mentally dragging his feet about something that seems to make Temeraire happy so easily. Besides, it's true that if he has to do regular, planned socialization about anything, physics is the ideal topic.]

It's not a bother to have someone to talk shop with, [he demurs, because that much is true at least. Bruce still finds it somewhat novel to speak to anyone that has a prayer of understanding what he's saying, science wise.] Weekly is fine. We could start tomorrow? Where do you keep your, uh, your egg?

Oh, I keep it in one of the spare bedrooms: it is warmer there than in the main hall, at present, and I am not sure how to set up a heater, yet. And of course I am free tomorrow; work ends at four o'clock, for me, and you may come over any time you like after that.

I can set one up for you if you want. [Apparently temperature control is his main function now that the turtle isn't sick anymore. He'd made Jack that industrial freezer for his apartment, too.]

A heater, I mean. When I come over.

[He brightens at once.] I should like that very much, Dr. Banner, thank you.

[And he will hover over you the entire time it is being set up, too.]

[Luckily for him, Bruce is good at exercising patience.]

It's no problem. A heater is simple enough.

I'll... see you then?

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