Network Message Version 1.0 ► Video; Console

[bigdamnhiro]

[Oh good, he's getting stage fright from a video message. But this is important, kinda, so he clears his throat and pushes through it, though it's obvious he's a little nervous. Maybe less nervous, as the message goes on and he gets more comfortable.]

So...I guess things have been pretty crazy lately, huh? [There's an awkward pause. He - was going to say something about that, but now he can't remember and he's not sure he had anything helpful to say anyway.] ...Yeah. Anyway. So, uh, I had a question for the mechanics and the engineers and whoever else tinkers with the local tech around here. At least, what tech there is in this city.

[Not without maybe a tiny little hint of ugh in there, but he's resigned to it, at this point.]

Would it help if there was someplace central you could go to get the parts and tools you need to work with, instead of hunting all over the city markets for them? Like, a one-stop shop for all your tech needs. Something like that.

[He shrugs.]

Lemme know what you think.

Also, if anybody needs any repairs done on small appliances or machinery, you should totally send me a message. I only charge a couple juulans an hour, with house calls included for free.

[Big grin, finger pistols. Sell it, Hiro.]

Comments

video

[looksfine]

[You rang?]

Your suggestion would provide a great convenience for many.

Are you qualified to identify and all potentially necessary repairs that might be mandated for the local systems?

[bigdamnhiro]

I...guess? [He's fourteen, he's not sure what official qualifications he has, but does he really need them? Does anybody else on this turtle have them?] I've been doing repairs on stuff here for a month already. How hard can it be?

It's not just me, anyway. I'd have help from my brother, and Professor Callaghan.

[looksfine]

I would be willing to offer my assistance if you, your brother, and Professor Callighan find yourself at a mutual loss at any point.

[...it wasn't meant to be a brag. Her offer to aid was genuine. And she did have experience adapting herself to a multitude of alien technologies over her first year of life.]

[bigdamnhiro]

Oh... [Hiro blinks a couple times; the offer's not unwelcome, but it is unexpected. After a second though he shrugs and grins.] Well, I know I wouldn't mind. You probably know what you're doing and you can interface with some of the stuff here, right? That could come in handy.

[looksfine]

Not the Network consoles.

[Not yet]

Otherwise, yes, I do have the capacity to interface with any current piece of purely technological equipment. Though it often provides less of a means to decipher base coding and more of a...rapid transportation.

(Video)

[stonebird]

I take it...appliances and machinery are a common part of your world?

[bigdamnhiro]

Very. The stuff here's kinda old-fashioned, from where I'm standing. [A pause; his curiosity gets the better of him.] I'm guessing they're...not so common, where you're from?

[stonebird]

No, not at all. I'm not sure how any of the machinery works. (But she has adapted to the best of her abilities.) Do you have...newer versions...in your world?

[bigdamnhiro]

Newer by at least a hundred years or so, yeah. [He fidgets a little, not sure if he should suggest helping, but -] If you need help, like for getting a job or just everyday household things or something, I could...probably...show you how some of the stuff works.

video;

[merb]

Yeah. The garage at the Hotel is getting kind of crowded.

[bigdamnhiro]

[Okay, so he hasn't really thought about that possibility much, but -]

I guess we could rent workshop space, too. And then if the people using the workshops wanna build stuff or do salvage and repair, they can sell out of the shop, too.

[Okay, now he's thinking about how this can be mutually beneficial to everyone. Rent out workshops, let the techies sell and the shop can take a small cut...also gives people access to whatever's in the shop without walking all the way from the hotel...]

[merb]

I just don't want people going through my stuff.

[ Nobody touch the merb hoard. ]

[bigdamnhiro]

[Are you a squirrel]

Have you considered a lockbox for that?

video;

[craftlife]

Yes, that would absolutely be helpful!

[bigdamnhiro]

...Technologically stunted turtle life got you down, I take it?

[craftlife]

[Deon puts his head down on the console keyboard and says:] You have no idea...

[bigdamnhiro]

I think I have a little bit of an idea. Home for me is lightyears ahead of this place. They don't even have reliable electricity here, which is....ha.

I understand your problem. You get used to it, though. Sorta.

video

[seismometrics]

Don't exactly "tinker with the tech," but.

Say I could make tools. Or parts. Or basically whatever. Probably quicker than most people.

Would you be interested?

[Could be a decent way to make some money. And if so, she wants in.]

[bigdamnhiro]

[Zoooooming in here, hello, yes, you can make parts? Fast parts? He's here for this. Job interview time. Toph is a person, Hiro, don't forget. Toph is not a 3D printer.]

...How fast are we talking, and what kind of materials do you work with?

[Doesn't care that he appears to be talking to a little girl, seeing as he's fourteen. Just. Please make him things he doesn't care about anything else.]

[seismometrics]

[Okay, so going to assume that's a "yes" on interest, considering the lightspeed response. It sparks a small grin from Toph as she reaches for a metal scrap she's been playing around with offscreen. It's obviously iron -- and very easily she shapes it, bending and re-forming it with her hands. The metal transforms under her fingers into a multitude of shapes, curving, flattening, wrapping around her hand, winding through her fingers.]

Pretty much if it's metal, I can work with it. The easiest stuff is iron and steel. Purer stuff is harder -- except you can't make a lot that's useful out of gold anyway.

Only catch is that if you want me to make stuff, you have to draw it on the ground or something.

[Don't worry, Hiro-player. Toph has more than enough chutzpah to remind Hiro that she's not a 3D printer. If all else fails, she can sink him in the ground up to his chin.]

[bigdamnhiro]

[At this point, he's used to the weird stuff, so while there's a brief flicker of - shock? Confusion? It pretty quickly turns into open-mouthed, fascinated staring as the metal shifts forms, unconsciously calculating just how much further of a shift it would take from any one shape to something he could use in a machine -

And yeah, okay, color him impressed.]

Woah. That's sick. [Okay, slack-jaw, get it together. He lets out a short laugh inadvertently.] Uh, yeah, majorly useful, and if the only requirement is I have to draw it on the ground...

[Okay, but he's curious -]

Can I ask why I need to draw it on the ground?

[akito]

Could you get enough supplies for the handset upgrades? I have the basic blueprints finished. I want to get Professor Oyaji, Tony, and Krei to look them over and add improvements first, before getting help building them.

[bigdamnhiro]

[Wait, okay, give him a couple seconds.]

...Akito?

[...Oh yeah, shapeshifting. Wait, no, he's supposed to be answering the question.]

I'm gonna say...probably, yeah? What kind of upgrades are we making and how many handsets are we applying them to? Gotta figure out how much stuff we need.

[akito]

Un! It's Akito.

[ shapeshifting fun! ]

All of the current handsets available to the Foreigners. I want to make them more similar to cell phones, so they at least can have a texting function and be more convenient to carry around.

You've moved, ne? If you can tell me your new residence I can drop off a copy of the blueprint draft to look at for yourself. I have a few deliveries to make in the new sector tomorrow morning.

[bigdamnhiro]

Right, okay.

[He'll have to check up on the census at the hotel to see how many that is, exactly.]

We moved to Sky Sector! You can just drop off one at the house and save yourself the trouble of finding Callaghan, since he's there too. Uh, hold on, speaking of texting lemme send you that -

[Give him a second to key in the address and text it to you, bud.]