tushanshu | oo1 / radio;

[It's definitely not going away. The magnitude and frequency of her gem's faults haven't changed at all; she's just gotten used to it. Whatever is happening, they haven't seen the last of it.]

Teaching and healing. It turns out that some kedan are capable of learning my artes, and those of other Foreigners besides; I've been ensuring that all the healing techniques we can pass down are being kept. As well as more mundane methods, of course -- magic isn't necessarily a cure-all.

I'm hoping to organize a transcription effort, for some of the more basic medical texts, given that the lack of translation for written languages makes relaying those things somewhat slow and Foreigners are evidently at no risk of ceasing to arrive any time soon. That's not a high priority right now, but it would be nice.

And there's the zhyris, of course. Milyn has been handling the treatment efforts more, but we've looked after some of the quarantined patients. Foreigners are more resistant to it-- [She pauses, gives Cain a thoughtful look.] It's impossible for you to donate blood, isn't it.

[ That last statement/question gets a wry smile out of Cain. ]

No. It's been tried, and it ends about as well for the recipient as you think. There's definitely some kind of physiological aspect to it, too, but... the results of trying to replicate that is unnatural. Wrong. [ He dips his head to the side. ] If there's some way to do it on a smaller scale, I wouldn't know. No one who's studied me is interested in smaller scale.

Anyway. Have you considering looking into digitization of information instead? If that can be done, it would be easier to disseminate and automatically translate. Also: zhyris. That's a new one.

[No one who'd studied him. Implying there had been more than one; Raine doubted it had been consensual, given his description of replication as wrong. Something she had seen back then, one of the momentary flashes of his memory, made more sense now, in a way she rather wished it didn't.]

[Raine blinks at him. Grimaces, sympathetic.]

...ah. I see. I assure you, it's not for that purpose.

Milyn has been trying to synthesize a vaccine from us, since Foreigners are more resistant. That's all. Zhyris is exacerbated by shapeshifting, and there have been some deaths. No one previously healthy, but...

[It's a problem. Raine is considering reminding the other Foreigners herself.]

Digitization? Ah. The platform would be the problem. Even the consoles don't translate text. Something would have to be designed for the purpose, I think. Perhaps Tony... hm.

[ Cain sees that recognition and offers only a half-shrug to it. What's done is done, even if he and Abel and all the rest are still cleaning up the aftermath. It's partly his own fault, to boot, and it isn't as if there were wounds left over to help paint him as a victim of the whole situation.

That doesn't mean Cain can shake off the unsettled feeling of wrong that settles over him every time he thinks about it. Human brains aren't meant to handle that sort of duress without side effects. ]

From you, I didn't think it was. In your honest opinion, do you think it would help? Me over other volunteers.

[ He nods to that. ]

Yes, but at the least it would be somewhere to start. I know plenty of Earth languages, and it could even be used as some sort of Rosetta Stone to help the kedan and other foreigners to pick up the commonly-used languages.

[He's very dismissive of that. It isn't reassuring, and Raine eyes him with something that looks a lot like worry. But she doesn't press. Instead, she considers his question.]

I think... hm. It's possible your nature would make it difficult to separate what resists the zhyris from what's only you.

[And it might not. But she's offering him the out, anyway, before moving on.]

It could be helpful, yes, if a suitable medium can be crafted or altered. Rosetta Stone? I take it that's some kind of linguistic reference?

[ That worry isn't something he can do anything about. It's in the past, and all related to his own homeworld anyway. She would have to ask to understand more about why Cain's tried to set it aside for now. ]

You're probably right. I haven't had the chance to look into it myself since the advent of modern medicine, so... Who knows?

It is. It was essentially a huge find for the archaeological and anthropological communities when they discovered it, because it held the same text over in three different languages. They used it to decipher a language no one had understood for a very, very long time.

[She would. He might even answer. But somehow, Raine thinks she can restrain her curiosity on this front. In the Dreaming all that they wanted to keep hidden was dragged out for each other to see; Cain has the right to keep his past traumas private unless and until it starts affecting others.]

It's difficult to say. It may be worth looking, but... if we have enough other volunteers, it shouldn't be necessary.

[Raine perks to the idea of the stone. Imagine something like that for the Balacruf hieroglyphics--!]

Such a reference would be invaluable. How wonderful! [There's a beat, as a thought occurs to her. Surely not.] What languages?

Do you? How many people are lining up for this sort of thing?

[ Cain grins at her enthusiasm. It's good to see considering the rest of their conversation. ]

Greek, and two types of Egyptian. One was the more formal type, hieroglyphics, and the other was... you could call it simplified, more modern, Demotic. They knew Greek and Demotic, so the stone helped them put the basics for hieroglyphics back together.

[ All this despite the fact that Cain had known the language back when it was in use. It wasn't his duty to preserve all of mankind's history — or, if it was, someone really should have told him by now. ]

Less than Milyn would like, I know. I may need to remind the others that she's still looking.

[Only a little bit of grumbling. But languages! Raine smiles at that.]

I wonder... A friend of mine may be from that era, I think. It was long enough ago you refer to it now as Ancient Egyptian, correct?

Well, you know where to find a semi-willing participant, anyway. How is Milyn doing?

[ That question is pretty astute and he dips his head as a nod. ]

That's right. Put it another way: it had been in use for thousands of years when I was a kid. Even I'd say that civilization is old, and those hieroglyphics were there for most of it. And you know someone from around that time?

Well enough. Busy. She had zhyris herself last month, though she's recovered now.

[She nods in return. There's something a little off about her smile for just a moment -- that particular friend has recently been making her think about some things -- but it's gone quickly.]

Bakura, yes. He runs the dojo in Wood sector. A little taller than me, white hair. [A tiny laugh.] Not Ryou. I don't know if you knew either...?

No wonder she's been interested in it.

[ He catches the strangeness, but without context has no way to place it. Something to file away for later, then. ]

No, neither of them. How did he come to start running a dojo?

She was beforehand, as well. Although Milyn has always looked after us, this is her city, after all. She was here before us.

[Whatever it was, Raine's putting it away for the time being.]

Korra ran it initially, and she left looking after it to Ryou when she left in December. Ryou was gone not long after you, and Bakura stepped in, since no one else would and he and Ryou were...

[Complicated.]

Something like related. It's a long story.

No, you're right. I know how I'd feel if this was all happening in a city on earth.

[ Rome especially, but he doesn't need to mention it now. It's kind of implicit where Cain is concerned. ]

Long stories seem to be the norm around here. We'll leave it at that if you don't want to explain. Still, a foreigner-run dojo could be interesting.

I'm simply not sure how much of it is best left a private matter, that's all.

[They'd been clear about I'm not him very loudly to the general public. The rest... well, it had been a public forum, technically speaking, but it's business Raine isn't comfortable bandying about.]

It's frequented by both Foreigners and kedan, and Bakura seems to be handling it well.

Hey, I get that.

[ And he does. Plenty of private matters between friends have blurred lines when speaking with others outside that circle. ]

I'll have to check it out. Especially if he speaks Egyptian still.

[Raine quirks another smile. It's fond, probably.]

He does. He tends to name people in it.

Do you know some of the language, as well?

Name them, huh? Is he going for cutesy or whimsical here? [ Cain, shush. ]

Yeah, I used to speak it fluently. It's a dead language now, though, so I haven't had the chance to keep up. No one else to speak it to, you know?

Descriptive, I think, though I don't know enough of his nicknames to make a definitive statement. [She's gotten explicit translations for two.]

Yes, I understand. Bakura... might appreciate someone who knew Egypt as it was.

[Raine isn't completely sure, but the way he's spoken of it, sometimes... Maybe. Or perhaps he and Cain will detest each other, but at least she isn't going to have to worry about them killing each other in the street. Probably.]

If you know the names, I could probably tell you. Or make something up, anyway.

Depending on when he's from, I'd feel the same. Getting to have a conversation with someone who remembers Rome from its heyday isn't easy.

[ To say the least. Last time he'd been able to have a conversation with someone about it was with his own descendants when they'd been Enforcers. After that, there was no one left. Well, except for Abel, but it's different with Abel. Everything is. ]

Both mine and Solomon's, Bakura translated for me; I don't recall anyone else's coming up. Although...

[There are a few things Bakura has declined to translate. Raine considers asking, but the longer phrases she would want to be more accurate than she can be, and the shorter ones she has a grasp of by context. In the end she shakes her head.]

Never mind. I appreciate the offer, however.

I... can appreciate how rare the opportunity would be.

[Like finding someone who remembers the Kharlan War.]

Well, now you have me curious what those two are. Suppose a necromancer would get along with an Egyptian...

[ What with entire pyramids built as tombs and all their beliefs and investments in the afterlife. Not like other cultures weren't obsessed with it, but c'mon. ]

Speaking of languages, what's that one? [ He nods to the book on the desk. ] Not from earth, so...?

Edited 2015-08-18 03:40 (UTC)

[Raine laughs. Oh. Oh, Cain, you were not here for when they spent a solid month not talking to each other over a simple miscommunication.]

They misunderstand each other, sometimes, but for the most part they do get along well.

[She thinks about names for a moment before nodding.]

For the most part, Bakura refers to Solomon as waheh-maw. My own is seba-rekhet.

[She mimics Bakura's pronunciation almost exactly. It's strange, though, saying them herself, like it should be Bakura's voice that says them. Raine lifts a shoulder in half a shrug, and moves on, glancing back at the book herself.]

Elven. It's close enough to the modern dialect that the difference is negligible.

[It's older than her, surely, but it's hardly ancient elven.]

[ Pshaw. That just makes it even more real if they actually came back together after that. His eyes narrow just enough at those words, brain beginning to dig around for the translations. His ancient Egyptian is beyond rusty but it's like riding a bike, hidden in the basement somewhere and you know you put it by the Mesopotamian, so why isn't it there anymore dammit? ]

Hm, pretty straightforward.

[ That gets a curious grin from Cain and, after a cursory look to Raine for permission, he moves closer to actually inspect the letters. ]

You probably already appreciate this, actually, but just looking at this is — incredible. A language developed entirely independent of every civilization that's ever existed to you? [ He gives a low whistle. ] Impressive.

[Raine nods at his assessment. He calls the two of them, at least, what they are. It's as straightforward as Bakura can be.]

Most Earth languages seem much the same to me. There have to be some similarities -- our common script resembles English well enough for understanding, after all -- but the rest are utterly alien.

[The letters he's looking at are exceptionally angular and close to each other, reminiscent of runes but not quite anything recognizable by Earth standards.]

This is a text primarily on healing artes. I'd thought it was left behind in my world, but I found it here this summer.

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