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Cam is out flying. There's a decent cloud of atmosphere around the gold plane, now, millenia of demons making air around themselves for comfort and not sealing it up because why would you bother. There's a small forest, here - the effect is kind of ruined by the lamps it has to grow under, but it's still pretty.
He feels an open summons and lets it grab him -
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from_scratch
from_scratch
Sigh.
Cam goes up to the marked wall and starts drawing further atoms and marking further interesting numbers from memory as best he can.
Cam goes up to the marked wall and starts drawing further atoms and marking further interesting numbers from memory as best he can.
The wall starts slowly scrolling to the side as more is added, it seems like they're trying to establish more and more abstract concepts in this weird notation while giving the occasional comprehension test before continuing.
from_scratch
"Can you hear me if I supply names for things?" he inquires. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten?" He points at the relevant dot clusters as he speaks.
Some things previously associated with the numbers flash, while recordings of him saying it play. That seems to have worked.
from_scratch
"Okay, swell, maybe if I ramble enough you'll acquire English and I can ask to speak to your manager." He names more numbers and concepts - "atoms", "hydrogen", "prime", whatever else it throws at him that he can point at and label. There is intermittent irritated commentary but he's careful not to point at anything while he mutters.
They quickly start to associate sounds and concepts, but they only play them back exactly and in his own voice, he can't seem to get grammar to work, and worse, they are unreliable at best at recognizing the same word pronounced slightly differently.
from_scratch
Cam starts trying writing down words while speaking them aloud in case that helps.
They accumulate mutual vocabulary. Eventually Cam says, "Okay, now we're - talking, sort of, maybe you are convinced I'm not at this moment trying to explode your little prison setup, can I have my computer? I'm going to try the computer again."
He tries the computer again.
They accumulate mutual vocabulary. Eventually Cam says, "Okay, now we're - talking, sort of, maybe you are convinced I'm not at this moment trying to explode your little prison setup, can I have my computer? I'm going to try the computer again."
He tries the computer again.
"Computer. Privilege. Trade. 20. Computer."
The computer disappears again.
The computer disappears again.
"Privilege. Can I have my computer?"
from_scratch
"Give me my computers and I will give you twenty computers."
Because his have data on them but he can make blank ones just fine.
The first computer appears in the opposite corner of the room. A holographic bar seems to be counting down about 40 seconds.
"Half. Half. Future. Past. Trade."
The other computer appears.
"Make. 100. Computer."
"Make. 100. Computer."
The second computer disappears, and the bar resumes counting down.
"Make. 20. Computer."
"Make. 20. Computer."
from_scratch
"No. Twenty for both. Twenty computers for both now."
Unless he plans to in fact start throwing around black holes - and he doesn't know how inhabited this place is - he doesn't want to give the impression that they can get whatever they want for pittances they can easily take away again.
Unless he plans to in fact start throwing around black holes - and he doesn't know how inhabited this place is - he doesn't want to give the impression that they can get whatever they want for pittances they can easily take away again.
There is no reply for a about a minute, then:
"Make. Iridium."
"Make. Iridium."
The room starts shrinking.
from_scratch
"You will get nothing if you try to punish me. Nothing. Ever."
Isn't it convenient that they covered the concept of the Prisoner's Dilemma to outline vocabulary for it?
Isn't it convenient that they covered the concept of the Prisoner's Dilemma to outline vocabulary for it?
The room stops shrinking and the light and holograms go out.
from_scratch
Cam sits and waits to see if anything happens for a bit.
If "a bit" turns out to be longish he will go to sleep.
If "a bit" turns out to be longish he will go to sleep.