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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 -
the Connecticut Yankee summons Demon Cam
from_scratch
connecticut_yankee
"Would you be able to immunize someone by looking at them? Create the antibodies by looking at them or some such? Cowpox infections are far better than the alternative, but not exactly pleasant."
connecticut_yankee
"That sounds like an excellent idea. The state of the art has changed little in the last hundred years, but I imagine it might in the next three."
from_scratch
"Quite a bit. Although smallpox in particular didn't get a lot of development after it was eradicated."
connecticut_yankee
"If it had, I would be very impressed with your society's capabilities and not at all with its priorities. As it is you get just the first part.
Reconstructing the ability to create vaccines is—hopefully—even more important than having them. How long would you estimate that would take, with twenty-third century texts?"
Reconstructing the ability to create vaccines is—hopefully—even more important than having them. How long would you estimate that would take, with twenty-third century texts?"
from_scratch
"Mm - I have textbooks, what I don't have is a lot of knowhow about how to make things without directly making them. I have never studied vaccine-crafting while not, you know, being a demon."
connecticut_yankee
"Neither have I. This is one of those points where a factory foreman is exactly the wrong sort of person to have."
from_scratch
"Well, the population of Earth proved itself equal to similar tasks with less help in the past. Or rather, the future."
connecticut_yankee
"It's a question of when. We ought to be able to accomplish the same in a tenth the time, one way or another."
connecticut_yankee
"Of course first we'll have to get past the minor obstacle of neither of us being omniscient. Or even being able to understand all the instruction manuals you can create."
connecticut_yankee
"Difficult but manageable. I expect when the social and legal structures are no longer holding them back, the people of this Britain will be perfectly capable of gaining a few centuries' worth of skills."
from_scratch
"Or at least their kids. The ones who are adults today are probably not at their best for various traumas of childhood malnutrition."
connecticut_yankee
"Sadly true.
I've introduced a combine harvester, but what helped even more was allowing the serfs to keep what they grow. It's amazing how much of a public health issue property rights can be."
I've introduced a combine harvester, but what helped even more was allowing the serfs to keep what they grow. It's amazing how much of a public health issue property rights can be."
from_scratch
"I can make you some nifty vitamins and fancy seeds, but relying on me for a primary direct calorie source probably isn't Plan A."
connecticut_yankee
"I'd like to minimize how much we rely on miracles, but anachronistic crops sound nice and self-perpetuating."
from_scratch
"They do tend to require a lot of fertilizer to reach their full potential, since fertilizer is cheap in the future."
connecticut_yankee
"Fertilizer here is rather unpleasant but already cheap.
I'd be more worried about whether these seeds combine well with local farming practices. I doubt the word "mule" features prominently in how these crops were meant to be grown."
I'd be more worried about whether these seeds combine well with local farming practices. I doubt the word "mule" features prominently in how these crops were meant to be grown."
from_scratch
"Not especially, but I don't see any obvious pitfalls in involving mules regardless, unless the mules are participating in some very bizarre way."
connecticut_yankee
"Agriculture is one of the things I don't claim to know, so I don't have expectations about what differences matter. Just the knowledge that there's enough different to worry that something does. The mules specifically are doing only predictable mule things.
This is why I mostly do infrastructure and social reform. Much more interesting."
This is why I mostly do infrastructure and social reform. Much more interesting."
from_scratch
"The seeds should do all right even under suboptimal conditions, anyway, compared to less thoroughly domesticated varieties."
connecticut_yankee
"The funny thing is, the farmers will probably consider the seeds the greatest benefit for them out of all the recent changes, second only to inflation.
And that barely even made a difference, just seemed like it did."
And that barely even made a difference, just seemed like it did."
connecticut_yankee
"As would I, but I'd rank them below things like 'if the lord hangs me for no reason then someone will probably frown at him.' This century needed a lot of improvement."