"Are we at the site of your magnets? What should they look like?"

"Hm - yeah, we're close. Over thataway." He points, then brings up the display again. Elven eyes should have no trouble matching the visible rocks to the ones highlighted on the zoomed-in map.

"Yes, I see them. How much do we need?"

"Let's take as much as we can comfortably carry in one trip. If we need more later, it won't be that hard to go get it."

She lifts a rock that's around fifty pounds. "I can drag about twenty of these if we want to make a sort of sledge? Or carry three or four, if there's a way to balance the weight."

"Might as well go for the sledge, if we can manage it."

They can! They will haul so many rocks.

"If Curvo's figured out yet that he needs this," she says smugly, "he's going to be torn whether to come and copy us in acquiring it."

"It is sort of amusing to contemplate, isn't it."

Hauling rocks, hauling rocks. Miles in his armour can haul a fair amount of rocks too.

"So what's the next step?"

"Fiddling with rocks and metal. The same phenomenon that makes iron behave strangely around magnets also makes electrons behave strangely around magnets, so it's possible to make electricity by moving magnets in repetitive patterns near suitable objects, where a suitable object is usually silver or copper wire, and the method of getting them to move may range from putting the whole contraption in the way of moving wind or water to having someone stand there and turn a crank. Now all we have to do is figure out the details. If you don't have suitable wire lying around, and why would you, I can probably get something out of my shuttle that will be workable at least for the experimentation phase."

"We don't have wire, if you mean string made of metal."

"That's a serviceable description, yes. Well, someone will have to make some eventually, but for now we'll be fine with what I can get from my shuttle."

"We do know how to make it. It's that metal is very very scarce at the moment."

"Well, I can show you where to get more with my lovely maps, and then it will be less scarce."

"Thank you. The bigger problem was setting up a mining operation in hostile territory, but I expect the territory will be less hostile after they've finished this march on Angband they're mobilizing."

"Are the folks across the lake cooperating in this venture? Should they be prompted to cooperate?"

"Hmm? No, both of us with weapons on the same battlefield is a recipe for disaster. Normally they'd participate just to prove they're as courageous as we are, but with Maitimo just recovered I expect they'll be glad of having an excellent justification not to rush off to war. Tyelcormo will be sour about sitting at home but he's already been to Angband this very day, and he has a sick brother to nurse to health, and anyway he can go wed himself to one of his mother's sculptures for all I care."

"That sounds like an uncomfortable enterprise," remarks Miles. "Well, anyway. I find myself tempted to move up my timeline if the continued rift between your camps is preventing you from cooperating effectively in the effort to save the world, but I suppose even I probably can't bring reconciliation to your peoples in the next couple of hours, so I will reluctantly conclude that the way you conduct your wars is not currently my business and I should focus on building a functioning electrical generator."

"You might have done it in the last couple hours. If Maitimo recovers, he'll fix things."

"Then I hope Maitimo recovers."

"Don't we all. I was going to say 'except possibly his brothers', but this is unkind to them. I think they do care about each other. If only the way they care about their father's other possessions."

"My impression of Tyelcormo is that he cares about Maitimo very much. I don't know the rest of them as well."

"Tyelcormo gives the impression of caring about everything, it just doesn't really translate to doing right by them."

"He did ask me to rescue Maitimo."

"And Macalaurë told you not to?"