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allmhadadh

Nature and Nurture - [Risa, Sunrises]

Aug 10, 2009 13:31

It wasn't particularly pleasant to spend your first moments of the morning worshipping a toilet.

It was even less pleasant when you knew that you wouldn't even be able to stomach a proper cup of coffee, and still had to go to work.

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risa, new!scotty, cadet!scott

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Cont. from above... allmhadadh August 11 2009, 20:29:37 UTC

"They did. I... did a wee bit o' tweakin', though." He wasn't above guerrilla warfare if necessary; if it was pointed out just how much destruction he could have caused, he probably would duly file that away in case he ever needed it. Not that he'd use it for fun or anything of the sort, but he tended to like remembering things pertinent to staying alive and autonomous. "Nae enough, unfortunately. But I managed t' create a booby trap, I guess ye could say; really primitive stuff. Trip wire, phasers lined up o'er the door we were hidin' behind. An' a dead man's switch. I used our last functionin' tricorder, when it was clear we were locked in, an' wired it to my phaser ( ... )

Re: Cont. from above... amplenacelles August 11 2009, 21:21:55 UTC

"Aye," Scotty answered and inclined his head. "But, I wouldnae try tha' PADD thing again, lad, lucky ye' didnae hurt more than' lights ( ... )

Re: Cont. from above... allmhadadh August 11 2009, 21:29:59 UTC

He listened, not quite realizing that he was grinning more and more as the story went on, and by the end was practically beaming. Because, well, pulling something like that's just a thrill, even just in listening; he wished he would have thought of it himself. "An' th' looks on their faces?" He wanted to know. Almost had to.

Re: Cont. from above... amplenacelles August 11 2009, 21:50:24 UTC

"Well they were mad a' first," Scotty said thoughtfully, "But when I went tae' flip tha' switch they all scattered an panicked."

Re: Cont. from above... allmhadadh August 11 2009, 21:52:40 UTC

He laughed at that, then nodded, that definite 'niiiiiice' nod. "I've never sent anyone scatterin' afore; wish I coulda seen that."

Re: Cont. from above... amplenacelles August 11 2009, 22:00:35 UTC

"Ya twist up another split dilithium array like tha," Scotty motioned cheerfully to the tricorder on the table, "An ye'll see me scatter, I reckon."

"Brilliant move," he added, "But a bit ropey."

Re: Cont. from above... allmhadadh August 11 2009, 22:04:06 UTC

"Ropey." He eyed the tricorder, one eyebrow up. "Split dilithium?" There was a long moment there, though he apparently wasn't too afraid of the potential ramifications of his actions. He'd done it twice now, and he was careful. Still, he did file it away, then shook his head. "We dinna have anything that powerful for somethin' like a tricorder, where an' when I'm from. Communicators, but nae tricorders. Why so much power?"

Re: Cont. from above... amplenacelles August 11 2009, 22:12:03 UTC

"All tha' major portables have a low input split-dilitium battery," Scotty answered looking a bit surprised--he'd never really considered why specifically because he'd never been bothered by it, it had really only proven an asset.

He frowned and paused as he considered it before continuing. "P'raps specifically fer' situations like away missions. I cannae imagine if a tridorder died two days intae' somethin' or another'. An', if ye work it right, ya can augment tha' phaser with it."

Re: Cont. from above... allmhadadh August 11 2009, 22:17:23 UTC

"Aye, but it seems wasteful fer somethin' so simple as a shipboard diagnostic tricorder." He tipped his head to the side, thinking. "I mean, we 'ave our base models that're fer general use, then th' profession-modified versions. An' we have some heavy duty ones fer away missions an' the like, too."

He was all in 'not-quite-realized engineer mode' right now, and asked another, "Why so much reliance on computers? I mean, on yer ship; seems like near everything's networked an' I dinna see a pen or paper in th' whole time I was there." Which seemed like a really silly thing, an engineer falling back on ancient tools, but he'd come up from being a common junkyard mechanic, so...

Re: Cont. from above... amplenacelles August 11 2009, 22:24:58 UTC

Scotty laughed, not with any particular lilt, and eyed the boy. He looked him over briefly, as if he could garner the other universe's general treatment of technology just from the lad's stance and expressions. When no information came from it, Scotty shrugged.

"Tha' molecular impact is less if' we dunnae use self-catalytic degrad'ables," Scotty answered. "Replicatin' paper, pens, expendables...jus doesnae' make sense." Scotty shrugged, as though the answer were the clearest thing in the world.

"But fer the power packs, they stopped major model tiers back 'afore I joined. Didnae make sense ta' make several a' tha same thin' when ya could jus' make one an' make it hardy." Scotty motioned to the tricorder between them. "Now they' jus make tha' three. Diagnostics, Medical, an' Geological."

Re: Cont. from above... allmhadadh August 11 2009, 22:31:05 UTC

"Nae replicatin' 'em... makin' 'em." He blinked, then shook it off and frowned, touching back on something that had been bothering since he discovered this thing called a 'replicator'. "We dinna have these replicator things. So, people still work in paper mills, an' people still make pens and pencils. An' printers still print books an' bind 'em. I mean, we've got it now so it's renewable, aye? An' we use the FedWeb t' transfer information electronically, but I c'n still pop down t' the shoppie an' buy a notebook, if I need t' work figures an' dinna wanna chance losin' 'em due to some tech breakdown."

Re: Cont. from above... amplenacelles August 11 2009, 22:42:47 UTC

"Nae lad," Scotty answered in general and stared at the kid like he'd grown another head. "We dunnae have...well, not fer' mass production, not fer a thin' like Starfleet...and nae' really off-world."

Scotty paused and considered how to explain. "When ya' can reorganize molecules, there's gottae' be concessions. I own a few books, some non-replicated things, but I cannae take it 'round with me."

He looked at the now crowded cafe, eyes ghosting over the various Starfleet personel who were eating and chatting around them. "When ya' have sa' many, even somethin' like non-replicated notebooks can' cause 'er ta' go down a storm."

It was a concept he'd all but grown up with--like recycling and energy conservation. It had been ingrained in him since he'd been a young teen, and it felt odd to consider having real things like this younger Scott was suggesting.

Re: Cont. from above... allmhadadh August 11 2009, 22:49:17 UTC

"Why?" The concept of relying on non-real things was as foreign to this Scott as anything could be. "Ye canna tell me yer ship's that fragile; she's gotta be 'bout double the size o' th' Constitution! Who'd build a ship that could be downed by the weight o' paper, but has to actually go inta the stars themselves? Lord, man, who'd even go aboard a ship like that?"

Re: Cont. from above... amplenacelles August 11 2009, 23:02:45 UTC

Scotty smiled and shook his head. "Nae, tha ship, lad," he said, "I can correct for re-weightin' non-replicated rubbish, tha's nae hard.

"It's tha' ya have tae keep from overloadin any one planet with foreign degradable, or local degradable, really. Ay, it doesnae matter," Scotty waved his hand and dismissed it. "So they didnae have replicators where yer' from?"

Re: Cont. from above... allmhadadh August 11 2009, 23:08:35 UTC

He couldn't imagine how it wouldn't matter. It was like trusting everything to sheer intangibles, and his brain can't even wrap around a concept like that. "Somehow, we havena overloaded our Earth with any foreign or local degradables; we've got programs an' everythin' else for that sort o' thing. An' I canna imagine that eighteen years from my now, we'd manage t' screw things up that much. Nae replicators." He frowned again, eyebrows drawn. "It doesna bother ye? At all?"

Re: Cont. from above... amplenacelles August 11 2009, 23:13:10 UTC

"It comes on fast, lad," Scotty assured him evenly and shrugged. "Anyroad, I grew up wit' it, I cannae imagine it yer way."

Scotty glanced down at the tricorder and smirked, "I've 'ad a PADD since I were twelve, an' only about five books in tha' meanwhile. Yae get used ta' it." He drummed his fingers.

"Tha' only time I've 'ad ta' use paper was when I was stuck on Delta Vega--nae network ta' speak a', so nae PADDS."

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