(Untitled)

[rt_5478]

Say what you will about mad scientists, but they always have access to really neat gadgets.

Such as, say, the quantum laptop Dave gave to Artie for Christmas this year. Artie's running it on a booth near the door. (He's not about to use it on Bar herself--he doesn't want to risk disrupting whatever mechanisms make her work

Comments

[realmrsreynolds]

Kakuro isn't too terribly familiar to ranchers from the 26th century.

"Hope you don't mind my interruptin'," Sallie almost drawls. "What's that?" she asks, pointing to the mass of numbers.

[rt_5478]

"Karuko," says Artie without looking up. "It's a Japanese logic puzzle. The numbers in each column and line have to add up to the number on the edge, without repeating any digits. It's quite challenging, when constructed properly."

[realmrsreynolds]

"Oh." It looks like someone mangled a math textbook, to Sallie, but she still smiles at the man. "Good for folk to have something to occupy themselves with."

Beat. "I can leave you alone with it...?"

[rt_5478]

And he finally looks up. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm being terribly rude, aren't I? No, go ahead and sit down, if you like." He gestures with the stylus toward the opposite side of the booth.