OPEN

[puredistortion]

Who: Ribbons Almark & you
When: 1/6, 1/7
Where: shopping center, CERES Tech & Auto Shop
What: robot building is happening
Rating/Warning: none

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Shopping Center — 1/6
[He had come prepared, as always. His shopping list hovers nearby as he browses the aisles, set to public visibility in case an employee could help him find an item. It is mostly filled with the names of various small metal parts and other things. At the moment he is looking at electronic components and checking prices of other stores. Funds are significantly more limited than they were back home. It's just another adjustment to make. He'll have to work with what he has.

After that? Coffee of course. At least that's the plan. If only the line would move. People are starting to get impatient. This isn't turning out to be very relaxing at all. Glancing back at the door he considers whether it would be worth staying or just to abandon the endeavor altogether and try again some other time perhaps when they are not so busy. He isn't really in that much of a hurry. Fortunately his shopping bag isn't too cumbersome to hold onto either.]


CERES Tech & Auto Shop — 1/7

[Now that he's got everything he needs, Ribbons is ready to get started on his project. He arrives at work a few hours early. The space is just what he needs and it's nice and quiet. Everything he needs is spread out on the work table. Everything else gets shoved to the side. First of all it needs a good cleaning. That includes organizing everything into where it should go and dusting. So much dusting. If this is going to be his space now, it's going to look nice.]

Comments

1/6

[lovemguns]

[ Coffee, yeah? Coffee's good, it's great stuff. But shopping in itself isn't always entertaining; he prefers just browsing for music over other stuff.

Which is why he hasn't cared much for this stuff and mostly only has the essential stuff for a person used to travelling. ]

Ya okay there, kiddo?

[ Because he looks a bit like he'd rather be elsewhere or something. ]

[puredistortion]

Yes, quite. Thank you. I wonder if something has malfunctioned up there.

[He peers around the queue, finger on his chin. Even if he can't see, maybe he can try to pick up on what the employees are saying. It's not easy even for him when everyone is talking over one another. Efficiency mattered back home, before all this. He has quite a bit of free time when there aren't so many responsibilities. While he doesn't want to waste too much time here, an hour or two makes little difference.]

[lovemguns]

[ Okay, if he's sure. ]

Are there a lot'a things that could malfunction here?

[ There are still so many things in this place that he doesn't understand, and that includes so much electronic stuff. They just don't have any of it during his time, so he has had to accept that it will take time for him to get it all. If he will manage to get it all. ]

[puredistortion]

In this store alone there appears to be holographic interiors, robot staff and perhaps an automated food and drink preparation system. If properly programmed and maintained there should be no issues. It's actually part of my assigned job to repair these kinds of things.

[Though he hasn't actually started work there yet. Something, somewhere went wrong, as things do. If nothing else, it provides him with a stable income. That part isn't so bad. At least the work would be somewhat relevant to his interests.]

[lovemguns]

I didn't get all'a that, but if ya say so. Are ya good at these technology stuff?

[ He knows pretty much nothing about them. ]

[puredistortion]

You could say that. The level of technology here is not unlike what could be found on my home world.

[That was what made the transition go so smoothly. He can't imagine what it would be like if it was significantly more advanced than this. It's the presence of supposedly magical beings that throws him off the most.]

[lovemguns]

So, ya're comin' from some really advanced place, then. That's cool! Then adaptin' ain't too hard for ya, at least?

[ It's so interesting to meet people who know different things from him. Or well, it's interesting meeting new people overall, because he thinks it's fun, but still. You can learn a thing or two by talking to people who know stuff. ]

[puredistortion]

Comparatively speaking.

[Speaking in terms of technology, he hasn't encountered much here he couldn't figure out. There was the matter of how they all ended up here. That much wasn't possible even in the advanced era he originated from. He could learn something as well if he knew where to look.]

It depends on your frame of reference. Mine would be 24th century Earth.

[lovemguns]

[ 24th century... That's like, year 2500 and a hundred years up. Some guys sure are from far ahead in the future, how amazing. ]

Then that's gotta be a lot more to be a'knowin' than I'm used to, since I'm from the early 20th century.

1/7

[dereban]

[ Although Inaba didn't have work today, she couldn't help but come to the area out of force of habit. Besides, the Tech and Auto shop was practically almost a second home for technology nerds like her. Although she knew full well that technology was dangerous in this world that was so full of it. But when she sees someone who seems to be working on something, she can't help but grow a little curious. ]

Yo. What are you doing? [ Make that a little more than curious. ]

[puredistortion]

[Her presence is noted the moment she enters the shop, but he doesn't look up from what he's doing until she speaks. It's to be expected that he wouldn't likely have the place completely to himself. In fact some company could be welcome. He hasn't made himself familiar with everyone who works here yet and that would be a good thing to do. With everyone coming from places with different sorts of technology they could learn something from one another.]

Oh this? This will be a robot assistant to help with maintenance. [And probably other things too, depending on what comes up. Satisfied with the state of the work area, he sits down in front of it.]

[dereban]

Huh. [ Her interest is piqued by that sheer fact, especially by the fact that he knows how to build robots. And it shows whens he hums happily. ]

It's good to have people who actually know how to work with those sort of things.

[puredistortion]

This sort of skill seems to be in demand here. If you have any interest, I would recommend looking into it.

[Just unpackaging the pieces and sorting them out. The screws are tiny, but he doesn't have any trouble handling them. One by one he begins piecing it together to create something out of the various piles. The beginning stages are always the most tedious.]

[dereban]

I've been studying it a little after I managed to procure one of the massage robots, though I can't seem to tamper with its programming to the extent where it doesn't try to molest me.

[puredistortion]

Can't say I've run into that problem before. It may require more extensive adjustments in that case.

[It probably won't end up a killing machine. One would hope.]

[dereban]

I've tried messing with its programming, but I get nothing. Zilch. I mean, it's not like I made it, but the damn thing still pisses me off.

[puredistortion]

I take it these are not common where you're originally from.

[If nothing else it's comforting to find most of the technology available here familiar. If the network is any indication there are people here with no idea how it all works. And others somewhere in between.]

1/7

[aerialassault]

[It was hard not to notice the new face in the shops in recent weeks, and his fastidious and efficient work habits that put even the more talented mechanics to shame. Although Cliff knew he could work elsewhere, he liked the grease and the mess of the auto repair area-- there was something cathartic about getting elbow-deep into the guts of a machine, figuring out what made it tick and how to repair it so that it worked even better than it had before. In a place as strange as Tellus, Cliff was willing to take any good thing that he could get.

Sometimes, that also meant making nice to the other people in the shop too. It was still early in the day, but Cliff was a light sleeper and still wasn't accustomed to the quiet of his apartment. It was natural for him to come in early and set to work, and just as natural to notice the new person hanging around as well.

As such, he approached the stranger and wisely kept his axel grease covered hands to himself while he peered over at what the stranger was doing.]

Wow. You really are a tidy one, [he said in lieu of greeting, sounding moderately impressed. Few mechanics, even the tidy ones, bothered putting every took in it's proper place with such exacting precision.]

[puredistortion]

[Ribbons had the same idea himself. His project could probably be done at home, but this gave him a chance to socialize. So he was open to the possibility of striking up a conversation with a coworker whether it was on the job or during a break. It wouldn't stop him from getting work done.

The man seemed sincere enough that it didn't come off as insulting. Just a statement of fact. He wasn't wrong. That was good. Ribbons took pride in his way of doing things. It was nice to find someone else who could appreciate such things, even if he didn't appear to be that way himself.]

I do try to keep things organized and accounted for. That and I would prefer to keep this clean while I'm working on it.

[aerialassault]

Hey-- I'm not touching any of it.

[He lifted his grimy hands in a gesture of innocence while he spoke, though his tone remained as laid back as it always was.]

Though, it's gonna be pretty hard to keep everything clean unless you wanna wear gloves. Even then, I feel sorry for the guys who need to launder these uniforms!

[The degree of grease and grime that existed in an auto shop was of the variety that would be too difficult for standard detergents to handle. It needed industrial grade cleaners, and those were often best left to the experts to handle.]

[puredistortion]

I suppose I'll get used to it then. You seem to be quite at home here.

[He liked his robots and small electronic devices best. They didn't usually make too much of a mess. There were enough of them here that he could specialize. This seemed to be the right choice of job for him. For the most part he was satisfied. He went back to messing with the parts, but he was still listening.]

[aerialassault]

[Cliff replied with a cocky, self-satisfied grin]

I like screwing around with machines, [he said, jerking his thumb behind him at the vehicles at the shop.] And it's been a while since I've gotten to get my hands into anything bigger than some Hybrid Explosives. They may not be ships....but, what's that saying again? 'Beggars can't be choosers.'

[puredistortion]

You're right about that. Ships, you say?

[Tilting his head at the vehicles, he nodded. He never thought he would go from destroying things to fixing them. So far he spent most of his free time reading manuals and committing their contents to memory or watching skilled mechanics at work. It was important to him that he prove himself competent.]

[aerialassault]

Yeah, ships. Not ones that go on the ocean, either.

[Make of that what you will. Cliff wasn't in the habit of keeping secrets-- he was simply in the habit of chatting people up while he worked. He was the sort of individual who worked on observation and intuition both in and out of the shop, and he liked to keep an eye on the people he worked alongside. After all, they were going to be the ones that he would end up knowing the best in the long term, just by the grace of spending a lot of time together while on the clock.]

[puredistortion]

You're referring to spacecraft then. That would be more interesting, wouldn't it.

[The subject certainly caught his attention. He was curious, so it suited him just fine if he wanted to talk about himself. It was frustrating being in a position where he didn't have access to all the information he needed. He knew it was in his best interest to get along with the people he worked with as well.]