Scene #2165: Touching Base is not a Tech Term

Owner	Pose
Entrapta	Dorm room. Entrapta's dorm room, more specifically. The door is closed, adorned with writing. It looks like half-scribbled notes and papers which are stuck in place with tacks. Sticky notes, drawings and diagrams. In the middle is a small sign that simply says 'Here'. Sounds of what appears to sound like ranting come from within. "Work like this," her high nasally voice says, sounding oddly upset. "No I am not in a mood, I can't work without the right tools! Don't look at me like that you know I'm right." It's possibly that you're here because of the food services though, not for the research. Entrapta hasn't been using her school food card, and FS (food services) is worried that she's not eating. A student would be dispatched, just in case. Radiant Heart prides itself on students, you know. Not dying.
Rashmi Terios	It's times like this that Rashmi is glad she thought to ensure the RAs knew to call her first if there are get-another-student concerns with Entrapta. The last thing the poor girl needs, if she happens to be distressed, is someone who means well but doesn't care to understand how Entrapta's mind works. Thus, here she is in front of the Etherian's door, knocking a few times. "Entrapta-chan? It's Rashmi, is everything all right?" 'All right' being such a subjective thing... there could be any number of reasons why the purplenette hasn't used their food card. The most likely, unfortunately, is that she's just forgotten to eat again.
Entrapta	"Agh! No, don't pull on that! I haven't...gah! Stop!" That's the response that the ever-helpful Rashmi gets after knocking. It doesn't exactly sound like a response so much as someone with their hair caught in a blender. There is a bit of a sound like..well, like a blender, for a moment. Then a cough, and silence, with gasping from someone at least vaguely human. Then there's a "Come in?" from what is presumably Entrapta. Inside, she's got her hair caught in a blender. Which she's disassembled, along with what seems to be a bunch of other crap. Including her laptop which, case removed and a screwdriver beside it, is -still plugged in- and powered up, while she's working on it! She's stuck, and could use a hand.
Rashmi Terios	"Entrapta-chan, are you okaOH MY WORD WHAT HAPPENED?!" ...It has probably been a long time since Entrapta has heard that particular mix of caring and horror in a sentence. Shutting the door behind her, Rashmi wades through the parts -- careful not to step on the laptop. Or the blender. Or anything that looks like it might be live -- and crouches at the Etherian's side, eyes wide. "Do you want help? Because uh... wow. Speaking as someone who barely had their hair cut all their life, I really really hope the answer to this problem isn't scissors."
Entrapta	Said -chan is looking at Rashmi with a 'but why are you here?' look on her features. She looks around, trying to adjust to someone being in her work space, then tries to sit up. Her face says 'ouch'. So does her mouth. "Agh." Leaning back, she loosens the tension on her hair. Then she processes what Rashmi is saying, as she reaches for the screwdriver by the laptop. And stops cold, right where she is. She looks -straight- at Rashmi, eyes wide. "Cut? Scissors? Let's just ...can you hand me that? I can't reach." Weirdly she doesn't do anything like, say, holding out her hands to stop Rashmi. She's never really had normal movements. "Am I going to die?" Woah, overreaction?
Rashmi Terios	"Not if you don't turn that on any more," Rashmi says, looking around for the tool that the 'that' might end up being. "Looks like you got your hair caught in it while it was moving? I want to ask why, but it's less important than the fact that you need to get un caught..." Pausing, she stares back at Entrapta, blinking owlishly. "...What 'that' am I looking for, by the way? D'you know its name, or what it does?"
Entrapta	Entrapta could actually get up, the blender is mostly disassembled and they're not THAT heavy. She's clearly not moving for some other reason. "The flange-tip hex driver," she says, pointing at the laptop with one hand. "By the computer. Why are you here?" she asks, without breaking mental stride. "I'm not due for class for another six cycles." There are times when not coming from Earth becomes more and more obvious. This is one of those times. "There, laying beside the computer!" She reviews a moment, then says, "Screwdriver! That is not a very appropriate name by the way. What were you going to use the scissors for? They're the wrong tool for this problem."
Rashmi Terios	"Depends on how badly knotted your hair is," Rashmi points out absently, casting her eyes in the spot indicated... then finding it. Leaning forward, she carefully picks it up, alert for anything vital in the disassembled computer that might get jostled. Once back in place, she passes the tool over with a sigh of relief. "And I'm here because the school's getting worried you're not eating," she says plainly. "Are you remembering to use your card when you get meals? Or are you just forgetting to eat altogether? You said you do sometimes." There's a pause, as Rashmi mentally rewinds the conversation. "...Also it's called a 'screwdriver' because 'screw' is the overall name for any fastener made out of a cylinder with threads around it." Very, very carefully, she shifts her position to get a better look at the snarl of hair and blender bits.
Entrapta	Taking the tool (she refuses to call it a screw-driver) Entrapta starts in on the one that's got her held in place. "Oh. I'm not eating?" she asks, distractedly. Which is probably the problem. She digs a moment, then a piece of plastic pops out and she manages to get herself loose a bit. Turning the wrong way, things get tighter, and she winces and hisses at pain. The hair's pretty caught. "Bad tool," she says to the blender. Which is not animate. "Let go right now." There's easy ways and hard ways, and both of them apply. Some of the hair would come free with Rashmi's tug. Some, not so much.
Rashmi Terios	"Eating can wait until we untangle your hair," Rashmi says gently. "Here... let me?" Holding out her hand for the screwdriver, if given the tool she'll carefully put it in place, and turn it the other way. "You need to rotate toward your left to loosen it, it's how all the threads on screws are oriented. Here..." As she works, carefully and patiently, she considers the distracted question. "Entrapta-chan, you need to remember to eat. If only so you don't fall sick from malnutrition. That would be an even bigger obstacle to learning how stuff works, right? ...Did the school give you your phone yet? And did it still work when you put it back together?"
Entrapta	Entrapta waves to a corner, where the phone sits. It is not put back together. Think: not that. She turns left, as requested, but there's an odd moment. When a strand of her hair is caught under the screwdriver. "Gah!" Entrapta says, as she winces. Her body goes tense, until pressure is off. Then she takes a breath, and gets back to untangling. After a moment there's a twist, and most of her hair comes loose, and the hair-tangle attached to a girl falls to the floor in a flumph. Flumph. "Thank you," she says. "Nobody brings me food. I thought you said I wasn't going to die. That's why I asked." She parts her hair with her hands, and looks ..her age. Young.
Rashmi Terios	"...Oh you were asking that about the food?" Rashmi says, tilting her head. "Sorry... I thought you were talking about the blender. No food is super important, but you do have to get it yourself. I'm really, really sorry, Entrapta-chan, it makes perfect sense that you'd be waiting for food but--" trailing off, she shakes her head. "Let's just get you some now, and we can talk about ways to set up reminders. Your phone was going to be one way, but your laptop'll have to do. C'mon. I think there's takoyaki today, and we can see what else is tiny?"
Entrapta	Entrapta looks around. Then she starts to try to get up. She manages standing, then gets her arm caught in her hair. She pauses, turning left because that's the way she turned earlier and it worked, but it does nothing. Then she slowly gets her arm out of the tangle. "Phone, activate remote system," she says as she's fighting to get loose. The phone's main core lights up. "Hello Entrapta. Who's your friend?" "This is Rashmi, Penelope. She wants to set up some reminders, give her a hand? I think we're going out for lunch." She says this as she's getting her hair out of a bundle. "Damn implants. Rashmi, can you help? My hair wont move the way it's designed to move."
Rashmi Terios	"...Hello, Penelope?" Rashmi says, blinking at the disassembled-but-still-working phone for a moment, then everything clicks into place, and the redhead nods, as she starts to help Entrapta disentangle herself from her own hair. ...It is not an unfamiliar situation for someone like herself, whose hair can sweep a floor if she doesn't braid at least some of it. "Actually it's dinner," she points out, before clearing her throat. "...Penelope? Can you tell Entrapta-chan that she needs to eat at... 7:30am, 12:30pm, and 6:30pm, every day? Breakfast and lunch are especially urgent, as it can conflict with school." Then she pauses, blinking for a moment, and look down. "...Your hair was designed? I'm... gonna need an explanation about that..."
Entrapta	The phone's voice is nice. Apparently Entrapta likes nice voices. "I'll try, but when she's working she can be very difficult to pursuade. It's nice to meet you, Rashmi." The phone hums contentedly, then starts a bit of background music. Something classical. Nice programming. "Oh. Dinner. Time is such a hit or miss sometimes," Entrapta says. "Thanks Penelope," she adds. The phone is, apparently, given more manners than most humans. Then to Rashmi as she's gotten kinda sorta free, she focuses. "Easy on that, it hurts if you...don't.." Wince. "It's sensitive! Whoo, that's better!" Smiling now that she's freed, Entrapta gets back her smile. It's supposed to be there, after all. Then she nods! "I'd love to! Can we eat while we go? I don't want to waste time, there's a lot of research to do still." Then she motions to the door. "Back in a bit!" "I'll power down for now, good bye Entrapta!"
Rashmi Terios	"Of course," Rashmi chuckles. "And thank you, Penelope!" Rashmi says, trained very well by Devices to be polite to AI voices, even if they are Sori with a few extra plugins. Pausing to make sure Entrapta's bundled up properly for the cold weather outside, Rashmi then leads the poor Etherian out of the Dorms, to the food plaza. "Trust me, Entrapta-chan, you could research all your life and never even approach knowing all the things there is to know. And it'll still be there to be discovered, when you're done eating. So... other than people not bringing you food, how're you liking the school? You can be honest, by the way. I want to know what you think, not what you think I want to hear."
Entrapta	Stepping outside, Entrapta blinks at the sun. She shades her eyes with a hand. "Oh, are we changing topics again? Okay." She nods, then says, "I have trouble following what you say sometimes. But I'll try!" Smile! "I know I won't learn everything, but that's no excuse for not trying! Ha! I'd love to at least figure out the basics of interdimensional portals someday, and maybe manage to decipher first ones technology and just see where that goes." Then she goes on, almost without breaking stride, with "Some people are really nice, they help me with my research! I wish I knew a way to get more tech to work with though, even what people have broken and want to throw away has value. I could use their castoffs but I'm not allowed to dig in the trash for some reason." "Is that an answer? I'm not sure what you mean by liking the school. It's a building, the walls are a bit thin and I'm working on figuring out the air vents and the ceilings, but you have the most odd ceilings and I can't make them support weight yet without some kind of restructuring."
Rashmi Terios	"I'm just curious about your experience," Rashmi says. "Sorry for switching topics, but I want to make sure you're doing well. And that is an answer, but I was asking more specifically about the school routine. Classes, how are you handling so many people being in your class, are any of them being cruel to you, that kind of thing. But if it's broken technology you want, I can absolutely help with that too. You'll get to learn about an Earth concept called 'advertising' along the way!" By this point, they've come up on the cafeteria building, and Rashmi starts hunting out for the smallest individual portions she can find... And yes indeed, there is a takoyaki counter at one point in the plaza, and she makes certain to get a good few for herself.
Entrapta	Entrapta has gotten very good at listening. She puts a lot of attention into what Rashmi is saying, but in her head she's referring to what she's learned about the topics so far. Mostly, definitions. Which are not as helpful in the real world as librarians would have us believe. "I've read a lot of data about advertising, but it seems like a very broad topic," she says as she sets individual portions on her tray. One of this, one of that. A tiny muffin from snacks. It's not really enough, but she doesn't seem starved. Rashmi must have come in time. Good job Food Services! "The classes seem to be gauged in speed to push the abilities of half of the student body, but not to cover the extremes. I appear to be in both sprectrums, both lacking the basics and needing a hyper-advanced course load. So I supplement it myself with further reading, your library is incredible!" She moves then, almost spilling food! Then out of the blue she says, "Oh and my hair is cybernetic. I used to be able to move it around." She pops food into her mouth, not having actually paid yet.
Rashmi Terios	"Entrapta-chan don't forget," Rashmi says, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You have to pay for your food, that's what the card is for." Bundling her back to the counter, she walks Entrapta through the most basic ritual of consumerism, 'tap card to pay.' "If you don't do that, the school won't know you've gotten your food, and they'll ask me to check up on you again. Which I don't mind doing!" Then the 'cybernetic hair' line lands, and Rashmi looks... do Etherians know what 'poleaxed' means? They didn't do all their fighting with guns, if Bow is any indication, so, maybe? "...Okay I have a lot of questions, so give me a second while I rank them and ask the most important one." ... ..... ....... ..... ... "...Okay out of all the possibilities, why your hair?"
Entrapta	Pause. "So, I should pay? Or I shouldn't?" Entrapa seems confused by the mixed messages, of pay but if you don't I'll get to come visit more. However, then things move on as she pays for her meal. She stands there, and pops a muffin into her mouth. Swallow. "Why not?" Then, she looks for a seat. And sits. And then, she says, "What were your other questions?"
Rashmi Terios	"Oh you should pay. Always pay, unless someone else says they're paying for you," Rashmi answers immediately. "There's more nuance in edge cases, but it's less critical to remember than 'always pay for your food.'" And that answer... that was not the answer she was hoping for. But, thinking about it, it should have been the answer she expected. "Most of them revolve around 'didn't it hurt?' which it probably did, and 'how did you manage to perform what I can only assume was a long, complicated, and probably bloody surgery on yourself' which... honestly I don't really want to know? But it's the kind of question that bounces around my brain when I hear that you did do that." Contemplating her takoyaki for a moment, she uses chewing on 'boiled octopus in a pancake ball, with sauce and fish flakes on top' to stretch out her thinking time. Once the portion is swallowed, she follows up with; "But I guess if I had to ask a question I did want the answer to? It would be 'Have there been any side effects?' because that is directly relevant to my goal of making sure you're okay."
Entrapta	Entrapta, for once, doesn't spring up with an answer. She doesn't eat either, clearly in her thinking zone. For a moment, then she takes a breath. "I don't remember. I was using some first ones tech, and it was actually way beyond what I should have been able to do at the time. But I had this week of inspiration, when I didn't sleep or eat or even really move, I was just thinking and building." She shakes her head, then turns and looks at Rashmi. "I suppose the biggest side effect is that I have two more arms now. Or I should, they won't move here. I'm working under the theory that most of my tech was being powered by the Etherian grid of magical background radiation. And I still need to properly translate even a line of the code in the tech I was using at the time. It's so advanced, I've barely scratched the surface." Then, with a pause, she adds, "It hurts when someone squeezes it? The surgery was fine, I slept through it. Automated tools and my own programming." Nod. "But I can feel my hair, like, if you touch it? It's like touching skin."
Rashmi Terios	"...Hhhhhuh," is Rashmi's reaction, and her working through this information, cataloguing it, and comprehending it is a process one can almost see behind her eyes. "I'm glad it ended up okay, but... Wow, you can feel your hair? Okay then, definitely going to be careful about that in the future. ...And if you're used to being able to move it now the blender makes sense, okay." "...And this is why you're working to understand as much magic as possible," she says, now vocally working through the implications. "If you think about it like radio frequencies, you're ruling out the frequencies your magic isn't, so you can hone in on what ones it is..." Then a tought occurs to her, and the redhead blinks, looking up. "But wait... Nobody's ever mentioned First Ones stuff that worked that delicately. And you managed to use it to implant hair with nerves in? ...Holy wow, Entrapta-chan. That's... amazing."
Entrapta	"Yes! My research is going to let me pin down the radiation patterns and let me renew a connection that I need to be able to feel normal again! It's actually great to have a goal like that, really pushes a scientist forward!" She's clearly okay with how it's going. "I've had three groups come out so far, and the donations from each..oh! I need you to come back sometime and get it actually on record." Okay, maybe she wasn't set up properly at the time? "I wasn't set up properly at that time. There's some new crystals that I've gotten aligned to let me at least set a wavelength, and I think that the proper recording will help if anyone in the future wants to find out how to move foward! We owe it to future scientists!" Okay. She grins, eating a moment, and then looks to one side. Thinks, and reviews what she's forgotten to answer. "Oh. That's fine, I have a lot more free time than anyone else does. So I try a lot of things. There's so much to try still! I want to know everything!"
Rashmi Terios	"I would love to help you out with that," Rashmi says sincerely. "And if you could walk me through your notes when it's done? Because no matter how much or little I can actually understand, I would really, really love to hear the logic behind the findings." Pause for food, and it's apparent that Rashmi finds Entrapta's joy infectious, at least enough to want to keep her going on this track. "So who've you gotten your readings from, so far?"
Entrapta	Entrapta pauses. "You want to hear my findings?" She leans forward, seriously blinking. "Nobody's ever wanted to hear about my findings! I will absolutely share everything I learn with you!" Deep Breath. "I mean not right now because I'm only in the peripheral stage still but I was able to interview two different kinds of mermaids which I have theories are related on some historical level but the second type's history merged more smoothly with the Puella's representative with their witches both having philosophical similarities affecting levels of entropy in the universe or their environment but allowing for differences they were fascinatingly similar! breathe And the mermaids themselves both were musical in origin which is not the case in Etheria but our merpeople are primarily so because of the emanations of their runestone which is a crystal formation in the vicinity of their city and isn't a historical creation but I haven't found actual literature yet allowing me to pin down more than just theories and each group has given me something to work with and I really appreciate that thing you gave me what actually is it? I want to break it open but I'm content with just scanning the wavelengths for now!" AND no, she is not possessed. Just got a lot on the go.
Rashmi Terios	Rashmi can't help it. Leaning back away from the falling word bricks is instinctive, but the nods all the same... actually managing to follow along with... okay seventy percent of what Entrapta says. But it's when Entrapta starts talking about Runestones that a thought occurs. One perhaps best not to voice yet, but Etherian runestones are themselves a topic of immediate interest to at least two people she knows, so... "Okay so Runestones. I've heard that term before, and you say they're a crystal formation that emanates magic. And that contributes to the background magic of your world?" Deep pause. Consider the significance, the potential to help Entrapta, and the potential for absolute shenaniganry to happen. Roll the dice anyway. "So according to a couple other Etherians," she says slowly, "there is... what was it. A Runestone on this world now, that Etheria thought was lost to myth. Glimmer called it the Spirit Ember, and if I understand what it said right, it's looking for a bearer. So... you might want to write that down, if there are reports of cats made of fire, setting fires, somewhere in the city? Could be you might be able to study a rogue Runestone directly. But only if you're accompanied by magical people, Entrapta-chan. Even for us, that kind of fighting is dangerous, I do not want to risk your hair getting set on fire without you having some way to defend yourself." Pause. "Also, which thing I gave you? There were a few."
Entrapta	Entrapta is ..what's the word? Oh yes. Speechless. She's following along, and she seems to follow along all the way. And then she's CLIMBING THE TABLE. "AAaaaaaahhIiiiiiII want that!" She says this with her hands gripping anything they can grab. In this case, it is a salt shaker and the other table edge. True science requires commitment. "There's a runestone here? There's a runestone here????" She's literally shaking. She's nearly ready to climb into Rashmi's LAP. "How do I get that? Where is it? How, I have so many questions!!!" Literally everything else that Rashmi has said is gone. Memory? What's that? There's no way to keep track of anything but the huge focus point. Runestone, where I can reach it. "I've never SEEN one! Not even back on Etheria! How do I get ..."
Rashmi Terios	"From what I understand there's more than one," Rashmi says, trying not to laugh at Entrapta's absolute jubilation. "But to answer your questions in order, yes there is, yes there really is, I don't know, and I don't know. All I can say for sure is that it has a mind and will of its own, and it's looking for someone to bear it. But given the form and personality they displayed, you're... probably not gonna be super compatible. It chose to act through cats made of fire, and seemed to be really interested in fighting and burning things." "But!" Rashmi says, raising a finger, "It's also not the only Runestone on this world. One's absolutely inaccesible, and I think there's another in the keeping of a student. But, Entrapta, this is very important. I want you to promise me, and then write down that you promised me, that you won't go looking for it yourself. Can you do that, please?"
Entrapta	Butt. Back in seat. Along with heart, back in chest. Entrapta closes her eyes, then looks at the conversation in her head. It looks like she's doing nothing, but her eyes are moving like REM sleep. Then they snap open. and she breathes. "Yes. I won't go looking for that runestone, or the others, on my own." She leans closer, a moment, and says more confidentially, "I should tell you one thing since you've been such a huge help." "Promises aren't very logical. If you want me to do something, give me a reason. I make sense, if I have facts." Hands on the table, this is clearly not the same person. or it is and she's just got her ducks in order. "I'm learning a lot about compatability, so even though I want that runestone, or any runestone, right now, I will finish my research first since it's incredibly dangerous to skip steps and no real scientist would try the final tests before running previous work. You lose more than you gain." Huh.
Rashmi Terios	"That is absolutely fair," Rashmi says, nodding. "There are a lot of reasons, too." And she ticks them off on her fingers. "What I told you before, about not being able to defend yourself, applies in two cases that I know of. One can't be found, and the other is... Well it's in a place none of us will go because we literally cannot fight hard enough to make it through the kind of defenses, and the kind of magic, that sits around it. The person who's attuned to that one, has to stay with them because she literally cannot move it elsewhere." "The ones that are here, I want to meet them first, and learn about them, before I ask that. Almost all of us see the objects that give us our power, if it is an object, as a thing of incredible significance. I have strong reason to believe that just asking them to hand it over will make it less likely, not more, that you get access to it. But since social interaction isn't your area of expertise, I would like to be the one to take on that task for you. Because I want you to have the opportunity to study a Runestone, and I want to help you make that happen." "Also, tangentially related: your safety is of high priority for me, Entrapta-chan. I can't stop you from pursuing your goals, but I want to make sure you don't get hurt worse than tangled hair in a motor in the process. And as violent and dangerous as the average life of people with magic is on this world... Solo field studies make that job harder."
Entrapta	Entrapta smiles. She crosses her arms, but one would get the idea that she's trying to do something else with her hair. What? Difficult to know, but if you had to guess it'd be putting it behind her head like two arms, to support her. Which is why she falls out of the chair. She's back up a moment later, and sitting. >.> <.< I'm fine. "I've lived in Crypto Castle for my entire life. I think I can handle not doing field work in actually dangerous places." That...makes a lot of sense. And she's all about sense. Shut up, stop laughing at me. "I'll do my part. Thank you, for helping me." And she reaches out, taking Rashmi's hands in hers. And given how little she touches other people? Kind of nuts. And the research will continue. Once Entrapta picks her food up off the floor, where she just dumped it. Goddamnit, I have to get more takoyaki. Sigh.