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[cleanedslate]

[ not too much later in the day, on a less populated section of the beach, Tony and Bruce are on a mission.

the mission is science, of course. and their weapons, at the moment, are a large expanse of beach that is currently serving as a makeshift whiteboard.

scrawled across it are a series of equations, all of them deceptively brief (read: condensed), but also filled with cryptic symbols that won't be familiar to anyone who hasn't gotten deep into physics. a healthy heaping of biochemistry will also help you to parse their work, which at the moment seems to be very focused on energy conversion and heat especially.

come stare! or step all over their hard work! you jerk :(

feel free to tag either of them but expect some thread jacking! after all, they are both standing right there ♥ ]

Comments

[waytobreakithero]

[ She doesn't know what they're doing, either, but she just assumes it's a form of magic. But she's more interested in their technology savvy, and since they seem to be the most capable guys she can find right now, here she is.

She holds out her lyrium device. ]

Could one of you supremely intelligent gentlemen tell me how to work this?

[cleanedslate]

[ his lips twist just a little. he looks up at her, then down at the equations, then at Bruce ]

Do you want to field this one, or should I?

[ he's slightly less of use, in this conversation. so maybe he should be the one to tear his attention away for irrelevant side problems for a minute or two. ]

[sublimating]

[he glances at the communicator, and then his lips quirk up. for a second he was thinking, maybe someone found something!! but it's one of their renfaire crowd] Gadgets are kind of your thing, Tony. [assuring Hawke] He's an expert, but you might have to give him a shove if he starts using words only other experts would know.

[waytobreakithero]

[ Good-natured. ] I'm more than used to that.

[ Turns the device over in her hand. ] I'm thinking of doing a little exploring tomorrow. Might as well finally learn to use this thing.

[cleanedslate]

Just what are you implying? [ in his most wounded tone. he leans forward to look at the comm in her hands ]

So, what seems to be the problem? Is it "the part where it exists and voices come out of it sometimes"?

[sublimating]

[a chuckle, looking down at the sand again]

[waytobreakithero]

[ Their banter reminds her of her companions', which might soften her smirk's edge just a little. ]

In a nutshell. We don't have magic like this back home. [ Points to the markings in the sand. ] Or that, really.

[cleanedslate]

[ ...twitch. ]

Strictly speaking? Not magic. [ he points at the device, but tries to change the subject! ]

This is a mute button. You press it to stop people from talking without actually hanging up on them. [ he says, and then realizes you probably don't know what hang up means, and he sighs. ]

This is going to be a long conversation, isn't it.

[sublimating]

Try talking like an instruction manual instead of like a... Tony. [helpful suggestions from the peanut gallery]

[waytobreakithero]

[ Appreciates the peanut gallery! And she is sympathetic to Tony's plight, but not enough to stop asking. ]

"Strictly speaking", we don't even have "buttons" which get "pressed", though I do understand that meaning. [ Sunny smile! ]

Let's start simply, then. If I fall off a cliff, survive, but have a broken leg, how do I call for help without shouting myself hoarse?

[cleanedslate]

Levers and pulleys? What about the wheel, are you that far along?

[ but he's slightly distracted by giving Bruce an amused look, so it takes him a beat before he says ] You'd wanna turn it on. They broadcast to everyone by default.

And don't yell. The volume's fine.

[sublimating]

[this is actually extremely reasonable for tony, so he keeps his attention on the equations for the moment]

[waytobreakithero]

[ Gasps! ] Maker! I think I've heard of this wheel of which you speak. I think I need to sit down...

[cleanedslate]

The really important thing is that, wherever you're from, they have invented sarcasm.

[ he points out the button on the top of it ] This is the on button, by the way.

Any other questions?

[sublimating]

[mildly] It will tend to broadcast an image of you as well as your words, by default.