i_speak_softly | Luceti Appointments

[Don has not read much lately. This is concerning.

The details of Don's particular condition have manifested themselves to Robert over time. To his (admittedly limited) understanding, reading is something that has become more difficult and less enjoyable for his partner - but it's still sad to see the brainy Turtle pass up books he once pored over with relish.

So, in a perhaps-misguided attempt to rectify the situation, here he is with books bundled carefully in his arms (he still carries them with an odd wariness), intent on re-introducing Don to the joy of reading and knowledge-acquisition by... reading to him.]

[What Don has been doing a lot lately is lifting weights. Why not? It's good for him, doesn't lead to linguistic frustration, and fills the hours he would usually spend on reading, coding, or conversing with his friends.]

[He usually leaves the door open, though, so he can maintain at least that much connection with his housemates. Relating to them has been so difficult these last few weeks...]

[Not surprisingly, the fact that Don has been withdrawing into exercise has alienated Robert to some degree. Normally, there would be no issue in just casually sitting down to discuss some unrelated tidbit of scientific, mechanical or just general trivial knowledge - now those moments are few, far between, and tortured out like the linguistic equivalent of Forty Questions.

The scientist comes to a halt in front of the open door, peering inside as though stepping over the threshold might come with some sort of penalty.]

... Don...?

[Door's open; visitors are welcome.]

Yes.

[Hopefully that's a positive sign. Robert ducks into the room, his expression some mixture of hopeful and awkward.]

... I, er, brought books. [And maybe this is an odd idea to sort of come up with on his own; should he explain it? Yes, he should explain it.] Since you find reading... difficult, I thought that... p-perhaps I could... read for you instead?

[Hesitantly, he glances up at Don. Perhaps there's an echo of the feeling of missing-connections in his expression.]

[Don racks the bar before looking over at Robert - he's using heavier weights than he ever has before, and it wouldn't be a good idea to take his eyes off them.]

What books?

[Robert looks at the assorted textbooks that he's holding in his hands. Some of them look as though they might've been initially written somewhere else and then printed out; others have a sturdier, hardbound look.]

Ah... this first one is Numerical Methods and Analysis for Engineers... by a Richard Koury...

[Hopeful note. Is it a good choice?]

[For an offer like that, Don will take a break from the weights. He starts to sit up on the bench, but his strained arms don't take kindly to the new movement.]

Ah -- shit -

[It's less odd to hear Don say this now - but it's still not a good sign. Those poor, poor arms.]

You... hurt yourself? [The expression of concern on Robert's face might come off as mildly patronizing.]

[Yes he hurt himself. 8| Not that this is unusual, or especially bothersome.]

Camping.

[He levers himself the rest of the way upright, finds the pressure point, and focuses on his breathing until the tension eases.]

[It's unusual enough to Robert, okay? That, and Robert is hypervigilant now - it's sort of a reflexive reaction at this point.

Still, he doesn't fuss too much yet (and "camping" makes enough sense in this context that he doesn't have to wrack his mind about it), just watches with a mildly worried air until Don's breathing calms.]

... Do you... need anything, Don? Or are you... alright?

[Don just shakes his head - to him, this doesn't even qualify as an injury - and tries not to get irritated with his partner's hovering. Robert has a different scale for these things, after all.]

[Indeed. And naturally, Don gets the worst of Robert's attentions - especially now.]

... Whenever you are... up to it, I would be g-glad to read to you...

[He tries a little cheerful smile, an attempt to raise Don's spirits.]

[Something about all of this is kind of grating, though Don can't put his finger on why. He considers telling Robert to go away, but the book does sound interesting, and he doesn't want to lose the opportunity.]

[He slides to the floor to work through some slow stretches, and gestures for Robert to go ahead.]

[Oblivious as usual to the effect he's having on Don, Robert just flips the textbook open and leafs through its pages until he arrives at the introduction.]

"The real world is exceedingly complex: one goal of an engineer... is to be able to model or simulate the real world in such a way that the actual device need not be fabricated, but that the device may be... simulated using computer programs."

[His reading is fairly steady, at the least?]

[Don likes how Robert reads. He puts the vague sense of irritation out of his mind, and listens.]

[That's good, because he's going to be hearing a lot of Robert's voice.

A few paragraphs pass this way, with Robert reading at a steady pace, a not-quite-monotone; he doesn't inflect much, but luckily it's not a huge loss with this sort of writing.

But of course, there has to be an issue.]

"The process of approximating the real world through simulation is given in Figure 1. It shows an overview of how the real world is... approximated using mathematical models which are implemented using various algorithms on a computer, which then take measurements from the real world... to simulate the real world, producing a hopefully appropriate approximation of the real world."

[Robert pauses here, and frowns. Is the figure something Don could read?]

[Don raises his brows. Is Robert going to show him the diagram? He would lean forward, but he's already doing so, his fingers curled over his toes.]

[After an awkward moment, during which Robert is actively considering whether this is a good idea, he turns the book around so that Don can see the figure in question.]

... Can you... r-read this, Don?

[Yes, this is probably coming off incredibly poorly. Even Robert is vaguely aware of how awkward this is, but how else can he ask?]

[Well, crud. He can see that this diagram is showing how things relate to other things, but at a quick glance he can read none of the words.]

No...

[... Okay. Robert can work with this, maybe.]

Erm... I... I can read it to you, then.

[He tilts the book so that he can see the diagram himself and begins to list parts for Don's benefit.]

This says... "implementation".

[Implementation. Got it. Don pokes Robert's finger towards the next word.]

"Simulation". [Robert takes the opportunity to list the next few in turn, gesturing to them as it seems to help.] "Approximation" and "poor approximation", r-respectively... erm, and then... "reality", and "model", and "measurements" there, in the centre...

... Does that... help?

[Don takes a moment to rebuild the diagram in his mind, seeing how the concepts fit together. Then he nods. Please continue.]

[The rest of the introduction goes smoothly enough; there aren't any diagrams to complicate matters, and Robert can immerse himself in the odd joy of reading to his partner, recreating concepts in a way that he can follow.

The problem resurfaces, however, when he begins the Error Analysis chapter.]

... Hrm, there is a formula here... might it be, er, an i-issue to follow...?

Edited 2012-08-12 03:18 (UTC)

[Action] | July 29 | 24-7 exciting housebound action

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