i_speak_softly | Forty-Seventh Theory [Voice]

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Forty-Seventh Theory [Voice]

Filtered to Doc McCoy || Unhackable

Um. About my brother's cat.

[Once that unpleasantness is over, Don will go sit up on the roof for a few hours, in the rain and in view of the river, meditating. He made contact with Sona last week at the hot springs, and is now trying to learn what she has to teach.]

[Later, inside, he'll open his journal and put a question to the village at large.]

Filtered from Shredder and Karai || Unhackable

I've heard some people are trying to build ships. Are any of them likely to be seaworthy by the end of the summer?

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Someone's building a ship? An entire ship, not a boat?

[... Now he's confused. You make it sound like a boat is some component part of a ship.]

I think it depends what you mean by 'ship' and 'boat'.

Ships have three masts at least. It's a bit more work, and requires a bit more of a crew.

[He's sounding pretty deadpan. It is safe to assume this is an understatement.]

[Masts. Okay. Those are the things that stand up and hold the sails.]

I thought I heard that someone was building... something that floats.

Well, yes. Several. [The navy men have yet to get it together and build something, except anything they could reasonably build on their own just wouldn't be big enough to be satisfying after serving together on a 74.] Did you need one?

[Equivocally:] I have a use for one.

Do you know Rupert Giles?

Yes? [Please explain how this is relevant.]

[Don't be a know-it-all, kid.] I've been helping him with a boat that's coming along nicely. You should speak with him.

He never told me he was building a boat.

[But he is delighted to hear it.]

[There is a pause as Archie tries to determine if he just told someone he shouldn't have. He's pretty sure he was supposed to keep it mum from Jack and no one else, and now even Jack knows, so...]

Is he a friend of yours?

[Good question. He's pretty sure the answer is still -] Yes.

[He detected the hesitation. Or maybe he imagined it.]

What's your name, Mister-- [A glance at the picture. He freezes. It's one of those walking turtles. He is actually talking to one of the walking turtles. They talk. Oh wow.]

[They walk, they talk, they do any number of amazing things.]

Donatello. Just Donatello.

[And hey, they have names. Fancy, foreign ones. See, Archie can handle Kurt. At least Kurt is human-shaped. He could handle talking to Robert in this form because Robert was human deep down. But after six months of seeing these guys, here and there, he's still not sure what to say to them. Do they have interests? They don't wear clothes, so how civilized is their society? The wonderful 18th-century British thinking that would make him sound like a colossal jerk if spoken out loud is actually little more than a way to determine what is proper around this creature. But all comes out is the following:]

That's...very lovely, yes.

[Acting normal usually works well on both sides.]

Most people call me Don. What about you?

[When he acts normal, people often think he's either quaint or flirting, thanks to time differences. Give him credit: he's done well the last six months, adjusting, for a guy whose "weirdest place he's ever been to" before coming here was probably Samana Bay.]

...

.....

[Oh. He asked a question. What does he do?]

Erm.

[Is it safe to answer? Is the creature of human intelligence and disposition or is it going to fly into a rage and seek him out for revenge if some part of his name happens to be a deadly insult on his homeworld? He considers this for a moment, suppresses a chuckle, and coughs.]

Kennedy.

[Oh, like the president. Though it's just as likely this Kennedy is from a world with a totally different system of government.]

Nice to meet you, Kennedy.

You sound like you know a lot about boats.

Mister Kennedy, actually. Beg pardon. I'm in the navy. The--Royal Navy. In-in...my world.

[Ah, so it's a king. Or a queen. Don guesses it could be a queen.]

Are you familiar with diving bells, Mr. Kennedy?

[Hesitation. The term is familiarish, like he should know, but maybe he's thinking of something else.]

I'm afraid not.

They're big and heavy and meant to be used from a ship. Hence my question.

I see. Depending on how large and heavy they are, a boat might not be your best hope.

[He frowns.] But all the diagrams show them on boats...

It would depend on your boat, and how big your...your large, heavy thing is.

[That would get a snicker in any gunroom.]

Edited 2011-07-18 00:14 (UTC)

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