trade my soul for a wish

[from_scratch]

This is a successor to "call me maybe", which is getting crowded.

Cam is dipping a grilled cheese sandwich into a bowl of tomato soup when he feels the summons. He goes ahead and grabs it. Doesn't even drop the sandwich.


with Mark (kappa)

with Adanya (Aestrix)

with Sable (kappa)

with Ari (andaisq)

with Metella (kappa)

with Miles (kappa)

with Isabella (Eva)

with Steel (Rockeye)

with Daphne (Maggie)

with Edie (Maggie)

Comments

[from_scratch]

"Cute. Why are you the baron instead of me, though? You can presumably go by a pseudonym that isn't preceded by a title."

[unmarred]

"'Baron Holmes' gives me an identity that is related to neither Miles Vorkosigan nor Miles Naismith - an obviously assumed identity, but an implicitly permanent and unique one. A mere pseudonym would invite speculation that I was one or the other of them, almost certainly Naismith, undercover for reasons of his own. It is not healthy to be mistaken for someone Ry Ryoval has a grudge against, and it would be unfair to Miles to parade myself around as Mark Vorkosigan. And you don't have a hundredth of the background knowledge and cultural understanding you'd need to competently negotiate with other barons; the title would be wasted on you."

[from_scratch]

"I'm mostly wondering if being a baron is the sort of thing that tends to get you assassination attempts, which I can cope with better than you. If that's fine by you, eh, go for it."

[unmarred]

"Of course it will," he says with a shrug. "Hm, come to think, I could use a personal nerve-disruptor shield net. A cleverly disguised one, especially. If you can produce one in my size; I don't think they come that way naturally and I'm not sure how much clever engineering work you can elide over."

[from_scratch]

"I should be able to resize one; I will need more information to camouflage it."

[unmarred]

"It's a very expensive full-body garment that defends the wearer against a certain common type of lethal or permanently disabling weapon," he says. "They can be made to fit under other clothing, but it's usually pretty easy to tell who's wearing one, if you know what signs to look for. You might have an easier time than usual coming up with a shield net and set of clothes that worked well together. And it wouldn't cost much to produce a second set with no hood for when I want to appear marginally more trusting."

[from_scratch]

"If I'm doing elaborate fashion design I'm gonna need a picture."

[unmarred]

"And what would you need to produce one of those...?"

[from_scratch]

"Sufficient information to single out a specific picture by non-contrived means, 'contrived' including things like 'the most recent one taken' or anything like that."

[unmarred]

"Mm. Not sure I can deliver. You could make one in your size and stare at it to your heart's content," he suggests as an alternative.

[from_scratch]

"Yeah, sure." And Cam makes one and looks it over.

[unmarred]

It's a hooded bodysuit made of what looks like a loosely woven fabric of incredibly fine silvery wires. The overall effect is very... glittery. Visually distinctive. And the fabric/netting is a little stiff; it would show pretty easily under tight clothing.

"A sufficiently well-calibrated scanner will pick it up anyway, but there's no sense going around advertising it more than I need to," says Mark. "So I want something to wear over it that'll look natural."

[from_scratch]

"Now, how do these work? If the wires are this thick because the substance isn't sufficiently ductile, I can get it a lot thinner, maybe weave it into some normal fabric; if it needs to be shaped exactly like this all I'm thinking is heavy denim and leather."

[unmarred]

Mark shrugs. "I'm not an engineer. I know that they exist, I know that they work, I know how to spot them, and that's as much as I know. I'm sure there are manuals somewhere, but I couldn't specify one."

[from_scratch]

"Then refining the design any will probably have to wait until I do find a way to specify such a book."

The pilot announces over the comm: "Jump in five, gentlemen."

[unmarred]

"Wormhole jumps are mildly unsettling for most people," says Mark. "Might want to be sitting down. If you're unlucky enough to get jumpsick, might want to have something to throw up in and somewhere to lie down afterward. If the jump feels like it lasts longer than a couple of seconds, or you get sensory aftereffects besides nausea, you might have jump pilot potential and we should look into finding a trustworthy neurosurgeon once we're rich enough to afford one."

[from_scratch]

"Noted. It'd be mildly interesting if it turned out to be able to get me sick. Do you get sick and need something to throw up in?"

[unmarred]

"I'll be fine."

[from_scratch]

"Here goes, then."

The jump commences.

After it concludes:

"Trippy."

[unmarred]

"Trippy in a way that suggests pilot potential? Impressive special effects?"

[from_scratch]

"Seeing music. Very pretty. I may experiment with trying to play it later."

[unmarred]

"Yeah, that sounds pilotish."

[from_scratch]

"Excellent. I'll be able to secure my freedom of movement."

[unmarred]

"Yes. Much more convenient than the alternative."

[from_scratch]

"Mm-hm. How long does it take to learn to fly a ship through the visible music?"