delta v over delta t when there is no t

[ertia]

In a bar, there is a girl.

She looks like she has saved up all of her decadent and slothful impulses for a solid decade and is indulging them all at once. She is sprawled on a couch with a book she's only half-reading, and an ice cream sundae, and smiiiiiiling.

Comments

[ertia]

"Oh, fair enough. Well, she's over there." Gesture.

[first_and_final]

Milan looks at the piece of demonstration toast in his hand, eats it, and wanders over to the bar.

"Hello," he says.

[alicornucopia]

Hello. Can I interest you in a beverage? says a napkin.

Says a second napkin, Also, you might want to know that my hearing is fairly good.

[first_and_final]

"Well, that would've been good to know much earlier," he says of the second napkin. "But then I suppose you must already know what I've come to ask. Can you help me?"

[alicornucopia]

I would have mentioned it but as you can see I communicate by napkin and you were all the way over there.

Kithabel's world has only humans for sapient species, although magic allows significant cosmetic variation in those inclined. It lacks aethernet, any non-momentum-based sources of magic, does have most of the plants and animals you're accustomed to and then some, contains recognizable if differing universities - the world permits science, if not quite unvarnished by human expectation, and magic is not considered an academic field at all.

[first_and_final]

"Curious. No equivalent of thaumatology? I guess with only one source of magic, and a fairly simple and predictable one at that, there wouldn't be much call for intensive study..."

[alicornucopia]

And those who practice it are disinclined to hold still for rigorous repeated experimentation.

[first_and_final]

[alicornucopia]

The planet has four moons and a set of lovely rings, Bar continues. The population density is rather high but not, mostly, urbanized, as most of the reasons to centralize don't apply. Kithabel's home is the Sunlit Satrapy, but except for governing parties forwarding information about tasks to do to sorcerers they are unlikely to intrude upon your life very much.

[first_and_final]

"Thank you," he says. "As for the drink, do you offer recommendations? It seems to me that you're also in a very good position to give people things they'd never think to ask for on their own."

[alicornucopia]

I do and am.

[first_and_final]

"Then I'd like whatever you recommend, please."

[alicornucopia]

Here is a mug of something hot and almost buttery. It steams.

It goes very well with his toast.

[first_and_final]

"Thank you. My faith in your recommendations is entirely vindicated."

[alicornucopia]

Why thank you.

[first_and_final]

[ertia]

"What'd you get?"

[first_and_final]

"Surrounded by eavesdroppers, apparently," he says, glancing over at the couch. "I have no idea what this is but it's delicious."

[ertia]

"You're not that far away!"

[alicornucopia]

It is called a "butter mug" or a "hot morning" depending on locality.

[first_and_final]

"The bar says it's called a hot morning. And I am still out of what I'd consider conversational range with anyone who has no significant elven ancestry."

[ertia]

"Elven?"

[first_and_final]

"Apparently you don't have nonhuman people in your world; well, we do in mine, and elves in particular have, among other attributes, very sharp hearing and the ability to project their voices to specific people across a distance."

[ertia]

"Oh. I do maintain all my senses a little sharp - not enough to feel creepy about it, by default, but I didn't have any trouble hearing you from here."

[first_and_final]

"My own mother's a quarter-elf, it's not creepy exactly, I just don't expect it of people by default."