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

[first_and_final]

"Yeah. You said you could find a translation solution somewere, right?"

[ertia]

"I have a friend who's higher-momentum than me, she'll be able to do a translation object, she's offered me one for if I ever traveled outside my linguistic region. Might take her a day or two to swing by, so tell me now if you're allergic to anything, I guess."

[first_and_final]

"Happily no."

[ertia]

"Anything else that's likely to come up in the next day or two...?"

[first_and_final]

"Well, what's going to happen in the next day or two? I stay in your castle and attempt to creatively affect my environment; you go around sorcering and provide me with food and so forth?"

[ertia]

"Yep, that's about the deal."

[first_and_final]

"Have you already asked the knowledgeable interplanar bar for advice and recommendations regarding useful things she can sell us to take home?"

[ertia]

"And seen examples so I can make 'em myself instead of having to haul 'em all through the door, yes."

[first_and_final]

"Oh, excellent, what did you get?"

[ertia]

Kithabel consults her list, which includes things like "the internet" and "spaceships".

[first_and_final]

"Looks like you won't be in danger of running out of things to do anytime soon," Milan remarks.

[ertia]

"Oh yeah."

[first_and_final]

"I'm going to end up having aesthetic issues with the fact that sticking to a project for any length of time is counterproductive, but I can't quite bring myself to complain, at least not ahead of time. Let me just return this batch of books and then I think we're all set."

[ertia]

"You're returning them? Why?"

[first_and_final]

"Because I have finished reading them, except for the appendices of this lengthy work of fiction, and I don't feel like buying them to reread later."

[ertia]

"Ah, fair enough."

Bar accepts the books.

And Kithabel opens the door into her gorgeous palace.

[first_and_final]

Milan brings some converted currency and a few things he did think were worth purchasing from Bar - mainly clothes to replace what he's leaving behind. It all fits in a single backpack.

"Nice castle," he comments before he steps through the door.

[ertia]

"I'll show you around!" says Kithabel, taking off so as not to waste time just standing on the ground. The door shuts behind her and the rest of the tour is incomprehensible, if smilingly delivered.

[first_and_final]

Milan pays enough attention to actually pick up some vocabulary from this tour. He also manages to compliment her lovely castle several more times with tone and body language alone.

[ertia]

Kithabel laughs. And then shows him the garden. She illustratively makes a tree fruit, picks one, bites it, and tosses him a separate fruit.

Then she waves and she's off to do sorceress things.

[first_and_final]

Milan continues exploring the castle by himself.

He attempts to affect nearly everything he sees. That flagstone could be slightly paler. That fruit could be red instead of orange. That light breeze could be warmer. That decorative fountain could be cooler. He has moved to a world where the bottomless depths of his hubristic and meddlesome nature are an asset, and it is not going to know what hit it.

[ertia]

All of these changes take a while spent concentrating on them, but then they obey him.

[first_and_final]

Well, perhaps they will take a shorter while if he turns all the way up first.

His senses heighten, his mind expands, the world slows down in his accelerated perception, and he applies his hubristic and meddlesome nature to the next target. One of the leaves on this plant in front of him is slightly wilted and this is no good and should cease immediately.

[ertia]

It perks right up. It is so eager to please.

[first_and_final]

What a good leaf. Onward, then. All of these plants should be much healthier—there should be a prettier pattern in the stone of that wall—the air temperature has gotten insufficiently comfortable again, how dare it—

And, of course:

He should be accumulating more pain on his total, as much as he can stand as often as he can stand it, because he is going to catch up to Kithabel and he is going to do it faster than she thinks.