prismatica | video | un: r.chambers

Hi, everyone. My name's Rebecca.

[ The video opens on a small, homey apartment, filled with plants and books. Rebecca sits at a small piano, a mug of coffee steaming by her side. She looks...tired, really. It's been a difficult few weeks.

But that's no reason not to keep trying. ]

I was just wondering...what's the state of medicine like in your world? I had thought we were on the cutting-edge back home, but with everything I've seen here, you realise just how far we have to go. Considering everything that happens to us so regularly here, it can be really easy to lose track of your health.

I'm a field medic and a chemist, so I'd never call myself a doctor, but I still wanted to extend an offer to everybody: if you need someone to patch you up or do a quick check-up, call me. If you need medicine - over-the-counter stuff, obviously, not anything serious - then I'll run it over or get someone to deliver it to you. Just... [ She gives a weak smile. ] I want to help a little more, and I don't think being okay with a handgun really holds up against everything others can do, you know?

...anyway, I'm rambling. [ She looks down, playing an idle few bars of a melody. ] I've been staying in a lot. Watching old Disney movies, mostly, and I ended up working on this...

[ She adjusts the sheet music and sets her fingers in position. What follows is a nice little rendition with very few errors. Being able to just concentrate on something helps, a lot. Once it's done, she flashes a quick, embarrassed smile at the camera, then leans over and shuts it off. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I won't say no. Another teacher's just gonna mean more students.

I learned to fight when I was pretty young. I don't know if I can teach you anything the military didn't, but if you want to show me what you can do, I'll check it out. Maybe I picked something up on the streets that might surprise you.

[ His instructor was also military and skilled enough that Ash isn't sure a human exists who can beat him. Ash included. ]

There wasn't much military training. Just basic firearms training and some police techniques. It's nothing you wouldn't already have seen.

[ Actually - she pauses and adds: ] Well, aside from grenade launchers.

I was offering to fill in the gap between what you know and what I know. I'm good with my fists.

Yeah?

[ Ash's own video shows an undecorated wall. He's lounging in his bed, a book in his lap, but the angle hides the fact. The smile, however, is obvious. ]

You so sure New York can't get that crazy?

That might be useful. If I don't have a combat knife or a gun, I'm pretty useless.

[ And the grimace that crosses her face suggests exactly how much she hates that. Being tiny and cute has its uses, but not so much in a survival situation.

The next part, fortunately, turns that grimace into a soft laugh. ]

Oh, I know it can. I paid attention in history class.

People are going to expect that. Not many people are gonna take you seriously so if you can learn to move fast, get the first moves in, and learn which moves matter, your size can be a weapon.

[ Even if Rebecca doesn't speak the dissatisfaction out loud, Ash has eyes and sees her tiny stature. Though at 5'11, he has plenty of height himself, he has more of a swimmer's build than a bodybuilder. Additionally, he often seems to be against people even taller than him. Size and strength certainly matter, but only if they get a chance to use it.]

Trade for trade. I'll teach you how to defend yourself, and you can show me how to patch stuff up for when you can't be around. Don't worry. I'm a fast learner.

That's what I've been learning. All I need now is practice - and a good teacher.

[ As with so many other things, everything is terrible all the time. She flashes a thumbs up to the camera. ]

I'm sure you are, Ash. It's a deal.

It sounds like our versions of Earth aren't too different so I'm going with the assumption that means our chemicals and medicines are about the same, too, give or two some advancements. How well does this place match up with that? Do they have the same properties? Similiar?

This place? It does seem like the molecular basics are the same, though how chroma is generated and harnessed is still kinda up in the air.

[ She leans back on her stool and folds her arms. ]

You can work on the assumption that, save for transformations and the effects of the moons, everything works pretty much the same.

I couldn't find the science behind chroma, either. Demichroma exists so it can be somewhat stored, but it loses a lot of potency. If somebody could figure out how to bottle the real, raw thing, that'd be just as good or better than any medicine they have here.

It's a form of energy. If we can confirm what kind, we might be able to harness it.

It sounds like something out of a cheap fantasy novel, to be completely honest with you.

[ And for once, she can make that reference and be fairly confident someone will know what she's talking about. ]

Something so miraculously useful shouldn't be this easy to produce or to store, even if it loses efficacy.

Electricity's pretty amazing. We're grabbing sun, wind, and water. People are able to capture and store a lot of pretty crazy stuff. Even a small battery takes chemical energy and transforms it, and that fits into a pocket.

Identification's important, but the reaction's happening on a scale smaller than what we can see without some kind of equipment.

It is...

[ She hums under her breath, thoughtful. ]

You never really think about how amazing these things are, that we consider so simple. It must be the same with chroma. As long as whatever is happening keeps working, it might be best to just not worry about it.

Everything seemed amazing when it was invented. The phone sends signals through wires that gets recognized as a voice. That's pretty amazing, right? If they left it there, we wouldn't have had cell phones. Innovation happens because people are too greedy to leave it alone.

Mm, that's true too.

[ Well, aside from 'greedy', but she doesn't want to start an argument. ]

This place feels like it's centuries in the future because of all their tech, doesn't it? Even knowing all that, it's hard to get used to it.

[ That part was a bit of a joke. Ash has respect for people who can create entirely new inventions. It does need to take a certain unwillingness to accept things as they are, but sometimes, things need to change. ]

It's the magic and supernatural that's pretty hard for me to accept. I'm used to science, of being able to explain what I see. That's not happening here. If I told somebody that I've seen a dragon back in New York, I'd be put away.

video | un: r.chambers

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