Static Friction

[trustycrowbar]

[Gordon wasn't sure exactly what to make of the new tensions in the City. On one hand he feels a little vindicated that someone else even considered talking animals unusual here other than him. It meant he hadn't quite gone nuts yet. But on the other hand, this was a pageant of redneck reasoning and good people were already getting hurt over it. But that wasn't what was on his mind at the moment...]

[Video]

Out of curiosity... is there anyone here who, at some point, couldn't return to their own world? Or can't now? [He scrubs at his beard thoughtfully.] By accident or by design, it doesn't matter. And if you can now, how did you manage it?

[He knows he's not exactly being subtle here. But he's at his wit's end. He's having trouble even crunching the numbers to find the coordinates for his world and time, let alone finding a way to build a portal array back there. As much as he hates to admit it... he needs help.]

[Or at the very least, solidarity.]

Comments

[trustycrowbar]

Magic?

[Oh dear god. He can handle a talking cow lady, that's fine, but magic?]

No, magic is nothing more than a--I... I don't use magic. I'll just leave it at that.

[tenderhoof]

There may be somebody in the city! Mages, or somebody who could make a portal... I know there is even magic used at school, but... i-it's not really the kind I know well.

[trustycrowbar]

I'm not entirely sure I want to trust my eventual destination to a... mage. Not unless I can figure out exactly what he's doing.

[tenderhoof]

You don't want to think too hard about arcane magic. Trust me.

But if magic is not the thing you're looking for, what is? Maybe I'm not much help for advice, but if you need something found and brought to you, I... am used to doing that kind of thing.

[trustycrowbar]

[MAYBE HE DOES MISS COW-LADY okay actually yeah he may need a bit more time before he's ready for that...]

I'll keep that in mind. If the portal requires some unconventional components that I can't find, I make take you up on it.

[tenderhoof]

Eheh, good! I will be around if you do need something.

[trustycrowbar]

Thanks, miss, err...

I don't think I got your name, yet.

[tenderhoof]

Oh! Um, sorry. I should probably introduce myself properly more often...

My name is Aquenda Tenderhoof. You?

OMG sorry this took so long!

[trustycrowbar]

Freeman. Gordon Freeman. I'm one of the faculty here.

Tsk tsk!

[tenderhoof]

Oh, a scholar! I'm just a student. What is your, um... specialty of teaching, whatever the best word for that is?

[trustycrowbar]

Physics. I study the mechanics of the world and how it works. [He supplies a handy translation here because she may not have any mental definition for 'physics' offhand.] I didn't exactly teach before I got here, but it was a decent way to make a living while I figured out a way back home.

[tenderhoof]

[Pff, it's stories of the gods that explain how the world works! Although she is curious about this world's working. It's so much different from her own... ah, but Gordon isn't from here either.

She tilts her head a little, smiling a little apologetically.]

Does this world have the same mechanics are yours?

[trustycrowbar]

Similar. I get the impression there are... a few extra rules added to account for all the different abilities, that's all.

[All the spells being thrown around, in other words. Bizarre and unexplanable as they are, they've GOT to be part and parcel to some scientific rule of law somewhere, he just hasn't figured out how.]

[tenderhoof]

[Extra rules... that just makes it sound like it's got differences after all. Still, she could stand to get to know this world's workings a little better.]

I would like to learn from you. Um, i-if it's okay, I mean.

[trustycrowbar]

[Huh, really? Fantastic! Curiosity is a rare and precious thing.]

That's... absolutely fine! My teaching lab is always open, and everyone's welcome to sit in. And if you want to ask any questions later, you can find me there.