Seventh Baptism [Video/Action]

[amonglions]

I don't get this book.

[Booker sounds really flustered. But not in a 'oh my god i'm being killed with awkwardness' kind of way, more like a 'i'm not exactly the most well-learned guy in the world and i don't want to admit it' kind of way.

It's after there's some serious glaring thrown off to the side of where the camera aims that Booker shows the cover of said book:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Suggested by Elizabeth. He's about halfway through it.]

What the hell does nuclear even mean? Did this Verne fella just make up how this ship worked or is it real?

[Maybe this book is from a different dimension?]

I don't really get it.... s'not like the book's confusing or anything [It is when you're sleep deprived.] I just don't get it.

[A little later in the day there's another post that has been tacked on because reasons:]

Uh...If you don't want to sleep, what do you do to stay awake?


((ooc: please note i haven't read 20,000 leauges in like...forever. If I get things wrong, please let me know! I so apologize.))

Comments

video:

[goddamnrain]

[He saw the earlier message but... Well. He read Verne in high school, so just kind of passed it over. Not really his thing. But hearing that question later and checking to make sure it is the same guy...

He can't help it.

Jayden chuckles a bit.]

Not read Victorian lit, for one. Maybe that's just me, though.

Take it you've tried coffee.

video:

[amonglions]

[Booker bristles at the laughter - because when has he ever taken getting laughed at well.]

Coffee worked. The first few days.

[After that he went into a sort of...negative caffeine overdose. He still drinks it in substitute of (most) of the alcohol he drinks in a day. He's afraid of vibrating.]

And the book's frustrating enough to keep me interested.

[Like the fantastical plot is totally commonplace.]

video:

[goddamnrain]

Afraid I can't help much. Coffee's what I use -- or stronger.

Usually I've got the opposite problem. Can't sleep when I need to. Brain won't shut off.

video:

[amonglions]

Damnit.

[He was hoping for results.]

I just don't get why it stopped working.

[Drinking himself to sleep, he means.]

[Written] [Second portion]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

I go running or do other workouts.

[Written]

[amonglions]

[Oh hey it's that woman he was kind of rude to while doing incredibly stupid things and drinking.]

That's an idea.

[But working out requires effort. So do apologies so it's a few minutes before there's a quickly scrawled in:]

I'm sorry. For before.

[It doesn't help that he doesn't really remember the details.]

[God Booker you're such an apologizer.]

[Written]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

No need to apologize. I'm sorry I intruded.

[It really doesn't help he doesn't remember the details. Because she knows he's dead from his outburst, though that's something she won't share with anyone. No one's business but his own.

But that is something she understands. There's no world for her to go back to either.]

Interesting. Most people are looking for ways to fall asleep.

[Written]

[amonglions]

[Booker responds in stops and starts. It's clear that this is a lot harder than just writing it down, but it's easier than saying it out loud at least.]

Bad dreams. Usually I can stop them from happening but lately it ...

hasn't been working.

Trying to come up with different ways to make it work.

video

[iwannabethegai]

I listen to music when I don't want to sleep.

[He listens to a lot of music from his own world.]

It helps keep my head clear. Booker, do you like music?

video

[amonglions]

I...play the guitar?

[Oh god, he's voluntarily giving information about himself away! He must be exhausted.]

video

[iwannabethegai]

Hmm...a guitar. You didn't look like the type.

[To be fair, Shu's only seen Booker two times before. He doesn't know Booker all that well. ]

video

[amonglions]

What do you mean I didn't look the type?

[Offended? Yes. Confused? Even more so.

Because there's a type? When did that happen?]

[hero_of_smiles]

Nuclear is definitely a real thing. The basic explanation is you split an atom and ta dah, energy.

[There is only a brief pause however before he adds:]

...Don't ask me how it works. For all I know they hit it with a hammer.

[amonglions]

An atom?

[Right over his head. He only recently learned about the science of physics and didn't really have time to pay attention with everything else going on.]

Why the hell would they hit it with a hammer?

[Oh god you're just giving him more questions.]

[hero_of_smiles]

Oh jeez I told you not to ask me to explain.

[It's very simple, Booker. He'll put that atom in a box, and then he'll put that box into another box, and then he'll mail it to himself. And when it arrives HE'LL SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER!

In all seriousness though he can only just rub the back of his as he ponders for a way to explain it. Why couldn't people be from a time with technology?]

Well simple thing is an atom is a particle that's smaller than a molecule. Does that ring any bells?

Also the hammer bit? I was juuuust kidding. I don't know how they do it. They just split it and BAM! Your energy is served.

[ablankpage]

Please don't try and explain further. It's DeWitt.

Trying to explain anything that complicated will only make his head hurt. Which will, in turn, only give us a headache, too, since we'll have to deal with him.

[He's so nice, isn't he?]

[ video ]

[capsulepresident]

Nuclear is a type of energy source or power that can be harnessed in power plants for various types of things including weaponry. So no this Verne fellow did not make up how the ship works and it's in fact real. Does that answer your first question?

For the second one, I'd suggest writing or studying on a subject or hobby you enjoy. I usually go for books about science or technology, but that's me.

[Video]

[geniustheveil]

[Guess who's read it and loved it? That's right, this girl on the video feed.]

Nuclear power is used quite often where I'm from. It can be dangerous if not handled properly, but it also has many advantages over other forms of power.

[Video]

[amonglions]

Sounds just about like everything else.

[Something that's advantageous always has some serious repercussions to deal with. It's happened before, he isn't so shocked it would happen again.

But nuclear power is just...mind boggling.]

So what, is this book a true story?

[Video]

[geniustheveil]

The book is fictional, science fiction. I suppose it was Jules Verne thinking about the possibilities of further scientific progress and discovery. He wanted to imagine it.

[Video]

[amonglions]

And what -- someone thought it was a good idea and tried it?

[He didn't think the theory was that well explained in the book but -well, he hasn't finished it and he's not all that smart either...]

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

There's always coffee. If the caffeine doesn't work, the fact you'll be in the bathroom constantly will.

[Voice]

[amonglions]

Way ahead of you kid.

[Booker's been sticking to coffee as much as he can, but there's been a lot of fortification with whiskey too and he can't exactly find it in himself to stop]

[Voice]

[voidseeing]

Any luck?

[By now, he himself has become so immune to caffeine that it takes a hell of a lot of coffee to do much of anything for him.]

[Voice]

[amonglions]

After about three or four cups I usually end up more jumpy than before, but that's about it.

[He wonders if he should have a talk with Law about some way to just keep from dreaming.]