(no subject)

[a1enzo]

"Dot?" Enzo calls (at a reasonable indoor volume, thank you), emerging from the hall closet. "Where's the icon you got for Annabelle? She's ready to visit."

Comments

[a1enzo]

There is most certainly room.

Rattle, rattle, clunk. A zipboard, neatly folded, drops into the dispenser.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle fishes the zipboard out of the dispenser and tries to unfold it. Hopefully, it's user friendly.

[a1enzo]

"Just toss it out," Enzo murmurs, moving his hand in a Frisbee-like motion.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods and tosses the board as instructed, being careful not to use too much force and send it into oncoming traffic.

[a1enzo]

The two discs separate as the board spins, the connecting rods extending, and it comes to rest a few feet away.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle makes a surprised noise as the board opens up. Once it comes to rest she'll climb aboard. "Where do we head from here?" she asks, grinning.

[a1enzo]

"Kits," he replies, already starting to move. "A lot of tours start at the docks."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle will follow close behind. "Do most people enter Mainframe near the docks?" That's one reason Annabelle can think of for starting tours there.

[a1enzo]

"Almost all of them. That's where the ports to the 'Net are."

[aeons_crackshot]

"Interesting. It sounds a lot like home that way." Annabelle's not going to mention User Space while she's out in public in Mainframe.

[a1enzo]

Her discretion is very much appreciated, though if anything does need to be said, in flight is probably the best time.

"Your hotel's near there, too."

Logical again, especially with the nautical clientèle.

[aeons_crackshot]

"Sailors don't generally go too far from their ships while they're in port," Annabelle says with a nod.

[a1enzo]

"Right," Enzo agrees. "A lot of things are the same between our homes, really. I mean, the really big things are different, and the little details are too, but the stuff in the middle is the same."

Cars. Buildings. Sailors.

[aeons_crackshot]

"That makes things much easier for the both of us, I would imagine," Annabelle says with a smile.

She's keeping an eye out for traffic and anything that looks like it might be their destination.

[a1enzo]

"Right... but you still gotta watch out for the big stuff and the little stuff."

Car traffic does generally stick to established lanes. Divining where those lanes are, however, is not a task for a rookie. Good thing Enzo's leading.

Out at the edge of the great disk that makes up the city, bordering on a swirling, brightly coloured sea, is one of the easily recognized 'middle-sized' things: a pier. There are dockworkers, people on walks, seaside attractions, and ships of all kinds, from commercial vessels to private yachts.

The fact that the ships are all hovering above the surface of the sea probably counts as a 'little detail'.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle does startle a bit when she sees the floating ships, but she is on a flying device herself at the moment. "It's an impressive sight," she calls across the way to Enzo.

[a1enzo]

"You should see the ones in the..." He checks himself, makes sure no one is in earshot, and continues, "the Supercomputer. Remember, that's where you met me. Try not to act too impressed, 'cept by the tourist stuff. Mainframe's not a big system, we've just done a lot."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods in understanding, "I think I can manage that," she says with a small smile.

[a1enzo]

"Awesome."

They come down near a small kiosk with a sign by it:
Mainframe System Scans
8 Units
Next Tour in 9 Nanoseconds

[aeons_crackshot]

It takes Annabelle a second to convert 9 Nanoseconds into User timescale, but she manages it. "Do I just wait here for the tour guide, or do I need to go somewhere else?" she asks Enzo.

[a1enzo]

"You just pay and wait here."

Indeed, there is already a small crowd forming, mostly binomes but some sprites as well, including a few with odd limbs or rivets who effectively demonstrate how sprites are not entirely restricted to the humanoid norm.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods in understanding. "I'm guessing you're not going on the tour?" she asks with a grin. He lives here, after all.

Annabelle does not gawk at the crowd. Being a Milliways veteran has its advantages in the coping with weirdness department.

[a1enzo]

"Nah, I'll meet up with you after."

[nofileext]

"Hello, Guardian!" says a passing binome (causing Enzo to puff up a bit). "Who's your friend?"

[a1enzo]

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Yotta. This is Annabelle Newfield. She, uh..." A sudden inspiration strikes. "She came to the Academy as a guest speaker! 'Cause she's a Hero format."