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Cam is dipping a grilled cheese sandwich into a bowl of tomato soup when he feels the summons. He goes ahead and grabs it. Doesn't even drop the sandwich.
Steel summons Demon Cam
sturdycoldsteel
"It was worth asking. Thanks anyway."
At some point, it stops raining. It's past midnight by then.
At some point, it stops raining. It's past midnight by then.
from_scratch
Cam finds a place to sit, sits on it, and resumes surreptitious reading. When nobody's looking he dries out his hair and clothes with puffs of hot dry air.
sturdycoldsteel
There is a different receptionist this morning. "Hello sir, what business do you have with the Civil Service today?"
sturdycoldsteel
"I'm sorry, sir, but she hasn't come in yet this morning. You can wait in the lobby if you like, or I can take a message for her."
sturdycoldsteel
Steel comes in about an hour later. "You're already here, good. Let's go into my office and discuss that surveying plan."
sturdycoldsteel
"I should probably introduce you to Grind before making any major changes. She's the big boss of civil services. Were you going to fly over the canyon and check for inhabitants?"
from_scratch
"Inhabitants, structures, suspicious geological features that might not benefit from being underwater, yes."
sturdycoldsteel
"Alright. What do you-"
"STEEL!" Someone shouts through the door, "I need you to tell me all about the stranger you've been showing around so I know exactly who or what to go after if he breaks something!"
"Ah. Perfect time to introduce you to my boss." She opens the door to reveal someone who might be completely non-descript compared to the rest of the population if not for the tattoo of a circular saw-blade on one cheek.
"He's right here, actually. Cam, meet Grind, the Opri Overall Civil Service Administrator. Grind, this is Cam. I'll let him choose how much to tell you. His trust is worth more than you pay me."
"Really? Well, at least you're honest about it. Cam. How do you like my city?"
"STEEL!" Someone shouts through the door, "I need you to tell me all about the stranger you've been showing around so I know exactly who or what to go after if he breaks something!"
"Ah. Perfect time to introduce you to my boss." She opens the door to reveal someone who might be completely non-descript compared to the rest of the population if not for the tattoo of a circular saw-blade on one cheek.
"He's right here, actually. Cam, meet Grind, the Opri Overall Civil Service Administrator. Grind, this is Cam. I'll let him choose how much to tell you. His trust is worth more than you pay me."
"Really? Well, at least you're honest about it. Cam. How do you like my city?"
from_scratch
Cam blinks at the... tone of this interaction. "Uh, hi. I was really impressed with the farm I saw," he says. He also liked the vertical layout and the bread cups but maybe those are everywhere in the world.
sturdycoldsteel
"She's always like that," Steel says, "Doesn't see the point of being polite. That's half of why I like her."
"Exactly so. You like the farms, huh? How about Steel's water pumps? The new lighting system that lets only half a dozen people light up the whole city's public spaces? What about our nice, wide roads and elevated parks. I'll have you know that Nel has a terrible messy layout."
"Exactly so. You like the farms, huh? How about Steel's water pumps? The new lighting system that lets only half a dozen people light up the whole city's public spaces? What about our nice, wide roads and elevated parks. I'll have you know that Nel has a terrible messy layout."
sturdycoldsteel
"So why are you here? What's got Steel so interested in you she gives a damn personal tour? You're not her boyfriend, I can tell that much."
from_scratch
"I am not her boyfriend. Uh, your ostensible motivation was to know who to go after if I break something. I'm not planning to break anything and now you know who I am, why do you care so much about my opinions and personal life?"
sturdycoldsteel
Steel starts, "He suggested building a-"
Grind holds up a hand. "When you have a specific, detailed plan written out, give me a copy. If I don't hate it, you can do it. Don't expect money from me unless it's a really great idea." And she walks out.
Grind holds up a hand. "When you have a specific, detailed plan written out, give me a copy. If I don't hate it, you can do it. Don't expect money from me unless it's a really great idea." And she walks out.
from_scratch
"It's probably going to look pretty weird if the detailed plan looks like 'Cam is going to donate a lot of wire he has, don't ask where he's keeping it, and install it in buildings, don't ask how he does it so fast'."
sturdycoldsteel
"It would be a lot easier if you were willing to tell her that you have a new kind of magic. We can pretend it's more limited than it actually is, maybe. I don't think she's the kind of person to question strange magic systems. If you said you were doing it the the stream she'd have thousands of questions and demand to see the diagrams. But foreign magic? How does she know what it can and can't do?"