call me maybe [Connecticut Yankee] | Glowfic Constellation

connecticut_yankee

"I don't see why not. After all, the point is merely to sound like we're not undermining divine right of kings."

from_scratch

"Sure. Am I going to have a drastic language barrier? I know only a tiny bit of Old English and that only because I got summoned by a linguistics department one time."

connecticut_yankee

"To be honest I have no idea why I can speak with people here. But I can, so you more likely than not can as well."

from_scratch

"I'm not certain that's a safe assumption. Anybody I can chat with first as a test? Or something written down so I can see how well I can read it?"

connecticut_yankee

"The schools aren't native to this century, so that does strange things to what the writing looks like. But this is meant to be read by any literate person today." He hands Cam a newspaper.

The lead story is from a war correspondent describing Arthur's last battle.

'Then the king looked about him, and then was he
ware of all his host and of all his good knights
were left no more on live but two knights, that
was Sir Lucan de Butlere, and his brother Sir
Bedivere: and they were full sore wounded. Jesu
mercy, said the king, where are all my noble
knights becomen? Alas that ever I should see this
doleful day. For now, said Arthur, I am come to
mine end. But would to God that I wist where were
that traitor Sir Mordred, that hath caused all
this mischief.'

from_scratch

"Okay, so I can probably talk to them but I should cut way down on the casual register and the idiom."

connecticut_yankee

"Probably. My speech is largely my own, but I am widely known to be strange and don't need to seem conventionally credible. The same would apply to an apparent angel. The only danger is that your speech has more in common with mine than with theirs."

from_scratch

"I know Latin, I could throw in Latin here and there."

connecticut_yankee

"Definitely a good idea when issuing revelations to the Church; they use it for all their theology. For everyone else, it can't hurt as long as you also speak in the vernacular."

from_scratch

"Okay. I suspect I ought to have a prepared speech, here, but one thing I have not done in my hundred and seventy-two years is attempt to co-write public speaking notes, how shall we go about that?"

connecticut_yankee

"It may take three weeks to prepare for an impromptu speech back home, but people are more reasonable about improvised lines here. Especially when you can call down lightning. But for something this important...."

He picks up a pen and paper and starts scribbling.

'BE IT KNOWN UNTO ALL. Whereas the king having been sore wounded by the traitor Mordred, and beyond all mortal aid taken to the Isle of Avalon, and whereas he has left no heir, it is the duty of the British people to meet together and by their votes to elect representatives from noble and commoner alike. They shall deliver into their hands the government, and continue so doing throughout the generations until Arthur should return.

BE IT FURTHER KNOWN that no just God would allow any man to refuse another's absolution, THEREFORE a general dispensation is granted that if any be unable to receive a sacrament by reason of the present Interdict or any other, his soul is at no risk because of it. But if any, being charged to provide such holy sacraments to those willing to receive them, refuses, he fails to discharge his duty.'

He shows Cam the paper.
"That ought to put their Interdict down for good. I hope you don't mind speaking for a Catholic God, but, well, I don't hold with people threatening one another with Hell."

from_scratch

"Yeah, what's up with that, Hell's really nice, it's only that it's tacky." He reads the paper. "Do I loiter and take questions or fly away at the end?"

connecticut_yankee

"I suppose it should depend on whether people seem to understand the message. Angels taking questions would be unusual, but not unheard-of. Not that anyone outside the Church has been doing much hearing-of anyway."

from_scratch

"Okay. This is going to be a serious challenge to my self-restraint, but I think I can do it. Next question is timing and location."

connecticut_yankee

"That's easy enough. My fifty-odd Republicans are fortified against siege in a certain cave, and we need not go to the knights of Britain if we know where they are coming to us. My information is dated from three days ago, and estimates that the army could reach them within the week. Any time in the next few days we can tell tens of thousands of knights at a stroke."

from_scratch

"So shall we go visit your friends now?"

connecticut_yankee

"Yes, probably best not to delay until the last minute.
With the rails not running it's a two-day journey by horse, unless you can get us there faster?"

from_scratch

"Can do - how good are the roads or lack thereof? Little spaceship is probably more noticeable than a motorcycle."

connecticut_yankee

"The roads are barely suitable for proper carriages or bicycles. If your motor-vehicles need better roads than those, we're better off trying to get a train running."

from_scratch

"Nah, I can make it off-road quality - I could also just make us a little traincar and fuel it by magic, though, if it runs to a convenient place."

connecticut_yankee

"The cave we're going to is near a station. It'll be fortified, though, and they might have destroyed part of the track. There are almost certainly mines on the more obvious roads, too."

from_scratch

"...Aaaand how big of a deal is it if somebody sees a small metal object flying through the air between here and there?"

connecticut_yankee

"Ordinarily, I'd say not important at all. They'd just say 'magic' and go back to their day. Under the circumstances I have no idea how people would react, but it's not as if anyone could do anything about it.

And there are less obvious roads, so we will get there safely one way or another."

from_scratch

"I could also just give you a set of wings, but it takes a while to learn to fly, people at point B would notice, and you're a human so you won't heal clean when they come off even if I make 'em so it doesn't hurt like I did my own. I'm leaning spaceship. I'll be basically fine if we hit a mine, but if you get hurt I can't necessarily patch you up all the way myself and if you die, boom, I go home, game over."

connecticut_yankee