That will definitely get Merrin to make a face? “…Maybe? If you’re not counting me reading reference material, I do need that. I feel like there’s got to be an easier way to test it, though, it’s going to be massively more inconvenient to do metallurgy without using my gear at any stage of the process.” 

"I would, at this point, be interested in seeing any set of steps that you can supposedly sit down and do without possibly-Dark-Tapestry materials, to arrive at a result no one from Golarion would know to predict.  I don't know everything an alchemist from Golarion knows, but I do know that if they knew how to refine spellsilver more easily they would already be doing it the easier way.  For that matter, I know that we source the strongest acids used in making spellsilver from the City of Brass in Elemental Fire, so if it's easy for you to show me how I myself could make strong acids adequate to the process, then it proves you have real knowledge and not just eldritch equipment or specialabilities."

…This is a weirdly difficult prompt, actually. That’s not Merrin’s thing! She’s not into Cool Science Tricks, really, her thing is whatever works to keep people alive in weird emergencies. Some of her trainings involved less and lower-tech gear than what she had for this one, but she can’t think of anything that came up in her actual Exception Handling work that could be done with only basic local materials and would look impressive. Like, sure, she can light a fire without any fire lighting tech - that wasn’t even Exception Handling stuff, that was Kalorm showing off - and, like, alternate-Estha's planet clearly has basic nonmagical tech, they use metal, they have textiles, they can presumably nonmagically light fires. 

If she were more of a protagonist she would know how to make strong acid or something from, what, rocks? even if she arrived on a planet with nothing but her clothes? - as it is, she's pretty sure she can make hydrochloric acid by seawater electrolysis but that takes, you know, electricity, and titanium for an inert electrode - really it's impressive that she remembered that off the top of her head, she's never that she can recall done that, she's a medtech– 

Nope. Over it. 

Merrin needs to stop thinking of it in terms of cool stuff that she can do, and start trying to think of - what - science experiments done by eight-year-olds? Any anecdotes she can remember from anyone she knows who is the sort of person who does Cool Trick Science for fun? 

Hmmmm. 

.....Which of the following Baseline concepts have translations in any of her Shared languages: optics, magnetism, static electricity, air pressure, cells (in the biology sense), ummmm, acid-base reactions? batteries? thermometers? pendulum clocks? 

Kalorm built a radio for fun once. No industrially-manufactured parts. Since he hates Civilization and all that. 

....Uh, yeah, she does remember that story, but notice how Merrin doesn't have the real actual Kalorm hanging out with her? Just the imaginary one in her head? Who by definition cannot possibly know things that Merrin herself doesn't? 

Yeah but she's a protagonist now. She can definitely figure it out from first principles. 

.....Anything on her previous list of science vocab that does not seem to have any even vaguely related terms in her Shared languages? 


- supersaturated solutions? exothermic or endothermic reactions? hot air balloons?