two.

[thraxios]

The number of books available in the library is astounding. If not for the lack of comfortable bedding, I think I should be content to live there permanently.

I've started with books of philosophy; the selection is wide and many of the writers, unknown to me. They do present a curious problem, however, since most of them come from unfamiliar cultures.

A great number expect familiarity with a figure called Jesus Christ, which has stymied me for the moment. From what I've been able to gather, he was the central martyr or pacifist god of a mystery cult (perhaps both?). It seems a remarkably well-traveled one, which makes it all the more intriguing.

Reading with that assumption in mind is enough to make sense of the text. It's clear, however, that a deeper familiarity with the cult's theological tenets is required to fully appreciate the writers' arguments.

If anyone reading this is better acquainted with "Christianity," any recommendations for introductory readings would be appreciated. Its holy texts are rather long, and thus far, they offer little in the way of context.

[And if you're interested in bugging him, Gideon can be found in the library. He's sitting a table stacked high with books and sheets of paper, on which he's taking careful notes with pen and ink. Someday we've gotta introduce this boy to ballpoint pens. Among the open books are an atlas open to a map of the Mediterranean, several books of philosophy, a King James Bible, and his wax tablet (just in case).]

Comments

[3nterprising]

Not that I can remember.

It's been way too long since I've read anything that wasn't a magazine.

[thraxios]

[Well, that's...unexpected. Gideon, whose home was around Jacobean levels of technology and vocabulary, is frowning at the page; his idea of what a magazine is is a little bit different from Faye's.]

You've an interest in military weaponry? I wouldn't have guessed.

[3nterprising]

[Gideon will notice a chuckle come through the journal.]

That's a whole different kind of magazine.

[thraxios]

[Gideon smiles in return, for what little good it does him.]

You'll have to enlighten me - I'm familiar only with the military use.

[3nterprising]

You're in the library, right? There should be a section for them.

They're the big, thin paperback books made up of mostly photographs and the occasional article of some sort.

[thraxios]

[There's a long pause while he locates the magazines. They're glossy and floppy, and the pictures are more realistic than anything he's seen before. How exactly photographs are painted, he doesn't know, but the style is astounding.]

I can see why you enjoy them - the paintings are beyond belief.

[3nterprising]

[She might hear a smirk in her voice.]

Very realistic, aren't they?

[thraxios]

Quite. [He can hear the shift in tone, and his praise becomes accordingly more guarded.] I've seen nothing comparable.

*HE might hear... orz

[3nterprising]

What year was it when you left your world?

<3

[thraxios]

2283 A.U.C. I suppose that's hopelessly behind by your reckoning.

[3nterprising]

What's A.U.C. stand for?

[thraxios]

Ab urbe condita - since the founding of the city. If you're more familiar with Lower City reckoning, the year was 20.3.1.

[3nterprising]

Hm. [She has no idea what any of that means.]

Sounds a lot different from 2071 AD.

[thraxios]

Quite. What does "AD" stand for?

[3nterprising]

After Death.

The death of one pretty specific person, though. Not all of mankind or anything like that.

[She still hopes he doesn't think everyone's dead.]

[thraxios]

[Don't worry, Faye, he's been disabused of that notion.]

We're at an impasse as regards dates, I'm afraid, but I hope you'll tell me more about these illustrations. [Because there's clearly something that you're not saying. :|]

[3nterprising]

They're photographs. Taken with a camera?

[Ordinarily she might be annoyed explaining photography to a guy from the past, but there was something about this guy that made that hard.]

[thraxios]

I find I'm unfamiliar with the terms.

[3nterprising]

A camera's a thing people use to capture life images just as the eye sees them. They can be altered, of course, but it's the same general concept.

[thraxios]

[His curiosity has the best of him at this declaration. Though his first inclination is to wish for one to examine, he hasn't the faintest idea what to picture.]

Are they common where you're from? [Presumably they are--there are a lot of magazines here.]

[3nterprising]

I guess they are. Just about everyone had one.

[thraxios]

[Before answering, Gideon takes the time to find a book on the subject and looks through pictures of a variety of different types of cameras. They look vastly different in form and function. Normally, he'd be willing to read and research until he found the ideal sort to try, but he's not that interested in the device. It would be a great deal quicker, he knows, simply to ask.]

Do you have one here?

[3nterprising]

[Faye smiles, and it comes through in her voice.]

I'm sure I could get my hands on one.

[thraxios]

[And Gideon hears it, even if he can't reciprocate.]

If you could, I'd be interested in seeing it.

[3nterprising]

I'll see what I can do, then.