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

[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.

[thraxios]

Thank you.

[He pauses, considering what to write. Faye is the first person he's proposed meeting in person since arriving here--well, the first person not from some part of Meduse.]

When you've found it, I'll be in the library.

[3nterprising]

I'll be sure to look for you.

[thraxios]

An old man surrounded by books shouldn't be difficult to find. [He'll be waiting~]

>> [Action]

[3nterprising]

[It had been over three years since Faye had set foot in a library. Fortunately, all libraries are roughly the same. They even have cameras to borrow, which aren't too extremely different from the ones she used to know from her past.

It isn't long before she finds Gideon, and although he might be a little farther ahead in age, the description of old man doen't quite seem to fit. Faye had even passed him by once or twice before finding no one else who fits the description closer. He's actually rather handsome in spite of being an older gentleman.]

An old man surrounded by books.

[thraxios]

[It takes Gideon a moment to come back from the unfamiliar world in which these books are all set. But he does, and glances up to see--well, she must be Faye, as he's described himself so to no one else. She's not quite what he expected--he's actually not sure what he expected, but he'd never have guessed an outfit like that. It's...well, a bit revealing, by both Marathine and Kekropian standards. And it leaves Gideon a little self-conscious, despite his lack of sexual interest in women, let alone the particular woman wearing it.

His eyes firmly on hers, out of a (perhaps misplaced) sense of politeness, he raises his eyebrows and shrugs, as though to say You've caught me. And then he gestures to an empty chair, hooking a foot around one of its legs to pull it out for Faye.]