dictated

[mildcalibrationissue]

--whoah whoah whoah whoah!

[Hiccup sounds mildly panicked. Again. I sincerely hope no one is surprised.]

Uhh - I think I broke the computer Alan let me borrow.

[A pause.]

Odin. [It's spoken like a curse, and then, muttered:] I meant to filter that from him.




Okay, so - um. The screen keeps turning blue. Does anyone know how to fix this? Because, seriously, I'd appreciate it a lot.

[And anyone in the lobby may see him tinkering with said laptop, at a complete loss. When it's not bluescreening, it's filled with popups, because Hiccup of course is the only person in the castle who could infect his machine with spyware without ever connecting to a network.]



[And then, added later:]

Soooo. Hey.

Comments

[mildcalibrationissue]

Oh. I guess I didn't think about that -- but I guess it makes sense that the technology would get smaller as it gets more refined.

[ectobabble]

Yeah - kinda like how you can go from a full-size crossbow to a smaller arm-mounted one, right? [he figures that's something Hiccup can follow] You refine the principles so that you can get a similar effect with less material and less effort.

[mildcalibrationissue]

[Yep! Good analogy there, man.]

That's pretty cool. I didn't realize it would translate to something like computers.

[ectobabble]

[he does try!] Oh, yeah, you can apply it to a lot of modern technology. We've gone from records to cassettes to these CD things, and now I hear you can fit a few hundred songs in a little box small enough to fit in your pocket. ... I gotta look into that, it'd be great for listening to music while I'm working.

[mildcalibrationissue]

[Hiccup pauses.]

I think I understood part of that.

[ectobabble]

Records and cassettes and CDs are all different ways people listen to recorded music. It's ... I dunno if you've run into it here, at all, but eventually we invent ways to listen to music without having to have the band actually there with us.

[mildcalibrationissue]

Most of our music at home is.. singing, sometimes, I guess? Mostly on holidays when people are really, really drunk.

[ectobabble]

Ha, yeah, that sounds about right for what I'd think Viking music would be. ... You should check out the music room sometime, they've got a lotta neat recordings. I've got a Walkman you could borrow - it plays tapes.

[mildcalibrationissue]

I'm already borrowing this laptop from Alan and I think it might be tempting fate to have too many things on loan to me. You think I could wish one up?

[ectobabble]

I don't see why not, they're not that big. Here, lemme try. ... Could we get Hiccup a Walkman, please? [and after a second] With a copy of Dark at the End of the Tunnel in it?

[a ghost floats in with the wished-up items in his hands, the tape separate from the player. Ray smiles] Perfect, thanks. ... See, here you go. ... I'll show you how it works ...

[mildcalibrationissue]

Huh. And music comes out of these things?

[After the laptop, he'll believe anything. He still seems mildly incredulous, though.]

[ectobabble]

Yep! And you can control how loud it is with this little wheel here.

See, you just put the headphones on, like this - [he sets them on Hiccup's head] - and push this button here. [he makes sure the volume isn't set to Rupture Eardrums, then presses Play. enjoy New Wave, Hiccup. at least it starts out with a lot of drums, which might be familiar-ish?].

[mildcalibrationissue]

[Whoah.

Sorry, Ray.

Hiccup is just going to sort of - zone out for a minute, listening to this music.]

[ectobabble]

[he'll just smile and wait for the song to finish. you can't go wrong with making Danny Elfman someone's first music experience]

[mildcalibrationissue]

[And when it ends, Hiccup will stand there, looking a little dazed.]

That was awesome.

[ectobabble]

[he beams] And that was just one song, by one band.

[mildcalibrationissue]

[And Hiccup holds the walkman a little.. reverently.]

I can just wish up more songs, right?

[ectobabble]

Yep! And that tape, the one that I just gave you? That has eleven songs on it. That was just the first one.

[mildcalibrationissue]

[Huh.

Hiccup is just going to... lie in his room and listen to music for a few hours.]

This is awesome. I'm gonna go listen for a little while, if that's alright?

[ectobabble]

Absolutely! Here ... take this one, too. [Hiccup also gets The Best of Talking Heads .... since Ray is never leaving the 80s. Ever.]

[mildcalibrationissue]

[And Hiccup IS OKAY WITH THIS... because all music is good music right now. He will just wave gratefully at Ray, before sort of... weaving to his room, headphones on.]