Can you hear me now? [Solo]
Who: Dr. Washu Habuki nursewashu
What: Amateur inter-dimensional radio enthusiast.
Where: Washu's lab somewhere in Center City Tarqeq
When: After work; Evening
Warnings: n/a
The day at work had been rather routine. No new travelers appeared today, but there was that slight power surge in one of the tertiary backup power distribution cortices. Yes, that was thrilling. Washu could hardly contain herself for the entire three seconds it took to correct the problem. There was also the strange incident of the mystery stain on a lab assistant's jacket collar. It turned out to be nothing more than a spot of jelly from breakfast. Simply put, Washu was bored.
This was not the type of boredom that one could easily remedy with a word puzzle or steamy romance novel. No, boredom such as this called for intense scientific experimentation. Which is exactly what Washu did the moment she arrived home. The dimensional shift apparatus was still failing to properly energize, and the milkshake synthesizer simply would not create an accurate vanilla flavor no matter what mathematical equations she fed into it.
The one thing that was somewhat functional was the radio contraption she'd built. The plans were complex, and finding spare parts to build it had been a challenge. The design was crude, but functional. She'd extrapolated the design after studying a small glowing device a traveler carried with them. The traveler claimed it allowed her to communicate with friends on other worlds. Though Washu had her doubts, she dissected the device while the traveler and her group was undergoing screening.
The finished result of her research now sat upon a table near one of her workstations. The exterior case was made of a deep reddish brown wood, accented with metal fittings. The front was a mesh of metal and glass, with a large half-circle yellow dial and knob to control it. The appearance was very much in the vein of a 1940's Earth radio, however that is where the similarities ended. Inside the device was circuits upon circuits, connected by optical cables, meshed together with palladium fittings and LED indicators.
Washu sat down in her second favorite chair and flipped the switch on the side of the box. The yellow display slowly flickered to life as she picked up a headset and placed it over her head. There was nothing to hear. This was normal. Washu was certain the device was working as it was meant to, but there was simply no one chatting across the dimensional divide. At least, not while she was listening. So, she occasionally sat with the headset on while working, just in case there was a sound, a voice, or just an automated signal.
Tonight would be no different. Washu worked on vanilla milkshake synthesizing algorithms, while listening to dead air from the abyss. Sine, cosine, bean extract... everything appeared to be in order, but still the machine would not cooperate. She was just about to move onto something else when a strange sound immediately took her attention. There was a faint voice in her ears.
Washu glanced around the room quickly, but saw no one there. As she turned her head, a flashing blue light atop the dimensional radio was blinking. A positive signal was being received. The voice continued as Washu turned up the volume.
"... If I can't find him again, maybe I can sell it."
Then, as quickly as the transmission began, it ended. The scientist was stunned for a moment. On one hand, she was now absolutely certain the device worked. On the other hand, she had, for the first time, heard words spoken from another world. This was cause for celebration! First, though, it called for saying hello to the stranger from who-knows-where. Washu decided in that instant to create an alias, for radio purposes. You never know who might be listening.
After taking a deep breath, the scientist cleared her throat, and tapped the button above her ear, switching the radio from send to receive.
"Hello? My name is... Ryoko. Can you hear me?"
What: Amateur inter-dimensional radio enthusiast.
Where: Washu's lab somewhere in Center City Tarqeq
When: After work; Evening
Warnings: n/a
The day at work had been rather routine. No new travelers appeared today, but there was that slight power surge in one of the tertiary backup power distribution cortices. Yes, that was thrilling. Washu could hardly contain herself for the entire three seconds it took to correct the problem. There was also the strange incident of the mystery stain on a lab assistant's jacket collar. It turned out to be nothing more than a spot of jelly from breakfast. Simply put, Washu was bored.
This was not the type of boredom that one could easily remedy with a word puzzle or steamy romance novel. No, boredom such as this called for intense scientific experimentation. Which is exactly what Washu did the moment she arrived home. The dimensional shift apparatus was still failing to properly energize, and the milkshake synthesizer simply would not create an accurate vanilla flavor no matter what mathematical equations she fed into it.
The one thing that was somewhat functional was the radio contraption she'd built. The plans were complex, and finding spare parts to build it had been a challenge. The design was crude, but functional. She'd extrapolated the design after studying a small glowing device a traveler carried with them. The traveler claimed it allowed her to communicate with friends on other worlds. Though Washu had her doubts, she dissected the device while the traveler and her group was undergoing screening.
The finished result of her research now sat upon a table near one of her workstations. The exterior case was made of a deep reddish brown wood, accented with metal fittings. The front was a mesh of metal and glass, with a large half-circle yellow dial and knob to control it. The appearance was very much in the vein of a 1940's Earth radio, however that is where the similarities ended. Inside the device was circuits upon circuits, connected by optical cables, meshed together with palladium fittings and LED indicators.
Washu sat down in her second favorite chair and flipped the switch on the side of the box. The yellow display slowly flickered to life as she picked up a headset and placed it over her head. There was nothing to hear. This was normal. Washu was certain the device was working as it was meant to, but there was simply no one chatting across the dimensional divide. At least, not while she was listening. So, she occasionally sat with the headset on while working, just in case there was a sound, a voice, or just an automated signal.
Tonight would be no different. Washu worked on vanilla milkshake synthesizing algorithms, while listening to dead air from the abyss. Sine, cosine, bean extract... everything appeared to be in order, but still the machine would not cooperate. She was just about to move onto something else when a strange sound immediately took her attention. There was a faint voice in her ears.
Washu glanced around the room quickly, but saw no one there. As she turned her head, a flashing blue light atop the dimensional radio was blinking. A positive signal was being received. The voice continued as Washu turned up the volume.
"... If I can't find him again, maybe I can sell it."
Then, as quickly as the transmission began, it ended. The scientist was stunned for a moment. On one hand, she was now absolutely certain the device worked. On the other hand, she had, for the first time, heard words spoken from another world. This was cause for celebration! First, though, it called for saying hello to the stranger from who-knows-where. Washu decided in that instant to create an alias, for radio purposes. You never know who might be listening.
After taking a deep breath, the scientist cleared her throat, and tapped the button above her ear, switching the radio from send to receive.
"Hello? My name is... Ryoko. Can you hear me?"