Ah, that's okay. I don't know if his world really exists anyway. He might have just been what happens when you take me and change my memories so I think my history is different than it is.
[Which...is uncomfortably similar to what this Ford is experiencing right now, with his origins possibly being in the mind of a children's cartoon writer before he came to the Barge. Ford takes a bracing sip of his coffee and chooses to put that out of his mind.]
What about you? I hope being me wasn't too terrible. ...did you get to keep the wormhole-cart? That was a brilliant piece of engineering.
[His manner brightens considerably with the change of subject.]
[Which makes her smile, too; it's better, probably, not to dwell on
the things that are too painful right now.] I ... did not. I think
it came with Other-Me's cabin. [Which had been a boat, of all
things, but the fact she'd shared the residence with Gabby hadn't
changed.] We'll just have to find a way to recreate it -- hopefully
without breaking anything else. We might be able to use the ... well, there
are already ways that space-time is sort of ... bent, right? A
little wormhole probably won't hurt much.
[Then, of course, she remembers the conversation she'd had with
Luke. She pokes at her food and doesn't look up at Ford when she makes her
suggestion:]
He probably could. Tiny wormholes are being created all the time!
[He has no idea Laura's fishing for anything. He gestures as he talks with a forkful of eggs.]
They only exist for a fraction of a second, and with the right technology, you can catch one and sort of stretch it out! Keep it around for longer than it would have existed.
But I think I've had enough of wormholes for a while. I think the rest of the ship has, too! The last thing we need is for it to get out that you're helping me with more portal technology, ha ha!
[Ford Pines smells a little weird, now that he's moving around. It's an ozone-smell, a nebula-smell, like deep space or a hyperdrive engine. There's one other person on the ship who smells like that.]
Besides, I've got more important projects than convenient closet-carts.
[Just admitting it straight up. There's no concealment whatsoever. No caginess. Ready to tell Laura all about it.]
[And Ford isn't good at picking up on her change in tone. He's just as cheerily informative.]
The watches. I think I've got their basic programming completed and ready for testing. Trouble is, I've got to get one on someone before they disappear to know if they'll be able to collect any useful data. That's why I've been brainstorming features that will make people want to wear them! Just simple things. You know, like an alarm clock, a day planner, a flood and breach reminder, Pong...you get the idea. Something to offset how unsettling it'll be to wear a device meant to collect data in the event of you vanishing from reality.
[She doesn't know what that is, but ... no, that's not the right
thing to focus on. She moves some food around her plate without eating it.
Surely there's someone who already takes day trips from reality, so to
speak, who could serve as a kind of control group.]
You could ask Ir-- [No. No, that's a bad idea; she cuts herself off
before finishing that name.] --ask if people have ideas. On the
network. [Terrible save, Laura.] But some people may not
need added incentive if just wearing them will help solve one of our
biggest problems. I'll do it. With or without ... pong.
[Ford smiles at her, but sadly -- he's grateful she's willing to participate in the study, but the idea of her disappearing, even if it's just to go back to her world, is one he doesn't want to entertain.]
I think asking the network is the right idea. But I don't know if I'm the best person to do it. Most people on the Barge don't exactly trust me right now! If people hear I'm working on another high-tech project, they might assume the worst and want to have nothing to do with it. But if they hear it from you, and they know that my warden's been kept up to date on what I've been making, then we'll probably have fewer outright rejections to participate.
Will you help me ask around about what people want in a computer watch?
[Ford's body language is eager, open, no hint of untruth. He believes in this project, and he isn't hiding any secret purpose of the watches from her. But he doesn't seem surprised by the idea of asking the network. He had been intending to ask Laura to ask on his behalf before this conversation. And having a less-unpopular public face for the project in the name of increased participation rates...was that Ford's idea, or Bill's? It's definitely a Bill-tactic.]
[If it's a Bill tactic, Laura doesn't know it. It makes perfect
sense to her.]
I think that's a good idea. I'd be happy to help. [She's been doing
kind of the same thing for Steve, since she knows that people trust her
more than they trust him, and she agrees with him on a lot of points,
anyway.] We'll want to be very clear about what the actual purpose
of the device is, though. Anyone who participates is going to need complete
transparency so they can make an informed decision. All of the added
features are just ... perks.
Of course! If they don't understand what it's really for, they won't know how important it is to keep it on, defeating the purpose of the experiment. And I'd be thrilled to show you the process. That way, if anyone asks, you can tell them the truth!
[He's committed to transparency going forward. Ford really wants to help, wants to do something about the inmate death rate, both for his own self-preservation and the good of the Barge.]
I'll walk you through it after breakfast. How's that?
That sounds good. [She smiles, and it's small but warm; he sounds
truly sincere, like he's learned something from the whole .. incident. But
... it doesn't track with what Luke told her, which just means that
this isn't what he's doing with Bill. Best to be direct about
it.]
Ah, well...currently, missing an arm. It's my flood-self's fault. Whatever knucklehead was responsible for the version of your history I got made sure that the Program's scientists and security guards had an insignia that looked like Bill. When I attacked him, he detached his own arm to get away!
[At first her mouth falls open in surprise, worried that this is
courtesy of Ford's claws, and then she can't help it -- she lets out a
laugh. It's somehow funny, in its own weird way.] And ...
where is the arm now?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Ah, that's okay. I don't know if his world really exists anyway. He might have just been what happens when you take me and change my memories so I think my history is different than it is.
[Which...is uncomfortably similar to what this Ford is experiencing right now, with his origins possibly being in the mind of a children's cartoon writer before he came to the Barge. Ford takes a bracing sip of his coffee and chooses to put that out of his mind.]
What about you? I hope being me wasn't too terrible. ...did you get to keep the wormhole-cart? That was a brilliant piece of engineering.
[His manner brightens considerably with the change of subject.]
no subject
[Which makes her smile, too; it's better, probably, not to dwell on the things that are too painful right now.] I ... did not. I think it came with Other-Me's cabin. [Which had been a boat, of all things, but the fact she'd shared the residence with Gabby hadn't changed.] We'll just have to find a way to recreate it -- hopefully without breaking anything else. We might be able to use the ... well, there are already ways that space-time is sort of ... bent, right? A little wormhole probably won't hurt much.
[Then, of course, she remembers the conversation she'd had with Luke. She pokes at her food and doesn't look up at Ford when she makes her suggestion:]
Maybe Bill could help.
no subject
[He has no idea Laura's fishing for anything. He gestures as he talks with a forkful of eggs.]
They only exist for a fraction of a second, and with the right technology, you can catch one and sort of stretch it out! Keep it around for longer than it would have existed.
But I think I've had enough of wormholes for a while. I think the rest of the ship has, too! The last thing we need is for it to get out that you're helping me with more portal technology, ha ha!
[Ford Pines smells a little weird, now that he's moving around. It's an ozone-smell, a nebula-smell, like deep space or a hyperdrive engine. There's one other person on the ship who smells like that.]
Besides, I've got more important projects than convenient closet-carts.
[Just admitting it straight up. There's no concealment whatsoever. No caginess. Ready to tell Laura all about it.]
no subject
[That's unexpected. Laura sits up a little straighter.]
What kind of projects?
[She is not good at playing it casual and cool. Especially when she can smell Bill all over him.]
no subject
The watches. I think I've got their basic programming completed and ready for testing. Trouble is, I've got to get one on someone before they disappear to know if they'll be able to collect any useful data. That's why I've been brainstorming features that will make people want to wear them! Just simple things. You know, like an alarm clock, a day planner, a flood and breach reminder, Pong...you get the idea. Something to offset how unsettling it'll be to wear a device meant to collect data in the event of you vanishing from reality.
no subject
... Pong?
[She doesn't know what that is, but ... no, that's not the right thing to focus on. She moves some food around her plate without eating it. Surely there's someone who already takes day trips from reality, so to speak, who could serve as a kind of control group.]
You could ask Ir-- [No. No, that's a bad idea; she cuts herself off before finishing that name.] --ask if people have ideas. On the network. [Terrible save, Laura.] But some people may not need added incentive if just wearing them will help solve one of our biggest problems. I'll do it. With or without ... pong.
no subject
[Ford smiles at her, but sadly -- he's grateful she's willing to participate in the study, but the idea of her disappearing, even if it's just to go back to her world, is one he doesn't want to entertain.]
I think asking the network is the right idea. But I don't know if I'm the best person to do it. Most people on the Barge don't exactly trust me right now! If people hear I'm working on another high-tech project, they might assume the worst and want to have nothing to do with it. But if they hear it from you, and they know that my warden's been kept up to date on what I've been making, then we'll probably have fewer outright rejections to participate.
Will you help me ask around about what people want in a computer watch?
[Ford's body language is eager, open, no hint of untruth. He believes in this project, and he isn't hiding any secret purpose of the watches from her. But he doesn't seem surprised by the idea of asking the network. He had been intending to ask Laura to ask on his behalf before this conversation. And having a less-unpopular public face for the project in the name of increased participation rates...was that Ford's idea, or Bill's? It's definitely a Bill-tactic.]
no subject
[If it's a Bill tactic, Laura doesn't know it. It makes perfect sense to her.]
I think that's a good idea. I'd be happy to help. [She's been doing kind of the same thing for Steve, since she knows that people trust her more than they trust him, and she agrees with him on a lot of points, anyway.] We'll want to be very clear about what the actual purpose of the device is, though. Anyone who participates is going to need complete transparency so they can make an informed decision. All of the added features are just ... perks.
And I'd like to see how you put one together.
no subject
[He's committed to transparency going forward. Ford really wants to help, wants to do something about the inmate death rate, both for his own self-preservation and the good of the Barge.]
I'll walk you through it after breakfast. How's that?
no subject
That sounds good. [She smiles, and it's small but warm; he sounds truly sincere, like he's learned something from the whole .. incident. But ... it doesn't track with what Luke told her, which just means that this isn't what he's doing with Bill. Best to be direct about it.]
... So, how's Bill?
no subject
Ah, well...currently, missing an arm. It's my flood-self's fault. Whatever knucklehead was responsible for the version of your history I got made sure that the Program's scientists and security guards had an insignia that looked like Bill. When I attacked him, he detached his own arm to get away!
[Man! Ford feels bad about that!]
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[At first her mouth falls open in surprise, worried that this is courtesy of Ford's claws, and then she can't help it -- she lets out a laugh. It's somehow funny, in its own weird way.] And ... where is the arm now?
no subject
Hope no one's stumbled on it.