Wow. Guess I'm not sufficiently paranoid.
Let me guess- I'm not moving at sufficient velocity, either?
Now, now. None of that. Mad science is just so sloppy, you know?
You can't depend on it to work properly. Even once it does, you can't necessarily replicate that... and there's no telling how long, or how well, your creation will work.
I'd much rather have a lot of reliable creations that function as designed... and then go to the Madness Place when it's time to use them. MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!
**********
Then her display pinged. She swiped it closed with one hand, looked up and over at me, and nodded, then dragged the cage out of the target area.Guess that mouse must've really been okay. Good. I walked over to the line of specimen cages, grabbed the next one (another mouse), and set it on the starting point. Let's hope this one is, too.
Then I looked back at the line of cages. And that one... and that one... that one, too...
Yeah, this is going to be a long session.
...and done! I released the spell I was holding, letting the primate cage settle back down under its usual weight. The monkey inside- not a breed I'd ever seen before, what with its four arms and green fur- shook two fists at me, chittering angrily.
You really did enjoy those moon jumps you were doing, didn't you? Sorry, but I can't stay around and lighten your cage; I've other things to do.
Before the monkey could do anything more unpleasant, the teleporter activated, and both it and its cage vanished in a shimmer of light. The instant before the teleport effect happened, I gave it one last look, and caught the most comical surprised look I'd seen in months.
Hope you like your new home better.
Uno, having finished working the teleporter, walked over to where I was standing. "That was the last sample." She smiled slightly, and patted my shoulder. "Thank you for your help moving them. You saved me a great deal of effort."
I thought about that for a second. Then a bit longer. What effort? You could've just... wait... "You mean you couldn't have just teleported them straight out of the containment room?" I scratched my head, sheepishly. "I thought I was just saving us a bit of power."
That got me a bit of a frown. It's a legitimate question! "It's a containment room, Imma. Of course I couldn't. The entire area is surrounded by a powerful interdiction, and the walls carry a localized AMF; only a powerful mage could escape this room." She gave me an aside glance. "Haven't you wondered why there are so many hatches on the walls and floor? One of the reasons is so that we can introduce items- equipment, test subjects, or even prisoners- into the containment zone without having to lift the interdiction, or open the primary door."
I found myself stroking my chin as I looked around the room, noting the placement- and the ubiquity- of the hatches Uno mentioned. If they just needed items, why have wall hatches? Why ceiling hatches, and why have multiple smaller ones next to each other? There must be another reason for the hatches. "...it's a secondary benefit, isn't it? The primary purpose of that setup is to create a reconfigurable training room, but you're also using it for delivery."
That got me an approving smile and a pat on the head. "Well reasoned, Imma. The design of this room is a common one, meant for mage training; Doctor Scaglietti saw promise in it, and found a way to teleport items into the exterior mechanisms of it..."
I picked up where she left off. "...allowing him to send items into a place that could be emptied into the room, but not reached from inside. Clever."
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
Let me guess- I'm not moving at sufficient velocity, either?
Now, now. None of that. Mad science is just so sloppy, you know?
You can't depend on it to work properly. Even once it does, you can't necessarily replicate that... and there's no telling how long, or how well, your creation will work.
I'd much rather have a lot of reliable creations that function as designed... and then go to the Madness Place when it's time to use them. MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!
**********
Then her display pinged. She swiped it closed with one hand, looked up and over at me, and nodded, then dragged the cage out of the target area.Guess that mouse must've really been okay. Good. I walked over to the line of specimen cages, grabbed the next one (another mouse), and set it on the starting point. Let's hope this one is, too.
Then I looked back at the line of cages. And that one... and that one... that one, too...
Yeah, this is going to be a long session.
...and done! I released the spell I was holding, letting the primate cage settle back down under its usual weight. The monkey inside- not a breed I'd ever seen before, what with its four arms and green fur- shook two fists at me, chittering angrily.
You really did enjoy those moon jumps you were doing, didn't you? Sorry, but I can't stay around and lighten your cage; I've other things to do.
Before the monkey could do anything more unpleasant, the teleporter activated, and both it and its cage vanished in a shimmer of light. The instant before the teleport effect happened, I gave it one last look, and caught the most comical surprised look I'd seen in months.
Hope you like your new home better.
Uno, having finished working the teleporter, walked over to where I was standing. "That was the last sample." She smiled slightly, and patted my shoulder. "Thank you for your help moving them. You saved me a great deal of effort."
I thought about that for a second. Then a bit longer. What effort? You could've just... wait... "You mean you couldn't have just teleported them straight out of the containment room?" I scratched my head, sheepishly. "I thought I was just saving us a bit of power."
That got me a bit of a frown. It's a legitimate question! "It's a containment room, Imma. Of course I couldn't. The entire area is surrounded by a powerful interdiction, and the walls carry a localized AMF; only a powerful mage could escape this room." She gave me an aside glance. "Haven't you wondered why there are so many hatches on the walls and floor? One of the reasons is so that we can introduce items- equipment, test subjects, or even prisoners- into the containment zone without having to lift the interdiction, or open the primary door."
I found myself stroking my chin as I looked around the room, noting the placement- and the ubiquity- of the hatches Uno mentioned. If they just needed items, why have wall hatches? Why ceiling hatches, and why have multiple smaller ones next to each other? There must be another reason for the hatches. "...it's a secondary benefit, isn't it? The primary purpose of that setup is to create a reconfigurable training room, but you're also using it for delivery."
That got me an approving smile and a pat on the head. "Well reasoned, Imma. The design of this room is a common one, meant for mage training; Doctor Scaglietti saw promise in it, and found a way to teleport items into the exterior mechanisms of it..."
I picked up where she left off. "...allowing him to send items into a place that could be emptied into the room, but not reached from inside. Clever."
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.