Tess Holt (fairplay) wrote,
@ 2011-09-11 01:40:00

It's been a couple of weeks. Tess has been impressed by how quickly Steven's adjusted. Still, idle hands...

Tess's came through the communication system to Steven. "Flash? Gym, please. Now."

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	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 04:43 am UTC (link)
	"Everything's great, thanks. Everything good on your side?" he asks, while considering the obstacle course. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

fairplay
2011-09-11 04:48 am UTC (link)

"Yes, thank you. I wanted you to give something a shot for me. It never hurts to work on sequentialness, so I've got a bit of a Rube Goldburg thing going here. The course needs to be completed in a set order, as one moved thing affects another."

She lays it all out precisely in terms of what needs to be done when. "Before you start, hit the clock here. As soon as it's all completed, hit it again, just for the data -- and to keep up the practice of doing things in order. Okay?"

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	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 04:50 am UTC (link)
	He nods, aware enough of his difficulties in a fixed time environment to get why this is important. He repeats it internally a couple times, then hits the clock, heading for the events, in order, as fast as he can, trying not to get lost in what happened when. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

fairplay
2011-09-11 05:00 am UTC (link)

Tess looks like she's watching as he triggers the first few pieces of equipment in the appropriate order, but even when he has to do some work concentrating, he's faster than her human eyes can really follow.

Eleven out of thirteen components go perfectly, but he makes a slight mistake on the twelfth, and the makeshift gate at the thirteenth point is still blocking his way when he makes it there.

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madeofgoesfast
2011-09-11 05:05 am UTC (link)

Thankfully, problem solving and puzzles are easier for figuring out than remembering what he did or didn't do, or when he did them. Time delay triggers are a pain.

He goes back to undo everything to the point that he's sure he has right, and tries again - this time, instead of trying to count off his own seconds on the two second delay, he runs into the Brownstone's upper floor, finds one of the old guard's clocks, lets it tick off two seconds, and comes back to trigger the last item.

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	fairplay 2011-09-11 05:10 am UTC (link)
	Okay, that Tess saw. Well, not the act itself, precisely, but the reversal and Steven's sudden disappearance. This time it works perfectly, and when he hits the timer, she smiles a little. "Six seconds, and you weren't even in the room for two of them. Nice. I see you figured out waht went wrong." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 05:14 am UTC (link)
	He nods. "I love puzzles. As soon as it became an issue of reverse engineering the problem, it got easier. The second time through, it was also repetition... which helps. If I did it again, I could probably get it down to four and a half seconds or so, with the clock." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fairplay 2011-09-11 05:16 am UTC (link)
	Tess listens with interest. "Four and a half? Let's see it. For efficiency's sake, if you could reset it for me before you hit the clock?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

madeofgoesfast
2011-09-11 05:21 am UTC (link)

He nods, taking a split instant to play out the sequence in his mind, turn it into a puzzle again, looking at each step like an individual problem which must be solved correctly instead of purely like a sequence of events. He resets the course in order to help get the sequence down, then hits the clock after returning to the starting area and getting her confirmation that she's ready.

He has to run upstairs to check the clock again, but doesn't wait quite the full two seconds upstairs, instead moving back down to the gym as the clock is ticking off the second second to save himself time.

The last obstacle slides into place, and he hits the timer stop at 4.47 seconds.

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	fairplay 2011-09-11 05:26 am UTC (link)
	Tess notes it. "4.47. Well, as a great man once said... Satisfactory." She smiles at him. "Have you eaten lunch yet?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 05:28 am UTC (link)
	"I'll work on improving it... though I have a feeling you'll change it up next time. And... lunch? Is it that time already?" He tries to recall. "Breakfast, I think. And a couple snacks. I'm pretty sure my last lunch was yesterday. You?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fairplay 2011-09-11 05:31 am UTC (link)
	"My last lunch was yesterday, too," Tess agrees. "Let's go get some." She'll walk with him. "And your feelings serve you well. The only thing I'm sure I'll keep is the timer. It's from my chess-board. My family's really into speed chess." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 05:33 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, in some lifetimes, Barry and my dad liked chess. Could never get the younger ones in on it. Too slow they said. And... sure. Here, or are we going out?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fairplay 2011-09-11 05:36 am UTC (link)
	"Insert comment about the younger generations and how they won't be happy until it's strip chess. What's your opinion of Spanish food?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

madeofgoesfast
2011-09-11 05:39 am UTC (link)

"That would certainly inspire me to want to play chess more." he replies with that hint of impish grin. "I... huh, don't know. We went out for Spanish, but nothing really had taste, precisely. I've tried just about everything in the fridge... I know I like pizza, hot wings, marhmallows, Coke and caesar salad... and don't like olives very much. What's Spanish food like?"

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	fairplay 2011-09-11 05:43 am UTC (link)
	"Pretty seafood heavy, great rice dishes, some stuff not much different from pepperoni. What I'm really craving right now is their cold tomato soup." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 05:46 am UTC (link)
	"Hmmm, I'll have to figure out a way to make money. Trying one thing at a time everywhere I end up seems so limiting. I'll take recommendations though." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fairplay 2011-09-11 05:49 am UTC (link)
	"Well, you could get a job with a courier service, but don't worry about money today. Lunch is on me. Can you get us both to Bowery?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 05:51 am UTC (link)
	"I could get you to Spain if you wanted. You ind being carried?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fairplay 2011-09-11 05:52 am UTC (link)
	"I can live with being carried." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 05:57 am UTC (link)
	He nods. There's a sensation of her feet leaving the ground, and the world blurs - but the speedforce protects from disorientation, nausea and friction. When her feet touch down again, they're at the Bowery. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fairplay 2011-09-11 06:01 am UTC (link)
	"Thank you," Tess says, getting back on her feet as if this was a perfectly normal thing to do, and walks with him to the cozy little restaurant. They're seated quickly and she asks the waiter for a water, a Coke, a Tapas sample platter and a bowl of gazpacho. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 06:05 am UTC (link)
	Steven studies the menu a few moments, adding a request for an additional glass of water, and the iced tea to go with the Coke - got to try all these wonderful options of things with flavor. The sampler, in particular, seems fitting to the purpose. "I like this place. I'll have to learn the language." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fairplay 2011-09-11 06:12 am UTC (link)
	"It's a fascinating language," she agrees. "A lot of Arabic etymologies, interestingly enough." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2011-09-11 06:16 am UTC (link)
	"I'll have to go through the history section in the library tomorrow, possibly languages as well. I was looking at this afternoon to go through the files, and now I think I'm going to re-learn to master chess too." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)