A difference in perspective

Demonicmuffin

Well-Known Member
Inactive
Dec 24, 2017
194
The makeshift engine sputtered to life as the cord was yanked, the entire body vibrating slightly. The whole machine was strange in appearance. It appeared to be spider like, with many legs on it, approximately 6 ½ feet across and 4 feet tall. However, it appeared to be made out of garbage, with everything from spare tires used on the feet for extra friction to milk jugs labeled “Corn Fuel” suspended on an IV pole, connected to the engine with garden hoses.

It all came together to give off the impression there was no way it would function, and yet it sprung to life, several old cameras of various types springing to life and examining the environment. It took a few drunken steps around, attempting to make its way to a small golf flag that was stuck in the middle of the field 20 or so feet away, before a puff of smoke came from its heart and it collapsed, the engine catching alight.

”Okay guys thats a wrap, 1.5 is a bust, back to the drawing board.” a youthful voice said, spraying the robotic beast with a fire extinguisher. Emmalyn wiped her brow, putting her hands on her hips with a slightly disappointed look on her face.

”Man, it’s a bummer that it failed, at the very least it could’ve blown up a bit. At least then it would’ve been fun to watch.” She griped, crossing her arms. She’d been experimenting with green fuel for a while now, but it didn’t pack the same oomf she was used to with what she was used to using. It didn’t build up momentum the way steam did, nor did it have the level of burn that you could achieve with diesel, and magical fuels of the size needed to power something like this are difficult to get your hands on or make.

She looked over at the small crowd that had gathered nearby, nothing too impressive, with 20 or so onlookers watching her work, whether for their education or simple curiosity. Even a teacher or two was mixed in, likely here to make sure nobody got injured if it did explode. She waved at them, making an X with her arms and shaking her head, indicating that the test was over and there wasn’t going to be anything more to watch, the crowd slowly beginning to disperse.

”What did you think Siege, maybe it’s just too big” she said, looking back at the golem, who responded with an engine revving sound. ”No, of course I’m not talking about you, your big, but your just the right size, you have a magius engine anyways” She commented casually reassuring the 12 foot stone and metal giant.

The magius engine was one of Emmalyn’s crowning achievements, combining the ancient principles of a magical powersource of crystal with modern mechanical engineering, allowing for a fuel source which ran on nothing but the airborne magic of the world, which made it perfect for Manta Carlos with so many abilities going off in one area, the air was buzzing with the stuff.

Still, she couldn’t be happy with something like that as an achievement. The cost of the gemstone required to keep him functional, even if they left Manta carlos and went into somewhere without as much energy, was exponential. She had to go through several underground markets without any luck, eventually managing to get her hands on it from a dwarven mine in exchange for completely modernizing their mining and refining equipment.

”Chemical vapor deposition is probably the best way to go if I want to really make it work as a reliable source.” She sighed, marking that on her to work on list.
 

Star Catcher

Member
Inactive
Mar 2, 2018
8
It really wasn't often Serra made her way to the campus; maybe once a week or so, mostly to do paperwork and have her next assignment approved by the staff. As such, even though she'd spent the better half of two years mingling with the population, she still felt out of place with the individuals who roamed the hallways on a regular basis. Try as they might to have made the academy adaptable for anyone, someone of her size still had trouble maneuvering throughout the campus and the surrounding town, crowded on all sides by passerby just going about their day. Occasionally she found herself getting a weird stare; the island may have been home to all sorts of beings, magical and otherworldly alike, but it helped to remind her that her "belonging" here was just a front.

On the other hand, her desire to spend as little time as possible in the city had caused her to make a schedule of sorts, or at the very least a list of things she always made sure to do anytime she ventured into society. Stop by the library, check in with the optometrist and her physician when necessary, purchase any groceries she couldn't easily replicate from hunting and gathering, and contemplate how and why humanity chose processed tree bark as currency.

Today, however, was a school day; she'd had to fill out a bit of paperwork the Wilderness Survival Club needed signed, as well as collect their votes on where they wanted the next lesson to take place, and send notifications to their legal guardians. As she was preparing to leave, however, she noticed, out of her peripheral vision, a small crowd that had gathered near one of the outdoors areas. Normally, she wouldn't have paid it any mind, but a second glance told her that a few people she recognized as other staff members were forming a sort of perimeter around whatever it was that had their attention. It wasn't a fight, then - they'd be trying to stop it, rather than cordon the event. Frowning, Serra stepped out into the area, unable to see the prototype from where she was standing.

Only once she was among the students did she see what looked to be some sort of halfling spraying a mechanical... thing... with a fire extinguisher. Her jaw tensed, and the centauride crossed her arms; even with her near-phobic dislike of any machine that couldn't be explained to her in terms of "simple machines" or how the earth worked, the model looked more like someone's idea of modern art than a functioning robot. Her nose scrunched up, and she cupped a hand over her mouth and nose; the scent wasn't as rancid as oil or processed fuels, but to her at least it still stank to high heaven.

Then the colossus beside her moved. Serra couldn't help but take a step back in shock as Seige not only moved, but seemed to actively react to what she was saying. It wasn't... sentient... was it? Stunned by what she saw before her, she almost didn't even notice Emmalyn waving the crowd away, tacitly indicating the test was over until she heard the murmur of students as they walked away, the teachers approaching Emmalyn and exchanging a few encouraging words with her, one of them removing the flag from the ground.

Which left Serra. What would she say? What could she say; she didn't know who this person was, or anything about robotics for that matter. She didn't want to seem insensitive, but at the same time the amount of time she had left which she could stand and stare while not coming off as awkward or even slightly creepy was quickly fading.

"...Hello there." she eventually responded, the muscles in her left forehoof tensing. A good five to ten seconds of standing there, and that was all she could come up with? What was wrong with her? Keeping an eye and an ear out for any sudden movement on the golem's part, she approached as gingerly as a quadruped could manage. "Is there something wrong?" Again with the tension, this time in her right foreleg. She was batting 0 for two at this point, could she say anything that wasn't so awkward?

"I, er... I couldn't help but notice the machine. Are you a student here or something?" she questioned, doing her best to grin as she silently prayed that this inventor couldn't sense exactly how awkward she felt.
 

Demonicmuffin

Well-Known Member
Inactive
Dec 24, 2017
194
Emmalyn turned towards the centaur, noticing a voice she didn’t recognize. The sheer height difference between the two of them, over 2 feet, was almost comedic, with the Half-Gnome requiring to strain her neck to look at the others face. Emmalyn could easily tell the other woman was a little skittish, but she supposed that's all you could expect from a horse person.

”Nah, nothings wrong, well, nothing that I wasn’t prepared for at least.” she commented, scratching the back of her head. ”I’m no student either, I’m much older than I look, though nothing like those godlings and whatnot we have running around here. I’m Emmalyn Felisberta Monika Von Armbruster, Half-Gnome golem craftsman and Starlight Academy Alumni. This little cutie behind me is Seige, he’s something of an assistant.” she introduced, the golem behind her waving its hand softly, wandering off to a small pile of pallets and carrying them over to the wreckage of the failed machine.

”I was just testing something out here, though as you can probably tell, things didn’t go quite as well as hoped. Mechanical golems tend to have more power than ones made of puppets or clay, but that means they need more energy as well, which leads to some issues when your on a strict budget, as you could probably tell.” Emmalyn said dejectedly, scraping up some of the dirt that had been torn up by the prototypes drunken maneuvering, shaping it into a semi humanoid form. Forming a small light in between her index finger and her thumb, she pushed the orb into the dolls chest, the little thing popping to life and wandering around in the palm of her hand, saluting to the centaur.

”You can take this little one if you like, he won’t be able to do much, but he can probably help with something, least if he doesn’t fall and break himself.” She commented, the sound of metal breaking coming from behind her as Seige accidently crumpled one of the prototypes legs while securing it down, earning a sigh from Emmalyn. ”They don’t tend to be the brightest bunch, at least not currently, so don’t expect any miracles.” the inventor finished, earning a dejected honk from the goliath behind her.

”So anyways, What's up with you? Visitor, teacher, what are you here for, I got a bit of time to kill while this kid takes home my toys, might as well use it to learn a new face.” she said, a mixture of smugness and excitement on her face.

”Next golem, a rideable centaur one, definitely.” she thought to herself.
 
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