Private Finished An Amalgamation of Information

Steven

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Since the start of the new school year, Steven had taken his studies to an extreme when he had time. His habit of reading and always trying to learn a bit about everything prior to his life on Manta Carlos had been mad but seemingly attainable. However when he had ended up on the island it had expanded the possible things to learn by an exponential amount. Every form of theoretical field of study, to those he had once considered pseudo-science and debunked were now real. That didn't even to take into account the expanded realms of arts, crafts and cultures that now surrounded him.

However Steven had never been one to take thing in half measures. When it had come to selecting a major for his first year of college, he could of simply taken English Literature, another language or maybe even science as they were were his knowledge was most concentrated. Not Steven though, he had picked alchemy, the first type of supernatural that had caught his eye when he had arrived on the island, and it was clearly out of his depth.

Sitting in the library, Steven was surrounded by open books. Many were of course alchemy ones, but alongside them were historical ones, with varying account of alchemy as well as a collection of chemistry text books. An examination of where alchemy and chemistry paths diverged. Beating the magical science over the head, until it fit in a frame work closer to the understanding he already had about how the world functions. Some things translated well, amalgamation of metals in in comparison to the admixtures of bases of mercury and other more magical ingredients to reach wanted results. Even so, it was hard and Steven closed the book directly in front of him with a heavy sigh.
 
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Romi

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Jude was in the library for his own purposes. He was well ahead in more or less all his classes, but felt significantly behind when it came to personal stuff. He'd pulled a mess of books, from neurology to magic, and he'd been sorting through them methodically. Technically speaking he'd been in the library for almost thirty six hours straight, leaving only to eat. He didn't need to sleep, so he wasn't. Why sleep when he had books to read?

But it wasn't just him. It was him and Giltenn, and there was no denying he'd been neglecting them. He'd been trying not to lean on them for help, but Jude was Giltenn's only point of contact. If Jude wasn't interacting with them, no one was.

So he was trying to make it up to them, throwing books at them to entertain them. There was no rhyme or reason to the books Giltenn wanted them to read, so as they cut across the library, their brain suddenly pinged and Jude stopped abruptly, turning to the table. There was a guy sitting there, stacks of books all around him, and Jude quickly pointed to one of the ones off to the side.

"Are you using that one? My arm wants to read it."
 

Steven

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After had closed the book, Steven had let his eyes follow. Giving them a moment to rest from the strain of read so long. Not noticing the sound of footsteps moving over. A young man's voice was the first thing that alerted him to there being someone there. Asking for a book. Without actaully looking which book they pointed at, Steven answered. he wasn't going to monopolised the library if someone else needed one of the books around him. "Sure go ahe.." Only for him to trail off as the words his mind expected to hear, were overrode as his thought caught up to what was actually said.

His eye sprung open, and his head looked up to see the man with a expression of some confusion. "You arm? Want to read?" He asked before he could stop himself. He should of been used to all the different kinds of people on the island by now. However that one was certainly new. Looking towards the man's arm it was seemingly made of a silver metal at least his hand and wrist he could see was, and Steven assumed it went further up. Interesting.

bringing his gaze back up and looking towards the man's face. The small silver patches across the guy's jaw that Steven had just glossed over because they looked human seemingly matched his arm. A cyborg of some kind, he wondered to himself it being the first thing that came to mind.
 

Romi

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Maybe Jude had been on the island too long. Or maybe, having been so divorced from normal life in his own world, he'd just been all too willing to embrace the new one. Fairly few things bothered him anymore, and even the weirdest statements--like 'my arm wants to read that'--had stopped really landing with him.

"Oh, yeah," Jude said, registering that his statement was kind of weird. "Well, I'll read it on their behalf. They're an entity of knowledge, and if they want me to read something, I'll read it."

The guy seemed pretty normal looking, which didn't mean much on Manta Carlos, but Jude couldn't help but wonder if he was actually new or something.

Maybe. Maybe not.

"Hopefully that's okay?"
 

Steven

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The explanation the other man gave was short, but effective. Once he had mentioned that their was another entity in there arm, that wanted the book, it wasn't as strange that the man had referred to it as his arm. Thought there was something that was still off about the explanation to Steven.

Steven would reach out and grab the book the man had original motioned to and hold it out towards him. "Well I suppose I shouldn't be shocked by things on this island any more. Curious though that an embodiment of knowledge itself would desire to read." Steven mused allowed. "What I mean is, wouldn't they already know the stuff in them?" Steven asked, it had assumptions in the question. He didn't know the true nature of this entity that was the guys arm, but he wouldn't have expected an being of knowledge to be very lacking in the knowledge they had themselves.
 

Romi

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It was a fair enough question, wasn't it? Other people had encountered similar issues with their lines of thinking, and a big part of that was just... well, Giltenn wasn't easily described.

"It's complex. Calling them an entity of knowledge is a bit of a misnomer. I used to call them a god or a personification, but none of those are quite correct. They're a primal incarnation of the idea of knowledge. They don't know everything, but their primary purpose is to gather and collect knowledge. To know things. Like how an incarnation of destruction isn't destruction itself, but is driven to destroy. So they want to learn everything, basically, which means Manta Carlos is amazing."

Beyond amazing for them.

"So," Jude asked, "what brought you to Manta Carlos?"
 

Steven

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As the man went on to explain the entity in further detail, Steven face would contort into a quizical expression, a single eyebrow raised at the fact the man's decription of the incarnation of knowledge sounded as they had a pursuit of knowledge to match Steven own. That was surprising. "Makes me think of myself." He said sounding impressed.

"As for coming here though I suppose I didn't have any better options." Steven answered the guy, holding the guys question holding up a hand and creating a small flame in it before closing it immediatly after to avoid keeping the flame around the books. "My powers woke up during a near death experience and If my cousin hadn't sent me out here after I recovered I'd probably be some media shit storm by now."
 

Romi

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Jude didn't quite agree with the observation, but he could imagine the similarities. The only real difference was the single minded nature of it. Giltenn lived for knowledge, and that was... well, all they lived for. They didn't eat or sleep or have friends or anything like that.

"I'm Jude," Jude said once Steven had finished explaining why he was on the island. "I've been here a few months, but not all that long. I guess you're from the narrow reality then?"

He'd never really liked the term the narrow reality. It sounded... insulting? Something like that.
 

Steven

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The narrow reality. It was amazing that Steven actaully agreed with the name, because that was how he felt when he had first discovered just how much of the world he did not know. It had been one of the things though he didn't agree with, there was so much that could be done for the world beyond Manta Carlos, but he understood the problem of 'The Insurmountable Obstacle' and the deconstructing the veil of secrecy.

"Rosett, Steven Rosett." He introduced himself in return after a few seconds, having been distracted by the mention of what he still thought of as home. He then held out a free hand to Jude, for a handshake. "Born in England, but spent most of my life in the U.S.A." Steven answered the question.
 

Romi

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"I'm from America as well," Jude admitted, "but not the same one. Alternate dimension stuff. We don't have the same cities or anything, but it was mostly the same."

Mostly. Except the superheroes, only people tended to get pretty gawky at that, so he left it for later. The arm and alternate dimension stuff were weird enough for most.

"I've heard it's a pretty weird adjustment," Jude said, "going from the narrow reality to this. I guess it was like that for you?" Not for him, but... well, he couldn't help but be curious about the world outside Manta Carlos. What it would be like. What the people thought. Mostly how they managed to hide it all.