entranceway | ⎊ [Video]

[The feed opens to Tony's form from about the waist up. His sleeves are rolled up and his left arm is covered in burns that look to be about a week old. He's holding a strange device about eight inches long. It's encased entirely in a shell and seems to have a small domed sensor on top.]

I just wanted to say, if you start seeing these around, it's not a tiny alien invasion, they're sensors. I'm setting them around key locations in the hopes of finding a way to predict these event things. In light of the most recent catastrophe, I think it's only a reasonable step towards surviving something like that again. There has to be something preceding these things, right? Like a low-pressure system before a storm. We get a warning, sure. Sometimes, anyway? Maybe, if we can figure out what causes them or where they're coming from, we can delay or stop them?

[It's... all he's got, okay? He hates feeling like he isn't in control and he hates that people die because of it, even more.]

I'm... [He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, the beginnings of a sleepless headache coming on.] officially out of retirement. Hold the "I told you so"s. You know who you are.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It seems only natural that magic and technology are in competition.

[She pauses. Should she really bring up the complex politics of her world to a stranger in a post like this? It would help to solidify his understanding of why there's perhaps less science in her world than one might expect.]

In Thedas, one of the most popular religions - Andrastism -closely monitors much of the research into technology. There are many taboos about what one must not study, however.

The qunari, another race who are much less tolerant of magic use, are much more advanced than the rest of us when it comes to technology. I think it follows that one might suppress the other, in a way.

[As for his statement before she went off on that little tangent...]

It makes sense, certainly. I had always wondered what the world would be like without such a reliance on magic.

[Okay, now that's even more interesting to him. A culture that limits technological advancement?]

So, I take it, the two cultures don't get along very well? Or, probably at all. A shame. If they worked together, they could probably benefit from eachother and advance eachother.

I'm gonna back out here for a sec, to explain. I work with a team of people to keep others safe. I'm, as you've noticed, not magically inclined. I'm a tech guy. We've got two guys who have their own powers--let's call them super powered for the moment. They're a mix of science that went right or wrong depending, and gave them gifts. Two assassins, they're just normal people with incredible skills enhanced with tech. And then you have two people who use 'magic'. Now, that's not all of them, but you get the point. Together, they get things done that they couldn't by themselves.

Long and short of it is, they both have a place. So I think, at least here, we could make it work. I could give you a run-down of what my world's like, if you're really curious.

Unfortunately not. We've been at all-out-war with Qunari more times than I think either side would like to admit. In fact, there was an extreme conflict with them a few years back in the city I was living in, Kirkwall.

[And her brother totally killed the Arishok in one-on-one combat and became a huge hero, but she doesn't feel particularly proud of that little feat -- so she's not going to bring it up.

She nods, though.]

I do not doubt that you're right. Even among the Chantry's community, mages and templars -- the people who are to 'control' the mages -- are constantly in conflict. If we could work things out, I have no doubt great things could be accomplished.

[Oh, Tony -- you shouldn't have suggested giving her a run-down. She beams.]

I am very curious. Being in this place has been, at least, educational.

Kirkwall... why does that--? [He snaps his fingers and points at the screen when he makes the connection.] Isabela. Are you two from the same world? Eh, but yeah, war's no fun. That's a shame.

Yeah. It's a shame people don't always see what's best but what they want to see. [He's been guilty of that, he knows. But he likes to think he's learned.]

Okay, here--

[Tony pulls back the view of the video to include a work table. Now that he's walking away from the video, it's a little more obvious he has it mounted on something. The table is cleared of random parts and tools haphazardly. He places a tablet on the table and taps a few commands into the device. A holographic projection of Earth hovers above the device about a foot. The globe itself is roughly three feet across.]

Okay, this is home for me. Earth. I'm froooom... [He spins the hologram with hand gestures and pokes the North American continent, causing it to highlight and enlarge. With both hands, he makes an expanding motion and blows up the image to make it much larger, drawing in on New York.] here. Or, well, this is where I'm living right now. It's a state called New York. [He keys a few more things onto the Starkpad and the holographic image changes to show a rendering of buildings, roads, cars, a bird's eye view of Avenger's Tower and the surrounding area. All telemetry he pulled from his phone, so obviously it wasn't recent.] That's what a stroll down my neighbourhood looks like. Can you see it okay? This'd be easier in person, wouldn't it?

[As he points at the screen and mentions her good friend, Bethany all but lights up.]

Oh! You know Isabela? Yes, we're from the same place.

-- well, sort of the same! I'm not sure what might be different for her.

[Considering the whole 'your brother was the one who lived' thing that Cullen had told her about, and the fact that her other brother here was a mage ... well, anything could be different.

She watches with no small amount of fascination as Tony spins and weaves his design, pressing in a little closer to her tiny screen so she can see it a bit better.

She nods eagerly.]

It would be bigger, at the very least.

⎊ [Video]

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video;

Video;