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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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 Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:04 am
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:05 am
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:08 am
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:55 pm
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 3:52 pm
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 5:14 pm
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 3:48 pm
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 3:40 pm
[My adventures in minishops] [Stuff I got from Hitsuga which are apparently hand-me-downs from Phaerna's family:]  ZenCrafters  Caged Butterflies
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 3:41 pm
[formatformatformat] Rika had, initially, been a little offended, even disgusted by this turn of events. The three incomes of Setsushi and Tenkyuu were enough to cover the house's bills and sustain Setsushi's udon-ya, yes, but they were insufficient for her designs. As they owned nothing suitable to pawn -- Rika suggested the golden comb, but Setsushi refused, weirdly stubborn as usual -- and Setsushi had no more time to give to a third part-time job, it turned out that Rika's only option was to take up a job here in Gaia herself.
But, as Rika would have predicted, few professions called for the skills and knowledge of a Golden World philosopher; Gaia did not appear to have a structure supporting moral philosophers at all, she had no knowledge of the planet's history, art, or literature to employ, and her knowledge of natural philosophy seemed incompatible with the Gaians' -- their technologies were different, their ways of thinking were different, and, in short, they had no use for her. If she had a better head for mathematics, perhaps she could have found the equivalent of a calculating position... But it seemed that Rika, young genius of the Porcelain Empire, was the equivalent of an unschooled commoner in this land.
It irritated her.
Not that there was anything wrong with commoners, of course, Rika had her pride... and her delicate scholar's hands. She could not exactly perform heavy physical labor or enter a lowly service position like Dame Tenkyuu; her emotional constitution would not permit it. But, having no other avenue, she finally did sign herself up for manual labor -- not lifting bricks or anything ridiculous like that, but rather cleaning laboratory equipment for a human 'scientist' who, despite Rika's admitted lack of references and Gaian education, was eager to hire someone on the condition that she be discreet and not report her salary to the government.
Of course Rika found it rather suspicious... but then, she could be judged to have rather unscrupulous motives herself, and so she agreed to the task.
She had expected herself to be intensely bored; 'washing test tubes' and 'filing ingredients' sounded like incredibly dull, tedious, tiring tasks, things only Setsushi could find amusing -- but she was mistaken. She had anticipated cleaning glass of miscellaneous dirt, gunky distillate, and other unpleasant, mundane substances. However, when she reached for the second rack of tubes, she immediately realized that something was strange about them; her psionic object-reading, which she had so laboriously trained in her youth, sent tingling sensations up her fingers as she picked up the first, even though she had not been actively examining them.
Curious, she held this tube up -- the liquid inside was clear and did not have any odor that Rika could detect, but something in it was resonating with power, loud enough for Rika to have felt without even paying attention.
And he wanted me to just dump this down the drain?
... Looking over her shoulder, adjusting her monocle, and peering into the glass, she extended her mind, like a blanket of sensitivity, and wrapped it around the substance, feeling its energies, groping for its constituent elements.
It was obviously clear to her that this man may be skilled with the chemical sciences but that he was sorely lacking in magical philosophical education. This was a solution in water, containing a great deal of fruit-sugar and many compounds she could not quite name but which felt familiar from somewhere or another. There was something reminiscent of the flu germ, the dead form of which she had felt once at the the Head of Medicine's laboratory, but definitely not the same... but besides that, there was a huge concentration of what appeared to be utterly awful, sloppily placed enchantments, clinging pitifully to particles of salt and sugar. Rika wasn't even quite sure what they were supposed to do, they were already so decayed; perhaps they were just meant to glow in a raucous and disjointed way, as some sort of marker?
... Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't safe to flush down the sink. Rummaging around, Rika found a box of plastic bags -- not ideal, but a quick reading indicated that they would at least not absorb the substance into their walls -- and then began pulling, with some effort, the little flu-animals and enchanted particles to the surface of the test tube so that it could be safely deposited in a bag.
It was a rather strenuous activity, but only four of the tubes she cleaned that day were similarly configured; Rika patiently read each, sifted them, and skimmed off the dangerous elements before washing them out. Though tiring, the task may have even made her work faster, as instead of the tedium of endless nondescript messes to clean she looked forward, with excitement, to the possibility of encountering another primitive potion.
For, after all, she was not just cleaning up after the poor man's incompetent brewing, but collecting some very interesting new toys...[/formatformatformat]
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 4:33 pm
Subject One: Animals, no sugar
Result: No visible effect. Animal is fine, though slightly distressed from being handled. Did not sense any magical change even with a deep examination. I am releasing the animal now.
Subject Two: Animals, sugar of first enchantment type
Result: Steadily decreased in size over the course of 5/6 of an hour at which time the shrinking stopped. Ultimately about one thumbnail-length in diameter. I put it in a glass dish for safekeeping, but after returning from the bathroom I could not find it in the dish or on the table. For all I know I may have stepped on it. May the gods have mercy on its tiny soul.
Subject Three: Animals, sugar of second enchantment type
Result: Skin turned a bright blue in the matter of a few minutes. No effect on fur. No sensible internal changes. Subject seemed physically fine. I released it after it pooped on me. Poop was not blue. I am glad it was me, really, and not Setsushi's table.
Subject Four: Animals, sugar of third "
Result: Perished suddenly after about half an hour. It did not emit sensible pain, but I am still contrite. Its system seemed to be suddenly flooded with toxins all at once after half an hour of normal health. The original substance did not contain this toxin (I am not sure what it is exactly) so there must have been a reaction of some kind. I suppose it is not safe to bury; I will ask Setsushi to dispose of it tomorrow.
I'm upset. I should have used some sort of insect. I don't know why, but I can squash bugs without remorse, but I almost feel like crying now.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 6:13 am
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 7:29 am
[formatformatformat] Rika did not expect that when she returned from her little shopping trip, her arms full of brightly-colored bags from Gaia's various gift shops, that she would find Setsushi poised over her aquarium with his wakizashi in his right hand, his left hand ready to flip open the lid. But before she can command him not to kill them, he is already demanding, "Give me one reason not to kill them," moving his leg to the side so that she can get a good look herself."... Oh," she replies, setting the bags down on the floor and dropping to her hands and knees to get a better look herself.
In a tank that had once held precisely twelve fruit flies, there are now six slightly decayed dead flies -- they had perished a few days before -- and six living... flies. Though perhaps the moniker is no longer suitable, as five of the six survivors, which that very morning had been happily feeding upon a chunk of fig lying on the tank floor, have somehow swollen to enormous sizes in the few hours of Rika's absence; now crawling over one another, they seem large enough to push up the lid of the aquarium. Though Rika's logical side considers them unable to have the strength to do so despite their increased size, she could not blame Setsushi for keeping his hand tightly clamped on the lid.
"... This is interesting," Rika finally murmurs, placing her hand on the glass and focusing her attention on a giant fly's body.Setsushi would really like to make some sort of sarcastic and cynical snap in reply, but... has long since realized that it would be of no use, and so simply asks, in a tone that is grumpy, tired, and slightly disgusted, what her explanation is."The males have increased in size...""... You've created giant male flies.""... And I do not believe they can breed," Rika says after a moment, squinting at the fruit. If they were reproductively viable, there should have been larvae on it already; though it is hard to see under the scurrying legs, and Rika can hardly sense anything of use, the eggs do not seem to have--... Rika made giant, male, impotent flies?... No, Rika meant that the group as a whole was not reproductively viable. The males were exposed to a flu-animal solution, and it seems to have rendered the groups incapable of breeding successfully with one another. Though the small number of breeders may be skewed the result, as if something were wrong with that one surviving female...... Setsushi feels a little bit better, but..."... The males also increased in size.""Yes."Rika runs a hand through her bangs, setting her jaw as she thinks -- Setsushi notices that strangely pouty look, and though he studies it quizzically, he does not interrupt her. Finally, she shakes her head -- she doesn't know why. As it is, she does not believe this technique can be applied to mosquitoes -- the flies were able to breed before the growth took place, but the mosquito has a longer life cycle...... Giant mosquitoes."... You can stop making that expression," Rika says after a moment of trying to suppress her giggles. "I don't think I'll continue the experiment." She doesn't have the resources -- she has to work from what she salvaged from the laboratory -- and she doesn't have the knowledge, either. This is not a technology she is familiar with. "I think I'll pass it on to a human philosopher" instead, she muses.
"... You can kill four," she finally concludes. "Don't hurt the last one. I'm going to sell it.""... Will someone really buy a giant fly?""Yes. And she will pay thousands. You will see."[/formatformatformat]
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 8:46 am
I have successfully sold the fly back to 'G-Corporation.' They were astounded at my "marvel of genetic engineering" and attempted to offer me a ranked job, but I would rather not involve myself too much in this land (and they seem, as a whole, quite a disturbing group; I still cannot get over that they would carelessly dispose of an ill-made, fatal potion directly into the regular sewage.) I took the money and ended my service at the laboratory. I am glad the employment was extra-legal; when they realize that the fly was created with their own technology (albeit fixed) they will only have false identifying information.
I have already invested this purse; they may be some risky stocks, but I require a quick payoff -- there is not much time to move Tenkyuu and Kouwa out before we will be able to go back to the Golden World -- probably. Considering the short window, I'm not sure why I'm bothering.
No, I am sure.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 7:42 am
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 7:46 am
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