[MINGLE] Just don't touch the puffball

[markwatney]

WHO: Mark Watney
WHERE: 6I Town Hall
WHEN: 7 June, after lunch
OPEN TO: ALL - MINGLE
WARNINGS: n/a
NOTES: Please note in your subject line if a top-level is to Mark (or whoever)

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I have to be honest, as a botanist, there's a lot about this new, expanded world to be excited about. It seems like almost every time I go out to collect samples, I find something I haven't seen before, and nearly every minute I'm not working in the fields or greenhouse, I've been in Ravi's lab doing tests and compiling observations. Some of the specimens are pretty spectacular, but for a lot of them, the things that make them impressive are also things that could be a problem for the average villager.

Which is why I'm here now, in the town hall, lining up a variety of plants on a long table at the front of the room, some dried, some placed carefully under glass, many seeded in whatever I could find to use as a pot: Sauce pans, old boxes, tea cups.

Early this morning, I left a message on the blackboard in the Inn in big chalk letters:

Seminar on new native plants
TODAY - TOWN HALL - AFTER LUNCH
IMPORTANT INFO!!

In the old place, I used to take folks out one at a time and give them a crash course on what was edible and what was poisonous, but that's just not going to cut it now.

As I wait for folks to arrive (As I wait, hoping folks will arrive), I lay out labels in front of each plant listing what I've been calling it, whether it's dangerous, and any known properties. Once I'm done running my mouth, people can come up and get a good look.

Comments

[iron_beneath_beauty]

"Do you know how it is that electricity can start and stop by a switch?" It was a random question during this lesson and probably didn't matter, but it was something she had been curious about for awhile. "Is it safe to touch those switches? Every time I am about to, I worry that there will be a spark." Which was a bit embarrassing to admit. Her cheeks turned crimson as she looked down at the ground.

"So you are like a maester...I mean, a scholar?" That word didn't seem to mean very much to others, scholar was as close as she could describe it in other terms. "Are you studying to be a healer or an alchemist?"

[fwips]

"Yeah— I mean, yes, I know how it works. You shouldn't have to worry about touching a light switch. Just don't touch any of the wires inside." The infrastructure here is a really old style, but Peter hasn't seen anything yet that seemed dangerous to the casual user.

"Sort of?" he answers of her last question. "I'm in high school, which is like... a secondary school? My school has an emphasis on technical stuff, but we learn all kinds of subjects. Where I come from, most people go to school for general subjects until they're about eighteen, and then they decide if they want more schooling in something more specialized or to just start working or whatever."

[iron_beneath_beauty]

"What keeps those wires from sending shocks through the switch? It doesn't seem like a very sturdy shield?" She somehow doubted that she would feel comfortable either way. It was a bit too much for her to wrap her head around. He at least could explain it to her in a way that was clear. No one else had been able to do that much beyond simply saying, 'this is what it is.'

"School?" No, it wasn't a word that she had heard before. "Eighteen? That is rather old to continue studying unless you were intending to take vows as a maester. You have no land to manage or wife?" It wasn't uncommon for a boy his age to be married, but it wouldn't be surprising to her if he was.

[fwips]

The functions of simple household electricity is, Peter realizes now, a lot more complicated than he might have imagined. "To simplify it a bunch, there are certain methods and materials that keep the electricity from shocking you. But mostly, think of it maybe like this: The switch is you sending a signal to the electricity. It's not the electricity sending one to you. One way."

Which might be confusing with the AC/DC distinction they talked about earlier, but he hopes she gets the gist enough to not be scared to turn on the lights.

He laughs a little at her last question, and shakes his head. "No, I don't have any land or a wife. People don't really do that where I come from anymore— I mean, some do, farmers and stuff, but sixteen is still considered a kid."