[ He starts to type "doesn't matter, I'll come to you," but... without his teleportals, that could mean a lot of stairs. He really needs to fix the lifts. ]
That's fine. Just bring them by R&D when they're ready, it's downstairs from the agricultural zone. How long do they take to prepare?
[ About ten minutes later, Reynir believes he's found the right door. He did end up knocking on a few wrong ones, but that's just how life goes sometimes. He's got a small sheaf of papers in his hand, and knocks before testing the door and finding it open. He pokes his head in, looking for the guy he'd seen in the video on the network. ]
Hello? It is Reynir here, I've brought the runes...
[ It might take a second to find him in here. Qubit's labs are always a little chaotic, because somehow he's always got more important things to do than tidy up (until he literally can't use his workspace, anyway). It's so much quicker to just shove the scraps into a cardboard box to go through later, and then later sort of never happens? And that's when he can make his equipment from scratch, tailoring it to fit whatever space he has available. Here, that's more or less off the table.
What he has in here, he's had to scavenge from other parts of the station and cram in wherever he can make it fit. There's equipment wheeled into corners, instruments stacked two or three high on metal shelving, cable management nightmares everywhere you look. The workbench itself is just as cluttered, with half-finished projects and discarded wires and a few little plastic bins full of miscellaneous parts.
On the plus side, it's pretty well-lit in here. So it's less of a spooky sci-fi lab, more of a really messy sci-fi lab.
Qubit's at the workbench when Reynir enters, doing some last-minute tweaks on the laser gun he may or may not have absolutely stolen from a security bot. He pokes his head out from behind an equipment rack and smiles to acknowledge him. ]
[ Reynir makes his way through the lab, just kind of gaping at all the clutter. It's not only messy, but it's full of so much bizarre shit that Reynir has never seen before, not even in those few ruins in the Old World he had explored during the expedition. What the hell is THAT thing?! And THAT?!
But he keeps going, with his little sheaf of papers clutched to his chest, until he sees a movement and turns to see Qubit sticking his head out. ]
Oh, good, you are here.
[ Reynir picks his way past the wires and boxes and stuff over to the workbench, watching with his mouth open as Qubit fiddles with the... ]
It is. [ This isn't anything particularly sensitive, so he steps aside to let Reynir have a better look at it. ] Took it off one of those rogue security bots we were having trouble with earlier. Right now I'm trying to tighten up the beam a skosh, give it a little more stopping power.
[ Reynir stares with exactly the level of mingled interest and confusion that you would expect. He's seen guns before, obviously. He's not that sheltered. But this looks a lot different than the ones, for instance, he'd seen Lalli and Sigrun using in the past. ]
So are you, like.... going all alone?
[ The thought of guns has made him think of that expedition, and the way Sigrun and Emil and even Mikkel would work together if they needed to explore some dangerous place. He might have spent most of those intervals tucked away safely in the vehicle, but he knows that most of the time, Lalli was the only one who would go out alone, and Lalli is Lalli.
Tech can only hold his interest for so long, after all, and he might not know this man well, but not having a team or even just a partner with him seems... maybe kind of like a bad idea. ]
Alone? Oh, no, of course not. Carlisle's coming with again. I think I mentioned him last time, didn't I?
[ Qubit can handle himself in a fight, but why fight if he doesn't have to? Carlisle's abilities are exceptionally well-suited to this sort of crowd control. Er - provided he can get said abilities under control. But that's a work in progress, he'll get better at it. ]
[ Reynir seems greatly relieved that Qubit isn't going on his own; he didn't want him by himself but he really really really didn't want to volunteer to go with him. He is providing protection runes and honestly he would probably have just gotten in the way. ]
I like him.
[ They had talked about mage stuff and Carlisle had been mysterious and very much more interested in asking questions than answering them, but he'd treated Reynir and his abilities with respect, and that goes a long way with him. ]
[ And they get along remarkably well. Despite being at far opposite ends of the tech/magic spectrum, they've got a lot in common, personality-wise. Carlisle's prickly, but he means well. Quick to anger, but logical and principled - which means if Qubit does have to defuse him, he can just use the same strategies that work on himself. ]
Have you two tried comparing glyphs? [ He gestures to the paper in Reynir's hands, presuming that those are the runes he asked for. ] I've got no head for magic, admittedly, but I wondered whether they might be similar.
[ Reynir is a little surprised, to hear that the two of them are friends - his own impression had been that Qubit is a little bit hostile towards magic, towards religious magic in particular, and Carlisle is a member of a religious order, clearly a proud and devout man. But then, friendships can spring up in the oddest places. ]
We did! Well, I didn't actually see him draw any runes but we talked about our ways of doing magic and you're right, there's a lot of similarities.
[ And differences, too, but Reynir isn't sure he should get into the nitty gritty of it, since Qubit said he hasn't got a head for magic and probably it would be a lot less interesting to someone who wasn't a mage himself. ]
I'm glad you're gonna have him with you, in case these don't work. I'm pretty sure they will, but I'm still new here, and I don't really know how being in this place might impact the stuff I do as a mage...
[ He's learned, after all, since that conversation with Carlisle, that Onni's abilities have been affected, so he's ... a little more wary. ]
Are you... is there a time I should expect you both back by, before everybody should start worrying and thinking about rescue parties?
[ Yeah, Qubit actually doesn't have any ill will toward religion - he's not even an atheist himself, believe it or not. And while he doesn't like magic, he'd be a fool not to acknowledge it when it works. What he's hostile toward is bullshit, whether it tries to pass itself off as magic, religion, or (worst of all) science. ]
We shouldn't be more than a few hours. If we're not back by evening, then we may need backup, but I doubt it'll be necessary.
[ He holds a hand out for the runes. ] So how do these work? Any trick to the activation, or...
[ Reynir gives a solemn nod despite Qubit's reassurances. Plans go awry. People get lost and stuck and Reynir knows that. Even if Qubit doesn't think anything will go wrong, he might get surprised. Reynir has every intention of texting him that evening just to check, and if he doesn't respond........ well he'll come up with a plan then if he has to. ]
No, no trick to it.
[ He gives the small sheaf of runes over to Qubit and explains: ]
A few of these are just passive, they just - keep dangerous spirits or... hopefully the undead from wanting to get close to you. There are others that'll warn you if they are getting close to you despite the other ones - you'll just notice a, uh, a small amount of smoke coming off them. If that happens, get the hell out of there.
[ Then, curiously: ]
What is so important that you are hoping to bring back?
[ Qubit flips through the papers, nodding, but his mouth tightens slightly with concern. He hadn't expected them to be always on, and that complicates things with respect to Carlisle specifically. What effect might they have on him? At best, it could taint the experiment, and at worst they might actually harm him.
He might need to leave them behind today, after all. Find another companion and make a separate trip to test them properly. ]
Supplies, hopefully. Did you see the couple of lorries that just appeared? I'm hoping there'll be something useful inside - food, in particular. You and the lads are doing excellent work at the farm, but it'll still be a while before our food supply is really self-sustaining.
[ And until then, they need to take advantage of every opportunity they get. ]
[ Reynir gives a few solemn nods of understanding and approval; food is worth the risk. There had been famines, in Iceland, after the Old World collapsed, before the little island was set up to produce enough food to sustain its population without fishing the now-dangerous oceans. ]
If you've got room... even if there's spoiled food, it can be useful as fertilizer. But hopefully you'll find some things that are still good.
[ Most of the scavenging Reynir has done has been of places abandoned for almost 100 years; his brain just defaults to thinking most stuff will have long since gone bad.
But thinking about the famine has him thinking about Iceland, about what Qubit said about having been there. Quirking his head to the side, he says: ]
You never explained about why you went to Iceland. The story with the volcanoes?
[ He perks up a bit. As bittersweet as the memories are in hindsight, there's a lot about his time with the Paradigm that he doesn't regret, too. And this is a much better time to talk about it. ]
I might need to give you some context, first. Are you familiar with the concept of superheroes?
[ Since... he's already pretty sure Reynir's Earth doesn't have actual ones. ]
[ Reynir looks around the cluttered space but spots somewhere he thinks he can perch without doing any damage. If it's any kind of a story, he wants to be able to sit and enjoy it, not look like he's about to wander off at any moment.
Qubit's question surprises him and he tilts his head to one side, blinking a few times before hesitantly answering: ]
Um.... Do you mean, like, in legends and epics? That wrestle giant serpents or... talk to gods?
[ In other words, nope. He thinks Qubit is saying two separate words, there, and that he thinks the heroes from old myths are just really super duper. ]
[ Yeah, Reynir can just sit anywhere, tbh. There's nothing on the workbench that can't get shoved aside. Qubit leans against another part of the table. ]
Mm... not so much legends and epics as comic books and television. Although yes, wrestling giant serpents has happened a few times.
[ All right. So in Reynir's cultural context, the superhero "mythos" was either lost in the apocalypse, or never existed to begin with. He pauses for a moment to find a good starting point. ]
So. Superheroes are people, usually but not always possessed of extraordinary powers and abilities, who choose to put their gifts to use in service of the greater good. As a result, we can take on threats that ordinary people and institutions simply aren't equipped to handle. For instance, alien invasions, supervillains... volcanic eruptions.
[ It is entirely possible that some history of comic books existed and was even preserved past the collapse of the Old World. The trouble is that Reynir is... barely educated, to put it generously. He is, after all, a literal and actual peasant.
Qubit starting from the very beginning is, therefore, wise. Reynir listens, nodding along and doing his best to absorb it all. ]
What d'you mean, extraordinary powers and abilities? Like... magic?
[ He's... probably going to need some examples here, dude. Baby steps. He can tell that Qubit isn't just talking about mages, though. This is something more specific. Some mages did dedicate themselves to public service, whether in the military or by acting as a village's healer or protector, or by working as a sentinel or some such. But Qubit seems to be talking about something different. No mage would be able to stop a volcano from erupting. ]
Are you a superhero?
[ Qubit seems to know a lot about them, after all. ]
Magic's one possibility, yes. Whether that means traditional spellcasting, or some other ability with a magical source. But there's a wide variety of such sources - psionics, mutation, alien technology, and on and on.
[ He gradually starts talking with his hands the further into this he gets. ]
And the actual powers are as diverse as the people wielding them. Superhuman strength or speed. Energy constructs. Control over electricity, or fire, or weather. Flight, under one's own power.
Or, in my case: technokinesis.
[ Here, he'll demonstrate. He reaches into a junk bin and produces a fist-sized chunk of mangled electronics, which is suddenly surrounded by a bright blue-green light - and it morphs, over a second or two, into a sleek digital desk clock, displaying the current time. This he hands over to Reynir as the same eerie light fades from his eyes. ]
[ Reynir is honestly understanding about half of what Qubit is telling him; there are a lot of terms and concepts that Qubit races past that Reynir has never even heard of. He feels like he needs a dictionary for this conversation. What is psionics? What is an energy construct? He knows the word for energy, and what it is to construct something, but... put together what do they signify?
At least he is getting some sense of the scope of what Qubit is talking about. Rather than magic, which is vast and varied and can accomplish any number of things once you learn the right runes, Qubit is talking about people who have a specialized inherent skill. Many Finnish mages can control the weather, Reynir knows. But all of them have to use the same spells to do it. If someone existed who could do it without knowing that runo... that certainly would be an extraordinary power.
Before he can ask any follow-ups, however, Qubit is talking about his own abilities and then showing them off. Reynir watches in wide-eyed wonder, mouth dropping open as Qubit scoops up a handful of broken old trash and somehow lights it up and transmutes it into a working clock. Reynir gapes. He accepts the clock automatically, with numb hands, turning it over and over, rattling it, looking from it to Qubit and back.
[ Qubit smiles, but it's not the self-satisfied preening he would do normally. Sure, this is astounding to Reynir, as he knew it would be - but by his own standards, it barely qualifies as a parlor trick. He hates so much that his powers are broken, you guys.
Still, he bites his tongue. As strong as the impulse is to bitch about his problems, it's a little more important to avoid broadcasting his weaknesses. (Not that anybody here currently has seen him at full strength, but...) ]
So. [ He folds his arms, getting back to the story. ] Back home, I worked with a team of like-minded individuals, called the Paradigm. This incident took place a few years ago. We'd been keeping an eye on seismic activity around... [ he clicks his tongue a few times, dissatisfied at his recall. ] The name escapes me. Eyja-something, I believe? It's one of the long ones.
[ Reynir was paying attention and curious before, of course, but now he is rapt. He nods along, green eyes intent as Qubit begins to tell the story properly. A like-minded superhero team? Doubly awesome. It's all he can do to stop himself from interrupting and insisting Qubit tell him who every single member of the team was, and what their abilities were. He's trying to be a good audience.
It takes a moment to realize what Qubit is even trying to say, and when he does piece it together he offers immediately: ]
Oh, Eyjafjallajökull?
[ You know, a memorable and easy to pronounce name, all around! ]
And there was something strange? About the activity?
[ When Reynir fills in the name, Qubit snaps his fingers. ] That's the one!
Right. Icelandic meteorologists had noticed a marked increase in the frequency of earthquakes around Eyjafjallajökull, which led to concerns that an eruption could be imminent. Now - normally, we didn't try to avert natural disasters of this sort, because the systemic consequences of doing so could be wide-ranging, unpredictable, and many times worse than the disaster averted. Instead, we would focus our efforts on saving lives, preserving infrastructure, and so on.
In this case, however... Due to my own abilities, I had access to monitoring equipment and data that official forecasters didn't. And the longer the quakes went on without an eruption, the higher the pressure grew in the volcano's magma chamber, and before long my models were predicting an extreme likelihood of it triggering an eruption in Katla.
[ You know, the much larger volcano 25 km away. The one that's historically had eruptions triggered by Eyjafjallajökull. That Katla. ]
And further, that Katla's eruption would be much more severe than anyone was prepared for. Possibly on the order of Krakatoa, or even, God forbid, Tambora.
[ .... which, as he says it, he realizes Reynir has quite likely never heard of, so. ]
For reference - the sound of Krakatoa's eruption was heard almost five thousand kilometers away. And Tambora put so much ejecta into the atmosphere that it caused years of global cooling and crop failures worldwide - not to mention obliterated most of the island where it took place.
Edited (same icon twice in a row) 2019-11-09 16:39 (UTC)
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That's fine. Just bring them by R&D when they're ready, it's downstairs from the agricultural zone. How long do they take to prepare?
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[ He's really glad Qubit includes instructions which way to go because he's definitely never been to R&D before. ]
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➡️ action
Hello? It is Reynir here, I've brought the runes...
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What he has in here, he's had to scavenge from other parts of the station and cram in wherever he can make it fit. There's equipment wheeled into corners, instruments stacked two or three high on metal shelving, cable management nightmares everywhere you look. The workbench itself is just as cluttered, with half-finished projects and discarded wires and a few little plastic bins full of miscellaneous parts.
On the plus side, it's pretty well-lit in here. So it's less of a spooky sci-fi lab, more of a really messy sci-fi lab.
Qubit's at the workbench when Reynir enters, doing some last-minute tweaks on the laser gun he may or may not have absolutely stolen from a security bot. He pokes his head out from behind an equipment rack and smiles to acknowledge him. ]
Yes, hello! Come in, I'll be just a second.
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But he keeps going, with his little sheaf of papers clutched to his chest, until he sees a movement and turns to see Qubit sticking his head out. ]
Oh, good, you are here.
[ Reynir picks his way past the wires and boxes and stuff over to the workbench, watching with his mouth open as Qubit fiddles with the... ]
Is that some kind of gun?
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[ If that makes sense. ]
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So are you, like.... going all alone?
[ The thought of guns has made him think of that expedition, and the way Sigrun and Emil and even Mikkel would work together if they needed to explore some dangerous place. He might have spent most of those intervals tucked away safely in the vehicle, but he knows that most of the time, Lalli was the only one who would go out alone, and Lalli is Lalli.
Tech can only hold his interest for so long, after all, and he might not know this man well, but not having a team or even just a partner with him seems... maybe kind of like a bad idea. ]
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[ Qubit can handle himself in a fight, but why fight if he doesn't have to? Carlisle's abilities are exceptionally well-suited to this sort of crowd control. Er - provided he can get said abilities under control. But that's a work in progress, he'll get better at it. ]
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[ Reynir seems greatly relieved that Qubit isn't going on his own; he didn't want him by himself but he really really really didn't want to volunteer to go with him. He is providing protection runes and honestly he would probably have just gotten in the way. ]
I like him.
[ They had talked about mage stuff and Carlisle had been mysterious and very much more interested in asking questions than answering them, but he'd treated Reynir and his abilities with respect, and that goes a long way with him. ]
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[ And they get along remarkably well. Despite being at far opposite ends of the tech/magic spectrum, they've got a lot in common, personality-wise. Carlisle's prickly, but he means well. Quick to anger, but logical and principled - which means if Qubit does have to defuse him, he can just use the same strategies that work on himself. ]
Have you two tried comparing glyphs? [ He gestures to the paper in Reynir's hands, presuming that those are the runes he asked for. ] I've got no head for magic, admittedly, but I wondered whether they might be similar.
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We did! Well, I didn't actually see him draw any runes but we talked about our ways of doing magic and you're right, there's a lot of similarities.
[ And differences, too, but Reynir isn't sure he should get into the nitty gritty of it, since Qubit said he hasn't got a head for magic and probably it would be a lot less interesting to someone who wasn't a mage himself. ]
I'm glad you're gonna have him with you, in case these don't work. I'm pretty sure they will, but I'm still new here, and I don't really know how being in this place might impact the stuff I do as a mage...
[ He's learned, after all, since that conversation with Carlisle, that Onni's abilities have been affected, so he's ... a little more wary. ]
Are you... is there a time I should expect you both back by, before everybody should start worrying and thinking about rescue parties?
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We shouldn't be more than a few hours. If we're not back by evening, then we may need backup, but I doubt it'll be necessary.
[ He holds a hand out for the runes. ] So how do these work? Any trick to the activation, or...
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No, no trick to it.
[ He gives the small sheaf of runes over to Qubit and explains: ]
A few of these are just passive, they just - keep dangerous spirits or... hopefully the undead from wanting to get close to you. There are others that'll warn you if they are getting close to you despite the other ones - you'll just notice a, uh, a small amount of smoke coming off them. If that happens, get the hell out of there.
[ Then, curiously: ]
What is so important that you are hoping to bring back?
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He might need to leave them behind today, after all. Find another companion and make a separate trip to test them properly. ]
Supplies, hopefully. Did you see the couple of lorries that just appeared? I'm hoping there'll be something useful inside - food, in particular. You and the lads are doing excellent work at the farm, but it'll still be a while before our food supply is really self-sustaining.
[ And until then, they need to take advantage of every opportunity they get. ]
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If you've got room... even if there's spoiled food, it can be useful as fertilizer. But hopefully you'll find some things that are still good.
[ Most of the scavenging Reynir has done has been of places abandoned for almost 100 years; his brain just defaults to thinking most stuff will have long since gone bad.
But thinking about the famine has him thinking about Iceland, about what Qubit said about having been there. Quirking his head to the side, he says: ]
You never explained about why you went to Iceland. The story with the volcanoes?
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[ He perks up a bit. As bittersweet as the memories are in hindsight, there's a lot about his time with the Paradigm that he doesn't regret, too. And this is a much better time to talk about it. ]
I might need to give you some context, first. Are you familiar with the concept of superheroes?
[ Since... he's already pretty sure Reynir's Earth doesn't have actual ones. ]
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[ Reynir looks around the cluttered space but spots somewhere he thinks he can perch without doing any damage. If it's any kind of a story, he wants to be able to sit and enjoy it, not look like he's about to wander off at any moment.
Qubit's question surprises him and he tilts his head to one side, blinking a few times before hesitantly answering: ]
Um.... Do you mean, like, in legends and epics? That wrestle giant serpents or... talk to gods?
[ In other words, nope. He thinks Qubit is saying two separate words, there, and that he thinks the heroes from old myths are just really super duper. ]
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Mm... not so much legends and epics as comic books and television. Although yes, wrestling giant serpents has happened a few times.
[ All right. So in Reynir's cultural context, the superhero "mythos" was either lost in the apocalypse, or never existed to begin with. He pauses for a moment to find a good starting point. ]
So. Superheroes are people, usually but not always possessed of extraordinary powers and abilities, who choose to put their gifts to use in service of the greater good. As a result, we can take on threats that ordinary people and institutions simply aren't equipped to handle. For instance, alien invasions, supervillains... volcanic eruptions.
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Qubit starting from the very beginning is, therefore, wise. Reynir listens, nodding along and doing his best to absorb it all. ]
What d'you mean, extraordinary powers and abilities? Like... magic?
[ He's... probably going to need some examples here, dude. Baby steps. He can tell that Qubit isn't just talking about mages, though. This is something more specific. Some mages did dedicate themselves to public service, whether in the military or by acting as a village's healer or protector, or by working as a sentinel or some such. But Qubit seems to be talking about something different. No mage would be able to stop a volcano from erupting. ]
Are you a superhero?
[ Qubit seems to know a lot about them, after all. ]
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[ He gradually starts talking with his hands the further into this he gets. ]
And the actual powers are as diverse as the people wielding them. Superhuman strength or speed. Energy constructs. Control over electricity, or fire, or weather. Flight, under one's own power.
Or, in my case: technokinesis.
[ Here, he'll demonstrate. He reaches into a junk bin and produces a fist-sized chunk of mangled electronics, which is suddenly surrounded by a bright blue-green light - and it morphs, over a second or two, into a sleek digital desk clock, displaying the current time. This he hands over to Reynir as the same eerie light fades from his eyes. ]
So to answer your question, yes. I am.
[ Kinda. Sorta. Close enough. ]
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At least he is getting some sense of the scope of what Qubit is talking about. Rather than magic, which is vast and varied and can accomplish any number of things once you learn the right runes, Qubit is talking about people who have a specialized inherent skill. Many Finnish mages can control the weather, Reynir knows. But all of them have to use the same spells to do it. If someone existed who could do it without knowing that runo... that certainly would be an extraordinary power.
Before he can ask any follow-ups, however, Qubit is talking about his own abilities and then showing them off. Reynir watches in wide-eyed wonder, mouth dropping open as Qubit scoops up a handful of broken old trash and somehow lights it up and transmutes it into a working clock. Reynir gapes. He accepts the clock automatically, with numb hands, turning it over and over, rattling it, looking from it to Qubit and back.
Then he says, with almost comical wonder: ]
That. Is. The coolest thing. I've ever seen.
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Still, he bites his tongue. As strong as the impulse is to bitch about his problems, it's a little more important to avoid broadcasting his weaknesses. (Not that anybody here currently has seen him at full strength, but...) ]
So. [ He folds his arms, getting back to the story. ] Back home, I worked with a team of like-minded individuals, called the Paradigm. This incident took place a few years ago. We'd been keeping an eye on seismic activity around... [ he clicks his tongue a few times, dissatisfied at his recall. ] The name escapes me. Eyja-something, I believe? It's one of the long ones.
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It takes a moment to realize what Qubit is even trying to say, and when he does piece it together he offers immediately: ]
Oh, Eyjafjallajökull?
[ You know, a memorable and easy to pronounce name, all around! ]
And there was something strange? About the activity?
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Right. Icelandic meteorologists had noticed a marked increase in the frequency of earthquakes around Eyjafjallajökull, which led to concerns that an eruption could be imminent. Now - normally, we didn't try to avert natural disasters of this sort, because the systemic consequences of doing so could be wide-ranging, unpredictable, and many times worse than the disaster averted. Instead, we would focus our efforts on saving lives, preserving infrastructure, and so on.
In this case, however... Due to my own abilities, I had access to monitoring equipment and data that official forecasters didn't. And the longer the quakes went on without an eruption, the higher the pressure grew in the volcano's magma chamber, and before long my models were predicting an extreme likelihood of it triggering an eruption in Katla.
[ You know, the much larger volcano 25 km away. The one that's historically had eruptions triggered by Eyjafjallajökull. That Katla. ]
And further, that Katla's eruption would be much more severe than anyone was prepared for. Possibly on the order of Krakatoa, or even, God forbid, Tambora.
[ .... which, as he says it, he realizes Reynir has quite likely never heard of, so. ]
For reference - the sound of Krakatoa's eruption was heard almost five thousand kilometers away. And Tambora put so much ejecta into the atmosphere that it caused years of global cooling and crop failures worldwide - not to mention obliterated most of the island where it took place.
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