shatterverse | (no subject)

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The areas turned out to be residential, and every home Leah tried had a personal computer. None, however, had any electricty coming into their (twin round pin) mains sockets, so trying to find people online was out, even if she could use a foreigncomputer with no access software.

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So instead she started collecting batteries and settled down in one of the more secure first floor flats to pull apart a hifi system and construct a useable Short Wave radio. This she tuned through miles of thick white noise while adding a transmitter.

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The morse code transmitter is easy. It's a few days and a lot of cannibalised electrical appliances before she perfects a battery powered motion device that will keep the SOS code on a loop on a fixed frequency, but she manages that.

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That channel stays open while she starts building a new radio.

[OOC: very much open, but please do not tag if your character would be able to locate and rescue Leah. I want to keep her lost for a while]

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"It's useful," she says. "But that's one mindset I could never come to grips with. Who would want that much responsibility? You'd never have a moment to yourself."

"I hardly get a moment to myself anyway," Leah complains, but her heart isn't in it. She loves her job.

"But I'm sure there's the odd one."

Pause.

"With an entire universe to look after, I can't see that being the case. I mean, I couldn't manage to look after a dog, never mind billions of sentient beings!"

"Ha!" Leah laughs out loud again.

"I couldn't even look after a tortoise properly. When my mate said I should get a guide dog I laughed him out of the room."

And now, things make so much more sense. And the Doctor is even more determined to find Leah, because she sounds perfectly capable, but she's still going to have a harder time than a sighted person.

"I've got the K-9 plans stored around here some place," she says. "No need to feed a robot."

"Yeah, but robots creep me out," Leah admits. "I know they shouldn't, but I like living things."

"Mm, fair enough," she says. "Although the K-9 is a damned good AI."

"I like my I's strictly O," Leah says, and then changes her mind. "OK, not strictly, but I dunno if I can make a robot out of household scraps even if you could get the plans to me."

She can't really put into words her strong kneejerk reaction of Reliance on technology: DO NOT WANT.

If she could, the Doctor would understand - aside from her sonic screwdriver, which is basically the Gallifreyan equivalent of a Swiss Army knife anyway, she's always preferred to use her wits.

"Well, if you change your mind, let me know. He could be a useful tool - you could send him out to explore for you if you're worried about getting lost before you know the layout of the place."

"Listen, if I get a system up where I can recieve data like that," Leah says, "I'll want that and much more from you. But I can't even write down what you're saying, and adding a tape deck was priority - nine or something, after food and contact."

Not being able to do anything but talk and listen when someone needs more help than that really, really sucks.

"Of course," regretfully. "I'm getting ahead of myself - I just wish there was something more useful I could do to help."

"You can do this," Leah says, and her voice takes on a firmer tone, her Scouse accent becoming less pronounced as she unconsicously falls back into her 'business voice.'

"You can set up that radio I asked for. Don't tell me the frequency - I'll find it. Balance Classical with early eighties New Wave of British Heavy Metal and add a quarter-hourly speaking clock so I can cross check with my watch.

"I'll have recording devices up ASAP and then I'll need information about broadcasting that I can use to narrow down the area in which I must be to receive what I do.

"You can keep this frequency here open for communication and chatter, and you can start thinking of interesting anecdotes to tell me while I'm working.

"That's all bloody useful."

"That's telling me," she laughs.

"Let me know if you make contact with anyone else. If we can get a few more people on the case we might be able to find you faster."

"Right," Leah agrees. "You know someone called Oracle?"

"In theory," she says.

"Huh. Didn't know anyone from that world was here. Shows how well I've been keeping up with things. She shouldn't be too hard to get in contact with, from what I know about her. Finding her on the other hand could be harder."

If Leah had a writing tool to hand, sh'ed be reaching for it right now. Instead she leans forward.

"What can you tell me about her? And that universe?"

Information!

This takes some thinking. If it weren't for that weird cross-over effect where information about other worlds leaks through in the form of fiction, she wouldn't know anything at all. As it is, she probably knows too much. So, she should keep it to the sort of thing that would be fairly common knowledge.

"Well, her world is probably a lot like yours, assuming you're from a standard version of earth. Low-level tech, dominant life form is human. She's a co-ordinator for a group of law-enforcers."

Leah had already gathered that, but it doesn't hurt to have it confirmed.

"One of the good guys, huh? OK, well she and I have been coordinating, so if you want to info-swap, she's your girl. I'll keep you both abreast of what I think is important."

"Oh, very much so. Not one for the letter of the law, but she has a good heart. She's a good person to have rooting for you."

The Doctor will be trying to make contact with her as soon as possible.

It's nice to have one's suspicions confirmed. Smug Leah is smug.

"Letter of the law's for cops," she says with a tough of disdain and a large grin.

"Listen, Doc, I gotta get off air for a call of nature and getting back to work. Talk to you later?"

Also, she has to really organise her workshop.

"Okay. I'll be here if you want me, any time."

Which she will. one advantage of superior technology! She can have the TARDIS keep tabs on Leah's frequency, and carry a comms device with her.

"Brilliant."

It's possible, therefore, that Leah will be prattling some to the Doctor for a while. Except for those times where she needs one of the other channels open. The disadvantage of sound as an information reading is - quite literally - the risk of noise.

"Catch ya later."

"Absolutely. Over and out."

The channel goes dead, but it's still open. For as long as she's still there to need it.