(no subject)

[out_on_the_mat]

Charlie Kenton is in the bar today sitting at a table with lunch and a map. Lunch is a carved turkey sandwich, and the map is US roadways and it's dotted with little circles and X's.

Charlie is trying to map a route from where he's at in Ft. Worth up to Indiana. And sure, there's probably an app that does this sort of thing, but Charlie's old fashioned.

There's also the fact that an app probably wouldn't understand that Charlie needs to hit all the circles, while avoiding all the X's, while simultaneously saving all the gas he can.

It's going to be a trick to do it, and Charlie's map already has plenty of erasure marks from where he had to scrub out routes that aren't going to work.

He's busy, but probably botherable.

Comments

[witchfinder_general]

Here is somebody from very shortly before apps or Google maps started to exist, so Father Harman won't suggest them as he passes Charlie Kenton.

Whom he clearly remembers as not being Jean Valjean.

"Good evening, Mr. Kenton."

[out_on_the_mat]

Charlie scrubs out another pencil path that isn't going to work and blows eraser shavings off of the map before finally looking up.

"Hey, how's it going?" His reaction to seeing the father isn't necessarily good nor bad. They had quite the discussion when they met last time, and while Charlie was begrudgingly forced to accept the father's point of view on something, there's no ill feelings left about it.

[witchfinder_general]

"Quite well," Father Harman says, looking at the map. "How long do you want that journey to take?"

[out_on_the_mat]

"Trying to keep it as short as possible," he admits, sitting back in his chair and scratching his temple with the eraser end of the pencil.

"I've got a schedule to keep, but these guys aren't making it easy."

[witchfinder_general]

"The ones on the Xs?" Father Harman guesses.

[out_on_the_mat]

Charlie gives a bit of a smirk and a short huffed laugh and nods.

"Yeah. It's like trying to drive through a mine field or something."

[witchfinder_general]

"Very much so," Father Harman says. "And the noughts?"

[out_on_the_mat]

"Places where I've got a fight booked or they're taking all comers and I can get my bot in." There are dates and times written down next to each circled town, but unfortunately the chronolgy of them doesn't follow any straight path along the roads. Especially with the X's in the way.

"Some of these places would be a real cake walk for Mack, too, but the bigger paychecks are against risky company." As it always is.

[witchfinder_general]

"So the exercise is hitting as many noughts in chronological order as possible while not doubling back or taking detours except to avoid the crosses," Father Harman says.

[fluffiest_archadian]

Sherral's had to spend enough time staring at maps that they are now automatically interesting to him.

"Planning a trip?" He remarks easily, if a little stiffly, because Sherral is always a little stiff.

[out_on_the_mat]

Charlie glances up from adding another X to the map and nods.

"Yeah. Got a lot of driving I need to do and trying to figure it out."

He takes a bite of his sandwich and chews it over while looking at the map.

[fluffiest_archadian]

Sherral is still moderately unnerved with the idea of vehicles that move on land, as opposed to on sea or sky, but he's heard enough of the terminology before that he makes the connection fairly easily.

He glances at the map. Then back at the man.

"You're a merchant?" After all, the three people who usually travel are academics, soldiers, and merchants. Even Sherral can tell that Charlie isn't an academic, and probably not a soldier.

[out_on_the_mat]

No, definitely not an academic.

"I'm a trainer, I have a robot who boxes."

Charlie looks the guy up and down and tilts his head, "Y'know what a robot is?"

[fluffiest_archadian]

Sherral's not currently in his armour, instead wearing the grey, rough wool fatigues that are standard issue for Archadian soldiers, but he still very much projects an aura of 'not from the modern day'.

"Aye, I've seen my fair share of them," he says. "Never any that box, though. I think the arena owners would throw a fit if they had to replace their men with machines."

[out_on_the_mat]

Charlie nods, glad he won't have to explain that part of it. He has a habit or running into people from the past here, but thanks to Milliways most of them at least know what a robot is.

Even if no one else so far has seen them boxing.

"They'd have a fit until they started raking in the dough. If it's anything like where I come from, at least." That is how the robots took over the sport, after all.

[fluffiest_archadian]

"Gladiators in Archadia are - well, much stock is placed in their attractiveness. There's money from bets for the fights, of course, but more money comes from sponsorships from corporations, adverts for products, noblemen and women with, um - tastes," Sherral says. "And I don't think a sport without blood would be too popular."

[out_on_the_mat]

"Pretty boys shouldn't fight," Charlie says with a soft snort. "Not if they're afraid of losing their looks." That's his opinion, anyways.

"As for the blood... " He shrugs. "People took the trade off. No blood, more impact. A guy can't take a gut punch from a garbage truck, but a bot can. Bot'll take more damage and lose head and limbs before a bout is called." In Charlie's time they don't let human fights go that far.

[runningred]

Jay's sitting on the other side of the room, working on the chest and head of a smaller, human scaled robot make of a glossy black material. He spots Charlie and gives him a smile and a nod. It's been a while since they met but Jay remembered liking the guy.

[out_on_the_mat]

It has been awhile, but Charlie remembers the guy and gives a nod back.

He's about to give a greeting when the robot catches his attention.

"What you got there?" he asks, setting down his pencil.

[runningred]

"Couple of training robots I've been playing with." A little roughly judging by the state they're in. "A little small for your league at a guess." He gestures for Charlie to take a look as he goes back to rewiring the head which is hooked up to a little palm computer.

[out_on_the_mat]

Leaving his map behind Charlie gets up to walk over and investigate.

"They used to use bots this size, when they first started out. The aim was to make them as human looking as possible."

He looks the bot over, then watches Jay working on the wiring.

"What do you use 'em for?"

[runningred]

"Combat training. I've been using them to keep in form." He toys with a more than slightly dented chest-plate. "Unfortunately they're not as sturdy as I need them to be. I keep having to repair them."

[out_on_the_mat]

"You fight these things?" Charlie jerks a thumb at the bot. "Bare-handed or weapons training?"

Charlie is pretty tough, but he never duked it out with a bot. Not even a Generation 1, which would be about what this thing compared to.

[runningred]

"Yeah." He picks up a cloth to buff out another dent. "A bit of both. I've programmed them for a bunch of different combat styles. I've been modifying them to take a blow."

[out_on_the_mat]

"Huh." Well okay then. Kind of a weird pastime for a mechanic, but Charlie's not going to put it down.

He steps up to rap on the chest plate of the bot and shakes his head.

"Your plating might be too rigid. It's gotta have some give and flex, helps a bot take a hit and gives 'em better movement, too."