Late afternoon, outside

[cook_the_rude]

Outside the back door to the general behind-the-scenes area which isn't far from the kitchen door and which Dr. Hannibal Lecter seems to have found by simply wandering away from the infirmary day room with his drip stand, there are a few chairs and a table which people seem to use to take breaks from whatever they had been doing there. A few waitrats are actually lounging around in the late afternoon sun and not paying any attention to Dr. Lecter; in fact, one of them has a little sign that declares WE'RE ON A BREAK!!!

Dr. Lecter sits in one of the chairs and looks up at the sky. He's wearing a paisley dressing gown over a soft green sweater, and a matching paisley shawl is covering the low-hanging thing on the drip stand. His slippers are plaid.

He is still rather pale and wan, but his face, as usual, will give away little.

Comments

[cook_the_rude]

"Method of loci, to use the correct term," Hannibal says. "A series of interconnected places, similar but different that you can tell apart."

[herr_bookman]

Autor applies unobtrusive colors and labels to his clouds: dossiers for one, things having to do with Rae for another--and the cloud is bright white and fluffy. Things having to do with Hannibal take up yet another, dark grey and pulsing with lightning.

"Hm," Autor says, quickly categorizing his clouds. "It's... interesting. I can see how it works."

[cook_the_rude]

"if you need to store things in a certain order, you need to distribute them along a route through the place," Hannibal says. "Individual factoids can just be stored in allocated loci, and you will have to go there in your mind to reach the information. The movement through the place that you have arranged in your mind is the very act by which you memorise those facts."

[herr_bookman]

Autor can move through his palace in a three dimensional way, floating in every direction on his carpet, so his organization takes a little getting used to.

"I see," he says, closing his eyes again. "What is your palace like?"

[cook_the_rude]

"A building," Hannibal says. "And actual palace. A thousand rooms, miles of corridors, hundreds of facts attached to each object furnishing each room, a pleasant respite awaiting me whenever I choose to retire there."

[herr_bookman]

"Oh, interesting," Autor says, adjusting his glasses. "Mine..."

He hesitates, because he doesn't want Hannibal to know about his safe space. But then, he reasons, he can't get me there anyway.

"Mine starts out on my carpet, high in the air, and each loci is attached to a cloud of a certain type."

[cook_the_rude]

"You can move through them three-dimensionally, enabling an almost infinite number of routes through the information you are going to store?" Hannibal says. "That is clever. Somebody might study the effect of flying carpets on spatial orientation; you're so used to yours by now, you automatically orient yourself three-dimensionally."

[herr_bookman]

Autor almost rejects Hannibal's praise, telling himself that he doesn't mean it, and Autor doesn't need it anyway.

Almost.

"They're organized by emotion, too," Autor reveals. "Each cloud looks different based on the emotion attached to the information."

[cook_the_rude]

"Information, colour-coded by feeling," Hannibal says. "Your approach is different, but very interesting."

[herr_bookman]

"Hopefully it turns out to be efficient," Autor says, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. He sips his forgotten tea, reminded that he should be annoyed with Hannibal. "Thank you for teaching me."

[cook_the_rude]

"I promised I would," Hannibal says. "One thing that people don't understand about me is that I never threaten, and I keep my promises. Is there any tea left in that thermos?"

[herr_bookman]

"I understand that," Autor says, and shakes the thermos to reveal the liquid sloshing around in it. "There is. Would you care for more tea in your cup, then?"

[cook_the_rude]

"Yes, please," Hannibal says, holding out his cup.

"Then you see that there is no reason to be afraid of me. Milliways is far more interesting with you in it, at our full capacity, seeing what people will do."

[herr_bookman]

Autor fills it again, exhausting the tea supply. "I'm flattered," he starts, and he is, "but if I were smart, I would still avoid you. If I were smart, I'd still be afraid of you."

He bows at the waist, holding the thermos and teacup his side. "Surely you won't hold my wanting to be smart against me. After all, you like seeing what people do, and this is what I choose," he says. "Good day, Dr. Lecter."

[cook_the_rude]

Hannibal smiles at him.

"Have a nice evening, Autor," he says, "and I think I will see you very soon."

He sips his tea.

[herr_bookman]

"No, you won't," Autor says, smiling back, sharp and ruthless. He nods, and wanders off.

[cook_the_rude]

Hannibal keeps meandering through the garden with his drip stand.-