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alittlehinkyThere's already a considerable amount of snow on the ground, and Cricket is in brand new boots, custom designed to accommodate his leg braces. He also has a walking stick with him, in case of ice--can't be too careful--but rather than the wagon he frequently drags with him to carry cases of moonshine from one end of the Nexus to the other, he has a sled.
What's on the sled doesn't appear to be liquor.
He parks beneath a sheltered spot in the plaza, where a metal awning covers a few tables, and the snow on the pavement is thin. And he fusses a bit, setting out a few things in boxes. Small pieces of electronic equipment, perhaps?
"A'ight," he says at last, with the air of someone making an announcement. "I don't think everyone here remembers th' storm last year, which is something I reckon you have to expect in a place like this, where people come and go. But I remember, and I was thinkin' that part of what made it a worse problem than it had to be was the portals freezin' up and trapping people here, who don't live here and had nowhere fixed to stay or any supplies with 'em beyond the clothes on their backs."
"Now, the Nexus is gonna do what it's gonna do. People will get dragged in and get stuck one way or another, but I got to thinking about an early warning system, and I came up with these." He picks up one of the devices on the table. It looks like a digital thermometer, for the most part, with a set of separate, wireless probes he picks up and holds out in his other hand.
"It's based on the same kind of technology Harley used to have in her greenhouse. Measures temperature, moisture, electrical discharge, and I added barometric pressure. It ain't that complicated as a device, just getting it to send wireless signals was harder'n I thought it'd be. I'm a tinkerer, not an inventor so much? But I think it'll work in places where things don't shift around too much."
"If you got a gate that stays in one place most of the time, you can stick the probes in the ground close by it, and if the temperature drops lower than freezing, or one of the other markers shifts 'round, it'll send out an alert. You can change the criteria. Ain't much, and nothing's foolproof, but I think it might be a start."
"Now...I need two things. I need some folk to test it on their gates and write down all the information for me, so we can see how it does. And I need help, 'cause what this really needs to be able to do is interface with our PINpoints, but I am definitely not a programmer. I reckon if I cracked open a PINpoint I'd blow myself to Kingdom Come, so I need someone smarter'n me for this."
Smarter, or at least with high INT, low WIS.
"So I guess my question is, does anyone wanna volunteer?" Pause. "Also, I need a name for this thing. I really wanna call it a CHIRP but I can't justify them letters, so I'm open to suggestions."
What's on the sled doesn't appear to be liquor.
He parks beneath a sheltered spot in the plaza, where a metal awning covers a few tables, and the snow on the pavement is thin. And he fusses a bit, setting out a few things in boxes. Small pieces of electronic equipment, perhaps?
"A'ight," he says at last, with the air of someone making an announcement. "I don't think everyone here remembers th' storm last year, which is something I reckon you have to expect in a place like this, where people come and go. But I remember, and I was thinkin' that part of what made it a worse problem than it had to be was the portals freezin' up and trapping people here, who don't live here and had nowhere fixed to stay or any supplies with 'em beyond the clothes on their backs."
"Now, the Nexus is gonna do what it's gonna do. People will get dragged in and get stuck one way or another, but I got to thinking about an early warning system, and I came up with these." He picks up one of the devices on the table. It looks like a digital thermometer, for the most part, with a set of separate, wireless probes he picks up and holds out in his other hand.
"It's based on the same kind of technology Harley used to have in her greenhouse. Measures temperature, moisture, electrical discharge, and I added barometric pressure. It ain't that complicated as a device, just getting it to send wireless signals was harder'n I thought it'd be. I'm a tinkerer, not an inventor so much? But I think it'll work in places where things don't shift around too much."
"If you got a gate that stays in one place most of the time, you can stick the probes in the ground close by it, and if the temperature drops lower than freezing, or one of the other markers shifts 'round, it'll send out an alert. You can change the criteria. Ain't much, and nothing's foolproof, but I think it might be a start."
"Now...I need two things. I need some folk to test it on their gates and write down all the information for me, so we can see how it does. And I need help, 'cause what this really needs to be able to do is interface with our PINpoints, but I am definitely not a programmer. I reckon if I cracked open a PINpoint I'd blow myself to Kingdom Come, so I need someone smarter'n me for this."
Smarter, or at least with high INT, low WIS.
"So I guess my question is, does anyone wanna volunteer?" Pause. "Also, I need a name for this thing. I really wanna call it a CHIRP but I can't justify them letters, so I'm open to suggestions."
