In reply to Cala (msg # 71):

The tea is scented, and tastes of hot summers standing near a flower garden.

"Piloting. Yes." She nods taking up her own tea, crossing her legs, and listening attentively.

"Captain of a Robolord ship. Impressive, and unusual. You do not seem like a Hidalgo."

She nods.

"We built the first South Pole Space Colony.  We were of their empire, but not of the Hidalgos.  Expendable.  We built our society, and we became good at what we did.  And then they want to rule us, and put us under the iron fist.  Before they had ignored us.  We resisted.  They insisted.  They still insist a few times a day, trying to break our Outer Defense Line.  We're a lot smaller than them, but they can't use heavy weapons on us, or all we have is destroyed, and we've proven we're not going to buckle to threats of utter destruction."

She looks angry and proud.

"Well, there is the military.  You can ride a high atmo fighter, or man a cannon.  Or you could apply to the Defector's Union.  Anyone who wants to leave the Hidalgos has a place with them.  They can train you for a regular job, or if you have a liking for the shadows, well, the DU has agents all over Earth and in Orbit."

"Hmm, I am not a Hidalgo. I'm a time traveler, except it was unplanned, and one way, and about as interesting as the method with which I arrived at Distra. Wasn't really interested in joining the military 900 years ago, and still not really interested. Maybe if I was younger, and stupider. Young kids are all about violence and are a bit rowdy. Doesn't take much, like gunpowder waiting for a spark.

I'd ideally like to go back into programming, which is what I was working on.

Pirates attacked the ship I was on, crew decided to fight, I decided danger is bad and avoided it. The crew abandoned ship, pirates also left,  I was the only one left, thus, captain. Military life obviously isn't for me.  I did, however, get to learn Luck Magic and meet That Which Wanders the Dark because of it, so it wasn't all bad.

Perhaps the Defector's Union will have something that suits my fancy - though I'm not technically a defector, as I haven't joined or was born into it.  Seems more interesting though - where do I sign up?"

I say it all, some of it absentmindedly, but all of it clear and directed to Helen.

Ahh, probably shouldn't have mentioned that bit about That Which Wanders the Dark or Luck Magic... woops. Cat's outta the bag now. Maybe she'll think I was joking?  Eh...

She raises one eyebrow.  You're not sure she believes the time traveller part.

"Well, yes, we can get you linked up with the Archeological Group for Programming."

She hands you two of those slips of paper.  The other one you had seems to be gone.  One paper will lead you to the DU, and the other to the AGP, she explains, and then asks if you have other questions.  You feel as if you've just been recategorized into 'harmless, but slightly crazy'.

I'm okay with harmless, but slightly crazy. Crazy folks get left alone, but also get told the best stories. But I might as well go the full distance.

"Archaeological Group for Programming? Sounds good. Oh, and I know, time travel is pretty much bogus, yea? Of all the excuses why go for that one? Well, before we part, allow me to blow your pretty mind for a moment."

I take out my wallet and pull out my driver's license as well a $20 bill.

"See here? Birth date, year 1990. Also, this $20 bill? Circa 2013. As well as United States of America, which a picture of the white house on the back.  By all means, don't believe me, but I'd find it incredibly hard to refute and produce evidence such as this."

I grin, put them away, and start getting up.

"It's been a pleasure, Helen."

After finishing the conversation, I follow the paper to the AGP.

In reply to Cala (msg # 75):

She gives you the 'both eyebrows raised' skeptical look, but she smiles.  And she does examine your artifacts with interest.

Following the ticket leads you a quarter-mile away to under the centerline monorail.  You pass some teenagers with bright plastic wings who are hooking up to a wire straight up.  It lifts them up by their harness, and up near the centerline, they detach, and fly about.  Some flop about.  The devices do not look like they could lift a person even a foot, let alone hold them up as they flip through the air hundreds of feet up.

Going on, you come to an area circled by a foot high white fence, and go through an arched gate entwined with flowers.  The fence is made of 0's and 1's.

Inside, there are a couple dozen tables under palm trees with smooth stone underfoot.  About eight people are sitting at two tables near each other, talking, and moving little pens.

One of them turns to you, and waves you over.

"This is the AGP.  Did you have a programming emergency, or what?"

"Hi. No programming emergency, but I was hoping to join up.  I lack a job, at present, as I am new to Distra. I don't know the syntax for the languages y'all use, but learning it shouldn't be too difficult. All languages are pretty much the same from a logic standpoint."

I give a brief wave to whomever looks over.

In reply to Cala (msg # 77):

"Indeed, my name is Keflan.  Um, we're trying to find a good program for adapting for the water management program.  The one we have has a number of bugs."

They sit you down, introduce you, and give you a pair of dark sunglasses.  Inside, they are Augmented Reality.  They also give you a Light Pointer to control the AR.

Quickly, you find yourself baffled.  They're not programming.  They're looking at dozens of different programs, checking whether they can stick in a module from another program, and doing multiple test sims.

You take a glance at one of the smaller programs they have tossed your way.  Its got a million lines of code.  Its been modified 796 times over the centuries with lines of doc in a dozen different languages ranging from English to Thai, and was first created in 2419 to control a paint robot.

One of them tosses you a smallish module of ten thousand lines to see if sticking it on the front will help.

"What."

What is this even?

"Is this all you do? Does anyone actually write any code? As much as I admire taking 400 year old code and repurposing it, just writing new code - though a bit much at first - would do wonders, especially for solving problems."

Seriously. What the hell. This is ridiculous.

Now this, is truly ridiculous.  It would also be the point where a good AI program would come in handy. Sifting through all that code, to find the right snippets... These people... I wonder if it would be possible to make more AI, granted, I don't have the technical knowledge for it, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were snippets of it in these programs. I need to familiarise myself with this language, even if only to better assist in doing this job.  Once I secure a place to stay, I need to see if I can reach out to That Which Wanders the Dark  again. See if we can make a deal. As an artificially built space kraken AI, I'm sure he has the knowledge, as well as knowledge of where other AI are - as I'm sure they exist out in space somewhere in their own colony.

Working with AI would probably be much cooler, especially if we can develop some of the tech used in the Mass Effect series, andromeda in particular. Human implants which house an AI for a symbiotic relationship.  Would be super nifty.

"I see."

I try to familiarise myself with the syntax and styles of code in these various programming modules.

After getting at least some semblance of proficiency in recognizing what does what. "Any chance I could see the water management program? Bit hard to know what to look for without seeing what I'm trying to solve for.  Also, what sort of bugs does it have?"

In reply to Cala (msg # 81):

You remember they hid the knowledge of the Dislocations which included AI.  And they killed Cybermen.  Now, that was the Hidalgos, and these are the people of Distra.  Its virtually certain the Hidalgos, which is one of the dominant empires in the area, would not approve of your thoughts.

But, yes, an AI would make this run soooooo much more smoothly.

It does seem likely there are snippets in the Archive.

One of them, Jack, throws his hand at you, sort of.  The water management program pops up in your AR.  You are getting used to the control interface, but they dance, and you're still in the toddler not sure walking is a good idea stage.

There are a lot of different languages, and you have a feeling they have your AR set to Easy to filter out the more complicated stuff.  However, logic is logic, in any century.

You start playing with the WM program.  You get a module to link up with it, smoothly.  Mike, who's sitting next to you, glances over, and nods approvingly.

"Pretty good for a noob." Then he shows you why that won't work.  Its on a higher level of thought tho' that he shows you.  Frustratingly, about half of what he says is intuitional with words like 'pretty', and 'sweet', and 'bouncy'.  The first two are good, and the last is bad.

Listening to them is a mix of 'hunh?' and 'whaaaa?' with occasions of startled appreciation for their insights, and bursts of desire to flip the table over, and scream at them.

+@2 to Programming skill.

I continue to work and adjust to this weird method of 'programming'. I'll continue working and adjusting to this until whatever qualifies as 'end of day'. Once the 'day' is over, and if people start leaving, I'll inquire about pay, as well as if anyone would mind me staying at their place for the day, until I secure lodgings for myself in the future.

Huh, wonder if I'll get paid for this. Still need to find a place to stay, too.

---

Ah, of course they wouldn't approve, but that's a task for the future. Society is due  for some AI help. Well, Distran society, at least.  AI aren't approved of by the Hidalgos, and neither are the distrans. Match made in... space.

In reply to Cala (msg # 83):

They work for a few more hours, and they they start to stop.  You voice your questions, and they look at each other, and you think they communicate with their AR on a private channel.

Each one of them flicks a hand at you, and you see appear in your AR a small stack of eight marks, one for each of them.

They seem embarrassed by your request to stay at a house.

Mike takes you to the hostel.  It has common areas where you can cook, and eat, and relax.  Relaxing and eating are on the roof, looking up at the other side of the wide tunnel or cylinder about a mile away or so.

Sleeping is an eight by four by four space that you crawl into and a foam bed with pillow of your specifications extrudes from wall spigots to rise under you.  Its very cozy.

Payment is in marks, and it seems to be what you want to pay by telling a speaker in the wall that has a computerized request and reply system.  There are about twenty folk staying at the hostel.

I keep it basic and get some sleep. In the 'morning' I set about inquiring into food and clothing - as I haven't had something to change into in quite some time.  I also look into washing my current clothing, or whatever process is done to 'clean' clothes.

Times like this, I wish I had that spell from D&D, Prestidigitation. Just being able to clean clothing in a short amount of time without having to go through all of this would be phenomenal. 

When looking for clothing and food, I try to get a baseline for how expensive items are. As I don't know how 8 marks stands in relation to the goods I'm able to purchase.

---

I'm sure I figure it out at the time, if not, then I ask about it, but how are 'marks' stored and used?

In reply to Cala (msg # 85):

The lights dim to about full moon level at 'nightfall', although you can see other parts of the O'Neill colony that are fully lit.

A sonic shower and a sonic laundry cleans your clothes quickly.  Its not as pleasant as a water shower.

Still, an hour later, you're fumbling with their economic system.  There doesn't seem to be fixed prices or haggling.  It feels like you're missing something big.

Marks are stored in your personal data file.

I try to find my way towards where I met Helen yesterday to see if she is still around, or if at least that odd ticket machine is there.

If I can't find either of them after 3-4 hours of searching, then I change focus to finding cheap food and drink, and continue searching.  I try to find a map of Distra, if at all possible (directionally challenged - landmarks help oodles.).

In reply to Cala (msg # 87):

You find Helen after an hour of searching.  She smiles at you as you come up to her gazebo.  A glance at her painting of a large tree reveals that its further along.

She gets you a cup of flower tea again, and asks how you have settled in, and if you had any other questions she could help you with.

"Helen! I've returned, because this place is... well, some parts of it don't make sense. I would say it's confusing, but that's probably not true. I'm simply new and unadjusted. I temporarily have a place to stay, I think. My biggest questions come down to currency though. Economy. How are items priced? What determines their price? Are there districts or areas where items are sold more expensively than in other areas; trading location for quality and price?Also, where can I buy food? Or, more importantly, it's been 900 years, have we as a society figured out a way to survive without needing to eat food? Because food prep and clean up is annoying and the alternative is usually expensive."

Ugh, I hate needing to eat food.

I smile, sit, and drink tea, as I go over the questions. I ask a new question or questions (if related) when getting an answer for a previous question.

In reply to Cala (msg # 89):

"This is a post-scarcity society.  You pay what you feel like paying.  Other people can take note of what you do, and what you pay, and will adjust their pay to you based on this, and other factors."

She leans back.

"One reason we do this is the Robolords try to base their money on radioactives as many do.  But since we have disregard for them, we buy what they sell at low prices compared to what they want."

She looks to see if you understand.  She has a hard time explaining what she grew up with, and what to you sounds weird.  A Robolord visiting Distra would probably have to pay hundreds of times more for a drink than you.  And a Distran widely respected would have to pay far less than you.  Except its not really or exactly have to pay.

There are not districts like that.

She tells you that you should be easily able to get food made for you without suffering any status loss.  After all, you put in several hours of productive work yesterday.

She tells you that there are twenty of the ticket devices, and each one can lead you to another.  She also shows you the mathematical formula for how the streets are laid out.  Its a repeating pattern with enough complexity to avoid being boring, but once you know the formula, you can figure out where all the streets are.

"Huh, interesting. I'll keep that in mind."

I take a quick glance at the surrounding area.

"Do you have any place to recommend for getting food?"

If she has a recommendation, I'll check it out. If not, I'll try to find some food, then head towards the hostel, making sure I know how to get there without having to constantly think or do the math for it.  Then head over to the AGP, apologize for being late - excuses being that I was lost, I don't have a way to keep track of time, and I was speaking with a helper to find out the mathematical formula that should prevent tardiness in the future. Then go on to explain that I look forward to working with them in the future and set to work.

While I'm walking around and going from point A to point B, furiously thinking occurs regarding my future plans.

Well, this is all temporary, anyway.  I do want to see if there's an AI complex out in space somewhere, possibly by way of That Which Wanders the Dark, and I want to see about the telporting / spatial tunnel thing that got me to Distra.  Also, AI.  First step though is to adjust and establish myself here.

The hostel works for now, but after working for a bit and accruing quite a bit of 'marks' I need to get a place for myself.  Then the real work begins.

The first step would be to write actual code - something to make the job easier, even if only by way of combing through everything to find certain useful bits without having to do it all manually. A series of complex loops should take care of that, it would certainly be far faster, but only once I've adjusted to the job.  If it fails I still need to be able to do the job satisfactory.

Once that is done, the next step would be to comb through code to see if I can piece together a rudimentary AI. That might not work, but of equal priority is getting in touch with That Which Wanders the Dark to see if I can learn the skills from him. It. Whatever. Even something simple like a VI would be better, though obviously an AI is preferred.

If an AI won't work, and a VI isn't workable, then I need to set out to make or find a series of complex programs that can work together coherently to achieve my task.  Even if only to make the job easier and more efficient.

This is all going to take a lot of time, so once I get my own place free time that isn't spent eating, sleeping, going to whatever passes for a library or archive to read, will all be spent on Luck Magic.  Magic exists so naturally I need to master it, or even if not master, then be reliably effective with it.

Nothing but time, so let's get on that. Time to work.

In reply to Cala (msg # 91):

"I like the South Pole."  Its nearby, and you check it out.  It has a Christmas theme with hot chocolate, chocolates, cookies, and turkey cranberry and ham omellettes which evidently has become a Christmas morning thing.

Your robot waiter is dressed as an elf.

The AGP blink when you apologize for being late.

"Um, ok."

They smile when you say you want to work with them in the future.  Not all of the same people are there as was last time.

You work, and later that day one of the girls gives you a slim piece of plastic.  Its an e-reader, and she has a short list of books set up for you to read.  The first is "A History of the Computational Programming Methods by Centuries."

"Like, if you want a real quick reaction program, you're better off searching in the 26th century than elsewhere." Amelia says with a quick smile.

Oooh, books. This'll be interesting. Also, I feel like any sense of regularity and stability at a job is shattered here.  Problematic, but sticking to the plan, I'll show up to work as reasonably often as I can.

"Coolio. Thanks."

After acquiring my marks for the day (or whatever - I try to find out how they normally handle it), I'll head back to the hostel and do some reading before bed, and again in the morning. Then I'll get some food and head over to the AGP for work.

In reply to Cala (msg # 93):

They get given marks for their work, and they decide how much to share with you.  This time its five marks.

The book is mostly a history of intellectual development, and some more general history.  Its a lot like Art History.  But to your surprise it does have some computational guidelines that seem rather profound, not many of them, but it does have a few.  Your mind grinds as the whole of programming gets reevaluated.  Distinctions are heightened.

Food and drink, and then more work.

Oh, this is utterly ridiculous. It's things like this that make me tempted to just straight up become emperor.  Let the robolords do their crazy knight B.S., we need a decent society that makes sense. No VR, nothing super cool, spatial tunneling was the only really cool presumably techy thing I've seen so far.  This is not the society I want to live in.

First  find a place to live, then AI, luck magic as well, then start planning new space empire.

After work I check around to find what housing looks like as far as cost goes. I need a decent sized place for long term stay. Ideally close to the AGP, because long walks to work suck, but space requirements are more important.

Once I get a few options I'll go get food, sleep on it, and continue working while I consider my options.

---

It occurs to me that starting a space empire over something stupid like how programming has changed is pretty ridiculous, but whatever. People need to be enlightened and this universe needs some changing.

In reply to Cala (msg # 95):

Getting a tiny apartment of 250 sq. ft would be easy.  Getting an eight hundred sq. ft. apartment would be doable.  More, might be problematic.  Its hard to say.  No one quotes you a price.  You just donate what you feel like.

The housing is bland, durable, white-walled (although you can change the colors of the walls by simply selecting a different color and design which takes about a minute.)  The housing does not look like a place to live, more like a place to sleep, and store stuff.

If you're up for a mile walk, you can get apartments near the ends of the O'Neil colony that are quite large.