The hard part about rebooting society after the Interregnum was a whole generation had no exposure to computers. The first time around we bootstrapped our muscle memory with skeuomorphisms and interaction affordances. I think i have spent a thousand hours teaching youngsters how to resize windows and do swipe gestures on the preserved machines from Before. And there just aren’t enough coders to retrofit user-friendliness to old systems, let alone build new.
#TimeTravelingGhost EP 9: Post 92: 1912 Titanic
#Wss366 Lean #TimeTravelAuthors 04/15. sink/sank
Before touring the Titanic, I manifested a fashion magazine. From it, I chose a tailored mauve suit; a liberated, corsetless style; and a broad hat with peacock feathers. I still found the outfit confining but tolerable. Even though she was invisible to others, Emily selected a white “suffragette” outfit. We were quite the elegant and liberated pair: modern women willing to explore unchaperoned.
The Titanic was as impressive as the Hindenburg. It was a massive, regal dragon of steel, mahogany, heavy curtains, and even stained-glass. It was utterly unlike the dragonfly of aluminum and light cloth where I met Emily. One could imagine a disaster on a zeppelin, but the Titanic seemed too solid and magnificent to be struck by catastrophe. Indeed, it felt like the #unsinkable ship.
We stayed in the first-class section and strolled the promenade. Again, the contrast was striking: broad views of the North Atlantic from behind large glass windows versus the distant panorama through the Hindenburg’s small portals. Despite the cold sea breeze cutting through my heavy coat, the steamer’s view was more impressive.
“I want to try the food here,” I said, coming out of the wind. “But I don’t want to deal with the crowded dining room or Edwardian manners. Let’s try the Parisien.”
“We’re just tourists today, so why not?”
I ended up ordering the roast duckling and peaches in Chartreuse jelly. The first was excellent, while the grassy flavor of the second didn’t agree with me.
Emily used the ivy growing on a trellis next to our seating to sneak sips of my consommé, while I indulged in oysters and a Champagne cocktail. The drink wasn’t as sweet as the Folies’ cocktail, and certainly less ostentatious. As for the Hindenburg’s, they had spoken of elegant simplicity. The Titanic’s seemed to reach for something, but didn’t quite make it.
While I ate, we quietly discussed where to go next. I pretended to read my fashion magazine to conceal that I was talking.
I leaned toward seeking a friend, phrased perhaps like, “[i:Take us to an ally who can tell us more about the Lapin Cabal.]” Emily was pushing for a more direct approach and going to Nicosia. There was also the conservative option of performing more experiments. There was still so much we didn’t know that it was hard to decide, so we postponed the decision for a while longer.
After finishing my meal and our discussion, I suggested, “I noticed there was entertainment in the reception room. Shall we investigate?”
Emily nodded, and we left.
#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #TimeTravel #HistoricalFantasy #UrbanFantasy #Mythpunk #Serial #Slowburn #Yuri