Stark Industries, Wednesday, 06/10

[sciclone]

Cosima spent the day playing with a virtual patient program she'd found online, trying to find a scientific way to explain the gender transformations the boys had seen over the weekend. She already knew there wasn't anything, but maybe if she played with the genes a little more ...

It was beyond any modern science she knew. But she'd found ways to simulate all kinds of weird genetic conditions along the way, so she was entertained. A little morbid, but entertained.

[OOC: Open shop, open post! Ringo's thread is last chronologically.]

Comments

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yay!"

Ringo beamed, moving carefully in an attempt to stay close enough to Cosima to offer a supporting hand if the other girl needed it. "Then let's get outside where we can actually move around."

[sciclone]

"Excellent idea," Cosima said, and giggled as she grabbed Ringo's arm for the walk outside. "So how should I start?"

She was torn: On the one hand,she was itching to fly, but, on the other, she'd prefer not to fall on her face or her ass along the way.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"One step at a time," Ringo suggested with a smile. "Well, actually, I suppose you should decide. Want to get right to it? At least the easy parts? Or should I show you some of what you can do once you get used to things?"

[sciclone]

"Let's get right to it," Cosima decided. "I'd rather learn than watch, you know? And then when I need a break you can show off."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo grinned, teeth flashing in a way that suggested she thought Cosima was making the right decision. "In that case, you'll need to turn on the motors." Ringo bent at the knees, balancing as she lowered herself to the point where she could reach back with one hand to the heel of one of her ATs. "There's a little switch to click forward."

The high-pitched whine of charging capacitors filled the air for a moment before fading away. She then reached over and switched her other one on, too.

[sciclone]

Cosima nodded and copied what Ringo had done, fumbling just a bit to find the switches. Her ATs made the same noise, so she figured she was doing it right.

"Wow," she said, laughing a little. "I feel like there's some serious mojo to these things."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo giggled. "There is!" she exclaimed, then paused. "Well, if 'mojo' means what I think it does, anyway."

She shook her head. "AirTrek represented a huge leap forward in half a dozen fields when the first prototypes were built."

"Anyway, be careful when you stand back up. Now that they're on, they'll read enough forward pressure as a command to accelerate. The more you lean, the harder the acceleration." Ringo was definitely ready in case something went wrong.

[sciclone]

"Lean forward is accelerate," Cosima repeated thoughtfully, not moving yet. "And ...I'm going to guess lean back is brake? And steering is just leaning the way you want to go?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yep!" Exactly. Ringo grinned. "As long as you keep your speed down, you shouldn't have any problems controlling your direction, and if you bump anything it shouldn't hurt. The wheels also can't get much traction on soft surfaces, so if you really need to you can try to get onto some grass or something to slow down in a hurry."

"And take it slow for the moment. If your wheels leave the ground you won't be able to steer. At least until you learn some of the more advanced techniques for riding."

[sciclone]

"I think I understand," Cosima said, and leaned forward carefully to glide along the sidewalk. She was surprised how quickly the skates went at first, and she let out a little huff as she leaned back to slow down again.

Once she was at the right speed, it felt like slightly awkward roller blades.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo kept easy pace with Cosima, and grinned over in approval. "Hey, not bad. You're starting to get the hang of it."

"How does it feel?"

[sciclone]

"Like flying," Cosima grinned back. "Um ... very slow flying on the ground where I might trip and fall into a mailbox, but flying."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"That's how it's supposed to feel." Ringo's giggle was full of approval. "Now imagine going ten times as fast and then launching yourself off a railing."

Baby steps, Ringo. Baby steps.

[sciclone]

"I'm trying," Cosima said thoughtfully. "The next thing I imagine is accidentally tilting forward and ending up with smashed glasses and a mouthful of bloody teeth."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well, I'd catch you before you got too out of control." Ringo was trying to be reassuring, but honesty compelled her to add, "But I don't think anyone gets really good with AirTrek without at least a couple of pretty bad spills. I've got a pretty nasty scar on my elbow." And a few others, too.

[sciclone]

"Next time we do this I'll wear safety stuff," Cosima decided, smiling at the unexpected honesty. "But for now ... okay, what do I do if I feel ready to leave the ground?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Hmm. Maybe I should keep that around if I'm going to keep introducing people to AirTrek."

But that was for later! "If you want to get some air, you'll want to find a good place to launch from. That means not only a good place to take off, but a pretty clear area to land, too." She grinned sheepishly. "That was something I forgot a lot when I first started off." It led to a lot of falling down when trying to land.

[sciclone]

"Like, the park?" Cosima suggested, turning to face Ringo. "It's not far, and I'd feel better about falling down i fI was over something soft."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"I haven't been to the park yet. Are there enough spots that are solid that you can build up some speed?" Grass was great for landing, but not so much for accelerating.