thisavrou_log | [OPEN] People Can Lose Their Lives in Libraries

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[OPEN] People Can Lose Their Lives in Libraries

Who: Elizabeth DeWitt, 100 Books, and You
When: October 8th - 15th
Where: The NEW AND... NOT QUITE SHINY YET Library
What: Head Librarian Elizabeth has shelves, desks, and books. Now she just needs to figure out where all of it should go...
Warnings: ~~Sexy Librarian~~

'Good morning everyone. Exciting news for those of us bibliophiles (and the individual who needs information from a book every once in a while), I've been informed the rooms that will house the Moira's collection are ready to be turned into an actual library. All he necessary parts-- shelving, chairs, tables, and books-- have been delivered, so it's only a matter of time before I have everything organized.

'But I don't see a reason for anyone who's been itching to read something to go without while I catalog everything. If you're interested in looking through what parts of the collection have been delivered so far, anyone is welcome. The Library is located on the same deck as the Mess Hall, past the gardens. Any questions, feel free to contact me, Elizabeth DeWitt, on my personal MID. Thank you!'

Thank goodness, she'd recorded that message and broadcasted it before she'd started moving things.

After she'd updated the network with the existence of the library, Elizabeth had started moving shelves against the walls. It was slow going and in a matter of minutes Elizabeth had sweat through her work suit. Well, it wasn't as though she hadn't known this endeavor would take elbow grease. No whining, it wasn't her style-- Elizabeth just rolled up her sleeves and put her back into it. One shelf at a time, one foot at a time if she had to. And once the she had the shelves in place, then she had a box of books waiting for her.

((OOC: Elizabeth will be setting up the library all week! Currently the collection is about 100 books, she gets another 100 every week until Than's collection has been moved entirely. The first two days (8th and 9th) she'll be struggling with shelves and looking anxiously at the boxes piling up, on the 10th she'll get all the tables and chairs in place and start sorting the books in the boxes, the 11th through the 15th she'll be in sorting and cataloging hell (yes, she's handwriting all the cards in the catalog-- what else would she do, after all?). She's very dedicated to it, anytime anybody comes in, it's clear she's been working hard. Maybe even forgetting to take a break for lunch...))

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[When Thán arrives, Elizabeth is standing in front of a table with several piles of books on it. She debates for a moment, then sets the one in her hand on top of one of the piles. She hears him come in and turns around.]

Captain. [She smiles and heads towards him arms out to receive the box.] Thank you, I was just starting to wonder if I was going to actually catch up with the backlog.

[Elizabeth takes the box and sets it down next to the others.] It's not where I thought I'd end up, but I think it's the right fit for me too. It's quiet, and I have an excuse to spend time reading-- I haven't seen a lot of these before. [Truth be told, she's not sure where to put some of them. So clearly, the answer is to read and find out.]

[He's careful when he places the box in her hand, almost reverent with the care he gives them.]

I've been collecting these for a very long time, and I'd trust no other with them.

[It was a compliment given from seeing the work she's been doing.]

This box holds a small very.. special collection.

[He flips open the lid, gesturing inside.]

It is up to you who you allow to read them, and I wouldn't give them to you if I thought anyone would be in danger. These are unique volumes. If one follows the instructions on a page to precise measurements, strange things have been known to happen.

[Magic. Science. It's all the same to him.]

'Strange things'?

[Elizabeth looks intrigued, and just as reverent now that she knows the books hold some kind of supernatural secret. she picks one of the books out of the box and gingerly opens it.]

Is that entirely safe on an enclosed ship like this?

I leave it up to you to decide whether you'd like to share them. Use your judgement.

[He frowns, lifting out a book as well.]

There are those that would use something like this to hurt others, we can't allow that. So I trust you to choose those would use the words in these books in a way that won't cause the crew harm.

[Elizabeth looks at Thán, hard, as though trying to decide how to phrase her next question. As though trying to get the answer without having to ask it. But that ability is far beyond her now-- hard habit to break.]

I would ask if you could trust someone you'd only known for a few days not to arm the crew with books detailing potentially dangerous outcomes... but I have a feeling you, or at least someone on the crew, knows me better than I think you do. [She puts the book gently back in the box and looks at Thán again.] It would be a wonderful coincidence if this job was handed to me just because someone needed to run the library, but I haven't believed in coincidences in a long time. Someone knows at least parts of everyone's histories, don't they?

I'm an excellent judge of character. I simply trust that you can handle this sort of responsibility.

[Perhaps that trust is misplaced, perhaps not. Either way, Thán is giving it to her.]

As to your other question, we do know some about you, but not everything. In fact, very little. Which is what makes it so difficult to place everyone in the correct positions.

[Another frown mars his face and his eyes flick to hers.]

We attempt to make the best possible placement. That hasn't always worked out for us.

It hasn't? [Elizabeth gives him the most incredulous look. She can't fathom someone being so lucky as to put her in a position that she not only had some experience with, but that she actually would enjoy. But... maybe luck did exist and it liked her a lot more now.]

[She takes this in, looking almost disappointed.] Here I was thinking I'd caught on to some small part of what makes this ship so strange. I guess I have to try harder, don't I Captain? [Elizabeth gives him a wry smirk and puts the lid back on the box.] I'll spend some time with these on my own, see how dangerous they could be. Until then, I think the smartest thing is to put them off-limits.

It hasn't. Even if we knew everything about each crew member, though we don't, not all positions that need filled are exactly wanted.

[Waste disposal and the like.]

I'd enjoy that actually. I prefer curious minds, and those that don't take answers that are given to them, but seek them for themselves.

[He nods at her affirmation to take the books, nodding again at her decision to keep them private.]

Do you require anything else of me, Elizabeth?

...So that means you're not going to just tell me, is that what you're saying? [There's that wry smile again, and now it's got an arched eyebrow friend. Elizabeth's mostly teasing Thán now, though how wise that is isn't something she's too concerned with at the moment.]

[There's nothing else she really needs, the library is getting on just fine with the things provided to her, but...] Unrelated to this, yes. [Her expression sobers and she looks Thán right in the eyes as she talks to him. She's been underestimated quite a bit in her life, and she's found that firm eye contact tends to help in these kinds of situations.]

I don't have anything to go back to, Captain. I'm not expecting to return home at all-- I'm pretty sure I know what waits for me if I do. I don't have any false hope, so you can answer me honestly and I won't be shocked or upset-- What is the Ingress? Is it a stationary hole between multiple timelines? If it was only that, it wouldn't heal anyone who passes through it.

[He grins then, a sliver of a smile that he doesn't show very often.]

Yes, that's what I'm saying.

[She seems to want his honesty, so he'll give that much.]

You don't have to return home. We're trying to help any that came through go back, but it isn't mandatory.

[Then she asks the bigger questions, wants more important answers, and he shakes his head.]

I can't answer that. At least, not in the way that you want. I'm no scientist or magician. I do not know how it does what it does. There are people that can explain it, the creators of the Ingress technology, and that's where we are headed. They will be able to help us out.

[That smile does seem rare, but Elizabeth's glad she saw it. The mysterious captain doesn't seem quite as unapproachable now. She wishes he had better answers, but she can't exactly fault him for being a leader and not a scientist. That isn't to say that she isn't disappointed, but as strange as Thán seems Elizabeth doesn't immediately feel that she's being lied to. She nods a couple times.]

Worth an ask. Though I can't say I feel safe about something nobody fully understands that could bring literally anybody onto this ship-- what if an army marches through one day?

[He's considered that notion. That or something worse coming through the Ingress, but he doesn't focus on the future. Only on what has happened, and that hasn't. Thán takes a moment to compose his thoughts.]

I'd like to say it won't ever happen, but I can't promise something like that.

[Not very reassuring, but he preferred to be honest here.]

We're more prepared now than we've ever been.

[Well, she can't really ask for more than that. Securing the Ingress probably was about as important for Thán as it was for her, security-wise. She can't think otherwise for now, otherwise she'll end up paranoid around the man giving her books. She sighs reluctantly and nods.]

I believe you. I'm not thrilled to have another mystery on hand, but what else can we do? [She smiles faintly.] Thank you for answering me honestly, Captain. I appreciate that honesty.

You're welcome.

[He nods at her, another ghost of a smile before turning.]

Please take care of them, the books.

Like they were my own. [She promises as he walks away. She waits until he's gone before looking at the mysterious box again.]

I won't even throw them, because God only knows what will happen.

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[OPEN] People Can Lose Their Lives in Libraries

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