portals

[from_scratch]

The portal system is replaced with a more secure successor over time. Inferno's subworlds are still non-urgent, but the daeva do get a portal to Limbo, where the humans present are much less likely to be able to freak out and successfully move from freaking out to doing anything along the lines of "nuke the rogue daeva and hope the summoner's within the blast radius". Cam visits his dad and gets a letter to his mom asking that she show up at his dad's house. He makes useful things in ways that won't be too traceable (if his dad's fridge has slightly more bacon and cheese and apples to share with the neighbors a few days in a row, who'll notice?), as a short-term intervention while awaiting more acculturation to the way Limbo works so they won't upset any very delicate balances. The portals to the other worlds can wait until there are actual plans on what to do with them. And possibly until their alts have more free time to help. In the meantime, Cam has his parents again.

Comments

[ask_nicely]

He does! Adana's thrilled for him. She - also sort of wants to meet them. Maybe. If they want to be met? Do they want to meet their son's angel girlfriend?

[from_scratch]

"Haven't heard from Mom yet. Dad's curious if you're willing to say hi."

[ask_nicely]

"I'm willing to go say hi," she assures.

[from_scratch]

"Okay. Anything you want to know about him first?"

[ask_nicely]

"Uh. I'm - not sure what to ask, honestly."

[from_scratch]

"When he was alive he was a small-town chief of police. When he died his thing was his house - the house you will see is basically the exact same structure I spent summers in as a kid and moved into when I was seventeen. He's pretty quiet, pretty sensible - I think he'd get along with your dad, actually. Since he got a house he has to interact with his neighbors more than he probably would if they didn't need the stuff that the house generates so much."

[ask_nicely]

"Ah. Mm. I don't know if there's a way to help with that. Maybe letting him move somewhere else that isn't in Limbo, remaking the house, and letting him live in peace?"

[from_scratch]

"I don't think he hates his neighbors - or at least that's not the impression I'm getting - just that he weren't the only source of running water for miles around."

[ask_nicely]

"Blech. And now I want to fix that obsessively."

[from_scratch]

"Yeah. We'll get to it. They'll keep a little longer while we catch up on what Limbo's deal is."

[ask_nicely]

"Mhm. We're going to be exceptionally busy for the next few centuries, aren't we?"

[from_scratch]

"Yes."

[ask_nicely]

She giggles. "I'll study my technology obsessively. I've still got to make the mirror thing, and it's not like the - biological study will be much good in Limbo, since everyone's got immortality. But technology is scale-able."

[from_scratch]

"Technology is scalable with resources. Limbo doesn't really have any. I think probably the best thing to do for them is make rivers."

[ask_nicely]

"Well, yes. And - actually. Can we borrow Ice's robot army? Or just have you make robots that are connected to their network except working for us? And farming and such for food along with water."

[from_scratch]

"The network doesn't behave across portals, so it'd have to be a new network. Farmer robots are a good idea, but I'm not sure if Limbo will accommodate a normal water cycle. Normally it doesn't have, like - weather. Even over the ocean."

[ask_nicely]

"... Obsessive irrigation systems? That we refill regularly?"

[from_scratch]

"Yeah, that's probably the way to go. Maybe eventually summon other demons to add water if we can find some who are, if not as nice as me, at least loosely trustworthy."

[ask_nicely]

"Zane's an option. I don't think it would be his dream job, but it's easy enough, I don't see why he wouldn't."

[from_scratch]

"Because he'd get bored making water all the time?"

[ask_nicely]

"... Well. Yes, but - if that's all we wanted Zane to do, every now and then, he'd be okay with it, because he's got other things to do besides just making water. If we put him on a strict 'go make water every day' schedule, of course he'd balk, but if it's just a once a week thing, that would be fine."

[from_scratch]

"So - maybe a big mountain far away from the ocean, with a river between the mountain and said ocean, and a complicated reservoir arrangement in the mountain so that once-a-week refills can handle it?"

[ask_nicely]

"Yeah. We'll have to do some testing to get it right, of course."

[from_scratch]

"Little model mountains!"

[ask_nicely]

"Adorable little ones with little fake plastic trees!" she giggles. "And we can just do those tests in Pantheon."