1 [@necromantica:video]

[burntbridges]

[Letha's confusion over this new technology is clear from the first moment of the video. She's turned on the camera facing away from her, showing her desk full of neatly organized piles of paper, all forms with neat cursive scrawled across them. The angle is skewed, camera shaky, and she keeps moving it as she tries to figure out the device.]

There's absolutely nothing like this in my world...

[Sure, she'd tried very hard to follow the orientation instructions, but she's handling it much like a grandmother with her first smartphone. She finally gets it turned around, but that just gives viewers a worm's eye view of her shocked face as she sees the unflattering angle and turns it back around to her desk.]

If only I could write on these, it would be so much simpler. Well, anyway. Can anyone hear me? I thought it might be prudent to contact this 'network'... and see if anyone who understands these... inventions better than me could lend me a hand.

[Go easy on her, she's never even seen a telephone or typewriter before.]

Comments

[burntbridges]

It's... big? One of the bigger ones they offered, I thought it would be harder to break. It's sort of shaped like a book. A short one, granted, but those are often the least dull.

[She's still trying to figure the tablet out, so Clem gets a shaky view of Letha's desk and little else.]

Are you from a world where these are normal?

[staystrong]

... Sort of.

[They used to be normal, anyway. The whole zombie apocalypse thing had taken care of that. No one would be coming out to fix the wi-fi any time soon.]

I never had one, though. Carrying around a bigger one sounds like a hassle.

[burntbridges]

Perhaps... but I can't think of a reason why I would need to take it away from my workplace. Anywhere else I can just speak to others in person.

[staystrong]

What if you're out and about and need to get in contact with someone who isn't near you? People use them for that sort of thing all the time. Emergencies too.

[burntbridges]

I didn't think of that... but I can't think of any reason I'd be in an emergency without a risen guard.

[Says the girl who died from leaving a candle lit while she slept.]

[staystrong]

Maybe you can't think of it now, but we're all new here.

[She's not even going to ask what a risen guard is.]

[burntbridges]

[Probably for the best - Clem and Letha could have a field day arguing about zombies.]

I suppose that's true. You seem rather sharp for your age.

[staystrong]

Thanks, but it's best not to judge someone by their age anyway.

[Unless they're like... seven.]

[burntbridges]

I think you can tell a lot about someone by their age. If someone is sharp at your age, they'll be dangerously smart at my age.

[Or dead. That's also possible.]

[staystrong]

[Or dead, yeah. Very possible in Clementine's world.]

I don't know if that's really how that works.

[burntbridges]

It worked for me... I also know that if someone's slow in the head at your age it will only get worse. My maids tend to be like that.

[Not like she'd appreciate it if any of her maids showed their actual intelligence.]

[staystrong]

Your maids? [Clementine tries not to make a face. Most people didn't come from a situation anything like hers.] You came from a nice place, huh?

[burntbridges]

I came from a very nice place, yes... coming here had made me realize how little room I had to be as ungrateful as I was.

[staystrong]

You can't help where you come from.

[Even if it makes Clementine jealous.]

Don't like this place?

[burntbridges]

I won't pretend I don't come from a better life, but I like this place well enough. I just never realized how little I know about caring for myself until I came here.

[staystrong]

I'm not used to working in this sort of society either, so maybe we're on two different sides of the same boat.

[Clementine is used to having to survive in a broken society. Even in communities that had formed things worked on a bartering system and everyone had to pull their own weight. And since she typically avoided said communities she still had to do a lot of scavenging and surviving on her own.]