chsdbacks 051 Taking Inventory
051 Taking Inventory
Five cups in and half of the jug gone, the Arboreal Maiden made a move to progress what needed to be done. "Speaking of the earlier topic, when can ARC and either one of you be made available. I am certain you wish to acquire materials in order to set up an industry yes?""The creation of a shipyard is one of our top priorities, yes. I take it there isn't an automated one you can just give to us, is there?"
"You should understand we are not yet at the point of automation, not anywhere close." The Maiden responded not with split, but in English. "I will do my utmost to keep your people's secrets. At the moment, you would consider our level of technological development around that of your early medieval period, if a little lacking. There are a choice few civilizations that have progressed further, but none have gotten to the atomic age."
"So no computer chips or radioactive materials, no superconductors either. Is there any chance we might be able to get access to petroleum products like plastic?"
"At the moment, no. If the Holifanians decide to accept you as a protectorate you might be able to acquire some limited levels of support in that arena, but I would not operate under the assumption that you will be. They are staunch isolationists, and even my influence may prove ineffective."
"Probably a good idea. In that case, how much of and to what degree of purity do you think we might be able to get our hands on metals like copper, iron, nickel, and aluminum?"
"Merchant, how large are our stocks of cheap metals?"
"We are actually trying to get rid of some of our store of iron and bronze, so we should have plenty of those. Aside from that I would have to check. Usually that department is handled by the more junior members."
"I see. What of our stores of nickel and aluminum?"
"Nickel? I think we only have a limited supply owing to the Great Csillacra's response to it. I seem to remember that the Marshal placed an order for more of it to be used in replacing some old armor. I, I don't think I've heard of this aluminum. It is entirely possible that I simply have not seen record of it, so I will make a check."
"Tell him not to bother. If he doesn't know what something as mind-bogglingly common like aluminum is, then you haven't yet got the refining process for it."hing, actually seeing the response was another thing entirely.
"He was blushing, probably, if that's what you mean. I couldn't quite be sure owing to my blindfold, but his heart most certainly fluttered when he looked in your direction." This in turn caused Diana's heart beat to increase and her body temperature to rise.
A sudden exhale.
"Anyways, we should get back to business." Diana was no longer pained by the exposure to split, though she was still sipping that liquid between each sentence. "My name is Diana Helmsguard, to whom do I owe the pleasure?"
The robes were rather loose, something that Diana and the Arboreal Maiden alike realized as Diana stood up. They weren't in danger of falling off of her body, but they were threatening to trip her up. As Don had done before her, she offered up her hand as the Arboreal Maiden translated.
"It is my pleasure, Lady . . . Helmsguard was it? I apologize if my pronunciation is off. I am one of the Sanctum's Grand Elders, the Merchant. Firche is my given name, but I insist that you only call me Merchant as you would address the Scholar or the Captain. It is a cultural preference, one I am sure you will soon come to understand, but I will not scold you for using Grand Elder Firche."
Don marveled at how his introduction was practically identical to the one before. Perhaps this was a peculiarity of split, though it being a practiced greeting for his station was not entirely off the table either.
The Merchant didn't hesitate to shake her hand as he had with Donovan. He was quite proud of his ability to pick up cultural customs quickly. It was an important skill considering his station, though he couldn't exactly demonstrate it to the fullest with such a minor pleasantry as a handshake. Still, it was seamless enough for Diana to initially believe that handshakes were part of their culture, though the limp-wristed-ness of his handshake betrayed this assumption.
"We had just finished going over a list of materials that you would be requisitioning in order to rebuild with. I suppose you wouldn't yet be able to read Sanctum-script, so would I be able to read the list over again to see if you have any requests?"
"That is an excellent idea, Grand Elder Firche."
- - - - -
Aside from the addition of some various seeds, Diana didn't have anything she could think of. Most of the materials she would want were also highly processed, plastics once again being chief among them.
"I'm sorry to have wasted your time." Diana gave a slight bow.
"It is not a problem. Now if you wouldn't mind, would it be permissible for me to leave now? Aside from gathering an assortment of materials that you might need for you to look over later, I have important matters that should be handled in a timely manner."
"Please do. I will send a Skwiven with a missive detailing where to meet them and with how much of each material at a later time. I am certain that they would appreciate it if you could arrange a sample of the raw materials they are interested in for them to get an idea of the quantity. Standard bars should do for the metals, though perhaps the yields of the seeds might be better than the seeds themselves." The Arboreal Maiden was trying to make as much time as possible for them to do stuff before they had to attend the academy.
"Naturally. While I might be pressed for time, I can certainly have one of my aides gather the materials required for such a small thing. Would you like me to bring along a selection of metals you did not expressly say you wanted?"
Both Diana and Donovan nodded to this suggestion. Given their limited knowledge of metallurgy, it might be useful to get a look at some of the other options to see if any part of it was something they needed. ARC and the Noah possessed the capability to determine an external sample's atomic make-up, so if they could find a lump of iron or other such metal that contained traces of aluminum in it they could potentially use that small portion to get started.
There were a great many steps needed to actually build a slipway, armor plating foundries, electronics manufactories, and the necessary structure producers to actually make the slipway's skeleton chief among them. Supposedly, ARC could manufacture the necessary electronic equipment through the use of the Noah's nanodrones, but it was expected to be terribly inefficient, slow, and a burden on ARC's processing capabilities.
Unfortunately, until a steady supply of the relevant materials and a satisfactory industrial base could be realized, it was looking like ARC would just have to deal with it.