ysabetwordsmith: Maryam Smith in a tophat (steamsmith)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the October 2, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by [personal profile] ng_moonmoth. It also fills the "something useful" square in my 9-2-18 card for the [community profile] ladiesbingo fest, and the "energy" square in my 9-30-18 card for the Fall Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the Steamsmith series.


"Where All the Parts Fit Correctly"


Summer sun glinted through
the windows of Maryam's workshop
as Ida Raynott bent over her latest project.

This was a monocle based on the glasses
that she had made for seeing aether.

It was elegant and beautiful,
a construct of glass and gems
and shiny metal fittings.

"Why won't this thing
do what it's supposed to?"
Ida grumbled, poking at it.
"Everything fits together,
but when I try to look
through it -- nothing!"

"Hell is where all the parts
fit correctly, but nothing seems
to work," Maryam said with sympathy.

"This never happens to you,"
Ida said, adjusting a wire.

Maryam laughed. "It happens
to me all the time, my dear.
Integration testing is the bane
of systems development. I
simply don't let that stop me."

"So you think I should keep
fiddling with this thing, even though
I have no idea what's wrong with it?"
Ida said. "I've run out of solutions."

"Then think of things you haven't
tried yet," Maryam suggested.
"What are you trying to do?"

"Adapt my prosthesis so I can
see both light and elements,"
Ida said. "It would be an asset."

"What if those things are
fundamentally incompatible?"
Maryam asked her.

"But they're not," Ida said.
"We can see visible light,
and with the right lenses,
the elements come clear."

"Under some circumstances,
yes," said Maryam. "However,
you're trying to run both of those
through a damaged eye. It might
be too much for your remaining
nerves to handle effectively."

"You think the problem
could be me, instead of
the device," Ida said.

"I think it's a hypothesis
worth exploring," Maryam said.
"You have to consider if it's worth
giving up partial sight in that eye
for visible light in order to gain
the elemental enhancement."

"Oh, it's worth it," Ida said.

So she dismantled the prototype
and redesigned it for elements alone.

It took a while, and a lot of tweaking,
and more than one cracked lens
that had to be replaced, but in time
Ida found something that worked.

She tried it on and grinned.
"I can see!" she exclaimed.
"The elements are clear as day!"

Ida turned in a slow circle,
gazing at all the items in
the alchemical workshop.

Then she wobbled.

Maryam caught her
before she could fall over.
"What's wrong?" she asked.

Ida put one hand on a workbench
and the other on her forehead.

"I'm getting dizzy," she said.
"Everything looks so different.
This new device is giving me
a bloody headache!" Then
she ducked her chin. "Sorry,
I shouldn't have said that."

"I've said plenty worse when
my projects didn't turn out
the way I hoped," Maryam said
with a wave of her hand. "You
don't need to worry about it."

"But now I've wasted all this time,
and more than a few materials,
with nothing to show for it," Ida said.
"I just wanted to make something useful."

"I wouldn't say that," Maryam replied.
"You've discovered a bunch of things
that don't work, so you can rule out those.
I think the problem now may simply be
that your brain doesn't have enough
energy to run a device that complex."

Ida slumped. "Then it's hopeless,"
she said. A moment later, though,
she jerked upright. "Or maybe not!
If I could rig an outside energy source,
then that might solve the problem!"

"It might, and that's worth a try,"
Maryam agreed. "However, right now
you're tired, frustrated, and achy. Let's
go into the parlor and have a nice cup
of chamomile tea. You can come back
and work on this again tomorrow."

"That," said Ida, "is an excellent idea."

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-05 09:44 am (UTC)
siliconshaman: black cat against the moon (Default)
From: [personal profile] siliconshaman
Man, I know that dance! Two steps forwards...and four back cha-cha cha!

Sometimes, the smartest thing you can do is quit and try again another day.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-05 12:50 pm (UTC)
technoshaman: Tux (Default)
From: [personal profile] technoshaman
"The five minutes after 9am are often worth more than the five hours after 5pm."
-- me, from painful experience.

(Man, I hadn't had to think of that one in _years_...)

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-05 06:50 pm (UTC)
siliconshaman: black cat against the moon (Default)
From: [personal profile] siliconshaman
True that! I get more productive work done while still drinking my first coffee of the day...

The actual doing can take all day.. but by the time I've finished my cup, I've got the day planned out at least!

Re: *laugh*

Date: 2018-10-05 07:36 pm (UTC)
technoshaman: Tux (Default)
From: [personal profile] technoshaman
You and Doug, kinda like Shaun and Saul? ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-06 07:24 am (UTC)
fred_mouse: line drawing of sheep coloured in queer flag colours with dream bubble reading 'dreamwidth' (Default)
From: [personal profile] fred_mouse
I spy .. a morning person. I frequently get more done between 4pm and 5pm than I do the rest of the work day (now if only I could just work 3pm - 10pm and have it fit with my lifestyle, I'd be really flying)

Re: Well ...

Date: 2018-10-07 01:22 pm (UTC)
fred_mouse: line drawing of sheep coloured in queer flag colours with dream bubble reading 'dreamwidth' (Default)
From: [personal profile] fred_mouse
I'd love that. I've not yet worked out how to do it with my particular skill set. Maybe once the kids finish school, and we aren't held hostage to those kinds of timing, I can look at moving things around. But probably not while morning person partner and I are working in the same building, and they are graciously doing all the driving!

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-05 12:50 pm (UTC)
technoshaman: Tux (Default)
From: [personal profile] technoshaman
Also... I saw the amp coming as soon as Maryam mentioned sacrificing visible light... :D

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-05 03:30 pm (UTC)
redsixwing: A red knotwork emblem. (Default)
From: [personal profile] redsixwing
>>Integration testing is the bane
of systems development.<<

Laughing because it's true. XD

>>"I just wanted to make something useful."<<

Just because it didn't do what she wanted right now, doesn't mean it isn't useful as-is in a different situation!

I'm glad Ida gets a break and a cup of tea.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-05 07:39 pm (UTC)
technoshaman: (pooh)
From: [personal profile] technoshaman
Many good products (Post-Its, f'rex) come out of "failed" experiments...

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'" -- Isaac Asimov

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-05 08:22 pm (UTC)
kellan_the_tabby: My face, reflected in a round mirror I'm holding up; the rest of the image is the side of my head, hair shorn short. (Default)
From: [personal profile] kellan_the_tabby
I mean just getting used to new glasses makes me dizzy for a while, & it takes me a day or two to get really used to them. She might just need to ease into using them a bit.

Re: Thoughts

Date: 2018-10-05 08:32 pm (UTC)
kellan_the_tabby: My face, reflected in a round mirror I'm holding up; the rest of the image is the side of my head, hair shorn short. (Default)
From: [personal profile] kellan_the_tabby
Oh HELL yeah. Either way the problem might not be quite as big as she's thought, though.

Re: Thoughts

Date: 2018-10-05 10:45 pm (UTC)
zeeth_kyrah: A glowing white and blue anthropomorphic horse stands before a pink and blue sky. (Default)
From: [personal profile] zeeth_kyrah
That said, for a prosthesis that draws energy, it's better to have a power source. I'd go with an osmium capacitor tied to a solar obsidian.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-10-31 08:27 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] notasupervillain
There's also the option that it takes getting used to. My glasses made me dizzy when I first got them, but nothing was wrong with them or me. Human brains take time to adapt, but they're remarkably plastic if given time.

Re: Yes ...

Date: 2018-10-31 08:59 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] notasupervillain
That's very true. I'm a big fan of her mad Science adventures though. I think she'll work it out eventually!

Re: Yes ...

Date: 2018-10-31 09:38 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] notasupervillain
Okay okay, not mad Science. Still, fun, off-beat science, which is one of the best kinds! :)

Re: Yes ...

Date: 2018-10-31 10:11 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] notasupervillain
My writing is about 90% character based - technology is just another way to display characterization for me.

You seem to be more weighted towards world than I am. Maybe world first, then character, then plot?

Re: Yes ...

Date: 2018-10-31 01:34 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] notasupervillain
I can see that. There's a wonderful diversity of character in your work. I get a really strong sense of place out of it too.

I use plot and world as ways to get to the character beats that I want to hit. Urban fantasy is great because I can steal most of my setting from reality. You seem to have a delightful mix of near reality in your T-America! But more world building than I have patience for doing.

Re: Yes ...

Date: 2018-11-01 10:05 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] notasupervillain
Oh I LIKE that way of thinking about it. I can see why Calliope needs to spiral. She has a lot of things to resolve.

I base my plots on the character development beats I want to hit. I want Eliza to gain self confidence every chapter. What does that look like over the short term? What does that look like long term? How does everyone else in her life respond? How does the world respond? I guess it ends up being like the Scott Pilgrim plot diagram - minor climaxes leading to a larger one.

Re: Yes ...

Date: 2018-11-01 11:29 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] notasupervillain
They have a lot to work through, both of them. Sounds like Vagary doesn't have models for healthy relationships. And the additional pressure of the bond isn't helping with either of their boundary issues.

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