Quentin and Paul - Backdated
Mar. 14th, 2015 04:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainPaul's trying to work on an essay, and QQ's trying to make his ghost detecting machine work. Neither of them is very successful.
Paul didn't tend to spend a lot of time in the library; the ghost lady made it difficult to focus on work. But he needed to do some research there for an essay, since not everything was on the internet, apparently, which was a shame if you asked him. But it turned out that the ghost lady wasn't the only thing distracting him today, and he glanced over at the kid with a pink mohawk fiddling with some kind of machine. Why did he have to do that here?
But he looked back to his book immediately, wary of being caught staring. Ghosts and engineers didn't make for easy studying.
Quentin Quire had given up.
Alright, he hadn't given up on finding the proper spectrum that would register the presence of ghosts, spectres, paranormal activity, or whatever it was that Damon wanted him to be able to detect. He'd just given up on finding Dana. Somehow, whenever he tried to find her, she'd just left. With this in mind, he decided to just set up his equipment in the one location on campus that had been identified as a hotbed of ghost activity, and...well, tweak until it found something, he supposed.
Something was nagging at the back of his mind while he setup, though, and finally, he frowned and turned to look at the guy sitting at a nearby table.
"Ghosts. What about ghosts?"
Paul started when he was addressed, and he looked around nervously, hoping the boy was talking to someone else. Of course, it was just the two of them and the ghost lady in the library right now. "What? I didn't..." He trailed off before he finished his sentence with say anything, and sighed out a little, before he asked, "Are you a telepath?"
"Wow, give the guy a prize." Quentin smirked and peered at the apparently English guy over his glasses. "Now, if you're done stating the obvious, you were thinking about ghosts why? This is actually important."
"Why?" Paul asked curiously, and glanced at the ghost reading in the armchair again before looking back at the boy.
Why. Why was he forced to deal with idiots was a better question, but Quentin counted backwards and took a breath before replying. "Because I need someone who can see ghosts, that's why. So if you have any clue where Dana the alleged ghost-seer is, I'd really, really like to know." He shrugged. "If you're reading comic books or thinking about that stupid ghost hunters show on tv, you can go back to whatever it is you're amusing yourself with."
"Dana can't see ghosts," Paul replied, sounding firmer than he had so far. It was probably the fact that this was the very first bully he met at Xavier's (and the fact that he was looking for Dana, and she didn't deserve that treatment) that emboldened him enough to add, "Get your facts straight."
Quentin stared at the kid for a long moment, then facepalmed. "You're kidding, right? No, you're not kidding," after a quick scan of the guy's surface thoughts for just that information revealed that no, he definitely wasn't kidding. "She told Becky she could see ghosts. I've spent weeks trying to track her down, because she told Becky she could see ghosts. How am I supposed to get this thing working?" Answer: He was going to have to break down and ask Felix, which he really didn't want to do, given that he'd likely have to tell Damon he'd asked Felix, and...yeah. Great. Wonderful. Back to the drawing board.
"This is supposed to detect ghosts?" Paul asked, finally pushing his chair back and standing up to come and inspect the machine. That would certainly explain why the boy was working on it here, if he knew about the lady in the armchair. But if he knew about her, then he had probably talked to Felix, and why would he not go straight to Felix?
That, Quentin caught, and he made a face at the new guy - Paul, he was pretty sure. "Because my boss isn't a fan, whereas Dana's on staff. Do the math. But yes, this is supposed to detect ghosts. It's hard to calibrate it without knowing whether or not there's a ghost there, though."
"She's there," Paul replied, frowning at the way the boy kept picking thoughts out of his brain. "In the armchair over there," he nodded in that direction. "She's always there."
"Seriously?" Quentin turned in the direction Paul had indicated once he had confirmation from the other guy's thoughts rather than wait for a response. "Alright then." He turned the tripod holding his device around and aimed it at the chair in question. And paused to glance back over at his new source of ghost intel. The guy might be a bit of an ass, but hey, he had provided value service. Never knew when he might need that again. "I haven't actually field tested this yet, so you might want to determine where the emergency exits are. Just in case."
"It's that bad?" Paul asked with a concerned frown, hesitating to take a step back.
"Nooo, I'm saying it for my own personal amusement." Quentin rolled his eyes. "I'm not figuring on a problem. I'm doing full disclosure for liability purposes. You've been warned." He took a breath and flipped the switch on the machine, which lit up obligingly. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything else. "Hmm. Okay, definitely not the right wavelength," Quentin mumbled. He made a note of the particulars on his tablet, then opened a side panel and made a change to the settings. "Let's try this again..."
Paul couldn't help but be fascinated by the idea of a machine able to detect the spirits only Felix and he seemed able to see, and he took a step closer, instead of back, fingers twitching at his side. "How is it supposed to work?" he asked, his voice low less because of the library aspect of things (no one else was here), and more out of deference for the experiment.
"The technical version or the idiot's guide?" Quentin answered absently, making another observation on his tablet as absolutely nothing occurred.
Paul was this close from a 'Never mind', and walking away, but he didn't want to just yet, not until he'd learned at least a little about this machine. "What kind of wavelengths are you trying out?"
"Starting with those closest to the visual spectrum, seeing as people have actually seen them, then moving further away by increments." Quentin made another change to the settings, then grimaced and noted that as well. "I don't suppose you have any idea how you're seeing them?" It seemed unlikely, but he was more than willing to take suggestions if it would potentially narrow things down.
"Do you have any idea how you're picking up people's thoughts?" Paul asked after a few seconds' reflexion, and it was clear from his thoughts that he wasn't being difficult. Felix and he could see ghosts because they could see the astral plane, and that was a psionic power. It made sense to him that all psionic senses would resemble each other, even if they were all of them different.
"Sadly no, but I'm working on it," Quentin acknowledged. Grimacing at the machine, he changed the setting again, and was immediately treated to flashing lights and a loud beeping sound. "Yes!" he announced, but before he could take any further action, a burst of smoke billowed out from the machine. "Shit, unplug it!" he yelled as he ripped off his jacket and threw it over his equipment to it to smother the smoke, hopefully in time to keep the fire alarms from sounding.
Paul rushed to do just that, pulling on the cord and turning back to the device, hoping it hadn't caught on fire or anything.
Quentin snorted in disgust as he peered under the coat, determined that nothing was actually burning, and pulled it off. "Well, so much for that. No way to know if it was an actual reading or a fried circuit until I reconstruct." He turned to look at Paul. "You said the ghost's always there, right? She doesn't wander off to go visit Felix or anything?"
"I don't think she could," Paul replied with a frown, looking over at her again, now that it was clear that there was no fire. "She just keeps on reading. Forever."
"Good, then she'll still be there when I get this working again." Quentin bundled up the cord and tucked his machine under one arm, then snatched up the tripod he'd had it standing on with the other. "You may now return to your essay. Personally, I'd change the topic so it wasn't incredibly lame, but hey, that's me. Enjoy."
That trend of only meeting nice people had lasted much too long, Paul supposed, but this was still relatively tame, compared to some of the bullying back home. He didn't bother replying, and went to gather his things. He'd come back later, when he was able to focus. Maybe he ought to track down Felix and ask him about this boy's 'boss'.
Paul didn't tend to spend a lot of time in the library; the ghost lady made it difficult to focus on work. But he needed to do some research there for an essay, since not everything was on the internet, apparently, which was a shame if you asked him. But it turned out that the ghost lady wasn't the only thing distracting him today, and he glanced over at the kid with a pink mohawk fiddling with some kind of machine. Why did he have to do that here?
But he looked back to his book immediately, wary of being caught staring. Ghosts and engineers didn't make for easy studying.
Quentin Quire had given up.
Alright, he hadn't given up on finding the proper spectrum that would register the presence of ghosts, spectres, paranormal activity, or whatever it was that Damon wanted him to be able to detect. He'd just given up on finding Dana. Somehow, whenever he tried to find her, she'd just left. With this in mind, he decided to just set up his equipment in the one location on campus that had been identified as a hotbed of ghost activity, and...well, tweak until it found something, he supposed.
Something was nagging at the back of his mind while he setup, though, and finally, he frowned and turned to look at the guy sitting at a nearby table.
"Ghosts. What about ghosts?"
Paul started when he was addressed, and he looked around nervously, hoping the boy was talking to someone else. Of course, it was just the two of them and the ghost lady in the library right now. "What? I didn't..." He trailed off before he finished his sentence with say anything, and sighed out a little, before he asked, "Are you a telepath?"
"Wow, give the guy a prize." Quentin smirked and peered at the apparently English guy over his glasses. "Now, if you're done stating the obvious, you were thinking about ghosts why? This is actually important."
"Why?" Paul asked curiously, and glanced at the ghost reading in the armchair again before looking back at the boy.
Why. Why was he forced to deal with idiots was a better question, but Quentin counted backwards and took a breath before replying. "Because I need someone who can see ghosts, that's why. So if you have any clue where Dana the alleged ghost-seer is, I'd really, really like to know." He shrugged. "If you're reading comic books or thinking about that stupid ghost hunters show on tv, you can go back to whatever it is you're amusing yourself with."
"Dana can't see ghosts," Paul replied, sounding firmer than he had so far. It was probably the fact that this was the very first bully he met at Xavier's (and the fact that he was looking for Dana, and she didn't deserve that treatment) that emboldened him enough to add, "Get your facts straight."
Quentin stared at the kid for a long moment, then facepalmed. "You're kidding, right? No, you're not kidding," after a quick scan of the guy's surface thoughts for just that information revealed that no, he definitely wasn't kidding. "She told Becky she could see ghosts. I've spent weeks trying to track her down, because she told Becky she could see ghosts. How am I supposed to get this thing working?" Answer: He was going to have to break down and ask Felix, which he really didn't want to do, given that he'd likely have to tell Damon he'd asked Felix, and...yeah. Great. Wonderful. Back to the drawing board.
"This is supposed to detect ghosts?" Paul asked, finally pushing his chair back and standing up to come and inspect the machine. That would certainly explain why the boy was working on it here, if he knew about the lady in the armchair. But if he knew about her, then he had probably talked to Felix, and why would he not go straight to Felix?
That, Quentin caught, and he made a face at the new guy - Paul, he was pretty sure. "Because my boss isn't a fan, whereas Dana's on staff. Do the math. But yes, this is supposed to detect ghosts. It's hard to calibrate it without knowing whether or not there's a ghost there, though."
"She's there," Paul replied, frowning at the way the boy kept picking thoughts out of his brain. "In the armchair over there," he nodded in that direction. "She's always there."
"Seriously?" Quentin turned in the direction Paul had indicated once he had confirmation from the other guy's thoughts rather than wait for a response. "Alright then." He turned the tripod holding his device around and aimed it at the chair in question. And paused to glance back over at his new source of ghost intel. The guy might be a bit of an ass, but hey, he had provided value service. Never knew when he might need that again. "I haven't actually field tested this yet, so you might want to determine where the emergency exits are. Just in case."
"It's that bad?" Paul asked with a concerned frown, hesitating to take a step back.
"Nooo, I'm saying it for my own personal amusement." Quentin rolled his eyes. "I'm not figuring on a problem. I'm doing full disclosure for liability purposes. You've been warned." He took a breath and flipped the switch on the machine, which lit up obligingly. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything else. "Hmm. Okay, definitely not the right wavelength," Quentin mumbled. He made a note of the particulars on his tablet, then opened a side panel and made a change to the settings. "Let's try this again..."
Paul couldn't help but be fascinated by the idea of a machine able to detect the spirits only Felix and he seemed able to see, and he took a step closer, instead of back, fingers twitching at his side. "How is it supposed to work?" he asked, his voice low less because of the library aspect of things (no one else was here), and more out of deference for the experiment.
"The technical version or the idiot's guide?" Quentin answered absently, making another observation on his tablet as absolutely nothing occurred.
Paul was this close from a 'Never mind', and walking away, but he didn't want to just yet, not until he'd learned at least a little about this machine. "What kind of wavelengths are you trying out?"
"Starting with those closest to the visual spectrum, seeing as people have actually seen them, then moving further away by increments." Quentin made another change to the settings, then grimaced and noted that as well. "I don't suppose you have any idea how you're seeing them?" It seemed unlikely, but he was more than willing to take suggestions if it would potentially narrow things down.
"Do you have any idea how you're picking up people's thoughts?" Paul asked after a few seconds' reflexion, and it was clear from his thoughts that he wasn't being difficult. Felix and he could see ghosts because they could see the astral plane, and that was a psionic power. It made sense to him that all psionic senses would resemble each other, even if they were all of them different.
"Sadly no, but I'm working on it," Quentin acknowledged. Grimacing at the machine, he changed the setting again, and was immediately treated to flashing lights and a loud beeping sound. "Yes!" he announced, but before he could take any further action, a burst of smoke billowed out from the machine. "Shit, unplug it!" he yelled as he ripped off his jacket and threw it over his equipment to it to smother the smoke, hopefully in time to keep the fire alarms from sounding.
Paul rushed to do just that, pulling on the cord and turning back to the device, hoping it hadn't caught on fire or anything.
Quentin snorted in disgust as he peered under the coat, determined that nothing was actually burning, and pulled it off. "Well, so much for that. No way to know if it was an actual reading or a fried circuit until I reconstruct." He turned to look at Paul. "You said the ghost's always there, right? She doesn't wander off to go visit Felix or anything?"
"I don't think she could," Paul replied with a frown, looking over at her again, now that it was clear that there was no fire. "She just keeps on reading. Forever."
"Good, then she'll still be there when I get this working again." Quentin bundled up the cord and tucked his machine under one arm, then snatched up the tripod he'd had it standing on with the other. "You may now return to your essay. Personally, I'd change the topic so it wasn't incredibly lame, but hey, that's me. Enjoy."
That trend of only meeting nice people had lasted much too long, Paul supposed, but this was still relatively tame, compared to some of the bullying back home. He didn't bother replying, and went to gather his things. He'd come back later, when he was able to focus. Maybe he ought to track down Felix and ask him about this boy's 'boss'.
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Date: 2015-03-18 01:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-19 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2015-03-20 12:35 pm (UTC)hide from Beckydo science things and avoid the idiocity running rampant through the school. ;)no subject
Date: 2015-03-24 10:38 pm (UTC)