nexus_sages | (no subject)

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James T. Kirk absolutely loves marketplaces.

It's not necessarily because he's looking for anything, per se, although he does often keep an eye out for interesting books to add to his collection, or maybe a bottle of some kind of exotic alcohol, or some kind of pointless alien gizmo with which to annoy Spock with its purposeless existence. No, he just loves the sheer diversity each bazaar brings to the table.

No two markets have ever been alike, in his experience. Sure, it's not quite as exciting and mysterious as exploring deep space, but it's something of a microcosm of the same, all sorts of goods and cultures thrown into close quarters, and one never knows what one might find just down the street.

His shipboard gold uniform may stand out a bit in the crowd as he meanders along, a faint smile on his face as he leans in to examine someone's wares on display, just enjoying being out and about in the fresh air.

[OOC: Retconning Jim eating bacon in this thread. Hadn't fully considered some of the elements in his backstory at the time.]

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Some kind of biological healing field. Amazing. Bones would have absolute kittens over that if he was here. "Not really, I guess? Unless we're talking about the kind that is indistinguishable from advanced technology," he adds with a grin.

Kittens? Khajiit is innocent of this crime.

Jim's remark gets another puzzled look from the lizard, who folds his hands into his sleeves, the glow fading. "No... you are quoting something, yes?"

"It's an old Earth saying," Jim says, shifting stance a little so he's not immediately in the walkway, not all that eager for a repeat performance from any other inattentive pedestrians. "Weirdly, one that was said before First Contact, so it's not like humanity knew about telepathy and warp drive at the time. I guess it really all depends on how you define 'magic'."

The lizard steps out of the flow of traffic, as well, smiling with a row of pointed teeth. "If definitions of magic are what you seek, you have come to the right person. I am something of a scholar on the subject." Extending his hand again, sans glow, he adds, "my name is Shade-Seeker."

Oh fantastic, this guy's people do handshakes. His grin becomes all the more genuine as he reciprocates the familiar custom, glad that he doesn't have to try doing anything weird with his hands. The Vulcan ta'al took forever before he could get it right consistently. "I'm Jim Kirk." He decides to leave off the rank for now; technically he's not on duty at the moment, and he's found it can be intimidating to some, especially when he's trying to be friendly.

"So," he says, hoping that this isn't a horrible tactical mistake, "how would you define magic?"

They're both leaving out titles, and for similar reasons. "I am pleased to meet you, Jim Kirk."

At the question, Shade-Seeker draws in a long breath, then grins, catching himself before he launches into a deeply esoteric explanation. "In plainest terms, magic is an energy which can be shaped and directed by the proper tools, one of which is the will, to accomplish tasks. With sufficient magic, sufficient will, and sufficient (heh) creativity," there's that grin again, "it may accomplish goals which run counter to the other, understood tendencies of natural processes."

Part of Jim reeeeally wants to ask if quantum physics would fall into this guy's definition of magic, but Shade-Seeker might not have a clue what that even is, so he refrains. "By that definition, no, we don't have anything like that. That we know about." Very important qualifier when the vast, vast majority of the galaxy remains unexplored.

Shade-Seeker doesn't know what quantum physics is, but he'd be very interested to learn. If it's anything like the rest of his life, learning would entail somehow journeying to a quantum realm and grappling with its fell ruler to wrest away quantum secrets and end the threat posed by that dark, uncertain lord. "Ah. I wonder, does a lack of magic make life more predictable, or less? But it would be difficult for you to answer, without a frame of reference. Perhaps I should ask whether it is of interest."

Jim grins at Shade-Seeker and shrugs a little. "Our mission is exploration and learning all about other cultures and technology, so that does sound like it's up our alley. Can't promise that I'll understand it, but sure, why not?"

"To seek understanding is the highest of goals," Shade-Seeker intones. "In Mundus, magic is abundant, and all people possess some faint potential for its use which may be nurtured. In a realm bereft, I am uncertain whether the potential, or even the theory would be of use to you, but I would be pleased to discuss comparative realities, nonetheless."

"Me either, but I don't have anything more urgent to do. Why don't we take this someplace more comfortable? I'm sure there's a cafe or something around here somewhere." Jim doesn't necessarily recall seeing one, but this seems like the sort of place to find that sort of thing.

Of course, he has no idea if his 'fleet account is going to be any good for payment here, but you never know until you try.

"The Stellar Harp has been recommended to me," Shade-Seeker suggests. "It is not far."

Shade-Seeker makes a fair guide, setting a brisk but polite pace through the Nexus crowds to a busy sidewalk cafe seemingly staffed by satyrs, with the sign hanging overhead a wood carving of a harp with stars caught in its strings.

Jim, in turn, does a good job of keeping up, clearly an old hand at navigating crowds. Despite his unfamiliarity with magic, he doesn't stare at the satyrs, instead looking at them as if they were any other sentient race. "Nice. Kind of reminds me of this Andorian coffee shop in downtown San Fran."

"Andorian?" The word is close to a familiar one, so it piques Shade-Seeker's interest as he finds an open table to claim. Some of the chairs are even built to accommodate tails like his.

"Yeah, you know, blue humanoids, white hair, two antennae." He puts his index fingers up to his head in an approximate mime of the feature in question, even as he slides into his chair at the chosen table. "Four sexes, really militaristic, founding member of the Federation."

Shade-Seeker gives him a puzzled look, then shakes his head. "I have not yet met such people, either in the Empire or here." A brief pause leads him to the most natural question: "four sexes?"

The word 'Empire' gets his attention, but it's only polite to answer Shade-Seeker's question first. Besides, he can be subtle when he wants to be, and wait to perhaps gather more intel before drawing conclusions. And if his lizardy acquaintance here hasn't showed any signs of recognition of the Starfleet insignia on his uniform, it's hardly likely that Shade-Seeker is part of the Romulan or Klingon Empires.

"Yeah, four. Chans, thaans, zhens, and shens, if I remember right. I'm not a xenobiologist or a doctor so my experience has been more hands-on," he adds, waggling his eyebrows a little.

"Zeno-biologist?" Shade-Seeker attempts, grappling with the unfamiliar word. "That is not a word I know. Perhaps two words I do not know."

That gives him mild pause, because who doesn't know what biology is? But he supposes that maybe the study of magic has put scientific advancement on the back burner, for Shade-Seeker's folks. "Biology is the study of living organisms, subdivided into a hell of a lot of categories like anatomy and behavior, that sort of thing. Xeno's a prefix that used to mean alien, and it kind of still does, we just phrase it nicer and say it refers to non-humans instead."

"Ahh, Natural Philosophy, yes. We have that." He nods, pleased to recognize the topic after all. "I admit, my own studies focus more on alchemy than living organisms--apart from how the alchemy affects them, of course."

It is beyond weird to hear someone call biology philosophy, but he supposes that it could just be some kind of linguistic error that doesn't translate. Or an example of convergent linguistic evolution with false cognates. Either way, it's not worth debating who's right when they're probably both correct.

Besides... alchemy? "Like the 'turn lead into gold' kind of alchemy?"

Shade-Seeker gives a snort of derision. "Lead into gold is a metaphor, not a literal process. It describes the refinement of a simple mind into a learned one. True alchemy is the extraction of virtues from various plants, minerals and creatures, and the blending of those virtues to create useful potions. It is the foundation of my studies as a mage."

Jim looks amused now. "We call that chemistry. Or pharmacology, if it's medicinal." He imagines that probably sounds as weird to Shade-Seeker as 'biology' did. "Maybe it's a metaphor wherever you're from, but there were plenty of ancient Earth 'alchemists' who tried to actually make gold out of worthless junk. Never worked, obviously."

"Oh, there are plenty of would-be 'alchemists' who tried the same in my world," Shade-Seeker groans. "They would have been better served making actual potions. I myself have turned vegetables into gold, with the intermediate step of refining and selling them." With a tsk and a sigh, he shakes his head. "Chemistry. Mm. It is similar to alchemy, from what I understand. I would be interested to make a comparative study, should the opportunity arise."

"I could probably get you a textbook to study, if you want," Jim offers. "I've got access to practically the entire Federation's collective written works."