RP: 188604 Sight By Touch

[Jabonicus]

Archives

Within every aspect of the organization, Eve didn't have much understanding of how it all functioned or how it came together, but she didn't let it bother her. No doubt Section 6 had its purpose and its goals but it wasn't her place to comment upon them or judge them, her job was fairly simple, even if it was replaceable by any decent AI. A translator, and she spoke numerous languages because of it, most of them with quite a high level of competency, even if she naturally lacked a literate understanding of the written word. She believed that she'd leave that part to the machines. But regardless simply because she lacked the ability to read, it was no reason to deny the pleasures of books or the quiet abode that many of them rested in, the sparsely populated libraries of the world. Eve could read braille of course, but books printed in braille were a rare treasure all of their own, and she wouldn't push to bother libraries when she could simply request to have one of the people she traveled with read to her in a quiet corner of the library.

She had her own collection of braille literature, but the scarcity at which they were made lead her to quickly run out of things to read even when they restocked and traded for different books. It's why she much more preferred to visit the local libraries of wherever their work took them, and either have one of her friends read to her or, much more rarely, a friendly local who often times was a librarian. Audiobooks also stocked the shelves, but she listened to them only when someone was not available to provide her company. She had met many, men and women of varying ages who often expressed guilt at not carrying a selection of braille literature, not that she could properly hold it against them, she doubted it was a common issue.

She sat in a comfortable chair, her young friend sitting across from her as she quietly read aloud to Eve. She could feel a warmth on her face, and she could presume it was the sun. She had heard of rain today but she couldn't be sure while she was inside or when it simply wasn't raining, she would've heard it drum against the windows and roof. Her friend was a pilot, and was reading a fictional story about some legend from a faraway planet, who sailed great airships through the sky in the same ways as pirates of the seas, if you took away the seas, of course, and their grand adventure to stop some monarch from conquering some world-ending power. It was a fairly interesting book, but truth be told she was distracted today. She had kept herself away from the news for some time, too much talk of war either coming from Yamatai or elsewhere, and quite honestly it was all quite anxiety inducing. She wasn't one to linger on it, and even if it would effect her, she preferred to linger on the better parts of life, such as the quiet moments of libraries and archives, and the other small pleasures of life.

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Archives

The quiet and serene environments within libraries appealed deeply to Ozaki Kasumi, and as a result, she found herself paying long visits to them whenever she got the chance. Like many other Nekovalkyrja, she greatly preferred the sensation of a paperback or hardcover book in her hands, over the relative stability of digital literature platforms. It gave her an odd sense of association to see the unknown names of a book’s previous readers on the checkout manifests within the inside cover of of a library book, as if she were part of an esoteric and secret sisterhood, composed of readers such as herself. On deployment, she had to make do with her datapad, since most enlisted accommodations she did not allow the space to store stacks upon stacks of paperback or hardcover books.

Books of the fantastical genre were among her favorites. She thoroughly enjoyed immersing herself in worlds that did not play by the same ‘rules’ as this one, as they presented the best exercise for her imagination.

After a short period of browsing through the library’s fantasy collection at one of the computer terminals, she found a book that caught her eye. It was a ‘steampunk’ themed work, set in a world where enormous airships formed the predominant methods of transportation and warfare. According to the database, there was one copy of the book on the shelf. Conveniently, the system presented a top-down diagram of the library, with an arrow leading to toward shelf where the book was located. She had never been able to understand library classification systems in a competent manner, so the map was quite useful to her. The shelf itself was close to a small clearing, with a rectangular table and four chairs on the perimeters.

After taking a mental snapshot of the map, Kasumi turned off the computer and began to walk towards her destination. With only the sounds of her own footsteps accompanying her ears, Kasumi felt thoroughly relaxed. It was quite the contrast from the loud club she had met Mark at, only a few hours before. There had been ten shelves between the terminal and the shelf where the book was located. When she arrived, Kasumi was quickly distracted by the other fantasy works on the same shelf, many of them with vibrant and attractive cover images. She pulled a few books out and took cursory glances at their summaries and covers, before placing them back in the same spot as before. As she moved down the row, she began to notice the soft voice that was coming from the nearby table. The speaker seemed to be reading from a book, judging from their precise and literary sentence structure.

It was not until the mention of the word “airships”, when Kasumi began to pay attention. The white-haired Neko began to walk further down the shelf, her diminutive form coming into partial view for whomever was seated at the nearby table. In one graceful motion, Kasumi smoothed down her skirt and crouched down to the bottom level to the bottom level of the shelf, where the book was located. Her eyes scanned over the level, once, twice, and then a third time. There were two other books in the same series, but the title she was looking for was not on the shelf. That only left one place where the book could have been.

It would have been rude of her to ask for the book while it was still in use. This was a library after all, and library books were meant to be shared. So instead, she crossed her legs and sat down on the floor. There were plenty of other books in front of her, so she selected one of those. The one she chose seemed to be a retro futuristic book, deliberately set in a world based off of extremely outdated and inaccurate conceptions of the future. It was another book that she could enjoy reading, but she did not intend to read it just yet. She opened the book to the front cover, and began to “read” it. However, her attention was more focused on the words of the speaker, than the words of the retro futuristic book sitting within her hands...

 

[Jabonicus]

The reader in question was a young woman, human and seemingly unremarkable in appearance, while she wasn't large or strongly built, she wore some form of uniform, the book held in front of her as she slouched in her chair. Her back was to Kasumi's position, and across from her was another woman of a similar age, who's hands met in her lap as she leaned against her seat. While the woman reading seemed to have some proper uniform, what the other woman wore was much more casual, civilian clothing consisting of a thin, almost sweatpants-like material for pants, and a loose but fitting red sweater. Her hair was long and loose, though it parted above her face with the way it was cut, but the most striking feature of the woman was her dull, gray eyes. Perhaps they had once been a pale blue and had simply faded further over time, but aided with the way she seemed to look at nothing gave an odd impression of the woman in question. More telling was an odd, thin cane that leaned against her chair, collapsed to a shrunken state.

The reader paused as she tapped a page on the book, clearing her throat before speaking once more. "Page one-sixty-three, Eve. Sorry to say but I have to go check with the ships maintenance... I can help you set up the audio-book if you'd like." She spoke casually as she stood up, closing the book as she stretched her neck. Eve, however, simply shook her head, closing her eyes as she tapped an odd, extended watch on her wrist. "No thank you, but I think I'll stay here a bit longer. You can call me through the watch, of course, and I'll do the same if I need help with something. It should be simple enough getting back to our quarters regardless." She responded politely. After a brief farewell, the reader placed the book on the table between them before departing, giving little mind to the few others present within the area.

Eve however remained seated, reaching out to the place the book was placed, her hand softly feeling its edges before she took it in hand, bringing to her lap for further inspection. She didn't open it, and instead brushed her fingertips across the cover, a look of mild concentration as she felt the various raised sections of letters and images meant to make the cover eye-catching to potential readers. Her other hand did something similar, feeling along the book itself slowly, not quite an active motion as much as it was an idle one.

Eve was alone, and perhaps it was for the better. While she was guided by the pilot and by others she was often ignored by others, who either found the situation too abnormal too approach, or feeling that she was already well occupied with her guide. However, she wasn't really alone, there was the odd figure who she had heard walking nearby. Was she listening or watching? She wasn't sure, it sounded as if it were by the books themselves, but she had heard nothing since the footsteps first proclaimed themselves.

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Kasumi listened in complete silence as the woman read the book aloud. Even through hearing only a few sentences, the book stimulated Kasumi’s imagination as she visualized the massive military airships in her head, their surfaces bristling with guns and activity. She wondered what it was like inside such a thing as well, but in the action seemed to be taking placing on the outer decks, from what she could garner based on a few sentences. It was only when the woman stopped reading and bidded farewell to her partner did Kasumi realize that she was reading to someone, and not just for herself. She turned around and took a cursory glance at the other woman. She possessed striking gray eyes, which seemed to be rather...aimless in their stare. On that trait alone, Kasumi would not have judged to woman to be blind. There were plenty of Yamataians who possessed grey irises through choice, after all. Instead, it was the odd-looking cane which finally tipped her off.

By Chiharu, this woman was blind!

She had never met such a person before, or someone who even possessed such a severe physical disability. Not wanting to be rude, Kasumi turned back around and lowered her head into her book, as if she were reading. However, she quickly realized that this woman would not have been able to see her staring anyways. In a panic, Kasumi went through the file repository in her digital memory, searching for any in-depth information on blindness.

Aside from basic definitions and out of context meanings, there was nothing in-depth surrounding the subject.

She should have expected that. Yamataians had no need to learn anything comprehensive about physical disabilities, when such obstructions had been annihilated by modern medicine and resleeving technology. In the ancient past, there had been legal efforts enacted, to better accommodate society for individuals with physical disabilities. Simple things such as ramps, designated parking spaces, and other accommodations which allowed disabled individuals to partake in society without facing insurmountable barriers.

She sighed and turned back around, to look towards the blind woman. The woman, Eve, she remembered, was running her fingers across the cover of the book, perhaps to derive some sort of meaning from it. Although she knew little about the habits of blind individuals, Kasumi knew that they utilized other senses more heavily, to compensate for their lack of sight.

Kasumi turned back around, and softly closed the book in her hands. She put the book back in the shelf, after taking a cursory glance at the cover, so as to commit the title to memory for later. After pushing the book into the shelf, Kasumi floated up and out of a sitting position, and before hovering towards the table. Her feet touched the ground when she reached the same seat the reader was before, standing just beside it. She took a glance at the book, and the blind woman who was still idly feeling along the surface of the book with delicate and sensitive fingers.

“I can continue reading the book for you.” Kasumi offered calmly, before exhaling a breath of relief.

 

[Jabonicus]

The book was like the many others she had felt, the cover had the less common intricacies of texture and slight depth, the kind that you could feel as you ran your fingers across them. The letters of the title protruded ever so slightly, but the letters themselves meant so very little to her, meaningless symbols for meaningful words. She knew they were words because she asked, but when so little was printed like this, she never had the opportunity to learn how the actual words were written, only their translation to the system of braille, a much different form of the language. She often wondered what it would be like, to look upon such a thing with her own eyes.

One question she found herself asking in her moments of thought was what sight would tell her. If she spent days or even weeks examining this book with her fingers, finding every little detail of it as her fingers ran over the cover, the back, the spine, the pages, she would no doubt convert it all to memory, even if the symbols on the front held limited meaning. The question arose here, however, as if she suddenly gained the ability of sight, to see the world around her, if the first thing she saw was the book she had spent so long studying, would she even recognize what it was? Would she recognize the shape or the textures with her eyes alone? Or was sight truly so different that it would appear foreign and strange?

These were the kinds of thoughts she liked to entertain, the hypotheticals and the bizarre, far more interesting and less grim than to linger on what she didn't have. She gave a brief smile, to think of such feelings, it would be-

A voice spoke just a few steps away and she jumped slightly, before chuckling softly at herself as she realized that she had been daydreaming. Even still she thought she would have heard the woman approach, the sounds of flowing air and others farther in the library had not faded, so why did she not hear the other woman approach? Footsteps were very simple to pick up, that was, of course, unless she didn't walk there. It was rare here, but she had heard that some people lacked the need to walk at all, able to travel distances without even glancing across the ground. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be comfortable with such a thought, but she was sure that it was as natural to them as life was to her without sight. She saw it as odd in the same way others saw her as odd.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear you approach." Her dull eyes shifted to the vague direction that Kasumi had spoken from. There was clearly enough control to move her eyes, but without the actual ability to see they lacked the refinement to focus, much less actually look at her. "And would you be so kind? There's a wide selection of audiobooks but they all seem so impersonal. It's much more social to read with a friend." She explained after a moment. It was true, she often listened to audiobooks but she lost interest fairly easily. She found herself with little to no one to talk to regarding what she had listened to, while reading with a friend guaranteed at least one person would have some idea of the story and its discussions.

"My name is Eve Ahriman, by the way. The last page was One-Sixty-Three, unless you'd prefer to start over. I can't stay that I'd particularly mind either way. Who might you be?" Female, at least in body, was all Eve could tell. One of the more standard bipedal races that held the same general gender traits. What species though, what did she feel like? She wasn't sure, but perhaps talking about reveal more, it would be rude to just ask to walk over and touch her face, after all.

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Eve’s initially surprised manner had caught Kasumi quite off-guard as well. Fortunately, it did not take her long to understand why she had acted in such a manner. Kasumi had floated here, at least partially. Of course, Eve could not hear footsteps if Kasumi opted to glide through the air like a dove. That was a severe misstep on Kasumi’s part, since she had accidentally deprived her of the one sense that she still had. She would not do that again, but it would take some time for her to get out of the habit of floating.

“No, that was my mistake.” Kasumi answered calmly to the blind woman’s apology. “I floated here, absentmindedly. I will not do it again.” She resolved. Kasumi did not know how often Yamataians showed up on 188604, but she could not imagine her as the type of woman who made frequent contact with them.

“My name is Ozaki Kasumi.” The white-haired Neko replied, as she extended her arm out for a handshake, before thinking better of the gesture and instead, utilizing her extended arm to take the book off of the table. “I am from Yamatai, more specifically, New Vicky.” She added.

Without another word, Kasumi took a brief glance at the front and back covers, before opening the book to page One-Sixty-Three. It was possible that she might spoil herself for when she did get to reading it, but for now, she saw little harm in reading ahead.

When she finally reached the page, Kasumi pulled the book into her lap and floated down into her seat. A brief pause ensured as her eyes scanned across the words on the page, taking in the context, characters, and elements of the story which seemed to be important upon a cursory glance. She wanted to adapt her speaking tone from that of the narrator to that of a specific character at the right moments, so that Eve did not get confused or lost in the action.

When she had enough of a grasp of the action, Kasumi took a deep breath and began.

The action was set in the midst of a fiery battle, between massive airships from the Queendom of Areia and the smaller, but more maneuverable ones from the anti-monarchical forces. The protagonists seemed to be aligned with the anti-monarchical forces, but the perspective did switch to that of a Areian commander for a few pages.

The battle was wildly lopsided in favor of the Areian forces. The commander of the anti-monarchical forces was a young and wealthy noble, incompetent as he was idealistic. He had served in the Areian military for only a few months, and he had bought his commission in that military, before he was discharged. From there, he and his father had joined the anti-monarchical forces, after his father’s lands were put under the direct control of the Areian queen. The protagonist characters and many of the crew which served under him suspected the noble of being a spy for the Areian queen. However, a brief narration from the noble’s perspective revealed that he was an anxious, inexperienced, and unqualified officer, having been thrust into command after the untimely death of his father.

Kasumi read in a soft and empathic tone. Unlike her speech, which was normally calm and often robotic, she put emphasis and accent into her words for the different characters in the book. However, she utilized a more neutral tone when speaking from the perspective of the narrator.

When she reached page One-Eighty, Kasumi paused to process the time. It had been forty minutes since she started reading, and the action was heating up, but she did need a drink...

 

[Jabonicus]

Regardless of how she proceeded to read, Kasumi's voice and pitch shifting to match the various characters and perspectives, Eve simply listened intently. Truth be told she would be quite content even if she read it in the dreary and dry manner that many audiobooks held, the tone was simply something she didn't consider all that important, but it was a nice, and certainly a kind gesture on Kasumi's behalf, it did make the book easier to listen to with clear breaks and pauses, differences as shifts occurred that otherwise weren't apparent to Eve. Splits of sentences, paragraphs, and dialogues accented and divided accordingly, and for a time she felt quite enveloped in the story that Kasumi was reading.

While she read, Eve's sightless eyes shifted, purposelessly glancing around the room without focus, an idle shifting of her head more to attribute to it than any real effort of control over her eyes. A light smile was on her face as she listened, taking in the room and its sounds, and given the time she was not surprised to hear more people leaving than entering, the only sound of other people being the vague and distant footsteps on the muffling surface of carpet. Occasionally she would close her eyes as she thought about the book or some other detail, especially if she tried to focus on a certain sound or detail, even if closing her eyes did nothing to help her focus, it was as if it was some subconscious habit that she had no reason to lose. Even with her eyes closed it was clear that she was not asleep, how her body shifted and sat was simply too lively to give away any sign of exhaustion.

Eve herself wasn't too sure of the time passing, she could simply tap a button on her 'watch' and it would quietly read out the time, but it seemed rude given the circumstance. She could tell, however, when the pause that Kasumi gave was not the same sort of pause she had been given while reading, it was a pause from the book itself. Different people paused differently on it, typically they pulled back at the end of a chapter or a scene, and from what she knew one scene had just concluded, about to shift into the next. "Would you like to take a break?" She offered with a light smile, as the last thing she wanted to do was to make Kasumi feel like she was obliged to keep reading. Reading for Eve was supposed to be social, and how could she say it was social if she neglected the needs and wants of who she was interacting with?

"Feel free to grab a drink, if you feel the need." She knew that her typical readers felt parched after extended reading sessions and it was quite clear why, a lot of talking with little pause tended to dry the mouth and throat. "I believe there is a vending machine near the door, but I don't know if they serve drinks." She had heard the signature clicks, beeps, and expending of change and the clatter of something of weight hitting the hollow metal of the odd device as she came in, though among words and other noises she hadn't picked up what the customer had bought, much less what else was in the machine.

After giving Kasumi whatever break she needed, whether she stayed or left, Eve would hold off on continuing the book, instead opening with a question. "You said you come from Yamatai." She had heard stories about it, but had never anticipated ever meeting another person from the legendary empire, and she was quite sure she'd never end up going there herself. She didn't have the wealth, and she most certainly was sure of the fact that they'd have much better translators than herself. Their medical technology was apparently the best in the Galaxy, able to bring its soldiers back from death, and repair practically anything. She had, of course, met one doctor who had once worked with Yamatai, who claimed that whatever caused her blindness might not be treatable, even there.

"If you'll forgive my prying, what brings you here?"