Summary:Pamela and Tim talk about drones, criminal rehabilitation, and mythology. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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School has not been kind to Tim's schedule. It isn't even just the classes and homework; it introduces new concepts to his engineering skillset… concepts which stick in his brain and demand to actually be used. Why buy drones when you can build them yourself? He's spent an awful lot of time elbow-deep at workbenches, whether at home, at school, or sometimes at the Cave, but he's careful not to use anything Waynetech hasn't released to the public.
And now he's out at the quad, testing it: sitting on a bench with a remote-control app on his phone, carefully guiding the quadcopter as it flies in a slow circuit above him. Yes, just a simple quadcopter design. He's not going to go building a bird drone as Tim Drake.
Poison Ivy doesn't have much of a reason to visit NYU, but Doctor Pamela Isley did agree to do some teaching for an advanced botany class on campus. So she's currently walking across the quad, class over as she actually carries a backpack. She's bundled up a bit with a warm looking coat, naturally.
Though when she spots Tim working on the drone, she recognizes him from a few months ago, and makes her way over towards him. She pauses a polite distance away and smiles, "Well, hello again… Mister Drake, was it?" She smiles pleasantly, looking a bit curious at what he's working on.
Tim's eyes narrow with focus, like the screen and the drone are the whole world right now. "Alright. Manoeuvring's good. Pathfinding's good. Now to come in for a…" Um. Where's the landing button? He wrinkles his nose. "…something for the next version." For now, he'll keep it floating.
Yet while he seems utterly focused, there's enough awareness that he at least doesn't jump out of his skin when Pamela announces her presence. There's still a little twitch of surprise, but not an outright jump. "Yes! Yes it is. Doctor Isley, right?"
Pamela smiles, "Yes, but you can call me Pamela, if you prefer." She hmms a bit, "I recall you mentioning you were in engineering, but this seems to be something else? Customized drone?" She looks at the widget quizzically, since… well, she's a botanist, not an engineer.
Tim smiles. "Pamela, then. And this is a little project of mine — not for school or anything, just for my own practice. My own custom design, using some of what I've learned about flight mechanisms, and programming the remote control myself, too." He holds up his phone. "As an app rather than a physical remote, too. There still is a remote as a backup, but… I left it at home for this test." Hence not being able to land. "How have you been doing, Doc— Pamela? Still working on the Disaster Zone?"
A slight grin at that, "Not so much now, given that it's winter. Not much I can do right now, so since I had some free time, the university asked me to do some guest lectures for the semester. So… well, it seemed like it would be an interesting change of pace." Pamela chuckles softly, "And that sounds pretty impressive, especially for something 'on the side' as it were."
Tim nods, sitting up more. "And that gives you the chance to use your passion more. To talk about the science you've studied so much of." The 'Doctor of botany' thing came before the 'plant-powered supervillain' thing. People often forget that. "Thank you. Though it's just using the principles I've been learning in class anyway. And it's not that impressive." He shows his screen. "Kind of forgot to build the landing subroutines into the app."
Pamela snorts at that, "Hey, getting into the air, that's the hard part. Landing will happen sooner or later regardless." She grins, "And thanks, I appreciate that. It's nice to have someone see me as something other than an ex-con." Which is true, if over simplified.
"Landing well is the hard part," Tim says. "I'd prefer to be able to use the thing more than once." Projectiles are already disposable enough; he doesn't need to add to that. He shakes his head. "You're doing your time, your community service. There's no reason to go on treating you like a criminal, 'ex' or otherwise. Rehabilitation is the most important thing. If you act like someone who's once a criminal is always a criminal, then the criminal population will only increase."
Pam chuckles, "Yes, I agree. Fortunately, most of the people here haven't been too uninviting. A few seem to have expected me to show up all green skinned and leafy for lectures, and dropped when they found out that no, this was going to be serious. But overall, it's been rather nice." And well, she's more than capable of subtle retribution. She knows Harley, after all…
'Subtle' retribution doesn't seem like Harley's forte. Maybe the relationship helps Pamela with that skill by showing her things not to do. "And when they realise you expect them to be serious about the subject, and it's not just going to be a big spectacle with giant man-eating vines or something." One hand strays back to his phone, fiddling with manual flight controls to bring the drone in for a slow descent. No sense running down the batteries.
Pamela nods, "Well, I could bring in the man-eating plants, but I think the university would frown upon that." She chuckles, looking at the drone as it gets guided in, "Though, on the other hand, I was called a dryad by someone the other day. That was interesting… and possibly flattering. I'm not entirely sure yet."
Okay, the drone's down just above the bench now. Tim holds a hand underneath it, and with one more press, kills the engine. He catches it safely, no damage at all. "Whew. I know what I'm writing when I get home." He tilts his head. "Depends on the particular myths they were pulling from, I'd say. They weren't any more specific, like hamadryad?"
Pam shakes her head, "No, but this is Hercules we're talking about… or someone that looks a lot like him. I hadn't met him before, but well, it was… hrm. An interesting conversation." She chuckles a little, "I suppose that sounds weird, now that I say it out loud."
Tim shakes his head. "This city has an embassy for beings out of Norse myth. Why would it be strange for Greek myth to show up, too? That's just how the world is; it's unscientific to try to insist that those beings are 'just' mythological. Not to mention what's been happening in Staten Island."
Pamela nods, "True enough, I suppose. I guess it sounds odd, but I'm not used to dealing with such things." She chuckles, "But I suppose I'll encounter him again, the way things tend to be around here. Though the Olympians don't seem to have an embassy… yet." Her lip quirks a bit at the thought.
"Yet," Tim agrees. "You never know what'll come out of the woodwork. For all I know, the next big thing will be Chinese mythology. You think Hercules would get on well with Son Goku?"
Pam blinks, "Wait, that's not an anime character? I don't really know much about mythology in general, admittedly…" She looks a bit sheepish, then shrugs, "Though I guess I should take the time to learn, especially with everyone mythological seeming to pop up these days."
Tim laughs, nodding his head. "The Monkey King, from Journey to the West. Dragon Ball started off based on that story, and then kind of… went sideways. And into space." Pause. "…which, given how the Asgardians turned out, honestly makes me wonder."
Pamela then dramatically intones, "Based on a true story…" then laughs a bit. She chuckles, "I haven't really met any Asgardians, at least I don't think I have. It isn't like they look too different than anyone else." She pauses, then peers at Tim, "You're not Asgardian, are you?"
Tim laughs more at that, though Pamela wouldn't be in on the joke. A Bat with powers? Naah. "I'm just a regular guy who can afford some nice toys." He pats his drone. "You're closer to the Asgardian scale than I'd ever be."
Pam snorts, "No thanks. My life is complicated enough without myths and legends sneaking in, let me tell you." She gives Tim a bit of a mock glare, "But if Hades kidnaps me looking to make me his bride or something, I'm totally blaming you for that."
"I think he's more of a one-woman god," Tim says. "But even if he does, you know what to do. Keep away from any of the food — not just pomegranate seeds. Same if you find yourself dealing with faeries. Really, 'don't eat food given to you by strange beings' is a good rule for life in general."
Pamela nods at that, "Good point. Always something to keep in mind. Though, I suppose I should get going. It was nice to see you again, Mister Drake." She grins, and offers him her hand to shake, "Good luck with your project there."
Tim rises from the seat to shake her hand, making the whole encounter that bit more formal. "And I should pull the laptop out and get back to programming it. Was good seeing you again, Pamela." This time he remembered without the 'Doctor' mis-step.