Octavia Wolstenholme
Location: Kim's house - the gunshop
Interacting with:Kim
@Zhaliora
Location:Jake's then gunshop/house
When the woman sitting in the booth next over finished ordering, Octavia had long since put down her phone. This whole entire town was peculiar. Back in New York, people with tried to get her number or told her to move or walk faster. She hated it with a passion, but it was comfortable. She wa't the most mild temper herself. However, for the little time she'd been here, she'd been stared at by a bunch of teenagers, sat across from a woman that didn't seem at all talkative, and now? One of those young teenagers had walked over and started talking to her. Her city side wanted to tell her to buzz off. But, when in Rome, do what Roman's do. She learnt that lesson well.
So the girl's name was Alyssa. Octavia forced a kind smile.
"You're sweet," she said. Watching the girl run after her friend, Octavia shook her head.
"What an odd place."When it was her time to order, Octavia tapped her finger against the table as she stared at the menu.
"I'm still deciding. If you could check in later?"Honestly, she didn't know what she wanted to eat.. Everything seemed so basic. Her typical palette would surely no be satisfied from what was offered. There was no fillet mignon nor smoked brown sugar salmon for her to sing her teeth into. There was scarce vegetable options either though she loathed vegetables. Not enough meat. Not enough juice. Thinking she should just flip a coin, Octavia's eye wandered back over to the woman sitting opposite her. Lying down now actually. Octavia saw the cancer sticks. She frowned.
Gathering her things, she walked over to the woman's booth. She cleared her throat.
"You don't look like you're waiting for someone. Mind if I join you?" Kim's moment of quiet only lasted for a few minutes as she heard another voice. At first she was quite surprised. Who would talk to her after the cheerful one was gone?
"Riley" Kim recalled in her mind. Who else would? The sheer surprise made her pause for a moment. She slowly moved the tablet out from her field of view and looked at the person. For another dose of surprise, it was that city lady she had been staring slightly at before. Had she offended her? Kim was not sure what to make of it until slowly the lady's words came back to her.
"Nono, feel free to join. The only person I'm waiting for would be the waitress with my meal," she said and smiled before returning to her pad and kept flicking through new designs that she was planning on making. Her brows furrowed as she looked at some, promply deleted them, not really sure of what she was thinking while making them.
Taking the seat opposite the woman, Octavia stared at the woman. Her eyes flickered to the tablet.
"Are you a regular? I have absolutely no idea what's good or what's not," she said.
"Do you have any suggestions? But my manners. Octavia. Of whom do I have the pleasure?"Kim just chuckled at the question.
"No, I've never been here before," she said in a soft and slightly amused voice.
"I just went with chicken and salad since another customer ordered it, along with expressio the way I like to have it. Hopefully everything will turn out well." She reached up and placed the tablet behind her head before sitting up and stretching her body.
"My name's Kim," she reached out with her hand slightly awkwardly before adding.
"Lets enjoy this new experience together," and then winked. She still felt that there was something about this woman but tried to push it out of her mind with some attempted humor.
"Quite the proper lady isn't she?" Kim mused, feeling kinda happy about it actually.
Hiding her frown she'd have to take a random leap of faith on the meal after all. She recalled seeing eggs on the menu. There was no way she could go wrong with that, right? Deciding on the omelette platter, she'd wait until the waitress came back.
"Then a new experience it shall be for the two of us, Kim." She extended her hand and clasped Kim's hand in hers. If Kim paid attention, the coldness of her skin wouldn't be lost on her. Octavia was still trying to find a remedy for that.
"So why are you here? I'm here for a bit of tourism. A friendly recommendation made to me."She did not pay much attention to the cold hand, but soon it came back and she started designing battery powered gloves in her head. Kim pulled our her pad once again and started sketching on the design, using Octavia's hands as a model. She kept glancing on said hands every now and then while continuing to draw.
"I came here to take over my grandfather's old shop. He ran a workshop here in town but had to retire a few years ago."Kim turned the pad around and showed the design to Octavia. It was fashionable and seemingly comfortable with electric heating and touchphone pads on the fingers.
"Might help with your cold hand problem," she said and drank some of her newly delivered coffee.
"So you're a crafts woman of sorts? Admirable," Octavia said as she watched Kim sketch on her tablet. For a rough sketch, the woman was good. Octavia was a great appreciators of arts of many kinds. Primarily traditional paintings. Contemporary was adequate in her mind, but to each his or her own in the medium used. From what she could tell, Kim was drawing some sort of glove. She didn't know the details.
Finally seeing the full scope of the drawing as Kim turned the screen to her, Octavia's eyes roamed over the screen.
"Interesting concept. I've such concepts back in New York. They never worked nor went anywhere past the pilot phase," she said.
"If you can make it work - actually work long term - I'd be willing to invest in it. With a few more fashion oriented tweaks of course. But this is but a rough sketch."Kim chuckled at the comment.
"Of sorts, I do like designing things. I might not have the best fashion sense, but I do try." She smiled softly and turned the tablet back towards her and continued sketching.
"The main problem with gloves like these is that the battery supply don't last. For it to remain comfortable it has to be a small battery, but they don't last. So they've never went anywhere." Octavia nodded.
"Which is why I didn't pay them any mind," she said.
"To be blunt, they seem like a trivial toy versus something practical. Lest you address the upper strata as your consumer audience. Truly though. The phrase 'the 1%' holds some truth in the matter."She slowly started eating on her sallad and was quite pleasantly surprised by the taste.
"Mmmmhhh..." she said and sighed deeply and used one hand to draw and one to eat before taking a pause.
"For them to work you need something powerful enough to power them, but small enough to be comfortable. Which is why these are made out of solar absorbing material and has batteries at most places where it won't be noticed along with a small charger to keep the batteries charged."Kim had grabbed onto Octavia's hand and gently started running a finger along it while explaining and pointing at different areas on both the back and the palm of the hand.
"You can also place batteries on the wrist for the long sleeved ones."Surprised from the sudden touch - she'd have slapped the person if she were back in New York - she entertained the exeptional case just this once as Kim manipulated her hand.
"Long sleeved gloves? My, my, that inspiration's quick with the ideas." Tapping her wrist with her other hand, Octavia forgot about the notion for food.
"Solar absorption technology then? If I recall, that sort of technology is either in development or quite expensive. To make it as flexible as you suggest. The battery placement. If I were the consumer, I'd be turned off to see a battery bump."Retracting her hand, Octavia crossed her legs as she stared at Kim intently.
"But there's promise.""Yes, while the technology has been around for a longer time, turning it into small scale is the hard part. I can do it, but it'll take time, and for bigger companies they don't want to spend that time." Kim giggled happily before continuing.
"And the batteries, if long sleeves, can be quite flexible. Lithium batteries, most just call them rechargeable ones. But a short stint in paintball and airsoft sparked an idea. The batteries they use there are quite flexible, so they should be able to turn thin and wide instead, like a layer within the gloves themselves."Kim was quite proud of her idea and you could tell from her voice that she was going to try it anyway.
"If nothing else, at least I'll have hand warmers for myself," she said and chuckled. Despite her earlier reservations towards Octavia, she had a sense for tech it seemed.
Holding her silence, Octaivia thought about what Kim had shared with her. Due to the constant line of business meetings waiting for their chance to be graced with her attention, reading people was an integral skill she cultivated from long ago. She had a pretty good sense of the manipulative, the cons, and those who were too blinded by their 'baby' to know when the risk wasn't worth it. The telltale signs weren't coming from the lady sitting right across from her. If anything, Octavia was pleasantly surprised a small town like this would have intellectuals in something other than hunting. A stereotype she knew. But stereotypes formed from a kernal of truth albeit exaggerated.
"I'm staying in this ... pleasant town for a while. I think you're worth the time," she said.
"I'm an investor. Of sorts. Financial is my strongest field, but I do have a large hand in technology. Current patented ones in use by the government as well as private cutting edge wonders. I'm not promising anything. Not yet. If you refine that idea, however, it may hit it off in the fashion industry. Though the chance of it becoming the desired product is slim to none, I'd be willing to 'suggest' it to the right people. Contingent on a good plan of course. I don't champion subpar products. That was not an insult."Kim smiled happily as she got the comment about being worth it.
"The other problem is the companies. Look back in the days, the mouse being neglected. So many great inventions were cast away by companies and even more not coming to light because they did not have the skills to market." Octavia chuckled.
"I'm not sure if the marketing was the problem. Assests is a major deciding factor in any business endeavor," she said.
"The nice thing about entreprenuers like yourself is that you afford the risks. Audacity, audacity, audacity. That's what the French said back in WWI. Of course, they paid for it heavily. But that's besides the point."She ran a hand through her hair.
"I probably won't refine it for a long time though. Have so many things I need to do at the shop along with a current contract to build some robots for them. Might do prototypes, function rather than form mostly, in my spare time." Kim looked over Octavia, before she was drawn to her eyes.
"If you don't mind some manual labour or programming if you can, want a place to stay, I've got spots open back home," she said with a half-smile
Raising an eyebrow, Octavia recrossed her legs.
"Robots? For a local crafter, you work on some very contemporary objects," she said.
"If you make a successful robot, I'd like to see it. Who knows? Maybe you'll get a very hefty investment sum. Speculative and hypothetical of course." When given the offer, Octavia's eyebrow arched even higher.
"Do I look like someone who does manual labor? Programming though. Depends on what you plan on programming. You're ... inviting me to your home?" Kim chuckled and smiled.
"No, you don't look like someone who does manual labour, but appearances sometimes betrays." Kim tilted her head slightly.
"The programming would be PLC and robotics, it's not the hardest to learn if you're interested. That or if you know electronics, or just wants to be the store's clerk," she said and chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah, if you'd an be usefull addition to the household. Or you can rent a room for cheap if you want. I've got plenty to spare." Kim leaned back and tapped on her pad, checking the cameras again, making sure no one was there when she was gone.
Holding her tongue, it took Octavia almost everything she was to not retort in a very uncivilized manner. Then she thought back to a time when she was still building herself up to where she resided now. She had to do manual labor. A lot of it. Especially working with others and manipulating her way to power positions. She had a purpose for coming here too. Vigilence was needed in everything she did. But integating with the local populace? That wouldn't be such a bad thing.
"So either rent a room or work?" she asked.
"I wouldn't mind indulging in a few sessions of electronics. Who knows? It could be quite the resume skill."Kim reached out with her hand and glasped Octavia's in her's.
"Glad to have you omboard, partner," she said and laughs before making an exit, having finished her food.
"I live up on the hill to the north, it's quite easy to find. You're more than welcome to drop by whenever you want to. Unless you need me to drive up things?" Kim stopped in the doorway and waited for her new roomie to reply before heading out to her car and got in it.
Shaking Kim's hand, Octavia smiled.
"I'll manage. I'll stop by when I have my things together," she said.
"Looking forward to our partnership."
Half a day had passed since Octavia moved into the shop. Kim was quite pleased about the arragement. She would have someone to talk to about her interests along with getting some building done. She had not slept her normal hours and was up early in the morning. Kim ate a simple breakfast of toast with cheese and bolognia while she was tinkering on a robotic arm. She wanted it up and operational within the day so that she did not have to load the machinery herself and instead could let the robot do the heavy lifting. She had gotten so absorbed in her work after getting an idea that she had not changed out of her nightgowns and was cheerfully listening to some music while tinkering away, testing the machine to see if it worked as intented.
She was never the sleeper type. Octavia had been up for a while. Looking through the luggage she dragged along with her to Kim's house, the place was decent enough. Certainly, her accomodations were slightly less 'extravagent' as the Riley's Bed and Breakfast, but the price for a potential tie into this town's affairs and potential investment was too good to pass up. Taking out a flask - she had several dozen packed away neatly in one bag - Octavia drank from it as she placed it neatly back into the bag. Still dressed in her nightwear, Octavia had no plans to wander outdoors yet. She made sure her supply of sun screen was ready in case she was to venture out.
Walking down into the kitchen - she smelled something pleasant - Octavia found Kim sitting at a table working on a robotic arm of sorts. Octavia's footsteps were near silent as she stood behind Kim looking on with the interest.
"Look at your busy bee," she said.
"Whatever are you laboring over?" Kim had been so engrossed in her work that she did not notice Octavia walking up behind her. In fact, she did not register anything until she spoke up.
"Oh...just working on a loader for my milling machine. So I don't have to load the heavy pieces by myself. Should also allow me to automate a bit more of the production." Kim leaned back from her work and sighed.
"It's mostly done but the programming part remains," she looked up at Octavia.
"And that's where you come in," she said and smiled before getting up from her seat and walked over and collected her laptop from a nearby desk.
She placed it on the table and hooked it up to the robotic arm and loaded up a program.
"Take a seat, if you're still interested that is." Even more impressed with Kim, Octavia took a seat at the table as she looked at the set up.
"I'm still ... confused. If you're able to make stuff like this, why ever are you in a small town like this? Surely you could've found a job elsewhere? In a more urbane place perhaps?" Octavia mused. She looked at the laptop.
"I don't mean to pry. Now the programming. You'll go easy on the rookie, yes?" [color=0072bc]"Yes, I could, but I don't want to." Kim shrugged her shoulders.
"I like this place. Now, for the programming. It's quite easy actually. You have inlets and outlets and you place logic markers in the middle. For example. You've got a thermomitor and an alarm. You want the alarm to go off at a certain temperature. You press place a logic marker that shows the temperature and then another one which places a requirement that when number equals the desired, it triggers, and sends it along to the output which then triggers the alarm." Kim showed with her finger on the different buttons. They had simple names like; equals to, requirement, ect, so she hoped that Octavia would be able to pick it up quite easily.
"Feel free to play around with it a bit," she said and smiled wide.
"Different flavors for different persons," Octavia said as she listened to the programming pointers. It didn't see that complicated whatsoever. A bunch of symbols as well as various statements. That was oversimplifying the whole ordeal of course, but that's what Octavia did. Take a complex situation and dumb it down to its fundamental roots. Tapping away on the keyboard, Octavia fumbled some codes and such, but she was getting it. To her, there was a set template for these logic statements. She smiled. She could do this.
"I think I may have just acquired another skill. Not at all proficient though. Yet. Let's see if I can't prevent anything from breaking then, hm?"