Water, Water Everywhere

[iamnotgod]

Date: March 1st ; ETA: March 2nd
Characters: Walter Weekes, Sadie Moore ; ETA: Walter Weekes and Benjiro Thorne

---

It hasn't even been a full week, and though Walter's learned much he is still struggling without sight apart from the not-quite-darkness of webspace.

More mundanely, the house is still barely livable after the disastrous flooding; Ben's assistance, among other things, has been vital towards getting the place drained and dry.

Other visits - like Sadie's - are much appreciated, and Walter is well aware of what chaos Echoes have been wreaking in her life lately.

His mind keeps coming back to that water, though, and he can never quite settle, never quite relax-

---

The next day comes the first chance to test a possible workaround - finally, finally, by Walter's account, though he still feels guilty for having the notion.

After all, he's not in charge of the passage of time.

Comments

... I really should do another Echo related to Caitlin's eyePod, but how to swing it...

[iamnotgod]

Walter nods when Ben gets to the instruction of 'keep an eye on it', and gently touches the glasses' frames and cameras throughout the recap.

Takes a breath-

"Ready."

For a millisecond, it's almost anticlimactic; another point of light becomes available. Connecting to that, though-

His breath catches. He has to stop himself from rubbing at his eyes, both because what's in them now won't stop him from seeing, and because rubbing the glasses might be a bad idea.

Once he's sure he's seeing Ben, the first thing he does is go in for a hug.

Yes, go for it!

[warped_replica]

The video clearly displays a visibly tired yet focused Benjiro standing in front of him, holding what looks like a thick smartphone in one hand as he watches Walter react all too quickly for him to process entirely. The video is smooth and the resolution high in quality, if obviously video and not sight for the clearness of the periphery of the image.

Surprised by the sudden hug, his arms raise slightly before he relaxes and reaches around his friend to return it. He smiles warmly as he asks with a tone of humor and immense relief, “So, test one is a success I take it?” There will be a learning curve as depth perception will be limited due to the single lense, but he already has plans for the next version to address this deficit.

For a moment, Benjiro closes his eyes in the hug and enjoys the feeling.

[iamnotgod]

Walter belatedly pulls back before nodding.

"It works. Thank you."

Compensating for depth perception would not be the worst fate, but they do have things to work on today all the same.

Blinking - he knows he is, but that doesn't change the feed any. Which is so strange, he thinks, before realizing he's comparing it to when Webmind was looking out of Caitlin's eye.

No blinks or saccades to worry about. Something about the thought still makes him frown, but he shakes it off.

"We are supposed to take this out for a test drive, yes?" Walter asks, voice significantly brighter than it had been even five minutes before.

[warped_replica]

Arms withdrawn without any hurry, Benjiro is simply glad he could alleviate the situation, “Welcome.” He offers the device over to Walter so he can look at it through the camera and orient himself to the simple controls on the touch screen. The screen may look a little too bright, but he did check that it would be visible when setting the appearance of the screen. Access to wifi selection (which triggers the keyboard as needed for passwords not yet saved), the swap mechanism between cameras, and a few of the basics for the video feed itself. It can handle bright conditions well, but dim lighting is still a challenge at this stage.

When Walter asks regarding the outing, Benjiro nods with a sharp smile spreading as he answers in the affirmative, “Of course! Should we walk around some first then head out on my bike after?”

[iamnotgod]

The touch screen controls - themselves augmented by the device's registered presence through the house network as a source of links - are practically a breeze in terms of handling. He may, in fact, be a bit fast for them at first as he adjusts.

The faults in the cameras are noted, but are not by themselves enough to diminish the joys of seeing.

"By all means," Walter replies, making one last swipe before bringing the device down close to his side.

He doesn't want to drop this gift.

[warped_replica]

Benjiro had allotted a fair length of cable between the glasses and the device, so hopefully Walter will either have a suitable bag to stow it in or a large enough pocket to accommodate it. If not, that’s something they can pick up while they’re out today. Taking up his backpack to zip closed and swing over a shoulder, he pulls out his facemask to slip on as he starts to the door with eyes kept on Walter to observe how he does making his way there with the guidance of the camera.

“You’re in charge of leading the way then, and I’ll tag along. If the camera starts lagging or we hit a blind spot where we have no wifi connections, we can stop and diagnose it.”

Stepping from slippers to shoes, he opens the door to let Walter go first. From behind or beside him, he’ll be able to keep an eye on his friend as he adapts to the device.

[iamnotgod]

That bag for Walter's laptop (and occasionally sketchbooks) has pockets; those are going to be well-used from this day forth.

He overcorrects a little while making even this short walk with new vision, but he'd been expecting it; while he wobbles, he does not fall.

"Might have trouble finding a place with no wifi, but will do."

He'd been doing research on that.

With one more whispered "Thanks," for Ben holding the door, he heads out to a much-changed world.

[warped_replica]

Thankfully, human balance relies on three components, and it seems Walter is making use of the other two as he begins walking with the glasses.

“Oh, I meant lack of access to the networks. Sorry, that wasn’t clear,” he clarifies with a small apology. Thinking to his wording, it did sound more like a space where Walter would be in a gap where no wifi covers. Right now Benjiro is more concerned about a lack of passwords.

After Walter steps through the door, Benjiro steps out and closes it behind them with a light smile behind his mask. He stays quiet to let Walter focus, but he does move closer to his friend as they reach the front steps leading to the sidewalk.

[iamnotgod]

Ironically enough, he would appreciate a wifi gap - but then the nigh-immediate snapback would cause its own headache.

His walking is, again, far from smooth, though still smoother than it might have been given his reaction time.

The steps do make him wince, though; even with muscle memory leading part of the way, the lack of depth perception is making itself felt.

"The sky looks almost clear. Doesn't quite feel right."

Particularly with how chaotic the past week was.

But still, that he can see the sky...!

[warped_replica]

The wince brings a hand to his friend’s shoulder, and once Walter is on the sidewalk, Benjiro pauses with him to look up at the sky. He had smiliarly noticed in his initial testing that the sky has an odd appearance in the video, losing more subtle details and hues, so he is not surprised when Walter points it out.

“Yeah…but that’s something I think I’ll be able to fix in the next build,” he responds with optimism. For this prototype, he had been most concerned with completing it in a timely fashion using readily available parts and basic programming.

[iamnotgod]

Walter takes strength from Ben's tone.

"Something to look forward to."

Looking back down, there's fractions of winces as he sees traces of the flood's damage on the street.

"Now, as to which way to go from here... doesn't look to make much difference."

[warped_replica]

“I’ll bring the design with me next time we meet up,” he promises. Most of that work is still only in his head, but translating it to paper should not take him long at all.

Benjiro watches his friend take in the signs of damage that linger after the tsunami hit. Then when he asks about which direction to go, the teen shrugs, “Whichever way you go most often is a good place to start.”

[iamnotgod]

"That'd be to the right, then."

Though, not towards the beach after that - somehow it doesn't seem like a beneficial challenge at this time!

It's not five steps before his foot catches on a piece of debris, though, and aside from stumbling Walter just stares at it.

"... Shouldn't this have been cleared up with the rest?"

[warped_replica]

When the time does come to venture onto the beach and pliant ground, perhaps they will find the transition point away from the wifi ranges broadcast at the waterfront and pier. If nothing else, they might be able to convince Sadie’s brother to take them out into the bay once the weather warms.

Falling in step beside Walter after a turn to the right, he barely finds that pace before his friend stumbles. Benjiro may not be as fast as Walter, but he’s still quick enough to have a hand out before he has recovered. Hand lowered after Walter is fully upright, the teenager shrugs his shoulders, “Initial cleanup was focused on the larger debris and clearing the way for cars. Once repairs are further along, maybe there will be a second sweep… That, or they’re relying on people to clean up right around their homes.”

[iamnotgod]

A trip on the water... hopefully without any drowning! It would be a fair sight better than having to turn to the woods, which held too many of the wrong kinds of memories.

Walter catches that reaching motion, offering an equally-quick appreciative smile.

"Might be a mix of the two."

Though the latter method was somewhat unfair, if people had been injured in the flood, let alone were still dealing with pre-existing conditions.

In any case, Walter keeps right on after recovering from that stumble, taking note of this tilted mailbox or that patch of remains of a ruined birds' nest.

"No one's come along this way looking for disaster footage; I suppose that's a relief..."

He really didn't want to be on camera - or rather, the news.

[warped_replica]

“A mixture would be reasonable. Maybe they will try to encourage volunteers the same way they did after the poppy flowers spread all over,” he considers aloud. That would allow for the able-bodied individuals to address what they can and lessen the intensity of work asked for a wider call of volunteers.

Benjiro continues onward with Walter, falling back into step immediately beside and behind him as space allows or slowing to pass an obstacle behind him as necessary. At the mention of cameras, the teenager cringes visibly to a small degree. He had avoided most news coverage secondary to his later arrival after the tsunami had hit, but he had found it necessary to change his intended route once to stay out of sight of a lens. “A small favor at least.” Then he asks, “How are you adjusting? Any latency issues?”

[iamnotgod]

"If the outcome is similar, that would be a good outcome," Walter replies, smile flickering as he successfully sidesteps another piece of debris. Huzzah!

He can't see Ben's reaction - even if he'd had normal sight, he doesn't have 360-degree vision - but some of it Walter can catch in the teen's tone.

"The latency's not worse than what I'd already been dealing with," Walter assures, turning around (and subsequently stopping so he doesn't trip over anything) to flash a reassuring smile at Ben.

"Your work is fine, Ben. And it can only improve in the future, I know."

[warped_replica]

Taking cue from his friend, he comes to a stop as Walter turns around while he answers the initial question. His perception outpaces function, so that the use of the camera has not worsened that gap of staggering processing from reaction appreciably is a relief. Fast enough for him does not guarantee it to be fast enough for Walter after all.

Then his friend offers encouraging words, and Benjiro feels his cheeks warm under his mask as he reaches to rub at the back of his neck, “Thanks… Adequate function in a timely manner was the priority,” and with a spike of confidence he suggests, “Next will be a more natural representation of the visible spectrum in different lighting conditions.” Or in other words, make it so Walter can appreciate all the sky has to offer.

Hand lowering, he gestures loosely in an open manner, “But if you have any other suggestions for changes or potential areas of improvement, I’d appreciate the inspiration.”

[iamnotgod]

"I'm not going to rush you," Walter says - which is followed by a wry smile, because if anything he knows Ben is going to rush himself, even if Walter doesn't.

"But as for suggestions - perhaps being able to adjust to sunlight the way tinted sunglasses do?"

Because this would be a time for him to ruin his eyes with UV Rays or the like.

[warped_replica]

After how long the voice device required, he certainly will not waste any opportunities.

“I could probably manage that, although I would have concerns about losing the opaque tint indoors. These should protect your eyes, and while it would transition inside more naturally with a lessening tint so the glasses appear to be perscriptuon, I don’t know if other people being able to look at your eyes would be an issue,” especially if they move in a searching manner if Walter is not constantly focused. Direct eye contact may also be difficult to manage without significant practice to compensate for the video to real life positioning.

[iamnotgod]

"Perhaps combined with dual or clip-on lenses..." Walter comments, before shaking his head.

"That is an important angle - particularly when close and sustained eye contact is treated as a sign of trustworthiness."

If he were to start acting in a way - or seem to - where he came up short... No, he doesn't like that.

[warped_replica]

Potentially.

“In this culture at least. You would have an easier time in Japan. Direct eye contact is considered rude and aggressive,” he states. The times he moved between countries with family has made him more sensitive to cultural differences.

“In any case, think about it as you use it. You might not notice something right away.” Then putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder, he gestures the other hand with an open palm towards the path ahead, “Speaking of trial use, let’s see if we can find any blank spots in wifi access.”

... Should we flip a coin on them finding a spot?

[iamnotgod]

"Exactly," Walter agrees, nodding slightly at the reminder.

He takes the advice with relaxed grace, scanning again and again across the webcam's view - and fighting the urge to keep adjusting the glasses, because even if no one's watching there's still a part of him saying it would be odd to have one hand up constantly.

Someone might think the sun's getting in my eyes, is one oh-so-helpful answer, and he bites back a laugh at that thought.

"That would be an ideal."

But, considering the priorities for getting power back up in affected areas, any opportunity for wifi to be struck out near High Street is probably closed even by now.

That doesn't stop Walter from keeping on, though.

I say you should go for it; Walter is the one experiencing this

[warped_replica]

Paying mind to the people sharing the sidewalks, Benjiro falls into step beside Walter as much as foot traffic allows and falls behind temporarily to maintain comfortable passage as needed. He mentally maps the route Walter is leading them on, glancing occasionally to his own phone to keep tabs on wifi coverage in an attempt to anticipate loss of open wifi access.

Whenever they cross streets, Benjiro is vigilant to listen for vehicles while attempting to discern if Walter makes use of the lateral cameras in the glasses.

Alright, I'll be nice to him. ;P

[iamnotgod]

Indeed, they have to go a ways beyond High Street before anything changes - Walter does start experimenting with the lateral cameras, and apart from some minor disorientation that requires him to stand still just so he can work through the learning curve in that area, he's still giving thumbs-up and the impression of being at-ease.

And then, there's a place where Walter just... stops.

It's not directly in traffic, fortunately, but it's a near thing.