IC Inbox (v1.0)

[jumpthegun]

You've reached Dr. John Watson. Please leave a message.

Comments

[jumpthegun]

[He's trying to read through all of Sherlock's replies when Ecks' message comes through. He hasn't gotten to that particular conversation, yet.]

It's a ranged weapon. Do you have cannons where you're from? Explosive powder?

[ecks]

[So the little bit that Sherlock did explain is true.]

We do not have cannons. Explosive like an alchemy bomb?

[jumpthegun]

I don't know what an alchemy bomb is. Let me draw you a picture.

[It's a few minutes later that she'll receive a rough sketch of a pistol. It has labels for the barrel, trigger, handle, and firing mechanism.]

That's a basic semi-automatic pistol. There are a lot of different types of guns, but that's one that can fit easily into one hand. You have bullets in a magazine that's loaded into the bottom of the handle. The bullets look like this.

[There's another picture, this one of a basic pistol shell. He also sketches a magazine with multiple bullets in it.]

Once the bullets are in the gun, they get loaded one by one into the barrel. Each time you pull the trigger, it causes the firing mechanism to strike the back of the bullet, which is loaded with gunpowder. All of this happens inside the barrel, a small, confined place. The blast propels the bullet out of the barrel and toward your target at very high velocity.

Does all of that make sense?

[ecks]

[That is a lot of new vocabulary, and a very strange sort of mechanism that doesn't look like a mechanism at all from the way he has drawn it. She spends a minute puzzling over the drawing, trying to figure out where the projectiles go, before coming back to the description to find that all her guesses were very wrong. It is not like a sling or a crossbow at all.]

The gunpowder explodes?

[She rereads a few more times.]

I do not think I understand correctly. it looks like you are saying that the person using the pistol puts a bomb inside it and holds the bomb while it explodes.

[jumpthegun]

It's a very small explosion, and it's contained within a small area with an exit point for the force to travel through. Modern gun barrels are made of reinforced metals that prevent anything from shattering in the explosion. I won't say it's safe, but it's relatively so if you know what you're doing.

[ecks]

that seems theoretically possible.
would you have to stand close to another person for the explosion to hurt the other person when it exits the barrel?

[jumpthegun]

No. You usually stand a long ways away. It's not the explosion you're using to injure someone, it's the bullet. Think of it like a bow and arrow. The bullet is the arrow. The gun and explosion it causes are just sophisticated and very powerful replacements for a drawn bow.

[ecks]

the explosion is to push the bullet?
the user of the gun causes an explosion in their hand to push a bullet?
that is

[She's a bit overwhelmed by the thought. She has to stop and think about a word for it.]

that is wondrous

[jumpthegun]

I was a major development in warfare in my world, yeah. It started out with things called cannons, though. Those are basically giant guns with that fire giant balls of metal through the air. So, they're like a ballista, if you know what that is. But instead of hurling, again it's using gunpowder and fire to create a contained explosion to propel your chunks of metal at an oncoming enemy.

[ecks]

I know what a ballista is

the invention began large but then became smaller and more refined?
like bows to crossbows?
how do you make explosive powder?

[jumpthegun]

[John is not telling you how to make gunpowder, Ecks. He lies.]

I'm not sure. You buy bullets pre-made in my time, so you don't need to worry about making anything yourself.

[ecks]

[Why does no one here want to teach her how to make a bomb??]

the bullets are premade
things we find here are premade
have you seen any bullets in this place?

[She's suddenly developing a keen interest.]

[jumpthegun]

I haven't. Nor have I seen any guns. You'd need a gun to properly fire a bullet.

[ecks]

because if you hit the bullet when it was not in the barrel the explosion would not be controlled and contained and your hand would be blown up

[jumpthegun]

[Should he tell her it's difficult to set off a bullet without a gun? No, that would just complicate matters.]

Something like that, yeah. If you find a gun or bullets, let me know, and I'll explain a little more about how to use them, all right?

[ecks]

other weapons have all been taken away and put in the place underground.
I do not think we will find any guns on the surface
maybe bullets, though

[jumpthegun]

Maybe. We'll keep an eye out.

Why did you want to know about guns, anyway?

[ecks]

your Sherlock mentioned guns but would not explain
I wanted to know what it meant.

and also I want him to know that his information is only valuable if he will provide it before I get it from a different person

[jumpthegun]

[John wonders if it's worth it to tell her Sherlock isn't 'his.' Well, he can try.]

Ecks, you can just say Sherlock. He's the only one here. You don't need to specify that he's mine. There are other connotations people get when you put it that way.

And I'm glad you're standing up to him. Sorry, he's a bit of a bully sometimes. Feel free to come to me if there are things he won't explain in the future. I usually fill in for him when he's being a git.

[ecks]

is he your boyfriend?

[She should probably clarify that with at least one of them before she goes on assuming. After all, she was apparently wrong about Duster and Alfie.]

now he is saying that I am a liar
I think I am glad he is the only Sherlock here

[jumpthegun]

[Ecks, network stalk him a little more, please. He's been over this.]

No. No, he's not my boyfriend. He'd just like people to think he is to make his life easier. [And John's more difficult.]

I can yell at him, if you'd like. Mostly he just wants the last word in an argument, though. If you let him have it, he'll leave you be for the time being.

[ecks]

yell at him he is a liar he lied he said that i was a liar but he is the liar and i will not help him and i will not trade with him because he is a liar and i want you to yell at him