Strange Conversations: Part Two Hundred and Four
Posted 1 October 2009 in Strange Conversations by Catriona
This conversation brought to you by a seriously beautiful Brazilian library:
ME: By the time you get home, our living room will look like that.
NICK: Woo!
ME: Yeah, you would be excited. You don’t have to do any of the work. It’s not easy, building revolving bookshelves.
NICK: Well, neither do you, strictly speaking.
ME: Um, what? You think it’s magic? I’m cutting a hole in the ceiling as we speak!
NICK: Well, I’m just saying it’s not work you HAVE to do. You could . . . Wait. What?
ME: Well, I need that skylight effect.
NICK: True.
ME: And the living room isn’t tall enough for a second story. I’m using a bread knife. Maybe I should go and buy a chainsaw?
NICK: I think so. Make sure you get a petrol one. Because you’d have to turn the power off first. Before using it.
ME: Ah. Really?
NICK: You don’t want to cut into power lines.
ME: Does that explain why I can’t remember the last fifteen minutes?
NICK: It might do, yes.
ME: Oh, good. I thought I’d been drinking too much. As long as I’ve only been electrocuted.
NICK: Well, it would be understandable. Did you get superpowers?
ME: I don’t know yet! Hopefully.
Just goes to show: there is no topic on Earth that doesn’t come around to gaining superpowers. Eventually.
Share your thoughts [5]
1
Tim wrote at Oct 2, 12:41 am
It’s pretty, but is it functional?
2
Catriona wrote at Oct 2, 01:29 am
I was wondering the same, especially about the circular section in the middle of the building.
But it’s those revolving bookcases I’m seriously in love with. Just think! Every wall in the house could be bookcases! Double-sided bookcases! And if you needed to actually get into a room, you could just make them revolve!
It would be like living in a highly literate Batcave.
3
Tim wrote at Oct 2, 03:17 am
Yes, I was particularly thinking of the circular well and the stairs.
Revolving bookcases might need a lot of room. I’d rather have cases on wheels, or maybe robotic legs of some sort.
4
Catriona wrote at Oct 2, 03:35 am
Oooh, robotic legs. What a good idea! They’d only need basic controls, but perhaps it would be more fun to give them artificial intelligence of some sort. That way, when you’re arguing about something on the telly in the living room, and you need your OED from the study, the bookcase can just bring it straight to you!
Hmm. Mind you, our hallway is narrow. The bookcase would have to sidle down it sideways, and it might not like that. I might have a bookcase revolt on my hands . . .
5
Tim wrote at Oct 4, 11:23 pm
Giving appliances intelligence is never a good idea.
Well, that’s not true — it depends whether you’re in a killer mad scientist movie or a wacky comic mad scientist movie. Or a Culture parody.
If you gave the shelves arms, they might also be able to fetch and receive books for you. But arming the shelves could be even more fraught with peril…