There's an arguement that what he's doing is wrong. Not only illegal, not somewhat dubious. Jacob can understand that arguement. Technically Ral has made his peace. He's some sort of scientist: Jacob didn't understand half the explanation but he seemed to be someone akin with Alec, messing around with things- electricity, the barriers between reality, the unharnessed power of nature, that sort of thing.
But Jacob still has that itch. He's sure that they're missing something, that this guy has some motive beyond the thrill of discovery. He's not even sure how he feels about the Magistrates and that makes him an uncertain ally.
Jacob wants to get rid of those uncertainties. Which is why he's back on that damn roof, watching the rundown boarding house until Ral leaves and then slipping in again. There's got to be something they didn't get to, something more they missed. And once he finds it, then he'll know, for sure, one way or the other.
Or he could just ask. Like a person does. But Ral's already gathered that they're a paranoid bunch, and the obvious answer isn't always the one they'll go with. Most people will at least try asking to his face before breaking into his place.
But, here they are. Again.
Having taken to the roof as quietly as he can on a gust of wind he summoned himself, Ral leans in over Jacob's shoulder, eyebrows raised. "Whatcha doin'?" he singsongs in a playful tone.
Jacob isn't used to being snuck up on. It doesn't happen, not normally, unless he's grossly outnumbered, and even then he's not unaware just... busy.
He turns, as best he can, and yes of course its the man himself. He doesn't really have an out, and he knows better than to try and fight him again, especially alone.
"Look. You need to be honest with me. You need to tell me what you're up to."
Does that make him honest? Only in very twisted logic. The sort of logic that Jacob makes use of. But they're not here to discuss him, they're here for the man who seems to summon lightning to his fingers out of nothing, the man with strange trapped electricity in jars.
"What are you really doing with all this? No one just arrives and... builds this stuff. Who's it for? The Magistrates? The Pointers?"
At that, Ral just purses his lips and shrugs, straightening up and tipping his foot to rest his weight comfortably. "Don't know any of the Magistrates. They're not exactly all that involved in the day-to-day of the city, as far as I can tell. And I'm not interested in gang wars. I get enough of that at home."
"Honestly, none of you are important enough to worry about. There's a bigger picture here. That's what I'm doing with 'all this'." And his hands lift to mark the air as he says the words.
"Thanks." Jacob says flatly, unimpressed. "You really know how to win friends and influence people mate, you really do."
Fighting him will do no good. Thumping him is appealing, but it really won't end well. He remembers the first time too well, and how long it took for the smell of burning to fade.
"Spit it out then, this big picture of yours." He says, although he can't think of what is bigger than this mess, pulling people in from all over just to feed on them, on their so-called sins. How can something like that, something so power as to pull people from different times and world, take a back seat?
"I'm not interested in making friends. Well. Not more than I am in conducting my research. The barriers in this world, the connective tissue, all the things that are holding us here or pulling us in, in the first place?" He gestures to the sky above them, as if to indicate whatever invisible field kept them all netted within.
"That is the big picture." His eyes narrow slightly. "Not being liked. Not the Pointers or the Magistrates or any other faction in this world. What is outside is bigger than all of that. Literally, as a point of fact."
"The City controls it. We know that." Jacob replies, a little uncertainly. Isn't that the answer? That the City makes it happen, somehow, drags them in, feeds off them? Spits them out again without rhyme nor reason? That's how he had come to understand it.
"But... that happens Inside. It all comes from this place. Us being brought here."
What the bloody hell does he mean, outside is bigger? Of course it is. This place is tiny. It doesn't make any sense at all.
"Do we?" Ral arches his brow again, arms crossing loosely over his chest. "And how much of it do you understand? How it works, what powers it, what it feeds on? What have you seen with your own eyes...and what did they just tell you to satisfy you?"
He pauses then, licking his lips and clearing his throat. "Alright, let's put it like this. Imagine a clock. A clock tells time, everyone knows that. And you're pretty sure it has to do with the gears and wires inside of it, but if you had to fix a broken watch, would knowing any of that really help?"
Jacob's mouth opens, then shuts, and then he actually thinks. Ral has a point. He doesn't like to admit it, but the only stuff Jacob knows is stuff he's been told, either by a Magistrate or by Devi, but he... wasn't entirely sure how she knew. She'd fought the City, paid for it dearly, but how did she know? For sure?
He shrugs.
"So all of this... bottled lightning of yours. The tame electricity. That's going to tell you what you need to know? And then you're going to find out how to get home, is that it?"
"That? No. That's just to power my machines. Don't want to blow out an entire city block turning one of things on." He winces briefly, eyes cast upwards thoughtfully for a moment.
"Again."
No reason the people here would need to actively suffer due to his efforts. He's not here to help them, but he's not here to hurt them, either.
Jacob doesn't actually remember seeing any sort of machinery in the little apartment, at least not the sort he's used to. No steam driven engines, no massive clockwork pieces or anything vaguely similar.
Then again, he was sort of distracted by fighting the man at the time.
"Alright. Machines that are going to tell you what this bigger picture is. That's something I'd like to see."
"Believe it or not, it was a point of study I was working on when I got pulled through. Happy coincidence, if you like."
Ral lets himself move past Jacob, slinging his legs over the edge of the roof and moving to sit, one leg bent and braced against the edge. "But I had access to a lot of things there that I don't here. Materials. Room. You saw what they gave me to work with."
Jacob follows, sitting on the eaves woth both legs over the edge. He's used to this pose, its an easier one that crouching, especially on a pitched roof. The city from here is a mess: badly cared for, decaying. A far different view from the top if the town house on finance street
"I don't think they could have known that when they brought you here. They don't want us understanding this place. They're not about to make understanding it, studying it, easy."
Not in any way shape or form. But doing so gives them power and leverage, those who want to leave can do. Those who want to stsy might really be able to build something here. He and Charles wouldn't run the risk of being parted. They could banish Angel's father. They could make this place a home. A real one.
"More space, for a start. Tools. I mean, I have some I was able to salvage, and some others I was able to make, but anything to shorten the process."
"Any metals with special properties to them...otherwise just a steady stream of some good conductors. Power's not a concern, as you can imagine, but storage and wiring? Making sure they don't just blow up the first time they get turned on? There's a lot to consider. And I only have so many garbage cans I can go through in a day."
He's not too proud to. But it's a short-term solution to a longer-term problem.
Its not as if Starrick has just asked him for a favour. This guy hasn't actually started anything with them, just reacted when he'd found the three of them in his home.
"I might be able to help you on those fronts. Supplies and space."
Its just like helping Alec. Apart from Alec was keen to help them out as much as possible, happy to join the fight against Starrick. But he can't and he won't force people into fighting.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
But Jacob still has that itch. He's sure that they're missing something, that this guy has some motive beyond the thrill of discovery. He's not even sure how he feels about the Magistrates and that makes him an uncertain ally.
Jacob wants to get rid of those uncertainties. Which is why he's back on that damn roof, watching the rundown boarding house until Ral leaves and then slipping in again. There's got to be something they didn't get to, something more they missed. And once he finds it, then he'll know, for sure, one way or the other.
no subject
But, here they are. Again.
Having taken to the roof as quietly as he can on a gust of wind he summoned himself, Ral leans in over Jacob's shoulder, eyebrows raised. "Whatcha doin'?" he singsongs in a playful tone.
no subject
Jacob isn't used to being snuck up on. It doesn't happen, not normally, unless he's grossly outnumbered, and even then he's not unaware just... busy.
He turns, as best he can, and yes of course its the man himself. He doesn't really have an out, and he knows better than to try and fight him again, especially alone.
"Look. You need to be honest with me. You need to tell me what you're up to."
no subject
Ral cocks an eyebrow, impressed with Jacob's nerve but. Even so. There's only so much more of this he's really got the patience for.
The next step is setting the roof with traps. Something Jacob isn't going to appreciate any.
no subject
Does that make him honest? Only in very twisted logic. The sort of logic that Jacob makes use of. But they're not here to discuss him, they're here for the man who seems to summon lightning to his fingers out of nothing, the man with strange trapped electricity in jars.
"What are you really doing with all this? No one just arrives and... builds this stuff. Who's it for? The Magistrates? The Pointers?"
no subject
"Honestly, none of you are important enough to worry about. There's a bigger picture here. That's what I'm doing with 'all this'." And his hands lift to mark the air as he says the words.
no subject
Fighting him will do no good. Thumping him is appealing, but it really won't end well. He remembers the first time too well, and how long it took for the smell of burning to fade.
"Spit it out then, this big picture of yours." He says, although he can't think of what is bigger than this mess, pulling people in from all over just to feed on them, on their so-called sins. How can something like that, something so power as to pull people from different times and world, take a back seat?
no subject
"That is the big picture." His eyes narrow slightly. "Not being liked. Not the Pointers or the Magistrates or any other faction in this world. What is outside is bigger than all of that. Literally, as a point of fact."
no subject
"But... that happens Inside. It all comes from this place. Us being brought here."
What the bloody hell does he mean, outside is bigger? Of course it is. This place is tiny. It doesn't make any sense at all.
no subject
He pauses then, licking his lips and clearing his throat. "Alright, let's put it like this. Imagine a clock. A clock tells time, everyone knows that. And you're pretty sure it has to do with the gears and wires inside of it, but if you had to fix a broken watch, would knowing any of that really help?"
no subject
He shrugs.
"So all of this... bottled lightning of yours. The tame electricity. That's going to tell you what you need to know? And then you're going to find out how to get home, is that it?"
no subject
"Again."
No reason the people here would need to actively suffer due to his efforts. He's not here to help them, but he's not here to hurt them, either.
no subject
Jacob doesn't actually remember seeing any sort of machinery in the little apartment, at least not the sort he's used to. No steam driven engines, no massive clockwork pieces or anything vaguely similar.
Then again, he was sort of distracted by fighting the man at the time.
"Alright. Machines that are going to tell you what this bigger picture is. That's something I'd like to see."
no subject
Ral lets himself move past Jacob, slinging his legs over the edge of the roof and moving to sit, one leg bent and braced against the edge. "But I had access to a lot of things there that I don't here. Materials. Room. You saw what they gave me to work with."
no subject
"I don't think they could have known that when they brought you here. They don't want us understanding this place. They're not about to make understanding it, studying it, easy."
Not in any way shape or form. But doing so gives them power and leverage, those who want to leave can do. Those who want to stsy might really be able to build something here. He and Charles wouldn't run the risk of being parted. They could banish Angel's father. They could make this place a home. A real one.
"What sort of equipment do you need?"
no subject
"Any metals with special properties to them...otherwise just a steady stream of some good conductors. Power's not a concern, as you can imagine, but storage and wiring? Making sure they don't just blow up the first time they get turned on? There's a lot to consider. And I only have so many garbage cans I can go through in a day."
He's not too proud to. But it's a short-term solution to a longer-term problem.
no subject
Its not as if Starrick has just asked him for a favour. This guy hasn't actually started anything with them, just reacted when he'd found the three of them in his home.
"I might be able to help you on those fronts. Supplies and space."
Its just like helping Alec. Apart from Alec was keen to help them out as much as possible, happy to join the fight against Starrick. But he can't and he won't force people into fighting.