Holland "Holly" Sharpe (ilicin) wrote in the_colony, @ 2011-01-29 22:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 33, holland sharpe, thomas galloway, | holly and tom |
Week 33 - Friday
Characters: Tom and Holly.
Location: Farmhouse hallway.
Summary: Tom wants Holly to explore the world of the shortwave radio, and Holly accepts.
Rating: PG
The arrival of Evie’s traders had got Tom thinking about how little they knew of the outside world anymore. For all of his adult life it had been relatively easy to know about what was going on in the rest of the world when he wasn’t deployed to one godforsaken hotspot or another, and now he didn’t know what was going on beyond the next ridge.
It bothered him more than he cared to admit. He was responsible for the continued safety and well-being of his people, and it felt like he had one hand tied behind his back without knowing what was going on. There wasn’t a great deal he could do about it, aside from sending the occasional patrol out on short range recon, but an idea had come to him that caused him to seek out the resident electronics wizard of the group. Holly might not have the depth of background in the theory of electricity that Mike had, but he had a good grasp of practical knowledge.
“Yo, leader,” Holly called, saluting Tom after he turned the corner of the hallway and spotted him. It was difficult to say who had found who, but Holly hadn’t been looking for Tom. He was on his way back to his room after working in the garage with Nate, and had a dark smudge on his forehead to prove it. Errant hairs plus grease always spelled trouble.
“Just the person I was looking for,” Tom responded as he returned the salute and smiled wryly at the younger man. “Got a minute or two? I wanted to pick your brain about something.”
“Oh?” Holly’s hazel eyes lit up before he could try to hide his elation and act cool. Ever since the building projects had begun he’d worked hard to make a name for himself among the menfolk. It looked like he’d succeeded in part, even if he still couldn’t hold a hammer comfortably. “Yeah, I have time.”
“You were an electronics guru before everything went to pot, right?” Tom asked him as he moved to lean against the wall so as to keep a path clear. “What do you know about shortwave radio? I know it’s a little old school.”
“Not that much,” Holly admitted, though the smile that had surfaced at being called an ‘electronics guru’ lingered on his face. “I can modify almost anything, but I was never an SWL. Listening to Morse code and shitty music 24/7? Boring!” Holly flipped his ponytail over his shoulder. “And then you have to know which bands are good when, both here and wherever you want to listen or transmit to. I know storms will mess up communications, but if we were able to get a good antenna to use with it we’d be able to get in contact with people from all over the world, provided they’ve got the setup, too.” Holly tilted his head. “Why?”
“Knowledge is power Hol,” the older man opined. “Knowledge of what’s going on in Australia might not be all that useful, but if there are groups up here in the Pacific northwest that are friendly then it could be very useful to us to know what’s happening with them. Also I’d just as soon not be dependent on Evie’s people or some other random traveller for news of the outside world, assuming there are others with the tech.”
“Assuming that,” Holly agreed, “and assuming we can figure out the right frequency at the right time of day to find them. There’s the possibility they’re always broadcasting something, but until we’ve got established ties I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot of trial and error.” He shrugged. “Good thing we have forever and a day to play around with this shit.”
“That’s true enough.” Tom nodded. “I’d rather have us listen for a while first before we even think about doing any broadcasting. There’s crazies out there as well as friendlies, after all.”
Holly nodded in agreement. “Should be easy to find one if we can locate a camping supply store, or maybe anywhere that sells electronics would have one. I don’t know, but they have tiny little portable ones that are ready to go - or did, last time I checked.” Which, admittedly, had been quite a while ago when he’d still lived with his family.
“All right. Then I want you to look at getting a tiny one and seeing what frequencies you can get and when. See if Meg or Drew would be interested in helping you out on listening duty since they both worked in radio before. Start figuring out what parts you need for a transmitter and antenna, and don’t be afraid to ask around if you get out of your depth.”
“Sure.” The way his eyes widened a fraction gave away his surprise that Tom was putting him in charge of the venture, but a smile proved he had no problem with that. “I’ll keep a log and tell you if we find anything worth mentioning.”
“Sounds good,” Tom smiled at him, glad Holly was willing to take on the project. “I’ll let you go, I’m sure you’ll want to clean up.” The younger man was nothing if not fastidious about his appearance, and the smudge had to be driving him nuts.
“You are too kind,” Holly said, almost sounding relieved. “I don’t know how Nate stands being covered in grime all day, and then he just wipes it all over everything. Bleh.” He stuck his tongue out in distaste, but quickly recovered. “I’ll tell you when we get the radio! Bye~!” Following a broad, open-palmed wave, Holly slipped past Tom and continued on his way down the hall.