19th December 2006, 3:24 PM
The sort of thing I'd like is a description of an event as though we all know exactly what they are talking about. "Well it's New Years so we put the traditional walrus tongue over the threshold. It's getting a little crazy though. That cloning vat contamination really cut into what we could get ahold of and as a result we had to make do with ol' "rammy" if you catch my meaning." I also like the idea of mentioning various things everyone in that era would "know about" by default but which we have no idea (even more obscure, only reference them indirectly at first or with future-slang for it) and then slowly as the story goes on bit by bit the reader is able to piece together exactly what they are talking about.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)