Quote:
Originally Posted by
Maxilocks 
Di tried [and failed] to shrug. The fact that she knew about Jarnsaxa the giantess, had its reasons.
Not a planetary scientist? "But... you teach astronomy," Di protested. He had to know. Because if he did not, that meant she would have to search for someone who did. It could take ages to find a person like that. Di frowwwwwned at the thought but, fortunately for her, Risu did seem to know something.
Wait. Retrogade motwhattt? Di blinked. Thankfully, Risu seemed to have decided that that information did not concern her.
Looking for something in particular? Did 'the same thing I have been for the past ten years' sound like a good idea? Um. No. "Thank you," Di said politely, glad at the realization that most of her wits seemed to have returned. "I thought you might know if..." She paused. "If there are people that are named after that planet." Planet? Oh great. "Err, moon. I mean... last names? Famous families?"
He would know, wouldn't he? Di realized a moment later that he most likely didn't. Yes, she knew about tribes, clans, people of that sort named after and devoted to runes. But those were not ordinary people and, most importantly, that had been a part of her degree. Necessary research. No such case here. Di decided she still had cause to hope - after all, someone related to planetymoonythings had a much better chance of knowing things like these than... someone like her.
Didn't he?
Risu smiled gently, not in the least fazed by Davina's protest. "I do teach Astronomy," he said, still reading the encyclopaedia entry on Jarnsaxa. "And I'm sure my knowledge is broad enough to tackle any questions that might come up in class. Or, if not, know where to look." He poked the book. "Like now." He turned to the next page. "But my own scientific training and research lie more in the area of cosmology. I feel confident speaking about what I know there. But I could not, for example, tell you the exact position of a small moon such as Jarnsaxa. Or its composition." He waved a hand. "And so on and so forth. The Universe is a big place, as I'm sure you can appreciate, and no one can try to keep all of it in a single head."
There
was a lot of interesting stuff about Jarnsaxa in this book, though. Risu had always been more interested in objects starting at the size of, say, star (up to the entire cosmos itself), and planets and moons had always been off to the side.
He tapped a slender finger against the page. "Unfortunately, I fear I have to disappoint you yet again. This will tell you all about the astronomical object Jarnsaxa, and the origin of its name, but nothing about, er... genealogy, which seems to be what you are looking for." He inserted a pencil into the page as an improvised bookmark and closed it. Looking at Davina, Risu continued, "I am personally unaware of anyone by that last name as well... I would say that anyone having that name would most likely trace it back to Norse mythology rather than a fairly obscure moon of Saturn."