[3rd POV]
Looking at the large stacks of books in front of her, Wanda raised an eyebrow and looked them all over. She was already doing the math in her head, while also seeing if all the books were actually even useful to the people of the Enterprise.
The books themselves were varying in nature and what they were about. Some of the books were on war, some of them were on various areas of science, some of them were on art and history, and some of them were manga and comics.
The books were not the worst selections that they could have made. But they were definitely far from the best. The books were not complete what so ever, especially when it came to the books on martial arts, war, and then a few of the books on advanced mathematics from the Doctor Who universe.
"Is there a problem?" Captain Picard asked, noticing that she had silently been looking over their books for a lot longer than what was normal with cashiers and such.
"Just seeing what books you all have selected. I wanted to see if you made good decisions or not" Wanda responded, as she began to check them out, the price of the books rapidly rising thanks to a lot of the books being very rare or expensive in relation to the world of Star Trek.
"And did we make good decisions with our choices?" Riker asked, interested to hear her response as she hummed.
"You did adequately. But I would say that your choices when it comes to the books on mathematics are incomplete. You'll find a number of equations inside that you will not understand because you did not pick the proper prerequisite books that would teach you to understand them" Wanda explained, turning to Data and La Forge when she had said this, knowing that they were the two that had chosen the books in question.
"What books would you suggest then? I'd prefer to have all knowledge necessary to learn everything in these more advanced books" La Forge asked with furrowed eyebrows, having thought that he had grabbed all the books that would be needed.
Hearing his question, Wanda smiled and made a small motion with her hand, three books floating over from the bookshelf that they had been buried in a few minutes before hand. The books were pretty large, and were all on advanced mathematics. But these advanced mathematics were less advanced in comparison to the ones that they wished to learn.
They were the books they needed to learn first before the others.
"These three will help you learn the equations needed to learn the more advanced ones. Without these, you'll not be able to properly learn them and put them into play" Wanda explained, as the man nodded and she put it into the pile upon seeing the look that both of them were giving her.
It was pretty clear that they wanted the books, because who would want to buy books that were missing knowledge needed to properly understand them? But, in her defense, there was a suggestion at the front of the book that explained what books were needed to understand what was inside of them. It also showed why they were important too.
Next was the books that Worf and Tasha had ended up choosing.
"You two have done something similar to Data and La Forge. You grabbed books that teach more advanced techniques in these martial arts, without grabbing the necessary books to learn the basics of the arts. Without learning these basics, you will never be able to properly put the advanced techniques that you want to learn, into place" Wanda explained, as the two glanced at one another, another group of four books floating up from behind them. These books were much thinner than the other ones.
"You should know that certain books that require proper reading of other material beforehand, have recommended material in the first pages of the book. Just read there and you'll know that some of these books need other books in order for you to truly understand what you are even reading" Wanda added, as the two nodded in understanding.
"As for you Picard...you have actually chosen books that are just fine. I just recommend that you eventually come back to read the book on the other side of that perspective. The war between the marines and pirates is utterly fascinating, and has a lot of angles that I am sure you will love to learn and explore more about" Wanda suggested, the man nodding slowly, accepting her recommendation.
"As for you two...you have chosen books that are just fine. They're comics and manga so they're easy to pick up without difficulty. And they're easy to read through by any age. I would be careful about which ones you let children see though. Berserk is not something a child should be reading, as that particular universe is quite brutal" Wanda warned, knowing that some of the things in that series was incredibly upsetting to certain people, and it might be a trigger should said person have bad experiences with it.
It was still one of the best manga of all time, if not the best. So she was not going to just tell him not to buy it. It was way too good to just ignore. Although with the way their society worked, she had a faint feeling that Starfleet would despise the story as it was incredibly dark, gritty, and utterly sadistic at times.
But that was part of the charm, and part of why the book was so amazing. Similarly to the Warhammer 40k series and what made it so incredible. It was utterly ridiculous and dark and gritty, but that grim dark atmosphere is why it was so loved by everyone.
And it was because of that story that she wanted to connect her shop to the universe at some point in the future. She wanted to meet the likes of Titus or Guillimen in person.
"How should we go about paying for these books?" Deanna questioned, knowing that currency was not really something that they used in their day. It was pretty much worthless to them at this point, and they were pretty much completely beyond it. They used resources and rare minerals more than anything, and even then that was rather rare.
So actually paying her was going to be difficult, without doing what Picard had suggested at one point. They needed to confirm that the books were actually useful before going all out and sharing all of that information with her. Or selling it to her more like.
"Hmm, there's a number of ways. You can exchange currency for them. You can exchange items and goods like minerals and rare gems. Or you can share direct knowledge with me. Which will involve me directly copying the knowledge from your head into my own. I'd only copy the specific area that you wish to "Pay with" and will not touch any others" Wanda explained, the group all glancing at one another.
"Why only limit yourself to one area?"
"Because I like running my shop. I could effortlessly learn everything from your multiverse with laughable amounts of ease, but that would make it boring. I like enjoying my life in a variety of ways, and obtaining new knowledge through this store is one of them" Wanda replied to Data who nodded slowly in understanding.
"And if we do decide to pay with knowledge, what would be appropriate?"
"Hmmm...how about the things you have learned about the planets you have traveled to so far? I would love to learn more about the odd little planets in your universe. Or you can offer knowledge on histories of other species. My knowledge of the Klingons is rather lacking, afterall" Wanda replied after a few moments of thought.
Hearing this, they all turned to Worf. Seeing the look he was receiving, he grumbled, but before he could say anything, Deanna stepped forward.
"I offer the knowledge that I possess of the Betazoid species. Is that enough of a payment for the books in front of us?" Deanna questioned, as Wanda smiled.
"It is" Wanda said, as she effortlessly copied the knowledge in a singular moment, her eyebrow raising as she learned about their species.
"What an interesting little species. Quite curious. I'll have to visit your kind when I eventually explore your universe in the future" Wanda said, as Deanna blinked.
"You already copied the knowledge?"
"Oh yes. I can copy knowledge instantly, Deanna. I am knowledge itself, afterall" Wanda replied with a small grin on her face, enjoying the shock of the group in front of her. It was a regular thing that she would love to see from them.
"Well then...we must be on our way, Miss Maximoff. But you can expect to see us within the next month or so. Once we have read these books and confirmed your claims. And if they are confirmed - which I suspect they will - we will see about offering the knowledge the human race possesses" Picard said, as the group began to head towards the exit, the books in their hands.
Watching the group scurry off, obviously a bit uncomfortable being in her presence Wanda chuckled, and said one last thing as they left.
"I hope you enjoyed your time, and please do come back soon!"
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That's the end of the chapter!
Nothing to say for the AN.
Anyways, have a good day!