[ okay but what are the chances of shoma wandering through and coming across this man being facedown on the ground somewhere.
the truth of the matter is, he really is sort of aimlessly wandering the ship with roboji rolling behind him on its own. he's pretty deep in thought, not only because of everything that's occurred over the weekend but because of a few conversations he's had with people already.
scien in particular truly has left him with a lot of complex feelings and thoughts (and dahut, to an extent), and it's things he really didn't expect himself to think too hard about upon arriving here. yet here he is. thinking about them.
it's why he's not paying attention to where he's walking, which means either one of two things. he's either going to nearly crash right into scien in his wanderings, or roboji's going to accidentally bonk into him with its wheel. dealer's choice. ]
[honestly so fucking high also me copypasting a note into my threads bc it's going in all of them: scien's changed back into his rumpled outfit except it's probably more obvious than ever than he doesn't have his left arm because the sleeve is just floppily trailing next to him. on that sleeve, there is a new bloodstain on it like it was used to wipe something. help!
but based on my coin flip, roboji is the winner!! bonk goes the wheel and the scien-shaped lump on thee floor just makes a noise that sounds like a grumble. hey]
[ ...yeah that's fair. both boy and bot step back a little to give scien room to stand, even if they're observing. roboji is here to help if necessary? it is probably not necessary. ]
Too much to do? [ it's entirely possible shoma himself has worked through the night on stuff, but not to the same extent. ] Seriously, at least try the benches in the observation lounge.
[ he settles for a shrug because he's not about to tell a grown man where he should and shouldn't sleep. that's his business. ]
Fair enough. [ he. really wants to ask about the arm and the blood, given the way his gaze flickers back to that empty space, but even he thinks going "what happened" is a little blunt. so he picks up something else. ]
Did you get a chance to talk to the crew when they showed up?
We literally have towels... [ he would be more alarmed about the blood draw except dahut really did talk to him about blood samples the day before, so he assumes that's that. ] Do you have to do that often?
[ he'll let scien decide if he wants to answer because he's once again making a face about the crew. ]
I didn't get much out of them either. At least not in the way of good answers. I'm hoping maybe they'll be more forthcoming if they aren't trying to answer questions from thirty-nine people.
No, but if they've introduced nanites into our system and this is also the first time I've left the environment of the island, I want to be able to monitor my own blood - not rely on the vitals that they display on that screen. I don't have the tools for analysis yet, but this will suffice until I do. I only draw my blood when I need to complete a new experiment.
[he nods at that, in agreement]
Or they'll lie to you in private. Either way, they are the keepers of information at the moment, so it is worth engaging with them in some form... until the headache starts.
[ things he's been worried about himself: that. but he's also not exactly qualified to be cutting himself open and studying his own blood (nor is he sure he wants to.) ]
Makes sense. The only way to continually monitor is by having samples for comparisons, I guess. [ this is mumbled a little, but he latches onto the second part. ]
I sort of anticipate them lying to us for a while. I have more questions for them, and I'll probably try to ask in a few ways to see if the answers add up or not. If we're all on this ship for eight weeks, it's the best place to start.
[don't worry about it shoma, scien's insane enough to take care of it for you. but he nods]
That's right. I only have a limited number of vials with me, but with more supplies, I should be able to gather more data.
But you aren't wrong. Too much of the information is blocked from us to access unless we play nice and get promoted at the end of the tour. At that point, plenty of people will already want to head home.
It would require a promotion after a tour, if you're able to perform well enough. Supposedly some medical supplies will arrive before we arrive at the first stop, so not this week but next. Perhaps the medbay will open at the same time.
[everything is taking too long.... ridiculous....]
And the real reason why we're here, obviously. It's clearly not to fulfill a job, as their supposed contract suggests. They might not even be aware of the real reason, if they're also brainwashed into compliance.
[ just big frowny because look. he's not even someone who wants a lab. actually the idea sort of makes him a little uncertain but he gets it. they should be aware of what's going on. but he does not like the idea of being blocked from stuff they obviously should have access to, nor does he like the idea they have to play nice to get these certain things. ]
I assumed as much. I meant more what do you think the actual purpose is? [ though the idea of the senior crew being brainwashed... ] Some of them did seem confused about things when I was asking questions. Or like they were just reading off of a script instead of giving direct answers.
Experimentation, sacrifice, forced labor are a few of my guesses. Incompetence is also a side explanation for everything that's happened.
But it's entirely possible. They claim that they all served on the same crew, similar to us, and have chosen to take on their positions. We'll know what to look out for if we all slowly grow more accustomed to the idea of working here over time.
[ ooooooooooooh he hates that answer. like, yeah, that's completely possible and also vaguely likely but he hates it! a lot! he's already pretty lowkey irritated at the lack of answers and also, like, being here in general. he does not want to be mislead and trapped into something he never asked for, thank you. ]
I would believe that. The incompetence especially, though that depends on who you could blame for that. [ this is a good point though. ] They said they've been here for three months and were part of the Winter tour, but when asked about specifics of this tour and tours past their answers were pretty vague. The good thing is so far nobody seems happy with this situation. Any change in mindset will be easy to spot.
So long as people are being honest anyway. Some have already mentioned that they would be willing to play along with expectations in order to gain information or resources.
I'm debating whether or not it's worth my time to do so.
[ it's something he's been thinking on himself, really. there are certain factors he hasn't quite told, uh, anybody about this particular tour and what it means for him and he's been debating the pros and cons of playing along since the first half of the crew turned up yesterday. ]
We have eight weeks. If there are no signs of results in the first few weeks, that's enough time to change the course of action. [ he does not expect this to sway scien one way or another, he's mostly talking out loud. ] That's how I've been thinking of approaching this.
Risk assessment and modification of behavior is reasonable. The information gathering stage is an important one when determining how to tackle a threat.
[he's in agreement. it's a sensible plan. but - ]
It would simply be too obvious if I suddenly became overtly obedient, and I could never maintain it over a long period of time.
[sometimes you come out the gate swinging with the awareness you're a fucking asshole]
[ okay, well. he sort of just huffs because he can appreciate the self-awareness. it's sort of the way shoma is self-aware this might come back to bite him in the ass later, but. ]
Then let me try it and see what happens. Any results I get, you'll hear directly from me.
[ he literally has an assistant so he's, like, reasonably sure scien won't need his results but also again unfortunately he sort of respects this man already. ]
[ oh. that worked. okay. he's not really used to people like scien actually listening to him when he bothers showing he has a backbone about things, so he didn't exactly prepare a bargaining tool. ]
Answers of a different kind, depending on how many you'd be willing to give me. [ and even then... ]
When negotiating, you don't give the other party a chance to deny you. There is no 'depending'. You state what you seek, and navigate from there. Appearing flexible to start with will only give you a worse deal.
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wknd 0, sunday
the truth of the matter is, he really is sort of aimlessly wandering the ship with roboji rolling behind him on its own. he's pretty deep in thought, not only because of everything that's occurred over the weekend but because of a few conversations he's had with people already.
scien in particular truly has left him with a lot of complex feelings and thoughts (and dahut, to an extent), and it's things he really didn't expect himself to think too hard about upon arriving here. yet here he is. thinking about them.
it's why he's not paying attention to where he's walking, which means either one of two things. he's either going to nearly crash right into scien in his wanderings, or roboji's going to accidentally bonk into him with its wheel. dealer's choice. ]
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but based on my coin flip, roboji is the winner!! bonk goes the wheel and the scien-shaped lump on thee floor just makes a noise that sounds like a grumble. hey]
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well. there's a lot to process here and shoma pauses in his steps. roboji is also examining this lump but is not acting on its own yet. ]
You do know we have beds now, don't you? [ very lightly said because why is there blood. where is your arm. what are you doing on the floor. hey???? ]
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I can’t remember the last time I slept in a bed. It’d probably be more uncomfortable now.
[he yawns and moves to get up, flicking his I.R.I.S. to activate]
Forty-three minutes… that’s enough.
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Too much to do? [ it's entirely possible shoma himself has worked through the night on stuff, but not to the same extent. ] Seriously, at least try the benches in the observation lounge.
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If it's close enough that's fine, otherwise wherever is suitable if I need a brief rest.
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Fair enough. [ he. really wants to ask about the arm and the blood, given the way his gaze flickers back to that empty space, but even he thinks going "what happened" is a little blunt. so he picks up something else. ]
Did you get a chance to talk to the crew when they showed up?
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[TRULY IT'S SO FUNNY THEY'RE LIKE SCIEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALREADY]
And yes. Nothing too helpful, though.
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[ he'll let scien decide if he wants to answer because he's once again making a face about the crew. ]
I didn't get much out of them either. At least not in the way of good answers. I'm hoping maybe they'll be more forthcoming if they aren't trying to answer questions from thirty-nine people.
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[he nods at that, in agreement]
Or they'll lie to you in private. Either way, they are the keepers of information at the moment, so it is worth engaging with them in some form... until the headache starts.
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Makes sense. The only way to continually monitor is by having samples for comparisons, I guess. [ this is mumbled a little, but he latches onto the second part. ]
I sort of anticipate them lying to us for a while. I have more questions for them, and I'll probably try to ask in a few ways to see if the answers add up or not. If we're all on this ship for eight weeks, it's the best place to start.
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That's right. I only have a limited number of vials with me, but with more supplies, I should be able to gather more data.
But you aren't wrong. Too much of the information is blocked from us to access unless we play nice and get promoted at the end of the tour. At that point, plenty of people will already want to head home.
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Oh. So those kind of vials. [ this makes sense. ] They couldn't actually tell you when we might get a lab, could they?
[ he overheard some things but not others. ]
Some of us want to head home already. [ dry. but seriously. ] So what do you think they're actually hiding from us?
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[everything is taking too long.... ridiculous....]
And the real reason why we're here, obviously. It's clearly not to fulfill a job, as their supposed contract suggests. They might not even be aware of the real reason, if they're also brainwashed into compliance.
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I assumed as much. I meant more what do you think the actual purpose is? [ though the idea of the senior crew being brainwashed... ] Some of them did seem confused about things when I was asking questions. Or like they were just reading off of a script instead of giving direct answers.
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Experimentation, sacrifice, forced labor are a few of my guesses. Incompetence is also a side explanation for everything that's happened.
But it's entirely possible. They claim that they all served on the same crew, similar to us, and have chosen to take on their positions. We'll know what to look out for if we all slowly grow more accustomed to the idea of working here over time.
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I would believe that. The incompetence especially, though that depends on who you could blame for that. [ this is a good point though. ] They said they've been here for three months and were part of the Winter tour, but when asked about specifics of this tour and tours past their answers were pretty vague. The good thing is so far nobody seems happy with this situation. Any change in mindset will be easy to spot.
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I'm debating whether or not it's worth my time to do so.
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[ it's something he's been thinking on himself, really. there are certain factors he hasn't quite told, uh, anybody about this particular tour and what it means for him and he's been debating the pros and cons of playing along since the first half of the crew turned up yesterday. ]
We have eight weeks. If there are no signs of results in the first few weeks, that's enough time to change the course of action. [ he does not expect this to sway scien one way or another, he's mostly talking out loud. ] That's how I've been thinking of approaching this.
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[he's in agreement. it's a sensible plan. but - ]
It would simply be too obvious if I suddenly became overtly obedient, and I could never maintain it over a long period of time.
[sometimes you come out the gate swinging with the awareness you're a fucking asshole]
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Then let me try it and see what happens. Any results I get, you'll hear directly from me.
[ he literally has an assistant so he's, like, reasonably sure scien won't need his results but also again unfortunately he sort of respects this man already. ]
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well this isn't what he anticipated. scien raises his brows and tilts his head, bringing his remaining hand up to his chin]
Oh?
And what do you seek in return?
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Answers of a different kind, depending on how many you'd be willing to give me. [ and even then... ]
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[wait what - ]
When negotiating, you don't give the other party a chance to deny you. There is no 'depending'. You state what you seek, and navigate from there. Appearing flexible to start with will only give you a worse deal.
I won't correct you from here. Try again.
[oh okay.]
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try again. ]
Okay. In exchange for playing along with their tour and getting information and results to share, I want answers from you about your research.
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