{ text } forward dated to April 30th and the event

[frostedplum]

[ Seeing how Mei lives on Chioni with all of four other people, when her dreams have her running to her balcony to be sick over the edge, she doesn't organize a block party afterwards to discuss it. Instead, she goes back inside and creates a cocoon out of the blankets on her bed. She tries to read, but there's a listlessness to her now. A gnawing in her stomach and an odd feeling that feels very... isolating. She shivers and opens up her TAB. There are different kinds of isolation, but the kind that reminds Mei of a cryogenic tube and being the last left alive is the kind that frightens her. She needs to know she isn't alone. ]

Is anyone else awake? Would you like to keep each other company? I woke up not feeling very well and I don't think I could fall asleep right now.

Comments

[unaffluent]

Nice to meet you Mei.

I'm Adam.

[frostedplum]

Hi, Adam!

You say you don't sleep much?

[unaffluent]

Yeah. Back home, I didn't really have time.

Now I do but it just doesn't really happen.

[frostedplum]

I take it you don't need sleep, then? Like you don't pass out from lack of it?

[unaffluent]

I need it. I just... don't let myself a lot now.

Like a few hours maybe.

[frostedplum]

Oh, really? I would fall back asleep if I could tonight, but there are times I want to stay up all the time too! There's just so much to do in a day that sleep just seems to get in the way sometimes, doesn't it?

[unaffluent]

I have bad nightmares a lot. That's usually why. I mean back home... It's cause I worked three jobs and went to high school, though. So there was just too much to do.

What do you usually do?

[frostedplum]

Oh, no! I woke up from a nightmare tonight too. And I sometimes get recurring ones, so I know what that feels like. :(

I like to do science! I'm a researcher, so I study things a lot. Mainly the climate and environment of a region, but a lot falls under that like the wildlife and condition of the soil. Stuff like that.

[unaffluent]

I'm sorry you had a nightmare.

That's pretty cool. Researched anything cool and new lately?

[frostedplum]

There were these rocks I collected to analyze here on Chioni. I wanted to see signs of the temperate affecting them. It's not easy when you get down to the molecular level, but I'm trying.

[unaffluent]

Ah, I don't really understand much about that. Why are the rocks interesting?

[frostedplum]

Because they exist on Chioni, which has rapidly fluctuating temperatures. On a gas planet that wouldn't matter, because the chances of it sustaining life would be very slim (any species would have to be born flying in the atmosphere of a gas planet), so I'm interested in the structure of this planet and how it's been able to sustain life with these differing temperatures. I have to look at the surface of the planet for clues.