thisavrou | ( video )

[ Bruce greets the camera with a cordial smile, there and gone, replaced with a somewhat tired and worried look. ]

Hi, Moira. Bruce Banner, for those of you who don't know me, and I'm the Chief Science Officer on board. In light of our current situation, I've been working on a number of devices to be placed on the surface of the planet, that once activated will link together and create a barrier around the planet. It will work as a kind of shield that would effectively make it impossible for any ship to dock on the planet, or for anyone to go down to the surface.

I've talked to the captains about this, and we're going ahead with the project. Needless to say that this is incredibly time-sensitive, and while so far everything's going smoothly and the results are promising, I could use as many people with the necessary knowledge involved in this as possible. Science officers on board are working exclusively on this right now, and I'm contacting a few people that I know have the knowledge necessary to help, but if anyone else thinks they have what it takes to join in, drop me a line.

This is a serious request. Don't waste my or anyone else's time, please.

[ Not that he thinks anyone would, but just covering his bases, in case there's some prankster or smartass on board. ]

I'll also need people to place the devices down on the surface of the planet. It's a fairly simple process so no need to have any kind of knowledge about how the machines were built or how they work, so long as you can handle the weight with relative care.

Another note— [ He pauses, presses his lips for a moment. ] Along with a holographic map of our journey, I've been putting together an information file about our current situation, to be delivered to all the new arrivals as they come in. Things I'd like to cover include: where we are, how or why we're here, who here can help them with certain fundamental needs, a rough overview of varying timelines and parallel universes, as well as a general overview of what's happened so far. I'm also planning to include the information regarding the Space 101 lesson that's held after each wave of new arrivals, to those that might need it. There's no guarantee everyone will read it, of course, but it might cut down on the number of people asking similar questions time and again.

Furthermore, I've put together a file about my condition. At this point about half the ship already knows about it, but I'm posting it on public domain and making it available for anyone to consult at any time. This document will also be attached to the main information file when sent to all the new arrivals. For anyone interested in reading it now, follow the link.

[ Attached to the message, follows said link. ]

If anyone wants to suggest any information they think important to add to the main information file, let me know here. As for my personal file, I wrote it because I don't think keeping it a secret is feasible anymore, and even if it were I think it's safer for everyone here to know what they're dealing with, and avoid potentially dangerous situations. I'm not going to write files on everyone on board or anything like that, don't worry.

[ He takes a deep breath, silent, shoulders lowering. ] That's it. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this.

[ And the feed cuts off. ]

(( ooc: details about the machines, how they work or how they're built will be handwaved on my end, since it's all technical gibberish and I don't have the necessary knowledge or the time/patience to go googling about it right now. SORRY. ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Did they ever figure out how to do permanent radiation resistance without, you know, turning a person into an indestructible green rage monster? Not that there's anything wrong with being an indestructible green rage monster sometimes but...yeah. That's a pretty major side effect.

No, not that I know of. [ He hesitates, swallows dryly before he goes on. ] Pretty much all our work was destroyed during the lab incident, and it's highly unlikely they'd find someone else who could do the work that we did. Not to mention that the project was completely scrapped after what happened. Thankfully.

It's a shame it didn't work out. RadX is great in that it can save your life but...it's not really that great. It only lasts a few minutes. Something permanent would be revolutionary, but it always seems to come with a crappy downside.

So, what was "the lab incident?"

They were never working on radiation resistance, anyway. That was just the lie we were fed. They were using our work to try and build super soldiers. Weapons. That's why I turned out the way I did. And by lab incident, I mean the testing that flooded me with gamma radiation, which triggered my first transformation.

What's RadX?

Shit, so they really were building a super mutant. [That's how the super mutants started, too. Somebody wanted an army.]

Rad-X is a pill that provides radiation resistance, pretty decent if you take it properly. One dose only lasts about four minutes or so, but that's usually enough time to get out of an irradiated area in a pinch. And if you've got enough doses on you, you're golden for as long as you remember to keep taking it.

I'm sure that this isn't exactly what they had in mind. [ Though that didn't stop the General from trying to get his hands on him and his blood anyway. ]

Really? [ Interest piqued. ] You had a lot of areas like that, back in your world? How come?

About two hundred years ago all the world's super powers thought it would be fun to throw their entire nuclear arsenals at each other. So now bomb sites are irradiated, the ocean is irradiated, hell, sometimes even the storms are irradiated.

And even before the Old World nations made their awesome decision to practically wipe out all life on Earth, people were moving to nuclear power because of the oil resource shortages. So it's easy to wander around and accidentally run into some barrels of nuclear waste just hanging out totally out in the open.

[ Deacon's story feels strange for the simple fact that it's a little too familiar, a little too possible in his own world. For all he knows, what happened in Deacon's world might be the future of his own, and something like that never sits too comfortably with someone. ]

Sounds cheerful. [ An obviously sardonic remark. ] So it's like... a post-apocalyptic kind of situation? How large is the world's population there now, do you even know?

[Deacon runs a hand over his head. No wig at the moment, just shaved stubble.]

Man, I couldn't tell you. Enough to have a viable genetic pool if radiation exposure doesn't keep the birth rates too low, I think. The Boston area has, I don't know, maybe a thousand? Two thousand? No one's doing a census and if we did the raiders--and hell probably half the settlers, too--would just use the forms for, like, toilet paper so... [Shrug.] Then there's probably a couple thousand more in the Capitol Wasteland. Back west in California is rumored to be doing pretty well for itself. They're supposedly building an actual nation-state and everything.

There's not much info on the rest of the world. There could be three million people living the high life in an underground city in Sweden and we'd probably never know it back on the eastern seaboard. Damn sneaky Swedes.

[ Bruce nods, taking in the information with interest. Not that it affects him directly of course, but he still likes to know about it, about how other worlds or universes have evolved, even other versions of Earth. Though for all he knows they might just be from the same Earth, or close enough at least.

He huffs in amusement at the last remark. ] Well, I can't say about Sweden, but there's probably a number of places around the world that suffered a lot less than the US did during all that. [ Being a little too loud and a little too involved in everything tends to draw a lot of attention, and in a situation like this, it's definitely not a good thing.

Bruce looks at Deacon, quiet for a while, a question at the tip of his tongue, but not quite knowing how to ask it. Finally, he lifts a hand to his own head, gesturing vaguely. ] Is that why you don't have any hair, or is that just... a fashion choice?

I guess American exceptionalism means exceptionally irradiated.

Yeah, I fell down a dry well as a kid and someone had been using it as a nuclear waste dumping ground, radioactive barrels everywhere. I was down there for hours...

[No, he just shaves it. But he and the truth have a hard time getting along.]

[ Deacon, you're talking to one of the leading experts in radiation, that lie's not going to stick. It's not even going to graze the target. ]

That's not possible. You'd be long dead by now.

[ I mean just saying. ]

[Busted!]

Okay, yeah, sorry, I was just shitting you. [Might as well admit it, since he's been called out on it.]

The head's shaved.

I figured as much. Tip: next time don't say you were stuck in an enclosed space exposed to radioactive chemicals for hours. That's more than just a little implausible.

[ Not that everyone on board the Moira would know, but most people would. Or at least a good number of them. ]

Yeah, I guess I have way too much skin for that kind of exposure. My bad. I'll lie better next time. Maybe take it down to only one hour and add some Rad-X and RadAway to the story.

That should make it a little more believable, yes. Especially with the radiation-resisting medication thrown in. [ He knits his eyebrows a little, though, looking amused. ] But why lie about something like that? Seems like a pretty innocuous reason not to have hair.

It's what I do. [No shame.]

I guess you could call me truthy-challenged. Or just call me a big fat liar, that works too.

Alright. [ He smiles a little. Well, he can appreciate the honesty— no pun intended. ] I guess we all have our... thing.

( video )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject