sixwordstories | (no subject)

I keep telling you, I don't know what th'fuck that is.

How did you get a job in my lab if you don't know--

You... aren't my usual assistant.

[He probably would have noticed this fact much earlier, if not for his concern over missing enzymes and the splitting headache he's nursing. James has had a very long day. His inattentiveness today is not helped by his having spent the night before drinking mushroom wine while arguing ethics with one of his oldest friends. He really needs to look into getting some friends who aren't complete sociopaths...]

See? They said you were smart. [ A snide grin spreads across her face as realization dawns on his. ] Now tell me what I'm lookin' for. What's D-and-A polymayonaise?

[ Desperate times call for desperate measures and, in his assistant's case, those measures included begging possibly the least qualified person on the face of the planet to fill in for a day.

Just do what he says, they said. You might learn something, they said. Unlikelier things have happened. But, lest she be accused of being unhelpful, Oni starts rifling through jars (Were those in order?) and peering at labels. ] What does it look like?

[James relaxes slightly at her snarky attitude. A friend of Miss Freelander's, no doubt. He's still not entirely clear how she managed to get into his highly secure secret lab, but beggars can hardly afford to be choosers. This young lady's sarcasm and bravado are still a bit of an improvement over Miss Freelander's unnerving habit of practicing her juggling with his equipment.]

It's a liquid, in a beaker, dyed blue. We use it to grow new DNA samples.

[ She knows her primary colors. If nothing else, she has that going for her. ] Blue? Okay. Où est la chose bleue..?

Chromium... Two? Copper nitrate, no. I thought copper was brown? Ah! [ Before setting the beaker down within reach, she takes a cursory sniff of the liquid. At least now she can find it much quicker, should she misplace it again.]

Ah, thank you!

[He takes the beaker, carefully returning it to its proper place; he'll sort out the chaos caused by her search later, and much more easily since he actually saw where everything started out and where it ended up. Feeling a little calmer now that the afternoon's work can actual progress, he fixes her with a curious look.]

For future reference, unalloyed copper is a brownish or golden color, but binding with nitrogen changes the way it interacts with light. And please be careful what you sniff in this lab.

I'm James, by the way. I should have introduced myself earlier. Forgive me, it's been a long morning...

"Umm... Y'know, to be fair, I don't even know how to spell that word and I'm not even sure what it is."

"The blue liquid, in the beaker. The one we use to grow DNA," he explained, gesturing to the empty spot on the shelf where it usually sits. "Maybe, when my assistant announced an intention to take a vacation, I should have done the same," he noted wryly.

She starts looking through the lab for what he described. She at least knows what a beaker is.

"Vacations are never a bad idea," she says as she searches, "but I'm pretty sure I'm better company than whoever your assistant is." Finally, she spots what she hopes is the correct beaker hiding behind some other jars and holds it up carefully. "This it?"

"That is the one, yes. Thank you, my dear," he answered, taking it from her with a warm smile. "And how have you been?"

There's a ~~cute~~ smile when he calls her that. The list of people who get to call her any sort of endearment or pet name can be counted on one hand.

"I'm okay," she shrugs. "Sick of this pandemic and being stuck on the planet. What're you growing DNA for?"

He stares at her blankly for a moment before he remembers what's going on on the surface.

"Eh, if I lived through 1918, you lot can live through this," he assures her, although his smile is sympathetic. He knows that there aren't many humans who will recognize the past year as a matter of course. He, himself, certainly misses visiting the surface, but he also knows what it's like to spend years, or even decades, separated from others.

"We're growing DNA to grow new tissue. Hearts and lungs, mostly."

Edited 2021-01-27 05:18 (UTC)

"I suppose there are worse planets to be stuck on," she admits, though she's teasing. Mostly.

"Who are you growing them for?" Never say Mia's not curious.

“Well, the last time I misplaced it, I’d organized the cabinets, you had such a fit that I have not even looked at them since. Since I no longer touch your things, it’s you who lost it, even if I happened to place a box in front of it”

"At the moment, no one at all. In the future, for all and sundry, one may hope," he tells her, instantly warming up at the opportunity to discuss his pet project. "Imagine a world where transplant recipients were at zero risk of organ rejection. Or, perhaps, you don't have to?"

"Ah. Not misplaced, merely hidden. My mistake."

“Then your answer is yes. It’s hidden behind my new whiteboard.” Cassie points to it’s location “Are you working on something new? I’m just.. organizing again, but I have not touched a single thing of yours.”

"Touch away, as long as everything's where my old eyes can easily see them," he chuckles. "And, yes, I'm testing a bit of a thought I had. I'm trying to grow a heart."

“A heart?” Cassie sets down her binder and turns her attention to the Doctor “why a heart? And how? Do you have everything you need?”

"Why not a heart? Got to start somewhere if I'm going to eliminate organ waiting lists in our lifetime," he points out, smiling and shrugging. "So... I took some of my heart tissue, and a few stemcells and... We'll see what happens. A heart's complex, so I'm not expecting the first few iterations to work well. At first, I'll settle for growing an adequate amount of muscle tissue. I can worry about nudging that tissue into a functional heart in successive iterations."

Cassie is quiet for a moment, processing it all. “Is it alright if I observe? I don’t know a lot about this, but I love to learn. What happened to your heart that you needed surgery?”

"Feel free to observe, but it's going to be a slow process," he chuckles. "There's only so much you can accelerate cellular replication before you start begging for random mutations. That tank over there contains a nutrient solution that we'll be growing the tissue in," he explains, gesturing.

He blinks at her question, then smiles wryly, admitting, "Cocaine happened to my heart. Far too much cocaine..."

“I’ll take notes at points throughout the day, and compare them” she explains “I like to do that, it helps me learn”

“Oh... I understand. It tends to have that effect. Should I expect any other problems related to that during my time here?”

"Notes are always good," he agrees, smiling. "We can compare our results for added certainty. And don't worry about my heart. It's been on ice for years now. Nothing inside these days but metal and plastic," he assures her, tugging down his collar just enough to show the tip of a very prominent zipper-scar. "If that gives me trouble, I'll be sending a very sharply-worded note to the manufacturer."

“You’ll have no trouble getting more samples” Cassie nods, after a long silence “I’m glad you were able to get a working heart. I.. I have a smaller scar something like that.

Does your artificial heart beat or tick or... what does it do?”

"It's a glorified pump, really. I suppose you could call it beating. May I ask about your scar?" he adds mildly, perfectly willing to drop the matter if she'd rather.

“I don’t have a lot of memories of what happened leading to it, but when I had my babies, a team went in and replaced my mitral valve and made another repair, I’ll have to look at my records for more detail” she does seem a bit awkward and guarded, but she’s really just trying to keep this job.

“Does it sound terribly different than a natural heart?”

"It's a blessing you don't recall, and that the surgery was minor," he tells her, leaving it at that. "I... It sounds different through a stethoscope, but not otherwise. The sound in my ears after heavy exercise or the like isn't notably different."

She nods. "Most people do cybernetics, it's cheaper. And legal. Our galaxy has... a not great history with cloning."

"Well, I'd never dream of cloning an entire sentient organism," he answers, grimacing a bit. "But an organ here or there. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but I'd rather have my own flesh inside than a collection of plastic and metal, and I believe many others on this planet feel the same.

"Cybernetics is pretty accepted in my galaxy, we're so used to it. But I see your point. I think it just becomes a slippery slope from cloning or creating organs, down to cloning entire beings. Plus the time factor involved. Cybernetics are usually available immediately, while cloning organs or limbs and growing them takes time."

He makes a thoughtful noise as he considers her argument, then shrugs. "I can certainly see your point but, given how far your science outpaces ours, the two situations aren't exactly comparable. In this country, an artificial heart can cost in excess of a quarter million dollars, and the average lifespan of the device is five years. An organ, grown from scratch, would last for decades and decades."

"Have I mentioned the healthcare on this planet is crazy expensive? Especially in the U.S. It's insane."

"Well, yes. Some countries are completely deficient in that regard, but the technological limitations don't help matters at all. Scarcity provides an excuse for price-fixing. The more common a resource is, the less anyone can get away with overcharging for it, even in a capitalist bastion like this one."

"Sometimes I find people drowning in medical debt and negotiate down or pay their bills. But you're right, the problem is at the source..."

Edited 2021-01-30 22:03 (UTC)

"Very few bad situations are only caused by a single problem. This will, however, be a good start. But why don't you sit and have some tea, dear girl?"

Mia's barely listening, the gears in her mind running full steam as to how she can disrupt the chokehold certain pharmaceutical companies have on pricing things like epi-pens and insulin. Those shouldn't be as expensive as they are.

"So if someone got funded to produce certain drugs or tech and distribute for little cost, it would undercut price gouging... You're on to something."

"Oh, dear. I've just inspired another socialist revolution, haven't I?"

His deadpan voice makes it very hard to tell if he's joking or not. All things being equals, it could go either way.

"There's nothing better than sticking it to corrupt people in power," she says with certainty.

"Nothing at all wrong with it, no. But it is best to do so with care, or risk an even worse group taking power in their place. I've seen enough history to know that, the more powerful the monster, the more careful one must be in putting it out of the way."

She sighs. "I've seen it too. Unfortunately. But you can still stick it to them without completely overthrowing them."

"Doesn't hurt that it's also very fun to do."

"It's my favorite hobby."

"You may need better hobbies, or at least additional ones. It can't be all havoc all the time, much as we might wish otherwise..."

"I have lots of hobbies," she informs him quite plainly. "I like to shoot stuff. And blow stuff up."

(no subject)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

*pounces*

careful, James is an old man ;p

I was pouncing both of you! <3

well, I guess that's okay, then. i'm slightly sturdier than our James

:D

i was literally on my way to bed when i saw this, but this is me tagging back before I crash

:D no rush, ever

no subject

<3

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

pounces