Hearing about the danger of predators got Troy asking a question, “Speaking of dangers… how safe are we exactly here? Is there the possibility of flooding or, uh, failures in the lab? If so are their plans to prevent these issues from occurring and the prevention of, well, casualties?”
“Well we are on the bottom of the gulf, in the middle of nowhere…” she looked at the individual. “You did sign the waiver list, right?”
Graham laughed. He had not gotten the Pegasus software, and indeed, had not been provided any waiver forms. He was hardly surprised. After several decades in the Navy, he’d learned not to expect command to spend much time worrying about some random janitor. Chances were, some lieutenant had signed the waivers on his behalf, then tossed the Pegasus software instead of bothering to dispatch it to a sub. He’d just find the nearest broom closet, and make do.
Xiao-Yan spoke up, meanwhile, obviously bored with the conversation. “I’m sure the sea-lab will be fine. And if not, well, I’m sure we won’t be able to appreciate it for long before dying.” Xiao-Yan focused on the apparent orienteer. “Is there anything we have to do before getting settled, or can we just get right to it?”
— Begin quote from ____
“As for invasive species… well, we’re definitely of that ilk, but we believe in following the golden rule of the sea: touch, but not taint, sample, but not spoil, observe, but not obliterate. That’s at least the common language translation… it’s a bit more involved in Unonian. Anyway, the bottom line is we’re invaders in their ecosystems. If they happened to supplant a species that could remove us from our ecosystem, well, that would be bad. In general, and you may not quote me on this, any species permanently introduced to this gulf will result in the termination of the contract with that nation… and probably the nation in general. Depends on what Vekaiyu and the rest of the gulf states feel like doing, of course!”
— End quote
S’ara smiled and nodded, appearing to be agreeable while keeping her thoughts to herself. ‘Invaders, this is what they think of themselves? Wonder what their ancestors would have reacted to these statements.’
While the thought persisted, she became a little more paranoid and whispered in hushed tones to her companions. “We need to be a little more careful now. The goal of genetically modifying Tuna and Shrimp could catch unnecessary flak from our colleges.” Jason and Ron nodded in agreement and the three of them focused their attention on the speaker.
“Oh by all means, don’t let me stop you from your work,” she said with a smile. “I’m just letting everyone know where everything is. And… also…” She paused. “As you may know, this isn’t the first Sealab. An older one exists, but a lot of turmoil happened over there in the past. Just maintain sanity and composure - it can get a bit stuffy at times, but there’s a beautiful landscape around us. It can help if things get too monotonous.”
— Begin quote from ____
To the International Sealab program,
Piero has interest in the international program of scientific progress, especially the International Sealab. We are sending this message to you in efforts to strengthen international ties and to formally request that my brother Guido Machiavelli to come in order to study the effects of radiation on marine life, especially shrimp.
He is an expert at dealing with radiation and has done much work on ecology, but he is lacking in his biology skills. I will pay for any damages that occur due to any accidents.
We will only send isotopes in small packages in heavily secure packaging containers. We will also send all materials required for Guido to begin his work.
I am looking forward to my little brother making a difference in his life, but I understand if you do not wish to allow relations with dictatorships.
From,
Piero Machiavelli
Do mind that he prefers to work in his room, and often works for hours on end. Please be sure he does not forget to sleep.
— End quote
[edit_reason]Forgot Stuff[/edit_reason]
“Well then, we’ll just get going and set up our labs. Unless there’s anything else that needs to be said?” asked Ron Slagers as he and his co-workers began picking up the cases and bags containing their research materials and vanities.
S’ara and Jason were a little busy whispering to eachother. “Maybe there’s a Sharkoctopus?” asked S’ara.
“Doubt it, we’re more likely to have Shark-ranhas or even Mega Human Eating Shrimp,” remarked Jason.
“Oh! How about Giant Crabs! Imagine those pincers ripping a diver in half!” she exclaimed.
Time Passes
It’s so dark out, thank goodness I’m finally inside.
Guido took care of all his stuff and waved goodbye to the driver as he submerged back into the water.
Apparently Everyone is sleeping, wouldn’t blame them.
He puts the crates onto the cart and begins heading right to the dorms. When he gets there he opens the door and settles down.
Time for work!
As he unpacks his things, he scatters them all over the floor. The only things he didn’t make it to the floor were his clothes, which he tossed onto his bed.
Guido spread out a mat, and organised his tools and takes out his shrimp and dumps them in his trusty “Box”
http://www.cleatech.com/Glove_Box_2100%20Series.JPG
Guido puts on his lab gear and lays on the floor, and begins work on dissecting the mutated shrimp he had brought with him…
…Several hours pass, and it’s morning.
Suddenly there is a knock on the door, but Guido ignores it and continues working.
((Not directed at anyone, feel free to pick up on this as you’d like.))
Early in the morning, Elana decided to set out for work. She was rather excited to begin her studies for this term, mostly because her research had serious implications back home in Vekaiyu. It would be nice to do something that would probably be published in a journal with a high impact factor for a change.
As she walked down the hallway to her lab, she almost didn’t see a light on underneath one of the doors. It wasn’t the door to her lab, but someone else’s. She paid little attention to it, but then decided she had some time and should at least figure out who also woke up a bit early to get into some work. It would be nice to find a group of individuals who shared her passion for science and progress.
She walked up to the door and knocked on it. “Hello?”
— Begin quote from ____
She walked up to the door and knocked on it. “Hello?”
— End quote
((Might not be clear as to location, Guido is still in his dorm room on the floor working))
After a moment Guido responded, “Come in!” He had just finished his notes on the state of the shrimp’s shell after being “heated” (cooked).
He is dressed in a lab suit and has messy hair, with things and trinkets all over the floor… After glancing at the door to see the Vulpine girl there, he continues to take notes on the hardness of the carapace, which is covered in green spots and is harder than normal.
“So, what brings you to my room?”
From what he could tell it was a new day. ‘Too early’ Troy thought to himself while taking a glance at the clock by his bed, ‘but too late in the day!’ He stumbled out of bed towards his closet, tripping over a few bags along the way.
After cleaning up he headed out into the hallway. There was nearly no one moving about except for a few scientists walking about, ‘huh, guess I did wake up a bit early.’ This most likely meant that the labs would be quite empty also, so Troy took this as an opportunity to get some work done alone. The problem was that his stomach didn’t agree with him, maybe he could find a small snack before work.
Not much in the cafeteria seemed of interest to him except for the muffins. He grabbed a couple of them and found a seat looking out into the ocean. 'Who knows what could be out there?'he thought to himself,“Whatever it is I plan to find out. Mmmm blueberry muffins.”
— Begin quote from ____
To the Head of the International Sealab Program.
The Grand Holy See of the Golden Bar Stool of McStooley is interested in partaking in this international endeavor for the purposes of geological surveys. The area surrounding the sealab is of great interest to the Holy Land. We would be much appreciative if you would grant us permissions to send a small task force for this purpose.
We look forward to working with you. Minor excavation equipment will be sent along for the intense purpose of their mission. The crew will be cautious in their use, as damaging the area is not beneficial to the purposes of this sea lab, nor to ourselves here in McStooley.
The leader of this team is known as Kathrine O’Leary. She is a high ranking official within the Grand Holy Order of the Paracelsi.
-Primarch of the Grand Hold Order of the Paracelsi.
— End quote
Elana remained at the door, but she could see the individual seemed to be studing some kind of shell. Strange that he decided to bring it to his personal room, but who was she to judge? Perhaps his lab wasn’t quite ready yet. Then again, perhaps he was one of those fellows who simply immersed himself or herself in their work. The unkept quarters seemed to suggest it, but in her experiences, all that mattered what whether or not the experimenter was organized, not necessarily if it looked organized or not. Years of sharing labspace will do that to someone, she mused.
“I figured it was kind of odd to find someone working this early in the moring. Then again, I’m heading to my lab fairly soon to get a jump on my work. Down here, there’s only so much one can do - and it’s tough to separate work from life.” She paused and looked at the shrimp specimen. “That’s why most folks opt to keep their work in their labs, or out there… somewhere.”
“Either way, my name is Elana. I figure we’ll run into each other now and then. Which isn’t a bad idea, because it opens up collaboration. Never hurts to get your name on a paper, right?”
After hearing ‘…it’s tough to separate work from life…’ Guido slows down in his notes until he stops midway and sits on the bed, letting out a big sigh.
This was the first time anyone had said anything about separating life from work, it seemed so foreign to Guido.
“What’s so great about life if you don’t do your best? Do the fish ever stop growing? Do they ever choose to relax and take breaks? No, and so we should keep growing too. Our countries are depending on us to make great changes. Just like how a single fish can survive an attack to help the future or their kin…”
(Guido is oblivious to the comment on collaboration…)
Elana paused. “Yes, but life must be enriched on multiple fronts. Science and progress is important, as is a firmer understanding of the world around us. But in studying these facets, we must be careful not to lose ourselves - whatever that self may be.” She smiled a bit. “I don’t know how it is with your people, but Vekaiyuns believe in the concept of a soul, and the soul is what makes us who we are. It’s our essence. Our body, the being if you will, is used as a vehicle to provide the soul with a means of interaction in the world it currently resides in. At least, that’s what our bishop told me once.”
“Souls you say?”
What on earth is this gibberish? Well now, Try handling this…
“How about the children of the ocean, do they have souls?”
“If they do, then why do they act so selfish? Several fish often nip at each other when faced with predators to slow each other down. Don’t the fish know that cooperation increases their chances of reproductive success? Perhaps we don’t kill each other, but nature certainly immolates itself. Perhaps this soul is malevolent then?”
“If they don’t, then we get to attack and use abuse nature? That would certainly be wrong, no? We could gain so much more for a single family at the cost of many, which nature often approves of, What stops us from doing that though?”
(OOC: Feel free to move on without me, do a time skip or something! :3)
Elana paused to think. Her mind was so engrossed in the excitement of her work she wasn’t sure how to approach it. “Well, there are some Vekaiyun philosophers who believe that the soul isn’t a given, but rather it’s earned through strife and integrity. Then again, there are those who believe a soul differentiates us from the animals and provides things like self-awareness and a conscience. Still others believe it’s what makes us, us. It’s like a barcode scanner the Almighty uses to identify who is who.” She shrugged. “Stuff like that. I suppose I just lump it into the same category as an underserved gift, but something that should be cherished and respected.”
S’ara was debating with herself out aloud. “How can we make the growth of the fish and kelp faster? What about the plankton? We need to move a few things around with the genetic coding. We can’t just feed them crap and steroids, that will hurt us. We need it to be as natural as possible,” she said.
Her co-workers were sleeping in while she was in the assigned lab. A black lab coat with orange highlights and a very vague embossing of the letters “WY” could be seen.
Courtesy of their sponsors, they were to seek solutions for a potential food problem developing in Rhodesia. Most of the food being consumed were seafood or farm raised fish. The industry places a more heavy basis on fish farms. However, the fish are not growing fast enough to meet demands and it was predicted that in 4 years the demand would exceed the supply. Good for business at first, but it results in a constant spiral downwards. A certain organization has taken notice of this and made the research team at the Sealab a possibility.
Meanwhile, S’ara kept looking at the computer, fiddling with some coding and changing the inputs. She continued while listening to a catchy beat with several characters saying “Uh Oh”…
((OOC: The Song… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k3EOybIJmM))
S’ara sat in the cafeteria by herself, still thinking of how to advance the production of the Albacore, a staple food in Rhodesian markets. Steaks were rare, something only rich people could afford, while seafood was still the most plentiful source of food available. In front of her was a kelp salad, along with little bits of shrimp and fish present in the bowl. Her maw moving up and down, chewing.
“Albacores need cephalopodss to eat, cephalopods need whatever it is that we don’t even know about,” she thought to herself. “Why not Carp? That would make everything so much easier and we just have to focus on farming veggies for feeding Grass Carp. Cheaper too.”
The cheetah took a fork and loaded a mouthful of kelp on it before putting it in. Still lost in thought, she was oblivious to others around her.