Appointments

[semper_cogitans]

For any mundane, non-critical one-on-one interactions with the scientist here, whether it be poking him for whatever reason, maintaining continuity, throwing him an item, or in general doing something that isn't momentous enough to require a whole post or log for it.

Please copy and paste the following for the first comment in any new thread you're

Comments

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert looks immediately uncomfortable, but... his bluntness and complete inability to lie means that he wants to be honest about this.]

Ingrid became more incoherent over time due to her feverish symptoms, to the point where it b-became genuinely worrisome... and, eventually... well, she... [Nervously:] She asked if I would... k-kiss her.

...

[He looks genuinely, deeply affected by guilt here, and actually cringes as if expecting a verbal blow. Still, he tries to explain a little better.]

A-Apparently she had never been able to do so b-before. And, I, er, had neglected to mention the fact I was involved with you before then... certainly, when she was incoherent it would have... not been a good time to try to explain it.

... I sh-should have stopped her from... from kissing me, but... b-but I... I d-didn't react in time, and then she had actually done so and I feared that if I were to push her too firmly she might have fallen over by that point, and I was c-concerned more about her health and...

... I-I'm sorry, Don. I... I didn't... didn't expect it.

A-And, and, I s-still do not really understand why she wished for me to do so.

B-But I understand if you are... upset.

[i_speak_softly]

Did you catch her fever?

[Because kissing is not something you should do with a sick person, and obviously the biggest concern here is the potential germ-sharing.]

[He'll be feeling your forehead, by the way.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert's immune system isn't the greatest. But this is actually the first time he's thought of this as a possibility, and so he startles a bit. What's more surprising is that Don doesn't seem to care about the actual kiss.]

I-I... I am not certain.

[His gray eyes flutter closed as Don's palm strokes his forehead.]

I may have, but I have... not checked...

... A-Are you really not upset at all...? I, I just... I thought you w-would be angry.

[i_speak_softly]

Didn't you say she recovered?

[Biggest concern part two: Whether Ingrid caught something from you.]

[semper_cogitans]

Yes. She was... somehow purged of all the pathogens in her body by a magic-user.

[One that Robert might learn the name of eventually. Also, this hasn't happened yet either.]

And I... made no contact with her after that point, so she should be fine.

... Assuming the... magic worked. I will make sure I analyze her state with Doctor McCoy.

[i_speak_softly]

And she's safe now? Her - bubble - is working?

[semper_cogitans]

Yes... it's been stable, as far as the air samples indicate. The bubble is more or less entirely mechanical - hence why it's in the Battle Dome.

... So the crisis is... o-over, for the moment.

[Robert shivers bodily.] B-But... I... I-I do not think it will be easy to forget how she looked like that.

[i_speak_softly]

That's great. [Except for the last part, of course. He rubs your back and incidentally drops a couple of things into the pocket of your lab coat, before he forgets again. You may or may not notice this ninja sleight-of-hand.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert does notice. But only because of the weight redistribution, which makes his lab coat sit differently, and hence distracts his obsessive attention.]

... Oh? [He looks curiously, but skeptically, at the now-occupied pocket.]

Is... is there some reason for th - [- and then it clicks.] ... Oh. You did m-mean to give me something awhile ago...

... What exactly are they, if I may ask?

[i_speak_softly]

[Okay, he'll explain now. He takes the two objects back out of your pocket and shows them to you.]

[The first is an unlabelled CD-R - Robert may or may not recognize this archaic data storage technology.]

This is biodata. I promised to analyze it for someone, and if your nanocomputer can read the disc then it can process a lot faster than my laptop. If you don't mind me borrowing some CPU time.

[The second is a still-sealed tin labelled as 'Vitashell (for healthy shells and shell hinges)'.]

This is... um... something I needed to get out of the house.

[semper_cogitans]

[The CD-R is only barely recognizable as a general optical disc - Robert is probably more familiar with a BLU-Ray predecessor.]

... It may be able to... optical drives, correct? I may have to see whether or not configuring it is possible... But I do not mind at all. Biodata sounds extremely fascinating - what it is of, if I may ask?

[Now, the tin gets a closer inspection. Robert studies it with curiosity.]

Oh, some sort of skin and scale conditioner... ... Why would you need it out of your home? It seems your family would be one of the more prominent beneficiaries of this. [The implications of it haven't exactly registered to Robert.]

[i_speak_softly]

Right. It's readings from me, plus my best estimates of baseline readings. I'm looking for something that shouldn't be there.

[He'll explain more later. Also, he reconfigured the read drive of Mikey's video game console a few weeks ago, so if you need any help...]

We - haven't used it.

[As should be obvious from the intact plastic wrapping.]

[semper_cogitans]

So... any sort of abnormality or significant deviation from the estimated baselines is something I should pay especially close attention to?

[Robert might need to take him up on that. Modifying things isn't quite his forté.]

Why not? It seems like it might be helpful... [Not that Robert uses skin conditioners that often, but he has noticed the damage of their shells. Something like that might help to ease it.]

[i_speak_softly]

Exactly.

[He pushes the tin, and Robert's hand, down with a finger.]

Keep it for me, okay?

[semper_cogitans]

If you wish for me to. [Robert holds the tin obediently to himself before putting it back in the pocket it was in before.] But... if I may ask, what good does it do for me to have it?

[You are pretty much going to have to spell out the intended usage, Don.]

[i_speak_softly]

Now I'll know where it is if I decide I want it.