2 | [ location: the Jeffersonian Institute ] / [ visual ]

[bonescientist]

The tablet shows off a glimpse of the cavernous interior of the Medico-legal laboratory of the Jeffersonian Institute, the workstations empty of scientists. On the foreground, Brennan is seated by an examination table, the illuminated surface littered with several dozen pieces of light substance, like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle. A bottle of glue

Comments

[ visual ]

[breakmychest]

"Are you... putting together a skeleton?" Spike asks. He looks more puzzled than put off. He's seen plenty of skeletons in his day, though usually they've got lots of bloody flesh on them as well. "Where'd you even find one?"

As an afterthought he adds, "Oh, and your tablet's recording."

[ visual ]

[bonescientist]

Brennan blinks, lifting her gaze from the two fragments of bone she's carefully fitting together. She's not particularly surprised the tablet is recording, having seen several accidental feeds from the other denizens of Taxon during her stay so far. It's somewhat inconvenient, but nothing to be done about it now.

"Well, yes. I'm a forensic anthropologist, I study and identify human skeletal remains. As for where I found one, there is a vast skeletal storage located in the basement of this museum complex that was somehow transported into Taxon with me. It houses over ten thousand unidentified skeletal remains. He," she nods towards the skull in the container, "is one of them."

[ visual ]

[breakmychest]

"Oh. Well, that's pretty far outside my area of expertise." But interesting enough that he'll keep looking. "Do you actually know it's a he or are you guessing?"

[ visual ]

[bonescientist]

Spike's question makes Brennan pause for a moment, raising a brow incredulously. It's absolutely nothing personal, Spike, you just managed to poke at one of the few spots guaranteed to raise Brennan's hackles.

"I'm one of the leading experts in my field. I do not guess," Brennan scoffs, shaking her head. "Not only is the size and the architecture of these bones more robust in general, the pelvic bowl is narrow and vee-shaped, the supraorbital ridges are pronounced, the mastoid process as well as the occipital condyles are enlarged, all indicative of the fact that this person was indeed male."

Though irritated at the mere thought she would ever 'guess' anything, Brennan rationalizes he probably isn't familiar with this kind of work and that all skeletons likely appear similar to him. She makes a concentrated effort to sound less snippy. "Though I can understand how a person with no forensic education might think so."

[ visual ]

[hippocraticly]

Accidental broadcasts aren't uncommon in Taxon, but of all the ones that McCoy has seen during his double stay, this particular feed interests him the most as he listens in on the report as he tries to work in sickbay. When she falls silent, he turns away from his tricorder and watches the woman as she begins to exigent task of piecing the remnants of a skull back together again.

He would have sat and watched quietly but unfortunately, McCoy just can't resist giving his two cents on matters like this: "Nice job you're doing there."

[ visual ]

[bonescientist]

The unfamiliar voice catches Brennan's attention and she tears her gaze from the piece of occipital she's holding, her curiosity piqued. Normally, when people find out what it is that she does for living, they tend to react with varying degrees of disgust or disbelief. She's not quite used to receiving positive reinforcement about her work, and the occurrence makes her crack a rare smile.

"Yes, I am very proficient at this," Brennan replies in her typical, factual manner, not really comprehending that frank statements such as these are easily construed as arrogance. Belatedly, she remembers that compliments should be responded to in a certain way, adding after a beat, "But thank you. Do you have an interest in forensic work, then?"

i'm hiding my eyes from the morning sun and i keep on working till the work is all done;

[bonescientist]

[What appears spooky to Angela doesn't really even properly register with Brennan. Possibly because she's so used to being the only one in the lab, often lingering long after everyone else had clocked out at 5 PM and arriving hours before the rest of the staff in the mornings. Yes, it feels strange that the lab is so empty now even during the days, but Brennan doesn't dwell on the fact too much. With a set of remains in front of her, she's happily preoccupied and largely uninterested about anything else.

Though Brennan's been aware of the quiet sounds floating down to the forensics area from the lounge, she hasn't paid them proper attention. It isn't until she can make out soft footsteps and smell the freshly brewed coffee that she disengages from the bone fragments enough to speak up, albeit distractedly and without lifting her gaze from the pieces she's gluing together.]

Morning, Angela.

i'm hiding my eyes from the morning sun and i keep on working till the work is all done;

[bonescientist]

[Brennan fits together the broken pieces of parietal in her hands, a sort of morbid gentleness in her motions as she carefully tests the hold of the adhesive before blinking and glancing at Angela.]

Of course not. I only arrived three hours ago.

[Considering that it's still early enough, that isn't a whole lot better. Brennan is quiet for a moment, allowing a tiniest upward tilt to lift the corner of her mouth.]

If I had decided to spend a night here, I would have done that on Monday.

[visual]

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer smiled to himself at Brennan's meticulous and methodical work. Her level of ability rivaled that of a master artist. He watched her work for a long time before saying anything.

"Was he a victim?"

[visual]

[bonescientist]

"Dr. Reid. Hello," Brennan gives Spencer a small, quick smile, before glancing back down at the bone fragments scattered over the examination table. "I'm afraid that's undecided, at this point. There are no obvious signs of foul play, but the cranium is quite badly shattered. It could have been damaged by the environment anytime during decomposition process, or because of severe trauma. I won't know for certain until I've reconstructed it entirely."

She carefully glues another small piece into the larger partition held in her left hand, glancing at Spencer while the adhesive dries. "I trust you've been well?"

[visual]

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer nodded in greeting.

"How did he end up in your storage then, if he's not a victim?"

He leaned forward, quite interested in her work.

"Oh, and yes I've been moderately well."

[visual]

[bonescientist]

"We receive a large amount of skeletal remains across the nation that the local authorities have simply been unable to identify, mostly due to lack of sufficiently equipped facilities or the necessary skills. If the local coroner is unable to detect signs of trauma on the remains indicating assault and there are no personal belongings that might help to identify them, they are often sent to the Jeffersonian where they will wait for their turn in the modular skeletal storage. Unfortunately, sometimes they have to wait for years."

Brennan continued to work through her explanation, pausing for a moment and glancing at Spencer as she nodded her understanding. "That is good to hear. Have you yet established a way to pass time while here, or found employment?"

[ visual ]

[justaddmarbles]

With road accident fascination Glitch observed all of this, his eyes going wider and wider as he processed what he was seeing and hearing. Science was fairly advanced in the O.Z. and while he was certain there was (or had been) folks capable of doing the sort of analysis Brennan was performing...seeing it done was something else.

Plus seeing a skull in that state was unsettling on a deeply personal level, and his left hand unconsciously wandered to his crown, to feel the zipper's ridge and wonder at its structure.

"That... that's some project you've got there."

ooc: hiatusing soon but couldn't resist tagging in ♥

[ visual ]

[bonescientist]

As dense as Brennan could be to the more emotional side to things, she could plainly make out the disturbed quality in Glitch's tone. It was the reaction Brennan was used to when the topic of her work came up. She could understand it, intellectually. People rarely liked to be reminded of their own mortality, in any society. Plus actually seeing what she did everyday for living was another thing entirely than to just hear her talk about it.

Pitching her tone into what she hopes is sympathetic, Brennan nodded. "It... can be somewhat morbid, at times, but someone has to do it."

[ooc | always appreciated, though i'm turtletagging myself something terrible, lol ]

[ visual ] roughly an aeon later...

[justaddmarbles]

The sympathetic tone was appreciated, actually, and Glitch nodded at the explanation. "Yeah, there's...as long as folks want answers, there's gotta be people looking for them."

He frowned, considered the state of his own parietal bone and all the random concerns about the structural integrity of his poor noggin. Typically he veered away from those thoughts, reckoning that so long as the zipper was closed he had nothing to worry about, but Taxon was a strange place and maybe one day the hamsters would decide to disregard alchemical law.

"S-s-so can you study, um, living specimens or just..." He gestured vaguely at the tablet, hoping to convey or just bits of dead ones without too much offense.

[ visual ] i'm good with aeons, lol

[bonescientist]

"Yes, exactly," Brennan nodded again in response. It was true, but Brennan also had a deeply personal reason for going into this field of study in the first place, but she wasn't about to go into details about that in this conversation. She didn't know Glitch well enough for that, yet. But maybe one day.

Glitch's question made her pause for a moment, considering. "Well, I normally deal strictly with the deceased, as I'm not a medical doctor. However, I do possess a vast knowledge about anatomy and osteology, obviously. If need be, I am able to discern different details and draw conclusions from the living as well. But I am most... comfortable with the dead."