text ; @Qubit (backdated prooooobably a week-ish?)

[superposition]

[ AND NOW IN THE RIGHT COMM... ]

Qubit here. Keeping this quick: I need a few volunteers to provide blood samples for testing purposes. These will need to come from both sick and healthy individuals, please. Contact me if you're interested. Thanks in advance.

Comments

@mage | video

[braidmage]

I can help, if you still need samples.

[ Whatever Qubit is doing, it's probably important, and Reynir doesn't have to be a genius to figure out it probably has to do with helping to deal with this illness that has struck. He wants to be helpful! ]

text still

[superposition]

Thank you. Where are you located? Any symptoms?

text [un: longinmouth]

[abheirrant]

What are you doing with such samples? Or should I ask?

[superposition]

I'm not doing anything. Cho's helping me put together a profile of the illness going around.

[ Translation: She's doing all the actual work. But it was his idea, and that means she's helping him and not the other way around?? I guess???? ]

And to answer your next question: we need uninfected samples for comparison. A lot of people came down with this same illness last month, but it's only resurging in some of us. I want to know why.

text [un: bearly.bewitched]

[birdical]

I would like to help. How may I?

[abheirrant]

A fair question, I suppose. And charitable of you to help.

[He means 'help' in a loose sense, obviously.]

@KaballsDeep

[kaballin]

Going full mad scientist I see.

[braidmage]

I'm down in my room... do you want me to come to your lab?

My only symptoms are being tired of picking up everybody's trash now that all the robots are busy taking care of sick people.

...but no, no symptoms. I had a fever a few weeks ago but I'm fine now.

[superposition]

[ lol ""going"" ]

Don't be absurd. It's to better our understanding of the pathogen, nothing more.

[kaballin]

So when I see a bunch of evil clones running around in a few weeks that definitely won't be your fault?

--> private

[superposition]

Ha, ha. Very funny.

[ aaand, private. ]

Frankly, you've got some cheek, after that little stunt you pulled by the generators. Nice job putting everyone's lives in danger, by the way.

[kaballin]

Some lackey he is, ratting me out.

But sure blame me even though nothing happened and everything is fine. And here I thought you might want some of the shit we found.

[redwinekindofgirl]

Sure, why not.

[superposition]

No, I'm on the ground floor right now. It'll be quicker if I come to you. Room number?

[ Once he's got that, he arrives inside of five minutes, knocking on the door. ]

Reynir? It's Qubit.

[braidmage]

[ Those almost five minutes are still enough time that, when Reynir lets Qubit in, there are two cups laid out on a little table and a teapot next to them, with steam curling from the spout. It might not be steeped yet but it's on the way. There's even a tiny plate with ginger biscuits that Onni had baked a few days ago. Never say he isn't a good host!

This probably only slightly counters the perhaps very distracting fact that Reynir's quarters (which are attached to Onni and Lalli's with a shared living area and kitchen) are plastered with runes, all over the walls. There are thick lines drawn in dark paint, circles filled with spikes and spirals and sharp lines, warding out who knows how many different kinds of evil and harm. They are just... everywhere, drawn huge and in lines that are just a little unnaturally neat and symmetrical.

But Reynir seems to have entirely forgotten about them and greets Qubit with a warm: ]

Hello! Come on in. I know you might not be able to stay for too long but there's tea! If you want tea. Do you like tea? I guess maybe I should've asked that first, huh?

[text | @hot.damn]

[circumitus]

just like with most illnesses, seem to be immune to whatever the fuck is going around

unfortunately itd probably be a shit idea to donate any blood for Science

[superposition]

Why's that?

[circumitus]

the 156 cells have a pretty long sordid history of unpredictable mutations when someone fucks around with them

[superposition]

Thank you. Shouldn't take too much time on your part. Just let me know where to find you and I'll be along within an hour or two to take care of it.

[ unless she meant she wants to, like, help take the blood samples? which does not even cross his mind, honestly. ]

[superposition]

[ Qubit's taken aback by ... all of it, really. The wards catch his eye first, obviously, but Reynir's gone and made tea and biscuits for this? He almost laughs, bemused. ]

You didn't have to do all that.

[ Plus, he's right - Qubit can't stay long. He's half of what essentially amounts to a two-man skeleton crew trying to keep Anchor in one piece. But he's got years of experience working insane hours in dangerous conditions while on call 24/7, and this is not the longest marathon shift he's pulled by a long shot. So he's actually fairly well put together at the moment, in spite of the chaos - he's clean, energetic, didn't skip breakfast today. He knows how to keep his body running under extreme duress; anything can become routine if you keep at it long enough. ]

Honestly I'm more of a coffee man, but tea's fine, too, if we have time.

[ Caffeine is caffeine, after all. He sets down the box he's carrying on the table near them, scootching the teapot to one side to make room. It's a white plastic case the size of a small toolbox, with a biohazard symbol on the front and a label that reads "BIOSAMPLE KIT". Self-explanatory. ]

[braidmage]

[ Reynir gives a happy sort of a shrug; he's been trying to keep the Anchor in one piece in his own ways - less of this investigating the plague and maintaining critical technological systems and more doing everybody's laundry and dealing with all the dishes that've been piling up. He doesn't mind, though. His life has always involved a certain amount of long hours and hard work - just with more sheep involved than Qubit's likely did. Reynir knows that, amidst all that stress, a little break, a little tea, can go a long way.

So when Qubit mentions time as a concern, Reynir doesn't question it. It might not yet be completely steeped, but it's close enough - Reynir pours some tea into one of those teacups and plonks it down in front of Qubit and then plonks himself down in a chair. He wastes no more time in pulling his sleeve up past his elbow and holding out his arm. He'd been poked and prodded plenty in his month of quarantine, coming back from the Silent World. He knows the drill. ]

So you're immune, too?

[ He has to assume so, for Qubit to be willingly investigating in this way. Reynir's not used to thinking of himself as immune. Does it make him a bad person that he's enjoying it a bit? After his whole life of being the one non-immune siblings, watching his siblings go off and have amazing careers and lives? ]

[superposition]

No, you're right. Nothing did happen. But the blame would have fallen on your head, and only yours, if anything had.

[ Sure, Carlisle might have done the actual damage, but no one who's met him would believe it was his idea. ]

That said, it was a good find. Already coming in handy, in fact. It's got me wondering what other gems might be hiding right beneath our noses.

[superposition]

Excellent, thank you. Location? Any symptoms?

[superposition]

[ Waaaaaait wait wait wait. Did somebody say unpredictable mutations? ]

"156 cells"? I'm not familiar with that term.

It's not as if we're performing genetic recombination here, though, just antibody profiles.

[birdical]

[Thank goodness that didn't cross her mind either, because you know who might be terrifyingly eager when taking blood because of all the stuff she could learn from it? This gal.]

I will come to you.

[Remember that time you told her where you live, Qubit? Remember?]