003: On the Road to Aki

[Thumper]

Growler takes the spoon and sniffs then tastes the food. (Chemical and elemental analysis?)

[terrymixon]

No donuts. Just various food and drink selections, none of them all that exciting.

"Maybe you can find the ejection seat button," Jaelah quips while she circles the room, examining everything in it with her instruments built-in and handheld.

Nothing seems out of place. It's all neat and clean. Almost how the Skitter bots keep your ship clean. You record everything. If Growler blows himself up, you'll have good video of that, too.

[terrymixon]

Growler takes the spoon and sniffs then tastes the food. (Chemical and elemental analysis?)

Your vacc suit helmet prevents that. Do you take it off? The suit says the air is breathable and the environment safe.

[Thumper]

Well yah!

[Tiglath]

”Nah…I’m frequently told I’m a five-year-old. Just can’t resist. You want fried baked crickets with your oatmeal?” as he taps both the Holo-gruel and the highlighted symbol…expecting that tap to confirm his choice for the fabrication of a bowl of…whatever.

Then he’ll hit holo-buttons until he finds a proposed holo of a donut…which he’ll select.

Garvin responds with "Right, well boundaries then. Let's agree that if it even looks like it might be a weapons station then you're not allowed anywhere ruddy near it! We've got the Doc to appraise the gear. If 'e can rein in 'is compulsion to experiment with anythin' or anyone that comes 'is way then maybe we can all just case this joint an' then flog it as a "find" to the fragrant Ms Arboretum? So far there's only us makin' this difficult - specifically you. So maybe as a rule "Can we not?" applies, eh? 'Oo's goin' to buy a museum where someone's pissed in all the vases???"

[terrymixon]

Well yah!

You carefully pop your helmet and sniff the air. Your advanced olfactory sensor quickly confirms nothing chemical or other in the air is harmful. It smells a bit flat but is otherwise quite breathable.

The gruel is hot and tastes okay but is nothing to write home about. It is hot and the analyzers in your advanced gustatory sensors break it down quickly. No poisons or toxins. It is not only safe for human consumption, but it is also packed with nutrients and vitamins tailor made for humans. This might not be an elegant dining experience, but you could survive and survive well on this.

[terrymixon]

”Nah…I’m frequently told I’m a five-year-old. Just can’t resist. You want fried baked crickets with your oatmeal?” as he taps both the Holo-gruel and the highlighted symbol…expecting that tap to confirm his choice for the fabrication of a bowl of…whatever.

Then he’ll hit holo-buttons until he finds a proposed holo of a donut…which he’ll select.

Garvin responds with "Right, well boundaries then. Let's agree that if it even looks like it might be a weapons station then you're not allowed anywhere ruddy near it! We've got the Doc to appraise the gear. If 'e can rein in 'is compulsion to experiment with anythin' or anyone that comes 'is way then maybe we can all just case this joint an' then flog it as a "find" to the fragrant Ms Arboretum? So far there's only us makin' this difficult - specifically you. So maybe as a rule "Can we not?" applies, eh? 'Oo's goin' to buy a museum where someone's pissed in all the vases???"

"I don't experiment on everyone," Metz says as he sits and looks at the holographic symbols without touching any. "I'm saving you for a special occasion. I've never seen this language before, but I'm not an expert on the ancients, though I do have a lot of grunt work with debris and trash on a couple of digs."

[joertexas]

Well yah!

You carefully pop your helmet and sniff the air. Your advanced olfactory sensor quickly confirms nothing chemical or other in the air is harmful. It smells a bit flat but is otherwise quite breathable.

The gruel is hot and tastes okay but is nothing to write home about. It is hot and the analyzers in your advanced gustatory sensors break it down quickly. No poisons or toxins. It is not only safe for human consumption, but it is also packed with nutrients and vitamins tailor made for humans. This might not be an elegant dining experience, but you could survive and survive well on this.

Jaelah looks toward Growler. "How does it taste?"

[terrymixon]

Metz bites the bullet and cycles through the selections, looking at each hologram closely. The food choices ranged from various grey porridge-like dishes, with a variety of odd-looking vegetables or strips of something resembling oatcakes also available. The drinks were impossible to guess at without trying them, which he seemingly wasn't bold enough to attempt.

"This is remarkable," he murmured. "The Ancients died out or vanished roughly 300,000 years ago and these machines are still working and creating food. How does it do that? Remote external fabrication? Maybe this table is a fabricator. Whatever the case, working technology like this is either incredibly rare or nonexistent. If anyone knows about something like this, they aren't talking about it. I'm sure the globes were worth what Treegarden paid for them, but depending on how extensive this base is and what condition it's in, it could be worth far more. Assuming Growler doesn't kill us all trying to order a milk shake."

Roscoe, who has been slowly circling the room, stopped next to Metz. "How would external fabrication work? Nanoswarms?"

Metz nodded, which looked weird in his suit. "Most likely. Far beyond what we can do, though perhaps not beyond Bilis. If the Ancients used anything like that, it would have to have strict safeguards in place. That kind of technology would be a horrific weapon if there were nothing stopping it."

"I've looked at the freshers. They seem to be set up to work for humans, Vargr, or Droyne. The technology is advanced, but it's still just a fresher. The sleeping pods are low tech. Shall we go see what happened in the other room?"

[Thumper]

Jaelah looks toward Growler. "How does it taste?"

”You can eat it, but it tastes like shit.” He grins. ”Compared to Roscoe’s cooking. Actually, not good not bad. Chemical and elemental analysis says highly nutritious. Sending you the analysis now.

I wonder… Aki is overcrowded and starving. Could this help someone there? I suppose we’ll never know. Shrubgarden will sequester it for dissection certainly.

Look around Garv. Context matters. Beds over there. Freshers there. This place is a habitat. Therefore food here. Doesn’t take a mega-genius like Metz to look at everything.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6deUbS0bDo

[terrymixon]

Jaelah looks toward Growler. "How does it taste?"

”You can eat it, but it tastes like shit.” He grins. ”Compared to Roscoe’s cooking. Actually, not good not bad. Chemical and elemental analysis says highly nutritious. Sending you the analysis now.

I wonder… Aki is overcrowded and starving. Could this help someone there.

Look around Garv. Context matters. Beds over there. Freshers there. This place is a habitat. Therefore food here. Doesn’t take a mega-genius like Metz to look at everything.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6deUbS0bDo

"Indeed," Lucius said. "The quality of food suggests this is for someone lower in the social status spectrum. Guards, maybe? Laborers? We may never know."

[Thumper]

Growler-
“External deconstruction and fabbing? Huh!

Hey Roscoe, did I read our cargo manifest correctly? 8 tons of cargo space left plus whatever small stuff we can fit into nooks and crannies. Happy the brig is unoccupied at the moment.

Ya, why not. Not much else to see here. I’ll take continuous watch in the next room. Others can do the investigating. Let me do a security walk then take position up by the freshers. Who’s with me on security? I don’t trust this scene.”

[terrymixon]

Growler-
“External deconstruction and fabbing? Huh!

Hey Roscoe, did I read our cargo manifest correctly? 8 tons of cargo space left plus whatever small stuff we can fit into nooks and crannies. Happy the brig is unoccupied at the moment.

Ya, why not. Not much else to see here. I’ll take continuous watch in the next room. Others can do the investigating. Let me do a security walk then take position up by the freshers. Who’s with me on security? I don’t trust this scene.”

“Only if we take Bills apart.” Roscoe said.

[Thumper]

Growler-
”Nope. Not doing that! Made a promise.”

[terrymixon]

Growler-
”Nope. Not doing that! Made a promise.”

“Then that does constrain us.”

I’ll check in tomorrow evening to see what people are doing and answer those posts then. Night.

[helvorn]

Growler-
“External deconstruction and fabbing? Huh!

Hey Roscoe, did I read our cargo manifest correctly? 8 tons of cargo space left plus whatever small stuff we can fit into nooks and crannies. Happy the brig is unoccupied at the moment.

Ya, why not. Not much else to see here. I’ll take continuous watch in the next room. Others can do the investigating. Let me do a security walk then take position up by the freshers. Who’s with me on security? I don’t trust this scene.”

William speaks up. "I got security with you Growler. Let's try not to get poisoned or blowup the planet." Silencer will head with Walt into the other sleeping area.

[ateno]

He then adds carefully "The layout as is. Just for meself I'm tryin' to avoid thinkin' of anythin' medical an' just seein' it as a fat bloke wearin' boxin' gloves... or maybe a flower... 'Ere you ever do any o' them Rorschach tests? Ruddy spooky stuff goin' on right there - near as dammit matched every serious rumble I've ever been in...".

"You want to let the scis look thru the clean one, we check out the other? Might be a bit more interesting."

Arkar

[joertexas]

"You want to let the scis look thru the clean one, we check out the other? Might be a bit more interesting."

"I'll come with you," Jaelah says.

[terrymixon]

The other set of quarters looks like someone tore it apart. The sleeping pods have been mostly torn off their housings, and the platforms pried up, the freshers have been torn open, and the eating table has been battered until it has come apart. Interestingly, there is no sign of electronic elements inside the table. It's just metal.

There is forensic evidence. A bit of dried blood on the table and scattered around the room. Human, but very old and degraded. It's not readable or useable, but there is enough to tell it has been there for decades or centuries. Other than that, there is nothing that wasn't in the other set of quarters.

The guards keep everyone safe, and you look as long as you like, but there is nothing of note to be found. Metz will take a small broken piece of the metal table for later study, but nothing else.

Look for the next section momentarily.

[Tiglath]

Garvin joins the team poking about in the "disturbed" room. "So there was a dust up and/or someone sufficiently strong tore the place up during or after - perhaps they didn't like gruel?"

He muses on "Maybe these were two rival gruel dealers? Never seen people fight more desperately than when they're fightin' over next to nothin' ".