[video :: 001]

[because_its_cool]

[A man appears on screen. He looks startled for a moment before a grin spreads across his face.]

Marvelous! Not nearly as impressive as my transportation here, but nevertheless, Peter never let me near a communications device with this sort of capability. I don't know what he thought I was going to do with it...

[pause]

Oh, yes! My name is Doctor Walter Bishop, and I will be employed in the laboratories in the museum here near the resort establishment. I would be delighted to speak to whomever sees to the manufacture and maintenance of the transporter, as I'd be interested to find out how I was able to move through space/time without my atomic structure resembling a plate of scrambled eggs.

[another pause]

I shall have to make some eggs as soon as I unpack. Perhaps before.

[Oh, how he wants to get his hands on the spawner in his room.]

Comments

[ewestmarch]

What kind of doctor?

[because_its_cool]

[Walter blinks, staring, and then draws the communicator closer so that he's nearly nose-to-screen with it.]

How long have you been in this condition?

[This is 'hello, how do you do?' in Walter-speak.]

[ewestmarch]

[Emilia curls her lip and leans closer in imitation of him, then speaks MUCH LOUDER, as if to someone hard-of-hearing.]

WHAT KIND OF DOC-TOR?

[because_its_cool]

[He startles and nearly drops the communicator.]

[Pause, blink. Wary look.]

I'm a scientist. You shouldn't drink things you find under your sink.

[ewestmarch]

[She sits back, satisfied with the reaction.]

I was deliberately poisoned, but thanks so much for the tip. I can see why they gave you a doctorate.

What kind of scientist?

Audio on his end

[most_feared]

Howdy, Dr. Bishop. I'm Security Chief Kay. Looks like you're already havin' a good time.

[Kay rather enjoys the do-dads too.]

[still video]

[because_its_cool]

Discovery is more fun than Christmas! Or consider it Christmas every day to a scientist. Are you from Texas, Mr. Kay? You certainly sound like someone I used to know from my college days. He was a mathematics student from San Antoinio who would come to class after indulging in mind-expanding chemicals. Became a United States Senator, I believe.

[most_feared]

[He can't really lie about his accent. It stands out some.] A little north. [He's a midwestern boy, if on the low end of it. At least originally, before his father moved him to rural New York.]

'Fraid I'm not a senator, either.

[And then he tries to steer him back towards the tech.]

So what are some of the top developments you got back home?

[because_its_cool]

Precicely why I'm a scientist. My ability to read dialect isn't the best.

[Walter isn't even from the States, though one couldn't really tell by his muddled accent, which sounds like it's pulled from half a dozen states and all mushed together, though if he speaks long enough the shadow of English starts to emerge.]

My own, or the world at large? I have to admit, we've been so busy these last few of years I haven't had the time to read all the latest journals, though I do read Peter's copies of Scientific American when I'm doing my business.

[most_feared]

I've had a pretty good time with languages. I picked up Klingon for the stay here and I'll tell you, it was a trip.

Your own. Is it a lot different from the world at large? [Kay has no idea, but he's kind of hoping it's interesting.]

[archeologue]

Welcome, Doctor Bishop. I am Doctor Belloq, archaeologist. I am sure we will cross paths as I frequent the museum often.

As for the original manufacturers of the transporters, I am afraid you are a few thousand years too late to talk to them. [Although they have since been reverse engineered and build by current companies, Belloq is more interested in the antiquities, not modern copies.]

[because_its_cool]

That's a shame. I'd would have liked to find out what brought them to the conclusions they did. Perhaps when I know more about them I can hypothesize just that. As an archaeologist, I'm sure you have a great deal to say about these past peoples.

[Walter pauses a moment. Dr. Belloq had said original.]

I assume there is someone who has reverse engineered this technology and is using it to build more modern machines?

[archeologue]

They are an interesting race, but still mysterious to us. For a while we thought they were entirely peaceful with few weapons and little need for defenses, until the skeleton spawner appeared. Now there was a weapon we did not anticipate.

[Belloq grins.]

Yes, the original antiquities are held in the museum collections. But before my time here, researchers had examined both them and the basic spawners--those that produce food and raw materials--and found ways to make their own. I am no expert on advanced technology, but reading the journal papers they still seem a little unclear on how or why they work, even though they have replicated the process. So there is still plenty of research to be done on them.

[because_its_cool]

A skeleton spawner... as in what is popularly known as 'the undead'? How morbidly marvelous.

[Yep, you heard him correctly.]

I'd like to see them, when there's a chance. While I have my own working hypothesis' on moving through space and time, I have yet to truly find something as, well, safe as the machine that brought me here. At least, I believe it was safe. Sometimes these things take time to fester, somewhat like an untreated wound.

I haven't gotten a look at the other sorts of spawners, though there is one in this room and I intend to study it thoroughly.

[archeologue]

I could think of many nations who would pay a small fortune for such a power. [Nazis.]

There was one skeleton spawner under the village, but it was destroyed, alas. I do not know the circumstances, but it's a great pity that such a fascinating and valuable artifact could not have been recovered intact. [He lingers just a little bit on the word "valuable."]

[athousandcurses]

Welcome to Quadratus, Doctor Bishop.

[Grainne has a bit of curiosity here. She's never... actually been this close to an actual scientist before. Normally, it was mages or other Servants she was used to.

She pauses, blinking.]

Do eggs have some sort of significance?

[because_its_cool]

Only that they are part of the most important meal of the day, though I might argue blueberry pancakes are just as important. Have you had breakfast today? If not, you should.

[Smile!]

[athousandcurses]

Oh, I do not need to eat, but thank you for your concern.

[Just set her out in the sun for a few hours and she's fully recharged! Complete with replacement battery pack!]

[because_its_cool]

[He does not know this!]

Already had breakfast then, well, keep it in mind. If you're interested, I can always whip up some for you. It's a Bishop family recipe.

What are you up to here on Quadratus?

[athousandcurses]

[Well, that wasn't what she meant, but she sees no reason to dispel him of that notion for now.]

I came here to relax, I suppose.

audio

[thumbsdown]

Yeah, it's pretty strange. Never really thought much about how I got here, though. Probably for the best.

[He probably wouldn't understand it even if it was explained to him, and he doesn't really want to think about how he could have become goo either.]

You're a doctor?

[because_its_cool]

Yes, best not to dwell on what happens to you when you're pulled apart at the atomic level and put back together by an uncaring machine, not to mention what happens while you travel through time-space from one point to another.

[Walter would be happy to explain, but the next question derails that lecture, for now.]

Oh, of course. They likely wouldn't have let me have my own lab if I wasn't.

[thumbsdown]

...Yeah.

[It sounds so much worse when you put it like that. Boone frowns to himself, glad he's not on video right now. He's looking kind of uncomfortable.]

So what are you gonna be doing around here?

[If he has an entire lab to himself, it's probably important, right?]

[because_its_cool]

The stages of degridation of the human body are fascinating. Though, not for everyone, I suppose.

[He doesn't have an entire lab here, but he'll be operating as if he does. Those poor lab assistants.]

I'll be researching the technology of previous civilizations here, along with anything else they need help with. I'd like to do some exploring. This is the first time I've ever been off planet. Isn't it exciting?

[thumbsdown]

Yeah, kinda. Just be careful if you go exploring. Go with a guide. Two sets of eyes are better than one.

[And they don't need newcomers wandering out and getting blown up by creepers or shot by skeletons.]

Probably best if you stay away from the fence at night, too. Used to be safer, but then those skeletons showed up. Until we can do something about the gaps in the fence, they can hurt you while you're inside it.