trustycrowbar: (Glasses)
Dr. Gordon Freeman ([personal profile] trustycrowbar) wrote in [community profile] exsiliumlogs2013-03-03 04:18 pm

This log is full of SCIENCE!

Date & Time: March 3rd
Location: Initiative Hold, Labs
Characters: Gordon Freeman, Jesse Pinkman, Morrigan Aensland, anyone else that works at the Labs, anyone visiting. Log is open, feel free to threadjack.
Summary: The daily ins and outs of the Labs!


There's no doubt that anyone who walks into a research lab feels like they're leaving the real world behind, and the Initiative Labs are no exception. Except here the real world left behind in this case was already surreal.

The hallways of the labs beneath the Hold are labyrinthine and lead over, around and under the actual laboratories, occasionally leading to a forcefield-enclosed catwalk or a cluster of offices. They're clean, if in dubious states of repair, and peppered with sputtering holographic screens showing readouts, diagrams and minor personnel alerts that run the gamut from "Dr Laidlaw: your pizza is ready at security desk A" to "Notice: Escaped lab specimen in mutation lab two. Subject is designated 'harmless but frisky.' Female science team members are encouraged to avoid the area until specimen is apprehended." Notices are pinned to boards right next to goofy scribbles and cartoons, post-it notes and calendars that are so out-of-date that some transports may actually remember the year.

Windows from the hallways into the labs show piles of test tubes, signs reading WEAR EYE PROTECTION with holes burnt in them, weird things in tubes, legions of pipes leading to pits teeming with the blue and green glow of radiation, examples of Exsilium's unusual plant and animal life under observation in habitat chambers, propulsion chambers, weapons test labs, et cetera.

Are you there to get a weapon upgrade checked up on? On your way to the training areas and VR chambers and just passing by? Protesting animal testing? Part of the security force? A new transport that got lost checking up on their paperwork? Or... do you just want to stop in and see if the eggheads blow something up today?

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-03 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
It's a pretty sorry excuse for a friend who doesn't help with heavy lifting when it's needed. In this case, moving a giant armored cloning tank into position somewhere. Damn thing is heavy, and when presented with boring, difficult labor, the brain is not merely free to explore higher realms of thought, it practically flees there.

"Hey, Gordon. If we really are in an infinite multiverse, does that mean if we explored enough we could actually get a hummerang?"

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-03 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Perfect for the daily commute as long as you're not going more than 40 feet. Wonder if we could get a science gun for it too?"

He actually looked thoughtful for a minute. "Hey, whatever happened to the science gun? Didn't you have it last?"

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-04 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Dang. I never saw that thing in action, I just heard rumors about various things getting vaporized. It'd probably be handy around here, eh?"

Barney shrugged. As usual, it was hard to tell what he was actually thinking.

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-04 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Bet it was."

Red tube connects to the red nozzle. Blue wire connects to the blue plug. Shit, this science stuff was easy.

"Hey, you couldn't build a new one, could you? Or a tau cannon? Or any of those fun toys from back home?"
Edited 2013-03-04 00:20 (UTC)

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-04 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Combine pulse rifles just lack that nice satisfying oomph that you get from a tau cannon. That's what you learned at MIT isn't it? How to build rail guns?"
bad_is_better: (glasses)

[personal profile] bad_is_better 2013-03-04 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
'What's a rail gun?" comes a melodic voice. Morrigan's dressed in shirt, blazer, skirt and one of those schoolmarmy ribbon-tie kind of things, with sensible flats. This does not in fact hide anything about her general curves.

"I mean, I know wha' a rail is, and wha' a gun is, but I cannae think of a cannon what can fire one o' those, unless it's verra big."

She walks over to Gordon, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and then smiles at the other fellow. "Hullo, I'm Morrigan Aensland." She pauses, then with a small smile, continues, "Doctor Freeman's lady-friend."

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-04 04:44 am (UTC)(link)
Barney fixed Morrigan with an inscrutable look. Then he switched it to Gordon and turned up the inscrutability to eleven. He didn't say anything immediately.
bad_is_better: (Default)

[personal profile] bad_is_better 2013-03-04 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
"Ah, I see," even though she pretty obviously didn't, then offers her hand to Barney.

"Anyone that Gordon calls his best friend's obviously is a solid fellow, and I'm glad tae meet ye."

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-04 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
The inscrutability went away for now and Barney accepted the hand. "Sorry, I was just thinking about someone-thing from back home. Pleasure to meet you too, miss. You known Gordon long?"
bad_is_better: (glasses)

[personal profile] bad_is_better 2013-03-04 06:36 am (UTC)(link)
"About that, aye." She give Barney a warm smile. "And ye know Gordon from ... all the Trouble, then?"

She doesn't pretend to understand half of Gordon's nightmare images, but once there was name and face together, things clicked.

(what? don't you look at your dinner before eating?)

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-04 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"'All the trouble', I like that. Looks like trouble is still following him around here, too."

Barney's face revealed nothing but polite interest. Gordon might at this point be getting flashbacks to a particular poker night that ended in Barney going home with full pockets and promises that he wasn't next in dealing with one of Dr. Magnusson's temper tantrums.
bad_is_better: (Default)

[personal profile] bad_is_better 2013-03-05 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
"I thought that was yuir roommate, then," she says, a bit impishly. "And aye, there's a bit of trouble here from time tae time."

Then she smiles at Barney. "But I think Gordon'll be happy with someone he can talk to about things I may not be able to relate to."

[personal profile] gordonowesmeabeer 2013-03-05 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
"I'll be sure to get him out of your hair every once in a while, then. There's usually stuff to do with old pals." Barney said, laughing quietly.

"So, you stop by for anything in particular?"