video

[harnas]

[Straight-up, the first thing you notice on the video isn't necessarily the man sitting face-first, dead center in the camera with a somewhat stern expression. No, the first noticeable thing is the miniature white board and dry-erase markers just floating mid-air behind him. There are various equations and unintelligible scribbles and what looks like a music scale written on it, but it isn't sitting on anything and it doesn't seem like anything is holding it up.

He isn't paying it any mind. Instead, once he can confirm that the feed is broadcasting, the stern expression disappears, and he smiles, raising a hand in greeting.]

Hallo. My name is Dr. Siebren de Kuiper, and I am doing something of an interest check. As... well as a general inquiry, I suppose. I was an esteemed astrophysicist back home, and I was wondering if anyone has used the observatory here. I'd like to know what I'm working with.

But also on that note... we had what we call 'star parties' back home, as well. Group stargazing parties, essentially. Would anyone be interested? There's a whole new night sky to map out, after all, and observations are... quite frankly, more fun when done in groups. Fresh sets of eyes and whatnot. Besides, I do like seeing a healthy interest in space sciences!

[He gets more excited as he talks, and the objects floating in the background start to rise and shake a little. He seems to see the reflection in the stream and settles back down, clearing his throat somewhat sheepishly. The whiteboard sinks back down as well.]

Oh. Pardon me. Anyways, I do plan on joining the trip to Amegahara, so the actual events won't happen immediately. But if anyone would like to join me, do let me know.

Comments

[cadeuces]

( Who's clasping her hands together excitedly? Angela is! It's not the science she's used to, perhaps, but it is science. And he's easy company, so she'd look forward to getting to know him a little better. Besides, it may be nice to have a friend on hand to keep him from vibrating the equipment out of whack in his excitement, right? )

Dr. de Kuiper; I can't say I've been to the observatory yet, but I would enjoy a bit of stargazing if you wouldn't mind my company. Though I'll admit I'd be new to the concept. My studies often went inward instead of up, up, and away. I can bring the coffee and blankets.

voice;

[recitings]

Sounds interesting. I'm usually not much for studies about space and the like, but... this place has given me a wealth of free time and why not? I could learn something new if someone knowledgeable like you is organizing it.

[starrypoint]

[There's a lot of bigger words here, but Subaru actually knows these; of all things, he loves the stars, and while he hasn't got a doctorate he does fancy himself knowledgeable about things... back home.]

We can have hot cocoa when it gets cold! Hey hey, do you mind if dogs come? Daikichi likes the stars too, I'd feel bad leaving him back home~.

[harnas]

[Siebren lights up at the sight of a familiar face. Someone to check and make sure he doesn't launch a trolley into the stratosphere, after all.]

Dr. Ziegler! I'd be delighted if you came along - especially if you come with coffee. Perhaps looking up will make for a nice break.

[harnas]

Of course! Star parties are usually popular among amateur astronomers, after all, but sometimes the best place to start understanding the secrets of the stars is to simply look at them.

The nice thing about this place, at least, is giving us more spare time to pursue avenues of interest, it seems.

[harnas]

Well-behaved, I hope? I don't see a problem with that. I'm sure cocoa would be well-received if the weather starts turning.

[starrypoint]

Very well-behaved! He's a gentleman of a dog! He might get a little excited, but it's fine, it's fine, he's trained well enough. ☆

[Probably.]

Do you know any constellations so far?

[Text]

[itsknighttime]

[[Didn't know that actual people could do things that he only knew trolls to be able to do and it's damn cool. Okay, Dave, don't fuck this up.]]

whats up doc

[[Perfect. Exceptional job.]]

fuck i always wanted to say that
anyway cool yeah
i lived on a meteor for about three years does that count as experience?

[harnas]

Then dogs are more than welcome.

[It's going to be outside and all, so why not?]

Some of the scientists I've spoken to mention a few constellations, like a fox or a hare. I haven't quite been able to map them out myself yet.

[harnas]

I'm happy to be of service.

[sometimes, you just gotta. A+ dave, you're doing amazing, sweetie]

You lived on a meteor? Fascinating! I would love to hear about that sometime. I've been to our moon colony before but creating a base on a meteor sounds like it would be quite the undertaking!

[starrypoint]

[Heck.]

Foxes and hares, huh... That sounds so normal, haha. ☆ I wonder what people see in the moons too! Like, do they see faces or animals? Or something else? It makes me wanna research a bit~.

[itsknighttime]

[[Sometimes can stick the hero landing and other times he falls on his face. This is perfect. For him that is, now the poor Doctor won't escape bad jokes in the future.]]

sure bro any time
it was pretty fuckin dope had a true bro on there my sister on there her girlfriend on there
a couple others too
it had a mayor
everyone loves the mayor
i still dont think its as cool as a moon colony we didnt have one of those
whats someone do on a moon colony? i'm betting it was the actual moon and not just a drop trou party to annoy the neighbors
did you teach there?

[recitings]

Indeed. I've never had such a wealth of free time in my adult life before. Might as well spend it on worthwhile things to expand my horizons.

[harnas]

I believe it's the shapes of the animals associated with the moons? It's something I've been hoping to look more into as well. Perhaps we could both look into it and compare notes.

[harnas]

A mayor on a meteor. At least you weren’t alone!

For us, we colonized the actual moon to test the effects of extraterrestrial habitation. Humanity’s interest in the stars stagnated a bit, and it was a good excuse to drum up excitement for space exploration again.

I wasn’t stationed there, but I visited. Helped handle logistics. And a good friend was stationed there as well. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard from him in some time.

Can I ask how you ended up there?

[harnas]

Precisely! 'The mind is a terrible thing to waste'. I'll be sure to let you know more details once we return from Amegahara. I'm still trying to ascertain when would be a good time to set up.

[itsknighttime]

haha he was pretty cool
fun guy

[[Okay, that's both cool and exciting and the word vomit that ensues is his excitement over it.]]

oh holy shit
so technically you became an alien
damn thats deep humans becoming their own aliens
sorry about your buddy i get being away from friends and it sucks but it doesnt suck to go up there and own the ever loving fuck out of logistics on the motherfucking moon
that had to be cool
question for question what kindve logistics? i know the definition but were you pounding out the science trail
please tell me you said one small step for man one giant leap for man kind too

[[The next bit has him pausing in thought while he tries to figure out how to explain himself.]]

im trying to think of a simple way to put it

[[There's a little more time between the response and the next one.]]

alright fuck it youre a smart guy and even the shit you may not be down with youre goin to magic brain out im sure
ok uh our world got blown up by not livable meteors so its not like i had a choice
the meteor we were on was an... uh

a lab?

some other shit happened with my sister and me
then the other guys came and got us so we didnt have to chill in the dead of space and pick our asses i guess
ngl though i probably could have found it myself eventually just sayin that im a little better than just sitting around waiting in space when i got shit to do
ok maybe not i was new to shit back then
but fuck it right? at least it was a free guide
then one of the guys that came to get us two whos got psionics like your cool ass board trick but flashier was like
okay bros we out of here
bled from his eyes like a boss and fucked us off on a three year chillax by moving the meteor along
not as cool as a moon colony in my open opinion cause you did that shit willingly

[[Dave is capable of having entire conversations with himself. Doing this with someone else is a treat, even if he's the worst one to explain anything from his world.]]

Video

[tookashirototheknee]

Oh, hell yes!

[The video is of a young man with a grin, messy red hair and a scar on his cheek. Behind him in a basic apartment.]

Hi, I'm Matt Holt, astronaut and space scientist. Junior science officer on the furthest mission humanity has attempted in my time, Kerberos, the moon of Pluto.

I would love to help with any star parties. I can bring some of the charts that I've been working on if you'd be interesting.

voice

[whateternityis]

A whole observatory and I missed it? Shows how much attention I've been paying.

Anyway, a stargazing party might not be such a bad thing, long as you don't mind those of us who're upset nothing's right.

voice;

[therewillbeorder]

Do you have the technology for an observatory? I am curious to see if I would recognize anything in the sky on this planet.

voice;

[harnas]

The locals have built one - it seems that they do tours. I could send you the location if you like.

voice

[harnas]

It took me some time to find it, admittedly.

I'd be quite surprised if there was anything recognizable, although there might be some overlap in general concepts. The thought of a new sky to explore doesn't excite you?

[whateternityis]

Oh, I'm all for admiring the stars, but it's bloody disconcerting not knowing how they're laid out here.

Video

[harnas]

[Whoa, okay. He recoils a bit at the... enthusiasm, but quickly recovers and smiles brightly.]

Always a pleasure to meet a new colleague! Especially one so young. By all means, feel free to bring whatever you wish.

But I have to ask - Kerberos? That's quite impressive.

[tookashirototheknee]

Oh, sorry. I've always been excited about space.

[He blushes a bit, then nods.]

Yeah. I mean, it's a bi-lobular ice blob, but we were taking ice core samples to see what we could discover.

I... don't think I'm that impressive, but, uh, that's just because I did it.