o2 ☢ and all the fruits again would fill the garden

[aggressively]

[ bruce does not much like posting on the network. mostly because it involves people looking at him, people not his team. but betty asked, and there's not a whole lot he won't do under that particular duress.

so he taps on a video feed, trying not to let how much this whole mess feels personal show on his face. ]

I know we're all tired and run down, but there have been some developments. Bet-- Dr. Ross and her colleagues have discovered some. [ he pauses, sighs. ] Some disturbing news. In the interest of full disclosure and transparency-- [ and isn't that politician double speak. he sighs, starts again. ] Sorry, habit. I'll try and speak plainly: none of this is reassuring, but we all at least deserve answers.

The creatures-- [ his mouth twists at that, but he doesn't stop speaking this time. ] appear to be a product of some kind of experimentation. Overwhelmingly-- by a margin of eighty percent-- their genetic makeup is simple, baseline human, but there's another twenty left that appears to be a cocktail of lion, dingo, and crocodile. Their organs were... largely human in appearance, with tweaks here and there. We can't tell you how or why just yet, but we can tell you they weren't doing well even before we got there. Based on the sample brought back by Mr. Clarke and his team, there was a high rate of malnutrition, as well as clear evidence of cannibalism. Whether that was by necessity or not, we can't say. What we can say is that they were most likely dying before we got there-- their cells were deteriorating, in what if I had to hazard a guess would be a side effect of whatever process made them into hybrids. There was also a shared high rate of some pretty nasty infected wounds, and I'd recommend anyone who was bitten or scratched and hasn't already done so should stop into Medbay and make sure they'll heal cleanly.

[ his back straightened during that little speech-- science is easy. now it's just bruce, and he takes off his glasses and cleans them on the front of his shirt, slumping a little again. ]

I wish I had more comforting answers, or even just complete ones. And to keep the hits coming, the computers in the newly cleared labs were wiped clean. We're looking into digging harder or establishing a timeline, but it's slow going. If anything new turns up, someone will make another announcement. Until then, it's hurry up and wait.

[ and as a slender hand reaches into frame to squeeze his shoulder, bruce cuts the feed. ]

t e x t | 95 % locked

What I'd like to know is when the data was wiped, personally. It would make a difference in approach.

[ understatement. ]

/ t e x t | 95 % locked

Comments

action;

[soothing]

[ That hand lingers before Betty moves, wrapping her arms around him entirely, pressing her face into his neck. ]

Thank you.

action;

[aggressively]

[ he sighs heavily, reaching up to lay a hand on betty's forearm, like he can keep things together if he reminds himself she's there. ]

Don't thank me yet-- I may be the worst PR move you've ever made.

[anomaliiiiies]

[eyebrow at the hand, but that's all the reaction Jane has to things not related to science]

At least we know, Dr. Banner. Sadly, biology isn't my area, so I can't offer any insights on the results. But, I'll be sure to keep an eye on anything we learn from this.

[aggressively]

Sometimes I wish it were less in my wheelhouse.

[ his smile is small and a little awkward, but genuine. ]

Dr. Foster.

[audio]

[galacticheroine]

So there's no way of telling if there's more labs hiding deeper in the ship holding nasty surprises like this one. [sigh] Great.

Any way of knowing if these things were... human before their DNA was put in a blender, or if they were grown? [either way it's horrific, and that's clear in Shepard's voice, but twisting an aware human being into something unrecognizable puts whoever did this on a whole new level of messed in the head.]

[audio]

[aggressively]

Not for sure, no. But I wouldn't bet on there being just the one surprise. [ he lifts one shoulder, sighing himself. ] Great's the word for it.

[ pressing his lips together, bruce nods and looks down for a moment. ] The animal DNA was... layered over the human, essentially. Whatever they were when we found them, they started out human.

[audio]

[yardbird]

You mean, those... things, that we had to kill... They might've been human? Or... something like that?

[The thought is disconcerting, and adding in that "had to" as opposed to anything else is almost a subconscious justification for slaughter -- be it out of self-defense or otherwise. Murphy doesn't take any pride in killing anything that's a close semblance to a human, but he also won't lose any sleep over it. He's got enough that's keeping him awake.]

Wonder what else is on this ship that we don't know about yet... [Not that Murphy here is eager to find out, but it's better to brace for the inevitable.]

[audio]

[aggressively]

Not-- entirely. The information we're getting seems to lead to the idea that their brain chemistry shifted along with their bodies-- 'animal intelligence' is the phrasing, I believe.

[ not that it helps bruce sleep better, makes him stop wondering if one of those poor bastards was like him, young and stupid and convinced he knew better than millions of years of evolution. ]

Well, I hate to be the voice of negativity but I wouldn't bet on a room filled with puppies.

text forever;

[logicals]

I'd like to study some of the specimens myself, if at all possible.
SH

sherlocks and their text BRUCE WILL FOLLOW SUIT THANK CHRIST

[aggressively]

It's not under my purview to release specimens, but I'm sure if you approach the teams already working on it they'd be happy for another qualified hand.

[ meaning if he isn't qualified he's fucked, but... phrased politely. ]

video;

[showbizpanache]

That...

That's so terrible.

video;

[aggressively]

[ bruce nods, looking down at his hands and flexing them a little. ]

I wish I had more reassuring news.

voice; shitty 10% encryptions

[therangerking]

Why tell some before the others?

[ ... He just realised that Betty didn't tell everyone, that it was an encrypted message to the medbay filter. Welp. ]

voice; NOW SUPA POWER TECH NERD LOCKED

[aggressively]

Medical personnel first, general public once the details are a bit more certain. No one wins by inciting mass panic.

Video

[walksonrooftops]

[This has bothering him for a while now, and though he's still recovering from the sickness himself, he needs to ask to put his mind at ease. Or not.]

When you were looking at them, did you see any markings? [He holds his nanite tattoo to the screen.] Like this.

Video

[aggressively]

So far, no.

[ he'd like to just say a flat no, but that possibility has haunted him as well. ]

voice;

[sweetmotherofgod]

Do you know - I mean, can you -

can you tell if they used to be people?

voice;

[aggressively]

[ bruce sighs, pressing his lips together. at least his tone of voice is gentle that totally helps right. ]

I'm sorry, but-- right now, it's all we can assume.

Video / Locked 95%

[seethemoon]

[Luckily Supey has plenty of tech-savvy friends and he's gotten the hand of locking the feed on his own.]

Would having an alive genetically hybrid sample help? I know my cells will probably look nothing like those, but I know when I was made.

Maybe it would help with the timeline?

Video / Locked 95%

[aggressively]

[ TOTAL BLUESCREEN, MENTALLY SPEAKING, GIVE BRUCE A SECOND. ]

I-- can't say that it would hurt, but it might just be apples and oranges. I don't want to--

[ expose anyone else. ] Give anyone false hope.

avengers and co. lock; 1/2

[trickshots]

Can Stark check remotely, or do we need to head back in?

locked; Banner and Ross

[trickshots]

I'm guessing field dressings won't cut it. Either of you got the time to patch me up?

[agent_k]

[He's still very concerned these were former crew.]

How long had they been out and starving? Can you tell?

[He's wondering what protected them from the jumps.]

[aggressively]

Piecing together a timeline of events is, if not priority one, at least priority two.

[ bruce has half a theory about that, but he'd rather not jump the gun. ]

[video]

[jurisimpudent]

Are there any irregularities in their genetic makeup that might account for their ability to survive the jumps?

[video]

[aggressively]

How they managed to survive without grav couches is another wrinkle we're working to untangle.

Voice

[excessivehubris]

[The mention of Dr. Ross' name catches his attention and Charles turns his device on enough to make a distracted sounding response.]

If you would be so kind as to please inform Dr. Ross that I have begun to sort through the written materials I was able to collect from the labs. It is slow going, giving that much of this is degraded and damaged but there are some readable notes.

Voice

[aggressively]

[ on his end, bruce looks over at betty. ]

She's informed.

video;

[goldshirt]

[everyone has questions, but Jim is following the rest of the conversations, so he doesn't really need to ask anything. he looks exhausted (what with coming back from the brink of death) but genuine.]

Thank you for your hard work.

video;

[aggressively]

[ :| thanks why. why. bruce will be shrugging that off now. ]

Don't thank me, I'm just the messenger. [ or: betty hasn't convinced him to join team science publicly yet, more like. ] I just wish I had better news to relay.

text;

[heltersskelter]

that is fucked up man.

text;

[aggressively]

[ TATE WHAT. ]

A little more concise than I would have put it, but not untrue.

video;

[pitied]

Experiments on humans is nothing new. At least not where I'm from. [Then again dolls weren't exactly experiments, but someone had to test on them in order for them to come into existence.]

video;

[aggressively]

[ bruce looks down for a moment, controlling his instinctive flinch. ]

Maybe not, but I'd hope nothing like these hybrids.

[voice]

[doggedly]

[There's too much science in that explanation, but the jist of it is fairly clear--or clear enough to inspire a bit of horror.]

So you're saying--they were people. Actually people? How long were they--transfigured, or transformed, or-- can you tell?

[voice]

[aggressively]

Unfortunately, that's the only thing we can take from the results we're getting.

[ 'we'. what happened to 'dr. ross and her colleagues', mister denial? ]

As for the length of time since they were, uh... transformed? That one's still on the 'to be more heavily researched' column.

TEXT; axvengers encryption

[widowing]

any theories on how to figure that out?

how are you feeling?

TEXT; axvengers encryption

[aggressively]

Right now? Not any original ones. Let Tony loose on it, essentially.

Better. You?

voice; shitty avengers lock, sry buddy

[odinsons]

[ there's a slight silence before he begins. ]

They fought too well to be just animal. I cannot say I expected this, but some unfortunate light has been shed upon the situation.

[ another pause as he attempts to figure out how to word things without really giving anything away. he knows that much, at least. but then he just gives up with a sigh and admits defeat ] I am afraid I cannot encrypt high enough just yet, my friend.

voice; upgraded to TECH NERD lock because he loevs you man

[aggressively]

I'll take care of the encryption, don't worry.

Can you give me anything else about the fight-- reflexes, maybe? How did they move? Anything's better than second hand accounts from people I don't know.

video;

[firstofficer]

[ the responses he's seen follow this announcement are a stark contrast, in many ways, to the impulsivity he's become familiar with. instead, there is almost a sense of resignation that lingers. but that too, he expects, may be blamed upon exhaustion.

spock's hands rest placidly in his lap, but his gaze finds the feed without preamble. ]

A thought-provoking collection of genetic samples.

video;

[aggressively]

That's--- certainly one way to put it.

[ everything bruce does takes on a certain sense of weary resignation, although he can't help but feel a little surprised at the lack of... well, surprise from anyone else. horror, yes, but not the kind of disbelieving refusal to accept you might find in your average person.

it's probably a sign of the seriousness of the situation, or delayed shock. ]

video;

[ringbearer]

[ frodo should be more aware of his words, more certain of what he speaks of but all he can recall is that this man's face..was on that photograph that ms. ross had.

his voice is quiet, polite. ]

You know Ms. Ross?

video;

[aggressively]

Yes. She's--

[ god, how to even explain them. bruce just shrugs, looking fondly off to his left. ]

Yes. I do.

video;

[anthropos]

If you were to make a supposition given the current data, how would you predict the time frame under which total extinction might occur?

video;

[aggressively]

Right now? I'm not willing to make guesses. We need to figure out how long they'd been-- what they are, before I can start working on the rate of decay.