1st incision ♠ VIDEO

[pike]

[ Nigel isn't a luddite in any way, shape or form, though he's never been fond of technology in any strong sense. For a young man who liked to spend his time wrist-deep in the insides of once-living things, far too often technology and all of its trappings struck him as too clinical, too detached. Too bloodless. And so, it's with a fair amount of fiddling that he finally manages to get his communicator to work, choosing the video options after scrolling through one and then the other, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each.

When the image clicks on, the Network is greeted with a young man in his late teens — strong-jawed and handsome, tidy and in a jacket and tie, his bangs pushed across his forehead in a damp swipe of dark hair. He looks, for all intents and purposes, perfectly harmless. And when he speaks, his voice is surprisingly low and oddly lulling despite the way it seems to lie flat over certain phrases. ]

Hello, Tranquility, [ the young man says simply, revealing himself to be English and with quite good diction. ] I've questions and it seems there are some of you who may provide answers.

So.

Where might I inquire about the dead?

Comments

( voice )

[romanticism]

[ Though his response is voice only, Oxford leans in close to his communicator to observe the young man on the other end of the feed, curious. It's hardly a normal question to ask, and coming from someone as seemingly youthful as this boy, it seems even stranger. He answers somewhat at length, in an ambiguous tone that does not quite say how he feels about this question. ]

There are several medically trained individuals on board you could speak to, though I assume the medical bay would perhaps be somewhere to start. [ He pauses. ] Mind you, as far as I know we have been free from deaths so far, so who knows what you might find.

( video )

[pike]

[ If there is any inherent strangeness both in Nigel's inquiry and the way he presents it, Nigel seems either blissfully unaware of that fact or can't be bothered to care. ]

No deaths. [ A beat. ] How fortuitous. I've always been lead to believe that space is quite treacherous, though very few have been there personally where I'm from. [ His attention drifts to one side and he continues, though it's not clear whom he's speaking to — himself or the man on the device. ] People have a tendency to do that. Talk about things they know nothing about.

[ Eventually, his eyes slide back and Nigel smiles suddenly and very slightly, as if he's just remembered how to. ] Might I inquire after their names? The medical staff.

( voice )

[romanticism]

So far I'd say the only treachery taking place here is the inclusion of these ghastly jumpsuits. [ He speaks dryly. ] I can hardly give an accurate description of life in space, mind you, as I too am not from an actively space-faring origin.

[ He doesn't make a noticeable pause before he goes on, though he frowns to himself, thoughtfully. ] The only member of medical staff I'm familiar with so far is Dr. Watson, though I believe he has some others assisting him.

( video )

[surrogates]

[ ...alaric could touch on how really creepy this entire post is, but he won't. he wants to but he won't. (let it be known that, nigel, you have just been put on the "watch like a hawk" list. sorry.

alaric clears his throat before answering, opting for video because it seems like an acceptable plan. ]

That depends on what you're...inquiring about the dead.

( video )

[pike]

[ If Alaric did point out Nigel's behavior to him, he certainly wouldn't be the first to do so. Over the past seventeen years, he's been called 'odd', 'distracted', 'disappointingly hopeless', 'a good boy but strange' and (most recently) a 'creepy little shit'. For no one except Nigel the path trending towards escalation has always been clear but it wasn't until recently that he discovered where that path lead: to a shotgun in the face, apparently. Thus, his inquiry.

Creepiness aside however, he remains polite, though he doesn't smile (it doesn't seem appropriate) when he says: ]

Those that should be but aren't. Specifically, among the passengers.

( video )

[surrogates]

[ at worst, alaric might say something about just creepy. no shit attached to it because he's a teacher and a good teacher doesn't call their students 'creepy little shits' or jackasses. not that he knows anything about it.

he does, however, know a bit about being alive when you should be dead. in fact, he knows more than he'd like to admit. ]

Are you one of those people?

[ because color him curious. ]

[video]

[constructum]

[ there isn't much Ariadne seems to be all too shocked about - at least as of late. but when the screen flickered on showing what appeared to be some standard boy - British no less - asking about the dead. Well, that obviously had Ariadne looking slightly puzzled as she peered into the device, as her head slowly started to tilt in consideration of it all. ]

Why? [ there isn't much more you can ask then that after all. ]

[video]

[pike]

[ To Nigel the question seems quite obvious. He himself was meant to be dead, after all, and so had Natalie — the woman he had woken from stasis beside on the Medbay floor. If there were two of them, why not four or eight or sixteen? For all he knew this whole ship was populated by the dead and Nigel — unsavy and unsubtle, technologically speaking — had little choice but to ask. ]

Because it's relevant to my interests, [ he says simply. ] Am I the first to breech the subject?

[video]

[constructum]

[ The only exposure Ariadne had with someone looking for the dead - well, it was one in all honesty that seemed to only bring pain to the person (and whomever was around them) looking. So she does not fully understand why someone would outright be seeking out this sort of thing.

And to be honest, she was still under the impression that everyone on this ship was in fact alive - perhaps slightly different, but nonetheless alive.

So the statement he gives her only seems to cause her brow to furrow slightly, looking at him confused and silent a moment, before she calmly asks: ] What are your interests exactly? [ curiosity evident in her tone. ] Because, yes, you are the first person I've heard ask about this.

[peanutblooder]

Uh. What do you need to know from them?

[pike]

[ Nigel takes his time in answering. ]

What happens to the dead here. If anything at all.

[peanutblooder]

Oh. Well, uh. I didn't die here, but I was dead before I came here, so...maybe the pods do something to change that?

I am, at least, pretty sure that I am alive again. Knowing how that happened would, probably, be good to know, though I guess I don't want to sound ungrateful.

Video;

[mortalize]

[Natalie's at least feeling a little better -- whatever paleness she had before has gone away for the moment. She's been reading the other posts, so she feels better-educated about these things.]

[She smiles beatifically and ... neatly ignores his question for now.]

Did you find your quarters all right?

video;

[pike]

[ It's very strange, just how suddenly the odd boy asking very morbid questions in a very tidy, detached way, can suddenly shift and become the boy that greets Natalie now, smiling brightly in kind. ]

I did, thank you. Everything's quite orderly so it was hardly difficult. Are you settled now?

Video;

[mortalize]

As comfortably as expected. This ship is very -- cold.

[She means that not literally, but in that -- well, Cylon basestars are quite literally living creatures. This place is sterile like the Refugee Fleet was.]

I saw a doctor, though, and things seem to be more or less in-order.

[the_vishual]

[ Texting is a pain and so it's only polite (or she thinks) to flick on the video herself. Her hair's tied neatly back in a ribbon and she has her usual clothes on, and for all she cares the jumpsuit can stay in a crumpled pile on the floor of her shared room. ]

I'm unsure if there's a morgue here, sir. Sorry to disappoint. But there are quite a large number of doctors on board.

[pike]

[ Nigel's mouth purses in a held-back smile. ]

Please, I'm hardly a sir. I'd rather that be left to my father. [ As dead as he was.

A pause as he takes in the face of this child — the first real curiosity that Nigel's come across since waking in the Medbay. ] I've heard there's a Dr. Watson among the staff. Any others you might be able to mention by name?

[text]

[asclepion]

probably the medbay?
if there's a morgue here we haven't found it yet


that's not - the usual first question people ask here.

[SO MUCH UNSURE.]

( video )

[pike]

[ A face is made at the text that's offered in response to his post. A spaceship without a morgue — Nigel finds the prospect repellant. ]

It seems all the other questions had already been taken: where are we, why are we here, who's done this to us all. [ By the way Nigel rattles off this much-visited list, it becomes obvious that he's not wholly interested in whatever the answers may be. ] Besides. My question's far more pressing.

[Video]

[hummerdoc]

Why do you inquire?

[Video]

[pike]

[ Nigel really wishes people would stop asking why and simply provide him the answer he's looking for or otherwise leave him alone. Given his hobbies back home, he's had to deal with many people's aversion to death and death-like things quite a lot. That doesn't mean he has to like it, however.

He bristles slightly. A question in response to another question is a useless sort of answer, especially once it's been asked more than once. ]

Because I have questions. Obviously. And not enough answers.

( voice | locked )

[unparental]

...What do you mean?

[ deciding whether to reply takes a while-- she's pretty sure she should be dead right now, herself. it's a sensitive subject. ]

( voice | locked )

[pike]

[ Nigel's already been upfront with one of them, so there's no point in trying to deceive another. He's not a very good liar when it comes to certain things and some deceptions are hardly interesting, just boring and tedious. ]

I mean that it's obvious that certain assumptions no longer hold. To what extent and to what end — that has my curious.

text;

[laufeysons]

Why do you want to know?

video;

[pike]

[ An inhale from Nigel through his nose. Again this question. Again and again. ]

There are those who, by all rights, should be dead. But aren't.