Mission 23

[skysmirror]

[Cambot is hanging out on the media deck, wandering a wander and playing the Jeopardy theme while his person reads something. Apparently he's bored.

Xion looks up, sighing.]

Cambot, you've been playing that for--Oh, you're recording.

[Not looking too happy about the surprise, she holds up the book she was reading. It looks like a kid's book, with very large picture of a dinosaur on the cover.]

I thought it might be a good idea to find some information about dinosaurs since that's part of what we're dealing with here, but I can't find more than basic information. Does anybody else know much about them?

Comments

[itsjustthenpcs]

Oh, I happen to know lots about them.

They're smarter and better looking than all of you, for starters.

[skysmirror]

[Drats, Cambot means even people she didn't quite want to hear from can respond, too.]

Thanks for the extra help.

[When one of your biffles is Axel, you do catch onto a bit of snark.]

[itsjustthenpcs]

I heard that sarcasm!

[skysmirror]

Ah, sorry.

It's just I was looking for other information like that. Like how you learned to talk.

[itsjustthenpcs]

From my parents, of course. How else would I?

Possibly also genetic mutations.

[skysmirror]

Genetic mutations?

[That's a new term for her. The first option she guesses is logical--most people learn to speak from listening to the world around them, right?]

[itsjustthenpcs]

It's genetics? Being mutated?

Your simple brain probably couldn't comprehend it.

[skysmirror]

[Now, now, there's no need to insulting.]

I just hadn't heard the term before. Maybe you could explain it so I could understand? Since you're so smart.

[Dealing with this guy is bringing out Axel's influence almost more than anything here.]

[itsjustthenpcs]

[He's a pilot, he never studied his science courses that much. So he's not nearly so smart as he thinks.]

It's just genes get changed around so that things that didn't have eyebrows or opposable thumbs before have them now! With DNA!

[skysmirror]

[Xion's taken no science classes at all and can't make heads or tails of his explanation. Too many terms she hasn't heard before. That's what notes are for, though--she'll look them up later.]

I see. So these...mutations just happened? Like overnight?

[itsjustthenpcs]

Oh no, those usually take at least a few weeks.

[skysmirror]

That long?

[Not that she's aware of the normal amount of time it would take for a genetic mutation to have on an entire population...]

[itsjustthenpcs]

Yes! It's hardly instantaneous stuff!

[fatedcircle]

Not about ones like outside, anyway.

[skysmirror]

I see.

Yeah, I guess they would be a little different from the kind that can't talk.

[fatedcircle]

Yeah. They were.

[skysmirror]

[Xion sighs. Go figure.]

Well, I tried.

[fatedcircle]

You could ask them?

[skysmirror]

I'm trying to now. We'll see if they say anything.

[fatedcircle]

...Good luck.

[skysmirror]

Thanks.

[The "I'll need it" isn't said but definitely implied.]

[thirteenth_brat]

You would think Riku would be all over this...

[Yes, he has noticed Riku's liking of dinosaurs... well, normal ones anyway. Fondness for something usually prompts learning about it. Still, there are some observations that don't really require expertise to be made.]

As far as I can tell, the only difference these guys have from normal dinosaurs is their intelligence and that they can talk. And they have a slightly over inflated opinion of the former.

[skysmirror]

He does seem to like them.

[Xion remembers his suggestion to use the time machine to go see real dinosaurs. It would make sense if he did know a lot about them. Maybe not as much as an expert, but anything helped.

That's the most obvious difference, yes.

[She can't help laughing a bit at his last comment.]

[thirteenth_brat]

What has he been up to lately anyway?

[As far as Roxas knew, Riku had actually gone and done that. He'd gone alone the first time... and been bitten for his trouble, and then took a few of the others. Someone had said something about catching one of the little feathery ones.]

So, we know they're at least as intelligent as humans and similar beings. Probably still have the same physical abilities as normal dinosaurs. Hmm... I think I see something we can use, but I don't want to discuss over Cambot. Maybe we should all meet up to discuss this... and maybe lock the Cambots in a room somewhere if we have to.

[He was only stating a fact, even if it's actually kind of funny.]

[skysmirror]

I think just the usual? I've seen him here and there.

[That's right, there'd been a while group. Xion had been kind of interested, but ultimately decided not to.]

It looks like that to me, too. They can talk, and make things that humans make, but still look like dinosaurs....

Yeah, discussing plans over Cambot isn't always the best. I guess we could just lock them out of whatever room we're meeting in, too.

[Her Cambot plays a mournful sound effect at the mention of being excluded. No sympathy here, though, since he should expect that if he's going to just blab everything, as it were.]

THREADJACK

[halfdarkened]

...Who wouldn't want to see a real dinosaur? That doesn't mean I know much about them.

[He purposely shows his upper arm to Cambot, which has a small, indented scar from his encounter. The raptor tooth necklace he usually wears is tucked in his shirt right now, though the cord still shows. That tooth is a perfect fit for the scar.]

Re: THREADJACK

[thirteenth_brat]

I just thought that maybe you would have wanted to learn more about them since you did kind of seem a little into them. Although I don't really know what to make of intelligent dinosaurs that have gotten used to keeping humans as pets...

[Roxas vaguely remembers noticing that mark when Riku had mentioned his trip in the time machine the first time.]

I guess we'll have to figure something else out.

I'm the dino-lover, not Riku. XD

[halfdarkened]

I like learning about different worlds. Prehistory is a pretty different kind of world. So's this kind of world. We've met talking animals, why's this so strange?

It's not a bad try. Might help us figure out how they act. [He shrugs since he really doesn't know at all.]

Re: I'm the dino-lover, not Riku. XD

[thirteenth_brat]

They do seem to have a kind of over inflated opinion or their own intelligence. That Captain Salt Lake especially.

[halfdarkened]

[He shrugs.] Different cultural standards in this world?

[thirteenth_brat]

Hmm. Maybe.

*I may be a dino-phile, but Riku? Not so much.*

[halfdarkened]

I know a little, but probably not much more than the book you're holding. Considering these guys though, it's probably like asking about chimps when dealing with humans. We've got a shot in the dark.

I think some meat-eating dinosaurs are related to birds, though.

*Xion was not aware of this*

[skysmirror]

[Speak of the devil. Xion looks disappointed to hear he doesn't know much, but not terribly so.]

I was wondering, since you seemed interested in them. I guess learning about different kinds of dinosaurs wouldn't help much...but, why is that like learning about chimps when you're dealing with humans?

[No school, no learning the theory of evolution.]

How are they related? They look pretty different...

He's just curious. It's what he does.

[halfdarkened]

[He shrugs.] They are interesting. But I don't know a lot.

In science class there's a theory called evolution. It's about every generation of species being a little different. The animals that survive are better-suited to live in their environment. Over time they become different species. The theory says some ape species slowly became more and more like humans.

I'm betting these guys evolved the same way.

He's a Riku, they always want to know about things.

[skysmirror]

[Xion nods in understanding. If she tried to really know a lot about everything she found interesting, she'd get a headache.]

I see. So people think humans started out as monkeys that just changed a lot?

[Sounds kind of weird, but she's accepted stranger things. Though now she kind of wants to compare pictures so she can see how that might have happened.]

It's what Rikus do best.

[halfdarkened]

Yeah, over millions of years. Each generation was a little different, even if you couldn't tell from the parents.

[He'd be fine sitting down and explaining it if she ever does want to compare pictures.]

Yep. Also, yes, I think we're good to finish that Nami thread where it is.

[skysmirror]

So little changes over a long period of time. I guess that makes sense.

[Xion may take him up on that, when they're in a place with better books.]

[halfdarkened]

Sort of like watching clouds on a quiet day. They change very slowly.

[Man, when will that ever be...?]

[skysmirror]

[Oh, she knows that kind of thing.]

And sometimes you don't even notice until they already look different?

[When, indeed. Even after they get off the Satellite, it'll be a while before their points in time converge.]

[halfdarkened]

Exactly. And you can rarely guess how they're going to change, either.

[And then they have to remember...]

[skysmirror]

Got it, thanks. I'd look for more information here, but you know how the books are.

[Yes, those tricky memories.]

[halfdarkened]

About as reliable as using a keyblade as a fly swatter? [Though that didn't stop Sora from doing that...]

[skysmirror]

[Xion hasn't heard that story yet, though she'd get a good laugh out of it.]

I guess so, but what made you think of that?

[halfdarkened]

Sora had this habit of accepting bee extermination duty in Twilight Town and only using his Keyblade.

[skysmirror]

[Normally, Xion doesn't like to laugh at her Original. Normally, though, she hasn't just been told he used his Keyblade for bee extermination. Therefore, she laughs.]

Really? But wouldn't hitting them just make them mad?

[halfdarkened]

Yeah, but Twilight Town bees seem pretty slow to figure that out. Lucky for Sora.

[skysmirror]

Very lucky.

[Still chuckling a little, here.]