video » un:millerlite

[pampa]

( they’re standing in front of what looks to be a garden, even though it’s empty at present. miller is standing there in his porkpie hat and for once he looks… happy? he claps prax on the shoulder with a small smile and gestures back through like they should show everyone around. )

I told you we’d find it, didn’t I, botanist?

( prax is smiling, too, eyes not focused on the camera but on the rows of hydroponic installations. )

You did. ( that’s soft. a little more firmly, addressing not just miller even though he still isn’t looking at the camera: ) This is enough space to ensure food supply and air filtration, if we’re creative. And if the seeds are still viable, there’s almost enough to fill the spaces in the mess hall tables and the corridors, too.

( and the chapel, don’t sue him for forgetting that. )

Potatoes, mushrooms. ( and then, with obvious pleasure: ) Soy.

( miller raises his arms up to the ceiling in apparent victory, just as excited though he doesn’t know dick about gardening. )

Air is good, isn’t it? Air is nice. ( he addresses his smartwatch again after the brief distraction, ) That doesn’t mean you assholes can smoke, got it? Keep it classy, Inners. We’ll keep everyone breathing easy with these greens, but you all have to do your part and not fuck it up.

( prax nods. he wouldn’t have put it in those terms but yeah. ) We’ll need to test these seeds for viability. Plant them, if they are. Figure out the proper mineral solution needed for long-term stability.

( he glances at miller, then - finally - at the camera. he looks hopeful. ) This is good.

( miller nods at prax a final time and gets a last word in before cutting the feed: ) We all might not die. ( his optimism truly is something to be admired, isn’t it? )

Comments

un: midnighter2

[thingpuncher]

...Huh, nice.

[And now he knows what both of you weirdos look like, nice. Or maybe that's what he was referring to in the first place (he wasn't).]

How do you test seed viability and find mineral solutions? Can you even tell which seeds are which? Use little words, my skills are not in keeping living things living.

video; un:millerlite

[pampa]

[ and now miller knows they're hair twins aww yeah ]

Don't ask the plant guy if you want little words. Everything's labeled though, in caveman terms for guys like you and me. [ he gestures vaguely between them ]

[thingpuncher]

I'll take babytalk. Heard he has a kid.

How're you growing them without dirt? Clever as shit. [Why the fuck would Midnighter know what hydroponics are.]

[pampa]

Kind of a sore subject, she's missing.

[ but okay ] Not much dirt in space. Sometimes people learn to improvize.

[thingpuncher]

Don't worry, he mentioned it.

No dirt in space? Jesus, I never noticed. [We get it, you're from an asteroid, Miller.]

[pampa]

You're the one who asked for simplicity.

[thingpuncher]

Thanks for dumbing it down for my- what is it? My dumb Earther brain?

[contorta]

( can you guys not pick a fight please it's messing with prax's happy )

[thingpuncher]

[pampa]

[pampa]

That's right. You're welcome.

[thingpuncher]

[Still laughing. It's not a pleasant sound. Midnighter's voice is low and scraping, uninviting at the best of times.]

How'd you get called in on this project, Lancelot? Nepotism?

[pampa]

More like I called him. I find things, he's the plant guy. It seemed like a good fit.

[thingpuncher]

[Steeples his fingers together and rests his chin on top, eyes bright.]

So when's the wedding?

[contorta]

( rude, miller. he can do simple when he's asked for it!! sometimes!! )

[pampa]

[ wow he's never seen it happen!!!! sue him!!!!!!! ]

[contorta]

The seeds are labelled. I could probably identify most of them, but this is faster. ( look, prax has a phd in botany. this is what he's good at, and it shows in the set of his shoulders, the ease with which he talks. )

Seed viability — ( right. little words. ) If the seed is dead, it doesn't grow. If it's viable, it'll sprout under the right conditions. Moisture, light, that kind of thing. I'm familiar with most of these, so I know what they need.

[thingpuncher]

I know what viability means, Einstein. [But he's laughing.] I mean, how do you test for that. Seems like a good way to waste seeds or... resources? Depending.

[contorta]

( you asked for simple words! )

Statistics, really. We take a few seeds per batch, see if they germinate under ideal conditions. If under 50% germinate, we'll have a hard time.

[thingpuncher]

And they won't germinate if they're dead, basically.

Is there a way to make more seeds?

[contorta]

( prax nods to that first point because. yes. this is good, he's hopeful —but there's no certainty. )

If some of them are viable and we wait long enough.

[thingpuncher]

...Huh. And how much of a waste of resources is it if they're not?

[contorta]

Testing for viability isn't too much of a drain on resources.

( even if it was. it'd be worth it in prax's eyes. )

[thingpuncher]

Oh. Good.

So then I'm out of ideas on how I can help; fill me in, here.

[contorta]

Right now, I want to get all of these catalogued. Then, tests for viability. After that, it'll be time to plant them, make sure they're growing and healthy.

Planting them all over the station and connecting it all to the air filtration system will take the most work, to begin with.

( a beat. )

Could you have done anything about the drain of resources? ( it kind of sounded like it for a second, there. )