SCIENCE BROS [closed but flexible]

[youbarium]

Who| The ragtag group of scientists and doctors in the planetarium. Current headcount is Dr. Zoidberg, Julian Bashir, Dr. McCoy, Mouse, and Carlos. Technically the log is closed but if you want in on the science slumber party message me!
What| Fortifying the planetarium, food raids, swapping stories from home, cooking, doing science -- basically this is a mingle log for the science pack. Feel free to start your own subthreads!
Where| Fifth floor, planetarium.
When| Week 1
Warnings/Notes| Caution： exposure to science may cause permanent eye damage.



The planetarium is one of the crown jewels of the museum, a large circular room with a domed roof. It is vast and dark, with a telescope that can view up into pace and an interactive computer system that can display constellations, past and present.

Currently, the system is down, and it doesn't look like they're too interested in fixing it. The Tributes' efforts have mostly been to get the lights working (still dim at best but at least they can see the whole room) and fortify the two entrances that lie on opposite sides of the room. They have a small pile of food stored up, stale pastries from the cafes and miscellaneous soups, sandwiches, and dry goods from the cafeteria. It'll last a few days.

Comments

[youbarium]

"Carlos," he says. "I'm a scientist. I'm sorry, but I was working on some circuits when you came in and missed your name. Who are you?"

He had been very absorbed in his work. That kind of hyper-focus happened to Carlos a lot when he was doing science -- if he was working on something interesting, Carlos could be completely oblivious to the world around him.

[nunpunching]

"Punchy." Punchy grins and taps his chest as if his name is one of the coolest things in the entire universe. "That's my handle. You Carlos with like, paper or anything? Like a Dr. Carlos?"

[youbarium]

"Technically yes," Carlos replies. "I do hold a doctorate in science. But just Carlos is fine."

He takes a breath, then tilts his head. "By 'handle,' you mean a nickname or code name, right? Why did you take an alias?" It could, of course, just be that this kid goes by "Punchy" on the internet, but in Carlos's experience, few people introduced themselves with their internet handles.

[nunpunching]

"Shit, so you're probably like, ballin' with explosions and chemicals and shit." Punchy smacks his knee as if he's just heard a hilarious joke.

"Ain't an alias, it's my name. My weebles gave me some square pusher name, so I changed it all legal and all."

[youbarium]

"Science is much more than explosions and chemicals," says Carlos, pulling a frown. This white kid had said his share of offensive things -- things Carlos was too thick-skinned to care much about -- but his crass reduction of science to explosions was worst. "It's about knowledge. Discovery. Understanding." A beat of silence. "I happen to understand how to make an explosion with chemicals. About ten different ways, actually. But that's not my area of expertise, and even if it were, that's not what science is for."

Carlos has a lot of feelings about science.

[nunpunching]

"I didn't say it wasn't," Punchy sniffs, although in his opinion Carlos is getting way too huffy about science. Why can't he be like Bill Nye, instead?

"I just got my head more into code, you know? I lay down them keys like tracks. It's my magic."

OH MY GOD this tag is ancient how did I miss it

[youbarium]

"Code -- you mean computer code? You're a programmer?" Carlos asks, mildly surprised. He wouldn't have pegged this guy as a code monkey, but then again, this is 2013 -- or whatever local date it is, since Carlos has no way of knowing when he is relative to 2013.

Re: OH MY GOD this tag is ancient how did I miss it

[nunpunching]

"Shit yeah, son." Punchy smacks his knees and gestures at his waist. "I been wrangling glitches and exploits since I was this high. Self-taught, auto-didactical and all."

[youbarium]

"That's impressive," Carlos says. It was amazing what the younger generation could do with computers -- the ones who were born and raised in a world not only run by them, but in which they were easily accessible. "I've built machines before, but computer code is still beyond me. It's all I can do to use data processing and simulation software."

[nunpunching]

"Shit, that's just scratching the surface. It's a whole world in there. It's like slipping through the bleed into a parallel universe." Punchy seems, if possible, more animated when talking about computers; his gangsta facade has cracks through which an excitable kid shows, the kid who hid a home-made computer under his floorboards at home so his parents didn't take it away. "I'll teach you sometime. I'm like a guru."

[youbarium]

Carlos considers it for a moment. "...I suppose it wouldn't hurt to learn more about computer science," he admits, finally.

[nunpunching]

"Aces!" Punchy holds a hand up to high five, right after popping another gummi worm in his mouth. "Next time I bump up on some dosh, I'll be showing you, a'ight?"

[youbarium]

Carlos, gingerly, accepts the high-five -- and, again, cleans his hand on his pants. "All right," he agrees.

[nunpunching]

"A'ight, I'mma bounce, find us some swag at the gift shop." Punchy hops up and all but salutes. "Deuces!"