The Tale of a Jerk and a Scientist

[denigrator]

Characters: Hojo and YOU
Setting: Throughout the tower. Pick a floor, any floor.
Format: Action to start, but I'll match prose, too
Summary: After some time spent wandering his ruined world like a ghost, Hojo has returned to the Tower. His first priority? Research.
Warnings: A complete lack of scientific ethics, which may come up.


[A great deal has gone on in Hojo's absence--he's been gone months!--and this has had the unfortunate effect of upsetting so much of his research. He has absolutely no idea what's happened while he's been gone.

So what's a scientist to do? Make his way through all the floors he had been so carefully studying, trying to salvage what he can. Sometimes he talks to himself. Sometimes he hums. Off-key or tunelessly. Sometimes he scowls and stops to take notes. Sometimes he smiles. And stops to take notes again. He grits his teeth, doing his best to ignore the cold. He's worked in cold (very cold) climates before. Fortunately, he has a Fire Materia, which provides some warmth.

One might find him in the cafeteria, taking samples of the oatmeal.

In the observatory, he spends a long time looking out, studying the strange creatures visible through the glass.

He takes soil samples in the graveyard, and biological samples on floor Forty-One, collecting insects. He plucks a few blossoms in the meadow (Twenty-Five) and in the garden (Twenty-Nine).

He stops in the clinic to deal with a few of the wounds he's sustained along the way.

He pauses to enjoy the morgue (Twenty-Six) and the laboratory (Twenty-Seven), looking for traces of his old research with Fuhito. He doesn't find much, though what he finds, he gathers up. What a shame. So much work lost. All the more reason to work more, and harder.]

So much to do, so much...

Comments

[denigrator]

They may vary. To study different universes would give me the rare ability to compare and contrast. I don't miss them if I remember them. There's no need to be sentimental about natural laws.

I will take it, but I don't accept it. I simply have no choice. You don't seem willing to give me more accurate information.

Yes yes, and it's not as if there's no risk of hypothermia or death, though I was conscious of my physical state.

[lightofhumanity]

Learning about other worlds would expand your perspective..but wouldn't you feel sad or annoyed if you forgot about a universe?

..Still, I am happy that you will take it for the moment.

[And chaos was going to quickly move away from that subject now. Talking of his powers reminded him of the past..his losses, his failures, his role..]

I knew you were conscious of yourself. Even though you weren't going to die, it's usually for the best if people are comfortable with the temperature.

[denigrator]

I doubt I would feel anything like "sad". I might feel annoyed at the loss of data.

If you'd like to be happy that I disbelieve you but don't feel like interrogating you, by all means. But there's no reason not to tell me. After all, I am a scientist. I won't have an emotional reaction.

Your assistance has been noted. I don't suppose you have some other ways of aiding my research? It is for the good of all those here.

[Not really, but he doesn't mind saying so.]

[lightofhumanity]

So, it would be best if you were able to go back to your universe, where you have the greatest amount of data available. However, I don't think you would mind finding things out about this universe either.

There are several reasons why I am not telling you. I know that, as a scientist, you would like to know everything about this, including the reasons, but..you shall just have to live with it, if that is possible.

...That all depends on what your research is. And how will it be for the good of everyone here? [chaos is six thousand years old. It is hard to trick him.]

[denigrator]

You're quite correct. My work was ongoing at home. Here I must start over, though there are interesting things to learn. About the inhabitants of other worlds, for instance.

I'm sure I'll survive, as I survived the cold.

The aim of my research is to uncover the mysteries of this Tower, which would obviously be for the good of those captive here. Without knowledge, how can their situation be improved? [What he's saying is partly true--he does want to figure out what's going on, he just doesn't care about others very much.]

[lightofhumanity]

That is true..however, when you get home, you may find that what you learned here will mean very little.

And I am glad to hear that you'll live.

[chaos smiles for a brief moment before he continues speaking.]

While that is a good goal, how are you planning on reaching it?

[denigrator]

I'll live, for now.

When I return home... [Of course, at home, he's technically dead.]

That doesn't matter now. When I return home, I'll return to my work. While I'm here, I'll do this work.

Right now I am amassing data. I need more information before developing a plan.

[lightofhumanity]

You will live now and later. Don't worry.

[chaos catches the pause, but doesn't comment on it. So, something must have happened to him in his world, and judging by his reaction, it was probably for the worse.]

I see. While work will help us out and be of interest to you as a scientist, do not forget to rest and play every now and then. A tired mind and one that loses interest in snowmen usually does not help anyone.

..I see. And what sort of information do you plan on gathering? And how do you plan to gather it?

[denigrator]

I'm not worried. Though I expect I'll die again, considering this place and its ways.

Not being a child, I'm not particularly interested in snowmen. I do have interests in other areas, however, not that I have many prospects at the moment, unfortunately.

I plan on analyzing these samples, first. Then progressing from there. I mean to study all forms of life in the tower. I'm a biologist, as I said. The way life is maintained here might tell us something about our captors. And more than that, I would like to know.

[lightofhumanity]

Perhaps..but hopefully that can be avoided. And if it cannot, hopefully you won't have to die too many times.

[chaos gives a small smile at this persons reaction to snowmen.]

Everyone, be they a child or an adult, can enjoy a snowman. However, it is good that you have interests in other areas.

I see. While I do not think that those samples will tell you anything new, studying the monsters in this Tower will help you and everyone else who lives here. If our captors can summon hellhound-like beasts, and have the ability to pull so many interesting people from their worlds, they must be quite powerful.

[And inhuman. After all, it was near impossible to pull Wilhelm out of the universe without him first foreseeing it and building some sort of defense mechanism for it.]

..Curiosity is a good reason as well, as long as that curiosity does not harm others.

[denigrator]

Hopefully, hopefully... [But he doesn't really care that much, if he's revived.]

I see no point to forming snow into different shapes. If one could make an actual life form utilizing snow, now that would be interesting. However, I'd have much more interest in a woman of my own species.

They may help, they may not. I won't know without researching. I plan to study everything I can. It's clear our captors are powerful. That's hardly new information.

I have no intention of "harming others", only collecting samples and analyzing data. [For the moment. That might change, as opportunities arise.]

[lightofhumanity]

I'm sure many men would find a girl more interesting than building snowmen. Or they may like both-building a snowman with the girl. However, it's not possible to make a life form out of snow. At least, not in my universe.

I am pretty sure that they will help..and hopefully that intention will remain the same as you continue your research.