[Voice]

[ufo_fanboy]

[Mulder seldom drinks. Unless there's a weird cosmic alignment or the aftermath of a disaster of some kind. Right now... would be one of those rare exceptions, while he's hanging around his place sulking. He's got his vodka. He's got his frozen orange juice concentrate. He is all set[A lot has happened all in a row- the draft, the experiment, the

Comments

[i_speak_softly]

We're doing all right. All things considered.

[Circumspectly:] Were you able to defrag that disc?

[ufo_fanboy]

[Mulder chuckles a little, he hadn't realized they were so serious about their tea here.]

Regular tea is fine with me, too, if you have it. Something a little chilled is good in the summer, though.

[And for stakeouts, except for the ones when your partner brings the wrong drink.]

[semper_cogitans]

[It's Helios' fault, really, that Robert even regularly drinks tea at all in Luceti. The Terran varieties aren't nearly as plentiful or tasty, generally - mostly due to mass extinctions.]

... It is difficult to think that two entire seasons have passed s-since my... arrival here.

[A little overwhelming if he considers it.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don's search turns up no iced tea, so he returns with several boxes of tea bags to show Mulder. Pick a flavor.]

[ufo_fanboy]

Hm. The Earl Grey sounds good to me.

[Then he glances back at Robert.]

The months go by fast, don't they? It's a little alarming to think of how much time has gone by already.

[And it's only been months for him. People can end up here for years.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Six months for Robert, now. He's not sure what to think about this.]

I... am beginning to wonder whether the state will be... permanent. But... [As long as he has Don and his friends, he actually wouldn't mind much.

... Well, until stuff like the whole last week happens.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Sneaking up on a year and a half for Don, but no need to mention that.]

[He shows the tea bags to Robert also.] Anything?

[ufo_fanboy]

There's no predicting how long they'll keep us, but we need to at least prepare to be here for the long haul.

[Mulder would like to go home as much as anyone, but as long as he knows this place exists, he doesn't want to be sent away. He feels like he's already become way too invested in figuring the place out.]

[semper_cogitans]

May I have English breakfast tea, please?

[And to Mulder:] Do you think that the... duration of us being kept here has any significance...? It is so variable... If this place is indeed subject to n-natural laws, then there must be some reason...

[i_speak_softly]

[Don nods and vanishes back to the kitchen to heat some water.]

[ufo_fanboy]

That's a really good question, it could be worth exploring sometime. There has to be some reason behind why certain people get brought here, and for longer durations than others. Then of course you get people who are repeatedly sent away and brought back...

[semper_cogitans]

That especially seems... odd. Why the same person repeatedly...? Sometimes the person does not even remember, which suggests a whole other multiversion of that individual...

[Robert's expression turns almost skeptical, albeit self-aimed.] What possible kind of process could drive such a thing?

[i_speak_softly]

[Don pokes his head out of the kitchen while he waits for the kettle. He could mention something about Mike and Leo here... but he isn't sure Robert even knows about that, and he doesn't want to bring it up.]

[ufo_fanboy]

It's too bad we don't know more about how people are actually brought in, or let go, for that matter...

[Thinking it over, one of many many things bothering him about this place really.]

We know it's cyclical in nature, there are definite waves of newcomers, although the same can't always be said for those returning home...

[semper_cogitans]

People seem to... leave in much smaller clusters than they enter... But there is never any solid connection as to what the patterns are.

... It is frustrating. One would think there would be... underlying algorithms...

[But try as Robert might, nothing that he can model seems to explain these strange phenomena.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Water boiling! Your tea will be up in a moment.]