[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]

Not bad.

[Mulder takes a close look at the image on the screen, peering at it curiously.]

[semper_cogitans]

[It's three-dimensional, although from this close distance. it's difficult to tell beyond the way the shadows sit. The actual bar code is flat against the leathery skin of Don's neck, being a tattoo, and the number - 25204475 if you go by the journal number - stands out clearly.

It really does look like some very strange bar code on a product, and the effect is a little eerie when it's on the skin of his own partner, but Robert tries to push that thought aside and instead concentrate on whether the irregular line spaces might match up to those numerals.]

... Were this an imagery nanocomputer, it would be more suited to this purpose...

[i_speak_softly]

[Don suddenly wishes he had paid more attention to barcodes back home. Not being entirely sure how the numbers are supposed to relate to the stripes, he instead starts working through common algorithms, trying to see if Mulder's extracted data is a transformation of the number on his neck.]

[Later, he'll be disturbed by the fact that there's a number on his neck, and that it took him almost a year and a half to find out what it was.]

[ufo_fanboy]

That still gives us a decent image to go with... and a lot more than we've seen before.

[Mulder goes back to staring at it thoughtfully, he's still reminded strongly of the way that the conspiracy tried to classify people back home.]

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert has never seen anything like it on a real person. Except maybe some strange markings on those from genetic black market experiments, but those aren't anywhere near as blatant as these codes. These scream "possession", and if he knew it wouldn't hurt Don, he'd want to get rid of it.]

... I wonder why they use bar codes of all things... Why not hide it in the wing structure we have, or via some other less-obvious marking...?

[i_speak_softly]

Ease of retrieval...? [A vague suggestion. He's only half-listening as he crunches the numbers.]

[ufo_fanboy]

[Yeah. Being categorized like merchandise has never sat well with Mulder either.]

You'd think they could conceal it better. Where I'm from, they place the barcodes on metallic chips or similar and then insert those under the skin.

Hm... I'm guessing Don is right, this could be the easiest option. Maybe the Malnosso can't do it any other way for some reason. That or they want it to be that obvious, to remind us of what we are here.

[semper_cogitans]

[The last part smacks of psychological oppression and is even more disturbing than simply having no better option. But it's also the most likely.]

It is... possible that there is something else difficult to ascertain from mere visual inspection. Perhaps fluorescent tags, or something else...

... I really do wish I could do a proper tissue biopsy on myself... [Alarming, perhaps, to hear.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don does indeed look up in alarm, and he puts a hand on Robert's elbow, as though to restrain him from commencing a biopsy right now.]

You know, it could be a - a fake lead.

[ufo_fanboy]

It could be diverting attention from something worse, but we can't rule it out completely, either...

[He's willing to believe in any possibilities. He gives Robert a sympathetic look; he understands well that idea of wanting to poke and prod at everything just to find out what's going on with it.]

I came close to having a go at cutting it out myself too, back when I first arrived, and then again later when my paranoia was at full force.

[semper_cogitans]

[That situation was awkward in general. It's still jarring, remembering himself... neurotypical. Jarring and sickening. Especially considering how he behaved.]

... We were all... acting quite erratically at the time.

Especially myself. I was spouting complete nonsense...

[i_speak_softly]

[Don wasn't! - but no need to mention that.]

There can't be anything else. I would know.

[He rubs his eyes tiredly and resumes his calculations.]

[ufo_fanboy]

Yeah... I hope never to experience anything like that again, though I know it's too good to be true.

[Mulder glances again to the image of the barcode.]

I'm sure you're right. I was as thorough as I could be, when I first came here and noticed the wings. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be unpleasantly surprised by anything.

[semper_cogitans]

But if these are false leads... [Robert lets out a long, low sound of annoyance and frustration.]

... Bah, I hate how things are always so hard to decipher here.

[i_speak_softly]

[Don bites the pen distractedly - sorry, Robert - and frowns at the numbers.]

Mr. Mulder, do you mind if I take this? I'm not going to solve it today, but if I think about it for a while...