The Third Dream - text and action

[vivi_aislinn]

please say yes or no okay? :>

1. are you a little kid? like youre under ten years old maybe

2. do you have dream powers like seeing peoples dreams?

3. if youre a guy are you nice? maybe youre a "good guy" where you come from or a hero

[Vivi's vaguely curious about the village, it seems. Really, she's just looking for people she might be less afraid of

Comments

[semper_cogitans]

[More questions to answer. The scrawl on the screen looks childish, and the pink makes it exceedingly unprofessional, but Robert uses his most precise script anyway because he's just that pretentious. (He doesn't realize he's pretentious, though.)]

1. I am not a youth, no. I am twenty four Terran years old, to be precise.

2. The only dreams that I can "see" are my own, though I suppose with an fMRI module and a brain scanner I could witness those of others. At present I possess neither, however. [Robert completely misses the point on this one.]

3. I am male-identified, yes. As for whether I am a "good guy", I suppose that depends on your definition of good. I adhere to strict codes of humanism and I am a pacifist, as well as a dedicated scientist and intellectual. I believe these are positive qualities in a person.

4. I was personally unaffected by the last experiment, so I cannot answer this question for myself. But I found it quite... distressing. As I had only been in Luceti for a few days at that point, it was an exceedingly

[vivi_aislinn]

...um

can you please use smaller words?

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

(OOC: Oh man, poor Vivi.)

[Robert's actually at something of a loss. HOW DO I SIMPLIFIED WRITING]

I suppose I can... try for your sake. [His encounter with Poland did let him realize there were people who couldn't understand him. But it was still difficult (and shocking) to come across them.]

1. Like I said, I am twenty four. 24. So no.

2. I can't... "see" other dreams. Only my own. [This is really ridiculously hard for Robert. There are a few marks where he obviously started to write more and then stopped himself.]

3. To me, I am a good person. Where I come from, I am considered one. [That's not entirely true, of course, but Robert realizes that giving the full answer would probably be confusing, even if he desperately wants to.] But I am not a hero... just a regular person.

4. The experiment did not do anything to me personally. But it did affect two of my new friends here, so I was... greatly dist scared. [He hates having to use these juvenile terms. There's a pause before he continues writing.] ... This place is very

[Written]

[vivi_aislinn]

thank you mister :>

[Hmm. Well, he does seem nice. Way too smart, and that part about using machines to see her dreams... that sends shivers down her spine. The last sentence, though... that's worth poking at.]

what do you mean you dont know?

Re: [Written]

[semper_cogitans]

[Oh, and she had to pick at the most uncomfortable part, too. Robert almost considers not responding, but... eventually, etiquette wins out over self-preservation. The text is still written smaller than it should be - but it's larger than it was before.]

Luceti is so unlike my home. Everything is different and strange. At home I... was highly educ knew a lot. But here, I don't know anything at all. Nothing is like I expect it.

[There's a pause before he writes the rest.]

My job at home... I'm a scientist. Astrobiologist. Astro- means space, bio- means life... so I study life outside of my planet.

I'm used to knowing a lot... And I'm not used to asking others for help all the time. [Is it possible to write shamefully? If it is, Robert just did so.]

[Written]

[vivi_aislinn]

[Man, she actually feels bad for the guy now. That's a rarity for her.]

um... well mister maybe you could study life here? theres lots of different people and animals and things :> and you still know a lot of stuff so dont feel bad okay?

Re: [Written]

[semper_cogitans]

[He's... thoughtful at this. It wasn't something he considered before. Weird how a little kid could be so insightful.]

I guess you have a point.

But this is still really new for me. I have some friends here though, so maybe they can help me.

...

Thank you. [He means it. It's strangely reassuring.]

[Written]

[vivi_aislinn]

...whats your name mister? maybe I could be your friend too

Re: [Written]

[semper_cogitans]

My name is Robert Alexander Hastings.

I guess you can call me Robert, if you want to. [He isn't used to that, though.] But I usually am called Professor Hastings.

I don't know a lot of young people like you, even back at home. [Terra has fewer children than modern-day Earth does; the birth rate is significantly lower.] But I did wonder one day if I would ever be a dad. I would probably adopt a child, though. That's the usual way, back at home.

[Written]

[vivi_aislinn]

is mister Hastings okay?

[There's something about this man that resonates with her. She already feels more at ease... and the dad thing makes her ponder something for a moment. She doesn't know him well enough, not by a long shot... but maybe, eventually, he can get his chance to be a dad.]

Re: [Written]

[semper_cogitans]

(OOC: D'aww.)

[Robert is... surprising himself. Something about this... little one, this child... It's drawing him, in a way he didn't think he'd ever be drawn to a young one. He's tempted to say that it's some kind of deep intelligence, something lurking almost like a subtext in the pink script.

Whatever it is, he wants to find out.

Yes, Mr. Hastings is okay.

What would you like me to call you?

[Written]

[vivi_aislinn]

[If Robert had said that, he'd be half right.]

Vivi! or um miss Aislinn if you wanna be fancy

Re: [Written]

[semper_cogitans]

Whichever you prefer. Though I will probably introduce you as Miss Aislinn. I like to be polite. [He'd say "professional", but it's really both - and either way it's generally a euphemism for "distant".]

[Written]

[vivi_aislinn]

miss Aislinn it is then mister Hastings :> it's

it's nice to meet you

Re: [Written]

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert smiles a little, a genuine guard-let-down smile, to himself.]

It's nice to meet you too, Miss Aislinn.

[Written]

[vivi_aislinn]

...youre a really nice guy

[Coming from her, that's a huge compliment.]

but can you promise me one thing mister Hastings?