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Post by Rodimus Prime on Apr 15, 2009 18:52:43 GMT -5
"Hello, Perceptor. Botanica," Rodimus answers in reply to the greetings, before returning the discussion to its previous topic.
"'After a fashion'?" he asks, smiling wryly at Botanica as he speaks. "And I can think of a few Micromasters back home who'd object at the suggestion that we can't grant true sapience without Primus, the Matrix or, uhm... Vector Sigma. Or what was that other... Allspark." Not to mention the Dinobots right here in this reality, but since Rodimus's Dinobots don't share that same origin, he doesn't think to include them in his mention. In fact, it really doesn't register as Rodimus lists the 'quick and divine' methods of granting Transformer sapience that not all realities would include the Matrix in that list any more than all realities include Primus.
The young Prime approaches one of the containers and examines the plants potted within. "Actually, I would think the biggest problem with using mechanical lifeforms is that they're too close to us. Usually, it seems that the hazards that evolve in organic environments are more dangerous to organics, while the hazards that evolve in mechanical ones are more dangerous to us... at least until you get to the big things that are dangerous to everything. But outside of crossover cases, that seems to be the general trend." He looks around at the other pots. "In fact, I'd say that because this world had a mechanical sister planet, that's something we should probably be on the alert for when taking things from /here/."
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Shanodin
Major
The Chamberlain, Her Chivalrous Immensity, Lady Botanica. The Unyielding Vanquisher of Weed Killer
This is NOT her field of dreams
Posts: 700
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Post by Shanodin on Apr 16, 2009 10:10:55 GMT -5
"A fine point Rodimus, and one I admit I did not consider as such. I have been quite careful to collect specimens which are pure and unaltered, but I will fully review them before final inclusion upon ship,: Botanica answers as she carefully mixes the mixture in her bowl into the soil surrounding the rose.
"I will say that while we seem to have some fauna crossover from the sister planet- Tiny, for one, and that worm Clipper adopted- I've not noticed any such trend in the flora."
As she works, the rose she is tending seems to grow more hardy, blossoms opening and colors brightening, stems thickening and thorns sharpening. A heady perfume fills the air, and within minutes there are hundreds of tiny aphids swarming the plant. If one looks closely, he will see that the aphids are actually eating away parts of the plant,
"Mmm hmm, much better," she murmurs, straightening and turning back to her companions. "You don't think there is a spark of the Divine within all of us, Rodimus,? That even those that do not have Childe of Primus(TM) stamped on their rears aren't somehow connected through Him?" She makes a very unladylike snort then. "I think our current situation stands proof enough against such an argument."
"And sapience, dear Perceptor, is a relative concept."
She dusts off her hands, "I am glad you are here Rodimus. I need to go over my plans for this biosphere with someone from command, after all."
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Apr 19, 2009 12:05:38 GMT -5
OOC: Perceptor skipped with permission.
Rodimus's smile turns almost grim. "I am quite aware of the different places the spark of Primus tends to crop up, Botanica, thank you, and it has little enough to do with faith or religious supposition. I can't speak for non-Transformer lifeforms or any connections to any other divinities, however." Primus, after all, was the main champion of a number of light gods, something Rodimus has been aware of since Unicron told his story on the astral plane.
"But you'll have to excuse me - I thought you were referencing only the more... direct involvement methods. You do run into plenty who work under the mistaken belief that those are the only methods available." Well, Botanica might not, but Rodimus has.
"Anyway, yes... moving onto business?" Rodimus is a bit of a contradiction. He is the chosen representative of his god, he has a stronger connection to the Transformers' divine life force than most, he has heard the story of his species origin directly from the creator's opposite number... and yet he does not view himself as a religious mechanoid, and deals far more readily in practical matters. His beliefs don't stem from religious faith, but from personal encounters. He doesn't believe in souls because he's taught to, but because he can see them, and so forth. All in all, a rather odd position to be in.
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Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Apr 20, 2009 20:22:45 GMT -5
The garden has another visitor; one who does not have his much larger kin's issue with the stomping of grass. Having spent much of his time since arriving on Gillanan III exploring the areas in and around the Autobot tunnels, Spy Shot 6 now comes jogging into Botanica's garden, drawn by the concentration of bright colours.
As the determined churning of his legs carries him onwards through the towering containers of plants, he hardly seems to take notice of the garden's other occupants, intent on picking which plant he wants to observe more closely first and deciding on the best way to reach it. However, he does begin to strobe his flash in the noticeable-but-not-overly-intrusive manner that he has adopted to indicate 'I am here, please do not step on me!'
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 20, 2009 22:33:32 GMT -5
Quiet scientist is quiet because his above average perceptive abilities - Perceptor, hullo - has noticed that little strobing signal. Also, he is rather non-religious and is more interested in hearing their opinions than expressing the fact that he has, to this point, lacked any proof of the existance of any "higher power", since in his reality, Transformers were created not by Primus or the Allspark, but by Quintessons.
It is hard to think of a god when one owes the existance of one's race to a bunch of sociopathic devils.
Still, there is a curious strobing that catches Perceptor's attention, urging him to kneel.
"Ah! Spy Shot! Greetings. Would you like assistance?" he asks, holding out his hand for the tiny little mechanism to hop onto if he wishes.
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Shanodin
Major
The Chamberlain, Her Chivalrous Immensity, Lady Botanica. The Unyielding Vanquisher of Weed Killer
This is NOT her field of dreams
Posts: 700
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Post by Shanodin on Apr 21, 2009 23:10:57 GMT -5
Botanica arches an eyebrow at Rodimus, but does not attempt to continue the philosophical conversation. Some subjects are best left alone, and religion is one of them. At least, best left alone for now.
"Yes. Well, I've been working on gathering specimens which I feel will be able to flourish in an enclosed and artificially sustained environment. To that end, I've also been working out the logistics of creating such a self-sufficient biosphere."
She hesitates a moment before continuing, "And...I really would prefer to be able to create a full biosphere, containing not just flora but fauna. Nothing too large, of course. Just some of the insects and smaller creatures that aid the plants in their growing cycles. Not even the most careful gardener can successfully care for every need; not even myself."
She chews a bit on her lower lip and crosses her secondary arms across her chest as she glances at Perceptor and Spy Shot. She looks rather self-conscious, a rare thing for one who is usually so composed. "Of course, I also prefer to do this for...more selfish reasons which I hope you will understand. We aren't for sure what will happen, after all...."
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Apr 22, 2009 22:59:09 GMT -5
Rodimus can't help his curious gaze as Spy Shot 6, with whom he's interacted only minimally so far, wanders into the scene. How odd, to see a robot significantly smaller than a Micromaster, than even Goldbug when Goldbug was a toy race car... and yet larger than a tape's alternate mode. To the Prime, Spy Shot is even a bit stranger than the Maximals (minus, perhaps, Botanica), who generally appear to just be outgrowths of technology he's already familiar with. Still, though, he politely greets, "Hello, Spy Shot," before he returns his attention to Botanica.
The Prime frowns, a bit puzzled at Botanica's suddenly self-conscious nature. "Oh?" he starts, then his optics widen in realization. "Oh!" He pauses to consider this, then shakes his head. "Good point."
He shrugs. "I don't see the problem. It's not like you're trying to transport scraplets or anything, after all. Still, we're going to need to keep them contained, and have procedures in place in case they don't stay that way. Just assuming we have a fool proof containment system will only prove us the fools."
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Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Apr 23, 2009 19:16:16 GMT -5
"Hello, Perceptor," Spy Shot greets, climbing onto Perceptor's hand without a moment's hesitation. "I would like assistance. I want to go there." Facing away from Perceptor, he points a pincer at a red flower he can see trailing over the edge of a container. At the same time the screen is his back flicks on, displaying his current view of the flower.
The view on his back changes as he directs his attention to Rodimus, offering a quick reply of, "Hello, Rodimus Prime." As his focus returns to the flower, so does the image.
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 25, 2009 22:34:57 GMT -5
Distracted as he is by having kneeled down to assist the tiny camera-bot, Perceptor catches Botanica's comment about "selfish reasons."
"Selfish reasons, Botanica?" he inquires as he rises and glances over toward her.
"We had been discussing a possible corrective deterrent barrier to prevent escape, Rodimus, in addition to system segregation and isolation. At this time, I do not believe that any species that Botanica is likely to consider would be inimical to either us or the ship. However, should it become neccessary, a simple purge to deep space vacuum would offer a rather simple solution to dealing with escaped biologicals," he explains. At length.
He would probably continue to go on, however, Spy Shot would like to look at the pretty flower, and Perceptor is curious enough - both about the flower, and about what Spy Shot would like to see the flower for - to interrupt his own exposition to oblige the tiny mechanism.
"Ah, of course, Spy Shot," he replies, rising carefully and stepping over to the pot and plant in question. Once there, he holds his hand out toward the container so that Spy Shot can get a very close view.
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Shanodin
Major
The Chamberlain, Her Chivalrous Immensity, Lady Botanica. The Unyielding Vanquisher of Weed Killer
This is NOT her field of dreams
Posts: 700
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Post by Shanodin on Apr 26, 2009 9:32:21 GMT -5
The relief Botanica feels when Rodimus does not dismiss her plans out of hand is rather obvious. She gives Rodimus one of her more radiant smiles as her composure returns.
"Thank you," she says. She bends slightly at the shoulders, giving more of a half-bow than a nod at the young Prime. "As Perceptor explained, I have been working on covering all the bases, so to speak. I am fairly confidant that we can keep any such escapees to a minimum. Purge to vacuum would be a last resort, of course, but would work in the case of a major failing. I can exist in minimal atmosphere, though I have grown unused to doing so."
"I have the details and plans over there," she adds as she gestures toward the table and her datapad. "If you'd like to review them. Or if you've a disk or stick handy, I can simply make a copy so that you and Xaaron can look them over?"
Why yes, Botanica is pointedly ignoring Perceptor's repetitious question. Impolite, yes, but hopefully he will forgive her. She might be persuaded to explain the true situation to her fellow scientist at some point, but now is simply not the time. The tiny camera-bot, however, she is no longer ignoring.
"Oh, Spy Shot? I've been meaning to call you. I lack the ability to make my own visual records, and was hoping you might assist me in cataloging the flora and fauna we will be bringing along? I want to create a proper database, for myself and for those who may be interested in such things."
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Apr 26, 2009 19:34:00 GMT -5
"Ah, sure, let me see," Rodimus answers Botanica, heading for the datapad. "I'll go over it with Xaaron, sure, but may as well get an idea up front." Then he looks up and grins at Botanica. "Confident or not about the escapees, though, we do need that last resort measures. Just make sure the garden itself can be sealed off if we do have to purge atmosphere." He looks down and scans over the datapad. "Since we're building this thing in compartments, that shouldn't be too hard, anyway."
Like Botanica, Rodimus doesn't bring attention back to any "personal" reasons. He does glance up from the datapad to note Spy Shot climbing into a flower, then frowns. "How big are the lifeforms that you're planning to bring, anyway?" After all, something that's small enough for most Transformers to dismiss could still present quite a threat to Spy Shot!
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Post by Ramulus on Apr 27, 2009 15:02:58 GMT -5
Along the trees a metallic glint of red fades in and out between trees, calmly arching towards the group. Internal systems sound from Ramulus as he steps near the others "*/scan completed, data log stored, localized weather forecast complete, time lapsed: two dot fourty three hours/*" Cleancutting a fresh twig to munch on the leaves, he lies down in his ibex form, rewarding his systems for their patience amidst alluring sprouts.
During this short rest he will transfer the logs to a datadisk, which will provide systematic data on this region regarding growth density, solar radiance, terrain relief, deep soil scans, atmosphere statistics, no less than a three weeks graphical analysis of past environmental conditions, and a forecast spanning two weeks. Anyone working on this project will be free to use this data, and even consider them tremendously usefull for the makeup of the atrium. If asked for, he can even include similar logs from Earth for comparison, though they are not as immense as the few he has from Gillanan now.
No, he hasn't said anything, he has his mouth full. He just gives a short nod.
(Skippable)
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Post by Spy Shot 6/Cameron Otto on Apr 28, 2009 20:08:52 GMT -5
Raised up to the flower, Spy Shot proceeds to look at it very carefully without touching, tilting his head this way and that and shifting about on Perceptor's hand to see it from different angles. He doesn't look up as he answers Botanica's request, "I might assist you in cataloging the flora and fauna we will be bringing along." After a moment of thought, he revises his response. "I will assist you if I am capable."
Staring at the plant for awhile longer, Spy Shot is apparently satisfied with his observations and points over to another plant, this one with large yellow flowers, and once again displays the image of it on his screen. "Over there," he says to Perceptor.
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Post by Perceptor on Apr 30, 2009 15:23:32 GMT -5
Perceptor is curiously enchanted enough by having become Spy Shot's tour guide transportation, that he barely notes how his question has been all but brushed off by Botanica. That isn't the first time this morning that she has dodged answering something similar. That note gets filed away, as well, for later... examination.
"I believe that is the primary design at this time, Rodimus. To make the entire atrium system fully independant of the rest of the ship with the ability to secure and seal it seperately," Perceptor replies absently as he complies, keeping his hand steady as he carefully moves over to the indicated flower. Ramulus gets a brief, and just as absent, nod of greeting along the way. Perhaps later when Perceptor is actually aware of what, precisely, Ramulus is doing, he will be much more talkative - run, Ramulus! Run!
For now, however, there is a very curious tiny camera-bot who wants to see everything, and Perceptor - who is, himself, an embodiment of curiosity - is all too happy to oblige. Spy Shot? You could not have picked a more perfect mechanism to tote you around and show you anything your tiny little spark desires.
For as long as your tiny little spark desires.
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Shanodin
Major
The Chamberlain, Her Chivalrous Immensity, Lady Botanica. The Unyielding Vanquisher of Weed Killer
This is NOT her field of dreams
Posts: 700
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Post by Shanodin on May 2, 2009 18:20:15 GMT -5
"Yes," Botanica says, nodding at Perceptor's clarification, "The biosphere should be completely self-sufficient and sustaining, with all pertinent systems localized within the shielding walls. It will be, essentially, a miniature world within the ship." She rattles on a bit about airlocks and shields, the nanite tracers she mentioned to Perceptor, getting rather technically before she realizes that...she's getting rather technical. Looking faintly embarrassed, she finishes, " ...ahem, yes. Well, it all looks good on paper, but of course we won't know for certain how things will integrate until the ship is a bit further along."
"And thank you Spy Shot. You assistance will be most appreciated," she adds to the tiny camera bot, smiling a bit at the rather childlike way in which he is ordering Perceptor about.
"Nothing too large, Rodimus. Some birds and rodents, several insects.... If allowed, I would like to bring one or two species of the predator birds, to aid in naturally keeping the population of the squirrels and such manageable. I would understand if you'd rather I not...Oh, Ramulus! Your scans are done?"
She heads toward the other Maximal, smiling. "Also, I take it the Dicentra Eximia would be a good choice to take along. I was not going to uproot it, as it does not cultivate easily, but if you find it tasty, I'll try to make a go of it."
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