ArchivedLogs:Mission to Mars

Mission to Mars
Dramatis Personae Liv and Kisha	2017-02-08 "It's on my to-do list and everything."
Location <XS> Kisha, Liv, and Lyric's Dorm - FL2
One side of this room is bright and exuberantly colorful. Green and pink batik-dyed curtains drape the windows and the loft bed is generally layered with a myriad of elaborately hand-stitched coverlets in a vivid mosaic of shades. A few paintings hang on the wall, surrealist and whimsical depicting odd fantasy-inspired scenes. Stained-glass suncatchers throw cheery light from the windows, and the back and sides of the desk's hutch are papered in a collage of photographs. A set of hand drums of various sizes are stacked, often in their carriers, beside the bed. Though generally kept quite tidy there's plenty of /things/ tucked around in their places; toiletries and makeup and jewelry in neat organizers on top of the dresser, the desk crammed with schoolbooks and novels alike alongside the computer and huge speakers, sporting goods stored in neat plastic tubs under the bed. A twenty-gallon aquarium on a stand sits to one side of the desk, home to a brilliantly blue Betta and a squad of neon tetras. Kisha's section of the room is more than a little outlandish as the young mutant has decorated in a highly unconventional style by covering the walls and windows in a selection of cork boards and white boards - each of which is covered in diagrams and schematics of various kinds. Plastic storage boxes filled with bits of machinery are stacked waist high along the walls and her wardrobe is filled with various overalls, tool belts and other oddities. No bed, here; her space seems to function mostly as a storage place for her clothing, school books, her desk and couch tucked under the windows. Liv's side of the room is strangely organized for a High school student. Her bed is outfitted in mismatched blankets and pillows, topped with a quilt that's likely handmade. Storage bins stack one on top of another at the foot of her bed. Her desk, while stacked with books of a wide range of subjects, is even organized, study materials within easy reach. The only things that could be considered out of place are potted houseplants, scattered on windowsills, on her desk, even one under her bed. They grow wildly, vines twisting here and there around her things and occasionally her roommates. It's hard to identify them exactly, as they seem to change color and shape at random. One even appears to have pine needles coming off of it. Liv's just finished up with her classes for the day and is currently sitting on her bed, back against the wall, laptop on her lap and an energy drink on the floor beside her as she types away on some project or paper. She's kicked her boots off, currently laying in the middle of the room and is just wearing a baggy Union Jack sweater and black leggings. Her green hair hangs free around her shoulders. As she works, she hums along to the Top 40's music playing from her computer. Without many classes to take in her final year, thanks to many summers of extra classes and overly full course schedules in the past, Kisha has had a lot of spare time on her hands. Time she's been using with glorious unpaid overtime at the best job ever. She slips back into the dorm room bundled up in her winter coat with a large box of bandaids tucked under her arm. She makes it as far as her desk and flops into the chair. "Now I understand why anyone with sense carries out science experiments on other people." Liv looks up as Kisha enters, turning down her music. "Long day?" She eyes the bandaid's curiously. "What, did the rats fight back?" she asks watching Kisha sit down at her desk. It's then she notices one of her own plants has gone rogue and begun climbing up the side of it. She sets her laptop down and makes her way over, gently peeling the vines off her desk and manually coaxing them back over to her side of the rooom. "What kind of experiments?" "Well. I can't tell you for legal reason," Kisha points out, resting her head against the desk with a low groan of discomfort. "But on a completely unrelated note have you ever seen the movie Pacific Rim? The one in which people pilot giant robots with their brains?" She wriggles out of the coat revealing she's already covered in lines of bandaids. All the way down the back of her neck and along her arms. "We don't really have rats in my area. Although I think someone in the building may keep some for pets at home. Seems plausible given the size of the place." "You have the weirdest job..." Liv says, frowning slightly as Kisha reveals the bandages covering her body. "Have you seen the nurse on campus?" she asks, making her way back to her bed once she has the plant under control. "So what happened then?" Kisha waves her hand at Bob. "Coffee Bob and make it quick," she orders. "In the movie? That was a... never mind. The robots kill the monsters and there was some romance subplot which resolved neatly. Standard movie things really. It's a little silly because the robots are far bigger than anyone could ever build a giant robot. Which is a little disappointing but I probably wouldn't be allowed to budget for anything that huge anyway. I did some math and I could probably buy a moderately sized country for the same amount." Meanwhile Bob begins making coffee. "No, I've seen the movie. I meant...you. And the bandages," Liv corrects. She does grin a bit as Kisha goes on about building giant robots and the budget to do so. "I feel like I should be worried. I'm pretty sure you're going to take over the world some day. Though you'd probably do a good job. Better job than most current leaders anyway." Apparently giving up on her paper for now, she pulls grabs a fashion magazine off the floor beside her bed and idly flips through it as she talks. "Probably easier just to buy that moderately sized country and move all the mutants there." "I'm going to colonize Mars or maybe one of the more habitable moons. Build my own robot empire. It's on my to-do list and everything. The brief and non-breach of contract version is lots and lots of needles. Did you want coffee?" Kisha explains, still mostly face down on her desk. "I think there's a clean mug somewhere. No milk or sugar though." "A robot empire. Are these 'take over the planet' robots or 'make you coffee and clean your house' robots?" Liv asks. At the offer, she shakes her head and reaches down to pick up her energy drink. "No thanks, I'm good." She takes a sip of her own drink, still glancing through her magazine. "When you graduate, are you still going to be working at Stark Industries? At least, until you get your Mars program off the ground?" Kisha shrugs and winces almost immediately. "There won't be anyone living there. So it'll be construction and mining at first. Eventually I suppose I may need some kind of space based combat drones. But food, air and resources would all come before that point. I'm not really interested in taking over this place. Too much admin." She holds her hand out and Bob offers a cup. "My plan is to keep working there if I can. Perhaps take some online college courses to get an official degree or two. Mostly to save time dealing with people at work." "Seems like you've got your life planned out," Liv says, taking another sip of her drink and setting the magazine down. "Seems like everyone knows what they're doing when they graduate. I'm just trying to pass finals, I don't know how everyone knows what they're doing for the next five years. Think you'll need a roommate on Mars?" Kisha sips at the boiling hot coffee. "I'll probably offer to bring some people along with me," she admits. "But it's likely to be a one way trip. There's also a small chance something could go wrong and kill everyone. Space is only mildly less hostile than New York is. I have to admit your mutation would make hydroponics a lot easier. Although I'm hesitant to rely on mutant powers to survive in case the mutant in question has an accident or just dies from natural causes." Liv gives a light shrug. "I'll think about it. Probably just end up getting some mundane Earth job." She takes another long gulp of her drink, apparently finishing it as she squeezes the middle of the can and sets it on the floor again. "I suppose even if I don't go, I could send some plants with you to get you started. One's that create larger fruit, process oxygen twice as fast. I've been studying a lot more lately and I think I've figured out how to make long-term changes. Obviously, I need to test it some." "You say get a mundane job, but you do know if you can make a permanant change like that your mutation is worth literally millions of dollars?" Kisha points out with a wry grin. "The companies which design and sell modified crops spend vast amounts on research into that sort of thing. Make a high yield crop that farmers can't re-use, then sell it at a decent profit every year while you make an even better product. There are probably people who would kill you just to stop you making better crops available that could be replanted." She pauses, then coughs. "And now I say it out loud I have a suspicion that maybe you would have been a lot less stressed without this information." Liv does, indeed, seem rather shocked by Kisha's knowledge and the possibilities her mutation may allow her. "Well...I did say I /think/ I figured it out. Haven't, haven't actually done it yet," she stammers. "Besides. With all the crap GMOs get already, how will people react to GMOs from a mutant? I might get murdered by uneducated hippies." She groans and plops down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Mars is starting to sound better." Kisha slurps some more coffee. "Entirely possible, people react poorly to just about everything. You ever hear about the whole horrible future everyone was dreaming about a while back? If that does happen you should be guaranteed a safe place in a high value mutant camp. So there is a silver lining of sorts." She puts the coffee cup down and peels one of the bandaids off. "Did you get a registration fine? Or is that still a way off for you? I'm undecided if I should pay mine or not. Registration seems like a terrible idea but at the same time it seems like the cost of not doing anything will get unreasonable rather quickly." Liv turns her head and raises a brow to Kisha. "...thanks? Yeah, I heard a little about it. Didn't really follow it. Besides, they fixed it, right?" She shakes her head, as much as she can laying on her bed. "I'm not eighteen yet. Though I will be soon. I should probably figure out how to register. I know the registration thing is...dumb but it seems like a huge pain in the ass not to register." "For everyone fighting to make the world a better place there is probably at least one person trying to fuck things up again," Kisha explains solemnly. "I knew that. Your birthday was in.... uhm.... this is much harder when I'm without my augmented reality display. I want to say Ma... no April?" She snaps her finger at Bob. "Bob when is Livs birthday?" There is a little acknowledgement beep and an artificial voice proclaims 'The 15th of April' Liv sits up when Bob rattles off her birthday off hand. "He knows my birthday?" she asks, more curious than upset. "What else does he know? About me? Oh, yeah. April 15th. So I have a few months." Kisha laughs. "Bob has access to my calendar. Which has your birthday marked on it. It's just like asking one of those voice assistants on a smartphone. He doesn't really 'know' anything about you. I've got little reminders about lots of people I know in there. Just the usual sort of thing people keep track of so they can send suitable gifts, make small talk and things like that." "Oh. That's cool," Liv says, chuckling slightly. "I should get my own Bob. He makes coffee and knows dates. That already makes him worth his weight." She glances towards the clock sitting on her desk, slowly rising to her feet. "I should probably head to dinner. You staying here or want to come?" "He weighs a lot more than a smartphone," Kisha points out. "And the running costs are a lot higher. I could build you one but I'm not sure you could afford the parts." She holds the coffee cup out at Bob again. "I'm okay for food. I grabbed something on the way back from work. There's a really good taco truck on the way." "Oh tacos, I haven't had those in ages..." Liv says, staring slightly dreamily at the door. "I guess I'll catch you later than. Feel better," she says, giving Kisha a brief grin as she makes her way to the door. Kisha holds up a refilled cup of coffee in salute. "I'll try bring some back later this week then. I'm sure I'll be fine, the health and safety waiver was only a few pages thick. Enjoy whatever is on the menu today."