trans_9 | They say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is... [Open]

That look John was giving Zouichi? Relieved beyond all measure. Replace "bullion cubes" with Technicolor cardboard slash dog food and that was basically what he'd had to get used to for the past cycle. And then some.

At this point, John Crichton was pretty easy to please on the food front. Do your worst.

"So basically they were having the whole space program cutback thing even in the future?" John had to say, that was depressing. Managing the Farscape project with IASA had been like pulling teeth and he'd half expected that in the future they would've changed that whole song and dance: so much for that. He wasn't sure what to make of the comment about being released: did Zouichi mean it in the podpop sci-f "released" or "I just got out of Supermax" kind of thing? If that was the case, he had to say that Zouichi was probably the nicest prisoner he'd ever met and at this point, he'd met more than he ever thought he would.

So possible ex-prisoner turned employee of the month turned...was Zouichi serious? John frowned at him.

"Product?"

"Not exactly. There was..." Zouichi wasn't sure how much of this he should explain. It was pretty depressing stuff, honestly. "A virus epidemic that devastated the Mars colony. And after that, people weren't quite as interested in the expense of repairing all the damage and re-terraforming the area as they were in researching the disease that brought it down. So space travel took a back seat to the race to understand the virus." Especially as far as the DRF had been concerned, and they'd had their hands in everything. It was a shame, too; in Jr.'s timeline, humans had gone on to other star systems, exploring the galaxy. How different might things have been?

"I'm a Synthetic Human," he said, smiling slightly. "We were engineered to resemble humans as closely as possible. But we don't take up as many resources and we're immune to N5S infection."

Oh jeez. John tried to picture what Zouichi told him, a whole colony of people just hit by some space version of the Black Death or malaria or whatever it was. He found he couldn't. Sure, he'd told Aeryn that compared to the Peacekeepers, Earth was rampant with death and disease, but the truth was he hadn't personally experienced a whole lot of it back in the States. So trying to accept that there was a Mars colony (and suddenly there wasn't), was...well, he didn't know. A lot to try to wrap his mind around, which wasn't helped when Zouichi suddenly announced that he wasn't as much of a red-blooded human as John assumed.

John managed not to gape at him. After all the stuff he'd had in his face and...up body parts he wasn't comfortable going into in the near future, he'd probably run out of jaw drops or something by now.

But Zouichi definitely gave him a run for his money, John staring at him.

He cracked a smile after a moment, a little lop-sided.

"So you're Homo Sapien 2.0?" John told himself that being a Synthetic Human didn't really change the fact that Zouichi seemed like a friendly, sane guy who wasn't breaking down conversations into how wussy humans were or tactical assessments. Just give him a second to adjust to whatever being a Synthetic Human entailed.

Most people in Zouichi's time didn't really think about it much, either. By the time he'd been brought to the ship, they had a disaster of their own to worry about, while the Mars incident had been a good 300 years in the past (from Zouichi's point of view, anyway).

In any case, he didn't seem to mind the staring.

"I guess you could think of it that way. The earliest Synthetic Humans were pretty close to coded as human, relying more on cybernetic enhancement than genetic engineering. My generation was the last created, and thus diverged the most from the original human genome. In some ways, lab animals are closer to humans than we are."

John frowned. Maybe he was a few steps up from a caveman in the grand scheme of things (apparently; good to know), but he didn't care what century Zouichi was from or the fact he didn't know what a Playboy Bunny was: that was seriously uncool.

"Well, way I see it, you're Human 2.0 and that's about it, no contest. You're not a lab animal," John said. His face broke out into a grin as he clapped Zouichi on the shoulder. "You'll have to show me what you can do someday. I bet you can talk and chew gum at the same time with all the other bonuses."

In other words, it was John's way of saying he didn't care about whatever Zouichi had genetically bolted on or what he might've been told by whoever slapped him together in some lab - maybe way back it would've weirded him out but these days he'd been surprised to look and realize that hey, his tolerance for Weird Stuff had taken a big spike up. For all he knew, he might have more in common with Zouchi than Aeryn, at least on the genetic front.

Zouichi blinked as John patted him on the shoulder. "Well, I'm sure there'll be more than enough opportunity to demonstrate my abilities. There certainly seems to be no shortage of crises."

It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the sentiment and all, but Zouichi did wish everyone didn't insist on patting him on the head and telling him how human he was. Humans had their good points and their bad; he had no illusions about that. But he didn't want or need to be one to consider his own existence worthwhile. He was comfortable with what he was. Even if what he was was sometimes more property than person.

...That had to be the least reassuring thing John heard all day.

He didn't know about Zouchi, but him, he could easily go a day without getting blown up or puked on or - or all the thousand and one things that could go wrong, starting with some big critters running through the ship. Just 'cause he'd gotten weirdly used to the idea that he better start expecting that kind of thing didn't mean he had to like it. If Zouichi told him he could benchpress Farscape One or juggle some buses, he would've nodded and said that was cool (and it was pretty damn cool, that mental image right there). Instead now John was wondering how bad it could get if you needed some super-human to assist here and it might not be enough.

Or maybe that was John's paranoia talking.

(He'd had a lot of practice).

"So, uh, ignoring any possible disasters on the menu, did you find anyone else from your time?" John figured that was probably something people got asked a lot around here.

Edited 2011-11-24 04:08 (UTC)

Zouichi got blown up every day on Earth, no lie. By contrast, the ship environs were strangely quiescent, almost boring.

"My partner came in when I did," he said, motioning toward the black motorcycle propped up at the bottom of the steps. "But other than that, no. It's probably best that way; I've never seen the pods attacked by anything." As far as Zouichi was concerned, if even one of his allies were still alive and on the ship, they were better off waiting out the war while he took care of things. No sense exposing them to needless peril. "And you? Meet any familiar faces?"

P.S. It depended on how big Farscape One was.

Yeah, don't ever tell John Crichton that. Apparently John's acceptance only went so far until it involved critters, goo, and things blowing up in his face, possibly all at once. A man had his sanity and health, etc, etc. He'd like to get sleep at some point in his life and Zouichi telling him that stuff probably wouldn't help.

John followed Zouichi's gesture toward the motorcycle. He whistled, impressed. It positively reeked of cool. You might even say it was bitchin' (or at least he would. And apparently so would Rygel -- he'd been teaching the little Muppet how to curse in English. Y'know, a little foreign exchange there). "Nice to know. Probably helps to have someone you know around here and isn't jonesying to shoot you."

You'd think that was fairly obvious, but stuff could get...complicated. He had to wonder what two of Zouichi would look like running around. Considering he didn't know exactly what the man was capable of, it was kind of up in the air. John blinked at the question.

"Yeah, one of my...crewmates. Aeryn, Sebacean with the guns. Great sense of humor. You'll know her when you see her," and John ~~was totally~~ totally wasn't at all scared of her, no sir. "I'm still looking for the others. Don't suppose you've seen a big guy with a nose and tentacles?" John mimed all of this. "Blue bald lady? Grey girl, might have her hand in your pocket? Kermit the Frog on crack?"

He was being entirely serious here. And Farscape One was smaller than the usual Earth shuttles, so good luck with that one. Like the Mini-Cooper of the space program. Yep.

Edited 2011-11-24 05:16 (UTC)

"It... is reassuring," he admitted. "Even if no one else ever shows up." Fuyu was the closest remaining family member he had -- perhaps the only one he had, considering what had happened just before he'd been brought here. "Are you saying someone here wants you dead?"

He assumed John was joking, but it didn't hurt to be sure.

"I've never heard of a Sebacean." Zouichi ran through the roster of crew he was familiar with, then shook his head. "And I don't think I've met any of your other friends, either. There's a crew member or two here with white or silver hair, though, if that's what you mean. Who's Kermit the Frog?"

...yeah, Zouichi could probably bench-press Farscape One.

John could get behind that. Just having even one person you knew helped keep things on the level. He wasn't sure if Mr. Human 2.0 over here could go insane from cabin fever, but he could at least account for himself and having Aeryn here being herself was definitely helping on his end.

He froze for a moment at Zouichi's question, and had to remind himself that it was really unlikely that Zouichi was a bounty hunter in disguise, come to collect.

"Not here, thank God. It's a long story," John said, resisting the urge to glance around. He thought a saw of flicker of black over Zouichi's shoulder and nearly pissed himself thinking it was Scorpius lurking around the corner, his finger sliding over his pulse pistol without realizing it. John swallowed and tried to play it cool. "They're basically look like humans from the outside. Pip's full grey. Like - what."

The look John shot Zouichi was flat. Okay, he could get maybe Zouichi didn't get Hefner but...seriously? Kermit the Frog? So what he was telling him was Kermit the Frog didn't make it into the future? They better have the movie in the Media Library 'cause he was about two seconds away from shooing Zouichi away for some homework.

But he could probably get some bonus points for going all Arnold on Farscape One. John wouldn't feel at all unmanly for jawdropping at it. You had to give Zouichi credit where credit was due.

Zouichi glanced over his own shoulder. Why was John so nervous? Was he a fugitive? "If she looks that human, it may be difficult to pick her out from among the rest of the crew. But I don't think I know any grey people, either." And he was now envisioning an actual Grey, complete with large head and giant black eyes. "Were you a criminal back on your own world?"

Well, Kermit the Frog might not have made it... Either that or no one saw fit to introduce a futuristic, sentient Japanese bioweapon to American pop culture icons from a thousand years ago. Perhaps if he'd been created to entertain children instead of kill zombies.

Damn, so probably no Chiana then. The plus was Zouichi's valuables were safe and likely to stay that way, and John wouldn't have to pry Chiana out of Zouichi's pants either. Assuming the guy still had junk like a red-blooded human, but John figured with Chiana that probably wouldn't stop her, so he was more concerned for Zouichi's sake than the Nebari's.

God help Zouichi if Chiana decided he was "interesting".

"Back on Earth? Nah, worst I had was running a stoplight," John's hand inched off Winona, sliding off the pulse pistol once he was satisfied that they were alone. He changed the subject: "Look, it's criminal you haven't seen the Muppet Movie. You ever have free time, I'll get you started in the Media Library with your crash course in what's what in anything ever."

If they had it. But if there was anything John could do for the guy that didn't involve selling his soul or signing up for, say, Jehovah's Witnesses, it was that he could at least catch Zouichi up to speed on everything he missed out on. John Crichton was all sharing and caring like that.

Zouichi would probably thank Chiana to stay away from his valuables, and also away from his other valuables. He preferred to get to know people by talking and not by rummaging around in their pants, because he was weird like that.

He watched as John let go of his pistol. The abrupt shift in conversation only made him him more curious about why someone who'd never committed a crime back home would need to be so paranoid... but it wasn't polite to pry too far. "I've already begun watching a series of action and science fiction movies. But I doubt there will ever be enough time to learn about everything." Nor did he deem it that necessary; after all, once he went home, what good would it do to know who Kermit the Frog was?

"If you recommend it, though, I'll try and set aside some time for this Muppet movie." Apparently after he watched Wicked.

Tell him about it. Zouichi wouldn't exactly be all big badass superhuman if Chiana ran off with his super pants.

John nodded as Zouichi filled him on where he was. "Well, not in a human's lifetime. We'll just run you up a list of greatest hits and go from there." John's face brightened, for a moment not looking as haggard as before; if they did stumble on it in the Library, he might even jump in to watch himself and he had to admit, suddenly the idea of seeing something as harmless and funny as the Muppets didn't seem like that bad of an idea.

Not that he expected Aeryn to get it. She probably didn't have Kermit where she came from. John was convinced that she didn't even have a normal definition of "fun" where she came from.

"You'll learn something from it. Promise." John was about two seconds from thumbs uping Zouichi, he was that jazzed, and at this point maybe he was grasping at straws, anything to distract him. Didn't matter. He'd take a walk down memory lane over all work and no play. Anyway, he'd never had to introduce Kermit and Piggy to anyone, so this was kind of one of those firsts for him too. Maybe he should just toss Jamie, Sarah and Zouichi together in the same class and they'd come out better than they went in. Maybe it wasn't saving a planet, but it was one small step either way in his opinion and it was probably a lot more stress free and ulcer-inducing.

Well, John clearly enjoyed these Muppets, and perhaps that was the most important thing. On this ship, it was important to find enjoyment where you could, so that maybe you did not have a psychotic break later on. Simple pleasures, and all that.

"The greatest hits? I didn't know they were so influential." Perhaps he was really missing some vital cultural touchstones here. Well, either they'd come out better than they went in, or Zouichi would finally stumble across The Room or something and decide the human race needed to be destroyed. Which, by the way, would be very Terminator.

"Is that what you do during your free time? Spend it in the Media Library?"

"Well, yeah," John said, completely unashamed to admit it. He'd say "what kid grew up without Star Wars" but Zouichi was living proof that you could get by without trying to use the Force at least once in your life just to see if it'd work. "Mostly spent it exploring so far. Tried fixing up my module but she's as good as she'll get."

John paused. Huh! Weird he hadn't really sat down for some me-time now that he thought about it. He'd told himself he was doing all that exploring so he'd know his fire exits in case something went south, get the big picture on just how large this boat was, but aside from shore leave, he couldn't recall actually sitting down and reading a book or something.

"I figure I can take a look later," John shrugged. "Unless you've got some suggestions I can run with."

Maybe something that didn't involve Terminator. You're just bubbling with reassurance Zouichi. Maybe you should go into public speaking.

Too bad there weren't any Jedi Knights aboard the ship. Well... not any more, anyway. "Your module? Not a space station module?" It would be so strange to have something like that aboard. Educational, though. Perhaps he should check the Hangar, just in case.

Zouichi shrugged. "I've been reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It's quite interesting. Although I'm afraid when I traveled to the bottom of the ocean, it was nothing like it was as described in the book. I suppose sea life in my time was much changed from how it was when the book was written." Well, that and he'd been pretty close to shore. John would probably know more about old books than he would, though.

If there were Jedi Knights, John would probably have a meltdown nerdgasm in the back. Possibly two. Just to be sure. Jedi plus Ash Williams had to be one of the best ways to lose your mind if you were going to go big, he figured.

"Nah, more like shuttle module. Think Discovery but smaller. I used to think it was cutting edge," John said. Right up until he nearly got sidelined by a Peacekeeper Prowler his first two minutes in space.

At this point, he was looking at Zouichi's ride and thinking that considering everything else he'd run into, it was probably more hi-tech than Farscape One. It definitely looked like it meant business. John raised an eyebrow when Zouichi filled him in on his summer reading list there. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? And he'd actually checked the ocean floor? John found that a grin was tugging at the corners of his mouth despite himself.

Zouichi, that's kinda...it's kinda cute.

Not that John was into that kind of thing, but someone had to say it. "Hey, don't read Journey to the Center of the Earth then. You'll be disappointed if you're looking for accuracy."

Edited 2011-11-25 08:33 (UTC)

Zouichi had met Ash. He just wasn't aware Ash was a movie star (sort of). "Is this module of yours in the Hangar? I'll look for it when I have the chance." How often did you get a chance to see an actual shuttle module up close? Not often, in Zouichi's case.

Whatever whatever, the ocean thing was for a mission, okay?

He waved a hand. "What I meant was the descriptions of vast amounts of untapped sea life. There weren't very many untouched areas left in the world... not like that, anyway. But I'm sure there are drier, more factual texts available in the library should I ever want to familiarize myself with the actual makeup of the Earth's center."

"Yeah, that's my ride," John said. "It's not exactly packing heat, so I figure she'll stick out."

He shrugged. At this point, unfortunately his module was as good as a flying museum relic compared to the rest of the crazy stuff he'd seen in the hanger.

"I think if you ever went that far, you'd need to take a step back and take a break," John blinked. Considering he'd just met the guy, more or less, he couldn't quite tell if Zouichi was one of those folks with the real dry sense of humor while he was jerking your chain or...if he really meant it, in which case, John had to say he was better at being productive in his free time than him. Whole burning the midnight whole thing there with Zouichi.

That or he was totally pulling his leg here. All John knew was he couldn't get a good enough read on Zouichi to tell.

"Well, neither is the Impala," Zouichi pointed out, "But I guess you're right. Most of the craft there are fighters or carriers." Although as far as he was concerned, that only made the module more interesting.

Zouichi had a dry sense of humor, but sometimes he meant it. This sometimes made talking to him an exercise in Read the Lineface.

"I don't sleep much," he said, smiling slightly. "So I probably have the time. But I've never needed the information so far. I wouldn't put it past the ship to send us into the middle of a planet sometime, though." So maybe he should look into it. Hmm.

John frowned. An Impala? So they really did have cars here. He guessed Ash might actually find his ride too and...well, he couldn't figure out where he was going to go from there, because as far as he knew there weren't any Deadites running around. Not unless Zouichi had neglected to mention an undead pest problem today.

He was also figuring that out about Zouichi's impressive lineface. Reminded him vaguely of this guy he used to work with back when they were prepping the module at IASA, except that guy didn't have a bitchin' ride and the ability to kick ass six ways to Sunday.

"You're just a regular glass full kind of guy," John grumbled, before he realized that Zouichi was sorta smiling if you tilted your head and squinted. "Big hit with the lady superhumans?"

Zouichi would probably mention if they had an undead pest problem. Come to think of it, someone else would likely bring it to John's attention by doing that whole running and screaming sort of deal. Anyway, not all zombies were Deadites.

"I do try to -- what? No." And now Zouichi just looked sort of taken aback. And/or embarrassed. Had he been giving off the wrong impression?

John would like to say he wouldn't be there running and screaming with the others but just because he learned to shoot didn't mean he wasn't above booking it in the opposite direction if he had to. You know what they say about the tactical advantages of some good, old-fashioned running for the hills. Great for your health, like an apple a day. Seeing as some of them weren't superhumans with extra features bolted on -- he didn't know about Zouichi. All John knew was he wasn't above running and hiding if things were going south.

"Guessing no, then. Didn't exactly picture you as big on dating."

Edited 2011-11-27 11:24 (UTC)

They say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is... [Open]

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HTML failing all over the place, sorry!

haha np

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hoverboards don't work on water :D

huh?

the whole back to the future theme going here. BTTF 2? >:3