Blinded (with Science?)

[itmeanscourage]

Furious, flustered and frightened, Isamu didn’t stop running until he’d reached the plaza. Out of breath, he sunk down behind one of the larger walls.

“Of all the… it is preposterous. That is what it is…” he huffed to himself, trying to gather his thoughts. “If I were actually collecting data without consent, or in direct violation of consent, that would be one thing… but a meta-analysis? A review of pre-existing literature? How can anyone object to that on ethical grounds?!”

Someone had, though. And that someone happened to be his brother’s girlfriend. Of course, it was not a question of if Minoru would find out about an argument heated enough to make the Anthean’s eyes glow. Just a question of when.

But at the moment, Isamu wasn’t even thinking about that.

“Is curiosity, in and of itself, a crime? If learning something new is satisfying or even pleasurable, does that automatically make it as reprehensible as getting high?” He pondered loud enough for any passersby to hear him. “Is science, simply because it requires empirical evidence, ideologically unethical? Where, between theory and practice, is that line drawn and who, if anyone, has the right to decide when it is crossed?!”

Comments

[itmeanscourage]

“Where I come from, they often say you have the right to remain silent, as what you day can and will be used to incriminate you.” He chuckled nervously. It was a very uneasy sound, and not one Isamu made very often. The elder twin confirmed Weird’s suspicions immediately. “I… it is someone that you know… and it is… not right to put you in the middle of that… I may have already done that to Minoru. I do not know…”

He was still angry about the incredulous things Ziggy had said about him. But he wasn’t without conscience. He did understand that actions had consequences, and he wasn’t in the mood to be facing even more of them.

[wherewere_thespiders]

"I've heard of that saying, yes. Usually, when someone gets arrested by the police."

Weird had heard it been given to a lot of rock stars who had gotten in trouble with the police and the Spiders hadn't been immune due to the fact that Ziggy wanted to break down barriers and the law often got in the way. Mick ending up punching media reporters and interviewers didn't help. The bassist sighed and could tell this visibly upset Isamu in some way.

"It's Ziggy, isn't it? You don't need to tell me, mate. I can see it written all over your face."

The bassist watched and listened. He could tell something was up even before people opened their mouths.

[itmeanscourage]

“No… no, no…” Isamu tried to counter, but it was useless to try and hide it now. So he just sighed, “Very well… you win. Was it truly that obvious?”

[wherewere_thespiders]

"You don't need to hide anything from me. I won't tell a soul. Unlike the louder band members I prefer to watch and listen than run my mouth off."

A difference indeed between Gilly who was louder and more expressive compared to the stoic bassist who hardly spoke and preferred to watch like a stone guardian or statue. Weird did speak but he often chose his words carefully and rarely engaged in mindless small talk or drunken chatter.

"Did you piss him off? Ziggy?"

[itmeanscourage]

“…yes.” Isamu admitted. Unfortunately, he wasn’t entirely sure what Weird actually knew about their singer’s Anthean heritage. So he simply added, “He firmly insisted that if living subjects are involved, especially if they are not of your species, then the experiment, no matter how it was conducted, is unethical. Obviously, as a biochemist, I do not agree.”

There were a lot of nuances that sentence was lacking. But Isamu took pride in his field of study. Probably too much pride. And Ziggy called him out on that big time.

[wherewere_thespiders]

"I thought so. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, mate. It's written all over your face."

Weird had a very good skill at spotting when a person was upset or that something was off. Intuition? Perhaps. It was just his way of looking and studying people on stage while he played, taking cues and judging body language. Ziggy's and Mick's---well, that was all over the place.

"Experiments. Yeah, those really fuck him and his uncle Thomas off from what I've heard. Best not to tread along those lines, mate."

Did Mick know about this? Weird guessed not and knew it was best if the emotional blond did not.

[itmeanscourage]

Of course, those lines had been treaded, and comfort zones overstepped. Isamu studied Weird curiously.

“…what, precisely, do you know regarding that particular topic?” He asked regarding Ziggy and Thomas’ opinions of experiments.

[wherewere_thespiders]

"I don't know too much. Only what Ziggy has told me and the lads about what his poor uncle had to endure. Something about him being different because he looked and acted different. Some sort of mental hospital or institute he got chucked into."

Weird shrugged. Ziggy was pretty vague about details but since Thomas was from another country everyone seemed to want to pick him apart because of how he looked and acted. A bit odd but the bassist wasn't going to delve into Ziggy's family business when the singer had enough on his plate already.

"What did you say to piss Ziggy off? It must have been something bad since he's usually chilled out with you and your brother."

[itmeanscourage]

Mental hospital. Looking and acting different. No, Isamu quickly concluded, Weird was not privy to their Anthean heritage.

“What did I say?” He huffed, being discreet and indignant at the same time. “I said that the paranormal was not beyond scientific scrutiny, and could thus be normalized. That is what I said. Needless to say, he did not agree!”

[wherewere_thespiders]

Weird knew nothing about Ziggy's alien heritage but only assumed the singer was different than most due to his height, build and other strange things that aroused suspicion in the watchful bassist. Yet, Weird wasn't one to pry and wouldn't push into Mick and Ziggy's love life more than he needed to.

"I'm sure he bloody didn't. Sometimes Ziggy can be sensitive to certain things and can get angry. We've seen his emotional outbursts and some of them are not pretty."

The time Ziggy blew up over something Mick or someone had said and he ended up crying. Poor guy. Mick had proceeded to buy flowers and pass them to the distraught singer who immediately perked up at the guitarist's gesture. Gilly, of course, was a tart but a good man inside too. He was even more clueless as to Ziggy's alien heritage.