A reminder to not count your Earths before they've hatched.

[chiron_survivor]

It is not unusual to find Adia in the Plaza. She is there frequently enough, sitting in front of a Nexus terminal or fixing herself a cup of coffee. It is not even unusual to find her accompanied by pokémon. This time it's only one, a large bird that stands nearly as tall as she does. It stays close to her seat, keeping a watchful eye for suspicious characters.

What is unusual is the expression on her face.

Adia has come to the Nexus upset before, but this is different. All her nervous energy is gone, replaced with a washed-out, nearly lethargic appearance. She's holding a children's drawing in her hands, staring at it for long seconds before folding it along well-worn creases. She picks at a corner, staring into the distance, then unfolds it and starts the process all over again.

This goes on for several minutes until Bucky, wise bird that he is, gently nudges her with his beak. Coming back to herself, she blinks and looks around, remembering where she is.

"Something... something bad happened back home. A lot of people are... really upset. And losing hope. How do you come back from that?" She looks down at the picture and whispers, "How do you learn to hope again?"

Comments

wish i had paid time for the rest of his icons :arrgh:

[notalldead]

He notices the bird being leery of him and looks a little nervous in turn. Jesse gives it a wary smile as he side-steps around to the offered seat. He also subtly pulls it a bit further away under the premise of just getting settled, but again. Give the living their space and the same goes for their massive pets who can peck you.

"Good thing I'm a big fan of long stories. Watched Lord o' the Rings at least four times." Once seated, Jesse is sitting backwards in it, arms folded on top of the backrest like a youth counselor. Wearing a warm smile, the zed tilts his hat back with one finger. "Y'all look like y'need a sympathetic ear and I thankfully got two of 'em."

you need space for a "youth counselor" icon

[chiron_survivor]

There's something reassuring about how casually he takes his seat, like a friendly neighbor instead of a shambling undead. But he doesn't miss the nervous look he shoots her bird companion. "Bucky's wary of strangers," she says apologetically. "And a little over-protective of me..."

With good reason, it seems. She's about as pale as one can get without being medically inconvenienced. She smiles uncertainly at his ear joke. Is that a little undead humor? The pop culture reference goes over her head, but she gets the gist, at least.

"So, um... there's a war where I'm from. A bad one. Our enemy destroyed our colonies, reduced our population from billions to less than forty thousand. We've been on the run ever since. In space," she clarifies. "We were looking for Earth. It's a lost colony, in my universe, home of the thirteenth tribe. We were hoping that their advanced technology could help us."

She swallows hard. This is where things wen't horribly wrong. "Well, we found it. But it's a dead planet. The thirteenth tribe had their own nuclear war over two thousand years ago. Nothing survived."

[notalldead]

Jesse listens, nodding along, eventually cringing and frowning in sympathy at the talk of finding a dead planet fostering equally dead hope. The zed pulls his hat off his head and puts it over his heart in respect for both being lost.

"Ain't never been a fan of nukes and here's exactly why. Nothin' good comin' of that kinda thing. Ain't nothin' I can say that expresses how sorry I am fer your situation though." He puts his hat back on, inwardly thankful to have it back where it belongs. Kind of hates having his patchy hair loss on display.

"Been in that spot a few times myself. Got myself a gang of other decent folk with the same condition as me. All we want is a cure. An' we've moved around a ruined West Coast lookin' fer it. We've had a few false flags, a few dead ends, lost some good people along the way. An' it never gets easier. Havin' to feel that lost hope, havin' to realize everything you did up til now was fer nothin'.

"But like I said, y'can't stop. Y'can't afford to stall out an' let that drive fer better, fer HOPE, to die out. Even if it's a long shot, y'gotta find and make the next plan, the next move. Even if y'all gotta make it up cuz y'got nothin' else, y'gotta KEEP movin'. If y'don't, that lets the despair swallow y'all up. And hey, fer what it's worth, Ol' Jesse here is ready to do what he's got to help out a Nexus neighbour!"

[chiron_survivor]

The gesture of respect warms her heart a little more towards this undead fellow. While the loss of Earth is a terrible blow to the Fleet, she also mourns the loss of the thirteenth tribe for its own sake. Even if it happened so long ago.

"I'm not, either," she agrees quietly. No, nothing good comes from nuclear weapons. But regardless of her own suffering, she can't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Jesse's plight. At least she's still alive, and has managed to help keep the remainder of the Fleet disease-free with vaccine distribution and medical aid. How much worse it would be if they had to search for a cure in addition to a planet.

And yet, despite his own struggles, he's willing to take the time to help her. She smiles softly. "Thanks. I... I appreciate the advice. Jesse. My name's Adia." She'd offer him a hand, but, y'know, he did just tell her that he's got some sort of zombie disease. Speaking of which... "Can you tell me more about your illness? Maybe I can help you, too."

It's always easier for her to focus on someone else's problems. It's not exactly moving forward, but it's an excellent distraction.

[notalldead]

Jesse looks surprised at the offer! Then waves a hand as he smiles sheepishly. "Aw heck, y'all don't gotta go outta yer way fer me and mine! Yer worse off than us right now s'how I see it." Although he realizes shortly that maybe telling someone that unwilling zombies are better off than they are might not be terribly encouraging.

"An' I'm sorry t'say it, but we don't know a whole lot about what we got. Ain't contagious by touch, but fluids gettin' crossed is another matter. Real common to end up a zed from a bite. Most of our eggheads think it's a virus of some kind. But findin' how to backtrack it from there is turnin' out to be a real headscratcher. Like tryna put socks on a rooster.

"Especially since it's rare, but sometimes when yer off this here mortal coil and start turnin', you wake up still with yer wits about ya. That's what makes me and my gang, The Rotten, a bit of a novelty where we're from. Most zed just amble around, droolin' and lookin' fer somethin' livin' to bite. Most don't know enough to pound sand down a rat hole, y'hear? Ain't gonna come into the Nexus and look for nice conversation, if ya follow me."

[chiron_survivor]

"It's no trouble to listen," she assures him. And she's not about to get into a contest over who is suffering more. She genuinely wants to help. "I'm a microbiologist. I study infectious diseases for a living."

Which it sounds like this illness is. The mode of transmission reminds her of rabies, but no rabid animal ever comes back from the dead. "No one's examined the blood of an infected person for antibodies?" She asks, curiosity bringing a bit of color back to her face. "What are the symptoms before the person passes away?"

The symptoms after death are a little disturbing. Not just the physical degradation, but the fact that most victims end up like classic movie zombies. "If it is caused by a virus, there'd be the possibility of creating a vaccine... cures are harder, though. That might be why you're running into so much trouble."

[notalldead]

Adia mentioning her actual vocation makes Jesse sit up straighter. "Oh wow, maybe y'all MIGHT be able to pull somethin' off? I mean, y'all got bigger problems on yer plate presently, but once things are back on track at home...?"

But no reason to leave Adia's questions hanging, especially since she's asking some good ones. "I got a lab tech in the gang named Mitchell. Fella's as bright as a new penny. Ain't too social; prolly from readin' so many comic books and not talkin' to girls. But he's always doin' some kinda science to keep workin' towards the cure. I should ask him about that antibody thing.

"As far as the symptoms go, y'all get a right nasty fever first. Cold sweats an' the shakes. If you were bit, the wound won't close for nothin'. Git real pale and slowly just kinda...fade out. Then anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, they're gettin' back up feelin' real hungry. But once in a blue moon, y'wake up still yerself, barrin' any brain damage from being dead too long might cause. And even then, y'just come back a little...easily confused or entertained. And those are the ones I'm always tryna find to add to the gang if they wanna come with. The living gangs for the most part don't want our sort around, so I just made our own."

[chiron_survivor]

She gives him a modest smile. "I can certainly try. I'm also helping to set up a research center in the Nexus with a mage friend of mine. I'll have a lab with equipment when it's built, I'll be able to run some actual tests then."

Before Jesse gets too deep into his description of the disease, she pulls out of her bag a small notebook and pen. The notebook is already nearly full; she hurriedly flips to a fresh sheet and starts to write some things down. "Does this disease have a name?" she asks, her pen rapidly moving across the page. "Any idea how it started?"

It's sad to hear that Jesse and his friends are outcasts on their world, but sort of understandable. "Um... I know you said that most of the victims want to... ah, bite others, after they die." She pauses, then asks delicately, "Is that also a compulsion for the ones who retain their intelligence and personality?"