"Anything matters," said Ellie. "If it matters to you." She was prone to interest in things that others found archaic, meaningless. Just because the world had changed didn't make its history and past customs irrelevant; if anything, it made them more important. Someone had to keep these things alive; and even if not, one day they'd come up again on their own. Humans were creative, but they created in patterns.
"I'm confident we'll make things work." Ellie returned the look. Her expression softened, mildly amused. "You were a logical choice. Even if... Even if I could know you better. Better than I do. O'Brien trusts and likes you. Why shouldn't I?"
Speaking of.
Ellie had had a fish once. Or twice. They were too quiet -- she'd forgotten they were alive, subsequently losing them to the Porcelain Beyond.
At the mention of the chamber, Ellie seemed to straighten, leaning forward as if she hadn't heard Taisce properly. It was rare to be asked such a question, honestly; people forgot the lab existed most of the time, and when they remembered they didn't much care about it. Usually, anyway.
"Oh... Lots of things," she said at last, running a hand through short hair. "Mostly we synthesize movement pattern data, make... Make predictions. We do a lot of background reasearch in... In all sorts of things... And try to look into infected behavior in general. Lots of notes. It's... It takes up a lot of time."