Dani Moonstar's a survivor (ms_moonstar) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-05-27 13:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, dani moonstar (mirage), glados |
Is that your code name for a date...
Who: GlaDOS and Dani Moonstar
What: Studies in Human Behavior. For science.
Where: A bar
When: Proceeding after this post on the Valarnet
Status: complete
Rating: PG-13
Triggers: mentions of animal testing
Caroline had gotten to the bar first, and was halfway through her first drink. Her initial excitement at continuing her social experiment had faded in light of the issues surrounding Harper and Alma.
Dani wasn't sure excitement was the word she wanted to use when describing how she felt about meeting this girl at this bar. Was it really going to be some kind of science experiment? Was it a date? Why the hell did she do this?
The bar wasn't one of the ones that had been mentioned, either. She just hoped the liquer wasn't piss water. She plopped down on a bar stool and took her hat off, "Whiskey, neat."
"I've had worse," Caroline replied, swiveling to face her. "Dani?"
The bartender laughed, and got Dani her order.
Dani looked her over and tucked some hair behind her ear, "Yeah, I guess you're Caroline? Am I allowed to call you that or should I be using some scientist title?"
"Caroline is fine!" She looked the woman over, deciding she absolutely had to test her reflexes.
"Caroline it is," Where was that whiskey? Dani needed that whiskey. "So... human behaviour studies? Is that your code name for a date, or am I going to wake up in a lab later with a bad taste in my mouth and handcuffs on?"
"There's a difference?"
"... I really hope so."
Caroline grinned at her, then knocked back the rest of her drink. More please! "I'm running studies."
"What kind of studies?" Dani knocked back the glass of whiskey that was slid over to her, then held it up like 'more please'.
"Oh, the usual. Best bartender. Genetic testing. Obstacle courses. Turning rats into rescue cameras."
"Turning rats into rescue cameras? How does that even work?" Dani regretted asking the moment she'd even gotten the words out of her mouth.
Caroline's mouth opened into a huge smile, "We implanted sensors and cameras into their brains! They can get places that rescue dogs or robots can't peek into. And they're smart enough to be trained for it."
"Rats are extremely intelligent, yeah, but... I mean, sensors and cameras in their brains? Doesn't that knock their life expectancy down a few years?" Dani arched a brow.
"Not really! If you care for them they'll live longer than they would in the wild. Almost as long as some pet rats do." She nodded her head, "After the robot cockaroaches failed, we had to go back to the rats."
"Well now I've heard everything," Dani picked up her second full glass and knocked back that one, too, then vowed to pace herself on the third one, "Robot Cockroaches?"
Caroline smiled fondly, "Robots built like bugs. We couldn't get the legs articulated right. If it works properly they'd be the ultimate all terrain vehicles. They kept failing the courses."
"Were they being programmed to run on their own, or were you operating them by remote?" Dani seemed genuinely interested in this idea.
"They're meant to be autonomous." Caroline sighed, "I designed the most ingenious traps and they failed to get past even one."
"That's a shame. There would have been so many practical uses of something like that."
"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Caroline sighed, "Or we would have. I didn't like the way things were going, so I resigned. I'm going to start up my own R&D company. For science."
"Maybe you could do something like the rats but with less invasive things." Dani shrugged, "Were they doing things you didn't agree with, or was it more of a management being idiots kind of thing?"
"A little of both. It's one thing to experiment with rats or mice, it's another when they want move farther up the food chain." She nodded her head. She probably shouldn't mention her dreams about schrodinger's cat, bring your cat to work day, and neurotoxin.
Bringing up those things would surely make this datehuman behavioural study turn a bit sour.
"If you're implying what I think you are, then I'm glad you got out, too."
Caroline nodded, "I plan on redesiging the test chambers. I've got a new intern who does that Parkour thing, and if she's interested I want her to test out some shock absorbing shoes I've developed."
"What are the tests FOR though?" Dani went to knock back her third glass, then remembered that she'd vowed to nurse this one, and only took a sip. She couldn't decide if this woman was fascinating or terrifying.
She was getting excited, "Parkour practitioners put a lot damage to their bodies, especially their feet. Something that helps cushion heavy landings would be useful and allow for greater stunts. On a more practical matter, first responders and soldiers could make good use of this technology as well."
And they were back to fascinating. Dani could tell how excited Caroline was about this idea, "Oh sure. We had someone fall off a cliff face the other day, if she'd been wearing shock absorbers I bet it would have been a lot better. And we all wouldn't have had to be so careful while trying to get her out of the ravine she fell into."
"Ahah! See!" Caroline's finger and hand shot into the air, "SCIENCE!"
Back to being terrified, Dani took a very long sip off her whiskey and stared at Caroline, "Lady, you sure do love science."
Caroline's tone became completely serious, "I would marry science if I could."
"Wouldn't you miss... you know... scientific iquiries about bartenders then?"
"Special case."
"I'm sure Science would understand."
She nodded her head, "Special case, yes. We had multiple successes and one HUGE success."
Dani wondered if this was going to become a thing, like if her and Caroline ended up back at her place, she'd end up being referred to as her next scientific experiment that was a huge success instead of ... just... 'that girl I slept with once'.
It was obvious that Caroline was absolutely brilliant, but the geniuses were almost always crazy, too. Dani wasn't sure how much crazy she wanted on her plate right now, "I guess the HUGE success was ... no really, we're talking about sex, right?"
"YES! I don't get out much. It was such a success!"
Dani grinned, "Just checking. "
Caroline settled back in her chair, eyeing Dani up and down, "What do you do for a living? You're fit."
"You're going to laugh. I'm a Park Ranger." Dani ducked her head a bit and finished her glass, "It's a very boring job most of the time."
Caroline bit back an acidic comment that had bubbled up from somewhere inside of her, "I am sure it is important, somehow."
"Mostly we save wildlife from itself and the human race. Sometimes we rescue hikers and that kind of thing. But usually it's just preventing forest fires." Dani smiled ruefully, "In the summer we're not always any good at that, either."
"It's part of the natural order of things," Caroline replied, waving a hand. "Fire clears the undergrowth and the weaker trees so life can flourish."
"I learned that in my environmental science classes, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," she said, stubbornly.
"Fire scary, oog oog."
Dani opened her mouth and glared at Caroline, then smirked a bit, and shut it. The woman DID have a sense of humor!
Caroline had even made a caveman face.
Dani was back to deciding she was fascinating.
"So tell me, do you have a type or do you just like to pick up random women on the internet?" All Caroline needed was a piece of paper to take notes.
"I actually don't randomly pick up anyone on the internet. Before today, anyway. I'm not really sure I have a type, either. I mostly dated men before I moved here." The questions were for science, so Dani figured she aught to be honest.
"Do you think it's something in the water?" Caroline asked, seriously.
"I don't think so, no. I knew I liked women, I just never really did much about it. It's probably more that I've moved to a new location, or that most of my family is gone now so there's no one left to judge me for it."
"Mmm. Noted." Caroline nodded her head, "Are you afraid they would? If they could see you now?"
Dani picked up her fourth glass and sipped it, thoughtfully, "You always want to hope that your parents will love you anyway. But I'm not sure what they'd think of me now. Upset I wasn't helping to secure the future of our Tribe? Maybe they'd just accept me. Grandfather probably always knew."
Caroline shrugged, "Doesn't matter. You have sex." Yay internet memes!
Huh wha? "I ... guess."
"You'll learn." She put a hand on Dani's arm, "Why don't we conduct some experiments in a more private locale?"
"You can come back to my place if you want. You'd learn all kinds of scientific facts about me there." Dani couldn't believe she was playing along with this.
Triumph! "I hope you have some beakers.."
'"I'm sure we can improvise."
Carefully counting out the money to pay for the drinks, Caroline got to her feet, "There'll be a pop quiz, afterwards."
"I can't wait." Dani hopped off her bar stool. "Seperate cars?"
"I'll just follow you." And Caroline led her off. For science.Hopefully it's a Huge Success!