I Lived, Grinch! [open post]

[summerdude]

The first thing Magnus does -- with Alex's help -- after fully healing is board up the hole in the side of the greenhouse where the cheetah ran through. The second thing, once he learns the full scope of Dark (it's different at camp; he'd already taken out a ton of camp-appropriate food for when Galahad and Laertes couldn't make it out there, and so he and Alex have been fine on the eating front) is go to the greenhouse again to figure out what plants in there yield edible produce. (Also, he tries to scrub his blood off the table. It... partially works?)

Partly it's that he's still feeling weird after the whole affair. The season doesn't help, but he does feel closer to his own mortality than pretty much any point since he died for real the first time. Being around growing plants helps that. Mostly, though, it's because he doesn't want anyone to get, like, scurvy living on bushels of rice alone.

He doesn't want to overtax any of the plants, but some can be cajoled into fruiting. Right now, he's got his hand on a kumquat tree, and he's trying to convince it that it can speed up the growth process by a few weeks. Drosera is with him, 'helping:' she's found a dead leaf, and she's chasing it down the pathway between some plants. If anyone shows up -- either because they've heard of his near-death experience and want to check in on him, or just to hang out, or even because they're drawn by the way it looks like sunlight is coming from the greenhouse itself -- he'll be glad for the company.

Comments

[recognizance]

Right, Murderbot thinks. Just like Dr. Mensah is fine now. Not like humans need treatment for their trauma or anything. After several seconds of deeply skeptical silence, it says, "So... what are you doing?"

Yes, it is a scintillating conversationalist, thanks.

[summerdude]

"These are kumquats." Magnus picks a ripe one and pops it into his mouth. Luckily, he has the manners to chew and swallow before adding, "I figured people might want fresh fruits and vegetables. Keep everyone healthy, that sort of thing." He pauses. "Do you eat?"

[recognizance]

Politely, it doesn't make a face. "No. My systems are self-regulating, I just need to do a recharge cycle once in a while. Are you doing that with, like... magic?" (It pronounces the word "magic" with air quotes; it can't help itself.)

[summerdude]

"Yeah, but it's just alf seidr," Magnus says, focusing long enough to make sure the kumquats are all of harvestable ripeness. He'd been pretty sure SecUnit didn't eat. It's good to know for sure. Now he won't offer it one of the fruits. "Elf magic. That's the weak stuff. I can't use real magic, like runes." He pauses, then frowns. "Or maybe it's just 'cause my dad is a harvest god? I actually don't know where the alf seidr ends and the Frey-son stuff begins."

[recognizance]

SecUnit blinks, and then visibly decides to bypass the entire question of elf magic vs. real magic vs. harvest god magic and what the difference is anyway. "As long as they're real vegetables, I don't think anyone will care. When I talked to Dionysus he said he can't do those."

Then, because this still feels weirdly important, "It's a really good idea."

[summerdude]

Magnus blinks, too. "That's what Susan said too," he says, setting the kumquat bush to the side and reaching for some berries -- he'll pick the kumquats and take them inside when he's done for the day. That had been a weird conversation. He's pretty sure Susan doesn't know how to talk to (people who look like) teenagers. "I just like that I can help people out without, like, killing things or running for my life about it."

[recognizance]

"Susan's smart." For some reason its voice sounds a little weird. Maybe it does need a recharge cycle. SecUnit takes a second to get that under control, and adds, "Killing things isn't always as helpful as you'd expect."

[summerdude]

"You're telling me." Magnus laughs a little. "Where I come from, that's like, the number one activity. It gets pretty redundant pretty fast."

[recognizance]

"...Do you have a lot of invasive fauna or something?"

[summerdude]

"Nah, I come from a place where death doesn't stick if you're already dead so you pass the time killing each other every day." He makes a face. "It sounds increasingly messed up the more time I spend away from it."

[recognizance]

"Uh, yeah." Its expression, inasmuch as it ever has an expression, is incredulous. "Who thought that was a good idea?"

[summerdude]

"The Aesir. They're the more warlike of the Norse gods. Especially Odin, the All-Father and king of the Aesir. He runs Valhalla -- that's the hotel for the glorious dead I was at before this. The point is that we get used to killing and dying so that when Ragnarok -- that's the apocalypse -- comes, we fight and die well." Magnus makes an even bigger face. "I decided after the zombie that I'm done with all that, though. I'm keeping Jack here so he can't start Ragnarok -- um, my sword is predicted to cause several of the harbingers of the apocalypse -- and I'm not fighting again unless I really have to."

[recognizance]

Die well? Of all the human bullshit. SecUnits are expected to get themselves killed or maimed or whatever as a matter of course, and no one cares if they look really cool doing it. (Generally, no one cares, period.) You just do it, because you don't get to say no, and either you wake up in your cubicle or you never wake up at all. But at least you don't have to worry about whether you got killed the right way.

It looks steadily at the little orange fruits, and does its best to keep its expression neutral.

"Good."

[summerdude]

"So right now I guess I'm Produce Guy," Magnus say. "Turns out I kinda like it." He coaxes a few strawberry plants to flower and fruit, and then glances up (and up, and up; SecUnit is tall) at SecUnit. "Can I ask a favor? You can totally say no to it if it's, like, too much."

[recognizance]

The plant thing is a little unsettling to watch, honestly. It glances away, meeting his eyes briefly before looking over at Drosera instead. "Go ahead."

[summerdude]

"Me and Galahad are looking for a way to be able to, like. Be in touch with each other. Quickly. If something else happens. We thought you might be able to help with that?"

[recognizance]

For a second it doesn't follow -- hasn't it been helping with that? Then it realizes several things at once: a) Magnus said 'something else', implying if I'm assaulted by another random flying sword, b) but he asked for Alex when he was injured, not for Galahad, c) except, that's right, he did mention Galahad, along with a bunch of other people; he was just incoherent enough that Murderbot didn't register that as a request. Well, fuck.

But it's told Galahad before that he can contact it if he needs to, and to pass that on to his romantic partner -- but d) oh yeah, it didn't actually include Magnus in that offer.

(It takes another .25 of a second to decide whether it's annoyed that Galahad didn't make the connection, or touched that Galahad didn't make the assumption. Galahad seems pretty careful, for a human, about things other than his own health, so it's inclined toward the latter. Maybe it's being optimistic again.)

"Yes," it says. "Probably. What did you have in mind?"

[summerdude]

"I think you'd know what's possible better than I would," Magnus says, thoughtfully. "But you got me when his hand was bad, and you got Alex when I was hurt. I guess... is there a really surefire way to, like, signal you to help get him if I need him or me if he needs me?"

[recognizance]

SecUnit considers. "If there's a drone nearby, then I can see you. I don't normally have them set to pick up audio, but I can. I told Galahad he could contact me that way, if he or his partner needed help."

[summerdude]

"Like, with some kind of signal?"

[recognizance]

"Right." A beat. "Do you mean something that won't draw anyone else's attention?"

[summerdude]

"No, more like, a sign that it's really important." Magnus frowns. "Do you think we should have something that won't draw attention?"

[recognizance]

"I have no idea." It keeps forgetting these people have even less of a healthy sense of paranoia than Preservation humans. "I meant, you'd only be getting my attention in the first place if it was important. You can make the signal whatever you want."

[summerdude]

"Since audio's usually off, a visual sign would probably be better, right?"

[recognizance]

"Sure," SecUnit says, since I really don't care seems a little rude even for it. "As long as I know what to monitor for."