video- don't you put it in your mouth

[zen_en_vert]

Hello, Hadriel.

We have a garden now, and Sorrow has made comments to the effect that the food in it might disagree with us, so I'm going to talk to you about how to test for poisons in plants.

First of all, to those of you who aren't human, let me apologize, because I won't be able to help much with your physiology. But for those of you who are-

We need to catalogue and name everything we can that's growing in there, and then identify the plant species that no one knows. Once we have the unidentified species, each one needs to be assigned a volunteer. The testing period takes several days, and if you do two at once and get a reaction, you won't know which are poisonous.

The first step is to test for contact toxicity- that is, touch the leaves and stems and fruit juices of the plant to your skin, and see if it poisons you that way. Plants that provoke that kind of reaction aren't generally safe to eat. You take a few days to see if a reaction develops, and then begin by cooking small portions of the plant, and holding it in your mouth for a few minutes- three, and then later fifteen, testing to see if it provokes tingling, swelling, or any kind of reaction.

No one should try to test any plant with milky sap, white berries, or any kind of pod. You never want thorns, spurs, on the plant itself or on grain heads. If you get an almond scent or a bitter taste, stop eating, and just to play it safe, avoid plants with leaves in clusters of threes.

I've got a small supply of activated charcoal in the clinic. Let me know if you can help. Nothing is ripe yet, but we can begin classification and contact testing immediately.

Thank you, everyone.

Comments

[zen_en_vert]

I don't have anything to compare it to, and I never studied much plant biology.

What do the pair of you research?

[It occurs to him that he doesn't know- but he assumes they each have at least one PhD in something.]

[verinumeri]

Yes, Newton, [ dryly ] unless you happen to have memorized the cellular structure of common radishes and other like vegetation.

[ Ah, but addressed, and his study. ]

I've never done plant biology, either. In fact, exposure to biology has largely been through him.

[ Inclining his head to the side, toward Newton. He'd kept up with research and periodicals across the sciences before the war, and after, through their correspondence and eventual partnership, certain things were essential, inevitable. Mostly kaiju related. ]

No, I was Applied Sciences and Engineering. That was the doctorate. Recently, my research focused on predictive models and physics, particularly related to a wormhole.

[fortunefavored]

[Newt wrinkles his nose at Hermann] I know enough plant biology that it could be interesting and informative!

[but he's off on an explanation, and Newt huffs a bit, before adding on the end, seamlessly]

I've been focused on xenobiology for the last twelve years or so, but before that I also did research in bioengineering, biochemistry, genetics, mechanical engineering aaaaand music. Those are my doctorates. [y'know. nbd.]

Anyway, yeah, what process are you going through in terms of testing?

[zen_en_vert]

The wilderness training version you get for survival in abandoned locations. Skin tests, holding substances in your mouth without swallowing- looking for rashes or inflammations.

[Aka, quick and dirty.]

We have had an amazing number of volunteers, considering.

[verinumeri]

[ They ought to have asked after Dr. Banner's research, but then, Newton probably knows. Hermann doesn't.

He'd been looking for a touch more precision, such as how long each exposure and contact was given in seconds, for the sake of consistency. He did remember Dr. Banner describing the same general process in his previous testing of god provided food. ]

Yes and no. After all the trouble, people will want to be useful.

How are you recording your results? We ought have a look so to replicate as we go along.

[zen_en_vert]

Here, come see the spreadsheets-

[That's where he's got all that accounted for. Those are over here, in this corner of the garden- and are done in pen on construction paper, because the supplies in Hadriel are spotty, it's just what you can find in the shops. A map of the garden on red, a table of results on pink.]

[fortunefavored]

[Newt's more than happy to follow Bruce over there, peering at his work] So, considering that you seem to be in a decent state right now, I'm guessing no sign of anything extremely poisonous yet?

[verinumeri]

[ No stranger to limited supplies, the only thing about construction paper that surprises Hermann is that Dr. Banner could find it at all. ]

Unless we aren't seeing the poisoned helper because they are currently laid up in the clinic. Are you also making illustrations or taking photos?

[ Hermann leans, squinting, fumbling his glasses onto his face. ]

[zen_en_vert]

Everything is absolutely fine at this stage. We're doing illustrations-

[Flipping to the next place to show them.]

But Sorrow seems to have genuinely tried hard.

[fortunefavored]

That's...kinda surprising, honestly. [Newt's leaning in to study the plants] I mean, I don't trust the guy, but if we have legit grown fruits and veggies, that is nice.

[verinumeri]

[ Predictably, Hermann rolls his eyes. ]

Should it be surprising? It was as probable as the alternative. We shouldn't trust any of them, but he's called Sorrow, not Poison. I doubt our primary emotional response to indigestion or venom would be sadness.

[ That nitpicking aside. Hermann also examines as Dr. Banner demonstrates. ]

Right. We'll start at that end?

[zen_en_vert]

But we need to make it known on the network that this is how they get in. They offer us a vote, and the things we have to choose from make bad choices look enticing. We took Rage as our very first one, got an armory, and then spent days murdering each other in the streets.

[And;]

We wanted the fruit, we got the weeping.

[fortunefavored]

[Newt's mouth twists harshly at that, morphing into a scowl.] So they make it sound as though they're doing us a huge favor every time a god is resurrected, but really it's weak compensation for what they inflict on us. But they make it SEEM like they're doing something good.

[verinumeri]

[ Hermann frowns, but there's less severe, absolute disapproval. ]

Miss Rage and her armory I wouldn't have prioritized, and I suppose there's less wonder in the effects. However, are a few days of weeping, of emotional excess, a terrible exchange for a steady supply of fruits and vegetables?

[ It isn't that he's dismissing the emotional manipulation. He loathes it. Every bit of it. Yet, while none should be trusted, it seems a mistake to consider the gods equally loathsome. ]

Besides, if Mr. Hope's doing it for himself, is it really presented as a favor because the god'll bring something along we want?

[zen_en_vert]

That's because you haven't been through very many violent events yet. I can't even count the number of monsters we've been attacked by now. The weapons truly do help.

[As much as the pacifist in him hates to admit it.]

I don't know if Hope is unintelligent, or a very good manipulator.

[fortunefavored]

[Newt shakes his head, a negative] I just--the fact that they're not straightforward about what happened to the other residents. And the fact that we can't read any of the books in the library. It's too suspicious. Not to mention I definitely don't trust them to try and pull some of the stuff that you guys [he vaguely indicates Bruce with a nod of his head] already went through. I've dealt with enough of that crap already; I'm not looking for any more.

[verinumeri]

[ His must tilt his head, acknowledging the short-sightedness of his statement. Dr. Banner had said there had been bears, a need to kill their own food and defend themselves, among other scrabbling to survive. An armory would seem essential.

Then, however, a shrug. ]

We are ascribing human emotions and motivations to alien figures. It may not be a matter of either stupidity or manipulation, or it may be both. As for that...

[ He glances sidelong at Newton. Hermann leans a touch more for the papers. It's not terribly necessary. He could see already. It leans him, however, that much closer to Newton, now at an angle. ]

...that will happen, whether we like it or trust them or not. I'm not sure trust is even the appropriate word, come to that.

[ They've dealt with enough. Newton certainly has, his 96 more days in Haven speaking to that, his savaged cheeks. They'll deal with more yet.

What can Hermann do? Presently, swing his cane's handle in a half arc, out from his side, the tip still on the ground, an anxious moment not remotely unusual for his active hand on his cane -- and he's brushing their fingers, where Newton's hand hangs at his side. ]

[zen_en_vert]

So in the meantime, we make sure people eat.

[Bruce says, refocusing on the task at hand.

This is what he can bite off, this is what he can chew. He gets through his days here by just getting the small things done- a clinic, a catalogue of the garden, bit by bit, step by step.

He puts them to work with little more than a determined nod, and a ramshackle plan- but they'll get it done.]

just cuts in to tie the bow on it

[verinumeri]

[ The refocusing is welcome. Dr. Banner's given them enough to start. Hermann answers his nod, mirrors it.

This, too, is something he can do. It doesn't surprise him that so many would have volunteered, if they felt even a fraction of what he did. A way to help, to be useful, and he needn't even have the doctorate in that area (a funny sort of hollow thought, given what it said about the weight and worth of such a degree). Anyone could perform these tests, make these notes, carry on. Eventually, they can worry about a classification system, names the city might widely use.

For now? He uses his phone to photograph Dr. Banner's notes, jerks his chin toward an appropriate end, and starts toward a border, expecting Newton to follow. To work, then. ]