{ Video } 002

[sciencewhizard]

[ This was going to be a very touchy subject, he knew, long before the feed started up - touchy for him, not other people. He was sitting at his console, looking visibly tense, slight shadows under his eyes from not sleeping well the last couple of days, and his jaw set more than a little tight. His green eyes flicked over to the side, where, on a lab counter, there lay an object bundled up in blankets. Nobody would have been able to see that, however. When he had first found that... thing, he panicked and snatched it up, knowing what it could do in the wrong hands; he brought it home and put it away to be forgotten up until very recently.

His eyes flicked back to the feed. ]

So, uh. Been a while since I last chatted with most of you. [ Any other day, he might have poked fun at himself for always being late to doing things, but not today. ]

That whole mainland visit last month... I found something when I was there. Something from back home. [ And by the tone of his voice, a harsh sort of grumble, it would have been very clear that he was less than happy about its presence. ]

What I wanna know is- [ Pause. He needed a couple of seconds to order his thoughts. ]

Did any of you find something dangerous from back home while you were out there?

001; AUDIO

[heinously]

[ The joints of the Albel's prosthetic, abased by the ocean water, flexed in an imaginary strike. They would need to be oiled, but from where, was yet unexplored.

Ergo, it was one of the only true burdens here, all things considered. This man's voice through the network looks to rival even the most indignant of tones. ]

So, the spirit world reeks of decor and insolence. I'm of a mind to feel insulted. [ Though he had to admit, these modern niceties were useful. Network communicators, they were called. Who knew transcendental purgatory was this advanced? ] The natives, evidently, are gracious maggots. Tell me — is death capable here?