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THIRTY SIX ✖ VOICE
[Hi, Barge, someone else really doesn't want to talk about the flood, so Charles is taking this opportunity to talk more about science. Everyone loves science, especially when it's a distraction from things like promising your best friend you'd come rescue him from Auschwitz and sincerely meaning it because you're a telepath and can pretty much do what you want. :\
Science is generally easier to talk about than feelings. :c]
I'd imagine most of you are familiar with the concept of mass extinctions, wherein the population of all living things on Earth is decreased by over fifty percent. It is, after all, what helped propel mammals into being the dominant life forms on Earth after the dinosaurs went extinct. But despite the widespread devastation each time, some species do survive, and can remain largely unchanged since they originally evolved. The horseshoe crab, for example, is virtually identical to its relatives that have been preserved as fossils from several million years ago.
Others are considerably less well known and familiar to us, and some potentially have yet to even be rediscovered. Although it's quite rare to rediscover a species after it's been thought dead for thousands if not millions of years - for example, it's highly unlikely that a Brachiosaurus has escaped the attention of modern science while roaming the woods of North America - it has happened before.
One such species was considered extinct by the scientific community until December 23, 1938. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer - a museum curator in South Africa - told local fishermen that if they ever found anything unusual in their hauls to call her in immediately. On this particular day, she was called down to the docks to investigate a captain's haul and discovered a five foot long fish with navy blue scales and white spots that looked like nothing she'd ever seen before. After hurrying the specimen back to the museum and preserving it as best she could after the local morgue refused to help preserve the body, she began to go through her books trying to locate the fish, but couldn't find any information about it. When a friend from Rhodes University was finally able to come look at the specimen, he immediately recognized it as a coelacanth, an ancient fish thought to have gone extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period. A population of fish had apparently been living on the east coast of Africa for potentially millions of years, largely unnoticed by human populations because they spend most of the day very deep under water. Occasionally a fish would be caught by a fisherman, but as the flesh is incredibly oily and often makes people sick, they were often tossed away as trash without a second thought. A second population was more recently discovered in Indonesia.
There are plenty of other examples of so called "living fossils", and Lazarus taxa, both plants and animal, but a discovery like this is generally unheard of, especially considering the coelacanth is generally considered to be a step in understanding how land based animals developed locomotion, as fossil evidence suggests that tetrapods evolved from fish whose fins eventually developed into legs and allowed them to walk out of the water and onto dry land. I've often wondered if another similar discovery might be made with further exploration. Living things are, after all, incredibly resilient, and we still haven't mapped the entirety of our planet's surface.
[Private to Steve]
Do you have a minute? There's something I need to discuss with you.
[Private to Jean]
Merlin tells me you two have been experimenting with the limits of your abilities.
Science is generally easier to talk about than feelings. :c]
I'd imagine most of you are familiar with the concept of mass extinctions, wherein the population of all living things on Earth is decreased by over fifty percent. It is, after all, what helped propel mammals into being the dominant life forms on Earth after the dinosaurs went extinct. But despite the widespread devastation each time, some species do survive, and can remain largely unchanged since they originally evolved. The horseshoe crab, for example, is virtually identical to its relatives that have been preserved as fossils from several million years ago.
Others are considerably less well known and familiar to us, and some potentially have yet to even be rediscovered. Although it's quite rare to rediscover a species after it's been thought dead for thousands if not millions of years - for example, it's highly unlikely that a Brachiosaurus has escaped the attention of modern science while roaming the woods of North America - it has happened before.
One such species was considered extinct by the scientific community until December 23, 1938. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer - a museum curator in South Africa - told local fishermen that if they ever found anything unusual in their hauls to call her in immediately. On this particular day, she was called down to the docks to investigate a captain's haul and discovered a five foot long fish with navy blue scales and white spots that looked like nothing she'd ever seen before. After hurrying the specimen back to the museum and preserving it as best she could after the local morgue refused to help preserve the body, she began to go through her books trying to locate the fish, but couldn't find any information about it. When a friend from Rhodes University was finally able to come look at the specimen, he immediately recognized it as a coelacanth, an ancient fish thought to have gone extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period. A population of fish had apparently been living on the east coast of Africa for potentially millions of years, largely unnoticed by human populations because they spend most of the day very deep under water. Occasionally a fish would be caught by a fisherman, but as the flesh is incredibly oily and often makes people sick, they were often tossed away as trash without a second thought. A second population was more recently discovered in Indonesia.
There are plenty of other examples of so called "living fossils", and Lazarus taxa, both plants and animal, but a discovery like this is generally unheard of, especially considering the coelacanth is generally considered to be a step in understanding how land based animals developed locomotion, as fossil evidence suggests that tetrapods evolved from fish whose fins eventually developed into legs and allowed them to walk out of the water and onto dry land. I've often wondered if another similar discovery might be made with further exploration. Living things are, after all, incredibly resilient, and we still haven't mapped the entirety of our planet's surface.
[Private to Steve]
Do you have a minute? There's something I need to discuss with you.
[Private to Jean]
Merlin tells me you two have been experimenting with the limits of your abilities.
[Private]
[Private]
[Private]
[There's a short, rather telling 'I have more to discuss but I don't like to be a pain with all my drama' pause before the message cuts off.]
[Private]
What's wrong?
[Private]
...Arthur again. I know it's old news.
[Private]
[Private]
But we spoke again after the flood, and he just...
[He doesn't even know how to explain this, can't articulate how angry and hurt he feels, so he just gives Charles access to this conversation.]
[Private]
He's a prat. Why on Earth is he feeling so sorry for himself? I think you've made it abundantly clear that you've been nothing but loyal to him in the entire time you've known each other, and if he wants to sulk and act like a spoiled child, then maybe I was wrong about him being the rightful king and a good man.
[Private]
['Impassioned' is the word here. The rest comes out in a rush.]
But he believes that a huge part of what makes him the rightful king is the service he's done Camelot, the enemies he's defeated to protect her people. And it is truly enough that he would lay down his life for any man, woman or child of his kingdom, that dedication and sacrifice makes him worthy, but he just can't see it if I've -
[Aaaand we've given up being mad at Arthur in favour of blaming ourselves again.]
I never wanted this! I only wanted him to know who I really am. I don't want the throne, I don't want power, I never wanted --
[And now he has to stop because he's hyperventilating.]
[Spam] if this is not okay I ken change
[Spam]
He reaches for his communicator.]
charles please go away. i'm fine.
[Spam]
Merlin, I'm sorry. Please let me in?
[Spam]
You don't need to be sorry. It's me.
[Spam]
Are you alright?
[Spam]
I'm fine.
[Spam]
I'm sorry for what I said about Arthur. It's just frustrating to hear he's twisting all the good you've done for him.
[Spam]
[Spam]
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[But even when he's not 'talking' he doesn't sound convinced.]
[Spam]
[He's "saying" it pretty matter of factly, rather than accusing Arthur of being a dick because he's pretty sure that will continue to not go over well with you.]
Re: [Spam]
...I know.
[There's a long silence.]
I don't know if I'm asking too much of him by asking him to accept this.
[Spam]
At the very least, you shouldn't have to hide from someone you care so much for.
[Spam]
There's only so bad he can feel about keeping Arthur alive for long enough to realise his destiny. Apparently there's no bottom to how bad he can feel for deceiving his best friend.
Eventually he says two words and the inner door opens an inch, and if you really want to Charles you can come and see Merlin's little cupboard room and tiny awful bed.]
[Spam]
He sort of hesitates in the doorway, not really sure what to do now.]
Is there anything I can do?
[Spam]
He clears his throat and speaks out loud.]
You were joking when you said you'd punch him, yeah?
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