[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.

[Public]

Mr. Stark has been taken down to Level Zero, and he'll remain down there for three days. Just so everyone's aware.

[Private to the Admiral]

I need all the alcohol removed from Mr. Stark's room, as well as anywhere else he's stashed it on the Barge. I'd also like an unmodified, non-Stark Industries wheelchair, please.

[Warden Filtered, minus Jean, Clint and Steve]

I lost the use of my legs in an accident approximately two months before I came to the Barge. Adjusting to life without them has been- [Awful, and honestly, he really hates giving all of you even this much information about it. He doesn't like talking about himself or how he feels about things, least of all the stuff that actively bothers him.] Difficult. When I first came to the Barge, it was with the promise that if I graduated an inmate, I would have full use of them restored, which, admittedly, [And there's some self depreciating humor in his voice at this.] must seem a bit selfish to most of you.

The point is, I don't know that I can wait until an inmate of mine graduates to be able to walk again, especially in light of [His voice sticks in his throat a little and he clears it awkwardly.] what happened, last port. And the fact that such events are just another factor of living here has made me start considering other alternatives, because I certainly don't have plans to leave. I have a few more things I'd like to ask the Admiral about that are a little less time sensitive and potentially dangerous before their resolution.

So, if anyone has information about technology or procedures or anything that would be able to help repair the damage, I'd appreciate being able to discuss it with you.

( Private Messages to Ariadne, Sara, Clint, Natasha, Steve, Tony and Erik. )

[ooc: So after Clint's post, this happened and then this happened, and then this happened, which led to further warden/inmate discussions in the previously linked post. Basically, Charles is furious with Tony, and he and Erik dragged him down to Zero.]

Despite the circumstances leading up to it, I think that's one of the few ports we've been to since I've come aboard that one might have considered pleasant. [He got to keep his powers, this is a major score. c:]

On an unrelated note, does anyone have any book recommendations? Nonfiction, preferably, I recently reread Silent Spring, and I suppose you might say I've been in the mood to continue in that vein for a while. [He spends a lot of time reading anyway, but some specific suggestions instead of just wandering into the library and pulling a book off the shelf would be cool.]

[Private to the Admiral]

I'd like the helmet from Mr. Stark's most recent Iron Man suit delivered to him in his quarters, please.

[Private to Steve]

I have something to give you on the behalf of Mr. Stark.

[Private to Erik]

I heard you've received some good news. [Please please please don't screw this up.]

[Charles almost doesn't want to say anything public reflecting on the flood, because he's still unbelievably frustrated in so many ways, but he can't not.]

It's interesting, isn't it, to think how simple things can have that profound an effect on our lives? I certainly don't want to pretend that the Admiral has some grand plan for us, but exposing us to other possibilities does seem to yield... interesting results. [And it was nicer than he wants to admit to be free of responsibility, even though the sense of being utterly alone in the world without proof there were other mutants, and without having someone to grow up with make it decidedly Not Worth It.

He misses Raven, and considers adding more, but closes off the feed before he gives in to temptation.]

[Private to Erik]

I need to speak with you.

[Private to Tony]

Check in, please, Mr. Stark.

[Filtered to the Lab Wardens + Maintenance and Repair Heads]

My inmate has expressed interest in working with both your departments. He's primarily an inventor, and I'd be interested in discussing what kind of supervision he'd be under and what sort of work you'd be up for him doing.

[Added Later: Private to Steve]

Captain Rogers, I'm afraid Mr. Stark seems to have wandered off with your warden item and let himself into the pub. [And while he could just make him come down, he'd really rather not more or less abuse his powers like that right off the bat. :\]