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[It was easy to say that John was new to all of this strangeness. It was a fact, and yet, that bit of logic had done very little to ease his mind in regards to what all this entailed. He is, after all, a man of science, but he's also incredibly excitable - and under a lot of stress due to upcoming classes beginning soon. It's his first entry on this mysterious Network, and he's sitting on a sofa in a rather mundane looking living room - aside from the papers, random gadgets, and unfinished looking projects scattered about. An impressive stack of quantum textbooks rests near his knee, which is fluttering up and down rapidly in an anxious movement.

He leans forward, peering over the rim of his glasses, and frowns a little.]

I sort of like this idea of this Network thing. It's all very...clandestine, hush hush, bonding experience, speaking out into the void of the internet in the hopes someone hears you and has something important to say. I like it, it's clever - even if it does leave you feeling a bit exposed. Internet's not really all that secure, is it? Anything can end up on the dark web for the right price...

Anyway. It's all well and good, and I'm getting used to this idea of Different, even if it is bloody mad.

What I want to know is why my entire research plan decided today that it wanted to be delightfully lemon flavored? [He holds up a cheerful looking bowl of lemon sherbet, which he sort of wrinkles his nose.] Honestly. It could have at least had the courtesy of being banana flavored if it's going to inconvenience me.

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Bold choice, liking banana flavored stuff.

[Jack stares at the screen feeling that odd sense of weirdness that he gets around Anthony and Alec. But with the accent the feeling is strong. He smiles]

At least it's your research plan and not your phone or coffee pot like me. I almost ate my keys once too.

[On the video, there's also a fellow researcher. In the background, there's piles of textbooks and historical looking antiques]

It just seems to be a lemon sherbet week. You do research as well? I'm curious for academic purposes, what is your specialty?

[Quantum physics, he's wonders?]

Oi. Bananas are good!

...Unless you're allergic, I suppose. Then you might steer clear.

[The dubious expression falters for a moment when he sees the gentleman smiling at him. For a lingering moment, he can swear that he's seen him before, this man - like a sense of deja vu, but a pleasant one. He blinks for a moment, but it's impossible not to smile back. John laughs a little and sets the bowl down with care.]

That's precisely why I don't drive in this city. Won't eat your keys if you don't have - well. Right, house keys. Oh, some people must be swimming in lemon sherbet, then, if everything you touch turns into it. Anyway - I'm supposed to be working out a plan for my PhD students and we begin tomorrow - and I swear I've seen your face somewhere.

So...what, there's a week where everything important a Different touches turns to lemon sherbet? They didn't put that holiday on the staff calendar...

[He gingerly sets it aside, as if spilling the contents would ruin his work and not just make a sticky stain, and sighed. He perks up a bit, however, at the question, and smiles.]

I'm an astrophysicist. I teach some at Columbia so this is for my PhD students.

[He pats the textbooks smartly.]

You?

Bananas are okay.

Synthetic banana flavor is suspect.

[John wrinkles his nose immediately.]

Synthetic bananas aren't worthy of being mentioned. What's the point of having banana sherbet if it's not made with real bananas??

The only ice cream I know of with real banana is a banana split.

[Anakin doesn’t know the difference between ice cream and sherbet]

[Jack laughs softly. This man is oddly charming as well as familiar. The babbling feels familiar too, almost like he's heard it before. He flashes the man another smile]

My name is Jack Porter...I'm an actor...not super famous or anything...maybe you've seen something I've done.

Though weirdly enough....I feel like I've seen you somewhere before too.

Actor? Broadway?

Nah, I've not been to any shows on Broadway or the West End when I was in London. Can't be that. Maybe it's been on ads? I bike through Manhattan on the regular; might have been there!

[John grins right back, pleased - but even that didn't seem quite right, seeing his face on an advertisement or a playbill. Yet another mystery - but perhaps there was something to it. And if...hm.]

Well. Maybe we have! I mean...we're both Different, right? So, the odds are astronomical, but in a realm of potentially infinite multiverses where our...er, other selves come from, these memories and what not. I don't know, maybe we know one another? I mean, it's as reasonable as anything else I've learned about this!

[The cheeky grin that follows was accompanied by a bit of a laugh, his dark eyes bright.]

I'm John. Doctor John Smith.

Edited 2020-08-24 17:15 (UTC)

That seem to be the case. If you need something, then...voila. It's lemon sherbet. It happened to my cellphone, my laptop, and my car. I have to hide it from my pets. I call the bureau and nobody picks it up.

Astrophysics. Impressive. The science of space, correct? I watch documentaries about black holes a while ago, and the possibility of life on other planets.

Oh me? I recently graduated and taking a break. PhD in history and ancient civilizations, so I have an interest in the ancient past of the world.

Mostly yeah, though i've done a few tv shows and a few small movie roles. Nothing break out yet but I live okay.

[Handsome and charming oh boy Jack is in trouble here]

Yeah I'm Different too...got my first Memory about a month or so ago.

So Dr Smith...what is your research focus?

Well, that's the most important thing, then! Living well and all. Maybe it is that I've seen you on television? Sorry, Jack - I'm usually pretty good at remembering faces!

[This was going to trouble him until he got to the bottom of it, he just knew it. But he shelved that concern for when he was alone to think, and focused on the conversation. Making friends was good! Hoping they wanted to stick around, that was good! It didn't hurt if they were friendly and nice to look at either!]

A month? Wow, it was only a week and a half ago for me. Is it rude to ask what another's first Memory was or not? Mine was...dramatic. Sort of traumatic. [His eyes got distant for a moment, before he pulled himself back out again and came back with the smile.]

You can just call me John, unless you like titles. [He grinned a little more, and leaned forward on his knees.] I'm an astrophysicist. Right now, my department is looking at the study of a galaxy cluster at the far edges of the universe - they're still burning blue, but of course, we're seeing how they looked 3.5 billion years ago so we're effectively looking back in time. [He smiles a bit wistfully.] I thought I was going to be bored, but they're letting me do it. Sort of...give us an idea of what conditions were like closer to the Big Bang, you know - Oh, sorry. Sort of went off on a ramble there.

Oh!

I...don't know how to make ice cream or sorbet. But I bet you could incorporate mashed bananas into it. Now there's a thought. A Saturday afternoon project! How to make homemade ice cream.

Weeeeellll....sort of. Astronomy is the study of space and celestial objects, and Astrophysics falls under that umbrella. Astrophysics is the study of applying physics to the interpretation of astronomical observations. So not just identifying the Andromeda Galaxy, but measuring its size, distance from the Earth, elemental makeup, and the like. Also! Sorting out if extraterrestrials exist falls under astrophysics!

...That's becoming more and more likely, now that I know about all of this Bureau stuff.

[John smiles, though, and his interest perks.] Ooh, love me some ancient civilizations and history. I thought about going into that as well, or at least a minor in undergrad, but didn't have time to devote to two paths of study. It works though! I study the ancient galactic past, just like you study the ancient Earth past!

The internet says you need ice, salt, cream, sugar, and whatever flavor you want. And it's helpful to have a machine that does all the work for you.

I do love the internet. It's shady most of the time, but once in a while -

Thanks for that! I'll have to make some this weekend. I'll share the recipe with the Network unless we want to have some sort of...non support group social. It's really hard trying to...

[John sighs a little and looks at a point beyond the view of the camera, his eyes intense.]

Didn't much fit in before. Definitely feeling Other now. Would be nice to find some people who Get It.

Yes it is...I know it's weird that I'm not big on the whole fame idea, but I mostly just like the work.

[Jack is so deeply charmed and yet that weird feeling is still there almost like he shouldn't feel the way he does, but he can't stop himself. This is so strange and he's a bit nervous]

Please call me Jack....and to answer your question it's not bad manners to ask about people's Memories....most of them have at least one they are willing to share and it helps to talk them through sometimes.

I don't mind the rambling...I've always wished I could go to space myself. I've wondered if there is really other life out there.

Oh! I bet plenty of people who are in the entertainment industry don't go in for fame! Nothing wrong with liking the work!

[It was a strange thing. John had only had one occurrence of Memories since this all began - the one that featured the mysterious Rose vanishing - and he knew that he had never met Jack before, or even seen any of his work necessarily. But there was something about that grin - charming, just a bit sly, confident - but it wasn't just base awareness that the friendly actor was attractive. It felt...again, like deja vu that he couldn't explain. Wistful, affectionate - and a bit painful - almost like regret. Strange.]

Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you. Glad to know you don't mind the ramble - a lot of people do. Maybe I should pop in to one of your shows some time! Just to see what it's all about. As for space, well...I'd love to go there myself. No space program back home sending people up, though, and here...well. I do what I can from the ground. Got a bloody brilliant planetarium, though, if you're interested! You know...I wasn't sure about extraterrestrial life - there's a couple of theories about that floating around - but after all this stuff with the Bureau, I'm inclined to believe that there must be. [John sort of glances to the side wryly, still smiling. There's a wily sort of glint in his dark eyes.]

I've only had one Memory - there was a woman named Rose in it. Rose Tyler...and these...beings. Daleks, or something, I think they were called. It all happened really fast.

[He trailed off after a moment, looking distant, before looking back up brightly again.]

What about you?

[Jack can't speak for a moment. The name Rose Tyler feels familiar both right and wrong at the same time. And the whisper of emotion that comes with that name is a mix of so many things that he can't sort them all out. The name Daleks too brings up a whisper of emotion, fear....it's a lot to take in all at once and it takes a moment for Jack's smile to return.]

I've only had one memory myself.....I'm in a huge room with two people in front of me. A man and a woman. I tell them things have been fun and the woman seems worried. So I tell her she's worth fighting for and kiss her. Then I turn to the man.....I tell him I wish I'd never met him...that I was better off a coward..and then I kiss him too...and then I tell them I'll see them in hell and turn to leave. I don't look back almost like I'm afraid to.

[Jack swallows hard because the next part he has to share feels like a bomb shell.]

The woman's name is Rose...and I just call the man Doctor.....no name just Doctor.

[John stares at Jack for a moment, eyes suddenly quite intense. Something about that Memory he shared seemed almost familiar - but not quite - like a dream he might have had, once, a long time ago, but barely recalled. Once more, it felt like deja vu - but it had meaning. Something knotted in his chest - as though it really wasn't something they should be discussing so casually over the Network like this. He feels cold and a bit distressed, and took a breath.]

Oh, well...Rose is a common enough...name.

[John didn't sound convinced, of this, however, and closes his eyes. He's parsing through the brief scream that was his Memory, trying to recollect.]

I'm in a room. A white room, and Rose is on the opposite side. We're trapped in a vacuum, holding on for dear life, shouting at one another while these...Dalek constructs tumble past us. She loses her grip...and she's gone. Just...just gone. She never had a chance to address me, really...

[He lets out a breath, and looks at his hands - capable hands, educated and articulate hands, but they're trembling. He glances up.]

Do you want to...meet somewhere to talk about this in person?

Mn. I watch a number of documentaries covering the subject. It's all very fascinating trying to find life on other planets and other stars throughout the universe.

A while back the Bureau did open a portal to another world, but I'm not sure if it's door to another universe. You should have joined us on the expedition. I kept notes on the civilization we explored, but so far, the people seem to come from an ancient past that isn't written in the history books.

[It's a rare occurrence, but Wangji actually smiles at the interests]

I can tell you all about Earth's ancient past and compare notes, but my specialty is Ancient civilizations of the East in Asia, but my specialty of history is broad. I'm Doctor Lan. Lan Wangji. Wangji is the first name.

[But then, another interest]

Ancient galactic past? Do you think maybe something like civilization on other worlds? It sounds like science fiction if you don't mind me saying so.

Get what exactly?

The Bureau? Or ... whatever you mean about not fitting in before?

Get that feeling of being Other. Always sort of felt that way - not because of this, though. Other things. Reasons. Bit brainy, bit too chatty, and all that.

Which is why I went to that support group...thing, and why I'm posting here! And talking with you all! Lovely bunch of people so far. I'm very curious about all of you - us? Us.

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