Science Rests For No One (NPC Thread For Onyx)

"No, why doesn't it... Urgh. I just don't understand. None of these test results make any sense!" A distressed voice could be heard from within the Splicing Shop through a door to the backroom. Dime was busy throwing papers left and right over a very messy workstation as multiple different vials of chemicals and liquids sat a top another table. The stressed out scientist would suddenly grab at a specific sheet and read through its context haphazardly, his eyes darting from one part of its explanation to the other to check if it was the missing link he had been searching for. Yet to no avail. Rubbing his blue furred forehead for a brief moment to try and subdue the pounding headache he had given himself after seemingly countless nights of no sleep. Dime would suddenly throw on his lap coat once more, crunching the paper in his hand as an idea sprung in his mind, there was one last thing he could think of testing. He prayed and prayed this experiment would provide any sort of insight for him, he just had to make sure everything he did was perfect... "Come on... This needs to be it... It has to be..."

The fizzing and bubbling of some strange greeny, orange liquid would be hissing away rather loudly and quite audible alongside Dime's words as the scientist continued to talk to himself about his studies, not even remotely taking in the sound of someone calling if the place was open or not. In no way trying to be rude, just with his lack of sleep and pure unbroken concentration on the task at hand he'd simply not heard the call at all. "Okay, this is progress. Though why the results differ depending on what order the chemicals are added seems off. These shouldn't even react with one another until they are all together, so why does the order prior matter. Okay, now for the last piece to finish th-"

As the final ingredient of whatever experiment Dime was working on was dropped into the bubbling vial, there was not even a chance for the small capsule of the chemical to hit the bottom of the vial before the entire contents erupted, shattering the vial it was in with a noteworthy crack. Somehow, despite his sleep deprived mind not working at full speed, Dime still managed to move himself out of the way just in time before any of the vials contents touched him in anyway. "Urrgghh..." Stressed, confused and worried to death about what he had caused. Dime fell backwards to sit resting against a counter with his head cupped in his hand, sobbing lightly. "It makes no damn sense!"

"Huh?" The blue canine like man would look up and quickly push himself to his feet and wipes away a stray tear from his eye as if it was never there, taking a quick deep breath in and out to gain his composure. "I'm sorry about that, I must look a mess." He'd say apologetically with a very soft voice. "I was on the verge of a breakthrough, but alas, it seems to require further testing." He'd let out a short chuckle, trying to make light of the situation when a clear tone of defeat could be heard lingering. "Are you in need of something?"

Flicking a light on to illuminate the room better from its previously rather dark appearance, Dime would notice who it was that had came into his lab. "O-oh... I remember you... Uh, Onyx, was it?" The scientist would sigh briefly as he picked up and flicked through a few pieces of paper on his desk before stopping on one and reading through it. "Yes, yes. You were the one who was spliced with a Crowned Owl, if I'm not mistaken it was in effort to gain your vision back? Or at least gain it in general." Reading further into one of the background checks he had on Onyx's splicing operation, he'd scowl slightly in confusion at something before shaking his head off and looking up once again. "Are you... Here because of the incident? Were you... One of the people affected? I'm, so, so desperately sorry if you are."

With a tired look in his eye, Dime would look around at the mess of a lab the two found themselves in. There was papers everywhere, vials toppled over on various worktops. Blueprints and confusing looking equipment all jumbled up into some horrific mess that even someone who loved to live in their own filth would cringe slightly at. The man would let out a shy smile, trying to hide him clear embarrassment. "Is it really that obvious?" He'd joke at first, lowering his head slightly. "I have been working near non-stop this past week on experiments, yes. I've been... Trying my hardest to figure this all out, though the results make no sense. Something about that jump last week just seemed to... Change. Everything. I don't get it."

The blue eyelids of the canine like scientist would open slightly more than they'd been before, so it had affected them too... Better yet, they didn't seem angry or upset about the situation it had forced them into either. Hmm... "Do you mind?" He'd ask politely before stepping over to Onyx to inspect the wing that the guy had just made appear, humming to himself with interest as he gently pulled at one of the feathers. "I was, yes." His response caused him to pause in his inspection for a moment as his mind trailed off for but a moment. "Though, I didn't expect anyone would actually hear it."

Turning around to head back to his station, he'd open up an overhanging wall cupboard and searched for something inside. "Onyx my boy, I once again apologize for all this, regardless of if you don't want me to or not. Though, I must ask and feel free to say no but this could be very helpful to my research." With an ominous pause, he'd suddenly grab out at what he was looking for and turn back to the horned man with quite an unsettlingly large needle in his paws. "You see, a blood sample from someone who's been affected by this whole mess... Could provide some crucial missing links in data."

With a mildly reassured smile, Dime would nod towards Onyx's comment. It was certainly nice to hear someone speak about this whole situation in a rational light, unlike most others who simply expect far too much of him and demand results when not everything can be solved so simply. Yes, he was one of the top scientists on Junction, not that he liked to brag about that title. Yet it didn't mean that he could instantly figure out all these strange new anomalies that appear when entering an entirely new dimension. This was simply nothing like any one had ever seen before, where was the guy even to start when no previous information was documented on such events? It was blind guess after blind guess, honestly he was surprised how far some of his experiments had gotten him thus far.

Dime would chuckle light heartedly. "Of course, even a little would be enough in reality. It's just having backups is always important. You never know how many shots you may get at achieving what you set out for, nor how many times it could all go wrong. Heh." Delicately, the scientist would ask for Onyx to take a seat and try to hold still as he pierced the needle into the guys upper arm. Drawing out a fair amount of blood but not enough to actually cause any ill effects to Onyx himself. Inspecting the blood inside the needle afterwards, Dime would carefully place the needle into a hold as to not have it be knocked over later. Keeping his attention to the horned man instead of throwing himself back into experiments like he usually would. "So... Tell me my boy. Is there anything else weird that happened since... All this? Anything else of note you think was out of the ordinary or would be interesting to note? Or better yet, do you have any questions for me? Sometimes others asking questions that concern them can get me to think about things in ways I usually wouldn't, which has proven to be very useful in the past."

With the question of the dangers of his work being pulled up, Dime would seem to smile and lose focus for a moment as if the very thought was bringing back some kind of fond memory to the guy. "Ah yes. By all means not every experiment has to be dangerous, though there are many others that do pose a threat. Then there is times where experimentation must go on even in a field that has no documented history. At that point its pot luck if we get a break through, a disaster, an explosion or simply no effect at all." Shaking his head, the canine-esk scientist would take a seat, resting his elbows on the seats armrests whilst placing his paws under his chin as he thought about Onyx's answer.

The thought process seemed to take the man quite a lot longer than any previous times he had fell silent for a moment. Dime would be staring downwards at the floor, his eyes slowly trailing left and then right as if reading something that wasn't even there. A small scowl began forming on his face as his eyes narrowed. "Those idiots..." He'd eventually whisper, more so to himself as if he had forgotten there was even anyone else in the room with him. Eventually though, he would look back up at Onyx with a kind of face that showed he was trying to hide back his anger. "So, what you are telling me is. You are in belief that there are others, whom are not splicers, that have the capability of becoming these so called Seekers. Am I correct?" Unlike the soft, calm voice that the man had been using this whole conversation, Dime voice was now stern and strict. Almost reminiscing the voice you'd use to tell off a misbehaving child.

"Oh there are many different reasons as to why experimentation must go on." Dime would begin with a light chuckle. "Sometimes it is for self improvement, others it is for the benefits of those that live here on Junction. You see, not all breakthroughs have to be monumental or even result in anything good. Sometimes, it is simply best that something horrific is discovered under controlled environments. We wouldn't want those nasty events happening by accident on the streets do we? Not like..." He'd pause and shake his head lightly. "Not everything is perfect though. Everyone can make mistakes and flukes are bound to pop up every so often."

A sound almost reminiscent of a low growl would fill the room for just a moment before Dime realized it was happened and controlled himself. "Yes. This information does bother me. Very much in fact. When this all first went down, I was told that Splicers had begun becoming seekers all around Junction. No one was sure why and I was tasked in finding out specifically why, obviously being the person who knows the most about this field I agreed. Yet none of them ever told me this spread further than just Splicers. This information could be vital to figuring this all out, it could possibly be nothing to do with Splicers at all if anyone has started obtaining these powers!" The mans voice would get clearly more agitated as his speech went on before ultimately stopping himself again to calm himself back to a reasonable tone. "I have to thank you for bringing this information to my attention, however, this means I have a lot more work ahead of me. Unless you have anything else important to ask, or more information to share. I would like to get back to my work."