snowblindrpg | [network] @whatisthis | video

[ The minute Castiel comes back properly - not just riding along with Jimmy, able to communicate but only sporadically and vaguely at best - he logs onto the network, skimming over it to see what's already been said before posting a message of his own. ]

There's something I need to tell all of you about the bunker. One of the rooms in the bunker - [ He pauses, briefly, to scrawl a simple map of the building in chalk on the floor before pointing his tablet's camera to it and pointing to room 11 ] contains a functioning computer. The computer asks for a username, and when I entered my own it displayed the text "Identity verified. Room access granted."

Unfortunately, we succumbed to the toxic mold before we could investigate. I don't think it's possible to get into and out of that room without being fatally poisoned.

I'm going to return to the bunker to see if I still have whatever access it granted me, but if not we'll need to either find some way to clear enough of the mold to make the way safe or shield ourselves from it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He's still dealing with his death price, but this is too exciting to not respond to.]

did america and his crew ever make it to the bunker?
i sent them ahead with vinegar

toxic mold's a wicked way to go, dude
what were the symptoms like?

I’m not sure. That should be some help in clearing the mold away, though.

It was intensely painful and disconcerting. Shortness of breath came first - the lungs inflated, but drew less and less oxygen and more and more spores with each breath. At the end it was like trying to breathe at the top of Mount Everest. No fluid buildup in the lungs, though - not enough time for the toxin to break down cell walls and the immune response was severe but not overactive. Watering, itchy eyes, dry throat and mouth, mucus and sneezing.

Irregular heartbeat came next, starting as a murmur and escalating towards rapid beats, irregular and weak. Then muscle spasms, at the extremities first. Difficulty balancing. Weakness. Floating black spots in the vision. Aside from the difficulty breathing, these all emerged after over an hour spent in the overgrown areas of the bunker, with death occurring within half an hour after they became noticeable.

Does this help?

i mean, for me figuring out what it's probably derived from?
yeah!
thanks for the deets

sounds like stachybotrys chartarum
that's your classic toxic black mold
didn't look much like a stachybotrys from that pic rhys got, though
maybe some sorta hybrid...

[ Okay, that's... unusual, but if House is going to be straightforward for once, Castiel guesses he can't really complain. ]

The onset was too abrupt even accounting for how much of it we were exposed to, as well. We should have also developed lesions or lost hair, if black mold was the cause.

Molds don't tend to mutate very quickly, but this strain has been isolated in extreme conditions for hundreds of years, and has been exposed to considerable amounts of radiation. It could be unique to this place, descended from Stachybotrys chartarum or one of its relatives.

relatives more likely
who do i gotta kill for a staining kit?
actually
you pick up any food dye along the line?

No, but I can look next time I pass by the convenience store.

What are you using to color food, now? You aren't still using lead and copper, are you? I don't think those would help very much in identifying species of mold.

mostly crushed bugs for some of the red stuff
coal and petroleum for the others
we moved from heavy metals to oil
be proud

[ Only one of those things is something a human should ingest, in Castiel's estimation, but it is a step up from eating rust, so he'll take it. There is a brief pause while he thinks very hard about the nature of free will and its role in decision making, though. ]

At least it's something. I'll keep it in mind and bring you anything I find that looks promising. What are you going to use it for?

examining the mold
did you seriously not pick that up from context?
have you ever tried to examine something under a traditional microscope without a stain?

I have never used or touched a microscope.

[ He's honestly not sure he's ever even seen one ]

how is that physically possible?
you've been around since they were invented

I've been around since the invention of corrective eyeglasses too and I haven't used them either. They're of no use to me. If I need to examine something in minute detail, I can, without mechanical aid.

Why does staining help? Wouldn't it just obscure color and detail?

your powers are really cool
and i resent you for them
so i'm gonna call them stupid
and you lame

[Having to be honest really takes the bite out of his pithy insults...]

the color can highlight certain organelles within the cell
or proteins
or the nucleus
or whatever else you're looking at
it enhances the observations you can make when you do it right

Okay. Thank you for your honesty.

Then it's for increased contrast when using the microscope? I understand. Do you normally use a specialized kind of dye for this, when resources aren't as limited?

i'm not trying to be
it's just a death price

yeah
there are all kinds of dyes
specialized ones for particular tests
they're lab-made
i can do a poor man's version of them with the right supplies
but food coloring is about the next best thing

You should consider trying to learn something from this experience.

Is there anything else that would help with this process, or is the food coloring all?

the only thing i'm planning to learn
is how to avoid anomalies better
mainly because i'm not willing to be emotionally mature enough to deal with all this crap

[He wishes he could stop.]

iodine or india ink'll work for dye

Of course. That works too.

[ He's possibly a little more amused by this than he's willing to admit. ]

I'll see what kinds of pigments I can find, if any.

[He hates you, Castiel.]

thanks
i appreciate it
i'll talk to you later, wings

[network] @whatisthis | video | Morning 384 [open]

@hotstud_xxx; text

Text [cw: graphic description of organ failure]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject