After dinner

Being a veterinarian here is more environmental than it is taking care of individual animals.

MAIL

The plant and microbe guys go in first. Then the insect guys. Larger animals come last. When done right, ecosystems pretty much assemble themselves.

And when you get something wrong, you find out these early ecosystems are even better at disassembling themselves.

After dinner

So if you make a mistake, the whole ecosystem starts to unravel?

No, we don't try to put everything down at once. We make dots.

Dots are little oases of life with dead land between them. Some of the dots die. The successful ones spread and will eventually cover the whole planet.

Kind of like how a tiny spot of mold can grow to cover an entire loaf of bread.

We need to work on your after dinner analogies.

Behind Winston's back – игра “Жизнь” (Convay's Game of Life). (KALDYH, Варг)
Its mechanism can also be seen in action in the sandbox game, a simulation of electronics, volcanoes, turbines, nukes and other physical and chemical processes called “The Powder Toy” under the LIFE button. Beware, these algorithms treat the processor extremely harshly, taking all the power available (Robot Spike)

After dinner

We're still doing ablative ice drops from orbit. We need the water, and if you're doing any type of impact drop, you need to keep the dust down.

You're talking about everything except what you do as a vet.

Which means you probably work with the really icky bits.

Hey, it's biology. The icky bits are the most interesting.

After dinner

I do work with what's considered the icky bits. I work with parasites.

I know. New planet. Why bring parasites? Well, they evolved with us. they're part of a normal life cycle, even if they are ugly and creepy and no one likes having them around.

Planned ecologies. Survival of the cutest.

Yeah. People want animals that are huggable, and no one wants to hug a tapeworm.

After dinner

Do we really need parasites?

Wolves prey on the sick and injured. What would happen to wolves if deer stopped getting sick?

Deer would be harder to catch. Fewer hunts would be successful. More energy expended per kill. I guess there would be fewer wolves and more deer.

And they wouldn't taste as good, because when an animal's sick or limping, it's like they have this big sign saying “Me! You want me! Come eat me, I'm extra delicious!”

Okay, too much information.

After dinner

Parasites are the fine controls for an ecosystem. Shift predator/prey populations, slow down how fast a species breeds, parasites can do it.

Winter Green

Yet there is a definite creepy factor to it. I don't know if I should be telling you what I really do for a living.

People avoid you when they find out you carry parasites?

Yeah. It's weird. They know I make sure the boxes are properly sealed.

After dinner

What it comes down to is people want an ecosystem, just not the slimy parts.

You run into that in engineering as well.

People want electricity but not the power plants. Metals, but not the mining or smelting areas. Chemicals, but not the chemical industry.

We're in the same field. You work with the icky bits of an ecosystem, I work with the icky bits of an infrastructure.

After dinner

We are kind of in the same field. Life support. You on the mechanical end, myself on the biological.

Water is good!

Yes. While not something we can discuss in french restaurants, it will be fun to hear things from another's point of view.

Florence, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful symbiotic relationship.

If you say “We'll always have Paris sites”, I'm going to bite you.

Popular quote from the movie “Casablanca” (a romantic drama)\\. In addition to that Paris sites sounds like Parasites (паразиты) :3

Escape into the museum

Are you done? They still have some stuffed animals left.

I'm done. I got you a raccoon.

Ah, yes. Masked mammal, thief. Known for being very good at raiding garbage cans.

Which is why garbage cans here have double sealed time locked lids.

No, those are because of you.

Escape into the museum

Sam, look. A stuffed bear.

Is it real?

Of course it's not real, Helix. It's a replica.

If humans really had a building filled with long dead animals, I'd have brought ketchup.