Science
Ithaca and Sparta are partly science outposts and Thermopylae has a strong scientific focus as well. After all, if humanity is to survive, learning about its new circumstances and its place in this brand new world is necessary. There weren’t many scientists left after Nightfall. They had been a small, distinguished group before the arrival, meaning that most of humanity’s collective expertise and knowledge was wiped out together with most of the records and data that bore witness to it.
The Structure of Science
Unlike many of the other teams, you Science members don’t really see yourselves as part of the military command structure of Thermopylae. You are in direct contact with Haven (unlike most others) and receive direct instructions from the Science Branch leaders in Haven. You know things that no one else does and you can request private briefings with the Outpost commander if need be.
You’re a team more than a command structure and every member has their peculiarities. Many of you weren’t scientists before Nightfall which means that everyone have had to learn to cooperate and learn together, refreshing each other’s knowledge about your respective fields. It’s just how things have to work. In the science lab, there’s no prestige loss in helping each other or filling in information that someone might be missing. Survival requires cooperation and the abandonment of old habits - or so say the progressives, at least.
The Science shift leaders support the others in their team, with the assistant positions being there to ensure that practical tasks get carried out - assistants are the ones most often sent to the surface, as rare as it is. They perform the experiments and the senior scientists analyze and draw conclusions together with the rest of the team. The science team in general is more democratic and has more discussions around topics, with the shift leader as a deciding voice in the end.
Contact with Haven
Everyone in the Science team can contact Haven directly through their terminals. This is a highly coveted thing in Thermopylae and Science are prioritized in the use of both electricity and connection bandwidth. A lot of the analysis of their data is actually done in Haven, sent over there due to the much higher processing power and electric output that the Haven networks have. Therefor, it is common for the Thermopylae scientists to spent quite some time by their screens, discussing the latest data or putting it into the systems.
In practice from an off-game perspective, it means that the Science teams always have access to the GM team, playing the scientists of Haven as well as other necessary individuals that the Science team might need a hold of. It is through this connection that information is seeded from the experiments done, as well as where these things are discussed.
Electricity
The Science lab uses a great deal of power. The generator is limited in its ability to sustain Thermopylae at its current expansion rate. It means that the Science teams sometimes have to shut down some of their operations, some screens or some experiments in order for other parts of the outpost to function at full capacity. It is up to the scientists to make sure that Command prioritizes their needs and that Life support, who controls the power flow and distribution, sees to them. This is also something that will be continually reported from one of the terminals so the Science teams know whether their operating at full capacity or not.
Typical daily tasks
- Reviewing the development of seeds or foods grown
- Analyzing mutations or nutrient content of the same
- Running standard tests on soil samples
- Watching mold grow in petri dishes
- Theorizing
- Sitting in meetings about policy or focus areas
- Deciding on new methods or required tasks
- Running behavioural analysis is on captured biologicals or machines
- Negotiation with Command about priorities
- Running radiation tests in various places
- Communicating with Haven
- Preparing upcoming experiments, collection methods
- Waiting for results
- Sitting in with MISCON during surface missions to advise
