@r.mckay; video

[technospeak]

[As the video feed turns on, Rodney is rearranging his hair a little, brushing it into place with his fingers, and then he squares his shoulders, takes a breath, and looks into the camera. Rodney is an average-looking guy in his late-30s and wearing a jacket with a Canadian flag patch on the shoulder, and he's sitting in front of some kind of holographic display with bright neon lights, schematics of some sort.]

Hi. [A beat, and then.] Hello, residents of Riverview Quarantine. My name is Dr. Rodney McKay.

[Another pause, and he takes a deep breath looking directly into the camera.]

As you may or may not be aware, a power relay station deep in the jungle was recently reactivated on minimal power thanks to some massive electric shocks. After seeing how I responded in that situation, I was, well...

[He ducks his head in a show of humility or shyness before looking back at the camera.]

Well. I was honoured with a request from the city representatives to be the new Chief Science Officer of the Wall Research & Development unit. Which means I'm in charge, in a way.

[There is zero trace of shyness now, he just looks smug.]

Which is, frankly, an excellent decision, because this place is a total mess. Who was in here before? Seriously, it looks like a tornado went through here, how could anyone find anything? What use are fancy holographic displays if they're just... [He waves a hand.] Anyway.

What is the purpose of this post, you might ask? Well. The team they've given me here were mostly completely useless and I'd like to reach out. See if anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together might be willing to join my team so we can forge ahead with getting this place in order.

I'm particularly looking for Engineers of pretty much any variety and anyone with high-level computer skills, knowledge of Astrophysics is a major plus. Really, anyone with a degree in science and an ability to think outside the box. Full-time or contract...you know. Whatever floats your boat.

[Lifting his chin, he exhales heavily, and claps his hands together once before rubbing them together.]

I look forward to your replies.

Comments

video | @mementomori

[fatedcontract]

Wow. [Makoto looks, maybe, a little humored.]

Had a slice of humble pie before posting this, huh?

I'm so sorry.

[technospeak]

[Rodney actually snorts at that, crossing his arms and shaking his head, one eyebrow raised.]

I'm talking about theoretical Astrophysics and you're trying to call me out on my attitude? Seriously, kid, unless you're actually some kind of Mechanical Engineering prodigy or something, I don't really care what you think. I'll eat a slice of humble pie when I stop being a genius.

no, I'm the one that's sorry XD

[fatedcontract]

I was too busy dying but thanks for reminding me that I never got to finish school. [He doesn't actually care though, he's already registered for school here.] I have lived long enough to know that an ego like that doesn't encourage a lot of people to just jump into working with someone though.

[technospeak]

[Rodney's mouth opens and then closes, and he lifts a hand, snapping his fingers before dropping his fist into his other palm.]

That's cheating, bringing up dying.

[A beat, and then he moves past it.]

Anyway, I'm going to educate you a little bit. When you reach a particular level of genius, people stop caring whether you have an ego or not.

[fatedcontract]

[He almost laughs.]

Didn't know there were rules.

Actually, pretty sure that's when people care even more. Not a lot of people want to hang around someone or work with someone who constantly touts how much better he is than his coworkers. Roll back the ego a bit, friendly advice.

[technospeak]

Okay, I'm going to not take that under advisement, since I don't take advice from children and I've never had a shortage of people who wanted to work with me.

[fatedcontract]

Patronizing too. How many of those people wanted to work with you though compared to required?

[technospeak]

I literally picked the ones I wanted out of hundreds of applications.

[fatedcontract]

Did those applicants know you had an over-inflated ego?

[He could stop... He probably should... But he's never had the best self-preservation sense.]

[technospeak]

I think the point is that they didn't care.

[fatedcontract]

Or so you think. I know I'd hate working for an insufferable know it all.

[technospeak]

Then don't work for me if that's what you think I am. Problem solved.

[fatedcontract]

Wasn't really planning on it. I'd rather deal with the university professors. I'm worried for the sake of everyone else.

[technospeak]

Then what, exactly, was the point of you replying to this at all?

[fatedcontract]

I'm a teenager.

[No, he's just painfully blunt sometimes.] I could also get a kick out of things like this. Who knows.

[technospeak]

So, no point at all, is what you're saying?

[fatedcontract]

Could be!

[Little shrug.]

[technospeak]

[Rodney waves his hand a little dismissively.]

I think you were right when you said you're a teenager.

[fatedcontract]

Pretty sure I was. Seventeen, that should still qualify me.

[Stop with the sass, Makoto.]

[technospeak]

It would. And again, unless you're some sort of prodigy, your input is really just not necessary.

[fatedcontract]

Whether I am or not doesn't really matter. You can be a prodigy in any number of things but that doesn't make you better than anyone else. It makes you useful but not better.

[technospeak]

[This is the sound of an incredibly deep sigh.]

I'm not discussing some airy-fairy existential 'every person has value' rhetoric. You're replying to a post recruiting engineers, techs, and other scientific minds for a specific task. If you're not some kind of teenage scientific prodigy, you are not what I'm looking for, and you're just wasting everyone's time by arguing with me.