whispers-of-change:

the-perfect-scientist:

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the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.

@whispers-of-change

She nodded. “Mhmm. That’s kind of amazing. I’d never be able to do that, I’d be so afraid to even try to open up my computer. I’d be so afraid of breaking it and messing everything up,” she said, her voice a soft sigh. “That’s honestly so impressive that you can do that.”

Carlos chuckled. “Well, I understand that fear. And it’s a
good one to have – it makes you cautious. But if your computer every needs a
good dusting, I’m your man. I can take those things apart with my eyes closed.
Metaphorically – not literally.”

A mischievous grin spread across her face. “Ya know, it’d be a hell of a stunt to see you do it with your eyes closed,” she joked. “I know that I’d be impressed, at least. But I’ll keep that in mind, thank you,” she added softly.

Carlos laughed. “Maybe my own computer,” he said with a
smile. “Um… so, what about you? What are your hobbies?”

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the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.

@whispers-of-change

She nodded. “Mhmm. That’s kind of amazing. I’d never be able to do that, I’d be so afraid to even try to open up my computer. I’d be so afraid of breaking it and messing everything up,” she said, her voice a soft sigh. “That’s honestly so impressive that you can do that.”

Carlos chuckled. “Well, I understand that fear. And it’s a
good one to have – it makes you cautious. But if your computer every needs a
good dusting, I’m your man. I can take those things apart with my eyes closed.
Metaphorically – not literally.”

whispers-of-change:

the-perfect-scientist:

whispers-of-change:

the-perfect-scientist:

whispers-of-change:

the-perfect-scientist:

whispers-of-change

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.

@whispers-of-change

She
smiled as she watched him. No wonder he was so sweet, all that sugar.
She gave a small smirk. He just kept getting cuter. She had a sudden
desire to brush her fingers through his hair, and had to stop herself
from letting out an audible sigh. “So, do you ever drink any kind of
tea?” she asked curiously, trying to keep some kind of conversation
going.

Carlos looked at her. He then smiled apologetically and
shook his head. “No, I, uh… I don’t drink tea,” he said. “I can’t stand the
taste. I don’t really know why, I just… I don’t like it. Sometimes it’s too
earthy for me, or too bitter and even sugar doesn’t really help. There was this
one time where I was sick and My dad gave me this tea that tasted like I was
drinking a spearmint gum wrapper.”

She smiled back at him. “It’s okay. Honestly, some people just don’t like tea. There’s a whole host of reasons. Everything from not having it prepared correctly, to not finding the right kind of blends to suit their palate, to just… not being in favor of it. I’m not upset. You’re allowed to have your preferences.”

Huh. Carlos had thought… well, he didn’t exactly think she’d be outright offended, but he thought she’d be a bit
more upset at it. Or disappointed. But she seemed to be understanding. Which
was great, actually.

“Um, thank you,” he said and he offered her another smile.

“No problem,” she beamed. “But if you ever change your mind and decide you wanna try to find a tea you like, let me know. If anyone in this town can find you a good blend to suit your tastes and make it for you the right way, it’s me. But I’m never gonna force you to try anything. That’d just be kinda pushy and mean, I think,” she said softly. “But… What kind of stuff do you do in your spare time?” she asked, leaning her elbows on the table. “Like… do you have any hobbies or anything you’re particularly interested in?”

Carlos smiled at her. “Yeah… um, absolutely. If I get the
inkling I’ll ask you.” He took a breath. “As for my spare time… well, I’m usually
busy so often with science. But when I get the chance… I like to watch westerns
on Netflix. And I like to tinker… that’s a hobby, right?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “I say anything you’re not obligated to do and enjoy doing outside of work definitely counts as a hobby,” she replied, placing her hands on her cheeks. “What kinda stuff do you tinker with?” she asked, tilting her head to the side at a slight angle, a more relaxed, almost lopsided smile now on her face.

Carlos shrugged at her. “Just… things, I guess,” he said. “Electronics
and machines that are old, broken, or need a bit of a tune-up. Sometimes I go
into my laptop to clear out dust-bunnies, you know? That sort of thing.”

whispers-of-change

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.

@whispers-of-change

The
grin on her face grew. She rested her chin on the heel of her palm and
let out an almost dreamy sigh. He was such a kind soul. If given the
opportunity and ability to do anything, he would chose to do something that would benefit others. “That’s wonderful,” she said softly. “So wonderful of you.”

Carlos smiled. “Is it? I mean, I suppose there can be some
models that could assist people with special needs as well… sort of like a
service animal without the need to be fed. I mean, there’s all sorts of
possibilities.”

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the-perfect-scientist:

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the-perfect-scientist:

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the-perfect-scientist:

whispers-of-change

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.

@whispers-of-change

She
smiled, letting out a soft, breathy laugh. “Glad I don’t sound as crazy
as I thought,” she said softly. “So, uh, you said you had a few
different degrees, huh? What’s that like? You must be, like, super
smart.”

Carlos’ smile turned sheepish and he shrugged his shoulders
slightly. “Yeah, I… I guess I’m smart. Book-smart, I mean. It’s… Well, I’m not
quite sure how to explain it. I just… know things that most other people don’t,
I guess? Like, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. But of course,
sometimes, I don’t know something. Like if you ask me about plants, I wouldn’t
know. I’m a scientist, not a botanist. Y’know?”

“Well yeah, you may not be a botanist, but you have multiple degrees!” she said, excited. “What are they? What kind of stuff do you know?” she asked, leaning forward, her eyes bright and wide, her interest abundantly clear.

Carlos felt like blushing. “Well, my favorite degree is in
Mechanical Engineering? Like, building things and inventing things. But I also
know about Biology and Chemistry and Physics and Math… just… a lot of things.”

“Mechanical engineering? So what’s your favorite kind of stuff to build and invent?” she asked. She was almost like an excited puppy at this point, all but bouncing in her seat. She was fascinated, here to learn everything she could about this man.

Carlos blinked at her. He smiled again. “Um… well, I really
love it when I get the chance to work on robots,” he admitted. “Robotics are,
like… super incredible, you know? And there’s so much they can do already and
we’re just learning more ways to get them to help us.”

She gave an enthusiastic nod in response. “Mhmm!” She thought for a moment before she popped up in her seat a little. “Oh! If you could create a robot that could do anything, anything in the whooole wide world, what would it do?” she asked, a grin spreading across her face.

Carlos thought about that. “I guess… well, this isn’t
technically the ‘whole wide world’, but… I think it’d be very prudent to develop
an AI to provide meaningful conversation to space travelers. The robotic parts
would be standard, I suppose – wheels for movement and prehensile servos so it
can perform tasks – but a tangible personoid to be able to talk to that isn’t
just a volleyball with some paint on it… I think that would be amazing.”