3110 pursed his lips with a suppressed annoyance. He dipped his head in respect, and to show he had no more information to share. He waited for the brown haired woman to leave the room and took a moment to collect himself. He felt a weight come off his shoulders for a moment, going over the conversation a hundred different ways in his head. It hadn't gone as he expected, but also not as badly as he had feared. A sigh escaped his lips and he began the arduous process of standing up without his rifle to use as crutch. 3110 carefully put his rifle on his shoulder and paused at the door, letting himself look at the painting for another moment. It depicted a world so different from his own, he shook his head, heading out of the Compound.
The next three hours were the same as ever, reporting to his commanding officer, getting yelled at for a few minutes, and getting some of his rations docked. Then it was back to his solitary room, passing the crowds of nameless, empty faces. 3110 sat heavily at his desk, breathing out a sigh of relief. It had been a stressful few days and he took the opportunity to unwind by poring over lists and reports. He let his mind wander even as he read and organized the papers, though a few interesting facts popped out at him now and again. The information he'd gathered the past few days had been fascinating to re-look over, to analyze and wonder about.. When the man finally felt he'd rested enough he pulled out his actual work, not just the dossiers he volunteered to sort through and write reports on. With a careful reverence 3110 pulled out one of the notebooks he'd been granted for his work. It was well taken care of, though extra papers stuck out at odd angles, inflating the books actual size.
He opened it and began to work, sketching, writing, and pulling out references from the piles and piles of books around himself. It wasn't anything too important, he worked mostly in the theoretical, but 3110 had hope he could actually change something. He had a million sketches of plants, just barely kept alive, or of dead animals, dissected and studied to see how they could survive in harsher environments. Science fascinated the red haired man, kept him passionate in his work, and the Government provided the tools and opportunity to do it. 3110 lost himself in his work, losing precious hours to his craft. It was the same as two nights ago, he knew logically he should sleep, but the pull was too strong. It was the only time he allowed himself to genuinely smile, to let down any reservations he had and just.. be. He'd just finished up a sketch of a device he was working on and an interesting plant he'd glanced at when leaving the abandoned town, when he realized he desperately needed sleep. His body was pushed beyond what it was supposed to do, and if he collapsed during work he was already on thin ice. 3110 reluctantly closed the book, he wasn't on Scout duty tomorrow, but rather factory work. It was tedious, but did allow his mind to wander. Tomorrow was a new day after all, and as 3110 drifted off to sleep he couldn't help but wonder if he'd find any more surprises.
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