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After an incident involving a startled ninja rat and a coffee table, Guppy's nose currently looks like he's been in a boxing match. The new junior doctor at work didn't like to ask about it, but eventually he satisfied rumours with a story about slipping in the bathroom and whacking it on the toilet*.

Tonight he is sitting with Fry outside. Fry is showing him his 'Summer School Passport', which has stamps to collect for different activities. Guppy hadn't expected that among the 'Went on a boat' and 'Made a rain shaker' there would some social and life skills, but he's regarding these as a definite bonus.

Currently he is debating with Fry why he can't put laces in Velcro shoes. Come join them!

[*On the basis that an embarrasing lie is more believable.]

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Dr. Lecter is outside, not far away from them, drinking some rosé wine and reading what seems to be sheet music.

Having lost the debate regarding his shoes, Fry notices Dr Lecter and comes over. He looks up but doesn't make eye contact.

"Hello Dr Lecter." he says, before immediately turning and wandering off again.

Someone's been practicing.

"Hey." Guppy waves.

"Good afternoon, Alexander," Dr. Lecter says. "How are you doing today."

He politely nods to Guppy.

"How am I doing what?" Fry asks.

"It roughly means 'What is happening in your life?' with an implication one hopes that things are well, and you like what is happening," Dr. Lecter explains, patiently.

"People should say what they mean." Fry says. "I've been to Summer School, look."

He gets his passport back from Guppy and shows Dr Lecter his stamps for 'Saying Hello', 'Learning to do buttons' and 'Made a rain noise maker'.

"It's school holidays so we enrolled Fry in a holiday club at a school for other kids on the autism spectrum." Guppy says. "Seems to be going well."

Which is just as well, since Fry was banned from most of the other activities they'd tried to enrol him in, either on principle, or since last year.

"These seem nicely eclectic," Dr. Lecter says, looking at the Fry's summer school passport. "Tell me about the rain noise maker?"

"It is thirty one point five centimetres tall and is a round tube. It has rice and beans in and if you turn it upside down it makes the sound of rice and beans which is meant to sound like rain." Fry says. "What is eclectic?"

"It means a seemingly random pick of different, interesting things," Dr. Lecter says. "Traditionally, it was an instrument built by the Aztec people in Mexico, with hollowed-out cacti that had their spines arranged on this inside so the slide of the beans would be slowed down, and it sounds more like rain as they trickle down instead of rushing all at once; that probably sounds somewhat more like rain."

"How did they get spikes inside?" Fry asks.

"How did you put spikes in your rain maker?" Guppy asks.

"Paul put them in then we covered it." Fry says.

"I don't know how they did it," Dr. Lecter says. "Unfortunately, I never have made a rainmaker. Perhaps I should."

"Then you can get a stamp." Fry says.

Edited 2013-08-12 21:13 (UTC)

"I don't think anyone will give me a stamp," Dr. Lecter says. "But then, I will know how they work, which is the point of collecting experiences in this way."

"No." Fry says. "It's to make good noise."

"Did you go in the sensory room at summer school?" Guppy asks.

"Yes." Fry says. "It has a bubble lamp like home."

"A lave lamp, where bubbles rise and fall?" Dr. Lecter asks.

"No, it has air bubbles coming from the bottom." Guppy says. "Lava lamps get hot."

"I'm sure if Alexander were told not to touch something because it is hot, he wouldn't do it," Dr. Lecter says. "Perhaps once. Very briefly and cautiously."

"He might not, but Brooke would." Guppy says. "And not all the kids at the school can understand safety instructions, so best to use an air one rather than a wax one."

"Alexander," Dr. Lecter says, "would you touch a thing you've been told not to touch? And what about your sister? Would she?"

"I wouldn't." Fry says. He doesn't know what his sisters are thinking.

"Why do you think other children do it?" Dr. Lecter asks.

"'Don't touch, Danny!'" Fry says, because he doesn't know the answer.

"Did Danny touch it?" Dr. Lecter asks.

"Yes." Fry says.

"What happened then?" Dr. Lecter asks.

"'Don't touch Danny!
Danny touched the vase
Now the vase is broken
Mummy's all upset

Don't touch Danny!
Danny touched the dog
Now the dog is chasing him
He's all muddy and wet.'" Fry says.

"Is this from a book?" Guppy asks.

"Yes." Fry says. "It's called 'Don't touch Danny'." He looks at Guppy. "Is that how your nose got bruised because someone touched when they weren't supposed to?"

"No, but it was because I touched a ninja on the shoulder and startled him." Guppy says. "So similar."

"That is a sensible thing to learn, Alexander," Dr. Lecter says.

He looks at Guppy.

"Ninja?"

"Yes, I clapped him on the shoulder and he threw me because he wasn't expecting it." Guppy says.

"It's advisable to be careful around strangers," Dr. Lecter nods. "You don't know when you might meet somebody who takes umbrage, or who is trained in martial arts."

"It wasn't a stranger, and I should have known better." Guppy says. "Which is why I haven't told Fry who it was, because it wasn't his fault."

Dr. Lecter nods gravely. "I won't ask, then," he says. "I would not just clap somebody on the shoulder here, anyway, but now I know one of them might be a ninja, even less so."

"I don't like to be touched." Fry says. "It's nasty."

"That as well," Dr. Lecter says. "Not everybody likes to be clapped on the shoulder, or approached from behind, or touched at all."

"Indeed, I should have known better." Guppy says again. "Anyway, nothing broken."

"I take it you asked some colleague at home, or used a machine here in the infirmary to make sure?" Dr. Lecter says.

"Used the machine." Guppy says.

"Very sensible," Dr. Lecter says. "It must be great to use technology from the future. Of course, compared to the state of the art when I was a student, we are already living in the future, medically speaking."

"Do you need me to show you how it works or has someone else?"

"No," Dr. Lecter says. "I would be very grateful if you did. Javert, of course, refused the use of any medicine from the future, but with other emergencies, it might save time and spare them pain."

Guppy gets up.

"Come on Fry, you can see the fish tank." he says.

"Fish!" Fry jumps up, flapping his hands.

Dr. Lecter follows, taking his wine along. "Thank you, Dr. Sandhu," he says. "I do appreciate that."

"You really can call me Guppy, if you want." Guppy says, leading him through to the infirmary. "Given we're now working in the same department."

He hesitates when they get into the infirmary. Last time he started showing the equipment, it was Autor, and that didn't exactly work out well. The guy's probably working out how to rewire it to use as a weapon.

"Fish fish, do not tap the glass." Fry says, running up to the tank between the day room and the ward, then singing to himself. "Do not tap the glass, do not tap the glass, feed the fish once a day, and do not tap the glass..."

"You must call me Hannibal, then," Dr. Lecter says, watching Fry looking at the fish. "I really like his mnemonics techniques. He is likely to deal well with the world in the future, thanks to that."

"Thanks." Small proud smile. "He learned that one in his nursery class, where they had a fish tank."

He shows Dr Lecter the use of the large and portable scanners.

"Thank you, Guppy," Dr. Lecter says, when they are done. "That was very enlightening. These machines are going to have been an amazing leap forwards for medical science, once they come into general use in two hundred years or so."

"I know, I wish I could take it home." Guppy says, grinning.

"I am sure every medical doctor thinks so," Dr. Lecter agrees. "It is good to have them here, at least."

[ooc: Fade here? Thanks for the thread]

[[ooc: indeed! thank you, too!]]

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