[Edward Grenore, (He wouldn't answer to his full name, only "Add"), had been working as a Marine Biologist for two years now. Six years total of his life, up to this point, has been dedicated to learning, getting his degree, and finding work at a facility that studies marine wildlife. Of course, when his initial final years of study included things such as rehabilitating sea lion pups, or helping to detangle whales from fishing nets, or tagging sea birds to study their migration patterns...never did he think he would be in the position he's in today.
To say that he thought he would be working with a program that studies the Siren populations of the world would be a gross understatement. The Siren, also known as Siren Lacertina, has been known to the world as a species for only the last century or so, having very recently been discovered in the mid 1900s on the distant shores of southeast Asia. It was rapidly surmised that populations of these humanoid fish creatures live in pockets all over the Atlantic to the Pacific, which would quickly prove true. Although they could be found in almost any part of the world, it was discovered even faster that the population- as far as a species on the planet earth went- was critically endangered. Human interference, intentional or not, was likely a lot to blame for overtaking their native habitats, introducing toxins and trash into the sea that would make them sick and die, as well as more and more generations struggling to produce the offspring needed to survive. It was this, among many other factors including the moral dilemma of wanting to save this race, while also treading the questionable ethics line when it came to dealing with creatures that were clearly sentient, that finally gave rise to the organization Add works with now.
The Organized Conservation Experiment and Notation of Sirens, or O.C.E.A.N.S. for short, had been making great strides in the conservation and study of Sirens for the last thirty or so years, so Add's meager participation seems like a little more than a drop in the bucket compared to what others have accomplished. Being still in his early twenties, Add normally wouldn't qualify for a project of this severity and magnitude, but even just in his short time with the organization he had proven himself in spades. He'd uncovered, some-fucking-how, a rare disease that had been rapidly causing the decline of a specific population of Sirens off the coast of New Mexico, allowing chemists the time and resources needed to actually study and hopefully come up with a possible cure, or at the very least a treatment to prevent more cases like it. It had been determined to be genetic, which was far better than a sort of Siren-to-Siren transmitted disease, but the knowledge had still been invaluable. He was also responsible for assisting in the hand-relocation of more than eight full pods over the last two years in various places around the world. He'd tagged countless of them, taken part in feeding, examining, and studying their behavior. If anyone were a promising candidate for this project, it would be Add.
It's Monday when he's brought into the room with the massive wall-to-wall holding tank for one of the largest Siren pods they oversee, with countless individuals for him to choose from to study. Any would suffice, male or female, he'd just need to avoid picking a juvenile as this specimen would be hopefully inducted into their breeding program over the next few months, which had been in its infancy up to this point. His superiors had silently expected Add to pick one of the stronger, larger males as his subject. One of the Sirens with sharper edges and darker patterns, a physique that clearly categorized them as exceptional examples of their species. They weren't the Alpha, no- that title belonged to an utterly massive orca-patterned male with a bent fin that oversaw the entire pod- but they would undoubtedly be sires for many hatchlings in the hopefully near future.
But none of them catch Add's eye as he walks down the length of the tank with a clipboard under one arm, his other hand buried in his coat pocket as his eyes follow each Siren one by one. A pretty pink female sits in the sand braiding the hair of a purple female (they're sapphics), while nearby a pair of juveniles play and kick up the sand while they roll around with each other. Further down the way is an older male with scars indicating his experience, an ideal subject for study...
The thudding of his work boots stops as his eyes catch on a Siren that had been zipping around elegantly near the surface as he eventually swims down to the sand, watching him silently as he picks up pebbles every so often. It's hard to say what he's doing- maybe he's making something with them. He's much sleeker than the other males- a little chubby around the hips, even- with flowing fins like he's wearing a dress, bright greens and whites that stand out amongst the other, darker patterned ones around him. Add watches him in silence for a moment, tapping the edge of his thumb against his clipboard thoughtfully.]
That one. He'll do.
[He indicates the green Siren with a nod of his head, which ends up being the signal for the careful transfer process to begin. They still didn't understand Siren language- and it was hard to say for sure how much of their own the Sirens understood, it was just known that they are sentient like humans are- so they can't just ask Ain to swim into the holding tank they have waiting nearby. So, in the gentlest, least upsetting way possible, they carefully nudge the Sirens apart with a soft tool, almost like a long spatula, that just pokes them to get them to swim in another direction. The green one is isolated before he likely realizes it as a thin panel comes down in the tank to separate him off fully from the pod. This isn't an uncommon thing, as Sirens need to be taken out every so often for examination, and it's usually a fairly simple process to coax them into the holding tank outside of the main pod with a bit of fish or chicken.
Add will wait long enough to make sure his picked Siren gets into the tank without injury before he walks off to his new office to wait for him to be brought over.]
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Date: 2025-06-27 09:50 pm (UTC)To say that he thought he would be working with a program that studies the Siren populations of the world would be a gross understatement. The Siren, also known as Siren Lacertina, has been known to the world as a species for only the last century or so, having very recently been discovered in the mid 1900s on the distant shores of southeast Asia. It was rapidly surmised that populations of these humanoid fish creatures live in pockets all over the Atlantic to the Pacific, which would quickly prove true. Although they could be found in almost any part of the world, it was discovered even faster that the population- as far as a species on the planet earth went- was critically endangered. Human interference, intentional or not, was likely a lot to blame for overtaking their native habitats, introducing toxins and trash into the sea that would make them sick and die, as well as more and more generations struggling to produce the offspring needed to survive. It was this, among many other factors including the moral dilemma of wanting to save this race, while also treading the questionable ethics line when it came to dealing with creatures that were clearly sentient, that finally gave rise to the organization Add works with now.
The Organized Conservation Experiment and Notation of Sirens, or O.C.E.A.N.S. for short, had been making great strides in the conservation and study of Sirens for the last thirty or so years, so Add's meager participation seems like a little more than a drop in the bucket compared to what others have accomplished. Being still in his early twenties, Add normally wouldn't qualify for a project of this severity and magnitude, but even just in his short time with the organization he had proven himself in spades. He'd uncovered, some-fucking-how, a rare disease that had been rapidly causing the decline of a specific population of Sirens off the coast of New Mexico, allowing chemists the time and resources needed to actually study and hopefully come up with a possible cure, or at the very least a treatment to prevent more cases like it. It had been determined to be genetic, which was far better than a sort of Siren-to-Siren transmitted disease, but the knowledge had still been invaluable. He was also responsible for assisting in the hand-relocation of more than eight full pods over the last two years in various places around the world. He'd tagged countless of them, taken part in feeding, examining, and studying their behavior. If anyone were a promising candidate for this project, it would be Add.
It's Monday when he's brought into the room with the massive wall-to-wall holding tank for one of the largest Siren pods they oversee, with countless individuals for him to choose from to study. Any would suffice, male or female, he'd just need to avoid picking a juvenile as this specimen would be hopefully inducted into their breeding program over the next few months, which had been in its infancy up to this point. His superiors had silently expected Add to pick one of the stronger, larger males as his subject. One of the Sirens with sharper edges and darker patterns, a physique that clearly categorized them as exceptional examples of their species. They weren't the Alpha, no- that title belonged to an utterly massive orca-patterned male with a bent fin that oversaw the entire pod- but they would undoubtedly be sires for many hatchlings in the hopefully near future.
But none of them catch Add's eye as he walks down the length of the tank with a clipboard under one arm, his other hand buried in his coat pocket as his eyes follow each Siren one by one. A pretty pink female sits in the sand braiding the hair of a purple female (they're sapphics), while nearby a pair of juveniles play and kick up the sand while they roll around with each other. Further down the way is an older male with scars indicating his experience, an ideal subject for study...
The thudding of his work boots stops as his eyes catch on a Siren that had been zipping around elegantly near the surface as he eventually swims down to the sand, watching him silently as he picks up pebbles every so often. It's hard to say what he's doing- maybe he's making something with them. He's much sleeker than the other males- a little chubby around the hips, even- with flowing fins like he's wearing a dress, bright greens and whites that stand out amongst the other, darker patterned ones around him. Add watches him in silence for a moment, tapping the edge of his thumb against his clipboard thoughtfully.]
That one. He'll do.
[He indicates the green Siren with a nod of his head, which ends up being the signal for the careful transfer process to begin. They still didn't understand Siren language- and it was hard to say for sure how much of their own the Sirens understood, it was just known that they are sentient like humans are- so they can't just ask Ain to swim into the holding tank they have waiting nearby. So, in the gentlest, least upsetting way possible, they carefully nudge the Sirens apart with a soft tool, almost like a long spatula, that just pokes them to get them to swim in another direction. The green one is isolated before he likely realizes it as a thin panel comes down in the tank to separate him off fully from the pod. This isn't an uncommon thing, as Sirens need to be taken out every so often for examination, and it's usually a fairly simple process to coax them into the holding tank outside of the main pod with a bit of fish or chicken.
Add will wait long enough to make sure his picked Siren gets into the tank without injury before he walks off to his new office to wait for him to be brought over.]