Ian Soulton

Ian Soulton actively participated in Mush research. An authority on the subject, and also on botany, he prepared a study into numerous extra-terrestrial species and created several hundred hybrids using plants from earth. His curiosity for fruit species is particularly evident.

How to play
Ian's main task is to take care of the plants. Also, it is important for him to acquire alien fruit from expeditions. His unique ability is, which helps protect him and all persons in the room from aggressive actions (although sometimes this may work to the disadvantage of the crew). Typically, he is considered to be a member of the research team, and usually keeps his plants in the lab as well.

Though more activity is always better, the nature of gardening makes Ian a viable character choice for players with long downtimes, as long as they can be around once a day on C8 or C7 (7 pm - 1 am CET).


 * Your first skill, and a good choice for Bronze players. With this skill, you can save some when working in the garden, especially when planting, treating diseases and creating hybrids. Also, you will receive aditional fruit from expeditions in which you participate.
 * This allows you to be a more valuable part of the research team. However, since this is not your main task, you should only choose this when the crew is lacking biologists.
 * A unique and convenient skill, but not used very often. Better since the inclusion of starting spores, but still not recommended as your only skill.
 * Your other unique skill. It "only" gives you 2 additional pots and helps in growing hybrids, but those extra pots can go a long way! It is a alternative to take as Bronze, but only if your crew is active - taking care of 7+ plants costs a lot of, and unless you have another Botanist (like ) getting free gardening actions, the gain from fruit may not be worth it.
 * Situationally useful skill, but not worth taking because other skills are more important for Ian.
 * Your third unique skill. You will receive additional from eating fruits. But if you take it as your only skill that would be very selfish, so also not a good choice if you are Bronze player.


 * / : Good combination at low levels. It allows you to take care of your plants and use rest of your effectively in research.
 * / : The best all-round Silver choice. You will be able to take good care of at least 7 plants.
 * / : You should take this one only if your crew has a chance for long voyage with a lot of expeditions (and you have Hua with Botanist). In the begining, this skill set is weak, but later in game you will be able to recive a lot of from alien fruit which you can use to help the crew.


 * You should take, and . Then:
 * At level 5: Rather than picking or  right at the begining, you should wait and see which of these skills will be more useful. If you need to remove spores before having a, Mycologist is good. But once the Mush are dead, fire fighting becomes a priority.
 * At level 6: Drop both of the above, take as your fourth skill, and become ultimate gardener.


 * Ian's work with plants and their (hard to trace) diseases gives him some excuse for missing, and also (within limits) to get when "forgetting" or not wanting to wait for the  to merely pour some water. Also, usually being among the first people who comes into contact with new fruit can give him some opportunities to use.
 * Most of all, though, his trait can be a powerful tool to buy some time in many Mush plans, especially when combined with either  or . But be aware that  and  crewmates can throw him out of rooms at no extra cost, and s can still shoot him for just 1.

Useful tips

 * Read the Gardening page, as that will be your main field of responsibility.
 * Unless the garden has Heat Lamps, keep your plants in the Laboratory where the is.

General Information
can make Ian the most powerful ap-machine on the ship.

Here is some math: Your ship has 5 pots from the beginning, +2 from your skill Green Thumb, +3 from project Extra Hydropots. You can also get some from trading with aliens and +2 more if Stephen uses Apprentice to take another Green Thumb.

So having 10 plants is quite common situation, while having more is rare, but possible.

But you can also make a Heat Lamp project, that will give every plant 50% chance to give another fruit, while they are in the garden - so you can expect 10-20 fruits a day.

As Jumpkins don't give any satisfaction, you can always eat as many, as you wish. It will be 50-100 bonus AP a day.

Biography

 * 3106 : Born on Earth.
 * 3130 : Ian is sent to the Antemis colony on Tau-Ceti to carry out research into new species which have been discovered in the system. He is sent in one of the 5 intergalactic trains of colonists which took thousands of miners to the promised lands of Boxylium.
 * 3145 : Revolt erupts on Atemis, and Ian, who sympathizes with the cause of the miners nonetheless is too scared to speak publicly as he is worried that the federation will cut the funding for his laboratory. After the success of the rebellion, federation funding is suspended and the militia refuse his request to be repatriated to Earth.
 * 3146 : After the bloodbath at the battle of Sol, the laboratory is requisitioned for the treatment of the wounded. While trying to lend a helping hand, Ian meets a charming nurse by the name of Eleesha Williams. He is impressed by her committment to the sick and wounded. She confides in him that she has made a shocking discovery in some of their cohabitants. A matter of days after this announcement, Eleesha swiftly leaves the system to join the federation. Before her departure, she entrusts him with an unusual sample of spinal bone marrow.
 * 3147 : While carrying out tests on the sample, Ian identified a layer of complex mycelium which he managed to introduce into a rat. The mycelium spread throughout the spinal marrow of the animal without seeming to affect the animal. Once the subject was placed amongst other rats, the infected subject exhibited unusual behaviour during which the rat would vomit a spore of 1mm diameter and transports it to a group of healthy rats. Upon contact with spores, healthy subjects undergo three stages of infection at the end of which the mycelium binds to the subject. Ian sent the findings of his research to Eleesha who compiled a report of their work for the scientific press.
 * 3149 : Following the government declaration of the Mush invasion of Tau-Ceti and Ross154, Ian is seized by an uncontrollable panic. He subjects some of his team to bone marrow extractions but is still not convinced by the fiability of his experiment. He eventually closes his laboratory and carries out his research on his own..
 * 3150 : Once back on Antemis, Eleesha joins him on a project to build a scanner which detects the mycelyum inside the nervous tissue of a body.
 * 3151 : The early mycoscan prototypes detected the presence of spores on a rat but stayed silent when the rat was entirely infected.
 * 3152 : On the 13th of December, Eleesha and Ian intercept a signal from Jupiter. This transmission informed them of the advanced status of the Mush invasion not only in the rebel camp, but also within the federation. The Jupiter team claimed to have been able to build an ark capable of saving a small group of humans in order to continue their research into Mush in a distant galaxy. Ian is terrorized by the idea of a pandemic decimating the human race. He joins the crew of the Daedalus, but Eleesha wants to stay where she is in order to try to save the miners.
 * 3153 : Ian modernized the hydroponic garden project aboard the Daedalus. Thanks to a combination of 12 specific species of plant, he managed to ensure a constantly renewing supply of oxygen aboard the ship.
 * 3170 : When Ian awakes, the fire alarm indicates damage in the hydroponic garden. When he arrives it is already too late, only three plants remain, thus condemning the team to certain death.