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 garden.

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 (10 pm - 1 am CET) or which ever cycle he chooses with the Garden's greenhouse setting.

Core skills

 * With this skill, you can save some when working in the garden, especially when planting, treating diseases and creating hybrids. You will also receive aditional fruit from expeditions in which you participate.


 * This allows you to be a more valuable part of the research team. It allows you to take care of your plants and use the rest of your  in research more effectively.


 * One of your unique skills. It "only" gives you 2 additional pots and helps in growing hybrids, but those extra pots can go a long way, and possibly make the ship autonomous in oxygen if you find another pot! However, taking care of 7+ plants costs a lot of, so you may have some trouble balancing gardening and lab work, unless an another is available or someone offers to water your plants in your stead.

Secondary skills

 * A unique and convenient skill, but not used very often. It may be useful before you have the Spore Sucker or after explorations with or, but you may find  more appealing.
 * Beware that this skill is disabled when you are, and since likely will only use it after the Mycoscan is available, you are very likely to be spotted.


 * Situationally useful skill. It usually is outweighted by the other options, but may be a necessity in the case of a rampage.


 * Your third unique skill. You will receive additional from eating fruits. In the beginning, 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.
 * Similarly to, this skill is unuseable if you are , and not munching on several fruits at once will make you suspicious.


 * 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.
 * Keep your plants in the Garden; the greenhouse protects your plants from fires and breaches, and allow you to change the production cycle.

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.