[MoM] IC CONTACT POST

[microbrobotics]

"Hey, you've reached Hiro Hamada. Text me like a normal person and not a weirdo."

Comments

[microbrobotics]

[ It really, really isn't. Fortunately Hiro will figure that out on his own this week, but he's not in the right place for that now.

Freezing up though ... that has to be taken care of. No matter how he approaches this, he has to get over his fear of fire - or at least find ways to continue functioning if that encounter happens again. ]

How? How did you figure it out?

[attainment]

[Looking back, it's hard to point to one monumental burst of effort that led him to success. Fire rescues were extensively covered by the Hero Academy. He learned to achieve mental and emotional tranquility by repressing his feelings when necessary. As Hiro pointed out, though, there's no hero school in this world. Barnaby also understands how unhelpful and potentially destructive the second coping mechanism would sound in this context.]

Like I mentioned before, it didn't happen overnight. My school had a comprehensive curriculum, and I had chances to practice before making my debut. Generally speaking, I prefer on-the-job learning over simulations, but...for things like this, using a simulation to help acclimate yourself to fire-rescue situations might be a good place to start.

[microbrobotics]

[ There's that school again ... Hiro kind of wishes he could attend something like that. He was never much fond of traditional schooling, but this place sounds less like his crappy high school and more like SFIT. Too bad Xavier's can't fill that niche for him anymore. ]

So ... practice. Practice fires?

[attainment]

It may sound a little odd when you word it that way, but...yes. Even if we take what happened to you out of the equation, fear of fire is a natural survival instinct. Simulate it in a safe, controlled environment enough times, though, and you might learn how to avoid letting your fears control you.

[microbrobotics]

I guess I could figure something out. Better than just freezing up again.

[attainment]

[Almost anything is better than just freezing up again, as far as Barnaby is concerned.] I'm sure someone like you can come up with a few good ideas. If you need help with anything, though, please feel free to ask.