PNPC Lieutenant Kyle Morgan - Survival of the Fittest
Addison MacKenzie
(( Market District, City One – Rylor ))
What Kyle Morgan thought might be a low-key outing quickly made him realize he should have listened to his instinct and remained aboard the Artemis. Instead, he found himself locked hand-in-hand with an absolute quack of a shop owner with a blood obsession while Bancroft stood nearby and proved to be as useless as a baby with a binky in its mouth. Somehow, he needed to quickly excuse himself and return to the ship, which was likely proving to be more difficult than he thought.
Morgan: Phlebotomy? A crude, but critical practice in medicinal development...
Bancroft: ::lightly, attempting recovery:: It’s a lovely shop, Dr. Acula. A… monument to medicine’s more enthusiastic early years. I imagine we’ve already stolen quite enough of your afternoon–
Dr. Acula’s smile deepened ever so slightly.
Dr. Acula: On the contrary, Doctor Bancroft. ::his gaze remaining on Morgan rather than Roy:: One cannot properly appreciate modern medicine without first understanding how intimate it once was.
A small gesture toward the surrounding cabinets.
Dr. Acula: Before scanners, before automation, before one could diagnose a patient from across the room, there was touch. Observation. Judgment. A steadier hand. A sharper… eye.
Browsing some of the nearby cabinets, there were various pieces of historically relevant - if outdated - pieces of equipment. Tourniquets, vacutainers, needles of various sizes... It was as though this shop was more a museum dedicated to the historical development of the practice than it was about trying to sell anything. Morgan picked up a needle pinched between his thumb and index finger, and held it up in front of his face.
Morgan: Oh, how far we've come... ::putting the needle down, moving on to other equipment:: Why the particular interest in phlebotomy, Dr. Acula?
Dr. Acula: I find blood to be the most honest medium in all of medicine. It does not flatter. It does not conceal. There’s a beautiful purity to it. It tells you, immediately and without sentiment, what a body needs… and what it can no longer survive without.
Bancroft: ::dryly:: There’s a certain purity to tetanus as well, but modern medicine has shown an almost embarrassing lack of nostalgia for it.
Morgan closed his eyes, wishing that he could teleport out of the situation - or that Roy would at least know when to shut up. With his eyes closed, he missed the smile returning to Acula's face.
Dr. Acula: And yet… ::his gaze settling, briefly, on Morgan:: …your colleague appears to understand that age and obsolescence are very different things.
Kyle cocked his head slightly.
Morgan: Dr. Acula, if you keep talking like that, I'm going to insist that you buy me dinner.
Dinner, he suspected, was all too prominent on the shop owner's mind...
Dr. Acula: I am quite hungry, now you mention it.
Morgan kept moving through the shop, pretending to be interested in the materials on display while simultaneously trying to anticipate an escape route - of which there didn't seem to be a good one.
Dr. Acula: I keep the more refined selections in the back. ::a small gesture toward the shadowed doorway:: The pieces I reserve for those with a more serious interest.
The opposite direction of which they were trying to go...
Bancroft: ::lightly:: Oh, I’m not certain we need to impose on your hospitality, Dr. Acula.
The objection seemed to fall far flatter than its intended target. Morgan shrugged it off as easily as Acula did.
Morgan: I'm a surgeon. blood never really interested me anyway, sorry to say...
Roy’s jaw tightened, his eyes widening slightly at Morgan.
Bancroft: Sir, I believe there are some pressing matters back on the Artemis requiring the attention of the Chief Medical–
Kyle raised his index finger and offered an amused smile as he interrupted Bancroft.
Morgan: Acting Chief Medical Officer!
One didn't have to be an expert in anatomy to recognize the slight tightening of Bancroft's jaw with annoyance.
Bancroft: Yes, sir. Acting, interim, temporary, ceremonial – whatever title we’re workshopping – with respect, I really must advise against this–
Morgan: Oh, come on, how often do you get to take advantage of someone with the expertise that Dr. Acula is offering? I can only speak for myself that I haven't seen so many unique items in one place...
Bancroft/Acula: Response
Kyle shrugged and offered a "what's the worst that could happen" face, though he was well aware of what that might entail.
Morgan: Could be an interesting opportunity to study some medicinal anthropology, after all...
Bancroft/Acula: Response
Morgan's brow furrowed suddenly and he once again held up his finger in protest as though he'd forgotten something.
Morgan: You know, on second thought, I think you're right - I remember Captain MacKenzie scheduling a meeting with the senior staff for this afternoon, but I know for a fact that you aren't on the duty roster this afternoon... This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for in-depth medical knowledge from an absolute expert in his field. I'd hate for you to miss out on it...
If the internal voice in Kyle's head was a physical person, he'd have shrugged dismissively at the thought of sending Bancroft in on his own. Survival of the fittest, after all. He started to move so that Roy was now between himself and Acula, and he'd have a clean shot at the exit.
Bancroft/Acula
Tag, and TBC!
Acting Chief Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A