Luxa Lorana - Why Is It Always Crystals?!
Ava Munro
((Intensive Care Unit - Primary Sickbay - Deck 07 - USS Artemis-A))
Lorana: The Captain asked me to assist. For the last year I've been developing treatment for rare genetic disorders or abnormalities brought on by exposure to high levels of radiation. Which has had a certain degree of success. We were hoping that the treatment may be adapted for use with these patients :: pause :: Doctor Jaran? I was under the impression that you'd be on one of the biobeds yourself?
The Caitian was surprised to see the Bajoran still standing and seemingly at duty. Not what she would have expected.
Imril: I’m happy for any help I can get. I might also be a little bit jealous of you two still being able to stand upright.
Bancroft: ::to Imril:: We’ve got some very smart minds in this room.
Not for the first time she noticed the human doctor look towards the human woman, Meyers.
oO humans Oo
It had become usual for her to notice that romantic entanglements amongst human males and females were commonplace. Meyers and Bancroft made for a cute couple, but then again she thought of most humans as unusual cute creatures with their mostly smooth skin and strange, flat manes. Odd, strange ways and uncontrollable hormones.
They had no more control than a Caitian cub.
Bancroft: ::grinning:: You’ll be back to fixing what the rest of us break in no time.
Jaran: Response
Meyers: Apologies for cutting this short ::she wasn’t sorry at all:: but we must get to work. The mutations aren’t slowing down, and I don’t believe the Captain is in the market for a new First Officer yet.
Luxa had served with the Artemis' first officer briefly on the Ronin. She also served with all the previous Artemis' first officers… MacKenzie did like to go through them.
Bancroft: I imagine we can all agree on that. Where do we begin?
Lorana: A genetic timeline of the mutational sequencing would be a good place to start. From the report I note that it began with a teleportation device?
Jaran/Imril: Response
Meyers: Thus far, we’ve been able to establish a general progression of the mutations. The telepathic link bonding the Callisian Mutants together is the first thing to develop, based on the After-Action Reports submitted by the patients. While it is no true hivemind, it seems to have been a way to share strategy, sensations and knowledge across short distances with a smaller pack.
Luxa hadn't realised that the genetic mutations included telepathic bonding. She began to reconstruct her analysis.
Imril: As I understand it from the after-action reports, the majority of the Callisians had mentally degraded to primal states. Which may mean that, individually, they could only communicate basic sensations and such across the link. The one that spoke through Vitor may have been capable of more.
Bancroft: If there was greater capacity, it remained well hidden. What we observed was… rudimentary at best.
Lorana: It could be that you observed an evolutionary, genetic drift. A dominant emergent trait in this mutated Callisian. We have no way of knowing if this was their own primitive state, there is no evidence of that and unlikely we will gain that without healthy Callisian DNA.
Jaran: Response
Meyers: The current hypothesis is that the progression of the remaining mutations - the callouses, the bone deformations and the accelerated follicle growths - is hastened by continued use of the link. Observations made by Captain MacKenzie of both Commander Munro and Ensign Breys are that they seemed affected by the link in a way that was very disruptive to their normal functioning, while Lieutenant K’Wara made no such indication of your performance during the Ship repairs, Lieutenant Imril.
Imril: I’m a stubborn cuss.
Lorana: :: smiles :: I'm sure that's an accurate statement, Mister Imril but I'm more interested in your genetic makeup. Perhaps that's more stubborn :: turns to Jaran :: Yet, you remain standing. Yet, you both experienced telepathy with the others?
Jaran: Response
Imril: But it did, and does, take effort to isolate my mind as much as I’ve been able to. Has anyone considered bringing a trained telepath in to sever the mental link? Or dosing one or more of us with some kind of chemical psionic suppressant?
Bancroft: The concern with a telepath is that, without a clearer understanding of the mechanism, we risk reproducing the problem rather than resolving it – only this time with one additional patient.
Luxa nodded.
Lorana: We look to containment. I'd go as far to restrict telepathic crewmates from exposure.
Jaran/Meyers: Response
Imril: The only other thing I can think of that might be a factor, in my case, would be the Boraxian ritual and what it did to a particular part of my brain. Doctor Jaran could fill the rest of you in on that.
Bancroft: ::to Jaran:: Doctor – you were primary on that case. Would you walk us through it?
Jaran/Meyers: Response
Luxa listened intently, and made notes on her PADD as the officers spoke.
Bancroft: Based on that, would we then say this may account—at least in part—for Lieutenant Imril’s ability to communicate with us, where the others cannot? ::turning to Jaran:: For clarity, Doctor – were you subjected to the same intervention?
Lorana: And you say these were crystals? Do we have a sample?
Jaran/Meyers/Imril: Response
Bancroft: That may represent a point of convergence – one we could leverage to deploy Commander Lorana’s therapies more effectively.
Lorana: I was thinking the same thing. I'd be interested in seeing the molecular construction of those crystals.
Jaran/Meyers/Imril/Bancroft: Response
Luxa made her way to the console, along with Bancroft and the others.
Lorana: So, how open would the Boraxians be in sharing their information?
Jaran/Meyers/Imril/Bancroft: Response
Lorana: Oh, so not very willing to share. Zealots are tricky :: looks to Imril :: We should run a full biomolecular scan. Whatever effect the Boraxian crystals may have had must still be present within their Bactrican DNA.
Jaran/Meyers/Imril/Bancroft: Response
Tags/TBC
Luxa Lorana
Diplomatic Envoy and Scientific Advisor
FDC (D-SRED)
As simmed by:
