Lt Rivka Brzezinski: No Breakthroughs Yet
Avander Promontory
[[OOC: I reckon we should start to wind this up for now, but I'll follow the lead of our entwined character.]]
((Science lab, Deck 10, USS Octavia E Butler))
The head doctor had joined the crew in the science lab, trying to understand the entanglement of the Klingon and Bolian.
Brzezinski: (to Toz) You’re just in time, we were about to run an in-depth molecular scan.
Rivka moved over to the machine and began the initial start-up. The parameters would be a little more complicated than usual as they had two different beings that they were trying to scan at once or as one. But recalibrating the device wouldn’t be impossible.
With a somewhat steady gait, the two—or one?—afflicted officer got their two bodies into position.
Brzezinski: OK, we’re ready for the first pass.
Finally, they would get some answers, even if they were just preliminary.
Loq: So, what does it say? Has anything changed?
Fer’at: Lieutenant Brzezinski, what are the results of the scan?
Rivka took a second look at the data before responding.
Brzezinski: Huh. It looks as if the very molecules in each brain have become synchronized. This is definitely more than a temporary co-mingling.
The doctor turned from the monitor that had both officers’ medical history displayed.
Toz: According to the records, em… you’ve both eaten of the Antari leaves and had, em… conjugal relations. ::long pause:: Those leaves caused some sort of telepathy in some of the crew.
oO Wait, did she say ‘conjugal?’ Oo Rivka smirked, but didn’t think that had much to do with the matter at hand and returned to the data.
Loq: I should have thought of this earlier. Do we have any Antari refugees on board? If their leaves were in fact the catalyst here, maybe their brains work the same way mine apparently do. Just on a temporary basis.
Fer’at: If there are not, we could contact those who have settled upon a new home.
Brzezinski: I think the last of the Ant-people were moved to DS14 when we arrived in system. But I don’t know that it would be helpful to talk to anyone but the queen.
Rivka had managed to get several scans of the Antani while they were here and noticed a significant dimorphism between the queen and the drones, like many such hive-like creatures across the galaxy. Another example, perhaps, of convergent evolution.
Fer'at: Agreed.
Yinn: The question is, can we separate safely?
Fer'at: Currently, we can not determine. It will take more time and tests to know what course of action we should take.
Brzezinski: Since we’re still not sure how you got blended, I don’t feel confident that we can separate you. (beat) Or that separation is even possible. It’s not like taking apart some cheese and a slice of meat that were combined into a sandwich… it’d be more like trying to separate milk and ginger tea after they were blended.
Rivka hadn’t had lunch yet and apparently was stuck with food metaphors.
Toz: Do you want to separate?
Rivka wasn’t sure how to interpret the look of the two faces of the intermingled aliens. But it didn’t seem enthusiastic.
Toz: Well, in that case, we need to make some arrangements. I’m at a total loss here. After all, I’m a physician. You do know that means physical bodies, not brains. Right?
oO Brains are physical! Oo Rivka thought defensibly. She’d leave the talk of ‘minds’ to the philosophers, she dealt with the physical world too.
Fer’at: Perhaps not, Doctor, but we still have yet to see the physical consequences beyond difficulty controlling their faculties.
Oh, they were talking about physiological issues, not physical ones.
Brzezinski: (idly, to herself) We could try turning them off and on again…
Toz: Do what you can. ::beat:: Try not to kill ‘em.
Fer’at: That would not be a preferable outcome.
Yinn: I have to agree with Fer'at there.
Brzezinski: Got it. Killing them is off the table.
But maybe there was another way to ‘turn them off.’
Toz: Let’s pretend they each are living in half of the brain. Left or right. Then they communicate as if they are children. Just getting their balance, just learning new things as if they’re two years old.
Now that was a decent analogy. Rivka’s thoughts went into overdrive. If she considered this a “two-hemisphere problem,” what did that imply?
Fer’at: I believe we should move on to other tests, though we may wish to compare all of them, including the molecular scan, as that will give us the most complete picture.
Yinn: Yes. Gather as much data as we can before we do anything. And Doctor, I think your theory makes sense. It makes sense that both of my brains interact as two hemispheres do, with each having their own functions, but information also passing between. I do not have any awareness of which brain is doing what, but a scan should clear that up.
Brzezinski: I didn’t detect any initial asymmetry in the earlier scans, but if we are looking for something like brain regions across the two, I think we could refocus our efforts. (beat) And then cut whatever the equivalent of their corpus callosum is!
I mean, they had done so way back in the 20th century, that approach, while crude, might prove effective here.
Toz: I’m open to any and all suggestions.
Fer’at: Before I got off the line with Commander Katsim, she suggested we get a Subatomic Resonance Image as well as a Subspace Bio-Analysis, and I concur.
Those were good suggestions. That was probably why Katsim, although she was primarily an astrophysicist, was the head of the whole science department. Rivka moved toward the named devices and began to prep them for the scans.
Fer’at: If your theory is correct, these would be the most logical scans to take.
Yinn: Agreed
Brzezinski: Great. Let’s get started.
She indicated the scanning area for the Klingon-Bolian to stick their heads.
Toz: Is one of you without a mind? Or… both minds in both bodies?
Loq: The second one. I was just keeping this half quiet because you're used to hearing Yinn talk about science. But I feel just as much that I'm Loq as Yinn. I don't feel like I have two separate personalities warring or anything like that, I'm simply... ::both bodies held their hands out, palms up:: ...both.
Brzezinski: Milk and tea!
Fer’at: Response
Toz: That sure complicates things.
The doctor paused in thought a moment.
Toz: No, that won’t work. :: shaking her head::
Fer’at: Response
Yinn: Tell us what it is and we'll decide if it might work.
Toz: Just a possible solution to the problem before us. ::pause:: Would you both agree to a brain wash?
Yinn: I don't know what that is, but... no? Does that involve erasing my memory or something? (beat) Also, I understand this is a confusing situation, but there is no both of us.
Loq: It's just me. I have two mouths,
Yinn: ...and I can talk through either one.
Loq: But there's no one else to agree or disagree with.
It was an impressive display, Rivka had to give them that.
Toz/Fer’at: Response
Yinn: I would like to know a lot more about this "brain wash" before I consent to anything.
Brzezinski: (thoughtfully pondering) It’s more like a ‘factory reset’ than turning things off and on again.
There might be something there. Rivka continued to think through the possibilities as she ran the scan.
Toz/Fer’at: Response
Brzezinski: OK, done with this machine, we can do the next scan while the results are compiling. Because of the unique nature of the circumstances, it’ll take a little longer than usual.
Loq/Yinn/Fer'at/Toz: responses
Brzezinski: Right here. (indicating an area on the next machine) You can talk while it runs. (beat) Wiping the brains might separate you back into two, but not necessarily. And it is risky.
Loq/Yinn/Fer'at/Toz: responses
Brzezinski: I mean, this indicates everything is healthy, relatively speaking. Maybe it’s best to leave well enough alone?
Loq/Yinn/Fer'at/Toz: responses
Tags/TBC
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Lt Rivka Brzezinski
Neuroscience Specialist
USS Octavia E Butler
O239910AP4