Lt Karen Stendhal - the double Karen problem
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KRN STDL
Oct 3, 2024, 11:11:38 AM10/3/24
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((OOC Just a few tags, if you like we can wrap it out! Thank you for this scene you are a great writer, very funny to read! ))
((Sickbay, Deck 5, USS Octavia E. Butler))
Stendhal: So, I don’t know the technical details, but I was transported again and rematerialized together with her. End of story. And if you look through my files, you’ll find that about four years ago, I had problems with my DNA integrity due to another alien device.
Nis: Are you symptomatic?
Karen scanned the surroundings, her expression one of uncertainty, as if she were trying to pinpoint an elusive symptom.
Stendhal: No, not really. I'm Betazoid with a bit of Humanity, but only about 25%.
Nis: Well, we’d guess you might experience sped-up aging, for example. Less common would be mutations, but you've always had that tail, right? Just kidding ... heh ... sorry. A compromised immune system is pretty common--have you gotten sick at all lately?
Stendhal:Oh no, the little wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, which she'd discovered that morning, suddenly made perfect sense. She was aging too fast. She'd skillfully disguised them with makeup, anti-aging eye cream, and glittery eyeliner.
For that brief moment of catching tail, Karen jumped off the biobed and then back on a moment later.
Stendhal: I can never catch my tail, so I can't give you any definitive answers, I'm afraid. (smile) Sick? Not really, but I feel a bit more... wicked inside. Besides, I think I've gained weight, unfortunately! It's terrible, isn't it? But how's my DNA? Is there any evidence of all this?
Nis: Your DNA looks good. There’s some signs of damage, but it’s mostly corrected itself. We assume that’s from your previous experience. As for the most recent one, we’ve heard the issues were caused by a changeling, so it’s possible the replica of you was not actually made from your body or, shall we say, ‘essence,’ in any meaningful way.
Stendhal: Oh, I get it now. That would definitely explain a lot.
Karen squirmed on the biobed, her face twisting into a grimace. She really didn't like the idea of being combined with a changeling.
Nis: How do you feel about it, though?
It felt somewhat weird to ask a counselor how she felt, but if there was no indication of physical damage, emotional damage was the main concern …
Stendhal: Uh, don't worry about asking me about how I feel. The idea of the device retrieving one changeling from an alternate phase? It's certainly plausible, and it could very well explain why she was the only one to be duplicated. It's all very unsettling.
I've been having nightmares about it lately.
Nis: That sounds rough. What have you been doing to take care of yourself?
Stendhal: Oh, I drink a lot of chamomile tea before bed, but it doesn't really help. There's this thing, the holographic advisor or assistant advisor, whatever it's called. The H.O.C.A., it's helping me, even though it's getting a bit too intrusive...
Nis: Response
Stendhal: It's nothing much, but I found it in my bed the other night. It's just a hologram, after all, but it's pretty realistic.
Nis: Response
Stendhal: What do you advise me to do about it?
It was strange to refer to Nis in the plural, but after all, it made sense.
Nis: Response
----
TAGS-TBC
((Sickbay, Deck 5, USS Octavia E. Butler))
Stendhal: So, I don’t know the technical details, but I was transported again and rematerialized together with her. End of story. And if you look through my files, you’ll find that about four years ago, I had problems with my DNA integrity due to another alien device.
Nis: Are you symptomatic?
Karen scanned the surroundings, her expression one of uncertainty, as if she were trying to pinpoint an elusive symptom.
Stendhal: No, not really. I'm Betazoid with a bit of Humanity, but only about 25%.
Nis: Well, we’d guess you might experience sped-up aging, for example. Less common would be mutations, but you've always had that tail, right? Just kidding ... heh ... sorry. A compromised immune system is pretty common--have you gotten sick at all lately?
Stendhal:Oh no, the little wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, which she'd discovered that morning, suddenly made perfect sense. She was aging too fast. She'd skillfully disguised them with makeup, anti-aging eye cream, and glittery eyeliner.
For that brief moment of catching tail, Karen jumped off the biobed and then back on a moment later.
Stendhal: I can never catch my tail, so I can't give you any definitive answers, I'm afraid. (smile) Sick? Not really, but I feel a bit more... wicked inside. Besides, I think I've gained weight, unfortunately! It's terrible, isn't it? But how's my DNA? Is there any evidence of all this?
Nis: Your DNA looks good. There’s some signs of damage, but it’s mostly corrected itself. We assume that’s from your previous experience. As for the most recent one, we’ve heard the issues were caused by a changeling, so it’s possible the replica of you was not actually made from your body or, shall we say, ‘essence,’ in any meaningful way.
Stendhal: Oh, I get it now. That would definitely explain a lot.
Karen squirmed on the biobed, her face twisting into a grimace. She really didn't like the idea of being combined with a changeling.
Nis: How do you feel about it, though?
It felt somewhat weird to ask a counselor how she felt, but if there was no indication of physical damage, emotional damage was the main concern …
Stendhal: Uh, don't worry about asking me about how I feel. The idea of the device retrieving one changeling from an alternate phase? It's certainly plausible, and it could very well explain why she was the only one to be duplicated. It's all very unsettling.
I've been having nightmares about it lately.
Nis: That sounds rough. What have you been doing to take care of yourself?
Stendhal: Oh, I drink a lot of chamomile tea before bed, but it doesn't really help. There's this thing, the holographic advisor or assistant advisor, whatever it's called. The H.O.C.A., it's helping me, even though it's getting a bit too intrusive...
Nis: Response
Stendhal: It's nothing much, but I found it in my bed the other night. It's just a hologram, after all, but it's pretty realistic.
Nis: Response
Stendhal: What do you advise me to do about it?
It was strange to refer to Nis in the plural, but after all, it made sense.
Nis: Response
----
TAGS-TBC
=================================
Lt Jg Karen Trisha Stendhal
Counselor
USS Octavia E Butler
Counselor
USS Octavia E Butler
ID: C239604KS0
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