Ensign Jovenan – From cadet to project leader in a week, nice
Jovenan
((Medical Lab, USS Excalibur))
Seta: What does that tell me?
Jovenan: That confirms we're all carriers, as expected. It would be a good idea to purge everybody's system of the virus after this is all over. Just in case they're able to mutate and attack other people as well. That doesn't seem like a big risk right now, though.
Jovenan explained her results to the counsellor. She had listened to the Bajoran lieutenant discuss with doctor while she had been working and was happy that they could get something that could help them identify the functioning mechanism of the virus, even if it was only data and not physical samples. She turned to the senior scientist and noticed he was in middle of a call of his own. When Etan was departing, a minor panic hit Jovenan.
oO Wait, don’t leave! What do you want me to do, what should I do! Oo
Despite the silent pleas, he left, leaving Jovenan alone with the counsellor.
Seta: That doesn’t sound ideal… we got our DNA samples and as far as I see we contain got information of the cells to initiate computer-run tests.
Jovenan: Yes. That’s good… Getting the DNA, I mean.
She made a mental facepalm. Concentrate on what you say! Jovenan waited for instructions from the senior officer present, but instead the Bajoran only sighed.
Seta: Look, I know it’s not common working procedure, but you are the scientist. Rank or not, I am happy for you to call the shots for anything science related. You wouldn’t have gotten here if you weren’t competent.
Jovenan was frightened of this conclusion. Yes, of them two she was the scientist, and this was her field. Maybe not the field she had the most expertise in, but xenobiology had been the other of her specialisations in the Academy so she had studied a plenty of relevant courses, and the counsellor, presumedly, had not. Sure, even junior officers could take lead in matters of their own division over senior officers of other departments. That didn’t make Jovenan any more comfortable. She had been on the ship for mere days. She had graduated just before this assignment! The Counsellor had probably been in service before Jovenan had got her first socks – that was not even an exaggeration as she had only started wearing those to pass as human on Hurkos some seven years ago. She sighed.
Jovenan: Aye, Lieutenant.
Seta: ::nodding:: Good. So where do we start? My non-science guess is that we see how the virus reacts to the DNA samples.
Jovenan: Yes. Your… our working theory is that the virus targets specific people and ignores others. Presuming the ambassadors were not marked beforehand, the most logical alternative is that the virus – or whatever it is – identifies the intended victims and activates. The best method to identify a person to a scale of an individual is to scan their DNA. If that’s how they work, introducing the victims’ DNA to the virus should trigger a reaction. What that reaction exactly is… well, remains to be seen, but we should get the neurotoxin out of it. If that’s how the ambassadors were poisoned.
Seta: And in regards to us all being carriers, it’s not confirmed but likely, correct? That is something sickbay should definitely be made aware of.
Jovenan: Well, ummm, yes. We can’t really confirm anything with a single test, but… I had them in me, albeit in small quantities, and I wasn’t near the ambassadors. I think it’s likely that they were indeed in the tacos we ate, so everybody who have eaten past… day? I don’t know… would have them in their bodies. But they seem harmless to anybody but the ambassadors for now. And, for me, at least, they were few, so maybe they die quickly. I just don’t know.
Seta: Response
Jovenan stopped to think. She was in charge, maybe not nominally, but she was the one who’d betted decide what to do next. Oh, why her. Were there only two science officers on this ship?
Jovenan: You sh… umm, could you inform the sickbay and ask them to scan random crewmembers for the virus and ask them when they last ate replicated tacos, Lieutenant? That could help us see how widespread they are and if they dissipate over time. I- I’ll initiate the test. I should probably simulate a cell around the virtual DNA, that can take a moment. We can then try to interpret the results together.
Seta: Response
Jovenan went back to the console. The sickbay’s DNA data from all ambassadors were on screen, ready to be used. She opened a new program on the console and transferred the viral and DNA data to the program’s folder.
Jovenan: Computer, open medical database. Do we have virtual models of cells for ::checks screen:: Romulans, Klingons and Son’a?
Computer: Affirmative.
Great. That saves a lot of time.
Jovenan: Transfer the models to Jovenan Delta-One. Create new models using those models, with DNA from that folder to nuclei of those models.
Ding.
She divided the viral samples to smaller amounts for multiple tests. The tests would be simulations instead of actual cells, but that’s the best they got. If the working theory was right, that’s all they would need, anyway. If the viruses reacted to the presence of the DNA, it would strongly imply the ambassadors were targeted individually and could shed light on how and why. If nothing happened… well, that’d be a good time to review their theories. She sighed. If this wasn’t an emergency, this work would be done by a team of experienced scientists with top notch equipment instead of an ensign and a counsellor on a ship that only served infected tacos.
Jovenan: Computer, create new program into the open folder. Do not initiate the program without my command. Have the program introduce the model blood, nervous and muscle cells of Klingons, Romulans and Son’a to samples 1-3, 4-6 and 7-9 respectively in this order.
Ding
Jovenan: Have the program continuously scan the samples. Return values for movement in samples, changes in model cells and any chemical changes. Save all scan results in the folder.
Ding
Jovenan: Have the program model a statistical test with the scan results, and the following hypothesis. Null hypothesis, the virus does not identify the DNA and is not responsible for neurotoxin. Alternative hypothesis 1, the virus identifies the DNA and hijacks the cell to produce neurotoxin. Alternative hypothesis 2, the virus identifies the DNA and begins to produce the neurotoxin. Return updating statistics and p-values of the hypothesis as the scan progresses.
Ding
Jovenan: Save program. Isolate the samples. Standby for initiation.
She turned to the counsellor to see if they are ready to begin the test.
Seta: Response
TAG/TBC