Lt. Commander Tahna Meru - Patient Zero
Tahna Meru
((Medical Laboratory, Gibaria Outpost))
Meru returned to her workstation. She resisted the urge to pace, flexing her fingers instead to release some of the built-up nerves while she thought. Minerals, metals, and polysaccharides…they should be able to work with that on a cocktail to prevent further degradation. It almost seemed too simple (though she wasn't complaining).
Tahna: I wonder if the moss is able to recognize those elements in other creatures.
V’Lar: Many forms of plant life seek out essential metals while attempting to avoid toxic ones. This is frequently achieved through utilizing chemical receptors to identify specific ions. The term ‘recognize’ implies a level of sentience.
Pace: But if the moss is some sort of… scout for the vines, and if this cellular liquefaction is some kind of pre-digestion, these xenoflora could be one of the apex predators of their dimension.
That was a possibility. V’Lar didn’t seem to be taking to the idea of potential sentience, and while Meru admitted it was unlikely, they saw stranger things every day than sentient moss. Measuring the relative intelligence of alien lifeforms was already difficult when a common method of communication couldn’t be established, so it didn’t hurt to have an open mind and err on the side of caution.
Tahna: We have no idea its level of intelligence, and we won't really have time to look into it. But I wonder if it's possible that those elements you found don't just inoculate it against its own digestive effects…maybe they're common to flora from this other universe. They don't seem to be digesting each other as readily as…us. I bet, on some level, the plants can tell their kind from ours.
V’Lar: We possess such limited information about the other dimension. It is highly probable that some organisms experience coevolution, while others avoid direct competition through niche partitioning.
V’Lar paused, and Meru wondered what the Vulcan was considering. Probably how illogical it was for her fellows to debate the possible sentience of extradimensional moss. Oh well, with little else to do but make observations about the other life forms and wait for their simulation results, why not engage in a quick thought exercise? It might help them understand what they were dealing with, even if they were off base.
V’Lar: Your underlying premise may warrant further investigation. If we consider how the xenoflora interacts with this environment, we may deduce the parameters of its native biome.
Pace: I wonder if looking at how it utilizes the metal to conduct the heat from the radiation would help there, that’s one big difference it has from our dimension’s plants!
Tahna: What could its native biome possibly be like, if it’s partially metallic in makeup, exudes radiation, and yet seems to thrive in our dimension?
V’Lar: Is there any data to suggest the flora is actively altering the ambient atmospheric composition to suit its metabolic needs? It would be beneficial to identify what environmental factors accelerate or impede its growth.
Tahna: That’s a good point.
Pace was pulling something up on her workstation. Meru did as well—checking for any changes in the sectioned-off environment containing the red moss. There was nothing yet, but it hadn’t been there very long. And it was possible the larger vines would conduct more extensive terraforming. Like any standard succession—the moss arrived first to begin wearing down the hostile bits of the environment, larger plants and changes later.
Pace: The scans from Commander Neathler indicated more humidity than should have been normal for the facility. Maybe the xenoflora thrives in a damp environment?
Tahna: It’s possible, but is it water that they crave, or some other liquid?
If only this weren’t a matter of imminent life or death, this whole extradimensional environment would be a dream to study. Saying as much felt a bit too much like making light of their situation, however, and conversation lulled, before Lieutenant Pace sent over a list of potential biochemical options for their inoculant. They were quick to match up to the element they were standing in for in the moss; altogether, they began to form the makings of a biological shield.
V’Lar: As the biomolecular simulations approach completion, we must establish the parameters of our clinical trial. While we still need to develop an inoculant, the initial synthesis will be a prototype which will require testing on a living subject to verify its efficacy before we begin mass replication and administration.
Pace: Are there any patients that… ::She paused.:: could use it?
V’Lar: The patients in the adjacent ward are not viable candidates for this trial. They have already sustained catastrophic radiological exposure.
Lieutenant Pace quickly turned away; Meru thought she saw the young scientist blinking away tears, but she only caught a glance. It was a normal reaction to the news that they had lost potentially everyone who had sustained first contact with the other dimension. So many lives lost…if only they had been faster, smarter… Meru carefully locked those emotions away to deal with later and focused on the information the doctor was delivering. They did not have the time to mourn now.
V’Lar: As this inoculant is a biological shield and not a restorative cure, administering it to a terminal patient will skew the data; we would be unable to distinguish between the failure of the inoculant and the pre-existing cellular decay. To definitively prove the shielding mechanism functions, we require a test subject with a healthy, unexposed physiology.
Pace: Wait, are any of us viable test subjects then?
Tahna: Technically, we have all been likely exposed. ::She nodded to the moss in the corner.:: But none of us have had any direct contact or exposure.
More than that, Meru was hesitant to bring down anyone else just to give them a hypothetical, untested inoculant. Limiting exposure was still a concern, until they could prove they had an effective treatment.
V’Lar: Response
Pace: If you think about it, all of us have been affected by the radiation. Would one of us work since we haven’t - ::She stopped herself short.:: Well, you know what I mean. Or do we need someone to try it on the Gorkon?
Tahna: Anyone truly unexposed will have to be exposed in order to test the inoculant’s effectiveness, I don’t want to risk another exposure at this point. We’re all asymptomatic, with minimal exposure, so we ought to be able to serve as a strong baseline for its effectiveness.
Besides, if it didn’t work on folks who’d had minimal exposure…then everyone currently on the outpost, including a good portion of the Gorkon’s senior staff, was screwed.
V’Lar: Response
A cheerful computer chirp caught Pace’s attention, and at least temporarily raised the Elaysian’s spirits. Meru perused the results on her own screen as well.
Pace: Ah, the simulations are complete, so there’s good news at least!
Tahna: Ninety-eight point nine percent effective. Combined with whatever Commander Marshall’s team has cooked up, I’d say that’s pretty damn promising.
V’Lar / Pace: Response
The cocktail of similar biochemical compounds from around the verse ought to provide shielding similar to the plants’ own. It was a one-size fits all solution,
Tahna: Doctor, begin synthesis of an inoculant. Pace, run simulations against the species biology of the Outpost and Gorkon crew in descending order of species commonality, let’s make sure we’re not going to run into any surprise allergic reactions when we start administering it.
V’Lar / Pace: Response
Meru eyed the moss in the corner, then the door leading to the medical bay. Had she just tuned out the echoing cries of pain, or had it really grown quieter? If it had gotten quieter…that was not a good sign. Meru set her jaw and looked at Doctor V’Lar with a slight smile.
Tahna: I’ll be patient zero for the inoculant. Bajoran physiology is more universal than Vulcan or Elaysian, and it’s unwise to test your experiments on the only doctor in the group.
It was only logical. If it worked on her, and if Pace’s further simulations didn’t show any warnings, then they could begin wider distribution. If it didn’t work on Meru…she really, really didn’t want to think about that option.
V’Lar / Pace: Response