Medicine is a real Science

[atadiscoverer]

[Medical Labs / Sickbay - Multiple Days]

So, it's been a busy few days, and a few days where a certain Dr. Beckett has basically been a permanent fixture in Sickbay and the labs adjacent. He'll have been seen bustling in and around, always with a PADD, Tricorder, hypospray or specimen vial in his hand.

He's running tests, comparisons, air screenings, water screenings, filter screenings, asking other people for their advice on terms and systems he knows not a thing about... He's quite the dilligent worker... or obsessed, whichever you prefer.

He always has time to answer questions, though, even though he has few answers at this point. People can catch him in Sickbay, or on the way to the labs. When in the labs, he can be seen hunched over equipment, asking the computer questions, and, sometimes, even holding what seems to be a non-Federation scanning device. When he's using this piece of equipment, he's physically writing things down in an odd-looking language.

He may seem tired, but one thing that never fails is his professionalism and dedication.

Comments

[ethnobotany]

Ever since the 5th, when she willingly stepped into sickbay for the first time since her arrival, Beverly has been an almost permanent fixture here. It's as though the crisis kicked her into overdrive and she made it clear from the very beginning that she's seen something similar. It was quickly determined that this virus was not related to the transporter accident that caused her version, so the treatment and solution wouldn't be the same. That hasn't stopped her efforts in any way.

Today finds her inside, trying to talk to the computer, but having little luck mainly due to the fact that, since she was relieved of duty, she doesn't have the level of access she normally would. And she keeps forgetting that small detail.

At some point while she's working, he'll wander by at just the wrong moment, just in time to hear the computer say, "Access denied," for the tenth time in the last hour. Beverly responds with a vehement, "Damn," as she rests her head in her hands. Next chance she gets, she's asking to be reinstated. This is ridiculous.

[atadiscoverer]

Oh, yes, he definitely heard that...

Poking his head into the door, a concerned look on his face, he's going to risk asking the following; "Dr. Crusher? Everything okay?"

[ethnobotany]

She lifts her head at the familiar voice, giving him an annoyed look that's mostly aimed at the situation rather than him or his question. She's pretty well fed up with everything going on lately.

"Oh I'm fine," she answers. "Just a little frustrated that I don't have access to the information I think I might need." Even though this is technically her sickbay. This is what she gets for getting herself relieved of duty again. Granted, this time she had needed it for her own mental health, but it's still frustrating.

"I hope you're having better luck than I am."

[atadiscoverer]

"Gone are the days of poor security, where I can just log into a computer for you, I suppose." He ventures in a bit further. "I've got access to most of the medical database, is there anything in particular you'd like pulled up?"

Because if it speeds things along, he's more than happy to spend a few minutes accessing files. This was more Beverly's specialty than Carson's.

"And... a bit. We've determined they're microbes, but not if they're bacterium or virus. It's... a wee bit frustrating." He admits.

[ethnobotany]

Beverly offers a soft laugh. Considering what she's been like lately, even the smallest of laughs means a great deal. "Unfortunately so. And security would be alerted. As amusing as that might be, we should probably avoid it." She's had enough altercations with security since her arrival thank you very much.

"The whole situation is frustrating," she agrees. "I was thinking of the polywater intoxication infection. It might be under Psi 2000 intoxication or Psi 2000 virus and would likely be listed in two locations, the one--" She cuts herself off, remembering that Captain Kirk is here, but, well... if these people don't already know that Kirk was an alternate version of someone from this timeline, they would soon enough anyway. "--the one Doctor McCoy cured in the twenty-third century and the one I did two... three years ago using his research. I could be completely off-base, but I'd like to be sure. I would much rather rule out any possibilities than miss something."

[atadiscoverer]

"Aye. I suppose I don't want to explain my actions to some burly security officer." He offers with a slight grin, before moving further into Beverly's office, and turning the LCARS terminal to face him.

He's inputting the commands manually, having not gotten used to the voice commands of the Enterprise's computer just yet. To be honest, he's still used to dealing with Atlantis' database, and that was unlike anything on this ship.

"Ah, we're in luck..." He mumbles. "The clearance I've been set up with gives me information on Psi 2000..." Excuse him whilst he's scanning the info... "Polywater...? Complex water molecules... Bloody hell." The last bit is mumbled.

[ethnobotany]

She's glad at least one of them has the clearance for it. As he pulls up the information on that particular infection, she scans it, refreshing her memory on everything. It doesn't look the same, as she had thought, but she's glad for the confirmation.

"It was quite the experience," she muses softly, frowning at the information. "I don't think this is quite what we're looking for, though. I suppose that puts us back where we started." She makes a slightly frustrated noise, leaning her head in her hands for a moment. Part of her expects questions and when she looks back up, she fixes him with a sidelong glance that says he's more than welcome to ask her about that particular incident if he'd like. It isn't a secret, after all.

[atadiscoverer]

"So... This intoxication was born from water...?" He seems to be putting things together himself for now. "I've been having a wee bit of trouble actually picking this thing up as a life-form, so... It could be similar? Something we wouldn't normally check that's been changed subtly?"

[ethnobotany]

"It could be," she agrees thoughtfully. "It could be a bacteria or a strange virus. Maybe we could run some sort of analysis to prove or disprove that." Ask the computer to postulate on related theories that they might not have thought of. With this in mind, she does just that; the computer informs her that it'll take a few hours for a proper analysis.

"There's one possibility. Now all we need is to find out if it's the right one."

[atadiscoverer]

"Could it be... synthetic?" Carson asks, putting a hand on his chin, rubbing at it as he thinks. "A nanovirus? We had one on Atlantis... a nasty wee bugger. Tormented the victims before causing a brain aneurysm." That would explain the lack of lifesigns.

"Computer... Scan all samples in medical lab 2 across the range of electromagnetic signals... Also, for any foreign elements or compounds." Another acknowledgement, another few hours.

[ethnobotany]

"It might be," she muses, thinking that she's glad it isn't like the nanites Wesley was studying that got into the computer system the year she returned from Starfleet Medical. "I can imagine that would have been a problem. Did you manage to stop it?"

Talking about something different but related might help. Or it might just keep them both from pulling out their hair in frustration.

[atadiscoverer]

"Aye, we did." He replies, grimly. "An EMP pulse from an overloading generator with the explosive power of 20 kilotons." He pauses. "We... lost a few people." He looks down at the console again.

"It's affecting non-humans." He points out, remembering Todd. "So, we're looking for something a bit more wide-spread."

[ethnobotany]

Beverly glances away at that admission, managing to hide her distaste but not her wince. That isn't an option they would consider acceptable here and she won't even think about it unless there is literally no other choice and this virus is proving life-threatening. Right now, it's only an inconvenience.

He doesn't need to hear her condolences, so she lets that pass by, as though he might understand without her saying anything. Instead, she focuses on the rest. "So did the Psi 2000 intoxication. If I remember correctly, even Data was affected."

Which just makes their job that much harder.

"I don't think he's been affected this time, but that might be something to keep an eye on while we work."

[atadiscoverer]

"Data? The android?" He frowns slightly. "He may be immune... Does he even have a childhood to revert to?" An important question. "There may be some people who are simply unaffected by this phenomenon."

He leans against the desk, frowning.

"Even the Ancients haven't come across something like this... At least, as far as I'm aware."

[ethnobotany]

Beverly shrugs almost helplessly at that idea. "Your guess is as good as mine," she admits. She knows he has something like a childhood, where his "parents" had to teach him about modesty and how to act around humans, but it isn't quite the same. So who really knows what might happen to him?

Whatever the case, it's something to consider. She glances up at her fellow doctor, head tilted a little in mild curiosity. "Ancients?"

[atadiscoverer]

"Yes," Perhaps a bit of a topic change will help rest his brain... and, besides, this is a topic he actually knows about. "The first evolution of humanity, in my world. So-called because they're a race that has existed for millennia. They... Well, they were powerful, highly intelligent. They were responsible for the evolution of humans in the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies in my home universe."

[ethnobotany]

The name Pegasus brings forth memories of the starship by the same name and all the difficulties it and its captain had provided so long ago. She knows it isn't the same situation at all, but the memories give her pause anyway.

At least until the galaxy sinks in and she frowns a little. "You have access to another galaxy?"

[atadiscoverer]

"Aye, we do. Several, actually." He leans back a bit, still resting on the table. "We have access to the Pegasus Dwarf Galaxy and the Ida galaxy. It's through a device called the Stargate."

He shifts, frowning a bit. "I'm not too sure how it works, but it creates a stable wormhole between two gates where we get dematerialised and passed through to the other end in a matter of seconds."

[ethnobotany]

If she looks impressed, she is. The idea of another galaxy... though at least they had a quick way to get there. Without the Bajoran wormhole, a trip into the Gamma Quadrant would take dozens of years. The USS Voyager was declared lost for that reason.

"Sounds like a good use of transporter technology," she comments easily. "I can't imagine all your people have seen and learned because of that."

[atadiscoverer]

"From the way your transporters have been described, aye. They do seem to work similarily." Don't ask him to explain it, he's no McKay. "The Stargate has a wee bit extra distance to it."

He smiles slightly, perhaps a bit wistfully. "Aye, we've learned a lot... but there's still plenty we don't know." And a frown. "That nanovirus, for example. It was specifically designed to target and kill humans. There are plenty of other examples of Ancient technology on Atlantis that do the same."

Like, say, a device that creates exploding tumours.

[ethnobotany]

"A lot more distance from the sound of it," Beverly corrects, smiling wryly. Something like that would certainly help against the Dominion. But if it got into Dominion hands instead? It would be catastrophic.

"How delightful." Add both to the list of things she's glad they don't have here. "I'm guessing humans weren't well-liked by whoever made those."

[atadiscoverer]

"On the contrary, humans were created by the Ancients." Carson frowns. "It's a wee bit complicated, but the Ancients were the first evolution of this form, and they were dying because of a plague." He folds his arms. "In order to make sure life survived, they reseeded the Milky Way galaxy with life in their image; Us. Well. Earth Humans. After that, they fled to the Pegasus Galaxy on Atlantis, a giant cityship, and seeded Pegasus with human life, too."

And then he frowns slightly.

"Although we never confirmed this, we suspect the nanovirus was made in response to a threat in the Pegasus Galaxy. The Wraith. They're a vampire-like species that suck the life energy out of humans to feed, so the nanovirus could have been made to cull the Wraith's feeding ground."

[ethnobotany]

In this case, it's actually nice that she was wrong in her assumption. She doesn't like to be right in cases of assault or battery and certainly not genocide. This, though, isn't a perfect solution, but it is a better one.

"Whatever the reason, I hope it never finds its way here or we'll be studying the different species it does and doesn't affect," Beverly muses. That is one scientific study she would rather never have.

[atadiscoverer]

"I shouldn't think so. Not unless the creators of the nanovirus show up here."

Which they might. They never confirmed this, either, but it was suspected the nanovirus was a precursor to the Asurans; a race of intelligent, self-replicating machines that could assume human form. They were created by the Ancients.

"Besides, we only have one Wraith on-board. It's not like he's a threat to the entire galaxy."

[ethnobotany]

"Let's hope not." The very idea leaves a bad taste in her mouth. Few things could be worse at this point.

Though the idea of a Wraith being here jogs some sort of familiarity. Doubtless it would trigger more than just that if she were an actual member of sickbay again. "What's he like?"