nexus_sages | (no subject)

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Of all the things Jim Kirk wishes he could do right now, getting good and drunk to drown his sorrows is certainly towards the top of the list. But his doctor says no, absolutely not, and never in his life has he wanted to go against doctor's orders less than he does lately.

So the captain finds himself in the Forum, unsure even what the hell to do with himself, and he gingerly eases himself down onto one of the couches, moving with the careful patience of the recently physically injured, before he notices the date on a nearby calendar.

Father's Day. Huh. How... stupidly appropriate.

"For those who've lost a parent... how the hell do you honor their memory? Even if you haven't, do you bother doing holidays like this?"

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Hmm.

*She gives him an evaluating look.*

I run with a friend in the mornings. Let me know when you're up to it, you might join us sometime.

She's definitely caught his interest. Running's always more fun - and productive, thanks to human psychology - when you're not doing it alone. "I might take you up on that. How's the scenery?"

We run in the Nexus, and a variety of adjacent Facets.

*She gives Jim another assessing look.*

I don't think I'll take you to any of those until you've had all your shots, though. Wouldn't want you to catch something nasty, defeat the whole purpose. Still, scenery in the Nexus tends to be interesting.

He grimaces a little, but nods in agreement. "Good idea. My immune system hasn't been stress-tested since Bones got it working again anyway. And I'm sure most of the sights here are going to be more interesting than just endless cornfields in Iowa."

How much of a boost to your immune system are you going to want? The course I recommend is very effective, but, well, your doctor might notice some of the changes.

Jim wasn't exactly expecting to seek out any kind of medical care outside what he's gotten back home, but he knows better now than to just reject an idea before he's even heard it out. "What kind of course are you talking about?"

A vaccine cocktail and a gut flora booster. My immune system is about as effective as it's possible to be without it leaving my body and attacking things preemptively. And I can eat food raised in eras that haven't discovered proper sanitation yet--I wouldn't recommend traveling more than, oh, two hundred years into your own planet's history if you're planning on stopping for lunch.

He's pretty impressed by that, truth be told. But he does have a particular item of concern. "That does sound useful as hell, but I've had allergic reactions to vaccines before. Does your medical tech have a way of predicting whether I'll have a problem with it?"

*It's a fair concern.*

Probably, but I'm not going to give you anything without being certain. If you don't mind donating a tissue sample, I can get someone a little more familiar with the field than myself to build a version tailored to your physiology.

Jim hesitates. McCoy's told him that there's no trace of Khan's transfused platelets in his bloodwork anymore, but he's still wary of accidentally handing over something like that, especially if he doesn't know who's going to be looking at it. And what they might be able to do with it. "Is that typical?" he asks instead. "Custom-creating vaccines, I mean."

Fairly. Parents gene-tailoring their children, species reassignment surgeries, gene- and bio-grafts, there are plenty of ways people in my Facet might diverge from their species' baseline enough to need their own special medicines.

*For all that she's describing things not too different from the processes that created Khan and his ilk, she discusses them with the casual air of someone explaining the ubiquity of shirts.*

He won't deny, it's a little shocking to hear such things being discussed so casually. At the very least, it speaks of a past where nothing like the Eugenics Wars ever happened. But his Federation's laws have no bearing on hers, nor would he want them to.

"This isn't a one-time offer, right?" he asks. "I'd like to research it a bit before I decide, if that's okay."

It's not a one-time offer, no, but it is a gate. I'm not taking you places until you get it, or something equivalent.

*Her tone on that point brooks absolutely no argument.*

He hadn't planned on giving her one. "Fine by me. I'd just rather know more about it before getting shot up with mystery drugs." Which leads to another question. "Just how noticeable is it going to be?" She did say that Bones would take note, after all.

Well, it's going to be filling you with a bunch of new antibodies, teaching your leukocytes to diverge into several specialties, and you're going to shrug off most of the diseases you're exposed to--at least that the makers of the vaccine were aware of, and it's worked very well for me in a variety of Facets over the years. Then there's the gut flora: you'd have several aggressive new species in you, and they're a fair bit better at breaking things down than your current set. You might lose some gastric intolerances that were based on a lack of the right enzyme to break something down, and you'll find it harder to get drunk.

*She pauses half a beat, reflective.*

I find that an asset, you might feel otherwise. In any case, you'll be able to pull at least some nutrition out of a wider array of things, and you'll be able to comfortably survive a much lower threshold of sanitation in the raising and preparation of your food than most contemporary humans could.

Not getting drunk as easily sounds like a step back, at least until Jim thinks about how useful that would've been during his misspent youth, winning drinking contests. You never know when the ability to hold your liquor might come in handy, anyway, even as an adult. Besides, 'more difficult' doesn't necessarily mean 'impossible.'

The part about getting more out of atypical food sources is a strong lure for him, he's not gonna deny. As unlikely as it is that he'll ever be in a similar situation as the famine on Tarsus IV again, he's always aware that it's still possible. "I'm not sure if Bones would be more freaked about me letting some other doctor mess around with my body or if he'd just be happy that he probably wouldn't have to treat me for random space diseases."

Edited 2017-06-28 05:05 (UTC)

Have you told Bones about the Nexus?

Jim shakes his head. "Not yet. I was debating how to bring it up without sounding crazy, but then all this happened and it just wasn't a good time. Later this week, probably."

*She nods.*

It would be harder to explain a drastic change in condition while keeping this place secret.

"Yeah," Jim agrees. "It's just... trying to figure out how to word it without having to go through a psych eval. It helps a little that we've had actual proof of alternate universes show up already, but that's something that's easily explained by actual physics."

That certainly helps. This place is explained by actual physics, too, for that matter. Your best explanation might simply be bringing him here.

"Maybe," Jim agrees. "We're supposed to be open to strange discoveries like this but he's the stubborn type. I have a friend I met here that wants to back me up on this though, so we'll see if he believes us before resorting to drastic measures."

He's your friend, you'd know best how to argue with him.

He nods and leans back slightly in his chair. "So is there anything else I should know about this super immune booster thing?"

Well, if you get it, you'll be looking at a few days of minor hell as everything integrates and sorts itself out. Think of the worst cold you've ever had, lasting for days, while your gastric tract vacations in the hands of a balloon animal enthusiast.