deathsdoctor | Appointments 2.0

Appointments 2.0

This post is for threading with Trafalgar Law anytime and anywhere. It can be used for Action or the Ring feature on journals (voice or written) to get in contact with him for personal conversations. This will be used primarily for 'placement' threads such as: someone left a present or 'by the way, come to this party on such-and-such' or the like.

Note: When making a new thread, please title it like such:

[Action, January 3rd]
[Voice, March 8th]
[Written, June 11th]

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[Gai hates doctors. Hates them with a burning passion, for the simple reason that they remind him of his childhood spent as the equivalent of a human lab rat, being experimented on in an attempt to turn him into the perfect "Adam." But his experience on the most recent draft served as a rude wake-up call to the fact that he was going to need medical assistance here in Luceti, and sooner rather than later. No amount of painkillers or other drugs would be able to keep the symptoms in check forever-- he knows what he needs, but it requires him to swallow his pride and his dislike of doctors and visit the clinic.

It will be pretty obvious that he's there for a reason by the time he finally arrives, as hard as he's trying to hide it. There's not much he can do to disguise how pale he is, nor the fact that he's both sweating and shivering at the same time.]

[He walks into organized chaos. Reeling from the double whammy of the droid incursion/hurricane and the draft, saying it's a full house is a little bit of an understatement.

That said, the person on triage duty recognizes someone needing a bed to sit down on, and guides Gai to one in a corner. It's quieter over there, and more private, with a curtain already half drawn. Then she goes to get someone to look at him.

The doctor will be with you shortly.]

Edited 2012-09-25 05:50 (UTC)

[Gai prickles a bit at being touched and led around, but it says something that he's too tired and feeling too ill to even protest the action. He feels secure enough knowing that he's got a knife on his belt just in case-- old habits are hard to break, even if he's not sure he's got the coordination to do much with it at this point.

Either way, he'll just sit there quietly, occasionally wiping sweat from his forehead while he waits.]

[Weapons are everyone's security blanket in these parts (okay, nearly everyone). Like the doctor drawing aside the curtain to let himself in. He has a tanto strapped horizontally to his back.

Law frowns and pulls on a pair of gloves before reaching for a thermometer.]

Hi there. I'm Doctor Law. [There's still bit of lingering strangeness in introducing himself that way. In his world he wouldn't.] How long have you been experiencing that fever?

[Gai takes a moment to size up the man; he doesn't look like your average doctor, that much is for certain. Yet somehow that fact makes Gai feel more comfortable. He's got a hardened edge, the sign of someone who's been in numerous battles before (as if the tanto on his back weren't proof enough), which only furthers that sense that he's someone who can be trusted. Maybe this won't be so bad.

He holds up a hand, both to keep Law at a temporary distance and to stop that line of questioning before the other man wastes his time.]

Don't bother. This isn't an ordinary fever. You can't just give me medicine and send me home.

[... okay. He obviously knows what's going on. Pre-existing condition or on-going disease, then. Law halts and frowns more. You have his full attention.]

I see. This is not a new thing. Could you detail what's affecting you, then, and how you've managed it previously?

[Good, they're on the same page. With any luck, this will minimize the amount of poking and prodding that needs to be done.

But first things first-- time to find out how much, if anything, this man knows about this particular affliction. It's entirely possible that Gai hasn't been the first sufferer here.]

Have you ever heard of something called the Apocalypse Virus?

[A shake of the head.]

No. Not back home, and not from any of the villagers I've treated in my years here.

[That's the answer Gai had been expecting, so he's not surprised at all.]

Think of it as being like a form of cancer activated by genomic resonance. Those who are infected with it will eventually develop crystalline growths on their skin that spread over their entire body. If you don't receive the vaccine at an early enough stage, it becomes terminal-- in other words, a prolonged death sentence.

[He's completely calm as he says this. He's not looking for any sort of pity-- he accepted this fate long ago. He's already come to terms with it and what it will eventually mean for him.]

[And pity will not be what he gets. Law is completely professional as he listens. Nodding.

So Gai didn't receive that vaccine.]

However, are there ways to slow down the progression of the disease state?

[He nods.]

So far blood transfusions from someone with a unique ability to undo the effects of the virus have been able to it. However, she isn't here in Luceti.

[Problematic. There's been no special additions to the supplies. However...]

Would no other donor work for you?

That I don't know. I've never had reason to try anything else.

[... hmm.]

We can try that to start off with, as it's been a proven way for you to cope in the past, even with the specificity of the donor. However, if it doesn't work, we'll need to explore options. I'll search the library to see if anything has come through regarding this disease, but I'll be mainly relying on what you can tell me. It'll go as far and involve as many people as you want, but I need to know ahead of time what your general wishes on this are.

[As you strike him as a guy who doesn't want this spread around at all.]

[He's quiet for a moment, considering this.]

If you think someone might be able to help, tell them. But I don't want this becoming common knowledge.

[He doesn't want his weaknesses exposed to any more people than necessary. It's a survival tactic, plain and simple.]

The virus operates by inserting itself into intron sequences in the genetic code and then replicating when activated by genomic resonance. It can remain dormant in the body with no symptoms until that activation takes place. Once the virus reaches Stage 3, it causes structural sclerosis, resulting in those crystalline growths on the skin. There's no reversing the process once it reaches that point.

I understand.

[So it's already spliced into the man's genetic code. So an antiviral class of drugs made to block the messenger class of RNA that would synthesize viral proteins would be helpful. Slow down its synthesis.

It would be have to tailored to that specific mRNA, mind. He wouldn't want to block the normal functions of cellular protein synthesis. And perhaps something else to prevent the virus from inserting itself into any unaffected cells...

It would take work. A lot of work.]

Based on that, antivirals sound like they would slow it down, if this first option fails. I'm going to have to do more research, regardless. If this first option works, I want there to be backups in case it ceases to become effective down the line.

And you could get these antivirals here?

[Gai sounds slightly skeptical, if only for the reason that there is no cure for it in his world. Granted, he doesn't know the full details of how the GHQ treats those in the later stages of the virus because he's never been a patient in one of their facilities, but as far as he understands it, it's basically just palliative care.]

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