Posted by Lieutenant Surra Almikaz (Chief of Psychiatry) in Side sim: Holodeck - Journal Club (open thread)

Posted by Captain Willow Taylor (Commanding Officer) in Side sim: Holodeck - Journal Club (open thread)

Posted by Lieutenant Surra Almikaz (Chief of Psychiatry) in Side sim: Holodeck - Journal Club (open thread)
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻

—SNIP—

Overhearing Weir’s use of several terms from Earth languages that were not the basis of Federation Standard, Oscar grunted slightly. Oh, no idea how the translator keeps misunderstanding my accent, is there? He had a feeling that the Ensign liked being able to use regional phrases without translation, so he wasn’t going to be “getting on that” any time soon. Oscar had actually asked GALEN about the error, since it was only since he’d come aboard the Ogawa, and even the AI was unsure as to the origin of the error - although that was because GALEN was, per the AI’s own words, “an artificial intelligence designed for assisting with crew efficiency in fulfilling their primary mission of medical aid, and therefore not fully qualified in non-medical areas of engineering analysis”. The limits of technology were lovely.

He had brewed himself some coffee in a pour-over filter, just to make sure that the order for the replicator was slightly complicated - a bowl of fresh grounds, empty mug, hot water, and the brewing apparatus, and was now actually looking at the group.

“Does the report say what happens after three Earth standard days?”

Oscar was never one to miss an opportunity for cynicism.

Oscar Cascarrabias
CE

“Apparently, after three days you develop a mild fever which they are calling ‘the after glow’ and that’s it.” She answered, looking sceptical.

“I will take two infections of this miracle virus, please.” Surra said jokingly, “Sounds like a psychiatrist’s dream. Any bad side effects? There has to be right? Otherwise, I am with Weir as to why would it be classified as a virus and not anything other than a condition.” She sat at the table and grabbed a snack from one of the baskets. “Hopefully, after three days the infected doesn’t turn into a gooey blob of liquid, and don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against blob-like creatures, but can you imagine the effect that would have on one’s mental health?” She shrugged her shoulders and took another bite of her snack.

Almikaz, Psychiatrist

Picking up on that particular thread, Grayson nodded. “It’s called a virus, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s just a convenient way to legitimize it? Infected people generally evoke sympathy, while people who take alcohol or other shortcuts for enhanced effects are still seen by some as reckless and weak. Looking purely at the effects, it doesn’t strike me as any different from a standard intoxicant, a temporary way to gain the benefits of health without actually putting in the effort and perhaps risking additional side effects.” Grayson chuckled, “Excuse me while I grab some of these nachos and avoid an opportunity to contribute to my long-term health.”

~Dr. Mariah Grayson, Psychiatrist

“Maybe, but it still seems inaccurate given its apparently-beneficial effects.” Caelian shrugged, chuckling. “Still waiting for the other shoe to drop on this one.”

Giving his band another double-tap, a small halo of holographic information encircled his thought etched brow. A few quick gestures produced an ephemeral image of the virus in question on his left, surrounded by relevant data regarding its make-up; another gesture moved it to the periphery of his vision so that he could focus on the other grouping of data. That grouping even to someone outside the field of quantum programming appeared as pure computer system coding; anyone with actual experience might recognize snippets of the GALEN source code mixed in with augmented fragments. Caelian’s fingers tapped a rapid but silent staccato on the air above his lap as he worked while talking.

“I’m not sure it would be something requiring sympathy,” he noted as he worked, “since it’s considered in-fashion in its source system, and doesn’t carry any negative after effects associated with comparative intoxication—again, assuming it doesn’t have any side effects. Computer coding that improves your system, even temporarily, is usually called a ‘patch’ or ‘update’ because its purely beneficial to the system. Viruses are detrimental at best and malicious in the worst case.”

He gave Captain Taylor an impish grin. “Do you have another shoe to drop, sir?”
—Caelian Weir, Engineer—

Surra stared at Grayson and Weir then said, “Why is everyone talking like you are still on duty? We are here to socialize, take our minds off work for the time being. Give your brain a rest.” She waved her hand in the air as she said the last sentence. “I am going to have to prescribe some enhanced form of SSRI, to get you to relax. You all remind me of my cousin, Pilar. That woman is way too serious even is social situations. I keep telling her just because her husband is engrained that way doesn’t mean she have to be. But I guess that is what happens when marry a Vulcan.” She also grabbed some of the nachos and mentally noted that she would have go to the holodeck and run a 6 mile simulation course after this little gathering ended. “The virus probably isn’t real anyway. I don’t trust any information coming out of that galaxy.” She chuckled then said, “I have heard things about Daliahnax you don’t even want to know about.” Shaking her head, she picked up a nacho and crunched on it.

Almikaz, CoP

“I agree, let’s leave rank and position at the door. But to answer your questions so far in all of the trails there hasn’t been any side effects and it’s called a virus because apparently it was discovered by accident when they were working on a vaccine to their latest strain of flu. It’s not legal outside of that system yet but it was an interesting thing to discuss I thought,” she grinned and looked around. “Anyone else have something to share?”

Willow Taylor
Off duty

She smiled and said, “Y’all hear that? Rank and position at the door.” She pushed her nachos to the side, looked at the Captain, and said, “So they are trying to keep it all to themselves. It figures.”

She shook her head and said, “In other news, I heard that there are Synthetics floating around this universe that you can’t distinguish from an actual organic human or any other being. They have organs and blood! And are said to be so advanced that they have the ability to rid that entire universe of all organic life. Actually, that is their goal. Scary right?”

Almikaz, CoP

“If their physiology so closely mimics actual biology,” Caelian murmured, sweeping the virus data away with a gesture to concentrate on his coding, “I wonder what the quality is that makes them ‘synthetic’. At the fundamental level, we’re all machines whose programming is originally dictated by our DNA and augmented by our environment. Even our starships run on systems routed through quasi-organic components like gelpacks. If you really want to sift into the nitty-gritty of life, we’re more akin to energy-based lifeforms in a self-contained electromagnetic field.”

He paused for a moment to snag a small finger sandwich, chewed on a thought. “There are any number of things out there that could wipe us out, but I’m more interested in whether or not they want us gone. If it’s their goal, the question becomes why haven’t they? Has Starfleet attempted contact yet?”
—Caelian Weir, Engineer—