Medical Lab Log- SD 0302.13

[MisterSmith 0]

Joint Log By Drs. Matthews and Smith, Part 1

 

      Debbie Matthews was a born cynic. She analyzed everything with a suspicious eye. This trait was both a blessing and a curse. It had taken years for Debbie to accept that some things were genuine. Others were mysteries that needed to be unraveled. The trick was in determining which were which.

 

      Right now, staring at the DNA samples before her, Debbie was having a hard time reigning in her cynical side. She smelled a rat and the more she looked at the data, the more it reeked of foul play. What was worse, the answer to this puzzle might never be known.

 

      "Kroells definitely had an encephalitis. Mills confirmed that. It was close to Andronesian so that's how we treated it," mused Debbie.

      "But it wasn't exactly Andronesian," added Brian Smith.

      "No, it wasn't. But it responded to the antivirus Kyle concocted," replied Debbie.

"Maybe it responded because the host was human."

      "That's a possibility. The creature Kroells found in that cryo chamber may not have been human at all."

      Debbie nodded. "It most likely wasn't. We'll probably never know exactly what species it was.

 

      The two physicians remained quiet for several minutes before Dr. Smith spoke up.  "I wonder if that creature died from this disease?"

 

      Debbie looked up from the slides she was examining. "That's a question we may never have an answer to. For all we know, the cryo chamber failed and that resulted in the creature's death."

 

      There was another pause in the conversation. "So, why was hr in the chamber to begin with?" asked Brian.

      The CMO looked at her new AMO intently. "Why would we put someone in a cryo chamber?'

      Smith shrugged his shoulders. "A mortal injury or a terminal illness."

      Debbie smiled slightly. "That's right. If we knew there was nothing more we could do, the chamber would be our last ditch effort to keep a patient alive."

      "But would we put someone in stasis for an indeterminate lenght of time?"

      "I wouldn't. I'd use a stasis unit or a cryo chamber only if I thought we could come up with a cure in the near future. Or, if I was going to transport the patient to a more sophisticated facility where he could receive effective treatment."

      Brian frowned. "That station was pretty remote. I assume they had some type of medical facilities but maybe they were rudimentary. Perhaps they were planning to transport that guy. I wonder why they never did?"

      Debbie sighed. "Yet another question we may never have an answer to. There are numeous possibilities. He could have been the first to contract the disease. They put him the cryo chamber because they didn't know how to treat it. Then everyone else came down with the same illness and they all died."

      It was Brian's turn to sigh. "Or he could have been the last survivor."

      Debbie smiled sadly. "He didn't exactly survive, but he was certainly the last of his kind on that planet."

      "Whether or not he died from the virus or a mechanical malfunction, he was infected," Smith added.

      "Yes, he was. And that's the troubling part of this whole mess. The virus was manufactured. The question is why and by whom?"

     

To be continued......