Jemma Simmons is a terrible liar (needanewplan) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-07-14 19:27:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, jemma simmons, stahma tarr |
Who: Jemma and Stahma
What: A long overdue health profile for an alien.
When: Recently
Where: The Agency
Warnings: Low
In retrospect, Stahma possibly should have done this before, but it had never occurred to her. Especially since she was the epitome of health. Being a Castithan, she had a better and more advanced immune system than humans had, so she’d never really been sick since she’d become an alien. Save for that one sickness that had been Orange County-induced.
Even so, it would be nice to have someone check her over, and be more understanding of her physiology should she ever have need of it. Stahma didn’t have any records of Castithan physiology from her dreams to bring with her, just the knowledge she had in her head. And of course, in coming to the Agency, she was using her human disguise. Dark hair and equally dark eyes were extreme stark contrasts to her natural white hair and lilac colored eyes. But it was a necessary disguise, even if she could claim that she had albinism, she preferred to not draw attention to herself.
So she met Jemma at the Agency, smiling and bowing her head. “Hello, Jemma,” she greeted.
Jemma was thankfully fairly adaptable so she had managed to adapt easily enough to the glasses the Doctor had rigged up for her so that she could continue her work despite the fact that she was presently deaf with no idea how they would be able to remove the inhibitor. Even scanning and a brief attempt with alien tech had nearly triggered the kill switch. She did miss hearing vocal inflections though. Still, there was a job to do and plenty that needed to be done.
She’d been working on deprogramming the finches, which was going well on top of studying the DNA from Blake and Ilia and their faunus nature - the differences between the animal traits they had and the similarities. It was all quite fascinating. Then of course was her meeting with Stahma.
To say she’d been shocked to hear from the woman who she knew mostly through their shared connection of Natasha would be an understatement. Of course once she had known the cause, she’d been more than happy to set up an appointment so that they could get some readings and a baseline on the off chance something happened to Stahma.
And notes. Jemma was going to take many notes. At the greeting, the biochemist smiled as the words flashed onto the glasses for her (and only her) to read.
“Hello, Stahma. If you could follow me this way.” With that, she led the woman to her lab so they could get started.
It was almost disappointing that Doctor Ywell wasn’t here. The Agency would be right up her alley. Though Stahma had to doubt that many people would be able to handle the level of sarcasm that Ywell wielded. Nevertheless, Stahma was more than happy to discuss Castithan physiology and such. It was funny how Castithans and humans did resemble each other and yet they’d come from very different backgrounds and parts of the Milky Way galaxy.
Stahma followed Jemma. The way she moved was far more fluid than the way a human moved. It was far too graceful, and almost animalistic in a way. Though it wasn’t unexpected given she was an alien. The mannerisms and such that she had in the dreams had certainly carried over into this life.
“I hope that you are doing well,” she commented. Stahma always utilized her manners regardless of anything else.
Even if Jemma weren’t doing okay, she would say she was. She had a tendency to bury everything that happened which admittedly wasn’t the healthiest of methods but being in constant emergency mode did tend to make it more of a requirement on top of her general demeanor on not wanting to talk about her problems.
“I am, thank you.”
And into the lab, which she motioned Stahma to enter.
“And you?” She figured the woman was fine, but manners. They were a thing.
Manners made the world go round, more or less. Stahma never forgot hers, unless she was upset, of course. And like Jemma, even if she were not doing well, she would lie and say she was. Stahma was not the type to talk about how she truly felt to many people, and even when she did, it didn’t come easily.
“I am, yes, thank you,” she responded. Upon entering the lab, she glanced around at the various machines and technology in there. She could certainly see Doctor Ywell fussing over the technology. Stahma then turned back to Jemma. “Where shall we begin?” She didn’t yet take her disguise off, but she would do so before any blood or anything was taken.
Even though Jemma had been concerned about bad girl shenanigans as she once put it, she’d gotten quite adept at lying through half truths when it was needed for her to go undercover. Even then though, she relied on her manners. Sometimes that had been all she’d had when it got really difficult. Holding onto manners and that core of who she was when she was immersed in such hatred and manipulation.
As for where to begin…
“Why not a basic work up first before we do any sort of blood work or image scanning.”
It seemed the easiest way. She would still need to get Stahma’s information as well, however she was going to need to record that just because even with the glasses she doubted it would be easy to keep up entirely without being able to pause and write everything down later. Or have Cosima transpose the notes for her.
Stahma kept her true feelings close to her chest. It had been how she’d been raised to be in a society that oppressed women. As far as Castithans went, that was. Though her upbringing in this life hadn’t been all that different. Her father had been in the KGB, and he was a stern man. Stahma had simply been a tool to marry into a family that would only elevate his own standing in society.
But right now, what mattered was the Castithan part of her life.
“Of course,” she responded with a nod. “I shall take my disguise off to make thing easier.” Seeing what she really looked like was part of this whole thing, after all. Stahma then took her disguise off, revealing snow white skin, lilac colored eyes and white hair. Certainly an aesthetic that would take a little adjustment towards when she’d just had dark hair and dark eyes.
It was a bit of an adjustment, however when she was dealing with the Kree in her dreams currently, not too much of one. All Jemma did was make a note of the physical changes to Stahma’s appearance before she started to check all of her vitals and marked down her findings as well. Then it was time for the drawing of blood, which Jemma made sure to let Stahma know she was doing and then led her to the MRI for some readings.
“I hope you’re not claustrophobic.” And if she was, she’d figure something else out but as a rule, it was easiest.
Stahma complied, watching what Jemma with some fascination. She had a gentler touch and a far less sarcastic bedside manner than Ywell. Which suited her because Stahma didn’t always get sarcasm. When the blood was taken, the initial point of interest was that Stahma’s blood was pink. She then followed Jemma along to the MRI machine.
“No, I am not. You need not worry about me panicking.” Stahma responded. She didn’t really have any phobias, unless fear of the Omec counted. Though that probably was more akin to humans and the fear of the dark that seemed to be a primordial fear that was still imprinted on modern humans in a general sense.
The pink color of the blood was definitely of interest to Jemma, but with that noted and the blood running through the tests, she was able to focus on the MRI. Which thank goodness Stahma didn’t seem to be worried about that.
“Alright then.” Motioning to the machine, Jemma went to get everything set up and gave Stahma the instructions and did the imaging that she wanted to get done. Once she had, she turned the machine off and let Stahma come back out.
“Do you mind if I record you while you fill me in on Castithan physiology? It will make taking notes easier.”
Luckily Stahma had nothing in her body that would interfere with an MRI. Nothing like a pacemaker or something of the sort at any rate. But all things considered, Stahma was still glad to get out of the machine once the scan was finished. She didn’t mind enclosed spaces, but that didn’t mean she’d like to remain in them longer than was necessary.
“Not at all. It may be best considering recollection is not always perfect.” Recording it would help to remember the specifics. And the terminology. It would’ve been a bit more helpful if Stahma had any records about Castithans given to her from her dreams, but her telling Jemma about them would work just as well.
When Jemma was ready and recording, Stahma continued. “Castithans have very little variance in our genes. Our skin and hair color does not vary, but our eye colors do. We can have lilac, blue, yellow, even red eyes. Genetically speaking, we are able to interbreed with humans without any scientific help. Our reproduction is relatively the same. Our immune systems are also far more advanced than that of humans. For example, in my dreams, there was an outbreak of a disease which affected humans, but Castithans and other Votans were immune from it.” Stahma gave the details of the illness for Jemma’s records. “We also have a better sense of smell. In the dreams, I was able to smell that my heart-daughter was pregnant before she had the chance to tell anyone. So I suppose you could say I can smell hormonal changes. I can also tell a person by their scent, even if I do not see them.”
There were very few people who were perfectly content to just sit in an MRI for any longer than necessary, so it made sense that Stahma would be happy to be done with it even without having issues with claustrophobia.
Nodding, Jemma pulled out her recorder and made sure the battery was set and everything in place then gave a nod to Stahma to begin. Specifics and terminology would be difficult to catch on a normal day. Right now? Well. All the more complicated.
As Stahma spoke, Jemma did still jot down notes of things that she could do quickly and seemed of importance, things which she would be able to expand upon once she had time to pause and take notes or have Cosima look over. Honestly she might have Cosima look over and listen to the recording and take her own notes even if she managed to get it all done just to have more than just her take on it.
She was intrigued by the heightened immune system and mention of an illness. Specifically because she knew that such things could cross over.
“With your immunity, do you know if a vaccine or medicine for this disease can be created from your bloodwork or synthesized should it cross over?” Jemma was nothing if not meticulous in being prepared for any and all possibilities.
There would probably be quite a few points of interest to Castithan physiology to scientists of different branches. At least Jemma wouldn’t turn Stahma into a lab rat. Given her better immune system and other traits, some people would no doubt seek to try and replicate them in humans. Or worse. Stahma had no interest in being a lab rat like that.
“Yes, there is a vaccine for the disease. As I am not a doctor or a scientist, I could not begin to tell you how to create it. Irathients were carriers of the disease, though they were immune to the illness, and many were killed earlier on when a similar outbreak occurred. You would probably have more luck with an Irathient to develop a vaccine specific to that disease. Though I could describe the disease and perhaps you can infer what about my physiology allows me to be immune to help with a vaccine.” Stahma offered.
And she knew what the disease looked like, and the different stages of it. She’d been tending to a couple of the sick humans. The disease was not a pretty one, and Stahma was thankful that she didn’t need to worry about getting it. Though she also hadn’t been sick in general, save the one Orange County weirdness-induced illness, since she’d turned into a Castithan.
“Of course they were.” Jemma couldn’t hide the disgust in her voice at the thought of people being killed all because of people being afraid and looking for someone to blame and thus turning their hatred and fear against an entire race. While she was often the more rational and able to remain level headed of those at in her lab, she wasn’t completely cold as some accused her of being.
Nor would she turn Stahma into a lab rat. While she was definitely interested in finding a way to find cures for disease, especially a threat that could cross over, there were other ways.
“Describing it would be very helpful, yes.” As Stahma inferred, even if she knew the basics of the disease and could compare the bloodwork she had from the woman with human blood, she could hopefully be able to see a way to create a vaccine as there were no Irathians for her to study their blood work as well for a vaccine.
The disgust was understandable. While Stahma held some prejudices against other races, she did know that locking people up or killing them just because of fear wasn’t good. After all, fear had been a large part of what initiated the Pale Wars. Racial tensions and prejudices on both sides. And the Earth had borne the brunt of it having been terraformed amidst the fighting of human against Votan.
“Of course,” she said with a nod of her head. She then went on to describe the illness. Symptoms, progression, things of that nature. Irathients were carriers, but humans were the only ones infected by the illness. Castithans had made up most of the staff that took care of the humans who became ill during the outbreak.
“Now, I do not know if this would have any bearing on the illness itself, but Earth was terraformed and the landscape, flora and fauna were all drastically changed from the planet.” Stahma also gave a rundown of what Earth was like in her dreams, but she’d forego giving detail about the Pale Wars as that wasn’t relevant to the topic at hand. Though if asked about why or how Earth was terraformed, she’d get into it.
Once again, key points were immediately noted as Stahma explained the illness and she left the recorder going so that she could take more detailed notes when she was better able to sit and pause to take notes without having to worry about revealing the whole inability to currently hear right now and her reliance on the glasses the Doctor had made up for her to be able to communicate. It wasn’t that anyone would judge her but Jemma was Jemma.
“It could….” But it was hard to say without having someone who was human in Stahma’s dreams who had their DNA potentially alter to deal with the terraform and global changes to see if it would have anything to do with why humans were at risk for the illness. “Do you know the specifics on the terraforming process?”
The history of the dreams Stahma had was rather fascinating, whether someone was interested in history, various other races or both. She was more than happy to share the events, and given how she tended to be more pragmatic than some Castithans she knew, she could give a mostly unbiased version of events. Mostly. Everyone was prone to their biases, of course, but Stahma could at least step back and see a bigger picture. That was what tended to make her dangerous because she wasn’t prone to acting in the heat of the moment. She was the type who took time to analyze and come to see a more complete picture before showing her hand.
“Yes and no. I am not a scientist so I could not go in-depth on the technology which caused it, but I am able to tell you what caused it and how it happened.” Stahma clarified. “My people come from a star system called the Votanis System. It had two suns, and they were in the process of dying by the time I was born. The Indogene race took to building Arks that were designed to take many of us to another system to escape destruction. At the time, which was about 5,000 years ago, we believed Earth was uninhabited and set course for it. The Indogenes made a terraforming device that was on the Arks in the event Earth wasn’t viable once we arrived. It took 5,000 years to get here, and when we did, we were surprised to find humans populated the planet, just as they were surprised to find aliens existed.”
Stahma had to smile a little. “There was peace at first, for we only came to seek a new home, not to conquer or destroy. However, as tends to be the case, prejudices and tension existed between all of us. But the Votans were allowed entrance to the United Nations, and we had our own ambassador there. Eventually, the Votan Ambassador was assassinated. No one knew who assassinated him, whether it was a Votan upset with what he was doing, or whether it was a human, but it did not matter, for that was what sparked war between the Votans and the humans. We called it the Pale Wars, and the fighting stretched on for about a decade. Until one day, the humans decided to blow up the Arks that were in orbit around the planet. In the destruction, when the debris fell to Earth, the terraforming technology was part of that. Earth was completely changed.” Stahma described the plant and animal life, how many species of both were hybrids.
“The terraforming event is what ultimately put a stop to the Pale Wars and ultimately Votans and humans had to learn to live together. There are areas that are exceedingly dangerous due to the terraforming.” She described the hellbugs and other such creatures that tended to make the wilderness very hostile and dangerous to travel alone.
It was all quite fascinating to hear. Even if Stahma wasn’t a scientist and didn’t know those specifics, it was still obvious that Stahma both knew a lot of what had happened. At least enough for her to be able to make some inferences about what the situation might be like. Yes, Cosima would know more about the genetics aspect but Jemma did know that prolonged trauma could alter a person’s genetics. The body holding onto fat more because of prolonged starvation in a group of people as one example.
Still, given the hellbugs and change to the wilderness, it wasn’t impossible to think that the terraforming might be the cause of why humans were at risk for the illness yet the Casthians and Irathians were not.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if the terraforming might be a reason for humans being susceptible to the illness, though I’d have to ask my fiancee as she studied genetics and evolution so that would be more her area of expertise.”
Stahma herself had tried to stay out of fighting. Datak at least had been a good protector, ensuring no harm came to her. But even with all of the fighting and the chaos, Stahma knew the course of events well enough. Most people did. After all, pieces of the destroyed Arks still fell to Earth now and then and caused contained chaos if the pieces landed in or around civilization.
Sometimes Stahma missed that Earth, the one after it had been terraformed. Some of the plants were beautiful. But she did not miss the dangers that came with the changed ecosystem. Changing an entire planet did not come without drawbacks, intentional or otherwise.
“It certainly could be possible. The terraforming may have changed us all in some way, though the only way to know if it changed me for certain is for another Castithan to be here either from a time before the terraforming event or being from my home planet.” A human from her dreams would be infinitely easier to achieve those answers with. Comparing Amanda’s DNA, for example, against the DNA of a normal human here would probably yield the answers.
“It also would not surprise me if the terraforming caused the illness itself. After all, the entire planet was changed in its entirety. While new diseases should be expected when encountering different races, this one is probably more due to the terraforming.”
There were some parts of history that were harder to ignore than others, no matter how directly one was tied to it. Then of course was the fact that history was more often than not written by those who had won which had its own issues. But major events were the ones that had lasting impressions even from afar.
“Which I imagine is unlikely.” Not impossible. Nothing was impossible after all, especially in Orange County and Jemma was pretty much used to the impossible. Another day that ended in Y really. But she was also a realist and given that often if someone shared a Dream world it was usually from the same time period… well. It was a long shot.
“I imagine it most likely could be a combination of both. History has shown the use of biological warfare in conquering lands, giving blankets with smallpox to native populations as one example. But with the terraforming, it certainly could have mutated the illness or altered immune systems.”
History was written by those who won, but when it came to the Pale Wars, no one had really won. Everyone, including Earth itself, had lost and all been changed. Though Stahma supposed life on Earth would have been entirely different if there had been a clear victor that had taken power. What if the Votans had won and taken control of the planet? What if humans had won and kept their control of the planet? In that respect, Stahma’s Earth was an intriguing one.
“It is, though one never knows for certain.” After all, people moved here all the time. Anyone from Stahma’s dream world could show up here.
“I can see how that could be the case. Though speaking about myself, I can say I have been healthy through most of my life. Other than typical diseases common amongst Castithan children, I have not been seriously ill.” Which was a good thing, and spoke to her overall health.
That was always the way of it when it came to history. Still some things could not be ignored no matter the people who wrote history. And as views changed or those whose words were suppressed became known, history was looked at in a different light. Still the Earth of Stahma's dreams certainly did sound interesting.
“Nothing is ever certain, especially here. There is never even 100 percent certainty in science.”
Which was something Jemma liked. There was always the chance to learn more. Always potential and questions to ask. Even when it did lead to idiots thus claiming since there was no 100 percent certainty, than all science was wrong.
“It's still a good basis to know and have though.”
“That is quite true. Nothing other than death is a certainty.” It was a somewhat morbid statement, but that was the truth of it. The sun rising the next morning was not a certainty, though it was close to it. Death was the only certainty to those who were born.
Stahma inclined her head a bit and smiled softly. “Of course. Having a good basis is good start. No doubt that you have questions to things I have not thought of to say, so feel free to ask whatever you wish.” Considering she didn’t know what all Jemma might want or need to know, she opened that door.
Sometimes the truth was just morbid. There was nothing that Jemma could say to really state that things were different. Well okay, she could. Things in Orange County were always strange and she knew that people came back from the dead because of their dreams, or magic users, or whatever. But for her own sake…. Well, she would hold to that certainty, morbid or not.
As for questions.
“There’s nothing that I can think of right now, though that could always change while I’m going through my notes later.”
Orange County certainly bent, and even broke, the rules more often than not. The impossible tended to happen on a regular basis here, but Stahma had long since stopped trying to make sense out of why such things happened. She tended to hold onto her routine, everyday life to make it through the crazy spots at times.
“Of course. Feel free to ask whatever you wish. I undoubtedly left some things out as I am not used to talking about my alien physiology like this.” Especially considering in the dreams, the doctor was an Indogene who was already familiar with Castithan physiology.
While Jemma would always hold firmly to science as a way to explain things, she had at least become accustomed to the fact that there were things that should be considered impossible and yet weren’t. There was science there, it just hadn’t been discovered yet to explain everything.
Nodding with a slight smile, Jemma looked over her notes.
“Well, that should be all for now then.” They’d already done all the tests that had needed to be done at present, and she had information on hand to go over and figure out other questions should they arise.