InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!"

Leon Vance (leon_vance) wrote in omega_reality,
@ 2013-01-30 16:38:00

Entry tags:

*complete, 2013 01, character: maura isles, dead: leon vance

RP: Leon and Maura
Who: Leon and Maura
Where: his office
When: Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Summary: Maura has information and requests

Leon received the request for a meeting from Dr. Isle. He might not like doctors in general, but the woman was very efficient and straight to the point, which was a plus in Leon's book. Of course even without those traits, he still would have seen her, because it was his job.

They scheduled the meeting when Dom was doing his research, causing the least amount of conflict with the team training. There were less formalities now, and he certainly didn't expect an eighty year old woman to get up and play his secretary, and so the door to the office was open until someone arrived.
"Doctor, please close the door and sit down." He waited until she had taken a seat. "What can I do for you?"

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drmauraisles
2013-02-01 02:33 am UTC (link)

"Director." Nodding pleasantly, Maura took the offered seat. "I've completed processing the test results for the first half of the team's physical exams. Everyone gets a clean bill of health. But, I'd like to start low-dose aspirin therapy for both President Hammond and Mrs. Barrish. President Hammond's medications should be sufficient under normal circumstances, but the diet here is not optimal. He needs more fresh vegetables and fruits than can possibly be provided with the infrequent supply runs we have. I don't have the equipment necessary to do a full brain scan and I'm not a neurologist; however, the description of Mrs. Barrish's symptoms the night her power manifested is consistent with a very mild stroke. The low-dose aspirin regimen will help prevent a second one if that is the case.

"Additionally, it's been brought to my attention that there have previously been mandatory vaccinations. The list I was provided was very thorough. There are a handful who have not yet had those vaccines administered, yet: myself, Queen, Merlyn, the Hammond brothers, Detective Marks. There are also boosters that will need to be administered in the next few months. The question was raised as to whether you would prefer for individuals to take care of their own vaccinations or if I would be allowed to take charge of that. If I am to do it, it presents a problem as I cannot possibly administer such a complete vaccination schedule without a complete physical having been completed in case there are medical reasons why an individual should not be given them. If the vaccinations are mandatory, I will have to ask that the physical exams be as well."

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leon_vance
2013-02-01 02:46 am UTC (link)

Leon nodded "That was very efficient, Doctor. Thank you for your report, and I don't see any problem with the aspirin regimen, although we can't be sure that they will be able to get it once we move on. You can speak with Mr. Kinney to make sure that we have sufficient supplies for a six month period that they can keep with their backpacks, but I fear that it's the best we can do under the circumstances."

He frowned at the second request. "Doctor, you made a request of conducting physicals. I granted the request, because you felt that it was medically necessary for people to go through this. Once the request is granted, it's not optional, but mandatory for everyone. There's never anything optional here. So yes the exams are mandatory, as well as the vaccines. I'd rather have you administer the booster, but we'll still have people keep their own charts. Things are always too fluid here for records, which reminds me. Do make sure that everything is disposed of properly. We have an incinerator that we brought back. Everything should be burned. Now, if there's a problem with administering the vaccines to anyone, I want to be informed. Also, you can arrange for the visits to be done during the work week. Take a day if you want and have people be sent to you. You can even do it in the office so there are people around. Now is there anything else?"

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drmauraisles
2013-02-01 03:48 am UTC (link)

"I understand." Maura nodded again. She had expected as much with the aspirin, but neither was critical. She wanted to counter the diet they had here, which would likely change in some way when they left, for President Hammond. And Mrs. Barrish's recommendation was purely precautionary as too much time had passed and there was no equipment to tell for sure if what she had experienced before was a stroke.

The response regarding the physicals and vaccinations was not what she had been expecting, however. "I'm afraid I must have misunderstood. I asked for permission because I had been told the blood tests were forbidden. It didn't cross my mind that they would be mandatory when there was so much opposition to having them done in the first place. Now I know, thank you. Access to the incinerator would be perfect. That was on my list of things to discuss with you, as well. I'll schedule vaccinations once the physical exams have been completed. And, yes, there was one more thing."

Maura had debated with herself whether to mention this or not, if it would be better to wait until after she'd run the tests for the rest of the group. But, in the end, she decided she was unlikely to get a chance at further research beyond the blood tests and there was nothing more the blood tests for the other half of the team could tell her than to confirm her suspicions they were all affected.

"While completing the CBCs, I noticed something I feel to be significant. In looking at the blood smears under the microscope, I noticed that every single sample I was looking at had the same antibody present. Normally, this would not be significant as the human body produces several antibodies and anyone who has had an infection in the past would show signs of those antibodies in their blood in varying levels. But, this antibody does not appear to belong to any of the five known isotypes produced by placential mammals, which includes human beings."

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leon_vance
2013-02-01 03:55 am UTC (link)

"Doctor, you convince me that something is medically necessary, then everyone will have to go through them, because if people have the option not to follow what you're saying, then they can't be that necessary," he answered with a smirk. "Speak with Mr. Callen. He can move the incinerator where it's most convenient for you."

The frown was back on, because he was a smart man, used to dealing with a great deal of things, but medicine at this level was not something you could just guess. "Okay, let me see if I understand correctly. From the admittedly small sample, you are saying that a hundred percent of the samples show some unknown antibody, something other than what you'd expect in a human being. Is that what you're saying and if so, what do you think it is? And please don't tell me you don't have enough information. Most of our medical care has been guess work up until now. So I'll take your guess."

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drmauraisles
2013-02-01 04:54 am UTC (link)

"Yes, sir, that is exactly what I'm saying. I would need a stronger microscope to definitely say how many subtypes are present. But, it's clearly a new isotype." That much Maura could recite naturally. But, she was sure she could feel an onset of urticaria at having to guess at what exactly it might mean. There was too much she didn't know and wouldn't know without being able to do further research.

"Based on the evidence present in the blood samples, if I were the type of person to guess, which I'm not, I'd say there were two possible explanations. The first is that the people whose blood carried the antibody had been exposed to some new antigen and that accelerated the evolution of a new antibody. The same properties of the rifts that altered the genetics to create these powers would be the most likely culprit if I were to continue to make ill-formed guesses. The second option is that the same properties of the rift not only altered the genetic structure to activate these powers, but to evolve this antibody as well. Being an isotype, the second option is the more probable and would explain the variety of viral remains found as well. A single isotype produces several types of immunoglobulin to fight different types of infections. As far as I could tell, and that wasn't very much, the immunoglobulin produced by this isotype combat viral contagions almost exclusively.

"But, this is all speculation based on a handful of tests. When I complete the blood work for the rest of the team, that will confirm if everyone truly carries the same antibody isotype. But, nothing else can be confirmed without further testing."

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leon_vance
2013-02-01 05:04 am UTC (link)

"And there, you lost me, Doctor." Not the request for more tests or her unwillingness to guess, those he understood well It was everything else that he had to repeat in his head a few more times, and it still made only partial sense.

He dismissed the first option, since she didn't seem to think that it was likely. "Let me see if I get this. You think that when we cross over, we develop some kind of antibody, and yes, I know that it's a wild guess and with not enough cases, which we couldn't provide to you, even if we wanted to. This antibody seems to combat viruses, but I'm guessing that even after you test the rest of the people, you still won't be able to tell us what viruses we're immune to. Now, what kind of tests would you need to determine that?" He was suddenly very glad that they had always destroyed all the evidence, because eventually someone would have noticed the extra isotype whatever. "And how likely is it that a hospital were to find this antibody if someone went there for an emergency?"

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drmauraisles
2013-02-01 07:43 pm UTC (link)

"If I had to provide a potential theory based on what little data is available," -- and, while Jane may think Maura's guesses were far more accurate than many people's facts, Maura just couldn't bring herself to guess without a thousand qualifiers -- "that would be my conclusion, yes. We know something is changed at a genetic level when we cross through the rifts. That change activates the powers, which also causes the side effects people see when using those powers. Evolution on this level can occur naturally through exposure to new pathogens in a new environment. It's entirely possible there are thousands of viruses and bacteria in this world that developed as a result of the differing evolution of the world itself. It's possible this is a natural progression from such exposure.

"But, if that were the case, it would be more likely that new immunoglobulins would be present, evolved from the existing isotypes. While it might be more probable for those who have been here longer, such as yourself and Savannah, the fact I found the same isotype in the blood samples from newer arrivals such as the Barrishes and President Hammond suggests a faster timeline than natural evolution through exposure could explain. For an entirely new isotype to evolve so quickly, probability would suggest something at work on a genetic level. The only genetic change everyone here shares is the travel through the rift. Finding the same isotype in our blood when I process the tests for Merlyn, Queen, and myself will support that theory, though it still won't prove it outright."

Sighing, Maura shook her head. "At best, I can tell you that it appears there were several different types of virusal remains where the isotype was found. But, with the current equipment, I cannot tell you what specific types they were, only that they were definitely viral and not bacterial. The kind of testing required to answer the question is going to edge into territory you've already forbidden me to research, Director. True immunity is a genetic trait. DNA and RNA would need to be examined, something I'm not entirely qualified to do with any guarantee of accuracy. But, also, I would need a full pathology lab set-up. I would need further samples, blood, tissue, urine, mucous membrane to test for other antibodies and viral remains for identification. I also would need samples of many viruses themselves to grow test cultures. A much larger, more powerful, and less mobile microscope would be necessary to allow me to see clearly the viral remains in the blood. And time. To answer a question of that magnitude, I would need to devote at least half the time I'm currently in training to research."

Oh, Maura would love to be able to do that research. But, she knew when to pick her battles and the research required to ascertain what viruses they were now immune to with this new isotype was not a battle she'd win because of the sheer magnitude of the the kind of research that would be required.

"As far as the likelihood of a hospital lab picking up on it, it would depend on how they process their blood tests and the reason they take samples. Standard procedure for a CBC is to use a machine to count cells and plasma. To avoid having to ask for more equipment, I'm using a blood smear method under a microscope instead. That is why I was able to see the antibody isotype. It's considered an outdated procedure. But, if they were to do any testing that required viewing samples under a microscope or did any testing for known infections, such as pneumonia or the flu, testing required for a blood transfusion, or anything of a similar nature, it would be plainly visible. Given how often such tests are performed as a matter of routine, I would not be guessing if I said the chances of it being discovered are quite high."

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leon_vance
2013-02-01 07:56 pm UTC (link)

"And I actually understood all of that." It was almost as impressive as what she was saying. Not that the discovery really changed anything in their day to day lives, but the potential- He cut his own train of thought. Yes, they might be cure cancer, but they could also create a new race of people and in the end, that was something that they needed to prevent. No government should have this kind of power.

"I guess we're back to a 'wait and see' approach. I can tell you that in the two years we've been year, there have been no cases of colds, no STDs and with some of our people that was an issue. In case, you haven't been told, birth control seems not to work, both condoms and pills." He sighed. "I know that this is hardly enough for you to know what we're immune to, but there is no possibility of doing that research. Besides the paper trail we'd leave getting all the equipment, there's no guarantee that we won't be found and with us, your research. It's just too dangerous for the human race."

Leon nodded. "That's not great news. I thought that we could rely on a hospital as back up in case something happened, but I guess we're on our own. It also means that leaving the Hammonds here is pretty much a death sentence. Sooner or later, they will need medical help, and that help would likely lead to their capture or death." He sighed. "I guess I will have to speak with them about that." He smiled at her. "Thank you for the information and as I said, if you need time during the work week, just let Deeks know." He looked up at her. "Doctor, you're new here, and I understand that you are doing the best you can trying to fit in, but I want you to come to me when you feel something is important. I might not agree with you, might not like it, might not even want to do it, but if you show me that it's for the benefit of the team and the cons don't destroy civilization, I will grant your request. And now, I still have work to do. Have a good day."

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