Miranda Lawson is the prodigal daughter (nobodysperfect) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-04-20 21:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, jemma simmons, miranda lawson |
Who: Jemma and Miranda
What: Jemma gets a baseline for Miranda’s genetics. Science talk happens.
When: Morning of April 6th
Where: The Agency
Warnings: Low
Status: Partner Thread | Complete
Miranda wasn’t one who trusted easily, especially where her genetics were concerned, but Shepard had assured her Jemma could be trusted, so she was going to trust her friend on that. Given that she was an heiress on the run from said inheritance, it was little wonder why she was so suspicious of people and their intentions. She wasn’t anywhere near as suspicious as she was in her dreams, but she was still pretty bad.
Shepard had given Miranda some files that the Shadow Broker had given her, and she’d made certain to bring the one related to a medical procedure she’d had in the dreams. It would be relevant information for Jemma to know. And not knowing if her omni tool could interface properly with the technology at the Agency, she’d instead typed it up and printed it out to bring along.
She arrived at the Agency and asked for Jemma at the front desk. The brunette waited, glancing around. She wore a nice pair of jeans and a simple white blouse. With her height, especially with the high heels she was wearing, she certainly looked like a model.
The amount of people Jemma ended up helping because of Dream changes was… well, it was part of the job and she certainly didn’t mind it. Still, she found that getting baseline readings whenever possible was important because if there were every dietary changes that needed to take place, it helped to match it to the rate of conversion. Though Miranda had mentioned the fact that she was still human just...almost a clone really. So that was already familiar territory for her.
With everything set up, Jemma had been looking over some reports from different departments when she got the call from the front desk. So placing the files on her desk, the biochemist headed up to the lobby and saw the woman she was to be meeting with.
“Miranda Lawson? Hello, I’m Doctor Simmons,” Offering her hand, Jemma shook Miranda’s, “Follow me.” And leading her to the labs.
Miranda’s biological issues were, thankfully, not nearly as dramatic as turning into an alien and having dietary restrictions because of it. She was rather grateful to not be a turian or quarian in the dreams. Turians required a special diet, and quarians, well, Miranda would probably die if she was a quarian. Nearly non-existent immune systems and such.
“Hello Doctor Simmons,” she greeted, shaking Jemma’s hand before following her to the labs. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Shepard spoke highly of you.” And Miranda would be lying if she wasn’t at all interested in the lab set up. She loved science, having gone more the bio-engineering route in the dreams, but here she went astrophysics.
Miranda also wasn’t certain if Shepard had told Jemma anything about her, such as who had actually brought Shepard back from the dead and such. But that was not why Miranda was here and wouldn’t bring that up initially.
“Likewise. I’m glad to hear that, though.” It wasn’t that Jemma was cocky or anything, she just knew her worth and wasn’t the type to downplay her intelligence or accomplishments. Besides, when dealing with the sort of things that came with Orange County and the physical changes that could take place… well, most people wanted someone who knew what they were doing so positive reviews from trusted sources also helped.
The lab setup was very organized, different labs depending on what was being worked on. The tech was also advanced thanks to the different technologies that sometimes crossed over and just the general knowledge that crossed over if said knowledge could translate and make the tech (assuming that all necessary parts at least existed).
Jemma’s focus that morning though was not influenced by what Shepard may or may not have told her. No, it was on getting a baseline and hearing from Miranda herself about what to expect as it was her body and life. “Alright, this should be simple enough.” General readings, and all. So Jemma gave the brief instructions for what she was going to do and what it would be used for. She found it helped in these situations.
Miranda certainly appreciated intelligent, confident women. She appreciated both qualities across the board, but she liked seeing it in women specifically. Women were definitely more than just pretty faces and arm candy. Despite her profession in this life, Miranda was highly intelligent, and she was also loaded with knowledge from her dream self.
Once in the lab, Miranda did take some moments to take in everything. There was tech she recognized, but plenty of tech she didn’t. Interesting. However, she didn’t pry about what she didn’t know about since that wasn’t the reason she was here. She turned her focus back to Jemma, listening to the instructions she was given. And she definitely liked knowing what it would be used for. Miranda was hyper-protective of herself, and her sister, and wanted to ensure her father didn’t find them.
“Okay, what would like first?” Miranda would comply with all tests and exams Jemma thought necessary. After all, Miranda wanted a thorough baseline to compare her genetics against once they started to change. Or maybe that should be an if they changed, but after reading about people’s experiences with physical changes and so forth on the network, Miranda assumed it was more of a when than an if.
It really was quite a shame that so many women felt the need to downplay their intelligence or even apologise for it. Especially in the sciences as STEM remained largely male dominated. That was changing but there were some things that were harder to root out. And Jemma wasn’t about to let herself be discouraged or underestimated just because of her gender.
However, Jemma did notice that Miranda seemed to have an interest in the tech. After all, there was a difference between wary looking at equipment and not knowing what it might be used for and then the type of looking that showed an interest. Well, once this was all done she would see if Miranda had any questions about the lab itself. It was always lovely speaking with someone who was interested in science.
Instead though, she listed each test and what it was for as well as the order which she would do them. There was a certain process to all of this that Jemma liked to do. Especially since the timing of the tests was often done so she could utilize the time they had.
Despite her degree in astrophysics, Miranda hadn’t actually pursued one until a few years ago when her sister had adamantly insisted that she do something for herself. So Miranda had finally gone to college. Now she had knowledge of sciences from her dreams that didn’t exist in the waking world. Miranda didn’t even know what science ‘bringing a person back from the dead’ qualified as. Bioengineering? Some other branch of biology? It was hard to tell.
Miranda nodded a bit at the tests. Jemma certainly knew her stuff, and Miranda would trust her. Shepard seemed to trust her, and while Miranda sometimes side-eyed the ‘friends’ Shepard had, this was not one of them. At least not thus far. So she simply followed any instructions Jemma had while she did her tests, and let her do them unimpeded.
It could take a lot to get someone to do something for themselves depending on their situations. Life just had a way of working that usually ended up working out in the end even if it didn’t seem as such. Especially in Orange County. Though Jemma was seriously beginning to consider getting a medical degree at this point given how often she was requested for in the field medical treatments or Natasha. Though that was something she would probably look more into after the wedding.
For now, she simply made her notations as the tests were run. The joy of Dream tech meant that she didn’t have to wait as long for results and given this was simply to get a baseline, there were no abnormal readings that required a deeper look.
“Well, everything looks normal right now, which will prove helpful for once the changes do start to come through.” Because really, it was simply a matter of when, not if. “Do you have any questions you’d like to ask?”
Again, the technology certainly had Miranda’s attention while Jemma ran the tests. Some of it looked vaguely familiar and wondered if Shepard had gotten any of the tech from their dream world. But she didn’t ask about that, instead she was silently watching the machines and trying to discern how they worked.
Shepard certainly worked in an interesting place, that was for certain.
“Oh, good.” Miranda was very glad that her biology hadn’t started to change yet. It meant that maybe she could get out ahead of something. “Not so much a question, but I do have a concern, I suppose you would call it. It is something that I would like you to keep an eye out for.” Miranda opened the folder she’d brought with her and pulled out one of the files she’d printed out. It was a medical correspondence from her dreams, a file that Shepard had given her since apparently the Shadow Broker had information about her.
“The benign neoplasm is what I’m concerned about. While I haven’t actually decided if I want to have a child or not, I would like the choice to be mine and not dictated by my genetics. Considering I see some advanced technology here, you wouldn’t happen to be able to correct that flaw in my genetics, would you? Or do you think the sterility is more related to my being a clone, of a sort?”
That was the one nice thing about the Dreams. At least if they gave you a heads up. Some things happened just as you dreamt them and so there was no warning to prepare with. Still in situations like this, there was at least a head’s up so that tests like this could be run. A base line set up.
Being handed the file, Jemma scanned over it quickly as she listened to what Miranda was saying. Something to keep an eye on and the benign neoplasm. At least until she heard the rest of it and she closed the file and looked up, trying to figure out how to phrase her answer as she did have experience in this. Well, Cosima did but it still meant that Jemma was familiar with the notion of cloning and the side effects.
“From my experience, I believe the sterility is more related to being a clone… We of course can look into it more, see if there is something we can do. But from what I’ve seen, it’s more related to the clone thing as opposed to your genetics. We do have a geneticist and clone expert here though who I could show this to and see if she has a different perspective or any ideas if you would like.”
Luckily for Jemma, Miranda was rationally prepared for Jemma’s response. It was the consensus of cloning science as it currently stood in this world that all clones were sterile. But even so, on the emotional side, Miranda had hoped that there would be a way to correct it or a way around it. Though if she actually stopped to think about it, there probably was a way around it. Her father had created her, knew exactly what he was doing. He’d wanted a dynasty so why would he put so much money and effort into creating her only to have her be sterile? Maybe he’d put the flaw in her genes on purpose and if Miranda had followed the path he’d intended her to, he would’ve fixed the problem through gene therapy or something.
Still, Miranda wasn’t quite there yet on that front. She just nodded a bit in response.
“Much as I thought. Though I would appreciate what the geneticist and clone expert has to say about it. You can share whatever is needed with her on that.” No doubt that would require her full genome to be mapped or something, but with the equipment she saw in this lab? It probably wouldn’t be hard for them to do that.
“Also, I have abilities like Shepard’s, my biotics as I mentioned before. I’m actually somewhat curious about the changes that will lead to those abilities being present. In my Dream world, biotics typically come about due to exposure to something called Element Zero. At least as far as human biotics go. Human biotic research and understanding is still in its infancy. I’m sure someone like Aria T’Loak could tell you more about the origins and nature of biotics if you are curious.” And that was assuming Aria even felt like sharing that information. That asari guarded information tighter than anything else.
There were certainly options that could be explored once Miranda was more ready to consider them. Even if it was finding a surrogate. But there were options that could also involve the technology that they had in the lab should a direction be given on which way to look.
“Of course. I can have her look over your file and the tests we’ve done so far and see what she has to say as well.” Making a quick note to pass the file along to Cosima, Jemma nodded some as Miranda explained her biotics.
“Fascinating.” While Jemma had gotten a bit better at not seeming too excited about new science, she still had her moments. “I can see about reaching out to her to see if she has any insight.” She had helped the Asari woman after all with her own transition so it would probably be okay.
“Great, thank you.” Miranda wasn’t certain what would come of it, and she was prepared to look at other options if she ever wished to have a child. But that was a large if. Given the fact her father still loomed in the background of her life, having a child now was out of the question. It was hard enough some days to keep an eye on her sister, let alone bringing a child into the situation as well.
“It is actually a fascinating area of study. My own knowledge of it is limited, I was more into the physical sciences than I was cutting edge biotics study. Still, I think most people would call biotics magic, but that’s not correct. It’s science, the manipulation of mass effect fields. Those of us who are biotics have implants that can help harness these abilities and use them more effectively and efficiently. There is little more dangerous than a biotic who has no control over their biotic abilities.” If Jemma was at all aware of Shepard’s abilities, biotics could be considered walking time bombs. Having emotions run high, especially anger, could turn someone into a biotic bomb and they couldn’t control the detonator.
“Of course.” There would always be other considerations but all Jemma could really do was offer up her support in these situations. It would be up to Miranda with the rest.
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with the physical sciences. I’m biochemistry myself. Well, that’s one of my areas anyway.” The Dreams had added to that. And then just what she had picked up since being in the area and the way her fields of expertise in both the real world and the Dreams came together with the new technologies and happenings of Orange County. “Still I can see why it was cutting edge. I’ve seen Shepard’s biotics of course, and it’s still rather cutting edge even to what I’m used to in the Dreams.”
As for magic, well… Jemma managed not to scoff.
“Yes. Magic. Which is simply science that isn’t understood at the time.”
“Biochemistry, I like it. Chemistry was not my strong suit. I went with Astrophysics here. In my Dreams, I’d say Bioengineering is one of my strongest areas. Actually, if you know about Shepard’s cybernetic implants, those are my work. I brought her back from the dead in our Dreams.” Was she bragging? Sort of. Miranda was intensely proud of the work she’d done on Shepard. Even if there were times, both here and in the Dreams, where she regretted bringing the woman back to life, but that was just Shepard.
“I like that explanation of magic.” Miranda said with a smile. “If you ever want to get any readings or something on biotics, I can demonstrate for you when my abilities crossover. I’ve long since realized that it’s a question of when, not if, around here.” She did her homework, and enough people talked about getting their dream abilities that she knew it was more a given than just chance.
It probably wasn’t completely a given, but it was probably as close as anything could get to being a certainty.
“I always did love the stars,” Even with the whole Maveth thing, “And I’ve done plenty of reading and studying on my own. However my schooling was biochemistry. Then if we’re talking the Dreams, I also have degrees in xenobiology.” Aliens weren’t all that unheard of after all. Especially for Jemma. And her experience with Inhumans. “But really? They’re absolutely brilliant!”
And Jemma couldn’t shake the feeling that Miranda would likely get along with Fitz were he there. That whole engineering thing. Which was brilliant in its own right.
“I find that it tends to be accurate.” Because really. Still, nice to hear someone agree with her on that front. “But that would be amazing, I would definitely love a demonstration once they cross over. Since you’re right, it really is just a matter of when in these sorts of situations.”
“Xenobiology? Now that is a fascinating field.” There was plenty of opportunity to study it in her dreams given the mixing of many alien races, but Miranda had never been all that interested in the subject. Of course, part of that was the fact she was working for Cerberus, an organization all non-human races labeled as being a terrorist organization. And even some humans, especially the Alliance, labeled Cerberus as a terrorist organization. Miranda had some other thoughts on that matter, though.
“But thank you! It wasn’t easy, even with the highly advanced technology of the 22nd Century, but I was pleased with the results.” Luckily, Shepard’s case hadn’t been one of ‘let’s see if this is possible because science.’ It was ‘Shepard is the only one who can fight the Reapers that everyone else is still denying even exist.’ So it was more necessity, and Miranda had welcomed the challenge. Though she could’ve done without the betrayal and attempt on her life at the end of the project, but she’d dealt with that traitor.
“Given everything I see everyone saying about the dreams, I felt it was more an inevitability than a possibility. But I would be happy to do so. I’ve never actually studied biotics in depth, so it fascinates me.”
“It is. And unsurprisingly quite useful here.” With all the different Dreams and things that happened? All the varying scientific expertise she could get was a good thing. Even if the alien species was different from her own, Jemma was still familiar with all the differences and was thus able to help anyone who she came across who might need it should their DNA change. Though she had feelings about Cerberus. Or at least the faction here. Tied into Hydra and who knew what else.
“I would be as well. It’s always a bit terrifying but still thrilling to be doing something so cutting edge. That even if it’s not easy, or maybe especially when it’s not easy.”
At least Jemma thought so. Then again, she was extremely competitive so she loved a good challenge.
“Best to be prepared, really. But we’ll make certain you are able to study the biotics.”
“So it would seem. At least skills from the Dreams can be put to some sort of use here.” Of course, as Miranda looked at her Dreams from this life, Cerberus was sketchy at best, even if going after the Collectors, who were probably working for the Reapers, was a good thing, Miranda had to question the Illusive Man. Sure she was one of the very rare people to have ever met the man physically in person, but he had shady practices that had her concerned in this life. In the Dreams? She was a good Cerberus officer and doing her job on the mission and nothing more.
At least for the time being.
“It certainly was a bit terrifying at first, and some of my colleagues told me it couldn’t be done. But I was intent on proving them wrong. And I did so in the end.” Of course, the literally limitless resources the Illusive Man had given her had helped, but Miranda was a woman of determination. She was also incessantly stubborn.
“I appreciate that opportunity.” Which she did. Miranda liked to study things, and to be honest? Sometimes she wanted more out of life than working as an exotic dancer and model. She just had been so utterly focused on taking care of her little sister since she’d been sixteen that she had yet to really do much of anything for herself save getting the degree in Astrophysics.
“They can. Some clearly more easy to translate over than others, but usually the skills we use in the Dreams come in handy, no matter how peculiar they might seem at first glance.” Similar to the adage of never judging a book by its cover, the same could be said about the things seen in the Dreams. Sometimes it seemed like madness, or useless. Still, they often came in use at some point for those in Orange County.
“Sometimes that’s all the motivation you need. Proving others wrong for thinking too small.” Jemma certainly found it to be as such. Though that came from her competitive nature as well. Tell her she can’t do something? Well. Jemma would go above and beyond to prove that she could.
“Well, you have my contact information so you can always reach out for such opportunities.” Because it was clear that Miranda had an interest in science and with her Dream knowledge, the equipment they had would probably be quite intriguing.
“That is good to know.” Miranda had quite a few skills in her dreams, not just her skills with biotics or guns. Before she’d run away from her father, she had made use of his money and getting a good education. She liked putting her brain to good use despite the fact she looked like a model.
“Precisely. It’s not my fault that I was able to see a way to do something that no one else did or had the courage to do themselves.” Project Lazarus had ended with her right-hand man trying to kill her because what they’d done was unnatural or whatever he’d tried to claim. Miranda had done what she’d been instructed to, and what she believed to be the right thing. They’d needed Shepard to help fight the Collectors and the Reapers because everyone else chose to believe Reapers were only a fairytale and didn’t take steps to prepare for their inevitable return.
“And I will make use of that.” Miranda felt like she could be of use here, and be able to do some meaningful work for once in her life. She had intelligence and skills that could be put to good use here. Besides, she was intrigued what all she could learn here as well.
Jemma understood that all too well. Even when she looked at the choices she made in the Dreams and could see how they looked, she also could often understand her reasoning for them. Of having to be the one to make the difficult choices. Sometimes she hated it, but it was the way it was.
“Brilliant.” Because really, she could always use more scientists. But she would wait a bit to make that offer, see how things played out and all.
Miranda welcomed making hard decisions. Sometimes she wondered if Shepard wished that she’d been left in death, it wasn’t easy fighting against the odds that they were currently faced with in the Dreams. They were on a suicide mission, and everyone involved knew it. But the fact that she might end up dead on the mission didn’t deter her from completing. Miranda would give her life if it meant saving the galaxy.
“Thank you for doing this. There are other aspects of my genetics to be discussed, but that can come later on.” In fact, Miranda’s lifespan was actually something she was interested in learning about just why she could live for so long. And her accelerated healing. It wasn’t instantaneous, but she healed faster than normal humans.
“You’re more than welcome. And yes. There will be plenty of time to go over more aspects, especially as they cross over. For now, we have our baseline and can work from there.”