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Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Oct 15, 2012 22:07:52 GMT -8
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Suyoi
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Post by Suyoi on Oct 15, 2012 22:18:25 GMT -8
"Finally!" The doctor shook his head at the cleaned, at least slightly, floor. "I think we should probably leave this area, the restaurant floor, as clear as possible. The kitchen will be where I can treat people, though many folks may not like the concept of lying on a service board or whatever. It will be the easiest to clean and autopsy if necessary. So, I guess that does it for now, hmm? I'm tired and a little parched. But, I'm not sure if I want to 'drink the water' just yet. Do you think the others have finished their tasks? What time is it?" The doctor leaned heavily on his mop handle, his shoulders wiping the sweat from his forehead and neck. "I guess that is almost a lost concept now. As long as there is light, it's day. And then there's night." The doctor gave Abdul a small frown. "I- Er, well... Heh heh heh. I don't mean to be so rude all the time, but considering you do have a "knack" for logical thinking, it is useful. Not saying I don't, because I most certainly could never have become such a celebrated doctor if I, too, did not possess those same faculties. I just apply them to different situations. And it is good to have your input when you finally come up with decent responses, so I am thankful. "But, something bothered me. How did you know about the questions and thinking of the roaming dead? I asked Mary a question and she seemed more than intent on responding in a typical 'evil overlord' response."
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Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Oct 15, 2012 22:30:45 GMT -8
Abdul-Rahman- "Ah, well thank you doctor. As for what we know-- we did have a very strange happening last night. I believe as I understand it, this "Mary" was much like our "Doretta." I have to admit I was not present in the room, but this creature disguised as a woman was subdued by several men, and bound. They were able to interrogate her somewhat before... well I suppose you should say she 'destroyed herself'. Ghastly. You may wish to talk to one of the people present. Seth, Thierry, Steven, and Derek were present, though I would not talk to that Derek about such matters, he is a bit emotional it seems."
Tyrone- "Hmm. Does it seem possible it was Mary? Hey, what'd she look like?"
Abdul-Rahman- "I unfortunately only saw the remains which were not of recognizable human stock."
Tyrone- "Whelp, that's nasty."
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Suyoi
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Post by Suyoi on Oct 15, 2012 22:34:52 GMT -8
The doctor's eyes widened. "Has this Derek been questioned? You said they weren't able to answer simple questions. He could have been exposed and infected before you even know about it. I want to see him... after I take a look in that room. Is it the way it was left or has some dolt tried to have it cleaned?" The doctor's urgency held itself in check with the mop, suddenly clutching it like a scared woman holds her purse in the bad part of town.
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Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Oct 15, 2012 22:43:27 GMT -8
Abdul-Rahman- "Doctor... I have to elaborate, the room was left a complete disaster. It is... sickening beyond words. Of course it has been left intact, though the body was burned, or at least what could be gathered of it. We did not know whether this would be necessary to destroy the being. There really wasn't much to examine though, it was torn to bits really, by its own hand. If you wish, you may examine this room... it has been written off as not salvageable. I believe someone has taped it closed due to the... smell, but you could certainly reopen it if you must... As for Derek, he is just an emotional man. You may talk to him, but I don't believe he is any more perturbed than any of the others, just with less coping mechanisms as some might say."
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Post by Suyoi on Oct 15, 2012 22:51:14 GMT -8
The doctor tossed the mop handle against the floor. "If it got in once it will get in again. And we can't exactly know everything or every way in which to stop it. But you have a room where it was killed. Maybe it was disgusting for you, but I watched a teenager's bowels erupt as he stuffed enough Efferdent up his ass to clean your dentures for seven years. I doubt anything could be worse than that. Besides, I might see things differently anyways. You can't say my insight won't find something that theirs have not." He turned to Tyrone. "Mr. Page, if you would be so kind as to start bringing the contents upstairs we previously sorted out. Mr. Rahman, if you could also alert whoever is supposed to be guarding the stairwell their duties have increased for the time being. I'm going to go do something more productive than women's housework. Lord knows they're probably just chitting away like hens over who wants to bang a doctor." The good Dr. Victor left the flashlight and duffle to rest in the kitchen area and hollered. "WHAT ROOM WAS IT, ABDUL?"
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Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Oct 15, 2012 23:10:49 GMT -8
Abdul shook his head wearily and sighed. Abdul-Rahman- "The fourth floor, Doctor... room 402..."
Tyrone- "Doc! These freaks like Mary... They still gotta walk in the door or crawl in the winda or somethin'... What are you gonna find out lookin' at giblets?" The doctor was gone up the stairs. Tyrone glanced at the pile of supplies to be hauled. Tyrone- "... I ain't gonna do that."
Abdul-Rahman- "Perhaps we can find a woman to do this, it is a simple task."
Tyrone- "I usually ain't one for that, but I'd make a baby carry this shit 'steada me.." Doctor Victor, move to the 4th floor to witness the gruesome-osity!
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Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Oct 29, 2012 19:32:16 GMT -8
Dr. Melange walked around the former restaurant, inspecting the furniture and taking a look at the great heap of supplies laid out on the large steel counters. Dr. Bebe- "Hm, the biggest difficult will certainly be lighting. For a proper inspection, you need very good light."
Columbo- "That's why hospitals always give me a headache!"
Dr. Bebe- Uh, if you say so.. We need something that doesn't require power. Maybe, we can use powered lighting for inspections but use something else for the interim. They were using a brazier upstairs, a small bonfire in a controlled circumstance with a lot of mirrors... Multiple light sources would be ideal.
Columbo- "Oh man, I can't think. Too hungry..."
Bebe- "Hm. You know Columbo, perhaps you should go get some food. In fact, go up there and get food for both of us and bring it back. I would like, if it's available-- eggs, bacon, biscuits... butter and jam, hmmm... and orange juice. And some water as well. Bottled water. Perrier."
Columbo- "Damn you are fussy for the Armageddon. They're probably serving M&M stew with mashed Doritos."
Dr. Bebe- "I said if it was available. If all we have available is M&M stew, then I would like M&M stew with orange juice and Perrier."
Columbo- "Ookay baby."
Dr. Bebe- "It's 'Bebe', I would prefer if you would not translate my name into English." Columbo went slumping up the stairs, and Dr. Melange took a seat on a leather chair and slipped off her spike heels daintily.
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Post by Suyoi on Oct 29, 2012 20:43:42 GMT -8
Dr. Victor arrived promptly stuffed, carrying a half-filled mug of coffee and the dufflebag. He looked at dismay at the pilled supplies, mostly because it indicated the lack of effort from the previous clean up. His attitude seemed to sour, setting the duffle on the counter-space available. "Dr. Melange, I welcome you into this five hours of mess. I'd like to apologize for a lack of their concern for our profession. It seems many people don't understand exactly what it took for us to achieve our titles." Dr. Bebe- "I don't mind. It's kind of meditative to set a mess in order."
He moved back into the restaurant area, dragging over the plush leather chair next to hers. "I believe there will be a lot of thinking today. I have to treat a bite victim, and given the nature of disease and infection most human bites have, zombie-gnawing not withstanding, I'd like to get him started on some antibiotics. We have enough for a few people; I just don't like rationing out medication... if only because it twists my arm in the way triage does." Dr. Bebe- "Yes... The one thing of use that we determined at the research center was that it's useless to worry about the vector for the disease - that it seems we all have it. We can study the living to find out if it has any effects on them we are presently unaware of, and try to keep people like your bite victim from dying, and that's sufficient."
He slurped his coffee. "The board said to go through and document... which is not my forte, if only due to my unique talent of hieroglyphics. I don't even know what they want us to document it for... after all, it would be pertinent knowledge only to us. I'd rather focus our time on something a little more productive. I guess you have had your fill with 'speculation.'" Dr. Bebe- "What do they want us to document? Aside from beginning analog medical records for everyone..."
Dr. Victor let his words hang in the air, crossing his leg over his other knee. He drank his coffee, hiding behind his mug. "Dr. Melange, I will keep this mercifully short on that account. I thought about what Dr. Green had mentioned, regarding animation. I have seen heat coming from their fluids, mostly blood. I have witnessed both lack of agility as well as fine dexterity... one dead officer shot a pistol, or so I have been told. I did witness another open a door. I believe there are other things, as well, but we need to master the basic and the most prevalent. What are your thoughts?" Dr. Bebe- "The animation does seem variable in its effects, but from a neurology standpoint, it seems clear that all higher thought is lost. A sufficiently trained and appendaged animal can open a door or fire a gun - but unlocking the door or reloading the gun starts to become too complex for them. Given time, one could chance to get those activities right, but I am positive they can no longer read, for example, or manage even the crudest social activities.
Particularly, I believe they are using the social wiring of the brain for the purpose of choosing the living from the dead. Perhaps that phrasing isn't accurate. OK, try this: They can still pick up on social cues from the living - signs of thought, or emotional reactions in the facial features and voice - but instead of understanding those cues as a social animal, they are excited by them to attack the living, and attempt to eat them.
One practical upshot is that, if I'm correct, a good enough actor could trick zombies into not attacking them, and a person with a condition that limited their expression may be naturally immune to zombie attention."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Oct 29, 2012 22:36:36 GMT -8
Dr. Bebe- "What do you think of that?"
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Suyoi
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Post by Suyoi on Oct 29, 2012 23:14:39 GMT -8
The doctor smiled warmly. "I think I like where your mind is going. If that theory is correct, though, wouldn't our little fiesta, in a city of probably now no more than a few hundred, have attracted more attention? Well, it might have, but I have become accustom to not peering outside the window unless necessary." Dr. Bebe- "We were six floors up and our system wasn't exactly booming. The city is quiet enough without power and traffic that we may have been heard anyway, but their memory sucks and any accumulated crowd could have dispersed by morning. Though of course, that has nothing to do with whether or not they'd be drawn to our social cues. I do believe they are.
At a distance, they are drawn to noise and movement the same as any animal. Hence zombie clustering - they are drawn to the movement of other zombies the same as humans. But when they get close, if they can see a hint of fear, or hear words, they come to think of you as prey. Other zombies lack expression, and so they don't attack each other. Though if a zombie seemed to have an expression, they may become a target. We could test that, by surgically altering a zombie's face to look emotive, and see if a fellow zombie attacks it."
He set his mug down, pursing his lips in thought. "I believe, if we are to say only the more primitive, say reptilian, brain remains in some sort of function, wouldn't scent also be an indicator? Obviously, sound, and of course, vision. But, they may still smell perspiration, hygiene, or maybe I should state they don't smell... well, I dare say I'm becoming more against the word 'infection' but clearly there is something akin to odor that I just can't shake from smelling like an infection. You can only catch the scent of so many pilonidal cysts, c. diff stool samples, and dare I say the walk of shame before you recognize it intimately. If we cannot use the nomenclature of 'infection' or 'disease' we should at least title it. I always like to know what I'm destroying." Dr. Bebe- "Oliver Sacks suggested that humans have neurological limitations on our senses that could be lifted by certain kinds of brain damage. That hypothesis was highly flawed, being based on a personal subjective experience - an unusual drug trip.
Humans have far fewer scent receptors than even similar mammals and they haven't been proven to play a significant role in our social interactions. In fact, I've heard of studies that disproved the notion of pheromones influencing human behavior.
Based on that, I suggest the only way zombies could smell something on a human that might influence them is if the condition grants them senses that they would not possess if healthy. I find that more difficult to believe than the notion they have some kind of 'soul sense', because it involves physical apparatus, and their ambulation doesn't seem to require any improved physical capacities. But it could be tested by dissection, of course."
He looked about the room, shrugging. "I asked for that one guy, Volya, to be sent here promptly. It chafes me a little bit... But anyways, yes. I do want to get my hands inside one of them. I hope that doesn't sound to perverse, but 'elbow deep' is where I think I might be able to find some answers. I just can't treat them like normal patients, considering there most likely is no way to bring back the dead... aside from whatever is doing it all ready." Dr. Bebe- "Haha! But of course. I still hold out hope that death by cardiac arrest does not immediately convert one into a zombie, therefore allowing us a chance at resuscitation. But we won't know until it happens."
"I like you a lot for making me not feel so insecure about my intelligence. After a few nights with some of these people, it does make you feel like you're missing out on the big, obvious picture. If there is anything else I can do to assist you in your transition here, please just ask. I might not be a real puller in terms of the political structure here, but Seth is pretty much as much a push over as Dr. Feingold is." Dr. Bebe- "You may have been able to push Feingold, but I never could... Then again, my pushing techniques may be a bit too specialized, haha."
"Maybe we should just start by doing H&Ps on them. I don't like the thought of really getting to know too many people; the thought of fixing someone's leg one minute and then delivering a swift kill blow to their temple isn't something they exactly outlined in Ethics class. When Columbo comes back, maybe he would be kind enough to go and gather the people who are relatively unoccupied first? You know, once I introduce you to Volya... er, you know, again... medically speaking." (GM NOTE: H&Ps? Please let me know what that means.) Dr. Bebe- "Of course everyone will need a good physical, and having a doctor of each gender should help everyone feel more comfortable about that." The good doctor turned a bit, rising out of the chair. He moved towards the supplies and began meticulously organizing them while he waited. "We should also get the prescription medications, as well as good old fashioned over-the-counter medications that are in the 'general supply' if only so we know what we truly have access to. I never took a compounding class, but I guess I can learn. I hocked the defibrillators for the engineers to make a battery supply pack or something. I figured if we have to resort to trying to save someone from cardiac arrest, it might be too late before we ever got around to charging the things, let alone the turn-around factor on..." The doctor felt the initial blush on his face fade as he added, "Death, Part 2." Dr. Bebe- "Haha, part 2... That give-away may have been hasty. But it's OK - AEDs grow on trees. We'll get some new ones. A good one can hold a charge internally for a while. I really do hold some hope that cardiac arrest isn't an instant Z switch."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Oct 30, 2012 0:25:13 GMT -8
Dr. Bebe- "Ah, there's Columbo! Thank you for the food, sir."
Columbo- "No problem, bab- um, Bebe! Hello again, doctor."
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Post by Suyoi on Oct 30, 2012 0:33:42 GMT -8
<History and Physical> The doctor turned, nodding to the Columbian with a flat smile. "Mr. Columbo, thank you for assisting Dr. Melange this morning. If you could be so kind as to see what is happening with Mr. Volya? He is late for his appointment, well... his suggested appointment. Dr. Melange and I are just in the middle of sorting things and I would be greatful for you to use your skills in routing him for us, as Dr. Melange would also be. Do you have a clue where he might be located?"
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Oct 30, 2012 0:36:28 GMT -8
Columbo- "Oh god, I hope these stairs aren't part of my job every damn day. *SIGH*" He took off again.
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Post by Suyoi on Oct 30, 2012 0:46:16 GMT -8
The doctor leaned out of the door way. "I think communication between the various floors will be worked on today or tomorrow, Columbo. Thank you for your help in the meantime." He turned back to face Dr. Melange. His voice was a little calmer than this morning. "So, they do hold a charge... but, there's nothing quite like the Cardiac Thump! Never believed it, with all the d-fibs about, but let me tell you, it does work like a charm, as long as you don't break their rib cage. Reminds me of the time I saw Dr. Doynow pop some 38 year old guy in the chest and didn't even spill his coffee... no lid! I swear, that man had some ninjitsu touch, barely used any pressure."
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