Manipulations

Posted on 05 Dec 2013 @ 1:08am by Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Olsam Mott

1,465 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: Pasteur Institute, Paris, Earth
Timeline: MD07 - 0900

[ON]

Walking through the cavernous Pasteur Institute, Olsam was prone to giving in to his own cleverness (a term others identified as "idiocy" for some reason). A song had come to mind while weaving his way through the corridors from his own office to that of Dr. Alicia D'Tries.

"The pathogen's connected to the antigen," he hummed to himself, hardly able to contain his excitement at getting hands on with new clinical research. Deep space assignments were fun and all, but you were rarely presented with much other than simple organisms. "The antigen's connected to the antibody. The antibody's connected to the B-cell."

A chorus of humming continued as he rounded the corner, passively observing all the doctors, nurses, researchers and clinicians rushing around like ants in a...where did ants live? Ant...institute.... Or, more appropriate, like lymphocytes rushing around an immune system looking for the next identified or unidentified threat.

"The B-cell's connected to the lymphocyte. The lymphocyte's connected to the leukocyte. The leukocyte's conn-...oh, here it is."

Dr. Olsam stopped next to Room 414-A, pressed the door chime once, and checked the nameplate next to the door only about seven or eight times to make sure he was at the right office. It only took once walking into the wrong room with a big, burly Naussican in an embarrassing state of undress to become paranoid about being in the right place at the right time.

Alica heard the chime and glanced over her desk and the pile of research thesis that she had to grade before term's end. It infuriated her to have to deal with such mundane projects and take away from her research. She had complained time and time again to the director but he had only relented to saying he would provide a temporary doctor to assist with the clinical work.

She called out, "La porte est ouverte, s'il vous plat venez po!", so used she was to dealing with the many here that continued to use French.

Was that French? Oh boy... He hoped she didn't intend to carry out the whole conversation in French. His neighbors had told him a thousand time he had absolutely no aptitude for the language.

Olsam pressed the doorpad again and stepped inside hesitantly. "Dr. D'Tries? I'm Dr. Olsam Mott. You contacted me about your research?"

Although he was generally very hesitant about making himself at home in other people's offices, this one seemed to match his own well enough to set him at ease. Papers and research scattered all over the desk - it might as well be his own workspace.

Alicia looked as the door rang again which did nothing for her temperament. She was about to say something nasty when it pushed in and a blue head peered around the door. It struck her immediately that this was a Bolian and she waved a hand. "Sorry, so many around here still speak French." She waved a hand to chair, "Alica D'Tries and you are..." she had to shuffle through PADDs.

Olsam cleared his throat. She certainly looked like a busy woman. "Dr. Mott. Olsam Mott. From Starfleet? I just returned on the USS Odyssey from the Beta Quadrant; I saw your message and-"

"Dr. Mott, yes, yes here we go..." Alica finally found the resume. "Ah yes, yes, yes.." she said a little absently as she scanned the resume. The she put it down and sat back. "Well have you had time to familiarize yourself with the research here?"

"Yes, I've looked over the files you sent," he said, reaching down to retrieve his PADD from the bag next to him to pull up his notes on the project. "You and your team received approval from the Federation Division for Drug Evaluation and Research for clinical trials with your new drug, uh..."

He paused, turning to his PADD to search for the name that was eluding him.

"Inbriden, though I think if we can get it to market we should change the name. It has certain connetations....well never mind that."

"Yes! Inbriden. It minimizes interspecies breeding problems, as I understood the preliminary research. Fascinating work, really, and I think of great benefit to the Federation. I've known of more than one interspecies couple with marital difficulties over an inability to conceive," he said, shaking his head. Glancing upward, Dr. D'Tries seemed to have a sort of no-nonsense look about her so he pressed on. Back to business. "But you're hiring on for a team to work on immune system modulation to address some ongoing problems with different immune responses and poor genetic interaction. Is that right?"

"Partially. The drug does work in overcoming chromosomal differences, we have good success in conception and initial embryonic development. However, its efficacy in overcoming the immune response of the mother to interspecies embryo is poorer then in the pre-clinical trails. We think part of this is because while the bioavailability is good, the half-life is short and it is affecting the pharmacodynamic responsiveness. So now we are looking at trying to modulate immune system response, without co-administering immuntosuppressive drugs."

Olsam was silently thankful for the news. He hated chromosomes; they were notoriously difficult to manipulate without causing a hundred or more other problems that needed to be addressed. As far as he was concerned, someone else had already done the hard part.

"I see," he said, furrowing his brow in thought and remaining silent for several long moments. The ordinary "silliness" that the Bolian usually exuded seemed to fall away, leaving an impressively qualified doctor in its place. "Well, I'm definitely not a pharmacologist, so I don't want to misrepresent myself. I'm doubtful about bringing much to the table for the drug's staying power; however, I do have some experience with manipulating the immune system and some ideas on increasing the effectiveness of Inbriden's suppression of the immune response.

"From what I've seen, it seems like there's some work that can be done in addressing the histocompatibility antigens through both the cellular and humoral mechanisms the body is using to attack the embryo."

"Excellent, I must say I like your thinking. It is along our same lines of approach but as I mentioned the drug in pre-clinical trials seemed to do better than in the clinical trials."

"Dr. D'Tries, I'm very interested in joining the team, but I wanted to make clear that I'm between assignments with Starfleet. Though it's unlikely, I could be deployed on a moment's notice. I'm happy to turn my research over to a colleague in that case or try to continue the work at my new posting, depending on the circumstances. Or I'm also happy to look for a more temporary research affiliation, if you feel the team needs a more permanent associate."

"That was made abundantly clear. So I thought that perhaps in the time you are here you could review the case studies, that is do a medical review of our successes and failures and see if you can draw some conclusions. I will supply you with the pre-clinical data. What I am looking for is a fresh perspective. Sometimes one is so close to the problem that one misses the obvious."

Alicia stood and then put a hand out. "Welcome aboard even if for a short time Doctor."

"Why, thank you," Olsam replied, flashing a trademark jovial grin as he shook her hand.

Alicia nodded and then pushed a pile of PADDs his direction. "Here is all the data to date, this one all the hit to lead work, this one the pharmacokinetic data, and this one all the clinical trials. If anything strikes you please let me know."

Olsam made an odd noise, like a cross between a grunt and confusion, as he grappled with his bag and how he was going to fit all the PADDs inside. He hadn't expected that so he peered into the bag, wondering if there was indeed room. He glanced back at the PADDs and held the bag open near the desk. He slid his hand across the desk surface, scooping the PADDs with the crook of his arm and letting them fall messily into the bag.

Glancing up before leaving, he gave the doctor a sheepish smile and ducked out of her office. He had a spring in his step as he walked down the hall toward his lab space within the medical complex; the latter portion of the Odyssey's mission had been all paperwork in preparation of her return to Earth. Paperwork was boring. But lab work? Lab work was exciting.

'Onward, to the lab!' Olsam mused to himself.

[OFF]

Lieutenant (JG) Olsam Mott, M.D.
Starfleet Medical Corps
VM-899-6519

&

Dr. Alicia D'Tries
Pasteur Institute
(NPC Played by Lieutenant Allyndra illm Warraquim)

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