New Beginnings and Old Insights

Posted on Sat Aug 31st, 2024 @ 1:03am by Lieutenant Astrid Nyx & Lieutenant August Hobbes

1,830 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: To Boldly Go
Location: Sickbay, Deck 7, USS Fenrir
Timeline: Day 1-3

Sickbay, being one deck below his own office, was easy enough to find and, unlike many of those he'd met, the idea of visiting a doctor held no particular terrors. For the most part, it was a matter of a) remembering to go and b) finding the time in his busy schedule. The fortunate part of having just arrived was that his workload was significantly reduced. And so, he found it easily enough, having spent time studying the deck layouts to commit them to memory. He entered through the double-wide main door and stopped to look around.

Astrid stifled a yawn as the young man entered the medical bay. It had been a long night, with Ensign McCormac's broken leg. And Aurelia wasn't settling in as well as Astrid had hoped, the girl was having nightmares about her dad again. Pushing these thoughts aside though, Astrid managed to turn the rest of her yawn into a welcoming grin.

"Lieutenant Hobbes, right? I'm glad to see someone on the senior staff got my memo about these check-ins." She stood near one of the hypo trays, right next to one of the biobeds, but she waved in the general direction of her office door at the end of the room. "Can I get you something to drink? This will be pretty informal, unless you have something new to report that isn't already in your medical file."

"Jasmine tea would be good," Hobbes said as he followed her toward the office. "No sugar. Thank you." Being curious was something of a necessity for a scientist, at least in his opinion, so he looked around the room as he entered and found his seat. "On my last ship, my intern made it his mission in life to make sure that I kept all of my appointments. Mostly because our doctor could be very disruptive in the way he tracked people down for appointments." Hobbes laughed at the memory, shaking his head slightly. "One of my faults, I'm afraid. Not good at prioritizing things that aren't directly related to the work." He sighed fondly. "Gonna miss that intern."

"I wouldn't mind having someone like that myself," Astrid said, amused. She entered the order for two jasmine teas into the replicator and returned to the desk a moment later, handing the clear cup and saucer over to the scientist. As she did, she caught his gaze roaming around the room, falling momentarily on the oil painting she had hung the day before over a small wooden bookshelf set against one wall.

"Eakins' 'The Agnew Clinic', it's always enthralled me. The cusp of medicine as we know it, but still so... barbaric."

The large, detailed painting depicted a scene from a bygone era, captured with meticulous realism. In a grand surgical amphitheater filled with attentive medical students and professionals, all eyes were focused on a group of doctors in white coats as they worked diligently around an unconscious female patient, performing a partial mastectomy.

She settled herself back in her seat, enjoying the rising smell of the jasmine infusing the air. "Well, I've got your personal medical file here, of course, but I'd prefer to hear about things from your own mouth. Is there anything I should know about you? Any conditions your file doesn't go into, or anything you'd like me to keep in mind when considering your treatment profile?"

"1889. Portrait of Dr. Hayes Agnew created for the University of Pennsylvania Medical Class of 1889," Hobbes said. "The doctor is performing a mastectomy for students. He's being assisted by professors from the university, Dr. J. William White, Dr. Joseph Leidy, nephew of the famous one, by Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania physician Dr. Ellwood Kirby and Frederick H. Miliken. It goes on. The nurse and twenty-five of the students were all real people." He smiled as put on his glasses and circled around to get a better look. "Eidetic memory and an allergy to Retinax V."

Astrid let out a bark of laughter. "Good to know. Though, as far as purely aesthetic choices go, I wouldn't have faulted you for glasses." She winked at Hobbes roguishly, and picked up her tea as she moved to stand next to him, looking up at the painting. "Eidetic memory is one thing, but actually taking the time to take an interest in classical Earth art is something else. Personal interest, or just something that came up in passing?"

"That makes you different. Most people offer advice, home remedies, and the like. Trying to 'fix' my eyesight because they hate glasses." He regarded her with a slight smile before returning to the painting. "Different is good," Hobbes said. "A friend suggested I branch out into ancient scientific and medical practices. This was one of the illustrations."

"Your friend's suggestion is pretty good, I'd say. There are a lot of people who dismiss archeological medicine, or classic approaches to the world... but I think we lose something important if we let ourselves grow complacent with our grasp of technological superiority. I don't know about your field, but people in mine tend to look down on anything that isn't already part of their normalized reality." Realizing that she was starting to expound beyond the normal limits of the meeting, she gave another little laugh. "Anyway, it's beautiful art. I'm glad someone else can appreciate it."

"Nicolaus Copernicus." Hobbes snorted, a tiny laugh. "Lived on Earth from 1473 to 1543. From observations with the naked eye, because telescopes hadn't been invented yet, came up with the radical theory that the sun wasn't the center of the universe. It wasn't perfect, he postulated round orbits rather than elliptical ones and he was the first one to get the order of the planets right. Ground-breaking math that led to the beginning of the scientific revolution. He published his work shortly before his death."

"But well-received?" Hobbes shook his head. "Not by everyone. And there was push back especially from the church because they believed that the Earth was the center of the universe and Copernicus was saying that it wasn't. It was just another planet. Heliocentrism was declared heresy. The book was banned and in 1620 was finally approved after edits by the church that removed any reference to a moving Earth and a central Sun. Took nearly a hundred years after his death for his theory to triumph over popular opinion. In the end, it was a victory for evidence-based, observational science interpreted using the language of nature -- mathematics."

Astrid's eyes sparkled as she listened to Hobbes' enthusiastic account of Copernicus, her gaze drifting from the painting to the scientist's animated face. "I think we're going to get along just fine, Lieutenant," she said, her voice warm with amusement.

"You know, I've always found it fascinating how the pursuit of knowledge can be both a unifying force and a divisive one. On one hand, the scientific method is all about seeking truth and understanding, but on the other hand, it can be so easily politicized and dogmatized. But, the truth is, paradigms change with time. Just as true with science as it is with social norms, with our own personal psychologies. The ironic constant is change."

"Paradigms change as our understanding evolves." Hobbes said as he nodded in agreement. "As scientists, we push the boundaries. Theories rigorously tested over and over again but," and here he shrugged lightly, "people aren't receptive. They cling to the truths they believe ... even when they aren't supported any longer by the data. Then the scientist, the truth seeker, the explorer, becomes the villain in the piece. The one who's ... shaking things up ... "

"Well, if being a villain means improving lives for everyone... means providing the opportunity for people to better themselves..." Astrid shrugged, leaving the rest of her thought unfinished. One generation's sinner is the next generation's scientist, hmm?" She sipped at her tea and let the silence lay on them for a moment while they continued to look at the painting.

"So," she smiled as she spoke, "what brought you to the Fenrir and caused the loss of your favorite intern?"

"Starfleet," Hobbes said with a slight grunt, "with a nudge from my former Captain. Position didn't matter to me all that much. Just the work but they insisted it was time for me to step up ... become a department head. As for the intern, well, the rotation was finished. I wrote a glowing recommendation which the intern downgraded a bit." He grinned slightly. "We had a rousing discussion over that. On the Faraday, I always had an intern. They came, they went. But there was always one. My Chief said it was essential to his sanity and department morale."

“It sounds like your Chief had the right idea. Having someone to keep you grounded, to challenge you, and to make sure you don't get too lost in the work—it's invaluable. I’m sure the Fenrir will offer its own unique challenges, but it sounds like you’re more than ready to lead your department.”

She took another sip of her tea, letting the warmth settle as she glanced back at the painting. “And who knows, maybe you’ll find a new intern here who’s just as tenacious—someone who might even appreciate a bit of classical Earth art.”

Astrid's communicator chose that moment to bleep, it's two-tone chime programmed to let her know that an emergency call was coming in. She tapped the badge with her palm. "Lieutenant Nyx, Medical. Go?"

"This is Ensign Fredder... uh..." the man's voice sounded strained, in pain. "I'm in Junction Sixteen-A, the Jefferies Tube. I fell and I think I broke something in my leg?" There was a high-pitched whine of pain from the other end of the line.

"Hold on, Ensign. You'll be fine. Just don't move. Take deep breaths and I'll be there in a moment."

With a sigh, she set her cup on the table and turned to go, already planning her route to the injured man. Over her shoulder, she said, "We'll have to pick this up sometime soon. Maybe in the mess?"

"Of course," Hobbes said as he finished off the last of his tea and rose from his seat. "Just let me know when." He shrugged lightly. "I'm usually easy to find. This was a surprise ... a pleasurable one." He left in a fast, purposeful stride because the next thing on his list was checking out his department. He smiled as he cleared the double doors as the thought came to him that it was like a treat, the kind you gave to children when you wanted to buy their cooperation. And while, that had never been a part of his childhood, he had seen it done with others. Still, as onerous as he had expected the process to be, it wasn't. The people were interesting and the conversations enjoyable. Maybe the Fenrir wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Maybe this will work.

 

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