Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dr. Solomon Kane (Research & Development) in The Truth is in the Blood

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Alexis Kane (Assistant Chief Medical Officer) in The Truth is in the Blood

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dr. Solomon Kane (Research & Development) in The Truth is in the Blood
Posted by… suppressed (21) by the Post Ghost! 👻
A request for a medical consultation was waiting on Alexis’ console when she entered her office that morning. From a Lt Cmdr Fayth from Oed…Alexis opened the request. It was the genetic profile for Hannah’s fetus. Alexis had several patients to see that morning and had to put off looking at the profile until lunch, which she worked straight through. Since the profile had already been compiled before it was sent to her, Alexis was able to work in her office on the analysis rather than the lab. It was fascinating the genetic meshing that was happening. The details didn’t leave her even as she was called away for another consultation and then an influx of engineering officers that were injured replacing a plasma injector.

She returned to her office and the genetic profile. She worked an hour past the end of her shift, and would have continued if GALEN hadn’t reminded her that she had to pick Frigga up from the PT gym. As they walked the corridor back to their quarters, she read from the PaDD, swiping between screens. Entering their quarters, Alexis didn’t even look up as she wandered to the replicator and set a bowl down for Frigga and then sat at the desk, sitting cross-legged in the chair and turned the console on. “Computer bring up a list of all cured diseases and genetic anomalies from the 20th and 21st centuries.”

Alexis

Kane, lounging on the couch watching some old vid called Airwolf, didn’t look up; he just said “And hey to you to, wife.” and shook his head and grinned. He knew when Alexis got in it, she was almost oblivious to anything around her. He looed at Frigga and patted the couch next to him, and she willingly came before eating her dinner. She knew the Steak Keeper wouldn’t keep her long.

Kane

=/\=There are over 500,000 diseases cured across the federation from that time period. Please narrow your search parameters.=/\=

Alexis didn’t glance up at all, but she grinned and waved her hand at him. “Human genetic diseases and disorders known during Earth’s 20th and 21st century. List them by type.”

=/\=Chromosomal disorders: Down syndrome (Trisomy 21), FragileX syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, Triple-X syndrome, Turner syndrome, Trisomy 18, and Trisomy 13.

Multifactorial disorders: Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Arthritis, Autism spectrum disorder, Cancer (in most cases) Coronary artery disease, Diabetes, Migraine headaches, Spina bifida, and Isolated congenital heart defects.

Monogenic disorders:Cystic fibrosis, Deafness that’s present at birth (congenital), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Familial hypercholesterolemia, Hemochromatosis (iron overload), Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), Sickle cell disease, and Tay-Sachs disease.

Rare genetic disorders include: AA amyloidosis, Adrenoleukodystrophy, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Mitochondrial diseases, and Usher syndrome.=/\=

Alexis tapped the stylus on her leg, “Narrow previous search index to those that have since been cured within the human genetic coding sequences.”

=/\=Trisomy 21, Fragile X Syndrome, Turner syndrome, Autism spectrum disorder, Isolated congenital heart defects, Cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Hemochromatosis, Sickle cell disease, tay-Sachs disease, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, User Syndrome=/\=

“Computer display the genetic sequences and chromosomal location for each of those on the display.” There was a soft trill as Alexis leaned in, chin propped in her hand, eyes flicking back and forth from the display to her PaDD.

Alexis

Kane paused the vid and said “What the hell are you working on? Chromosomal mapping and editing got rid of inherited genetic abnormalities like a hundred and fifty years ago. What are you looking for?”

Kane

Alexis’ own form of shorthand was being added in almost illegible scribble to the PaDD as she read. “It’s fascinating.” And she scribbled some more and then paused to look up at him. “It’s the genetic profile for Hannah’s fetus. There was genetic coding that seemed strange. Then I remembered I had read about it when researching historical medical genetic progress for my dissertation. Look, I’ve already found markers for ASD and CF.”

Alexis

Kane shooed Frigga off the couch to eat and then stood up and walked over to stand behind Alexis and his eyes peered at the screen for a long time and then narrowed. “It’s not unexpected considering Daniel’s origin… but look at this.” and he pointed to a series of nonsequential markers buried under the markers she was looking at. “I’m not well versed in this… but that doesn’t look right, does it?”

Kane

“The fetus is going to need genetic therapy. Can you imagine the havoc the reintroduction of these diseases into the genetic pool would cause?” Alexis mused out loud as she looked at the markers Solomon was pointing at. “They’re incomplete sequences. That can happen sometimes when the computer analyzes a sample and builds the sequence. Computer error or the sample wasn’t complete. I will have them rescan the sample and send the profile again.” Her brow furrowed and she ‘humphed’ and then swiped the profile onto the large screen, in place of his movie and stood up to look at the larger image. “That’s…odd.” She scrolled through the sequence rapidly, stopping, marking, and then scrolling again. She looked up at the screen pointing out several locations, “There are 15 incomplete sequences in this profile. Either the doctor who took the sample is totally incompetent or their computer needs replac…I need to use the holo-imagers in the R&D lab.” She turned abruptly and walked out the door, fully expecting him to follow.

Alexis

Kane grabbed a shirt and threw it on as they moved into the passageway. “Waht did you see, Lex?” he askedas they stepped into the turbo lift and made their way to his secure lab. They walked through the main Lab and into the back where Kane had erected a kind of ‘office’ with a series of opaque walls and fields. He pulled the feed from their quarters and put it through the holo projectors, and soon they were standing in the DNA of Hannah’s baby.

Kane

Alexis shook her head. She wouldn’t say until she could get a better look at it. She was certain she was correct, what it meant she didn’t know yet. She was used to her mind picking up small details and leaping to solid conclusions before the concrete details were set out and explained. She would go through the process though to be certain.

She stood in the middle of the double helix and turned slowly scanning the image. Her fingers tapped on the PaDD she was holding and the strands began to ‘unzip’. “Each code has a dominant and recessive gene, one from the mother and one from the father. There are chemical markers that indicate all the genes that come from one parent or the other.” With a swipe of her hand the two strands separated. “Two separate genetic contributions. All the incomplete sequences are from this one.” Alexis pointed to the right hand side. “Computer access file Bonner genetic study 3 2387 and display next to current sample.”

A second complete double helix appeared, “This is Hannah’s DNA profile. I’ll have the computer run the analysis but I’m certain that the damaged sample is all from the father. Computer run genetic match analysis of the new sample with the two seperate fetus samples.”

Alexis

Kane looked at the display and scowled. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. It was like that time- “TIME!” he yelled out suddenly. “Lex, the dad was frozen for what… centuries, right? Even in stasis there are micro fluctuations in the power and environment. No stasis pod- especially from back then- could compensate for that. Thats why the longer you are in stasis, the harder it is to bring you out. Cellular degradation doesn’t stop… it is just slowed to a speed that is almost zero… but not zero.” He looked at the display. “Is that what we are seeing here? His junk was just so far past the Sell By date it didn’t work?”

Kane

Alexis went still and looked up at the right hand half of the DNA sample, even as the computer merged Hannah’s dna with the other half of the sample, confirming her genetic contribution. Slowly Alexis nodded as the other possibilities ran through her head and were discarded. “It’s a high probability. I would prefer to check the physical sample myself and even a fresh genetic contribution, but those aren’t options. I’ll have to settle for a fresh fetal sample just to confirm.” Alexis zoomed in on the damaged sample and slowly scrolled through. The damage was extensive, almost 30%. “Some of this would be mitigated by Hannah’s dominant genes, but even if one gene expresses more strongly you need both…this…Solomon this can’t be fixed.” If Alexis could get ahold of Daniel she could try to splice the genes into place, but it had never been done at this point. Hannah was almost half way through her pregnancy. If they missed even one cell, the remaining damaged one would continue to replicate and spread the damage. And it crossed the line into eugenics. “If this isn’t a file glitch,” and Alexis’ tone made it clear she didn’t believe that at all, “the pregnancy isn’t viable. There is no way the baby will fully form or live.”

Alexis

Kane began dissecting the file itself, down past the kernel level and beyond. After ten minutes, he looked at Alexis. He shook his head. “The file is 100% solid. Not a single write error or transmission discrepancy.” He took a deep breath and then folded his arms on his chest. “So? What do you want to do, Lex? I mean… she… they… need to know. And the earlier they know, the more time they have to figure out what to do.”

Kane

Alexis looked at him slightly perplexed, “Do? There is only one thing to do, give her the results. We’re doctors, we don’t hide the data, the facts simply because it is unpleasant. That’s unethical and bad for the health and well being of the patient. I’ll call her from our quarters. Can you set up a secure connection? It will be easier if I don’t have to explain in a sign language that doesn’t have signs for what I will need to tell her.”

Alexis

Kane just nodded and shut down the lab systems after downloading the data to Alexis’s PaDD.

When they got back to their quarters, Kane sat down at the computer and a few minutes later he said “There you go.” and stood up. He stepped in front of Alexis and put his hands on her shoulders. “Lex, for you this may be data. Keep in mind that it isn’t just data for her, ok? I know you care for your friend. Talk to her as that… not just as the brilliant doctor you also are.” and he moved to the couch, calling Frigga up to sit with him as he tapped on a PaDD.

Kane

Her hands rested on his sides and she looked up at him. “I know,” Alexis said it softly. She was bad at this, she always had been. It was the one area of medicine she didn’t excel at. She sat down in front of the computer and waited while the secure connection went through. When the screen flashed her eyes widened slightly. She would have to get used to that. Hannah didn’t live alone anymore. She didn’t give him time to speak, “Is Hannah home? I need to speak with both of you.”

Alexis

The face in the screen was Jason Reilly, Hannah’s new… whatever-he-was. He looked at Alexis and his eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “She just got back from the hospital. Her BP spiked and they couldn’t control it for a while. She was told to rest and take it easy. So if this is gonna mess with that…”

Reilly, Oed V

Alexis gave him a worried look and glanced off screen. Sharing a look with Solomon. Most likely the problem was because of the fetal issues. “This will mess with that, but you both need to know. I started the genetic analysis Hannah asked me to do.” Hannah had been very thorough and added Jason to her medical file, so Alexis had no hesitation in speaking with him. “Her blood pressure is most likely a symptom of what I found.” Be her friend first. She was sick and this would make it worse. “Do you want to get her?”

Alexis

Reilly looked at her for a moment and then said “Baby isn’t going to make it… are they?” he asked quietly. A career spent gauging people’s intents, motivations, and anticipating their next move gave Reilly an uncanny ability to read people… and Alexis had no poker face at all. Kane moved behind Alexis and just said “Naw. It’s not. Go get your girl.” Reilly just stood and left the screen; returning a moment later with Hannah.

Reilly / Kane

Alexis studied Hannah as she appeared, the monitor on her arm, the slight circles under her eyes, and the worry clear on her expression. Hannah sat, resting back against his arm. She smiled, “Hey Alexis,” her eyes flicked up and just past her friend, “Hello Kane.”

“Hannah, how are you feeling? Jason said you were in the hospital all day.”

Hannah didn’t see a reason to down play it, “I’m okay now. I was lightheaded and having palpitations. They gave me something to bring it down. I still don’t feel great, but I will.”

Alexis gave her a long look. “Hannah…it’s not going to get better.” Alexis pulled the PaDD into her lap. “I got the fe…the baby’s genetic profile today. It’s not a write error or transmission discrepancy. There is extensive…”

Hannah cut her off, “Alexis just tell me.” She knew Alexis was trying to be careful and compassionate, and that told her how bad it was. She just wanted to know.

“The paternal genetic contribution has over 30% cellular degradation. We suspect it is because of his age and the extensive amount of time in cryostasis. He was the only one to survive his ship, the rest of the pods lost power. The massive power fluctuations would have contributed.” Alexis took a breath. “I am so sorry, Hannah, the genetic code isn’t complete enough. The…your baby won’t survive.”

Hannah didn’t say anything, just stared at the screen trying to make the words make sense.

Hannah and Alexis

Kane set a hand on Alexis’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Take a bit. We’ll be here if you have any questions. Just ping us when you’re ready.” and he muted the comms on their end and the screen filled with the spinning Star Fleet icon. He looked at Alexis. “You did good, doll. Well done.”

Kane

The screen went blank and Alexis slumped back in the seat. “No, well done would be if I could fix it. I’m smart Solomon; I should be able to fix this.” Alexis could already see possible solutions, but the damage was just to extensive, too far developed. If they had done testing before hand, or when the fetus was still a zygote instead. She could have done something, she could have figured it out. She sat up pushing her feelings for Hannah aside for the moment. “Even if I could find an answer, the damage is too extensive, she would never make it here or me there in time to do anything.”

Alexis

Kane shrugged. “Some things just aren’t salvageable. And if you had the ability to fix it… you still couldn’t. They wouldn’t let you. No way. Intel would have a fit.” he said with obvious derision. “And hell… now they can make one of their own. And the only danger it will be in is Reilly’s.”

Kane

Alexis looked at him horrified. “Make one? On purpose? Solomon this isn’t life, not viable life anyway. Even if they did manage to make it live past gestation it would be malformed…like…a genetic Frankenstein’s monster. That’s cruel…it’s torture. It would have constant medical issues. Daniel’s dead. He carries all kinds of markers. They wouldn’t do that, surely?” It was horrifying. They had to delete the results and destroy the sample.

10 minutes later the comms pinged. The screen flashed back to Alexis as she sat back down at the desk. Hannah took a breath, “Are you sure?”

“I am. We can have Dr Fayth take another sample if you want. A full anatomy scan with neurological monitoring would be less invasive.” Alexis knew she hadn’t had one yet, otherwise Hannah would already know. “I am so sorry, Hannah.”

“How…how long?”

Alexis could, with almost exact precision make the estimate, but, “I wouldn’t hazard an estimate without the scan..”

“Alexis! Tell me. I know you’ve already calculated it.”

Alexis sighed. “Given typical human fetal development and the DNA that’s damaged and missing, a week at most before the strain on your body becomes constant. 2 to 3 weeks most before it becomes dangerous. A month, maximum, probably less, before the baby’s heart and brain are no longer able to function and keep up with the growth development.”

A month? No less, Alexis was being generous. Hannah’s hand tightened around Jason’s and her breath caught.

Hannah/Alexis

Jason looked at the screen and said =/\= So to be crystal clear, here: the baby has zero chance at survivability, and the longer Hannah has it, the more dangerous it is for her. Is that the absolute baseline?=/\=

It was Kane who spoke up. “Yeah. You need to terminate the pregnancy as soon as possible. It will only get worse, and keeping it will only jeopardize your life, Hannah.” He leaned back and looked at Alexis. “Sometimes we gotta just lay it out.” he said softly.

Kane

Alexis nodded and responded just as softly, “It won’t help her to give false hope.” Alexis was hesitant to give a deffinant time frame without the scans, but the end result was inevitable. She was watching Hannah closely. Hannah began to breath rapidly and rub her chest. Stress lines around her eyes and mouth appeared and her complexion became clamy and flushed. =/\=Jason. Go into her med kit, find Lorazepam and dial the hypo for 1.5 mls. Quickly before she starts to hyperventilate. Hannah, lean back in the chair, count your respirations, inhale and exhale.=/\=

Hannah leaned back, more sitting up, rather than hunched over. =/\=Alexis? What do I need to do?=/\=

She waited while Jason gave her the hypo. =/\=She needs to lay down, reclined and elevate her feet. If she hasn’t relaxed in 10 minutes call medical. I will get in touch with Dr Fayth. I am sure she will be in touch quickly.=/\=

Alexis and Hannah