Poem: "Fix One Thing at a Time"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem is spillover from the April 21, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Anonymous. It also fills the "Thorns" square in my 4-1-20 card for the Spring Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Warning: This poem is mostly a theoretical discussion of messy medical details, along with fallout from past trauma for various characters. It's mostly positive, though, and nothing is going wrong at the present time.


"Fix One Thing at a Time"

[Monday, June 1, 2015]

"Thanks for coming out, Kedric,
we all appreciate it," Conrad said
as they walked through the farm.

"No problem," the paramedic said.
"Like a lot of folks in Ava, I still feel bad
about not spotting the nest of supervillains
in our county. So I do what I can to help
the centaurs now that I know about them.
Besides, I never get enough hours at work."

"Charlie's everywhere, kid, you just got
to shoot the ones you see and try not
to worry about the rest," Conrad said.

"Huh?" Kedric said, staring at him.

"Old war slang, never mind,"
Conrad said, waving him off.
"We got our hands full here."

"That we do," Kedric said.
"How are the centaurs doing?"

"As well as can be expected,"
Conrad said. "Right now, they're
all ruffled up because Turq heard
from some folks who want to turn
the compound back into a college
or something else useful."

"That's not a bad idea, but I
can see how some of them might
find it ... stressful," Kedric said.

"Yeah, they find a lot stressful,"
Conrad said. "We're trying to get
better access to health care, for them,
but it's patchy. Most of 'em still spook
at the bare mention of it, and even
the traveling farrier was dicey."

"You can only fix one thing at a time,
so don’t try and solve everything
at once," Kedric advised.

"Hmm," Conrad said,
eyeing Kedric. "You
ever think about working
somewhere else? You
mentioned that you can't
get enough hours there."

Kedric shrugged. "We have
emergency medicine education
in Springfield, which means a lot of
people competing for the same jobs,"
he said. "Where else would I work?
I don't want to go too far from home."

"Here," Conrad said. "Look around,
we already got most of what we need
to qualify as a Gentle Life community.
What we do not have is a support person,
which can be an Emotional First Aide or
a nurse or whatever the residents need."

"I have EFA and paramedic certifications,"
Kedric said. "Wouldn't they be better off
with a veterinarian, though? My training
only covers humans, not other species."

"Kid, almost nobody's training covers
soups of any shape," Conrad said.

"Okay, you have a point there,"
Kedric said. "You've talked about
having advanced first aid skills
by way of your military career."

"I know CPR for humans, sure.
I even took a home vet course
so I know it for pets and livestock,"
Conrad said. "But if one of my centaurs
has a heart attack, what the funky heck
am I supposed to do about that?"

"I ... don't know," Kedric said slowly.
"Let me think about that a minute."
He tapped his fingers on his thigh.
"Okay, Airway-Breathing-Circulation.
If you don't know the victim's anatomy,
first you have to identify their trachea,
lungs, and heart in order to help them."

"Or hearts," Conrad said. "Centaurs
have two hearts, human and horse."

"The ones I've treated do, but that
doesn't mean they all do," Kedric said.

"Good point," Conrad said. "Charlie's
such a hack, no telling if he used
the same pattern or different ones."

"Well, Ariel has wings and Kim Van is
a zebra, so we know he screwed around
with some variations," Kedric pointed out.

"Turn here," Conrad said, indicating a path.
"Let's walk and talk a bit more. Nobody's
going to mind if we're a little bit late."

Kedric followed him willingly. "You
have a beautiful place here," he said.

"Thank my wife," Conrad said. "This farm
was her idea for fixing what the war broke
inside my head, and eventually, it worked."

"It's good for the centaurs, too," Kedric said.
"Hopefully they won't have a heart attack, though."

"We could use a medic for other things as well,"
Conrad said. "What if they get into thorns?
We got wild raspberries and blackberries
all over, along with Chickasaw plums."

"You'd have a huge advantage over
dealing with a horse, because you could
talk to them and help them stay calm while
you disentangle them from the bushes,"
Kedric said. "Then just pick out the thorns."

"See now, that's a lot more likely to happen
than a heart attack," Conrad said. "We could
really use a medic here, and while we have
a farrier, we do not have a veterinarian.
Besides, the centaurs like and trust you
more than anyone except Ansel and Turq."

Kedric sighed. "What would you want
me to do, if I agreed to work here?"

"What you've been doing, helping them
figure out their bodies and taking care of
minor injuries," Conrad said. "Plus what
we're doing now, talking about emergencies
before they happen and trying to imagine
what first aid steps or techniques we need."

"I could do some of that," Kedric said.
"Maybe take a home vet course like you did.
Has that helped you put the pieces together?"

"A bit, but my experience is mostly livestock,"
Conrad said. "I don't have your time in grade
when it comes to treating human injuries."

Kedric tilted a hand back and forth.
"That's not a bad thing," he said. "If we
have different experiences, then we can
probably counterbalance each other."

"I don't mind sitting in," Conrad said.
"I've taught first aid stuff before.
You got any other questions?"

"What about pay, and a place
to stay?" Kedric said. "I could
drive back to Ava for visits, but I
wouldn't want to commute that far."

"The vehicle barn has four apartments
above it for hired hands," Conrad said.
"Room and board could come as part of
your pay, and the Victim Restitution fund
covers caregivers so that should match
your current pay at least, if not more."

"Then I'm willing to consider it,
and we can see what the centaurs
think about it," Kedric said. "Though
it's a pity you couldn't get Kite for this."

Conrad shook his head. "No, Kite is
a combat medic," he said. "She's willing
to visit sometimes, to help folks learn
about centaur bodies, but she'd get
bored on a farm pretty quick."

"Probably so," Kedric conceded.
"Shall we go see what the centaurs
think of your proposal, then?"

"Sure," Conrad said. "We can
pick up the heart attack discussion,
too. Hobart talks tough, but I know
that boy has some heart issues."

"I noticed that too," Kedric said.
He sighed. "All the centaurs have
some sort of challenges from
their slapdash assembly."

"We'll do the best we can
for them," Conrad said.

The two of them made
their way toward the area
reserved for the centaurs.

The farm was big; it could
spare them the space.

Besides, some of them
were already good workers.

Conrad gave a loud whistle,
and the centaurs began to gather,
with Arun and Pogonip in the lead.

"All right, folks, listen up, because you've
got some opportunities," Conrad said.
"First up, I invited Kedric to move in here
as our dedicated medic. What do you say?"

The centaurs shuffled and muttered,
but nobody voiced a clear opinion.

"Come on, kids, think it over and
then speak up," Conrad said. "I think
having a medic here is a good idea,
for a lot of reasons, but if it's going
to freak you out, that's not helpful."

The others looked at Lilita, who was
among the most skittish of them.

"It's okay with me," said Lilita.
"Kedric is nice to me. I might not
want to be around him all the time,
but there lots of places to go so
we're not tripping over each other."

"All right, then," Conrad said. "We'll
see if it pans out. I'll show Kedric
the apartments, and we'll look over
the Gentle Life stuff together."

"Meanwhile, Conrad and I were
discussing first aid," said Kedric.
"You know that my training is all for
humans, but I want to work out what
to do for you. Who wants to stay
and explore that with us?"

Several of the centaurs
backed away, but Arun and
Pogonip both raised their hands.
"We're in," the leaders said.

"Life is tough, but it’s tougher
if you’re stupid," Dodge said.
"Better to know what to do
when things go wrong."

Lilita, Miriam, and Kim Van
clustered together. "We'll stay,"
Miriam said. "Dodge is right."

"Yeah, me too," said Michann.
"I don't need a repeat of my hooves."

Kept in captivity, his hooves had grown
a long brittle edge that shed in ugly chips
once he started walking on rough ground.
He had metal shoes, now, but that
was still an unpleasant memory.

Hobart jittered around the edges,
neither leaving nor agreeing to stay.
That was fine; he could do whatever
he needed in order to feel safe.

Kedric waited until the centaurs
had arranged themselves into
a loose semicircle in the grass
before he began his talk.

"How many folks here had
some first aid training before
you came to the farm?" he asked.

Arun, Pogonip, Miriam, and
Michann all raised their hands.

Hobart hesitated, then said,
"Does it count if people talked
at me but I didn't listen?"

"Do you feel like you'd know
what to do if you or a friend
got hurt?" Kedric countered.

Hobart sighed. "Not really."

"Then no, it doesn't count,
and you should try again when
you're actually ready," Kedric said.
"It's totally fine if you just want
to hang around and listen for
a while before you get serious."

"I did ask Kedric a serious question
earlier, so that's what we'll explore
today," Conrad said. "How do you
handle a centaur with a heart attack?"

They all shivered and twitched at that.

"I don't know," Lilita said. "I didn't
wake up until after it was all over."

Conrad dragged a hand over his face.
"That rat-bastard really needs killin'."

"Has anyone taken CPR lessons?"
Kedric said. "That's a place to start."

This time only Arun and Pogonip
raised their hands. "My card's
expired by now, but yeah, I've
passed the class," Arun said.

"I can recertify you later,
if you like," Kedric offered,
"and you too, Pogonip."

"Yes, please," she said.

"Now, I've got first aid for
humans from the Army, but
I also took some for animals,"
Conrad said. "Anyone else
do something like that?"

Michann and Dodge
raised their hands.

"I've taken a few of
the afternoon classes
for pets," said Dodge.
"I've also read a lot of
books for farmers."

"Got plenty of those
here," Conrad said.
"Help yourself."

"Now, there aren't
many classes that cover
soup care," Kedric said.
"So we have to improvise,
splicing together parts from
human and animal versions,
plus some extra ingenuity."

"Like how?" Dodge said.

"With a human or a horse,
you know the basic anatomy --
where the windpipe, lungs,
and heart are," Kedric said.
"With a centaur, you have
to figure that out as you
go along, unless someone
wants to map it earlier."

"We should do that,"
Miriam said, even as
the others skittered back.
"We need to know things
about ourselves, even if
finding out is scary. I'll help."

"I'll do what I can too,"
Kedric promised. "We don't
have to do it all at once."

Arun waved his hand.
"Is it different for when
the human heart stops
or the horse heart stops?
Or does the same thing
work on both?" he asked.

"Different," Kedric said.
"Can you lie on your back,
flat, like a human would?"

They all shook their heads.

"So you need a different method,
which is more advanced," Kedric said.

"We don't have a dummy," said Conrad.

"I wasn't expecting to do this talk today,
and besides, they don't make CPR dummies
shaped like centaurs," Kedric pointed out.
"You still need to check airway, breathing,
and circulation. But for chest compressions,
you need to brace the victim's back against
either a padded surface or another person."

The centaurs looked at each other,
clearly trying to figure out where to push.

"You know, the cheap dummies are
just a head and a chest," Conrad said.
"If we could figure out how to make
a horse half, we could put together
a centaur dummy for later lessons."

"I could source retired dummies that
we could disassemble for spare parts,"
Kedric said. "We'd need stronger springs
to construct the horse body, though."

"I got wagon springs and such,"
Conrad said. "Bellows too."

"Then yeah, I think that we could
make a centaur dummy," Kedric said.

"I used to do science fairs, biology stuff,"
Arun said. "I could help with that."

"I like intense sensations, so if you
need someone to haul heavy things,
then I'm your guy," said Michann.

"Great, it's a plan," Kedric said.
"Getting back to our current topic,
it takes more force to pump blood
the bigger the victim's body is."

"CPR for horses is dicey stuff,"
Conrad added. "The best ways
aren't for novices, but there are
a couple other options. One is
sitting on the chest and bouncing."

"That will work for human helpers, but
not for centaurs," Kedric pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true," Conrad said.
"The other way should work for
all four-legged victims. You 'fan'
the legs open and closed around
the lungs like you're pumping on
bellows, which you basically are."

"Like trotting?" Lilita said, frowning.

"No, that's forward and back. You
need in and out," Conrad said. He
pulled out his phone and poked at it.
"Here, this is how the move looks
when you're doing it on a dog."

The centaurs crowded around,
murmuring amongst themselves.

"I remember that," Dodge said.
"One of the classes had a dummy
shaped like a dog, and we all got
to try doing the moves on it." She
mimed cupping her hands around
a muzzle. "So how would we
breathe for another centaur?"

"Well ... you probably can't,
not all the way," Kedric said.
"You should be able to ventilate
the human lungs, but the horse lungs
are bigger and farther away, so they're
more likely to need special equipment."

"Is that equipment anything we could
use here and should add?" Conrad asked.

"Some of it might be," Kedric said. "I'm
rated for pretty advanced stuff on humans,
so let me ask around and see if the vet gear
is familiar enough that I could handle it."

"Sounds good," Conrad said, making
a note on his smartphone for reference.

"Internal stuff might pose a challenge,"
Kedric said. "There are specific positions
for humans to make sure the airway is
open and blood can flow. I don't know
those for centaurs, and it's an issue."

"Could we ask Alicia?" Lilita said.
"She was nice to us, and she
can see inside our bodies."

"Healer," Conrad explained
to Kedric. "Sure, we can ask."

"Maybe also ask if any superpowers
contraindicate CPR," Kedric said.
"A healer might know that, and I
sure don't. I've just heard rumors."

"Lightning Powers, or anything
like that," Conrad said. "Zapping
might help or hurt, don't know which."

"Or blow out the battery," Kedric said.
"I've seen that on the news with tasers."

"Isn't there some kind of adapter?"
Conrad said. "Seems I heard about
something in my last renewal class."

"Yeah, you can get a set of adapters
to run on household current," Kedric said.
"That would be a better idea than trying
to rig up a connection to a car battery
for restarting the horse heart. We
can put that on the list too."

Conrad tapped on his phone.
"All taken care of," he said.

"Okay, quick review," Kedric said.
"If someone goes down, call it in first
and then go to help them. I'll come as
quick as I can, and you know a healer too.
Try to figure out what's wrong. In case of
a heart attack, use the human steps for
the upper heart and horse steps for
the lower heart. I'll work out more later."

"Today, we're mostly just brainstorming,"
Conrad reminded them. "A lot of this is
new territory, so we're working it out as
we go along. It'll take a while to gather
new equipment and information."

"Meanwhile, Conrad also raised
the issue of minor injuries, like
what to do if someone gets
tangled in thorns," Kedric said.

"Again," Dodge said wryly,
looking at Kim Van.

"I didn't know they had
thorns!" Kim Van said.
"I thought they were fruit."

"Chickasaw plums tend
to have thorns," Conrad said.
"You okay now, Kim Van?"

She nodded. "Dodge got me out."

"We'll make that tomorrow's topic,
then, and I'll let you know when I
have more details on how to handle
centaur emergencies," Kedric said.

"All right then, that's enough hard work
for now," Conrad said, flipping his hands.
"You kids go stretch out your legs."

Most of the centaurs scattered,
trotting into the pasture, because
it was hard to stand still for long.

Kim Van lingered, drifting close
to Conrad. "Sorry I didn't say
about the thorns," she whispered.

"It's okay," Conrad said. "Your friend
got you out, and you look fine now.
You tell me things whenever you're
ready, and don't push on my account."

"Okay," said Kim Van. "I'll try."
She wheeled and trotted away.

"They're getting better," Kedric said,
watching the centaurs exercise.
"They're less skittish and they've
got more energy to move around."

"Ayup, I see it too," Conrad said.
"Not all better yet, but improving.
Now we just got to hope we can
get ahead of the curve on first aid
before anything goes bad wrong."

"We're on it, and that's the best
that we can do," Kedric said.

"Breaking new ground,"
Conrad said. "It's all rocks
and roots first, but it's worth it."

"Yeah, it is," Kedric said. "We'll
just fix one thing at a time, and
it'll come right in the end."

"From your lips to God's ear,"
Conrad said, patting his shoulder.

It had worked for him, though.

* * *

Notes:

"You can only fix one thing at a time… so don’t try and solve everything at once."
– a good Paramedic

This is Conrad's farm outside of Bluehill. The tall red barn houses the horses. The garage for farm equipment is the brown building broadside below it. Left of the driveway, the small gray car garage is just barely visible behind the house. In front of the house is part of the garden space, primarily holding bushes and berry canes. The pond is a long, lobed catchbasin that rambles along the base of the ridges above it, and the ducks are kept close to the pond.

The garage for farm equipment is the brown building broadside in the picture. Its second story holds four apartments for the hired hands. The lefthand staircase is the external fire escape, and has a book nook beside it. The righthand staircase goes down from the loft apartments to the main floor of the garage, and has a lounge area beside it. The top of the cross holds a ping-pong table. The bottom of the cross holds exercise equipment.

This poem really started with a post in which various medics discussed how to treat a centaur with a heart attack, and my critique of some of the mistakes they made. So the links to various first aid techniques are in my critique.

Charlie (usually uncountable, plural Charlies)
1. (military slang) An enemy; the Vietcong; short for Victor Charlie.

Victor Charlie
1. (US, military) VC
Synonyms[edit]
• (VC): Vietcong, Charlie (diminutive)
In the US military phonetic spelling alphabet for VC, which in turn is an abbreviation of Vietcong, which is a diminutive of the Vietnamese language term for Vietnamese Communist.

Go Home Charlie -- when a supervillain kills someone for being too awful for even the other bad guys to tolerate. While often thought of as concerning abusive telepaths, those are actually quite rare, and there are plenty of other offenses that have caused supervillains to turn around and frag someone supposedly on their own side. A milder version entails turning the offender in to the authorities, such as SPOON or the police. Most lawkeeping organizations wish to encourage this kind of assistance and thus grant the delivering supervillain a stay of pursuit ranging from the rest of the day to 24 hours.

Gentle Life is an organization for people with PTSD or similar situations who want to treat their condition with lifestyle changes. It works very well for those who want a peaceful place to concentrate on healing, although not so much for those who keep wishing they could get back to their old activity level. Gentle Life mostly features farms and artistic communities far out in rural areas, although they have some cohousing locations for suburban or urban dwellers. They concentrate on building a support network in the community and making happy new memories. Art therapy, music therapy, organic farming and cooking are typical offerings. Some of the farms also work with abused animals or do other animal-assisted therapy. Tranquil Table and Todos Santos are among the Gentle Life communities.

Time in grade is a requirement for a specified amount of time that an employee must spend in a grade before they are eligible for promotion (5 CFR 300.604).

Chickasaw plums grow wild and usually have thorns.

Comments

[readera]

💜💙💜

[(Anonymous)]

>>...the rest of the day to 24 hours.<<
I assume this means 'til sundown or 24 hours.'

What about CPR on a mermaid/merman?

Also I wonder if Terramagne has any more unusual body configurations - sphynxes, harpies, giants, headless horsemen, zombies/undead (of various types)? I am in a mythological mood it seems...

Skink and Pythia may have three-chambred hearts, but I'm not sure how that will affect CPR (or if it will cause additional problems).

We've already seen problems of human medics treating wings, and I suspect 'normal' bird traits might get labeled as brittle bones or fever.

It might make sense for Ansel and Janine to take an animal first aid course in case something happens to Turq (maybe his foster family too).

I that stone giant lady might need special first aid skills. I have /no idea/ what health weirdness the mollusk soup-lady might develop - she's mashing up two different phyla, for crying out loud!

Also, CPR or near drowning with Nerissa or Velvet? They* doesn't even breathe thru their mouths (and cannot close their trachea -breathing holes- if they fall in water), and if they're over a certain size and anything conks out their Required Secondary Powers, they could suffocate, or be crushed by atmospheric pressure. (Best I can think of for CPR would be an oxygen tent, but I don't know if their atmospheric ratios need to be very close to human ones.) And fractures are more serious with an exoskeleton than an endoskeleton, because if your exoskeleton is broken that doubles as a gaping wound (while endoskeletal fractures are not necessarily open-air).
*applies to Velvet in bug form.

I suspect it will become reccomended practice for primal soups and differently first aidable persons to wear medalert jewelry, inform friend/roomates/frequent aqquaintences of possible training, and list preferred specialists to call...if they are comfortable doing so.

Also Dr. Infanta or Kraken may want to fund the development of custom CPR dummies...

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>...the rest of the day to 24 hours.<<
I assume this means 'til sundown or 24 hours.' <<

Common examples include a few hours, until sundown, 12 hours, and 24 hours. It depends on the circumstances. However, it is widely agreed that chasing someone who just helped you is Very Bad Form.

>> What about CPR on a mermaid/merman? <<

Well, that depends on whether they are more mammalian (air-breathing lungs) or more piscean (water-breathing gills). If both, you can likely use either option, unless one is injured in which case use the other; but then you have to figure out how to block the other, if it is not naturally sealed. For mammalian lungs, human CPR should work. For gills, use shark CPR, towing the victim through the water so it flows over the gills. If a body of water is unavailable, oxygenated water could be used with a pump and hose, but this is unlikely to be available. *ponder* Well, except in the Maldives, which is attracting scads of mermaids, much to everyone's delight.

>> Also I wonder if Terramagne has any more unusual body configurations - sphynxes, harpies, giants, headless horsemen, zombies/undead (of various types)? I am in a mythological mood it seems...<<

Yes, lots of variations. Carl Bernhardt alone contributed a considerable number. Some are natural. There's at least one company offering voluntary makeovers, too.

>> Skink and Pythia may have three-chambred hearts, but I'm not sure how that will affect CPR (or if it will cause additional problems).<<

I don't think so, but I couldn't swear to it.

What I have seen is lizard traits causing near-fatal effects due to light and heat deprivation that wouldn't faze a human. O_O

>>We've already seen problems of human medics treating wings, and I suspect 'normal' bird traits might get labeled as brittle bones or fever.<<

Likely so.

Temperature varies in humans, even though people say it doesn't. This is a problem when nobody ever believes it. The issue is worse for soups because the variation is much wider, and in some cases, what would help a human is dangerous for soups -- for instance, trying to bring down a "fever" that is normal could crash vital signs or short out superpowers.

>> It might make sense for Ansel and Janine to take an animal first aid course in case something happens to Turq (maybe his foster family too).<<

Highly advisable for anyone around him. They're planning to do one at the farm for the centaurs, so that's a logical time, even if canid first aid winds up being a separate session. Nebuly has an actual dog form, he's a collie. Saffron has a horse form and the felydd is vaguely feline. Tyria has the cat form and catusha which is also vaguely feline. So maybe a large animal and a small animal session.

>>I that stone giant lady might need special first aid skills. I have /no idea/ what health weirdness the mollusk soup-lady might develop - she's mashing up two different phyla, for crying out loud! <<

Yeah, those are pretty far-out. Even crossing mammal and reptile or bird gets into some very weird shit, but the inanimates are even weirder -- and rockfolk are, while not exactly common, a known form. There are even a few people with plant traits, rather than just Plant Powers.

Elementals often have first aid quirks, like don't shock anyone with Electrical Powers because it can backlash. Fireheart's powers are shorted out by copper, which is usually just a topical effect causing discomfort and surface burns, but I would not recommend stabbing him with a copper knife.

>> Also, CPR or near drowning with Nerissa or Velvet? They* doesn't even breathe thru their mouths (and cannot close their trachea -breathing holes- if they fall in water), <<

Most invertebrates have no defense against inhaling water, with the exception of adapted species such as water beetles. If they get submerged, they die very quickly. I'm not sure about velvet worms because 1) they have soft muscular bodies rather than chitin and 2) they live in damp to soggy areas so may have some ability to hold their breath. And now I want to drop one in an aquarium with branches across the lid to see if it will try to spit ropes and pull itself out. I am not exactly a mad scientist, but sometimes I have pretty creepy ideas. (To be specific, a nonsapient velvet worm, not a person shaped like one. Although Velvet's enemies might get a rude surprise if they shoved her in a river expecting that to work.)

>> and if they're over a certain size and anything conks out their Required Secondary Powers, they could suffocate, or be crushed by atmospheric pressure. <<

Yeah, giant creatures tend to have a supportive field akin to what keeps a strongman or speedster from shredding their own body.

>> (Best I can think of for CPR would be an oxygen tent, but I don't know if their atmospheric ratios need to be very close to human ones.) <<

That's possible. A mask can work if pressed over breathing orifices -- it's not actually restricted to mouth. There are other shapes for nonhumans already, used in veterinary care, very useful for some animal soups. Huh, I wonder if anyone's actually answered these questions for endangered species of invertebrates? I wish I knew a zookeeper or zoologist!

>>And fractures are more serious with an exoskeleton than an endoskeleton, because if your exoskeleton is broken that doubles as a gaping wound (while endoskeletal fractures are not necessarily open-air).
*applies to Velvet in bug form.<<

Also, exoskeletons tend to come with an open circulatory system, although it varies in complexity. Broken chitin tends to leak slowly. A small leak might seal, but larger ones usually don't -- notorious for killing tarantulas that fall even a short distance. Soft bodies have better sealing qualities, but there's a different risk. Velvet worms are muscular, designed to move with fluid pressure and exert strong force to spew their goo weapon. That means any penetrating injury could cause them to bleed out very fast. On the other hand, if conscious, Velvet could probably either glue the leak shut or shift back to human form.

>>I suspect it will become reccomended practice for primal soups and differently first aidable persons to wear medalert jewelry, inform friend/roomates/frequent aqquaintences of possible training, and list preferred specialists to call...if they are comfortable doing so.<<

Yes. I know that some firebugs already wear a Fire Alert bracelet to warn people never to spray them with fire extinguisher or water, even if they are on fire.

>> Also Dr. Infanta or Kraken may want to fund the development of custom CPR dummies...<<

It's possible Kraken has a few already. Dr. Infanta will certainly get the idea when she sees Conrad and Kedric stapling together a human torso dummy with a lower body cobbled up from wagon springs and hair-on cowhide! She has a vast budget, so that's very promising.

LOL I can just imagine her going to Kekewai or some other movie effects company asking them to make articulated health dummies for unusual bodies.

You have such awesome ideas. :D

Re: Thoughts

[kengr]

For the assisted breathing for someone with gills, you want a modfied version of one of those mini-pools that cicrulates water fast enough that you have to swim to stay in place.

They are about the size of a small hot tub.

Just have to have several alternate water supplies. Chlorinated is *not* gonna work. Ozonated water might work (some pools do that instead of chlorine). And you'd need fresh/salt options as well.

But for a mermaid just get them into some sort of shoulder(?) harness to hold them in place, lower them into the water and start the pump going. adjust the flow rate to whatever works best for them.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>For the assisted breathing for someone with gills, you want a modfied version of one of those mini-pools that cicrulates water fast enough that you have to swim to stay in place.<<

I had not thought of that! Infinity pool is a great idea.

>>Ozonated water might work (some pools do that instead of chlorine).<<

Fascinating. I never heard of that.

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

A lot of issues will likely be 'call a healer,' at least for awhile.

>>For gills, use shark CPR, towing the victim through the water so it flows over the gills. <<

A problem is that when sharks are belly down in the water, their mouths point forward (water goes thru like a pipe or tube propelled by swimming), but a human's mouth would point down (lungs are a bellows, powered by muscle). Unless a merfolk could rotate their head/spine so the mouth points forward (not down) while swimming, I don't think the shark gills will work very well with a human body.

I think some fish can breathe by gulping water, instead of swimming at it. (Goldfish, maybe?) This may be a better matcch for a human-fish respiratory mashup than shark gills...

Also look up external gills, as salamanders have. Plus, they're more closely related to us than fish, AND a lungfish or amphibian may be already designed for a dual lung/gill setup. I think a salamander merperson would be pretty cool looking! (Might prefer a freashwater marsh tho - maybe one of the Primals Ashley is working with?)

>>Well, except in the Maldives, which is attracting scads of mermaids, much to everyone's delight.<<

I'd like to see the Maldives someday have the best saltwater-soup hospital in the world, with both human and aquatic-native staff, free teleporting, and interspecies art, including underwater landscaping and coral gardens! (I want a tour!)

Th best freshwater one...I was thinking Florida Everglades, but the Brazillin Amazon might be better. Now including a river-dolphin nurse whose family do tree-dancing during the flood season, lanscaping that incorporates the flood season as a feature and a combination of native, colonial and cetacen art. (Maybe have two, one for swampland one for rivers?)

>>There's at least one company offering voluntary makeovers, too.<<
What, like the tiger lady in the hunger games, or like Dr. Moreau? It seems kind of mad-science-y to me...

>>What I have seen is lizard traits causing near-fatal effects due to light and heat deprivation that wouldn't faze a human. O_O<<
Hypothermia treatment for ectotherms? Hypothermia /prevention/ for ectotherms? Frostbite treatment? Also how to test for illness, as they don't get fevers?

>>...even if canid first aid winds up being a separate session. <<

The farm or the Primal Soupcon should start offering these as routine lessons at some point.

>There are even a few people with plant traits, rather than just Plant Powers.<<

Not sure how you'd even treat that...plant medicine includes routinely lopping off diseased limbs, tho such a person may have higher resilance or pain tolerance.

>>And now I want to drop one in an aquarium with branches across the lid to see if it will try to spit ropes and pull itself out.<<

Make it a sawmplike aquarium - damp enough to be unplesant, but not enough to harm? Or if theyre smart enough, you could train some with flags (optimal condition/treat here) as they did with the flag-platform-rat learning experiment. With the latter, you could even forego the water, and test their abilities with a maze or obsicle course.

>>That's possible. A mask can work if pressed over breathing orifices -- it's not actually restricted to mouth. There are other shapes for nonhumans already, used in veterinary care, very useful for some animal soups.<<

Another problem - how to get the water out? (Especally if they have to be belly facing up for the oxygen)? Based on human methods (make gravity get the water out, provide assistance as needed) I can guess:
- FIRST tilt patient so shoulder-equivalent axis is diagonal with belly facing down, THEN administer oxygen to most convenient breathing orifice.
- if patient is small, may only need one first aider. If patient is large, may need helper(s) to hold patient diagonal.
- if patient is manuverable _and no additional trauma is indicated_, it -may- be possible to dislodge water by gently tapping on the back. DO NOT DO THIS IF ABDOMINAL EXOSKELETON IS DAMAGED. (I am not sure if gentle jiggling or shaking would help, but I'm leaning towards no).
- if oxygen is unavailible and depending on species, blowing air on the patient or moving them to a lower-humidity environment may help. DO NOT move except as a last resort. If you do move someone transfer them to a stiff surface with minimal shock or movement, as you would for a spine-injured human. DO check for injuries that can be stabilized before moving.

I suspect 'juryrigging medical stuff in the field' will be a class for any primal soup medic...

You can see videos of firefighters giving oxygen to dogs, kittens and baby hamsters. Cute!

>>Huh, I wonder if anyone's actually answered these questions for endangered species of invertebrates? I wish I knew a zookeeper or zoologist!<<

To the internet! Also check those people who keep invertibrates as pets (especially the expensive, jewel-encrusted ones. (People get very attatched to their pets.)

>>Velvet worms are muscular, designed to move with fluid pressure and exert strong force to spew their goo weapon. That means any penetrating injury could cause them to bleed out very fast. <<

Like the fuzzy caterpillar aliens in Sector General.

>>On the other hand, if conscious, Velvet could probably either glue the leak shut or shift back to human form.<<

That's another thing - with shapeshifting, would the injury transfer, worsen, or dissapear? And how do you treat an injury if someone has to transform? (I read a story once where the werewolf was badly maimed before moonrise, and wasn't safe while transformed, so they had to pack him into essentialy, a giant beanbag for the night, with the other (safe) werewolves keeping him calm until he transformed back and they could get help. The healer was astonished he'd survived /one/ transformation, and even more so when told, 'no it was two.')

>>I know that some firebugs already wear a Fire Alert bracelet to warn people never to spray them with fire extinguisher or water, even if they are on fire.<<

Cold Fire by Tamora Pierce has an example of a Smith Mage who terrified the cook by deciding to meditate in the lit firplace...while naked. (He was travelling in the far noth, was cold, and planned to be done before anyone woke up. And his clothes weren't fireproof.)

>>You have such awesome ideas. :D<<

Thanks!

--------------------

>>Just have to have several alternate water supplies. Chlorinated is *not* gonna work. Ozonated water might work (some pools do that instead of chlorine). And you'd need fresh/salt options as well.<<

You'd have to be careful - like deeadly allergin careful - that there was NO chlorine in the pool and that it was CLEAN ENOUGH TO DRINK, ESPECIALLY IF THE POOL WAS repurposed. I NOT taking chances on me/my kids/my followers breathing in chorine, because someone did a 'good enough' job.

>>But for a mermaid just get them into some sort of shoulder(?) harness to hold them in place, lower them into the water and start the pump going. adjust the flow rate to whatever works best for them.<<

Be sure the harness compensates for neck suppourt/different anatomy (as mentioned above). I'll also suggest a suspension harness for dolphinlike merfolk, in case having an attendant hold them up in the water is imprractical.

Hmm... could they hire a cetacian nurse/caregiver? I'm not sure most cephelapods would be interested...and they might prefer the tools to the patients.

I'd also suggest looking at sealife centes and taling to marine vets - they might have some good ideas.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>A lot of issues will likely be 'call a healer,' at least for awhile.<<

Good for soup issues in general, but short supply.

>>A problem is that when sharks are belly down in the water, their mouths point forward (water goes thru like a pipe or tube propelled by swimming), but a human's mouth would point down (lungs are a bellows, powered by muscle). Unless a merfolk could rotate their head/spine so the mouth points forward (not down) while swimming, I don't think the shark gills will work very well with a human body.<<

True, but adjusting neck for airway access is a standard part of CPR. You just have to know which position to use for which species. It's one of the weirder parts of interspecies first aid, which is why somewhere in my notes I said to feel for resistance or flow. You can usually tell if it's working or not, if you think to check.

>>Also look up external gills, as salamanders have. Plus, they're more closely related to us than fish, AND a lungfish or amphibian may be already designed for a dual lung/gill setup. I think a salamander merperson would be pretty cool looking! (Might prefer a freashwater marsh tho - maybe one of the Primals Ashley is working with?) <<

I have not seen a salamander mer but that would be awesome.

>> I'd like to see the Maldives someday have the best saltwater-soup hospital in the world, with both human and aquatic-native staff, free teleporting, and interspecies art, including underwater landscaping and coral gardens! (I want a tour!) <<

That's logical. They're already ahead of the curve because:

* They're integrating healers etc. into the mainstream system.

* The Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital is already a leading soup hospital.

* They have a slingboat and a cetacean veterinarian.

>>Th best freshwater one...I was thinking Florida Everglades, but the Brazillin Amazon might be better. Now including a river-dolphin nurse whose family do tree-dancing during the flood season, lanscaping that incorporates the flood season as a feature and a combination of native, colonial and cetacen art. (Maybe have two, one for swampland one for rivers?)<<

My money is on Brazil since it already has human-dolphin cooperation.

>>What, like the tiger lady in the hunger games, or like Dr. Moreau? It seems kind of mad-science-y to me...<<

Tigers, mermaids, fairies, whatever they can work up that people want. Yes, some people call it mad science, but it is not, because the participants are eager rather than unwilling. They're just grinders with better tech. Bodymods always make some people squick, but it is none of their business.

>> Hypothermia treatment for ectotherms? Hypothermia /prevention/ for ectotherms? <<

Determine proper species temperature and set environment to that, which is what people eventually figured out to do.

>> Frostbite treatment? <<

Probably similar to mammals -- warm injured tissue gently -- but you'd have to be careful with the metabolic shift. Reptiles often have a hibernate mode with specific in-out parameters.

>>Also how to test for illness, as they don't get fevers?<<

Not sure, but I know one thing -- the color often changes.

>>The farm or the Primal Soup con should start offering these as routine lessons at some point.<<

Good idea.

>>Make it a sawmplike aquarium - damp enough to be unplesant, but not enough to harm? Or if theyre smart enough, you could train some with flags (optimal condition/treat here) as they did with the flag-platform-rat learning experiment. With the latter, you could even forego the water, and test their abilities with a maze or obsicle course.<<

Those would be interesting to test!

>>Another problem - how to get the water out? (Especally if they have to be belly facing up for the oxygen)? Based on human methods (make gravity get the water out, provide assistance as needed) <<

Depends a lot on the internal anatomy -- if it has valves or loops, it's usually not self-clearing even with gravity. But often there's a straight flow through the spicules, so either back or side may work depending on details. In a fully open system, if you push air in one side, it actually forces water out the other.

>>I suspect 'juryrigging medical stuff in the field' will be a class for any primal soup medic...<<

Desperately needed but not yet extant.

>>Like the fuzzy caterpillar aliens in Sector General.<<

I fucking love the Kelgians.

>> That's another thing - with shapeshifting, would the injury transfer, worsen, or dissapear? <<

That depends on the method of transformation and whether the person has super-healing. Mystical transformations more often help or do no harm; physical transformations often make it worse. If healing is present, the transformation usually speeds it up; some shifters deliberately use it to heal.

>> And how do you treat an injury if someone has to transform? <<

Again, depends on context. The best solution in many cases, if you don't have a healer, is glue. Terramagne has a variety of medical glues, not all approved by official sources.

>> (I read a story once where the werewolf was badly maimed before moonrise, and wasn't safe while transformed, so they had to pack him into essentialy, a giant beanbag for the night, with the other (safe) werewolves keeping him calm until he transformed back and they could get help. The healer was astonished he'd survived /one/ transformation, and even more so when told, 'no it was two.') <<

Yikes.

>>Cold Fire by Tamora Pierce has an example of a Smith Mage who terrified the cook by deciding to meditate in the lit firplace...while naked. (He was travelling in the far noth, was cold, and planned to be done before anyone woke up. And his clothes weren't fireproof.) <<

LOL yes, dragons do that too.

>>You'd have to be careful - like deeadly allergin careful - that there was NO chlorine in the pool and that it was CLEAN ENOUGH TO DRINK, ESPECIALLY IF THE POOL WAS repurposed. I NOT taking chances on me/my kids/my followers breathing in chorine, because someone did a 'good enough' job.<<

I would expect a hospital to build from scratch.

>>Hmm... could they hire a cetacian nurse/caregiver? I'm not sure most cephelapods would be interested...and they might prefer the tools to the patients.<<

Quite possibly. There are lots of dolphins around. Siggy is studying psychotherapy.

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

>>True, but adjusting neck for airway access is a standard part of CPR.<<

I was thinking more of logistics of breathing -that shark gills won'twork unless the mouth points forward. (Could be an interesting emergency response tho - Sue cant breathe with current anatomical setup, and needs adaptive breathing equipment that doesnt exist /now/).

If the setup works while healthy then we can worry about fixing while its broken.

>>I have not seen a salamander mer but that would be awesome.<<

Similar: I expect you have a few crocodile soups in Louisiana, who may pook merfolk-ish.

>>Tigers, mermaids, fairies, whatever they can work up that people want. Yes, some people call it mad science, but it is not, because the participants are eager rather than unwilling. They're just grinders with better tech. Bodymods always make some people squick, but it is none of their business.<<

Extreme body mods arent my cup of tea, but if someone else wants body art/ sculpture its up to them. I assume the place requires informed consent, the ability to /say no at any point/, and suppourt for adjusting to the new body parts, right?

>>Reptiles often have a hibernate mode with specific in-out parameters.<<

I wonder how 'its too cold' would be expressed. The one story I read the person just fell over halfway thru playing in the snow. (The other person who was used to playing in snow was an endotherm). Then they actually stumbled onto the solution (warm room and cuddling).

>>Not sure, but I know one thing -- the color often changes.<<

If the raining iguanas eventually turn green and crawl off, they're alive. If they stay brown for a few days, theyre dead.

>>Those would be interesting to test!<<

Well, someone figured out the concept of parallel universes using a rat maze, so...

>>Depends a lot on the internal anatomy -- if it has valves or loops, it's usually not self-clearing even with gravity. But often there's a straight flow through the spicules, so either back or side may work depending on details. In a fully open system, if you push air in one side, it actually forces water out the other.<<

So you can predict the behavior of the water if you know the inner structure. I wonder if blowing water our of a double-ended loop would work. Or pulling it out with some sort of suction machine. (If nothing else, I'll stick with "ok everyone, start fanning.")

>>Desperately needed but not yet extant.<<

They should also recruit medics from the Third World and people who are used to working in war zones or emergency medicine, all of whom would be used to improvising. (I recall a Rescue 911 where the paramedic had to use a juice box straw to clear the airway of a preemie baby...because they were stuck on an airplane. The baby almost died, and if not for that, would have.)

>>Yikes.<<

Found it! I think you might like this one...
https://m.fanfiction.net/s/3950460/1/

>>LOL yes, dragons do that too.<<

I think half of it was 'ohmigosh he's in the fire!' and half of it was 'ohmigosh he's naked!' Most people arent prepared for unexpected superpower shenanigans /or/ unexpected nudity at 4am.

>>I would expect a hospital to build from scratch.<<

An elite hospital, yes. A clinic or hotel, not so much, and I expect someone will want to retrofit existing facilities at some point. Also most humans are thinking 'swim and bathe' on poolwater, not 'drink and breathe' in the poolwater.

Hmm. Maybe they should adopt your test for potable water and put freshwater koi (or saltwater reef fish) in the tanks for advretising or decoration: look, oit tanks are so good our award-winning aquarist can keep Stupidly Rare Fish alive in them!

I'm applying my "allergies is an exercise in keeping the world from accidentally killing you" rule to a different problem which mundane humans are not inclined to worry about.

Also, for safety stuff, including allergies, I tend to be overcautious and assume that /everyone else is potentially carelees, incompitant or stupid/, and if they're not it doesn't hurt to check, if the potential risks are serious enough.

I tend to being somewhat anxious and overprepared for normal life...

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

Well....

The modern healthcare system acknowledges that a normal temperature range is anywhere between 96.4 and 99.2 depends on what system you are using....but posits that hypothermia is 95 and fever is 100.0

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I appreciate the datapoint. Hopefully things are improving.

However, I have yet to see an example of a medic being other than pedantic about temperature being one number, and I have known friends who whom this is a serious problem.

It's why I say veterinarians are often better equipped to treat people with superpowers or other variations from human-standard even if they look human: vets are used to dealing with wide variations in body features and vital signs on a daily basis, are not fazed by it, and can figure out how to handle it because they have a wider range of tools and techniques for accommodating variations.

[kengr]

a few thoughts.

Yeah, they'll want Alicia or some other healer to look *all* the centaurs over. Best if it's someone who can do anatomical drawing to detail the variations in how the splicing was done and any other changes.

Some of the things that could *big* issues.

Unless the equine parts where grown specially with human DNA, there are gonna be immune system weirdnesses. Every thing from blood types on.

*Something* had to be done to avoid autoimmune disorders. Otherwise they'd be horribly ill or dead.

Immunosuppressants are unlikely as that'd have gotten them sick from a lot of things after they got out.

This is going to make blood transfusions "interesting". Also means that there may be problems with oddball allergic reaction.

And the combined digestive system is gonna be really weird too. The human part can't handle rough stuff like grass and hay. The equine part would need major mods to deal with meat and many other things.

They'll have to have had some significant work done on the nose and throat to allow for the extra airflow required. Ditto for the larger volume of food required.

The limited immunity for black hats turning in another black hat reminds me of something seen in old Westerns: "Just be outta town by sunset..." and similar comments.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Yeah, they'll want Alicia or some other healer to look *all* the centaurs over. Best if it's someone who can do anatomical drawing to detail the variations in how the splicing was done and any other changes.<<

She has been out to visit them. Not all of them were interested. Miriam being willing to model is great and will help, but there's no guarantee any given centaur is "like" any other, beyond what's readily visible. They are similar because they're part of the same cohort, but with some dramatic variations (wings, zebra) you just can't count on that similarity.

>>Some of the things that could *big* issues.<<

All of them have something significant wrong already known.

>> Unless the equine parts where grown specially with human DNA, there are gonna be immune system weirdnesses. Every thing from blood types on.<<

These weren't grown. He stapled half-humans to half-horses. Hence needing victims with certain superpowers to survive the process, although he certainly helped it along with his mad science.

>> *Something* had to be done to avoid autoimmune disorders. Otherwise they'd be horribly ill or dead.

Immunosuppressants are unlikely as that'd have gotten them sick from a lot of things after they got out.<<

There's a way you can turn the immune system off and back on again so it reboots, and whatever is in the system at the time gets read as 'self.' It's very useful, but hard to find.

>> This is going to make blood transfusions "interesting".<<

Probably impossible, unless 1) some of the centaurs are a match for each other, or 2) a synthetic can be produced. Neither pure human nor pure horse would likely be close enough.

>>Also means that there may be problems with oddball allergic reaction.<<

Probably so.

>>And the combined digestive system is gonna be really weird too. The human part can't handle rough stuff like grass and hay. The equine part would need major mods to deal with meat and many other things.<<

At least one of them needs a special diet. In general, the human stomach can usually digest meat (though not necessarily all of them can do it) but the horse parts can't. That means eat small amounts so it gets digested before passed along. The horse parts require more fuel and more bulk, but it doesn't have to be dried. Humans can eat some types of grass, just can't digest most of it; the horse part does that fine. So it's a challenge, but not impossible.

>>They'll have to have had some significant work done on the nose and throat to allow for the extra airflow required. Ditto for the larger volume of food required.<<

Yep.

>> The limited immunity for black hats turning in another black hat reminds me of something seen in old Westerns: "Just be outta town by sunset..." and similar comments.<<

Exactly!

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

Alicia probably has picked up art skills in her long life. Heck, I expect she can do several varieties of art - Impresionist, Renesance religion, line drawing, medical illustration to name a few. Medical illustration would be a shoo-in given her healing abilities and training...(she might even have met mythological folk before).

I imagine Temujin's people may have had a few centuars who fought right alonside the rest of them. Ancient Greeca and Rome may have had a whole community...if they are still extant but cricketed, I wonder if your Amazons know anything? Or Aiden, for that matter? He did know a vampire... In any case someone should start checking historical and mythological records for ideas, too.

For blood transfusions, another solution would be banking your own blood; I have heard of people doing this before surgery (less risk than getting someone else's and less strin on the blood supply even if you don't have a really rare type). I am not sure how long banke blood lasts...

Ok, according to Red Cross: "Red cells are stored in refrigerators at 6ºC for up to 42 days. Platelets are stored at room temperature in agitators for up to five days. Plasma and cryo are frozen and stored in freezers for up to one year." If they can draw plasma, tha might be worth it.

List of alternatives to blood transfusions, but I'd be leery of using human-approved medicine on a centaur.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/treatment-types/blood-transfusion-and-donation/blood-transfusion-alternatives.html

While L-America has no supergizmology blood substitute, T-America probably does.

If nothing else there's always healers, too. I imagine the community spirit is good enough in most places that a healer needing more energy in an emergency might get like five people going "Here, take mine, just don't drop me on my face all of a sudden." Can you get problems from energy transfer like that?

Allergies are a pain, but T-America should be handling it better than we are. For digestive issues, I know preparation can make things more edible (milk->cheese/yougurt, raw meat->broth, raw potato->cooked, any food->prepared as baby food, [for crocodiles ONLY] fresh kill->rotten one). I wonder if (for example) meat or fish broth would be easier to digest? If nothing else, look up vegitarian substitutes. (Also, hopefully the exibility of plants didn't change; immagine for example a dog-soup suddenly finding out that tomatoes are nightshades and noone has any clue what's happenig because they are safe for humans.)

I wonder if dumbass mad scientist left notes...depends on if he was being meticulous or playing I guess. And I'd still want anything in the notes independantly verified by a trusted source... Blegh. Creepy guy.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Alicia probably has picked up art skills in her long life. Heck, I expect she can do several varieties of art - Impresionist, Renesance religion, line drawing, medical illustration to name a few. Medical illustration would be a shoo-in given her healing abilities and training...(she might even have met mythological folk before).<<

Sort of. She's good enough to draw things, but not always good enough to get precise details. Shiv ran into that issue.

>>I imagine Temujin's people may have had a few centuars who fought right alonside the rest of them. Ancient Greeca and Rome may have had a whole community...if they are still extant but cricketed, I wonder if your Amazons know anything? Or Aiden, for that matter? He did know a vampire... In any case someone should start checking historical and mythological records for ideas, too.<<

I don't know of any historic centaurs in Terramagne. It seems like a far stretch for something to occur naturally. Then again, Archimedes managed to build something approximating a solar cannon, so you never know what some brain might cook up.

>>While L-America has no supergizmology blood substitute, T-America probably does.<<

Oh, people have tried all kinds of stuff here. The problem is that all of them have drawbacks, and none really make a perfect replacement for whole blood in particular. There are sort-of-useful substitutes for clotting factors and plasma, but they're best used for people who can't use a regular transfusion or there isn't any available, and they only work to a certain point.

>>If nothing else there's always healers, too. I imagine the community spirit is good enough in most places that a healer needing more energy in an emergency might get like five people going "Here, take mine, just don't drop me on my face all of a sudden." Can you get problems from energy transfer like that?<<

Energy transfer is usually safer than physical transfer. While it's possible to have a conflict -- see the Gravel storyline in Shiv, where he and Aidan clash spectacularly -- it's quite rare. Yes, tapping too much energy from one person will make them faceplant. Thriver up in Motor City is an energy handler.

>> Allergies are a pain, but T-America should be handling it better than we are.<<

They are. The foodstream is much cleaner in general, and some restaurants either don't serve major allergens, prep them in a separate area, or have an allergy-friendly prep area.

>> For digestive issues, I know preparation can make things more edible (milk->cheese/yougurt, raw meat->broth, raw potato->cooked, any food->prepared as baby food, <<

Yep.

>> [for crocodiles ONLY] fresh kill->rotten one). <<

It's not just crocodiles, lots of scavengers and some predators use that.

>>I wonder if (for example) meat or fish broth would be easier to digest? If nothing else, look up vegitarian substitutes.<<

Possibly so.

>> (Also, hopefully the exibility of plants didn't change; immagine for example a dog-soup suddenly finding out that tomatoes are nightshades and noone has any clue what's happenig because they are safe for humans.)<<

Not to mention chocolate. >_< I expect allergies cause a significant number of deaths in people who acquire a new species. But what affects a dog might or might not affect a primal with dog features.

>>I wonder if dumbass mad scientist left notes...depends on if he was being meticulous or playing I guess. And I'd still want anything in the notes independantly verified by a trusted source... Blegh. Creepy guy.<<

Oh, he has copious notes. He is a mad scientist, not a mad engineer. The notes aren't trustworthy because he's batshit, but they are scientific in structure.

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

>>Sort of. She's good enough to draw things, but not always good enough to get precise details. Shiv ran into that issue.<<

I wonder how good Shiv is - he could draw a skweletal system and might be able to draw other things with references (i.e. anatomy pictures) and descriptions. He coudmaybe do portraits if anyone is interested (maybe only 1-2 people at a time, so no one melts down.)

>>I don't know of any historic centaurs in Terramagne. It seems like a far stretch for something to occur naturally. <<

You've got many merfolk, seraphs, vampires, a canocephalus and one naturally-occuring centaur. A natural centaur isn't neccesarilly more difficult to get, once you get past the high-risk birth process. (Then again, Ancient Greek ones may have had some way to get blessings from one of the three childbirth goddeses...) Furthermore the ancient Greeks were very smart and a lot of their monsters look like mad science mashups.

>>There are sort-of-useful substitutes for clotting factors and plasma, but they're best used for people who can't use a regular transfusion or there isn't any available, and they only work to a certain point.<<

In Terramagne, I'd suggest combining the fake plasma with oxygen-carrying nanotech, or gengineered 'domesticated' O- blood cells designed to be hypoallergenic. Cloning a tiny amount of existing blood could be exactly matched to the patient...


>>It's not just crocodiles, lots of scavengers and some predators use that.<<
That could make a good lesson on food safety:
What did I tell you about feeding the humans corpse-wine? Now take this bucket, get Bob to the infirmary to have his stomach pumped, and you just got volunteered for infirmary cleaning dutuies until he's better.
But he's the one who ate it!
I'll remind him to check for food compatibility when he fells better, but you offered the food, and you're still upright, so hop to it!

>>Not to mention chocolate. >_< <<<
Or promitherine bug spray and cats - when it is wet it affects cats, and gives them horrible seizures. (Neurotoxin, safe for humans and dogs while wet/dry, safe for cats when dry, but I'm super cautious with my old guys, one of whom already has a different seizure disorder.)

It might be reccomended practice for ERs in big cities or areas with many primal soups to have the local vet/zoo vet on speed dial.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I wonder how good Shiv is - he could draw a skweletal system and might be able to draw other things with references (i.e. anatomy pictures) and descriptions. He coudmaybe do portraits if anyone is interested (maybe only 1-2 people at a time, so no one melts down.) <<

Shiv is a very good artist. He doesn't have much formal training, but he does great abstracts and nice landscape or wildlife pieces. He's probably not as good with portraits, but could manage. I know he's done anatomical illustrations.

I'd like to bring him into this thread because sooner or later someone will think to call Dr. G and he'll want a vouch to show the centaurs that this particular doctor is trustworthy.

>> You've got many merfolk, seraphs, vampires, a canocephalus and one naturally-occuring centaur. <<

One born centaur; natural is debatable.

>>A natural centaur isn't neccesarilly more difficult to get, once you get past the high-risk birth process. (Then again, Ancient Greek ones may have had some way to get blessings from one of the three childbirth goddeses...) Furthermore the ancient Greeks were very smart and a lot of their monsters look like mad science mashups.<<

Point. I had not considered divine intervention. Most Greek monsters were half-and-halfs, and quite a lot because someone couldn't keep their toga tied.

>>In Terramagne, I'd suggest combining the fake plasma with oxygen-carrying nanotech, or gengineered 'domesticated' O- blood cells designed to be hypoallergenic. Cloning a tiny amount of existing blood could be exactly matched to the patient...<<

They do have stripped-down blood cells that don't react, but 1) they're not as durable or effective as natural ones, and 2) they're probably not approved everywhere yet. Much of what supervillains have -- the real cutting edge of science -- is at least 5-10 years from government approval. Except the Maldives, which is a lot more interested in the field-tested stuff.

>>That could make a good lesson on food safety:<<

*laugh* I've done it twice already.

My main SF universe has aliens that are perfectly okay with that kind of stuff. Hence the big red sign in the cafeteria, "DO NOT FEED AGED MEAT PRODUCTS TO HUMANS."

My fantasy world Hallelaine, in the Whispering Sands Desert, the bandits have some cultured meat products that require getting used to but do generally boost the body's resistance to other food-borne pathogens.

>>Or promitherine bug spray and cats - when it is wet it affects cats, and gives them horrible seizures. (Neurotoxin, safe for humans and dogs while wet/dry, safe for cats when dry, but I'm super cautious with my old guys, one of whom already has a different seizure disorder.)<<

Yikes.

>>It might be reccomended practice for ERs in big cities or areas with many primal soups to have the local vet/zoo vet on speed dial.<<

Good idea, though I doubt it's common yet. One problem is that primal soups, one of the biggest groups, are also among the least visible. They tend to hole up at home and just not come out. :/

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

>>My main SF universe has aliens that are perfectly okay with that kind of stuff. Hence the big red sign in the cafeteria, "DO NOT FEED AGED MEAT PRODUCTS TO HUMANS."<<

I was thinking of space rebels and pirates, with all the dignity and tact of their procfession: "Okay you f******, I'm getting tired of this b******* song and dance. Y'all know what safe for folks to eat by now. If you don't, learn cuz the next time this happens, Imma beat your a** with my throwin knives and stabbin sword."

Between my allergies and the cultral propensity of certain folks to adulterate beverages, I've got no patience for deliberate food and drink tampering, and very little for accidental issues caused by carelessness.

A funnier example - the Animorphs learned to be careful giving Andalites any food - because they have a... hyper ...response to the sense of taste. (They eventualy had to give their Andalite ROTC friend a list of things he wasnt allowed to eat...including engine oil, lint and cigarette butts. He did learn to NOT eat food off the floor or grab it from people...)

>>...some cultured meat products that require getting used to but do generally boost the body's resistance to other food-borne pathogens.<<
Most humans, as a rule /only/ like fermented floods if exposed to them in childhood. (So I like cheese, but will refuse pickled eggs, for example). Also, preference for a number of other foods (like chilled water) is strongly culturally influenced. (I suspect these, along with babies tendancy to eat off their parents plates, are hardwired defences against accidental poisoning.)

A lot of fermented foods were originally preserved that way.

- - - - -

I have seen exactly one published scifi work that plans for different foods being edible and toxic to different species. They solved the problem by illustrating the walls of the communal kitchen with safe/not safe groups for each species. (Freedom's Landing quartet.)

ER docs see an ... interesting crosscut of society, with a slight overrepresentation of the various lower class groups that can't go to fancy doctors (or in some cases, afford a sandwich and bed for the night). They will likely see more primal soups and odd superpower incidents that anyone else, possibly excluding veteran soups.

My last visit to the fairly-small ER by our house (as uninjured driver) included a partially severed finger, some guy (with police officer) who I think was not in shape to walk and in some sort of legal trouble, an ill lady and her daughter (dizziness?), and someone quite literally sobbing/howling in despair for something like an hour (audible from several rooms away).

If you get that in 4hrs in a five-bed ER, imagine what T-America New Orleans gets during Mardi Gras!

Ok, put the hypothermic crocodile guy under the heatlamp. Kid what were you drinking? Why do people need booze that turns their throat blue? Whaddya mean the dead guy we sent to the mourge is undead? Does anyone know how to take vitals on a zombie? Why are all these people in bikinis and beads standing around in here? CLEAR THE HALLWAY FOLKS! Marie, can you help the six-limbed Ant Queen find some clean clothes that fit? Scuse me, officers. No, I don't know how to reboot a cyborg - why dont we call Tech, and see if they have any ideas? Be careful with that bucket -the blue-and orange dude is spitting up acid...someone call SPAZMAT and find out what to do with that stuff...

I've heard of ERs calling in the maintenence crew for brainstorming and tools when traditional knowledge fails, so a tech crew for a hybrot-brain reboot is not unreasonable. Also, bonus if you catch my Easter Egg(s)! :)

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

>>Most Greek monsters were half-and-halfs, and quite a lot because someone couldn't keep their toga tied.<<

I suspect as a species humans are the intergalactic Lovable Sex Maniacs who are interested in Anything That Moves. Individuals will be somewhat more selective. Aliens will still think we're pretty weird...

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

LOL yes.

Then again, it's fairly well known that some dolphins have a pretty fervent letch for human women.

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, but do they show sexual interst in a variety of other species, inanimate objects, and specially constructed (for that purpose) tools? (I'd also wonder if they invented 'naughty writing' and the oldest profession...)

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm not sure. I haven't seen any articles on those topics. However, many dolphins are greatly fond of toys, so they may very well think of using objects for sex.

The closest example I can think of is the very disturbing programs for reproducing orcas, in which captive males are trained to ejaculated into containers. So clearly such things are possible.

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

Its possible that humans wouldn't recognize that sort of extremely specialized tool if designed by/for another species. Or if its etherial, like bubble nets.

I'd say look at courtship behavior "Pick me, I'll make this fun!" and veterinary records, to see how often non-etherial tech stuff gets stuck where it shouldn't. (Also, maybe look at sexual behavior while participants are high on pufferfish, and I do mean literal pufferfish, no pun).

If dolphins are like humans in regards to sex, they'll boast of their best tricks while peacocking, end up with far too many instances of 'You have what stuck where? I don't think I wanna know...", and be very uninhibited while on drugs.

It does sound like they might use sex to bond (like humans and bononos) but I don't know if it has the same correlation-not-causation pattern as humans. Then again, the entire species of humanity has a lot of very different ideas on how to do friendship, love, sex, and marriage, and most of those ideas are somewhat incompatible, so who knows?

Octapi on - I think it was cocaine - get very cuddly, interestingly enough.

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

>>My main SF universe has aliens that are perfectly okay with that kind of stuff. Hence the big red sign in the cafeteria, "DO NOT FEED AGED MEAT PRODUCTS TO HUMANS."<<

There's a story behind every sign, and that one sounds interesting.