OOC:This is a short story just detailing a little of Utari's medical issues.
YC117 01/03/2015
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.
The noise of the old clock on the wall irritated Utari. A wooden box clock, it reminded him of a similar one in the principal's office back in his school days. Tick, tock, tick, tock, that same drilling sound piercing the ear. He hated visiting the principal, and he especially hated having to see doctors.
Sitting on a worn black sofa, Utari looked around, knowing the layout of the room by memory. The same health warning posters, the same tired old paintings donated from art students, the Ishukone logo on the wall. Why do clinics have to be so boring? Pulled out of his thoughts by the buzzing of an activating intercomm, he turned to a small door infront of him. "Utari Onzo" the intercomm buzzed out, a taunt, firm male voice calling out the capsuleer's name. Getting up, he made his way over, entering the examination room.
"You're late, Mr Onzo..." the voice called out once more as he entered. Turning to the source, Utari watched as a late middle aged man gazed up at him from his desk, a slight frown visible. "It's been how many months since your last check up?"
Sighing, the capsuleer made his way over to the examination bed. A long, metal slab, it wasn't the most comfortable looking piece of equipment. Surrounded by various lights, cables and medical tools, it looked more suited for dissections then treatment. Laying down, Utari's hazel eyes returned to the Doctor. "Sorry Doctor Amachi, you know how it is. Wormholes, connections.."
Seeming to ignore his excuses, Amachi walked over to the bed, adjusting the position and intensity of the various lights. "So, how have they been?" he asked quietly, taking out a pair of examination gloves from a nearby box and pulling them on. "They come and go. It's still just my hands but the tremors don't pass even when I transfer to another clone."
Snap, kreech. The sound of rubber gloves rubbing agaisnt each other made something in Utari's teeth almost cringe. "I see..." Taking a deep breath, he relaxed as much as he could as the doctor placed sensor pads onto his head. Two on the brow, one for each temple, one at the top of his crown. "Let's see just what's going on in there Mr Onzo.." A quiet clunk, and a tingling sensation from the pads signalled to Utari his brain was being scanned. Moving his eyes over to his right, he could see an image of that very organ on a monitor. Like a spider's web of light, he could see the pattern of synapses and neurons that made him, well, him. Each strobe of light passing down a nerve was the electrical current that defined his memories, personality, needs and desires. All live on screen for Doctor Amachi to see.
"Hmm.... Aha... Yes.." The muttering of Amachi as he performed his check upon Utari's nerve map always made him feel uncomfortable. Was it going to be good news this time or bad? What could the old man see that he couldn't? Another clunk and the image disappered. Removing the pads, the doctor sat Utari up. "Are you still drinking Utari?" he asked, picking up various tools and poking and proding the capsuleer at various places on his hands. Reflex tests. "Sometimes..."
Looking up at his patient, Amachi gave an obvious scolding grimmace. "Sometimes isn't the word for it, Mr Onzo, I can smell the brandy from here. It might be having an effect on these shakes you're experiancing." Rolling his eyes, Utari tried to ignore the comment. What he got up to in the privacy of his quarters was his own business. He didn't feel like he had any problems with his drink, even after a few he was more then coherent and capable of piloting a ship. Besides, it's not like he woke up every morning and gulped a glass. he alteast had breakfast first.
Putting the tools away, the Doctor removed his gloves with another tooth aching snap. "I know you like a drink, and then some. Unfortunatly, what's happening is something worse." Blinking, Utari returned his gaze to the other, a small frown appearing on his face. "What is it then?" Returning to his desk and picking up a pen, Doctor Amachi began to fill out a form. "In your brain scan, I noticed some of the neuron connections seem to have decayed. It's the same kind of decay I noticed the last time you were here and according to your medical reports, you've had a couple of new clones since then."
"What does that mean, that it really is a problem following me as I'm cloned?" Utari asked, standing up from the examination bed. "I think so" came the reply "I believe you have a genetic deformity. For these clones to be having the same kind of decay, you must have something wrong with your genes that's being passed through to the new cadavers every time you're cloned. I'm suprised it wasn't picked up during the gene therapy stage." Grimmacing, he made his way over to the doctor's desk, taking a seat opposite. What does that mean, that I'm faulty? Why didn't it get picked up? I got given a clean bill of health every time I 'woke' up...
"I want you to try and make more regular visits, Mr Onzo. I need to see if there's any further degradation. You tend to not last very long in each clone, so I don't think you'll suffer much more issues beyond your hands, but if you do manage to keep alive longer then a few weeks I want to see if there's any more damage." Taking a sharp breath in, Utari gathered his thoughts. "So you think my brain is dying?"
With a shake of his head Arachi put down his pen before answering. "No, nothing that extreme, but I believe some of your synapses are not being maintained correctly. There's a chance that the template being used for your clones may have recently been compromised or corrupted and it's causing a genetic fault to keep passing along." Passing Utari a form, the doctor opened a draw in his desk before retrieving a small plastic container. "I'm going to prescribe you some diazepam. It'll help with the shakes, and it'll also help with the alcohol withdrawal. You need to stop drinking, period, as it's not doing your neurology any good. Further, I suggest you get in contact with your cloning company, and find out what's gone on with your template. According to their records it's fine, but my examination says otherwise."
With a clenched jaw, Utari took the form and pills, grumbling a reply. "Alright Doc.. I'll see you in maybe six weeks?" Nodding, Arachi turned back to his desk, tapping away at his console as he updated Utari's medical file. "Six weeks, and remember, no drinking.."
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Topic: The Visit (Read 657 times)