A Soul of Finite Jest

Posted on Thu 1st Mar, 2018 @ 4:24pm by

495 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: A Phaser as Deadly as a Candlestick
Location: Primary Sickbay, SB 109

Chlamydia Addams regarded the body of Colonel Horatio Drake, United Federation of Planets Marine Corps, as it lay upon the autopsy table adjacent to the morgue. "Alas, Horatio." After a moment, unable to resist, she added, "I knew him, Yorick."

The Doctor's Zeta Reticulan Spider, Thing, appeared unamused, and offered her a pair of bandage scissors. "Thank you, Thing," Addams commented, and "tough crowd." She took the scissors and began cutting away Drake's green uniform, revealing the body underneath. He'd bled out through an artery and a vein simultaneously; most of his blood was gone. Some of it had soaked into his uniform, but most of it, she expected, had been left aboard the civilian transport for its medical staff to deal with. Consonant with exsanguination, his skin was unusually pale -- almost as pale as Addams' own.

She removed the late Colonel's trousers and underpants, then set the scissors aside and carefully removed his boots and socks. She picked up a wet cloth and began washing blood from his skin. The initial inspection revealed that there were no additional wounds; nothing had been concealed by blood or clothing. "Computer," she instructed, tossing the bloody cloth into the recycler, "Level one scan of the body on autopsy one summarize and display results as anatomical hologram, one meter above corpus. Highlight any abnormalities."

The Doctor picked up Thing from the counter as she leaned her hip against it and waited for the scan to run. As the computer progressed, it built the requested holograph organ by organ, system by system, until a flensed version of Drake hung in the air above the body. There was a pulsing area in the neck, and Addams straightened, placing her spider on her shoulder, as she looked intently at the wound. "Well, that does close a case," the Doctor said. She sighed. "Not the recommended fashion for solving murders, Horatio," she chided the dead man.

"Computer, display only neurological level. Highlight any structures which differ from Terrestrial Human mean by more than two percent." The Doctor observed the result, and then added, "highlight any structures which differ from baseline record for Horatio Drake by more than two percent." Again she observed and considered. At last, she shook her head. "Whatever happened to you, it wasn't a Mitchell event. There's no sign of increased psychic capacity." Struck by another idea, she asked, "Computer, what's the serum level of thiotimoline?"

"Thiotimoline is present at a level of three parts per trillion," the Computer answered promptly.

The Doctor made a thoughtful noise. "That's enough to show you've had some interaction with chronometric radiation," she told the corpse, "but not enough to be a definitive answer to your hallucinations." She shrugged. "Computer, forward all autopsy data to my desk." There was a beep as the computer complied, and the Doctor looked at the dead man. "And now, sweet prince, let us get you into a clean uniform so you can greet your family properly."

 

RSS Feed