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The Nature of Predators - Anorexia (1/2)
🕑 Added 2023-12-23 12:00:09 +0000 UTCCW: Eating Disorder
Memory transcription subject: Crysa, Zurulian Nurse
Date [standardized human time]: April 27, 2137
Learning human anatomy was one thing, in the emergency room.
When the emaciated predator arrived at the hospital, with sallow skin that hugged her bones, I was a little terrified of her doubtless desperation. I really hadn’t been afraid of Terrans in months, after fighting to pull them back from the brink of death. I’d gone with the volunteers to Earth after the bombing, where society wasn’t nearly as in check as it was on Skalga now. They weren’t dangerous in the sense of trying to eat us, and I didn’t have any qualms about saving their lives. However, this particular instance brought out the more alarmist thoughts buried within me.
My work at the hospital had been critical, with the influx of millions of binocular-eyed refugees to this world; there weren’t enough medical staff with crucial training, and our hospital had a single human doctor—a surgeon, who seemed wrapped up in touting his own abilities. I’d love to have pawned this patient off on Dr. Baranwal, but the Terran was swamped in work for life-threatening organ surgeries: heart issues, primarily. He was a bizarre figure, often listening to furious “rock” music while in the operating suite; I wasn’t sure I’d trust such a predator to have a delicate touch, no matter how self-assured he was. Regardless, this patient, labeled Adana Davtyan on her chart, didn’t fall under his jurisdiction.
There were numerous questions rolling around my head. How did this human wind up so starved of food to begin with? The Terrans on Earth hadn’t displayed any propensity to devour me, but they hadn’t been so malnourished and ravenous. Adana might be willing to eat anything that resembled a meal, this late into her decay; there wasn’t the slightest trace of fat on her. It might’ve been months since she had a full stomach, and we all knew what happened with the Arxur losing control under similar circumstances. I had set her up with an IV to treat the dehydration and nutrient deficiencies, then was at a loss for what to do. It was simple to save this predator’s life, but what happened when she woke up?
Crysa, this human didn’t attack anyone in this state; there’s no evidence of that. Still, Adana will be disoriented when she wakes up…glad I went ahead with tube feeding her.
I’d inserted a temporary nasogastric tube, pumping food down her throat and directly to her stomach, in the hopes of negating that issue. I was tempted to keep her sedated, or at least restrain her until we’d finished refeeding her, but that wouldn’t be treating the human fairly. I wanted to help her, and discover the roots of what had placed her in such dire straits. For all I knew, there could be anti-human agitators who were capturing refugees, and bringing them into this pitiful state to try to evoke Arxur-like behavior. My compromise with my own apprehension was to monitor her vitals, and have an alert sent to my holopad when she rose into wakefulness. As the notification chime played out, I reminded myself there were zero instances of hungry humans eating sapient prey thus far. I forced myself to pad to the room. Whatever state Adana Davtyan was in, I needed to gauge her behavior early enough to assess her hostility.
“Hello. I’m Nurse Crysa,” I offered cautiously, trying not to let my voice quiver. My fear of humans rarely surfaced, but these were extraordinary circumstances. “You’re in a hospital, after collapsing from s-starvation. Your malnourishment is treatable, and…we’ll get you whatever you want for food.”
That last part was a bit of stretching the truth, in terms of whatever the predator wanted being available. Since it was illegal to distribute meat-based foods on Skalga, the hospital carried plant substitutes for Terran patients—mock-ups of the real deal as a compromise. It was my assessment that we should have a small quantity of real flesh meals for cases such as this. I found the vast majority of humans to be mild-mannered, as long as their primary needs were taken care of and they were emotionally secure; I had no quarrel with their species. I chose not to confront what they ate because of the discomfort it caused me, trying to accept omnivory. In cases such as these, I might be forced to condone such undignified palates for safety.
Adana’s unfocused eyes pointed at me, with stunning disinterest from my offer of food. “I…I just fainted. I don’t need to be in the hospital. Have you…never seen a human diet? I’m trying to lose weight.”
“I beg your pardon?” It took me several seconds after the utterance to try to gather my thoughts, as I was more perplexed than ever by her explanation. I’d seen the charts and measured her weight in “clump” units. From everything I knew from the anatomical crash courses and from seeing other humans, she wasn’t a healthy weight; and it sounded like this was by choice, rather than circumstance. “Is this one of your morbid jokes? You should not be on a…diet. If you don’t start eating more, and a lot more, it’s going to KILL you.”
“That’s extreme. I need to lose more weight. I’ve dropped plenty of pounds, but I look in the mirror and…God, I’m fat, no matter what I do. If I start eating more, I’ll just gain weight right back.”
“I don’t know what to say, other than if you think you need to lose weight, it’s some type of delusion. Do you suffer from predator-diseased hallucinations…ah, sorry, old habits. We’re supposed to use subcategory names post-Treaty of Sol. As I was saying, I’ve seen not-so-slender predators, love, ones that made me quite worried about just how much they could eat…and you’re quite the opposite. You look like skin and bones.”
“I appreciate the compliment, Nurse; you flatter me, though I have a lot further to go.” That…wasn’t a compliment? “Weight loss is something that I can succeed at. It makes me feel…good about myself. I excel at it, even. With what happened on Earth, there hasn’t been anything else I’m able to control. I can control how much food I eat and how people look at me. You said it yourself, about the…not-so-slender ones scaring you.”
I tilted my head. “I thought a comparison would show you the reality. What you’re doing is self-harm; that’s not something you want to be successful at! Or is it some kind of sacrifice so that preyfolk think you’re not scary? As thoughtful as that might be, the people who are afraid of you…will still be afraid of you.”
“All that talk about food, and meat. I never felt very drawn to meals…it just makes me anxious and sad. It brings up that inner voice that’s screaming at me, and saying that I shouldn’t have it, you know? There’s so much fat and calories in Venlil food; and yes, I can’t be judged if I don’t eat. Humans can and should control our appetite. You guys were right.”
“That doesn’t mean…you shouldn’t eat at all!” I was at a loss, becoming exasperated by Adana’s skewed vision of herself and her thought patterns. This was something I needed to research; perhaps her body didn’t release ghrelin, the human hunger hormone. There were zero other defects I could think of to account for this behavior, and I’d never seen any conditions present like this in medical literature. “Look, this isn’t what anyone who cares about humans wants for you. Let me get you something to eat, please. Something like an alkaine salad isn’t unhealthy or heavy on calories; it’s vegetables.”
“I’m not hungry. I’ve eaten plenty of food.”
“No, you haven’t. Adana, I will make you eat something if I have to reinsert the feeding tube!”
The human’s eyes widened in horror. “You did what? You…want me to be fat. Why am I so disgusting? Everyone’s just disgusted by my body…I’m going to be alone here forever.”
Is this about being alone? Some rare exhibition of depression? I’m in way over my head. I need to make a quick exit, and find out what’s behind this behavior—maybe it’s some new manifestation because of predatorphobia. It sounds like she somehow hated food, and living on Skalga made that anxiety worse.
“You’re not alone. I’m not disgusted by you. What frightens some of us about humans is the fact that you are predators, and that you’re capable of certain things: not who you really are,” I responded. “I want to save human lives. In fact, I want to save yours from whatever this is. Why don’t I make you a deal, Adana?”
The Terran blinked tears away from her brown eyes. “What’s that?”
“You eat a salad, just for me, to kick off our friendship. We’ll be friends. We can get to know each other, to feel a little less lonely. I would like to hear about your struggles, if you’ll let me. With what happened on Earth, it’s reasonable to be distraught. This could be a great learning experience to help other humans down the road.”
“Fine, but I want a Venlil portion. Human portions are way bigger than theirs…and I don’t like it. Nothing with carbs or fat either.”
“Okay. Give me a minute, and you just relax right here.”
I scurried out of the patient’s room, eager to find a private space to search up these symptoms in Earth’s database. As with any alien species, they had some conditions that were unique to their anatomy and evolution, but this one defied comprehension. No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of anything even comparable to this, apart from maybe stomach cancer causing disinterest in food. Adana hadn’t complained of any pain or physiological changes which made her not want to eat, and her initial blood tests hadn’t detected any markers, beyond those of deficiencies, dehydration, and malnutrition. I ducked into the break room, wishing Dr. Baranwal was free for questioning.
It's strange to think of encouraging a predator to eat flesh, or just to eat more in general. Their appetite is a topic I never want to broach, besides making sure they’re sated; I practically had to force Adana to agree to a salad. It’s like food horrifies her.
I slid into a private corner, not wanting to alert any of the more traditional-minded Venlil staff. Despite the UN’s prohibitions, I didn’t want any of them getting the idea to quietly send Adana off to a predator disease facility; those went against our oath to do no harm, in my secret, controversial opinion. The humans’ alternative treatments were definitely less unsettling, if such counterintuitive methods could work. I punched in the jumbled, incoherent prompt “won’t eat while starving feels fat” to the database AI, which spit out information and studies on eating disorders. It seemed to be a basket of issues with predators’ relationship to food—given how much their culture and evolution centered around their gullet, I supposed that made some sense.
The one that seemed applicable to Adana was anorexia, a syndrome where humans became obsessive over their weight and didn’t want to eat. Perhaps it had something to do with feeling guilt over their more predatory compulsions and cravings; I wouldn’t want to think about food, if my body compelled me to chow down on carcasses. I’d probably feel anxiety about mealtime and disgust at my form as well, torn between hardy empathy and instincts. This Terran shouldn’t starve because of her feelings! Honestly, the only thing I thought would nurse her back to health was meat. The medical literature suggested nutritional planning as part of the long-term solution, though that wasn’t something I wanted to be involved in.
“That one is not what Adana has, but worrying,” I murmured, tapping my claw against the result for “binge-eating disorder.” “I had no idea the Terrans struggled so much with what they eat. The fact that some, like my patient, struggle to bring themselves to hunt is reassuring, in a way. But this…this is worrying.”
Terrans with binge-eating disorder could eat massive amounts of food in a short period of time, unable to control how much they ate. To me, that sounded like some humans couldn’t control their instincts combined with appetite; when they were hungry, they would devour anything. The literature documented an actual compulsion, perhaps the first acknowledgment of some latent impulses related to mealtime. There was a specific type called bulimia where the predators regretted it after, and attempted to induce vomiting to prevent the excessive nourishment from reaching their stomachs.
If a human with one of those types of “eating disorders” walked into the hospital, and couldn’t control what they ate…what would happen to me? How could the United Nations not have warned us about this? It was clear that hadn’t prevented people with these issues from traveling to Skalga, since Adana had shown up here! Them purging my chewed-up remains with remorse wouldn’t do much good. I found myself fretting over the predators for the first time in a long time; I felt like I’d uncovered a dark secret. I pinned my ears back, trying not to whimper. I wanted to help Terrans, but that sounded like the Arxur, devouring any food they could get their paws on.
Dr. Baranwal strutted into the break room with a cocky smile. “It takes a special kind of person to be a surgeon. To hold a person’s heart in your hands, outside their body, and to put it back in—like a watchmaker tinkering with a machine. But when, oh when, Crysa, am I ever not up to the task?”
“You, and your entire species, are liars. You pretend there’s no risk of humans losing control, then don’t think to hide this entry,” I hissed, swiveling the holopad around.
“Ah, that’s a complicated topic…given your opinion of our dietary preferences. This isn’t like an Arxur, Crysa; bulimics don’t wolf down the first thing they see. Shit, I’m not the person to discuss this. I have the delicate touch on the operating table, but not so much for tap-dancing around aliens’ feelings.”
“That’s why I want you to talk about it. I have a patient that I believe is presenting with anorexia.”
“Not my area of expertise. But why the fuck are you showing me the bulimia entry?”
“I couldn’t help but read about the other…instances. Ones that went in the opposite direction.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. We don’t consider you food for this to be an issue that concerns you. This just means…overindulging when you sit down for a meal, and feeling like you can’t stop eating. It means raiding the fridge, not walking past you in the hallway and going cannibal. Food is one way people cope with emotions, and some cope more than others. Like when I don’t feel that I’m receiving enough appreciation at work, I’ll go for a candy bar at home. Catharsis. A bulimic is the equivalent of an alcoholic, but with food as the poison: not alcohol.”
“Because…it makes them feel better. It tastes pleasurable?”
“Yeah. You’ve never seen humans eat meat raw, or live animals. That doesn’t register in our brains as appealing, and it wouldn’t taste good either.”
“Then why do Terrans like my patient not want to eat, if it brings you pleasure? It’s guilt over eating predator food, and subsisting off of living things, right?”
Dr. Baranwal closed one eyelid for a brief moment, angling it at me. “No, anorexia is because everyone is trying to be as handsome as me. I’m basically a Greek statue. Deadass, it’s more that people want to be beautiful. Like me. And thinness is associated with beauty to an unrealistic degree. It’s about wanting people to love them, and feeling like others judge them on appearance. Disclaimer, I don’t know how accurate this is; not my field, only a passing knowledge.”
“What do you mean by judging them on appearance? Obviously, that has been more about binocular eyes and canine teeth than body fat.”
“It doesn’t matter. Anorexics will attribute unrelated negative responses to them to their weight. Top on the toxic dialogue around food, and frankly, I’m surprised you haven’t had several patients walk through your doors. For people already susceptible to that kind of thing, you’re giving the worst comments possible—pushing them into that kind of behavior. Now they really feel like they shouldn’t eat at all.”
I blinked several times, processing the abnormally observant comments from Dr. Baranwal. It didn’t always seem like he was receptive to others’ emotions, but he’d hammered out an explanation for these behaviors that hadn’t registered with me before. Terrans were social creatures, and I already knew how much alien judgment could warp their minds and affect their moods. Now I learned they would starve themselves to the brink of death, to avoid feeling rejected? That was so unspeakably sad, that it brought tears to my eyes.
What have we done? This is our fault, triggering these humans into feeling ugly, disgusting, and unwanted. I unintentionally broke my “do no harm” oath just through my bias. I have to make Adana eat…and more than a salad.
“The Venlil populace needs to know about this,” I decided. “To see a predator refusing to eat…because they’re deprived of love. Just because they think it’ll make us happy.”
Dr. Baranwal narrowed his eyes. “Why? So that they can call it predator disease, and use it as more evidence that our minds are unstable? Most aliens don’t understand how much we all want validation; even though most Terrans don’t deserve it by merit of their skill, as I do.”
“I just…we need to know that we’re pushing your people into this. We have to stop it! I feel responsible, that it’s all because we don’t like flesh-eating. I still have qualms about that side of you.”
“If you feel responsible, then change it. Be supportive with no conditions, and shut down that voice in the back of your head—the one that’s there when you say you’re not afraid of us anymore. Being supportive means jumping through hoops to bring Adana meat, and then to encourage her to eat it.”
“You want me to encourage a predator to eat flesh? How would I even obtain it? Selling it is banned on this world!”
“This hasn’t been publicized, for obvious reasons, but it is permitted now in the Terran refugee camps—as long as it’s not visible from the outside, and it’s only sold to humans. Veln is trying to buy our votes, I think. Anyhow…go to my office. Second drawer, I’ve got a turkey sandwich. Feed it to her.”
I gaped at Dr. Baranwal. “You brought carcass meals into the hospital?”
“Yep, and I’ve been doing it for awhile. You don’t exactly have another human surgeon, so I’m not worried about my job security. How about instead of chastising me, you go get it and do what’s right? I mean, heavens, I can’t help but save the day—even things where I’m not supposed to do the fixing.”
“I’m just…I want to, but I’m not sure I can. Adana needs to have this though, to come back from starvation…to be healthy. I can’t see her like this, in such an emaciated state. I’ll…try.”
Dr. Baranwal, tapped the table, smiling. “Right. Good talk. Now off you go!”
I padded my way down to his office, feeling like I was sneaking off to commit a criminal offense. I located the sandwich in a bread-shaped container: the arrogance to hide it in plain sight in his desk. No matter, it was probably good that he had it; this wasn’t any different than the flesh meals I’d thought we should have, in case any humans’ hunger got out of hand. The sole difference was that I would have to be standing by to convince Adana to eat something that made me uncomfortable, and that I’d never stick in my mouth. If I was going to help this patient, there would be no more turning a blind eye to the predators’ diet anymore.
A/N - Part 1 of this two parter! A serious topic to touch on, with the Feds' hefty focus on diet and food...that rhetoric has amplified certain eating disorders by making humans feel guilty. Our Zurulian nurse is forced to confront her own prejudices, after trying to avoid our mealtime, and is shown the horror of the situation by a human colleague. Can Crysa sacrifice a little of herself to help a human? Do you think the sandwich is the right way to support Adana?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting! There's a story about Noah and Tarva's kids coming up very soon, after Chapter 184 concludes NOP1; bonus content can revisit any favorite characters you guys want to see again!
Comments
Dcluigimario
I think it's amazing that the doctor knows that since he's the only human doctor at that hospital that he has pretty much any kind of immunity as long as he's not in the faces of all of the other non-human coworkers about it. I like him
Dookus Maximus
Yeah I kind of love him too. He's a caricature.
Sobek
I would guess he is playing it up due to the lack of any pushback from aliens scared to talk back
Kael
Haha I'm not a nurse! I cld nvr survive wat they go thru daily. Fr they r very underappreciated, and it's not hyperbole to state tt healthcare systems wld break down without them! Yep agree with your points, it didnt occur to me about the potential of their mental health system still holding historical biases. Now that I think of it, especially since barely any time has passed since the new understanding of humans vs generations of Fedpaganda
SimpleArtist
I LOVE that we're exploring the state of the refugees on Skalga, specially Food Related Disorders, as their bound to affect them, from Anemia to Anorexia. I like the characters, although I can't help but notice that Adana's dialogue was really... on-the-nose. Anorexic ppl would out right deny that they have anything wrong with them, or try to blame their syntomps on something else, like "I know I'm a little skinny, but I'm really sensitive to heat, so i had a Heath Stoke, thats why I fainted/Im not hungry, I just ate", they may not see themselves as Skinny, but they're aware others don't see them as obese. Some ppl with anorexia may not even know they're anorexic bc of the Lack of Control aspect of the illness, they just know the way the disorder makes them feel. Thank you a lot for the chapter, can't wait to read more ❤️
Tyler Ellis
I honestly believe that this surgeon character is just a parody. He’s the comedic relief of surgeons that even other surgeons would have a laugh at reading! But I love his character!
Nope
As someone that’s worked in the medical field, I can assure you that SOME surgeons in general are indeed full of themselves. But this surgeon is a bit *too* full of himself. No idea if that’s intentional or just over-exaggerated, but it’s too much even by surgeon standards XD
Some Lvm
@DemonVee A while back I read about a real life project that tried to train AI to recognize liver cancer. I am not sure what became of it in the end, but the first try failed, because all the samples with diseased liver had a ruler in the photograph, and the training algorithm latched on to that as an indicator. (I didn't read about it in a medical journal, but in a CS article about issues with machine learning) But here is the thing - if you can solve the environment recognition and decision making issue current real life AI suffers from to the point where cars can fully function without a driver (something that does not exist yet despite popularized claims), it would mean you have technology that could recognize what is cancer and what is not better than the sharpest human doctor. From my perspective, compared to the wider world, specific issues in the human body might actually be a more "limited domain" for a machine model. To put it simply - a robot surgeon will not have to deal with random crap popping up in the operating room, while a robot car has to be ready for anything to appear in the middle of the road (or for there to not be a road, in case of what is called "the final mile"). I can understand your reluctance to trust a machine, I even share it, but I doubt 2 - 3 generations from now many people will still have it. As for the waiting time to grow an organ - yes, that might still be an issue. One which could be solved by adopting Farsul cryogenic technology: It might be costly, but those who can afford it would likely want to have organs grown for them in advance and kept on ice in case of an accident or illness, so there will probably be insurance companies offering just such a service. The cryo storage would at least avoid any "Island" scenarios.
I subscribed to knowledge fight on 11-1-2023 let's see how long it takes
I never thought about how the two cultures regarding food would interact with each other. It's very nice!
DemonVee
Having a reasonably autonomous robot and a machine that can make it's own decisions about something as complex as the Human body isn't exactly the same thing. I personally wouldn't trust a computer to decide "That thing there, "kinda" looks like a tumor" (Chop, chop, chop) Though, I imagine robotic tools would become far more common, small scale and precise. And it would make sense if transplants were no longer an issue. One potential issue might be that their lab grown meat is probably made in a factory setting. Made for getting a consistent product and at the fastest possible pace. While patients would need an organ tailored to their own specific needs, so long waiting lists might still be a thing.
kindtheking9
Yeah unfortunately refeeding syndrome is a real threat to any malnourished person, many jewish golks that survived the camps during the holocaust were given plenty of food by the American soldiers who felt bad for them and tried to help them, unknowingly doing more harm than good
Some Lvm
People probably don't often think about it, but being a surgeon is a very stressful job under normal circumstances. A specially doing organ transplants, where the smallest mistake can cost the patient their life. Now imagine doing it on an alien planet, with backwards medical knowledge and severe, rampant phobia of humans, while a war is on and earth is recovering from the biggest massacre in history. If a turkey sandwich a day keeps the doctor going, our Venlil friends will just have to live with it.
Some Lvm
So the guy seems like a typical "arrogant surgeon" trope at first glance, but than does not hesitate to sacrifice his turkey sandwich, which on Skalga is the literal equivalent of blood diamonds, for some absolute rando off the street. Cool character, hope we see more of him! But this story brings up some interesting questions: So in 2137 surgeons have not been replaced by robots, even though humanity does have level 5 autonomous cars everywhere, even able to drive on battlefields. What about organ donors than? Since we know humans can grow any animal meat they want in commercial quantities, does that mean it is also possible and cost effective to grow human organs for transplant? This would solve both rejection issues and the need to wait for a donor to show up.
Some Lvm
> It’s guilt over eating predator food, and subsisting off of living things, right? No, that is a different condition called "veganism", one that unfortunately hasn't been getting the needed attention from Terran psychiatric experts.
Amanda Chowning
First, thank you for your service as a nurse before I begin the rest of the comment. Nurses deserve a lot of appreciation. I feel points 1 and 2 can easily be explained away. As you mentioned, the job spread might be different. I assumed the slightly different rolls of doctor and nurse come down to the fact we are talking about aliens on a different planet. Frankly their societies being so similar to ours to begin with is shocking. I can understand an alien nurse on an alien planet might have a tad more responsibility than the average nurse here on Earth. As for point 2, I feel we got a sufficient canon explanation acknowledged in the story. She’s specifically trying to avoid letting non-human coworkers know about her patient’s mental health because she doesn’t trust their mental healthcare system- And for good reason, she’s worried about her being thrown into a predator disease factuality, electroshocked, etc. Frankly, the patient is safer getting help from this general nurse than going anywhere near this planet’s mental healthcare system.
The Cat In Pants
This is definitely a heavy one, definitely interesting to see certain human issues through the lense of an alien with no concept of some parts of our culture and psychological makeup though. I love that Crysa is doing her best to work through her bias and get Adana back to stable health but idk if Dr. Baranwal's idea of the Turley sandwich is gonna be the best 😬 Realistically, and not to sound like a know it all I know its a fictional story about flighty herbivorous aliens, based on the current state Adana is in, something as heavy as a sandwich or as full of fibrous veggies as a salad might do more harm than good. I've heard several tragic stories of recovering anorexia patients agreeing to eat a meal with their family as a way to mark the beginning of their recovery too much too soon and damage their digestive system, possibly even rupturing the stomach or intestines that have been so empty for so long they have lost too much of their elasticity to cope with the sudden influx. Crysa might be uncomfortable with it, but she needs to get intimately familiar with recommended recovery diets for patients with starvation syndrome if she truly wants to help (sounds like a word I made up to sound more clinical but I swear to Jod it's an actual medical term)
EliasArt2Life
Meth. No matter your stance on meat, it’s not going to make you butcher a surgery. Potential meat contamination is a problem, but with medical sterilization practices, the risk is minimal. (Yes, I know the question was rhetorical, I just like answering them for the fun of it.)
Kael
Hey SpacePaladin! This short series hits differently! I'm a healthcare worker, and it's especially refreshing to see the Zurulians at work! 😁 Some things that I've noted - 1) Crysa's duties and responsibilities seems more in line with a Dr than a Nurse, although perhaps they have a different responsibility spread, in the GIM system, or perhaps they are so short staffed that the senior nurses (eg Nurse Practicioners) have to step up to an enhanced role; 2) Patient needs a psych eval and a Psychiatrist in addition to an Internist + GenMed; 3) Omg Dr Baranwal... yes there are surgeons who are exactly like that! 😁😁😁😁😁
GeneralLDS
turkeh sandwich or meth. which would be more concerning??
Amanda Chowning
While we’re on the topic of revisiting any characters we want to see again, I’d still really really really like the one-off with the ancient archives Arxur we never got. When we did the poll there were so many great ideas, and she didn’t win simply because there were so many GREAT ideas. But I know there’s a story/idea there Space Paladin wants to tell, he’s been hinting at it, and I’m sad we never got it. I feel the lack of the alluded to one-off story and her not polling as well as some of the other options is why she got pushed aside in the main story unfortunately. But there was still a lot of people who voted for her- Wasn’t it at least dozens? If not more? And it would be cool to see her and her society pre-capture if that’s an option. Also, I’m excited for the Mullin one-off, but that’s already been confirmed.
ToddTheSquid
This human doctor is like a slightly less narcissistic version of Dr. House and I'm not sure whether to love it or hate it. Feels like both.
Veritas Tenebrae
That’s quite nice. Good old emotional story, with a nice topic. Yeah, people with anorexia would definitely be more “encouraged” to continue if the whole galaxy is supporting their starvation and call them “ugly” and “scary”. It’s creative spin on our fucked up psyche
ToddTheSquid
@Tvlor "Wilson, pay up." says Dr House (offbrand)
EliasArt2Life
Agreed. I think that there needs to be a renewed pushback against that kind of talk. We still see a lot of erroneous belief that humans hunt regularly, and they call meat “carcasses”. Emphasizing that the average human has no idea how to hunt, and repeatedly reminding aliens that mainstream meat is grown from cell cultures in a lab could help reduce the stigma.
ToddTheSquid
Paging Dr. House
Lord Tvlor
Oh, yeah. He's either a certifiable narcissist or putting it on and trying to screw with people. One of these days Crysa will ask why he's always so damn cocky and he'll laugh and someone will hand him a fiver.
T___
I am disliking it more and more when the aliens keep calling lab-grown pseudo meat carcasses. Carcass is a body of a dead animal, a corpse or a carrion.
T___
She said it herself: she is not in control of anything, but she CAN control what she eats and how many calories she uses by exercising. That's what's in the heart of Anorexia Nervosa. I don't think living offworld is a good choice for her.
Gumcel
I enjoyed reading it. Don’t worry about it, you made good points.
EliasArt2Life
@Gumcel Agreed 100%. (Also, I’m a little embarrassed that you managed to explain my stance on Veln in 1 paragraph, when I wrote an essay…)
Gumcel
Veln is trying to appeal to as many (often conflicting) groups as possible. It’s gonna blow up in his face and in the end no one will like him.
EliasArt2Life
Agreed. It’s rare to see a character stuck in a position like this, where they believe in their morals, but also have to accept that those morals are hurting people in a way they don’t want to. It’s been pretty well done here.
Ethan Rappolt
and/or is actually very much the opposite: scared and insecure, but hiding it at work. possibly even because a confident doctor will often make the patient feel better about their chances. especially for surgery.
EliasArt2Life
@Adam Myers Possible, but I don’t see this changing things on the PR front. @PhycoKrusk I don’t think there’s any chance of it improving his PR. Keep in mind that the majority of Veln’s supporters were those who were anti-human or at least wary of humans. THEY definitely WILL NOT support Veln making ANY concessions regarding meat. Yes, it does make him more popular with humans and human supporters, but it won’t make anyone forget his boarder line anti-human campaign promises from the previous election. Basically, it won’t gain him many supporters, but will lose him plenty. That’s why I think his PR is going to take a hit. You mentioned how this isn’t a “zero-sum” game. I agree. That’s also how Tarva saw it. Veln is supported mostly by people who DO see it as a “zero-sum” game; people who see every concession for humans as humanity getting a stranglehold on Skalga. And Veln has just the biggest concession since Tarva okayed the meat factories on Skalga (ONE of the things cited as leading to her loss in the election). The difference? Tarva was upfront about it, and Veln is trying to keep it secret. When it gets out, people will likely see it as even worse. Also, about the “chain of successful”, Veln made a campaign promise for “no more Federations”, and in his debate with Tarva, equated the Coalition with “another Federation”. Simply put, him helping the SC goes against his campaign promises, which is a potentially bad look. I agree the Veln is a capable diplomat and isn’t getting tossed around by the UN on every matter, but just because he’s a good diplomat doesn’t mean that he’s getting good PR. Oftentimes, good PR and being a good leader are the opposite sides of the same coin. Besides, as good a politician as Veln is, he made one mistake; he made too many promises that he can’t keep. His plan was to do well ENOUGH that he’d keep getting re-elected, but at the rate he’s going, he’s breaking more of his promises than he’s keeping. I hope this explains my stance on Veln in this chapter.
RaptorRed
If their food is literally just gathered food on a plate no cooking, seasoning, sauce dressing. If all you do is the bare minimum in food prep and you never had human food, I can see their perspective. I don't care for the word gullet, and I feel like stomach would fit better.
PhycoKrusk
Not necessarily; it might actually help his popularity, since its distribution is still restricted, but they're also being very accommodating hosts and decidedly un-Federation. There's a seemingly common perception here that the UN diplomat is taking him to the cleaners every single day, and I don't think that is remotely close to an accurate perception. If Veln is successful, that helps the Venlil be successful; if the Venlil are successful, that helps the Coalition be successful; if the Coalition is successful, that helps Humanity be successful; if Humanity is successful, they can defend themselves against whatever phoenix rises or of the Federation's ashes. Every incentive is to help Veln be successful. The reason why he is so exasperated is the same reason why so many people here express joy at his exasperation; the faulty assumption that living with each other is a zero-sum game, and that for one to win, the other must necessarily lose.
Swan
There's a part of me that thinks he doesn't actually think this highly of himself; he's just acting like that cause he thinks it's hilarious/likes the reactions everyone's giving him (So he's being a troll essentially)
Amanda Chowning
I’m definitely a huge fan of the Dr. personally. He seems to be a very polarizing character, with people on either side having strong opinions one way or the other. For me, he has a lot of the charm of Kane without some of the more questionable aspects. While he probably has a bit of a high opinion of himself, I also think he’s also playing it up a tad playfully with a coworker he likes. A lot of the banner came off as playful and exaggerated to me, even if he is proud of his abilities. Also, we’ve seen fairly high amounts of patience and empathy from him (his coworker literally accusing him/his race of lying and him calmly explaining himself, him willing to give up his lunch to help a patient- and a lunch that could get him in trouble even if unlikely, how he was able to explain the conditions in an empathetic manner, etc.)
Adam Myers
I don’t think that is the case. It sounds a lot more like a concession from UN diplomats to me. Most likely, Veln just wants it to remain under the radar, and has had concessions from the UN to help in that regard (as much as he is outclassed by human diplomats, he isn’t an idiot, he still has sway).
Adam Myers
It would be nice to pretend there weren’t people like this, but…
Tazeell
Seems an interesting little short story and quite unexpected which I appreciate.
EliasArt2Life
“Why? So that they can call it predator disease, and use it as more evidence that our minds are unstable?” That’s a good point that a lot of aliens seem to forget. They’re so obsessed about finding something “dangerous and predatory” in humans, that they’re interpreting honesty and vulnerability with hostility. How do you express something you need to happen when the people you’re talking to are going to see it a something horrid? Crysa was reacting that way at first, and she saw the effects first hand. Also, Veln is allowing meat in refugee camps. Sounds to me like his plan to make immigrants wait more years to gain the right to vote isn’t going so well. His PR is going to take an absolutely MASSIVE hit when this gets out (and it’s GOING to get out. These types of things ALWAYS get out).
RS
That is actually yesterday's turkey sandwich sitting in that room temperature drawer and this is actually an official NOP/chubbyemu collab: An anorexic woman ate a smuggled turkey sandwich from an alien, this is what happened to her brain.
Anemoia
Small bit, but Anorexia is simply a symptom of an illness, causing unhealthy weight loss and a dangerous drop in appetite. For example, you brought up a patient with stomach cancer losing their appetite due to pain. If they reached a dangerously low weight and still had no appetite, that would be Anorexia. The eating disorder that warps one's image of themselves to believe they're fat and that they need to lose weight would be Anorexia Nervosa, with Adana's current symptoms being Anorexia. It doesn't take away from the story and it makes sense an alien doctor would confuse the two, so it's all good. The only bit that made the wording stand out to me is that the Earth database of eating disorders would simply label it "Anorexia" alongside other disorders like Bulimia. Regardless, great chapter! I love the way Crysa realizes most of the mental troubles humans face on Skalga is due to our social nature, and need to seek validation.
Mr. Walker
Does this surgeon have a refrigerated desk? How is he keeping that turkey meat cool? If it goes above 40° F for more than an hour or two, it will grow bacteria. . . Also, what cartoon did this Surgeon walk out of? "It takes a special kind of person to be a surgeon. To hold a person’s heart in your hands, outside their body, and to put it back in—like a watchmaker tinkering with a machine. But when, oh when, Crysa, am I ever not up to the task?” He sounds like a characature of a self-obsessed person. Then again, maybe that is SP15's intention.
PhycoKrusk
It may not convince them "bad," but you could make a strong argument for "ineffective" (which, coincidentally, is also true), and by this point, pushing ineffective treatments is a clearly Federation behavior.
PhycoKrusk
Probably. Really just hammers home how wonderful the Mazics truly are; they *get* it.
PhycoKrusk
They probably would be happy to replace him. The second question is if they *can* replace him, and that seems a lot less certain.
Edmund Lam
Doubt it. Sounds like there is a serious shortage of human MDs.
Leonardo Molina
I like the implication that there's an equivalent slang for "deadass" in Zurulian, since she showed no confusion when he said that lmao
Vladi Vladi
I’m with doc Branwal on this. If I’m the only specialist I’m doing whatever I can to remain calm in such an environment. I cant imagine how stressing it is to come to such a work environment every day surrounded by these “scientists” and “doctors” who think with their stomachs and hearts first, instead of their brains
Blake S
It seems like thier subcategorizing it into different conditions now, so hopefully giving people actual treatment that meets their needs. Predator disease might still be the overall term now since they have to sell this new treatment to the masses. Yeh id hope thier still not shock collaring patients. It be intersting to check back up on our favorite cold clocking zurulian toting mental health profesional Dr.Bahri. I dont think they shut down the PD facilities just put at least one of them under human management. And i dont think Dr.Bahri would physically let any of the old doctors back into those places. Whose to say if veln held up those reforms from tarvas administration. If he did he would likely be keeping it under the table, at least to the venlil. I doubt keeping the PD facilities running would win him any browny points with the human voters. Edit: i looked into it, yeh they only fixed the one facility and it was explicity said that we will see or not if these changes spread to other facilities.
DemonVee
An interesting chapter, something I wasn't expecting. Will say, some parts feel a little bit blunt. Like maybe that Crysa should have pried a little deeper into Adana's feelings at the beginning to start getting hints about the anorexia. And Dr Baranwal might be a little over the top and direct with his ego, but despite that he's a good mix of vain and charismatic, making the character really likable here even though he's basically openly begging for attention haha. Overall a really nice chapter, a big change of pace from the high stakes stuff going on recently in main cannon. Can't wait for the next part.
Apogee
Crysa is so precious, she’s sticking to her core values and that’s helping her recognize and deal with her biases, good on her, she has a good heart
John Benjamin Cate
I look forward to this doctor having to eat some of the sandwich themselves.
gilean23
Heh yeah, reminds me of Doctor Strange from Marvel. Definitely the stereotypical god complex surgeon.
gilean23
Yeah it sounds like it was preexisting, but exacerbated by alien prejudice once we made contact / she became a refugee.
Cera Treascair
I want to give poor Adana a hug, Crysa an affectionate lecture to answer her questions, and Doc Baranwal a high five. Wow...
un_pogaz
Oh, a Zurulian PoV, we're really lacking of that. >Be supportive with no conditions, and shut down that voice in the back of your head—the one that’s there when you say you’re not afraid of us anymore Baranwal is not pleasant and is not politely coated, but his right. Our real enemy is the centuries and a life of propaganda (a difficult enemy, but it can be done). >and that I’d never stick in my mouth ... let me guess: he'll have to convince her to eat by sharing the meal? (damn, poor guy)
Wholesome Redditter
Dr Baranwal is now one of my favorite characters.
TheBlack2007
The UN would be all too happy to replace him if they were to find out...
TheBlack2007
Like William Kane if he actually had any skills that would justify that huge attitude of his.
The doctor is a funny man. I like him.
Yannis Morris
God… I can just feel in my bones how humans with these disorders are gonna be demonized in Federation society.
Yonael Blackwood
Accurate depiction of surgeons. /J
Yannis Morris
Okay so given how our nurse stated that, yeah, the PD facilities are reopened. How many patients do you think believe that that few months where “predators” were treating them better than any “prey” was just an stress-induced hallucination? But that’s the worst-case scenario. Maybe the more immediate successes convinced the “doctors” that torture is bad, actually.
BigSneppy
That doctor is so vain I bet he thinks that Carly Simon song is about him
Yannis Morris
*given how much their culture and evolution centered around their gullet, I supposed that made some sense.* You say that like it’s weird and I am insulted. Is this what Mazic feel like?
Yannis Morris
It feels overcompensation-y
PiñaPiloto
NARCISSISTIC DOCTOR RAAAHHHHH, HE CANT LOSE HIS JOB HE'S TO VALUABLE YAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
Swan
That Surgeon is just the perfect embodiment of the "Surgeon" stereotype i have in my mind, and i don't know weather or not to hate, or love him for it.
Cat rice
Man, th-this is relatable to an uncomfortable degree… But hey at lease, they have help! You got this, you precious fluff ball, you GO!😄
Youre a swedekisser arent you
Well good grief, poor Adana. I honestly don't even think her anorexia was caused by Fed ideology (fucking hell that's a morbid unintentional pun), but instead pre-existing stuff going on in her life. The poor lady...
E G
I like this doctor dude. I can't think of a single character in these side stories that I immediately liked. Dude is so incredibly vain that he probably has a mirror to his face 24/7 I fw it.
Rowan Ruble
Jesus Christ, that doctor is a prick.
Stellar
Interesting story premise for this universe. Nice!
Paperclip
Baranwal is such a chad, man. He probably looks at his mirror believing that his reflection is his one true love and he's incredibly based for that.
print Path
First
