Nov 22 2012
Phoenix Medical RP, NOV 20
Doc Songlord, Chief Medical Officer of Phoenix Medical.
Medical Log: NOV 20, 2012
Incoming subspace message from Admiral Cobramax Mechanique:
Greetings. I have urgent orders. To begin, you are to initiate research on nano-phages. Something to kill nanites in situ. This must be done as quickly as possible, Top Priority. Under special dispensation 455.6, you are authorized to use captured Borg Drones as experimental subjects, if necessary. Under that special dispensation, the prisoners health and well-being is protected, but he may be used as a donor for nanites and as a barometer for the efficacy of a vaccine.
And so it begins…
The GFC Medical team assigned to Phoenix Station begins a research effort to isolate a way to safely destroy nanites while inside a humanoid. This effort brings new problems and issues at every step; from the ethics of nanite research using Borg prisoners, to the effects of sonic feedback waves on the substructure of the station itself. The medical team must overcome every obstacle encountered along the way to their goal, a cure for nanite infestation and it’s complement, a vaccine.
Nanite samples taken from a Borg prisoner are decompiled, disassembled and analyzed at a molecular level in an effort to isolate any indications of weakness or vulnerability. The nanites immediately show signs of adapting to proto-vaccines, and even infecting the sensors being used to analyze them. In an effort to prevent further infestation and system corruption, Razor builds a self-contained analysis unit, confining the nanites in a Klein bottle-type apparatus to isolate them from the sensors that analyze them.
Even as the research continues, the nanites, through a mechanism of their own, begin to evolve into invasive mode and self-replicate. At the same time, Da5id discovers that the Borg prisoner is a Unimatrix Zero adjunct, and has the potential for individuality.
Razor discovers that the construction of the blood nanite is non metallic. It appears to be a silicon-based form, maybe a complex glass that Da5id was able to identify as mono-crystalline Boronitride.
Ai isolates the grouping of frequency bands that the nanites are using to communicate. In an attempt to disrupt those frequencies, she generates a pink noise pulse on those frequencies. Initial tests were not encouraging, so the researchers try exposing them to heat.
Ai programs in a wide band pink noise signal and causes it to be broadcast throughout the station. The nanites immediately break containment in the isolation ward and attack Da5id’s neural implants, leaving him trapped in the isolation ward. At the same time, a piercing high sonic wave permeates the entire station, and the entire lab begins to vibrate.
End of RP
Stay tuned…
Cast
Cobramax Mechanique: Admiral of the Fleet
Doc Songlord: Chief Medical Officer of Phoenix Medical
Da5id Weatherwax: Physician on duty/Section 31 agent
ZhaanP’auZoolu: Research Chemist, DNA Specialist and Senior Physician
Razor Indigo: Chief of Research and Medical Technology
Ai Kikuchiyo-Stine: Chief of Staff, Medical Researcher
Vixen Penny: Research Assistant, and Biologist
Dustin Thunderstorm: MDK Security Officer
William Kirk: Security Officer
Nov 22 2012
Stardates
In our continuing series of Star Trek trivia, we ask:
Why are stardates so different from calendar dates?
A stardate is a timekeeping system which is used to provide a standard galactic temporal reference, compensating for relativistic time dilation, warp speed displacement, and other peculiarities of interstellar space travel. At least, that’s what it’s supposed to do.
In actuality, however, its use has been rather arbitrary among the various series. We usually hear a stardate mentioned at the beginning of a Star Trek episode, where the Captain is making an entry in the Captain’s Log describing the opening scenario. Over the years, writers and producers have selected numbers using different methods, where some methods are more arbitrary than others, and thus makes it impossible to convert all stardates into equivalent calendar dates. Stardates were originally intended to disguise the precise era of Star Trek, including the specific calendar date, although the era was clarified later on the show.
The Star Trek Guide
The following instructions to writers were transcribed from the series bible Star Trek Guide, third revision, dated April 17, 1967 (page 25). Their original date of composition and the author are unclear, but the sample stardates are consistent with the range from the second pilot.
What is called a “percentage point” is actually the tenths digit. While this 24-hour increasing stardate with noon at .5 wasn’t always adhered to within episodes, the initial four digits weren’t selected quite as randomly as described here. An overall increase with time can be observed in the above table of stardates, from 1312.4 in the second pilot to 5928.5 in the final episode of the series.
For further information about stardates in the fictional Star Trek universe, see here.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
By Kevin Ballard • Trek Trivia • • Tags: stardate