networkinthenight | first experiment; 9:53 PM

For our more vampiric population, I come to you with a solution for your dietary problems.

I've invented artificial blood. A substance you can consume without harming others, but that will sustain you much as food and water. I owe a debt to Elena for helping me test them.

Unfortunately, it cannot yet be used in a medical sense-- for blood transplants, which are, by the by, a very important part of medical knowledge, which makes up the second part of this announcement.

If you do not know your blood type, come see me, and I can at least determine it. Blood types are a vital bit of information in a place where one routinely gets cut to bits. Transfusing blood-- that is, the act of giving one's blood to another-- can save a life in many cases. However, if the wrong sorts of blood interact, the result can be deadly.

Many of you do not know your blood type. This will, inevitably, come back to bite you.

So. I suggest you come by my lab within the next few days and find out, before you nearly die of an injury, manage to make it back to town, and then die of your original blood sensing the invader and killing off the cells that came to theoretically heal you. What a horrible, ironic death that would be.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I am. Don't mind if you want to have a look sometime with your microscope also.

Come by, then. It won't take very long.

[Cool let's just do that then. He knows where the lab is. He held test tubes like a good lab assistant! And didn't drop them. Big achievement.

He knocks first just because walking in on people as a surprise is pretty rude, but then goes ahead and pushes the door open. The limp he'd been managing for the last few days is gone, as is the bandaged cut over his eye. Clearly he's all healed up in a very normal way. Smacks the top of his head on the doorframe as he comes in though, and hisses through his teeth, then rubs his head through his hat. Ow.]

Hey. Didn't have anything else going on anyway.

How important I feel, hearing that.

[It's not as if he knows her well, but still, even he'll be able to hear an edge to her tone that isn't usually there. And when she turns--

--she's an eyepatch over her left eye, and a vivid cut going down her cheek, her neck, until it's abruptly cut off by her high-collared shirt. So maybe that's the source of her ire.]

Take a seat, please, and bare an arm up to the elbow.

[Well, okay, fine. He'd meant it as "no I'm not weird and jumping up and down to get my blood typed" but if she's going to take it as a slight, that's her prerogative. Doesn't surprise him much given their limited interactions -

But then yeah. Ow, fuck that looks horrible, and he immediately frowns a little. The reminders of those two weeks are widespread and will remain so for a while, he fears, much like Kuai and his missing ear.]

Sorry. Not having a great day myself, didn't mean to put you down.

[Though hey, he's alive. It's not all bad. He sits in a too-small chair, sets his lantern on the floor, and pushes his sleeve up as high as he can manage. Old scars cut lines across his skin. Never happy about showing those off but what are you going to do.]

[God. It'd be easier if he'd snarled at her in return; instead, he's kindly about it, which is honestly worse. She exhales harshly, a sound of irritation that's as much directed inwards as anything, and moves to swipe the inside of his arm with disinfectant.]

It's been a very long few weeks.

[That's as close to an acknowledgement of her own behavior as he'll ever get. Her fingers don't linger on the scars, but she does hold his arm steady as she readies the needle. And, assuming he doesn't balk, she'll go ahead and slip the needle in his arm, right where the biggest vein is.]

[He just acknowledges it with a nod. It has, they've all been dragged through hell and back and he knows it. Most of them still just don't even want to talk about it. Those that weren't killed outright suffered tremendously, as Doctor Lutece's eyepatch can clearly attest to.

Thankfully he's not squeamish about blood or needles or anything of the sort. He sits patiently and waits.]

Military had us all typed on enlisting for exactly this same reason. I hope you manage to get everyone to come in, or at least tell you what they are. Type S is the universal donor where I'm from. Dunno if it's useful here, though.

Which suggests a correlation to type O where I'm from. We'll see if I'm right soon.

[Fortunately, it doesn't take long. One single vial, which she labels accordingly, before pouring part of it in a small tray. Another vial is mixed in (labeled R. Lutece - A positive), and then she puts the entire mixture under the microscope.]

[He smooths his sleeve back down and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he watches. As if he could see anything from here, but he's curious. Nothing to say, really - he doesn't want to interrupt her. She's doing important work!]

[Oh. Oh, hello, that's interesting, and she hums softly as she pulls back.]

O-positive. Fairly common, but equally useful. I wonder why they designated it S in your world.

[A question without an answer. Instead, she caps off the vial and adds his blood type to the label.]

Thank you. This will help a great deal.

[Different systems, different languages, if he had to guess. He's not from Earth, why would they be the same? But it's reassuring that she recognizes it and has an equivalent. That yet another element of humanity stretches out there through the stars, held in common from world to world. He smiles as he stands.]

I'd say I don't mind donating but maybe you've got it covered, now. I know it's hard to store with the supplies we have. Still, if you're ever in a pinch with a patient, let me know.

I'll keep in mind. Truthfully, if we've another occurrence like before, I'll need all the blood I can get. It's a miracle most of us didn't die of blood loss; it won't happen twice.

[. . .]

. . . answer me something, for my own curiosity. Why do you offer?

[That strikes him as a very strange question to ask. Who wouldn't offer?]

Because nobody should die of blood loss if there's usable blood available to prevent it.

Even if it weakened you? Even if you needed your strength to defend others?

If we were in the middle of another siege, we'd have to weigh the pros and cons of doing so.

[Clearly. He's a realist, he knows not everyone can be saved every time. But if there are enough healthy people capable of fighting, and can risk one sitting out the action for a while, he's perfectly willing.]

If your artificial blood stores better than the real thing, maybe prioritize setting it aside for emergencies. Use ours first when the situation isn't as critical.

It isn't, or I would. But this blood can't be used medically, not yet. And it doesn't keep.

[So it's useless in that sense twice over.]

. . . what would your pros and cons be? If we were in the midst of another siege. What factors would you weigh?

[And does sentiment play a part in it?]

How many are left who can fight, how quick recovery for the injured and me both after a transfusion and how much time there is to rest. I'd prefer to prioritize people who can recover quickly, and fight well enough to keep us defended and alive. It's crucial to think long-term.

[What kind of answer does she want, anyway? Because she's prying awfully deeply for some reason. He doesn't mind answering, for while triage is the realm of doctors and medics, as a military commander he understands it plenty as well. Whichever situation might give the group as a whole the best chance at survival is the option he'll choose, if he's able to work out what that optimal solution would be while under pressure.]

first experiment; 9:53 PM

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