Conference Call
© 2023 by Walter Reimer

Thumbnail art by  baroncoon, color by  marmelmm


Several days after Admiral-second k’Daridh had completed her fifth and final meeting with a specialist, the five surgeons met to discuss the matter of treating the vir’s epilepsy without damaging her memory.

They didn’t meet in person, of course; their offices were scattered throughout Imperial space. Instead, the physicians arranged for a five-way hypercomsat link to talk things over in real time.

Two were yawning as the partitioned screen came up; it was late at night for one, and very early in the morning for another. The other three were at various points in the daylight cycles on their worlds. Three were kami, and two were viri.

The first Surgeon-Master cleared his throat and gestured with his tail as various insets appeared depicting the areas of the patient’s brain affected by the seizures. “Even with targeted regeneration therapy, the probability of memory loss remains unacceptably high.”

A second physician, one of the viri, gestured agreement. “I concur.”

The second vir raised a hand to register an objection. “I may be able to supply you with several additional data points,” she said. “Admiral k’Daridh suffered a seizure while I was examining her.” Four sets of ears perked. “I was able to pinpoint exactly where her seizures originate.”

One of the kami asked, “Do you have any projections of success for treatment?”

“Not yet,” she replied. “I want to share my findings with all of you, in order to discover if a viable course of treatment is possible, as well as the chances of success.” She swiped a fingertip across her padd, and data began uploading. “After you have all reviewed the file, may we meet again to talk about what further steps we can take?”

One by one, the other four surgeons gestured agreement, and after a few pleasantries each of the screens went dark.