"Finding a Cure"
Previous Post: "Theories" by Tallulah
-=/\=-
Stardate: 60327.0425
Setting: New Alexandria - Section I
Fifteen of the twenty-seven sisters sat dutifully performing various tasks in their personal lounge. They had been working through the night and some, who had no skill to contribute to the workings had finally relented and gone to bed.
After what seemed like several hours, Katie and Elsie returned to the group, having gone out in the SEHKMET temporarily to take some readings for the J's to work with. "Did you get our scan results?" Elsie coldly asked of the dark corner of the room.
"We did."
"They were useful."
"Thank you," three separate voices replied in sequence from the shadows.
"Are you girls ready to give your predictions?" Katie asked, significantly more soothingly than Elsie had.
"We are," came a fourth voice from the darkness.
Suddenly the room went silent and all the women appeared to be listening.
Elsie inhaled, "Does SDS exist?"
"The probability of SDS being an actual physical affliction and not a mental disorder is 2.2%."
Katie addressed the reclusive sisters next. "*If* SDS exists, what are the chances David Dawson is suffering from it?"
"Providing that SDS exists, the likelihood that Mr Dawson suffers from it is 93.8%," the shadows replied again.
"*If* David Dawson is possessed by Richard Dawson, what are the chances that the entities can be separated?" Katie asked, her voice slightly laced with concern.
"The odds are… average."
"Excuse me?" Elsie countered, unaccustomed to not being given an exact number from these six sisters.
Jaycee spoke, though clearly one of the darkened sisters wept in fear from within, Katie rolled her eyes slightly. "The parameters of the question were too vague to provide for an exact prediction."
Elsie nodded and thought for a moment. "What are the chances of separating David from Richard providing that SDS exists *and* the current team for the defence continues their medical investigation."
"42.3%," one voice replied.
"The odds of En finding a method of separation are negligible, 1.9%," Jaycee added, anticipating her little sister's next question.
Elsie scowled, "Considering that the odds of this condition even existing are so low, I don't think…"
At that moment En walked into the room, piles of PADDs in her hands. "I have new information pertaining to the case," she interrupted, walking straight through the wall of darkness without flinching to deliver the information.
There was a pause before she reappeared, taking a moment to flick each wrist thirteen times quietly, she spoke. "Sorry it took me so long, I had to reconfigure three computer terminals to research for me."
"In addition to your forty six current computers?" Katie chuckled, "Do you honestly think three more made a difference?"
"Charles is not going to be happy with you increasing the station's burden for your research En," Elsie scolded emotionlessly.
The woman, clearly tired from having stayed up all night shrugged and flicked her wrists again. "This was important… what do you think Admiral K-O-N-E-K-I is going to do? Fire me?!?"
A few of the other women in the room who had been silent up until then chuckled. Elsie glared at them and they quickly stopped. "Three computers are not likely to result in a termination order En, however your clearly defiant attitude and disregard for authority puts yourself at risk."
The woman looked remorseful and began to blink uncontrollably.
Elsie and Katie looked at each other as if to remain in control of their reactions toward their sisters. Being the only two trained to interact with the real world, it was sometimes very difficult for them to deal with their sheltered sisters appropriately.
Just in time to break the awkwardness, a voice from the shadows spoke. "In light of the new information, the probability of SDS being an actual physical affliction are 99.8%."
Katie nearly fell to the floor. "How do the odds jump from 2% to 99%?!?"
"The new information was persuasive," came the cryptic and vague reply.
Elsie rubbed her forehead in thought, "This does make things difficult ladies, given the odds that the condition exists and that Mr. Dawson is suffering from it, we can not in good consciousness try him for the crimes of his brother, no more than you could be tried for mine or I for yours."
"We will need to separate them," the shadows replied.
"You said that the odds of coming up with a method to separate them is only 42%," Katie countered, "Not exactly something you can bank on."
The darkened figures spoke amongst each other. "There is a way," one finally answered. "To increase the odds to 84.6% by the end of the trial."
"Go on," Elsie ordered.
The shadows were silent again. "If Lea Summers, Maya and Susan Mei were to work with En and Jaycee, the odds are in our favour for a method to be found."
There was silence throughout the room, an ant could have sneezed and the echo would have deafened them all.
Finally, Elsie whispered, "Is there no other way?"
"None with comparable odds," the darkness replied.
Katie and Elsie shared a long glance of knowing, besides the awkwardness of finding a way to introduce En and Jaycee to the members of the ANUBIS crew, Jaycee's extreme Xenophobia and Koneki's standing orders that only Katie and Elsie were allowed to leave Section One, there was the impossible notion of any of them being on the ANUBIS after the death of Enaii that seemed almost like defiling a shine.
Finally, Katie nodded and Elsie spoke. "So be it. En, Jaycee, pack only what you need, you're going on an away mission."
-=-=-=-
Lisa Mac Isaac {lisa_mac_isaac@hotmail.com}
I wanna feel til' my heart breaks wide open
I wanna blaze like a fire that's rollin'
Even if I crash down or burn out
At least I'm gonna know what it's like to feel alive
~ Alive Lyrics, Melissa O'Neil 2005 post #440
