video broadcast

[unbearablynaive]

Who: The Vision
Broadcast: Fleetwide, open
Action: The abandoned bug ship
When: 6/27 late in the day

[The video opens up to show what sure is a red-skinned guy in a skin-tight blue suit with a bright yellow jewel on his forehead. Someone isn't going for subtlety with his look. When he speaks, it's with a cultured voice and a light British accent.]

Good evening. For those of you I have not yet met, my name is the Vision and yes, this is my normal appearance. I am an engineer aboard the SS Windrose. Like many of you I have been exploring the derelict ship and I believe it is possible to cleanse it of the fungal infection using a process known as vacuum sterilization. Essentially this means moving the air to one half the ship and opening airlocks on the other half, allowing anything not securely bolted to be swept into space - including infectious spores. We would then close the doors, filter the air, move it to the disinfected side and repeat the process. Once it is clean, we may investigate further without fear of infection to ourselves and determine if the ship is capable of being used by us, either for our own purposes or to return to its original owners.

[His expression softens to one of sorrow.] However, in order to be fully confident this cleansing would be effective, it would be necessary to release the infected bodies of the fallen life-forms into space as well. They were once fully sapient individuals, before the infection took hold, and such an action should not be undertaken lightly. Is this a course of action the Fleet would support? If there are any of you who are conversant in such things, would you consider holding a funeral or memorial ceremony for those who have been our enemies?

I welcome your input. Thank you for listening.

Comments

Video

[unbearablynaive]

[He blinks once or twice.] If the medical professionals can find a way, I would be more than happy to save as many of them as we can. If a cure is not possible, however, is it really any better to leave them as an aggressive, heavily damaged shadow of their former selves with no higher intelligence and nothing beyond an instinct to infect others?

Video

[goldenglasses]

But they're still alive! If they're alive then there's always a chance we can save them! Maybe we don't have all the answers just yet! What if we travel a bit farther and we can find someone who knows a cure to save them?

Video

[unbearablynaive]

I am certain we don't have all the answers yet. It's very difficult, given the vast physiological differences from a human standard, but our medical professionals are working very hard on a cure. I would like to see them succeed. However, we must account for the possibility that the damage is irreversible. The creatures who have attacked us bear little resemblance to the sophisticated society described in the ship's logs.

Video

[goldenglasses]

I know that! But there must be a better answer then to blow them out into space if we can't find an answer! We could close the ship off! Make sure nothing can get out while we search for a different cure! We have no right to make this decision on who lives and dies!

Video

[unbearablynaive]

...Perhaps I was unclear. My proposal was to space the dead bodies of the fallen.

Video

[goldenglasses]

[See Vash, this is what you get for being rash and not listening to the whole thing. Not jumping to conclusions at "infected bodies". There's nearly a full minute of silence.]

Oh. Hahaha... yeah. I suppose that's not such a bad idea then... ah... sorry?

[He gives himself another mental reminder that he's not on Gunsmoke anymore.]

Video

[unbearablynaive]

Not at all. It is very compassionate of you to be concerned for the others. It should be entirely possible to contain survivors in quarantine if we do decide to bring the ship with us.

[...Or they'll get put out of their misery by people with more experience. His gut tells him this one is more likely.]

Video

[goldenglasses]

[Vash knows the unspoken part of Vision's comment. Yet, he also chooses to not speak it.]

Yeah, that would be better if we could do that. There's so much about this universe that we don't know. I know there must be some way out there to save them.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

Is it likely we'll encounter something resembling civilization soon, then? The Marsiva has moved slowly, but I admit I have not been here very long at all.

Video

[goldenglasses]

Hard to say about soon, but eventually, yes. We have been to several different planets already. Some more advance than others. Afraid you arrived at a big of a difficult time.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

I find it unsurprising that some are more advanced than others. Have they all been post-contact or are we the first "aliens" some of them have seen?

Video

[goldenglasses]

Well, there was one where we were suppose to pretend we weren't from space, but most seem to be use to having visitors come and go.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

...I see. [Yeah, he'd probably have to wear a hood or something. Or try to recolor his skin, perhaps. Not that it would be hard, but he prefers to display his differences when he can. It sets a better expectation that way.]

Ideally we shall contact those who can get us in touch with the others of the same society. Still, either way I would welcome a peaceful contact.

Re: Video

[goldenglasses]

Me too. I really don't like violence. [As his panicked outburst probably showed.] I hope we can contact the families of these creatures soon, they have the right to know what happened.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

[No, really? But then, so does the Vision - yet he understands that sometimes it is the best option. There are people--or forces, or fungus--that do not respond to reason.] Understood.

Yes, I agree. Perhaps coordinates of an outpost or home world will be in the files that aren't corrupt.

Video

[pain_train]

That's a fucking terrible idea, Vision. It's cruel.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

Pending the results of the medical tests, it may or may not be. In the unlikely event that the infection could be reversed, would it not be more cruel to kill them all?

If it cannot be reversed, leaving them to suffer is a terrible idea. I would simply like to have more thorough information before making a decision.

Video

[pain_train]

There's a big difference between could be and can be and will be soon enough to make a difference. [She has had a thorough education on this back at home.] Especially if we're hoping to find where they're from--so we can what? Take the infection home to their people?

[Don't give her quarantine bullshit, either. It's never perfect, and then more people die.]

If Dr. Crusher and Dr. Bashir and all the rest of the techheads can work this problem and get it done fast enough to mean something, that's great. I really hope that's what happens. But soon has a way of never happening and people want to buy it anyway because it's easier than facing the guilt from having to make a shitty, difficult decision.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

The idea is to warn them of its existence and share any medical data we have come across. I would not advocate meeting with them directly unless we can be absolutely certain the fungus has been thoroughly cleansed. Believe me, I would not want to wish this tragedy on any others.

[It's like she has strong feelings about zombies or something.]

I understand. And if the best decision is to eliminate them, I will have no difficulty carrying it out. I would grieve, but I would grieve more to cause more suffering rather than less.

Video

[pain_train]

I'll also hope that if we meet then, they're a hell of a lot smarter than human people about that shit.

Sometimes there isn't hope where there's life. [Man, she'd like to punch whoever said that in the face.] But that's why remembering is important.

[Idk, man, idk.]

It should be difficult. But then you do it anyway.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

Or that the information goes to those who would prevent harm rather than cause it. [MCU: not unfamiliar with asshole badguys.]

Yes. If difficult choices could not be acted upon, what would be the use in having power to begin with? Responsibility means doing what is right, not what is easy.

Video

[pain_train]

Yeah. I don't know what caused this plague, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't natural.

Plenty of people have power and don't do what's right, though. Or talk themselves into stuff that isn't right.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

It does seem to be extremely specialized to the host biology. That suggests it's either the product of a co-evolution or specifically designed. Rarely do such things happen by chance.

That's why it's all the more important that I try to be responsible. It would be too easy to fall into that pit, and it's a hard climb out of it.

Do you mind a little threadjack? (Np if you'd rather not!)

[pain_train]

Sometimes there isn't a good chance and there isn't a cure. They may be alive, but they aren't them any more.

I never mind! I'm just sorry this response was so late! I left on a long holiday out of country

[goldenglasses]

(OOC: and only just got back. You can drop this if you want, but I'll be happy to continue.)

But maybe they can return again. As long as there's still life, there's still hope. We can't just give up.