10117/The Panacea Project: Morally Bankrupt Or an Idiot

The Panacea Project: Morally Bankrupt Or an Idiot
Date of Scene:	20 November 2019
Location:	Ship's Operations - Legion Cruiser
Synopsis:	The Legion learns more disturbing news from Azeilia Stellaris.
Cast of Characters:	Mon-El, Zero-G, Invisible Kid, Brainiac 5, Slipstream, Polar Boy
Tinyplot:	The Panacea Project

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Mon-El has posed:
    Not long after the Legion cruiser began its journey back to Aeon for further investigation, a call from the scientist Drake and Alex had met there pops up on the comms. It beeps urgently, even desperately, waiting for someone to answer it!

Zero-G has posed:
    "Doc is calling," Zero-G says on his personal communicator, to the other Legionaries on board. "Probably wants an update on the sample. Did we get a verdict on whether or not it's as bad as it sounds?" He's hoping the geniuses are presently on the Cruiser, and while his hand hovers on the 'answer button', he lets it ring. Desperately.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle looks up sharply from his cogitations.  "Doc -- you mean that ham-fisted amateur who pumps unknown chemicals into dangerous animals?  Yes, go ahead and answer it.  We need to yell at... sorry, *talk to* her anyway."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy is sitting with his feet up on another chair, working at a tablet with one hand, and drinking out of a bottle with a straw in it. He's not paying any attention.

Mon-El has posed:
    Indeed, the signature on the call indicates it is from Aeon and from her Dr. Stellaris' callsign. It keeps flashing urgently, waiting...waiting!

Zero-G has posed:
    "Okaaay," Zero-G swivels in his chair. "maybe let's try and hear her out first?" The scientist doesn't wait long, he accepts the call. Between Brainiac's disinterest and Lyle's annoyance, Alex seems comparatively pleasant. He's smiling amiably, and there isn't a hint of malice in his greeting: "Dr. Stellaris? How's the crew? Any injuries?" Alex notably looks perfectly fine.

Mon-El has posed:
    When Alex finally accepts the call, a holopanel image of the conservation scientist comes up. She...doesn't look good. Very distressed and haggard, as if she hasn't slept in days. Though, she looks relieved that -someone- answered. "Oh, Zero-G. Thank the gods....ah..." she stammers a bit, glancing away for a second before looking back to the camera. "Well, I-I was just wondering, if you'd made any progress on our, um, request?" she asks, not answering Alex's question about the crew.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Pumped any more endangered animals full of unknown chemicals today?" Lyle remarks half under his breath.  Maybe loud enough for her to hear it, maybe not.
    He gets up and saunters over alongside Alex, and using a tone best described as dangerously neutral says, "Stellaris.  Let me ask you first what you know about its composition.  Or were told about it."  He does not bother introducing himself.

Slipstream has posed:
Heading into the room after hearing the call come through on the communicator is Drake. He zips in with a blue blur of speed, standing next to Alex. He folds his arms over his chest as he listens to the Doctor, then gives Lyle a sideeye. He gives a soft noise in his throat, amused before he turns his attention back to hear the answer.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy looks up from his tablet. Be sets it down with a clatter, and then says, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. So, were you aware that you were injecting living things with nanoparticles that could be used to highjack control of a target's nervous system and turn them into a meat-puppet, or are you ignorant of the fact? Morally bankrupt or an idiot, doctor. Choose quickly."

Zero-G has posed:
    Alex's brows knit together, concerned, but as she seems eager to press forward, he provides the proper introductions. It's the polite thing to do. "This is Invisible Kid. He's our leading expert in biochemistry. As he said, we have a couple of que-" Then Brainiac steps in with...that. Zero-G sighs lightly. "Yeah...we had some concerns. You don't look well."

Mon-El has posed:
    Stellaris' eyes widen as her ethics and her sanity are immediately called into question by Brainiac and Invisible Kid. Alex is nicer, though he seems to share their concerns. This just seems to cause her to become even more distressed. "Nanoparticles?! But..." she runs a hand through her white hair, sighing heavily. "I...I admit I didn't really know what was in it. I just assumed it was some kind of protein blend or-or something..." Her voice falters, and she seems to almost be on the verge of tears. "Astrix...how could he do this?" she murmurs, shaking her head. "Why...?"

Slipstream has posed:
Furrowing his brows harder, Drake looks frustrated as he tilts his head to the side. "But you're a scientist. It's your job to know what you stick in a living creature. You can't just blindly do that." He glances over to Brainy and Lyle, then back to the screen. "How can we get ahold of Astrix without tipping him off that we know he's full of shit?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy glances to Lyle. "Yes, it would take someone truly irresponsible who would experiment on another living thing or themselves with an untested formula that could possibly alter them on a fundamental genetic level." He glances back, and then says, "The simplest answer is to say nothing."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle flicks a quick glance to Brainy.  "I think you mean and/or. No reason it can't be both," he says pleasantly enough.  When he returns his attention to the screen, there's no pleasantry left in his tone or face.  "How could *you* do this is a better question.  You didn't even once stop to think you were pumping an unknown chemical into an endangered /and/ dangerous animal, at least as far as I can tell you didn't.  As of this moment, I think 'idiot' is pretty well solidly on the table, and 'morally bankrupt' is definitely coming in for a landing."
    He starts counting off on his fingers.  "No tests, no analysis, no plan, no experimental overview, you just went out there with a tube of slush and shot it into the first animal you saw -- exactly what novelty store did you get your doctorate from?"
    For all of the fact that he's not raised his voice... that makes him sound even angrier.

Zero-G has posed:
    As his teammates verbally lay into her, Alex leans back and awkwardly drops his hands to his lap. He isn't quite sympathetic. This woman did almost get him, his friend, and her crew killed. "Astrix is your brother, right? Worst case, he wants to have an endangered species of dragons as his personal pets. Best case...honestly, there really isn't a best scenario here. It's bad."

Mon-El has posed:
    Okay, that definitely does it. "You're right." Azeilia's eyes well with tears. "I-it was stupid of me to trust my own brother...b-but I didn't know what else to do! Do you have -any- idea how long I've been campaigning to get funding from the Capital, or even just from -any- company, or anyone at all?! If we didn't get something, -anything-, by the end of the year, our last few thousand credits would have been -gone-. H-he promised that if I helped him test the formula, his company would sponsor a program to repopulate the dragons and build a protected habitat for them! B-but...now the test subject is dying, a-and..." But she doesn't manage to finish the sentence yet, simply dissolving into sobs.

Slipstream has posed:
Rubbing a hand over his face, Drake says, "Okay, we get it, you screwed up. So chill out for a moment. This is still solvable You got big brains on this ship who can fix the dragons. Maybe. But we need to find Astrix. Will you be able to pull yourself together and get him an audience with us on neutral territory so that we can question him? Would be way easier than us going yah-yeet and taking him by force. We need to figure out what he is planning and how to reverse it if possible. Save some time and steps."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy wrinkles his nose, supremely unimpressed. "I will come up with a way to disable this... whatever this was. As for your brother, I think that's Invisible Kid's department." Then he murmurs, "You can start by turning over all your research to me so I can review it. I MIGHT learn something I might already own."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "And send everything you have on the condition of the dragon you shot," Lyle says a little less coldly -- she admitted she screwed up, that's a step in the right direction.  "With a population that low, losing one could be catastrophic for their survival chances so we need to try to keep it alive."

Zero-G has posed:
"We'll fix this," Alex assures, glancing at the other Legionaries, then returning to Azeilia with a somber look. "We need to understand the extent of your brother's deception. He could move forward and try this on other creatures."

Mon-El has posed:
    Azeilia sniffs and wipes her eyes, calming down at least a little bit. "I--of course, I will, I'll give you everything I possibly can...just please..." she turns the camera, and points it what appears to be one of her colleagues. Drake and Alex would probably remember seeing him on the Titanstar earlier. He's lying on a gurney and looking very pale and ill. "...he's dying from internal bleeding...same as the test subject...I-I think they're somehow in -our- systems, too. I've tried contacting Astrix, but it seems he's disappeared. H-he's probably afraid I reported him--" her lip quivers again. "If Tal dies the Capital could have him executed....p-please...Astrix may be misguided, but he doesn't deserve to die!"

Slipstream has posed:
Glancing over to Lyle and Brainy, Drake looks expectantly for leadership. They are after all.. senior members.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy looks up, and then says, "Might as well have injected them with powdered glass. All right. I'll help."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Send the readings on yourselves too," Lyle says, "both those showing symptoms and those not.  And keep trying to contact your brother -- but if you get him, don't let on that we're involved or that you think anything is wrong.  Just find out what you can and report it back to us."

Zero-G has posed:
    Zero-G grimaces. That complicates things. He looks to others, specifically Lyle and Brainy, and says low enough that she couldn't easily hear him, "Isn't this thing supposed to control you? Couldn't she, and the rest of the crew, already be compromised?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "Something we have to take into account," Brainy says, "But if saving lives wasn't risky, Zero-G, more people would care enough to do it." He sighs, "I'll proceed to your location post-haste. Make sure a sick bay is set up for me."

Slipstream has posed:
Nodding his head to Alex, it seems that Drake is in agreement with that particular idea. As Brainy gives the orders, he says, "I'm gonna throw my uniform on." Since he's wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Slumming it Terrain style.

Mon-El has posed:
    Stellaris nods tearfully. "I can try, but I doubt he'll respond. No one has seen him since the incident." She seems at least somewhat relieved when Brainiac agrees to help. "Th-thank you...just...please, find a way to get them out of--of everything." With that, the transmission cuts off, and is followed by a series of images and data as Lyle had requested. Sure enough, it seems both her colleague Tal, and the dragon they'd encountered earlier, are dying from internal hemorrhage. And the more the data is examined, the more it looks like the nanotech in that solution is destroying endothelial cells. There are also multiple clots that seem to be caused by nanoparticle constructs of varying sizes and shapes. It would appear, from all of this, that these devices for whatever reason, are simply going haywire.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy furrows his brow. "One thing I'm going to need -- I'm going to need someone with the ability and skill to lower someone's body temperature drastically, in order to slow down bodily processes -- but with a fine enough control of it not to flash-freeze them into a popsicle."

Polar Boy has posed:
As if on cue, the doors slide open and Brek Bannin steps into the room. "I believe /I/ could be of some assistance."

He stands silent for a moment and looks around. "Okay, guys, I know I've been saying this every time I enter a room for the last two weeks and it may be getting old ... but I really think it's going to be my new 'thing'. And if you do really hate it, I blame Dirk."

Brek combs his icy right hand through his snow-white hair and cocks his head slightly to one side. "What?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle watches the data come in, and his initial analysis is, "Oh, grife."  He looks up at Brainy.  "Can we tap into the frequency those things are on and try to shut them down, keep them from doing any more damage?  Or at least jam whatever signals they might be getting?"  Brek gets a perfunctory wave, Lyle's running data analysis on his omnicom already, and reaching for one of the sample vials.  Without looking up he comments, "I think your freezer unit is here."

Zero-G has posed:
    With the link cut off, Alex sits back and takes a deep breath. It's getting more and more difficult to call his first mission a success. He smiles at Brainy's words, leaves the scientific investigation to the scientists (the capable ones), and swings around in his swively chair. "Hey," Brek gets a little wave. "I'm guessing ice is your thing."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy claps his hands together. "Excellent." He says, before he puts his hand on Brek's shoulder. "Don't let his height and his *asinine* demeanor fool you, Polar Boy is a seasoned Legionnaire. You're going to come with me, Brek, I need your assistance to repair a medical emergency caused by someone's malfeasance. ...Not mine, before you say something that you think is clever but really isn't."

Slipstream has posed:
"Hey!" Drake calls over to Brek with a smile as he lifts his hand upwards, grinning. "That is a very timely arrival." He says with a laugh. He heads out of the room to snag his uniform. He does the quick BRB thing, vanishing in a blue blur of light.

Polar Boy has posed:
"You know," Brek says with a grin as the others greet him, "I'm often called the /coolest/ Legionnaire."

As Brainiac places his hand on Polar Boy's shoulder, the Tharrian raises a finger. "Sure, sure, Brainy. Always happy to save the day. Incidentally, I did some browsing of 21st century social media. Did you know that they have a /very/ different definition of 'professional sub' than we do?" He clears his throat. "Also, ah, how do I erase my browsing record?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy raises his eyebrows, and then says, "Honestly with your height and those dimples you could probably turn a good living at it. Be more open-minded, Brek."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar enters the lab shortly after Brek, joining the gathering. "Brek," he says with a smile. "Good to see you." He notes Lyle busy with more analyses and sits down near him. "I managed to tap into the frequency enough to pick up on some of the transmissions, but actually being able to manipulate them or shut them down is a different story..." he glances around at the others. "Any thoughts on removing them without causing any injury to the host?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Different story is fine, is long as it's do-able," Lyle says, testing various code patterns on the sample vial -- or even if he can just blow them out with a powerful enough signal.  /Without/ exploding them, of course.

Polar Boy has posed:
"Oh, I made many adult friends, Brainy. I'm just ... I'm just not sure I can really make the time they'd need to /stay/ friends. Besides, I have all of you! I'm happy to be /your/ sub." Brek chuckles, a translucent breath-cloud escaping his lips.

"At any rate ... how can I help?" He glances from Brainiac to Lyle to Mon-El to Alex. "Point me to the crisis." Brek punches the palm of his hand, clutching his fist afterwards. "And then I'll put the problem on ice. So, yes. As you said," he nods to Alex, "ice--cold--is my thing."

Mon-El has posed:
    "I'm sure it is, with people like you and Brainy around." Lar says with a wink. "But I can't see that as a permanent solution. We could deactivate them, but if we don't flush them out of their systems, there's no way to prevent someone else from re-activating them later." he frowns. "We need to contain them...they're too dangerous to just leave out in the environment."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy raises an eyebrow at Brek, but only gives a slow, bemused shake of his head. "Well, I'm about to go warm up the shuttle. Can you be ready to leave in half an hour?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Deactivation is just fine by me, they'll stop causing damage and give us a chance to clear them out without them pulping their victims from the inside."  Lyle tries adding a higher harmonic frequency to the mix, watching intently for the reaction -- or rather, the lack of action -- he wants.

Polar Boy has posed:
"Brainy," Brek replies, popping the collar of his purple costume, "I'm so ready to go it'll feel like I wasn't actually here." He tilts his head toward Invisible Kid. "Consider me a pupil of Lyle's. Now you see me, now you don't."

As everyone else's statements finally sink in, Brek frowns. "Wait. What am I flushing? Please tell me this isn't some sort of hazing activity..."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    Brainy glances at Brek, sidelong. "Anyway, where have you been?" He pauses, and then says, "Actually, let me amend that. Any sign of him?"

Polar Boy has posed:
"Me? Oh, I've been around. Just ... chilling. Soaking in all the historical records I can about this age of heroes. You know how it is," Brek says with a shrug. "Not that you would have noticed if I were standing beside you for months, given how you get hyper-focused on science experiments."

Brek wags a thumb over his shoulder at Mon-El. "This guy knows what I'm talkin' about! ... Right?"

Mon-El has posed:
    "Hopefully it's as easy as you make it sound." Lar chuckles. As Lyle plays with the different frequencies, he finally hones in on something that looks like he might have hit the nail on the head. Displays fill with transmissions in an alien script--probably a coding language native to Aeon.

    But if one dives into it, the program as it is actually doesn't seem complex enough to -completely- seize control of someone, though certainly capable of wreaking havoc on one's internals. They seem to have been designed with the idea of some kind of nanotech panacea in mind. Accelerated tissue repair, immune system bolstering, elevated metabolic efficiency, even selective pain receptor dampening, and a host of other capabilities. Perhaps Azeilia's claim that it was supposed to help the endangered animals survive better in less well-suited environments wasn't quite as far off as they'd all thought...

    Lar watches the data scroll across the screen. "So what do you make of it?" he asks of the more technical types. "Think you've figured how to shut them off yet?"

    He smiles good-naturedly at Brek. "Oh don't undersell yourself, Brek. You know how to make an entrance."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
    "It's not as simple as just shutting them off." Brainy says. "How do you flush them out of the body? How do you repair the microcellular damage they've caused? If I just hack-job it, they could have long-term nerve damage, or even be subject to some particularly nasty kinds of cancer--" He puts his hand on his chin.
    "Well." He says. "We always did have a bad habit of underestimating you."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Not yet, but this info helps.  If this is all just a programming error, someone forgot a closing parenthesis or something, I'm *really* going to be annoyed."  Lyle turns the display so Brainy can see it too.  "I'm still thinking 'off' would be a great setting right now.  We can worry about 'elegant and tidy' once we've secured 'still alive'."

Polar Boy has posed:
"Well, I've never held it against any of you," Brek replies. "Besides, I'm always happy to prove that, these days, I've got what it takes to stand among you." He offers a wide smile and looks around the room. "You're my heroes, after all."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar nods. "If we can figure that part out while en route to Aeon, might be a good temporary fix to whip out as soon as we get there to at least stop them from doing more damage. It could save lives. Then we can focus our efforts on the more permanent solution of flushing them out and containing them somewhere secure."

    He pats Brek on the shoulder. "If I ever did underestimate you, I apologize. Every Legionnaire is just as important--and needed--as the next. After all, not every problem can be solved by punching it into deep space. Don't ever forget that." Then he smiles and makes his way out of the lab.