Sifu stops by...
I was thinking about the different ways this technology might be used and some of the issues that could come from it. What other ideas do you have?
it just so happens that i have been waxing poetic on this subject. have a seat, friends...
FROM novel TALES OF A MAD SCIENTIST
FROM story WITHOUT A DOUBT, EPISODE END OF THE LINE
(2222)
I am bored. Bored. BORED! Who knew that early retirement could be so tough?
I have come full circle. From those first days when I checked cold cells for adequate maintenance, it was quite a shock to suddenly find myself commissioned and on a charter for some mystery patron. Boredom followed, many long watches checking instruments and keeping logbooks, ensuring our frozen travelers remained secure and only half-dead.
As junior officer, I was stuck with what the Navy calls 'delta' shift. Third watch, 2000 to 0600, middle of the night. That actually turned out to be a good thing, for when that explosion warped the bulkhead partition and depressurized our compartment, I was the only one prepared.
I don't know how long it took me to maneuver those chilly canisters from the meat locker into a nearby damaged lifeboat. I lost track of how many times I was smashed against the partition walls by them while working in zero gravity and a rapidly dissipating atmosphere. I don't remember how many times I was shocked while trying to force seldom used relays to respond to new external signals.
I released the lifeboat and made sure the autopilot was engaged. I have no experience whatsoever with flying, and now is not the time to start. After that, all I could do was force myself to stay awake and keep a watch on my frozen charges.
There would be no help from the emergency medical kits all lifeboats were supposed to have, since this boat had nothing. Occasionally at first, then more frequently, I would give myself the only stimulant available, a feed of pressurized pure oxygen to help stay alert.
I watched with decreasing attention as my lifeboat searched for and traveled to a nearby world. I could feel it descend into atmosphere and make gentle 'S' curves as it dissipated energy and velocity. Finally I fell asleep, after forty-one hours, just a few minutes before landing. A hard thump woke me up to see a smooth rollout and rapidly approaching emergency equipment.
"Local boy makes good" was a headline in my Idaho hometown. On the newsnet I received my 'fifteen minutes of fame' when I received a commendation and a surprise promotion. Commissioned and promoted in the same cruise? Fast track on the road to Captain's stripes!
Too bad everything fell apart after that investigation. As interviews and examinations continued, layers of neglect and poor maintenance were revealed. It appeared that my cold cells were the only item up to a maintenance standard.
On the 'slow motion' interstellar stock exchange, Premier Lines stock took a tumble. Bad public news, whispered word of mouth and secretive whistleblowers fed off each other to present a picture of indifference at best, fraud at worst. There was an assumption by the public that anyone associated with soon to be bankrupt Premier was a 'problem child' and deserved no second chances.
Despite all my good karma, no other Merchant House wanted to hire me. Rather than investigate on their own, they believed the press and refused. What can I do now?
I thought that my experience would come in handy in a medical field. After all, there are people who are placed in cold cells for many reasons, anything from surgical prep to prison sentences, even collateral for loans.
Still there were no job offers. Every time people found out about my association with Premier, doors were suddenly shut in my face. Are you kidding me?
I did have one option, one that might not involve Premier. I had a voucher, fortunately in an escrow account, that allowed me to go to school for two years, all expenses paid. Perhaps if I go 'under the radar' for a while, things will quiet down and I can get on with my life!
It was difficult, but I did it. I never did like or do so well in school, but this was a little different. This was a matter of survival. I took an extensive course in poisons and antidotes, thinking I might be able to get work in an emergency room or a poison control center.
Silly notion. Perhaps someone was watching, waiting for me to surface again. That must be it, for I encountered more closed doors. How is this possible?
As a last resort, I made a clumsy introduction to a local member of the Yo-Kuska and became a rent-a-medic, able to patch up others who didn't want a public record of their wounds. There were times that I had to stay hidden in one of their 'safe houses' and patch up victims of violence for days on end. What a career choice, for me and them!
Pirates do not care about the quality of their entertainment. I was forced to bring along my own reading material if I wanted to avoid being bored to death. I made extensive searches of available online archives, eventually carrying around a stack of datacards to be scanned while cooling my heels at some isolated location.
Despite my attempts to avoid the subject, cold cells continued to come to the top of my action list. Eventually I had an extensive collection of reference and research works on the subject. One that really piqued my interest was an obscure analysis of Y.A.R. hibernation enhancement.
One wonders about how the Y.A.R. could form an interstellar empire. With their unknown form of FTL travel, they had to spend many weeks in stasis. Being reptiles, they naturally had the ability to hibernate. This was enhanced by an extract of the hormone that allowed their trance to be used at anytime.
I remember when the idea came into my head. I had forgotten my hand reader and cards this last time, and all I had available on a spare memory stick was that obscure research paper. I read it over and over again on a cracked monitor, out of sheer boredom. Then it came to me -- how about doing the same thing here?
There is a planet, in the Ainuu Pack Zone, where a life form exists that is very similar to the Terran skunk. Instead of a noxious spray, this one was odorless -- and induced fear. This gives the creature time to escape. So it occurred to me that I could use something to induce sleep. Delta rythym boosters keep you asleep, not put you to sleep.
Next, I thought about those ultra-low temperatures. I had fragmentary reports, from the Terran pre-spaceflight era, about people who were inadventently lost under icy waters. When rescued, they were gradually warmed, given oxygen and breathing assistance, Many of them survived, some with no after effects at all. Amazing!
Those of you who have experience with cold cells are aware that it is not a very pleasant way to travel. Especially dealing with that silicone gel that gets everywhere. If I did not subject passengers to ultra-low temperatures, there would be no need for the temperature conducting gel or pre freezing drug ingestion to prevent cell damage.
I made lots of notes, but did not think I would do anything with them without access to a research lab. Surprise! I got a chance to test my theories, just a few days later. Instead of a safe house, I had to travel outsystem, to another unknown location. Some unknown pirate mission was a success, with them obtaining whatever cargo or ships they were after, though casualties were horrendous.
Laser burns, hack and slash wounds, shrapnel and lead slugs in the guts. Most of these victims would zero out as soon as they were thawed. Yet it is impossible to operate on frozen patients. Ever try to place neat sutures in a frozen slab of beef? And so, violating my own standards of ethical practice, I experimented on those readily available bodies. I was an involuntary worker, and my test subjects were involuntary as well. Regardless, I did my best to save all their lives.
Putting my time to good use, I gathered experimental data and made adjustments to my theories as I patched together victims of violence. It took a couple of weeks for me to refine my theories and establish more or less standard procedures. Enough data came from my clandestine work to refine my theory, so that only minor modifications to standard cold cells would be required.
