Dr. Lola Einstein, Savanna, and Lucinda sat on the other side of Medical, debriefing. “You remained very calm, stable vital signs and cardiac status throughout the process, Lucinda,” said Lola. “That was not predicted.”
“I can compartmentalize when necessary.”
“How do you feel now, Luc?” asked Savanna.
“Like I should have been more afraid. At the time, I was dealing with what to do. Now I think about what might have happened.”
“Frightening.”
“As much time as I have spent around Lola and Ivanna, I have never seen them use that kind of speed and strength.”
“As you know, the law enforcement algorithm is a routine part of the operating system in humanoid medical specialists,” added Lola. “It was unfortunate that I broke his arm. He is so strong it seemed like the best solution given the milliseconds available for decision analysis prior to a potential disruption of my operating system.”
“Listen to you,” said Savanna. “You have lovely software.”
“Thank you. That’s the nicest compliment I have heard in months.”
“Well, it’s good for debriefing. Perhaps not so good for helping Lucinda at this moment.”
“Point taken. I will adapt.”
“I’m OK,” Lucinda interjected.
“I know you are,” said Savanna. “You’re emotionally tough. I’m still glad that Ivanna was there.”
“I think he would have raped me. If not that, beaten me bloody. Probably both.”
“Did it bother you that he was mostly undressed?”
“No. I’ve seen everything. I was worried mostly about his fists. Besides, for a large man, he is disproportionately small.”
Lola tilted her head in curiosity, and Savanna laughed. Lucinda joined in, adding, “And very tiny compared to his ego.” Merriment filled the small room along with more phallic humor for the next minute or two.
As it died down, Savanna asked, “So are you going to take Suresh up on his offer to link up, you two single people?”
Again the mirth rose. “Is it that I drive men crazy, or only crazies fall for me?” They continued until the two ladies had tears in their eyes.
“I haven’t had a good laugh for months,” said Lucinda. “God, it feels good. What do think, Lola?”
“I sense endorphins.” The glee dam burst again as Lola looked quizzically at these humans waving, heaving and crying at a remark that simply was not funny. It took minutes for the women to gain control. They tried. They could not look at each other without giggling like preteens in church.
“I am afraid that when I see Suresh again,” Lucinda finally said, “I won’t be able to keep a straight face.”
“You’ll have company, hon.”
Lucinda’s mood eased into serious. “I don’t feel alone anymore. I mean, I could have used my family here to help me get past the last couple of months, but the crew has been great, especially you, Savanna. Especially you.” Lucinda looked into Savanna’s eyes. “I don’t feel single.” She smiled. “I feel like I have some of the intimacy we hope to find in marriage and seldom do. At least, I didn’t and I know you don’t. I am closer to some of my crewmates than I ever was with Chen. There is a closeness that goes beyond those brief moments when a man and woman climax that has nothing to do with sex. It hovers there day after day. Some people find that in marriage, many do not. I loved and still love Chen as my husband. But I feel closer to you and Maricia as dear friends.”
The two women leaned forward and hugged. Lola left the room. Her input was clearly not needed.
After Suresh has been moved to Medical, Cyrus walked into CAC where Raul was monitoring the ship and the drama below. “How do you want me to cover this in the log, boss?”
Cyrus thought for a moment. “Good question. I see no advantage in hiding anything. What do you think?”
“You could make an argument that if people back home learn that our Oxford PhD had a psychotic break and was in a G-string and Mohawk in his lab cooking up molecules, they might be less enthusiastic about funding this whole program.”
“If we avoid full disclosure, this hampers the program’s ability to prevent the problem or treat it on ship. We don’t have one of those Psychotropions on board. We have no good way of treating his illness.”
“Psychosis has been reported on at least two other REAPs.”
Cyrus paused in thought. “I didn’t know that.”
There were several things Cyrus didn’t know. One was the prediction that two of the crew would come apart, one of which just had. “I think they skipped over that little detail in the briefings. I had to search the logs to find it. I found a few other missions that reported, quote, behavioral anomalies that were not classified as psychotic. None of this is mentioned in the executive summaries.”
“Well,” Cyrus said slowly, “I think that answers the question. We need to report it, bring attention to the two other missions where this has occurred, and recommend putting a treatment system on future missions. Are you OK with that?”
“I still think it could be a negative, especially if we point out the other events. It makes the program look like it was hiding something. Mental illness is such a black box.”
“That is not our problem. We need full disclosure. The next two missions depend on that. REAP 24 leaves fairly soon. It will take a long time to ask Control if they want us to report this event in entirety, get a reply, and send the data. I appreciate the political ramifications, but I would like you to write it up, append a little video from Gnawcoeur’s transmission, and let me see it before you send it.”
“Got it, chief. I’ve got another hour and some change on the bridge. When you relieve me, I’ll finish the report and get it to you priority.”
“How long will it take for the message to get there?”
“Days. It’s a long ways away.”
“It should get there in time, then. Savanna is going to take over from you, a schedule change. I’m doing the late shift after I catch a little sleep. Thanks, Raul.”