SCAVENGER'S STORIES - EPISODE ELEVEN - TO RID THE DISEASE

[Begin a Session: (100) Unforeseen aid is on the way or within reach]

Breaker's Log - Day Nineteen

I provided the samples of the plants and the crude products to Dr. Jeffries, who promised that she would get her top botanists and chemists on the job.  I hoped they could find what I needed, and that they could synthesize it into a useful form... and quickly.

In the meantime, Jones and I took a tour of Silvana, checking equipment for failure or problems and determining what could be repaired.  Since we weren't going to be in hazardous circumstances, I let Fran tag along.

[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, 4+4 vs 2/5.  Strong Hit. +1 Forward]

Most of the work was something that we could do already, with the materials that Ogre had provided.  Some of it was even simple enough that I could train others to do the work.  I asked Dr. Jeffries to assign three technicians to train as apprentices, and guided them through the steps of basic preventive maintenance on the simplest and most frequently used equipment.  One would service a machine while the other two watched, and they would take turns each time.  I tasked JONES to supervise, as all that entailed was checking the work and verifying the steps.  This freed me to work on the more vital and complex machinery.

[Repair: +Wits, +Gearhead, +Forward. 4+4+2 vs 6/7. Strong Hit.  Repair 5 points]

With a few days of effort, and the tools and parts I had on board the Scrounger, I was able to repair the compound's generators, pumping stations, water purification equipment, and somewhat ironically, the vehicle repair bay.  None of these repairs would last long in the hot, humid environment, but the improvements were immediately noticeable and it was a sign of good faith.

[Develop Your Relationship (Luna Jeffries): +2 boxes (6)]

[Gather Information: +Wits, +Connection. 6+4+1 vs 6/7.  Strong Hit.]

Dr. Jeffries called me to the Project's botany lab. She sounded cheerful, even hopeful. When I arrived, a cluster of chemists and botanists were excitedly discussing the results of their research. They called me over to one of their bio-scopes.

"What am I looking at here?" I asked them.  On the screen were a number of reddish disc-like objects, stained by a dark fluid.

"Those are human cells you see," one of the scientists said, "and the fluid is the petroleum waste product."  She pointed to some of the discs, whose shape was irregular.  Some were even changing as we watched.

"The effect you are seeing is the mutagenic change the waste has on an organism," she continued.  "It's not as rapid or drastic in a complex life form, but the long-term effects of exposure are the same."

She then tapped a key and the view changed.  We were now viewing a screen with rectangular green shapes, and the same dark fluid.  These were not growing in the same way the human cells did, but the heart of each shape darkened and the shapes became slightly convex on each side.

The scientist pointed at the center of one of the shapes.  "These are plant cells from the kelp you brought us... well, strictly it's not 'kelp' per se. That is, it's not a proper Laminaria, but more correctly a-"

Dr. Jeffries cast a glare at her, and the scientist realized she had ventured outside of a layman's understanding of botany. "Suffice to say," the embarrassed scientist said, "the 'healing herb' the natives spoke of.  What happens here is that the plant absorbs the toxin, which passes through the selectively permeable cell membrane... umm, the poison gets trapped within the plant and if ingested or applied topically, it is absorbed by the human cells."

She tapped a few keys and the view went back to a split-screen of contaminated human cells.  A pipette placed a few drops of a transparent amber fluid onto the slide on the left, and the cells began to slowly return to their normal shape.  "That is the effect of your 'healing herb'.  We've isolated cholagogic and cytotoxic stimulants - that is to say, the herb kicks the liver and thymus into overdrive to rid the toxin and kill any damaged cells that cannot be repaired."

A pipette did the same to the slide on the right, and the cells exhibited the same behavior.  "This," she said proudly, "is a plant native to the rainforest of Petrichor.  It resembles an orchid in appearance, and has the same effect as the 'healing herb' of Thalassa.  With a sufficient quantity of the plant, we can synthesize a treatment to mitigate and reverse the symptoms you described.  In the long term, we may even be able to develop a reagent that can purify the Thalassian flora."

"That sounds great!" I said.  "So, what are we waiting for?"  Suddenly, the room fell silent.  Their excitement seemed to be dampened.

I turned to Dr. Jeffries, who looked more grim and serious than usual.  She began to tick off reasons on her fingers.  "The underground tubers of this plant are eaten by the wildlife native to its habitat, who ingest it for the same medicinal properties.  This native fauna is not docile.  And we do not have sufficient quantities of the plant on hand here in the Project."

"So," she continued, "in order for us to prepare this treatment, you will have to travel into the rainforest and gather enough of the plants to do so."

[End a Session:  Breaker must venture into the deep rainforest to gather the medicinal plants, avoiding aggressive wildlife while doing so.  Will he be able to gather enough by daylight, or will he be stranded in a hostile jungle at night?]