01: video

[baldrshand]

Hello all! For those of you who haven't yet met me, I'm Ethlyn.

I've started working in one of the clinics here, and it's both familiar and not... and it's become clear to me that the places we all come from are far more different than I could have imagined.

So I'd like to ask you about how medicine is in your homelands. Where I'm from, we use magic to heal wounds cleanly and quickly, but we don't always know what causes illness and infirmity. How are things for you--do you use magic to heal, or do you have to rely on technique?

As well as that--who else is a healer themselves? (And: can you ride?)

Comments

[baldrshand]

Ah, I see. [Of course, arthritis is an illness of age, but she'd thought for a moment that maybe there are 'microbes' that more easily attack elders than robust young people. But maybe it is about use and deterioration after all.] I didn't even realize there were living things so small--it makes sense since there are some you can only see right up close, like aphids, but I didn't realize they could get smaller still.

What exactly do you mean by a 'cell?'

[starguy]

[ Science is truly wild and it's a good thing Peter doesn't know too much about space science or I would be in trouble... ]

Oh, yeah! There's microorganisms and stuff that come together and make bigger stuff, like creepy amoebas and some of the space jellies I've fought.

[ At least he's pretty sure that was their deal? Peter is not a reliable source here. ]

A cell, is like... [ He holds his fingers together, almooost close enough to touch. ] Too small to see, but I think it's the smallest building-block of what makes us organics who we are. [ It's not. ] So like, skin is made up of a bunch of cells, and so's our hair, and our blood, but also plants are made up of 'em too. They're all different kinds!

Basically if it lives and breathes then it's probably made up of cells.

[ Boy, he feels smart! ]

[baldrshand]

So it's like all the stones that make up a castle. It makes sense--all things have to be made up of smaller parts, so of course our bodies are the same. [Which can be told from things like bones and organs, obviously, but it's eye-opening to know that there are even more fundamental constituent parts.] And these microbes penetrate through to cause illness.

I know this is going to sound silly, but are these space jellies--anything like, well, ocean jellyfish?

[That has nothing to do with medicine, she's just curious now]