notquiteheartless | Deduction 1

Deduction 1 - [ written ]

[Sherlock Holmes has been on bedrest for about 48 hours.

However, when his doctor decides to go out for supplies and to see if any of the detective's clothes have shown up (it was either that or let the man get up and see himself, and apparently that was not going to be allowed)... the patient lets himself get up. Not much, just enough to make it into the sitting room.

Which is just as white-washed as the bedroom. Damn it.

Once he can stand to be on his feet for more than ten minutes at a time, those walls are getting painted or papered or something.

He's had time enough to read his Journal and the Guide it contains, and the system itself is straightforward enough. Something like a computer but not quite as efficient. Still, it's something.

It doesn't matter to him that his Journal is in his bedroom and John's is sitting out. It's John's he grabs and a pen nearby that he writes with, unaware of what was broadcast over the journals the previous day.]

I am aware that damage to the wings is ill-advised. However, I am curious: Seeing the distinct disadvantage that they pose, has anyone attempted to surgically remove them? Not ripping or merely cutting-- a proper medical procedure. An amputation. Has it been attempted? If it has, to what end?
SH

[After he's written out all of that, he starts on another project. To some, it may just be evidence of extreme boredom. Others... Well. Others might recognise it.]

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[Considering the number of wings that she's ripped off others in drafts, Katara is somewhat sickened by this suggestion. Her handwriting, kindly translated by the journal, is neat if somewhat cramped, suggesting someone who had learned to write without having much access to parchment.]

That would be a very bad idea.

[Frankly, in the face of that idea, she doesn't even care about the squiggly lines which are probably some kind of code.]

Edited 2012-03-20 19:08 (UTC)

Has it been attempted?

Not surgically. But ripping them off is essentially the same thing, unless you are accounting for blood loss. They might attach as limbs, but they are not just limbs. The damage done by removing them is a lot more like removing an internal organ than a finger, foot, or leg.

If one merely hacks a limb off, the subject is likely to die. Amputation does not generally result in death with modern medicine. So forgive me if I do not simply accept that because something is fatal when violently removed it will be so when it is removed under medical conditions.

[Katara frowns at the book and takes a breath before forming a reply, reminding herself that this person is new.]

I understand that you may think that the medicine where you come from is more advanced than the kind of medicine you'll find here, and you may be right, but you're still comparing the wings to limbs. They might look like them, and function like them, and even their chi appears to make it seem like they're limbs, but the fact of the matter is that they are not. What they are isn't that simple. They are a product of entering into this world, and necessary for survival here.

As evidenced by recorded medical attempts and failures, I'm sure.

[At this point, her handwriting spreads a little bit wider.]

As evidenced by the fact that everyone who comes here - everyone - has them. The wings are as much a part of this place as the spirits. What you're suggesting is an experimentation as cruel as any the Malnosso have subjected us too, and if anything that they say is to be believed, even more pointless. Death might not last for long here, but it still takes a toll.

It seems they don't have to convince you. You all have done a fine job of convincing yourselves.

[It seems like we're not the only ones who are convinced.]

I'm not sure what it is that you seem to think we are all so convinced of, but having [the barest hesitation before this word choice] seen many people die in battle due to the removing of wings, and having seen civilian Malnosso, soldiers of the Malnosso, and Third Party members all with wings I am as sure as I am about anything here that the wings are a natural part of this world.

It is considered "normal," at least where I am from, for a person to have two arms and two legs. Removed in battle, most die from those injuries. Removed in a surgical way, one can survive the loss.

There is no reason to assume that the same does not apply here without it ever having been tested.

You want to see if someone could survive impaired?

[That seems - completely logical.]

But you're still thinking about them as limbs, as normal, human limbs. They're not. I saw a journal entry the other day talking about how the placement of them was impossible for a human skeleton. [She throws this at him in hopes that coming at it from a different angle will help prove her point.]

I can't say it any other way. They're not just limbs.

[And to circle back to her other point.]

I saw that you said you wanted this done on yourself, that you knew a doctor who could do it, so I'll assume that you know each other from the same world, and that you trust each other. What if, somehow, you're right. What if you survive. Using your own analogy you've just cut off something that is essential, something that is "normal" for you to live here. What would that prove?

But what if I'm right? What if you get your friend to agree, and the surgery just ends up killing you? Think about what you'd be doing to your friend.

Edited (sorry, messed up my wording \o/) 2012-03-21 06:03 (UTC)

[Now, he knows that woman. One of the few people here who seemed worth his time.

...Granted, she also agreed with him that assuming they couldn't be removed was idiotic. So her points are something to consider, not something to deter him.]

It would prove that it could be done and then the consequences could be considered, rather than theorised about. If one is afraid of what might happen, then progress can never be made.

[Well, she did her best.]

I can understand your reasons for wanting to test it out. [After all, when Katara was first here, she tried to get herself mallynapped in order to follow a friend.] But I think that you're wrong for assuming that something so obviously not normal would behave in the same way that a normal limb would behave.

I hope that you think about what I said.

[She's not going to try to physically stop him, although part of her thinks that she should. If he's right, then... she's still not sure what it would mean. If he's wrong, then he'll be back in a week, and she hopes whoever performs the operation can stand the consequences.]

"It's never been tried" is not an acceptable reason to believe "It can't be done."

I understand that. [From the very personal side of it, in fact.] But that's not what I said.

I have been made aware of the risks. Any consequences are on my head alone.

[At least this one is a bit less frustrating than the others.]

And whoever you get to perform the surgery.

[She can't quite let him get away with that, because she also knows too well what it's like to not be able to save somebody. She can't imagine how much worse it would be if she was trying to help someone and they died as a result. She thinks it's selfish of him - whoever he is - to dismiss that. Especially if she was right and thought it was a friend.

But she can accept the desire to test something in order to see for himself.

And she can appreciate that he's taking the risk himself, instead of trying to force someone else into it or ask for volunteers.

Even if she still doesn't see what even the success would accomplish.]

[It wouldn't be the most selfish thing he'd done to John.]

He would be a doctor acting on his patient's demand. The fault would lie with me, not him.

Edited 2012-03-22 20:46 (UTC)

[That makes no sense to Katara at all. She stares at the page for a moment, but the words refuse to rearrange themselves into something she would consider logical. She tries to be mindful that it might be different on other worlds, but - still.]

That doesn't make any sense.

First of all, whether or not something is demanded of someone doesn't mean that they have to do it. His choice would still be his own.

Secondly, I've never heard of a doctor having to do what a patient says before - any other world I've ever heard of, patients go to doctors because they need help, and doctors study in order to be able to provide the best help possible. For a doctor to follow a patient's orders over his or her better knowledge just... sounds dangerous and makes the entire point of consulting an expert useless.

Edited 2012-03-22 21:01 (UTC)

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