Inbox for Watson (Pumpkin Hollow)

[lightconductor]

Here you may contact Dr. John H. Watson, MD, late of Her Majesty's Army, with any professional or personal issues. He is available by phone, message, or just by dropping in on him at his clinic or his tenement flat.

The Clinic

Watson's clinic is a small building with a couple examination rooms and some beds, kept warm with a little iron stove in the front room. Pictures to come at some point.

The Flat

A short walk away from the clinic is Watson's small but cosy flat, on the second floor in a small tenement building.

The "sitting room" end of the main room
The kitchen, where the stove is the primary source of heat
Watson's desk
Watson's bedroom, alternate view

Comments

[pineapplesalmon]

Sorry, César's too used to trying and failing himself, hence why it's funny. "Then I'll be over shortly."

After goodbyes, and true to his word, César is over shortly, folder in glove, and closes the door quickly behind him. "Good morning!"

[lightconductor]

"Come in, come in, out of the cold," Watson says, standing to greet him. "We can use this room, here, for some privacy." He opens a door, revealing a small examination room, comfortably furnished. He should hear the outer door from here, if anyone is to come in.

[pineapplesalmon]

"That would be great." César's going to tap out his boots on the doormat, then take them off and switch them for some shoes he carried in a bag (shhh, I just decided that). "I don't want to get anything on your floor."

He takes off his coat (which thankfully, it's his new coat so it has a hood) and puts it up on the coat rack, then follows Watson towards the exam room, his folder still in the bag.

[lightconductor]

"Oh, you needn't have bothered yourself," Watson says, but doesn't press. It's... eccentric, but it comes from a good place. He can see that.

The room has an examination table, as one might expect, but also there are chairs, and he gestures to one while he takes the other. "Have a seat, start at the beginning. I see you've come prepared."

[pineapplesalmon]

"It would bother me." César shrugs innocently.

"I wrote out an explanation of the two... well, one condition and one... it's not a condition. But you'll see what I mean when I explain them."

César grabs a chair, then turns it so he's sitting alongside Watson rather than across. He sits down and opens his file, handing it over. "The intake forms are from the other clinic. I've just added an additional few pages. One about my neurodevelopment disorder and the other about a technological infection I have. I've made copies to give all the other doctors and their assistants for the second. Because in the incredibly rare and awful chance the nanomachines inside me activate, I could turn into a rampaging... well, monster. That only resembles the concept of a person. Best to let all the doctors know about that. Best case scenario is that they only change me a little."

That's entirely too much talking, César.

[lightconductor]

Phrases like "neurodevelopment disorder" and "technological infection" fall into the category of things Watson can riddle out through context, and yet are entirely new combinations of words to him. He puts up his hands. "Hold on. One thing at a time."

That's quite a lot of information, and he pauses briefly, flipping through the file a little before he begins. "The... nanomachines, was it? This is the 'technological infection' you mean. Let's start there, please."

Because he's, you know, a doctor from a time where epidemics are a little more serious and 'infection' gets his attention quickly.

[pineapplesalmon]

"Nanites." César turns to the page about Nanites and gently taps it. "Read that. I can add more if necessary."

[lightconductor]

He reads through the information swiftly, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Very tiny machines that act independently," Watson says, thoughtful. "If they can affect bacteria, does that mean they are smaller yet?" That is... unimaginably tiny. "But I think I see the situation. You are a sort of asymptomatic carrier. There was a doctor a few years ago who proposed -- well, evidently it's true in this case."

Forgive him, this is very interesting, and he is a nerd who reads medical journals (canon).

"I'm glad to hear that this is meant to be under control, though I don't know nearly enough about magic to know how reliable that is. If they were to spread to someone else, would there be initial symptoms?"

[pineapplesalmon]

"Yes, they can interact with DNA. And yes, that's an accurate enough representation. I'm asymptomatic."

César shakes his head at the question, looking grave. "No, not unless you've got a powerful microscope. The nanites are either off or on. And once they go on, the transformation is practically instantaneous, and they don't turn off except through external means. ... you can see why I wish to share information about them rather than be a complete surprise."

[lightconductor]

"I'm... not sure what 'DNA' is," Watson admits, because that's a term that's a few decades away, still. "But yes, I can see this is something to be aware of. I'm glad you saw fit to inform people about it. Is there anything in particular we might be able to do, should the worst happen and you transform into a monster?

[pineapplesalmon]

"Oh. DNA. I can explain that, too, in a moment. With some paper." But back to the EVO thing. "... Monster is probably not the best term. I specifically avoided it since it's one of those words that is used to Other EVOs. I should really add that.... But if I fully lose my mind, I'd like to be euthanized so I have a chance of returning to normal. If I still have my mind, I'll be able to make the decision then."

César pulls out his pen and starts adding more to the document after his nanite status.

- Please euthanize if mind is lost; consult otherwise

Words to avoid
Do not use words such as 'monster' or 'freak' to describe people transformed into EVOs. It is dire enough back home that 'human' is used to be exclusionary. Therefore, I refrain from using the word human and have adopted the usage of the word 'people' to specifically include EVOs and now everyone else beyond just humans. - César

[lightconductor]

"Ah," Watson says, contritely. "I'm sorry. I was not fully aware of the context."

This is a rather complex situation, the world where César is from. He's beginning to see that. "Euthanasia is rather a extreme solution, though perhaps less so here than other places," he continues, brow furrowed. "Still, let us hope it does not come to that."

In a back room of the clinic, a window is pried open from the outside. There is a soft thump on the floor, barely audible.

cw: EVO racism

[pineapplesalmon]

"I hope it doesn't come to that, either." César puts a hand on Watson's shoulder for a moment. "You couldn't have know. I just... want to emphasize it because if an EVO like my brother comes here, I want them to be respected as a person. They have no rights or protections back home. None. Nada. Literally dehumanized."

This conversation is too important for César to notice the noises, but he'll notice they've got a visitor soon enough.

[lightconductor]

"I can imagine," Watson says soberly, momentarily distracted from the sound, "unfortunately. I suppose that is regrettably common. And, quite frankly, I'm not sure one of your EVOs will have any trouble fitting in here, given the... broad variety of people we have here. One of the best and most interesting things about Pumpkin Hollow, honestly."

It is at this point that a cat's paw, grey and with more than the usual number of toes, slides under the gap of the door, claws extended as the owner searches for something to grab onto on the other side. There is a loud and indignant wail about the injustice of being on the other side of a door they cannot open.

[pineapplesalmon]

"They wouldn't. Which is a relief. People of all sorts can fit in here." César sounds like he's counting himself among those sorts.

Then, the howl happens, and when César sees the little paw, he starts to laugh. "Someone wants in."

[lightconductor]

"Oh, for heaven's sake!"

Watson gets up, shaking his head in disbelief. He prods the paw back under the door with the tip of his cane -- gently -- and opens the door. A large, scrungly, scarred-up grey tom cat is sitting on the other side, and he promptly stands and begins to rub himself all over Watson's legs, purring audibly.

"I don't understand how you even got in," Watson says, despairing. "Diogenes, you can't be in the clinic. What am I going to do with you?"

Diogenes just purrs.

[pineapplesalmon]

César covers his mouth with the side of his fist to smother laughter, nearly falling out of his chair, managing through his chuckles. "He is a cat, sir. They do this sometimes."

Being decidedly unhelpful on purpose.

[lightconductor]

"He is, and they do, and yet I don't know that I've ever known a cat as determined to commit burglary."

Exasperated, Watson bends down to scoop up the cat, but Diogenes wriggles away and commences the very important business of inspecting César suspiciously from across the room. "I'm very sorry," Watson continues. "I'll try to put him out. I hope you're not allergic."

WOW I somehow forgot this entirely OOPS

[pineapplesalmon]

"Determined and skilled enough to back it up." César notes.

He laughs, though, and shakes his head. "No, let him stay. I love animals. I'm used to them being around constantly."

[lightconductor]

"Well, that's fortunate. Don't you get used to it, though," Watson adds as a warning to the cat, who blinks slowly at him, unconcerned.

He finds his way back to his seat, and Diogenes comes to cautiously weave around the chair legs, still keeping an arm's length from César, for the time being. Watson leans down to scratch Diogenes's ears. "I suppose that's the basics of one of your medical conditions. There was another, that you said you were being treated for?"

cw: internalized ableism due to end of the world threat??? UH yeah

[pineapplesalmon]

César chuckles and pays the cat no more mind for the moment.

"We still need to discuss DNA, but right, the next one. I'm already going to be getting stimulants for treatment, which is the most common treatment method. This is from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth edition. Well... paraphrased. I didn't have it entirely memorized. But it's the one I used to get rediagnosed in the United States so I could get medicated."

Watson doesn't need to know that he memorized it to remind himself how to better appear not himself.

"It's a neurodevelopmental disorder. So, my brain's just... structured differently. And sometimes those structural differences can cause issues. I'm of the Predominantly Inattentive Presentation type."

César hands over the paraphrased pages he wrote for Watson to read. Trying to keep professional. One of his feet start to tap, and he stops it. Instead, he knits his fingers together and keeps them still as a reverse-fidget.

[lightconductor]

He flips through it, frowning thoughtfully.

"I've known people like this," Watson says, tapping the paper. "They are generally labelled as eccentric, or perhaps even odd. I would never have thought to label it a medical ailment of any kind."

[pineapplesalmon]

César chuckles warmly. "I've certainly been called those. And those are the more pleasant words. ... it's less an ailment than you may think. A lot of people who have this tend to be entrepreneurs and creative. We don't accept the norms as the only ways to do things."

[lightconductor]

"I have known there to be great value in seeing things from a different perspective from most of the world," Watson says, thinking hard about someone in particular. "All right. What do you need from me, as your doctor, to support you in this? Because I'm not quite clear on that point."

[pineapplesalmon]

"For the most part, it's informational. I'll update you with my medication dosage when I've got that. Sally can produce a long-acting stimulant that I'll be using." César shrugs. "... I should probably mention I also have a tendency to sometimes neglect my physical health during crunch times. I just... forget to hydrate and eat. Back home, I had technology to remind me, but I don't have that, here."