Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal thank goodness they didn't do seven seasons of this naming convention...
Okay folks, even though this aired quite a while ago I just now watched it, so I'm just now writing about it.
Awl - X-Ray + Penny - Duct Tape + Jack - CD + Hoagie Foil - Guts + Fuel + Hope - Wilderness + Training + Survival - Father + Bride + Betrayal - Lidar + Rogues + Duty - Nightmares - Seeds + Permafrost + Feather - Friends + Enemies + Border - Mason + Cable + Choices - Bitter Harvest - Kid + Plane + Cable + Truck - Tesla + Bell + Edison + Mac - Golden Lancehead + Venom + Pole Vault + Blood + Baggage
In conclusion to the nanotracker story arc, Mac and Riley go missing for over 24 hours. When they reappear, not only have they no memory of the previous day, but video footage shows them obeying dozens of commands, including one to fight each other and one to fire a weapon at a mannequin (though based on a line Mac says later, this horrifyingly might not have been the original version of this scene).
Vowing not to allow their bodies to be used against their will again, Mac and Riley decide to undergo a potentially dangerous treatment- exposing the nanites to high concentrations of oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber.
Just because mind control nanites are still pretty science fiction, this post will mostly be about hyperbaric medicine.
Hyperbaric Chambers:
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is a type of treatment that uses high pressure and high oxygen concentrations to treat a variety of illnesses and injuries. These include things like non-healing wounds, crush injuries, carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide poisoning, severe infections, and delayed radiation injuries.
A patient is placed into a chamber like the one above (though there are also larger chambers that can accommodate multiple people). Oxygen or medical air is then forced into the chamber, increasing the pressure to the prescribed depth. Depths vary depending on patient needs and the capabilities of the chamber, but can be anywhere from 1.4 atmospheres to over 6 atmospheres.
The high pressure and high oxygen concentration in the hyperbaric chamber allows oxygen to dissolve directly into the blood plasma. This helps higher concentrations of oxygen get to parts of the body that may not have the best circulation (non-healing wounds, crush injuries), give a boost of oxygen to parts of the body that need it (severe infections, delayed radiation injuries), or provide oxygen when the hemoglobin can't carry it (carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide poisoning). The high pressure helps reduce the size of errant bubbles in the blood stream as well, which can treat the symptoms of air embolism and decompression sickness. The pressure is then gradually reduced to allow the bubbles to dissolve without severe pain.
Oxygen Toxicity:
In the episode, Mac and Riley require very high concentrations of oxygen in their blood in order to poison the nanites. Like any medical treatment, there are risks to hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Most of them have to do with air pockets in the body. These include barotrauma cause by bubbles under tooth fillings, in the sinus cavities, and the air in the inner ear which can expand and contract, causing pain. They can also include oxygen toxicity, which can be lung-related (burning pain, cough, difficulty breathing), or nervous system related (seizures).
In the episode, Mac suffers the latter type of complication when he has a seizure at 3.5 atmospheres. Seizures are a very rare complication (about 0.7 out of 10,000 treatments will result in a seizure), but oxygen toxicity does lower the seizure threshold. This means that for someone with a pre-existing seizure disorder or another reason they might have a seizure (low blood sugar, certain drugs, fever in children, etc...) they are more likely to have a seizure during a treatment.
Mac also was more likely to have oxygen toxicity than the typical person undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy. See, when a person is "at depth" in a chamber, they have a mask they can wear to give them room air (about 21% oxygen) at periodic intervals in order to prevent oxygen toxicity. Since the goal was to give Mac oxygen toxicity to kill the nanites, they likely forewent this precaution, which might have made it a lot more likely he would have had pulmonary complications or seizures.
The Bends:
Because he was in the chamber when he had the seizure, they decompress him and get him out of the chamber. It seems to take only seconds, even though they do hang a lantern on it by saying something to the effect of "we can't decompress him too quickly or he'll get the bends and then we'll never get him back!" (I'd quote it exactly but they took the episode off of Paramount+).
In reality, it would have taken at least an hour to adequately decompress him. If they needed to get him out as fast as they did, they'd need to re-compress him or he really would get the bends (though the bends is usually delayed by 15 minutes to 12 hours, so they'd have some time to get him back to depth). Here is a recommended re-compression table (18 MSW is the same as 1.8 atmospheres):
Has someone written that fic? Cause I need the fic where they have to break it to Mac that he has to go back into the chamber.
Anyway, this was a short one, but I hope you all learned something!
(or around harry styles. both are of equal importance)
Fun fact for today: Oxygen is actually toxic and breathing is all slowly killing us. But not breathing is killing you as well but very very quickly. So both ways you will inevitably die, whether breathing or not. Have a fun evening then slowly getting closer to death with every breath.
This update has been a long time coming, guys. My sincerest apologies for the delay. I hope you can forgive me. In the meantime, please enjoy this long, drawn-out post that is painfully slow and agonizing post. I guess I want everyone to suffer with the characters.
Part I >> Part II >> Part III >> Part IV >> Part V >> Part VI >> Part VII >> Part VIII >> Part IX >> Part X >> Part XI >> Part XII >> Part XIII
The escape plan had proceeded so smoothly until now. Balogh and her team freed a few dozen other prisoners along the way to the hangar and took down a few more Pollikons. Her group was feeling good. They had momentum. Things were looking up. And, as Balogh and the others got closer to the hangar, they kept in communication with Murakami’s, Vallion’s, and Jay’va’s groups for their escape. They were to search for the Frek’jon’s escape pods once they arrived in the hangar and to locate a habitable planet where they would lay low until they could contact the A.F. and go home.
After that, Balogh was not sure of what the A.F. would do, but she was sure she would fight for more A.F. vessels to return to this area of the universe. More victims―human, H’hish, and many more races―were likely enslaved and in need of emancipation.
Or we can just start some sort of rebellion like late twentieth and early twenty-first century movies did. Whichever comes first.
Balogh honestly believed things would change. Unfortunately, life never goes as planned.
Why? Because right now, she was splayed out on the ground, unable to move, nearly lifeless.
Balogh struggled to breathe, every single one of her muscles burned like she ran a 3K marathon in a New Harlem Province winter. Black spots danced in her vision; she could barely see. And of what she could still see? Mayhem. H’hish hunched over humans, desperately calling out their names, performing CPR. Riel’on, Kiel’ish, Jaja’ion, someone, was performing chest compressions on her. Everything she saw was a blur. Everything she heard was white noise. Everything she thought was a jumbled mess. For the first time in her life, Balogh thought for sure this moment was her death. Her frustrations and regrets; satisfactions and joys; her family and friends; all of them came to mind.
I. WON’T. DIE. I. WON’T. DIE. I WON’T DIE. I WON’T DIE. She chanted the words as she struggled for another breath, the last of her vision fading.
I can’t die...
Can’t die...
Won’t die.
No.
No...
.
.
.
“BALOGH!”
Vallion knelt over Fatima, helpless as she and the other humans collapsed one by one, going into various levels of muscle spasms and unconsciousness. CPR was attempted on the humans, but Vallion decided the chest compressions made the situation worse. Why does it feel like my chest is the one being compressed? Fatima is the one dying right in front of me. Fatima, Romano, Freshwater, Wong... All of them are the ones dying, so why do I feel this pain in my chest? What’s going on? Why can’t I stop this? How can I be so selfish? I need to fix this. Save them.
I am their superior. I need to lead them.
Vallion gripped their head, focusing their thoughts into actions. Think. Think. Think. You can’t let her die. You and her just reunited.
No.
Wait.
You can’t let anyone die. They are all your responsibility. You are their protector. Their leader. Their friend. Think, Vallion. Think.
As Vallion wracked their brain, a thought suddenly occurred to them. The humans were having difficulty breathing...but the H’hish were not. “Jon’kon, check the oxygen-carbon dioxide ratio of the air. Now.”
Startled, Jon’kon fumbled with her stolen Port Dev before she went to work checking the air composition of the ship. A heartbeat stretched into several when Jon’kon released a startled “Ah-ha!” and gave Vallion a knowing look. Soon, Jon’kon was hacking into the Frek’jon’s ventilation system and they all could hear the results of her efforts.
However, Vallion knew damage must have surely been done on all the humans and simply escaping from the Frek’jon was no longer a viable option. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Vallion looked at Jon’kon once again. “Patch me through to Murakami, Balogh, and Jay’va’s groups. We have a change of plans.”
Jay’va checked Thompson’s pulse and growled in frustration. Gone. First Pérez, then Ivanenko, and now Thompson. The other humans were down and out, suffering from whatever took Thompson and the others, but the H’hish were perfectly fine. Physically that is. A little winded, but physically fine.
Mentally...
Mentally, we’re fucked. We’re falling apart at the seams, as the human idiom goes. I’m not even over Cyborg’s death, and now I’m losing my whole team. Jay’va felt the energy of the universe crashing down on her and sweeping her along in a tidal wave.
Jay’va buried her head in her hands, feeling the hopelessness and grief pile up on right after the other because she was just that fucking lucky of a H’hish—
“ —va...”
And not to mention, she also had to deal with that thing that happened back in her cell. From that odd smell. Her head was a mess afterwards and now her memories would forever be scarred by these events—
“—COLONEL JAY’VA!”
Startled, Jay’va whipped her head around, searching for the H’hish shouting her name. “WHAT?! What could you possibly want?!” she snapped.
Gigi’ish did not flinch at her harsh words. He just held out the stolen Port Dev for her and said one name: “Vallion.”
Yeu’ish was helping Fuku’kon tend to Lt. Gen. Murakami when a Comm came in from Maj. Gen. Vallion. The escape plan was changing. Seize control of the ship. Kill all the guards. Kill anyone who stood in their way.
Then.
Then.
Then they would put the humans into the infirmary. Heal them while making their escape back to the A.F. Made sense, for the still living humans, but Yeu’ish knew as Murakami’s pulse ceased, the dead had little chance of revival. But who knows? she thought, humans always prove to be more resilient than they seem.
Krellion leaned against the central control console, watching as the ship’s security droids and feeds went down; listening as communications between guards decreased. The humans and dulgo arrogantly thought they would escape. Their little jailbreak could not succeed.
“The filth moved exactly as you predicted, Captain,” said Krellion as he pushed himself off the console. “However, I am hesitant about the extent of the neurological damages this experiment of yours could cause to the cargo.” As he spoke, Krellion pulled up the vital charts of the human cargo, assessing the current oxygen saturation levels.
Zeelot did not spare Krellion a glance as they pulled the charts towards their position. “These dulgo are as weak as the humans with whom they cohabitate. Once enough of the humans become ill, the dulgo will panic and be at our mercy. The fondness they carry for the humans will lead to their surrender.” Zeelot was correct. Already, more of the humans began showing symptoms of oxygen oversaturation and the duglo were becoming increasingly concerned for their human companions’ welfare.
Still, waiting was tedious and Krellion had no interest in toying with the cargo as Zeelot did. “As you say. Oh, these humans will do well as servants of kulgo. They are exhibiting better resistance to oxygen toxicity than the other humans,” he noted.
“Add that to their profiles,” Zeelot ordered before seating themselves down to watch the carnage.
Carnage of all Krellion’s hard work. His hard work in fixing all the neurological and physiological issues with which the humans were prone, yet Zeelot wanted to test Murakami’s loyalty and the abilities of her crew.
But my opinion does not matter. All that matters if my work wasted for a needless experiment or two. Aaaannnnd I must revive Snell again.
But whatever, Krellion truly had no say in the matter, so he just stood and watched as the cargo neared the hangar and the humans began collapsing. A few humans even fell into seizures. Krellion spoke in hushed tones to his fellow kulgo as they all became increasingly worried about the health of their cargo. The amount of overtime they all had to put forth into fixing the damages Zeelot’s experiment was causing became a headache, especially when they were due to arrive at the Market any gulkib from now. If I have to revive a single human or dulgo, I swear by the mighty reign of Ghayz Tadmir’lis, I will leave this vessel and take my team with me...
As Krellion fumed, the overhead lights dimmed and a odd chill ran down his back. He glanced at the other kulgo and they appeared as confused as he did.
However, the confusion was over within a heartbeat because within that heartbeat, the emergency lights began to flash and the alarms blared. Warnings flashed on the ship’s control console about oxygen levels increasing in the room. For Krellion, he only needed less than a qulib to understand the events that were transpiring.
The dulgo figured out the cause of the humans’ collapsing, but they were foolish to think they could kill a kulgo so easily. H’hish had higher oxygen tolerance than any humans, and kulgo as fine as Krellion and his team more so. Even the Pollikon had high oxygen tolerance. And whatever creature Captain Zeelot was, they would not fall to such a lowly and pitiful revenge tactic. Already, the room was filled with twice the oxygen levels needed for a kulgo to comfortably breathe in air and already Krellion’s team worked on combating the increased oxygen levels. “These dulgo are simpletons,” one of his team said with a laugh. Another kulgo added, “They are as clever as the humans.” Krellion could only agree with his team. The dulgo were as slow witted and unimpressive as the humans.
So that brought to question why Captain Zeelot remained so calm, and why they had such a smug look on their face. Just as Krellion opened their mouth to ask, Zeelot spoke first. “I will be returning to my quarters. And do not disturb me.” Their warning carried an additional meaning, one of which Krellion did not wish to invoke.
Swallowing his trepidation, Krellion refocused on the monitors, tracking the remaining guards and the locations of all the escaped cargo, but they were gone. The Pollikons, the ones he could see on the vids, deceased. Brutally so. The humans, remained were he last saw them, but he could see most of their life signs were gone. He and his team had their work cut out for them to revive all the worthless filth. The dulgo and other cargo were nowhere to be seen, as could be said for the escape pods. None of them showed up on the life signs monitor. They were out of range of the transmission. They jumped ship.
Murakami talked big about the loyalty of her crew, but the dulgo escaped the first chance they got. Pathetic. Dulgo are as cowardly and weak as those humans.
Krellion was so lost in his superiority that he never heard the knocking.
Only the sound of the room engulfing in flames.
After that, he only felt the searing pain of his death.
