//------------------------------// // Stranded in Space Part 2: Personal Values // Story: Adventures in the TARDIS // by Scroll //------------------------------// “How is he, Doctor?” Stern Wing asks in concern as she, Feather Wind, Derpy, and Vision all regard Doctor Kelly as she enters the TARDIS control room. In Vision's case, she merely turns her ears on top of her head in Doctor Kelly's direction. Two seconds after Stern Wing asks this, Stern's eyes lower halfway as she grows an amused grin while saying, “Doctor. I'm so used to calling the Doctor that because that is his only name, but now we have two doctors on this ship so that name might get a little more confusing.” “Resting,” Doctor Kelly answers when she approaches, then stops, only a few feet from the rest of the group. From there, she uses her magic to reach into her right lab coat pocket and pulls out a lollipop then sticks it in her mouth. “Stable and recovering from what I can tell,” Doctor Kelly goes on. “He is only partially aware of what happened to him, but he doesn't sound too concerned about it. In fact, he's more concerned about the rest of you. Accordingly, he asked me to help take care of you all.” “Around here, we all take care of each other,” informs Feather Wind with conviction. “That's right,” Stern Wing agrees with a firm nod. “What's that you got in your mouth?” Derpy asks with a curious tilt of her head as she regards Doctor Kelly with her walleyes. “Oh, this?” Doctor Kelly asks as she floats out the lollipop from her mouth for a moment, twists it in midair, then shoves it back into her mouth as she answers, “It's a lollipop. My lab coat pocket can create another whenever I want. Do you want one?” That question immediately brightens Derpy. This causes her to say excitedly, “Yes. I want a lollipop!” “Then a lollipop you shall have,” Doctor Kelly decides as she floats another out of her lab coat pocket then levitates it over to Derpy who gladly accepts it by leaning her head forward and snapping it into her mouth. From there, she sucks on it and then shuts her eyes as she gives a happy squee. “Any of the rest of you want one?” Doctor Kelly offers to the rest of the group. “Sure! I'll take one,” Stern Wing happily accepts. “Me too,” Vision chimes in. “You really can just keep magically conjuring another one?” Feather Wind asks curiously. “And is this another hologram or not?” “Yes to your first question and no to your second,” Doctor Kelly answers as she floats another lollipop to Stern and Vision. “Mmm-mmm-mmm mmmm! Yummy! I got me a lemon flavor!” Derpy cheers as she spreads her still backwards bent wings a bit, happily flaps them, then folds her wings again as she looks at the rest of her companions. “How about the rest of you?” After sticking hers in her mouth and gaining a discerning look, Stern Wing answers, “Mine tastes like cherry flavor.” “I can't identify mine,” Vision informs after she sucks on her lollipop for a few seconds. “I suspect it's some kind of fruit flavor that is not native to my homeland.” “Want me to give it a lick and see if I can identify it for you?” Derpy offers the small white filly. “No,” Vision answers with a disgusted frown. “How about you, Feather? You want one?” Doctor Kelly offers the blue unicorn. Feather Wind does not answer, but he does regard Doctor Kelly thoughtfully. He clearly seems tempted to accept. “Oh come on, Feather! We're not on the Scroll family estate anymore. You don't have to keep upholding noble pretenses,” Stern advises her friend. “Just accept one already. No pony here is going to judge you.” Since Stern put it that way, Feather Wind blushes in shy embarrassment. He then passes that look to Doctor Kelly along with a childish yearning twinkling in his eyes, yet he still can't bring himself to actually request one. Seeing this expression causes Doctor Kelly to grin as she floats another conjured lollipop over to Feather Wind as she says, “You're a pony after all, Feather. Just like the rest of us. Here. Take it and enjoy it.” “Um . . . thank you,” Feather Wind says shyly under his breath. “Oh Feather!” Stern says cheerfully as she slaps his back with a wing. “Don't ever change.” “That's such useful magic! I'm so jealous!” Derpy says with a bright smile that belies her own words. “Well, for as long as I am around, it's a resource the rest of you can continually avail yourselves too,” Doctor Kelly offers. “I find they help me think so I suck on these often. “And speaking of magic,” Doctor Kelly then looks at Feather Wind as the stem of the lollipop in her mouth switches from the right to the left side of her mouth. “The Doctor told me that you were trying to attune yourself to some kind of magical crystal? Is that true?” “Indeed,” Feather Wind confirms as the expression on his face returns to normal. “And I take it he brought that point up to you because your kind uses some kind of gems a lot for your magic? I noticed that several times during our visit to your world.” “Yeah! I noticed that too,” Stern Wing concurs. “What's up with that? That is a very unusual method of spellcasting. I'm especially surprised that the actual color of your horn magic changes depending on which gem you are channeling.” “From my perspective, it is your method of spellcasting that is far from the mundane,” Doctor Kelly says to Feather Wind. “Except for the fact that I've studied history far more than the average mare in my world. Based on that, I learned that the method of spellcasting for our kind, particularly while we were still in our original home of Equestria, was exactly like yours. Back then, most of our kind could use certain kinds of magic commonly, especially telekinesis and light, but anything beyond that was increasingly more uncommon because it required years of arcane study. Compared to that, our method of spellcasting is much more streamlined, easier, and vastly more common. “However, the more advanced the spell, the higher quality gem it must be infused in. Not only is that increasingly rare, but it is more and more difficult to attune to and cast.” “Do you always need those gems to cast spells?” Derpy asked with a confused blink and an adorable tilt of her head. “Yes,” Doctor Kelly answers. “Even for very basic spells like telekinesis or computer interface control. As for the energy for the spell, it can be supplied by some of our techs, or it can be supplied by us directly. If we use the latter, our magic tends to quickly regenerate unless we cast a very advanced and high-level spell that we're not accustomed to casting. In that case, it might knock us unconscious whether we succeed or fail at the spell.” “Um . . . well, in any case, you can teach me how to attune myself to a magic gem?” Feather Wind asks hopefully. “I've had guidance on that subject from one other. This mentor happens to be the spirit who is actually within the gem itself. He advised patience and diligence after he gave me a few pointers, but I wouldn't mind guidance for me out here in the real world too. You might even teach me a method that never even occurred to him, in which case he might be curious about your methods as well. Knowing him and his interests, that is most likely the case.” “I would actually like to see him sometime,” Doctor Kelly expresses with interest. “A chance to meet an ancient wizard who actually specializes in crystal magic sounds really enticing. Something tells me his expertise in science might be quite different from ours, for ours relies heavily on our technology as a crutch. With it, though, we've taken our civilization quite far.” “Then I'll try to arrange a meeting if I can,” Feather offers. “But he claims only members of his family, my family, can attune themselves to this crystal.” “If that's true, I'd like a chance to at least scan the crystal,” Doctor Kelly counter proposes. “Every magic gem has its own resonance frequency. I've got equipment to help me scan for that. Armed with that knowledge, it can help a pony properly attune to each crystal. I'll master this yet, and I'll do it with science!” “That sounds very interesting. Thank you. I can use all the help I can get,” Feather Wind says to Doctor Kelly gratefully. “That crystal isn't the only thing aboard this ship I want to take a look at,” Doctor Kelly brings up. “I could use a tour of this ship and I need to be assigned a room of some kind. Preferably one that might also double up as a medical office.” Doctor Kelly floats her partially dissolved lollipop out of her mouth and then uses it to sweep a point across all the ponies gathered here. “The Doctor asked me to take care of all the rest of you. For me, the best method of doing that is, again, with science. I already have some medical records of you all from when you were scanned back in my world. I'd like to keep that updated. Specifically, what that means is, from now on, I'd like to give each and every one of you another quick medical scan before we depart on each new place we visit. I also want to scan you after we're done visiting each place to make sure you don't bring anything unwelcome aboard this ship.” Stern Wing smiles as she says, “I'm glad you said that! The Doctor has medical knowledge as well but he's been far more reckless with his health and ours lately. In contrast to that, I'm glad to see somepony aboard this ship who finally takes our health seriously. In that regard, you're kind of like me, except instead of being a stickler for security, your passion is medical science.” Stern Wing turns her body to the side to display her cutie mark on her left flank. When she does, she says, “As you can see, I got a cutie mark of a winged shield with a heart in the center. This represents my passion and talent for caring about matters of security. I like to keep others safe and I will go to any lengths necessary to defend others who are helpless.” Feather Wind brightens as he says, “Ooo! Speaking of cutie marks, what is yours, if you don't mind sharing? I'm quite curious what my kind from another world might have, but so far you kept yours concealed beneath a white lab coat, or do you have one at all?” Doctor Kelly floats her lollipop back into her mouth, sucks on it for a few seconds in silence, then says, “I've read about cutie marks on our original home planet, but my kind does not get cutie marks, nor do the pegasi, nor do the earth ponies on the ocean planet that ours orbits.” “Really? That's a bit surprising,” replies Feather Wind. “Now don't get me wrong. On the ocean planet that your world orbits, that kind of makes sense because magic there was thinner, yet oddly enough the rate of my magic recovery wasn't affected. “However, in your case,” he says as he floats his own lollipop out of his mouth and briefly uses it to point at Doctor Kelly, “you come from a world that is very thick of magic. In fact, it is considerably more so than even our own native world.” He snaps the lollipop back into his mouth then looks corner-wise up with a slight squint to his face as he says, “Although, in the case of your world, the magic there was generated artificially.” He looks back at Doctor Kelly. “Perhaps those conditions aren't conducive to cutie mark awakenings even if the magic in your home world is thicker.” “Or it could be cultural awareness, or lack thereof,” Vision proposes which draws the interested attention of the rest of her companions back to her. She doesn't see that, but she senses that. Because of the curious sensations she feels aimed at her, she elaborates, “Think about it. What if all of you were born in a world that never told you that you could have a cutie mark awakening? What if no pony in your world ever had such a thing as far as they know? In that case, it might make it much harder to have such an inner personal discovery even if you're otherwise physically capable of it. The perception of the society we're raised in can easily shape our own individual strengths and limitations.” “She might be right,” Derpy agrees with a blink. “I think she has a good point.” Derpy looks back at Vision with both eyes but the left lazily drifts away. “Gosh, Vision, you're such a wise little filly! I'm so proud!” “Well, I know enough about cutie marks to understand their cultural significance in our distant past,” Doctor Kelly brings up. “Which also means understanding that can help me understand the pony who is wearing it. Since I also have a degree in psychology and can assist you all as a therapist as well, then that is yet another service I'll not only make available to you all, but highly recommend you visit me at least once a week. I'd at least like to establish a baseline for you all so that I can later tell when you start to stray from it. That will also help me to optimize your mental health, for that can be every bit as critical as your physical health. “Furthermore, in addition to regular checkups once a week, I'll try to make myself available to you all if you return from a particularly traumatic mission. If that happens, steps should be taken to help restore then later re-optimize your mental health.” “I'm so glad we added you to our team!” Stern Wing beams. “For I'd very much like to keep all of us hale and healthy as much as possible both physically and mentally, for a tip in either or both categories is a security risk. I'd like to keep us on in tip-top shape as much as ponyly possible.” “Then I'm glad we're on the same page,” Doctor Kelly says with a grateful grin. “In that regard, me and Stern were given a medical checkup by a holographic doctor in your home world,” Feather Wind reminds. “Are you sure you have that data?” “Even if I don't, I can just scan you again with my magic,” Doctor Kelly proposes. “That won't be as simple as relying upon my droids, but I suppose I can rough it while out on this adventure. I plan on doing that regularly anyway. “Oh! And like I said with another therapy session if you have a particularly traumatic experience, I'd like to express the same condition for another medical examination. In addition to a medical scan before and after a mission, time permitting, I might also like to make another during the mission if we go through something that causes our health to be particularly questionable.” “Like swimming through the sewers and whatnot?” Stern Wing proposes. “Exactly,” Doctor Kelly confirms with a nod of agreement. “Or we are roaming through an area where there are others who are sick. You know.” She shrugs. “Just use our common sense when making those judgment calls.” “I noticed how you were the only real doctor who checked up on us when we first met,” Feather Wind brings up. “As I said, me and Stern were examined by a holographic doctor. I take it that means real doctors are more rare in your world?” “There are several reasons why,” Doctor Kelly says. “First of all, education in my world is largely optional beyond certain basics like knowing the laws of our society, how to speak and read, and use our basic tools and resources. Beyond that, we are taught of the available options that we can learn, but it is up to us to pursue them individually if we want. No pony in my world has to work a day in their life. If they do, there is no reward for it other than the satisfaction of the work they do and sometimes other perks depending on what the job is. Given those facts, it greatly diminishes the available pool of real ponies who choose this profession or any other for that matter. As a result, we often have holographic substitutes, especially for critical and/or dangerous professions. “Not only that, but I often found patients actually preferring my holographic peers because they are programmed to be perfect for their job which includes never tiring or complaining about it. As holograms, they are also immune to any infections that can afflict biological creatures.” She points off to her side while continuing to regard them as she says, “Those holographic peers don't need the experience to be nearly perfect for their job either. They are always instantly available on demand and they never needed the education that real doctors go through. Instead, they are just uploaded with all the information medical science has ever uncovered. They just instantly 'know' all of that so they tend to be far better at their job. Even if they encounter a totally new disease or virus, they can diagnose then treat it better than almost any mortal pony. “And, although they already come equipped with so much knowledge that they don't need experience, they get more experience anyway because every single one of them is adding to the same database. Whatever any one of them knows, they all know, including new knowledge that they encounter. “On top of all that, they are customizable to the individual patients. If the patient does not like the clothes the doctor is wearing or the hide color, or species, or gender, or voice, or inflection, and basically almost anything else, then the patient can change those settings and they can save them so that the customized doctor of their preference is the one that keeps visiting them each time. With that much empowerment on the side of the patients, it's not a wonder why they tend to prefer my holographic colleagues. “The only ponies who tend to choose me, or others like me, is because they want somepony more real. Somepony they can make a greater emotional connection with and can be more certain to care for them in return. For some, that is enough to make them accept a version of a doctor with less training, experience, education, and lack of customization. “I've noticed that it is my psychology training that tends to be the highest in demand. When it comes to their physical health, most ponies tend to prefer as close to true perfection as our society can muster, and only the holo doctors can provide that. Add to that, the holo doctors tend to be efficient and quick. The patient just goes in and out of the hospital all better in no time. “However, when it comes to therapy, some prefer a true emotional rapport with their healers because it is an especially emotionally vulnerable time for them, and something just doesn't feel right about a holo doctor who simply hasn't ever experienced such hardships themselves. They can understand their patients from a scientific perspective and that can be good enough to treat some of the patients, but they cannot truly identify with their patients and vice versa. How can any of us identify with true perfection? The holo doctors don't have true emotion either. That matters to some ponies.” “Well, speaking for myself, I can confidently say I fall into the latter category,” Feather Wind brings up. “If I'm going to be treated during my most vulnerable moments, then I want it to be by a pony who truly does have my best interests at heart, including from an emotional perspective. To the holo doctors, I'm just a 'thing' to be treated swiftly, but to a true healer . . . I am a friend that they genuinely care about. As such, they are more likely to go above and beyond the call of duty if that's what it takes to help me. As such, I trust the latter category far more.” “Agreed,” concurs Stern Wing. “You said it,” Derpy also agrees. “Well I'm glad we're in agreement that I can be useful to you all,” Doctor Kelly says. “Now then, how about somepony prove their usefulness to me by showing me around the ship?”