video | un: Mercy

[valcurie]

Hello there! ( the image that appears is of a smiling blonde woman, healthy and bright looking, dressed now in pristine weight to present herself, projecting poise and elegance and friendly invitation to hear her out. her German Swiss accent is quite strong, though, so hopefully no-one is overly attached to their w's. ) I hope everyone is doing well this evening. I am coming onto the network to reach out to anyone I might not have been able to yet. My name is Angela Ziegler, and I am a doctor from Earth. Human, as you can see. ( a light, pleasant laugh and an even more pleasant smile ) You may also know me as Mercy. It's my agent name from when I was in service to a global peacekeeping organisation known as Overwatch.

I'm from the 21st century, so the treatment that I can offer you is science based ( a slight pause here as if she's considering one last time how to phrase this ) rather than magic based, but I have a good deal of practical experience with general medicine so there's almost nothing I haven't seen or dealt with. My expertise is in applied biotics, and I also have experience with gene therapy, prosthetics, and cybernetics, if there is anyone here who may need more specialised care. My qualifications also include emergency and trauma response so, if you ever find yourself wounded and in need of immediate attention, please do not hesitate to contact me. Think of me as personal 999 for refugees!

If you do come to me for any kind of care, I promise to do the best I can help you, while upholding all the oaths I've taken as a doctor to do no harm and to protect my patients. I'm not charging anything at this time.

And, if you'd like to humour me and help me to understand our group a bit better, I have a set of questions: do you believe you have a soul? What makes you think you do or don't have one? And is such a belief common where you're from? ( she doesn't mention religion, because it isn't strictly speaking a religious idea. she's known plenty of atheists and nay-theists who thought there was something beyond intelligence that made people paramount to other species. whether they called this unique internal animating light a soul or not, it didn't really matter. )

Comments

[silverhound]

[Okay, he definitely perks up at the mention of "treats". It seems that someone is a tad peckish today. Loz hasn't eaten in days--no, it's been a week!]

Is chocolate that sweet brown stuff everyone likes? Yeah, that's delicious but expensive! I like the cholocate dipped fruits. I stol--I mean tried some at the markets. [cough, cough]

Swiss chocolate? What's...a swiss? Now that definitely sounds tasty.

[Loz falls idly quiet for a moment, almost as if he's hesitant to tell her. He lingers there on the other end of this chat just staring out the window. It's drizzling a little outside but not much. The rhythmic drumming of the raindrops cut through the unexpected silence like a quiet hum.]

...I was returned to Mother. [Finally he speaks.] The Planet didn't want me but Mother, our real Mother, did. She kept us warm and protected. She said we could come home and rest.

Then everything just faded. No more pain or sorrow, just...warmth.

[valcurie]

( if only she knew, she could get the poor boy something, along with a lecture about proper self-care. as it is: )

Well, I hope they didn't taste any better because of a five-finger discount. In any case, the dipped fruits are a better idea than just eating entire bars of the stuff, so that's a good choice.

And I'm a Swiss! I'm a person from Switzerland. But you may definitely not eat me, young man. ( she tries to make her voice admonishing, but she just ends up laughing. then comes the somber pattering of rain, and she waits, and then she listens. )

What you've described is how a lot of people have said they remember a near-death experience being. ( and there are plenty of scientific explanations for why everything feels so good, but she saves them for now. )

It sounds like it was nice. Like you were being surrounded by a mother's love.

[silverhound]

[No more lectures! Loz hates those. They're always so long and boring. Everyone lectures him nowadays. Loz deserves each one even if he's tired of being lectured. They're helping him somewhat.]

Heh! The "five-finger-discount" made them taste better! But not by much since they're really tasty already. I like chocolate but eating it by itself is too sweet.

[He really doesn't like overly sweet things. They're nasty.]

Oh! A swiss is a person? I never heard of Switzerland before. Is it nice--?

[He was about to pelt her with so many curious questions until the conversation turns a tad dark. Yeah, he's supposed to be dead. Loz knows it but somehow, he's alive again.]

So that's what it was like to have a "real" mother, huh? It was...nothing like the other one.

The Other Mother was cold and mean.

[valcurie]

( well he could get one about stealing, but apparently he already knows he shouldn't be doing that. sometimes not hiding disappointment is its own form of nagging. )

Better until you get caught, anyhow.

( but then comes the more serious bits, so she puts aside the other things for now. he's a child, younger than a child actually, and she both sees this and can't help but treat him like one. his immaturity is actually somewhat endearing; she feels nearly impelled to mother him in her own way. )

A real one that loves you, yes. I don't remember my own mother very well, but I have been lucky to have other people love me that same way.

This warm mother, she isn't the one who gave life to you, correct?

[silverhound]

I won't get caught! I'm too fast.

[He's not even lying or bragging. Loz can amplify his speed by twenty fold and then some. It's a strange ability he has that literally looks like he's teleporting. Maybe one day the doctor can catch him in action. This big dummy is an impressive combatant.]

No, she's not. [Loz answers quietly without his usual bravado.] I don't know her name but she was really nice.

The nicest person I ever met.

[valcurie]

( she makes a fairly suspicious noise, but doesn't say anything more than that. of course, she doesn't know how fast he is, and it's probably something she would need to see to believe, or even to properly understand. )

Have you looked for her in the pods? Maybe if you find her, you'll be able to learn her name from the attendant who watches over them.

She might tell you not to take advantage of your slippery fingers, but then we all need someone like that. To take care of us. Are you and your roommates still having issues?

[silverhound]

I have but I don't remember her face.

[He sheepishly admits that with an hesitant chuckle.] I remember her voice but not her face. Well, all except...green. Yeah, green eyes. Not like mine! Hers are normal, normal eyes without the glow.

[Loz is having trouble remembering the woman he met briefly within the Lifestream but he certainly remembers her eyes.]

I don't think...she would like half the things I do, especially the fighting. Ended up getting in trouble for that kinda.

[Translation: he finally fought someone who he can't defeat.]

The roommates? Eh, they're fine. One of them...just left. The loud mouthed dude. I can't find him anywhere.

[valcurie]

( she just listens to him for a while before chiming in, letting his words and thoughts flow like water, a gentle stream, reminiscent of the rain she just very recently heard. )

Well, then that's a good reason to not fight or steal, isn't it? Don't you want to make her proud?

( there's a smile to be heard in her voice, and it lingers, not realising what exactly 'just left' might imply. ) Perhaps he went exploring? There is a lot to discover in our new home. And this city is already crowded.