ataraxion | third disease: hallucination ℞ [ voice ] ℞ a disease of the mind, it can control you.

[ As a general thing, McCoy isn't exactly the biggest fan of making broadcasts like this, they're uncomfortable at best and painfully aggravating for him at worst. However, the fact of the matter is that sometimes they're unavoidable and this time, is one of those unavoidable times. What he does to maintain his comfort level, small as it is, is make sure the setting of his device is on audio. That way no one can see his face and yet he can still get across his point. ]

Hallucinations can be brought on by stress. That woman, Matine, she was seeing someone she knew with talons and seeing her mother. Mother wasn't here, and a man didn't have talons before that break. I know a few of you've already thought of it, assuming you've got a brain, but with what you all were saying she saw, the likelihood she wasn't hallucinating is slim. [ There's a pause, like McCoy isn't sure how to word his next thoughts. ] Anything we've been seeing from the past, all of those things are pointing to stressful, in some way, situations. All of us have— most of us who were here last month don't need me to mention what went on that might have stressed our brains.

Leaving the body in a constant state of stress especially one like the type anyone endures on this damn ship is enough to trigger hallucinations. And at the risk of probably making half of you hear something you don't want to, what happened to Matine could happen to any of us.

Ship seems to like to repeat things and I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of having hallucinations like that. Especially when they end in me shooting someone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maybe if you have hallucinations, you shouldn't carry a gun.

[ really. ]

And in a perfect world when you know you might have them that works wonderfully. [ again, really. ]

You had a random hallucination?

Really? We're on a nightmare ship that's just about constantly messing with us, we know the people who were here before weren't above creepy gross experiments on people, and your guess is stress?

I really hope you're wrong. I don't think yoga and deep breathing's gonna see us through this.

The alternative is the ship did it and at least one of those has a base in something that's better proven. Besides, not exactly what I said.

[ hrmph. ] And I must of missed when I mentioned yoga and deep breathing. Wanna tell me I blacked out in the middle of all this?

There were more than that though. I don't--I don't know if that guy was hallucinating, too, but he genuinely thought the creatures were tearing into him. Were going to eat him.

He blew his own head off.

Wasn't talking necessarily about him.

[ since that one is just a tiny bit weirder and considering the whole, yeah they were kind of experimenting thing, well, he's slightly more willing to believe those things were real.

ish. ]

I know you weren't. But he's an important part too.

[ will isn't big on people seeing his face either. or, actually, he's not big on seeing other people's faces, and text tends to beget text, he's found. ]

So everyone on the ship should undergo treatment for PTSD? Start medicating? Take a relaxing vacation?

Can't remove everyone from the situation, makes treatment for PTSD moot.

[ there's a break between the texts. ]

Medication is tricky to apply to people who aren't human and last time we all tried to do that, I distinctly remember hearing about how all of you all got yourself trapped in a station that was breaking down.

[ way to not answer the question, bones. ]

Treatment's not moot, even if there's no cure. But I was being sarcastic. Probably hard to tell via text. Not sure there's anywhere we could go to relax.

We've got a therapy department.

[ the most cautious contribution ever. ]

And we're such a sharing bunch.

[ is that a little accusatory? maybe. ]

[ wow bones!!! ]

We are when we need to be.

[Jaina sounds torn between annoyed and bemused.]

Not so sure telling folks that stress might make them snap is the best way to keep them from getting even more stressed out than they already are.

Considering that should be common sense, I like to think I did a bit of enlightenment with this.

[ He could maybe tone down the sarcasm. Just a little. ]

We could all just start avoiding the shit out of each other. It does wonders for my stress levels.

And then you've got parts of the ship getting theirs raised because someone's gone and gotten themselves lost again because they can't find you.

[ spoilers: even if you really shouldn't do it, let's be real here, he would love to. ]

You're assuming people would want to look for me.

[Sure a couple might. After a while. Tali totally would...right?]

You and Simon are seriously competing for the Ultimate Buzzkill award, aren't you? I thought I was being crazy and cynical with the whole "we might be headed for a hivemind" spiel, but this is just... [He struggles to find a word to describe what "this" is and just trails off.]

Being a realist. You want to have your head in the clouds? Or in your hivemind cloud?

[ A beat. ]

At least I have a fact or two on my side.

Right, so hallucinations brought on my stress is by the books medical what-have-you, but the numbers don't lie, Bones.

third disease: hallucination ℞ [ voice ] ℞ a disease of the mind, it can control you.

no subject

no subject

no subject

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

voice;

text.

text.

text.

no subject

no subject

no subject

voice

voice

voice

voice

voice

no subject

no subject

no subject