A Seafood Allergy

            “Now, while that does its job, your patient can go into the imaging chamber.”

            “We used that a lot on Endeavour. I found it invaluable.”

            “Yes, indeed. You should know what to expect for your patients. Please,” Phlox gestured an invitation for Riaan to volunteer. She hopped on the table, swung her legs up and lay back on the cushioned mobile table.

            “Oh, goodness!” she said as she slid head first into the chamber.

            “Don’t worry, you only need 30 seconds for a complete scan.”

            Riaan looked around inside the cylindrical chamber. It was bright metallic with dozens of lights and sensors lining the walls. A faint hum let her know the machine was working. Thirty seconds passed incredibly slowly. She understood, now, how to explain the experience to her future patients. The door opened and she slid out of the chamber, still on the exam table.

            “Are you alright?” Phlox asked her. She nodded, and sat up. “Now, take a look at the monitor here. Have you read these before on Endeavour?”

            “After Dr Sussa was killed, I had to learn quickly. The technicians helped me a great deal. I can read most of it.”

            “Well, let’s take a diagnostic look, shall we? Don’t let the computer do all the work. You have to remember to think. I can program a robot to give an injection but the robot is useless if the patient has a reaction to the medication. Now, this is a neural representation. All looks perfectly normal. Next is the pulmonary scan, the lungs. I don’t see any peculiarities for a woman of your age. I would estimate your Earth age as 39 to 40.”

            “That sounds incredibly old!” she laughed softly.

            “Not at all, not at all. Now your cardio vascular system is the third scan. I’ve never scanned an Akaali before; I see your heart is directly centered as to say, the human heart, which is off to the left to account for some other lopsided organs. You have a four chambered heart like humans. Vulcans, for instance, have a different organization of their internal organs, and their blood is not iron based but copper, hence the green color. Now reptiles: they have a three chambered heart.”

            “I’ll be happy if I can just figure out the Earthlings and Akaalis, much less any other species.”

            “Nonsense. Now, the next is digestive tract. Here is where we want to take a look. The different colors on the monitor indicate protein, lipid, and carbohydrate digestion. All looks normal here,” he commented but with some puzzlement in his tone. The lab machine finished its work and chimed to let the doctor know. “Ah, your blood is done.” He used a hand held instrument to transfer the results to the monitor. “You’ll be happy to know there’s no sign of a food allergy. Sometimes coming from a different environment food is commonly an issue.”

            “So this is good?” she asked. “I just need to get used to it.”

            “There’s no medical reason you can’t eat fish, at least that I can find. The cause of your aversion is still a mystery, so let’s keep going. That’s what a thorough physician will do. So you see here there are still a lymphatic system, reproductive system, and renal system to consider.”

            “Funny, I’ve done this to other people but never on myself,” she said, looking closely at the remaining scans. “Dr. Phlox, what’s that?” she asked, pointing to a small dark spot that appeared to be floating in her abdomen. “I’ve never seen that on anyone before, but I’ve never scanned another Akalli before. Except my son. He didn’t have that.”

            Phlox stepped a little closer to the monitor and tapped a button to enlarge the image. He stared at the spot a few moments, and enlarged the image again. He looked at Riaan, then back at the image. He faced her squarely with no discernable expression.

            “That is what’s causing your troubles, your “seafood allergy”, if you will.”

            “What is that? It’s pulsing!” She leaned closer and looked again, but couldn’t identify the kidney shaped spot that looked like she’d swallowed a firefly more than anything else. Phlox tapped the screen at both ends of the spot; a small arc appeared labeled .0.9 cm. “Phlox?”

            “Well, Riaan, that’s an embryo. You’re pregnant.” Phlox tried to maintain a calm expression given her surprise reaction. “You didn’t know? I suppose it’s still a little early.”

            “That’s impossible.”

            “I’m afraid the evidence is unmistakable.” Phlox picked up another instrument and held it close to her abdomen. “Hmm. It’s still quite immature. Given the size and development, perhaps just three weeks old, or less? I can’t be sure, I don’t know anything, really, about Akalli reproduction. Beyond the obvious, that is.”

            “Phlox,” she stammered, “I…I’ve had several miscarriages in the last few years, most recently just before I left Akal, just a few weeks ago.”

            “It doesn’t seem to have inhibited this pregnancy. No reason it should. In fact, in most species, the most fertile window is shortly after a pregnancy ends,” he said carefully, “hormones and nature being what they are. Would you like to take a look at the DNA?” She could only nod. Could she be hearing the doctor right?

            “How can two different species…?”she uttered to the doctor. Phlox touched her shoulder gently. He wanted to be as tactful as possible, but he had to ask, not just from a physician’s standpoint, but also from insatiable curiosity.