Why and how

[Rigil Kent]

I think that Dis made a post some time back highlighting the many medical problems that a human would experience while living on Vulcan, but I don't recall if it was here before the server crash or over at HoT. Realistically, an infant growing up on Vulcan would experience some real problems, I believe, but I'm not a medical person so I can't say for sure. The gravity itself would make breathing really hard for an infant, I'd think. It'd be like someone pushing on the kid's chest all the time. There's also the brightness to take into account; Vulcans have that inner eyelid thing that humans don't have, so it seems logical that the kid would have really messed up eyes.

Using Trek science, however, the child would definitely struggle to adapt, but, once offworld, (s)he'd be stronger than a normal human.

[Linda]

You have missinterpreted my meaning, Jedikatie. I did not say the people would HAVE to be opposed to contacting the authorities because they chose to live with less technology then was available on Vulcan. But they COULD be opposed to doing so because of something about their view of politics or ethics. That is just one scenario. Because you proposed that they might live with less technology than other Vulcans, I was thinking that it would take longer for them to get the word out that they had found a child, assuming that they did want to report it.

[justTripn]

Anyway, I really like Rigil's idea.

Heh. Did I mention that the Augment character's adopted father was Koss?

ARRGHH! Agreeing with you never turns out to be easy as I expect.

[evcake]

Did I read or see somewhere that Vulcans give birth in special caves?

[Linda]

Uh, one positive benefit of a Human living on Vulcan could be an increase in bone density. Didn't Bnb mention that with Trip in one of his stories? I think I saw it in a novel somewhere too - can't remember which. Perhaps "Spock's World"? So maybe a Human who spent his whole life from early childhood on Vulcan might have a bone structure similar to Vulcans in density? But like Rigil said, the eyes, the lungs, these might be more of a problem. Could a combination of youthful body versatility and Vulcan medical science overcome these problems? Could they put the kid in an 'earth normal' room for part of the day? And slowly build up his organs to handle Vulcan normal environment? You probably have some interesting story plot devices that could be employed.

What about a transplant of some Vulcan organs from a child who has died? Might be a very high rejection potential. But maybe this is going too far into the realm of the impossible.

[Rigil Kent]

Why not? They radically adjust genetic structure on a whim in Trek.

Anyway, I really like Rigil's idea.

Heh. Did I mention that the Augment character's adopted father was Koss?

ARRGHH! Agreeing with you never turns out to be easy as I expect.

Heh. Found my "writer's bible" ...

COMMANDER AIDAN JASON ("AJ") KENT: XO (technically First Officer, but CPT Hayes refers to him as "XO"). A 29-year old freeborn Augment, Kent was raised on Vulcan by Koss and T'Lin. His adopted mother, T'Lin, was a scientist in the Vulcan Science Directorate and was part of an expedition that encountered a new "batch" of Augments that had been birthed at the behest of Terra Prime terrorists. T'Lin discovered the newborn among the T.P. facility and, suffering from severe emotional imbalances brought on by back-to-back miscarriages, promptly adopted him as her son, Turak. Unable to convince his wife of the illogical nature of her actions, Koss acquiesced and grew to see the child as his own also; when T'Lin died fourteen years later during her attempt to attain kolinahr, Turak blamed his father and fled Vulcan. He spent five years with a human named Aidan Cross who was an ex-Starfleet officer (and secretly an operative for Section-31.) It was Cross who created the AJ Kent identity and, following his death, "AJ" joined Starfleet. His Augment heritage is a secret but it is unlikely that Starfleet Command is entirely unaware of it. (He is unaware that his adopted father spent the entire five years he was away from Vulcan pursuing him.)

[Shakabutt]

But Trip wasn't running and fighting Vulcan commandos and digging. Tucker was walking and sightseeing, which is hardly strenuous.

And CoffeeCat, it was in Hatchery.

ARCHER: My great grandfather was in North Africa during the Eugenics Wars. His battalion was evacuating civilians from a war zone when they came under attack. There was a school full of children directly between them and the enemy. If his men had returned fire, they might have hit it. So he called the commander on the other side, and got him to agree to hold his fire long enough to evacuate the school. There are rules, Trip, even in war. We have to help these children.

I think its obvious that Archer grand pappy wasn't a augment ,i mean the augments were ruthless killing machines ,i don't think an augument would make that call to the other commander demanding a cease fire for the school to get evac. Just my opinion

[evcake]

Uh, one positive benefit of a Human living on Vulcan could be an increase in bone density. Didn't Bnb mention that with Trip in one of his stories? I think I saw it in a novel somewhere too - can't remember which. Perhaps "Spock's World"? So maybe a Human who spent his whole life from early childhood on Vulcan might have a bone structure similar to Vulcans in density? But like Rigil said, the eyes, the lungs, these might be more of a problem. Could a combination of youthful body versatility and Vulcan medical science overcome these problems? Could they put the kid in an 'earth normal' room for part of the day? And slowly build up his organs to handle Vulcan normal environment? You probably have some interesting story plot devices that could be employed.

What about a transplant of some Vulcan organs from a child who has died? Might be a very high rejection potential. But maybe this is going too far into the realm of the impossible.

Perhaps artificial lenses of some sort might take care of the eye problem. Like leave-in contacts

[Distracted]

Maybe something like the artificial gravity deck plates on Enterprise in the nursery, only they lighten gravity for when he sleeps until his body adapts. The UV filtering contacts are a good idea as long as they don't interfere with clarity of vision. That and maybe O2 by nasal cannula until he's old enough to tolerate Vulcan oxygen levels. And air conditioning. Seems like those precautions would make it less likely that he'd just die in his sleep as a baby.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Heh, that "writers' bible" from you looks a bit familiar, Rigil! Was that from the idea you had before ENT even saw the light of day?

[Rigil Kent]

Nah. It was the idea I had during season 3 of ENT that used many elements that I later incorporated into my ongoing Endeavour series.

ETA: I think I did post some of it over at TBBS in the creative writing forum back when I was still visiting that cesspool. Somebody started a thread about coming up with "new" series' and posting the reason why the "network" should pick it up...

[evcake]

Maybe something like the artificial gravity deck plates on Enterprise in the nursery, only they lighten gravity for when he sleeps until his body adapts. The UV filtering contacts are a good idea as long as they don't interfere with clarity of vision. That and maybe O2 by nasal cannula until he's old enough to tolerate Vulcan oxygen levels. And air conditioning. Seems like those precautions would make it less likely that he'd just die in his sleep as a baby.

hmmm...maybe a Vulcan colony.

[CoffeeCat]

But Trip wasn't running and fighting Vulcan commandos and digging. Tucker was walking and sightseeing, which is hardly strenuous.

And CoffeeCat, it was in Hatchery.

ARCHER: My great grandfather was in North Africa during the Eugenics Wars. His battalion was evacuating civilians from a war zone when they came under attack. There was a school full of children directly between them and the enemy. If his men had returned fire, they might have hit it. So he called the commander on the other side, and got him to agree to hold his fire long enough to evacuate the school. There are rules, Trip, even in war. We have to help these children.

Of course. How could I have forgotten. That's my favorite episode, LOL.

I think its obvious that Archer grand pappy wasn't a augment ,i mean the augments were ruthless killing machines ,i don't think an augument would make that call to the other commander demanding a cease fire for the school to get evac. Just my opinion

They might if the children were augments.

[CX]

Seems like Vulcan discipline would be more likely to produce a stable Augment, what with the Augments' anger and aggression problems and all. I'd like to read that story.

I'd like to read that story too. But after you write that episode of Foundations.

[Rigil Kent]

It wasn't a story, per se. More like a series bible with the human Augment character serving as one of the Main Characters (even though he's the ship's XO - the captain would be a secondary character). I suppose that, some day, I may come back to it (maybe after the E/R War is over and my Endeavour series has ended), but a large portion of the various subplots within as well as a good number of the characters have already been incorporated into my current ongoing series...