An introduction

[bettern_errol]

Kurt leads Hank over to a small room in the non-place of the Nexus. It is hexagonal and contains nothing but two chairs across from a table surface that stands not on legs but suspended by four chains from the ceiling. On it, is a white rat. He closes the door behind them and goes to the table

Comments

[dr_hankmccoy]

Hank follows Kurt into the private space interested in his surroundings less than the problem Kurt has approached him with. At the introduction the good Doctor arches his eyebrows and purses his lips, idlly offering the rodent an oversize furry finger.
" Fine example though he may be, am I to suppose that Cecil is not usually of the genusRattus?"

[anony_mice]

Cecil moves to the edge of the table and takes the offered finger with his own small hands. It's not quite a handshake, but it's as close as he can get right now. After seeing Kurt and several of the Nexus' other more interesting looking regulars, Hank's appearance doesn't quite surprise Cecil.

"A pleasure to meet you, doctor. And no... usually I'm much more human than this."

[dr_hankmccoy]

"Ah, if nothing else the perceptional transition must be disorienting. The scale of your surroundings, my presence least of all, do let me know if you are uncomfortable."

Hank takes the opportunity to crouch, bringing himself more or less level with the table top, mindful of Cecil's external auditory meatus.

"Perhaps you might expound on the origin of your current distress so we can develop a plan of attack on getting you back to your old self, if that is indeed what you wish?"

[bettern_errol]

Kurt settles into a chair, curling up and gripping the edge of the table with his toes, tail looping idly around one of the chains.

"It is more an issue that this form is affecting more than his physical senses. The rat's brain may not be able to contain the man's mind," Kurt nods, encouraging Cecil to tell Hank what the rat had told him earlier.

[anony_mice]

"Disorienting is certainly one way to describe it. Although I've gotten a little more used to everything now... I've spent the last few months this way." Cecil relaxes almost unconsciously when Hank crouches down. It is considerably less intimidating to communicate with someone when they are at eye level--especially when they're so large.

Cecil hesitates a moment in an attempt to gather his thoughts and put them in order. When Kurt speaks, Cecil gives him a quick, thankful glance before looking back at the doctor. "Yes, that's really the most pressing matter. I seem to be forgetting things. And not just anything, either. I'm forgetting important things... things I've spent years of my life working on! I'm absolutely terrified that the memory loss will be permanent, and that I'll just eventually lose everything that makes me who I am..."

((I'm so sorry about taking so long to reply, I've been sick for the last few days. :( *bleh*))

[dr_hankmccoy]

Hank removes his glasses to polish them as he grinds his gears.

"Understandable cause for concern then and as a matter of fact something I can relate to. Physiologically speaking, in this form you're going to have similar faculties as a human, with some notable differences such as metabolic rate and the ability to synthesize your own ascorbic acid. Narrowing the timeline on your memory loss onset given your description might shed a little light, but I suspect this may be more complex than just 'insufficiant disk space'. It might even be something you've developed more recently, but trying to assess that would be putting the cart before the horse, as it were.

So I must ask how is it exactly that you came to be so diminutively whiskered, if you're able to recall in detail?"

((No problem, I've been pressed for time this week myself. ))

[anony_mice]

"In detail..." Cecil repeats in a mutter to himself. Then, in a louder voice, "I'm afraid the details are rather sketchy. It all happened so quickly... not to mention the shock was enough to cause me to black out--but never mind, I'm getting ahead of myself." He shakes his head and does his best to quickly organize his thoughts. "I had a fight with my partner over credit for our research... he felt he wasn't getting his fair share. We got into a scuffle and he--he shot me with something." Cecil manages to sound equal parts shocked and offended at the last bit, despite the fact that it happened several months ago. Most likely because this is only the second time he's mentioned the incident aloud to someone else

[dr_hankmccoy]

"Hmmm, I would think there were much more equitable methods of dissolving a partnership." he murmurs, replacing his glasses and putting his formidable reasoning skills to bear. "If we can conclude the shot you characterized was the inciting incident, would you say the predicament was triggered through chemical means, perhaps with a projectile delivery system; dart or needle as a for instance

[anony_mice]

"It was more of a... a sort of energy field, almost." Cecil sighs and rubs a small hand over his nose. "When it hit me it felt almost like an electric shock. Static... it was horrible, really. Nauseating. I'm sorry, doctor. I know I'm not being terribly helpful here. Whatever it was, it was nothing that I recognized. Nothing we had been working on together, certainly. If I had to guess, I would say he got it from someone else. I know Alexander quite well--er, that is to say, I thought I did--at any rate it wasn't anything he had made on his own, either. I can at least recognize his work