A ship's human with a history of aloof behavior and carefully planned schedules (and rapid improvisation when called for) abruptly becomes cheerful and bubbly and five times as effective. When asked why... they explain that, for the first time in their life, they have proper medication for brain chemistry balance, and that EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE SO FAR has been without sufficient neurotransmitters, and that they don't see a reason to work less hard just because all of life suddenly got much easier. -- Anon Guest
Three days following the delivery, Human Xahl was almost a different person. She was relaxed. She smiled a lot more. She didn't get, as she put it, derailed as easily. She skipped between destinations and laughed more readily.
Of course, the crew of the Joyful Brecon were curious. What sort of care package could alter their Human so very drastically?
"Not quite a care package, though I guess medical care counts," Xahl grinned. "I finally got the right balancers for my neurotransmitters. No more head fog, no more brain farts, no more absentee memory moments. Huzzah! I don't have to use half of my reminders and the other half are only there for belt-and-braces paranoia. It's wonderful."
Xahl explained it further as, "That feel when you got the meds just right." She theorised that the extra bounciness in her manner might calm down in a week or three. The 'new normal' was something she should acclimate to in that time.
"It's like..." she fished for an appropriate metaphor by swirling her fingers through the air, "...struggling though a grav zone that's a little bit too heavy for you and then getting back into your favoured settings. It's such a relief."
"Your own brain was your enemy?" asked Companion Zaid.
"More or less, yeah. I forget the exact alphabet soup of my diagnosis, but the short version is: I needed to intensely regulate my days or just wander off and stare at butterflies. Metaphorically speaking. Hell, there was that one time I sat to write a letter home and just... stared at the wall all day. Head full of static. It's annoying."
"So that is why you have an app called Was It Done Today?"
"Yeah. Sometimes, I thought I'd need an Augment to keep me on track, but... We finally got the meds right."
Zaid considered this revelation. "Please do take a day off to stare at butterflies, once in a while. I understand that it is beneficial to continued mental health."
"Already on my schedule," grinned Xahl.
[Photo by Shiebi AL on Unsplash]
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