RP:A Potential Breakthrough

Summary: Kumori begins conducting tests on a sample of the wraithen virus.

Characters involved: Kumorohyou, Ranok

Location: The Fold Laboratory

Kumorohyou can be seen standing over one of the counters, the shaman placing what appears to be a dagger inside a glass casing of some sort. The blade has a blackness to it that stems from something far more sinister than charcoal, and the panther wished to contain it. Kumori wears a white lab coat over his exoskeleton, the shaman well isolated from any chance of infection. The feline closes the glass covering, then the chamber begins to fill with a pale vapor that contains the occasional dot of bright turquoise, as if the container held a bunch of stars obscured by clouds.

Ranok descends into the laboratory silently. He took no special measures to protect himself, and was decked out in the same duster as always. This was removed upon entering, however, as swinging fabric was dangerous in lab conditions, "So. Vat do ve hef?"

Kumorohyou removes a very strange-looking visor/mask from one of the cupboards, handing it to Ranok as he explains, "A young elf name Raziel handed me a blade that was tainted with the wraithen virus. Apparently one of the Time Lord's agents tried to convince her to give it to him beforehand. I am going to multiply the virus in a controlled container, then break it down into something that we can use to prevent infection. It won't cure anyone, but it will make any non-wraith immune to the infection." The panther places a strange, turquoise prism atop the container, reinforcing it with its own spirit field. The mask he had handed to Ranok appears to be made of the same material as his armor, and it would protect his lungs and inner lining from exposure pathogens and harsh chemicals.

Ranok takes the mask, but doesn't put it on quite yet. He seems to have a fairly reckless disregard for his health, here, "Und de growth medium? Vat vill hyu use?"

Kumorohyou holds up a petri dish, which has a milky-white film on it. "Tissue from one of Korra's victims. My experimental group uses tissue that doesn't stop growing." Translation to modern English: human cancer cells. The virus would infect the cells, causing rewriting their DNA as well as infusing them with the arcane properties of a wraith. Without a bodie's immune system, the virus would easily take over and multiply.

Ranok doesn't ask the obvious question, that being how Kumo even knew how to do such things with human tissue, "So Hy see. Very vell den. Und vat vill you eksperiments vith de infected tissue be?"

Kumorohyou responds, "This wraith virus is similar to the one that my people faced years ago, but there are some differences." Perhaps that would provide an answer to the unasked question. He also studied and experimented while he was in the Fold. The shaman didn't become the Fold's leading scientist by sitting on his tail. As the panther turns towards the glass container, he notices that the vapor has begun to turn a murky grey, the spirit particles and gas encouraging the viral matter to release itself from the blade and float freely. "We need to see how it affects different types of tissue, just so we can eliminate unknowns. I have samples from other species as well. It would be good to find any anomalies."

Ranok frowns as he looks at the tissue sample, "A faurly intelligent approach. Und how do hyu even plan to test functionally dead tissue? It tells no schtories, after hall."

Kumorohyou shakes his head, holding up the petri dish to Ranok's eye level. There is a second, clear layer beneath the white milky layer of cells. A special layer of nutrients that would sustain the tissue for weeks. "This tissue may not look like it functions, but it will be very much alive when I examine how the virus has changed it."

Ranok frowns, "Hyu are missink de point vith dis...vatever de hell hyu kall it. Vatever. Grow enough uf a sample dat ve kan infeck livink vole body kreatures. It vill take time. If hyu rush dis und screv it up, hyu'll hef vasted an opportunity here."

Kumorohyou lowers the petri dish, raising a brow at the human, "You did not seriously think I would poor that entire container of virus into one little sample, did you? That glass will hold enough concentrated virus to infect several people...instantaneously."

Ranok sighs, "Hy schtill fail vat kan be learned from dis. Hyu act as if observink schmall animals infected vith a virus dat only schpreads via de Parasite's blood und his blood only vill get us hennyvere. Likely...dat deesh kan' even infeck hennyddink. De virus iz magical, vat do hyu tink?" He crosses his arms, "Vatever. Ve kan see vat kan be learned. But get dat out uf dis lab! Vat, hyu tink he kan' track dat zumhow? Dis iz de Parasite. He doesn' do tinks like 'play fair' or 'giff dem a chance'."

Kumorohyou shakes his head. What did Ranok take him for? "That spirit field does far more than keep the virus inside. It conceals it from whatever it has ties to. And I am well aware of what the Parasite is like. He thinks he can make us play his game. I say we can change the rules. While fiends are the only traditional sources of wraiths, we don't intend to infect anyone with this. This is meant to stop the infection before it starts, not to completely reverse it. While there is a process for such things, it takes even longer, and there is far more risk involved." The shaman couldn't say why he knew all of this, nor could he provide any specifics as to how exactly the Jangalans had initially come into contact with a fiend. He could only hope that Ranok could trust the fact that the panther was neither naive nor foolish.

Ranok shrugs. He was more concerned with how Kumo knew to do these things. Medical knowledge of this make was under the ETA of a few hundred more years, give or take. But he wasn't asking. He knew when he wouldn't get many answers. He puts down the mask given to him, never put on, and goes to put his duster on, "A vaccine vould be useful. Keep at it. Ven dey're done incubatink und ready to moff on to anodder phese, tell me. My men vill moff into de fort und Hy'll keep up pretenses uf vorkink on zumddink or odder in de forge to giff hyu kover." By his men, he meant the ten or so volunteers given to him by Ganjimu to operate outside the military structure. They were the most reckless among the Fold, so they weren't too missed in the regular ranks.

Kumorohyou nods, the shaman inserting one of the control group petri dishes into an antechamber of the glass container, before sealing it in and letting it fill with a grey cloud of viral particles. The vapor that had coaxed them off of the blade would also aid in preserving their arcane properties. "Thank you, Ranok."

Ranok puts on his duster, and would be gone shortly after.