trans_9 | Freud would not be proud [Closed to Howard and Kais]

While he'd wandered the city, Mark hadn't found his apartment or the building he worked at. In fact, he didn't find anything he recognized. But he did find a nice house that was only partly demolished. And inside was nice, comfortable furniture. No black leather couches but that was probably for the best.

Mark quickly moved a chair opposite one of the couches and took a seat. He took out his omnicomm and tried typing a few notes to himself as practice. Then he tried lying down in said couch and looked around. He could see the faded pastel colors of the wallpaper, a nice fireplace on the other side of the room. There weren't any paintings let alone upbeat posters promoting diversity, unity, or asking people to get tested for lycanthropy. Oh well, you couldn't have everything.

Mark got up, sent a message to his first patients letting them know when and where to meet him, and walked outside of the house. He took several deep breaths.

"O.K. Mark, there's no need to worry. You're on a living space ship full of people you've never met. How bad can it be?"

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"It went red literally." Which was odd considering Kais' blood was blue. That didn't occur to him though.

"Literally red." Mark nodded. "Have you had any other hallucinations?"

He typed the word schizophrenia into his omnicomm.

"Hallucinations?" Because depending on how that is defined, that could be a yes or a no.

"Any kind of visual disturbances. It could be everything going red or seeing shapes. It could even be seeing people who aren't there." Mark waved his hands as he explained.

Close enough. "When I am around the Ethereal, things seem very...perfect. Things visually change to seem better, I believe."

"O.K., forgive my ignorance but what are the Ethereal?" What he wouldn't give for a few cross cultural handbooks right about now.

Now this, he could explain with clarity. "Our culture is divided into castes and each contribute an equal part to society. The Ethereals are the leaders."

"Ah," Mark nodded. "And do they give off any kind of pheromones or other substances that would alter your perception?"

Yes, yes, they do but not a single Tau knows that. It's all 1984 up in here. "No, they would never do such a thing."

"Hm..."

He made a note on his omnicomm to check if the medbay had antipsychotics. Or... whatever they gave Kais's species.

"Well, maybe not intentionally but it it's part of their biology-" He looked at Kais. "But I'm guessing that's not an issue so.

"Have you ever thought that someone was out to get you or controlling you?"

That, he could not at. "The human Governor of that planet told me that I was doing exactly what he wanted me to do..."

"That's a no. A good no." Mark added. He scratched his chin. "Would you say that you have trouble interacting with others?"

"Yes." That was a big portion of his life. He never had any 'friends', so to speak.

"I see. Well, Kais. I'm afraid I have some bad news." Mark set aside his omnicomm, pressed his hands together and leaned forward. "Have you ever heard of schizophrenia?"

He waved his hands in a negative, having never heard of the term before. "What is that?"

Mark kept his voice soft and understanding- at least that's what he was aiming for. In reality he sounded patronizing. "It's a serious mental illness. Some people with schizophrenia experience delusions and are convinced aliens are inserting thoughts into their brains. Others see or hear things that aren't there. Most have trouble fitting in with society. It's a life long disorder but it can be managed with medication."

Thankfully, Kais isn't exactly adept with human nuances. "But to you humans, I am considered an 'alien'. Would that not make a difference? It would be natural for me to put thoughts in my own head."

"Thaaaat's not what I meant. But you have a point. Is it normal for your kind to hear voices in your head or see odd things?"

"I have never heard of it happening, no." The selective breeding was supposed to weed out such things.

"There, in my experience- and I have treated many people who aren't human- while we may be different physically, psychologically speaking we're all very much the same." Mostly.

"The key is to recognizing that the hallucinations you experience aren't real. And in your case, not killing anyone because of them."

"And what should I do?"

"To be honest, medication is the standard treatment for schizophrenia. I'll have to look up any other treatments and get back to you. In the meantime, let's see if there's something else I can do for you.

"You've been in a lot of battles and I think that's a trigger for a lot of your hallucinations. How have you been dealing with your role as a soldier?"

"...dealing?" That was a good question. "There is no dealing. Being a soldier is what is required of me and that is what I will do."

"You're not in battle all the time. And no one is ever 'just' a soldier. There's more to people than what we do for a living." On second thought that might have been a poor choice of words. Oh well.

"Not to mention that even as a soldier, ignoring your mental well being can get in the way of your duties."

"I am a member of the Fire Caste. We are born and raised to be warriors. Nothing more, nothing less."

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