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Quinn's been thinking for a while, and he's finally come to what he hopes is a reasonable conclusion about his situation. There's a brief, quiet conversation with the Bar, after which he puts up a sign on the message board:

If there are any human or human-looking physicians, medics, or other emergency medical practitioners who are both willing to work in an extremely low-tech situation and are capable of dealing with advanced burn trauma, I would appreciate the chance to talk to you. My name is Quinn Abercromby. A physical description follows, as he doesn't have a photograph of himself. Thank you.

PS: No magic or psychic healers, please- it won't work.

That being done he heads to a seat by the fire with a cup of coffee, and tries not to look too worried about the situation back home.

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Lately the Bar has been showing up when Suzi has been needed, for one reason or another. So when she steps in she's looking around with worry...and when she sees the note she heads straight back out to leave a letter for Whistler explaining where she's gone to and asking him to come get her if she's not back by the time he gets home.

Then she heads back into the bar, and toward Quinn. "How can I help fill your need?"

"Oh, thank God," says Quinn. "Suzi- we've got a hundred and fifty armed soldiers who turned up at my castle and said they were dragon-killers. The last one they brought down put sixteen of them in our infirmary with all-over burns, including the Americans' leader. I haven't got enough people to tend them, even if I can get my supplies here- we've got one physician and one dentist, that's it. Can you help with the hospital work?"

"Of course." Suzi says, "I'm not great with medical things? I know basics and such? But I am a channel and I can project a need field strongly enough to affect even baseline humans with no selyn. Just tell me when, and I'll go."

Quinn nods. "Thanks," he says with considerable relief. "I want to see if I can't get hold of another doctor or two, or at least one or two other helpers, before I go back- but the sooner it's done, the sooner I have a chance of talking these people out of going to London."

"Alright." Suzi says, "I'll be here. I'll get a kit from Bar with the sort of stuff that I know how to use...and a long-sleeve shirt. You don't have Sime yet, do you?"

"Not yet, no," Quinn says. "I'm keeping an eye on the kids as they come up to puberty, but so far there's been nothing."

"Fever," Suzi informs him, "and swelling on the forearms. There may be convulsions. Usually it takes eight to twelve hours, although with channels it could be as fast as two from onset to breakthrough." She holds up her arm and points at the ronaplin glands, "If this area starts looking red and tender, come get me immediately because they're probably getting ready to go into the fever."

"Will do," Quinn promises. "I don't suppose there's a way for me to tell if we've got any Gens coming on?"

"If you have anyone who unexpectedly shot up way over his or her parents and hasn't been sick a day since the growth spurt, and for the first year after pretty much learned everything you told them without seeming to even try, then you've probably got Gens. Um." Her voice turns wry, "I can tell you when I get there if anyone has Established or is Establishing? But you can't really tell in advance except by size."

"All right. No, I haven't seen that happen yet," says Quinn. "More's the pity."

"The theory goes that you'll have gotten Gens before Sime, if only because otherwise the Sime would all die." Suzi says, "So keep an eye out for kids getting really tall and smart first. Most Gens are around six feet tall, maybe five ten? I'm tall for a female Sime."

Quinn nods. "That's assuming we last as long as I hope we're going to," he says. "But all right."

"Someone," Suzi points out, "survives. Enough someones to repopulate the planet. And there are stories about and island where people don't fear the kill."

Quinn smiles tiredly. "Sorry, Suzi. From where I"m standing, 4840 is a long, long time away. It's a little hard to keep that in mind."

"I know. From where I'm standing 2020 is a long way away, too, but I can do my best to keep reminding you that all is not lost. It just took a bit of a wrong turn at Albuquerque." ...Suzi found Loony Tunes a while back. They are so very strange, but so very silly.

Quinn almost smiles at that. He doesn't know the name, but he recognises a joke when he hears one. "Thank you," he says. "I do appreciate that, for what it's worth."

"I'm a channel." she says cheerfully, "Keeping spirits up is in the job description. I could try to juggle, but I get hopelessly confused after I've got about ten things in the air."

"That's more than I can do. I stick to acting and story-telling where I can," Quinn says. "Creedy does juggling sometimes, even though he's not much good at it."

"It works." She says, "And I'm sure that people need that as much as anything else. I love listening to stories."

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