002.

[propulsion]

FORM: Enchanted books as well as loose leaf fliers left in key public spaces.
SENDER: Tony "Do I Have To Do Everything Myself" Stark
RECIPIENT: Hopefully all of you disgusting people.
NOTES: n/a

Comments

[okayimin]

Grippe is characterized by an overabundance/imbalance of phlegm.
Air contamination makes sense, but how is virus spread via touch when it's internal?
Additionally could you specify what you mean by greens?

[propulsion]

grippe causes overproduction of phlegm
it is not caused by an overproduction of phlegm

and by touch i mean another means of delivery/transfer. saliva/mucus on skin transferred to surfaces or other people. viruses can survive externally for a day or two.
greens like spinach. blueberries are good but i ran out of paper room. they boost your immune system.

[okayimin]

What are viruses specifically and what is this based on? Transference via surface implies a physical state rather than foul air/gas as can be found in Deep Roads.

Please expand on what you mean by immune system.

[propulsion]

[ Why Can't He Have Helped Himself and Just Rode This Out Silently, novel by Tony Stark.

Fortunately-- ]

it's called germ theory and the research division already has some notes on it from a previous Rifter who was obviously an expert in this field.
i can pass them along if you're interested.

short answers:
virus = microscopic organisms that need a host to live and replicate. it causes illness through cell disruption. runs its course over time.
immune system = general term for the biological processes of combatting illness on a cellular level.

[rathercommon]

Viruses are a bit like Darkspawn taint. They pass from the infected to healthy people. What's good, though, is that all people have the ability to fight them off, unlike the taint.

[ Helping!! ]

[propulsion]

[ Draws an arrow pointing to Kitty's words. ]

[okayimin]

By this analogy, the immune system would be something like the Grey Wardens then.

That's absolutely fascinating. There was always the assumption that the Taint was primarily confined in the Deep Roads, with the exception of Blights.

[rathercommon]

Yeah. I guess the difference is that the grippe happens every year, right?

[okayimin]

More or less. I don't know how bad it was last year, but outbreaks can vary in size quite a bit. Val Royeaux had a relatively mild case last winter.

[okayimin]

I would very much like to see whatever research we have on the matter. What is microscopic and cellular?

[propulsion]

Provost has em if you wanna cut out the middle man.

microscopic = very tiny and invisible to the eye without the use of a microscope which hasn't been invented yet.
cellular = referring to cells aka The Building Blocks of Life. the structures of which are microscopic but are what all living organisms are composed. of. take my word for it.

[okayimin]

I will, thank you.

What is a microscope and how are they made?

[propulsion]

think of a lens meant to enhance sight but by like 1000x
and you're not gonna get a look at most viral bodies without something even better than that
but you're a Chantry sister, right? you dig on faith in things you can't see.

[okayimin]

I'm clerical trained, not ministery. And if it's possible for such a thing to exist, there's no reason not to investigate it.

[propulsion]

doesn't sound any crazier than
what's the going theory anyway? miasmas, pollution? because the main takeaway here is that disease can spread person to person. shutting the windows at night isn't gonna do it.

[okayimin]

Foul weather is usually an indication of an increased grippe risk, but we don't have much in the way of weather underground. Grippe outbreaks in Dust Town were attributed to the Taint or exposure to dirty surfacers.

And I had noticed the tendency to spread regardless of weather or properly shut windows, yes.

[propulsion]

you might not be wrong about that if you have wildly different environments. you can build up an immunity against disease in your area and get hit bad with something from
wait, dirty surfacers?

[okayimin]

I would say the surface and Ozammar are significantly different.

And yes. Each nation will insult the habits of the other and claim their superiority, but I've found across the board surfacer hygiene oddly lacking. I've hypothesized it's to do with not living in enclosed spaces and a general ignorance of the Taint.

[propulsion]

ok I'll buy that
I haven't felt clean since I got here

[okayimin]

Hardly surprising. Baths are needlessly complicated to prepare on the surface unless one has the very good fortune to be near one of the few surface hot springs.

One expects such things in places where scarcity is a fact of life, but the amount of time certain members of noble families go between bathing is nearly offensive.

[keenly]

We know illness can spread person to person. We know to wash our hands. We know what we're doing.

[propulsion]

gold star

[keenly]

I don't know what that means.

[propulsion]

it means congratulations buddy
good job pal

[keenly]

We also have sarcasm here.