Captain Kirk wont even look at a beautiful woman because he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable in a professional setting and yet people still act like he's nothing but a horndog

Kuron sakusei ni tsuite wa dodesu ka?

The concept of the human soul is deep, rooted in philosophy, religion, and spirituality. Its definition varies across different cultural and philosophical ideas. A textbook definition of the human soul might be considered as: “An immaterial, eternal, and indivisible essence that embodies the unique identity, consciousness, and spiritual nature of an individual human being. It is believed to transcend the physical body and is often associated with qualities such as morality, emotions, intellect, and the capacity for free will. In many religious and philosophical concepts, the soul is considered the core of human consciousness, the source, the locus of personal identity beyond the physical plain of death.” ~ChatGPT In this talk we will expand upon the human soul’s root in philosophy, religion, and spirituality. We are going to add physics, binary information systems, robotics, biomechanical, sociology, quantum mechanics, gravity and other technologies to this talk about the human soul. We will repeat ourselves often here. Be ready… 1) Is the human soul, a piece of quantifiable data?

In 1901, Duncan McDougall, a physician in Haverhill, Massachusetts attempted an experiment to determine whether the human soul has physical weight or not at the exact moment of death. The experiment was to use a very sensitive weight scale of the time period to weigh the body at the moment of death to test whether or not substantial mass leaves the body at the moment of death. The experiment did have results but could not be collaborated by other experiments, often the results were inconclusive, and the scientific community as a whole would later recognize McDougall’s experiments as unreliable. However, despite this, the experiment popularized the urban legend that the human soul weighs 21.3 grams. The question of whether the human soul can be measured or quantified gets into some pretty deep, critical thinking and problem solving thought experiments about what makes us, well, us… The soul is like the core of our identity, consciousness, and people have been talking about it since the first humans looked up at the sky and asked; “Each of us at some time in our lives, turns to someone - a father, a brother, a God... and asks...” “Why am I here? What was I meant to be?” “Is this all that I am? Is there nothing more?” ~Kirk/Spock talking about V’ger, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979).

Traditional religious ideas say the soul is beyond what science can measure. That the soul is beyond human comprehension. They see it as something divine, connected to God, and lasting forever. In more recent times, with all our technological growth since 1901, science tries to look at the soul in a more practical and scientific way. Religion says the human soul and God is beyond science and that is correct, “from a certain point of view.” ~Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Star Wars: A New Hope” (1977). Right now, that is true. Our complete knowledge of science, specifically physics, is extremely incomplete. We are trying to solve a problem with only a fraction of the data and science we need to tackle the problem. The amount of science-things we did not know in 1901 is daunting. We didn’t know back in 1901 what the structure and function of DNA was. We didn’t know about the existence and properties of subatomic particles such as electrons, protons, and neutrons yet. We didn’t have the theory of relativity proposed by Albert Einstein. Any concept of quantum mechanics and its implications for understanding the behavior of particles on a very small scale. No knowledge on the extent of the universe and the nature of galaxies beyond our own Milky Way or the role of bacteria and viruses in causing diseases. We didn’t have the causes and mechanisms of genetic inheritance or the full extent of Earth's geological history, including plate tectonics and continental drift. We were only in the infancy stages of the complexities of human psychology and the workings of the brain. The potential for space exploration and travel beyond Earth's atmosphere wasn’t even known as science-fiction yet. They were still calling these stories ‘fantasy.’ Flash-forward 123 years to 2024 and science learned all those things above that we did not have in 1901. Science uses tools like brain scans to understand how our brains work and how they relate to our thoughts and feelings. They think that maybe the soul is just the result of all the complicated processes happening in our brains. This might sound like they're taking away the magic from the idea of the soul, but it's more about trying to understand it in a new light. Some even wonder if we could create a kind of digital version of ourselves, keeping our memories and personalities alive in computers. So, while old beliefs say the soul is beyond measurement, new science is pushing us to rethink that. It's a big question that mixes religion, science, and our own deep thoughts about who or what we are. The human soul is a big puzzle that we keep trying to solve. It is part of what makes us human, always curious about the mysteries of our own existence.

2) Does the soul have mass? If so it ‘must’ obey the laws of physics in the form of the conservation of mass and energy, respectfully.

When we talk about whether the soul has weight, we're really asking if it behaves according to the laws that govern our physical reality, which is physics. The conservation of mass and energy says that you cannot just magically have “stuff” pop in or out of existence from nothing—it can only change shape or form. The conservation of mass and energy in its infancy was theorized as far back as 520 BCE by the Jain philosophy, a non-creationist philosophy based on the teachings of Mahavira, stated that the universe and its constituents such as matter cannot be destroyed or created. It was later expanded upon through expression dating back to Hero of Alexandria’s time. The law can be seen in the works of Joseph Black, Henry Cavendish, and Jean Rey. One of the first to outline the principle was Mikhail Lomonosov in 1756. He may have demonstrated it by experiments and had discussed the principle in 1748 through correspondence with Leonhard Euler. The conservation of mass and energy was later heavily defined in science when experiments later carried out by Antoine Lavoisier; who expressed his conclusion in 1773, and was popularized as the principle of conservation of mass and energy.

A friend of yours comes up to you with one of those giant cookies. Your friend cannot just make the cookie disappear or create a new one out of thin air. Instead, they can change the cookie into something else, like crumbs or energy when one eats it. The total amount of cookie-stuff (mass) and the energy it contains stays the same, even if it changes form. So, it's like saying you can't make something out of nothing, but you can transform what you have into different things. This is a universal law and everything of EVERYTHING physical applies to it except for a universal law that would combine gravity of the macro reality with that of the quantum one. Most of this statement is true. There is a slight misconception though. The principle of conservation of mass and energy does indeed assert that you cannot create or destroy matter or energy; instead, they can only change forms. However, the part about exceptions related to gravity and quantum mechanics is not entirely accurate. Conservation laws, including the conservation of mass and energy, are fundamental principles that apply universally to all physical processes, including those involving gravity and quantum mechanics. There is no exception to these conservation laws. While our understanding of gravity and quantum mechanics may lead to complexities in certain situations, the conservation of mass and energy still holds true as a fundamental principle governing the behavior of ALL Matter and Energy in the UNIVERSE.

When we talk about whether the soul has mass, it's important to think about what the soul really is? In relation to the law of conservation of mass and energy, the soul is energy, yes, but it is in a form our current understanding of physics cannot yet define. Under these circumstances we cannot ‘force’ our understanding of this till the science catches up. Take this ‘thing’ called the ‘soul.’ It’s obviously a ‘thing.’ It is a form of energy, but since we cannot yet quantify it in physical terms does it have to obey the laws of physics? That is the question that if we can answer it, then we can do something about that, with that. Traditionally, people think of it as something separate from the body, like a spirit. So, saying it has weight might sound strange because weight usually goes with things that have physical mass. We can touch and measure it. If a thing can be measured then it must obey the laws of physics. It cannot outright break the laws of physics. The only thing we can sort of understand that does this is a black hole. Nothing else discovered fits this definition. If the soul does have attributes that make it a real and tangible thing, which it is, because we experience it, but we cannot properly define it in science terms, it would have mass which means it has weight, it would mean it follows the rules of physics. Like how matter and energy can't just appear or disappear—they can only change from one form to another. This idea makes us think that maybe the soul is a part of the physical reality and interacts with it. In the end, whether the soul has mass and follows the rules of physics is still something we're trying to figure out. It's a big question that makes us think hard and brings together different ideas from religion, science, and philosophy. The actual truth lies somewhere in between all of that; and as we know none of these things play very well together in the sandbox at the park, we call the UNIVERSE...

3) However, do we even have ‘that great an understanding’ of all of physics?

We know next to nothing about physics as a whole. In doing research for this blog I found a “List of unsolved problems in physics,” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsolved_problems_in_physics. Where I counted 121 separate subjected-areas of study that the human race cannot answer. There are loads more to discover and understand. As we make strides the answers and solutions tend to come in waves. We solve one problem it may shed light on others, opening up doors to all of the problems, all at once. Gradual improvements, adding new data, and solutions till the next discovery that opens the next door and the next. They can happen quickly or over long periods of time. Have no doubt though, there is a lot more to discover. When we put AI to these problems, this also may warrant some progress.

Our incomplete understanding of physics can be demonstrated in the 2014 Christopher Nolan film "Interstellar." That data from inside a black hole’s singularity can provide clarity on mastering energy, mass, and gravity into one grand unifying theory of everything. This premise touches upon several themes related to our lack of proper understanding of physics and the quest for knowledge that transcends current scientific boundaries. Black holes represent all the answers to all the questions we ever had about the universe and will ever have. The most extreme environments in the universe, where the laws of physics as we currently understand them literally break down into nonsense. This is the only thing in existence that has these attributes. Within a black hole's singularity, gravitational forces become infinitely strong, and space-time itself undergoes dramatic distortions warping the fabric of space-time onto itself. It is so heavy and the gravity is so strong it collapses onto itself where it pulls everything within its reach, into itself. The belief that accessing data from within a black hole could provide clarity on mastering energy, mass, and gravity stems from the notion that these extreme conditions may hold the key to unlocking new insights into fundamental physical phenomena of the universe. Humans seek this information in the quest for a unified theory of physics that reconciles quantum mechanics and general relativity. Current theories offer powerful explanations for phenomena at different scales, but they are not yet fully compatible or integrated into one another. The belief that data from within a black hole singularity could shed light on this unification reflects the desire to understand the underlying principles that govern the structure of the universe itself and at its most fundamental level.

Despite the progress made in the field of physics and technology, there are still many crazy things that elude explanation within the framework of quantum mechanics and general relativity. Dark matter, dark energy, and the nature of consciousness are just a few examples of mysteries that challenge our understanding of the universe on a daily basis. The belief that accessing data from within a black hole could save the human race stems from a recognition of the limitations of our current understanding of physics and a hope that new discoveries could provide solutions to pressing existential threats. It's important to note that "Interstellar" is a work of speculative fiction, and the concept of obtaining data from within a black hole singularity is a narrative device called a “macguffin,” main thing that is used to drive the plot and characters forward. While the film's premise is based on scientific principles, it takes liberties with current knowledge and concludes into the realm of speculative conjecture. Still, the film's exploration of these ideas sparks curiosity and imagination, prompting contemplation of these mysteries of the cosmos, the limits of human understanding and the imagination.

4) If the soul is quantifiable then how can it be described in binary?

The concept of translating the soul into binary code, a language of ones and zeros used in computers, is a thought-provoking idea that connects with many areas of study, like the brain, philosophy, and technology. While it opens up exciting possibilities for understanding consciousness, it also raises deep questions about who we are and the limits of our existence. Imagine if we could represent the soul, the essence of our consciousness, with just ones and zeros, like how computers store information. It suggests a way to simplify something complex into basic parts. But consciousness isn't like a simple computer program—it's a mix of thoughts, feelings, and experiences that can't easily be broken down into digital terms like binary code. Thinking about the soul in terms of binary also brings up big ethical questions. If we could copy someone's consciousness like we copy a computer file, what would that mean for our sense of self? Would we still be unique individuals, or just copies of each other? And should we even be messing with something as fundamental as our consciousness in that fashion? It is only now that we are gaining control over our genetics where we could, and probably will, alter our future evolutionary path. A few decades ago nature was in 100% control of future human iterations. Every couples of years now we gain more and more control over this process. It's not just about science and technology but also philosophy, ethics, and even our understanding of what it means to be human. If we ever figure out how to map the soul in binary, it would change everything we know about ourselves and our place in the world. But until then, it's a fascinating question that shows just how complex and mysterious the human mind really is. Just think of it though. Take your consciousness and put it into different bodies at will. Be an interesting dive.

5) Is it a clone of the body or the person itself? What if we make a bunch of Dwayne Johnson's (The Rock) but they only look, sound, identical and have individually different souls/minds?

Cloning brings up big questions about who we are and what makes us unique, especially when we think about whether we're cloning just the body or the individual- personality that also belongs to that original body. Imagine, making copies of Dwayne Johnson, also known as ‘The Rock.’ They might all look and sound exactly the same, but would they be the same person inside? Cloning technology can make genetically identical individuals, but it cannot copy everything that makes a person who they are. Things like memories, experiences, and personality are shaped by lots of different events, like how we're raised, where we grow up, and the people we interact with. So even if we made a bunch of Rock-clones and raised them all the same way, they'd probably end up being different people. Each clone would go through life in their own way, learning and growing based on their unique subjective experiences. This means they'd develop their own personalities and ways of thinking that are separate from each other. Even if they started out identical, they'd become individuals over time. When we talk about the soul, it adds another layer of complexity. Some people believe that there's something more to us than just our bodies and brains—that there's a soul or spirit that makes us who we are. Cloning might copy the body, but it can't copy whatever that ‘soul-stuff’ is. So, even if we could make a bunch of Dwayne Johnson clones, they wouldn't all be the same person. They'd each be their own individual with their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It's a reminder that even with all our technology, there's still a lot about being human that we don't fully understand. However, if we go back to mapping the entirety of one’s ‘soul’ into binary code? I mean, if we could actually do it and made it work. Now you could have a way to do it. Granted, we’d need one hell of a “macguffin.”

6) Can two identically copied consciousness’s coexist in the same space, time, and space/time simultaneously? Or would they cancel each other out if they came into direct physical contact with one another? From the science fiction film, “Timecop,” (1994), per the grandfather paradox.

The question of whether two identically copied consciousnesses could coexist in the same space, time, and space/time simultaneously delves into the realm of speculative science fiction and metaphysical philosophy. This concept raises profound questions about the nature of identity, the fabric of reality, and the potential consequences of encountering alternate versions of oneself by method of time travel. In popular science fiction scenarios like the grandfather paradox, time travel often serves as a narrative device to explore the complexities of causality and temporal dynamics. The paradox speculates a hypothetical scenario in which a time traveler goes back in time either accidently or purposefully to prevent their own grandfather from meeting their grandmother, thereby erasing their own existence. This scenario highlights the potential paradoxes and contradictions that arise when encountering alternate versions of oneself in the temporal continuum. In Peter Hyams 1994 film "Timecop," it is specifically stated that the same matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time. One cannot travel back in time and occupy the same exact space as their younger self. Coming into direct physical contact causes both pieces of matter, people, to annihilate themselves in a self-contained implosion of matter coming together and then vanishing from existence. In "Timecop," It's like trying to fit two puzzle pieces into the same spot—they just can't both be there at once. So, if someone from the future meets their younger self in the past, using this logic, and they touch each other or come into direct physical contact, it causes a kind of implosion. It's as if the matter from both versions of the person or object suddenly get squished together and then disappear in a few moments. Think of it like trying to shove two magnets with the same poles together—they repel each other so strongly that they can't stay in the same place. It's a unique way for the movie to show the consequences of creating a time paradox. The rule, ‘macguffin,’ that says two identical things cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Similarly, the idea of two identically copied consciousnesses coexisting in the same space/time raises intriguing philosophical dilemmas. Is the human soul, a piece of quantifiable data? Does the soul have mass? If so it would "have to obey the laws of physics” in the form of the conservation of mass and energy. Everything in the universe has to obey these laws. The only exception to the rule as of now is black holes. Do we even have ‘that great an understanding’ of all of physics? There are still many wonders that escape explanation within physics. The nature of consciousness is just one example of the mysteries that challenge our understanding of the universe. If the soul is quantifiable then how can it be described in binary, digital, terms or binary-code? Is it a clone of the body or the person itself? If consciousness is viewed as a fundamental aspect of individual identity, then encountering an identical copy of oneself could challenge one's sense of self, agency, God, creation and existence itself. Would the presence of another identical consciousness diminish or negate one's own sense of identity, leading to a cancellation of consciousnesses? Or would the two consciousnesses coexist harmoniously, each maintaining its unique perspective from the divergent point of view and agency within the shared reality? One possible interpretation is that the encounter between two identical consciousnesses could lead to a merging or integration of experiences and perspectives, resulting in a richer and more nuanced understanding of selfhood and existence. Alternatively, the encounter could give rise to existential conflicts and existential crises, as individuals grapple with the implications of encountering alternate versions of themselves that have different thoughts, feelings, perspectives and experiences from the observer’s point of view.

7) Religious implications... Is cloning against the God of religion, all religions?

The religious implications of cloning are deeply subtle and vary significantly across different religious traditions. While some religious perspectives may view cloning as inherently incompatible or as a violation of the sanctity of life, playing GOD, others may adopt more refined positions that consider the ethical and moral dimensions of cloning within a broader theological basis. Improving the quality of life by curing diseases with cloning-type technologies. Whether cloning is against the God of all religions, it's essential to recognize the diversity of beliefs and interpretations within all the religious communities. While certain religious traditions may explicitly prohibit or condemn cloning based on theological principles, others may offer more delicate perspectives that take into account the complexities of modern science and technology. For example, within Christianity, interpretations of the Bible vary widely, leading to divergent views on cloning. Some Christian denominations may view cloning as opposing to the biblical concept of God as the ultimate creator of life, while others may emphasize human gatekeeping over creation and the responsible use of scientific knowledge for the betterment of all-mankind. Within Islam, there is a range of opinions on cloning, with some scholars arguing that it is permissible within certain ethical guidelines, while others may express concerns about the potential ethical implications of cloning human beings. Probably not the best option to go digging into Islam for anything permissible and/or ethical. Much of the world sees Islam as dangerous and radical, but not for the faith in a God but how they treat anything that does not believe in what they believe, which is fundamentally wrong to force any idea onto another person or group. In Judaism, views on cloning also vary, with some Jewish scholars drawing on traditional ethical principles such as the sanctity of life and the concept of "tikkun olam" (repairing the world) to inform their perspectives on cloning. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the concept of reincarnation and the interconnectedness of all life influence attitudes toward cloning, with some believers expressing concerns about the potential disruption of karmic cycles or the creation of beings without a predetermined destiny. The question of whether cloning is against the God of all religions isn’t a straightforward question to answer. It requires careful consideration of theological principles, ethical values, and scientific insights within the context of ‘each religious tradition.’ While some religious perspectives may oppose cloning, others may offer more focused and contextualized approaches that seek to balance theological concerns with considerations of human welfare, pursuit of knowledge, and improving the quality of life for all-mankind. It will always come down to; does one, some, many, all believe in the one-God creation myth and it is a myth.

8) Sociology implications... What is the purpose of the clone? The intention?

Cloning brings up a lot of questions about how it is used and what it's meant for. Looking at why we clone things and what we want to do with them can tell us a lot about how cloning affects society as a whole. One big thing to think about is why we're cloning stuff in the first place. It's not just about making copies—it's about what we want those copies to do. Cloning could be used for all kinds of things, like treating diseases by making personalized medical treatments or helping people have babies when they can't do it on their own. When we use cloning for medical stuff, the goal is to make people healthier, happier and to live longer, healthier and happier. There is always going to be questions about who gets access to these treatments and whether everyone can benefit from them equally. On the other hand, when we use cloning for making babies, things get a bit more complicated. Some folks might want to clone themselves to keep their family line going or to have a child who's genetically related to them. Others might want to pick and choose specific traits for their baby, like picking out clothes from a catalog. Drawn to the prospect of creating "designer offspring" with desired traits. This will bring up big ethical questions about whether we're treating people like products and whether everyone should have the same chance to have kids the way they want. Cloning also raises concerns about identity and how clones fit into society. If someone is cloned for a specific purpose, like being a soldier or a worker, do they have the same rights as everyone else? And what happens if they rebel against their creators? Understanding the motivations and/or perversions behind each of these purposes is essential for assessing their societal implications. What about abuse of this technology? Build a Clone Army like in “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” (2002). The Arnold Schwarzenegger led 2000 film "The 6th Day," a man discovers he's been illegally cloned and must fight to reclaim his identity in a world where cloning is a dangerous reality. "The Island" (2005) - Directed by Michael Bay, follows a group of clones who discover the truth about their existence and rebel against their creators. "Splice" (2009) - Tells the story of two scientists who create a human-animal hybrid, leading to disturbing consequences. "Moon" (2009) - Follows a man working alone on a lunar mining base who discovers a shocking truth about his identity and purpose.

It's not just about making copies—it's about what those copies mean for all of us. 9) Cloning just parts for medical purposes?

Imagine if science could grow new body parts, like fingers or hands, from your own cells to replace ones you've lost in an accident. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it's a real possibility with cloning technology. This kind of medical cloning, called ‘regenerative medicine,’ has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, but it also brings up some big ethical questions. One of the main concerns is consent—making sure people have a say in what happens to their own genetic material. Even though growing replacement body parts could be a game-changer for people who need them, it's important to respect their right to choose whether or not to use this technology. You do not want your genetic material out there like some of your all’s personal data or signing it away to said company for them to allow you access like phone apps. They grow you a new leg and in-turn get to keep your genetic makeup for their own uses. I would think most would want control over those sorts of aspects. One can wonder though turning human tissue into a commodity. As cloning gets more advanced, there's a risk that body parts could be bought and sold like products on Amazon. To avoid this, we need strong, but very clear language, rules, and guidelines to make sure cloning is used responsibly and ethically in medicine and not for nefarious intentions. What must be understood are the complex context of cloning... Cloning for medical purposes and using it to make babies are not one in the same or even the same thing at all. The only thing they have in common is they use cloning technology to come their intentional outcome. Medical cloning here in this sub-point is all about making replacement tissues or organs to help people get better, while reproductive cloning is about making whole new organisms. Keeping these two things separate, we can focus on the medical benefits of cloning without getting caught up in ethical debates about creating life. There's still a lot we do not know about cloning, especially when it comes to just making parts instead of whole bodies. As previously stated we might not even be able to do this without the whole body. We have to be careful not to accidentally create conscious beings without realizing it. It's a tricky balance between using cloning to help people and making sure we're not doing anything unethical in the process. And therein lies the problem… By what specific criteria do humans judge a thing, anything, ethical and/or unethical? By what actual standard?

10) We can clone the body but, not the mind/spirit. Instead, science uses a way to create an image of a person's personality using their entire INTERNET history. See example “Caprica,” (2009) “Battlestar Galatica Re-imagined” (2004-2009) prequel series about how AI/Cylon is created in that fictionalized-Universe.

The concept of replicating a person's mind or personality using their internet history raises intriguing questions about the intersection of technology, ethics, and identity. While advancements in artificial intelligence and data analysis techniques have made it possible to analyze vast amounts of digital information, the idea of creating an accurate replica of a person's consciousness remains speculative and troubled in complexities. The ability to generate an image/copy of a person's personality based on their internet history opens up possibilities for understanding human behavior and understanding in unprecedented ways. By analyzing patterns in online activity, such as social media interactions, search queries, time eyes are tracked on specific things on your screen(s), comments you leave, notes you take and digitally save and browsing habits, researchers may gain insights into the details of individual personalities and decision-making processes. This could have applications in fields such as marketing, psychology, and personalized healthcare. However, privacy concerns loom large, as the collection and analysis of personal data from online sources raise questions about consent, autonomy, and the potential for surveillance and manipulation. The unauthorized use of individuals' digital footprints to create virtual replicas of their personalities without their explicit consent could violate their rights to privacy and self-determination. On the other side of this how accurate could this possibly be? There's the question of how well computers can really understand human stuff. Sure, they're good at crunching numbers and spotting patterns, but they're not so great at understanding emotions or social situations. So, even if they analyze all your internet history, they might miss out on the real you—the one with all the messy feelings and thoughts that don't always show up online. Or do they? Not everything you do online reflects who you are in real life. People don't always act the same way online as they do in person. Many don’t actually. So, even if they collect all this data about you, it might not paint an accurate picture. Not everyone or even most are verbatim who they are in real life using their computer. Much is lost in translation. An example would be do you post everything that comes into your mind as far judgements go on all your social media platforms? No of course not, most do not, while some actually do though. We see you Karen… What I am saying here is if one often thinks in those terms and then does not replicate that same logic, attitude, and behavior in the way they use a computer, smartphone or the internet. How accurate would that image be when compared to the real you? Much is lost in translation. AI would have to fill in the gaps with its own interpretation of that same logic. In order for a copy of something to be perfect it has to be perfectly copied. While artificial intelligence algorithms may excel at identifying patterns in data, they may struggle to capture the degrees of human consciousness and subjective experience. In most science fiction AI tends to struggle with understanding, conceptually, what the ‘human element’ actually is and how it functions. Factors such as context, emotion, and social dynamics are difficult to quantify and replicate accurately, raising doubts about the reliability of personality replicas generated from computer data and internet history alone. If we went by my own internet history I would appear to be a sci-fi nerd obsessed with cloning humans haha… While it's fascinating to think about recreating personalities from internet data, there's still a lot we don't know. It's like trying to copy a painting without knowing all the colors—it might look similar, but it won't be quite right. It would be something familiar but likely a hyper-radical of a portion of that person’s personality but not their personality verbatim.

Ok, see what I mean? I do not think I can just say “CLONING” in a simple way and it just be understood. In my defense, cloning isn't exactly a simple concept... It isn’t a MEME or TIKTOK—it's a complex subject that touches on various fields.

Science helps us understand the natural world, including our bodies and minds. It guides us in thinking about how cloning could work and what it might mean. Technology is key in making cloning happen. We must think about the ethics of using it to create and manipulate life. Robotics we are getting pretty good at in recent years. Making robots that act more-like humans. So, how close are we to making biological copies, too? Biomechanical looks at how living things interact with machines. It helps us think about creating biological beings that are part-human, part-machine. Medicine is all about health and healing, but when it comes to cloning, we have to consider the ethics of tinkering with our bodies. Sociology is about how we live together in society. So, we need to think about how cloning might change our social norms and values. Different religions have their own views on the soul and what makes us human. So, we have to think about how cloning fits into these beliefs as well. Spirituality explores beliefs about the soul and what lies beyond the physical world. It's important to consider how cloning might challenge and/or open up these beliefs. Philosophy dives into big questions about life, consciousness, and who we are. It helps us think about things like the soul, whether cloning is ethical, and what it means for our identity. The psychology of it digs into how our minds work. The psychological impact of cloning on people. Physics tells us about the rules that govern the universe. Understanding these helps us see how cloning fits into the bigger picture. While metaphysics looks at reality beyond what we can touch and see. It ponders how our souls fit into the physical world and then later into the spiritual one. Computers use binary code (ones and zeros) to do stuff. Can we really quantify and copy something as complex as human consciousness with it? Conservation of mass and energy are basic rules of the universe. Understanding how they apply to the soul and cloning helps us think about what's fathomable. Quantum mechanics explores the weird reality of tiny particles. Could quantum stuff affect consciousness and cloning? A complete understanding of gravity would be a big deal in how we understand how the universe works. The theory of everything, that grand theory that explains everything in the UNIVERSE. How might this tie into cloning and our understanding of the soul? What we are missing in physics is we do not know everything about how the universe works. So, there are still gaps in our understanding of consciousness, how cloning might affect it and basically most other subjects connected to it, which is EVERYTHING...

Cloning isn't just about making copies—it's a journey through science, ethics, philosophy, religion, and what it means to be a ‘THING,’ existing, at all. Being human…

Kuron sakusei ni tsuite wa dodesu ka? Japanese (What About Cloning?) by David-Angelo Mineo 4/13/2024 6,233 Words

Paradise Dead (Part One)

Keywords: Hidden, Sacrifice, Soft

Word Count: 796

Type: Gen, Friendship, Survival, hurt/comfort, WHUMP, BAMFBones

Characters: Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Jim Kirk, Spock

Oh my goooosh so this was just supposed to be a drabble! I can't seem to do that so you'll get this in parts. It's kinda dark and not beta-read at all. But please enjoy anyway. I love you aaaaall. Goodnight. <3

Warning: Mentions of Cannibalism.

Leonard McCoy scowled in the darkness of his cell. He’s no longer surprised that somehow he had gotten himself into trouble. Again. Sighing he leaned back against the cold stone behind him and thought, and he thought hard. He glanced down and squinted at his watch, he’s been here for a few hours now and Leonard was beginning to grow impatient.

The human colony on this planet had gone completely insane. They had somehow lost all semblance of reality. A supposed God had been keeping them safe from disease, aging, pain. They’re like dolls, stuck in time with fear gripping them tighter than anything he has ever seen. And the way to keep their God happy? Sacrifice. Human or otherwise. Many have come to this planet and have met a very painful and terrifying end. The landing party didn’t have a chance. They were all split up and brought to different parts of the colony, which was very very smart. Something that McCoy found odd. Independent thought was blasphemous here. So his conclusion – after hours of solitude and griping – was that the colonists were taking orders like toy soldiers, most likely from this God. Even a flicker of doubt, of free thinking got them well…

He didn’t want to think of it. Ensign Karver was the first to perish, he was going in the same general direction as Leonard and what he saw happen to the kid made his stomach churn and his ears ring. Karver was talking - panicking a mile a minute. He kept saying “You don’t have to do this!” and “ Please think about what you’re doing.” at those words the kid was cut down. Six male colonists had descended upon him until there was nothing left. And Leonard really meant, nothing. He could still hear Jacob screaming. This place – these people had resorted the most barbaric part of their humanity. Consume what they can to survive. After all these years of being alive unable to die, starving and kept numb their only source of love, comfort, and care came from something powerful or at least something resembling OZ. McCoy could hardly blame the Stockholm syndrome. Wanting to get away from the memory of earlier Leonard’s mind drifted to his friends.

Where were Jim and Spock? Were they still alive? Did they have a plan? He wanted to snort, no they never had a plan. No never mind what Spock says. They always made it up as they went along. He actually might die this time around. He didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry, oh hell maybe both. He wanted to but didn’t McCoy had other things to do than curl up in a ball and give up.

Grumbling to himself to shake away his morbid thoughts McCoy carefully examined his cuffed hands, the shackles tinkling against one another. Chewing on the inside of his lip he had finally come to a decision.

“Fuck it.” he muttered before taking a deep breath. In one swift movement Leonard dislocated his thumb. Muffling a slew of curses into his shoulder, McCoy clenched his jaw as he removed the cuff and popped his thumb back into place. Breathing heavily he took a moment to regret many of his life choices before doing the same thing to the other hand. No use have a dead weight on his wrist. Heavy enough to be annoying but not heavy enough to use as a weapon.

Stumbling to his feet Leonard looked around his cell with narrowed eyes. It wasn’t exactly ancient but it was new either. The word refurbished sprang to mind. The cells weren’t originally here. To McCoy it looked like an old wine cellar, cocking his head to the side and gave a laugh. It reminded him of home almost. As a child, little Len would explore his parent's wine cellar like he was Indiana Jones. All wine cellars have ventilation. Just like him, wine needed to breathe after all.

Walking the length of his cage -which could fit a whole soccer team– Leonard scanned the area for any vents, or at the very least a weakness in the cell walls. A soft breeze caressed his back, turning his brows furrowed. Holding out a hand he ran it across some of the overgrowths on the brick walls. “Oh I’m not that lucky…” he muttered as he began yanking and pulling away the out of control weeds, the soft gentle breeze grew more intense. Stepping back he let out an almost hysterical laugh, it was rusted but with a little effort he could get the cover off. A vent to anyplace but there was a major comfort and a lucky break. Leonard just hoped that that luck stays intact until he finds Jim or Spock.

To Be Continued…

Tags: @lauraaan182 , @chickadee-djarin, @cowenby2, @bluesclues-1234, @sayuri9908, @440mxs-wife, @theatrevicki

Trek: @starfleetbotanist

8 movies that really got science wrong

Science has been a dependable companion to Hollywood, giving the hereditary enchantment that breathed life into dinosaurs back, the errant medication that gave our planet to the gorillas, and the radiation that helped man become bug.

In any case, has Hollywood regarded science consequently?

In the tallness of summer blockbuster season, we asked everybody from George Church to Dr. Richard Besser to specialists went government officials to certainty check the big-screen science behind some paramount films and detail the scenes that made them squirm in the theater.

What's more, we'd prefer to give a cap tip to @TheSciBabe otherwise known as Yvette d'Entremont, a previous systematic scientific expert, for rousing this rundown. Her own pick is 2012's "The Avengers."

"Jurassic Park" (1993)

Featuring

Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern

IMDB plot rundown

During a review visit, an amusement park endures a significant force breakdown that permits its cloned dinosaur displays to go crazy.

Master truth check

One of my preferred bloopers was "Jurassic Park" utilizing "Lysine Contingency" for biocontainment. [Editor's note: Lysine Contingency was a presented hereditary change that made the dinosaurs reliant on lysine supplements from the staff so they couldn't get by outside the recreation center, as indicated by Jurassic Wiki.] But lysine is available in all nourishments on the planet.

— George Church, geneticist and manufactured scientist who instructs at Harvard Medical School and helped found the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. Among his many research activities, Church and his associates at Harvard effectively put wooly mammoth qualities into the genome of an Asian elephant.

I love the special visualizations. I went to see it with my then beau (presently spouse) on the big screen and it truly caught my creative mind. However, even in those days, I realized eradication isn't reversible!

— Dr. Reshma Kewalramani, official VP and boss medicinal official at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979)

Featuring

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley

IMDB plot outline

At the point when an outsider shuttle of tremendous force is spotted moving toward Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes direction of the upgraded USS Enterprise so as to capture it.

Master reality check

In the old "Star Trek" motion pictures, it used to trouble me a great deal when a character was shot with a phaser. The individual was killed down to their shoes however it left the ground underneath totally immaculate.

— Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), previous physicist

"Episode" (1995)

Featuring

Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, and Morgan Freeman

IMDB plot synopsis

Armed force specialists battle to discover a solution for a dangerous infection spreading all through a California town that was brought to America by an African monkey.

Master certainty check

"Episode" was dreadful. How on the planet did they get enough plasma from a solitary monkey to spare a great many individuals from a destructive Ebola-like infection? How is it conceivable the first flare-up in an African town slaughtered, obviously, 100 percent of the populace, but then there were survivors when it arrived at white people in the U.S.A.? … Some fear inspired notions asserting HIV was "made in a CIA lab" refer to that film. It has demonstrated unthinkable, on account of Hollywood, to get the world to comprehend that Richard Nixon shut down the U.S. hostile bioweapons program during the 1970s, and there is no CIA bioengineering mystery lab.

— Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer-prize-winning columnist, creator of "The Coming Plague," and specialist on Steven Soderbergh's 2011 film, "Infection"

The revealed motivation for Dustin Hoffman's character in the motion picture additionally had a few musings.

In all the time I was in the Army or at CDC, we never "nuked" an African town to contain a flare-up. The monkey that carried the sickness from Africa to the U.S. was a capuchin or Cebus monkey, which is a South American animal categories. To spare a town passing on from the illness, they plasmapheresed [Editor's note: removed antibodies from the blood of] said monkey and this around 20-pound monkey yielded a unit of plasma for each inhabitant of the town — a serious accomplishment. The monkey more likely than not been drained a while later.

— Dr. C. J. Subsides, a virologist who took a shot at Ebola and other lethal pathogens at the U.S. Armed force Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and at the CDC

"Frenzy" (2018)

Featuring

Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman

IMDB plot rundown

At the point when three unique creatures become contaminated with a perilous pathogen, a primatologist and a geneticist collaborate to prevent them from decimating Chicago.

Master certainty check

"Frenzy" messes around with CRISPR quality altering, however makes large, George-sized errors en route. CRISPR could speculatively be utilized to attempt to give animals new highlights like wings, however you'd almost certainly need to begin with one-cell undeveloped organisms. Additionally, even in some popular, weaponized structure making an infectious quality drive, CRISPR couldn't influence the genomes of a sufficiently high level of cells to cause changes in an entire existing creature and it'd to be too moderate a procedure for Hollywood. You'd presumably get a great deal of asymmetry, as well, with the end goal that that wolf beast in the film, for example, could simply have made them wing and flew around and around, or developed that wing out of its nose or butt. An animal growing up mixes of inconsequential attributes like wings and a porcupine tail from CRISPR is much harder to clarify. At long last, the possibility of a cure or on-off switch for quality alters is less absolutely outlandish and the last is really being investigated in the lab, however most likely couldn't influence only one characteristic like hostility and wouldn't take 10 minutes.

— Paul Knoepfler, immature microorganism researchers at the University of California, Davis

Two STAT correspondents additionally went out to see the films to check whether "Frenzy" got the study of CRISPR right. Peruse our audit.

"Skyfall" (2012)

Featuring

Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, and Naomie Harris

IMDB plot rundown

Bond's dependability to M is tried when her past causes issues down the road for her. When MI6 goes under assault, 007 must find and pulverize the risk, regardless of how close to home the expense.

Master actuality check

The scoundrel in the James Bond motion picture "Skyfall" is a disenthralled previous government agent whose jaw was as far as anyone knows liquefied away by a hydrogen cyanide suicide pill turned sour. With the exception of … hydrogen cyanide is most popular as a toxic gas and hydrocyanic corrosive, from which it very well may be inferred, is less destructive than lemon juice. On the off chance that it was that destructive, it would have liquefied the container itself some time before. I was irritated to such an extent that my child later said he could never go with me to a decent government agent film again.

— Deborah Blum, chief of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT, writer of "The Poisoner's Handbook" and the up and coming "The Poison Squad"

"Excursion to the Center of the Earth" (1959)

Featuring

James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl

IMDB plot outline

An Edinburgh teacher and arranged partners follow an adventurer's path down a wiped out Icelandic fountain of liquid magma to the world's inside.

Master truth check

I still can't seem to experience any individual who has visited the focal point of the earth, cruised an underground ocean in a mushroom vessel, or wellbeing drifted on of magma — or all the more precisely, magma.

— Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), previous specialist

"Disease" (2011)

Featuring

Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, and Jude Law

IMDB plot rundown

Medicinal services experts, government authorities, and ordinary individuals wind up amidst an overall plague as the CDC attempts to discover a fix.

Master Fact-check

From multiple points of view it gets the science right, yet I was struck by the speed by which they made another antibody and spared the world. That is deluding. As we've seen with HIV, Ebola, Zika, jungle fever … making immunizations that are protected and compelling can take quite a while and can be slippery. The quick making of an immunization in "Infection" can add to the bogus desire for what science can do during a general wellbeing emergency.

— Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and previous acting chief (during the beginning of the H1N1 flu pandemic) of the CDC

"Prometheus" (2012)

Featuring

Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, and Michael Fassbender

IMDB plot outline

Following hints to the starting point of humanity, a group finds a structure on a removed moon, yet they before long acknowledge they are not the only one.

Master truth check

I need to state the film that truly irritated me was "Prometheus." The cartographer gets lost promptly, and when the scholar sees an outsider creature he needs to snuggle with it. At that point the entire team just keeps on doing numbskull things to place everybody in harm's way.

Delirious (Bones x Reader)

Bones/Reader (For Atari’s Birthday Challenge)  “Dammit! I’m a doctor, not nature-loving bear-bait!!”

Leonard McCoy was really disgruntled about this away mission, which had turned into a camping trip, due to the long journey to the native’s secluded village. The alien guide was leading the way, talking with Uhura and Jim, while you and the doctor trudged on behind. You giggled to yourself as he continued ranting about disease and danger and predators. It was funny how such a fearless man, who’d run into a firefight to save injured crew, could freak out over a few days in the wild. “I don’t think there are any bears on this planet, Doctor,” you informed him, strolling along happily. You were having the time if your life on this gorgeous place and couldn’t believe he was so sour about it, but then Dr. McCoy was sour about everything, which was a shame, because he was incredibly handsome. He frowned at you. “Well, surely they have some sort of carnivorous animal life? It’s too much to hope that we’re completely safe out here.” It’s almost as if he was looking for reasons to gripe, you thought, shaking your head. “Not around here, doc, sorry to disappoint you. It’s mostly birds, rodents, and insects in this area. If we’d have landed on the other side of the continent, well, that would be a different story. Luckily, the Captain listens to his science officers when it comes to dangerous flora and fauna.” He snorted. “You haven’t been here long, have you?” “Four months. Why?” “Jim isn’t exactly known for his cautious streak. I could tell you plenty of stories–like the time he he got captured by a sentient vine that was holding him upside down, dangling in the air. Sulu had to hit the thing with laughing gas to get it to let go of the captain.” You laughed out loud and the captain turned and looked back at you. “What’s up, Lieutenant? Bones telling bad jokes again?” “No, he’s telling me juicy stories about you, actually,” you replied. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing too incriminating.” Kirk shot McCoy a betrayed look. “And here I thought you were my friend, Bones.” “Well, Jimmy, I was just reminding the Lieutenant here of some of your more…..hair-brained away missions to pass the time.” The captain sighed. “You have to bring up my wild and irresponsible past?” “Yep!” The doctor replied cheerfully. “It’s not completely in the past, either.” You thought their banter was hilarious, but hid your grin, lest Jim think you were ganging up on him. More trudging and crazy stories later, a large black bird swooped overhead, letting out a loud “CAWW!!” You stared at it in wonder. It was like a crow, but three times larger. “Bad omen,” Leonard muttered. “Something’s going to go terribly wrong soon, I can feel it.” “Why Doctor, I thought you were a man of science who didn’t hold to superstition!!” You reminded him. “It’s just a bird!” “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious,” he said, eying the low-flying bird with great suspicion. “Is that even a word?” You asked in disbelief. “It is now. Big black birds mean either something bad has already happened or will happen. The thing’s the size of a vulture almost.” You shook your head as the doctor strolled on, muttering things about the treacherous nature of unknown planets. You looked apprehensively at the gathering clouds in the sky and hoped he wouldn’t turn out to be right. About a mile later, the guide led Jim off the trail under a thick stand of trees with leaves the size of your head. “She says we should take shelter from the rain. There’s a cave back in here we can take cover in.” With another look of trepidation, the doctor followed you through the trees. Your eyes were wide as you took in the foreign plant life that you’d never seen before. Giant ferns and ivy grew everywhere and there were huge clusters of flowers that looked like hydrangeas were dotted about the forest. You had your tricorder out in a second, analyzing as much as you could as you followed along. Leonard saw how your eyes were shining with excitement as you explored, clearly in your element, and he softened a bit, knowing what a scientific paradise this place probably was to you. “Keep up, Bones, lieutenant!!” Jim called back and you realized you’d lagged quite a ways behind in your engrossing study of the plants. “Sorry,” you called and tucked your tricorder away reluctantly, striding forward quickly to catch up to the other three. In a few minutes, everyone was huddled inside the shallow cave, watching sheets of rain pour off the overhang as the storm swept through. “Wow, what a downpour,” The captain observed. “Yes, it is,” you said. “Rather refreshing. I haven’t seen real rain in a long time.” “This your first away mission?” He asked. “Yes, sir,” you replied. You shifted your leg slightly to better balance your weight against the waist high boulder you leaned on and felt a sudden stabbing pain in your thigh. Whirling around, you saw a long speckled body gliding away into the darkness. “Lieutenant, what’s wrong? You’re white as a sheet,” Kirk asked urgently. “I think a snake bit me,” you said faintly. “What? Where?!” The doctor was instantly alert and moving to your side. “Here,” you said, pointing to the back of your leg just above the knee. “It was on that rock. It crawled away really quickly. I didn’t recognize the species.” Already, your leg was throbbing and cold fear shot through you as you thought of the poison working through you. “Try to describe it to me,” Uhura put in worriedly. “I can ask Teelith if she knows what it is and if it’s poisonous.” “It is poisonous,” the doctor confirmed. “I’m going to give you a hypo to try to counter it until we know what’s going on. Keep still.” Numbly, you nodded as the hypo was delivered. “From what I could see, the snake was tan with black and gray spots. He was pretty cranky about getting his nap disturbed, I guess.” “I should say so,” Jim said. “I’ll keep a sharp eye out in case he comes back. Bones, how’s it look?” “Not great, Jim. We need to get an antivenin soon.” Uhura was explaining the snake to the guide, and you saw her eyes grow wide with alarm. “She says it’s the Speckled Cave Snake and they’re very dangerous. They have a treatment, but we must get her to the capitol before the day is over.” Your frightened eyes met Leonard’s. “It’s going to kill me, isn’t it?” You whispered. Your leg was very tingly and starting to go numb. He swallowed hard and looked you square in the eyes. “Not if I can help it, Y/N. We’ll get you there in good time. Won’t we Jim?” “We sure will. Everybody Break out your rain gear and get ready to move out,” the captain ordered. “We’re going to get her to help, weather or no weather.” Without further ado, he took off his pack and began rummaging through it for the standard poncho. You shrugged your own pack off, but the doctor quickly took it in hand to get out your gear, seeing you struggling to twist around. “Stay still,” he gently ordered. “I’ll get it.” “I don’t know if I can walk fast enough.” You admitted as you stuck your head through the hole and began to fasten the front and back together at your side. “That’s okay, Y/N, Jim and I can give you a lift–if you’re okay with that,” he amended. With you? Very okay, you thought. Dr. McCoy was the subject of many of your friends dreams and up until this mission, you’d always rolled your eyes at their pining. Now that you’d met him and worked with him, well, you definitely understood the appeal. His pessimism and grumpiness was clearly not an indication of him genuinely being unpleasant, but mostly an ongoing mild protest against space. According to rumors, he’d joined Starfleet just to get away from a nasty ex-wife who’d cleaned him out and made his existence a living hell. You didn’t understand how someone could possibly do that to Leonard, but obviously you didn’t know the whole story. Ponchos in place, you found yourself being lifted into Leonard’s arms as the five of you prepared to continued the trek to the native city. “Hmmm,” you murmured. “Nice biceps.” “You flatter me, Lieutenant” Leonard replied, looking down at you with a gentle smile. “You comfortable?” “As much as I can be,” you told him. “Where’s my backpack?” “Uhura’s got it.” He told you. Thus reassured, you nodded at Jim, who was waiting for the Okay to move. Out into the rain you went, pulling your hood over your face as much as possible to keep from getting to much rain on your face. Luckily, the rain did not last the whole four hour trip, but you weren’t sure you would. You felt worse and worse as the hours dragged by, the numbness joined by a fever that made the rest of your body ache. Leonard was occasionally spelled by Jim when his arms grew tired, but not for very long periods. “Hurts, Len,” you mumbled. “So hot.” “I see,” he said, looking very concerned. “Try to hang in there, sweetheart, we’re almost there. Teelith says it’s just a few kilometers, now.” “Good,” you whispered and closed your eyes. Right now you just wanted to sleep and wake up better. You were drifting in and out of consciousness when a voice said “there it is! Look, Y/N, there’s the city.” You pried your eyes open a slit, but you couldn’t make anything out–it was all blurry. It appeared Jim was carrying you, since the sleeve was yellow, rather than blue. “I’ll take your word for it. Can’t see much right now.” You whispered. “Bones, she says she can’t see.” Jim told the CMO. We’ve got to get her in there as soon as possible or we’re gonna lose her!“ You were transferred back to the doctor’s hold for the last leg of the journey and you smiled deliriously. "Y'know, doc, If I don’t die, I was gonna ask you out.” “Oh?” The doctor asked pleasantly, one eyebrow going up, though you couldn’t see it in your state. “Yep. You’re totally cute, and really smart, and completely sexy,” you rambled on. “Even your grumpiness is adorable and did I mention the dimples?” “Now, now, Y/N, you’re gonna make me blush. You’re the cute one, you know.” “You think I’m cute?” You said, head lolling around to try to see him. “Sure do, darlin’.” Even in your fevered misery, a happy feeling went through you. Unfortunately, you passed out again before you could say anything else. When you woke up, you were in a very soft kind of bed and feeling much better, if very tired. The room was a soothing blue color, but strangely circular. “Hey, sleeping beauty,” came a voice beside you. There sat Leonard, a relieved grin exposing his dimples–the dimples you rambled on about to his face. “Welcome back.” Trying not to blush, you nodded. “Am I going to make it?” You asked. “Sure are.” He told you, giving your hand a squeeze. “We made it in the nick of time. You’re going to be here a couple more days, though, because your body is worn out. Speckled Cave Snakes are no joke.” “Thanks for hauling my sorry ass around,” you sighed. “Please tell me I didn’t hit on you when I was out of it.” The smug grin that spread over his face confirmed your fears and you covered your eyes with your hand. “Alright, I won’t tell you. But if you ever get a hankering to ask me out when you’re not out of your head, well, I won’t say no. You’re a great scientist and a charming person.” Your blush grew deeper as he continued in a teasing tone: “Didn’t I tell you the crow was a bad sign?” Epilogue: Four Years Later You wriggled in your husband’s arms, trying to get untangled from his long limbs curled around you. Leonard McCoy would deny it until the day he died, but he was a big cuddle bug and getting free was tricky. “Len, honey, can you let me out? Need to get up.” A grunt was the response, followed by “I’m not letting you go. It’s too early to get up.” One eye was partially open and he squinted at you blearily. You couldn’t help but chuckle at his cute scruff, wild bedhead, and growly protests as you continued your attempts to rise from the bed. “I’m afraid I do have to get up, darling,” you told him, with a kiss on his jaw. “Baby on the bladder makes things very urgent, you know.” He smiled sleepily and finally moved his leg and arm so you could heave your eight months pregnant belly out of bed. “You’re beautiful, darlin,” he called after you. “If you say so,” you returned, making a beeline for the bathroom, cringing at the sight of yourself in the mirror. That very eventful away mission had been the catalyst for a budding relationship between you and Leonard that resulted in marriage 18 months ago. Now, there was a little McCoy due in a few weeks and two very excited parents to be. The Enterprise was in refit for a year, so the pregnancy wouldn’t happen in space, a great relief to your worrywart husband. When you emerged from the bathroom, Leonard was sitting up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes and looking too cute to resist, so you walked over and sat down beside him, leaning into his warm chest. “How’s our little peanut doing this morning?” He asked, giving you a sweet, lingering kiss. “Feeling feisty,” you said, guiding his hand to the spot you could feel little kicks. “Pretty soon we’ll have another little blue shirt scientist in the family.” “Probably, but he or she isn’t going anywhere near any caves on strange planets if I can help it,” Len said firmly. “No more snakes." 

Tags: @atari-writes

@thewaithfuckingannoyme

@outside-the-government @yourtropegirl

@wonders-of-the-enterprise

@medicatemedrmccoy

Good Girl - Part 10

Summary: Werewolf!Reader Story. Readers a young doctor and uses her skills to keep her condition hidden, until she transfers to the Enterprise and tries to deceive a certain grumpy Doctor

Bones x Reader

Wordcount: 2060

A/N: I am sorry for how long it took me to write this part - but as you all know, things are difficult right now. I hope you like it and I’ll continue the story as soon as I have time to continue writing (I do write every spare second I get, which shows how many spare seconds I have right now)

This could be AOS and TOS

Warnings:  Mentions of Sex, angst

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5 PART 6 PART 7 PART 8 PART 9

Emptiness followed McCoys departure and stretched from seconds to minutes, from minutes to hours. At some point you got food and at another point Chapel made her appearance. It was after Beta, the security guys watching your cell had switched shift about an hour ago. It was like another world behind your cell, a world you had no part of any more. They didn’t even seem to really care, but maybe that was your imagination, feeling more detached from the world outside your own then ever. Not even Chapels bright, kind smile managed to brighten your mood significantly, the words of your boyfriend, your partner still echoing in your ears. I am so stupid.

„How are you holding up?“ she asked and sat down in front of your cell, grabbing a chair and pulling it over. „I brought you chocolate.“

You raised your eyebrows, forcing a weak smile to your lips. „Chocolate?“ „There’s no ill in space chocolate won’t lessen.“, she mused and gave you the kindest and most honest smile you’d seen since your incarceration. For all that had happened she seemed completely unfazed by the events unfolding - or blissfully uninterested of what you were. Shoving the chocolate through a temporary hole in your cell wall, her blue eyes traced over your face. „Take a bite, Y/N.“ - though kind and warmhearted and smiling there was a resolve behind her words that easily matched the fiery temper of Bones. Obediently you took a bite, but the warmth that spread through your chest was that of another friendly being close to you. The Enterprises’ head nurse continued watching you, seemingly comfortable with the silence that stretched between the too of you. You caught a whiff of medbay in the air, a scent that followed everyone along that worked there. It reminded you of home.

„He’s been hard on you, hasn’t he?“ You gave a noncommittal shrug and took another bite of chocolate. „You know, Y/N,“ she leaned back in her chair and looked politely down to her fingernails. „I’ve known Doctor McCoy for a while now and…“ she deep breath and lifted her head back up. „He’s not …“, she stopped again and you cocked your head. „He’s a kind man, if he allows himself to be that way.“ Chapel finally said, nearly whispering, as if talking about a long lost lover. „And he’s an understanding man, if he is given the time to work through things.“ You nodded slowly, feeling a tiny ache pinching at your heart. You felt the sudden urge to touch her. Or be touched. „Did he .. tell you?“ the question fell from your lips before your brain realized it. „About what he had said?“ Another smile tugged at her lips as she shook her head. „No.“ „Then how … ?“ „As I’ve told you: I’ve known him for quite some time, Doctor.“ Another pause followed, time enough for a lump to form in your throat while going through the words that had fallen for the hundredth time today.. The desire to change and give into your primal self grew in your chest, but you were not yet ready to face your raw emotions. Bottled up in some dark corner of your mind you feared it would probably kill you. „He has a tendency to … get in his own way.“ she finally said, matter-of-factly, and let out a small sigh. „How is Ensign Bancroft?“ you said, changing one uncomfortable topic for another. „He’s in a coma. His body is …. fighting…whatever disease he’s got. We’re trying to work it out.“ You nodded slowly, guilt weighing heavy on your shoulders. Chapel smiled again and knocked at the glass wall with her knuckles, as if to replace a friendly pat on the shoulder with that gesture. „Keep the chocolate, eat up and don’t let your head down.“ A small smile crept upon your face. „I’ll try my best.“ „Good girl. Everything else will sort itself out, eventually“ Chapel said, smiled, got up and left the room.

Gammashift meant night shift and only a skeleton crew remained to man the Enterprise. The lights were down, only main gangways fully lit. A comfortable darkness had blanketed your cell, the glas wall even lowered visibility to outside your cell,so that you’d be comfortable and not kept awake by the light at the desk of the remaining security personell. You lay on your back, arms crossed behind your head and slowly drifted off to sleep.

You ran. You felt cold air on your naked skin. Earth still warm from the last rays of sun beneath your feet. Your toes dug deep into the earth as you propelled yourself forward. You ran. Breathing, rythmically, air pinching each time you drew it into your lungs. There were feet next to you. Running along. One-Two - Three-Four. You turned your head but could not see. Your own heartbeat was too loud, but faintly, as if far away, there was another one. „Who…“ the figures footsteps beat louder now. Faster. It advanced into the darkness that enveloped everything before your eyes. „Wait“, you whispered and ran faster. Nothing. No heartbeat. No footsteps. Just silence. You stopped dead in your tracks as something -

You yelped awake. It was still dark and Alpha still seemed far away. Nothing. Already the memory of your dreams slipped away from the tight grip of consciousness. But still. A feeling nagged you, but you couldn’t pinpoint it and experienced had taught you not to listen too closely to what the wolf tried to tell you in your human form. With a sigh, you fell back on your bed and slipped into dreamless sleep.

Breakfast came and went without another incident. Time slipped by uneventful and change of shift marked it’s passing. It was in the middle of Beta when the captain himself made his appearance, followed along by his first officer like an oversized vulcan puppy. You straightened up immediately. „At ease“, Kirk said at once. He positioned himself in front of your cell and his kind puppy smile was as unreadable as Spocks stoic expression. A slight nausea swept over you. „Doctor Y/N“, he began, doing nothing to ease your tension by extending this longer then necessary. „I am very happy to tell you that investigation showed no evidence of you being our suspect.“ Silence fell. All thoughts went blank for a second. „I.. what?“ you gasped in disbelief. „Doctor McCoy was kind enough to provide a blood sample to our laboratories.“, the Vulcan continued what his Captain had begun and watched unmoved as your shoulders sank. „Evidence suggests that you are not responsible for harming Ensign Bancroft, therefor your detention is without a legal basis and outside of starfleet regulation.“ „You’re free, as I said.“ Kirk said, as if a translation was necessary, and waved to the guards. „You heard me, that woman is free to go.“ The guard tapped on it’s PADD and the glass wall all but disappeared. You still stared at Kirk and his first Officer in disbelief. „And.. what about…?“ you began, only to be cut off by another hand wave from your Captain. „Until we decide how to handle the situation, you’re released from duty but free to assist Doctor McCoy should he ask and you feel up to the task.“ You nodded slowly. „Aye, Sir.“

A hot shower and a fresh blue dress later you felt ready to head back to medbay. Sitting around had never been your strong suit and as a meeting with Bones was unavoidable, you preferred to chose the place of the battle yourself. That’s how you made you’re way through the Enterprise and how the scent of medbay greeted you long before you laid your eyes on it, as always. But this time it filled your heart with dread, no matter how prepared you thought you’d be for what was coming.. It felt like you were approaching at a creeping speed. You knew you weren’t, but still - every step you made seemed to slow down time, to stretch a second into a hours. Entangled with Medbay was the scent of Bones. He and medbay were one. Inseparably connected. You turned around a corner, took another deep breath and stepped in. There he was. Blue shirt, nicely wrapped up in his uniform and work, his dark eyes concentrated on his PADD. „I report back for duty, Doctor McCoy.“ He lifted his head for a second and you could see ..nothing. Too much at all. „Good.“ he said, seemingly unmoved, applying a Hypo to his patient without looking up again.„We’re one Doctor short and could use the help.“ if there was an attempt of a joke, it fell flat in light of the situation and your current lack of humour. „Security managed to get a couple of Ensigns hurt on our recent away mission - get started.“ And so you picked up work again, not exactly where you left, but close enough. Bones busied himself with patients and shouting and being his usual grumpy self, while you worked through broken bones, a nice laceration and some variants of the common space cold. A case of alcoholism busied your mind, discussing a treatment plan with one of the nurses until you noticed that it was already late into Gamma and the amount of patient slowly ebbed away. Bones was still there, as always. A feeling of familiarity eased into the situation. It would be easy to just get up, ask for dinner, just as before. A tranquilizer would be nice now. Just to get that damn heartbeat down. Not used to be fully awake. A deep sigh escaped your lips and you rubbed your temples while leaning over that last bit of report you wanted to finish. A nice tranq. Why not use one. Soothe the animal inside. Goraning, you rubbed over your forehead and shook your head. „Is everything okay?“ his voice was behind you all of a sudden. „Yes…“ you turned around to face his stern expression. „No..“, you corrected yourself and forced half a smile on your face. „I’m having headaches for the past few hours. And .. it’s .. complicated.“, mumbling the last part you averted his eyes and stared over his shoulder. Of course he had his medical tricorder in his hands only seconds later, putting the damned thing to your face. You suppressed a shiver as his hands brushed over your skin. „You’re completely off tranquilizers right now?“ he asked. You could feel the warmth of his breath on your face now. „Aye“, your answer was barely a whisper. His warmth left your for a second, then he was back and grabbed your arm. „Damn you, woman. You’re on cold turkey. I’ll give you one now, another one tomorrow evening. We’ll stretch intervals to two days then. We need to monitor your vitals. See how your body reacts“ and pushed a hypo into your arm. „And yes, I had your secret stash collected by one of our nurses.“ he added. The deep frown on his forehead intensified. His voice was just short of a deep growl, a sound that resonated deep within you. „I’m .. sorry…“, you whispered. „I could’ve …“ he began and stopped himself, dragging his right hand over his face. He let go of your arm. Suddenly you could see just how tired he really was. „Y/N. I … We…“ His sentence ended in an unfinished sigh. „I am so sorry, Len.“ you repeated and though a part of you revolted you knew you sounded like pleading. „I could’ve lost you, Y/N“ he finally said, staringdown at his hands. Silence again, as you carefully stretched your fingers to meet his. His touch was soft as he gently grabbed your fingers. Warm and kind and everything he did no muster the courage to say. „I’m sorry I hurt you.“ you whispered. As you looked up to him the stern expression on his face softened. „Dinner?“ „I’d love to.“

The sound of a medical alarm woke you up. Confused you stretched out your arm, only to land on a communicator the same second another, bigger hand did. Ah. Yes. „It’s mine.“ the gruff voice of McCoy muttered, grabbing the thing with his one hand and not lifting the other from where it rested on your hip. He had answered your most urgent question right after you had finished dinner. Take that dress off, darling. He did not fear to touch you. Nor did he shy away from you after what he had seen. I did not tell you to take that off, yet. Still, there was something different. His touch was more firm, his kisses more fierce then before. There was a desperation you had not felt before. He cared. Deeply. It would take time before everything settled down. Bones sat up abruptly next to you, startling you out of your thoughts. „What happened?“ „Bancrofts dead.“ he said and his voice fell flat. „He’s been killed.“

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Can I have sick Bones please? The Doctor getting sick but refusing to leave his post because he's the Chef Medical Officer and people need him and the rest of the crew have to get him to take a break because he needs caring for too. Thank you, you're amazing!

(I’ve actually never written Star Trek before, but wanted to try it out because I love these characters!! I’ve only started watching the original series, so this is mostly based on the JJ Abrams current movies! Also sorry this is a little short, I’m trying to get used to writing ST!! Hopefully that’s cool with you!!)

It had been a very long two weeks.

The first incident was some strange plant that had caused some weird rash on Sulu–and Bones had spent the whole night researching and trying to find the proper way to treat it. Needless to say he hadn’t gotten any sleep.

The next was Scotty contracting some alien disease–and of course, Bones spent several days healing the man. It had been a pretty violent illness too–causing him to feel very drained afterwards.

Literally the moment Scotty recovered–Uhura and Spock both came in with severe injuries they had gotten from the previous mission. It took some time to heal them too.

As Bones exhaustedly collapsed on his hair as he discharged Spock and Uhura, he heard faint coughing and a light scolding voice in the distance. He sighed in exasperation as Sulu dragged a sick Chekov into sickbay.

Just when he thought everything had gone wrong, of course, of course, Jim had to throw himself into a reckless situation and put himself into critical condition. Of course.

As he checked Jim’s vitals one last time for the night, he began to cough softly into his sleeve, the sound sounding very chesty and it felt weird on his chest. But he couldn’t rest–there was still work to do.

Bones sat himself down by his desk, opening the lamp by it and beginning to work away when he heard some feet shuffling. “Great,” he thought.

“Doktor?” Chekov’ voice rang out; just a tad still raspy from his flu a few days ago.

“Chekov, I swear to god I will throw a rampage if yet another person is sick of injured,” He said a little too bitterly than he intended, not looking up from his work.

“N-no, sir. I just brought you some tea–if you would like zat–”

Bones’s heart melted, and he looked up to see the anxious teenager fiddling with a mug–his favourite mug–and what smelled like his favourite tea. He softened a little.

“..That’s..very kind, Mr.Chekov. You can set it over here,” He said warmly, managing a smile despite the throbbing pain in his temples.

After setting it down the Russian boy turned to leave, and as he was about to leave he turned around, looking worried.

“Doktor? Vill you please get some rest tonight? You always take care of us..but never yourself,” Chekov asked, a little nervously.

Bones sighed, about to snap at the kid and tell him that he had no choice, that everyone needed him, that he couldn’t just take a rain check, but he had a soft spot for the kid.

“I will, Pavel, in a little while.”

“Dobroy nochi.”

Bones didnt like lying to Chekov–but last night he did. He stayed up all night tending to Jim–worried out of his mind for the reckless man, and doing all sorts of other work. He coughed harshly into his sleeve, the sound awfully chesty and deep. He rummaged around, checking on Jim and whatnot when Uhura walked in.

“I just came to check on–Doctor?! Oh my, you look..”

She came closer to him and gently placed a hand on his face, bringing it towards her so she could see. Bones’s reflexes were awfully slow due to his illness, and was too slow to immediately swat Uhura’s hand away.

She frowned, “You’re really warm! This isn’t good–you have to stop working so hard!”

“But I–”

“What seems to be the problem, Uhura?” Spock asked, waking calmly into sickbay.

“Dr McCoy here is very sick, and I am currently trying to get him to rest,”

“Why? Is he not cooperating with you? But why not? It is highly illogical to be harming one’s body in order to be of service for someone else’s, then the effort is not at its maximum potential,”

“Exact–”

Uhura was cut off by Bones’s sudden coughing fit–the fit seeming to last an eternity. His coughs were harsh and painful, doubling him over and he was forced to balance himself on a nearby table. Soon Uhura was rubbing his back softly.

Once he finished, Bones turned back to whatever he was doing, “I am just fine! Leave me alone, now!”  

Just as he finished his sentence, the world began to spin as if he was on some trippy amusement park ride and he stumbled, and Scotty, who was now there apparently, caught him.

“Aye, the lad’s after coming down with something, here now, help me bring him to a bed, Spock,” Scotty said gently, helping Bones over to a bed despite his protests.

“I can’t–” Bones hissed from under the covers.

“Why?” Scotty challenged.

“Because I have to be taking care of everyone else–I can’t rest, it’s not like I don’t want to, but I have to–everyone’s depending on me..”

“Exactly, Doctor, people depend on you. To be you–healthy you, you need to take care of yourself. You can’t have the whole world on your shoulders–let us help you, all of us? We’re all willing, we want to help you. So please, take a rest, doctor,” Uhura said kindly, tucking him into the covers.

“She is correct, Doctor McCoy. In order for you to be at your best standard, you must ensure to maintain proper and efficient self care,” Spock commented.

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Spock,” Bones teased, albeit a little weakly, and soon after was drifting off into a long sleep.

“So, I’m the impossible one,” Jim’s loud voice boomed out.

Bones winced, his headache still present, “Sorry, could you be any louder? I’m afraid that your whispers are practically inaudible!”

“Sorry,” Jim apologised sheepishly, walking up to Bones’s bed and sitting down next to him.

“You shouldn’t be up, Jim, when did you wake up?” He asked, sitting up only for Jim to push him down and stick a tongue out.

“Nuh uh, you are getting some rest, big guy. I woke up a few hours ago–Spock and Uhura are keeping me captive but I managed to escape to see my Prince Charming,” he teased.

“Oh, fuck the fuck off, James Tiberius Kirk,” Bones groaned, rubbing at his temples, before erupting into an intense coughing fit.

Jim helped him to sit up before handing him a glass of water to down. He sighed.

“You really are sick, aren’t you?..Listen, I’m really sorry for worrying you, Bones.”

“Well, ya sure did–”

“Dude, but you’ve gotta start taking care of yourself too–in all honesty, not as good as taking care of other people as you. I’m helpless in this situation and I hate seeing you like this.”

Bones smirked, “..Did you just..admit..I’m better than you..?”

Jim hissed and lightly hit Bones on the arm, getting up and rolling his eyes before walking to leave, and just before he did he turned back and gave Bones a soft smile.

“..Hope you feel better, Bones.”

The Rain

So this has been sitting in my documents for like a year and I decided my dyslexic brain had edited all that it could. It is not beta read so if there are any major problems I apologize. I hope you enjoy this little McKirk kid fic fluff. Bones was starting to come back to the land of the living, slowly. It didn't really happen until after 2 cups of coffee and reading the news. Bones stretched his arm out for his husband,eyes still firmly shut, but he just felt cold sheets. He cracked his eye open just enough to look at the time, he groaned.There had been an accident a few days ago at a farm equipment show and Bones had been called in, off leave to help. Bones thought it was ridiculous that even in this advanced age it seemed farming was just as dangerous as it had been hundreds of years ago. Not that he really minded, he was a trauma expert and had seen more in his two five missions than any of the Doctors in or near Hope U Like It. God even after all these years he still hated that name, too damn cheerful. Bones groaned again, he was still exhausted he had slept maybe 9 hrs in 3 days, and all he wanted was to wrap his arms around Jim, maybe steal a kiss or two and go back to sleep but NO his husband was nowhere to be seen. Granted that was not very far with half a eye open. That was when Bones heard it. It was a very quiet but very distinctive sound. With a grunt Bones sat up grabbed his pillow and walked out their bedroom door. He opened Jojo's door and looked at his little girls sound asleep, Jo of course was at the Academy and not so little any more. After the third time Jo ran away and got halfway to the Enterprise, Jocelyn let her move. Jo has the stars in her blood just like Jim. It was really Eileen and Lias room now but they and Jo had always been close. It looked like they had fallen asleep talking crammed on Eileen’ s bed. He knew they missed each other. Ever since they had adopted the girls Jo had taken her role as big sister very seriously even if she was only two years older. Next year they would be gone as well and Bones would never admit the tears stinging his eyes at that thought. He then moved onto the next room. As usual Hapl was falling off the bed. Bones went to Hapl and tucked his 16 back in bed, grinning at the shuffling sound he made and the way his blue hair stuck up. He was definitely Jim Kirk ' son adopted or not. He walked to last bedroom, a add on after they decided to stay planetside towards the end of their last mission two years ago. He opened the door and sure enough Chrissy and Sammy were missing. Though every toy they owned was easy to see spread out on the floor. Yeah, Jim was definitely cleaning that up later. Bones walked out back and the noise that had drawn him out got a little louder. There he found Jim leaning against the glass door with a blanket wrapped around him and the boys that said future Starfleet Captain on it. A gift from Sulu. Jim was watching the rain and the boys had fallen asleep on Jim's lap. Bones just stared for a moment. He thought back two years ago when they were just about to re-up for another mission. They never really thought about staying planetside, all the kids had been older when they adopted them. Something Jim had wanted because you are never too old to need a family or love. Bones agreed wholeheartedly. Jim and Bones were at a rare dinner alone when a call came in from a race called the Tracian who told them that while on planet they had accidentally created life. What they really meant was that the Tracian used living organic incubators to reproduce. Jim and Bones had looked at one to see how it functioned but had been assured that it did not work on any other race. HA SO NOT TRUE. Bones was irritated but they had two babies that needed them. Jim on the other hand freaked the fuck out. He had never been around babies except on Tarsus and Bones did not count a teenager after seeing his brother killed in front of him running for his life with 15 other kids all younger as an accurate scale to judge on. It was not until they saw the boys for the first time that he really understand why Jim was so freaked out. The Tracian rolled the babies over just a few days old. Jim let Bones put the older one in his arms ( he would be named Christopher David and become Chrissy, thanks to Jo). Jim said nothing as he held the baby, then Chrissy opened his eyes and for only the third time in his life Bones saw his husband cry. Bones looked down to make sure nothing was wrong a million diseases running through his head. But all he saw was bright blue eyes, Kirk eyes. "He has my eyes , when I first saw them they looked just like you Leo, and I thought good they need to have as much McCoy in them as possible. But he has my eyes." Said Jim. About that time the baby who would become George Samuel the 3rd or Sammy after the brother and father who died so Jim could live, started to fuss so Bones picked him up and leaned against Jim. "Jimmy" Bones said in a quiet soft voice "look at me, first of all we don't know if they will look like me too early to tell. Secondly they both do seem to have your eyes darlin but that makes me very happy. I love your eyes. Thirdly just because they look like one of us does not mean they are going to become us." Jim look up startled at first, though he should have know his husband knew him better than anyone. Bones continued "We are going to give them the best family possible. They have four older siblings and a billion aunts and uncles waiting for them. And two parents who will make mistakes, not be perfect BUT will love them more than--" "the stars" Jim finished. Bones looked at him surprised. " Bones you and I are not fresh out of the Academy any more I mean we are not old but I think maybe we should start these boys off on earth. It will be a little safer and we will get to spend more time with them and the older kids. I just want my kids to know me not a statue of me. I mean the other kids were older w-" Bones kissed him with their two kids between them. They asked for reassignment the next day, made plans to move into the old McCoy house and never looked back. "Are you gonna stand there or come cuddle your good looking husband?" Jim asked pulling Bones from the past into the present. He leaned down kissing his favorite place behind Jim's ear before getting under the blanket and putting his pillow next to him and bringing Sammy into his lap. "You should still be asleep, I know you have not slept much.Sammy had a nightmare and woke up Chrissy so I took them out here to settle them down." Bones leaned into his husband and laid his head on top of his shoulder . "I woke up to a empty bed, but then I heard the rain. I find it very ironic that it freaks the boys out hearing it just a little but seeing it puts them right to sleep." Jim took the hand not running through the babies soft hair and laced his fingers with Bones "Well you know those temperamental McCoy genes" he said teasingly. The boys indeed did look just like Bones with Jim's eyes. Bones snorted but wrapped up in his husband, the snoring of his boys, and the knowledge the his family was safe, he started to drift off lulled to sleep by the rain. The last thing he heard was Jim whisper "love you Bones sleep tight I got you". And Bones did.

I spent my sick day at home writing this. It started out as an exploration of the fact that TOS Bones has Joanna but AOS Bones doesn’t. It includes a few other things I’ve been thinking about lately, like AOS Bones’s parents asking about his love life.

Title: Uncertainty

Summary: TOS and AOS Bones visit with family members during shore leave.

Ships: McKirk

Other Star Trek works referenced: Star Trek: Ongoing #17 comic

TOS

“Will you be able to visit?” his mother asked for the fifth time.

“Definitely,” he said at first, then paused. “Maybe.”

Leonard wanted to be reliable, but he knew there was a chance shore leave could be canceled because of strange or important situations that arise on their way back to Earth. He regretted the possibility of letting down his family again.

His mother always knew what to say to make absolutely certain that he wouldn’t flake out on them again – or at least make him feel guilty about it if he did. “Joanna misses you.”

He sighed. He wished this week would finish quickly and uneventfully so he could get the hell out.

AOS

Leonard’s heart sank when he realized the two events that coincided next week: The day Jenny, his last young patient before he left for Starfleet, lost her battle against an incurable disease, and the day he would visit Demora during the crew’s shore leave. Demora always liked to catch up with the crew members her dad worked with and hear their stories. Jenny would have loved that, too.

He sighed and wished he could somehow get out of it. He wasn’t feeling up to pretending to be happy while Jenny’s ghost lingered in his memory. “Maybe I can fake an illness,” he said jokingly. He sat back in his chair at his desk, knowing he had no choice but to wait and see what adventures the week ahead threw at them.

TOS

He knew the owner of the hushed, worried voice right away. “Jim!”

Jim turned around to see the doctor in the turbolift, beckoning him inside before the doors closed. “What is it, Bones?” he asked, cautious as he entered. His friend looked very agitated. He hoped he hadn’t done anything wrong. Had he skipped a medical exam? Probably.

As Leonard hesitated, Jim realized he almost looked… guilty. He put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, Jim,” he said while bouncing very slightly on his toes in a worried fashion. “I know this mission has pushed back our shore leave, but I need to request to be dropped off on Earth anyway.”

Jim wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but he knew his friend must have a good reason. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong or am I going to have to pry it out of you?”

He put his hands behind his back. “Well, as you know, for shore leave I was going to visit my parents and my daughter, Joanna.”

“Yes.”

“At first it sounded like it would be okay to delay the visit, but they told me some upsetting news.”

“Out with it, Bones.”

Leonard sighed. “Joanna is sick.”

Jim suddenly had both hands on his shoulders and he looked him in the eye. “How sick? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, it’s nothing serious,” Leonard looked guilty again. “She just needs rest but I…”

“You want to be there for her.”

“Yes, very much.”

Jim smiled and softened his grip. “Shore leave granted.”

Leonard instantly perked up and smiled. “Thank you, Jim. I really appreciate it.”

AOS

Leonard was a bundle of nerves as he exited the ship. He couldn’t believe he felt so much anxiety getting off the ship and putting his feet back on the ground. Normally solid ground for short leave was a good thing. He left the terminal, following Hikaru out. Uhura and Spock passed by him. No one had any idea what significance this day had for him.

Demora of course ran up to her father first. Uhura waved at her excitedly as she looked at them from over her father’s shoulder. She made everyone’s hearts melt as she smiled and waved back.

Beyond Hikaru and Demora stood Ben, also smiling, and two people he did not expect to see. The tall woman looked just as anxious as Leonard was. As everyone gathered around Hikaru and Ben, her eyes were wide as she asked who the helmsman was.

“I have no idea how you crazy people do it,” she said, but she gave Hikaru a thumbs up. “Space travel is terrifying and you’re a brave, brave man.”

The members of the Enterprise crew all turned and looked straight at Leonard as if to say “Sounds familiar.”

“Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”

He was so shocked to see them that he doubted his own senses for a second. Then he felt a slap on his back. Suddenly Jim was next to him, winking. “Your parents are here? Imagine that!”

“Did you have something to do with this?” Leonard asked him.

“Maybe,” Jim said. He smiled. “Definitely.”

Leonard couldn’t help but smile as Jim immediately jumped forward to shake hands with his parents. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. McCoy,” Jim said eagerly. “I’m Captain James. T. Kirk.”

“The pleasure is all ours, Captain,” Mrs. McCoy sounded impressed as she emphasized his title. “I was just telling your helmsman here-”

“All right, all right,” Leonard pushed his way through the crowd to finally greet his parents with a hug. His mom squeezed him tightly while his dad nodded clapped him hard on the back. “When are you two going to tell me why you’re here? How are you here?”

His mother cleared her throat, suddenly conscious that there were many people listening. “Well, sweetheart,” her hand trailed down his arm and gave his hand a squeeze. “We missed you and figured it was time to pay you a visit instead of the other way around.”

“We had some help from the captain, here,” his father said warmly.

The hand squeeze was enough to let Leonard know that they were worried about him. Great, just what he needed. Worried parents butting into his business.

“How did you manage to get mom onto a spacecraft?” he teased instead of acknowledging the hand squeeze.

“I know how hard it was for you,” she defended herself. “I’m your mother. If you can do it, I can do it.”

Demora, sitting in Hikaru’s arms, tapped Leonard’s shoulder with her tiny hand. He turned his head to her and was met with a quizzical face.

“Uncle Len, are you leaving with your parents?”

“Oh, uh,” Leonard wondered what to do. This could be the “way out” he desperately wanted a week ago, but he couldn’t say no to that adorable face. “Tell you what. You can go play with your other uncles and aunts now while I take my parents out to lunch, then later we can have some one-on-one time to discuss the latest gossip from sickbay.”

She smiled and nodded, satisfied with his answer. He smile and waved to everyone as the groups split up. He heard his mother sigh. “She’s a darling.”

“She sure is.”

He felt a hand squeeze again. Now that everyone was gone, he rolled his eyes. “All right, Mama,” he said, squeezing back. “What are you worried about now?”

She raised her other hand to his face and rubbed his cheek, her eyes now moist. “Oh, sweetheart,” her tone was now serious, but the kindness was still there. “Don’t think I don’t know how much you want a family.”

Several feet away, Jim turned to look back, catching them in a small, emotional family huddle.

TOS

When Leonard entered the second bedroom at his parents’ house – what used to be his bedroom – where his daughter was supposed to be resting, he did not find her sleeping even though it was getting late. Instead, she was watching a children’s movie. He took a few minutes to stand in the doorway to watch her before going into Doctor Dad mode. He put his hands on his hips and cleared his throat loudly. “Joanna.”

Her head whipped around and she smiled widely at him. “Daddy!”

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

Before the divorce, Joanna would make a cute “I got caught” face and quickly hide under her blanket. Now that he was gone so often, times like this were a special occasion. Instead, she threw the blanket to the side and jumped out of the bed.

“You came!” she ran into him and wrapped her arms around him.

“Oof!” he said. “My my, you’re getting so big now!”

He was still able to sweep her up and plop her back on the bed. “Word on the street is you’re sick!”

She pouted as he pulled out his scanner. “Dad, it’s my vacation,” she grumbled. “I can’t be sick.”

He paused as he read the scanner’s results. “According to this, you need lots of rest.”

She crossed her arms and stared at the floor, clearly very upset that her father was being her doctor as soon as he arrived.

“It’s ok, Jo,” he said, relenting. “Tell you what. We can finish the movie as long as you promise me you’ll get plenty of rest afterwards.”

Her blinding smile returned. “Deal!”

She scooted over on the mattress to make room for him. He obediently sat down and swung his legs over to stretch out in front of him. The movie playing was an oldie Disney movie called Treasure Planet.

“Boy, that robot sure is annoying,” he said after a few minutes. Joanna giggled.

As he expected, Joanna leaned her head on his shoulder and was soon falling asleep. He turned the movie and the lights off and slowly drifted off with her.

AOS

“I promise I’m fine. I’m looking after myself,” Leonard pleaded his parents to believe him. They were sitting across from him in a booth at a restaurant. “Don’t I look good?”

They stared at him, neither one looking convinced.

“Honey,” his mother began. “When was the last time you were romantically intimate with someone?”

“Oh god,” Leonard covered his eyes with his hand. “Is this really why you’re here? To check up on my love life?”

“It’s been years, Len!” his mother said. “We haven’t heard about anyone in any of your letters in a long time.”

“Well, to be fair, we have heard about one person,” his dad interjected. “That captain of yours.”

“Yes! He looks like a fine young man. Are you sure there’s no one here you could be happy with? It is possible. I noticed two beautiful couples we met earlier.”

Leonard groaned. To his relief, the waitress came by with their drinks. He nodded, gave his thanks, and quickly brought the glass to his lips to avoid speaking. He could feel his ears go red. His parents were having nothing of it.

“Put that down, Len,” she pulled at his arm. “Look, I’m not asking for too much. I just want to know if you’re really okay. It’s the anniversary of Jenny’s death and your divorce. It’s been years but you’re still alone.”

“I got divorced because I was too consumed with my job to commit, remember?” he said. “I can’t even commit to revealing every detail of my life to satisfy you two!”

A silence descended over the table after his outburst. He looked away and took another sip from his drink. Finally, he felt a hand on top of his.

“You’re not holding yourself back as a punishment, are you?” his mother asked quietly. “Are you happy?”

He didn’t answer. Their food arrived.

TOS

The next morning Leonard woke up early to make a healthy breakfast with his mother. Joanna didn’t wake up until he reentered the room with a tray of oatmeal and fruit. She blinked at him groggily and shifted up against her pillow as he carefully placed the tray over her lap. She grimaced.

“Oatmeal? How boring.”

“Oh, well if that’s how you feel, I’ll take it back.”

“No!” she quickly shielded the tray with her hands. “It’s okay.”

He looked carefully over his shoulder as if he might get caught doing something wrong. “If you eat all of this, I snuck in some chocolate.” He flashed a peek of the piece of chocolate in his hand.

She beamed and held her hand out. He shook his head and pointed to the oatmeal. “Eat this first.”

She wrinkled her nose at him, but picked up the spoon anyway. “Tell me about the Enterprise.”

“Tell me about school.”

Now she looked over at him irritatingly. “The Enterprise is way more interesting than school.”

“In my day I thought school was fun, but I haven’t been at school in a long time,” he twirled his hand, trying to egg her on.

“I’m on vacation,” she said with a wicked smile. “No talking about school allowed.”

“All right, fine,” he said.

“What happened on your last adventure?”

“Let’s see,” he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It might be too scary for you.”

“Oh come on,” she complained. “If I want to be a doctor like you when I grow up, shouldn’t I be prepared for the scary?”

“You want to be a doctor?”

She looked at him for a moment and then laughed. “Just kidding. I want to be a ballerina.”

He raised an intrigued eyebrow at her. “A ballerina, huh?”

“Yeah. If I wasn’t sick right now I’d show you some moves.”

“A ballerina. I like it,” he said. She looked at him suspiciously. “There’s nothing scary about ballet.”

AOS

“I might be a nurse when I grow up,” Demora said. She used Leonard’s scanner to monitor her stuffed animal at the park.

“A nurse, huh?” Leonard said. “Not a helmsman like your dad?”

“Nah, Daddy talks so much about it that I’m kind of tired of hearing it.”

Leonard, Hikaru and Ben all laughed together.

“Did you always want to be a doctor when you grew up, uncle Len?” she asked.

It took a few moments for Leonard to answer. He had this exact conversation with Jenny those years ago. Jenny had wanted to be a Starfleet Captain, but she only lived long enough to tell him about it. He swallowed his sadness for Demora’s sake.

“To be honest, I wanted to be a pro-basketball player.”

Even louder laughter from the dads resulted from his words. Leonard glared at them. “Everyone always laughs when I say this!”

“I’m sorry,” Hikaru said, wiping away tears. “I just can’t imagine you on a basketball court.”

“I can!” Demora raised her arm in the air.

“Well, thank you. You’d be the first,” Leonard said, smiling sweetly at her but glaring at her fathers.

“How do I read this?” Demora finally asked, holding up the small scanner. Leonard laughed and took it back. He quickly scanned himself so there would be actual results. “Like this…”

***

Leonard finally collapsed into the bed in the room he was staying in while on shore leave, now with his parents. They were due back soon. He heard a knock at the door. Who would that be? His parents wouldn’t knock at their own room…

He pulled himself out of bed and answered the door. “Jim! What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to check up on you,” he said, clapping him on the shoulder and pushing through into the room.

“You too?” Leonard grumbled as he shut the door.

Jim smiled. He put two hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Look, about your parents… They contacted me because they were worried.”

“I figured,” he said. He felt himself blushing again, remembering their earlier conversation mentioning Jim.

“I scheduled the surprise for you behind your back. I hope you don’t mind.”

He waved a hand carelessly. “Oh, it’s fine. You worry too much, Jim.”

He sat down on the couch and rubbed his temples. “Everyone worries about me too much. I’m fine.”

To his surprise, he suddenly felt Jim’s hands rubbing his shoulders.

“I don’t know, Bones,” Jim said as he started giving him a shoulder massage. “Your shoulders are very tense.”

“Gee, I wonder what made me so tense,” he teased. “When did you learn how to give a massage?”

Jim just smirked and kept going. Soon Leonard was closing his eyes.

“Mm, right there is good.”

“Here?”

For a few minutes Jim continued in silence, smiling every time Leonard let a satisfied noise escape. After a while he seemed really out of it and finally relaxed. He took the opportunity to kiss him behind the ear. On the neck. On the collarbone.

“Mm,” Leonard said each time. Before he was even fully aware of what was happening, they were both on the couch, kissing and pulling at clothes. This was certainly a surprise, but there was no way he was going to fight it.

Suddenly the door opened and an excited squeal sounded from behind them. Through the fog in Leonard’s brain he knew exactly what happened, but it took a few moments from his body to obey and regretfully pull away from Jim. He turned and faced his parents, his mother looking for elated than ever and his father raising his eyebrows. “I knew it!” How humiliating.

He stood up quickly. He rushed them back out the door as his mother giggled. “Come back later!” he yelled.

“Take your time!” she said gleefully.

He slammed the door shut behind them, then collapsed against the door, breathing hard. He watched as Jim walked toward him. “Where were we?”

“Right here,” Jim said, slipping his hand back under his shirt.

TOS

“Daddy?” Joanna said just as Leonard was turning off the light after telling her a story.

“Yes?”

“Are you lonely up there in space?”

Leonard hesitated, his back still facing her. Was he ready to talk to her about this? He turned to her. He could see her face in the hallway light, but he probably looked like a shadow to her. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

“I’m lonely when you’re in space, too.”

“You?” he came back and sat on the edge of the bed. He put his hand on the blanket on top of her knee.

She nodded. “When I come here and you’re not here, I’m lonely.” She looked at the bookcase, dresser and closet that all once belonged to him in his youth.

“Well, you always know where to find me. Just look out your window at the stars and I’ll be there, thinking about you.”

“It’s not the same,” she said, resting her head against his shoulder again.

“I know,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m so far away.”

“I sent a letter to Captain Kirk once,” Joanna suddenly admitted. “Asking him to bring you back for good.”

“You did?” Leonard looked concerned in the dark. “How – ?”

“He told me that I’ll always have you in my bones,” she said. Leonard laughed at that one.

“You’ll come back again soon, right?”

“Definitely.”

Maybe.

Biological Misunderstandings