395.25 // Experimental procedure gone wrong. Stakeholders Upset.
It’s a characteristically warm and sunny day in the Northwestern hemisphere of Manaan where I am at, the facility widely known as simply ‘The Archology’. It was designed as a three-way effort between the Jedi Order, Galactic Alliance, and the Order of Shasa to further biomedical research and advances.
This effort has been stymied in recent months by a series of detrimental events. Following a hostile incursion from a rogue element some months back attempting to illegally gather information about the top secret projects, the researchers of the facility have suffered another major setback.
Jedi Master Ari Tolen has been leading the development of an experimental treatment to combat the effects of Gyorbitz Disease, a degenerative neurological condition in which the subject’s mental functions begin to decay. One of Gyorbitz Disease’s first symptoms is memory loss. The team’s project was using a conjunction of mystic techniques and biocybernetic implants to create a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) treatment to prevent, and restore, the loss of memories of a patient suffering from the disease.
Master Tolen’s team had made several successful preliminary tests on animal subjects of similar neurological makeup as the preliminary volunteer patients. Unfortunately, their first live test had some serious complications, the ultimate result of which was their first volunteer patient suffering from complete memory loss.
When asked about the dramatic turn of events, Master Tolen had this to say to the press:
[Patient’s name has been redacted] was well aware of the experimental nature of the procedure and consented to the risks. They were suffering from the later phases of Gyorbitz Disease, so the neurological pathways in their hippocampal region were already seriously decayed. It’s regrettable beyond words of what happened, as all of our previous simulations indicated an over 90% chance of success. We are still processing the data and looking for any evidence of what in our procedure malfunctioned to cause this result.
Other researchers have indicated any number of possible complications. Some doctors of the Galactic Alliance point to the inconsistency of mystic meditative restoration practices as a probable result while both the Jedi Order and Order of Shasa state that biocybernetic technologies are still in their infancy, and more pre-sentient troubleshooting for biological compatibility may be required.
No matter what element of this complex procedure went awry the results are the same and it has caused a stir amongst Archology investors as to the long-term profitability of the endeavour. One stakeholder has been reported as having expressed their concern about their shares in the funding. Should more setbacks occur, many are wondering about the financial security of the future of this shared facility.
Reporting from the blue planet, I’m Chryztal Merrone.