Goonhub
01-29-2015, 12:42 PM
A lot of departments have this synergy system going on, where they can both combine what they do create something better than either of them could create on their own. For instance, Botany can grow all sorts of stuff for the Bar/Kitchen to make new recipes that they'd otherwise be unable to. Or, Mining works with various departments (QM, robotics, etc.) to keep them supplied with materials. What if we got a synergy going on between Genetics and Pathology too? There's no reason why DNA injectors wouldn't be able to work on pathogens, as well as humans. Now, a lot of mutations like blindness or epilepsy would probably be ridiculous, but something like glowy or the honey mutation works perfectly. If Genetics lends Pathology a glowy-injector, Pathology can then insert that into a pathogen to produce bio-luminescence. Anyone then infected would also glow until the disease was cured. Something like the honey mutation could lead to the pathogen producing honey from its petri dish and a person infected with the disease would have honey being pumped directly into their bloodstream. This idea isn't even that far-fetched. Insulin, for example, is artificially synthesized in yeast and E. coli bacteria. Inducing bacteria to produce bio-luminescence is a common high school science lab.
To expand on this, we could also allow people to use pathogens as little factories for all sorts of chemicals by working with the Chemistry Department. Like how E. coli makes insulin, we could let people make synthflesh from a pathogen. The pathogen would then produce it from their petri dish and, if infecting a crew member, inject it immediately into the patient. Of course, any chemicals would need to be supplied from Chemistry and, by extension, force the crew to work together to achieve something. As for crew members with a lust for blood seeking to make sarin-producing viruses, the poison would also cause harm to the pathogen. Trying to make a neurotoxin bacteria would kill the bacteria before it hurt anyone (perhaps, for the traitor pathologist, a special pathogen immune to poisons that could wreck the station if it wasn't treated). After all, something that can easily kill humans can be just as deadly to a fungus. It would have to be reasonably difficult to induce pathogens to make any chemicals, though. If there's a virus going around that pumps everyone full of heals ever round it would be very annoying for a traitor. Keeping it rare, but very useful, makes it all the more rewarding for Pathology.
To expand on this, we could also allow people to use pathogens as little factories for all sorts of chemicals by working with the Chemistry Department. Like how E. coli makes insulin, we could let people make synthflesh from a pathogen. The pathogen would then produce it from their petri dish and, if infecting a crew member, inject it immediately into the patient. Of course, any chemicals would need to be supplied from Chemistry and, by extension, force the crew to work together to achieve something. As for crew members with a lust for blood seeking to make sarin-producing viruses, the poison would also cause harm to the pathogen. Trying to make a neurotoxin bacteria would kill the bacteria before it hurt anyone (perhaps, for the traitor pathologist, a special pathogen immune to poisons that could wreck the station if it wasn't treated). After all, something that can easily kill humans can be just as deadly to a fungus. It would have to be reasonably difficult to induce pathogens to make any chemicals, though. If there's a virus going around that pumps everyone full of heals ever round it would be very annoying for a traitor. Keeping it rare, but very useful, makes it all the more rewarding for Pathology.