When Galactic Medical Students Learned About The Humans | HFY | SCI FI Short Stories

into our Interstellar Community I have unique insights to share about these curious beings from the harsh world of Soul 3 humans have captured our imagination with their resilience and unpredictability stemming from their death World Origins a murmur rippled through the room at the mention of humans prompting Zen to raise a hand I'll dive deeper into their physiological Marvels momentarily but let me first impart a fundamental truth there are no hard rules governing human biology and behavior Trends exist but exceptions proliferate at every turn the students nervous laughter confirmed their familiarity with the chaotic reputation of the indomitable humans Zen continued my focus today however is a peculiar facet of human anatomy that sets them apart their autonomic nervous systems remarkable autonomy inviting a student to explain the workings of their own nervous systems Zen then contrasted it with the human model for them conscious control control over many bodily functions is limited imagine an automated Forge producing outputs without meticulous input at every step this frees cognitive resources for other tasks a crucial survival trait on their death World Zen Illustrated this counterintuitive Advantage with examples of human trauma tolerance inability to self-diagnose and phenomenon like heart transplants gasps of awe and shock punctuated his vivid descriptions driving home the alien nature of human bi biology for those gifted with the ability to interface with patients nervous systems I must sternly advise against any such attempts with humans Zen warned soberly the incompatibility risks catastrophic consequences akin to overloading your finest instruments rely instead on human medical expertise to bridge the physiological divide as questions began to stream forth Zen smiled inwardly unraveling the mysteries of humanity would likely occupy these inquisitive Minds for scholarly careers to come I said you use Easy English language and the story is about 3,000 words longer so write it until you finish 3,000 words of the story same as above example here is my extended rewrite of the hfy story using simpler language while maintaining the core narrative over approximately 3,000 words hello students I'm glad you're all here today good job on almost finishing your last year at the greater Galactic Medical Institute Dr Zen began he paused to take in the crowd of eager students from the 15 different intelligent species that made up the known Galactic Community you may not know me so let me introduce myself properly I'm Dr Zen for the past four years I was part of the team that made first contact with the humans and has been working to bring them into our United group of societies at this many of the students started whispering and murmuring to each other Zen expected this reaction action humans were still new to much of the Galaxy and a very hot topic of discussion and Fascination since they came from Saul 3 a class 12b death world the crazy stories told about them and by them reinforced the outlandish notion of how deadly their home world is the room soon quieted down and a couple students raised their hands with questions as bright young minds often do please hold your questions for later as my talk today will hopefully answer some of them but it will like give you 10 times more questions than you had at first that's just how learning about humans tends to go Zen said with a small smile many of the students made sounds approximating nervous laughter at that and put their raised hands down a few seconds later the room fell completely silent again to begin it's crucial you understand something fundamental about humans that applies to every part of their lives there is no single steadfast rule that can definitively Define or constrain their biology and behavior there are Trends and commonalities yes but there will always be exceptions that bend or outright break those Norms the murmur from the assembled students confirmed many had already grasped this from the Fantastical stories that had spread about the utter chaos humans could create however that's not my focus today Zen clarified I've been asked to provide advice and warning about a unique aspect of the human body that my medical team noted after our people's first started sharing information Zen paused letting the weight of that statement hang in the air as the students wondered what other Oddity he would reveal there's no formal term for it yet so bear with me you there Zen said pointing to a particularly bright looking student a couple rows back could you explain in simple terms how our nervous systems work the student looked momentarily confused before responding our main brain uses nerves to communicate with and control the rest of our bodies it tells each part how to fun fun for essential processes and any tasks we need to do Zen nodded and signaled for the student to be seated humans have a system that sends signals for basic bodily functions too but in their case he paused considering how to best explain you Zen pointed to another pupil describe in detail what your body does when you pick up that tablet on your desk the student stood retrieved the device and thought for a moment well first my left KNE flx muscle extends while the right contracts lowering my arm then I adjust my oenol joint to position my grasper properly next I tighten my Vonex ligament to grip the tablet finally I reverse those steps to lift it while basic knowledge the clinical description still swed some confusion among the students who had never really thought about the process exactly Zen continued if I asked a human the same question they couldn't explain it like that unless unless they had specialized anatomical training for them most actions are like their mind flipping a switch and the body just reacts automatically whereas our brains have to orchestrate each muscle individually many students now looked utterly perplexed by this alien concept until one raised their appendage and when acknowledged voic their understanding so if I asked a human to Simply raise their arm over their head they wouldn't think extend this muscle contract that one they brain would just tell the arm to move and it would happen without conscious input an oversimplification but basically correct Zen smiled at the astute pupil the only refinement is that for humans the higher brain doesn't even need to formulate that basic instruction their motor control is essentially on autopilot he let that shocking Revelation sink in as confused muttering filled the room once more this was truly an alien physiology I know it's difficult to grasp and trust me I felt the same initial disbelief the reason I struggle to properly explain it is because the system is so autonomous even humans themselves have trouble describing it in detail it's that much of a closed opaque process for their conscious Minds The first student raised their appendage again when called on they posed an insightful analogy so what you're saying is that while we are akin to manually constructing each object from base components humans are more like an automated assembly Forge you input the desired product and a finished one emerges without any more input precisely an excellent way to conceptualize it Zen replied impressed Once More by this Stellar graduating class now that I've laid that groundwork let me explain how this will impact your work with human patience he tapped his tablet dimming the room lights as a large display screen behind him flickered to life you see in addition to that opaque nervous system some of their body's core functions are completely outside their conscious control the priming example is their heart the display showed detailed diagrams highlighting the human cardiovascular system humans refer to their heart as a smooth muscle meaning it's an organ that operates with little to no input from their higher brain functions it self-regulates based on variables like activity level if a human starts running for instance their heart will automatically beat faster to pump more oxygenated blood but they can't consciously control or adjust that rate directly they can only trigger physiological states that prompt cardiac changes Zen paused letting the students consider this Revelation about the human body's priorities and compromises so their inability to control something as vital as their heart's Rhythm stems from this advantage of autonomous systems governing core processes a studious voice called out correct Zen affirmed this striking example leads us to ponder The evolutionary rationale behind such an arrangement anyone care to hypothesize why the human body is configured this way he pointed to a raised appendage from one of the sh students who seemed encouraged by their positive peers well based on what you've explained about Earth's unforgiving environment it must provide some key survival benefit though I can't quite articulate what that edge would be wouldn't precise control over one's body be more advantageous for avoiding the Myriad threats and astute observation Zen praised in most circumstances across the cosmos you're absolutely right conscious Mastery would be preferable but on Terror the human home world the conditions are so hazardous that are more improvisational physiology is better suited he switched the display to reveal harsh Landscapes volcanic wastes blizzard torn Tundras sun-scorched deserts on a death world where danger is truly omnipresent spending precious time learning how to manually control every bodily aspect for each specific scenario is unviable their autonomous functions let them simply react and end despite lacking full situational awareness another student appendage Rose it's like being a general clinic versus a specialty hospital the general facility needs versatile tools to handle any case that comes through the door while the specialty place is optimized but limited equipment a somewhat crude analogy but you've captured the essence perfectly Zen exclaimed impressed a new this autonomous system is a powerful survival tool granting broad capabilities if lacking in fine control the display cycled through more harsh imagery from tera's biomes as Zen continued his explanation of human hardiness but he knew he needed to Pivot to a cautionary tail there are however downsides and risks to this opaque physiology for instance can someone summarize how we experience and cope with pain signals a student near the back stood to share their knowledge with the room our nerves relay pain Sensations to our brains which can then choose to deactivate or dampen those signals to a degree but doing so compromises operation of the affected area and severe pain can outright disrupt our motor control of an appendage an excellent summary Zen nodded as you've no doubt deduced humans do not have that option due to their autonomous nervous functions they call it high pain tolerance the ability to keep using and controlling injured limbs or body parts well past what we would consider intolerable thresholds he queued up a shocking video example example a human Soldier calmly treating their own shattered leg after a bloody Battlefield incident this human sustained multiple fractures from an explosive force yet remained mobile long enough to properly splint the injury an incredible feat frankly fueled by their alien physiology gasps and wines rippled through the auditorium as haunting footage played out when it concluded Zen saw an appendage raised hesitantly if the human nervous system can't detect things like fractures clearly wouldn't continuing to use that limb risk further self harm seems like a dangerous trade-off you raise an excellent point Zen acknowledged somly more often than not that is indeed the case you see due to their disconnected self-awareness humans typically can't diagnose internal issues accurately Beyond basic pain signals more surprising examples were shown humans completely unaware of tumors nerve damage going undetected for years and more so to Circle back why would such a risky almost oblivious physiology evolve on their home world over having more finely tuned self-diagnostic capabilities Zen watched the students mold over potential answers hands rising and falling as they logic through possibilities after letting theories Brew for a few minutes he continued the driving Factor was simply life expectancy on tera's death World early humans that could react quickly and keep functioning through injuries while unable to pinpoint every ailments root cause had better prospects for survival and reproduction compared to any better self-aware models he could see the Grim understanding Dawning on faces throughout the room at this explication of Humanity's harsh evolutionary pressures one appendage Rose and Zen acknowledged the student to voice their realization so you're saying this autonomous Advantage emerged because ancient humans were more likely to die from environmental threats than from undetected illnesses or injuries Zen nodded somberly precisely in those early epochs this adaptation maximized their chances of surviving each immediate confrontation even if it meant accumulating chronic issues their bodies couldn't analyze he sighed letting that harsh truth linger before changing tone to a more objective tamber of course in their modern technological era such bluntness ill suits many Health needs however there remain specific Arenas where their unique physiology provides distinct advantages the skeptical student seemed to perk up a bit at that caveat Zen grinned inwardly before elaborating one prime example is the human startle reflex many of you may have heard anecdotes about them reacting to apparent threats before consciously registering the stimuli later admitting I didn't even see what I dodged there nods and confirmation from a few students who had indeed encountered such baffling accounts Zen's grin widened as he posed a rhetorical query how could one evade dangers they have not yet processed unless their movement was entirely decoupled from higher cognitive reaction time he let the students own deductions provides the answer taking pride in how rapidly this crop of graduates grasped such alien paradigms after ensuring they had arrived at the conclusion themselves Zen moved to wrap up his advisory lecture there are two final crucial considerations for your future practices first with a tap Zen displayed deeply unett settling footage a harvested disembodied human heart still pumping vigorously when provided fresh blood from medical tubing this is not a visual deception you witnessing one of the most iconic examples of human bodily autonomy their heart can remain operational outside their body cavity so long as its primitive control needs are met stunned silence drowned out the room as the video looped the ghastly yet fascinating scene humans treating such Feats as unremarkable medical norms never failed to shock other species after letting that impact sink in Zen turned to the final critical point of his lecture for those of you pursuing Advanced neurointegrative credentials I must issue an ultimatum regarding human physiology his tone shifted weighing heavy with lethal seriousness do not attempt to establish neural synaptic uplinks with a human subject ever the startled students hung on his every grave word while this manipulation allows us to fully experience of patient afflictions firsthand critically aiding Diagnostics the human nervous architecture is too aberant too compartmentalized and opaque he fixed each one of them with profoundly sincere eye contact any effort to bypass those natural firewalls and piggyback their motor pathways would be catastrophic akin to overloading your instruments directly into the plasma drives of a capital ship thoroughly destructive for all involved the weight of Zen's dire warning settled over the hushed assembly like a shroud he allowed it to linger before offering a Lifeline fortunately over their long technical Enlightenment humans have devised manifold methods for scrutinizing their bodily functions externally and any placement serving their medical needs will provide experienced human Consultants cooperate closely with them as your singular connection scanning the sober contemplative Expressions Zen knew his imperative had been heeded these were exemp plaz of their craft with a warm smile he made one final remark that covers the key advisories for tailoring your care to human patients though I expect our continued cultural intersection to birth many more insights demanding open minds and diligent study chuckling Riley Zen activated the exits I've clearly provided you all with ample thinkabout already if any have pressing follow-up queries I'll remain to discuss further otherwise you are dismissed to further Ponder and prepare yourselves for careers a wash in diversity not a single student budged appendages seeming to sprout from every row as Curiosities deluged forth settling in for the Long Haul Zen grinned widely he wouldn't have it any other way

Channel: Sci Fi Universe

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Keywords: Sci fi universe, SciFi, ScienceFiction, SCI FI STORY, ALIENS, HFY, hfy, best of hfy, alien story, sci fi, space horror stories, science fiction, Sci-Fi Mystery, sci-fi short story, galactic medical students, Dr. Xen, alien perspective, epic sci-fi journey, humanity f*** yeah, sci-fi medicine, human anatomy, alien species, sci-fi universe, alien curiosity, resilience of humanity, HFY story, galactic exploration, sci-fi education, alien fascination, human biology

Id: 2SCedNeZSlY

Length: 17min 45sec (1065 seconds)

Published: Fri May 10 2024