Potassium Chloride affects gestation times

[Halinder]

Summary: Potassium Chloride, otherwise known as the UNSAFE version of the heartstopper chemical, prevents the heart from pumping blood. This damages organs, causes brain damage, and intoxicates a victim. However, larva depend on blood for nutrients, so why should it not also extend larva gestation (burst) periods while they struggle to find nutrients?

Benefits: Too many doctors are paranoid when they go into alien embryo removal surgeries, worrying constantly if their patients will burst mid-session. Potassium Chloride could become high-risk assurance that this no longer happens. But this doesn't just benefit marines. While practical for surgery, using it in the field stuns whoever you give it to and makes them incapable of movement for quite a while. Even in surgery, marines would spend so much more time in the medical bay taking care of the many side effects of using this chemical.

Details: This is survivor-specific knowledge, and should only be used by those who RP as a doctor of the colony/having spoken to a doctor of the colony. For as long as Potassium Chloride is inside a marine, they are unable to burst. To prevent use in the field by marines stuck in resin nests, overdoses of 20-30+ units of the chemical can cause extreme spasms that force the larva out prematurely (which is just a flavor text way of saying that the larva bursts early from the host). After fifteen units, they'd be slated to burst immediately after their stun ends, so it'd really only be useful in surgeries by trained doctors who've learned this from survivors.

[Ordukai]

Would be interesting to use this to force out the larva from a marine buddy early. "I'm gonna pop, just do it NOW" *Inject* *Pew pew pew*. Of course, I know that's not how you intend for it to be used, but it is a thought on how it might be.

And what about the doctors who use it and don't treat the effects properly? More blind/gasping marines flopping around medbay, begging to be treated.

[MilesWolfe]

whats hes saying is with the decreased level of blood flow, the chest buster gets less of what it needs to develop. therefore, making it take longer for it to burst, at the expense of the marine taking damage to his body. in other words... they wouldn't pop early. but like you said, it would take a doctor who understands its effect to use it properly and treat the marines after

[ChickenShizNit8]

Summary: Potassium Chloride, otherwise known as the UNSAFE version of the heartstopper chemical, prevents the heart from pumping blood. This damages organs, causes brain damage, and intoxicates a victim. However, larva depend on blood for nutrients, so why should it not also extend larva gestation (burst) periods while they struggle to find nutrients?

Benefits: Too many doctors are paranoid when they go into alien embryo removal surgeries, worrying constantly if their patients will burst mid-session. Potassium Chloride could become high-risk assurance that this no longer happens. But this doesn't just benefit marines. While practical for surgery, using it in the field stuns whoever you give it to and makes them incapable of movement for quite a while. Even in surgery, marines would spend so much more time in the medical bay taking care of the many side effects of using this chemical.

Details: This is survivor-specific knowledge, and should only be used by those who RP as a doctor of the colony/having spoken to a doctor of the colony. For as long as Potassium Chloride is inside a marine, they are unable to burst. To prevent use in the field by marines stuck in resin nests, overdoses of 20-30+ units of the chemical can cause extreme spasms that force the larva out prematurely (which is just a flavor text way of saying that the larva bursts early from the host). After fifteen units, they'd be slated to burst immediately after their stun ends, so it'd really only be useful in surgeries by trained doctors who've learned this from survivors.

Good idea, but I see moron doctors abusing the shit out of this...

[MilesWolfe]

i dont see it as abuse, if the doctor knows what hes doing and knows it would work why wouldnt they do it. but htat said, maybe it should be something that a researcher would have to tell them about

[Wesmas]

I like the overall idea, but I dont think it necisarily needs to completely stop the larva bursting. What about making it so the larva takes considerably longer. Like, it adds 5 minutes till larva burst. Means doctors cant just treat paitents with this and not worry, but also gives more time.
It could also be a thing which is suggested by research if they do the correct research, though I think this would need to be in the new system Apop has been talking about.

[Daisuke08]

I actually like this idea a lot. I think it adds more reward to rescuing fellow marines rather than knowing that when you look at someone that's been hugged for a while, they're better off just fighting while they can instead of running back to try and get on the dropship and get surgery cause they'll die before they make it.

[Disco Dalek]

I really like the sound of this. A well stocked medbay could treat the organ damage and what not, but if the docs were lazy, they'd have a fairly large problem on their hands. Seems like a good balance.

[Boltersam]

Also a reason to randomly inject chemicals into hot-shot marines under the guise of "Experimenting to help people LIVE!"

[apophis775]

The larva does not depend on blood, it consumes internal organs and such.

[Halinder]

Ah, did not know that, apop. Never mind then. Could a similar chemical be used then -- something that purposefully damages organs while denying the larva nutrients, causing a longer wait time?

I like the idea of it simply taking longer to burst upon injection rather than completely stopping it, but that'd require a certain cap at which the chems actually activate. Could overdose at 15 units be manipulated to activate positive effects?

[TheFlagbearer]

Larva don't really rely on the host for nutrients. The facehugger injects the host with a bundle of cancer cells that break down the organic matter inside of the host into its basic components. The components then form the larva. Maybe exposing the host to radiation could slow down the rate of bursting since the malignant tissues (and as a consquence, healthy tissues) are being killed off.

[Toroic]

Considering how often medbay is backed up with FF cases and bursters, I don't think that this would end well.

Marines already have a solution for untreated late term infected: watch for the chestburster and kill it, then have the marine cloned.

[apophis775]

Yeah, i think this is a bust. Denied.