I've made occasional side references to "biocontrol" in various UF pieces, particularly those set in the FI era. I've never determined exactly what this entails, other than that it's taught in schools as a fairly routine Thing You're Going to Need to Know at around the time that These Matters would be covered in health class, but its practical significance is that it's a reliable method of regulating one's reproductive capability that nobody else (doctor, pharmacist, et al.) needs to be involved with. Possibly a survival of an ancient Bene Gesserit technique that's gone mainstream, like yoga. (BG sisters married off to the nobility of Padishah times were supposedly able to conceive or not basically at will, and even select the sex of their children.) Works for male and female humans and most near-human species; possibly adaptable to still wider varieties of sapient lifeforms as well. Talking like Mordin now, probably because biology is involved.

Anyway, it stands to reason that Rhian, being Rhian, would have gotten the best possible grade in that class, even if she anticipated no immediate use for the ability. It's a biomed thing, after all, and she's generally keen on those. Know your body, know your mind, as they say.

Note that this is distinct from the various mind-over-body tricks available to Detians, which are also called by that name, but it may actually be a subset of the same thing that's available to anyone with proper training.

>Well, I admit I knew I was making the assumption. But I have a
>sneaking suspicion that it'd be either both or neither, simply because
>whichever one was would have private, sad moments that possibly the
>other and definitely Laura would notice, or if the other knew, their
>relationship would be incredibly awkward.

True, although if Laura did notice, dollars to donuts she wouldn't have the slightest idea what she'd noticed. There are things they simply didn't cover at the Facility. :)

>Although I can also sort of
>see them being best friends at the time they meet Laura and sort of
>progressing beyond that point later

Oh yes, that's definitely all they are at the time of, say, Laura Kinney and the Black Shuck. Beyond that point, not sure.

>>>(Caesar's Legion must have been heeling and toeing it from
>>>Fisto!)
>>
>>... as it were!
>
>S'pose...er, turning tail, as it were, wouldn't be the recommended
>tactic against him.

Not unless you know without a doubt that you're not the slowest runner in your cohors. Remember, you don't have to outrun Fisto, you just have to outrun Drusus Germanicus.

>I actually thought about this already--Boone lives for one thing, and
>that's putting sniper rounds through Legion craniums. I sorta thought
>Fisto would flush out game for him. =)

Heh.

INT. DAY. The dining room of the Lucky 38 Presidential Suite. The whole crew's having a meeting.

BOONE
(adamantly)
No. I am NOT sneaking up onto that ridge alone with the sex-crazed robot.

AZULA
Oh come now, Craig. You know Fisto's the best spotter we've got.

ED-E beeps.

ED-E
(subtitled)
I resent that remark.

BOONE
It wants to jump me! I'm not OK with that.

LILY
Don't take it personally, pumpkin.

ARCADE
(nodding sagely)
Fisto wants to jump everybody.

VERONICA
It's his job!

AZULA
And he's very good at it.

RAUL
(skeptically)
... Uh, how would you know that, boss?

AZULA
(blithely)
I programmed him to take pride in his craftsmanship. Besides, I'm not ashamed to say I test all my work before releasing it into the field.

CASS eyes her mostly-empty whisky bottle blearily.

CASS
(shaking her head sadly)
I picked the wrong week to stop sniffin' Wonderglue.

REX barks.

REX
(subtitled)
I know, right?

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.