Our story continues at a secure wing in County General Hospital, where Dr. Jessica Kowalski has just entered the room where Alison Wagner is staying...
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:30, Wed 09 June 2021.

If Dr. Kowalski wasn't previously informed as to what to expect or hadn't overheard the whispered discussions among some of the staff before visiting her room, it is likely that Alison Wagner's appearance comes as a bit of a surprise.  It's not because she had been severely injured or disfigured as a result of a tragic accident like some of the patients in the hospital.

At first, it seems as though someone may have been playing a practical joke.  Someone had obviously placed an elaborately crafted figurine of a young woman in a reclining position on the bed.  The long blonde hair and proportionally scaled body suggest a collectible fashion doll, but for a fashion doll, it does not appear to have been dressed in any representation of fashionable clothing but has what appears to be a torn sheet of creased, bright patterned Christmas wrapping paper wrapped around as if it were needed to preserve its modesty.

It becomes clear that this was not a joke when the figure turns in a human-like motion and looks upon noticing that someone had entered the room.  "Good morning," this tiny living person said in a weary, but otherwise normal-sounding voice expected from an average-sized adult woman.  She stretched her arms over her head before propping herself up in a more upright sitting position.  "Are you here to do more tests?" she asked skeptically, as though she already knew that they would not explain or solve her current situation.

Upon closer inspection, Dr. Kowalski would likely notice the delicate facial features and bright blue eyes of the patient.  Although it appears that the patient may have neglected taking care of her appearance for a period of time recently, it is clear that she would be considered to be an attractive woman and that only makes her appear to be more surreal -- as if such a thing as a fairy princess could actually exist or a child's wish for their doll to come to life had been fulfilled.  Alison Wagner is far too small to have been born and grown to maturity at her current size, a check of her medical records would have confirmed that.... and yet, here she is, concerned and confused and trying to make sense of it all.

OOC:  Now that we have the big reveal to another player, expect the character description for the Cast page to be changing soon!

One of the things that comes up in Emergency Medicine is to not judge your patients.  At least, not to their faces.  They need help, and they already feel real bad about whatever it is they managed to get stuck up their butt.  Jessica thought that was a bad attempt at humor by her instructors; a bit of hyperbole to accentuate the issue.  That lasted until the first time she met a patient with something stuck up their butt.

The point being that the expression of surprise on her face when Alison speaks is fairly neutral.  That the situation is merely unexpected, and not humorous or embarrassing at the patient's expense.

Dr. Kowalski is not a large person, either.  She is merely conventionally short, a bit over 5 feet in height.  She also appears to be a twenty-something blonde, though her hair is only neck-length.  The soft blue scrubs obscure a lot of details, but she seems to have a decent figure at a healthy weight.

A tiny human is not what Jess was expecting.  Not that she was expecting anything in particular; but this is somehow still outside what she was expecting.  And yet, somehow, it is almost disappointingly mundane.  She and Karl Brennan flagrantly disregard physics with the things they can do; whereas simply being one-quarter scale (fifth? sixth?) seems safely inside the bounds of things known science can explain.

"Actually, I think we just hit afternoon.  Hello, in any case.  I'm Dr. Kowalski," she says as she walks over to the bed.  "No, I'm not here to run any tests.  It would appear that I'm here for more psychological reasons."  Slightly stiffly, she grabs a chair and pulls it up alongside the bed, then sits to be closer to Alison's level.  "How should I address you, Ms. Wagner?  Also, I'm sure they showed you the standard privacy forms.  Would you be able to extend me a little patient-doctor confidentiality in return?"

OOC: Just to get my mental picture right, how tall is Alison right now?  Also, is she still made of flesh, or does she appear to be made of plastic?  Or porcelain?  All the doll comparisons have planted ideas in my mind, and I want to make sure I don't go off on a mistaken tangent. ;)

When Alison heard the doctor say that phrase, it provided a faint glimmer of hope because it was what she had wanted someone to say since she was found.  That everything that she had experienced over the past several days was just a trick of her mind. The right medication, therapy sessions, or even something as risky as an operation -- those were treatments that were at least known, even if she wasn't sure what the rate of success was.  If she was actually shrinking, what was the cure for that?



"If this is going to be a lecture, it will probably have a better chance of sticking if you use 'Ms. Wagner'," the tiny woman informed the doctor.  "Otherwise, I don't mind if you call me Alison if you would like."

"Whatever you're going to tell me, I'll keep it a secret.  I promise!  I just need to know what's happening to me."

OOC:  Despite her size, Alison is still a human being -- or maybe that should now be a superhuman being.  In any case, no plastic, porcelain, or artificial materials.  All natural, no matter what some jealous people might have speculated in the past.

I'm visualizing her height to be approximately 15 to 16 inches tall.  It would probably also be noticed that she does not sink into the mattress of the hospital bed, suggesting that there has also been a corresponding reduction in weight.

"No, no lectures, Alison.  You can call me Jessica, or Jess, if you like," Jess says.  It would be nice if she had the answers that Alison sought.  Honestly, she wants those answers, too.  Her circumstances might not have been as immediately inconvenient as Alison's, but problems did come up.

"I don't really have any answers, either.  Dr. Williams should have some once he gets back, but I'm not sure how much help they will be.

"No, I'm here to tell you that you're not alone.  You're not the only person who's had inexplicable things happen to them lately."  Jess's arm stretches out, lengthening until it can grab a paper cup from next to the sink.  It swings over to lay on the bed, depositing the cup next to Alison.  It stays there as Jess gives a little smile.