Smile
Mentor 2.
It was the groan of despair that caught her attention.
Jocasta was accustomed to hearing the noises of frustration, especially from some of the younger padawans and older initiates. Under the instruction of their Masters or their teachers, they would be sent to the great Jedi archives to do research, seeking out information on topics as varied as geography and geology, history and politics, or perhaps the obscure cultural and social mores of infrequently contacted species in the Outer Rim.
Wisdom could not be formed without knowledge, and knowledge could not be formed without information. For information, they came to the archive, to the library, and to her. The archivist smiled, locked her computer terminal, and stood from her desk, smoothing out the yellow robes she wore before folding her hands before her and stepping forward.
The girl was small, her feet dangling just an inch above the floor. Slumped over, her head was buried in her arms, which rested on the edge of the study carrel she occupied. Jocasta tilted her head to the side as she approached, trying to determine which one of the younglings this was; with her face buried in her arms, all she could see was a blur of black clothing, accompanied by a grey scarf over her head, a few tendrils of blue-black hair straying from where they'd been tied. She seemed to glow a harsh aquamarine, reflecting the light of the computer terminal on the carrel before her.
"Trouble?" Jocasta asked, pulling out the seat in the next carrel before sitting down, watching as a small, green skinned and blue eyed face lifted slightly to see her. The girl's eyes widened, and she snuffled a bit, trying to brush away the first, somewhat panicked signs of tears. Jocasta smiled kindly, peering around to see what was causing the girl so much grief.
On the screen was a general search engine on the open holonet. She was twenty-five pages into a search on heart attacks in reptilian sentient species, most of the results on her current list involving Rodians. Jocasta smiled a little at the attempt. She judged the Mirialan girl to be nine, perhaps ten, standard years old. Without any of the traditional Mirialan tattoos, it was slightly harder to judge her experience level. It wasn't a bad attempt; just an uninformed one. The number of active links in her search suggested she'd actually checked most of the twenty-five pages worth of information, and for a child that young, it was a fair amount of dedication. Judging by her despair, however, she had not found what she needed.
"What is your name, Initiate?"
The girl ducked her head, shyly. "Barriss Offee, Master Nu."
"And why are you researching heart attacks in Rodians?"
Barriss made a face, somewhere between a pout and a grimace. "People die from heart attacks." She looked at the screen again, and the grimace melted into something forlorn. "And cancers, and auto…autoimmune sicknesses, and other bad things." She reached to the side and picked up a holobook, holding it out for Jocasta to see. It was open to a random screen providing general information on the nervous system. The text appeared to be a standard health sciences monograph used to teach younglings basic species-specific physiology and biology.
Jocasta's eyebrows raised, looking between the textbook and the girl. She was a little young to look so disturbed by common ailments, most of which were preventable or curable with modern medical science. "Why are you researching this, Initiate Offee? Is it for an assignment for your academy class?"
The girl nodded. "We have to pick a disease, and do a report to show the class, but there's so many things, and so much of it. And people can die." Her indigo eyes were very wide, and possibly a little frightened at the prospect of illness. Jocasta smiled gently. The girl had a soft heart, it seemed; for an old woman like herself, who'd lived through her fair share of injuries and sicknesses, these ailments did not seem particularly intimidating anymore. To a little girl, first learning of all the possible methods of natural pain in the galaxy, it must seem terribly intimidating.
She chuckled. "I am not a Healer, Initiate Offee. I am not one of those able to undo the pain of people who are hurt." Barriss blinked at that, and something seemed to flicker on behind her eyes at the words, her brows drawing slightly together, thoughtfully. Jocasta continued, proudly, "But I am a librarian, and if it is information that you need, I am quite able to help you find it. And I can tell you, that for all its usefulness, the open holonet can be a vast ocean of nonsense, with only a few islands of good information scattered throughout. You are a Jedi, in the Jedi archive. We have much more reliable resources for your use."
The thoughtful look disappeared from Barriss' face, and she brightened a little. Jocasta smiled down at her. She was still pensive, her hands gripping the arms of her chair tightly, but she was venturing a hopeful look. "Thank you, Master Nu."
The librarian nodded once, briskly. "Well, we have an excellent selection of holobooks specializing in the health sciences for our Healers, but since we are here, we will begin with what can be found in our databases, rather than floating randomly on the holonet. The Republic sponsors an excellent database for basic medical information. It will be somewhat more complex than your textbook, but it is open to the public and geared towards laymen, rather than medical professionals. Please return your screen to its original page, Initiate."
Barriss scrambled to straighten herself in her chair, having twisted herself to the side to carry on the conversation with Jocasta. Her fingers twitched upward, hovering above the keyboard, as she sent another hopeful look towards Jocasta, who nodded again once young Offee was prepared. The main portal of the library's main page glowed coolly up at them. "Now, follow the path towards the available databases," Jocasta instructed, pointing out a link reading: Find Articles. She was brought to a screen listing various subject areas. Jocasta paused, glancing down at the girl, whose face was puckered up in thought. After a moment of scanning the page, she ventured further by entering the Health Sciences section, a list of various databases forming.
Jocasta held up a hand, warningly. "There are several listed here. Many of these are too great in scope for an academy report, so we'll leave the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health alone, along with the Proquest database. For you, I recommend PubMed Health. Government sponsored websites and research is almost always valid. Enter PubMed, please."
With a determined set on her lips, Barriss moved into the database, a search screen appearing, along with links to various topics and subjects. A friendly looking middle aged woman was displayed on the right side of the page, with a serious looking doctor beside her, clearly advising her in her quest for medical information. Barriss looked up at her for a moment, pausing, waiting for any further instructions. Jocasta looked at her warmly in return. "Go ahead. Try searching for a heart attack now."
Still looking determined, the girl returned her attention to the screen, quickly typing heart attack into the provided box and initiating the search. An expression of consternation appeared on her face when a fresh list of four hundred and thirty two possible articles came up. Jocasta leaned forward and pointed. "Don't get too intimidated. Look at all of it for a moment. What do you see?"
Barriss' eyes scanned the page, and she slowly began to read the titles of the various entries. "Heart Attack. The Signs of a Heart Attack. An…angina Pectoris and Heart Attacks. Depression After Heart Attack. Heart Attack First Aid. Heart Disease and Women. Coronary Heart Disease…." Her voice trailed off, and she seemed thoughtful for a moment, then began to read down a bit further. "Jaw Pain and Heart Attacks. Treating High Cholesterol. Choosing Pain Medicine for Ost..osteo…Arthritis. Comparing Beta Blockers." She leaned back in her chair. "Some of these don't make sense, but the first ones do."
"There are ways of narrowing down your search, of course, but for now, why don't you just try the first entry?"
Another nod, and Barriss opened the first entry. "Myo…cardial…infar…ction," she read haltingly. "A heart attack is when blood vessels that supply blood to the heart are blocked, preventing enough oxygen from getting to the heart.The heart muscle dies or becomes permanently damaged.Your doctor calls this a myocardial infarction."
Her eyes rounded, and her mouth fell open with a small gasp. Jocasta grinned, and it broadened when the girl continued, her voice rising in increased delight, "Causes, incidence, risk factors. Symptoms. Signs and tests, Treatment, Prevention! Master Nu this has so much information!" Barriss swiveled in her chair to face the librarian, her face alight.
"I am glad you found what you are looking for, Initiate Offee."
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, and, in her enthusiasm, jerked forward, arms beginning to open outward as though to give her a hug. Jocasta blinked at her in surprise, and in that moment, the girl seemed to contain her relief and her joy, abruptly halting her movement forward. Slightly embarrassed, her hands hovering in the air halfway between them, she folded them back towards herself, folding them neatly. Blushing a darker shade of green from her outburst, Barriss tried again, more politely this time. "Thank you, Master Nu. I deeply appreciate your assistance with my homework." She bowed a little, from the neck, looking up shyly.
Jocasta was not one of the youngling minders. She was a Jedi Master, and a librarian, and a fairly old one at that. She knew the Initiates were taught to respect their seniors and their elders, and she appreciated the Mirialan girl's deference to her.
But she also was glad to see a serious little girl being a happy little girl. She leaned forward and laid an arm around the girl's shoulders and gave her a small hug. "I am happy to help you, Initiate Offee. If you need anything else, please let me know."
With one, final, quick squeeze, she leaned back and stood, sharing a smile with the girl before she turned back to her research and Jocasta to her work.
Some years later, when Jocasta heard Barriss Offee was entering the training program for Jedi Healers, she smiled.
It was far from the last time the girl came to her for help.
This is for all my fellow librarians out there! I have apparently been helping Nursing students waaaaay too much lately.
The search done in this story is real, as are the databases referred to. The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) is a major database for nursing, as is Proquest Nursing & Allied Health. PubMed Health is also a real database, and the information and entries Jocasta and Barriss found are from the actual pages in PubMed as of 2011.
Additionally, I wanted to thank everyone who left suggestions last time! I'll do my best to write them, and there were some great ideas. Thank you all for sharing with me!
~Queen