Nagato is biologically human, so why would it matter which doctor they went to?

If you think about it, time travel prep must suck. The further back you travel, just think of all the vaccination shots you'd have to get.

How human are her biological processes though? She eats and sleeps, sure, but does she actually need to? Alcohol seemingly doesn't affect her in the slightest, so it wouldn't surprise me if various drugs and such didn't work on her.

BakaHoushi said:
Alcohol seemingly doesn't affect her in the slightest

I assume that's all due to data manipulation on her part though (the same as how she can eat and eat, but never get full). Not because she's naturally immune to alcohol, but rather, she's actively countering its effects.

While I can't discount that possibility, I don't particularly subscribe to the belief that she can be affected by alcohol. I base this on the overwhelming evidence that I personally think it's more interesting if she's not affected and there's really no way to know for sure because the author is notoriously stingy when it comes to giving us details on how stuff works in that universe.

Of course, that's half the fun with the series, so I'm not complaining.

Speech Bubble said:
If I were to be exempted on the grounds of being an alien, it would set a bad example for the other two, so I will go this time.

I'm not sure this is being said by Nagato, considering the other panels, so should it really be in first-person?

Alignn said:
I'm not sure this is being said by Nagato, considering the other panels, so should it really be in first-person?

I think you're right. I just noticed the ellipsis bubble from Nagato in the same panel.
The other two panels had Kyon's word bubbles in bold, so I didn't think it was him, but this one may be Koizumi.

That would also explain why Nagato trails off. I originally thought it was just because there wasn't enough room to write her entire character description ("A humanoid interface with the purpose of communicating with organic life forms"), but this makes more sense.

Also, 受け入れてくれ is obviously not being spoken by Nagato. I just wasn't reading closely enough.

FJH said:
If you think about it, time travel prep must suck. The further back you travel, just think of all the vaccination shots you'd have to get.

Wouldn't the immunities be preexisting in your genes and bloodstream? Or am I misunderstanding basic genetics?

LordAnubis said:
Wouldn't the immunities be preexisting in your genes and bloodstream? Or am I misunderstanding basic genetics?

The only way you would already have immunity is if the disease was wiped out via evolution (as in, only the people who were immune or could produce antibodies survived so that no one in the current population is susceptible anymore).

If it was wiped out through innoculation, like small pox, then you wouldn't have any immunity and would still be susceptible to infection.

Ralen said:
If it was wiped out through innoculation, like small pox, then you wouldn't have any immunity and would still be susceptible to infection.

Vaccination was probably a chronologically poor choice of words; however, it does work correctly the normal way too. I had originally meant making Mikuru as "clean" as possible to reduce the chances of introducing foreign basteria that, benign to the time traveler, common to their time, could cause harm to people from the past.

I mean, interaction suggests people from Mikuru's time don't require much dexterity to get through daily life anymore. That posits the risk that her cellular (mucus membrane) immunity might not be are strong as her humoral (internal cellular) immunity for reasons of not getting a thorough workout. On an unrelated note, the anti-vaccination crowd of today makes a similar argument.

FJH said:
I had originally meant making Mikuru as "clean" as possible to reduce the chances of introducing foreign basteria that, benign to the time traveler, common to their time, could cause harm to people from the past.

I thought you were saying the opposite. That, going back in time, she would have to be vaccinated against all sorts of diseases that had been wiped out in her time (small pox, polio, etc.) but might still be prevalent in the past.

I guess the time travellers have nanites and stuff keeping their bodies free of infection...

Just goes to show regardless of if you're an alien, a time traveller, or god, nobody likes needles. :D

FJH said:
I had originally meant making Mikuru as "clean" as possible to reduce the chances of introducing foreign basteria that, benign to the time traveler, common to their time, could cause harm to people from the past.

This is the most accurate:

In actuality, once you have had a flu, and recovered from it, you are forever immune to that strain of flu for the rest of your life. It's just that "flu" is a generic term for a broad class of viruses that are capable of mutating at an incredible rate to outpace the immunities of their human hosts, and hence, every year, there's a new strain or three for humans to combat.

If Mikuru originally came from a time period relatively close to the time of the rest of the cast, she would have already experienced strains of flu from that time period, and already have acquired immunities, making vaccines redundant.

The real danger is in bringing back in time a disease that no human from that time period has a resistance to - an ordinary cold could become the next bubonic plague if shared with someone whose immunities are not as advanced.

Also, I'd point out that Mikuru being clumsy is no proof of a lowered immune system - in fact, most of humanity's "weaknesses" as a species came about as purposeful means of fighting diseases. Even aging and lifespan (in terms of cell multiplication limits) are partly designed as a defense against cancer.

Further, if Mikuru was being sent from far enough in the future that she'd have no immunity, I'd assume they'd be thorough enough to just immunize her not just up to the point in time where she would be going, but a couple years in advance, as well. After all, the woman sending her out is future Mikuru, and she already knows how long the mission is going to go on.