Sunday, April 17, 2022

Idea Garage Sale: Off My Meds

I've read a lot of portal fantasy in my time, but one thing I haven't seen is, someone who needs modern medicine stepping into a world where modern medicine is not available. The effect on the story would vary with the condition, and with conditions. A kid who needs Ritalin to sit still in class may find that coping mechanisms will still allow him to manage all right in a typical pseudo-European Medieval setting full of outdoor activities and alternating tranquility/crisis. A teen with severe body dysmorphia will suffer a lot without hormones, but may find some relief in an alien society's gender norms and expectations. An AIDS patient, a diabetic, or a chemical depressive without regular access to their meds, though, could feel a literal deadline approaching, distracting them from whatever heroism they're being called on to perform and providing a vector of temptation the Forces of Evil could exploit. Such a story taking the "meds are unnecessary" tack would be obnoxious; but it could be brilliant coming from someone with the condition and intimately familiar with all the advantages and disadvantages of the relevant medical treatments. The Ritalin kid may be delighted to find themself thriving in the new environment without the hassle of pilltaking, but the ADHD would be recontextualized, not conquered, and will kick in at various points in the plot, for both good and ill. A non-binary teen may find a differently-gendered society is all they need to relieve their discomfort, but will a transman in a society with no concept of gender feel any more at home in his body just because nobody else around him sees a discrepancy between it and how he presents himself? A twenty-something with a chronic condition who has been taking the same pill since they were five may feel only relief from the routine of keeping track of it until half-forgotten symptoms rear their ugly heads at crucial moments, while a diabetic without access to insulin feels that their body is a ticking time bomb with no visible clock, constantly obsessing over their diet and focusing on finding ways to get home to the detriment of whatever mission they're supposed to be on. Conversely, someone portaling from a less medically advanced world to a a more, or from a mundane world to someplace where magical treatments are available, may be caught in a serious conflict between wanting their natural environment back, and living in an otherwise uncongenial world where they can expect their body to function a great deal better and for their lifetime to be much extended. Nobody ever seems to be allergic to their new environments, either, though it's possible I have seen that happen and it wasn't done memorably enough to stick. Similarly, the core idea here may have been done without my noticing it (it's a natural storyline for Seanan Macguire's Home for Wayward Children series); but if it has, I'm positive it can be done again. There's lots of medical conditions out there, after all.

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