#reason to love and also deeply worry about Christopher Pike number 4327856976892630

[ichayalovesyou]

Is Pike the First Ever Human Delta Radiation Survivor? (More Disabled Pike Thoughts)

Ok I have something that’s been gnawing at my brain regarding Pike and his condition and quality of life (severe chronic pain, extremely reduced mobility and communication etc) and the limitations of his chair and a million other things. You can check out This Post about the Menagerie, and This Post on invisible illness representation if you’re curious about my other takes on this.

This meta is gonna get a little morbid (and possibly triggering) so I’m gonna put it under the cut here just in case:

We know from The Menagerie that in all likelihood that Chris is in no small amount of pain, and extreme chronic pain can have a devastating affect on quality of life. We can also infer that the chair's primary function is life support, preventing his DNA from unraveling to a deadly degree from the radiation, allowing him to be lucid, even if that state is delicate. He is in intensive care on Starbase 11, needs constant medical supervision from Bones, and severe emotional agitation could potentially put him in a coma.

We also know for a fact that Doctor Assisted Suicide is still very much a thing in the 23rd century, considering that McCoy honored his father's request for it from the vision of his past we got in Star Trek V. It is a very complicated topic that is extremely case by case that I am not gonna bat a hornet's nest by taking a side on it one way or the other. Aside from the patient's desires and consent being the most important aspect of anything medical, period.

Pike does not make that decision, even though he absolutely could even with the limitations of a "yes/no" machine, and I don't think it would be at all in character for him to choose to die (suicidal ideation/"high-functioning" depression aside). Potentially he already has by the time we see him in The Menagerie. Even if he is hanging by a thread, is suffering, and there's no cure or rehab on the horizon, he is choosing to live regardless of that.

What if he's the first person to ever survive Delta radiation, what if that chair is the first ever successful attempt at giving someone an lucid, somewhat independent and autonomous life after severe exposure?

I mean I can picture it, an emergency medical team coming in for the Cadets and discovering Pike is still alive and unconscious on the other side of the containment field. A brilliant team of doctor's coming up with a procedural plan to not only save his life, but allow him the opportunity to live a life, however difficult, afterward. The first step in being able to save people from exposure levels that would've otherwise had a 100% mortality rate.

It could be that Pike already knows or learns of this, and knows that such an incredible step forward could lead to even more scientific advancement that would lead other Delta radiation survivors to even more livable conditions, even total recovery in the future. Even if that future does not happen or is not a feasible adjustment in what remains of his lifetime. Not that he would ever choose to die, but that his suffering would still have even more of a purpose than just saving Spock's life and this timeline, but making progress for other people who survived Delta radiation like he had.

Regardless of whether he's made planned or expressed a desire to go to Talos IV that Spock has learned about, leading to his crazy plan in The Menagerie. I think Pike would choose to live, if only partly for that, because if we've learned anything about that guy, he's all about living and giving his life to others. The price to his own wellbeing is and has always been inconsequential.