Hall of Mirrors

Nov

2016

Recurrent Themes – Childcare Workers

Childcare workers matter in a lot of my fan fiction.

Background

While regular ships generally don’t have children on them, generational ships most certainly do.

This is for all of those times when someone had to look after a kid. Hence there are some similar threads that run through my fan fiction.

I am not including the Daranaeans here, mainly because their acts of childcare are generally a part of parenthood and not as unrelated professionals.

Appearances

Maria Elena Torres Archer

In Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, Maria Elena, daughter of Lili and José, steps in when Victoria is killed.

Beth Cutler (Mirror Universe only)

When Reversal begins, Beth has the unenviable position of babysitter to the Empress Hoshi Sato‘s lone royal brat, Jun. Without being able to escape, Rick Daniels eventually reveals Beth would have been Jun’s first kill.

Victoria Dietrich

Part teacher and part babysitter, Vicki cares for the children during Entanglements and The Three of Us. However, she eventually gives some of the babysitter duties over to others.

Aidan MacKenzie (Mirror Universe only)

After the conclusion of Reversal, Aidan is tasked with siring the Empress’s second son, Kira. The Empress also forces him to become the royal babysitter. Embarrassed, catcalled, and humiliated, Aidan lays low for the most part. With Chip, he gets a small degree of revenge in Brown. But in Gilded Cage, the Empress essentially gets him back by placing him under house arrest. In the alternate timelines in Temper, and in the correct timeline in He Stays a Stranger, it’s revealed Aidan stayed on as the sitter although, as the children grew up, he became one of their only de facto parents, along with Susan. Susan is never really a sitter and instead is a skilled teacher. This is even in the Mirror Universe and also during alternate timelines.

Ethan Shapiro (alternate timeline only)

During Entanglements, after Ethan‘s suicide attempt, he can no longer adequately perform tactical duties. As he recovers, he becomes capable of working with the Quartermaster, Sekar Khan, and also performing some minor babysitter duties. This only happens during The Three of Us and not during Everybody Knows this is Nowhere.

José Torres (alternate timeline only)

As Ethan recovers, José becomes his roommate. José takes on babysitting duties as a means of trying to attract female attention. As with Ethan Shapiro’s connection to childcare, this only happens during The Three of Us. It does not happen during Everybody Knows this is Nowhere.

Upshot

Childcare is of course still a necessity in the future. I’m proud that it’s a profession for any gender.

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Oct

2016

Review – Souvenirs

Souvenirs of time travel can really do a number on Rick Daniels.

Background

Temporal souvenirs.

For a prompt about remembrances, I wanted to clarify a bit of time travel lore that I had been rather vague about. In A Long, Long Time Ago, I refer to temporal tourists who take various souvenirs. Helen Walker grabs the quarter flipped right before the plane takes off on February 3, 1959, resulting in the deaths of the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly.

Therefore, it made sense to me that Rick would take similar souvenirs from each of his honeys. Hence I had him steal a pair of quarters from Windy, plus he had a photograph of Milena that Noemy had taken, but nothing else.

Plot

Clockworks

So the story is about how Temporal Agent Richard Daniels remembers his conquests.

Note: this story breaks later fan fiction.

However, the main reason it breaks it is because of a slight confusion in the dates, nothing more.

And in a way, it leads right up to The Stranger. Richard Daniels has a lot on his plate, and he meets a lot of women. But he also has to allow any number of good people to die. I believe that this would horribly mess with just about anyone’s head. I feel even in the deep future we would not have quite gotten over the guilt many people would feel at having to sit back and watch innocents suffer. Hence he comforts himself by bedding women in time. But Milena Chelenska is different from all the rest.

Story Postings

Rating

This story is rated K.

Upshot

I think the concept is a good one although I am a little annoyed at myself for getting the dates wrong in my own time travel story!

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Aug

2016

Portrait of a Character – Rellie

Rellie is a kind of short order cook.

Origins

During Temper, the only intelligent way to get Lili onto the Defiant was for her to be disguised as a Calafan slave and work in a kitchen. This meant creating a kitchen manager (the position would not really be that of a head chef). Enter the Xindi humanoid Rellie.

Portrayal

Mia Sara as Rellie (image courtesy IMDB)

Rellie is played by actress Mia Sara. This lovely actress has a long history and has science fiction cred.

Personality

Efficient and smart, she will only go so far to look out for her charges. They are (Lili, Polloria, and Aliwev) adults and are not really her responsibility. She just wants to save her own skin, or at least make her job easier. When Lili arrives, and knows how to cook, it’s as if a dream has come true for the oppressed slave kitchen manager.

Relationships

Rellie has no known relationships.

Mirror Universe

Rellie has only been a part of the Mirror.

Mia Sara as the prime universe Rellie (image is courtesy of the DC Comics wiki)

Does she exist in the prime universe?

It’s an interesting question.

I sometimes confuse her a bit with Dayah, who is also a Xindi humanoid, and is of a similar vintage.

But their fates are rather different, even though they are both oppressed women. Rellie, like a lot of Mirror Universe women, has to be ruthless and self-serving. In our universe, those personality traits would be looked upon as flaws.

Quote

“We must always tell them that we can do anything they ask. No matter if it seems at all impossible or difficult. You have been doing this for years. Surely you know that by now. Never show any weakness.”

Upshot

I created this character for a specific purpose, and I think she fulfilled it fairly well. Since her placement was the result of the second alternate timeline in Temper, there are any number of other Mirror Universe niches she could fill. Maybe I’ll pick her up again.

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Aug

2016

Focus on the Terran Empire

The Terran Empire is a huge part of my fan fiction.

Focus

A focus (unlike a spotlight) is an in-depth look at a Star Trek fanfiction canon item and my twist(s) on it.

Of course, all of fan fiction is like that, but the idea here is to provide a window into how a single canon concept can be used in fan fiction.

Background

A lot of what happens in the Terran Empire absolutely defies logic (Vulcan pun only partly intended). Even in a multiverse with seemingly infinite (or thereabouts) universes with infinite variables, it makes no sense that our heroes’ counterparts would all be serving together.

Okay, so it’s really just a vehicle for tossing a bunch of evil twins onto the screen. Let’s run with that.

In order to make it all work, I decided on a few helper characteristics which would explain things better. Of course the real reason why there are a lot of men in the Mirror Universe is because of who was hired, particularly during the TOS era. For a show and a premise that were touting sex and violence, men would have to be hired in order to up the violence ante. For my fanfiction, I explain this away with the Y Chromosome Skew.

But what about the Terran Empire? First off, the TOS era would have undoubtedly showed a white man in power. Certainly, in canon, the person in charge is a man. But then ENT comes around, and Hoshi Sato declares herself Empress. To my mind, she would have a need for a successor and she could succeed as Empress if she operated under Machiavellian principles.

Hall of Mirrors and the Succession

A review of the Mirror Universe stories I have written creates a semblance of a decent history of the place. The first story is The High Cost of Dissidence, where Lili‘s counterpart’s family dies. Under Emperor Phillip (tyrant Phillip Green in our universe), Charlotte’s father is arrested as a dissident for daring to speak his mind.

Next is Paving Stones Made From Good Intentions, where Doug, a mere child, is sent away to a brutal school.

After ENT Canon

After the canon MU episodes comes Throwing Rocks at Looking Glass Houses, where Hoshi kills off all rivals (including T’Pol, Ian, and Phlox) and the Emperor, and consolidates her power ruthlessly.

In between, Hoshi and Rick Daniels hook up during The Stranger, and she becomes pregnant. His death is faked and she gives birth to Jun.

In Reversal, the Empress Hoshi is ensconced in power but is bested by Doug as Jennifer, Tripp, and Beth also escape.

Next up is Brown, where Hoshi is pregnant for a second time (by Aidan), and Chip holds back while José and Frank sniff around her.

In Ceremonial, Tripp and Beth have their own child, Charlie, as they become citizens of the MU Lafa System.

By the time of Coveted Commodity, she is pregnant by Travis.

Next is Gilded Cage, where Aidan is further disgraced and is planning to leave. The Conspiracy advances that subplot.

In Temper, when Travis is killed, Hoshi taps Andrew to take his place. When Andy meets Melissa for the first time, it’s shown in The Play at the Plate. He plans his escape when Melissa dies, in Escape, a deed that is seen from another angle in Shake Your Body.

Fortune shows more of the Mirror, including fast-forwarding ahead to not only Melissa’s death, but Norri‘s as well.

At about the same time as The Play at the Plate, Susan is looking to give up drinking, in The Pivot Point.

Much later, in Bread, a Mirror Leah Benson escapes to Andoria and is reunited with Diana Jones.

HG Wells and the Terran Empire

The royal family is reunited in He Stays a Stranger.

The Empress’s less than dignified death is shown in Who Shall Wear the Robe and Crown? She is succeeded by Jun and Kira.

During TOS, the Captain’s Woman, Janice Rand, is killed by Marlena Moreau in That’s Not My Name. The crime is investigated as Rand was allegedly the Emperor’s niece, in It Had to be You.

And finally, in Mirror Masquerade, Travis and Hikaru Sulu are switched, and it’s up to the Temporal Integrity Commission to put everyone back where they belong.

Upshot

With my fanfiction, Hoshi’s life reads a lot like Caligula’s or Nero’s, and that was by design. In bits and pieces, it ended up being a somewhat epic saga. It could use more development in later years. In the Barnstorming series, I add a Mirror connection, but the Empire is supposed to be gone by then. But I like it and will find a way to bring it back.

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Jul

2016

Portrait of a Character – Geming Sulu

Geming Sulu serves some purposes.

Origins

Doug needed one last kill in order to get on board the ISS Enterprise and, eventually, the ISS Defiant. I decided that, as in canon, he would kill his superior officer in order to get there (this is, after all, the Mirror Universe where he and Geming are first seen). And so, he knifes Geming in the gut, as Geming is slated to be the MACO CO and Doug is not. Blood on his hands, Doug gets what he wants.

In the prime universe, things are of course rather different, and Geming is the father of Joss‘s wife, Jia.

Portrayal

Jet Li as Geming Sulu (image is for educational purposes)

Geming is played by actor Jet Li.

I like this handsome actor of Chinese extraction. It doesn’t hurt that his martial arts background dovetails well with the martial arts connection to the canon character, Hikaru Sulu.

Personality

Intelligent and thoughtful, the Geming of our universe is a good father. He and Mai reconcile after their divorce, and remarry. He settles on Lafa II and they rebuild their lives together.

Relationships

Mai Sulu

Geming’s only know relationship is with Mai. He predeceases her, according to Jia, in Fortune.

Mirror Universe

Geming exists in the Mirror Universe, and is Doug’s last male human kill (Deborah Hadden is killed accidentally when Doug escapes to our universe). There is nearly nothing known about him, but that’s as one would expect; because a part of the recitation of Doug’s kills in Fortune is how meaningless some of them are, and how they can be almost mechanical.

Quote

“The Lafa System is certainly far from everything else. This is why I moved here when Mai did. I meant to tell you; I suppose being nearby did us both some good. We’ve decided to reconcile, and to remarry.”

Upshot

Geming, like other peripheral characters, flits in and out but rarely has the spotlight. But every storyline needs supporting characters, and so he might return at some point in time.

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Jun

2016

Portrait of a Character – Thomas Digiorno-Madden

Thomas Digiorno-Madden is a bridge character.

Origins

In order to get the open marriage/arrangement really going among Lili, Doug, Melissa, Norri, and Malcolm, and to really amp it up and certainly require that Melissa have a connection to the Beckett marriage, the best and easiest way of accomplishing that was for her to conceive Doug’s child during Together. There is no planning for Tommy at all (or for Kevin).

But the truth is, the arrangement cannot exist or at least begin without him. He is absolutely indispensable at the beginning of his life and, it turns out, at the end of it as well.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Thomas Digiorno-Madden

Kiefer Sutherland as Thomas Digiorno-Madden (image is for educational purposes only)

Tommy is played by actor Kiefer Sutherland. I had originally thought of Tommy as being dark-haired. But I thought of Sutherland in 25, and could not get him out of my head.

I love this image of the actor, and I have used it, with a flame in place of the ’24’, as the cover of Seven Women.

Personality

Duty-driven and honor-bound, Tommy is the kind of person who Erika Hernandez utterly depends upon and, later, so does Captain Robau. If you don’t know who Robau is, Google him. I can wait.

Relationships

Cindy Morgan

Tommy mentions her in Seven Women, that it was sort of a secondary relationship versus Joss and Jia. They were essentially forced into a one-room schoolhouse on Lafa II, and there were few romantic prospects. But she wasn’t the one, and they both knew it.

Takara Sato Masterson Tucker

Takara, the Empress Hoshi Sato’s only daughter meets Tommy in a dream during Fortune. I had originally decided that that would be it, and they would not see each other again. Temper would remain an outlying temporal fluke. But then the idea of then being together in dreams was be a good one. So I wanted her to be his only semi-attainable love match. During Eight, in the Out of the Caves of Lafa II chapter, she reveals that she believes her son is really Tommy’s. I’m not so sure how I feel about that, as there are virtues to making Tommy the father or making Charlie Tucker IV the father.

But either way, Tommy and Takara are a bit like what would have happened to the overall storyline if the crossover in Reversal had failed, and Doug and Lili could not truly be together. It made sense for some of the endings to not be such happy ones.

Theme Music

During Temper, Tommy’s music is Green Day’s When I Come Around.

Mirror Universe

It is impossible for Tommy to have a Mirror Universe counterpart, as he is already a Prime Universe/Mirror Universe crossbreed.

Kiefer Sutherland as Tommy in the Mirror Universe (image is for educational purposes only)

In Temper, though, it is established that he and also Marie Patrice are having the easiest time adjusting, and Tommy is drawn more strongly to that side than any of that crossbred generation. It’s likely that the two things that draw him are the possibility of a much faster command and Takara herself.

Truth is, Tommy in the Mirror is meaner. But he probably would have been similar to what he became, a lifelong soldier. In many ways, Tommy is Doug without real love and a home in his life. The most significant thing he contributes to the timeline (assuming he isn’t Charlie Tucker IV’s father after all) is the sacrifice that ends his life.

Quote

“Here come the flames.”

Upshot

Tommy’s adult life is not well-documented. There is a lot more to tell. He will be back.

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Jun

2016

Review – Pat the Bunny

Pat the Bunny? What?

Background

Pat the Bunny came about as a strange left-turn style answer to a writing prompt. Hence, in order to write about natural or artificially created disasters, I chose a scenario for the Mirror Universe Borg where they would be defeated by the oddest of foes. And to make it even more interesting, this foe would be about as opposite to a warrior as you can get in the animal kingdom.

Furthermore, it would hearken back, just a little bit, to Hugh and the Borg, the canon episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, where a young Borg boy is returned to the collective and starts a sort of individualistic revolution. And it would also be a call back to the canon episode of Star Trek: Voyager, where Icheb is introduced (he was conceived and became Borg as a means of implanting a virus into the collective. Icheb’s own parents considered him expendable).

Plot

Clockworks

In 3104, Richard Daniels and Aramjul Sika find out just why the Borg never really got any traction in the Mirror Universe.

As an earlier mission for Rick (and one where he does not seduce anyone), I wanted a short mission where he and a historian would get in and get out, but there would be one, big, kind of crazy consequence of what they had just observed. Temporal shenanigans aside, history is often strange.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

So I liked putting Rick into a new and exceptionally weird situation. And I also enjoyed the opportunity to shout out to the Sika family, a clan of Xindi sloth I had created in The Puzzle and then followed through with in Achieving Peace. After all, it isn’t only Lili‘s family that makes it to the deep future.

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Apr

2016

Focus – Irumodic Syndrome

Focus on Irumodic Syndrome

Irumodic Syndrome is a canon disease much like Alzheimer’s.

Focus

A focus (unlike a spotlight) is an in-depth look at a Star Trek fanfiction canon item and my twist(s) on it.

Of course, all of fan fiction is like that, but the idea here is to provide a window into how a single canon concept can be used in fan fiction.

Background

Comparison of character suffering Irumodic Syndrome, versus reality for actor. Image is provided for educational purposes only.

The canon equivalent of Alzheimer’s Disease makes for a fascinating detail to any plot. It is really only mentioned in The Next Generation, where Captain Jean-Luc Picard gets it as a part of the series finale, All Good Things ….

Just like Alzheimer’s is today, Irumodic Syndrome is devastating, heartbreaking, and incurable.

Occurrences

Diana Jones

For Diana, her Irumodic Syndrome wreaks havoc with the life of her wife, Rabbi Leah Benson. In Bread, Diana has clearly been suffering for a long time. Leah feels she should quit her job and focus on Diana and the time they have left. But, sadly, Diana is beginning to forget everyone. Leah knows that, eventually, she’ll be next.

Melissa Madden

For Melissa, who suffers tremendously, suicide seems like the most logical solution. She even plans it in Fortune, as a kind of confirmation of her behavior during the alternate timeline in Temper. Adding the forgetting insult to injury for Norri is that Melissa often calls her Belinda. So Norri is not only reminded of Melissa’s decline, but also of her own mother’s death.

Upshot

The Star Trek future sometimes seems to be far too achingly perfect. Nothing ever seems to go wrong, or at least the bad times don’t stick around. This disease cuts right through that and adds a sobering note of reality to all that it touches.

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Feb

2016

Portrait of a Character – Travis Mayweather (Mirror)

Origins

This character is canon, and he is one of the only people unambiguously left standing at the end of In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (Hoshi is also alive but it’s somewhat unclear about the other main characters).

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Travis Mayweather (Mirror)

Anthony Montgomery as Mirror Travis Mayweather (image is courtesy Memory Alpha)

As in canon, Travis is played by actor Anthony Montgomery.

I think the actor did a bang-up job and, since he’s improved as an actor, I would love to see him pick it up again.

Personality

Ruthless, nasty, irresponsible, and more than a little dumb, Travis is an interesting choice of henchman and lover for Hoshi. She continually corrects him and puts him down in public, but he provides a huge public service for her. Because no one wants him in power, Hoshi remains safe. As for Travis, he remains fairly safe as his relationship with Hoshi is non-exclusive and she actively seeks other fathers for her elder children. As a result, there are few rewards to replacing him, and men like José, Frank, Chip, and Aidan do better to remain more subservient. Travis is the one with a target painted on his back.

Relationships

The Empress Hoshi Sato

The Mirror Travis, while he is dying for some fun times with women like the Mirror versions of Melissa Madden and Shelby Pike, is beholden to the Empress. In Coveted Commodity in particular, he is essentially led around on a leash. His only hope is to pass on his genes to Izo and work to assure his son’s survival. This he does by blackmailing Dr. Morgan into agreeing to help Izo, even after Travis’s death. This Morgan more or less does (although, like most denizens of the Mirror, Morgan’s word isn’t worth much).

Theme Music

Everybody else in Temper seems to have gotten a theme song except for Travis!

Prime Universe

The Prime Universe Travis is a rather different guy and is covered in his own post.

Quote

“Use knives or swords. It’s more fun.”

Upshot

In Temper in particular, I really got a chance to let Travis have it with both barrels. He dies in three separate timelines. Once is by Jun Sato; the other two times, he’s fragged by his own troops. An ignominious end, no matter how you slice it, for an evil man who was ‘only following orders’.

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Jan

2016

Recurrent Themes – Soldiers

Recurrent Themes –Soldiers

Background

For Reversal in particular to work, there had a to be a number of people ready and able to go to war.

In particular, as the Mirror Universe is so different from the prime universe, a lot of people would be soldiers there who wouldn’t be so here. Or they would be more violent and less disciplined than in our universe. As it is explained to Lili, the percentage of military personnel is deliberately kept very high over there.

There are more MACOs in particular than the group listed here, but these people are seen the most.

Appearances of Soldiers

Aliwev

This Calafan recruit drills directly under Doug and, in the Mirror, in one of the alternate timelines, assassinates the Empress Hoshi Sato during Temper.

Douglas Jay Hayes Beckett

Doug, a trained killer, spends much of Reversal trying to leave the practice of making war. When he can’t find anything else to do with himself in Together, he eventually becomes the captain of a defense unit on Lafa II, and instructs recruits.

Daniel Chang

Chang, a canon character, defends the Enterprise but, in the E² timeline, commits crimes.

Tristan Curtis

Curtis is another E² timeline criminal. In the Temper alternate timelines, he’s named Craig.

Brian Delacroix

In the prime universe, Delacroix is a security guard who becomes a chef. In the Mirror, he nearly kills Doug.

Tommy Digiorno-Madden

Unlike the other five kids, Tommy joins Starfleet and goes into Tactical.

Thomas Grant

In the deep future, Tom is assigned to the Breen homeworld before he joins the Temporal Integrity Commission.

Deborah Hadden

Deb works in Security in both universes. In the Mirror, she kills Brian before he has a chance to off Doug. But her victory is short-lived, and she perishes when he leaves that universe.

Jay Hayes

The consummate soldier, Major J. Hayes is so committed to defending the ship that he has nearly no time for people.

Gary Hodgkins

Yet another E² criminal, Hodgkins often pairs with Curtis, particularly in the Mirror.

Chandler Masterson

Chip is wasted in Security and moves over to Communications. This isn’t possible in the Mirror, so he stays in Tactical. In the prime timeline, he escapes the Empress, but in one of the alternates, he rises to become captain of the Defiant.

Travis Mayweather

Travis is a soldier in the Mirror Universe only. He’s a poor soldier, though, and an even worse leader. In the alternate timelines, and in the prime timeline, he is fragged by his own troops.

Andrew Miller

Like Travis, Andy is only a soldier in the Mirror. When the Empress taps him for somewhat earthy duties, he manages to get himself reassigned to Science.

Malcolm Reed

The other consummate canon career soldier, Malcolm is more ambitious and tries for a command as soon as he can get one.

José Torres

José is another person who is only a soldier in the Mirror. He is not cut out for command at all and, in an alternate timeline, destroys his ship, the Luna, and everyone on board is killed.

Upshot

Star Trek fanfiction will always have a place for men and women (and other genders) in uniform.

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Recurrent Themes – Childcare Workers

Background

Appearances

Maria Elena Torres Archer

Beth Cutler (Mirror Universe only)

Victoria Dietrich

Aidan MacKenzie (Mirror Universe only)

Ethan Shapiro (alternate timeline only)

José Torres (alternate timeline only)

Upshot

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Review – Souvenirs

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Rellie

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Focus on the Terran Empire

Focus

Background

Hall of Mirrors and the Succession

After ENT Canon

HG Wells and the Terran Empire

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Geming Sulu

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mai Sulu

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Thomas Digiorno-Madden

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Cindy Morgan

Takara Sato Masterson Tucker

Theme Music

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – Pat the Bunny

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Focus on Irumodic Syndrome

Focus

Background

Occurrences

Diana Jones

Melissa Madden

Upshot

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