Eureka - A Fan Theory

Eureka...

Eureka was a quirky Sci Fi Channel show that ran from 2006 to 2012, about a fairly ordinary guy who found himself sheriff a town full of super-science geniuses, and whose commonsense wisdom was usually the solution to whatever crisis-of-the-week got cooked in the labs. It was light, funny, weird, sometimes poignant and almost always fun. 

If you haven't watched it, and can find it, I highly recommend it. It's a little dated in places (a surprising amount has changed since 2006) but it's still good.

I happen to have several seasons on DVD (Juno picked them up somewhere) and, casting around for something to watch other than Law & Order (which can get a little heavy), I popped them in. 

Now to my fan theory, which struck me last night when I found myself awake at 3:00 AM.

Spoilers for those who care...

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A major plot point in the first three seasons of Eureka is The Artifact... a mysterious Something kept in a secret lab in the town's research center. Variously referred to as a complete unknown, a relic of the universe before this one and a link to the Akashic Records... the Artifact is the driver of the overall plot, such as it is, that runs behind the show's crisis-of-the-week. It is also connected to Kevin, the severely autistic son of one of the main characters (this being one of the places where the show is dated). 

Then, starting in season 4, the Artifact is never mentioned again. It's absence from the story is never explained. It is literally never mentioned again, despite its earlier importance. 

Season 4 is kind of a re-boot to the show anyway. The first episode involves the main cast traveling back in time, inadvertently changing everything and having to figure out how to live in the new timeline. One of the major changes is that Kevin suddenly isn't autistic. It is even suggested, by the characters, that Kevin somehow engineered events to "cure" his autism. 

So, here's my theory. Let's say Kevin did engineer the new timeline to cure his autism. What's different? 

No Artifact! 

What if Kevin changed the timeline to prevent the discovery of the Artifact? What if the Artifact actually somehow caused him to be neurodivergent as a way for him to connect with it and unlock its secrets. 

No Artifact. Neurotypical Kevin. 

Doesn't really explain why none of the original timeline folks ever mentions the Artifacts absence, but I don't really thing this was the showrunners plan... just my own fan theory that explains a plot hole that has been bugging me for a while. :)

(Sidenote: This could also mean that Dr. Grant, the Eureka founder who "accidently" traveled forward in time to join the main cast (played be Sci Fi Channel's "please save our series" James Callis) might be the guy who discovered the Artifact and removing him from the past was the whole plan.)

Just a fan theory... but if I can't share those on my blog, what's the point of having a blog? :)

Week Ending 3/10

 Last week, I talked about how I'm not dealing well with this whole diabetes thing. Well, this week has been better.

I finally got in to see the doctor and ask her some questions. It was a good conversation and made me feel better about things. Importantly, the changes I've been making to my diet have been the right ones. It's still difficult... eating less, eating differently and cutting out sweets... but I'm working on it. 

Emotionally, I'm getting to a better place. Recognizing and acknowledging my feelings helped. I'm not going to say "I'm feeling totally fine about things" because I'm not, but I am in a better place. 

Sometimes that's enough. 

Onward

Week Ending 3/3

My subconscious is not subtle, but on rare occasions it does get the better of me.

Last week I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I tried to put a brave face on it, but the reality is I have not been coping well.

In fact, in the past week, I manufactured an excuse to quit Facebook after deciding a friend there had betrayed me. Then, a few days later, I came with inches of quitting the Sims forums after deciding a friend there had betrayed me. It's worth noting that, in my current circumstances, Facebook and the Sims forums comprise the sum total of my social contact with actual human beings in the outside world, excluding my mom, my wife and my kid.

So, feeling betrayed and trying to cut myself off from the world. 

I'm also feeling very angry - like in furious rage at little things - and very depressed. 

Did I mention I've not been coping well? 

Yeah.

OK, so let's break this down. I have an illness that has changed my life (Post-COVID Syndrome). I am just getting off of being functionally incapacitated, beyond my normal incapacity, for a month by the flu. Now, I'm diagnosed with another life changing illness (Type 2 Diabetes). My emotional reaction is depression, anger and a feeling of betrayal, leading me to alternately lash out or self-isolate.

You know, that actually tracks. I mean, it's a big deal and it makes sense that I'm having a strong emotional reaction. I should be having a strong emotional reaction to a life changing illness. In reality, this might be a more healthy reaction than my months of denial concerning my Post-COVID Syndrome. 

Meanwhile, I am making changes to my diet... reducing portions, making adjustments to what I eat. The hard part there is really too much information. I've googled Diabetes Diet and everyone seems to have an opinion. I've got a call into my doctor to ask for some advice on good, reliable sources of information on this. Waiting to hear back and doing the best I can until I do. 

The best news is I've got family and friends solidly in my corner, all supportive and helping me (despite my depression, anger and attempts to isolate myself).

So, we're working on this.

Onward. 

Week Ending 2/25

Well that happened...

Had my regular doctor's visit this week. Juno took me out early in the week to get some bloodwork done and I realized it was the first time I'd been out of the house in literally months (and I don't actually know how many months). It was the first time I'd been down the stairs in weeks.

The doctor's visit... well, kinda sucked.

The past couple of years, my bloodwork has shown that my blood sugar levels where in the pre-diabetic range. Well, this week we dropped the "pre" from that. I shouldn't be surprised. The Post-COVID has me housebound and more often than not stuck in bed. My diet has never been great, but add the sedentary lifestyle, a family history of it, and the fact that Post-COVID increases your risk of Type 2 Diabetes and it was only a matter of time. It seems time has caught me at least.

The good news is that my doctor isn't too worried. She wants to start by seeing if we can control it with diet. Smaller portions, less sugar, more veggies.

OK, I'll own it... I'm upset. I like food. I enjoy food. Food is good. Meanwhile, change is bad. I do not like change... and damn it, I'm already sick! I don't need to be more sick. 

... and moving on. I've got Juno my corner and if anyone can make whole wheat bread and spinach salad into something I might actually want to eat, it's Juno. 

I can do this.

Onward

Week Ending 2/18

Another late update. 

I'm actually feeling better than last week but crashed hard yesterday afternoon. 

So, yeah, starting to feel better... or at least better than I was last week. Still not back up to my normal, but recovery takes time. 

The annoying part is that I'm coming off weeks of flu induced brain fog straight into writer's block. I'm struggling with the next part of my Raven's Apprentice story, but I've got one more week drafted that I'm comfortable with and two more weeks that I'm iffy on, but they're written. So, I've got some time...

OK, short update this week. Back to resting

Onward

Week Ending 2/11

 OK, late update and I'm glad I waited.

So, where we left off last time, I had the flu and was improving. That trend held for most of last week. I stayed in bed, didn't push it and improved slowly but steadily. Until the weekend...

My fever, which had been completely gone, spiked to 102.6. At one point my pulse ox (Juno got me the little gizmo and I really have fun with it) dropped to 86, which is low ever from me. (It bounced back to 90 after a minute or so, but it was "impressive" watching the numbers drop like that.) I was literally almost doubled over in pain, roughly every hour on the hour, for some reason. In short, it was Not Fun. This is why I didn't post an update yesterday.

Now the good news. I woke up this morning feeling better than I have felt in a while. My fever broke during the night, my pulse ox reading is actually higher than usual (around 95... my usual is 92) and the pain is mostly gone. 

The cough lingers but honestly, I've had a cough since 2020. 

Oh and here's a thing... there is a reason I've had a cough since 2020. Turns out, coughing dramatically increases blood oxygenation. So, that explains why I cough when I push myself too hard or let myself get worn out. See, I learned something. :) 

Guess what my plan for the week is... yes, I am going to stay in bed, not push it and continue to feel better (or call the doctor if I get worse again... one of the those). 

Onward

Week Ending 2/4

 So, last week I said I was pretty sure I caught D's bug. Well, we can upgrade "pretty sure" to "yeah, I caught it." In fact, we've all caught it.

I've pretty much spent the entire week in bed, being sick. 

Funny thing, I feel terrible physically and great emotionally. I've actually been smiling.

See, the thing about having a cold/flu/Venusian space-virus while being chronically ill is that I know the cold/flu/Venusian space-virus. I know the course it's going to take. I know what I need to do to deal with it and, above all, I know it will end. There is great comfort in that. It's even kind of relaxing.

Fever broke sometime mid-week and I've been on a slow, steady upswing since. 

So, yeah, laying in bed, drinking lots of water, basically taking care of myself. 

Not gonna push it. 

Onward.