Human Priorities

"...you name the disease after the first victim of it?" Dr. Ko'Al asked. 

"Or the doctor names it" Dr. Billah said. "Polio was named by two doctors who discovered it." It was early in the morning; and the the two doctors were finishing out a 72 hour day. 

"That's still weird! You don't name a disease like that. You name a disease after the person who fought it the best; vaccine or cure." Dr. Ko'Al said like it was as obvious as moons at night. 

"How does that work... linguistically?" Dr. Billah asked as he started the centrifuge. 

Dr. Ko'Al tilted his head to one side; thinking about the six human grammar systems he knew well and the 13 he really, really didn't.

"Uh. Erm. In English?" 

"It's what we've been speaking, so probably our best option?" 

Dr. Ko'Al chittered for a moment - the equivalent of "um" for the Asai-Jiya - and said "So if I cured a disease and it was my first one it would be named 'Ko'Al Oooooos Laaaaa's Prey'" 

"They wouldn't use Doctor?" Dr. Billah asked. 

"We don't distinguish much between 'doctor' and 'warrior' or 'soldier' those are titles for other peoples... The flock is the flock. Defeating an enemy of the flock is noble, healing the sick equally so, raising healthy babies equally so; in the ancient times they were 'invisible predators' worse than the Jiya before the redemption. Defeating the enemy within oneself is noble, too." 

"You know the Prophet Mohammed - peace be upon him - once said 'The greatest struggle is to battle your own soul, to defeat the devil within yourself''" Dr. Billah marveled. 

Dr. Ko'Al whistled in approval. "I knew there was a reason I liked humans."