The Professor turned to the small child first of all, "You are certainly right in saying that the Elysians value dignity and, if I may use a word 'grace', in almost all things, however this does not conflict with their love of Pankration. Partially because of another word you mentioned 'culture' - it is part of their culture, and conceived of as an important part - it goes back for as long as we have historical records and forms the fundamental part of their military training.
However I must ask - have you ever see Pankration performed? It is true that it often results in a form of grappling and wrestling that would seem to be anything other than graceful, but this is not the entirety of the sport. There are graceful combinations of moves called 'Pyrrics' which conform to the Kata's of our own martial arts, they have complex sparring and even breathing exercises - 'Pneuma'. It is far more than mere wrestling, it is a fully rounded martial art. The Elysians would, indeed, claim it is the best since they have been working on it for such a long time (and of course the Elysians traditionally claim that anything which is theres is superior), and there is some evidence (although they would not admit it), that they have used computer modeling to develop the most effective possible techniques.
Probably most of all, however, is the fact that Pankration is meant to perfect the body, a goal that Elysians hold very highly. It is about reaching the bodies fullest potential, and being able to use that potential. That is the reason why the Elysians love it so."
He turned to the direction which the Blueberry would be in using some strange seventh sense,
"A good question, allow me to look through my notes," he paused and quickly scanned through some data-pads, "Alright. The most important factor here is to remember that the Patricians actually have a far superior immune system to the Plebeians, and the Plebeians are afflicted to fare more diseases, and ones far closer to those who afflict humans. The second factor to remember is the Elysians are particularly advanced in the field of biology and pathogen research, this has led to horrific diseases, as we all know, but also an almost unmatched level of protection against diseases.
The Patricians, in addition to being naturally immune to most diseases, have an exceptionally high level of health care which results in any disease they do somehow catch being dealt with almost instantly. The Plebeians are a slightly different story. A Plebeian's health care is based on neccesity due to the Elysian fear that too much dependence on healthcare will make them weak, and also that it would be abused by those who do not wish to work. However with diseases this is a very different story; anyone who is found to have hidden having a contagious disease is reprimand most strongly.
Because of this system, spread throughout all the Elysian population due to a large number of health centres, combined with a level of medical technology that results in almost all diseases being easily cured, there are almost no endemic diseases. Indeed all the Elysian population is heavily vaccinated, and whenever a new strain of something which has the potential to be particularly dangerous comes along a virus which targets it is developed and spread through the population. This virus itself is always high susceptible to a certain drug in case it mutates. There are two notable exceptions however:
The most common disease is an offspring of the Common Cold which mutated from the variant which infects humans at around the time of the First Heavenly War. It's fairly common, indeed treatable, however it is considered to be such a minor ailment that the health centres have not focused on its treatment, let alone its irradication, in a serious way. It's symptoms are effectively identical to our own.
The second, and most severe is Yehentar. This disease, actually a highly invasive parasite, seems to spring almost at random in both Plebeian and Patrician communities and is particularly insidious because it's symptoms strike very fast, normally killing within five hours of the first sign, and usually strikes when the victim is asleep. The symptoms are, incidentally, a fever of exceptional intensity, unconsciousness, heavy sweating, and convulsions. Many are simply found dead in their beds, and in some of the more distant Plebeian areas it is dangerous indeed. Whenever there is an outbreak of Yehentar the entire area is placed under quarantine and treated - there is a treatment but no vaccine. Currently the government is trying to discover over what medium the parasite is spread.
I am sorry I can not discover any more with my current data. Next question?"
