Глава 15

There are little circles on the ceiling that keep spinning. Looking at them makes me feel safe.

The crystals are still interfering with your vision. My next surgery will be an attempt to remove the crystals near your retinas.

Every time I stare at them, they look like they've crept just a bit closer. It's like they're talking to me.

Can you hear them?

(Closes eyes) Their sound... it's like that old bell I used to hear.

You mean the one you told me about before? From the bell tower in your hometown?

There's more than just one bell tower. I was on a quest to repair all of them, and had already repaired quite a few... when they were all destroyed by cannon fire.

I reached out to the operators we've got in Victoria—they looked into it for you. The town's been rebuilt, and the locals even repaired that old bell.

That's great news! Now that the bell's tolling again, life can continue on. Quite a relief, isn't it?

Warfarin double-checks the instrument readings one last time, then injects the prepared medicine into the IV system.

The buzzing of the instruments mixes together with the noise of the IV system and Chloe's occasional gasps of pain.

Dr. Warfarin, how many different types of medicine have we tried over the last three years?

Let me worry about that. All your vital indicators have stabilized. That's what's really important here.

Before I contracted Oripathy, I often cared for infected soldiers in the bell tower. I know exactly what it means when the crystals start spreading across your skin.

Chloe tries to move the muscles in her face, but the tiny spikes embedded in her skin twist her expression. Her wounds split open, and bright beads of blood begin to seep out.

(Wry smile) You see? They won't even let me smile.

As a doctor, I cannot guarantee outcomes. I can only promise that every medic in Rhodes Island will provide you the best possible care.

Thank you, Dr. Warfarin.

I just... miss my hometown.

This report, it—!

The first time I saw this patient's charts, I thought there was some kind of error in the data then too.

But we checked the data several times, and it was correct.

By all logic, no patient with this high a Cell-Originium Assimilation rate should still show any signs of life.

It goes against everything we know about Oripathy.

And yet, the Originium is keeping the patient alive, in a way no one could have predicted.

Some of her internal organs have completely crystallized, but they're actually functioning more efficiently and stably than those of previous patients we've seen.

I haven't figured out what's causing this condition yet, but based on the data—the more her infection progresses, the healthier she seems… and the more pain she's in.

We've never seen a case like this before. This may be some kind of new mutated form of Oripathy. If we can make some sort of medical breakthrough while administering her treatment...

Maybe these people we rescued from Victoria really can bring a few miracles to Rhodes Island.