ansel

But all I could manage was running with the boys for a few minutes before I got winded and dizzy and ended up watching from the sidelines.

If you hadn't suggested giving me a megaphone to do commentary, I would've probably been standing there alone all that time.

That time we all decided to sneak out at night to hit the slag field and watch our neighborhood team do the tug-of-war with the boys across the way...

The floodlights on the slag field were glaringly bright. Everybody was cheering, and I had my little notebook, diligently jotting down all the slogans and comments I thought could be cool.

It all seems ridiculous now, of course.

Hah, sorry, I ended up going into all that on our call here...

Ngala...? Are you still there?

Oh... Uh, yeah. No worries.

Do you... feel sick at all? Any discomfort?

Have you been taking the medicine I sent you? Remember the self-assessment criteria for Oripathy I mentioned a few times before?

When do you think you might be free? If you can't go to a hospital for a proper exam, I could at least do a basic checkup...

Pfft! Hahaha! Settle down, Ansel.

How's your own health, by the way? You had, what was it...? Anemia?

Oh, me? I'm fine, nothing to worry about at all. I may have been diagnosed with an incurable congenital disease, but I'm only exhibiting mild symptoms...

But, Doctor, that's not how you put it when you found out I had Oripathy.

You said something like 'current methods can't cure it,' I think?

Yes, you're right.

I know you want to save more lives with your skills and prove to your uncle that what you're doing is meaningful.

But didn't you start studying medicine to save yourself?

Don't let it get to you.

I...

...Maybe I am a bit too eager now that I'm back home. I've got this idea that everything I'm doing has to do with my family and friends here.

Sure, just don't worry so much. Do as you always did, focus on what you can actually accomplish, and leave the rest to your chums.

Let's meet up tomorrow night. The usual place. We'll have a late snack.

I don't know... are you sure?

Sorry, Rhodes Islanders, I'm still finding it hard to see the value in the Oripathy suppressants you're proposing.

And, as you can see, we have new protective equipment for the workers and two new assembly lines. We have no plans to upgrade equipment or increase Oripathy protection measures.

Your proposal is just too expensive. And it comes with too much we don't need.

Please wait, ma'am...!

We've been over this a dozen times now, Doctor.

Let's leave it here for today.

She's wrong, Ansel. They don't have reliable channels for the workers to buy their medicine.

But... you gave such a detailed and professional explanation. Why couldn't you convince them?

It was always going to end like that.

In Rim Billiton, people tend to trust the experience of their forebears and the word of mouth from their neighbors.

Especially when it comes to medicine, things are rough for Rim Billitonians, but the medical sector is pretty underdeveloped here.

So you get people saying things are less serious than they are, mistakenly telling each other they don't need a doctor...

Everyone wants to solve their minor issues at home. So you get quack miracle cures suddenly becoming popular in this neighborhood or that.

I was prepared for this from the beginning.

But I still feel... a little disappointed.

Oh, but you were so excited when you heard this company was interested in collaborating.

You prepared so much. You even tried to work with a third-party logistics provider to reduce costs.

Yes, though I had some selfish motives here...

A big Rim Billitonian company like this will have tens of thousands of workers. I can't help but think some of the workers who get this Oripathy protection could be my friends and relatives.

I really wanted to prove that becoming a doctor meant something, was worth something, that I could do something for them.

It's really disappointing.

Don't worry, Ansel... This day is done, but tomorrow is a new day.

You can try again, like you always do.

Yeah! If you believe you're right, just stick with it until you convince them, right? I kind of thought you'd chase her down and keep going, actually.

Besides, you said it yourself, Ansel, you want to save more lives. You can't call that selfish.

I just...

Ansel. Can you make sense of Uncle Donnie's report?

Hm... There are abnormal shadows in his organs, taken together with his lung issues, these imaging tests show...

In a word, it's Oripathy, right?

Yes, Uncle.

Is there anything you can do?

No...

I told him to quit working in the mines, but...

Not everyone has the same options you do.

I hope you make the right choice. Choose to do what you need to do.

Maybe I just know the place too well, so no matter how hard I try, I can't do anything.

Sorry, it's time for me to meet an old high school chum. You all head back to the office.

Huh, it's just like Ngala said, even the old phone booth here got renovated... Hah, is it supposed to be carrot colored now?

The grocer's little window still has that black oil smudge.

Hm, I wonder if Ngala likes soda? I'll buy him a bottle...

...If you need medicine, you'll turn to the black market when you get desperate, right?

I'm sorry, please hear me out.

Sir, do you need Oripathy medicine?

Um, well, yes... my partner really needs it.

He's right over there, but he can't stand...

Ansel looks and spies a familiar figure.

Hey! Melantha! Cardigan! Are you in?! I'm taking my friend in to the office for a checkup!

Shhh... It's okay, Ansel, it just hurt for a little bit. That worker made a big fuss over nothing.

Don't worry about me, it's not worth your time. We haven't met in ages, and you still have to tell me about all the places you've been.

What happened to the medicine I sent you? Do you know how bad you look right now?

You haven't been Infected for long. Why are you deteriorating so quickly? You're a mine engineer, don't you have protective gear?

Relax, you only go to the doctor for serious stuff, right? I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad.

There's a lot of workers out there sicker than me. With wives and kids too... I pass the medicine off to them.

No, Ngala, how many times have I told you, you can't...

Pain is the body's warning system, not a normal thing you're supposed to bear with. And doctors aren't just for serious illness...

Oh come on, your company's medicine really works, I've heard all sorts of great things about it. Ansel, you really can be proud of what you're doing. I know I am!

How is it that I really can't do anything?

Was that man just now... Ansel's friend?

He's in bad shape... Under his jacket, he's got lots of exposed Originium crystals on his arms and chest.

But he's pretty lucid. Meaning it's not an acute infection, he's developed that over time.

*sigh*... I think I get why Ansel wanted to be a doctor so badly, and why is family was so reluctant.

Ansel...

...I've got the test results.

It's hard to say right to the guy's face. We could help you talk your way out of it, if you want.

No need... I already told him.

He's been mentally prepared for it for a long time. In a mining district like this, Infected keep on working together. I'm sure he's seen... lots of similar cases.

He's just too used to it all.

If only I'd come back a bit earlier... if only I'd been harsher when telling him to assess his condition and take his medication...

If only I had realized that pain perception varies from person to person, if only I could've changed the mindset that doctors are only for serious illness...

If only medical standards in Rim Billiton were higher, and if only awareness of Oripathy protection measures was more widespread...

His condition has progressed from mid- to late-stage now. At this point, any suppression methods I know are no longer effective.

He might have two years, or one... I couldn't put it off any longer.

I'm sorry, Ansel... I wish I could help you, or comfort you, but...

No, it's alright. I'm the one who's sorry.

I shouldn't have told you all this...