Part 23: Acclaim

Wwwwwelcome back, everybody! We're Henry, and on day 2 of giving our wife the experimental cure-all that's going to get us a Nobel prize, we've had to heavily sedate her to get her to fall asleep.

No big deal, it's just that otherwise she's non-stop weeping about the horrendous nightmares that apparently start as soon as she closes her eyes in any way.

Otherwise, things are great!

...

I mean, I know there's an expectation-creep in this game, as we adjust to Henry, but it really is monstrous that his plan is to get her to sleep, however he has to, medically even, and isn't, you know, dealing with her full-on breakdown.



Anyway, we obviously have our own bad dreams that we ARE worried about, since they're happening to us! Henry!

This isn't so bad, just sitting down to dinner with the demon kids while Harris bleeds out next to us!

- This is lovely cooking!
Thank you so much for preparing this feast...



In case you've forgotten, Grace just said the spooky thing that was on the note, and was apparently in some ancient language. It ALSO showed up when we analyzed blood that had been cured with the pill.

This is kind of a big deal, in other words. I wonder how it sounds...

- HAHAHA that's so funny!

Oh, I guess it's an ancient Sumerian joke.



A high-pitched whine fades in, getting quite loud.

Also... something seems to be...





Ok, I guess we're putting on our edgy hats for this dream.

At least he's practicing proper sanitation! The fecal-oral route is a big problem for disease transmission!





Uh... well I guess it's good odds that our innocent but useless psychiatrist is getting infected with bad dreams, I guess?

S...sorry man!



At this point, we're not even surprised to be woken by a Grace scream.

Her medication must have worn off...



G...good morning?

- The nightmares, Henry, are really a blessing.
They are to me a cosmic secret expressing.

You know, this would be the fourth best time EVER to ask her what they're ABOUT. Right behind the first time she had one, second time, and third time. THESE SEEM IMPORTANT HENRY.

YES I KNOW THEY AREN'T HAPPENING DIRECTLY TO YOU.

- Secrets untold from the dawn of all time,
I've never been better - I'm in my prime.

Man! That's WAY better than mine! I just have to eat people with demon kids!



Are you... worried about her Henry? What are you thinking? I genuinely have no idea.

Anyway, the phone might be work, so it obviously outranks Grace.

- Ok honey, that's really great news.
Sounds like you've really grown.

Let me just step out for a moment,
I just have to answer that phone.

I admit to being biased, but I'm reading this as "ok shut up honey. Do I have to do anything? Probably not, right, because you're not crying anymore? Great! I've got my CAREER to focus on here."

An equally fair reading would be that he's concerned for her health, but is totally unequipped to deal with it - I guess let's see the future actions and decide.



I'm pretty sure every phone conversation is started with the there/here 'rhyme'.

- Henry, why are you not in work?
Everybody's looking for you!
Your manager's going berserk!

- I went over your analysis results,
and I did some testing as well.

You were absolutely right about it,
this is huge, that much I can tell!

- With your one single pill,
I cured every single one.

Every single animal we had,
no disease left in anyone.

Yeah but... Then they started clawing their own eyes out or something, right?

Or is it just Grace? I mean probably not, right, but... we don't actually know what happened to 'ol SP.

Maybe her magical illness has some bad interaction with it?

- There's a meeting in work shortly,
it is kicking off in the next hour.

The boss has halted all other work,
by means of his executive power.

I'm imagining him just going super-sayian in his office, everybody suddenly dropping their pipettes or whatever.
They know to assemble.

- I showed him all of the results,
and his jaw dropped to the floor.

I tell you, I thought he would croak,
never seen him so excited before!

Good thing too, because Harris was late for his meeting before that, and he was getting mad!

- Ok I'll be right there, just don't start the meeting without me.
I want a public apology from the fucker, I want everyone to see!

Yes, in case you were wondering, Henry is absolutely 100% intolerable in the face of success. Not that that was really a live question!

- It's finally happening, it's finally time!
I'm in the limelight, I've hit my prime!

A lifetime of procrastination and daydreaming, you're really reaping the rewards, Henry!

They give out Nobel prizes less than a day after a discovery, right? Because we're BONED otherwise.

- Your soul is looking pretty dark...
Have the black spots made their mark?

That's no way to talk to the guy that cured your body and doomed your mind/soul, Grace!

- The nightmares are a way for god to speak to me!
There's a lot I've got to say to him, don't you agree?

But... not about me, right? You're not mentioning me, or the things I do, right???

And at this point, Grace just says vaguely ominous stuff like this. We can't talk to her, and we don't explain where we're going or why.

We just leave her sitting in bed, and head off to OUR FUTURE, BABoh we're going downtown first? Check.



And naturally, get some therapy! Maybe apologize for talking about the kids to our therapist



And then of course we have to talk to everybody at the office!



And then FINALLY, once all that's completed...



Time for the best 10 minutes of Henry's life so far.

- Henry this is some damn fine work you've amassed!
And to get it all together so incredibly fast!



All these total strangers are applauding through this whole bit.

- You'll be in charge of the research team and will lead the way.
As we can't see any side effects, we'll proceed without delay!

Ok, time-out here. This is why we do clinical trials. That last YEARS, and have MANY different phases.

This is EXACTLY why we do them. They can't see any side effects? It's been LESS THAN A DAY. In ANIMALS!

And WE DO KNOW THERE ARE SIDE EFFECTS!

It drove Grace insane! In like two days!

Reading the instruction manual made a guy hang himself!

There is no way this will possibly last long enough to make the company any money! Henry will be a hunted man, if this somehow impossibly makes it out of research and into production!

This is so much less than a plan! Henry has sacrificed his entire life (Harris is STILL LYING DEAD IN HIS OFFICE, WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED) for this ONE MOMENT.

So, uh, with that in mind...



What are we gonna do?

What is HENRY gonna do?

There were two choices this time, to elope/not elope with the grocer, and to mention the nightmares/not mention them.

One of these choices is super important, the other won't matter much at all.

And I'm not sayin' which is which.

Follow your withered hearts, droogs, as we head DEEP INTO THE ENDGAME!

AND BUCKLE UP FOR CRAZY TIMES TO COME. THE WORST HAS NOT REMOTELY HAPPENED.