Part 25: Episode 5-2: Misfortune Strikes

Episode 5-2: Misfortune Strikes

I really, really don't like this one.



Cromwell: First, its genetic information is stored in a film-like structure. That alone differentiates it from organisms such as ourselves whose genetic information is stored in chains.

Valerie: So it's like a two-dimensional barcode, then? As opposed to a regular barcode, which only stores information linearly?

At first I thought he meant like film for a camera, but I don't think I could describe that as two-dimensional. This is just bio-babble that'll never be mentioned again anyway, I'm sure.

Cromwell: The other characteristic is that it requires a special type of metal for growth. It only requires a miniscule amount, but without it, Stigma can't survive. I wish I could say the discovery was mine, but it was Cynthia who gets the credit. It was her keen insight that led to the breakthrough.

Irene: And exactly what metal are you referring to?


Cromwell: Oh, I beg your pardon. It's a rare alloy called Culurium. It's attracted considerable attention as of late.

Markus: …That explains it.

Valerie: Explains what?

Markus: Oh, nothing. I was just surprised to hear that, that's all.

And he was surprised the Director knew he was hiding something, given he can't help but shout "I HAVE A HORRIBLE SECRET" whenever he's within 10 feet of a Stigma conversation.

Cromwell: Culurium is used in various fields, but primarily the medical industry. Although it's only been in use for ten years, there are already numerous applications. Electrodes, as an ingredient for medicine, the synthetic heme for artificial blood… It's used in cutting edge medical technology, to be certain.

A heme is a kind of cofactor, which is something binded to a protein that helps the protein fulfill its functions. Hemes contain an atom of iron, which I suppose can be simulated with culurium in The Future. Hemoproteins have a wide variety of functions, including carrying oxygen to cells. All of this is just offering a clue as to why Stigma has only been found in patients with synthetic components in their body.

Everett: I can't believe Kanae is missing an important conference like this. If it was me who wasn't here, I'd never hear the end of it.

Markus: Oh, I'm being paged. If you'll excuse me, Ma'am. Let's go, Val.

Irene: I'll fill you in later on anything important you miss.



Elena: There's been an accident. I think one of the patients is Dr. Tsuji!

Markus: Kanae!?

Leslie: One of the patients being transferred here is in serious condition. He's sustained multiple injuries and will probably require an emergency operation.



Valerie: It's alright, Kanae. Take it easy. …Seems you may have sprained your neck. Let's have Dr. Everett take a look.

Tsuji: I'm sorry, Markus. I should be the one operating on my cousin.

Markus: What are you talking about? Look at the condition you're in.

Tsuji: I said some harsh things to Koshiro this morning, so he may have been distracted… It's… it's all my fault.

Markus: Don't worry. Your cousin will be fine. It's not like you to fall apart at the seams.

Tsuji: You're right. Take good care of Koshiro for me, all right?

Today's operation is on Dr. Tsuji, suffering from whiplash after sudden character development.



… Or maybe it's her cousin and his burst liver.

Elena: The patient is a 31-year-old Asian male who was injured in a car accident. He's sustained several injuries, including a burst liver, and we suspect he has a massive amount of internal bleeding.



Markus: We won't know for sure until we take a look inside, but depending on the patient's condition, we may have to focus on getting vitals up, first.

Valerie: I agree. We can treat the area and stop the hemorrhaging, and then wait and see what happens.

Elena: The objective of this operation is to treat the damaged liver. Let's do our best.

This is going to make the operation extremely painful, but today's surgeon is…



Dr. Blaylock!



OPERATION VIDEO

Viddler Backup



Good idea. On the other hand, we could deal with his heart. His heart's fine, you say?



Nope! This is another operation where you have to deal with fibrillation periodically. Annoying, but it turns out to be the least of your worries in practice. There are some cuts and blood pools to deal with, but the real issue in the operation is that huge wound in the middle. Well, you can't see it through all the blood.



Not completely certain why the inside of the liver is so… shiny.

The goal here is to put a patch on each of those squares, and then gel them before it starts bleeding again. This is meant to seal the wound until his condition improves and the real operation can be performed. As with burns, the patches will fall off if it starts to bleed. This means you should either use Markus, or place all the patches flawlessly, as any mistakes or delays will lead to something like this:



Practice and luck are your only friends here. I think that the bleeding stops when all the patches are placed(meaning you don't have to worry about them falling off as you gel them), but I've never waited long enough to find out.



Without making mistakes, this is actually an extremely short operation.





OPERATION END



I'm surprised I managed to get the chain, actually. The others are for no miss, time (You need 4:05 left on the clock) and number of patches that fell off. Just doing a flawless operation is sufficient for all of those.



Well, that sucked.



Irene: It's possible he'll need another operation. We'll monitor his progress. It's fortunate that Kanae didn't sustain any serious injuries. From what Justin told me, it won't be long before she can return to work.

Markus: I hope she isn't straining herself.

Irene: And also, I received a call from the FBI regarding Professor Wilkins's case.

Markus: Any leads?

Irene: They want to run background checks on all the Professor's personal and professional contacts. They must be feeling the heat now that the public knows about Stigma. I'm concerned, though, about how the kidnappers may react. Well, hopefully they'll be behind bars, soon.

Next time: Remember how I said something about this part being vaguely related to the movies? Well, it was more vague than I remembered. It comes up in the next episode, though, along with another liver operation.