Part 29: Episode 5-6: Mutation

Today's operation marks a certain "first" for New Blood. Actually, it might be two. It's the first operation to give me significant difficulty when recording, but haven't reached the truly sadistic stuff yet. You'll see what the other one is shortly.





Suit: So, doctors, how are you doing?

Valerie: Couldn't be better. Thanks.

Suit: I'm not making small talk. It's a serious question. Lemme see your eyes. All right, these three are clean.

Markus: What have you got in store for us now?

Suit: Oh, nothing special. Just another operation- Stigma again.

Valerie: Found yourself a new lab rat, huh?

Suit: Hardly. You can blame mother nature for this one.

Valerie: Is that what you tell yourself?

Suit: Hey, we didn't plan this one. He was infected by the other patient.

Valerie: What!?

Markus: That's impossible! Stigma can't be contracted that way.

Suit: Like I said before, I'm not here to answer questions, but the boss and the director will be observing the operation. Make sure you don't disappoint them.

Elena: Doctor…

Markus: It seems Stigma is more dangerous than we thought.

Episode 5-6: No Mutation





I can't believe he actually said that.

Kidman: You look just like you did on TV!

Markus: YOU'RE in charge here?

Yeah, I can't say I expected a clown, either.

Valerie: Are either of you doctors?



Kidman: This patient's got the Onyx strand. You know the drill, right? Don't fail me, if you wanna live.

Markus: Is this how you get your kicks?

Kidman: Don't get cocky, Doc. This isn't a game. It's business.

Valerie: And what, pray tell, are you selling?

Kidman: Weapons are worth a fortune on the black market. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would ya, Doc? Stigma is one deadly weapon, especially to the medical industry! So the best market for it is a war zone. Stigma would be the ultimate weapon there! It still needs some fine tuning, though.

Ignoring that biological and chemical weapons already exist, was the plan to defeat the enemy with mass blood transfusions? It sounds like they didn't actually plan on it being airborne.

Valerie: It's a clever plan in theory, but there's no way it will work.

Kidman: …Oh yes, it will, because I have you guys to help me! Leland, bring in the patient! How about you, Director? Would you like to stay and watch?

Director: That won't be necessary. With the skills they've demonstrated, there should be no problem. The chance of tertiary infection is theoretically zero.

Markus: You're the creator of Stigma? …Professor Wilkins?

It's actually nice of the game to avoid insulting the player's intelligence too much on this one.

Kidman: All right, Leland. Let's get this show on the road!

Leland is our Cloud Strife impersonator, I gather. Good to finally know, at least.



Our second "first" for this operation is that this is our first supervirus repeat. Under the Knife had a real problem with making you repeat GUILT operations, but each subsequent game has been better about it, and Trauma Team is doing away with them altogether. Rest assured that there's always some sort of twist whenever you need to repeat a Stigma in New Blood.



While they never say so, I believe this operation is targeting the spleen.

Valerie: This still doesn't make any sense. What's with these readings?

Elena: The variations are definitely greater than they were before.

Markus: A secondary infection. That means Stigma has changed again.

Kidman: Hahaha! We're re-enacting that TV show, right here! Good luck to you, huh, Doc? Watch out for Onyx, it's claws are sharp.

Valerie: I've had enough of your mouth!

Markus: Just ignore him, Val…

The surgeon for Onyx is, once again…



Vaughn, M.D.



OPERATION VIDEO

Viddler Backup



This being a rematch with Onyx, it begins very similarly to last time. You'll need to find the hiding Onyx on its own and with copies two times each.



This time, Onyx has a new trick: it injects "toxins" into the bloodstream, causing all this gunk to appear and rendering the ultrasound useless. At least, that's the story. In reality, all the cores are visible in this stage, so you have no need of the ultrasound except to move the view.



This section is still difficult due to all the fake cores scattered around the view, and the fact that vitals will drop extremely fast if you screw up. Without Valerie's Healing Touch, you'll have a hard time recovering from any errors after the first.

For any Onyx operation, I find it's generally best to hold your view at one side of the organ, and carefully scan as soon as you hear it dive. The last section simply requires you to scan with your eyes instead of the ultrasound.



I failed at this point no less than four times before I got a successful recording, to give you an idea of how difficult it can be. Then again, a more observant person might have an easier time picking out the right core. Regardless, two more injections does the trick.





OPERATION END



An Onyx attack breaks your chain, which is why I missed out on a max chain bonus here.



This is a pretty accurate rating, though.



Kidman: I'll give 'em a choice, but I doubt they'll join up voluntarily.

Leland: The three of them are all quite firm.

Kidman: Maybe if they could… nah. Only the head honcho would be able to perform that operation. If they're not willing to cooperate, then we'll wash our hands of 'em.

Next time: The conclusion of chapter 5. Can our doctors make a daring escape from a deadly trap??? (Note: Trap may, in fact, be incredibly lame.)