Part 11: Ominous Clouds

It looks like they were able to procure samples from back before she was infected with GUILT.
If we can compare the DNA of the affected area with the cells' original DNA and find a mutation it'll definitely help us toward our goal of being able to treat PGS. Victor went nuts over the prospect of being able to cure it through DNA treatment.
Well then, we'll have to ask him to push himself to the limit...
But come to think of it... that's probably what he'd do anyway.



Good morning, Dr. Tulba.
Good morning, Adel. How's your training going?
It's very fulfilling... Right? By the way, your neurology report's due today. Have you finished it?
Uh, um... It's going well, but... It covers so much material... I mean, it's such a broad topic...
That doesn't change the fact that it's due today... Understood?
Y-Yes... I'll get it done.

Please don't bully the newcomer

Hey, look! Breaking news on TV... Oh my god! The Secretary of Health is in critical condition! Apparently, he drank something poisonous...
What!? James Pierce!? ...That's serious!
Hey... Isn't Secretary Pierce an acquaintance of Director Hoffman?
Yeah, I think so.
He used to work closely with Secretary Anderson, so they all probably knew each other.
...Who's Secretary Anderson?
He was the previous Director of Caduceus USA and the Secretary of Health and Human Services... He contracted GUILT three years ago and passed away... ......

I mentioned Anderson before when Hoffman was introduced.



Yes... Have a seat.
Yes, sir.
Derek, did you hear the news?
...About Secretary Pierce?
Indeed.
They're saying it was a corrosive type of poison. Some sort of strong acid, or a type of sodium hydroxide.
...And he swallowed that!?
Yes... It seems to have been mixed into his daily medication. He's suffering from severe burns in the back of his throat and his esophagus.

NB players will probably feel a sudden sense of dread upon hearing the word "burn".

Who would do such a thing!? The poison they used wasn't lethal, so it doesn't appear to be an attempt on his life...
Though, it hasn't been ruled out. They're saying that it appears to be the work of an amateur. But, we'll leave the investigation to the police. We have our own role in this.



Exactly. He's being transported here.
It's just like Secretary Anderson.
Yes... You may already know this, but James and I have known each other for years. Every time I met with him, he'd always tell me the same thing. "If anything ever happens to me, I want a doctor from Caduceus."
......
*sigh* The medical terrorism we saw with GUILT has started to make people extremely neurotic about diseases.
...That's why he requested us?
He is an important figurehead of this nation. It's only natural that those around him would want the Secretary to receive the finest treatment.
I have a feeling this is leading up to why you called me here...
You should know, there will be complications. We're dealing with the government, here. I'm sorry to ask you yet again... But can you do this for us?
Director Hoffman, Chief Kasal...No matter what the details are, it doesn't change the fact that a person's life needs to be saved. That being the case, as a doctor, I am glad to accept this operation. Even more so if Secretary Pierce was an acquaintance of Secretary Anderson. I'll give it everything I have.
...Thank you. I'm counting on you.
Yes, sir!



The affected area expands from the top of the throat, down through the esophagus. There are two objectives in this operation:

• Treat the burns with skin grafts.
  
• Extract the poison-filled capsule.

I'm sure you're familiar with it, but we'll be using a procedure called autografting. This means we'll be obtaining the skin grafts from the patient's own body to use on the affected areas.
Thanks, Angie.



Operation Video


Let's begin the operation. Please perform the treatment promptly.

Since the burn is inside the throat, we still have to perform the usual incision.



The capsule broke, so we can see the poison that has spilled out. Before we treat the burn, we'll need to get rid of the poison. First, drain the poison to clear up the burned area.



There's a lot of poison to drain, so it'll take a while.

The poison is drained. Let's move onto treating the burn.
But, the area that has turned black is a third degree burn and can't be treated as is. You'll need to inject a coolant into it and excise the necrotic tissue. Select the syringe and inject the blue colored coolant into the affected area.



We have to inject the burn and then cut the black tissue before the coolant wear off. After that, we have to remove it. Simple enough so far.

Extraction complete. Let's continue to treat the burn. The membranes we'll use for the transplant need to be taken from the patient himself... Like I said earlier, we'll have to use the autografting procedure. We'll inject culture fluids into healthy areas of the patient to obtain skin grafts. After that, drain the blood pool on the burn so that you can place the skin grafts on it. Then we'll transplant the skin grafts onto the affected area. Please inject the yellow culture fluid into the guidelines to the left and right of the throat.



So yeah, we have to inject the yellow fluid into the squares to make our own membranes. We have to cut their corners before we can actually use them.

I haven't mentioned this before, but using the scalpel will cause the vitals to decrease, so it's better to cut them all quickly. They don't share corners though (unlike NB).



Each burn wound requires 4 membranes to fully cover. If we didn't treat it quick enough, it will worsen and we'll have to use the blue coolant again.

If we took even longer than that, the blackened burn wound will erode the organ. We only need one membrane to cover the eroded wound, but it'll take a huge hit on our vitals (30). Obviously the burn wound can't erode the organ if it's on the skin, so this mechanic is unique to this operation.



Obviously, placing a membrane on top of a blood pool will cause a Miss. Having a blood pool form under a membrane, though, will cause all placed membrane to fall. This doesn't reset our chain, but it will force us to start over.

If a blood pool forms while you're holding the membrane, well... too bad! Like Angie said, it's best to drain the blood pools after preparing all four membranes.

We're done treating the burn, but the capsule must still be around here somewhere. Maybe we can find it with the ultrasound.


This is-- It's only half of the capsule! The other half must be somewhere else! If we don't find it quickly, the poison could seep out and cause more burns! Treat the extraction wound with antibiotic gel and then use the ultrasound to look for it!

Now's a good time to use that Healing Touch because we really don't want to take too long. Especially on hard mode.



Here it is. If we took too long to find it, the poison will spill as we remove it and it'll cause 3 more burn wounds.



But since the poison didn't spill, we only have to deal with these two burn wounds. The Healing Touch is useful to prevent them from blackening.





I'm assuming that "Blister" means the blackening of the burn wounds.



Derek...
Yes, Director?
I just wanted to tell you that I thing you're doing a good job. And that I'm sorry to have forced this upon you...
No, not at all...
...You look lost in thought...
Oh... Um... The whole thing just reminds me of Secretary Anderson's passing.
I see...

If this was an attempt to recreate the whole ordeal with Anderson, it's a very poor one

He sacrificed his life as a test subject for our GUILT treatment... He was a respectable man, who always looked toward the future...
Yes... ...Caduceus... We're a medical organization that was established to help people who suffer from serious illnesses. We can never be daunted by these diseases; the fight must continue until we eradicate them all. That was Richard's dying wish as well... Derek, I'm counting on you now, as I always have.
Yes, sir!