Part 32: New Heroes

It's fine...
The patient's chart just came in. IT looks like this is the same type of GUILT as Tetarti, and it seems to have infected the liver.
I see... Hey... That's...!?



Adel!?
Dr. Tulba...!?

Gasp! Shock! Who could have seen this coming!?

...Besides people in the thread, I mean.

Oh? Is that who the Hands of Asclepius sent?
...You know him?
Yes, the HOA and my company are performing joint research and Dr. Tulba has cooperated with us a number of times already.
What do you mean by--
Doctor! Look at the way Dr. Tulba is moving!
What!? Is he using--!?

*A familiar sound effect*

......
That speed! Adel has never been able to work that fast!



But, how?
I don't know... It's still unrefined... but that's definitely the Healing Touch!

The game never goes into what it means by "unrefined".

Dr. Tulba is capable of that!? I heard it was being looked into, but I never imagined it would work!
Adel, what happened to you...!?



...Ms. Mayuzumi. I have a favor to ask. Please, let us speak with Adel.
Yes, of course... He's actually on his way here.

Intercom: "President Mayuzumi, Dr. Tulba is here to see you."

See him in.



Dr. Tulba, I'm amazed at how far along your operating skills have come!
Yes, it's all thanks to you and Acropolis.
Adel...
Ah, Dr. Stiles and Nurse Thompson. Long time no see.
Dr. Tulba... Your English has also really come a long way.



Nobody will ever acknowledge Angie's last statement.

...Ability enhancement program?
Dr. Stiles, you saw me use the Healing Touch, correct? I take that back, I've only just begun to use it, so I can't really call it the Healing Touch yet...
That's not true. I could tell very clearly that you were invoking it...
I never imagined a day would come where I would have that power at my disposal. ...The cooperative work being done by the HOA and Acropolis has made a lot of progress.
Dr. Tulba, perhaps we shouldn't divulge too much about it before it's fully complete...
It's alright, President Mayuzumi. The project's completion is just around the corner, and I'm proof! My growh as a doctor under the training of Caduceus never could have reached these heights... But the HOA has changed both my body, and my image of myself as a doctor.
Your... body and image...?
First, they strengthened my body--mainly my nervous system--with a new, perfectly safe medication. After that, they channeled the neural movement data from the Healing Touch directly into me. In other words, the image I needed to perform the Healing Touch was acquired physically.
Wait... That neural data from the Healing Touch...! Where did you--



If you remember, the HT was activated automatically in that operation.

...I never imagined it would come into use so soon...
Wait... Then that means you stole the Healing Touch directly from Dr. Stiles!
Stole!? How can you put it in such terms!? We're in this together, to save lives! In actuality, what we've done here is created more doctors with the power to fight against GUILT. And I believe I mentioned that the data would be used to help other doctors!
...Isn't that right, Dr. Stiles?
...Y-You did say something like that...
You should be delighted that such an amazing doctor has emerged from this. After the GUILT attack today by those Delphi madmen... Who can say when or where they'll attempt to strike next?
That's true...
At the HOA, more doctors like myself are being supplemented in order to use the Healing Touch. Chief Mercer is indeed a man with a vision and I have nothing but the utmost respect for him. I dare say he is giving me the power to rival that of a god! Dr. Stiles... the Healing Touch is not just yours anymore.

I see nobody is remembers about Naomi.

Adel, you're--
I've done what I came to do, President Mayuzumi. Please excuse me.
Dr. Tulba, thank you so much for your work today. I'll personally extend my thanks to Mr. Mercer.

*Adel leaves*

And thank you two, as well.
No, unlike some, we aren't done here. We still need to keep an eye on the patient's condition...
It will also be necessary to take precautions against any further GUILT infections.
You're right. I'll leave what needs to be done to your discretion. ...Dr. Stiles. Even though the bold ideas of Chief Mercer and his Asclepius Project are making waves... I hope that the relationship between us and Caduceus will continue to be a fruitful one. Let's keep doing what we can.

Welp. Apparently the Healing Touch can now be manufactured through questionable means. And Adel hates us now. Can this get any worse?



Oh. Of course it can.

How far will that Mercer bastard go!?
Some extreme measures seem to have been taken in response to the fear created by Delphi's terrorism... He's being officially released on parole... But only on the condition that he'll be completely supervised by the Hands of Asclepius.
That means he can leave the prison now without restrictions... And on top of that, he'll receive more funding to continue his research. How this will affect our own GUILT research remains--
It's going to go up in flames, that's how! And new variations of GUILT could still pop up, too! Dammit, how am I going to fix this...
...And how are we going to tell Derek and Angie about it...