Part 6: - Shin Megami Tensei Trauma Center

06 - Shin Megami Tensei Trauma Center

(NEW Music: Despair)





"...and I do admit that the tumor was difficult to see from the X-ray. However, the laboratory left you several memos about the patient. I understand they pointed out his extremely high numbers. ...More than that, you dumped your responsibilities onto a nurse immediately following a very delicate operation."

"It wasn't... I mean--"

"Ms. Thompson, what are you--!?"



"I understand this is a little rude, but I have to say something."

"...What is it?"

. "It's about the negligent attitude Mr. Stiles has displayed thus far. I warned him about the patient at least three times, but he said that there were important personal matters he had to take care of. Then he just walked out, without another word. Mr. Stiles... maybe you didn't harm the patient directly.. But..."

"How can I work under a doctor who doesn't even try to act like one?! It doesn't matter how small or groundless a suspicion might be, the patients are depending on you to take care of them! Why did you become a doctor?! Do you even know?!"

"I--! That is, I...

"You don't deserve to be here! You... You're not a real doctor!"

"....!"

Derek rushes out, fleeing to the citywalk.



"I was trying my best... I didn't think it was anything serious... But, a patient almost died-- and it was all my fault... Being called 'Dr. Stiles' doesn't make me a good doctor. What was I thinking? I'm no doctor, not if I keep making mistakes like that."

"Uh oh, looks like rain. Hurry, you two! We need to get all our displays inside!"

"Rain... Maybe that'll help calm me down. Maybe then I'll feel better."

"S-Sir? It looks like you're completely soaked.. Didn't you come from a hospital? You might wanna head back pretty soon."

"...They don't want me there. I'm apparently useless as a doctor, anyway."

"Hey! Yeah, it's me! You'll never believe this... Huh? Well, you can guess if you want...... Nope. It's even better! There was this crazy accident with a truck and an SUV-- it was nuts! The drivers flew into the street, and. ....Huh? I am not messed up!"

"...An accident? We usually handle emergencies... but Dr. Kasal's out of town."



(NEW Music: Emergency!)





He moves into the lobby, and finds Angie, who isn't doing so well.

"Where were the accident victims taken, Angie?"



"The patient... He was suffering cardiac arrest, and... and... I couldn't resuscitate him! The other nurses are busy, and with Dr. Kasal gone, I can't... Wh-What am I supposed to do?! The patient is going to die! But I can't... I can't even..."

"Calm down! Take me to the O.R."

"O-Okay..."

(Music: Patient Profile)



"After the accident, the ambulance brought him here... his heart isn't beating... I tried reviving him, but--"

"Angie!"

"What do I do..?! I need help! I... I...!"

"Angie!"

"...D-Dr. Stiles..."

"The only person here who needs help is the patient. And we're the ones who are going to help him. It's up to us, and only us. We're going to save him. I can't do this without you, Angie. I want to save his life. Pretend this is a normal procedure. Calm down, think things through."

"F-First we need a pulse... We have to get a pulse..."

"Understood!"



(Watch This Operation: 1-8, S Rank)

This was the first video I recorded so the other operations are still C Ranks, and sorry for the intro at the beginning.

By the way - the reason for the dramatics? If you look at the chart, they are operating on a child.

(NEW Music: Code Blue)



When we begin the operation, the patient is flatlining. We must revive him.

"...W-We need to recover his pulse. Apply antibiotic gel to the chest area. Try massaging the heart...."



We do chest compressions by moving the hand up and down in rhythm with the dark green bar.

Medical Bullshit: In real life you can never, ever use a defibrillator to start a heart that's stopped beating. It won't do anything. I don't care what shitty medical dramas have told you: Defibrillators STOP hearts. They shut down an irregular heart rhythm for a split second so it can go back to its normal rhythm. In Second Opinion, they changed this part (and all revival parts following) into shocking a flatline even though they knew they got it more or less right in the original, thus perpetuating the myth. Damn it, Atlus. Still, they get credit here for being one of the few instances in science fiction to not shock a flatline for drama. The real way to start a heart is CPR and drugs and it's barely more than a 6% chance of success.



"Vitals have reached the low 30's! But, he's not in the clear yet."

"...! Vitals have reached the low 30's! But he's not in the clear yet!"

"That sounds more like the Angie I know."

"Dr. Stiles... Are we going to save him?"

"Of course we are."

"Understood!"



We do so. The cap for this operation is 30. The most important thing is to take it one step at a time: big injuries first, minor ones last.

"External wounds have been healed. Bleeding seems to have stopped, but his vitals are dropping fast! He suffered a lot of damage to his chest.. What else could it be?"





"Don't take this the wrong way... I don't think you have the skill to treat it like this... We recovered his pulse, so maybe we should wait for Dr. Kasal's help. ...No, the longer we wait, the lower his chances at survival."

"I don't know what to do! Either way, I won't blame you. ...This is your decision..."

Our first responsible decision as a Doctor: we will treat him ourselves. The most important thing to do is not to panic, and treat the glass three at a time. The patient WILL die if you try to do too much at once. Alternatively, you can NOT treat him. Kasal will arrive, but it will be too late, the patient will be dead.



"Be careful around the pericardium! We're fighting blood loss!"



I revive him, but... The heart begins to bleed, and starts pushing something out of it.



"H-How could something like that be lodged in the pericardium?!"



That sure is a four inch piece of glass.



But then, the heart begins to bleed and tear again...

"This can't be happening!"





Um



A star is drawn on the screen, and just as the vitals are about to hit zero, they begin to slow down dramatically...



Long lacerations are very hard to suture in this game for some reason. The game hardly ever recognizes it properly, as you can see from my S video. The suture wire starts to "pull through" the wound if you use too much, which is your signal to stop. Also, you can use antibiotic gel to clear the field of view, but it's not necessary.

And then...



(He sutured the myocardium in a split second!)

As it turns out... Derek just used some sort of magic power to slow down time. This is an Atlus game, after all.

"I... I think we're finished. Let's close him up."



"I froze, and all I could think about was running away... But, you didn't worry at all. You stood your ground, and did what had to be done. You... You are a real doctor."



I S Rank this mission in the video. It could have gone better, but the basic requirements of this mission is to not miss and to not go over one minute and 30 seconds. Which is easy, I beat it in 39 seconds, which is my same record on the physical copy.

(Music: Routine)



"His condition's stabilized. Let's keep an eye on him."

"Yes, Doctor."

"We need to contact the other doctors, and--"

"I'm way ahead of you. Most of the off-duty doctors are coming in. I also called Dr. Kasal."

"Good work... Thank you."

"I think you should rest. That was a long surgery."

"Yeah... If it's okay, I think I will."

"...Angie?"

"Yes?"

"Everything you said this morning was true."

"..."

"But.. I'm going to stay here as a doctor. I'll try harder. I'll become a better surgeon, and make you proud."

"If that's the case... Don't come to work late, and don't leave without doing your paperwork!"

"..I'll do my best."

"And, there's one other thing..."

"Huh?"



"Sometimes it's embarrassing to work beside you."

In the Wii version, she just tells him to make himself more presentable, because he has neat hair in that version....

"Heh. I'll be more careful."

"*Yawn!* Okay, I'm taking a nap. Wake me up if anything changes."

"I understand. Have a good rest..."

"...Dr. Stiles!"

And that's the end of Chapter 1! But seeing as this is also the mission where most people will lose for the first time, I present the Game Over Screen:



"I got here just in time! I can handle this, Derek!"

(NEW Music: Sins Can Be Forgiven)



I really like this Game Over screen. Derek taking a thoughtful walk into the next morning, contemplating his failure. In Second Opinion and other Trauma Centers he resigns and commits suicide or something ("Derek Stiles was never seen or heard from again"). It's much better here - we can presume he remained a Doctor, but he never discovers his powers (or, in later cases, doubts his use of them) and so the story ends.

Next Time: Chapter Two: Derek's Pagan magic is explained.