Part 8: - Yelling at yourself

08 - Yelling at yourself

(Music: Despair)





"Dr. Kasal tells me you may have potential for the... Healing Touch."

"Healing Touch...?"

"You don't know?"

"...No."

"Doctors with the Healing Touch can cure incurable diseases... they can save patients who come within an inch of death. I don't know how long this gift has existed... But, the Greeks believed such doctors descended from Asclepius."

"The God of Medicine..? Me?!"

"Those with the Healing Touch have certain special qualities: uncanny judgement, perfect focus, and unmatched surgical skill. Haven't you noticed any changes during your operations?"

"Sometimes. It starts to feel like time is moving much slower than normal.."

"Hm.. That must be a result of your extraordinary concentration. ..It definitely marks you as capable of the Healing Touch."

"So, I have all those powers?"



"What..?"

"If you pursue this, yes, you will become an unparalleled surgeon. But, are you prepared for the pain that would bring you? Derek, a doctor's hands are heavy with responsibility. Patients depend on us, and they place their lives in our hands... Can you imagine how heavy your hands would be with the Healing Touch? There aren't many doctors who could endure such a weight... I'm only telling you this for your own good. Forget about that power and be a normal doctor. ..It's the only way for you to be happy."

"...for my own good..?"

"Think of it this way: right now, you're standing in front of a door. If you continue to knock, the door will eventually open. But, you could also turn your back on it, and it will stay closed. Why not stay away from surgery for a while? Take your mind off of it."

"But I--!"

"It's for your own good."

"....."

And so concludes this chapter. The Healing Touch has been retconned numerous times over the series. Recall that in Life or Death, Derek knew exactly what to do without being told. This will happen a few more times through the course of the game. As well, he can't technically slow down time, he thinks and moves so quickly that things seem to go slower in comparison.

A nitpick: In the rest of the series, it has morphed into actually being able to slow down time if you are male, or if you are female, raising vitals instantly or putting the patient in a magical stasis. Or something. According to New Blood, it has nothing to do with lineage, and you can learn it from someone else. And so doctors who can't learn it aren't qualified enough to be good doctors. They're not "trying hard enough." I'm not a big fan of what it has become.

(Music: Routine)





"What's wrong, Derek? Shouldn't you be checking on your patients?"

"Dr. Kasal... Do you think I should stop trying to improve as a doctor?"

"...So Hoffman spoke with you. I was hoping the news about your Healing Touch might motivate him to start operating again."

"Huh? Why would it do that?"

"Back when the director was still operating on patients... He named that skill the Healing Touch and accepted its abilities."

"What?! He has it too?!"

If we follow by the canon of this game, this would mean that Derek and Hoffman are distant relatives.

"But then, something... happened. He hasn't operated since. All because of one mistake."

Can you imagine how heavy your hands would be? There aren't many doctors who could endure such a weight...

"Can I really do it? Can I master the Healing Touch?"

"Well, I can't exactly relate. I don't have that ability. But, I know that if you intend to use your power to help people, you need to take command of it."

"Take command?"

"Yes. There's no "halfway" with something like this. One simple mistake changed the director's entire life. He delved too far, into something even he couldn't understand. I think you can learn a lot from the director's past mistake. If you can't control that power, it's going to cost you."

"Do you think I can do it?"

"It seems like you skill involves focus, so concentrate on that. I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out for yourself once you adjust. I can't fully understand the Healing Touch, because I'm not you. In the end, that's who you're going to have to rely on. ...Good luck, Derek."

"I need to focus on concentration... I remember Dad saying I could never concentrate on anything. He told me to imagine one shape, like a star or something, and focus. I don't know where he learned that, but it really helped during exams. Maybe that would work! I'll imagine a star. If I can just relax, focus, and concentrate..!"

(Music: Patient Profile)



The heart in the chart doesn't show up on the emulator during the "operation". It's not a big deal, though, it's just a symbolic polygon.

"First I'll just recall what happened during that operation... Now... I'll think about a star. Concentrate... concentrate... Okay, I can do it."



(Watch This "Operation": Mission 2-3, S Rank)

(Music: Precision)



"Healing Touch... the power of Asclepius... I can do this... First, I'll recall the procedure. I'm looking at the patient... I was holding the scalpel like this, and then I..."

You must touch the hand icon twice, once to 'concentrate on the object you're holding' and another to 'concentrate on the movement of your hands.'



You actually don't have unlimited time. Each star must be drawn within three seconds.



Should you mess up, Derek will yell at himself.

"Gah, no! I need to be quicker and more precise!"

"My eyes are burning... I need to treat the affected area... Okay, for real this time! Concentrate... Concentrate..."



"This is it! This is exaclty like before! I have the Healing Touch!"

"Ugh... Maybe I overdid it... I gave myself a headache."

In the video I S rank the mission. For those of you who doubted that I'm using a laptop touchpad, behold my inability to draw fast, straight lines.The S Rank requires you to draw 5 perfect stars - in operations, the better you draw a star, the longer you can use the Healing Touch. A "perfect star" will give you a maximum of 30 seconds in an operation, but doing so will grant you an automatic C Rank.

Now that that's over, I will never, ever use this again unless the plot forces me. The best way to get good at this game is to pretend the Healing Touch doesn't exist.



"I might be able to control the Healing Touch!"

There are two kinds of Healing Touch-es: ones that are done instinctively out of desperation, which last a long time, and one that is purposefully invoked, which lasts for a short time. The second type of Healing Touch will make its user feel ill. What happens if they stack? It's a mystery.

Next Time: Derek faints for no reason at all.