Part 12: - Closed Sundays

Now that we've permanently tarnished Angie's image (seriously, she deserves it), it's time for another update!

12 - Closed Sundays

(Music: Routine)



"..? Do they explain the bleeding in her lungs?"

"I don't think it's directly related, but... they found extremely high levels of syprohedrine in her blood."

"Sypro...? What's that?"

"It's a new antihistamine, Doctor. They're usually used to treat allergies."

"...I know that. So, why didn't she tell us she was on medication?"

"Because she wasn't. Drugs involving syprohedrine are still in clinical trial. Also, our tests indicated 24 times the suggested dosage."

"Side effects from overdose include headaches and emotional distress..."

"In extreme cases, the effects are serious enough to prompt suicide."

I'd call 24 times the recommended dosage an 'extreme case,' Greg.

"That explains her death wish."

"It may have contributed, but I doubt it was the primary cause. Still, I've never heard of syprohedrine being synthesized within the body. ...Whatever's causing that might be responsible for the lacerations."

What. An overdose 'may have contributed' to her depression? What is wrong with these people?

"D-Doctor!"

"What is it?!"

"Reid's condition is getting worse! She's complaining about excruciating pain in her chest!"

"..What?!"



"Linda!"

"Doctor... I want to... Live... Help me... Please... I want to live... I want to... live... Doctor... Please!"

"Derek, we're operating now! Angie, alert the staff. Hurry!"

(Music: Patient Profile)



"We suspect hemorrhaging in her lungs again... There has to be some explanation why these lacerations are occurring. Until we figure out what that is, there's not a lot we can do. You should have two objectives during this operation: -Treat any bleeding injuries within the thoracic cavity. -Discover what's causing the lacerations. I'll be working as your assistant. Stay calm, Derek."



(Watch This Operation: Mission 2-9, S Rank)

(Music: Code Blue)

"...Why now? She said she wanted to live..!"

"I don't know... And these symptoms don't add up.. Derek, take extra care during this operation. Angie, keep your eyes on the monitors. "

"...Good luck, everyone."



"But... how?! We fixed these three days ago!"

"Derek, Miss Reid is still weak from her first lobectomy. Use the same treatment, but BE CAREFUL."



The same as last time, we stitch her up. Small first, big last. But the first red flag of this operation is that we have much more time than usual to do so...



"We need to closer her up, and have a closer examination later. Nice job, Derek. Suture the incision and finish--"

(NEW Music: Gangliated Utrophin Immuno-Latency Toxin (GUILT))



Before our eyes, something carves through the lung.

"What the-- What the hell's going on?!"

"Doctor, try using ultrasound!"





What the fuck is that?

"Doctor, we have to get it out of the patient! What if we tried incinerating it with the laser?!"

"Good idea, Angie. Careful, we have to kill that thing!"

Yes, using a laser on lung tissue sounds like an excellent idea, Angie.



Got it.

"...It's gone.."

"Angie, using the laser was the right decision. Good thinking. It would have been bad if we had tried to remove that thing alive."

...However...



"More of them?!"

"Derek, you'll have to burn them all. That's the only way to save her!"



We draw them out and zap them. The best way to deal with these things in pairs is to kill them at the same time. And then, a big one:



It's fairly violent, but easily manageable on its own. If you try to zap it, it will burrow again.

"It's hiding... You'll just have to find its shadow and cut it out."

We kill it. It's best to leave the lacerations until after you've killed the Queen, because the big ones are largely unresponsive to the sutures, and she will make more. You can stabilize vitals with the antibiotic gel if you're having problems. She will turn and go a random direction after every zap, but if you have good eyes, you can see the split second where she turns in that direction.



"We... did it..."

"Let's close her up. Derek, Angie, you both did well... (Don't tell me that weird parasite was the one--)"

(Could it have been... GUILT?!)

...?!

"What's going on? Why'd they both stop talking?"

"Uh, Derek, continue... Please suture the incision."



In the video, I S-Rank this mission. It is a pain to S Rank if only because it's the first (but not the last) mission that requires you to purposefully suck. You must allow the baby parasite to make a ton of cuts to rack up your score before the S Rank will appear. You must also finish this operation in three and a half minutes. I'll also have everyone know that I just about had a heart attack at the end when I almost missed the bandage.



"..be considered strictly confidential. Bring Linda Reid's medical files to my office immediately. I will provide updates as needed. That's all for today."

"Doctor, could this be GUILT?"

"..How did you know about that?!"

"I don't know much. I saw it mentioned in my father's research."

"How did your father come across something like GUILT?"

"Well, he was a researcher... other than that, I don't really know."

"Give me some time to figure out the situation. Until then, don't mention GUILT to anyone. Understand?"

"..Yes, sir."

(What the hell is GUILT?)

And that's the end of that chapter. It isn't a spoiler to say that this is indeed GUILT - we will discover more about it shortly. It's easier to refer to it by name, and so this strain is named "Kyriaki," or "Sunday" in Greek.

BONUS 1 - Stranger than fiction, Invisible Blades Kyriaki

(Second Opinion version:)

Kyriaki (Sunday) is a parasite that changes the behavior of its host. Kyriaki synthesizes a chemical that causes severe depression and suicidal behavior while it takes its time destroying the host's organs. You may have seen this in other animals, in instances such as zombie snails, which are 'hypnotized' by a parasite to attract birds that will eat them, gypsy moths that literally liquify in tall places in order to infect their friends, or the hairworm that makes its grasshopper host drown itself.

But those are small, uncomplicated animals. You might be comforted by thinking that humans are so complex that their behaviors and attitudes can never be altered by a parasite. Right?

Wrong.


(Photo Source)

Toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is estimated to affect 50-80% of human beings worldwide. Contracted from cat feces, toxoplasma in rats changes its behavior to make it social towards cats. For awhile, it was thought that toxoplasma infection in humans was entirely asymptomatic unless the host was pregnant or immunocomprimised. But in fact, toxoplasma is known to alter human behavior to generally make men more irritable, women more cheerful, and both sexes more apprehensive and skittish.

So the next time you see the Cat Lady next door acting a little strange, don't think her crazy - it's probably just her parasitic infection talking.

Next Time: A very Freudian heart.

Also, updates will be a little slower now that the difficulty has spiked.