Part 27: - TGIF

27 - TGIF

(Music: Caduceus needs to tackle their cricket problem.)





"I think so. We managed to contain the GUILT before it could spread. It's all over the news, though. If Delphi expects to catch us off-guard again, it's going to take a lot more work."

"What about Director Kasal?"

"You mean after sending the medicine? I'm sure he'll be fine. He did what had to be done to keep casualties as low as possible. And, I guess someone tipped off the press about what really happened... they can't fire him, now. He's a political hero."

"I wonder who tipped 'em off. What do you think, Victor?"

"...I find it intriguing..."

Oh, Victor...

"I hear the Counter Terrorism Unit is getting involved."

"S'about time, huh? The President's going to be here next week, supposedly. Hope nobody wanted a vacation anytime soon!"

"I had to cancel mine... I could be scuba diving right now."

"What do you really think, Leslie?! Don't hold anything back-"




(Music: Emergency!)

"Do you think it's someone from Delphi?!"



"We've contacted security, but..."

"We can't just let 'em get away! Chief, we should be looking for these punks ourselves!"

"We're defenseless, and we don't know if they have weapons or not."

"Well we didn't find any leads on where Delphi is, right?! Letting them walk outta here would be like watching someone die!"

"Dr. Chase has a point. It's dangerous, but we need to find them. Those of us who can defend ourselves should pair off and start looking."

"That's what I'm talkin' about! The ladies should stay back where it's safe-"



"And I've studied Aikido."

".....You have?!"

"What? We live in dangerous times. Let's hurry."

The mental image of Angie learning Aikido instead of something like Karate or Judo makes me chuckle. She doesn't strike me as the type that would have the discipline to study martial arts, religion and philosophy in one. Though it's interesting to note that Aum Shinrikyo also did this with Yoga. Another reference, possibly.

"....."



"All the rooms are locked, and this is a one-way hall."

"That's a relief. We should probably head bac--

"*CRAASH*"



"Huh?"

"It's one of the Delphi-"

The man on the run comes to a stop in front of Angie.



"But... How?!"

"There's nowhere to run..!"

Angie, however, moves aside and lets him slip by.

"...What's wrong, Angie?! We almost had him!"

"No... It couldn't be..."

(Music: On the Cutting Edge of Medicine.)



"I'm sorry, I..."

"Oh well. He had a gun, so it's probably good I didn't catch up with him. Let's head back. We need someone to examine this evidence."

"Evidence?"

"It was pretty dark, but I tried anyway. See?"

"A camera! You managed to take his picture that fast?"

No, we're not letting Angie off the hook that easily. First she tells a teenaged girl to kill herself, then she laughs in the face of her difficulties, and now she just let one of the Delphi infiltrators through. We've all had enough of your bullshit, Angela, and we're reporting you to-

"...Ugh..."

"..What's wrong?"



-the... Cybil collapsed.

"T-This is bad! Quick! Someone! We need help over here!"





"It's GUILT, Derek. You'll need to operate immediately. We found a needle in her leg. They must have injected it, somehow."

Syringe shurikens.



...Damn.

"Which strain is it?"

"...We don't know. It must be new."

"Another one?!"

"Victor's analyzing it right now. We'll start when he gets back to us."

"Understood."

"............."

"Tell me what's going on, Angie!"

"...Huh? I'm sorry. It's nothing. Don't worry. We should prep for the operation, Doctor."

"........"

(Music: Patient Profile)



"This one's fibrous. Which basically means it's a pain in the ass. You'll need to operate right away."

"Huh? You haven't explained how to operate on this fibrous-thing..."

"I'll explain it after you open her up. Come on! Hurry! As soon as that thing gets in the body, it goes right for the heart. And once it gets there? She's history."

"...!"

"...Find it yet?"

"Th...There's something in her stomach, near the small intestine."

"...Sounds about right... It's quick, so we'll have to hurry."



(Watch This Operation: Mission 5-6, S Rank.)

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

Well, here we are...





Ladies and Gentlemen, the hardest GUILT in the game.

"We can't ignore these wounds. Suture them up, Derek."

"There it is... It's the fibrous GUILT!"



This is Paraskevi, a tapeworm-like creature practically made of razorblades. If you're an S-Ranker, you'll be seeing it in your nightmares. We try the laser on it:



"Hm... Looks like I was right. Listen carefully, okay? This GUILT is called Paraskevi, and it's fibrous in nature. Basically, every part of its mass functions as a muscle. If we just extract the thing, there is going to be massive bleeding. My plan of attack is primitive, and maybe a little rough, but... Keep cutting the thing until it's really small. Then, extract it."

"I guess it's our only choice. Did you get that, Dr. Stiles? Slice the GUILT with your scalpel!"



It's not that 5-6 is difficult on its own, but this operation has absolutely ludicrous S-Rank requirements.



Before we continue with the operation proper, allow me to show you how many of these you need to extract:



Every one of these must be cut in half one more time in order to be small enough to extract. So, there are 16 pieces in all.



Except that every time you cut them, they move about 1/3 faster than their last piece. Unfrozen, first piece can exit the intestines from the bottom of the screen in roughly 15 seconds. The next set can do it in 10, the next in 7, the next in 4, until each piece can make it to the end of the intestine in 2.8 seconds each. There are 16 of those fuckers. That's some serious odds stacked against your reaction time. There are 4 stages to this operation until the worm gets to Cybil's heart, so it gives you a fair amount of leverage, right?



Wrong. To get the S-Rank, you must remove all 16 pieces in the first screen. With a completion time of less than 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Did I mention each time you cut the paraskevi, it makes two lacerations that do 8 vital damage each? That's on top of the damage caused by existing lacerations, which goes from 30 to 0 in less than five seconds after 16th laceration. That's only 8 scalpel cuts of 16. So, yeah, fuck this operation.



Let's get back to how to handle this thing normally.



Cut paraskevi in half, and let half of it go to the next location. Cut the remaining half in half, and focus on 1/4th at a time, cutting it down until it reaches 1/16th and pulling it out. Let the other quarter go if you're having too much trouble keeping track of it. If you deal with at least 1/4th per location, it is a very easy operation.



"Doctor, this is bad! We've lost sight of the GUILT! ...Wait, there are Chiral readings in her stomach. Hurry, Doctor!"



And then rinse and repeat until finished.





"It's moved to her liver! Hurry!"



If you do decide to designate 1/4th per screen, however, there is a huge problem you must watch out for.

"No! This will be our last chance, we have to extract it!"

"It's nearing her heart....!"



Once the Paraskevi is this small, you only get three seconds of real time to extract it once you reach this screen, and Paraskevi is made invincible for the first one and a half. You are forced to use the healing touch in the nick of time, or else:





Just remember to pace yourself.





"...I was so worried! I think Cybil's safe, now."



"I'm not sure we could have found a replacement."

"A replacement? How can you talk about her that way?!"

"...Dr. Myers is a very skilled doctor. I don't think anyone could have taken her place in Caduceus."

"..."

"I'm simply relieved that my colleague is okay."



"We did it, Dr. Stiles. You handled things very well."

Don't smile at me like that, Angie. You still have some 'splaining to do. In the video, I somehow S Rank this mission. Don't even try to S Rank this until you've S ranked every other level in the game, including the X Missions, because this is very difficult to get. The other Paraskevi operations have no time limit other than the usual 5 minutes, making them a lot easier. It might look like I did well, but I was VERY close to not making the point cut-off, even after going so fast. If I hadn't have made that "cool" with the bandage, I wouldn't have S-Ranked it. You have to get a certain number of cools to get the S Rank, on top of everything, and Paraskevi operations are especially picky.



"I had to save her."

"We couldn't let anything happen to one of our best doctors. ...And, I couldn't let my brother down, either."

"So, was that picture worth Cybil risking her life?"

"Oh! I totally forgot about that!"

"..."

"Let's see..."

"Well... He's very handsome."

"Huh?!"

"I remember that face.. I've seen him before. ...Blackwell! That's Professor Blackwell! He went missing about ten years ago!"

"Are you sure that's him?!"

"Yes. He was studying immunology. Before his disappearance, he was a big-name scientist. But could that really be him...?"



"Angie...?"

"Blackwell disappeared thirteen years ago. He left a wife and daughter behind."





Bonus 7 - Stranger than fiction, Arrow to the Heart Paraskevi.

(SO Version:)

Paraskevi, or "Friday," is a segmented GUILT coming straight out of your nightmares. Its body is made of tough muscle that hooks and grapples across tissue. It has an arrow-shaped head that can burrow into any organ or vein, decimating it or using it as a highway to the heart. When cut, it grows a new head and tail and acts independently.

Extracellular parasites are very much an object of morbid curiosity in popular culture. The more disgusting they are, the better: creatures such as the Candiru fish, or Vampire Fish, have reached stardom from movies and novels such as Fight Club. These little ones latch onto arteries and feed off of blood from their hosts. Due to the fertility of human imagination, rumours have circulated that such a fish can jump from the water to swim up the urethra of humans, but very little literature has actually shown this behavior from the parasite.

Yes, mother nature can be disgusting. But time and time again, nothing seems to gross us out more than...


[Photo Source]

Tapeworms, or Cestoidea, are actually a large class of parasitic flatworms that sometimes infect humans. Like Paraskevi, they attach themselves to the digestive system of their hosts through hooks, or through suckers and tentacles. It essentially eats through its skin, absorbing the nutrients from food passing through its host's digestive system.

What you may not know is while Paraskevi searches for the heart, these worms can also travel along the bloodstream until they reach an unexpected destination: the brain. Neurocysticercosis is a condition caused by the pork tapeworm T. solium, where tapeworms eggs migrate to the brain or spinal cord. There they can remain in place for years, eventually causing seizures, headaches, coma, paralysis, or blocking the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, causing death. It's estimated that 2,000 people in the United States alone have the disease, and that about 40% of the entire population of Peru has been infected.

Sure, it might not be made of razorblades... but it doesn't have to be.

Next Time: Get your church clothes ready, because it's the Sabbath and you're going to love what happens when this baby hits 0 mph.