NOVEL NEXT Chapter 232
Episode 232. Attempt to Smuggle Dangerous Items (3)
[※ Dr. Chloe’s head was completely shattered during the siege of Facility No. 1. ※]
[※ It cannot be guaranteed that she is currently capable of making rational decisions. ※]
[Rescue Request]
[Author: Dr. Chloe]
[A few days ago, I almost died fighting near Facility No. 1. Have you seen those deep-sea octopus videos? That’s exactly what I look like right now.]
[I subdued U.S. intelligence agents trying to recover my body in the desert, stole a vehicle, and escaped. I’m currently heading to a nearby Foundation branch. Please send help quickly.]
[Rescue Request. Reply.]
[Author: Nanami]
[I have no idea what’s going on.]
[So, your limbs are all messed up, and you’ve turned into an octopus? And in that state, you hijacked a U.S. military vehicle and are heading to a nearby Foundation branch?]
[That’s fascinating…….]
[I’ll relay the message to the Nevada Foundation facility. A retrieval team will be sent to Dr. Chloe’s location soon, so just hang in there.]
Bishop Oh shook his head.
“This doesn’t look good.”
Bishop Oh was a high-ranking clergyman. One of the few people in the country who could call themselves a bishop. Though not anymore.
I closed the tablet.
“Does it look bad to you?”
“Looking at the bigger picture……. The Foundation sacrifices quite a lot of people. Soldiers fighting against supernatural beings, civilians caught in the crossfire during operations, lives consumed in the name of experiments.”
“Yes.”
“In that context, this child is just one of many sacrifices. You might think our actions can be justified, but where does that exist? It’s just a matter of weighing the scales.”
“Can’t it be justified?”
If you believe the end doesn’t justify the means, then why is Bishop Oh even working for the Foundation? I frowned for a moment.
The old man continued.
“That’s not what I mean……. If we kill a kidnapper and save three hostages, we haven’t saved two people. We’ve just killed the kidnapper and saved three hostages.”
“Ah, I see what you mean.”
“Saving three people doesn’t erase the fact that we killed one. The opposite is also true. Practically, legally, and morally.”
“Utilitarians don’t understand this. That’s why they’re always wrong, always failing.”
“That might be true.”
Bishop Oh sighed after reading some of the materials prepared for this experiment.
“The Pendant of Gluttony. Reading the records of this supernatural phenomenon reminds me of why I quit being a bishop. It’s not a very interesting story, though.”
“What happened?”
“The church members who possessed the Pendant of Gluttony accidentally used it and created a monster. I had a similar experience.”
I waited for Bishop Oh’s next words.
“It happened just once. One day, for no reason, while I was conducting the Eucharist, the wine started smelling like blood.”
“Ah.”
“I thought witnessing a miracle would be good. A man with stronger faith might have just ignored it. But I was weak, and I panicked, throwing the chalice filled with blood.”
I’m not a believer, but if that had happened to me, I would have been terrified too.
“Did you find out why?”
Bishop Oh shook his head.
“It was just a supernatural phenomenon. I quit being a bishop after that. Whether it was a real miracle and my faith was weak, or it was just a supernatural phenomenon.”
Honestly, a glass of wine turning into blood doesn’t even rank as a supernatural phenomenon.
It’s just something you shrug off and move on.
“The reason I joined the Foundation was because of that. It’s similar to the people who found the Pendant of Gluttony. Though their story is much more dramatic.”
I spoke again.
“Dr. Kim begged me on his knees to approve the experiment. He probably knows better than anyone what’s best for him and his daughter. At least more than I do.”
“People like Dr. Kim, above all, want a conclusion to their story. Out of all the evils Pandora released from the box, the one that remained was hope, wasn’t it?”
True.
The experiment preparations are already underway, and it won’t be easy to stop now. Since we’ve made the decision, let’s see what happens.
Dr. Kim’s daughter couldn’t speak. Communication was somewhat possible through gestures, hand signals, and fragmented words resembling babbling.
But even the Foundation doesn’t have a pill that makes you smarter. If such a thing existed, they’d be handing it out to all employees.
The only option is treatment through supernatural phenomena.
The Foundation’s doctors were busy moving around. Dr. Kim’s daughter was in an isolation room, arranged like a normal child’s room, just in case.
“Patient. Current heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, ECG, blood sugar, oxygen saturation, brain waves, all normal. There’s a possibility of reduced consciousness due to sedatives, but it’s unconfirmed.”
“Yes.”
“Dr. Kim, please confirm.”
I nodded.
“Proceed.”
I was on-site, but there wasn’t much for me to do directly. At least…… until another problem arose. It wasn’t a well-founded premonition, but I had a feeling something would go wrong.
We held our breath.
Dr. Kang handed the child a teddy bear, then injected the Popo Serum into her arm.
The child raised her head.
Dr. Kang looked at me anxiously.
“Dr. Kang, don’t just stand there. Report the patient’s condition and the expected next steps.”
“Ah, yes.”
Dr. Kang swallowed and nodded. The vital signs on the screen looked fine, but I’m not a doctor.
“The patient seems fine for now. Pupil reflex normal. Deep tendon reflex normal. Vital signs stable, and she’s responding well to requests.”
“Understood. What physiological errors can we expect to resolve? Could you explain again, Dr. Kang?”
“Ah, yes.”
Dr. Kang turned on the tablet, looked at what seemed to be a prepared paper, and raised his head.
“First, trisomy 21 causes overexpression of superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme SOD, which disrupts normal cell activity and accelerates mitochondrial aging.”
“Then, is there a way to check the expression level of SOD in cells after the experiment?”
Dr. Kang seemed a bit anxious earlier, but after some scientific discussion and pondering, he seemed more stable.
At least, that’s how it looked. Who knows what’s going on in his head.
“It can be checked, but there’s debate over whether that’s the main pathological mechanism of trisomy 21. There’s also the issue of amyloid precursor protein, similar to dementia.”
I sighed.
This is ridiculously complicated.
“Understood……. Please leave a written report later. The patient is fine for now, right?”
“The patient’s eyes have changed. I’m hoping that maybe the visual information processing in the brain has improved.”
“Alright. Good work, everyone. Let’s go for the patient’s blood test and EEG now.”
Among supernatural phenomena, the most important and the one requiring the most research is undoubtedly humanoid supernatural phenomena. That’s why I try to make time for important humanoid research.
Even though I’m not a doctor.
Dr. An was pondering over the brain MRI results. Something seemed suspicious.
“Do you see anything?”
“Still normal. Trisomy 21 usually results in a brain structure different from healthy individuals. In this child’s case, the brain structure hasn’t changed. It might, though.”
“What about counseling?”
Dr. An specializes in psychiatry. She’s a doctor who mainly deals with brain conditions, psychological counseling, etc. She’s also the most closely related expert to this experiment.
“She barely responds. According to the guardian, she’s improved a bit.”
“The guardian said she couldn’t communicate at all before. It’s not that bad now, is it?”
Dr. Kim’s daughter. Her name is Kim Han-byeol.
She stared at the ceiling.
It felt like waking up from a very, very long sleep. Her body felt heavy, as if extra weight had been added to every muscle. Her head hurt so much it was hard to think.
No, her thoughts were just slowed down.
Fear and anxiety overwhelmed her.
Everything about her body felt sluggish, heavy, and painful, but she didn’t know why. With this body and this brain, it wasn’t easy to deduce the reason for the pain.
There must be a reason for this despair, fear, and pain she’s feeling now. Like trying to run a sophisticated game on an old, dusty computer, but not being able to figure it out…….
It took a while, but after much pondering and muttering, she reached some kind of conclusion. She was trapped now.
Trapped in a brain that couldn’t understand or logically recall why she was trapped or why being trapped was bad.
She screamed.