- What do you mean it won't be necessary, Jan? - Hubert asked him just after hearing this unexpected news - Did you learn something?
Jan nodded.
- I've just got a report from the guys patrolling the northern part of the camp - he started explaining - Based on what they said, I believe it'll be best for us to go straight there.
Others started asking questions, but the highest ranking soldier led them outside. A couple of minutes later, they entered a bunker-like fortification military guards built just after the camp was established.
The very moment they passed the door, they could here screams and single words being shouted by someone's voice:
- Who...!? Where...!?
They finally passed the last door and entered a round area with rooms behind iron bars.
- Nice, you've managed to build a nice jail down here - Rashid commented sarcastically - I didn't know we had something like this. You've never discussed...
- It's in the expedition's protocol - Jan replied calmly - You can read it yourself, everyone has access to manual after all.
Rashid blinked, and quickly activated his PEC. Only a moment later, he said one word:
- Indeed.
- Now, for why we got here - the military officer led them further, to the room where two soldiers were standing next to handcuffed man.
The handcuffed man was sitting, and it turned out it was him who shouted before.
- He is severely wounded! - Kate jumped in front, wanting to start treatment, but one of the soldiers stopped her.
- That's dangerous, doc!
The very moment she approached, the handcuffed man leaned forward as if wanting to jump at her. He kept uttering "Who...!? Where...!?", but these were the only words and he did not seem to understand anything they said to him.
Doctor Warner quickly understood.
- He's the same as those we lost before - she said, examining the man from the distance - Jayce Green - she managed to read the name on his damaged F-suit - I don't recall this guy being in this camp before.
- Same here - Hubert confirmed, and he was the person knowing about the people in the camp the most - I've made the list personally, and he was not there. I guess he must've wandered here from somewhere outside.
- That's a crazy thing itself - Martin commented - Look at the state of his field suit, and these wounds. I can't believe he is still alive.
- Maybe he isn't? - Kate was the one to say that, causing others to look at her, confused - Don't give me that, you saw what happened with our colleagues before. I'm thinking the cause here is the same, though it's weird he is still moving. Some of these wounds look fatal, but bleeding stopped quite a while ago.
- Meaning? - Jan asked.
Doctor Warner increased the light intensity, placed a chair at a safe distance from Jayce, and sat down, looking into his eyes. Seconds later, she sighed.
- He appears somehow different than the others who died before - she told them - Based on the state of the body, he should've been dead for several days now.
- What the fuck!? Is he some kind of motherfucking zombie now!? - one of the guards seemed really scared out of a sudden - Does it mean, if it bites us...!?
- Calm down, soldier, go take a break - Jan ordered the guy, who left without any complaint - Ok, Kate so what's this about?
- I'm starting to think zombie may not be such a bad term to call a person in this kind of state.
- While I like to joke around, I don't think it's a time to crack jokes.
- Still, the way I see it... The people before, they first fell sick, then appeared dead, but started moving for some time... This guy though, he still moves even though his body died quite a while ago, based on the wounds...
- Okay, now it's getting really scary, and gross - Martin shuddered - Since we have the guy who was the culprit, can we just go back to sleep?
Not everyone was of the same mind. Hubert immediately headed towards the exit, but Jan and Rashid stayed with Kate.
- If you are tired, feel free to go and rest, Martin - doctor Warner told him - Same goes for you, Jan, Rashid - she turned to the other two - I don't really need you here for medical procedures. Just leave me some guard.
- I think I should work fine as a guard - Jan said - You might've forgotten, but I'm still a soldier.
- Yeah, sorry about that. I'd much appreciate if you could stay here then.
Rashid, while it was not his field of expertise, seemed pretty interested in the topic of electromagnetism affecting human brains, therefore he insisted on staying.
- I won't force you out from here - Kate said to him - As long as you don't interfere, of course.
In the end, only Hubert and Martin left the bunker.
- So you also don't like such stuff, huh? - Dubois talked to Johnson once they got outside - I would like to know what happened to those people, but looking at the examination is a whole different matter.
Martin shrugged.
- It's always better to know, but to be fair, all I want to do now is to get some rest.
Their conversation ended at that, and they went to their quarters.
Remaining trio stayed in the bunker. Obviously, most of the work was being done by Kate - there was no need to move the man called Jayce anywhere else as recently doctor Warner was carrying a custom-made treatment kit with her, and it included a device for measuring the electromagnetic signals within the human body.
- Ok, so the intensity is not raised as high as in case of previous patient - Kate was speaking since the very moment she started the examination, recording her findings - Readings of the brainwaves are showing values similar to agitated state. The most of the body is in a really bad condition. Head is intact, only eyes are showing a high level of degradation, and the torso has multiple wounds, though none of them bleeds anymore. Arms and legs have numerous fractures. Now, for the internal scan - she turned on the corresponding module in her PEC, granting x-ray vision - Heart is beating, and the blood circulation is active despite the damage to various organs. Traces of extreme internal bleeding.
Doctor Warner had to sit down.
- So, how is it? - Rashid, seated next to her, asked - Did you find anything?
- Just confirmed that this person is dead... Or rather, he should have been dead for about two weeks now.
Jan's face turned pale, as a sheet of paper.
- You say that, but we needed three soldiers to catch him - he explained with a noticeable shock on his face - Sorry, I simply cannot understand how can you say he should have been dead...
Kate sighed.
- I don't get it either. To be fair, human bodies are fragile, and there is a lot of possibilities for a person to die. Organ failures can be survived as long as the most important functions of the body are sustained. In that regard, long enough brain or heart failure is equal to death. However, it doesn't seem to be the case for that guy. Based on the clues I have right now, I can already tell the heart must have stopped at some points, and the structure of the brain was damaged due to lack of oxygen. There are major chunks of neurons that were destroyed, and yet he can still move around.
- Sorry, but you got lost me there - Rashid said - So, he is indeed like someone who died and raised again?
- I know it's strange, but that's the conclusion I have. This weird electromagnetic noise found by the obelisk, it seems to have a function that restarts the body. It's like defibrillator, though in that case it goes within the brain. Still, previous people who got affected all ceased to move after a while, and here...
- The body can still move, but the person does not seem to understand what's happening around them?
Kate nodded.
- It's like the body is moving on a pure instinct, as if consciousness was no longer there...
Doctor Warner jumped up suddenly, and hit her forehead with a palm of the hand.
- I've realized something - she explained to other two, who looked worried after seeing her reaction - People who were affected in our camp were feeling fine until they were found after not waking up. Since it was after they went to check the obelisk, it means they must've been exposed to the source of electromagnetism way before it actually caused harm. In case of Jayce, the contact likely happened after the death.
- And how does it change anything for us? - Jan could not understand what she was getting at.
Kate sighed and shook her head.
- Nothing solid yet, but it's a good starting point for analysis - she started checking the data she had so far.
After another quarter or so, doctor Warner nearly smiled.
- Ok, I think I know how it works - she displayed a huge graph for the other two - This peak is the moment where the brain got overloaded for what I learned based on victims in the camp, while this one - another graph was now overlapping the previous one - And here is how it looks for the guy we have here. The line is on regular level, there are no peaks whatsoever.
Jan's face was saying "I don't get it", but the same was not the case for Rashid.
- So, based on what you showed us - he started interpreting the values - Active brain could not withstand the amount of signals processed, leading to brain death, which was not the case for the other one?
- Precisely. My guess is, when consciousness is active the brain has to process all the activities of the person, and additional processing caused by the electromagnetic noise puts additional strain on the brain, resulting in death. Contrary to that, if the person died, but core functions of the brain did not stop, there might be a chance this electromagnetic wave takes root in the brain which is capable of storing it.
- But wouldn't that make this electromagnetic noise some kind of entity or whatever? I mean, to move a human body...
Doctor Warner shrugged.
- It's not like the body needs consciousness to move - she pointed out - There were many science works done on that topic.
Rashid nodded.
- Still, if what you are saying is true, that's a pretty dangerous thing to get in contact with.
- Yes, and that's why we need to avoid these at all costs - Kate agreed - I guess monitoring devices are going to be our priority if we plan to reach the gathering point.