"I'm very sorry, I may have startled you a bit, but there really was an issue with Lisa this morning. She called me and said that our dog might have accidentally swallowed a large amount of anti-inflammatory medicine. I hurried back home, only to find that everything was okay."
"What exactly happened?" Ben Parker asked.
Aux sighed, his brow creasing with a hint of worry. "You know, Lisa had a small tumor before, and it was a bit strange, so she was transferred to Elders Council Hospital."
"But hadn't she recovered?"
"Yes, she was doing very well after the surgery and with the aid of the cure potion, she was almost completely fine, so we decided to discharge."
"On the way back home, Lisa told me that she needed to quickly give away the bulk purchase of anti-inflammatory medicine she had bought. Since she was cured, she wouldn't be needing them anytime soon, and it would be a waste if they expired as they weren't cheap."
"Oh, I forgot to mention, Lisa is one of those people who's a bit superstitious about antibiotics. She believes that any discomfort is due to inflammation in the body, so whenever she feels unwell, she would take antibiotics first."
"With a tumor in her uterus, she definitely felt discomfort, and before going to the hospital, she would've bought a large amount of anti-inflammatory medicine. However, when we got home, Lisa searched high and low for several hours and couldn't find the medicine."
"I was in a rush to get back to my shift and didn't help her look, and so she searched all night. In the morning, she called me crying, saying that the dog might have eaten the medicine."
"I wasn't entirely sure myself, because she had been in a bad mood during her hospital stay, and I had brought both cats over, but since the hospital doesn't allow large dogs, I didn't bring our dog. It might have sniffed out and swallowed the medicine while neither of us were home."
"Although I didn't notice anything abnormal about the dog, we decided to take it for a checkup, and that took all morning."
"It's not that the checkup was difficult—it was just an X-ray of the stomach. But after the first hospital said there was nothing wrong, Lisa didn't believe them, and we went to a second and then a third hospital..."
"In the end, all the vets said that if the dog had eaten such a large amount of anti-inflammatory medicine, there would be some reaction. Lisa got into a big fight with the last vet and even had trouble with security. We were kicked out, and she cried in the car for a long while, and I spent a long time comforting her, which is why I'm only getting back now."
"After returning home, I also helped her look, but we found nothing. Lisa thought she was going crazy, and I had no idea what was going on, but I had to get back to work."
"Having not worked for seven or eight months and with the burden of high medical costs, our savings have bottomed out. Missing one shift today means less income. If this continues, we truly won't be able to pay off the credit cards."
Ben Parker hesitated, but after a moment of conflict, he said, "Have you taken Lisa to see a psychiatrist? She seems to be showing symptoms of anxiety."
"Lisa has been visiting a therapist, actually. She's suffering from primary anxiety, but her symptoms really aren't severe. She only occasionally obsesses about whether she has taken her keys. Her personality used to be very cheerful, rarely fixated on anything for a long time."
"But ever since she came back from the hospital, she's been acting a bit neurotic. Last night she kept telling me that she feels this world isn't real, and she listed all sorts of doubts for me, which could be a sign of schizophrenia."
"What did she say?" Ben Parker asked, a bit curious.
"I was also a bit puzzled," Aux said as he took a sip of tea. "When Lisa first felt unwell, we went to the community hospital and found a uterine fibroid. Then we were transferred to Elders Council Hospital during the surgery because the tumor was found."
"There was something odd about that tumor, and the doctors told us a lot, but it was too technical, and we didn't remember it. However, if there is a problem, there would surely be many consultations and investigations before surgery, which would definitely leave a lot of imaging and record data."
"Yesterday, Lisa called the hospital wanting to access these records. It's normal, right? They don't involve any secrets, and after all, Lisa is the patient herself, not someone else."
"But she called many departments, and no one was able to provide that information. The doctors and nurses kept passing the buck around, and even when trying to find the lead surgeon, there was no luck."
"Did you call the insurance company?" Ben Parker asked.
"Of course, I called them on the way here, but their answers were vague, and they didn't resolve any issues. I couldn't blame them, because our finances were tight before, and we didn't get a very high coverage, so it's normal for them not to be so professional."
Ben Parker frowned and said, "I think you should really pay attention to your wife's mental health. Have you considered finding her a psychiatrist?"
Aux looked embarrassed, stammering for a while before saying, "The psychiatrist that Lisa used to see has raised his rates, and by a lot, almost doubling. We only found out when we called him. Since there is a high demand for therapists, and he is overbooked, he has to use price to limit the numbers."
"Our insurance coverage is not high, and some medications are not included, which means a high bill. I also bought a lot of supplements, and we don't have enough money to see a psychiatrist with such high fees."
Ben Parker sighed and said, "Then for the next few days, I'll schedule you for more shifts. The Orbital Maintenance System could use help. Do you have any similar experience?"
"I don't, but I'm willing to try," Aux hesitated and then looked at Ben Parker and asked, "By the way, boss, have you heard about that Stella Core project?"
"Are you talking about the job at the Stella Core Space Station?" Ben Parker looked at Aux and said, "Are you considering it?"
"Yes," Aux nodded, "I know that leaving Lisa to work so far away at this time isn't good for her, but not having money to pay the bills and being unable to afford a doctor is even worse for her. If we keep dragging this on, bigger problems will arise."
"Although her body has healed, she still needs time to recuperate and can't go back to work so soon. Right now, I'm the only one who can earn money. I hope to earn more, and I've heard that working at the space station pays well."
"Yes, the salary is quite high. If you work a full rotation at once, you'll not only be able to completely cover your medical bills and credit cards, but you'll also have more than enough to see a psychiatrist. The only problem is it's a bit far, and there's some risk involved."
"No problem," Aux rubbed his hands together and gave a smile, saying, "It's just two months, after all. There are signals up on the space station, right?"
"Of course, communication with Earth isn't affected. But you need to think it through; during the closed cycle, you are not allowed to leave. If there's an emergency, you can't return because the portal doesn't operate without permission, which is hard to obtain, so…"
"Lisa has a large family," Aux said. "Her mother, hearing about her condition, has already come from Texas, and will soon take her back home. On the farm, she'll get better care."
"Oh, she's a Texan girl."
"Yes, so when I say she's quite outgoing, I'm not lying. To be honest, she's even toned it down a bit after marriage. When we were dating, she really was…"
The two laughed together. Ben Parker stood up and said, "I'll get you the recruitment flyer. You can call the number on it to inquire. I think with your qualifications and experience, it'll be simple to pass the screening. Maybe we can even set off together."
"Oh, you're going too?" Aux seemed even more delighted. "I was worried about being clueless on the station without an experienced old hand to guide us, but this is great news."
"I wouldn't say I'm experienced; I just got transferred here not long ago. Working at the space station must be completely different from here. We'll have to learn together."
After Ben Parker left, Aux picked up the phone, dialed a number, and spoke to the person on the line: "Yes, my dear, I've already prepared to apply. Don't worry, I'll go up to space right away to check for you, there definitely aren't any aliens trying to invade Earth, and your memories haven't been altered. Stop worrying so much, all right, goodbye."
In Psychiatrist Schiller's office at the Elder Council Hospital, Peter opened the cookie tin, showing the cookies that Aunt May baked for Schiller—a small box with five different shapes of cookies, each looking like a different flavor, and even emitting a delicious aroma without having completely cooled down.
Schiller brought out his treasured tea leaves and brewed a cup of even more fragrant tea. They sipped the tea and ate the cookies together.
"My uncle plans to work on the space station," Peter started, "What do you think about it, Doctor?"
"The Stella Core Station, is it? I think it's quite good. The station has just been built; its facilities are relatively new and the conditions are very good. Plus, there are technical personnel from various countries which makes for great international exchange, beneficial for career development."
"Yes, but honestly, I'm most worried about the safety issues," Peter sighed. "My uncle is good in every way, but he's just an ordinary person. Ordinary people are so vulnerable. Just three days ago, someone in our lab made a mistake during an operation and blew a big hole in his palm, losing a lot of blood."
"True, the bodies of ordinary people are very fragile," Schiller didn't deny it, saying, "In fact, their minds are a bit more fragile than their bodies. If you take a round through the psychiatric inpatient department, you would understand."
"But you have to admit, the thriving society we now live in was built by ordinary people. If all they had was fragility, how could they have created such miracles?"
Peter's frown eased as he said, "You're right, Doctor. When I visited the colleague who got injured, he told me he knew the risks of doing experiments and that such a day might come, but he still chose to be in the lab."
"But the truth is, when he got hurt, he was in agony, sobbing uncontrollably, almost on the verge of madness. Yet when he received treatment, and even before his wound was fully healed, he said he was fine and forgot the pain quickly."
"Because there are more things worth thinking about than pain," Schiller said, his hands on the desk, "That's the advantage of an evolved brain. Thinking is the best medicine for healing pain, adept at comforting oneself in any situation, justifying everything."
After Peter left, David came in, a visit Schiller had anticipated would happen sooner or later.
"Hello," Schiller greeted him with a smile. "Would you like to talk about mutants?"
"I can't read your mind," David said, looking at him. "This means you're not an ordinary person."
"I am, but I'm a psychiatric patient. People with mental illnesses can usually block mind-readers because their minds are really devoid of rational thought."
"I saw many versions of you. Are you a patient with dissociative identity disorder?"
"Of course not."
Surprisingly to David, Schiller denied it. David squinted at him, and Schiller spread his hands, saying,
"My illness is far more serious than yours."