Ironically, their department primarily studied material science and no one had a medical background. After checking the nearby offices, there was still no one capable of handling the situation. They had taken bandages from the medical kit but didn't know how to apply them, and they dared not to take the medicine rashly. It wasn't until Ben Parker had gathered everyone together to assess the situation that they discovered that by that time, a high fever had already developed.
There were at least a dozen people with similar conditions, most of whom had been injured accidentally during the evacuation of the power outage area. Besides this female researcher, two others had fractures, and unfortunately, all of the emergency medical department was on the other half of the Space Station. This half had only a few scientists with medical education backgrounds, with Shiller being the most professional among them.
How could one say the previous deputy chief engineer was unreliable? When such an incident occurred, he didn't organize a response, simply telling everyone to stay in their own offices. As a result, injured personnel who were not seriously hurt initially were not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner, making matters worse the longer they were delayed. Now even Shiller was starting to get overwhelmed.
Fortunately, most of the injuries were external wounds, none too serious. Shiller first cleaned the wounds, then bandaged them, and after giving the female researcher medicine to reduce her fever, had someone take her back to rest. He then continued to splint another person with a fracture, busying himself for nearly an hour straight.
As he raised his head, he saw the electronic clock on the wall of the Space Station showing it was now exactly 12:01, leaving only 59 minutes until the oxygen on the Space Station was depleted.
After tending to most of the injured, Shiller began to provide psychological counseling to those who were psychologically breaking down. Fortunately, the vast majority of employees on this Space Station had space work experience and were not too panic-stricken; most of them were just dealing with anxiety and tension, which were relatively easy to handle.
Parker separated those in need, having their close colleagues and friends stay with them in separate offices, then went in one by one to provide psychological counseling.
Initially, these people were somewhat resistant because it would make them appear weak, but after Ben Parker told them about Shiller's regular consultation fees, a long queue formed outside the office door.
Just as he had treated a patient, Shiller's communicator rang. As he answered, Nick's roaring voice came through.
"You said you wouldn't cause trouble, didn't you, Shiller?!!"
Shiller was slightly startled, but he still spoke calmly, "Cause trouble? How have I caused trouble? You must be mistaken..."
"Look at this!"
Shiller opened the video Nick had sent, which zoomed in on the appearance of the fog monster from the video Balk had posted online.
"You don't think this is me, do you?!" Shiller raised his voice, saying, "Are your remaining eyes blind? How could the Gray Mist fly so unnaturally? And since when was it so small a cluster??"
"Don't pretend I don't know – it was you who staged this!" Nick insisted, "When you turn into fog, you're able to take on many forms. You're just using this so-called 'Balk' as an excuse to create chaos, to muddy the waters, just as you always do!"
"Didn't I promise you that I wouldn't cause trouble? Do you really see me as someone who doesn't keep his word?"
"Do you dare to swear on your conscience that you haven't?!"
"Of course I dare!" Although Shiller didn't actually touch his conscience, he truly hadn't caused any trouble.
But Nick still looked unconvinced and warned Shiller that they were about to execute their own plan. If Shiller dared to ensnare them in a mess again, he would no longer let Shiller be part of such plans.
Shiller felt wronged for the first time.
He had been in his office treating patients the whole time, under the watch of so many people—how could he have possibly found time to cause trouble?
Moreover, that ugly fog monster in the video wasn't him at all. Even if Gray Mist transformed into fog, its surging form was graceful, filled with an indescribable, eerie beauty, not like some special effects video produced by a video software template. Nick was simply blind!
Shiller sought out Ben Parker, asking him to testify that he had indeed been diligently treating patients. Nick had misunderstood him so gravely, and if his salary didn't increase next quarter, this matter wouldn't end!
Parker felt slightly embarrassed as well, Shiller had indeed been under his supervision the entire time, performing his medical duties excellently. Even if that weren't the case, there were so many witnesses present. Nick's suspicions did seem a little unfounded.
Besides, it was a critical time, and questioning one of their own was not beneficial, especially since Shiller was the only competent doctor they had. If he walked out on them, Parker wouldn't know how to treat wounds or fractures.
Watching Parker grasp the communicator to confront Nick, a mysterious light flickered in Shiller's eyes.
He called out to the corridor, "Next!"
The person who walked in gave him a somewhat forced smile. Shiller rose politely, asked him to sit down, and began providing emotional support. Soon, the man's tension visibly dissipated.
In the end, Shiller even said to him, "I'm sorry, we're pressed for time; otherwise, we could have talked a bit more."
"It's already a big help, Doctor, normally I don't have the privilege to enjoy this level of psychological support," the short man said with a smile to Shiller, then added, "I probably couldn't afford a minute of your consultation fee with a year's salary."
"This is not the time to talk about money. I'm here to do just this, regardless of what some might say, the people of Earth have never given up on you."
"Of course, I know. I'm very grateful that you could come. You and Parker are heroes, we firmly believe that," he replied.
During the time he was bandaging the wounds of the female researcher, the question had already been raised: Since Parker had already gone to recover from his illness, why had he come back? Parker was not one to lie, so he informed them truthfully.
The reality was, they had returned to calm the crew and provide medical assistance, and also to inform them about the situation on the ground, to make them believe that governments were working hard to find a way to rescue them and that they should not give up hope either.
So far, this approach had been effective, as the public eye is discerning. And these scientists, who had been selected to work on the Space Station, tended to be more cautious and rigorous than others.
They all understood that in the face of crisis, it wasn't about what people said, but about what they did.
Even if Parker and Shiller had indeed been sent by the government to appease them, at least they had come. They chose to stand with the crew, in a hazardous situation, trying to help and actually making a difference. That was enough.