09-14-2021, 09:06 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-15-2021, 07:13 PM by Niall Glacian.)
The lights of the surgery theater were so bright that nothing outside of the operating table was even visible. He could feel the nurses pulling the fabric tight across his chest and tying it behind him. Smells of sterilizers and plastic filled the air and the soft murmuring of the nurses and doctors could be barely heard over the numerous beeps and chimes of the various machines around the table.
He cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me? Hello?" No one reacted and the conversation continued unabated. With a frown he raised his voice, "EXCUSE ME!" and several heads snapped in his direction. He continued at a more normal volumne, "Are we ready to get started, or do we need to keep going over what Donya and Ashlee are doing this weekend?" Numerous voices responded near simultaneously, "Sorry Doctor, sorry."
His support staff moved quickly into position as he looked down at the patient on the table. The young man looked familiar to him and it took him only a moment to recall the name of the patient that hosted the Yersinia Pestis that was his real focus. He bent to speak quietly in the patients ear, a ritual his staff recognized from the hundreds of similar procedures he has performed in the past. "Don't worry... Ben. I'll evict them for you, and you won't even notice." The only response from the unconscious young man was a rattling forced breath from the ventilator.
He stood back up, feeling imperiously tall. The surgical curtain left the patient's shaved chest exposed and with a simple trace of his finger along the sternum, opened up the chest and exposed the heavily infected lungs. In mere moments he lifted out the infected lungs and set another pair in their place. A half-second's concentration perfectly grafted the new lungs in place. He could feel his body draw samples of the disease from the air, instantly breaking them down and catagorizing them in such a way that he would be able to control them from this point forward. He pressed the bones and flesh back into place, molding them like putty to seal up the operation and minimize if not fully remove any trace scarring. His surgical staff applauded as he smiled at them, another miraculous surgery complete, another life saved. "Thank you everyone" He said as one of the monitors emitted a loud beep, "Thank you." *BEEEP* "It would not," *BEEEEEP* "have been possible," *BEEEEEEEP*
He turned and saw all of the alarms around the patient flashing red and yellow warnings. The young man began to buck and convulse and an overwhelming sense of urgency and panic shocked Niall awake. He was breathing hard and the bedside alarm beeped twice more before he gathered his wits together enough to turn it off. While he still remembered the details of the dream he flipped on the light on the nightstand and flipped open his journal, quickly jotting down notes. "Disease dream 11/29: Yerbina Pestis. - lung infection (pneumatic), both lungs full exposure, obvious open lesions and internalized buboes. Transfer smooth, good graft, no apparent immediate rejection, immediate fail after closure? convulsions and spasming. Maybe Septmic Septimistic Septemistic? secondary infection in the blood?"
Niall closed the notebook and rubbed his face. He got up and stumbled into the bathroom, taking care of immediate needs and a quick shower to wash away the last remnants of the terrible ending to an otherwise great dream. He quickly threw on a clean, grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Tying on his sneakers he runs his hand across the stubbly hair on his head. "Getting a little long. Going to have to get it shaved again soon," he thought to himself as he left the guest room Ashlee had shown him too last night. Softly singing his favorite song, he wandered down to the kitchen and made a couple pieces of toast with butter and orange marmalade. He glanced at the clock and noticed that it was almost 8 am. Not sure what his schedule for classes was now, Niall decided to head to Professor Xavier's office and ask.
He cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me? Hello?" No one reacted and the conversation continued unabated. With a frown he raised his voice, "EXCUSE ME!" and several heads snapped in his direction. He continued at a more normal volumne, "Are we ready to get started, or do we need to keep going over what Donya and Ashlee are doing this weekend?" Numerous voices responded near simultaneously, "Sorry Doctor, sorry."
His support staff moved quickly into position as he looked down at the patient on the table. The young man looked familiar to him and it took him only a moment to recall the name of the patient that hosted the Yersinia Pestis that was his real focus. He bent to speak quietly in the patients ear, a ritual his staff recognized from the hundreds of similar procedures he has performed in the past. "Don't worry... Ben. I'll evict them for you, and you won't even notice." The only response from the unconscious young man was a rattling forced breath from the ventilator.
He stood back up, feeling imperiously tall. The surgical curtain left the patient's shaved chest exposed and with a simple trace of his finger along the sternum, opened up the chest and exposed the heavily infected lungs. In mere moments he lifted out the infected lungs and set another pair in their place. A half-second's concentration perfectly grafted the new lungs in place. He could feel his body draw samples of the disease from the air, instantly breaking them down and catagorizing them in such a way that he would be able to control them from this point forward. He pressed the bones and flesh back into place, molding them like putty to seal up the operation and minimize if not fully remove any trace scarring. His surgical staff applauded as he smiled at them, another miraculous surgery complete, another life saved. "Thank you everyone" He said as one of the monitors emitted a loud beep, "Thank you." *BEEEP* "It would not," *BEEEEEP* "have been possible," *BEEEEEEEP*
He turned and saw all of the alarms around the patient flashing red and yellow warnings. The young man began to buck and convulse and an overwhelming sense of urgency and panic shocked Niall awake. He was breathing hard and the bedside alarm beeped twice more before he gathered his wits together enough to turn it off. While he still remembered the details of the dream he flipped on the light on the nightstand and flipped open his journal, quickly jotting down notes. "Disease dream 11/29: Yerbina Pestis. - lung infection (pneumatic), both lungs full exposure, obvious open lesions and internalized buboes. Transfer smooth, good graft, no apparent immediate rejection, immediate fail after closure? convulsions and spasming. Maybe Septmic Septimistic Septemistic? secondary infection in the blood?"
Niall closed the notebook and rubbed his face. He got up and stumbled into the bathroom, taking care of immediate needs and a quick shower to wash away the last remnants of the terrible ending to an otherwise great dream. He quickly threw on a clean, grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Tying on his sneakers he runs his hand across the stubbly hair on his head. "Getting a little long. Going to have to get it shaved again soon," he thought to himself as he left the guest room Ashlee had shown him too last night. Softly singing his favorite song, he wandered down to the kitchen and made a couple pieces of toast with butter and orange marmalade. He glanced at the clock and noticed that it was almost 8 am. Not sure what his schedule for classes was now, Niall decided to head to Professor Xavier's office and ask.
