10-07-2016, 11:16 AM
The Ascendancy slept soundly now and Stepanovich led them out and pointed out another patient's room before going on somewhere else. The Sigma? He had just seen him in the Square yesterday. Along with James. Strange, that coincidence. What had the Ascendancy and the Sigma been doing when they got hurt so badly? Again he wondered who had attacked and why. Something was tickling his mind. A hunch maybe.
They went into the room and what he saw turned his stomach. Burn victims were among the worst to look at. The man's dark skin peeked through gauze on his face and arms and what he saw gave him that sick queasy feeling that he always got when human carnage confronted him.
But he did what he always did, then. Clenched his jaw and boxed away the feelings, set them behind him. When you had a job to do, you needed to think clearly and objectively. While empathy on the job had its place, people needed action and help. Hand wringing and being emotional about how much pain they were in or what had happened did nothing for an accident victim or a mom's fears for her missing child. They needed someone to take charge and help them. Sometimes he felt a bit guilty about it, switching it off. Took a while to switch it back on. More than one girl had complained he seemed distant or cool on those occasions he went out after a particularly bad day. Enough that he had stopped doing that. Mostly.
Anyway, he watched as the Padre used the power again to heal. This time, because he was compartmentalized and unemotional (what had that girl called him? A robot? Said he was a cold heartless machine or something? Man, that wasn't fair), he could watch more carefully what was going on. The awe was still there, of course, but now he could study it closely. The last time had laid a good groundwork and gave him a rough idea of what he was doing. This time, he could now see how the Padre modified what he did. The injuries were not the same, not really, so of course it required different weaves. Even so, the similarities were enough that Ivan thought he understood it. Not fully. Not to this level, at least. Not yet. But it fit. He'd even be willing to try it out on himself. A bruise or a cut maybe. Even something worse. That'd be interesting to see. Who knew? Maybe he could get good at it like the Padre. There was just something so familiar about it all. There were patterns that he was starting to see, get a feel for. This was really kinda cool. He looked forward to practicing with the power more. Maybe the Padre would teach him? Given the last time he asked, prolly not, though.
He wasn't surprised to see the Sigma wake up. Must not be too worse for wear either. Pulled that tube from his throat right out, then asked about the Ascendancy.
"He's ok. Mr. James healed him before he healed you. He's sleeping now but should wake soon."
He paused. He wanted to ask what had happened? But the Padre was in the room. Likely, it was classified. He probably wasn't cleared to know. Still. He was curious. He was about to open his mouth when the Padre beat him to the punch.
He watched the Sigma, curious as to what he would say.
Edited by Ivan Sarkozy, Oct 7 2016, 11:46 AM.
They went into the room and what he saw turned his stomach. Burn victims were among the worst to look at. The man's dark skin peeked through gauze on his face and arms and what he saw gave him that sick queasy feeling that he always got when human carnage confronted him.
But he did what he always did, then. Clenched his jaw and boxed away the feelings, set them behind him. When you had a job to do, you needed to think clearly and objectively. While empathy on the job had its place, people needed action and help. Hand wringing and being emotional about how much pain they were in or what had happened did nothing for an accident victim or a mom's fears for her missing child. They needed someone to take charge and help them. Sometimes he felt a bit guilty about it, switching it off. Took a while to switch it back on. More than one girl had complained he seemed distant or cool on those occasions he went out after a particularly bad day. Enough that he had stopped doing that. Mostly.
Anyway, he watched as the Padre used the power again to heal. This time, because he was compartmentalized and unemotional (what had that girl called him? A robot? Said he was a cold heartless machine or something? Man, that wasn't fair), he could watch more carefully what was going on. The awe was still there, of course, but now he could study it closely. The last time had laid a good groundwork and gave him a rough idea of what he was doing. This time, he could now see how the Padre modified what he did. The injuries were not the same, not really, so of course it required different weaves. Even so, the similarities were enough that Ivan thought he understood it. Not fully. Not to this level, at least. Not yet. But it fit. He'd even be willing to try it out on himself. A bruise or a cut maybe. Even something worse. That'd be interesting to see. Who knew? Maybe he could get good at it like the Padre. There was just something so familiar about it all. There were patterns that he was starting to see, get a feel for. This was really kinda cool. He looked forward to practicing with the power more. Maybe the Padre would teach him? Given the last time he asked, prolly not, though.
He wasn't surprised to see the Sigma wake up. Must not be too worse for wear either. Pulled that tube from his throat right out, then asked about the Ascendancy.
"He's ok. Mr. James healed him before he healed you. He's sleeping now but should wake soon."
He paused. He wanted to ask what had happened? But the Padre was in the room. Likely, it was classified. He probably wasn't cleared to know. Still. He was curious. He was about to open his mouth when the Padre beat him to the punch.
He watched the Sigma, curious as to what he would say.
Edited by Ivan Sarkozy, Oct 7 2016, 11:46 AM.