Tants on the Trailblazer (Colony Ship Trailblazer Book 4) by John Thornton

Author:John Thornton [Thornton, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Automacube Enterprises LLC
Published: 2018-04-07T07:00:00+00:00

13

Axis Mundi

Janae awoke. She blinked her eyes at the warm, yellow light that shone down on her. She yawned and stretched, and then blinked a few more times. “Where am I?”

“You are in the infirmary,” a mechanical voice replied. “I am Doctor 78G, your attending physician. How are we feeling today?” The white automacube silently rolled over to the bedside on its six drive wheels. Its manipulation arm was folded back on its top. It was gleaming, pristine, and attentive. Janae hated it.

“We are not feeling anything. I am feeling confused. Where am I?” Was it a dream? Another nightmare? Janae wondered if she was waiting for Ken’s long recovery from his mauling by bruins, but then shook her head to clear her thoughts. “What time is it? Where am I?”

“You are in the infirmary. Its specific location is of no consequence to you. It is the beginning of a new day. Are we hungry this morning?” Doctor 78G asked.

“Your patronizing use of we makes me ill. Is that your intent?

“I addressed you using the established medicorum pluralis maiestatis. The intent of using ‘we’ instead of ‘you’ in those queries when addressing a second party is to offer assurance that the one asked is not alone in her or his situation. My intent was to convey to you that I am with you, here, and we are in this together. Using the pronoun ‘we’ has a long history of being an effective way for medical staff to connect with a patient. Obviously, that offends you. I will revise my speech patterns, to meet your personal sensitivities and emotional needs. May I ask how you are feeling this morning?”

“You just did. I am feeling…” Janae took stock of her situation, and then huffed out a long exhalation. “I am not in pain, but I do have confusing thoughts and memories.” She licked her lips and recalled some nasty thoughts and images of primitive men who were threatening her. Then a flash of a dark room, and strange, stinging creatures. She was unclear what was real, and what was delusion. Constance’s face and voice came to her mind.

“Recovery from venom exposure often results in distorted senses of time and lapses of memory. Time, space, and chronology will appear fuzzy or blurred. You suffered severe anaphylactic shock from multiple scorpion stings. You are convalescing nicely, and I expect you to make a full recovery.”

“Scorpions? Those toxic, tiny, terrors?” Janae remembered the things on her neck and hands. Putting her hands before her face she saw no swelling, or wounds. “How long?”

“The time of your recovery is of no consequence. There are no time constraints. You are the only patient in the infirmary,” Doctor 78G stated. “You may remain here for as long as you need.”

Janae lifted herself from the bed, and realized she was naked, covered only by the very soft sheet and blanket. “Where are my clothes? My medical kit? The data sticks? Kimberly’s ALP? My RAM suit?”

“All your clothing is secured in the closet behind you.

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