The ones Victor has managed to treat so far. Even if progression is slowed, as with the current treatment, it's mainly repressing symptoms. The infection remains.
You already know Lobelia is infected. Since he's refused the cure, I wondered what sort of progress was being made. [Alhaitham's gaze casts down to the papers.] Or if he was only accepting a permanent solution to allow himself to be used.
[Cantarella crosses her arms. After Thursday night and the inevitable progression of something they'd hoped to prevent, she's been unable to keep her mind from drifting to Lobelia and his avoidant absence.
Even the patient record copies mentioned that resilience only lasted so long for many of them. Lobelia's far more deteriorated than anyone who's succumbed to infection in the town.]
My understanding is that he's refusing any treatment at all. You saw him: He refused anything to eat or drink from me, let alone medication.
Of course he is. [Assuming Cantarella would probably force some sort of medicine on him like an unruly child.
Alhaitham drops the papers with an aggrieved sound and rakes his hand back through his hair. He wishes it was auch a simple reason.] Even though managing his symptoms wouldn't inhibit your research. He simply doesn't believe his survival is worth the effort or resources out of misplaced guilt.
I'm about to start treating him like a child unwilling to eat his vegetables.
[Apparently, Cantarella has also reached her frustrations and the impulse to dose him.]
Though it's his choice, it's one I find increasingly difficult to agree with the more he becomes a threat—however unwillingly—to us all. He'll feel all the guiltier if it comes to that.
[ Altogether, their small group can probably still handle him. And yet...]
That's why I'm supposed to kill him before he does. [That's why Alhaitham has had to chase him down so much as he's retreated from everyone. It's been exhausting. Some of the burden may have been lifted, but--]
Which is why I've spent all this time keeping him focused. It's torturing him but he's trying to hold on. [Alhaitham presses his head into his hand with a hard sigh.] Sedatives may even be worse by this point, because his lucidity is the only way he's staying in control.
[She sighs.] I agree that every time he loses focus, he becomes harder to ground. Staying awake that night might have very well bought us time, after all. [Though maybe she's just telling herself that to keep the spark of hope alive, something that she must do to maintain confidence that the path to the end will remain open to them.]
You should know that he slipped me a shell when we met over the weekend. I don't know what he plans to do with it, but it resembles the conches Ludger was handing out earlier.
[I, Shay, didn't think of this, but Cantarella probably would have, so I'm going to fudge around a little bit.]
At the time, he seemed adamant that it be passed secretly...though we were surrounded by the entire group. Perhaps you can help me decipher its message, should one come through.
[Cantarella withdraws it from the little satchel she's started using to carry around her essentials as research has ramped up, since I can't pretend that she just pulls things out of her cleavage hammerspace anymore. It's not feasible.]
Here. It seems quite silent. I suppose I'm meant to know when the right time to use it is.
[Unfortunately, they won't be able to hear anything through the conch yet, which is somehow even more terrifying than if it were just people screaming.]
[Cantarella looks at the silent conch, her expression pinched and a little unreadable. At first, she hadn't thought Lobelia had any trust in her at all, the way they sparred like she was sitting across the table from a Montelli. Now...]
He did say they served as communicators. I'll keep it on hand, especially now that the entire group knows of his infection.
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Who have been your test subjects?
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Why--is there someone else?
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Even the patient record copies mentioned that resilience only lasted so long for many of them. Lobelia's far more deteriorated than anyone who's succumbed to infection in the town.]
My understanding is that he's refusing any treatment at all. You saw him: He refused anything to eat or drink from me, let alone medication.
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Alhaitham drops the papers with an aggrieved sound and rakes his hand back through his hair. He wishes it was auch a simple reason.] Even though managing his symptoms wouldn't inhibit your research. He simply doesn't believe his survival is worth the effort or resources out of misplaced guilt.
[Alhaitham says the word like it's poison.]
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[Apparently, Cantarella has also reached her frustrations and the impulse to dose him.]
Though it's his choice, it's one I find increasingly difficult to agree with the more he becomes a threat—however unwillingly—to us all. He'll feel all the guiltier if it comes to that.
[ Altogether, their small group can probably still handle him. And yet...]
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Which is why I've spent all this time keeping him focused. It's torturing him but he's trying to hold on. [Alhaitham presses his head into his hand with a hard sigh.] Sedatives may even be worse by this point, because his lucidity is the only way he's staying in control.
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You should know that he slipped me a shell when we met over the weekend. I don't know what he plans to do with it, but it resembles the conches Ludger was handing out earlier.
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At the time, he seemed adamant that it be passed secretly...though we were surrounded by the entire group. Perhaps you can help me decipher its message, should one come through.
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[He's clinging onto anything that isn't sinking into the bone deep stress of this last week.]
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Here. It seems quite silent. I suppose I'm meant to know when the right time to use it is.
[Unfortunately, they won't be able to hear anything through the conch yet, which is somehow even more terrifying than if it were just people screaming.]
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Perhaps he's given you a channel of your own to reach him... or someone else.
[For an extended definition of "someone".]
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He did say they served as communicators. I'll keep it on hand, especially now that the entire group knows of his infection.
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