Chapter 2760: Star Core Rescue (11)

Shiller found Aux's room without much difficulty, as he had seen a group of people cursing and heading to another place on his way there, and learned upon asking that there was a lunatic in the dormitory they were staying in and now they had to go to someone else's place.

Shiller knew that the lunatic was very likely Aux, but when he opened the door and saw Aux's condition, he was still taken aback.

Aux was a muscular man; upon first meeting him, Shiller was surprised by his size. When Aux stood with Lisa, if Lisa was a Barbie doll, then Aux was the biggest size teddy bear—very tall and broad. The nurses used to say he could get stuck in the hospital doorframe.

But now he had lost a lot of weight and was nearly half as wide as before. Although working on the Space Station may be tough and leave little time for exercise, such severe atrophy was still quite shocking.

He had shaved off most of his beard, which made him look a lot younger but also accentuated his paler complexion, looking somewhat similar to Lisa, or maybe even worse.

As Shiller approached him, he heard Aux murmuring something under his breath; Shiller thought he could make out Lisa's name, so he said to Aux, "Aux, can you hear me speaking? Lisa's alright, she sent me to find you."

Aux's cloudy eyes flickered with light, but his auditory system seemed unable to successfully connect to the brain's network, and he soon showed no reaction.

Shiller had no choice but to take a risk and check on him, deliberately wearing a white coat. He knew Aux had a fondness for doctors, and even ordinary people, after disasters, would experience a significant increase in mental stability at the sight of something resembling a doctor's attire.

Aux did not lash out violently, something he was capable of, as Shiller saw evidence of a struggle around the room; evidently, Aux's recent outburst had driven out his roommates.

Observing Aux more closely, Shiller noticed symptoms of weakness. Aux's consciousness was scattered, his lips trembled, he couldn't focus well, and was not sensitive to external stimuli.

Various symptoms flashed through Shiller's mind and were one by one discarded until only one remained—bipolar disorder.

From previous descriptions of Aux's work performance, he exhibited depressive symptoms characterized by despondency, weakness, and reduced hand-eye coordination, impairing his ability to do his job well.

Now, Aux seemed to be just past a manic phase, in a state of severe burnout and about to slip back into depression.

There are many causes for this illness. From earlier observations, Shiller hadn't noticed any hereditary symptoms in Aux, meaning his condition must have been acquired.

Most likely, it was the combined stress of caring for Lisa, unsuccessful work experiences at the Space Station, and suppression from his superiors, but such rapid deterioration was nonetheless rare.

During an episode, patients with bipolar disorder are almost impossible to communicate with. During the manic phase, the language system overfunctions, thoughts race, and logic is lost, leading to disjointed responses to questions posed by others.

In the depressive phase, thought processes slow down, speech logic becomes more fragmented, and there's a significant pessimistic inclination. The desire to communicate is weak; often, they refuse interaction and might even panic at social invitations from others.

This is a relatively common affective disorder, and having encountered many such patients, Shiller knew he had come to the right place and at a very opportune moment.

These patients are indeed tough to handle, but there is a crucial window for their treatment—exactly the state Aux was in, just coming off a manic episode and on the verge of transitioning into depression.

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At this time, the period of excitement had drained their physical strength to the point where they could no longer scream or even show aggressive tendencies like they did when the excitement hit; they simply didn't have the energy to do so any longer, making it safe for the medical staff to approach.

But at the same time, their overly vacant minds left them incapable of thought. The depressive mood hadn't yet had the chance to seize the high ground of their brains. Now their thoughts were a blank slate, to such an extent that the hypnosis many psychologists had prepared fell short of achieving this level of mental clearance.

This was the perfect opportunity to intrude on their vulnerable spirits. Shiller dragged Aux to the middle of the floor. Aux wanted to resist, but he lacked the strength and his brain couldn't figure out what Shiller was up to; he couldn't even activate his self-defense mechanisms.

Shiller squatted beside him, rubbing his hands together as if looking at a feast, then stood up and turned off all the lights in the room, leaving only a small desk lamp on.

As the light dimmed, Aux began to feel drowsy. Shiller stood diagonally in front of him and said, "Can you hear me speaking? Aux, it's Lisa who sent me."

"Yes, Lisa..." Aux repeated.

"Don't be afraid, you've been rescued," Shiller said. "You're now on a hospital bed at the New York Elderly Association Hospital. Remember that lamp?"

Aux stretched his eyelids and blinked as if he couldn't recall anything. Shiller continued, "Reach out and touch the bedsheets; they were just changed by the nurse today. It's a bit cool now, but it will warm up by evening."

"What time is it now...?" Aux asked.

"It's noon," Shiller said. "Do you find the sunlight a bit dazzling? I can have the nurse draw the curtains."

"I'm a little cold."

"Yes, that's a normal reaction." Shiller stood at the head of his bed and adjusted the control valve on the IV line, saying, "You have severe nutritional deficiencies. Haven't you been eating properly lately?"

"I've been too busy with work, work..." Aux mumbled, with each word rushing out of his mouth, yes, but they were incredibly feeble, by the last syllable turning into a mere breath.

"Where is Lisa?"

"Sorry, but she can't see you right now."

"Where is Lisa? I want to see her."

"I'm sorry, Aux, but after the spacecraft accident, all of you have become confidential personnel. Until the truth is fully investigated, you can't have contact with your family. However, I can have her look at you through the observation window."

"When will she... come...?"

"She's already here." Shiller pointed to the observation window on the other side of the hospital room door. Aux turned his head to look in that direction and saw a blurry figure; he struggled to get up.

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"No, no, don't do this, Aux, remember? You fainted on the ship, and you experienced rough movement during the retreat. The final diagnosis was a concussion, so that's why you're feeling so uncomfortable. You can't move right now…"

Aux lay down again, and Shiller continued, "In fact, Lisa is already cured. During her last treatment, she explicitly expressed her desire to have a child with you, preferably a cute little daughter…"

Aux began to indulge in his fantasies, seemingly already seeing his daughter running towards him after school. The sunlight was so dazzling, and the air was a bit hot, but nothing was warmer than that embrace.

But then other fragments of memory emerged: Lisa's wailing, certain unclear test reports, them standing under a large tree with Lisa holding a cat, a figure parting from him at the airport gate…

Aux shook his head vigorously, and Shiller interrupted him, saying, "You have symptoms of memory loss; it's normal to feel confused. Don't be afraid, everything will get better as your injuries heal."

Shiller reached out to turn the button on the painkiller pump, saying, "Can I give you some more morphine? But not too much, you still have to prepare for pregnancy."

"Then no! No!" yelled Aux. "I'm not a drug user, my daughter, she won't be a junkie's child…"

Shiller suddenly paused and said, "Is that so? You don't have a history of drug use?"

"Of course, I don't, I hate those things that cause hallucinations! They're not real; I would kill them..."

"Who do you want to kill?"

"Those who say I've done drugs."

"Who are they?"

"Hyde, and that damned Anlowe, they've always been spreading rumors; they say I've had hallucinations…"

Those were Aux's colleagues' names. After a moment of thought, Shiller knew he was telling the truth, but this didn't sound like the usual rumors. Rumors of Aux being part of the Mob or a washed-up football player seemed more plausible than him being a drug addict.

After all, the state of a drug addiction is too obvious. In the Space Station, without any drugs, any addict would have been witnessed suffering from withdrawals, and if not witnessed, then it certainly wasn't the case. Such rumors are too easy to debunk.

But what exactly had Aux done to make his colleagues think he was on drugs? Was it because of rapid weight loss? Or did he have some other bizarre behavior?

"Do you feel a bit better?" Shiller asked. "The nutritional fluids we've been giving you should perk you up. How do you feel now?"

"I seem to feel a bit better…"

Shiller put away the syringe, watching as the effect of the cure potion gradually made Aux's complexion rosier. This potion couldn't alleviate psychological issues, but at least it could lessen the burden on the organs caused by Aux's rapid weight loss.

"All right then, take a short rest. Soon a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent will come for questioning. As long as you get through their inquiry, you can be reunited with Lisa."

After speaking, Shiller turned off the light, and the moment the glow disappeared, Aux fell into a deep sleep. He only slept for three minutes, but in another world, it felt as though a year had passed. Countless dreams flashed through his mind.

Shiller watched, somewhat shocked, as Aux tried to stand up. What was happening? Was he sleepwalking?

This was indeed getting interesting. As Shiller thought this, he pushed Aux back down. Emotional disturbances in depressive states could lead to insomnia and vivid dreams, but there wasn't typically sign of sleepwalking. Generally, pathological sleepwalking was due to some structural problems in the brain.

Aux quickly woke up, looking as if he didn't remember any of it at all. Shiller took off his lab coat, revealing the shirt underneath, and changed his expression as he spoke.

"Good day, sir. I'm the agent responsible for you. Please don't be nervous; I'm just going to ask you a few questions. If you can remember, tell me; if not, it's fine. Is that okay?"

"Of course, I want to see Lisa…"

"Good, you'll see her very soon." Shiller's speech became faster and his enunciation and vocabulary adopted a different accent.

"When did you start working on the Space Station? What projects are you mainly responsible for? Who is your immediate superior?"

Aux answered Shiller's questions in spurts, comparing them to his own memory, and found they essentially matched up. This meant Aux's memory was fine.

"That day you forgot your safety tether, right?" Probing directly, Shiller said, "Then you floated out alone to repair the Photovoltaic Integrated Device…"

"Yes, I felt panicked, as if I was going to stay out there forever. But I grabbed onto the railing of the Integrated Device, and then I thought of getting to the other side."

"Why did you want to get to the other side?"

"Because there were windows there, I wanted to get to the window…"

Shiller furrowed his brow. So Aux had thought of attracting attention through the window. Why then hadn't he done so?

"And then?"

"But… there was no…"

"What?!"

"No window."