[ Hilbert watches the video intently, frown on his face as he sees it continue. And...yeah. He's glowing. Those lines in his eyes have moved to his skin. Normally, that's not a good sign. Traveling infection, perhaps? But he should have spotted something in Vash's eyes if it was an infection. Also, what infection makes you glow? ]
Interesting. [ Understatement of the century. ] You seem to be active and feeling well. Is that the case?
[ Frankly, Hilbert would be surprised if Vash didn't freak out. He continues the conversation, lightly musing, ] Entire cellular structure would have to change overnight to achieve bioluminescence. As it obviously did not, that leaves us with various other possibilities. Sit down, I will take blood sample.
[ No ifs, ands, or buts here, Hilbert's in full tilt doctor mode. ]
[ Vash does his best to keep it together and parks his butt on a chair, pulling back his uniform on his flesh arm to offer it to Hilbert. If there's anything the man can find out... ]
This isn't like, some latent elheen stuff I don't know about?
[ That would be a lot better than 'oh yeah you're growing glowing lines all over'. ]
I have never heard of elheen glowing, [ Hilbert points out, with a little frown. As Vash sits down, Hilbert goes to grab an alcohol swab, something to tie around Vash's arm to make the vein more visible, and a syringe. ]
Besides, what would trigger be? Something must have happened to make you start glowing like this, otherwise would have experienced it before now.
[ It's definitely not an elheen thing, and Vash knows that... he's not that alien to his own species. Still, it would have been a relief if it was. Not knowing where it comes from while out in the middle of space is giving him some serious anxiety. ]
I thought it was the alien affecting me somehow, but nobody else is having any other things happening to them but memories. It's just me.
[ The blood is fairly easy to draw, even with all the scars on Vash's arm. ]
I haven't managed to make it happen again, though. If I didn't see the footage afterwards, I would have thought it was some kind of hallucination.
[ Sigh. ]
...she had them, too. That woman in the tank I saw.
Nobody else is having any other things happening to them that we know of, [ Hilbert points out, as he starts to tie the tourniquet around Vash's upper arm. ] Entirely possible that someone else has changed, but has not changed in public way.
[ As he works, it's obvious Hilbert's idea of a bedside manner is nearly nonexistent. He swabs the bend of Vash's arm without giving the man a heads up: enjoy the sensation of cold alcohol. ]
I have had similarities between memories obtained, but nothing that has progressed beyond mental state.
If you do figure out how to do it on purpose, would be interested to know how.
[ As they talk, Hilbert inserts the needle, drawing blood from Vash's vein. He draws enough for a sample, removes the needle, then presses a small patch of gauze to the injection site, all while keeping the conversation going. ]
If there is mental trigger that makes you glow, could explain how it happens in first place.
In that case, my next suggestion would be to repeat steps that happened. Go back to— [ urgh ] —Sheryl, work as you were beforehand, look at the footage. If it repeats, then we at least have something to work with.
[ As he talks, Hilbert grabs some bandages, wrapping the gauze down onto Vash's arm. There we go, everything's patched up! Now, time to poke at this man's blood. ]
I don't like these kind of mysteries, either... but thank you.
[ Vash gets up and pulls his uniform sleeve down over his bandage, heading for the door.
When Hilbert checks his blood, it looks like normal elheen blood, other than the fact that he's obviously had a lot of radiation treatments in the past. ]
The radiation treatments are interesting. Idly, Hilbert can't help but wonder what caused all that. It's just being written down as a possible note for now. No need to be blatantly nosy. ]
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Interesting. [ Understatement of the century. ] You seem to be active and feeling well. Is that the case?
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[ There's a pause and Vash takes a deep breath. ]
...sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to freak out.
[ He sighs and picks a bit at his prosthetic as a nervous distraction. ]
I'm feeling fine otherwise. Unlike the eye thing those lines do not really show up on my skin permanently. Glowing or not.
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[ Frankly, Hilbert would be surprised if Vash didn't freak out. He continues the conversation, lightly musing, ] Entire cellular structure would have to change overnight to achieve bioluminescence. As it obviously did not, that leaves us with various other possibilities. Sit down, I will take blood sample.
[ No ifs, ands, or buts here, Hilbert's in full tilt doctor mode. ]
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This isn't like, some latent elheen stuff I don't know about?
[ That would be a lot better than 'oh yeah you're growing glowing lines all over'. ]
no subject
Besides, what would trigger be? Something must have happened to make you start glowing like this, otherwise would have experienced it before now.
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I thought it was the alien affecting me somehow, but nobody else is having any other things happening to them but memories. It's just me.
[ The blood is fairly easy to draw, even with all the scars on Vash's arm. ]
I haven't managed to make it happen again, though. If I didn't see the footage afterwards, I would have thought it was some kind of hallucination.
[ Sigh. ]
...she had them, too. That woman in the tank I saw.
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[ As he works, it's obvious Hilbert's idea of a bedside manner is nearly nonexistent. He swabs the bend of Vash's arm without giving the man a heads up: enjoy the sensation of cold alcohol. ]
I have had similarities between memories obtained, but nothing that has progressed beyond mental state.
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[ There's a little shiver at the sudden cold, but Vash doesn't otherwise move. He's not exactly scared of needles... unless he wants to be dramatic. ]
Well, if I manage to learn how to do it on purpose, I can get some overtime as a nightlight.
[ Humor always helps, right? The laugh is rather weak, though. ]
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[ As they talk, Hilbert inserts the needle, drawing blood from Vash's vein. He draws enough for a sample, removes the needle, then presses a small patch of gauze to the injection site, all while keeping the conversation going. ]
If there is mental trigger that makes you glow, could explain how it happens in first place.
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[ The blood is taken and Vash really hopes Hilbert can find something in there that explains things... but it's doubtful. ]
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[ As he talks, Hilbert grabs some bandages, wrapping the gauze down onto Vash's arm. There we go, everything's patched up! Now, time to poke at this man's blood. ]
Any other questions?
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[ Sigh. ]
I'll set up a personal camera to record things in the power generator office.
[ He could ask for the security footage, but this seemed easier. ]
Just let me know if you find anything at all.
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[ And based on Hilbert's grumpy little frown, this is obviously a mystery. ]
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[ Vash gets up and pulls his uniform sleeve down over his bandage, heading for the door.
When Hilbert checks his blood, it looks like normal elheen blood, other than the fact that he's obviously had a lot of radiation treatments in the past. ]
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The radiation treatments are interesting. Idly, Hilbert can't help but wonder what caused all that. It's just being written down as a possible note for now. No need to be blatantly nosy. ]