CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle Two: A Captain's Journey

89 ∞ Going Through the Motions

Shortlisted Week 11 and Day 00010 Mission Nilex 

Gareth gazed out the window of a slow commuter shuttle back to the station. The seven silver pearls had just risen over Earth's horizon, yet he felt nothing. Harlin shifted in the seat next to him to get a better view out the window, but his safety harness prevented him from leaning forward too much. Rules were rules when in zero-G.

Harlin didn't speak. He just stayed with Gareth, a constant presence. Gareth didn't have any feelings about the matter one way or the other. In fact, he'd been indifferent to everything over the past month. He just went through the motions expected of him. It was what he did since being revived.

After the doctor stabilized his crisis, she'd insisted on keeping him for weeks. For observation, he was told. During that period, she'd run one test after another until he was exhausted at the end of each day.

To Gareth, it seemed Dr. Travaine's intense examinations of him had bordered on obsessive. In addition to the medical exams, the psychology experts also took their share of his time. Council sessions, psychology tests, therapy sessions, and then more tests.

Harlin had stayed by him, patiently pushing his wheelchair and waiting in hallways during doctor's exams. Or participating in the physical endurance tests, until Gareth began exceeding normal Human parameters and Harlin could no longer keep up.

Harlin explained his constant presence was to help Maat in evaluations. But that didn't justify the meals. He was always there, sharing breakfast, lunch, and evening meals, going out of his way to be helpful, but always silent. Gareth went through the motions required of him, indifferent to Harlin's presence, but aware of him. Harlin never acknowledged his emotional detachment, nor seemed to let it bother him. He was just there, never expressing judgment.

It was during one of those nights of sharing their evening meal in the hospital room that Harlin broke into their silence. Gareth was sitting up in the hospital bed, a swing tray with plates of food before him, while Harlin sat in the chair beside the bed, eating from a folding table. Harlin had finished his meal and not moved for several moments. Then he turned to face Gareth.

"Gareth, I know you don't want to talk, but I need you to know something."

Putting down a fork of tasteless food, Gareth turned to give Harlin his attention without a word.

"Gareth..." Harlin started, before starting again, "Gareth, I watched you die... I watched you die as the doctors did everything they could. Even cardio shock and adrenaline didn't bring you back. They had sensors all over your body, and a tech kept saying he couldn't access your Nanos' program. Dr. Travaine, she kept yelling for data readings and demanding he try different program modes as she kept compressing your chest.

"You were turning white and your lips blue, Gareth. Dr. Travaine was getting ready to cut your chest open to massage your heart, but another doctor argued it was over. He wanted her to stop and declare time of death. She ignored him and kept prepping your chest, arguing as she did so. But it was clear to me, everybody else in the room agreed with the other doctor." Harlin swallowed.

"It was horrible to stand there and be able to do nothing, thinking I was responsible. But, Gareth, I didn't know any other way to tell you than to just spit it out.

"But then... I heard a beep. I couldn't believe my ears, Gareth, because I swear you were gone. Then the heart monitor beeped again. One slow beat after another, it beeped... until it became the steady rhythm of your heartbeat. Seeing your chest rise with that first breath... your color returning... I can't describe what a relief that was. For me, for everyone there, really. We all took a deep breath ourselves. But it wasn't until later, when Mayfine sent for me in a panic, that I understood what that miracle meant."