[When the reply comes, it comes a bit later and all at once: something he's spent a long time composing.]
I'm no longer bleeding.
Eiffel was involuntarily returned to his universe from December 25th to January 1st, which he experienced as a period of about 4 months.
Someone named Dr. Pryce implanted Eiffel and other members of his mission crew with mechanical devices that connected to the brain stem and the top of the spinal column. Iris has more details on Dr. Pryce than I do, if that's something you'd like to look into.
The device made him: 1) completely devoted to following Dr. Pryce's standing orders, which as of his return were "fix things without rest" - he would default to this within 10-15 minutes if not constantly supervised, which is why he didn't stay in the infirmary the first time Neal and Shaw brought him there 2) obey orders given by anyone else not conflicting with the above (refused to rest when I told him to) 3) compulsively deferential to everyone he encountered (called me General, etc) 4) completely removed his normal personality and interests in favor of the 'generally amiable and eager-to-please' baseline 5) altered his baseline energy and kinetics 6) exerted some effect to insulate him from or make him ignore his own physical pain
You know how I can touch things without touching them. I can do it very precisely. Rather than let him continue in that state or seek more invasive treatment right away, I tried to disable the device. I severed the internal wire connecting the implant's power source to the neural interface.
[It was the smallest, most precise, least risky modification he could think of to simply render the thing inert, hoping to spare Eiffel the ongoing effects before figuring out something as complicated as removal. And he still doesn't think it was the wrong move to try that first, or to do it without waiting for the barge committee to gnaw on the problem. But it still wasn't good enough.]
Some kind of killswitch activated, and delivered a massive, lethal electrical shock. Since Eiffel was already dead, I cut out the device myself to 1) see if he would resurrect without it, and 2) better study it in case resurrection was ineffective. Unfortunately, the device returned to him when the Death Toll activated.
I made a very blunt report about the situation, my actions, and the need to remove the device entirely. You should be able to see it now. Neal was included on the original filter as someone concerned about Eiffel's well-being.
He came to my cabin, gave me a scalpel, and told me to cut my own neck. Mimicking the dissection, you see. I did it. He was sick and upset after that. The rest you know.
He didn't do anything except get angry about his brother's death. He didn't even touch me. If he wants to know, please tell him I don't hold anything against him. He didn't do anything wrong.
no subject
I'm no longer bleeding.
Eiffel was involuntarily returned to his universe from December 25th to January 1st, which he experienced as a period of about 4 months.
Someone named Dr. Pryce implanted Eiffel and other members of his mission crew with mechanical devices that connected to the brain stem and the top of the spinal column. Iris has more details on Dr. Pryce than I do, if that's something you'd like to look into.
The device made him:
1) completely devoted to following Dr. Pryce's standing orders, which as of his return were "fix things without rest" - he would default to this within 10-15 minutes if not constantly supervised, which is why he didn't stay in the infirmary the first time Neal and Shaw brought him there
2) obey orders given by anyone else not conflicting with the above (refused to rest when I told him to)
3) compulsively deferential to everyone he encountered (called me General, etc)
4) completely removed his normal personality and interests in favor of the 'generally amiable and eager-to-please' baseline
5) altered his baseline energy and kinetics
6) exerted some effect to insulate him from or make him ignore his own physical pain
You know how I can touch things without touching them. I can do it very precisely. Rather than let him continue in that state or seek more invasive treatment right away, I tried to disable the device. I severed the internal wire connecting the implant's power source to the neural interface.
[It was the smallest, most precise, least risky modification he could think of to simply render the thing inert, hoping to spare Eiffel the ongoing effects before figuring out something as complicated as removal. And he still doesn't think it was the wrong move to try that first, or to do it without waiting for the barge committee to gnaw on the problem. But it still wasn't good enough.]
Some kind of killswitch activated, and delivered a massive, lethal electrical shock. Since Eiffel was already dead, I cut out the device myself to 1) see if he would resurrect without it, and 2) better study it in case resurrection was ineffective. Unfortunately, the device returned to him when the Death Toll activated.
I made a very blunt report about the situation, my actions, and the need to remove the device entirely. You should be able to see it now. Neal was included on the original filter as someone concerned about Eiffel's well-being.
He came to my cabin, gave me a scalpel, and told me to cut my own neck. Mimicking the dissection, you see. I did it. He was sick and upset after that. The rest you know.
He didn't do anything except get angry about his brother's death. He didn't even touch me. If he wants to know, please tell him I don't hold anything against him. He didn't do anything wrong.