ALONLUNA, 2878
"Lengthening becomes a path across the sky. Radiance rises in calm steps. Gaia weaves tide and season in unison. The story enters the rhythm whole."
Maia made herself an absence.
I waited. One minute. Ten. Half an hour. Time dragged, cruel. Every second twisted my serenity into a tight knot. An eternity.
I walked home, my mind a storm of disconnected glimpses.
The previous night throbbed inside me like a thorn lodged in flesh, invisible and impossible to ignore. A bitter taste in my mouth, the echo of something wrong, something interrupted. The feeling of having been deceived.
How had those bastards dared to do that? By then, I could only think of the worst possible scenario. What if Maia had chosen inaction? And why had she been there? What happened before I found her? And the blood on her hands? What on earth did that blood mean?
The answer slipped through my thoughts, always distant.
Despite everything, curiosity persisted. I wanted to see her again. Needed to. Thank her for helping me.
But how? All I knew was her name. I asked Takashi to search for a Maia matching her appearance. No results.
I let it be.
Moons passed.
S-2878 • L1 Alonluna • D24 Ritsi
"Alonluna gathers the gold on high. Ritsi marks the rhythm of return. The tide tunes step and silence. The story prepares the next dawn."
A calm day.
The first results of Project Jaburu were very positive. The participants were excited too. They were watching their memories from two lunations earlier.
The remaining warmth withdrew inward; my body announced the fall before the blood.
Before going home, I decided to treat myself.
Colorful twenty-four-hour shops shone along the almost deserted streets. I bought a cream dessert and walked to the stop.
The bus would arrive in thirty minutes. The wait had increased because of a robbery at an electronics store. Police had closed nearby routes to investigate.
Thirty minutes was too long. I called a taxi. What else could I do?
I wandered along the sidewalk. Minutes passed. In a shop window, I watched an interview with an android writer, Novella.
CLANG! I startled at the sound of metal colliding in the alley beside me. Tried to ignore it. Focused on the holoscreen.
"I'm here to coweave with humans," Novella answered in the interview.
Metal echoed again. My intuition sounded a warning. My heart pounded with anxiety. I suppressed a shudder.
Two men ran out of the alley, their hands and faces bloodied. One said something inaudible. They ran in the opposite direction.
They did not notice me, but I kept worrying. My heart racing at full speed. My hair standing on end. I wanted to see what was in there. Fear immobilized me. I needed to go. But what if they were still there? What if I became a target?
My instinct screamed at me to retreat. Go away. But what if someone was still breathing? What if it was too late? What if…
I clenched my fists. Swallowed my fear. I was a doctor. If someone needed help, I had to help. I gathered all my courage and forced myself into the alley.
A warm-toned aerolamp cast little light. I walked slowly. Spotted a foot among the piled-up boxes. My heartbeat intensified. I took a hesitant step. Another.
A body discarded among the boxes. Head hidden in shadow. Hands stained red.
My heart battered my ribs. One more step.
The aerolamp's trembling light danced over pale skin.
My throat locked. The shock struck me like a hard punch.
Maia.
White strands stained with blood. Air squeezed my lungs. I let out a strangled cry. Crouched and reached for her neck. Her wounds were leaking little blood. I held her face beneath the light and touched her skin to feel the rhythm of her blood.
She was still alive.
Three deep cuts: eyebrows and lower lip.
The taxi notification arrived.
I followed instinct: carried Maia to the car.
We headed to the hospital.
Emergency Department
Maia received priority care because of her delicate condition.
The nurses found the absence of her biochip strange. That became secondary; treating the patient was the absolute priority. Saving her life mattered more than missing data.
Besides, a doctor from that hospital was the one helping her.
I immediately joined the doctor examining her.
Maia would probably remain unconscious for a while.
We administered first aid with the nanomachines. Strangulation marks on her neck. Reddened skin. There were no signs of sexual assault, either. I felt relief. The injuries were concentrated on her chest, signs of a beating, a fractured rib, and other wounds scattered across her body.
Maia resisted. Fought.
Her head still needed checking. We took her for a CT scan.
"You can put her on this examination table." The neurologist indicated the spot. He was preparing the equipment to display the images. "Has she remained unconscious since you found her?"
I nodded.
Minutes later, with the results in hand, I breathed a little more easily.
No serious complications, only minor head injuries. Even so, she would remain under observation.
I requested a room, ordered precautionary blood tests, and prepared the room with dim lighting. I wanted her to feel comfortable when she woke.
I stayed beside her the entire time.
Eventually, sleep overcame me.
During the night
I woke.
Maia was still sleeping. Her vital signs had stabilized.
I administered the pain medication and stepped away.
She murmured, and I moved closer again.
"W-what?" Her lips barely moved.
"Maia, it's me, Akiko."
"Akiko?" She repeated it to herself, her eyes half-closed.
"That's right. You know who I am, yes?"
She coughed and groaned in pain as she moved her arm. "Yes. Where am I?"
I touched her shoulders. "Hey, easy. It must be difficult to move. You're in the hospital."
"Hospital? What hospital? Where am I?" Maia grimaced in pain.
"Easy. You're safe."
Her eyes wandered around the room. Searched for an escape route. Even vulnerable, she still acted this way. "Where am I?"
"Santa Geordana Hospital, where I work."
"Zenith?"
"Yes."
She tried to get up. Her muscles betrayed her. Her whole body rejected the effort, punishing her with pain. A groan escaped her lips.
"Stop trying to get up." I struggled to hold her. "Please, you're in a fragile state." My voice stayed calm, but my muscles tightened.
She fell back onto the pillow, panting. "Away from here." Her voice trembled. The calculated tone dissolved. Panic took shape. Gained a body. Claws. Her hands gripped my arms hard. Her fingers dug into my skin. "Get me outta here. P-please, get me outta here!"
Her breath caught. She trembled against me, her head buried in my chest, as though trying to hide from the world itself.
"I-I—"
The door beeped.
I released her carefully.
"Dr. Akiyama, we've sent you the blood test results. Daren would like to speak to you. As soon as possible." The nurse android emphasized the last words.
I nodded and closed the door. Why did he want to talk?
I opened the results. My eyes widened. "Maia…"
My heart stumbled. My vision blurred for a second. I read. Read again. And again. The information glowed on the bioscreen like a sentence. The entire hospital seemed about to collapse on me.
My voice failed. "Y-your blood type is O Rh-null." I sat in the nearest chair. A black hole inside my chest.
The rarest blood type in the world. So rare that Zenith housed an exclusive center, monitored by the GMC.
Was that why she wanted to avoid the hospital? But I had to bring her in under those conditions.
I closed the bioscreen and approached her.
"G-get me outta here, please," Maia begged.
"I—"
"Take me, please. Anywhere. Take care of me. You're a doctor, right?"
I was unsure how lucid she was.
"Please," she insisted.
She avoided looking directly at me. Something intangible hid beneath her expression.
Her condition had stabilized. I could care for her at home. I had some medical equipment. I could work on CogniSynth remotely for a few days.
I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Are you sure?"
She had the right to choose to leave. Her condition was serious, but her life was no longer in danger. The Code of Ethics upheld her choice.
She nodded.
"All right, as you wish," I said, hoping her condition would remain stable.
I explained the situation to the android head nurse. He checked her condition once more. Informed the doctor in charge of the Emergency Department. They confirmed with Maia. Discharged her.
I got her ready.
We were leaving…
"Akiyama." Daren, the blood bank's chief physician, caught up with me. He must have run across the entire hospital. "Listen, please."
I took Maia to the car and returned.
"Yes?" I tried to sound as patient as possible.
"Did you see? Why are you doing this? We need her blood. We only have one active donor of this type on the continent. If we can get another, we'll make the decision at the Blood Council Commission. You know what her blood means, right?" His eyes shone.
"Later. First, she needs to recover. I'll talk to her about the research," I said.
Though I suspected she would refuse to participate.
His smile vanished. "All right, I'll wait. But this could be essential. Please come back to me when you have news."