“Okay, that’s great and all. Brilliant deduction and medical stuff you just said,” Phon had gained enough energy to be chatty again. “But how does all that help me, and more importantly, Drim? If we’re not sick, then how can we change back? Don’t tell me…”
“I fear your suspicions are correct,” the doctor delivered the bad news. “If I am unable to cure The Witch, there will be no one to change you back.”
“Then that means…”
“Yes, the only way for you to return to your former selves would be to wait and grow up naturally. Unfortunately, for the Lessers, they would have to accept their circumstances and enjoy what precious lives they have left to live.”
“Also, things may be worse than you understand for your brother’s situation. This goes for all Fiends except for you, but I doubt you care as much about their plight. I was able to learn about the unique disease known as Premature Cognition just now due to examining you with my Curse. Thank you for enlightening me.”
“Because you were not reverted to an age before your Premature Cognition occurred, you should grow up mostly the same as you were before. There would likely be some changes by the time you reached your previous age, since that is a lot of life to live. But more or less, you should be the same person—hopefully a bit more mature after all that time.”
“In your brother’s case, his mind has fully returned to that of a child, yes? While he should have most of his memories and experiences stored away, they will likely be unprocessable with a child’s brain. In essence, they would do little-to-nothing to sculpt who he would become.”
“Now, there is a chance Drim may re-experience Premature Cognition around the same age that he did before. That, I cannot guarantee in the slightest. It would come down to if his body remembers that it is supposed to follow that path by the time he reaches that age.”
“Even if it did happen as it had before, that’d still be what, three to four years from now? That is a long time for someone at the most impressionable age. If you want him as close to how he was, you would need to raise him in as similar of an environment as possible that he experienced before until such a time. He still wouldn’t be the same person, and may have forgotten many of his memories by then, but that is still a possibility. It would be the best natural result.”
“If you wanted him to be as close to the person as you remember, you would need to trigger his Premature Cognition again as quickly as possible. That would mean subjecting him to a new unspeakable trauma. A brutal path for sure, but his brain would be once again able to process his old memories and personality. That would be the most reliable path to having him return to normal, though he’d still have to grow up of course.”
“Were this the path you’d choose, you’d want to do it as soon as possible. Every minute that he and all the other Fiends remain a child, that is more impressions on their mind that they may retain. A few days probably won’t do much if anything at all, but a few weeks or months could change who they are permanently, even if we could eventually heal The Witch so she could change them back.”
“Therefore, it is imperative that The Witch is cured as quickly as possible, and we should avoid further delay so that this all becomes a moot point. As I am planning to stay with you, I would normally require the moving of all my belongings and give proper notice to my place of work. We can forgo that for now, and I will have my things shipped at a later date.”
“However, all that said, I must insist on a moment of selfishness. As much of a nuisance as my coworkers have become, they have still been good to me. They don’t deserve my disappearance without a word. I would ask that you give me some time to tell them my plans and to come clean with the truth. Given how I expect them to react, I don’t anticipate that it will take long.”
Farian affixed the wig to his head and unlocked the door. “Please wait for me at the lobby. I will be with you shortly.” He left the room and there was still a crowd in the hallway. “Everyone, I have an announcement to make. Please head to the conference room and invite anyone who may wish to hear from me. It’d break my heart if anyone regretted missing out.”
Phon and Mallea returned to the lobby as requested. A few of the other patients looked distraught since virtually all staff had abandoned the area. That didn’t last very long, though, as Farian had predicted. A few minutes later, the entire facility was filled with endless cries and the wails of pained agony. It sounded like a torture chamber, and some of the waiting patients even elected to leave and escape what sounded like an abandoned, haunted hospital.
Stolen story; please report.
Farian strutted down the hall towards the lobby not long after. He was bearing it all, his bald head shining out as a beacon to the public. There was a genuine, blissful smile on his face, and the way he walked looked so light—a heavy burden finally lifted off of him. No one was shadowing in his footsteps now, and he couldn’t look happier.
◆◆◆
The flight back to the compound was fairly uneventful. All precautions had been prepared for, and provisions were purchased in plenty. Phon didn’t even argue about being relegated to the back seat since she could lay down and nap to her body’s content.
Farian didn’t say much during the trip. Mallea had Rusa send him the file on Ahvra’s latest experiment so he could look it over and start picking apart the disease that had been created. His insightful visage as he studied—lost in his own world—made it plain to see why he’d captivated so many, not that he’d be stirring the hearts of any of those present.
Even though both women understood the time crunch of their mission, they couldn’t resist going to check on things at the headquarters building upon their return. More resident Lessers had come to join the events and were all gathered around Rusa as she played the piano. They were singing as a choir to some of the modern hits that would certainly be considered oldies a few decades from now.
Most of the member Lessers weren’t around, which probably wasn’t a good sign, but that would have to be left alone for now. In another corner, a baby Chorus was putting on a stage play. Rezin was assisting them with his hallucination spectacles that really drew in the audience. As one of the few adults around, his efforts were probably better served elsewhere, but this play was keeping a good chunk of the children entertained and quiet.
Deborah was even watching along, not that she’d have the capability to do much else. She was dead—deader than dead—a lifeless husk barely cognizant of the world around her. The poor woman didn’t even try to resist when Roque came to peddle an overpriced snack for the show. He merely handed it to her, and then she obediently pressed her finger to his Common Card to confirm the transaction.
Drim was in a temporarily walled off area that had been converted into sleeping quarters. It was stuffed full of small beds and cribs so that as many of the children could sleep at once while still being observed. He was sharing one of the cribs with Pox. The two were curled up together, snuggling with a hug.
Mallea and Phon weren’t as crass as to wake him up while he was sleeping so peacefully, but maybe a picture was taken. When they returned, they found Farian being swarmed by the children and a pouting Chorus since they were being upstaged. It seemed one of them had taken an interest in the new person, but the rest quickly followed when the doctor started handing out candy they had on hand in their coat.
After all the children were placated and back to their entertainment, the women escorted Farian down to the secret lab. Ahvra’s condition had only gotten worse. Outside of her feverish symptoms, her body was now changing every few seconds to a different age. Each change seemed to be rather unpleasant and only stressed her body that much more.
Farian gave her hand a kiss. Well, he did after a few tries since the hand kept sliding away from the rapid changes in size. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he burst out laughing.
“I was expecting this to be complicated. Hours ahead of me testing remedies, I was kind of looking forward to it. But the solution is so simple, not that anyone but me could ever think of it.”
“My diagnosis is as basic as can be. Her time is out of whack, and it needs to be reset. Like the others, she was sick only very briefly. What she’s experiencing now isn’t any virus. It’s her body trying to catch up to her fluxes in time and overcorrecting. She just needs a guiding beacon to set her back on the right path.”
“Okay, uhhh, how do we reset her time?” Andi who’d been watching over her was desperate to see her cured.
“We just need a pure injection of present time. I know that sounds obtuse and intangible, but it’s not as serious as you think. Old and mechanical would be best. I doubt there’s any old-styled clocks around here. Guessing everything is digital, but there was an antique shop in the town, yes?”
“Ms. Dulip, could I please trouble you to go into town and purchase one for us. It doesn’t matter the type or brand, as long as it isn’t digital and still operates.”
Mallea returned not long after, actually having accomplished an errand someone else set for her that wasn’t Drim. She’d most likely been able to manage it since it still directly affected him in some way. The clock wasn’t that old, barely on the cusp of what could be considered an antique. It was small and built for a nightstand, the kind with actual ringing bells that would have to be slammed to get it to shut up in the morning.
Farian wound the clock and put it close to his ear, listening to it tick. “Ah yes, perfect. It is pure time, flowing unimpeded.”
“So, how exactly do we harness time to administer it to her?” Andi was getting invested in the science, and more invested in being relieved of her duty as soon as possible. “Do we need to hook it up to some sort of energy converter to capture the ticking time?”
“Oh, nothing so involved,” Farian huffed, still amused. He gripped the clock loosely between his fingers and returned to the bed. After waiting for a moment where Ahvra was more stable, Farian clonked her on the head.