Fading
22 Jan 2021Max Thoreson
“COMMANDER…ARE YOU OK?” asks a female voice which is now by my right side. The surge of adrenaline has cleared my mind somewhat.I turn to see a female android with long jet black hair. I reply “You scared the bejesus out of me! Who are…”
The android cuts me short. “Commander, I have been monitoring your vital signs and your body is in physical distress. Your neurological patterns show that you are in a great deal of discomfort and your body temperature is running between 105 and 106 degrees. With your permission I would like to take a blood sample to test for an infection.”
I start to say “I guess…” but she has already grabbed my right hand and pricked my index finger.
She quickly takes the sample and floats across the cockpit somewhere behind me. I turn to see her with the emergency medical kit open on the right co-pilots seat running a test on some type of analyzer. “Commander, I’m seeing multiple issues…” something more about a blood borne pathogen… dehydrated…
Oddly, I can see and hear everything she’s saying… but things aren’t quite registering in my mind. The sound of her voice is echoing and becoming hollow as she continues…like she’s talking to me through a long pipe. The fringes of my vision are starting to close in…
“COMMANDER…PLEASE STAY WITH ME” shouts the android positioned directly in front of me. “YOU HAVE A BACTERIAL INFECTION IN YOUR BLOODSTREAM THAT I NEED TO TREAT IMMEDIATELY. DO I HAVE YOUR PERMISSION TO TREAT YOU WITH ANTIBIOTICS?”
In my fog I think I nod my head. Instantly I feel the sting of a hypodermic needle as it hits my right arm.
“DO I HAVE YOUR PERMISSION GIVE YOU AN I.V. ?”
I move my head slightly which is followed by a stinging sensation in the back of my right hand. Within a few seconds a warm, comfortable feeling starts to sweep through my body. The severe pain in my head and arm starts to dull…allowing me to relax further. As I relax I nod off…