Wilson listened carefully to Isabella's advices about interactions with patients, once they left her medical office, and later appreciated the instructions that Saito gave her when they finished their visit to Matt Brennan. Psychology was very interesting, and very complex at the same time. Mac had read every Psychology treatise and book she had gotten her hands on, and she had tried to put into practice what she had learned in them with her patients. However, many times she found herself completely lost without someone with real experience and knowledge being able to tutor her and resolve the doubts that arose with her in practice. After all, books talked to you, but they never answered you when you asked them questions.
Mac also blushed when Isabella praised her work and called it "promising." Hearing something like that from a doctor from the MFE, so trained and with so much experience, was something wonderful for a village doctor, as she considered herself. She stammered a few words of thanks as a smile spread across her face. "Oh... I... well... I really appreciate that you think I do a good job. This is... well... important to me." Mac forced herself to stop talking for a few seconds to stop stuttering, and then took a deep breath. "The truth is that having someone like you praise my work gives me a lot of encouragement to continue training and studying. Soon I'll have two medical specialties, and that will allow me to help a lot of people, especially at Faith Haven. It's something that excites me a lot, but at the same time... it scares me quite a bit. I've been practicing medicine for more than a decade, but sometimes I still feel like I did when I finished my degree. There are still many things that I do not control as much as I should, but I know that with you I will be able to improve as a doctor, and become a competent psychologist."
Mac also agreed not to prolong the hospital visit any longer than necessary and to go look for Greta. She was also worried about her condition, she had never seen her affected by anything. Wilson hoped Meyer wasn't too bad, but it would be better to check. "Let's finish what we have to do here and go find her."
The two women continued visiting Mac's remaining patients. Fortunately, these cases were much less serious matters than Matt Brennan's, and the visits were merely routine. Then they both took the opportunity to visit the psycologically affected paramedic, Collin, who had also been taken to a room on Isabella's orders, so that he could rest. The man was completely asleep, due to the sedatives they had administered, and they found Eduardo, the head of his paramedic unit, sitting on a seat in the hallway, near the door of the room. While Isa entered the room to check on Collin's condition and talk to his girlfriend and parents, who were inside, Mac stayed outside and approached Eduardo.
The man seemed to have ceased his initial attitude of distrust towards what Isabella had told him about Collin, and he was currently quite sorry for not having identified what was happening to his collegue. "I'm a damned stupid, doctor." Eduardo blamed himself, with a disgusted expression on his face. "I... I just forgot that not everyone is able to cope with tragedies in the same way. Collin is a good paramedic, he has plenty of experience with these things, but there was something today that..." The man shook his head. "The truth is that the screams of that poor man, Dante, have also frozen my blood. However, I think that what has affected Colin like this has been having to wait to go out for him. That wait has probably meant the difference between having saved him or not."
Wilson nodded. "Yes, that's clear. And I imagine that it's precisely that certainty that Dante García has died because of this, which has become difficult for Collin to bear." Mac sat in the seat immediately to the right of Eduardo's. "You're the leader of your unit, and your role is to command your men, in addition to monitoring them to see how they are doing. Given that, it's easy to blame yourself for what happened to your colleague, but it's really not your fault. There are times when it's impossible to know what will affect a person. You said it yourself, Collin is an experienced paramedic, so this wasn't foreseeable to happen." Wilson lightly placed her hand on Eduardo's shoulder. "Now just worry about him taking care of himself, taking some time and resting. I'll talk to Dr. Saito and try to arrange some kind of therapy session with him, even if it's via Neural Net. Make sure he doesn't miss those sessions, and, of course, don't let him get into an armored ambulance again until he's completely recovered."
Mac and Isabella left the patient room floors and headed back down to the emergency room, where they inquired about the status of the surviving maintenance team workers. Fortunately, all of them had been stabilized, and the two who had had to undergo emergency surgery had already left the operating room and were in the ICU. Isabella wanted to personally inform the loved ones of the injured, and both doctors headed back to Mac's medical office, where they were waiting. Gabriella García was calmer than a while ago, she had already completely assumed the situation, and now she was in a state of exhaustion and total sadness. With her was her sister, who had rushed over as soon as someone from the medical staff had contacted her, along with her husband, who had taken the children for a walk outside the medical center. Isa informed the relatives of the survivors of the current state of the injured, and finally went to the wife of the deceased man, to whom she offered her contact so they could talk in the future.
Once the work was finished, Mackenzie took off her medical coat and both women left the doctor's office. Wilson took out her portable communications device. "I'm going to call Greta and see where she is." The monsignora responded immediately. She was near the Medical Center, she had gone out to clear her head with a walk, and she had not felt strong enough to come back in again. They agreed to meet in the circular plaza that they had crossed before arriving at the hospital.
The two doctors found Greta sitting on one of the benches that lined the center of the square, around the large statue of the rotating Deux symbol. Greta stood up with a big smile when she saw them approaching. She no longer seemed to be affected at all by what had happened earlier, and that made Mac suspect that she was simply trying to hide it.
"Hey Greta!" Mac waved at Greta and quickly approached her. "Are you ok? You ran out of the emergency room."
Wilson saw how Greta's smile froze in a terrified rictus, for a slight, almost imperceptible moment. Then she again expressed that look of carefree happiness that the monsignor usually showed. "Oh, forget about it, please, I'm fine. I got a little overwhelmed, it's been a long time since I've helped anyone with their transition, but that's all. I shouldn't have behaved like that, and I'm sorry."
Mackenzie raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at the clergywoman. "Tell that to someone else, but don't insult me by lying to my face, Greta." Mackenzie walked over to her friend and put her hand on her shoulder. "Even I felt affected by what happened in there, and I assure you that because of my work I have seen many terrible things happen. You aren't used to seeing these things, your workplace isn't an emergency room. You said it yourself when you were leaving, remember? You said you weren't used to seeing these things firsthand. You know the statistics, you know what happens with accidents, but it's one thing to be aware of that, and another thing to look into the eyes of a poor half-disintegrated worker, as the life leaves his body."
Greta gave up and looked down, collapsing on the bench again. "I just... I don't know, I felt so sorry for that poor man, Dante. Everything he suffered, the fear he went through... I know that he's now with Deux, and that he's in a place where suffering and pain no longer exist, but he left life very soon." A deep sadness appeared again on Greta's face, and looked at Isabella. "We honor life, even if we think that after it Deux chooses those who have done to fulfill His Mandate and takes their consciences with Him. So death isn't a tragedy for us, it's a natural consequence of our mortality, and mortality is a feature of our Humanity. Deux wanted us like we are, humans, and mortals. He gave us the Gift of the Machine to help us, but He didn't give us the Gift of Immortality." Greta looked away and examined the rotating statue of the Deux symbol. "It's true that thanks to the Gift of the Machine we've managed to greatly improve our longevity over the centuries, but I don't think Deux wants us to be immortal. He loves humans, and mortality is one of our natural characteristics. Death is... the great equalizer. It's what brings us back to where we started, just before being born. And at the same time it is what makes us appreciate every moment of our life." The monsignora turned back again to Isabella. "Therefore, although we don't fear death, we deeply respect human life and consider it something of great value. And when someone loses their life, for something that could have been avoided... for something I could have avoided..."
Greta's voice broke, and a tear rolled down her cheek. Mac shook her arm. "For the love of Deux, Greta, Dante García has died due to a natural disaster. I hope it doesn't occur to you to consider yourself responsible of anything that happened today." Wilson's mouth twisted in frustration, and with some guilt. "I know I've been putting a lot of pressure on you about the problem of workplace accidents, but the reality is that you're doing everything in your power. You've obtained funding for the new training of paramedic teams, you have gotten the Church to give us money for armored ambulances, and you constantly insist Monsignor Patel whenever you can to update the security inspections. I don't think there's much more that can be done and..." Mac looked directly at her friend. "...if due to my own frustration of constantly seeing workers die, I've taken out that frustration with you, I'm very sorry. The truth is that no one can ask you to do more than what you are doing. We live on a hostile planet, and we try to survive on it. This isn't Gran Canaria, but it's what we have."
Greta sighed and wiped her tears with the sleeve of her black suit. She smiled sadly at Isabella and Wilson. "Sometimes I..." The clergywoman seemed to not know how to express herself, and looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. "Our domes, our plantations, the Palace and the Temple... our factories and the underground colony... We've made this place so comfortable that it makes me forget what it costs us to keep it that way... the quantity of human lives that it costs to keep it that way. And when I manage to remember it, I feel very guilty. Guilty for being one of those who send people outside to maintain the biodomes, and not one of those who go out to do it." Greta took a deep breath and looked at both doctors, trying to be more cheerful. "I really appreciate your support, thank you ladies. I think I'll be fine, I just need some time." Greta stood up from the bench, and looked around showing a wide smile in the face. "I think it's time to do something that relaxes us all a little. What would you say if we went to that Cretan fashion store you wanted to see, Isa?"
Mac stood up and looked closely at Greta. Her smile held some sadness, but this time Meyer wasn't trying to hide it. At the same time, she saw her eyes express relief, probably because she was able to express how she felt. Mackenzie thought that was a good thing. At least she was no longer denying the obvious, and she had accepted what was afflicting her. That's why she decided to let it be, for the moment, although she swore to herself that she wouldn't take her eye off the monsignora.
"I think it's a good idea." The neurologist agreed. "I also need to distract myself with something a little happy."
The group left the square and entered one of the main streets that led out of it. About three hours had passed since they had arrived at the Medical Center, and there were more people on the street than before. Most of them were dressed in civilian or office clothes, although they were able to observe some members of the clergy walking hurriedly from one place to another, as before. Pygar's sky projection on the cavern ceiling showed a more yellowish color, due to the storm outside having intensified, as well as the dimming of white dwarf's light as the afternoon progressed.
The three women walked together leisurely on the left side of the street, bordered by two- or three-story concrete buildings. Greta would occasionally point out one of the buildings and explain its use, or tell some curious anecdote about its construction. She also took the opportunity to explain to Isabella what the Church's arrival in Pygar had been like, and how they had managed to found the colony until they were able to build everything that now surrounded them.
"When we arrived at Omicron Theta at the beginning of 827 AS, the two transport ships in which we had been able to gather barely 2.000 believers from the former colony in Gran Canaria, had to anchor at Corfu Base, while we decided what to do." Meyer put her hands behind back as she walked, her gaze fixed on a distant point. "We had heard that some zoners who had fled from Gran Canaria, like us, were trying to colonize the planet, but we didn't know if that was possible. Early scans of the surface revealed that both the land and atmosphere could support life, but the weather was terrible. Still, we didn't have anywhere else nearby to go, and since other people were already trying it, we decided to do it too."
The monsignora shook her head, remembering those moments of uncertainty. "We had brought from Gran Canaria the two biodomes that today are on the surface, disassembled in the holds of the two ships, and our idea was to assemble again them to create the habitats that you have been able to see. However, that was impossible without first establishing a camp, a place where workers could organize and take shelter from extreme winds. That is why we first had to carry out explorations to prospect, to look for caverns and underground galleries that we could access, and set up our base there. We had to send several teams to the planet in shuttles with surface scanners that we had to buy in Corfu."
Greta smiled sadly. "The problem with electromagnetic storms is that electronic devices very often suddenly stop working. On many occasions we were forced to descend to the ground on foot, with little protection, and carry out depth tastings with cavity detectors in person. There were accidents, some colonists died. I know it because I was there." Greta looked at Isabella. "Many members of the clergy also participated in the works and expeditions, myself, and even the one who would later become our Pontiff, who at that time was still only Monsignor Allister McGowan." Meyer said that last part with pride. "Everyone have to pitch in, the mission times were very long, the danger was constant, and people ended up exhausted. It was around this time that Monsignor McGowan began to become popular among believers. He was almost unknown until then, but his personal efforts, his ability to roll up his sleeves and get down to the ground with the workers, earned him popular support."
Greta indicated with her right arm the entirety of the large cavern in which they were. "In the end we managed to find this. A large cavern from which smaller galleries emerged, some of which connected to the surface, but far enough away so that the violence of the wind could not affect those who lived inside. We moved the entire population here, and started the construction of all this. We also built elevators to the surface and began to assemble the biodomes..." The clergywoman shrugged. "Now I think about it, and I don't even understand how we could achieve it. There were infinite possibilities that something fatal could have happened, and it would have wiped out all of us. Without a doubt, Deux blessed us all and gave us courage to move forward."
The group continued moving forward, passing several intersections until finally Greta pointed out a large building about 30 meters away, across the street. "There's the school, the store is right in front, we're almost there..."
Mac looked where Meyer indicated, and saw the neighborhood's public school, a 4-story building painted with brightly colored murals, surrounded by an empty concrete space with some artificial grass beds and and children's play structures. Then her gaze crossed the street to observe the place where the Cretan clothing store would be. As she did so, she saw several passersby going in the same direction as them, just ahead.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she detected how they were being overtaken by a group of four Pontifical Guard soldiers, armed with rifles and equipped with bulletproof vests and helmets. Wilson was not surprised to see equipped military personnel on the street, after the general state of alert decree they were everywhere, but what caught her attention was the speed at which they walked. They weren't running, but it was clear that they weren't patrolling, they were going somewhere, and in quite a hurry. The soldiers passed by, also passing several of the pedestrians, until they arrived right behind a young man, dressed in cargo pants and a civilian pilot's jacket, who was walking in the same direction as them.
The platoon opened up around the man, who walked oblivious to all of them, and then one of the soldiers, who was wearing sergeant's insignia, shouted in a threatening voice. "Stefan Wilkins, stop right now!!" The man stopped abruptly, startled, and turned around quickly. His face expressed surprise, at the same time as fear. The sergeant addressed him again as the other soldiers moved to surround the man. "You're under arrest, so...!"
Stefan Wilkins didn't wait for the Guard to finish his sentence and reacted at full speed, turning to flee in the opposite direction, but one of the soldiers stepped forward and hit him in the stomach with the butt of the rifle. The man doubled over, gasping for breath, and immediately another of the soldiers applied an electric baton to his neck, administering a shock that caused him to collapse to the ground. A third soldier Guard approached the fallen man, pointing his rifle at him, and stepping on his back violently to prevent him from getting up.
"What the hell...?!" Mac yelled, outraged at that exercise of violence, and moving forward without thinking it. "Hey, okay, that's enough, savages!"
The sergeant turned around and grabbed Mackenzie tightly by the arm, pinning her down and shouting with an angry face. "But who the hell are you?"
While this was happening, the soldier who kept his foot on the detainee's back took out some electronic handcuffs and tied the detainee's hands behind. A Pontifical Gendarmerie car suddenly appeared in the central service lane of the street with its top flashing light on, and braked hard in front of them. Mac struggled, unable to free herself from the sergeant's grip. "Damn idiot!" She insulted him. "Let me go immediately!"
"Sergeant, release that woman immediately, if you know what's good for you." The voice came from Greta, who had approached until she was in front of the sergeant. She hadn't raised her voice too much, but the soldier looked at her immediately, and he paled as recognized the purple-trimmed uniform of a Monsignor. The sergeant's hand opened, releasing Mac, who stepped back a few steps, angry but also somewhat fearful. The doctor observed how one of the patrol soldiers had approached his superior to help him with Mac, but when he had seen Meyer appear, he had retreated back to where his companions were.
The sergeant gulped and tried to explain. "Eeh... Oh, Monsignora Meyer... eeh... I didn't know this woman was..."
Greta interrupted him mercilessly, with a seriousness on her face that would have made a sphinx envious, and her hands behind back. "Stand at attention and salute, sergeant, you're facing a member of the Concilium. Do you want me to order your own men to arrest you right here?"
The soldier came to attention with a click of his heel on the ground, and saluted so loudly that his armored glove clinked against his helmet. Mac watched as the other three soldiers carried the detained man and put him into the Gendarmerie patrol car, from which a Gendarme had emerged to open the door. Then the car drove away, its front wheels screeching because of the speed, and turning on its siren. The soldiers returned to their superior and stood behind him, saluting likewise.
"What happened here, sergeant? What kind of circus is this?" Greta pointed to the Gendarmerie patrol car that was disappearing in the distance. "Who was that man they took away and what is he accused of? Since when does the Guard make arrests like this on the street?" Meyer screamed in the nco's face. "Where do you think you live?! In Liberty Republic?!"
The man endured the reprimand stoically, as soldiers usually do, and then spoke when the monsignora stopped. "Monsignora, this detention has been carried out under the protection of the general state of emergency, for reasons of internal security. We have special orders from the Field Maestre to investigate subjects coming from abroad, in case they could be here... for espionage reasons."
"So, that man was a spy, sergeant?" Greta asked.
The soldier paled even more, and opened his mouth several times, hesitating whether to say what he had to say. He finally stammered. "I.. can't... answer that, Monsignora, it's... confidential information." Greta's eyes widened and her lips contracted into a very thin line, reflecting an anger that was frightening just to see. The sergeant took a half step back, still standing his ground, and added, practically pleading. "I swear to you that I've direct orders not to reveal any information about the detainees! Don't do this to me, Monsignora, please, you can go to the Field Maestre and ask him all the questions you have about this operation. Don't make me answer you about this."
Meyer kept her gaze fixed on the man for a few seconds, and then relaxed her face. "Alright, sergeant, I respect that you've your orders." Mackenzie could hear how the man exhaled the air contained in his lungs, while he closed his eyes, relieved. "Now tell me your name and number, if you would be so kind."
The sergeant tensed again, but responded immediately. "Sergeant Joshua Mikkelsen, number 0098."
Greta noted it on her communications device and then dismissed the sergeant and his platoon with a wave of her hand. "Okay, Sergeant Mikkelsen, you can leave. Ah, one more thing." Greta brought her face close to the man's. "I never want to see again, or hear from, a single more arrest in this savage and unnecessarily violent manner. I don't care in the least what orders you've regarding the Field Maestre. There were four of you and that man was only one. There was no need to hit him with a rifle butt or electrocute him, your mere physical strength would have been enough to prevent him from fleeing. I don't want to see again these types of actions in the streets, as if this were a fascist state." The clergywoman remained silent for a few seconds, so that the sergeant could internalize her words, and then she added. "Make sure this is clear to everyone, because if it happens again, I'll come after you."
When the soldiers left, Greta turned to Mac and Isabella with embarrassed expression. "I'm so sorry for this. Are you ok?"
Mac rubbed her arm where the soldier had grabbed it. "Yeah... Don't worry, he's a damn beast, but I'm no damsel in distress. I was about to give him a good kick in... Well, it doesn't matter. I'm glad you put him in his place."
The monsignora nodded with concern. "I've to talk to the Field Maestre today so he can calm the Guard, and I want to find out who this guy is who has been arrested. Stefan...Wilkins, I think. I agree that we're practically at war, and we've to be prepared, but this is too much." She looked at Saito, and blushed from pure shame. "Isa, I assure you that this isn't normal, we don't do things like this around here.... I don't even know what to say."
