Personal Audio Log:
"This is Glen....Glen Graves...god....I don't even know what the fuck I'm still doing on this damned ship. Everything at the Ishimura just......just went straight to Hell..because of those damned Unitologists!......no..no,no. Panicking.....that's the worst thing to do in a situation like this.....it's just...I knew them! I....knew them........fuck!"
-FIVE WEEKS EARLIER-
"What d'ya think it is?" The miner asked languidly, his sleep deprived eyes staring up at the young medic. The man forced out a smile, unknowing of what could cause these symptoms in the patient, but he didn't let it show. He quickly scribbled something down on the notepad in his hand, making sure it was out of the patient's view.
"Well, Mr. Mabbit, it's probably the same as the last miner who came in." More like the last few dozen, the medic thought to himself as he placed a small bottle of pills into the miner's calloused hands. Mr. Mabbit looked at the practitioner in confusion. "Sedatives."
The prospector sluggishly nodded his head in some-what approval with the prescription as he hopped off the exam table and hit the floor with a hard 'thud', and slowly trudged out of the white room. The physician pushed the thin reading glasses up the bridge of his nose as he watched the miner disappear into the hallway. Mr. Mabbit was the 26th case of insomnia they've had in the past three days. Doctor Sciarello had the right idea of excusing the symptoms as merely depression and sending off all the patients with a small bottle of a sufficient number of sedatives for the person to catch up to their sleep schedules in a matter of days. Not that all the cases were the same, but it was the best explanation any of them could currently conjure up.
"Dr. Schofield, you have a call on the line for you." Katie, Dr. Sciarello's nurse, called from the front desk. He couldn't help but give the woman a smile.
"I already told you, Katie, I'm not actually a doctor yet," He laughed embarrassingly as he walked over to the phone, picking up the device from the receiver. "And I also told you to call me James." He slowly placed the device to his ear, only hearing the erotic noise of heavy breathing on the other end.
"Glen, what did I tell you about phone sex while I'm in the middle of work?" The medic cocked an eyebrow in amusement at the failed attempt. A smile made it's way to his lips as his friend's laugh was heard on the line.
"Damn, how did you know it was me?"
"Come on. I've known you long enough to recognize any noise you make. You should've realized that by now."
"Ooo, you dirty bastard!" James chuckled as he heard the smirk in Glen's tone.
"So did you only call me to have a good time, or was there an actual reason?"
James was confused at the long pause before the response.
"I'm on the USG Ishimura!" Glen shouted, hardly being able to contain his excitement.
"That's amazing!" James hated to admit it, but he was both shocked and jealous that his friend was lucky enough to be on one of the biggest planet crackers of the class! Glen wasn't exactly book smart like James was. No, he was more street savvy with a dash of engineering ingenuity to add a bit of flair, which was something the Ishimura needed in alot of its crew. But James couldn't help but feel resentment. He could've also been aboard the Ishimura as well! He was certainly intelligent enough to be one of the medical specialists for the vessel even though he had still yet to receive his doctorate's degree yet. A Bachelors could only get him so far in the medical field, and it just so happened to get him a job on a small ship mining as an assistant. But because of his still lack of schooling, he couldn't move on any further.
"...James?" James suddenly snapped back to reality when the sound of his friend's voice made him realize he'd been 'drifting off' again.
"Oh, sorry." He chuckled. "If you said something after 'I'm on the Ishimura', I didn't quite catch it."
A sigh. "I said, I'm sorry you're not here as well.""
"No, no. I could honestly care less about being on that thing!" Glen could tell he was lying through his teeth. But he ignored it, not wanting to cause anymore stress to his friend.
"Whatever, dude. So.....I heard they shut everything down because of some rock?"
James frowned. Glen was quite aware that he's been a devote Unitologist since their freshmen year together in high school, and yet he still didn't respect it even though it was the religion of his best friend. "It's not 'some rock', Glen. It's The Marker..."
"I still think it's a load of bullshit-"
"Shut your mouth!" James's eyes narrowed. The clacking noise of Katie using her keyboard in the background came to a sudden halt. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."
"Says the genius who's following a cult....."
"At least I believe in something!" That was always the worst topic between the two close friends. Religion. It's always been a war waiting to happen. And now, at such a crucial point of Unitology, that war seemed to be creeping closer.
"I believe in evidence!"
"The Marker IS evidence! And not just evidence. It's proof!" James suddenly slammed the phone back onto the receiver, ending the harsh argument right in the middle before it got bloody.
If it already didn't get bloody enough....
"Katie..." The woman looked up at man, his face slightly flushed from the yelling. She had never seen him raise his voice before, so it was enough of a trauma to make anyone nauseous. "Be sure to note Dr. Sciarello that I'm taking the rest of the day off." He sighed. With a slight nod of her head, James Schofield left.
I shouldn't have gotten so defensive about it... James thought as he began rubbing his sore temples. That debate surprisingly took alot out of him, leaving him almost as exhausted as his last patient. Some time to think and a bit of bed rest might help clear his mind and get back on the right track with his and Glen's friendship. Glen would certainly need the break as well to do some cooling off of his own. Though within a few hours, that whole episode would slip back into the forgotten corners of Glen's mind and he would jump right back on the boat of Unitology haters.
"I heard you talkin' to Glen again...." Jason Veca, an older man and fellow unitologist, sighed when he noticed James's distress. The two men had met each other at one of their church's masses a few months ago, and became quick friends when they began discussing their personal life's issues. James felt confided in Jason enough to tell him about the violent discussions he and Glen would occasionally get elder man had strong sympathy for him and would often aid him in his times of affliction and even let him vent.
"He still doesn't understand, Jason." James tiredly sighed. The fellow believer simply smiled and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder.
"He'll come around soon, you'll see. And just remember, God'll always help us in our time of need." He always knows the right thing to say, James smiled back. "Hey, I know what'll cheer you up," Jason lightly patted the other man's back in comfort as they began walking down the hallways to the Union Square. "Deacon Abbot is preaching in the Square. Maybe his words'll help with your problems."
James looked up when he heard loud speakings of knowledge echoing off the walls in the open room.
"For 200 years, Unitology has sought the truth...."